Stars

Another day in the life of…and it started with a look at the northeastern skies and the Perseid meteor shower. There was still too much moonlight to see them all and only the biggest and brightest made any kind of display. Though, if you concentrated on a small portion of the sky, you could see the faint trails of the “wannabe” meteors.

And once more I am battling our coffee pot. Darn! All I want is a simple cup of coffee. I don’t use any of the other functions built into this expensive piece of Mr. Coffee junk. OK, I know I am sounding bitter, but I already dread the experience of buying a new coffee pot. The advertising will lure me with promises of dark and rich brews. The coffee makers will be bright and shiny with a lot of chrome and fancy dials to entice me. But…I already know that I will be deceived.

When I came into the study this morning, I found that my computer had shut down and restarted. There was a message on screen that told me that because Microsoft had installed an important security update, my computer had needed a restart. Wait a second…I don’t think I like that part of the “Automatic Update” program. It feels like I am giving someone too much control over my computer. As if I haven’t already done that! Once you’re connected to the internet, you have already signed away most of your privacy and that happened a long time ago.

There are a lot of on-line articles about the fact that the personal computer is now 25 years old. My first experience with a computer was in 1985, more or less. The Janesville School District had received its first Apple IIE’s and Laurae brought one home for the weekend. I was fascinated, but couldn’t think of how I could use something like that. It was a toy. I was a construction worker and my tools were strapped around my waist.

According to my journal, it was 1990 when I bought my first computer; an Epson Equity II with a 286 processor, a 40 MB hard drive and 12 MB of RAM. ($2,400!) I now had a computer on my desk at work and one at home and I knew I had to learn more about them. The world was changing and I didn’t want to be left out.

A thought; I understand that about 30% of Americans still don’t use computers. Is that correct? And why not? Case in point and one to ponder; we stopped at the stained glass shop in Gridley recently and after paying for my purchase, I asked the owner if she had a website. She then launched into a long explanation of why and how she didn’t use computers; that some younger employees of hers did that kind of stuff. Not her! Yet she had one of the most organized glass shops I had ever seen. She had color coding for each type, color and brand of glass. She could have been twice as efficient if she had used a computer. Computers are all about possibilities. Yet, millions don’t want anything to do with them.

I almost forgot to mention the big news from yesterday afternoon. The immense oak tree on the property next to us lost a couple of limbs. Those heavy limbs landed on the chain link fence and onto our grapefruit tree, smashing them both. The caretaker for the property has notified the owner and I have contacted our insurance company…now we will let them sort it out.