• A failure to differentiate

    Putting a label or some kind of mark on one of them would have been much too simple. No, the best way to tell the difference between the two outwardly identical computers was to put the one that didn’t work away. If you’re just keeping something for parts, you don’t need to keep it handy. Leave the one that works out on the floor of the family room – where it’s easy to get at.

    What’s that? The one left out on the floor now doesn’t work either? Well that’s rotten luck. Might as well open them both up and pull anything that might be useful before we throw them out. I know, I know… but Cheryl will sooner sprout gills and run off with a handsome young tuna than allow us to keep two broken computers with no practical value.

    Hold on a second… did we put the broken computer in storage because we didn’t need to get at it, or did we put the working one in storage so it wouldn’t get damaged on the family room floor? Holy identity crisis Batman, I don’t know which is which!

    —

    It turns out the rumors of my iMac’s demise were greatly exaggerated. All of my server software was still installed and operational.

    Sure, I haven’t turned it on since I discovered it in working order (a week ago) – but we’re all breathing a little easier around these parts knowing that it’s ready when we need it. Except Cheryl… she’s just lost her reason to throw away a couple of computers.

    HA HA! Foiled again!

  • Compare and Contrast

    On evenings past I have stumbled around in the dark looking for a flashlight that mysteriously wasn’t there. On these dark, perilous journeys through veritable minefields of wheeled children’s toys, I have wondered if the addictive effect of a flashlight on a child is similar to the effect of heroine. Sure, there are a few kinks to work out… like the fact that testing the theory will get you a 6 x 6 room to share with a man who seems way more interested in underwear than would seem normal. Just what is it about a small, battery-powered bulb that so fascinates the youthful mind; and why are adults immune to its habit-forming effects?

    I find myself having to hide my emergency flashlight from curious young fingers, making it that much less handy in the event of an actual emergency. Perhaps it is yet another sign of my failure as a parent.

  • What about your iPod?

    Flush with my success slaying the dreaded speaker buzz in my recently obtained piece of Apple lore, I decided to once again hack into my dead iPod. (NURSE! GET ME SOME WOOD, STAT!) If you are keeping score, this is case cracking number four (a rhyme I just could not ignore). Without going into too much detail, this near blind foray into the jungle of high tech involved: opening a case not meant to be opened, hacking away in UNIX, and thus far… two hours of processing time on my trusty PowerBook. Sound complicated? Relax. It’s amazing what you can do with a pocket knife, a piece of consumer electronics given up for dead, and no clue what you’re doing.