This Celebration Will be Short-Lived!

            Boy, it has been difficult trying to decide what to blog about.

            That’s because I try to avoid political topics but at the same time want to scream with utter delight that our state’s  (South Carolina's) presidential primary is past, i.e. the phone calls and television ads are gone.

            For a while, any way.

            Oh, yes, they will be back.  I don’t know exactly when they will start again.  Perhaps August.  More likely we’ll be flooded starting in September and going through the November election.

            Having the primary over with makes it awfully appropriate that we’re in the midst of “National Clean Out Your Inbox Week.”

            You see, the political infiltration didn’t stop with phone calls and TV ads; the candidates and/or their campaigns and representatives filled our computer’s inboxes. 

Many of us were notified every time a local “anybody” endorsed a candidate.  We got e-mail to let us know where candidates were speaking and eating – and shaking hands and riding their buses and caravans, when their spouses were joining them or where the spouses would be speaking.

This week also just happens to be “No Name Calling Week.”  Boy, we could have used that last week or the whole last month or even always and forever.

Since I’m always so intrigued by these off-the-wall observances, I guess it’s only appropriate to point out that Sunday is “Curmudgeons Day.”  The Free Dictionary (online) defines a curmudgeon as “an ill-tempered person full of resentment and stubborn notions.” 

The way campaigns are run these days, the way so many politicians bellow out about other politicians, the phone calls, the e-mails – these all seem to turn me into a curmudgeon.

Maybe that’s why I think another special observance this week is fitting when talking about politics. 

Friday is “Thomas Crapper Day” – and I’ll make no other comment about that.

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PS -- Make no mistake about it; I love our country and I still think we are fortunate to have the right to vote.  Still, I'm somewhat of a curmudgeon with the political atmosphere as it is.

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Can't Blondes Have Fun -- AND Be Smart?

Some folks are so prejudiced against blondes. Have you noticed?  People make fun of blondes and act like blondes can’t be intelligent or even somewhat smart.
Society frowns on jokes showing prejudices – except when it comes to blondes. It’s not politically correct to tell stories and jokes about religion, sex, ethnicity, age or color, unless, of course, that color is blonde.

I’m here to defend blondes. I am blonde. Or at least I was the last time I saw my roots. Sure, the color is a very dirty, dishwater, almost brown-and-mostly-gray blonde, but it is a blonde of sorts.

Okay, so it's many sorts of blonde. There’s quite a variety of colors and shades in that mixture now.

But back to my original point. Why do so many people think blondes can’t be smart? There are blonde scientists, teachers, lawyers, engineers, authors, doctors, etc.

I’m blonde. I can read and write. I’ve got a law degree. I know how to use a computer. Except when the computer is malfunctioning.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not savvy enough to figure out how to fix any kind of problem if the computer is on the blink, and, recently, my computer was, in fact, on the blink. It totally blinked out.

The manufacturer sent a box for me to use to return the computer and said it might take up to two weeks to repair. Two weeks? I’m lost without a computer. How in the world would I survive for two weeks?

Nevertheless, I dropped off the computer at the designated shipping place and inside the designated shipping box.

Less than 48 hours later, it was there on our doorstep!

That’s because I had shipped it right back to myself!!!!

Now, why is it that some folks think blondes aren’t so smart?



Sherry at the computer!



The Geek and The Piano

If I never play the piano again, it’s my husband’s fault.


I’ll try to explain.

The Duppster – he’s my hubby – is a wonderful, wonderful person.

And, it’s not that he doesn’t like music; he does. He played a couple of instruments in high school and he sings well. It’s also not that he doesn’t like my piano-playing; he says he does.



But, see, he’s a geek. He’s a computer wizard. I don’t even know what all he does at work because it’s way over my level of comprehension when it comes to computers and technology.

Lately, I’ve been having atrocious problems with my laptop. The screen keeps fading - slowly, slowly – ‘til just about everything disappears. I can’t find the mouse. Words disappear. Pages disappear. Finally, the screen goes gray or hazy.

I tried rebooting. That worked for a few minutes. Then the process started all over again. At first this happened once or twice a day. It soon escalated to about once an hour.

Now, it tends to happen about every minute or so, and it’s doggone inconvenient.

So, I thought, what better person to ask than The Duppster. Like I said, Dupp is a geek.

I asked.

You’ll never guess what advice he gave.

With all of his experience and education, he gave a three-word solution: “Just hit it.”

“Do what?” I asked.

And again he said, “Just hit it.”

I did, and the screen cleared up immediately.

The problem is that, while hitting the computer makes the screen reappear clearly, it doesn’t solve the problem. The screen still starts fading about every minute or so.

And, based on the advice of my own special geek, I keep hitting it. And hitting. And hitting.

That, my friends, is why I may never play the piano again. I think my hands are getting permanently bruised and battered.




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How Did You Meet Your Toad, Er, I Mean Mate?

How did you meet your true love?

If your match-making efforts occurred decades ago, they probably weren’t through a site like eHarmony or match.com, were they?

These days, more and more people are turning to on-line opportunities to meet potential companions. This is especially true for those who are on the second-time around (or third or fourth) and for those who are, um, “older.”

People over 40 or 50 are in a quandary:

1. We’ve forgotten what it was like to date.

2. What “rules” we happen to remember no longer apply.

3. There aren’t many places to go to meet potential “candidates” of a similar age.

4. Most of us aren’t interested in playing games that many younger folks play.

5. If we wanted to play, we probably wouldn’t even know how.

6. For what reason would anyone feign innocence at such an age as ours?

7. Most places for socializing don’t even open until past our bedtimes.

Some people frown on the on-line meeting and dating process. I understand that. I’ve tried three different sites – and have met some unusual inhabitants of this planet. At least, I think they were all from this planet, although it was questionable in one or two cases.

During these adventures, I’ve had some bad experiences as well as some good ones. And, thank goodness, I’m still alive to write about them.

Initially, it’s impossible to know how truthful people are being about themselves. It’s always important to play it safe.

One woman said, “You have to kiss a lot of toads to find your prince.”

That, my friend, is usually true whether you’re looking on-line for a partner or through more traditional methods. In the meantime, just try to avoid the warts.

God.com

The following was forwarded to me, and I thought it was worth sharing.

TO: God.Com  (God-dot-com)

Every single evening

As I'm lying here in bed,

This tiny little prayer

Keeps running through my head:

God, bless all my family

Wherever they may be,

Keep them warm And safe from harm

For they're so close to me.

And, God, there is one more thing

I wish that you could do;

Hope you don't mind me asking,

Please bless my computer, too.

Now I know that it's unusual

To bless a motherboard,

But listen just a second

While I explain it to you, Lord.

You see, that little metal box

Holds more than odds and ends;

Inside those small compartments

Rest so many of my friends.

I know so much about them

By the kindness that they give,

And this little scrap of metal

Takes me in to where they live.

By faith is how I know them

Much the same as you.
We share in what life brings us
And from that our friendships grew.

Please take an extra minute

From your duties up above,

To bless those in my address book

That's filled with so much love.

Wherever else this prayer may reach

To each and every friend,

Bless each e-mail inbox

And each person who hits 'send'.

When you update your Heavenly list

On your own Great CD-ROM,

Bless everyone who says this prayer

Sent up to GOD.Com

PH: Murphy Moved In - and There Are Pictures to Prove It!

Murphy moved in last week.

Well, it wasn’t a person named Murphy; instead, it was Murphy’s Law.

The theme for this week's Photo Hunt in blogland was -- well, there wasn't a theme.  It was a "free" week in which anything goes.  I had my own theme this week: nothing goes, and that's where Murphy comes in.

It was Thursday; the final extension for filing income taxes was up – as of midnight. Close to lunch time, the CPA’s office e-mailed the two signature sheets for me to open, print, sign, scan and then return to them for electronic filing.

When the e-mail arrived, I was in the middle of printing 20 sets of song sheets for use that night where I was providing piano music. With 16 of the 20 sets printed, the printer ran out of black ink – totally!!! I thought I had spare cartridges stored somewhere, but Murphy must have moved them.

With the warning about no ink staring at me on the computer screen, I looked at the time. It was around 1:30. My piano engagement was to start at 5 pm.

I left hurriedly to purchase more cartridges. With this taken care of, I returned to the printer, installed the black cartridge, went to the computer and hit the button to restart the printing.

Nothing happened. Absolutely nothing.

I checked the printer, the computer, the wireless router. Even made certain I was holding my mouth right! Still nothing.

Finally, something clicked. I printed out the two signature sheets from the CPA, then tried to continue with the last few sets of song sheets. Again, nothing happened.

Since I had printed the signature sheets, I signed where indicated, then set the all-in-one printer to “scan.” It made a noise but didn’t scan. I tried and tried. Finally – and I really mean finally - both scanned as pictures rather than as documents.

But they wouldn’t scan to the computer. Instead, they scanned to a “jump drive” or USB removable storage disk. Such a seemingly simple task, it took a LONG time. While one document was converting to a picture for scanning, I hurriedly got dressed for the music gig.

Then, while the second document followed the same long path, I gathered what music and song sheets I had and put them in the car.

It was about 4:15 when I could finally e-mail the signed document/photographs to the CPA. I sent them, then left for the three-hour entertainment gig.

Somehow, in the midst of all of this, I left part of my body back at home. It’s not really an anatomical part of the body; it’s usually referred to as a cell phone or Blackberry.


When I got back home around 8:30, there were phone calls, messages and e-mails galore. Apparently the CPA’s office had received one of the attachments but not the other. There were three calls from his office, messages from a daughter and my mother – letting me know that the CPA was trying to reach me.

I rescanned the document in question and attached it to another e-mail. Then I called his office to see if the attachment arrived this time. The call was answered by voice mail. Had they given up and gone for the day?

Bear in mind, the midnight deadline was absolute.

Finally, I got an e-mail confirming that the document was received and was being filed before midnight.

Hallelujah!

But I still couldn’t print anything.

Friday morning, I found the installation disk and reinstalled the printer. Voila! There was a message that the document was printing.

But it didn’t.

I went on-line, read the troubleshooter manual, tried everything suggested, all to no avail. Murphy was still in the house!

Finally I tried an on-line “chat” with a member of the tech support team.

We were on line with each other for three hours and thirty-five minutes!!!!  That guy had the patience of Job!

By late Friday night, the printer and computer were communicating with each other and working!

Of course, by then, I was too tired to even look at the computer screen again.

Leave me alone, Murphy. Please!

 

 

Other Photo Hunt participants: here.

Tomorrow -- more about Murphy's Law.