My computer

About a month ago, my computer keyboard began acting up. The right half of the screen became intermittent, but some keys were worse than others. The delete key, the "l" key, the return key and the space bar were especially erratic. Apple has an alternative "built in" keyboard that you can use the touch pad that I was able to use as a workaround. But that really slowed down my typing. We put it in the shop before the New York trip, but a simple keyboard replacement did not cure the problem. I did all my work, keywording my images that are at Acclaim with this faulty keyboard setup. Even instant messaging.

When we got home from this last trip, we got my computer back into the shop. Even though Henry rigged me up a substitute computer with a mac mini, an additional hard drive, big keyboard and my new large monitor, it just was not the same. The larger more traditional keyboard did not have the same feel as my laptop. Trying to use the mouse to clone out the dust spots on images did not work very well. Picture me moving the mouse on my leg in front of the desk, keyboard in my lap. And it was not a one hand project to clone either. Left hand had to be on the keyboard (option key) while the right hand was trying to get the cursor positioned. Not ideal, not at all.

Whether this is good or bad, I can't tell, but I spend a lot of time at my computer every day. I get the news from MyYahoo. I check several photo discussion boards to learn new things and to keep up with my online photography friends. I also use instant messaging. I do my blog and I read several other blogs. Plus I work on my photos. And let's don't forget email. Not only do I get email from friends and family, I'm now on three list serves that send email all day long. But it is fun email. Texbirds tells me where I could go to sight birds (actually had me wanting to be back in Texas during this fall migration!). The stock photography emails give me information about the stock photography world (as well as the politics of it-arghhh!). And, of course, when one is bored, there is always "Solitaire til Dawn." With my laptop, I can be in my office, in the living room, or at Starbucks. With the substitute, I was stuck in my office.

Today MY computer came back. Henry had "cloned" it so that I did have a computer. They pretty much replaced everything but the external case this time, so Henry had to take everything we had backed up and reload it to my repaired computer.(Thank you God that we HAD backed everything up!)

It may be silly to miss something as mundane as a computer, but I did miss my laptop. I'm glad it is back home.