Happiness is.....

your hard drive dying..........NOT.

I can't believe it. My computer is not that old either. I can't blame it on any particular manufacturer because I have my systems built for me (clones). I've had very good luck doing it this way....but not this time. My hard drive won't even spin and that's a horrible feeling. My computer guy said something about putting it in the freezer if the bearing will work. Sorry....all Greek to me. He will try to save my data but I'm not optimistic this time.

I have become dependent on the computerized lifestyle.....something I always said I would never do. But I now do all my bills and banking online except for a couple who do not participate in online billing. I do back up my system but I've been having problems since June and that's the last time I backed it up. Of course its better than no backup at all....if it actually does work and its not corrupted or something. The troubles I was having with it was not with the hard drive, it was with my internet connection.....which turned out to be my router. My computer guy has car trouble so he can't come and pick it up until this coming Saturday. Right now is the time of the month that I schedule my bills. Thank goodness I did some of them before the frying of the hard drive took place.

So I ordered a laptop. I have to be able to get to the Internet. I guess it will be here in about a week....about the same time my old one goes out the door for repair. I have never used a laptop and something tells me that I'm in for quite an adventure. I searched online for hours and hours looking at different brands with oh-so-many different features. I settled on a Toshiba 17" screen because the reviews on it were awesome and the price was lower than most of the others.

I have a very old computer that the kids use when they are here and that's what I'm using now. Amazing how its still hanging in there........oops....did I say that outloud? Well, its true.....it just seems like the newer things are not built to hold up near as long as the older stuff. Its part of an evil plot to keep us buying new computers once we're addicted and dependent. Well, wish me luck that this old one holds up. It doesn't recognize the keyboard half the time and using the on-screen keyboard is a real pain in the patootie....trust me.

Anyone have any good advice on things I should know using a laptop.....or notebook I guess its called. I'm hoping it will last me for a while....and yes, I did buy insurance on it.

Its so good when things work like they're supposed to.....

My computer is up and running and is so fast. The programs that I use on a regular basis have installed flawlessly. My bookmarks and passwords have imported into the browser just like they are supposed to and they actually all work! I just can't help bragging even if I may jinx the whole thing. I really NEEDED things to work right.

I still have a few things to incorporate and I need to set up my backup system yet.....but so far, so good. Even the online brain teaser games I play work.

I reinstalled the little weather program that I've used for quite a while and my virus program jerked itself up out of the system tray, stood on a box and literally screamed NO at me. It says there's a trojan in there and I'm disappointed because I like the program, but I'm not taking any chances. Recently the program had to be redone, according to the author, because of changes the weather channel made to its site. Maybe he did something odd...or maybe my virus scanner is having hot flashes....not sure but I'm listening to it. I don't need any more problems.

This afternoon the power went out at work. We have a huge generator which immediately kicked on so we barely knew the difference but having all the offices open and working is a drain on the system, which has to be up and running because of the police department that is in the same building. The traffic on the 5-lane highway out front was bumper to bumper because the traffic signals were no longer working. Then we found out that the outage was extremely wide-spread....at least an 8 mile stretch of the highway and areas surrounding it. Something to do with a transformer that had a domino affect and other transformers went out too. After an hour of being on the generator we found out that service would not be restored until after 11 pm this evening. We were all told to shut down our workstations and go home. It was only an hour and a half early....but great that it happened on a Friday night! To avoid the traffic mess, I took the back way home...which is all gravel roads through the farm route. I take this route frequently when I just need to unwind....no traffic lights and plenty of horses and rolling pastures as well as some areas of deep, thick woods. Very pretty. The rain even stopped for my commute home. Anyway, I was glad to pull into my driveway tonight.

Today is cold and rainy. Its only 60 right now and I swear it feels like Fall already. Its a good night to cuddle with a book.......or maybe play a computer game now that I can.

One step forward 2 steps back.....

I'm done. I concede. Its gotten the best of me. UNCLE. I just get one thing to work and then two more don't work So I'm getting my computer guy back out here.....he can't come until Thursday....and we will reformat the hard drive and I'll start clean. I will have to reinstall everything, but the end result will be that I'll have a system in which everything will WORK.

Lesson learned. If something sounds too good to be true.....be vewy vewy careful...to quote a certain little guy that had problems with a wascally wabbit. PC Mover, I think, is great for moving data files, photos and music....but NOT programs....at least not from one operating system to another. And with a flashdrive, you can move those files yourself without much trouble at all. So I'm saving all my bookmarks and passwords and hopefully my new system will be able to import them into the new installation of my browser. If not....I have them all written down and will just have to put them in manually. Arghhhhh. its never easy.

Hope your weekend was a good one. I'm gonna love this computer when I get it customized to my liking. Hope it gives me as good of service as my last one has....and is still doing....bless its little hard drive heart.

I can't believe that in the third week of August....our high yesterday was the middle 60's with periods of rain. Today is a repeat. Its 64 right now. All this coming week is going to be chilly. I still say that summer forgot about us in Michigan this year. She got stuck up in the Pacific Northwest. My SIL just hated all that heat, which they aren't used to.

I feel like I'm in a maze.....

....just wandering aimlessly, bumping into walls. I think my computer guy felt compassion for me....maybe because of the sorrowful look on my face....but he did come back on Wednesday to fine tune things. He spent quite a bit of time and when he left everything worked. I was at least intelligent enough to log on and pay my bills that will be coming due the first part of next week. I also got my bank statement so I can do my mid-month balance. I don't think it was more than a couple hours later I uninstalled a program using Add/Remove Programs and when it asked for a reboot....the computer did the same DANG thing. I just laid my head down on the desk and went to my happy place for a while.

I once more used my old trusty workhorse in the den and emailed him. He said he will be back on Saturday. I'm beginning to think that its not such a good idea to move all the programs and so we are not going to do that this time. I am only moving the ones that I use every day, which should only take 30 minutes or so.....this would include my camera and printer settings, not to mention all my bookmarks and passwords. No wonder computers intimidate me so much....they just decide to act up for no apparent reason that we can see. Even my computer guy couldn't figure out why its doing this.....but moving the programs may have something to do with it. I will let you know and I may have to retract my earlier recommendation.

Computers....gotta love em.....and a thank you.

I have spent so many hours and hours in front of a computer monitor that I see it in my sleep. My workplace is putting something new into effect....using PDF files. Now, I'm a long-time word processor user...first it was WordPerfect and for the past 10 years its been Word. With all that use, you become proficient and settle into a comfy little niche. Then they put something new in front of your face.

Does anyone know anything about PDF files that could help us understand them more. To me its like a graphic image on the paper that you cannot edit without special software. The special software will be coming to us in the next few months when everything else is all in place. The one thing bad about employers is that when they implement something new, they expect you to be all versed on it and able to perform within say......15 minutes. My co-worker and I are trying to get a head start on it all. She knows just about everything at work but she's not the best when it comes to computers if its something that ventures out of the normal range of just typing. That's where I come in. I know a bit more about computers and will work on something forever in order to master it. She leaves it to me to figure it out and then teach her....at least when it comes to computing.

I've never had to use PDF files before and am puzzled by them. You can incorporate them in Word but you have to hold your breath and say a couple prayers first for patience. This is what I've been working on for the past week or so. I think we finally have it mastered and I'm sure we've gone about it the most difficult way....but at least its done. I can't say that it looks well incorporated within a Word document.....I'm not totally pleased with it but for the time being, it will have to do. If anyone has worked with these files and can give me some hints, it would be appreciated.

Is it any wonder that I had an eye doctor's appointment in the middle of all this. The exam turned out pretty well and my eyes haven't changed much at all. I wear contact lenses and love them. I've been wearing contacts since 1961 and can't rave about them enough. They had to dilate my eyes while there and I spent the next 8 hours with hampered vision. I hate that feeling. Of course when I got home, a box was waiting for me and it was my new printer. My old workhorse finally gave it up after 12 years of VERY dedicated work for me. I naturally stuck with the same company and was fortunate that they were having a wonderful sale. I got this printer for almost half off the regular price. I was anxious to unpack everything and get it up and running but I couldn't see well enough and had to postpone it. That is what I'm going to tackle today. I just hope and pray everything thats supposed to be in the box really IS in the box. You know how that goes. I did notice right off the bat that the instruction manual is not included in the box. Apparently if you desire such a thing, you have to download and print it off yourself (only 218 pages). What's up with that? I guess its a ploy to get you to use more ink. I'm not going to print it off unless I can't find what I want by looking at it online....in its PDF file format.

I will end this post by relaying a message from my daughter to all of you who had such kind and encouraging comments for her. She said that during the first night of her class in Drug and Alcohol Abuse she felt your presence there with her. She, of course, had to be tested before entering the class and her test was, of course, negative. She tried to get something positive out of the class even though it really didn't pertain to her as she does not partake of alcohol or non-prescribed drugs. Afterward she sat in her car in the parking lot and cried. Tears of relief that one session of one class out of three was finished and prayed for strength to manage the rest of the sessions. The instructor had informed the class that "passing" this particular class could take as long as 9 months...if you continued to be in denial about your problem. She worried....how to deal with this. She doesn't have the problem but they surely will interpret that as DENIAL of her problem....how can she fake it and pretend to have the problem and then pretend to be getting better. It made her head hurt to think of it. The following week, she went through the same process for this same class and, again, felt the strength coming from all of you. Within 3 days, she received a letter (divine intervention?) stating that she would no longer have to take this class and they would be transferring her into another class, which is Anger Management. Someone is finally paying attention and recognized that she did not belong there. So, she will take the Anger Management and attempt to come away with something positive out of it. There isn't a person anywhere that can't take a few tips on how to manage your anger every now and then. She sends a sincere thank you to all of you. We can get through this. We WILL get through this. Bless you all.