Tag Archives: techno junkie

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Techno Junkie Part 2

I am sitting in a small conference room in the public library hoping to get a post up and my other internet business done before they close in another hour and 15 minutes. All computer hell broke loose at my house. I don’t know if I can make it through.

There is a virus on my home network. It has infected several computers and the only thing I have going for me is that I don’t use my laptop at home so it didn’t pick up the virus. I don’t know what it is but I do know it refuses any microsoft site and it prevents me from updating any of my anti-virus software. I reformatted my desktop’s hard drive and reloaded windows. I was in the process of updating it and trying to get stuff loaded on it when the wind knocked out the power and did something strange to my wireless. So, no home internet. I woke up this morning and immediately started getting ready to get to the library in time to post this and try to get some other things done with this computer. I was hoping to download some different anti-virus software so I can take this computer home safe. I can’t download different software until I remove the old stuff the old stuff won’t let me remove it. GRRRRRRR.

So until I can fix these issues I am going to be floating around like an internet transient hopping from wi-fi spot to wi-fi spot just to get my interweb fix. I can only go so long before I start twitching. I realize now it is because there has been very few times in my life without a computer.

I remember we had this computer in the 80′s that played frogger and q-bert and had some word processing software. It made game sound and had very pixelated graphics. Honestly, I have seen graphing calculators with more computing power than that thing had but it was pretty unusual to have a computer at all in those days. I remember thinking that it would be amazing if computers could actually talk but it seemed like a far and distant dream.

From there we got many different computers and I remember the technology steadily grew. I would use them for word processing (I have always preferred typing instead of handwriting) and sometimes games. I had Myst and Tomb Raider. I was bad at both. Then came the internet.

AOL OMG. I was in junior high when we first got the internet. In those days, you paid by the hour and you had a dial-up modem that moved slightly slower than drawing the pictures out by hand would have. Our first ISP was AOL and I loved it. I became a chat junkie. My parents hated it. I started having to do extra chores to earn my online time. My friends and I would huddle in front of our computer and talk to people from all over and it was the coolest thing ever. I couldn’t do anything too bad because our internet computer was in the living room where everyone could see. My dad hated AOL and we got a different ISP but it was enough to start my techno junkie ways. America Online I blame you.

Well the best I can hope for is a solution to my problem so I can stop skulking from wi-fi hotspot to wi-fi hot spot. I think I should carry around my laptop in a brown paper bag with top wrinkled where I clutched it.   /le sigh.

 
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Techno Junkie

I have always known that I love technology. I have two computers; a gaming desktop that I built myself and a laptop. I am very seldom found without my cellphone, and while it might not be the latest greatest smartphone, it does have a qwerty keyboard. I know what a qwerty keyboard is. I have expensive gaming keyboard and mouse, actually, I have two expensive gaming mice. I run my own website and I am learning web design. I contribute to the best humor site on the web urlybits. I try to keep up with internet culture. I have a twitter account though I am not really into it. I have played three mmorpgs (only one hardcore) and I am looking forward to the new Star Wars game. (I have an ipod but I hate the damned thing. That is a post all in itself.)

With all of this, I would think I would realize that I am a techno junkie. I knew that I relied on my electronics a lot. I went something like ten days without power one winter. I survived. I had books. I have always told myself that if all of my other forms of electronic entertainment failed, I could always read. Of course now, I desperately want an e-reader but BUT I could always fall back on my old fashion paper books. I thought that I was fairly well balanced for a techno junkie. I only use my computer and phone because they are convenient but if I didn’t have them I would be okay. Damn I was in denial.

The first clue that not having a computer is a major bad thing is that I use it for my writing. Yes, I know I could write with pen and paper but, honestly, that is a terrible idea. I type far faster than I write and my handwriting is terrible. In college I had people offer me money for my class notes until they saw just how bad my handwriting and short hand is (during Civil War lectures, I referred to the Confederacy by atleast four different names) and I had to tell them no.

Today, though, I got an even clearer indicator that I am a techno junkie. Hotmail is down and I cannot handle it. I load up MSN and it tells me I have twelve e-mails but when I click the link that is supposed to take me to my inbox, I get an error message. Twelve unread e-mails waiting for me and I cannot get to them. The link is like some sick sadistic torture begging to be clicked but won’t flipping work.

Logically I know that is all probably e-mails from travel website and the hippie sites that I am on for some strange reason. I know when I finally do get access there will be nothing of any importance. Logically my brain knows this but my heart tells me there is something important in there and I can’t get to it. It is just not fair.

So I here I go:

Hi, my name is Selina and I am a techno junkie.

 
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