Current technology had obviously left me far behind. I knew this. I have no idea how to use all the features on my cell phone. The idea of an iPod that plays movies is totally lost on me, "I can't read a book without two pairs of glasses, how the hell am I supposed to watch a movie on a 1 inch by 1 inch screen??" Thus, while almost everyone else in the world moved on with advances in home technology, I stayed happily where I was, in the world of the 80 gigs of computer memory, 8 gig iPods, an office without a fax machine and a land line phone (even though I mostly use my cell).
Elder members of my family would have considered me quite the "geek". There are a few elderly people who still don't have cell phones or computers, but with the passing of my father, that group is even more limited. Geeks, however, look at my cell phone and chortle things like "my god, it's the kind with screws! I didn't think there were any of those left." My cell phone was only 5 years old when it died for pete's sake. It's not like it was an antique. In geekdom, however, technology which is 4 years has hit "classic" status.
Replacing my old computer with this laptop, therefore, has been a really big deal for me. I started a new hobby. Rather, I wanted to start a new hobby. My old computer was failing and even in it's prime wouldn't have served my video editing well. In it's failing state, however, my old computer wouldn't even run the little "Windows Movie Maker" program it came with without freezing every 1 to 3 minutes. The little movie I made of Handsome a few posts ago, took about 8 hours spread over 3 days to get done because I was constantly losing information due to freezes and restarts. The last day of editing I was trying to beat the program to the draw by saving and exiting the program every 2 minutes. I'm not exaggerating.
By the time I replaced the old computer, it had one working USB port, it's cd/dvd wouldn't open, and it had lost 3/4 of it's RAM. I'd log onto the web and feel like I was back on dial up again. Even my email wouldn't open in less than 15 seconds. It was losing it's memory and all of it's abilities. As a friend of mine told me "Sounds like me". Yeah, me too, but let's please not go there.
Another place I really don't wish to go right now is the land of 4 years from now when my spiffy new laptop becomes "a classic". By then the geeks will laugh "Good god, I've never even seen a computer with only 4 gigs of RAM." and "Only 320 gigs of space on the hard drive!? Dang!" or "Dude! No solar panels, do you believe that?"
I was all excited about being able to do away with the rat's nest of cords that ran my old puter, and all the external peripherals I was using to replace all the things that puter wouldn't do anymore. "Hermione" only used two cords. Power and DSL. Bless her. Then our friends Barb and Sean came to dinner and Sean gave me an easy to understand tutorial on setting up a wireless network. I'm down to ONE cord now and can work without that for about 3 to 4 hours. Thus, as behind as I still am in technology, I'm giant leaps from where I was and I'm damned excited about that.
Perhaps if I can manage to save about 500.00 a year, in 4 years I'll be able to afford the 120 gigs of RAM, the 800 gigs of dedicated graphics memory, and the 10 bazillion gig hard drives, all run wirelessly via solar power that will surely be available next week. But, for now, all I need is a wireless, portable, coffee pot.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Thursday, November 27, 2008
An Evening In The Life
Sheesh, beware when clicking buttons to see what they do on a new computer. I just spent the last 5 minutes in Microsoft hell just because I clicked a button in the toolbar that LOOKED as if it was the full monty of an Office version of Word. NO. It wanted me to set up a trial version of Word. There went 5 minutes of time that I could have been typing from the comfort of my own soft bed.
You see. I have a new laptop. We’re in the middle of a horrible storm, complete with dime sized hail that soon made the entire desert look snowed upon. For the first time in my computing life, I didn’t have to shut down the computer and twiddle my thumbs for several hours until there was no longer a danger of power outages and power surges. I could still play solitaire. I could still play Diablo II, albeit in single player mode. Heck, I could pop a movie in the DVD player of the laptop and watch a movie if I so desired. But no. I decided I’d put my time to more creative uses and write a bit. I didn’t realize I’d spend 5 minutes of comfy, writing time trying to get the heck out of a set up program that doesn’t allow a person to exit until the final page where MS finally provides a CANCEL button. I also didn’t realize that on top of that 5 minute trip through set up hell that I’d feel compelled to spend another 5 minutes bitching about it.
Hell, the storm is over now and it’s getting damned hot in this bed. As Charlie Brown would say, “Good Grief.”
It’s Thanksgiving evening. I should never have waited this late in the week to clean house. I have at least one guest coming to dinner tomorrow when we have our traditional Thanksgiving with recognizable foods, in the country where we can sprawl outdoors. At least, I hope we can sprawl outdoors tomorrow. The weather has been fairly nasty for two days.
Anyway, I have to clean furniture, mop the floor, straighten the office, do dishes, dust, dump the litter box and cook a turkey, dressing, peas, rolls, mashed potatoes, and sweet potatoes. Oh. Also need to make iced-tea. Somewhere in all that time I also need to doctor the feet of the horses that have had to stand in sopping muddy stalls for two days. One of those horses already had a foot problem before his stall flooded. All in this life I want to do right now is sleep off the in-law family Thanksgiving dinner I ate this afternoon. Again, good grief.
------------
Well, that was entertaining. I went outside to invite a little fresh air inspiration and heard the otherwise “dry” wash not running, but roaring past. As I was registering that problem in my brain synapses, our neighbor Doug called, “Are you alright down there? I have 6 inches of water across everything up here.” These are not words I want to hear. Doug's property isn't adjacent to the main wash. I'm where everyone elses water runs AND I'm adjacent to where the main wash makes a 90 degree turn.
Now, John had been out to check the barn and the horses and the runoff situation just after the hail stopped. Everything was wet, there was hail in poor little Godric’s stall, the muck was just deeper in the two already wet stalls, but all the horses were dry. If the wash was running, it wasn’t running enough to be audible. The rain stopped, we went about our business, until I went back outside searching for inspiration. Be careful what you wish for.
After the call from Doug, I sent John out to check the wash. It’s topped the bank behind the back corner paddock and is pouring into Handsome’s playground. The only thing keeping two stalls in the back barn from flooding is the dip William dug to lead other people’s roof runoff floodwaters through the back of the property and out into the wash. I’m afraid I’m going to find not the usual three fence lines undermined in the morning, but rather multiple undermined areas in 4 lines of fencing.
Yanno, I’m thinking that when the housing market rebounds I’m going to plop a For Sale sign in the front yard and head for higher ground. This sucks Beavis. Next time anyone tells me how much we need rain I may spit in their eye.
John has gone down to Doug’s house to see if he can help down there. At this point, there is nothing anyone can do for us except loan us a few horse trailers to pull our hooved kids to higher ground. We’d sink any tractor we tried to get out there right now.
What I need is a damn dam damn it, one made of concrete. Yet again, good grief.
You see. I have a new laptop. We’re in the middle of a horrible storm, complete with dime sized hail that soon made the entire desert look snowed upon. For the first time in my computing life, I didn’t have to shut down the computer and twiddle my thumbs for several hours until there was no longer a danger of power outages and power surges. I could still play solitaire. I could still play Diablo II, albeit in single player mode. Heck, I could pop a movie in the DVD player of the laptop and watch a movie if I so desired. But no. I decided I’d put my time to more creative uses and write a bit. I didn’t realize I’d spend 5 minutes of comfy, writing time trying to get the heck out of a set up program that doesn’t allow a person to exit until the final page where MS finally provides a CANCEL button. I also didn’t realize that on top of that 5 minute trip through set up hell that I’d feel compelled to spend another 5 minutes bitching about it.
Hell, the storm is over now and it’s getting damned hot in this bed. As Charlie Brown would say, “Good Grief.”
It’s Thanksgiving evening. I should never have waited this late in the week to clean house. I have at least one guest coming to dinner tomorrow when we have our traditional Thanksgiving with recognizable foods, in the country where we can sprawl outdoors. At least, I hope we can sprawl outdoors tomorrow. The weather has been fairly nasty for two days.
Anyway, I have to clean furniture, mop the floor, straighten the office, do dishes, dust, dump the litter box and cook a turkey, dressing, peas, rolls, mashed potatoes, and sweet potatoes. Oh. Also need to make iced-tea. Somewhere in all that time I also need to doctor the feet of the horses that have had to stand in sopping muddy stalls for two days. One of those horses already had a foot problem before his stall flooded. All in this life I want to do right now is sleep off the in-law family Thanksgiving dinner I ate this afternoon. Again, good grief.
------------
Well, that was entertaining. I went outside to invite a little fresh air inspiration and heard the otherwise “dry” wash not running, but roaring past. As I was registering that problem in my brain synapses, our neighbor Doug called, “Are you alright down there? I have 6 inches of water across everything up here.” These are not words I want to hear. Doug's property isn't adjacent to the main wash. I'm where everyone elses water runs AND I'm adjacent to where the main wash makes a 90 degree turn.
Now, John had been out to check the barn and the horses and the runoff situation just after the hail stopped. Everything was wet, there was hail in poor little Godric’s stall, the muck was just deeper in the two already wet stalls, but all the horses were dry. If the wash was running, it wasn’t running enough to be audible. The rain stopped, we went about our business, until I went back outside searching for inspiration. Be careful what you wish for.
After the call from Doug, I sent John out to check the wash. It’s topped the bank behind the back corner paddock and is pouring into Handsome’s playground. The only thing keeping two stalls in the back barn from flooding is the dip William dug to lead other people’s roof runoff floodwaters through the back of the property and out into the wash. I’m afraid I’m going to find not the usual three fence lines undermined in the morning, but rather multiple undermined areas in 4 lines of fencing.
Yanno, I’m thinking that when the housing market rebounds I’m going to plop a For Sale sign in the front yard and head for higher ground. This sucks Beavis. Next time anyone tells me how much we need rain I may spit in their eye.
John has gone down to Doug’s house to see if he can help down there. At this point, there is nothing anyone can do for us except loan us a few horse trailers to pull our hooved kids to higher ground. We’d sink any tractor we tried to get out there right now.
What I need is a damn dam damn it, one made of concrete. Yet again, good grief.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Could this week get any better??!!
Congratulations 2008 PBR
World Champion
Guilherme Marchi!!
(we shook his hand!)
A good man, a good husband, a good father, a great bull rider, and with immeasurable quantities of loyalty and sportsmanship, you have always been a Champion to your friends, colleagues, family and fans.
(did I mention that we shook his hand?!)
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
YES WE CAN!
We thought we could we thought we could we thought we could and by damned
YES WE CAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
more later when I can write about this without choking up from
the sheer joy, relief, pride and HOPE.
"Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last! Even Muggles like yourself should be celebrating, this happy, happy day!"
JK Rowling, from Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone
(Jo? WE DID IT!)
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