Have you noticed? Stuff breaks.
Tonight I noticed that the fan in the microwave is beginning sound like it's fluttering as it comes up to speed and just a shade too slow for my tastes.
And then there's the outside lights. You know, the ones on either side of the garage? Each one has two 25 watt bulbs nestled inside metal framed glass. Now, I must admit, I am not the one that changes said bulbs, as Kandy is the hapless bulb changer. I wouldn't know how to do it, but I have great sympathy for her plight. One by one they will blink out. As it gets dimmer and dimmer, she steels herself to drag the ladder down from the garage wall, disassemble the fixtures, reach in and untwist the little bulbs (shaped like flames, no less).
Stuff breaks.
My computer, which is under a one year warranty from Fry's, is broken. Sort of. I won't go into the technical details, because it works - until it doesn't and has to be rebooted. What could fix it is a BIOS upgrade. I confirmed this with a real,
on-line technician who gave me an Official Case Number, who recommended that I let a Real Fry's Technician do the job. Uh-hunh.
So the computer has been at Fry's since Sunday morning. I called on Tuesday for a status - they were still running diagnostics, but someone would call me. No one did. So, I called them today, Thursday. They're backing up the disk drive
because their diagnostics told them that the drive was bad. (Uh.... I dunno, guys. I already put a new disk in there - and I had the exact problem as before. Doesn't matter, they're doing it.)
Oooookaay.
So then I ask them if they've upgraded the BIOS. What did they say? (You do know what they said, don't you?) Right, they said,
"Uh, no."
Well, that's why I brought it in! See, it says so right on the work order. (Being
under warranty I wasn't about to muck with the motheroboard.)
So I told them that I wouldn't accept the machine back if they didn't flash the BIOS with the latest revision available. I know the drive was fine, but if they want to replace it, fine by me.
But, it's such a waste of time and energy. Grrrrrrr!
Let's talk automobiles. Well, just one. My car. The visor on the driver's side of my 1993 Toyota Camery broke completely out of its socket a few weeks back. Just gave up the ghost. The car is falling apart I tell you - the rear passenger window won't stay up - it just drops down inside the door.
It would cost almost $300 to fix. Uh, no. We can't afford that. So I've got some wood shims (you know the ones you use to level things, like door jams?) stuck
between the glass and the rubber thingy. Keeps the window up just fine, but it's not too secure. Been like that for about 4 years now. Seems to work.
Stuff breaks.
It's a sad fact of life. There was a day when most things could be fixed, but with today's built in obsolecense, or the high cost of repair verses replacement, sometimes it is just not worth it.
I still have things from my youth that have never broken. It amazes me how they've survived thirty or forty years. Mostly artsy things like nibs and Parker pens, necklaces and even a pair of gold hooped earrings from 1972, my senior year. I had a good Pentax SLR camera I bought in 1970. I wonder if our digital
cameras will be usable in thirty five years?
What do you think?
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