Friday, September 04, 2020

I've figured out what I want on my tombstone

I've been trying to figure out what sort of message I want on my headstone for a long time.  I've thought about having a picture of a Jersey cow on it, since they are one of my favorite things.  Or maybe a picture of my Gibson Dove guitar, my most prized possession... even though my guitar-playing skills are minimal.  And then I think of quotes that might remind folks of me:  "Beware of any enterprise which requires new clothes" was one I thought about, since I lived most of my life in jeans, T-shirts, and sweat pants... but my wardrobe is slightly better now, sometimes.  I can't recall many of the ideas I had, but there were a lot of them.  

This morning I was telling Cliff I got locked out of my online banking and had to call the bank for help; I had tried logging in with the wrong password too many times.  We hashed it over, my husband and I.  You'd think, since Apple makes long, complicated, safe passwords and even remembers them for me, that I'd have no trouble.  A password you've made on one Apple product is understood by other Apple products, so I get my new password and it works on both the MacBook and the iPad.  Usually; although there are times when "user error" can't even manage that!  However, my Samsung cell phone doesn't get the message.  I can't just copy down the crazy-long password Apple gives me and type it in as my Samsung password... because it doesn't allow passwords that long!  Don't tell me I need to get an iPhone; I hate that I even have to HAVE a cell phone.  I paid $250 for the Samsung, and as phones go, I like it OK... but I seldom use it unless I have to call somebody... usually some necessary call:  the bank, a doctor, my hairdresser... and once in awhile I talk to my sister (sure wish it was safe to go visit people).  I do most of my "talking" in Instant Messenger, because I'd rather type than talk.  By the way, let me make up a password right now to show you what sort of mess it is to try and write down:  

tuzyoP-gibode-5oqids

They are all that same length.  If I have to try and type it in on a non-apple product, I must be VERY careful to write it all down properly to the last dash on a piece of paper.  Then I have to be careful typing it in the other device, so I do that with my index finger, choosing the keys carefully and watching the keyboard.  As I said before, Samsung won't accept passwords that long anyway, so any app owned by Google is useless because my password is too long, and if I change it on the phone, I have to go back and change it on the iPhone and MacBook.  Who needs email on the road anyhow?  I'm at home most of the time with my trusty iPad and the MacBook

So, back to my original thought about what I'll put on my headstone:

"I forgot my password."

Everyone can have fun with that as they pass by my grave, saying things like "password to where?".  Always leave 'em laughing, right?

Love,

Donna

PS:  I'm sure I'll think of something better than that eventually.  I may not even have a headstone, since I'm going to be cremated.

Wednesday, September 02, 2020

Can we talk?

It's been a day around here.  Cliff has decided to see if he can sell his 1855 Oliver, which means he needs my help putting pictures on various sites and writing ads about the tractor.  I always do this for him, since the only thing he knows how to do on a computer is surf and scroll down Facebook.  This time, though, he also wanted me to put the ad on a Facebook group.  That means in order for me to do it on my computer, I'd have to join the group and wait until they approved me.  It doesn't usually take long, but some groups take longer than others.  So I decided to put the tractor for sale using Cliff's  computer; I'd just post it in his group as though I were Cliff.  

Boy, was I wrong.  I use a Mac, he has a PC.  I have used Apple products for years now, and I've forgotten a lot about PCs.  The biggest problem is that everything looks different and works differently than it did when I used a PC (not to mention that Cliff recently went to the new, updated Facebook).  I put the card containing the Oliver pictures in the slot in his computer.  Nothing popped up to let me know I had done that, which seemed weird.  On the MacBook, as soon as I insert the card, my photos come up, and I work from there.  I did a search on my own computer asking how to download pictures from a card to a PC, got the directions, and failed again because I was apparently doing something wrong and it wasn't working for me.  Folks, if you want to get me in a bad mood, all you have to do is put me in the situation of fighting with a computer; it will ruin my whole day.  At least I got the tractor placed on Facebook Marketplace, but I left the letter "L" off the end of "model", and I can't figure out how to add the letter in.  When I click "edit", it only lets me edit the pictures, not the words.  And all this mess went on for over two hours, my frustration growing with every failed attempt.

Finally Cliff said, "Where could I go to get somebody to do this if I paid them?"  

Don't even ask me how I felt about that, but I gave him his answer very nicely.  "That would be your daughter, but I doubt if she'd take your money."  Rachel uses PC's, and she uses one all day at work.  I never ask her for help any more, but she's a daddy's girl.  She can put up with his ignorance better than she can with mine.  

Part of the reason I was getting so frustrated at the time spent on a failed project is that when I got up this morning, I had plans.  Last night I took a 10-pound bag of chicken legs and thighs out of the freezer to thaw.  This morning I planned to boil, debone, and dice the meat into two-cup portions to put in the freezer for various recipes I like; I also freeze the broth in two-cup portions.  It's a messy business, but well worth the effort.  The chicken was done cooking before Cliff got up, and then it had to cool down so I could handle it.  Also before Cliff got up, I put a load of clothes in the washer that I was going to hang on the line, it being a lovely, sunny day.  I had intended to get it hung out early, because there were two more loads to do.  All this went by the wayside while I struggled with a computer.  Oh, it all got done... well, I do have one more load of clothes to hang out, but I got the chicken worked up, made low-fat chicken gumbo with some of it, and heated up the green beans, new potatoes, and kielbasa left over from yesterday.  Get this:  By the time I cleaned up all the chicken mess and other dishes and pans, I had taken two hours to eat my meal.  I just kept stopping to take a bite, then went back to my work.  And yet?  I sure feel like I accomplished a lot today, so I'll focus on that.

As far as I know, there is nothing else today that I have to do.

Honestly, it's been a great day.  If I've been mad at anyone, it's myself, for not being able to figure out something that 8-year-olds know how to do these days.  In the Old Testament portion of my one-year Bible reading this morning I finished reading the book of Job; now THERE was a guy who knew what trouble was:  His kids were all dead, he was too sick to eat, his wife was telling him "curse God and die", and then all his friends came to visit and made him feel even worse with their drivel.  

Have a wonderful day.  I feel much better now.  

I should tell you that the only reason Cliff is trying to sell his favorite classic tractor is this:  If he gets his price for the Oliver, he wants to sell his little John Deere, the only tractor around here that is used almost every day, and get another John Deere like it except he wants the next size bigger; he thinks if he sold both, he's have enough money for what he wants.  If he didn't want that pretty badly, he'd never sell the 1855.  We are both pretty sentimental about it.

If you made it through reading this complaining mess, thanks for your patience.

Yours truly,

Donna