Spatter

Blog Change

In case you're wondering, Spatter's taken on a new look.  It's called "free".  As a freebie, gone are the font choices, the ability to schedule posts to be published ahead of time, and of course, the customized look and links I had.  I downgraded because I saw no reason to keep giving Typepad money for a tool that I'm barely using.

Spatter has been in existence for over four years and during that span it's served me well...both as a creative outlet and as a vehicle for meeting some really great people. Call it a sign of the times, but it's been becoming  a bit obsolete for me and the reasons to keep Spatter going are waning:

• I'm finding Facebook is mostly fine for my "spatter"  and I now spend most of my time interacting there and on Flickr.   People interact with me more there too. In fact, most established blogger friends are on Facebook and I see them there more than I do on our respective blogs.

• And Spatter has become mostly a re-post of my photography with links to Flickr.  It's become redundant most of the time.

Still, it's hard to abandon my "baby"...the vehicle that was born when my creative juices were reborn. and I do still think there's a place for an archive of my life.  For those reasons...and because there's a group of friends who, for now at least, only keep up with me via Spatter,  I downgraded in lieu of cancelling.  The new format isn't as pretty and isn't as capable, but I think it'll do. 

 

 

Browse For A Cause

Browse For A Cause is a service which allows you to support your favorite charities by browsing the internet.  It's a Firefox plug-in.  After adding the plug-in, a percentage of your online purchases are donated to support the charity of your choice.  You don't have to do a thing. There are no forms, no ads, and there's no slow-down. 

Browse For A Cause from BrowseForACause on Vimeo.

You can choose one or more of the charities they list or you can add your own.  If you use Firefox, please consider downloading and adding this plug in.   I can't think of an easier way to give.

Restored & Happy Again

Finally, our phone and internet service is restored.  I'm celebrating at last!  Here's the rest of the story:

The ATT repairman that came out today must have been part of their "A" team because...unlike the first guy who came on Friday...this guy knew what he was doing.  The first thing he did was replace our "ini" box...where the phone line comes into the house.  It had corroded.  When that didn't fix the problem, he went on a search mission and ultimately found a short in one of our jack outlets. When that got corrected, phone service happened.  He then proceeded to restore my internet service...saving me about $80 for a new modem AND having to call tech support.  And oh yeah...he said his print out showed we have the maintenance plan, so there would be no charge for either visit.  I didn't know that...nice surprise!

To ATT's credit, a quality control representative came to the door later to see if all was now OK.  She seemed empathetic as she listened to my tale of woe and she acknowledged the problems that seem to be inherent in their being "big" and "complex".  Having worked for Miami-Dade County, I recognized the look in her eye and the tone of her voice as she apologized.  

I don't know if I'm going to keep local phone service with ATT or not, but today's team has at least left them in a viable position.  

Another Day Without

Still without phone line, and so...still without internet.  I called ATT again this morning from a friend's house and was able to get the repair order moved to tomorrow morning.  Tuesday is a far cry from Saturday!  I've got my fingers crossed that all will be restored by this time tomorrow.  In the meantime, I'm having dinner at Whole Foods again...

The Aggravation Continues

My restored phone service was short lived.  Woke up to find my phone line dead again.  Now  it will be a week before ATT sends someone out.  A week!  They didn't seem to care about 911 emergencies that could happen in the interim.  Pointing out our possibly leaving ATT didn't seem to phase them either.  There's definitely something wrong with this picture! 

While here at Whole Foods I've looked at Verizon plans that would have enough minutes to use as a way to replace ATT service.  I never had wanted to give up phone service with a line before because of tower outages during hurricanes.  But now that we're not here during hurricanes, it's something I might now consider.  

It'll be interesting to see if I get DSL/internet Monday with the new modem that I've purchased.  Sure hope so...a week without phone service is one thing, but a week without internet...oh noooooooooo! 

Off Line

Just wanted to check in to advise that I've made it to Florida safe and sound but  I've no internet service at home.  I spent my 24 hours here dealing with AT&T...trying to get both phone and internet service restored.

After many calls, much frustration, and $95, our phones are working again.  Internet service is another matter.  Coincidentally...conveniently...my modem has died.  At least that's what they told me.  After what I've gone through, I'm not sure I believe them, but it seems I have to since I'm not going back to Comcast internet service. So, I paid for a new modem and it's supposed to arrive Monday.  More money. 

In the meantime, I'm checking in via Panera's or Whole Foods when I can. 

Going Round & Round

I seem to be going round and round with Adobe regarding sending me a Mac version of Photoshop Elements.  Like I said before, dealing with them has been the most difficult part of my switch to a Mac.  It's not that they're uncooperative...it's that they don't follow through and too, they leave you in the dark.

I've spoken with them several times about this.  Each time I do I have to go through explaining the whole situation again.  I'm not sure why this is necessary since they have case numbers and records.  But it is what it is.

Tonight...because I called them...I found out they had finally shipped my software out.  Yippee! There's just one small problem:  they shipped it to my Florida address.  And of course, since Adobe didn't tell me how it would be shipped or when it would be shipped or that it shipped, the package is one step away from delivery.  Sigh.

To the rescue:  Fed-Ex.  I called them and they changed the delivery address.  It's going to take a couple of extra days, but it's coming!


Post Note
During this transition, I've decided to make my blogging life a bit easier by not bothering with the drop shadows on my featured photos and too, by not bothering anymore with retrieving and inserting my signature for posts.  Does anybody miss either one?

Loving My Mac

Just in case anyone's wondering, I love my Mac.  It's a lean, good looking machine.  The more I use it, the more impressed I become with it. Apple really does have its act together. It's apparent in so many ways. 

Happily, my learning curve hasn't been nearly as steep as I thought it would be.  Of course, I haven't mastered all the nuances yet, but I'm navigating just fine. It's very intuitive and very simple.   Sometimes I think to myself "it can't be that simple"...but it usually turns out that it is. 

The other concern I always had about crossing over was software.  I didn't want to spend a fortune on top of paying top dollar for the computer.  Well,  it turns out that my software either works or I've found a suitable alternative...for free.  Open Office has replaced Microsoft Office for text and spreadsheets.  For what I do, I can't notice a difference in function or capability between the two.  As for Outlook, the Mac includes email, calendar, and address programs.  They're not as powerful  and sophisticated as  Outlook, but they're all I really need.  And importing my mail, contacts, and dates. was a breeze. They're certainly good enough to keep me from shelling out money for the Mac version of Office.

That I can run Office on my Mac is a nice feature, but I'm not too sure I want any part of Windows on my Mac.   Any Mac user out there using Boot Camp or Parallels?  I'd be interested in your feedback.

So, the silver lining on all of my computer headaches of late is that it motivated me to jump ship where I might otherwise might not have.  And it seems that you can add me to the list of people who say: once you go Mac, you never go back.

Missing In Action

I've been "missing in action" from the real world since Wednesday noon.  That's when my new MacBookPro arrived. I've been immersed in the migration and familiarization process ever since.  It's going well...I even got my printer installed!  In fact, the hardest part of it all has been dealing with Adobe. I had to get Photoshop Elements transferred over to a Mac platform.  It was akin to dealing with DISH-TV, Comcast, etc:  endless recycling through representatives who follow a script, don't bother to check the information before them, and...dare I say it...can't be understood.  It's very frustrating.  I think...I hope...that I finally have it squared away. 

See you soon...

Up And Running...Sort Of

I'm up and running...sort of.  Somehow I managed to press the right keys or combination of keys to get me out of a frozen CHKDSK state.  Things are not all better though.  I still can't install any driver...not a printer, not my scanner, not my ipod...nothing.   In other words, I've not got a "whole" computer.  What's more, I'm sure it's just a matter of time before it crashes again.  I just feel it in my bones.

I'm ready to do it.  I'm ready to convert: I'm getting myself a MacBook.  I've thought about buying a Mac each time I've bought a new computer, but have always decided against it because of cost...both the machine itself and software.  But this go round I'm ready to do it! No more throwing money into this computer, or into another new Windows computer...especially one with Vista on it.   If I took the money I spent on fixing and replacing computers over the past couple of years, it would have paid for a Mac and then some!

Now that I've made my mind up about the matter, I'm getting really excited about it and it's all I can do to wait.  I'm waiting to hear from a friend about possible cost savings through a vendor used by her school district.  It should take about a week to get the quote.  The fact that I've got a computer to work on helps, that's for sure!