Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Good news

Well, my computer seems to be behaving itself since it realized it does have a keyboard after all. {Smile}

That's not the good news of the title. {bite lips} I've been trying to figure out how to tell you without sounding like I'm bragging. After about three weeks, I give up. So here goes. {smile}

A few weeks ago, I got three volumes collectively titled Storytelling: An Encyclopedia of Mythology and Folklore. {pause} In the middle volume are four short articles I wrote myself about gods and creatures popular in Hawaiian legends. (Pele, her sister Hi'iaka, Maui, and the Menehune, if you're curious.) {Smile, pause}

The encyclopedia was edited by Josepha Sherman, and she did a great job on it. The articles are both well-written and well-chosen. {Smile} I don't say that because my articles are in it; I was taught how to evaluate an encyclopedia in library school, and this one passes the tests. {Smile} That isn't easy to pull off either; a lot of encyclopedias have problems.

Dad says this makes me a published author. {bite lips} I guess it does, but I know too many published authors not to realize it's only one step on a long road. I'd like to follow up with something else sometime, but at least I've made a start. {Smile}

Anne Elizabeth Baldwin

Friday, September 12, 2008

Well...

Yesterday afternoon (Thursday), Dad announced that the Computer Store had called. My computer was already fixed. We could go pick it up any time. So we went down pretty quickly. {smile} We picked it up. The gal who fixed it said the only problem that she could find was the modem was switched off. She turned it back on, and all seemed fine. She said this could be a virus, so I should watch it for more trouble, but she really thought it was fixed.

So we loaded it up and took it home. Dad set it up as quickly as feasible. I turned it on, and checked my email to make sure it was working. My email downloaded fine. {smile}

Then I shut it down so I could tag along while Dad got groceries. KTA, the supermarket he was going to, has picnic tables out front, on a wide, shaded patio. I like to sit at them and think and write. It's a change of scenery, and a pleasant arrangement. {Smile}

Then we went back home. After a while, I turned on my computer again. As I began to log into my usual sites (LJ and Blogger), my computer stopped responding to my keyboard. {bite lips} No matter how many buttons, I pushed, nothing. I figured out which cable connected the keyboard to my computer, and checked it. It was slightly loose. I pushed it in firmly, and checked again. Still no keyboard. I told Dad what happened. He came to look at it. I took a bathroom break to calm down. (No, I was no calm. {half-smile}) When I came back out, Dad said he'd turned off my computer, waited for a bit, and turned it back on. It seemed to work after that. {bite lips}

It has continued to work since then. {bite lips} However, with the repair technician at The Computer Store's words about viruses, I've been watching it very carefully for further stunts. I hope it's working now, but I don't trust it, even after over a day. {small smile}

I really hope it's working now, but... {bite lips, cross fingers}

Anne Elizabeth Baldwin

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

{frustrated sigh}

My computer is in at The Computer Store waiting to get fixed. The DSL can't find the web, tho the dialup can. {small smile}

The good news is that they have improved their procedures. They expect to get around to it in 2-3 days. This really is an improvement over the 4-5 days they usually took before. {half-smile}

In the meantime, I'm borrowing Dad's computer. That means I won't have as much time online, since I'll have to give it back. {resigned smile}

Anne Elizabeth Baldwin

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Space hazards

I'm back to reading The Hazards of Space Travel. {Smile}

Remind me never to travel to Io. Between the volcanoes spewing all kinds of dangerously heating and poisonous substances around and the tidal forces warping the very rock 100's of feet, I can't imagine anyone wanting to go there. I might be underestimating a few daredevils, but any who do want to go are not in their right mind as far as I'm concerned! {Lopsided Smile}

Anne Elizabeth Baldwin