it's been a long week

I don't know where to start this one. Or if anyone is actually going to believe that this happened to me.

Okay. Monday my friend came over and we started installing things. First the monitor, which was simple, of course. The hardest part was when I couldn't find the screwdriver that fit the screws holding the cable to the CPU [g]. A paring knife did the job, however, and once the old one was history, the new one was installed in a flash, since it has those nifty plastic handles on the screws. And, ye godlings, it's gorgeous. There is no comparison. Absolutely none.

Good, now you're laughing. Now you can drop your jaw in disbelief.

So next she starts the setup on the new printer. All seems to go well (except that one of my CD drives starts acting funky -- no big, I have two, and the other one works fine) until the moment in the setup when we're supposed to plug the printer into the USB port. Computer refuses to recognize the printer. We try again several times, in all three USB ports. Nada. Well, we'll get back to it. Let's try the flash drive. Computer refuses to recognize the flash drive. Huh? Well, let's try the camera. Nope.

Okay, so I call the folks who built this computer for me -- er, my USB ports don't seem to be working (I've had this computer for three years, got the USB ports so that I could do what I was trying to do that day, but sometimes it takes me a while to get around to things [g]), when can I bring the machine in? Wednesday. Okay. So I take the CPU over to the computer guys, who try the ports out and have the same results, then get in there and look at them more closely, and discover that the ports are defective and that since they were part of the "box" when they sold it to me, that if I have any trouble with the peripherals after that to bring everything in. I kind of give them my, ohmygod, I can't deal with this look -- well, I know I can't -- and they know me and say, why don't you just bring all the new stuff in, and we'll see what's what.

So I go home and get it all, the camera, the flash drive, the printer/copier/scanner with all their paperwork and CDs and all. When I get it all there, they start plugging things in. Fried. Every last piece. From the faulty USB ports.

Do I still have my receipt? Yes. For everything but the flash drive, which was bought at the local CompUSA's going-out-of-business sale and is therefore not returnable. Okay. They'll eat the price of the flash drive ($30). They'll also handle the exchanges of the camera and the printer, and get me the exact same models, and do all the installation for me. Gratis. Since they were the ones who sold me the faulty USB ports. In spite of the fact that they sold them to me three years ago. These are good people.

I should have everything the way it's supposed to be by this time next week. Sigh. And in the meantime I took my CPU back home so that I can continue to use it until they've got everything else assembled and need it to finish the process.

This is worse than when my very first computer arrived on my doorstep with the internal modem installed upside down [wry g].

And *now* everyone knows why I put all this off for so long. This sort of thing is apparently inevitable when I'm involved.

Oh, well. We'll get there. Eventually. Good thing I still have that roll of film in my old camera to use up at the quilt show on Sunday...

oh, and one other thing

The Y-cable to my Alphasmart (www.alphasmart.com) died this week, too. It basically replaces the keyboard cable with one that has a second outlet that plugs into the Alphie without having to unplug the keyboard, at which point you open your word processor and hit send so it can do its keyboard emulator thing. I just plugged my keyboard cable directly into the CPU and so I still have a keyboard. But I can't upload from the Alphie until the new Y-cable arrives (it's supposed to come today or tomorrow), and while I reached the end of Chapter 28, I can't *do* anything with it until I can get it uploaded!

The Alphie is wonderful for writing. It's lightweight, it runs basically forever on three AA batteries (I've had it six years and replaced the batteries once), it's pretty much indestructible (it was originally intended for classroom use), and it goes anywhere. Oh, and you can't do *anything* on it but write. No games, no email, no nothing. Which is why it's better than a laptop [g].

However, it's piss-poor for editing and revising, due to the small screen and the fact that its word processor is a bit -- basic. So I am stuck. Until the new cable comes.

I believe the operative word here is "Uncle!"