Boomer Musings: I hate when this happens

Words to live by...

"How beautiful it is to do nothing, and to rest afterward."

[Spanish Proverb]

Ius luxuriae publice datum est

(The right to looseness has been officially given)

"Everyone carries a part of society on his shoulders," wrote Ludwig von Mises, "no one is relieved of his share of responsibility by others. And no one can find a safe way for himself if society is sweeping towards destruction. Therefore everyone, in his own interest, must thrust himself vigorously into the intellectual battle."

Apparently, the crossword puzzle that disappeared from the blog, came back.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

I hate when this happens

As I sat in my recliner the other evening, watching the TV, my tablet casually informs me it cannot connect to the internet. So I casually stroll into the bedroom and into the computer area. Yes, we have a computer "area". It would be a room of its own but it is merely a section of the bedroom. And what do I not see? I do not see the little telephone handset light on the Vonage unit.

I feel a bit of angst creep into my mind. I kill the screensaver and look at the Network icon on the computer screen... it has that ugly X on it. No Internet Access

I bite back anger, squash the panic, cuss out Comcast, and then try to restore the access. I am unsuccessful. I examine the router. It is stone cold dead. No lights, no nada. It will not boot up.

I swallow the sour bile of panic. It is late and I do not wish to dash off to buy a new router. I must "make do" until the next day and so I reconfigure the Vonage unit and the cable modem to connect directly and then add in my computer. I attain success and we now have phone service and I have internet service.

The next morning, after dragging myself out of bed and getting a cup of coffee, I tackle the "bad router" problem. I do not have a backup "wall wart" for it so cannot confirm or eliminate that as the problem. I must work under the assumption that the router itself has decided to go on permanent strike. I do not have time to wait for another router to be delivered and I have no more spares (having given the two I once had away) but I order one from Newegg anyway. It'll be here in a 2 or 3 days.

I then head off to WalMart and purchase a router, bring it home, and proceed to install it.

A simple task... one I have done more than a few times. So, of course it does not go smoothly. This means I have to call on tech support. I hate to call on tech support. I used to do it myself and know, in my heart, that I am the Customer From Hell.

I could blame the installation instructions, I could blame the installation wizard, I could blame the ancient gods. And I did. Several times over. But the tech support guy (whom I will call "Job" for his incredible perseverance and patience) managed to walk me through undoing everything I was told to do and got the little bugger working properly.

And I didn't even cry. Very much.