Having used SKYPE for years, I am seeing a pattern that makes me wonder. I do not know if it is their fault or if my little "EeePC" is simply not up to the task. It's a funny little machine, runs XP, and is pretty slow. The screen really is too small for my eyes, so for a long time I used an auxilary screen. I use it mostly for running the programs that I do not want on my good machine. Itunes lives there, and SKYPE does too.

Recently I have started to get messages when I shut it down that other people are signed onto my machine, and shutting down could affect their work. I seem to remmember a tiny clause when I first got SKYPE years ago, that said that they could use the memory and computing power of my computer when I am not doing so. Lately, I have gotten the much feared, "blue screen" and had to resort to unplugging and pulling the battery out to get it to go again.

I now know that there is Yahoo Chat, with voice and video, Google Chat with voice and video, and Windows Messinger too. These programs seem to run happily in the background and rarely cause me trouble; though sometimes it is difficult to figure out how to find the tiny screen that someone is blinking, tweeting, or honking at me. With Yahoo Chat, it seems that you actually have to be on a yahoo page for it to work. How boring.

I'm 63, and think that I've had a good run of it. Sure, some of it has been painful as hell, but it sure was not boring! My first memories were of places called Incano, Chula Vista, and Sunset in greater San Diego, but then move on quickly to include a tiny shack in the secluded countryside of Oregon. It had an outhouse, and the shack was of unbarked pine poles, covered with "Firtex" and the slabs off of huge logs. It was heated by a wood stove that rattled and glowed ominously in the darkened room at night. At first, our once a week baths were in a tub in the kitchen with water heated by coils in our wood cook stove.

So, I've adapted over the years to a lot of "advances". I'll never believe that video games have been anything but destructive. I think removing the Electric Trolleys was dumb. Just yesterday, I drove down Broadway St in Portland, and saw them uncovering rail tracks from the 20's that had been paved over. Alas, they are putting in a new set, of different gauge, for a new trolley. Isn't it funny how things go around in circles? In Portland, "they" who ever they are, have invested trillions of dollars of public money putting in Light Rail, and lining it with thousands of units of high density "housing".

I'm living in a huge complex, remenisent of "The State ... Mistakes", and it is about 70% educated people from India who work at INTEL, and about 25% Hispanic, and yes about 5% of us WASP people. Of course I am a WASM, and I doubt that there is more than .01% of me here. :)

This morning, I read of "Hawkings" fear of Aliens, and realized that I actually suspicion that we humans fight so much that every race here is probably from another Galaxy, and this is a prison plantet, just like ... um what's his name ... you know the Scientology guy ... um ... Hobard ... no ... um, Hubbard. Yes, fine fella; made millions, only to piss the government off. He went sort of crazy at the end, I think.

So, now I have to face what am I gonna do with my next story. Do I just warn them that if ... I mean Afghanistan, War, Aliens, Justice, what, changed to a Hottie!?????!! Shit! I wish I had more courage.

What was this about? I forgot. Shit, where'd I put that damn walker and those damnable diabetic sox...

Imagine Whirled Peas

Gwen