Sometimes technology empowers me. Things work smoother and faster and I can write, connect, watch, create and generally do and be more, as result of magic of technology.
Then there are times when technology thwarts me at every turn. Things break, slow down or just become ridiculously complicated. When that happens, technology can suck the energy out of just about every task big and small.
After months of everything working relatively smoothly, I seem to find myself thwarted by machines, captive to electrical conundrums, bogged down by bad connections and generally wading through the muck of technology gone wrong.
The televisions have had memory cards replaced, firmware upgrades and new panels installed. The cordless phones have taken to randomly deciding to let me know who's calling or not, as it pleases them. The programmable thermostat seems to want to decide for itself when the heat should go full blast or completely off. Bulbs in my bedroom and the backyard refuse to power up and provide light. My Blackberry's trackball has developed a sluggishness and a stickiness that makes me suspect that some of that nasty green goo from Ghost Busters is oozing just behind the faceplate.
But the most vexing problems are with my computer and its relationship to programs and the Internet. It's slow. Really realley sl-o-o-o-o-o-o-w. Which is maddening enough, but it loses things. It forgets things. It doesn't want to connect to sites and people it should connect to. It misbehaves, acting like it doesn't care to help me do the things I need and want to do. This defiant, sluggish laptop was purchased in May of this year.
I've tried all the usual (but not extreme) remedies that those of us with an above average comfort level with personal technology know to do in these situations. I've tried them two and three times or more.
It might be time for more drastic measures. But before I go that far, one of my business partners offered up his "Technology Cleansing Ritual".
I think it might be worth a shot.
When you are in the snowy cold of Minnesota, take your laptop, remove any jewelry and do the following:
1. Gather freshly cut parsley and place it in a pan of distilled water. Let it soak for nine minutes. Sprinkle the water throughout the house while visualizing a calm environment.
2. Go outside, face Seattle and chant the following: I will uphold the Redmond creed. High in spirit, I shall succeed. Power of the Elements Five, will help my data stay alive. From grains of earth to the moving air, past the burning fire that magic flares, flow with water, lakes, and streams; around the spirit's aura and dreams. Keep my karma high aloft and let me play with Microsoft.
3. Avoid eating any liver or organ meat for one month.
You should be good to go!
J
Sigh, not Halifax......... can you guess? Mais oui. C'est Paris!
Every now and then I have a poke through my photos, enjoying the memories and I get inspired to post one occasionally.
We are having a soft grey day here too. The snow is gone and the temps are up again. It is a bit foggy and drippy out there. Not a good day for hair if you are affected by that sort of thing.
I have a lot to do today as do most people this time of year:) Best get at it!
If you are from Nova Scotia.... how about checking out the big draw below:) Lots of great goodies in the prize pack:)
Prize Draw! I will keep this wee announcement here on my blog until Dec 30th. BustaMove BIG PRIZE DRAW
For a mere $10 you can help purchase a digital mammogram machine &
be entered in our fabulous draw. Help make the boobs of Nova Scotian
women merry! Prizes are continuing to be added:) Winner takes all. Only 25 tickets sold to date!!! Great odds!
December Views
Spring
Garden Road is a lovely street with shops and coffee places and
interesting side streets to explore. This is the window of Mills
Brothers, an old family business that has been around for years and
years. Recently it was sold and the new owners have done a bit of
modernizing.The light is odd because it is actually sunlight reflecting
off the buildings behind me spilling across the street and illuminating
this scene. Quite cool really. On the far right just out of sight is a
window with a charming display that has captivated the people in
Halifax every December for 40 plus years!
Yes,
it is Snow White. If you look at her closely, you can see her wee bosom
rise and fall softly so you can tell she is just sleeping:) The dwarves
have diamond tears.
Prize Draw! I will keep this wee announcement here on my blog until Dec 30th. BustaMove BIG PRIZE DRAW
For a mere $10 you can help purchase a digital mammogram machine &
be entered in our fabulous draw. Help make the boobs of Nova Scotian
women merry! Prizes are continuing to be added:) Latest is tickets to a taping of This Hour Has 22 Minutes. Winner takes all. Only 20 tickets sold to date!!! Great odds!
December Views
Yesterday I bought myself an early Christmas present! A wonderful copy of From Land and Sea,
It is a collection of work from over 65 of Nova Scotia's contemporary
landscape painters and it is gorgeous. I am tucking it away and won't
look at it until Dec. 25th. Promise! There was a book signing at Argyle Fine Art Gallery and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to purchase it. Now I just have to track down all the other artists!
Here are Mark Brennan (my pal:), Gordon MacDonald, Dee Appleby( the author), Steven Rhude and Shelley Mitchell. A true powerhouse of talent assembled here!
I will keep this wee announcement here on my blog until Dec 30th. BIG PRIZE DRAW
For a mere $10 you can help purchase a digital mammogram machine &
be entered in our fabulous draw. Help make the boobs of Nova Scotian
women merry! Prizes are continuing to be added:) Latest is tickets to a taping of This Hour Has 22 Minutes. Winner takes all. Only 20 tickets sold to date!!! Great odds!
December Views
it's raining out, and i'm watching "benji the hunted".
WHY am i doing this to myself...on a saturday afternoon?!
"So this is Christmas,"Can you hear John Lennon singing?
This wee advent calendar has seen a lot of action. Every year since my daughter was born, it comes out of hibernation and sits proudly on the wall. Above the pockets is a green velcro Christmas tree and each day, one of the cloth ornaments gets to decorate it:) December 25th gets a small dove.
Happy Chanukah to all of you who celebrate it:)
I am on the home stretch now. I still have cards to do, tree to get, decorations to put up. Not too much, just enough to keep me preoccupied. As if I wasn't preoccupied enough with my BustaMove activities and fund raising!
We now have 18 prizes in our BIG DRAW and the winner takes it all! From massage, golf, food, coffee, flowers, new resume, movies,books,wine....... pretty good odds. The draw is on Dec. 30th and we've only sold about 30 tickets.
Don't forget to donate here! For $10 you can help purchase a digital mammogram machine for the holidays and be entered in a big prize draw to help make the boobs of Nova Scotian women merry! Prizes are continuing to be added:)
On the 9th December 2009, in an historic and beautiful ceremony presided over by Dharmavidya at the Buddhist House, Narborough, the following good people took various vows, refuges, precepts, new responsibilities and spiritual commitments as follows:
Prasada became an Acharya;
Modgala became an Acharya;
Sujatin became an Acharya;
Rachel Abel became an Order Member and was ordained as a Ganko-sha with the name Amita Kuvalaya;
Orna Matri became an Order Member and was ordained as a Ganko-sha with the name Amita Pundarika;
Yaakov Matri became an Order Member and was ordained as a Ganko-sha with the name Amita Vimalashri;
Massimo D'Alessandro became a Postulant;
Simon Williams became a Postulant;
Madrakara Albiges became an Aspirant;
Tony Danford became an Aspirant;
Dawn Hart became an Aspirant;
Zee-Zee Heine became an Aspirant;
Madrakara Albiges took the Five Precepts;
Zee-Zee Heine took the Ten Precepts;
Annetta de Quaasteniet was admitted as a member of the Amida-shu;
Bruce Coleman took the Five Refuges;
Brandon Haywood took the Five Refuges;
Dean Haywood took the Five Refuges;
Richard Ollier took the Five Refuges.
On the following day, the 10th December 2009, in a ceremony at the Buddhist House presided over by Sujatin, the good person and new Postulant Simon Williams was admitted as a member of the Amida-shu.
Namo Amida Bu
::link
video of highlights
I am not one to eat burgers and but fries but........yesterday a friend
and I decided to check out the Westcliffe Diner!
I was looking through the Coast (a local paper) at restaurant reviews
and this wee place had raves! I thought we MUST go. The old adage
appearances can be deceptive runs true here. This is a place I have
driven past a bazillion times and never once thought to go inside.
Inside
it is dark and cluttered but the energy is great and it is clean and
always full of people. Most of them regular customers.The couple seated
here come every time they drive into the city! Thursday is Special Day
and on this day it was a boiled corn beef dinner, sometimes it is roast
beef, chicken, ham and scalloped potatoes, all for the inexpensive
price of $6.00. Including dessert and coffee! Grilled cheese $1.75 and
the milkshakes are renowned!
See!
The sign says it all. When you arrive, you figure out what you want
and go to the counter and write down your order on a little piece of
paper and leave it on the counter by the grill. They call it out when
ready and you pick it up. You then pop down to the cooler and pick out
your drink. When you are finished you take your dishes down to the end.
Very mom and pop and really terrific value and great food!
This
is what I had with some onion rings and fries. It was AMAZING. Melted
in my mouth. Really one of the best cheeseburgers I have ever had. The
woman seated next to me recommended it and I am so glad she did.
Here they are, the ones that make the magic happen......Bev and Tyler:)
Don't forget to visit the BIG prize draw for BustaMove here! For $10 donation you can help purchase a digital mammogram machine for the holidays and be entered in a big prize draw to help make the boobs of Nova Scotian women merry! Prizes are continuing to be added:)
Just a midweek smile! It's contagious:)
Mr and Mrs Andrew Lyman, Polish tobacco farmers near Windsor Locks, Connecticut
1940
Sept. Taken by Jack Delano... Delano explains that he made the couple
laugh by telling Mr. Lyman that his pants were falling down. "The
thought of such a catastrophe," Delano writes, "apparently made them
break up."
Don't forget to pop in here! For $10 donation you can help purchase a digital mammogram machine for the holidays and be entered in a big prize draw to help make the boobs of Nova Scotian women merry! Prizes are continuing to be added:)
