A RANDOM, BORING LETTER FROM HOME...

...plus, a picture at the end. Is that enticement or what?

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That Does Or Does Not Compute: I love laptop computers. Back in the days when I used to bang away at my desktop, I had no idea all of that technology could be shoved into something small enough for use while sitting in an easy chair. Maybe someday they'll make a waterproof model that you can use in the bathtub. Wait, no, there's still that whole electricity/water issue, so that's probably not gonna happen. The problem is that the Laptop Computer is so portable that it finds itself in situations a Desktop never encounters. Such as, placing the Laptop on top of a shelf, or perhaps another chair, or maybe even on the floor 'cos you've gotta get up and do something else. "Calls of Nature" can be hazardous to the Laptop's health. One such call happened to me, so I placed my Laptop on another chair, only I didn't place it well enough, and THUD, it hit the floor. Right after that my Wireless network didn't work anymore. My computer's wireless receiver was toast.

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Lucky for me, there was another way to get online; I located my long-lost ethernet cable, plugged one end into the modem, the other into my Laptop, and voila, it worked. The only thing is, when you have to physically connect the Laptop into the modem, it ceases to be portable. Ya can't ride the horse until after you untie it, after all. Yesterday, I took my Laptop to a little shop where GeekSpeak is conducted, and was informed that my wireless mechanism was too difficult to easily get to and that they'd have to charge me a lot of labor. Instead, the GeekGuy at the Geekshop told me to go to Radio Shack and get a wireless adapter. I spent three hours last night trying to get it to work; I was bounced from one tech support person to another, and nothing could be done. My computer was receiving the signal, but the signal couldn't connect it to the internet. Ah, but this issue resolved itself today:

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A representative from my internet/tv/phone provider was due to make a house call today, and he also ended up programming my Laptop. I guess service reps have to have Electrical Engineering degrees, doctorates in Computer Science, and have to be brave enough to climb up a telephone pole to in blinding Oregon Coast Rain to raise the TV cable attached to my house.He was a knight in shining armor, only he had no armor 'cos he was driving a van. I guess the van was armor enough. I still don't know what he did my computer to make the Wireless adapter work. Hey, I guess as long as the buttons work and the connections connect, I'm happy. A case of where Igorance is indeed Bliss.

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Thank You ,Thank You Very Much: While at Wal-Mart one rainy day, I looked deep into a bin of CD's that were priced at Five Bucks Each, and found an Elvis Presley CD; the afternoon performance of the "Aloha From Satellite" concert, performed in 1973. While the Evening performance has been available since that time, the Afternoon Concert wasn't released until 1995; I'd never seen that CD before. Both Afternoon and Evening Performances consist of the same songs in the same order; the idea being that if a mistake was made in one performance, an edit could be pulled from the other. The "Aloha From Satellite" concertwas beamed up to, and bounced back down from a satellite, the first time a concert was relayed in that manner. I don't know if Wal-Marts around the nation have that particular CD, but the local Wal-Mart sure did. So, if you have to go there for some particular reason, you might as well stop by the CD bargain bin; you never know what you'll find there.
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A Further Indication That I'm Falling Apart: Last year, I tried to get glasses from a large local optical firm, but try as they might, they couldn't cut a pair of lenses for me. Something about one eye being too different from the other in terms of focal range. Now, before you growl at me for what I have to say, remember, I tried to give the local optical firm my business. This time around, I went to the visual centerfranchise inside Wal-Mart. Wal-mart! How could I? Well, I did. And if they can cut me a pair of glasses, I'm gonna take 'em down to the Local Optical Firm and rub their noses in the fact that Wal-Mart outdid them! (Well, I'm thinking about doing that...) Anyway, I know I've mentioned Wal-Mart quite a bit in this post, but remember that local people work there too; at least that's what I tell myself when I go in there.

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Is This Worth A Thousand Words? The huge watercraft pictured here, the mighty "Santiago Basin" out of Hong Kong, (which will never be mistaken for a luxury liner), waits for truckloads of logs to arrive, after which one of its three cranes picks up an entire truckload as if it was a toothpicks. It looks like it has a little red submersible craft attached to it (that red thing mounted on the back), although I have no idea why it's there. This was taken yesterday. There's no truth to the rumor that when this boat enters the bay, the water level rises three feet. Heck, not even the recent Tsunami could do that. Me, I'm amazed that it can hold hundreds of truckloads of logs and still be able to float. The logging trucks that pull up alongside this boat look like tinker-toys in comparison; the highest log doesn't even come up to the top of the "Pacific Basin" lettering on the bow.

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And with that, my work here is done. This addition to the Information Superhighway is now formally closwed now that you've been tittilated, amused, and informed by the writings contained herein (I hope). There are certainly worse ways for someone to pass the time (I think).