Computer fun!

Our computer has been crazy for a while now, and Karen has been mad at it (and me on occasion) quite frequently due to the computer's latest "new features". One of the old features is the "magic power button" that only works well for John, and "magically" makes Karen very mad. The PC needs a new power supply, it takes about 12 hours to warm up enough to actually let you turn the computer on. The power supply has actually been trying to poop out for many months. You normally have to tap the power button about ten times to get it to turn on, even when the power supply has had sufficient 12 hour or more warm-up time. The latest feature that it self-installed was the "magic shutdown timer". Last week, the processor was apparently overheating due to lack of air flow. It would run fine for about ten or fifteen minutes, then shut off abruptly. No warning, no error message, just abrupt silence and darkness. You had to use some pretty good time-management skills to get your mail, send your replies, check the weather, and download your pictures before the system shut off abruptly. Once we figured out (wild-guessed) that it really was an over-heating problem, I took the computer apart and removed what looked like a fuzzy grey squirrel living in amongst the internal bits. (James had a blast helping me take it apart and put it back together. I now need to hide all screwdrivers from James, so he doesn't dismantle the PC while I am sleeping.) Once I removed the squirrel, I had to wait the obligatory twelve hours for the "magic power button" to become operational again. James was the one who discovered that the computer was working again this morning since he punched the button and it fired right up for him, and he said "DADDY, I FIXED THE PAPUTER! DADDY I FIXED IT! THE PAPUTER IS FIXED, YAYYY!" James has apparently uninstalled the "magic shutdown timer" since he was the one who announced that he had fixed it. Thank you, buddy, for fixing the paputer. I am still wondering what the next feature will be. The PC is starting to remind me of my old cars, they used to let you me know I needed to add oil by turning on the reminder light that said "check engine" every 1,000 miles or so, since they leaked like they had been shot.

Karen is getting a new computer (A sweet little MacBook!!) for her birthday. (I already told her that she is getting the new computer because I was afraid that she was going to get really mad at the one we already have and go out and buy a new one before her new one actually arrived, in cthe event that the PC had some really fun new features up its sleeve.)