Goodbyes and Hellos: Don Goor, Exploratorium, A Pair of Als, St. George, A War, Macys, the Penny, an

As I’m going out to lunch with my daughter today, here’s my lunchtime news chum a little bit early. I’ve already written a post about some things that went away at the end of 2012. Here are some more things that are going away:

• Rabbi Don Goor. From an article in the Jewish Journal I learned that Rabbi Don Good and his partner, Evan Kent, are making aliyah. I knew Don when we were campers together. I wish him the best of luck.
• Exploratorium at Palace of Fine Arts. Wednesday was the last day of the Exploratorium at the Palace of Fine Arts location. It is now in the process of moving to the new buildings at the pier. What will become of the Palace? Your guess is as good as mine.
• Current TV.  Al Gore has sold Current TV to another Al, Al Jazeera. Although I understand why he did this, and why Mr. Jazeera was buying it, I really wish he hadn’t done it. This is just going to play into all the conspiracy theorists who believe there is a great Islamic conspiracy.
• St. George, Missouri. One village in St. Louis County decided to disincorporate at the end of 2011 and go back to being part of the county. Guess what happened. Not very much. The speed limits have been raised, and there are fewer stop signs.
• A Wikipedia Hoax. For over 5 years, a page has existed on Wikipedia about when India clashed with Portugal in the Bicholem Conflict. Only one problem: it never happened. Wikipedia has finally removed the pages. Remember boys and girls: Wikipedia is not authoritative.
• Macys in Pasadena. Macys is closing the store in Pasadena at Paseo Colorado. I remember when that used to be the Broadway. I seem to recall it being a Broadway Clearance store as well.
• The Canadian Penny. The Canadians have opted to get rid of the penny. Well, actually, they are only getting rid of it for cash transactions. Pay by check or credit card, and you’ll have to have common cents. (ducks and runs)
• Christmas Trees. Ever wonder what happens to those Christmas Trees on the curbs after Christmas. Zev’ll tell you. They are recycled, yes, but there are many different ways to recycle them.
• Elvis in Utah. Yup. A Salt Lake City community has deemed an Elvis musical, All Shook Up, to be too racy for their children to perform. Oh, that pelvis! (ETA: They are doing the musical after all, after the producers permitted some edits)  (ETA: Related to this… another community near Salt Lake City has renamed Morning Glory Road to Morning Vista Road because of the sexual connotation of the name, Morning Glory. I’ll bet you didn’t know that Morning Glory was a sexual term.)

 

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Toshiba A665 Touch Bar/Media Control Bar Problems

Back in early 2011, I wrote about problems I was having with my Toshiba A665-S8086 laptop. Specifically, I was having a problem where the touch bar would start randomly lighting, volume would go up and down, etc. I ended up back then solving the problem by having the unit repaired, which was supposedly a motherboard replacement.

Last night, it did it again. This time, I believe the problem was related to static. Doing some research between tasks, I’ve identified a number of solutions from the Toshiba support forums that make it clear this isn’t a motherboard problem — it is some form of confusion. So I decided to post this for my reference in case it happens again.

Solution #1: Full Reset (Ref: 139486)

With the battery and AC adapter removed, close the Power switch for half-a-minute.

Re-attach those, press the Power button to turn the computer on, and then immediately press the F2 key while the Toshiba logo is displayed. Press F9 to restore the BIOS default settings, press F10, and then select Yes (Exit Saving Changes). The computer will restart. (Additional references: 246082, 287373, 129321)

Solution #2: Reinstall TVAP (Ref: 326054)

Uninstall your TVAP (Toshiba Value Added Package) using Control Panel, Programs and Features. Restart computer. Download and reinstall TVAP found HERE.  Restart computer. (Additional references: 83067)

Solution #3: Update BIOS (Ref: Fixya)

The Toshiba Service Station shows two updates available, 2.20 and 2.30. v2.30 is optional; it supposedly fixes a problem where the system will auto wake when RTC wake is disabled. v2.20 is a recommended update that supposedly addresses the problem where the 12-cell battery won’t charge after an over-discharge.  Neither appear to address the touch bar. The installation instructions are:

1. Save all work in progress and close open applications.
2. Click Download, then click Install from the Toshiba Service Station.
3. Click Yes to confirm restarting after the installation completes.
4. Click Yes/Continue if a User Account Control Window is displayed.
5. After the update completes, the computer will automatically restart..
6. While the “Toshiba” LOGO is displayed, press the F2 function key to start BIOS Setup.
7. Check the version of BIOS and press the F9 function key then Enter to load setup defaults.
8. Press the F10 function key then Enter to save settings and exit. The computer will automatically reboot.

This entry was originally posted on Observations Along The Road (on cahighways.org) as this entry by cahwyguy. Although you can comment on DW, please make comments on original post at the Wordpress blog using the link below; you can sign in with your LJ, FB, or a myriad of other accounts. There are currently comments on the Wordpress blog. PS: If you see share buttons above, note that they do not work outside of the Wordpress blog.

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