July 25, 2001
Dear Everyone:
“The best laid schemes o’ mice and men / Gang aft a-gley.” -- Robert Burns.
You may recall that last October, the plan was for “Jeannie” to accompany me to the ARMA International Conference in Las Vegas. Then, at the last moment, a judge in Placer County handed down a ruling that, in effect, scotched those plans. I went alone. I didn’t have nearly as much fun as I’m sure we would have had together. (On the plus side, I wasn’t put in the position of trying to introduce the vendors that I happened to run into; couldn’t remember their names to save my life. Which is why those attendee badges are so important.)
Because the airline tickets were with Southwest, we found out that the unused ticket could be turned in for a new ticket, to the same destination or a different one, as long as it was done before the ticket became a year old. The ticket’s first birthday was fast approaching. It had to be used before September 8th.
So we decided to try again. In four weeks we’re leaving on Wednesday, after work, staying two nights and coming home Friday night. This meant I had to make reservations and trade the old ticket for a new one. I found out that, because it was a paper ticket, I really did have to “turn it in” at a Southwest ticket counter. No honor system, here.
So last night, instead of what I had planned to do, I drove to the Oakland airport, exchanged the old ticket and bought two new tickets. On the plus side, I now know how long it typically takes to get from my office to the airport during the Rush Hour. (“Why do they call it Rush Hour when nothing moves?” -- Mork.)
In other news…
My computer at work, the one that woke up dead last Tuesday, was giving me so much grief over my trackball that I decided to uninstall and reinstall the trackball software last Friday afternoon. Unfortunately, this had the effect of wiping out all the mouse and keyboard drivers, which translates into: No mouse; no keyboard. Nada. Try doing anything in Windows without a mouse or keyboard. Go ahead, try.
So a technical support person took the computer away and brought it back last night. In the meantime, I’ve been using a “loaner” borrowed from one of the workrooms. Trouble is, all of my shortcuts were on the original machine. I’m so used to just double-clicking on a shortcut. (Actually, I’m used to using an automatic double-click, which was one reason for getting that pesky trackball in the first place. My double-clicking skills are so minimal, I have to use both hands.)
The answer to the problem with my original machine was to “re-image” it. This means setting everything back to “factory settings”. Say bye-bye to all those shortcuts and favorites. And bye-bye to the hundreds of “personal folders” in my email system.
But wait! I did do something right after all. As soon as I got the machine back last week, I took the precaution of copying all my favorites and what’s called a “Personal Address Book” to another computer. Copied them back to my “re-imaged” machine and presto! All of my personal folders (and their contents), all of my favorites back where they belong. (Note to self: Clean up those Personal Folders. You don’t need 2-year-old United Way announcements anymore.)
Speaking of Favorites, “Jeannie” complained that things like “Cyber Sex” were appearing on her laptop PC. So last Saturday, after the hairdresser, we went back to her place for lunch, a video, and to clean up a few things on the PC. Somehow, “Cyber Sex” and “Porn King” had made their way into her Favorites folder. How this happened is something of a mystery because Favorites is associated with Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.
But “Jeannie” doesn’t use Internet Explorer, she uses AOL to get to the Internet. Granted, AOL uses Internet Explorer, but from inside the AOL system. AOL even controls its own Favorites folder, slightly different from Microsoft’s. Anyway, I was able to expunge the offending sites. I also created a shortcut (shortcuts again!) to Calculator so she can get to it easily while she’s working in her Court Reporter’s database.
As for the video, “Jeannie” rented Miss Congeniality. In this, Sandra Bullock plays an FBI agent sent undercover to a beauty pageant. It’s quite pleasant. But the real reason for watching it is the supporting cast, particularly William Shatner as a rather dense MC and Michael Caine as the “consultant” brought in to turn Bullock’s sow’s ear into the proverbial silk purse. He’s particularly fun to watch.
For an actor who freely admits that the deciding factors in taking a any role are “location and how much will they pay me”, he’s made some good choices over the years.
Love, as always,
Pete
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