Well i wont list my hard drives ( i did count, 61 of them) including a 4 MB one from my old ibm but i have a usb hotswap device that turns internal to external. 20 harddrives are just rainbow tables. I also have a dozen or so computers worth of peices i could put together. Computers were my thing for awhile. And my portfolios took up a dozen or so drives. Creating worlds or anything in 3dstutio max leaves huge files. But i have a massive amount of fan subbed anime and thats most of my drives. But i have all my stuff organized by operating system for compatibility reasons. Its impossible to play a dos game in windoze without vmware or a separate bootable os. And since windoze 10 legacy compatibility is mediocre at best.

Spider is being a bitch the last few days. Out of the blue she is knocking the trash can off the counter. Opened the dog food tote bin and ripped open a bag of shadows food and went to town and peed on the floor 3 times last night. Jerrys surgery was postponed by 2 weeks so maybe its stress in the house.

I am most definitely not a computer geek. I learned computers back in 1995 when hubby, wanting to use Microsoft flight simulator, bought what was them a screaming, top of the line Quantex setup that cost $3000 at Oshkosh Air show. Once it was delivered and set up, he tried to used it and was stymied at the first screen after power on. The teenager was then asked to get us going. Nope. He tried a few things and declared he he couldn't operate it. Next up was the first grader with some very basic skills from school . Nope not him either. So either I had to learn how to use the things or we had a very expensive, very ugly paperweight. I had a manual (things came with paper manuals on those days!) and a telephone number for tech support (yep, real, live, American tech support also in those days.) Husband used to work in 3 day groups back then so then he was working, the first day, I would get into the computer with the manual as a guide, try some things then when it hopelessly failed, call up tech support and then would walk me through back to functionality. Then along came "Russy Poo," a New Hampshire college professor who publishes The Secret Guide to Computers" as well as takes phone calls day or night. And incrementally, painfully, I became computer literate and the household IT gal. My forte is when I don't know how to do something, I know how to get the information I need and the performance to apply that information. Mostly, my need for computers is as an encyclopedia to learn things I need to do, grocery and other store apps for shopping, a bit of social media (this, FB for pictures, a few writers I follow (Heather Cox Richardson, Tim Cotton - a Maine retired policeman, Sean Dietrich, a localweather column, a New York times and Washington Post subscription. Oh. And Excel to keep track of my seeds do I don't order duplicates. Google tasks to keep me organized. Keep to copy recipes that speak to me as well as notes for doctors appts. And then, just jumping down the Rabbit Hole that is the web. That's it, nothing fancy.

By the 90's I'd been working with computers, mainframes and mini's and later with micro's for 20 years. I was working at a computer store part time and got my hands on a demo of MS Flight Simulator - and I'll be damned, if I could figure out how to get one of the 'stock' planes off the ground (fat chance there) and if I did I normally ended up having to let it crash 'cause I couldn't figure out how to get it back down. All of us who worked there were either programmers (hackers in that day) or hardware techs (geeks) and none of us could successfully fly the damn thing! Your husband and son have my sympathy - I have no idea how many hours I 'invested' in trying to fly anything.

Funny story, Al. One year at The Oshkosh Air show, soon 2 was only maybe 7 or so. Microsoft had a huge tent and was demoing the flight program aggressively. Josh was using it and had quite the audience around him. He was trying to land, a Message 150 maybe. On an aircraft carrier. All the young geeks were saying "no way, mildly taunting almost. Josh kept his cool, maintained his appropriate and very nicely, at the last minute when the crowd was saying "too high" "too fast" slipped the plane in, landing nicely "on the numbers" on the deck. I would overhear people through the day, in awe of the little kid that skipped the plane and landed on an aircraft carrier!

@amymeme I'd have been standing back rooting for him! Back in that day there were so may bright young kids that were fun to watch. I think the complexity of the modern systems make it rough unless they're really exceptional.

I haven't said much about the little monster that I adopted. In a lot of ways she's intelligent but sometimes I see this stubborn streak pop up! I have the DNA kit, now have to endanger my fingers to see if I can get a sample to send in. Avalanche was impossible, he does not like having anyone mess with his muzzle; I think she's going to be easier ... excuse me as I count fingers first!

I had an affinity for stupid pointless operating systems back in the day. Im like one of 10 people that can program in limbo and styxx. Haha not really but most people dont play with experimental pointless operating systems.

I never played the original ms flight sim. I did have the whole flight gear set up for combat flight sim but that was a little different with ww2 planes.

I remember some stupid competition at a raidio shack for commander keen. I think i was 6 or 7 but i killed all the adults.

Would you be surprised if the new monster didnt have a stubborn streak?

Al, how goes the dog family? Everybody still getting along? I'm sure a new young dog is keeping everyone hopping. Including the old man in charge We can't believe how much Ami seems to be enjoying only dog status. He no longer has to wait on line for our attention. Mostly, he enjoys concentrated time with us, gets his tank filled, then of he goes for his own pursuits. During the day, mostly hanging out watching the world go by from up on the hill or sleeping in the shade somewhere. At night, when he comes in for a drink, seems moderately to highly excited and goes back out immediately. Not sure what he's doing out there, guessing he's chasing some critter or other. He particularly likes, now that the weather has moderated, when we are outside. He'll lie down within 50 ft or so, just gazing around. With me putting in the flooring in the upstairs bathroom and doing the rip cuts in the garage, he also likes to flip on the cool concrete while we work.

By the way. Did you know that a smaller room, with many nooks and crannies, takes much more material per sq ft than a larger room? And that 10% of the space takes 90% of the work?!!? And, being a beginner, I've sure made my share of mistakes that need redoing. But. Progress is being made. Today, one last rip cut on a piece that needs an "L" cut out and all the planks are laid. It's a re-do, the first cut left too large a gap next to the vanity. I really want it close to the kick mold so I can just caulk the expansion gap rather than cover with some sort of molding. My first try, even molding wouldn't cover the gap. Problem? Nothing is square in that room. So I had to resort to scribing the end wall planks. Didn't do so well on the first try.

Oh. And the 73 year old body with the bad knee? Getting a we bit cranky, up and down stairs, trek up to the garage, go find hubby (he's removing a bumper crop of pine cones from the lawns so he can mow.) Hubby is doing the saw work for me - says he'd rather make the cuts than repair the cuts on me I'd argue, I've used the circular saw before, not the jig saw. But I'm having a terrible time with my right hand cramping, so much so that even making dinner becomes a hassle. We're not sure what that's all about but it's highly annoying. And not conducive to smooth cuts with the saw! Hubby is annoyingly attentive to detail so his cuts, using my guidelines, are perfection. As long as I measured properly and oriented the planks correctly (each of the 4 edges of the planks goes in one position only, cut the writing side and the plank is scrap, useful only for a shorter piece in another spot. But. So far, I love the look🥰

amymeme wrote:

Al, how goes the dog family? Everybody still getting along? I'm sure a new young dog is keeping everyone hopping. Including the old man in charge

It's taking time but it's shaping up quicker than I expected really (really??) I'm feeding the older two outside - like normal in the warmer days and Belle gets fed in her crate which keeps them all apart and 'happy'.
They all got loose a few days ago and she followed Sky across the road to Darryl's midden but doesn't seem too interested in going back too often. Unlike my snow dogs she seems to be more of a comfortable homebody ... we'll see how that lasts.
I need to spend time with her on something like training. 'Come' works most of the time; 'set' sometimes; 'stay' not at all ... I had a lab one time who was fantastic about following directions and I"d like to get Belle to that level but I'm not sure that either of us have the energy.

Ah - the energy. It's a thing at our age. For me, it's no more working at something all day. A few hours and "I hit the wall." Not just physical but figuring things out. My brain just stops. I can't imagine having a puppy at my age - being on all the time except for the brief crashes. I'm in a brain stop at the moment. Have been figuring and cutting inside and outside miters. And there ain't a square corner in the room! But, I've got a digital angle finder and a compound miter saw with a vernier gauge. Slow going, especially since it's get the measurements, mark the piece for inside it outside with the angle, down the stairs up the driveway, set the saw, check, double check, cut out big, check, fine tune the cut, back upstairs, test the fit, next piece. The big kicker? The most perfect corner pieces, for together like a glove? It'll be behind a bureau when I'm done. And now my big toe is acting up from all the walking in clogs (easy to put on and take off with all the in/out.)

But. I'm pleased with the results. Not perfect but good enough. Looks better than I expected.