1 DEC 04: TAKE GOOD CARE OF MY BABY

So you may be asking where your blogger was Tuesday. Let's clear something up right now -- no, I was NOT behind some closed door with Ken Hodges, laughing at the Columbus Urban League....

I was unable to blog for you because my five-and-a-half-year-old computer needed repair. Or should I make its P.C. age 5.5?

Sunday morning I found I could not call up any web pages on my computer. I'd go online, try to visit any random site, and the computer would put up an error message. I was kicked out of Microsoft Internet Explorer so much, you'd think I
was competing against Bill Gates.

Even my five-year-old version of the Netscape browser wouldn't work online. And when I was offline, the mere highlighting of a web page in a document list set off the error message. Perhaps those weekend e-mails from Miriam Tidwell made ALL my files just as touchy.

A night with the computer turned off failed to solve the problem. So at midday Monday, I took it to my official repair shop. Computer Discounters on Veterans Parkway has helped me through a couple of power surges, a few dead power
units - and even added a mysterious "stick of RAM," which I've never heard rattling anywhere inside.

I noted for the owner of Computer Discounters when I turned on my computer, there was an error loading "C:WINDOWS\BXXSS.DLL." Presumably that was why I couldn't do much on the web - but a .DLL? I don't have a dill
pickle, much less a Dell computer.

Monday evening I checked with Computer Discounters on how things were going - but they hadn't been able to find the problem yet. Instead, the manager HAD found more than 1,000 "ad-ware" files. I had enough hidden "pop-ups" for two seasons of Columbus Catfish baseball games.

With the source of the problem still unknown, my computer had to stay in the shop overnight. This place does NOT offer computers on loan, the way some auto dealers' repair departments offer "loaner cars." I suppose that's because some
weirdo might return a computer filled with child porn, and get the owner arrested.

It felt a bit strange having no computer in the house Monday night. I probably spend more time in front of it than in front of the television - but at least I don't play 150 FreeCell games a month anymore.

A check with Computer Discounters Tuesday at midday found the manager still going "deeper" for the source of the problem. This should teach those of you who think this is a shallow-minded blogger....

Tuesday evening came the verdict - I needed to run the "Restore CD" on my computer, to purge out the last corrupt web pages. But there's one small problem: the laser on my CD tray is wearing down after 5.5 years. Maybe I need a video game
system, to zap it back to life.

I plan to run the Restore CD during the overnight hours, after finishing this entry Tuesday night. This is being posted at a secure "undisclosed location" - and if it's good enough for Vice President Cheney, it's good enough for me.

This will be the first time I've had to run the Restore CD for Windows in a couple of years. It's a slow process, taking a couple of hours and requiring me to reload several items of software. You can tell I'm a geek from up North - because I
know how to reload computers, but not shotguns.

Before we spin that CD, let's take care of some quick items from the last couple of days:

+ An unnamed coach at Russell County Middle School was disciplined, for twisting a student's arm. So much for attorney Ken Nugent becoming a partner in education -- not while he calls himself "The Strong Arm."

+ Alabama Governor Bob Riley visited Auburn, and said it was the wrong time for Auburn University faculty to vote on demanding the firing of two trustees. Why? Is Bobby Lowder THAT vital for Auburn to have an undefeated football
season?

(Governor Riley is concerned about the faculty voting so close to a big meeting on Auburn's accreditation. Well, at least they're speaking up before the fact - unlike some Columbus civil rights leaders I know.)

+ THE BIG BLOG QUESTION closed Tuesday afternoon, while I was at a library - and for quite awhile it was unanimous. In
the end, 86 percent of you say David Glisson should NOT have been indicted for killing Kenneth Walker (12-2). But of course, some attorneys will say it doesn't count because no one swore in the voters....

(One supporter of the grand jury decision wrote: "Bring on the civil suits and the purple suits...." Now hold on here! If Edward DuBose ever gets elected to public office, he could quality for the title, "purple mountain majesty.")

+ Instant Message to Won's Karate on Veterans Parkway: Do you always have children practicing kicks in the parking lot? Is this really an effective security measure?

COMING THURSDAY: Give me a day to get my computer back to full strength, and we'll have a detailed update on the Kenneth Walker case.... including Wednesday's big "tale of the tape"....

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