Wide Screen Monitor

We had a thunderstorm a couple of weeks ago that zapped one of the connections on my video card. At least that's what I think happened. I have only been able to use one monitor for the past couple of weeks.

Of course earning a living at my consulting job requires two monitors and the ability to move documents from one screen to the other.

So on Tuesday I finally got around to ordering a replacement video card from Amazon.com. While I was making my selection a screen popped up with an offer of an Acer 22" wide screen monitor. Only $149.00, including free shipping.

While I considered this offer Bonzi jumped up and bumped my elbow. I must have accidentally clicked the left button on the mouse, because the graphics card and monitor were delivered yesterday by UPS. I unpacked everything and hid the boxes in the garage. I'll burn them later when nobody's looking.

I installed the new card and plugged in the new and old monitors. I must say they look very elegant, and the larger screen area hides the clutter of wires on my desk.

Also, I have no doubt that my clients will appreciate the enhanced quality of my work and will want to pay me more money.

Please don't tell T about this, though. I don't want to get Bonzi in trouble.

County Fair

T & I came to the startling realization the other day that in all the time we've lived here we've never been to the Perry County Fair. So we hitched up the buckboard and headed to Newport to check it out.

We discovered that we had been missing quite a lot.

We visited an antique shed where we saw an old coffee grinder and some cast iron skillets.

There were a couple of pavilions with crafts and the like. T went through these while I mostly trailed behind.

We went past a bunch of old tractors and a row filled with new farm equipment -- log splitters, outdoor wood-burning furnaces, and some of those cool zero-turn mowers.

There was a bored looking camel walking around in circles. Every time around he would stop at a little platform and someone would climb onto his back for a ride. The camel was moving his lips in a funny way. Probably muttering camel swear words.

It was a one-hump camel, for those interested in such things.

All of the local fire companies and ambulance crews had their equipment on display. The volunteers had their uniforms on, with utility belts dangling flashlights and two-way radios. Just in case.

There were three rows of food booths selling various deep-fried things. Even fried Oreo cookies, which we did not sample.

We saw cows, goats, sheep, and rabbits. There was a contest where two pairs of kids would throw a hay bale. The pair that threw the bale the farthest won. It wasn't clear what they won.

County-wide fame, maybe.

We didn't see everything, though. We missed the horse show, the pig races and the Moore Brothers.

Maybe next year.

Unhinged

Lindsay has an HP dv9500 laptop computer that she uses at school. She told me the right hinge was broken and asked if I could fix it.

I said, "Sure".

I'm the Dad, after all, and have the Illusion of Omnipotence to maintain.

So she left it here when she went to England. She'll be back in a week, so yesterday I attacked the hinge. After all, how long could it take?

Turns out that this particular HP model has a chronic hinge problem. A cottage industry has emerged with many entrepreneurs offering discounted HP replacement hinges on eBay.

So I ordered a set yesterday, and ripped the machine apart to get ready for the final fix. It also turns out that, to get to the hinges, one has to remove every single piece of hardware from the machine.

I have 450 little screws of various sizes laying all over my desk. And only one week to put it all back together -- or risk having one of my daughter's childhood delusions dashed!

Columbia, Tennessee

Columbia is about 1 hour South of Nashville. Two hours if you happen to hit traffic at around 5:00 pm, which I did yesterday when I arrived.

But I had my audio book player hooked into the stereo in the rental car, so I was able to finish the last two hours of 1776 -- the history book by David McCollough. The timing was just right -- Washington finished stomping the British at Trenton and Princeton about the time I pulled into the hotel parking lot.

I'm in the mood for some lighter fare now, so I started listening to a Nelson DeMille novel. It's a spy thriller -- at the moment I can't think of the title. I need a change of pace from history.

Columbia is the home of Stan's Restaurant and Country Store. Stan's opened in 1947 and originated the country cookin'/country store combo concept that Cracker Barrel later "borrowed". At least, that's what the locals tell me -- and they wouldn't make something like that up!

What's nice about Stan's, though, is that it isn't jam packed with senior citizens and there aren't 100 RV's in the parking lot. Food's good, too!

Birthday Adventure

T's birthday is Saturday. We have an adventure planned that involves a semi-aimless drive in the Westward direction. Perhaps toward the Raystown Lake area.

We'll find a unique place for a late lunch or early dinner, then we'll head home. Maybe we'll stop and pick up some of the high-class wine that comes in the convenient refrigerator boxes. When it starts to cool down in the evening we'll get out the plastic wine glasses & a plate of cheese. Maybe some grapes.

T can sip wine and nibble on cheese (I'll gulp and gobble).

And we'll watch the sun go down...

Bonzi & Otis Go Hiking

T & I took Otis and Bonzi hiking along Stony Creek in Dauphin County. Otis needs practice with new surroundings and he has to get used to people coming up to him and petting him.

T wants him to entertain kids at various functions this fall. She prefers that Otis just stand there and take it when the greasy little buggers poke and prod at him.

I have a slightly different view. I'm open to the idea of juvenile delinquents being stampeded, kicked and munched on by an angry Mediterranean Mini Donkey.

Anyway, Otis took it all in stride. He got some attention from other hikers and passers-by but he mostly gave them the cold shoulder. He seems to know that he stands out in a crowd and prefers being aloof.

Bonzi went wild, though -- pulling me along and snuffling in the brush, marking territory. I explained that we were on State Game Lands and the Commonwealth was unlikely to acknowledge his marking. He didn't care.

By the end of the hike he was entirely out of marking fluid.

I tracked the hike on the GPS -- we started at N40° 24.3592' W76° 49.1620', then proceeded .57 miles East to N40° 24.545', W76° 48.548'. Then we turned around and returned to the starting point. The total distance was 1.15 miles.

Of course I forgot my camera!