Death Rattles

One reason I haven't been blogging so much this week is that my computer got a virus. Actually, I think it got a couple and has probably had some low level ones in it for a while. I had been thinking of getting a new one soon anyway, but spending a week reloading software (assuming it would even be compatible with Vista) made my stomach turn.

So, my first stop is Symatec since I use Norton. Not really by choice as it came loaded on the computer. The one thing I love about their tech support is that they take control of your computer and do all of the work. The thing I don't love about them is that they only react to the problems you can describe (despite the $100 fee), so their fixes are minimal and it usually takes 2-3 calls to get it done right. This has been the case so far. I say so far in that each time I've called I've gotten something taken care of (first it was uncontrollable pop-ups, yesterday it was Google hijacking). The good news of all of this is that since they've done the cleanups, my computer hasn't run faster in years. The bad news is that between the cure and virus damage my computer is having non-virus related problems.

So, my second stop was HP tech support. This is always pretty hit-and-miss. Unfortch, they don't have the cool remote help so I had to spend some time on the phone with them on Friday night. Until 3am. Actually, before I got on the phone with them I tried their on-line tech support chat. This was an enormous waste of time. The only thing they wanted to do was reformat the drive and reinstall windows. Uh, I don't think so (see reloaded all of my software comment above).

The primary problem was that the system would boot, flash a blue screen error, then reboot. The tech I worked with got this (eventually) resolved. However, in a bizarre twist, the USB ports will read my external hard drive (you can bet your ass the first thing I did was back-up my data again as soon as the call was over) and replicator port, but not any other USB devices (e.g., MP3 players, camera, etc.). Nor will those things work when I plug them into my replicator's USB ports. So, I have a "date" with the senior tech who was helping me with these after midnight on Friday.

The other week my m-i-l was diagnosed with a compression fracture in a vertabrae in her back. He's got osteoporosis, so it's not a huge surprise that she's got this. It's causing her a lot of visible pain, in addition to her other pains, real or imagined. Falling into the latter is her emphysema diagnosis. My wife found out at the last doctor's visit that her lung capacity is between 92% and 94%. Not exactly emphysema range. But, because she all but refuses to take her Prozac and Xanax she gets a lot of anxiety. Which makes it hard for her to breathe. Which gives her more anxiety. Which makes it hard for her to breathe. Etc. In fact, the doc needs to sign special paperwork to get her the 24 hr. oxygen.

Given the situation, it makes one wonder why she needs the 24 hour care, oxygen, etc. if all she needs to do is take her fucking medicine. Dont' get me wrong, she's old and frail, but she seems to be making this tougher on herself, and far more tougher on her kids, than she needs to.