The Hobbit Hole III - Journey to the Cross-roads!

[HairOfTheDog]

Welcome to The Hobbit Hole!

Journey to the Cross-roads
The Two Towers Edition

Come on! Come in! -if you would like to have some seedcakes and a pint and relax a while. (If it is a special occasion, we still have a few bottles of the old wineyards left!)

Our first thread ( New Zealander builds Hobbit hole ) reached 4,100 posts, and we thought that was big. Our second thread (The New Hobbit Hole ) held us for over 48,000 posts, and we loved it dearly. We talked about moving to a new thread for the last 38,000 posts, but we are really slow to muster! Finally, the time has come. Tomorrow (at 12:01 am, to be precise!) The Two Towers comes out, and we start a new chapter.

[Corin Stormhands]

For instance, the new game could have installed a newer version of Direct-X with which your older games may not be compatible.

That may be it. The new game ("Stanley Tiger Tales" from Playhouse Disney) had DirectX 8.0a included. My other game ("Roller Coaster Tycoon: Loopy Landscapes") has 5.0. I saw that when comparing the boxes.

BUT, the message I received was "Error raised access: Location unknown" and the RollerCoaster Tycoon website has a patch to fix that. But I have to uninstall, etc. to get there. I'm not going to fool with it tonite. But I'll try that and get back to you guys. Thanks.

I think the other one just locked up on me. It's an older version of a Disney game and was running okay. Most likely cause there was a 3-year-old controlling the mouse.

G'nite guys. See you tomorrow.

[HairOfTheDog]

If none of that works, just try wrapping it in plastic and duct tape it.

[Corin Stormhands]

For instance, the new game could have installed a newer version of Direct-X with which your older games may not be compatible.

That may be it. The new game ("Stanley Tiger Tales" from Playhouse Disney) had DirectX 8.0a included. My other game ("Roller Coaster Tycoon: Loopy Landscapes") has 5.0. I saw that when comparing the boxes.

BUT, the message I received was "Error raised access: Location unknown" and the RollerCoaster Tycoon website has a patch to fix that. But I have to uninstall, etc. to get there. I'm not going to fool with it tonite. But I'll try that and get back to you guys. Thanks.

I think the other one just locked up on me. It's an older version of a Disney game and was running okay. Most likely cause there was a 3-year-old controlling the mouse.

G'nite guys. See you tomorrow.

[Bear_in_RoseBear]

Heh heh, giving geeks computers to fix?

[Corin Stormhands]

Sorry, shoulda pinged you to one of those posts above.

[Bear_in_RoseBear]

Whoa, how'd you do that??

[My back yard]

Wanna let's talk about Boromir and Frodo? I'm watching FOTR for th one hundred and eleventieth time, and I have a need to reflect on some of my speculations about their characters..and speculate on some of my reflections on Boromir too. ;)

I've always been very saddened at the thought of the happy innocent boy Frodo being called to such a heavily burdened task, and the turn his life takes forever. The truly saddest over-all message in the movies. He gives up life as he knows it, and happiness as he will ever know it, in order to secure and protect the happiness and lives of the many.

I don't see Boromir and Frodo as so different.

What has Boromir given up? I don't recall it being elaborated on in the books, but where are his wife and children? Correct me if I am wrong on this. Wouldn't surprise me at all. But, I don't recall he has any. I do remember that there aren't many children in Gondor, anymore.

Was Boromir overcome by greed and want of power like Grima Wormtongue? I don't think so. All of his life was spent battling valiantly in a hopeless effort to protect the innocent from goblins and orcs.

Look at how he died; one of the most tear-jerking scenes ever filmed IMO -- the music, the valor, the reaching arms and stony face of ancient history standing silently by, almost in a gesture to beg forgiveness? He died, not trying to save the ring or the ring-bearer, but to save the lives of two seemingly insignificant hobbits.

Why would the son of Gondor give himself up to that fate? What causes such a man to completely lose faith?

He spent months with Merry and Pippin on the journey to Mordor, teaching them how to carry a sword and how to use it effectively; a skill they will come to need desperately soon. When in the mines of Moria the bridges started to shake, he grabbed up and jumped across with Merry and Pippin instead of Frodo - and the ring. After Moria, when the two hobbits had fallen on the snow in tears for Gandalf, he begs to Aragorn for them, for pity's sake.

As I watch the movie I think I know. They are like children to him. In his mind they become like sons to him. Maybe they are like the only sons he never had? Or maybe sons he had were killed by an orc raid?

Before I would dare
To judge such despair
I would look for the seeping
For children are weeping and evil is creeping
And wonder from where

How many children has Boromir lost to those orc raids on Gondor? How many has he seen butchered? Does he know first-hand the sad fate of hobbits and children who are taken by raiding orcs -- for their legs, because they don't need those to stay alive? I wonder how an orc knows that?

It was surely in those gruesome cracks that the evil of the ring was able to seep-in to corrupt him. Not through greed or lust for power.

All of the good guys in the LOTR are honorable, and brave, and have given up something to the needs of the many. But, particularly, the characters of Frodo and Boromir have suffered the sad times and the evil corruption of the ring, and so are, to me, the saddest. I can hope that Frodo finds some happiness wherever he sails. But, for Boromir, those times of rolling on the grass and 'roughhousing' with Merry and Pippin, I speculate, were some of his best.

[300winmag]

I'm running a Packard Bell "Legend II" (piece of crap) which says its comparable to a Pentium II processor. We KNOW we need to upgrade...

Along with the other good advice you've received, check to see how much memory you have. In today's world, 128MB is too skinny, and 256MB is only "adequate".

If the machine's really old, RAM may be hard to find because it's an older style. But you should be able to find used RAM on half.com and elsewhere. And it will still be cheap.

RAM is the cheapest upgrade you can give your computer. It usually solves a lot of problems.

[HairOfTheDog]

Great heady post for a late night, MBY! Good food for morning thought! - I have said a lot about Boromir in the past, let me think about him again with your post in mind! - Pints have made me sleepy tonight, and I am about to turn in.

[My back yard]

Sure wish I had a pint. My worst week of work is over, and I wish to relax and celebrate. Maybe I'll go get one from the ice house. Sleep well.

[SuziQ]

Awesome thoughts MBY. I always liked Boromir, and agree with your ideas 100%! He is one of those tragic hero figures we see in Ancient Myths, which is what LoTR ultimately is!

[My back yard]

Ancient Myths, which is what LoTR ultimately is!

A vague-eyed glance and

"Myth? What?"

lol

[Ramius]

Hey there...

Well, yes, it is quite possible for new software (especially games, and for some reason especially Disney) to mess with video drivers and render computers unusable at worst and other games unplayable at best.

I don't know of anything about that game specifically but I've heard of other Disney games that have goobered up video cards and drivers before. A good place to start would be support.microsoft.com and search the knowledgebase for references to that game, and fixes for whatever operating system you are running.

Also check the web sites for the game maker and the video card maker (nVidia? Diamond?) for any references to known issues with that particular game.

If you are running:

Win95: If the computer is still runnng, package it up and send it to the Pope. You may be qualified for a verifiable miracle.

Win98: If it isn't the Second Edition, see win95.

WinME: hehehe... you're kidding, right? Are you saying it ever actually booted? Yeah, right...

WinNT4: Huge driver issues, but once it runs it is really hard to kill.

Win2K: See NT4, but fewer driver issues.

WinXP: Just do it. XP is the single most solid product in the history of computing.

...

[Corin Stormhands]

Thanks for the help guys.

Yes, I'm running Windows98. Yes I need an upgrade. Yes, I'm waiting for my numbers to hit the lottery...

I thought I was careful buying the new game, since I know I'm limited here.

BUT, I went ahead and got the patch from the RollerCoasterTycoon website. That seems to have fixed things. I don't know if it was the new Disney software that messed it up. But it appears to be fixed...for now.

Appreciate the advice. Once I get Jr. a Mac (he needs it for film editing), the Mrs. a laptop (she needs it for school), I'll get to get myself a new PC. And I'll be back to ask you guys what I should be buying.

(any suggestions on where to get the money would also be appreciated)

[Corin Stormhands]

Happy Valentines Day!

[Lil'freeper]

Happy Valentines Day to you as well!

Our NBC team (nuclear biological chemical effects) gave a nice seminar yesterday on civil preparedness for NBC attacks. It will take a few minutes to get it typed, but I'll post a summary this morning.

[Overtaxed]

I have some 72-pin SIMM modules (can't remember if they're 16MB or 32MB)and an Evergreen Processor upgrade kit (450) that I'm not using.

[Overtaxed]

Our NBC team (nuclear biological chemical effects) gave a nice seminar yesterday on civil preparedness for NBC attacks.

Forget the NBC attacks....we're supposed to have freezing rain and sleet all day Sunday

[RosieCotton]

I'll be there, AND be square! LOL

You guys are making me jealous! I have a hot date with my mandolin (Friday night jam), but I'll check in when I get home and see if you're still around!

[osagebowman]

MBY: Very good posting, things that make you go hmmmm. Had not thought about it that way at all. Since I'm now rereading LOTR along with the Atlas, I'll keep that view in mind.