Looks like one of the few strands keeping me digitally sane may be unraveling, which can’t bode well for my own mental threads…


The past month or so, my little net-book has been acting funky. Running Windows XP, it has allowed me to post these daily dribbles and drabbles, as well as let me jump on to a computer without: a) waiting 90 minutes for it to boot up, and b) not having to use Windows Vista 24-7.

Well, it started with poor battery life. I used to get a week with my limited access, but now as soon as I turn it on the battery ion starts to visibly drain like an hourglass. I’m actually lucky to GET an hour out of it. Kind of defeats the purpose of being a laptop.

Now, it’s also gotten as sluggish as Dagwood Bumstead’s friend and hammock-loving neighbour – I may as well hit a key, then go grab a coffee before I try and type the next one – It’s about as speedy as an anchor stuck in fresh mud. Never used to be that bad.

Worse, it now flashes other programs briefly in the background. Let’s say I go to open a Word doc – I’ll see a flash of something like Windows Media Player appear for a millisecond, then vanish as quickly as the apparition appeared. Also, when I actually click on Windows Media Player, it takes a few tries to conjure it up from the ether before it actually arises from the grave to load.

I had a glimpse recently of Windows 7. I’m not sure if it was just an oasis for a man dying of thirsty in a digital desert, but it sure seemed to be a slick operating system. Then again, my toaster looks like a slick operating system compared to what I’m working with right now.

Why couldn’t I have been born wealthy, instead of just attractive, wise, witty, flexible-for-my-age, and patient????

Chow for now…