Dana Mentink here. This is sad to report, but my 'n' fell off. I suppose this is to be expected when one turns 47, but it popped right off my keyboard in the middle of a paragraph replete with literary genius. No problem, I told myself, and off I went to the computer store to buy a new keyboard. I am told, by the radiant Matilda, that my iPad is obsolete, such a stegasauras in fact, that there is no keyboard anywhere in the known universe that can possibly connect to this relic. One could try to find an ancient model on Amazon, but one will have to wait a few days, if one is indeed lucky enough to find one. Wait? With three deadlines looming? I throw myself on the mercy of the dashing Marco who shows me how to snatch my works of genius from the cloud and zap them into a fancy new unit. I tell Marco that should I ever have any more children, I am naming them all Marco.
Can you guess what happens next? Yep. I upgrade my iPad, keyboard and the whole nine yards. Good news? I have an 'n' and I can now type at a blistering rate of speed. Bad news? I'm out 900 clams. Sigh. It's not easy being me. It wasn't easy being Marco, either, as I hovered over his delicate information transfer like an astronaut supervising a space capture.
How are you all doing out there with your technology? Are you keeping up or do you find your igizmos and android thingys are aging faster than you are?
I'm having trouble keeping up. My $600 IPAD mini with cellular is a little over 2 yrs old now (I think) and works fine, but I'm afraid it will be obsolete soon. I just recently got a smartphone because I liked the grandfather plan I had on my old, dumb phone. I had to cave in and buy a smart phone because I was tired of telling people I couldn't see the pictures they were sending me. Technology moves a bit too fast for me. Although I have several DVD players, I still own a couple of VCR's and VHS tapes..sigh.
ReplyDeleteYou're funny, Dana. I'm so behind the times that I'm thrilled to have a laptop! I worked in a corner away from the window on a PC for over 20 years. I don't own an i-anything. I even have a Tracfone. I supposed if I knew how to deal with the technology, I'd want to do more things, which would necessitate savvier stuff. I'm happy in my ignorance. But congrats on getting new things!
ReplyDeleteCute story, Dana. My technology works fine . . . as long as one of our dogs doesn't decide to use a device as a chew toy. Okay, I have to be honest. That was a problem only in the early days after they became members of our family (two rambunctious young males who only lived in a kennel prior to adopting us), but I did have to replace a laptop and a smartphone because of our beloved Logan.
ReplyDeleteTruly a case of "the dog ate my work?" :)
DeleteI'm with Muriel. I'm thrilled to have my laptop, even though I feel the I-word nipping at my heels as said laptop ages. Since I'm aging, too, every new thing on the learning spectrum gets a little harder, so new toys aren't as much fun as they used to be. I am glad you have your 'n' back, though. :-)
ReplyDeleteI had trouble learning the whole online editing process too. It was learning curve!
DeleteI know, Laurie. It's impossible to keep up on this wacky cyber highway!
ReplyDeleteBelieve me, Muriel, I was quite happy with the "old things" but I didn't think my editor would approve of a whole novel written without the use of the letter 'n'!
ReplyDeleteLOL!!!
DeleteDana, I tried to laugh, but felt your pain so I refrained. Was it not something Superglue could fix, or is that too obsolete now? I saw them advertising Gorilla glue the other day. For you it'd be a terrible thing to be missing an "n" since you have 2 of them in your name.
ReplyDeleteLol!!
DeleteTrue! Without 'n's I'd be Daa Metik. Sounds like a danish scientist, doesn't it?
DeleteIt's all new to me. This weekend I used my Hotspot on my phone to watch movies on my TV and AT&T warned me I was down to 70% of my thingumabobs. Two hours later they warned I was at 90% with three more weeks to go for the month and two other people on the plan! Here I thought I was set for life with my Hotspot, and now I need to invest in Wi-Fi.
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DeleteLOL!! You'll are cracking me up with these comments. I'm sorry for posting more than once but I'm truly cracking up over here.
DeleteThere is nothing worse than having your thingamobobs run down, Marion!
DeleteI am embarrassed to admit I LOVE my gadgets. And that I am all coordinated. :-) Everything is silver from my Mac laptop to my iPhone. If those pulsars ever hit, I'm toast. Loved your post.
ReplyDeleteVery spiffy, Patricia!
DeleteMr. Curtis is currently taking a teaching methods class at university (because he felt the need to add another teaching credential to his long list and they wouldn't allow him to do so without being up-to-date on how to teach to kids). His desk sits next to mine and I am about ready to shoot him. Here are just some examples:
ReplyDeleteI took pictures on my iPhone. How do I upload them to my blog again?
OK, I made changes to my blog. How do I save it? Is it save and preview or save?
I just had that page up on the internet! What happened to it? (When you clicked on it, dear, you hit the "x". You need to click anywhere BUT the X!")
What's a link? How do I insert one? Have you ever heard of TED?
I fear even if he passes the class that he won't be blogging and creating web pages to interact with his students. I can only hope that he'll be able to understand when they say they found the information on a TED video.
Poor guy. I feel his pain. Fortunately, I have teenagers who can instruct me. :)
DeleteYou're cracking me up, Melinda! He sounds like my mom who is about as tech-savvy as a caveman. She called me on her new iPhone6 last night. Waiting for the 500 phone calls asking how to do this and that (that's if she can figure out how to make another call!)
DeleteLol!!!
DeleteDana....hilarious. I'm so sorry about your $900 'n', but glad it worked out. For me, everything I know about technology is on a need-to-know basis. In fact, I only replace pretty much anything when it wears out and am baffled by the constant "upgrades" people make when the item they already have works just fine! I only replace my cell phone when the battery will no longer hold a charge long enough for me to make a call. (I'm also mystified by this phenomenon where a new battery is not cost-effective forcing me to upgrade....)
ReplyDeleteI know! I used my enormous Get Smart Shoe phone for years. It was a cell phone the size of a brick! Only upgraded when I absolutely had no choice!
DeleteVery funny post, Dana! I'm imagining you writing your whole book without using any 'n's. Wouldn't that have been a fun challenge? I went all Apple devices a couple of years ago but I'm still trying to catch up on technology. I'm afraid a new iPad is in my near future because mine is more than two years old. I covet a mini next time. Hubby had trouble with his PC last week and I (again) nagged him to get a Mac. Laurie, I too have lots of old VHS tapes! Maybe they'll come back someday like vinyl records.
ReplyDeleteI believe there was a novel written entirely without the use of the letter 'e'. Imagine that!
DeleteI feel for your lightened pocketbook, Dana! I am lucky enough to have a decent grasp on technology but it burns me how quickly things become obsolete. If I pay $500 for something, I want it to still work after a year! And if it needs a new "n", I should be able to get a new "n" darn it! I have a MacBook that's on its last leg, but I am going to stick with it until the bitter end. That's what external backups are for!!
ReplyDeleteI feel for your lightened pocketbook, Dana! I am lucky enough to have a decent grasp on technology but it burns me how quickly things become obsolete. If I pay $500 for something, I want it to still work after a year! And if it needs a new "n", I should be able to get a new "n" darn it! I have a MacBook that's on its last leg, but I am going to stick with it until the bitter end. That's what external backups are for!!
ReplyDeleteI will never change from apple. Something goes wrong, someone knows how to fix it, and does it quickly and happily.
ReplyDeleteI have a new phone and I keep getting messages about using up all my megabytes. Huh? I got a new phone. I'm not using it more. Ug. I need to call.