Other Types of Crashes

Another tree down in the neighborhood.  This one fell about two properties away from mine, and fell for no apparent reason - no rain, no high wind, no drunk drivers or out-of-control vehicles.  It apparently simply decided it was just time to come crashing down, and it's surprising it didn't hit a house or at least a car as it fell.  Despite the errant strike of this particular tree, Atlanta's arboreal murder spree continues . . . 

The IT Desk is pleased to announce that yesterday's third-time's-a-charm attempt to fix this computer was a success - we've been up and operating for 24 hours now, well past the 60 minutes of functionality that marked our previous attempts at repair.  I mentioned "third time" there, but in actuality it was the third time trying the particular repair that eventually worked (resetting the Windows 10 OS back to it's original state and deleting all the apps, programs, and games I've accumulated since 2016).  I backed everything up before the system reset and am now reloading the software that I want, but it's a more tedious process than I expected, and for some reason nothing seems to reload correctly on the first attempt.  Before performing the reset, I had been trying a variety of other fixes, unsuccessfully fooling around with an uncooperative machine since last Wednesday morning.  Five days of futility.

The process was humbling because it kept reminding me how little I actually know about computers, and frustrating because in my ignorance, nothing seemed to work.  

It was also a little humiliating because it kept reminding me how much of my newly retired life I spend just entertaining, amusing, and distracting myself with this computer.  

And it was more than a little scary because this piece of hardware is all that connects me with my bank account, my retirement funds, my Social Security, and my Medicare.  

Finally, it made me feel lonely because it proved that this device has somehow become my closest friend and most trusted adviser.  

I wasn't kidding around about being kind of freaked out on Friday the 13th.

But at least I now have a working computer once again.