“Games lubricate the body and the mind.”
Yesterday I had all intentions of doing another entry so I got coffee, sat down, got comfy and turned on the computer, but it didn’t turn on, didn’t even make a clicking sound. I got on the floor and checked every cord, all eight hundred of them, and found two usb cords attached to the back of the computer but attached to nothing else. Still on the floor I followed every wire and found three which belonged to machines I no longer have. Now I had my cords down to seven hundred and ninety five ( counting the homeless usb cords), but my computer still wouldn’t start. I took out and then replaced all the cords. Nothing. Finally I gave up and sat down with a new, hot cup of coffee and started reading. Today a computer man came and lo and behold it was the power cord. It was plugged into a surge protector with battery back up and only one side of the surge protector worked, and it was not the computer side. I am $70.00 poorer but I have my computer back!
We had only 3 or so inches of snow over Saturday night, and it was a winter wonderland when I woke up on Sunday morning. The plow had been by, and it buried two of my three newspapers. The New York Times was the only one visible. An edge of its blue plastic stood up from the pile left by the plow. I had to wait until my driveway was plowed before the papers reappeared.
When I was a kid, we only had a toys or games which never needed a repair man. If the tire on my bike had a leak, I’d find it and fix it. If I’d misplaced a piece from a game, I’d use something else. A button worked just as well as the Monopoly shoe. Many of my games had those hit the arrow with your fingers counters so we always had one to use. I grew out of most of my games, and they sat, with all their pieces and boards and counters, on the closet shelf or in the cellar. Other games I never outgrew. Sorry is just about my favorite, and the game I still have is over forty years old. It still has all its pieces, all of the men and all of the cards. The board isn’t even faded. It has aged better than I.
Explore posts in the same categories: MusingsTags: games, Power cord, repair men, toys'
Both comments and pings are currently closed.
keepthecoffeecoming.blog 
January 10, 2011 at 2:47 pm
The power button is going on my home computer. I backed up all of my data to be safe.
My current solution is to never turn off the computer. Not sure how long THAT is going to last though. I’ve done restarts once or twice, just not shut it down for a week.
Don’t MISS THE SNOW! Don’t miss it at all!
s
January 11, 2011 at 1:26 pm
Scott,
I followed you last night and left it on though that wouldn’t have helped me yesterday. It would still have been off as it was the connection.
I also back up everything.
I don’t much like snow either but consider it a small price to pay for the rest of the year here, especially summer and fall.
January 10, 2011 at 6:38 pm
http://www.quotedb.com/quotes/986
Cheers
January 11, 2011 at 1:27 pm
Thanks, Minicapt, I bookmarked the home page.
January 10, 2011 at 8:11 pm
When I was about seven years old, in 1953, my father was on a business trip and our TV would not work. My mother called the repairman who plugged it into the wall for $10. You got away cheap. I never turn my computer off. I have it set to go into sleep mode when a set time of no activity has passed. Sleep mode uses less electricity than starting it up from shutdown. The only time I shut it down completely is when I am leaving the house for an extended period of time. You can set this up from an energy saving control panel.
The three inches of snow here in Dallas created havoc on some of the freeways this morning. My route to work was clear and dry. Today all of the snow melted.
January 11, 2011 at 1:29 pm
Bob,
I put mine in sleep mode last night, but, as I tole Scott, that wouldn’t have helped me. I still would have found a dead computer as that one side of the surge protector had died.
I thought I got away pretty cheaply too.
We are expecting more snow tonight. It is cold out and the snow we have and will have will be around for a long while.
January 10, 2011 at 10:32 pm
Yahtzee!
I love saying that word. 🙂
It’s my favorite board game, too.
Know what you mean with all the power cords. I try to find cordless/battery stuff as much as possible because I’m running out of outlets to plug things into. It’s at the point where practically every outlet in the house requires a surge protector strip. Wires, wires everywhere and not a free plug in sight.
January 11, 2011 at 1:32 pm
Caryn,
We also play Yahtzee though Kismet was my family favorite. It is similar to Yahtzee but the numbers on the dice are colored and they play a part in finishing, like you need two pair same color as one of the must gets.
I did laugh yesterday when that guy found three USB cords which went to nothing. I was going to suggest they self-generate, but he didn’t seem the kind of guy who would appreciate my humor.
This is the only room with miles of cords and the necessary three power strips. Near my computer isn’t a pretty sight.
January 11, 2011 at 12:43 pm
It´s so annoying when it is impossible to find out what´s wrong by one self. No repairman would ever come home though. We have to pick it all with us and drive to the repairman. Service is a very unknown word here in Sweden 🙂 🙂 🙂
I´ve never heard of Sorry before. My all time favorite is Yahtzee (but we call it Yatzy)
Couldn´t get to work yesterday, the small slope I have was so slippery that I didn´t manage to drive my car there 🙂 🙂 🙂
Have a great day now!
Christer.
January 11, 2011 at 1:35 pm
Christer,
I like Yahtzee too and have found it a great stocking stuffer as they have different games like one for Halloween.
If I had driven the computer in my car, the repairman would have found nothing wrong. I knew it was something weird which is why I hunted in the paper for a guy who comes to the house.
When I saw all your snow pictures, I felt bad that you were stuck. Now it seems we will be joining you.
January 16, 2011 at 3:05 pm
The Parcheesi game I began using at age 5 in mid-1950 was the one my mother’s family was using in the 20’s. All the pieces were there but one. It was a blue button. I was sad, because blue is my favorite color. I played many games with my mother, as there weren’t any kids my age around. When her mother and old-maid sister came to see us, we would have an all-afternoon ‘fest of playing Parcheesi. I always thought it superior to Sorry, though they are very similar in play.
Our game of choice these days is the card word game Quiddler. I recommend it. If you play, be sure you also have a paperback version of the Scrabble Dictionary to arbitrate.
My game of choice WOULD be either Double Scribbage (sort of a Scrabble with dice in high gear) or Master Boggle…IF my wife would agree to play me. But, since she almost never wins those games, we NEVER get to play them.
January 16, 2011 at 9:36 pm
Rick,
We are also Parcheesi fans, but that game is often too long for the time we have. It’s those blockades which slow down the game and which I happen to love.
Funny coincidence but I gave the game Quiddler to two friends this year!
My mother and I used to play endless games of Master Boggle.