Another Day in the Rez Life...

 Well, yesterday I spent the day on the phone talking to the Tech people.  Something had happened to my computer's battery and it wouldn't shut down and it overheated.  Even after hitting the power button, the reset button, or one of the many thousands of buttons that sit upon the keyboard.  T'any rate, the fan wouldn't shut down either...Naturally, I hit the panic button since that was the only button left to hit.  Particularly since my keyboard was getting hotter and hotter. 

Heck, I even went outside where, thankfully, I was able to set the laptop down, well, leaned it against the wall and the porch railing.  It had cooled down and I brought it back inside and noticed this strange orange light on the front of my laptop.  I'd hit the power button once again, even holding it since this had always worked before when I needed the computer to turn on.  Nope, not a thing happened.  

I tilted my head and listened.  What I expected this to do, I'm not sure.  It's just something that I'd been trained to do by one or t'other of my parents or grandparents.  Heck one of my ancestors, coulda even been one of the many cousins who stroll through my life and yard at the most inopportune times which means mainly when one doesn't really need help.  

However, this time it produced the white light meaning, I think, that my computer was turning on like it should.  I went and filled my coffee cup as I was hoping to get the final 5000 words needed for completion of my NaNoWriMo word goal for the month. 

 I tilted my head and listened again cause my keyboard wasn't lit up, then noticed my screen wasn't filled with the picture that normally means I have to enter my pin.  Hmmph. My eyes then went to the orange light at the front of the laptop.  Nothing.  My laptop had shut off.  Did I not hold the button long enough?  

Repeat all the above actions, 'cept this time I left my computer sitting outside for 10 or so minutes.  Well, after the third, or was it the fiftieth time of hitting those buttons, I finally grabbed my phone.  Although I used this with the greatest trepidation as I didn't want whatever what infecting my laptop to jump to my phone.  Naturally this would be the greater disaster as I have fallen behind times in the matter of my phone which happens to still be an S7.  

Luckily I was still able to Google the Support people.  After following the ever helpful suggestion to take out my battery, I learned how to open the flap that covers the serial and other numbers that support people are always asking for when one is in the midst of the latest current crisis that gremlins dearly love to see when one is in the middle of shops being closed and one doesn't really want to call those Tech people.  Did Murphy leave specific instructions for the gremlins today?  

Well, I finally screwed up my courage, after imbibing another cup of Java, wishing for one of those Carmel Macchiatos, hot, whole milk that was in the nearest Mickey D's forty, yepper, FoRtY miles away, and called the support number listed.  

Yes!  They answered and was I ever so glad to hear that accented voice that means my problems would soon be solved.  Well as soon as I could make myself understood and further to understand what I was being asked for.  Yay.  ONly had to ask once for the repeat of the instructions.  Since I had the choice, I was in the middle of giving her the 10 or 11 digit number when she said she'd send me to Tech since I had Premium support good til 2021.  Repeat everything to this Tech person who listened patiently as I explained what led to my pushing of the panic button and having to call Tech Support right in the midst of the changing of the shifts.  (This was the only explanation I had for the girl's quick hand-off and I am not familiar with world time zones even though I have these posted on my computer.  Oh!  My laptop was not working so therefore I couldn't access the current Tech person's time zone since I haven't mastered the art of double screens on my phone precisely yet.  That only happens when I least expect it.  Oh, those gremlins must be laughing themselves silly now.  Best thing that happened for them since the Co-vid hit.) 

Yay. My computer shut off and I was telling the tech guy that I was half afraid to try turning it on like he was asking.  Well, I finally turned it on.  Yay. It turned on.  He took over my computer, I happily watched his every move, hoping to learn his secret by osmosis or whatever process is prevalent when one is watching an expert at work.  Cause this guy was an expert.  

After talking to his supervisor and needing to check my email for the case stuff since they would be watching this for a couple days seeing's how they couldn't really find a reason why my computer overheated, I am happily back to having several windows open during my current book's progress to final draft status.  

Trials and Tribulations of the Intrepid 'Puter Geek

Since my last post, I've been trying various scans, tests, and clicking of this button and that button, downloading the latest what-have-you for my computer to keep it in tiptop running shape. All this so I can happily play at my sixth favorite haunt. Which, by the way, is moving up a notch, maybe two, in the next few days, due to finally getting a calm spot in the vortex of the galaxy far, far away. I think the g***s have learned a thing or two about sneakiness at those tournaments they attended.

All this time, I thought they were still out visiting somewhere and that the bro****s were making progress here at the site of my current predicament. Nooooooooooo, no, no, no.

This morning while trying to straighten out the cafe of one of my crew members, the monthly diagnostic test started. Those tests are supposed to be on a set date. Of course, it starts whenever it **** well pleases. {Now, father, that's not what you think it is.} So, I have to log out of my various browser windows and tabs that were set up. The test had come to the portion where it uses 150% of the available memory. Drats, drats and double drats. That's the first inkling I had that something was happening, and I wasn't going to like it. Sound familiar to some of you?

So. I sit and play spider solitaire for the next hour and a half, taking the occasional "nasty habit" break while the diagnostics ponder the state of my computer. Of course, I'm chomping at the bit, thinking of all the dishes that need to be cooked with less than six days to go. Ahhh, the freedom from worry during the other 28, 29 or 30 days of the month. I had just won my game of spider solitaire when the test ended.

It was red flagged!

A problem with one of the devices. Lacking the resources to contact support as suggested, I saved the log so I could espy the problem myself, do whatever needed to be done and rescue myself, my computer I mean. {Don't you hate it when paid support runs out? I think they should last for a set number of support contact times instead of this year by year business.} So, there was a feedback button which I ferociously hit, tried to phrase politely the problem inherent in contacting tech support when that option ran out two/three years ago. Then, I do the trusty search for the problem mentioned.

Well, I used to have the cute little search dog that would at least provide me with something to look at while the sniffer looks though the many files on my machine which also has an external hooked up because, as I mentioned, I was helping to fix a cafe. This involves a spreadsheet so I can track whatever messages are sent to the aforementioned galaxy's Customer Support. So, that caused my xxxxterrrrrrnal device to be caught up in the diagnostician's happy scramble to look at everything, shake violently to see if it's broken, and say "oops, you have a problem" when it looks at something it shouldn't have looked at in the first darned place. That cute little puppy would have kept me a little calm when I found the source of the R E D Flag.

2 files in a backup from an old hard drive that worked on an operating system that went on it's happy voyage near the black hole and was never seen again. Those files have since been restored and I haven't quite dared to delete the backup file which has all my writing and what-not's in there. HHHuuuuhhhnh! Should I or should I not recant my ferociously sent FeedBack? Now, there's something to ponder on.

"Don't click on the links"

I have a new outlook on life as reflected in my blog. In part, this outlook has been influenced by the techies. I have been doing research of a sort as background for two of my novels. I've decided that I will only have to work in those types of details for five of my characters, thus only two books. Yay. I was going to have one character be in most of the novels dealing with tech portion of the history timeline of my world.

Then, after reading and following a few techies, I decided that I'd only do two novels. Much of my timeline will deal with earlier portions of history as those are what I'm most familiar with. Why did I title my post the way I did? In the course of my research among the techie blogs, I came across one in the Blogger world, the forums. If you do any delving at all in that forum, you'll probably have come across the most helpful one's post and possibly even checked his blog.

In the course of being helpful, there are the usual number of people who follow the maxim "When all else fails, read the directions," he has found a way to tell people how to stop referrer spam. Thus "Don't click the links" has become my mantra. I came across it again yesterday in the course of trying to figure out how to get those off the stats portion of my dashboard. Yay. I looked for help first remembering my other foray into the fast moving world of high tech.

Yes, I learned the hard way not "to click the links." Simple. Now, mind you, those posts were from a year ago but I've just gotten those from about a month or two ago. I had hoped they'd be gone by now. Being the sort that tries to learn from one mistake, I entered the help forum at Blogger. There they were, the three dastardly musketeers and of course, I read for about an hour. There was a post about editing html and such. Unfortunately, I didn't bookmark that particular post. Thus I only have half the info I needed. I was too tired to do anything more last night. This morning after the usual chores, visiting my second and 7th favorite haunts, I decided I was going to try the portion that takes hours.

Well, one of the helpful suggestions I remembered is what I tried already. The rest of it is going to take a few trial and errors which is what I seriously didn't want to have to do at this point. Therefore, those of you who have links on my site, not to worry. I have to test them all. There were only three that I had added or clicked on that need to be tested. Thank goodness, I haven't put up the pages link section yet. Once again, I think the brownies are being helpful. As it is, I can only do one thing at a time, even though I have millions of to-do's in my head. One of the other things is the dratted scheduler again. I used it once and once only. Now I have to keep resetting it.

HaHaHahaHeeheeheeheeHoHoHoHo. They'll definitely be coming to take me away sometime before the new Year if this keeps up. Well, I finally sent off a help request and will be doing any sort of suggestion that comes up. I hope the mallet falls and hard on those 3 dastardly musketeers and the righteous Musketeers win the day.

New Comment options added

Another day filled with what ifs and why nots as I continue to write the stories that I have already begun, editing {which is more of the deleting extraneous words, highlighting what I need to look at more closely variety} and making sure my time lines are correct. Have added some more relatives of some of the characters for inclusion in future stories.

Man, I've been busy catching up with reading all the blogs in my groups at the Campaign. Am excited to read quite a few of them as I'd never have found them without this Campaign. I did find some that aren't participating and I've tried to remember who is who. Next is the great hunt for the comment code for FB, etc. In the sidebar is the like button for my FB page.

Neither of the places I looked at brought me any less of a headache. In fact, our sites have to have a certain code by 01 OCT and I am just figuring out the little stuff. heeheehaahaa.

Still and all, I'm satisfied with what I have accomplished for the day. Wishing everyone has as much luck as I did with my machines. Thinking those tournaments must be heating up because things are going great here. [Yay doing cartwheels]