waiting for the cable guy

well, my days have been filled with technical support calls to a) the internet provider b) the manufacturer of the router and c) the manufacturer of my computer. . . literally, hours of frustration with and without a phone attached to my head. literally, hours and hours without a) the internet b) a functional router or c) amazing results from the newest software with amazing diagnostic powers. oh yeah, and just for fun, intermittent home phone service and cable tv.

after finally concluding that the majority of fault lay with the internet provider. . . there was nothing to do but wait for the cable guy.

i know. i know that this is not a big deal in the grand scope of reality these days. there is the economy, the war, the "other" wars and genocides running concurrently with our war, global warming freezing our nether-parts clean off while burying us under considerable amounts of snow, the economy, the biggest Ponzi scheme earth has ever seen, and well, the economy.

i get that. but what scared me is how dependent we are all becoming on technology. and how sophisticated technology is becoming. (ok, all you with Macs, i am beginning to see the light. . . and after the hours i logged trying to get my pc to talk nicely with the router and the router to talk nicely with the modem and the modem to talk nicely with the internet. . . i can justify the expense next time around. but in the meantime, i am living in pc world/hell.)

there are a couple of family members who are committed to keeping our grandmas' computers running smoothly - as well as writing out EASY user instructions for them. if we didn't do that on a regular basis, neither nana would have her forwarded emails OR she would be paying big bucks to the guys in the white, short-sleeved shirts and skinny ties to figure out why her printer is not printing or why the font in her email mysteriously changed size yesterday. both grandmas have learned that email is a good way to touch base with a grandchild - yes, texting would be preferred over email but hey, they are just getting the hang of email. . .

computers connect us to each other - and us to our banks - and our banks to our mortgage lenders - and so on and so on. computers connect us to a truth that sometimes our news media is not willing to tell. computers supply us with a steady stream of knowledge and junk based completely on our whims and the strength of our character. they are part of the American household now.

i remember reading an article on "the home of the future" completely "run" by a computer. i no longer find that intriguing or comforting. i find it down right scary. my home at the mercy of software and hardware compatibility issues and power surges, not to mention, human error. . . i don't think so.

yeah, about that. . . the cable guys, (yes, they sent two of them) were here for a long, long time today. . . diagnosing and then ripping out and installing cable to correct the somewhat haphazardly built maze of coaxial we had running through our walls . . .

but resolving the main issue of no internet involved showing me the engaged "stand by" button on the modem which temporarily shut off our internet but not our phones or cable tv. . .

hmmmm, human error. . . mine.