_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thursday, January 15, 2009

I Should Have Stayed In Bed

I am not having a good day.

We're in the middle of a winter storm here. School's out again today and I've got the kid underfoot.

It's 44, raining, icing, and the wind is doing about 60mph at the moment.

My power is in and out.

I have a howling cat with a bladder infection who has a catheter inserted in his little willie and he's dripping piss in a yellow trail behind him wherever he goes (he's locked in a basement storeroom at the moment for the sake of the carpets. This does not make him happy. The amount of money he's costing does not make me happy. And I have to risk life and limb on frictionless roads later today in order to take him back to the vet, who will then charge me more money.

My Gateway tablet is broken. The hinge failed last night. It's been getting wonky for a while now, but I just can't live without the damned thing. Last night the hinge failed completely. The screen still works, but won't stay positioned. It's like trying to prop up a dishrag. It's under extended warranty and this weekend it's going to the geeksquad at Best Buy, and I suppose I won't see it again for several months. Joy. I'll spend tomorrow peeling all my data off onto the network server and slicking anything personal on the drives. I've got a half dozen other things I need fixed on this machine too (It's not the manufacturer's fault, I tend to be hard on laptops, and this one is tougher than most - which is why I bought the extended warranty), I suspect that they'll just offer me a replacement but I don't want one. I want this machine. I love this tablet, it's the best damned computer I've ever owned and I'm very attached to it. Plus I have a lot of software loaded on it that would have to be replaced. Bestbuy would have to offer me one hell of a significant upgrade and some software for me to even think about a swapout. We'll see how it goes.

Anyway, I'm shutting down all my electronics for a while now, before a power surge or a sag fries my gear.

So sorry. See you later, Internet.

6 comments:

  1. Dang. I'm saving aside some single malt just for you.

    Now I'm going to go see what I can come up with to identify Nathan's mysterious ailment...

    ReplyDelete
  2. (sneaks in)

    (stumbles over cat)

    (mutters curses)

    (leaves pan of brownies)

    (bumps into sofa)

    (mutters more curses)

    (opens door to leave)

    (cat runs out)

    (more cursing)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nothing like having to risk life and limb to pay money.

    ReplyDelete
  4. For a while my main office machine was a Zenith MastersPort 386SLe laptop. It knew what was going on, though. I had a lovely Micron Millennia at home, and so when I ordered one for the office -- being part-time means the university doesn't buy me computers -- the friction hinge went. It had gotten lose before and I'd opened up the covers and tightened them, but this time the screws broke through the plastic. So for the next week I had to prop the lid against a box to hold it up.

    So I totally understand your situation, Jim. You have my sympathies. Oh, and sorry about the cat.

    Dr. Phil

    ReplyDelete
  5. Glad to see you're having fun.

    That cold weather you had last week moved down here.

    You can have it back anytime.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Chris, good luck with that - I've been trying to get Jim to take the cold Alaska weather back all week. Yesterday it was about a dozen degrees warmer in Jim's neck of the woods than it was in Atlanta!

    And this morning I was treated to 12F temp with windchill at -2F. On the bus stop. My arthritis is screaming at me now.

    And Jim, had a computer crash almost a year ago. You have my sympathies on that.

    I'll leave the bottle of Jack out for you.

    ReplyDelete

Comments on this blog are moderated. Each will be reviewed before being allowed to post. This may take a while. I don't allow personal attacks, trolling, or obnoxious stupidity. If you post anonymously and hide behind an IP blocker, I'm a lot more likely to consider you a troll. Be sure to read the commenting rules before you start typing. Really.