Gremlins

Yesterday I spent more time on the phone with technical support people. No offence intended, but I don't much like talking with technical support people. They have their little problem-solving script, "unplug this; plug it in again; turn the power off and turn it on again; check this setting and so on and so forth . . ."

I've had weeks and months of it. It seems that one problem is solved only to make room for another one to develop. I've lost count of the number of phone calls I've made. Yesterday one of the technical support people finally was willing to look at the bigger picture. She noted the number of problems in my history and agreed to "escalate the problem". I spoke with a Level 2 technician, who referred me to a Level 3 technician. This morning the Level 3 technician called me. I expected a long and complicated conversation with in depth analysis of the situation. Instead he laughingly agreed with me that my modem-router has a gremlin problem. He advised me not to add water and promised to send me a replacement. He even volunteered to test the new machine for a couple of days before sending it to me. Meanwhile I have internet access for the time being. At least until the gremlins strike again.

Absence

My apologies for an unusually long absence from my blog. My internet access has been cutting in and out--mostly out--and I've been dealing with technical people . . .

I hope to have things back to normal next week.

Aaauuugh!

I like to start my day with a cup of coffee and a bit of quiet craft. Waking up the computer and checking messages is usually a low key part of the routine. Not today. Today I had more than an hour on the phone with technical support for my wireless router before I could get anything on my computer. That included three different service representatives and several times being cut off. Not a happy start to the day.

Thankfully I did have a bit of simple knitting in my hands which I was able to use to soften some of my frustration. Now everything is up and running again. Hopefully tomorrow will be easier.

Armchair Again

I've started another blanket. I call these "armchair projects" because they're just the perfect thing to have in a bag next to my big armchair. I can sit and do a row or two anytime. It's the best way to manage the logistics of the project too, since there are perhaps a dozen different yarns or more involved. And the blanket seems to grow quite quickly to a point where it's not practical to carry it around with me. The bad news on the "armchair" front is that the recliner mechanism of my favourite chair broke this week. It's hard to describe how emotional I feel about it. This has been the place where I've tucked myself in for comfort and relaxation for years. It's not just a piece of furniture, but a symbol of coziness. My rational self tells me there will be other suitable items of furniture, but it's going to take a while to get used to the idea.

On the subject of things broken, or not--it turns out my computer problems were the result of a faulty DVD drive, not the upgrade discs. The good news is that the upgrade was successful using a friend's DVD drive. The not so good news is that my DVD drive is apparently not in the best of health. I'm tempted to ignore it until it causes more trouble. I don't know if that's a wise approach . . . it's times like these I want to curl up in the (now broken) armchair and stitch quietly until my mind settles and the next step becomes clear.

Picture This

I spent several hours last night in front of my computer. It was remotely connected to the software provider's help desk in an attempt to solve my camera connection problems. It was a slow frustrating time for me, and at the end I had no solution. Today I have to find a way to check my camera, since it's being blamed for the problem. I still suspect it's a problem with the new software I downloaded.

In any case, I had learned something from my previous experience with the help desk. Instead of sitting in front of the computer expecting to be engrossed by the process, I armed myself with a drop spindle and cashmere-merino top. So here I sat watching an unseen hand somewhere in India controlling my computer desktop, while I occupied my time with my beautiful spindle and fibre. There's some sort of poetic balance in that picture for me.

Sleeping Beauty

I've got a photo of the stylus of the charkha wheel I'm practicing on to upload. It's a long metal needle with a point and it's the closest thing I've ever seen to something Sleeping Beauty could prick her finger on. However I have another problem of a more recent technological kind. I upgraded my Computer Security package yesterday and since then the computer's freezing on me and won't recognise my camera. Hopefully it won't take 100 years for the computer to wake-up properly. Does anyone have a technological handsome prince who'd like to come and give my computer a kiss.