You folks may recall that I told you that my computer took adump (again) and I’ve been limping by on an old, slow, crippled unit with nosound, and that is plagued with the “This-program-must-close syndrome”.  (Hmm…”old, slow, and crippled”…that soundslike ME!!!  LOL!!!)

Well, I finally got my computer back from the shop earlierthis (Saturday) evening after the Geek Squad had it for nearly two weeks.  Once again (for the third time since I boughtit in July), all of the data is gone, as usual, but this time even the softwarethat originally came with the thing seems to have been replaced with stuff thatis almost, but not quite, the same. Of course the software that I had bought and loaded has vanished into some nether world.

I’ve been working for the last ten hours trying to reloadthe programs and data that I’ve lost, and I’ve been fairly successful in doingso, at least up to August 4, 2011, the point of my last back-up to an externalhard drive.  (Yes, I know.  Shame on me—but I’d just gotten a brand newsuper-cooling fan installed just after that date in my brand new replacement computerfor the brand new computer that I’d just bought a couple of weeksearlier!!!  And I’d also just decided torun for City Council at that point.)

So anyway, if anyone has sent me a phone number, address,email address, etc. since August 4, I no longer have it.

Anyway, now my computer is all fixed and they have assuredme that nothing more can possibly go wrong..go wrong..go wrong..go wrong..gowrong..go wrong..go wrong..go wrong..go wrong..go wrong..go wrong..go wrong..gowrong..go wrong..go wrong..go wrong..go wrong..go wrong..

Well, I justgot back from Best Buy, and they were willing to replace my week-old computerwith another brand new one, or even a comparable one of a different brand.  I was reticent, since I had spent untoldhours transferring data and trying to get things structured the way I wantedthem on this one and the identical one that crashed prior to this one.

The techieguy said that he could try replacing the CPU fan, and I replied that that wouldbe fine with me, as long as it solves the problem.  So, he opened up my tower, peered inside,hooked up some wires and ran some sort of diagnostic tests, and excusedhimself.

A fewseconds later, he came out of the back room with this HUGE rotary vane blowercontraption—all shiny and chromed—with tubing akin to exhaust headers on a hotrod, and began removing the old blade-type fan—unplugging wires and removingtiny screws like a crazed race car mechanic during a pit stop. Two other techies even came over to watch what he was doing!!!

The youngkid having his laptop debugged at the next repair station stared with his eyesbugged out and in a reverent voice whispered “Cool!!!”

My techie gotall the wires re-connected and everything secured (with very few parts leftover) and fired the computer up again.  Firstthere was a “whirrrr” followed by a satisfying “whooooosh”.  The Windows 7 logo appeared on the screen,with no “WARNING” in sight, and the techie just stood there with a smug grinfor a brief second before pronouncing “I think you’re ready to go.”

I smiled,said thanks, and quipped “I’m gonna be the only kid on my block with one ofthose!!!  Can you leave the hood up, so Ican show it off???”

Everyonewithin earshot, customers and techies alike, laughed.

RATS!!!  During thesecomputer crashes and file transfers, I’ve somehow lost my super-secret file of “eyesonly” telephone numbers!!!  They are gone...gone, I tell you...lost in that vast emptiness that is cyber-space, never to be retrieved again.

You know—the private numbers of U. S. Senators, Congressmen,Federal judges, City Council members, and other movers and shakers aroundMiddletown that I call in the middle of the night to get me out of trouble orto get the inside info on the goings-on around town.

Woe is me!  Whateverwill I do now???  Give up???  Nah!!! 

I mustapologize for not providing my usual input these past two weeks but I, likeTonyB, have been having computer problems. (I am on my second brand new computer in less than two weeks.  I was going to throw the last one out thewindow, but I was in the basement and I couldn’t lift it that high!!!     Kudos to Best Buy, though, for quickly agreeing that the hard drive had, indeed, completely failed, and for exchanging it without delay or expense.)  Now if I could just get all of my Windows Works stuff to work on this #*@$(^%+ Windows 7 system!!!

However, Idid take the time to quickly skim through this week’s City Council workbook,and I was taken aback by the antics of the Historic Commission and their attackdog, Mr. Kohler.

Everyoneshould take the time to see the harassment that they are putting some folksthrough over items such as “minor deterioration of the mortar on the garagechimney”, “vines growing on siding”, and “Need to verify if the gutter linersare in waterproof condition”.

They arethreatening to haul these folks before their Historic “inquisition” hearingcourt using process servers and the like.

Granted,these properties are located in their precious Historic District, but theyharass owners of properties outside the Historic districts inthe same manner and YOU could be next!!!

Yet you don’thear any of them say a word as one of the most historic structures (the vaultat Pioneer Cemetery) in our city (which actually IS located within a HISTORICsite) crumbles and the owner—the City of Middletown—turns a blind eye!!! 

You can readall about this hypocrisy by clicking here http://www.cityofmiddletown.org/docs/council/08022011_w.pdfand scrolling down to pages 29 through 35.