Where I'm At
O HAPPY DAY: This morning when I got up I got to remove the freakin' monitor (which was securely taped to my chest hair ow ow ow ow) and have THE BEST SHOWER OF MY LIFE. It was awesome and long and exfoliating and shavey.
Even better, I have been put on some medication, which means that finally something is happening. The drug is called Bisoprolol, which according to Wikipedia is a beta blocker. I guess I'll find out more when I pick it up tomorrow (like, am I to be on this short- or long-term).
I feel good that things are finally moving, though. So, yay! Also, it has "lol" right in the name, so it's GOT to be a good time.
♣ ♣ ♣
O HAPPY DAY, PART DEUX: My computer is apparently fixed and has been shipped back to me (by US Post, so God knows how long it will take to get back to me). Thor! Returning at long last!
Slightly annoying, though, is the revelation that the motherboard is fine, and that it was the power supply that was busted. I could have bought a new power supply for under $300 and replaced it myself in a single afternoon. D'oh. I tell myself now "At least it has been installed by professionals, and I did not void my warranty." This helps me feel better about it.
♣ ♣ ♣
O DAY OF LESS HAPPINESS: Recently my father told his computer to power down, and McAfee Antivirus popped up with a message saying "Hey, I'm going to install some updates and then power down, okay?" My dad said okay, and McAfee said, "Alright. Here I go. It is VITALLY IMPORTANT that you do not interrupt this process once it has started. Don't turn off your computer or anything, okay?" And again my dad said, "Okay."
One hour later, McAfee was still not done its thing, and my dad wanted to go to bed. He could have left the computer on all night, but that's CRAZY TALK, because that would WASTE ELECTRICITY. So he turned it off.
Then he called me the next day to tell me his computer was broken.
McAfee has been turned into a retarded child, and is interfering with everything. He cannot connect to the Internet (dad does not hold truck with such things as dedicated Internet connection; he goes 3Web, a very cheap click-here-to-dial-up sort of thing, and McAfee is jamming it). We cannot uninstall the software, because Windows says "Uninstall it? Sure thing; let me check with McAfee how to uninstall it" and McAfee sits there mutely, halting the uninstallation process.
I threw in the towel, and told dad to take it to a professional, which would COST MONEY. Once his palpitations had passed, dad wondered aloud if maybe it was time to get a new computer, since this one was so slow anyhow (it's 8 years old). I confirmed that this was likely a good choice.
And so, dad and I went and got him a new computer. Parts of that journey were hilarious unto itself (the look on the sales guy's face when dad said he wanted it to have a 3.5" floppy disk drive was priceless), but we at last acquired dad the very cheapest PC we could find that could handle his admittedly spartan requirements (must be able to connect to internet; must be able to run WordPerfect. Does anyone else in the world besides my dad use WordPerfect any more? I'm surprised they don't just rename the software "Doug" and be done with it).
And so, tomorrow, on my ostensible day of rest, I must go to dad's house, set up his new computer, and transfer his files from his old machine. I must somehow glean what his 3Web username and password are so that he can connect to the internet again, and figure out if there is any way to port over his Windows 95 version of Outlook Express, because that's what he uses. The new machine comes preloaded with Windows 8, which will ensure cries of dismay and consternation (and phones calls) for at least a month, because WinXP is where it's at for dad.
Pray for me.
Even better, I have been put on some medication, which means that finally something is happening. The drug is called Bisoprolol, which according to Wikipedia is a beta blocker. I guess I'll find out more when I pick it up tomorrow (like, am I to be on this short- or long-term).
I feel good that things are finally moving, though. So, yay! Also, it has "lol" right in the name, so it's GOT to be a good time.
♣ ♣ ♣
O HAPPY DAY, PART DEUX: My computer is apparently fixed and has been shipped back to me (by US Post, so God knows how long it will take to get back to me). Thor! Returning at long last!
Slightly annoying, though, is the revelation that the motherboard is fine, and that it was the power supply that was busted. I could have bought a new power supply for under $300 and replaced it myself in a single afternoon. D'oh. I tell myself now "At least it has been installed by professionals, and I did not void my warranty." This helps me feel better about it.
♣ ♣ ♣
O DAY OF LESS HAPPINESS: Recently my father told his computer to power down, and McAfee Antivirus popped up with a message saying "Hey, I'm going to install some updates and then power down, okay?" My dad said okay, and McAfee said, "Alright. Here I go. It is VITALLY IMPORTANT that you do not interrupt this process once it has started. Don't turn off your computer or anything, okay?" And again my dad said, "Okay."
One hour later, McAfee was still not done its thing, and my dad wanted to go to bed. He could have left the computer on all night, but that's CRAZY TALK, because that would WASTE ELECTRICITY. So he turned it off.
Then he called me the next day to tell me his computer was broken.
McAfee has been turned into a retarded child, and is interfering with everything. He cannot connect to the Internet (dad does not hold truck with such things as dedicated Internet connection; he goes 3Web, a very cheap click-here-to-dial-up sort of thing, and McAfee is jamming it). We cannot uninstall the software, because Windows says "Uninstall it? Sure thing; let me check with McAfee how to uninstall it" and McAfee sits there mutely, halting the uninstallation process.
I threw in the towel, and told dad to take it to a professional, which would COST MONEY. Once his palpitations had passed, dad wondered aloud if maybe it was time to get a new computer, since this one was so slow anyhow (it's 8 years old). I confirmed that this was likely a good choice.
And so, dad and I went and got him a new computer. Parts of that journey were hilarious unto itself (the look on the sales guy's face when dad said he wanted it to have a 3.5" floppy disk drive was priceless), but we at last acquired dad the very cheapest PC we could find that could handle his admittedly spartan requirements (must be able to connect to internet; must be able to run WordPerfect. Does anyone else in the world besides my dad use WordPerfect any more? I'm surprised they don't just rename the software "Doug" and be done with it).
And so, tomorrow, on my ostensible day of rest, I must go to dad's house, set up his new computer, and transfer his files from his old machine. I must somehow glean what his 3Web username and password are so that he can connect to the internet again, and figure out if there is any way to port over his Windows 95 version of Outlook Express, because that's what he uses. The new machine comes preloaded with Windows 8, which will ensure cries of dismay and consternation (and phones calls) for at least a month, because WinXP is where it's at for dad.
Pray for me.