Saturday, November 2, 2013

The Art of Random Clicking…

I remember when we got our first desktop computer.  It happened to be a Gateway computer.  Do you remember those?  It arrived at the door in a box with black and white cow-spots on it.  It was awesome!  Greg got it set up after a long and frustrating night and we were in business.  We weren’t on line yet, but we could play games and do word processing.  The world was our oyster.

A Christmas soon after we got the computer, Greg bought us the game Myst.  He and I were so caught up in it that we worked together to finish it off in a week or so spending many nights up to the wee hours.  I haven’t enjoyed a computer game so much since.  I remember though when I got frustrated with it, I would just click on the screen randomly until something or other happened.  And sometimes that opened the gateway to the next level.

These days, four or five computers later, I’m a little more precise with my clicks although I know I don’t really need to be.  I mean, I know that the random clicks I do aren’t going to erase anything or mess anything up that can’t be fixed.  I’ve even figured out how to retrieve an SD card full of pictures that I’ve accidently deleted when I’ve made the wrong click, which I’ve done on more than one occasion.  But even though I know how to do it, there is always that momentary second of sheer panic before I settle down and do what I need to get my stuff back.  Let’s face it, I still kind of sit in awe of the Machine and don’t try to test my limits with it too often.

However, I do get very frustrated when I can’t figure random stuff out.  Like when I couldn’t figure out how to answer people’s comments in an email.  So I am grateful for all of the advice I get from my Blogger friends.  Thanks!  I’ve got it going now.  Actually, it was a pretty simple fix.  And it is entirely possible that I could have figured it out myself if I had been practicing the art of random clicking.  But here’s the point, it would have been random and I probably wouldn’t have recalled what I did to make it act that way and sometimes that’s just as frustrating as not knowing.

Here's how I felt before yesterday:



Here's how I feel today:


13 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

i am laughing at you. but i am in AWE of these photos! *sigh*

MadSnapper said...

to funny and my black and white cow box arrived in 1997.. 2 gateways, 2 HP and a laptop and lots of random clicking. people ask me how i learn to use the photo edit programs. that is exactly what i do.. poke and prod and random click. i must say you do look beautiful NOW

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

My first desktop PC was a Zeos, which most likely not too many people remember. Not sure how long the company was in business or even WHY I selected that model. I remember it came in a very large box and a neighbor helped me set it up. Sometimes technology confuses me as well, and if I can't figure something out I will check online or just click away until something happens, hopefully something good and not bad.
Your second photos is beautifully autumn and I am so jealous waiting for these colors to come to our area.

Pamela Gordon said...

Computers continue to amaze me with all that they can do. I'm sitting here at a laptop that takes me anywhere I want on line in the world. Amazing! Love the before and after photos and am glad you are out of the fog now. :)

Mary said...

I'm also in awe of what the computers can do. My husband is a computer hardware architect at Intel, and sometimes takes the things apart at home. Their inner workings are fascinating though i know nothing about their 'innards.' I never played Myst. Sounds interesting though. I remember playing Pong and Pacman years ago. :)

And i must mention, that as native Mainers and avid Red Sox fans, hubby and i are both happy happy happy that the Sox won the World Series! Boston Stronger indeed!

Nicki said...

I remember being a widow to Myst, Sims, every Links golf game imaginable, Call of Duty, Medal of Honor - oh the list goes on. I'm still a little intimidated by the magic box - but not afraid of it.

Love your images - crazy about the reflections.

Nancy said...

We had MYST too -- gosh that was eons ago and I had forgotten about it. :)

Unknown said...

It is amazing to look back how far computers have come and how far we have come too using them. It's great to have blogger friends to help us out along the way. The only games I ever played with pacman.
I love the image of the trees and the water - so beautiful.

Brian King said...

Fantastic photos! I love both of them! Each one has a different feel. The reflection in the second shot is gorgeous!

James said...

Awesome!

Deanna said...

Love that 2nd shot of the reflection of your gorgeous Fall...my first computer was an ACER, still think they make those, had it for years. Now electronics change so quickly it's hard to keep up with the how-to's!!

Rose said...

Our first computer was a Gateway, too...but we got a bad monitor with it. They sent us one right away, but still...it was frustrating. It had all 3GB hard drive, and that was a lot at that time. I had never touched a computer before it, other than the ones the libraries have to search for books. Now, I cannot imagine not having one.

Lynn said...

wonderful shots++, & I'm presently in gauze land re Windows 8 and answering comments in blogs can't figure this out, so I enjoyed your post, could relate and giggled a lot!