Happy Independence Day Silicon Valley and the Bay Area!
Have a safe and happy 4th!
Get a call from 800-847-4084?
Did you receive a call from 800-847-4084? Have you bought anything from Dell recently?
Well this is their automated robo call system trying to sell you an extended warranty. Don’t buy it. It’s just a profit machine for Dell. If you pick up when 800-847-4084 calls, there will be a delay while the call is routed to a call center operator’s phone. Then you’ve just given them a chance to try their pitch on you. Most companies have ceased this practice as it is very annoying and off-putting to customers. But in the dying days of PC hardware sales, cold call selling is probably still going to prop up the bottom line until the inevitable demise of the standard computer hardware model.
Audio not working on PC with driver installed
So you have the frustrating problem of “Audio not configured” messages and no sound even though you know you have audio devices connected to your PC. The problem may be in your BIOS settings.
If you have the “X” symbol over the speaker icon on the system tray (not the circle with the line through it that shows when audio is on mute) and your audio refuses to work, even after re-installing the audio drivers and checking the connections to your devices, your audio may be disabled.
There are 2 main BIOS settings that can disable your computer’s audio capability. Your BIOS may vary, this example works on many different HP computers.
Here’s how to fix your PC audio problem in the BIOS:
1) Using the F10 or ESC key to get into your BIOS setup, tab with the arrow keys to Advanced –> Device Options –> Internal Speaker. You may see it listed as “Disabled”, tab to enabled and apply the setting. (again your particular BIOS settings may vary)
2) While remaining in the BIOS setup, arrow over to Security –> Device Security –> System Audio. The audio device may be listed as “Device Hidden” If so, change the setting to “Device Available”.
Some BIOS versions give the ability to disable or enable individual audio jacks such as the front and back jacks found on a PC tower.
Rare summer rain hits Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley and the Bay Area are experiencing a rare summer rain event. Though not likely to drop much appreciable rain, any rain is welcome here after an extremely dry winter.
SuperMoon hovers over SiliconCali
The supermoon is currently hovering over SiliconCali, brightening the skies and making people crazier. Have you seen it?
Hopaggedon Time
Now that the Zombie Apocalypse is upon us, (well at least a movie about it), it’s time to break out Napa Smith Brewery’s Hopageddon. This hoppy masterpeice goes down smooth and doesn’t have any of the bitterness associated with some hoppy brews.
13 days until Fedora 19 release
Fedora 19’s final release date is set for 13 days from now on July 2nd. Fedora 19 will offer support for 3D printing, BIND 10, GLIBC 2.17, PHP 5.5 and many other improvements and updates. Many of the updates to Fedora 19 or “Schrödinger’s Cat” will be incorporated into Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 (RHEL 7) to be released in the second half of 2013.
Update: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 was finally released on June 10th 2014. Read the Red Hat press release on RHEL 7 here.
Baja Fresh evicted and Jersey Mike’s Subs opens in Rivermark Santa Clara
Baja Fresh, the fast casual Mexican style eatery, closed down and is emptied of furniture at the Rivermark Santa Clara location. There is an eviction notice on the door dated June 11, 2013.
No word yet on what will replace Baja Fresh at Rivermark in Santa Clara, perhaps a Chipotle?
Update September 2013:
Yes, a Chipotle is moving in to the old Baja Fresh location at Rivermark. According to the banner “burritoification” is in progress. The old Baja Fresh interior has been completely ripped out and the Chipotle interior is being built from the ground up.
Update November 2013:
Burritofication is nearly complete. Chipotle’s Rivermark location is set for Thursday December 5th. See you there!
Across from the empty shell of Baja Fresh is the brand new Jersey Mike’s Subs.
Jersey Mike’s #43 Chipotle Cheese Steak can be had with steak or chicken, but if there’s chicken on your cheese steak sandwich, it’s not a cheese steak! It comes with grilled onions, peppers and chipotle mayo for a little kick.
And one other big change to the Rivermark Village, McDonald’s restaurant #26095 stopped serving soft serve ice cream cones and hot fudge sundaes. Their soft serve machine is gone. Is this a larger trend or just a one off for this particular McDonald’s location?
Rivermark Restaurant Update September 2013:
Chipotle is moving in to the space of the former Baja Fresh location in Rivermark Santa Clara. Interior consruction is ongoing.
And McDonald’s location #26095 is now closed! No reason was given and the only notification was a handwritten sign that just says “CLOSED”.
Quick trip to Portland, Oregon
Portland Oregon is just a short hop of a flight from Silicon Valley’s airport of SJC. Southwest has regular flights from SJC to PDX and Virgin America has direct flights from SFO to PDX.
There is much to see and do while in Portland and the town is so walk-able that no rental car is needed unless you want to venture further from town. Just take the TriMet MAX Red Line light rail train from the airport to your downtown hotel and you’re ready to explore.
Downtown Portland is full of great food, coffee and beer as well at tax free shopping.
Famous for the long standing food truck scene, Portland has many to offer.
Thai Basil is one of the few food trucks that may be open on Sunday.
One of the excellent coffee shops to try in PDX is Stumptown Coffee Roasters.
Of the many breweries in Portland, Deschutes Brewery has some of the best brews as well as excellent food.
When the sun rises on your last day in Portland, you’ll wish you had more time to explore and taste what this Pacific Northwest town has to offer.
While you’re at the PDX airport, you can pick up some Ripstop Rye Pils from Base Camp Brewery at the Made in Oregon store once you’re past security. Ripstop Rye Pils comes in an aluminum bottle reminiscent of an MSR fuel bottle. 
These bottles are ruggedly designed for camping, so they should do fine in your carry on bag.
Did you feel it? Earthquake rattles Silicon Valley
A magnitude 3.5 earthquake caused some mild shaking in the East San Jose foothills. The quake was centered 6 km deep underground and occurred at 10:12 PM local time.
