I'm back, but not totally happy about it...

June 23rd, 2008 at 12:30am Jim Vail 541

Up until recently, my computer was still in it's box since my move out of Colorado in February. I had been using a computer in my bank's lobby, but recently managed to get more steady work out of the temp agency I have been using, meaning that I was working during the hours that my bank was open. My computer choices were then down to an Internet Cafe for $5.00 per hour mainly on Saturdays OR get my machine online in the cheap motel room where I am still staying.

It turned out more easily done than I had originally thought; just a bit of rewiring and a couple of trips to Radio Shack for parts, but I am now online where I am staying! That's when the problems started:

I knew that after being unplugged for close to 4 months, there would be snafus getting back, but I was still surprised by the outcome. The first day, I had a very long download to catch up with my anti-virus software updates, then on subsequent days, came some 15 or 16 Windows updates; one of which is a complete new version of Internet Explorer which includes at least some VISTA features including a "phishing filter" which just has to check out every website I visit especially my own email accounts. I turned that off as soon as I could find the settings for it, but no matter what I do, my machine is still slower than molasses even though I no longer have any more downloads going on. Yes, I know, I AM a dinosaur still using dial-up, but the decreased speed IS something new for this computer. If anyone out there has any pointers for dealing with Internet Explorer 7 and the like, I would appreciate the heads up. At some point, I hope to get into another place and at the very least upgrade to DSL if not full blown cable. In the meantime, it looks like I have to be cool with playing cards or napping while waiting for web pages to load.

Now, on to other things: How many of you have heard the increasing rhetoric on high gas prices and the various arguements about not being able to drill our way out of this? I don't know about you, but all of that rhetoric is pretty much verbatim to what I have been hearing for the past 35 years! Don't these politicians have any kind of memory about "... been there, done that..?

I , personally, am quite surprised that all of the alleged panic is because of gas prices. To me for years, the alarming situation has been the increasing cost of such things as houses or cars. If the price of gas had kept pace with housing and transportation, then gas could presumably be at least $8 if not $9 per gallon.

As an example, the first house my family bought when I was a kid cost a grand total of $12,500.00. It was a newly built house. The last time I was in my old hometown in 1998, that old neighborhood had the cheapest houses in town and they were priced at $275,000 despite being almost 50 years old at that point. Same thing with cars. The very first car that I bought new was only $2500.00 and I thought that was high.

Yes, I am apparently dating myself and many would argue that wages have been going up all along. I say BS. My wages have been up and down ad nauseum over the past 35 years and peaked for a short time some 5 years years ago. Since then, wages have been going down, down, down. Part of that admittedly is my quest to stay in more rural areas and away from metro areas. I am also looking into going back to college courses to improve the kind of jobs I can apply for, but I do have quite a feel for other people complaining about the lack of a "living wage"; it's not all sniveling. In fact, I have met a lot of people WAY worse off than myself despite the fact that I am right now working for a wage that I haven't seen since the 1970s.

I believe that I am meandering way afield from my original intentions. Must be getting late. Time to go for now.........Later.

Entry Filed under: Colorado, Travel