[PAUL’S SAGA CONTINUES …]
Christmas came and went, and with the help of a kindly neighbor who did my grocery shopping for me, I gradually got better.
I was doing some writing on my computer late in December when I spilled my drink on the keyboard – it died a fast and clean death as I watched. It was old and the keys were falling off (I had attached an auxiliary keyboard and mouse) and it was running XP – no longer supported – and had little computing power or memory. I had complained to all who would listen that it could not set up and run a blog as Word Press just gave me pop up warnings about XP and lack of memory when I tried. They wanted me to upgrade and I couldn’t.
After all my complaints, a very kindly fellow blogger –Robyn – contacted me and said she was updating and would like to gift me with her computer. I readily agreed and was amazed when a powerful quad core laptop showed up in the mail. It was a Cadillac of computers and was only a few years old – I was profusely thankful.
So my health was still improving, and I kept pestering the management for the internet. Early in January, they told me that the internet was back on and my neighbors were having no problems. I could not get the new computer to hook up to the cable connection provided in my room. Over the next six weeks I had three technicians come to visit and their laptops all worked on my cable line. They checked everything, including the routers and modem. And none could figure out why my computer wouldn’t go online. I took my laptop out to two computer stores and it went on their internet in a flash and yet when I returned home, it would not connect to my internet. I called an old friend of mine who currently runs the IT department for a major retailer and is responsible for about 10,000 PCs across Canada and a room full of servers. We spent an hour going over every setting on the computer and still it would not connect. He was surprised and said he would drop over the next week to check it out. Meanwhile, I made arrangements with the local University to have them take a look at it as soon as I got my benefit cheque.
And then came Tuesday, February 16, 2016.
At 3:30 am Tuesday morning it began to snow, softly at first with that windless damp air that spoke of more to come. Then the snow started to fall faster and faster. As the day went on the winds picked up and Ottawa was virtually shut down by what ended up being the worst single day snow storm in the weather history of the city. It snowed and snowed and the wind howled – eventually leaving 52 cms (about 21 inches) of snow in 17 hours with drifts 5 or 6 feet deep. I had plugged in a small electric space heater to combat the chill air from the powerful winds that were finding every crack and crevice to enter.
Around suppertime, I decided to have hot dogs and try out the used Forman Grill that I had picked up for a few bucks. I got the dogs split and cooking on the grill when I figured that toasted hot dog buns would go perfect with the grilled meat, and so without thinking as I was humming along to some tunes I placed the hot dog buns in the toaster oven and turned it on Bake.
It was all over – with a loud “POP!” I blew the electrical for my room and part of the building. I was using different plugs, each with its own power bar, and none of those overloaded – rather it was the main supply that kicked off. I had the laptop open on my desk and was doing some word processing and it switched seamlessly to battery, lighting the pitch black room with a hazy light from the screen – the only sound the howling of the wind outside. I picked up my cell phone and called the manager confessing, apologizing and asking if he could come over and reset the breakers, which were locked in the basement and not accessible to the residents. He mumbled and grumbled while I apologized profusely and then he got bundled up and trudged through snow up to his thighs in places to reset the breakers.
When the power flickered back on, a pop-up appeared on the laptop computer screen – “Would you like to categorize this network as Public, Home, Work,” I knew that there was a LAN in the building that I could access but I could never get from there to the WAN that supplied the internet. I chose “Public” and the pop-up disappeared. Another came up in its place: “You are now connected to the internet”. I found this highly unlikely and went to programs to find Internet Explorer and select it. I had removed and reset all the shortcuts and Google in the process of trying to access the internet.
SO GOOD TO BE BACK!
I could not believe my eyes; I was actually on the internet. I checked a few websites and my e-mail (over 9,000 e-mails) and then called a friend and neighbor: “Steve, Steve, you won’t believe this: I’m on the internet!” He rushed over and oohed and aaahed at the screens flashing by as I navigated a few sites.
So, in the end, there must have been a partially set or faulty breaker that was providing perhaps reduced voltage or some similar effect that interfered with my internet. When the hot dog buns blew the breakers and they had to all be reset, the problem was resolved and months of efforts finally resulted in the internet returning. If it goes off again, I will know that the breakers need to be reset – an odd but apparently effective way to re-establish internet. I will not have to involve a major snow storm or hot dog buns the next time around.
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Paul Curran and I love to hear from our readers. You my comment on this post, comment on my Facebook or Twitter pages, or email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com or notcordeliasmom@aol.com
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Paul Curran photo by Paul Curran; other images by Cordelia’s Mom
Cordelia's Mom, Still 
Thank you so very much for posting my story CM. I am honored by all those who missed me and inquired after my well-being. Thank you all.
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I am so glad you’re back! Everyone missed you.
(And I was running out of ideas for my own posts. 🙂 )
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Welcome back! Amazing what a toaster oven can do for you 🙂
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Thanks Dan – It’s a pleasure to be back. Not often one can say their toaster oven fixed their internet. Ha!
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Ha!!!!! Hot dogs.
Delicious and useful. 😀
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See, we can add another plus for hot dogs – they can fix internet problems. 😀
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It’s almost ironic that a long-haul trucker such as you can shout “Breaker, Breaker” to all upon your reconnection to the Internet, Paul. But we’ll settle for coincidence. I’m so glad your hot dog buns on the Foreman blew the circuits and allowed you back into our world. Fantastic! Write on!!
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Bwahahaha! Funny man. Yep, it is a strange world we live in. Thanks!
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Glad I got you with my old CB reference, sir!
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Whatever it takes! Glad you’re back, Paul, and feeling pretty well it sounds like!
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Yep, I’m happy to be back and I seem to be back fit as a fiddle. 😀
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” …it began to snow, softly at first with that windless damp air that spoke of more to come. ”
You are a writer. Great line.
And yes, now we know toasted hot dog buns also fix things if duck tape can’t. (Like you didn’t have enough stories to write about!)
There are good humans around – Robyn is certainly one.
Welcome back, Paul.
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Indeed there are many fine people out there, Phil. Robyn is salt of the earth. Thank you so very much for the compliment – it means a lot coming from someone such as yourself.
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Welcome back Paul! And how quirky these internet things can be! Side note – we love our foreman grill – we have a smaller one, but it is perfect for winter indoor use and makes a great burger!
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I just got the grill Prior so I am still experimenting with it. Everyone tells me it is great. thanks for the good thoughts and kind words. The leaf is Cordelia’s Mom’s photo – she is very good. She is careful what photos appear on her blog so she provides her own. That works for me – I submit the post and she edits it, and adds photos. I wouldn’t trust just anyone but she has excellent taste and photo ability.
Thank you so much for the read and comments.
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And now I’m blushing. Thank you, kind sir.
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You are without a doubt one of the kind and caring (and talented) souls out there CM – you offered to publish my first post and gave me the moral support and encouragement to continue. A special thanks to you.
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Well I knew the leaf was Cordelia’s Mom (um, I mean Cookie Cakes! ha!) Actually the whole post was so clear and it is mighty cool of CM to integrate posts like this. So cool how it works and has the essence of both.
You work super well together – and I will be following along for sure.
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Thank You!
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🙂
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CookieCakes! I almost forgot that name myself! Thank you for mentioning it.
I intend to work with Paul for a long time, or at least until he gets so famous that he doesn’t need me any more and forgets about me.
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Awww Cookie cakes, you know I’ll never forget you! Together forever!
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And now I just learned something from you, Paul – I didn’t know you could put pictures in post comments! That’s so sweet!
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Yep it’s pretty easy and I have to rein myself in or I do it too much. It can add a lot to a comment in the right situation. just google “images of teddy bears” and when the pictures appear there will be a choice that says “More images of teddy bears” Click on that and the page fills with thousands of pictures of bears. Select the one you want and left click. This opens up a window with your picture and about 5 like it. Check the pixel size – should be around 500 X500 ; less is fine but too big, say 1500 X 1500 , will not copy properly into a comment section. Find a pic that is around the right size. There are two buttons – “visit page” and “view image” Left click on “view image” and the pic will appear in a new window all by itself. Check the URL address. It has to end in “.jpg” or “.png” or “.gif” for it to copy. If it does (and most do) then copy the address and paste that address into the comment. [If not the right ending then go back and choose another picture until you find one you like that does end properly] When you hit “post Comment”, the picture will appear in the comment.
It is easy and fun when you get used to it. 😀
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I was thinking more of sticking my own photos in once in awhile to get my name out there as an up and coming amateur photographer. ‘Cause, you know, that’s what going to make me famous someday. 🙂
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Load them into your WP gallery and it will assign an address that you can use to insert them BEWARE! When you load them into WP, they automatically become available to google images and will show up in any search of the topic. Do NOT store pictures there that you wish to keep confidential.
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My WP images are copyrighted under the terms of my blog, but I do give them Creative Commons licensing on Flickr. I’d be thrilled if someone actually used one, provided they followed the rules and gave me the proper credit.
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I also love the leaf image in this post!
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yay! I was beginning to think everyone had forgotten I even exist!
That photo was one of the first that I took when I got my camera, and while I liked the idea of the leaf in the snow, I thought the image was too blurry to post anywhere. Recently, I’ve learned how to play with the software that came with the camera, and lo and behold – I was able to make that leaf pop right up! Ain’t technology great?
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yes technology is great – and the nicest part is that people can still put their personal influence into something – like you did here. The leaf image still has me pondering because the backdrop has an ice feel – but then not really – and then the way you did the LIGHT background with the effect makes the darker leaf more pronounced and vivid in color! and then all that fit in with Paul’s sharing….. the electricity going out and back on – the laptop coming – just a seamless integration with you two. 🙂
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I’ll bow to CM….
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❤
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Thank you both. I’ve been playing with the camera a lot lately – just wait!
PS: Look what I did with the bubble picture on today’s post. It was good to begin with, but then I was able to enhance the blue – I love the way it turned out! (PS – you can see the original photo on my Flickr.com page – just click on the right hand side of my blog’s home page)
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ok – I will be back this weekend to check it out. 🙂
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Aha! Did you actually get to eat your hot dogs?! Now you can use the “Julie NoBlog blog” all you want.
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Ha! I did actually finish grilling when the power returned – I did the buns separate with the heater off – Ha! Tasty hot dogs – I ate them while surfing the net, seemed appropriate.
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Wonderful. Sounds like things are looking up!
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Welcome back, Paul! Here’s a toast to you! (*•̀ᴗ•́*)و ̑̑
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Thanks so much NBC – careful you’ll get me tipsy and I’m driving a keyboard here. ha!
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LOL…(>‿◠)✌
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Reblogged this on HarsH ReaLiTy and commented:
We are glad to see you safely back Paul. You were missed by a ton of bloggers! -OM
Check out Cordeliasmom2012’s blog for some great writing!
Note: Comments disabled here. Please visit their blog.
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Wow thank you so very much for the compliment and the reblog Jason. I am honored – I think it is the first time I’ve had a post reblogged. Thank you.
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The first of many Paul I am sure. You are a great writer. 🙂
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A re-blog by Jason is as good as being Freshly Pressed (or “Discovered” as they now call it). Congratulations!
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My first – 🙂
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Can you fix mine?
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OK. First you need some hot dog buns…
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All set.
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OK, good. Now, order up a snow storm of the century – let me know when it arrives and I’ll walk you through the remaining steps. Together we can beat this.
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Welcome back! I knew Robyn is a very good person, but my opinion went up even higher, if possible.
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She is salt of the earth, no question Trent. Thank you so very much for dropping by for a read, much appreciated. I was flabbergasted when the laptop arrived and although I knew it was impressive, I didn’t realize how impressive until I had the technicians visit to try and get the internet – without exception they remarked on the high quality and power of the laptop – each one commenting that it out-performed anything they had (to start and make sure the laptop was adequate they each checked its innards before they started working on connecting it.)
Thanks for the visit Trent – please drop by again. I see our mutual friend – Ms B – is working her fingers to the bone these days. I hope she comes out of this OK. Take Care.
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Hi Paul, Sometimes an angel appears to us and pushes us on our way. Robyn is a very special lady and I’m so thrilled that my daughter thinks of other folks and helps whenever she can.
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Ahhh, the mysterious Anonymous – welcome and thank you for reading and commenting. Robyn is a very special person. Your daughter is a kind and caring and giving soul who makes the lives of others better. Thank you for raising such a soul. I have no doubt that you are at least partially responsible for raising such a kind soul.
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I really enjoyed this story Paul. I was intrigued to find out why your presence on the internet went away. I had seen CM’s post and OM picked it up and everyone was on a search and rescue to see what happened. I followed along and found out your Canadian like me and then knew Linda Hill was able to knock on your door and find you no worse for wear. The Internet is really an amazing place and o love the WordPress community and know whenever I need a boost of positivity, creativity, and my faith restored I come to my reader and all is well in my world again. Welcome back and all the best to you kind soul. 😊
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Thank you so much for the compliments Jacksmom. It is a pleasure to have you visit and comment. I am honored that you noticed I was missing in action. Thank you. Indeed the WordPress community is a fine caring one. I must say I was surprised at the amount of concern. I apologize for going absent without letting everyone know. I hope this post clears up my conundrum. Thanks again for dropping by – please come again.
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You’re most welcome Paul. You’ve touched a corner of the world within this WordPress community with your thoughts and talent. I had never seen such an outpouring of concern and love. That right there was faith restoring to me as I was feeling a little jaded to be honest with my own personal struggles with trying to make it as a writer. I’ve discovered it’s not in the trying its in the doing even if I’m the only one who reads my words. I will come by again as soon as I see you in my reader feed. All the best. 😊
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So, I need to blow up my house? My daughter bought me an ipad for my birthday, and everything went perfectly for about a week. It won’t connect to the wifi for some reason. The girl thinks it’s our internet, but neither of the kids have problems with their phones, or computers. Stupid technology.
Missed you Paul!
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Yep – so do you have a hot dog bun? ha! Are your adapters set for wifi? You have to set the device for wireless and then chose your wifi site and sign on. If your are running Windows go to “Control Panel” Then select “Networks and Sharing” and select either “set up a new connection” or “connect” and follow the questions. If you are not running Windows, I have no clue. Best of luck Julie and thanks again for the read.
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Nothing like getting a bit of help from beyond the Great Perhaps
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Thanks so much for dropping by RX. I am honored. Yes the cure could be interpreted that way. I prefer to believe that we create our own luck when we try every possible option – sooner or later an answer become evident – even if it is from a surprising direction. Please drop by again.
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Or run about in ever increasing concentric circles until we stumble upon it. I agree, whatever works. Personally, I’m a big fan of the notion of universal synchronicity, with a pinch of good fortune as a catalyst.
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Who’s a hero? Robyn is a hero. What an insanely generous thing to do. She’s got her wings.
Do you remember when computers came into our home along with the promise that they would set us free? They’d minimize the amount of time it took to do the drudgery of letter-writing or bill-paying. This is some freedom. We’re all a bunch of addicts. Me, especially. Well, I’m happy you’re connected. If you’re not connected, you’re disconnected.
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Robyn is a special soul. Yep, computers have become addictive – so much can be done and so many functions have been moved to computers – banking, maps, personal communication, etc. I was lost without the internet – I missed all my WP friends. Thanks so much for dropping by for a read and a comment Mark. It is such a pleasure to see you here. Please drop by again.
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You should see what happens to my 14-year old daughter when we take her phone away. It’s scary. The physical addiction of holding a phone in her hand is very real. It’s getting worse. The Internet has us in its clutches.
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Oh, i don’t doubt it. We are built to be addicted – it keeps us on the right track in bad times. the question is only whether satisfying her need is providing a necessary service (like information or acceptance by peers, etc) If it is then so be it – we have the same reaction when you try to take away food
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I’m not buying that analogy. Being addicted to food can save your life. Being addicted to technology can ruin it.
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So glad you are on the mend!! And this post answered my question about your laptop! Your laptop gift is such a blessing – a testament that there are some wonderful people out there ❤ So, will you be starting your own blog soon? (Yeah, you know I had to ask – I've been asking since I first met you online 🙂 )
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Ha! I’ve been hiding form that question Sadie – shhhh!
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