My laptop decided it was done today. I’ve had issues with it for a long time, most recently the screen will go black while I’m working on it. It sounds like it’s running fine, but I can’t do anything to get the screen to come back on. Usually I just hold the power button down until it turns off then start it back up, but no matter how many times I tried that today the screen wouldn’t come back on. Hewlett-Packard sent me a box a while ago to ship it in for a free repair, but I hadn’t sent it yet because even though I thought I had activated XP on the desktop, apparently I hadn’t and I couldn’t fully boot it up.
The first thing I did was to try to ask around to see if anybody had a spare laptop I could borrow until mine came back repaired. I even posted something on Twitter about it. In the meantime, I thought I’d call HP (who also made my desktop) to see about getting an activation code, which was the suggestion a Microsoft rep gave me when I tried calling about the activation a little while back.
Well, the HP lady said my desktop was too old and that I should buy a new one. Now, the desktop is, I don’t know, five years old or so, but it works just fine and it would be cheaper for me to buy a brand new Windows XP CD than it would be to drop a few hundred bucks on a new computer. I guess the support people are told that to help increase sales, but really it’s an idiotic suggestion.
Fortunately for me, while I was looking for the serial number of the computer I found a label I’d never noticed before that said Product Key. I entered that for my XP activation and badabing, I was up and running.
To that effect, I decided to go ahead and ship off the laptop. Amanda, Milly, Phil and I loaded up and dropped it off at the Fed-Ex/Kinko’s then grabbed some Cookout on the way home.
What’s that you say? Oh, yeah, Amanda’s dad came by. He’d gone to a funeral an then came by to see Milly. I was busy for most of the time he was here, but he mostly chatted with Amanda and held (and fed) Milly.
Speaking of Milly, before we left she went through three diapers in about ten minutes. Well, that includes the one that was already on her, so really only two diapers. Amanda had was changing a poopy diaper and almost got hit with projectile feces in the process so Amanda had to get a fresh diaper. A few minutes later she messed that one too. Fun stuff.
I worked a little late tonight but was hindered in my progress by not having all the files I needed readily at hand (as they were created on the laptop). After that I spent some time on the couch with Milly while Amanda made use of her free time by not having free time (cleaning and such). Milly was fussy so I had to keep bouncing her and putting her sweetmaker (pacifier) back in her mouth. After a bit I was able to close my eyes and hold her next to me, but I didn’t actually get to fall asleep.
A little later, still on the couch with the Millster, I talked to my dad, who is in Kentucky right now, and Andra. Her husband, Josh, is busy lately, which is good since he’s now self-employed.
When I got off with Andra I fed Milly and put her to bed then Amanda and I watched a little TV to wind down.
Ben and Jessica Lambeth are coming for the weekend tomorrow!
Zach Dotsey