A font of knowledge

Ordinarily, I do not like to write e-mails or columns that are long harangues about "everything went wrong." I save those orations for telephone calls.

Exception, of course, was when the lady who lives with me let the bath water run over and flood the bathroom, living room and basement a couple of years ago.

However, this past week has been an exception. It started when I was typing my column using the word processor one week ago. The lady who lives with me reached over my shoulder and pushed a key on my computer. Suddenly all the type went from my favorite 14-point down to about an eight or nine size.

Perhaps an explanation is required for those not familiar with font sizes. The "8 or 9" are tiny ones used when the reader is not supposed to read the small type at the bottom of the page. My favorite "14" font is very appropriate for those of us with tri-focals, bi-focals or not wearing glasses.

Not only did my word processor have the tiny type, but it carried over to the e-mail, my MSN which includes Billings Gazette read daily, and anything else I research online. In addition, all pages diminished in size.

Next, when I started to print my hard copy, my seven-month-old Hewlett Packard "hp psc 1100/1200 series all in one" would not print. This has been a continuing problem. But what is worse, the lady who lives with me always sends a voice to my iMac which declares in a loud voice, "It is not my fault." Of course it was about one a.m. when she did this.

Monday morning, I felt competent to use all of the Apple menus on my iMac to correct the situation. Everything failed. Next, telephone calls to Macintosh and Hewlett Packard technical support systems were not successful. I did get one helpful technician which I could understand as he did not have a foreign dialect. He couldn't correct problems, either.

It was not encouraging to be informed by the technician that my "computer is in a state of chaos." He could have been talking about me.

Help is coming with a local technician who understands iMac.

Other problems were minor compared to the computer glitches. I am trying to forget turning the 90-gallon garbage container outside upside down to retrieve the small plastic garbage bag in the bottom. I was searching for a newsletter, which was the only thing in the sack covered with pancake batter. I am still searching for a misplaced letter and had to rummage through more garbage - a 45 gallon plastic bag this time.

There are good situations. My new Coleman furnace, which replaced the original 54-year-old one, is working beautifully. It has not snowed since studded tires were installed on my car.

And the lady who lives with me boiled eggs without burning them.

Gladys Shay is a longtime resident and columnist for the Hungry Horse News.