Up in Smoke
Going with the new technology isn’t always the best idea. I was pretty young at the time, but I remember when my Dad went out to get a new car, and came home with an Edsel. I think it was the push-button transmission that attracted him. I was 4 or 5, so I don’t think I’m the best judge of whether it was a good car or not, but when we were driving cross-country from Ohio to New Mexico, the car did catch fire. It was in Oklahoma or Texas, but not a good thing to happen in either state.
Get to Work!
Well, I’ve been driving a Toyota for 11 years. Fortunately, it’s not one of the newer models with the automatic acceleration. No, my problem is with my Apple products. I’ve never owned a Windows-based PC. I’ve used a few of them on the job, but every computer I’ve owned since my first one, in 1994, have been Macs. Elegant design, simple, almost intuitive use. But every now and again, something will happen that doesn’t make a lick of sense. Try getting information on diagnosing and fixing a problem online, then having to restart the computer to do the fix. And then remembering you didn’t print out the information before you restarted. My MacBook has been running slow for a couple of days, and won’t stop trying to sync. I’ve probably down too much, trying to sync the laptop to my desktop to the desktop I use at work to my iPhone. I had to re-sync the phone after my downloaded ringtones disappeared. That’s a whole lotta syncing going on. And I started getting that syncing feeling tonight. Sorry.
Balky? Balki!
Restarting a balky computer is always a good way to fix a problem. Although, once I restarted tonight, my mouse wouldn’t work. I went to reconnect it, and found that according to the computer, which came with Bluetooth installed, didn’t have Bluetooth installed. After a quick Google search (thank goodness I’m not in China — although if you listen to opponents of health care reform — maybe this is China), I saw a fix that recommended restarting and then resetting PRAM (parameter random access memory) and nonvolatile RAM (NVRAM). I guess I held down the right keys, because my Bluetooth was back, connected to everything it had been connected to before, including a cell phone I haven’t used in 4 months.
Soon to be Mommy, Daddy & Baby
Ryan & Kate plus One
Sometime this week, my friends Ryan and Kate Parker are expecting to welcome a new addition to their family. It’s been them and their puppies so far, but as you can tell, Kate is a very expectant mom. I know Ryan from working together at my old job and my new job. And, if you saw the award-winning local short film, “Woke Up Ugly,” he directed that.
Ryan and the lovely Kate stopped by the Blue Monkey Downtown on Monday. They were semi-regulars at trivia when they lived downtown. We haven’t been lucky enough to see them regularly since they moved to the east side, but they wanted to get out a few times before Baby Parker shows up. As always, I was delighted to see them both and wish them the best on their new adventure — and I hope you wish them well too.
Doug Johnson at Large 