Sure enough, here's the answer. Microsoft Update Kills Zone Alarm.

http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/07/09/microsoft-update-kills

I suspect this one will be dealt with relatively quickly, since the number of ZA users is prodigious.

The latest Windows update (7/8; I have Windows XP) apparently kills my internet connection. Update loaded automatically; I restarted the computer. Internet gone. Reset the machine several times, no joy. Did a system restore, for (taking it back t o7/6), and internet works fine. Updated Windows again. Internet comes up dead as a doornail. Repeated the process two more times with the exact same results. Finally, I turned off auto updates and left it that way. Anyone else, particularly XP users, having internet troubles after the latest Windows update?

Nice. Could make for a cool location shoot...

Many years ago, I drew up blueprints for my ideal DS-inspired mansion -- based more on Lyndhurst than Seaview -- but I'll be in my third or fourth reincarnation before I could afford such a thing. Damned thing is, I can't find them anymore. I'm pretty sure I tucked them into a bin and stowed them somewhere in the vault -- but it may be my third or fourth reincarnation before I dig far enough in there to find them again.

MB -- I agree completely with the sentiment; just thought it was semi-amusing in context. 

I tell you, all these years later, those people at the agency are still sitting on my application to be governed by said governess, and I haven't heard diddly. What's up with that?

I tend to like Burton's movies well enough, but now and again, he really puts out a stinker -- PLANET OF THE APES coming foremost to mind. Unmitigated crap, other than the visual effects. I'm still leery of him helming a DS movie, though, as even his better efforts aren't known for the subtle hand I think would work best for DS. And I can't help but foresee way too much CGI for my liking. Judgment must be reserved, however; can't criticize something that's barely hit the drawing board.

I never disliked NoDS, but neither was I particularly taken with it until I watched it again in the mid 90s after having not seen it for several years. At that point, I realized it’s a hell of a good ghost story, its myriad flaws notwithstanding. After reading the full script and seeing how badly it was butchered at the last minute, I’m quite convinced that, fully restored, it would be a true classic movie of the supernatural. The studio execs who forced DC to trim it ought to have been hanged. (Figuratively speaking, of course.)

The fact the characters were quite different from their TV counterparts is jarring to some (apparently even after all these years), but to me a refreshing change. While the mains weren’t necessarily “likeable” in the usual sense, I had no issues at all with how they were portrayed. NoDS also contains what I consider one of the creepiest filmic moments ever -- the penultimate scene in Collinwood, when Quentin is inside alone, and -- in a long shot facing down the hall beyond the gallery -- the door opens. That gets me every time.

Thanks, y'all, for the nice birthday wishes! It's been a wonderful day -- mostly hiking in the woods, physically exhausting myself, and drinking beer for afters.

Patti -- There is to be no fun here, period. Don't forget that.