I get so frustrated-a rant

[Molly97]

You know, I am an educated, intelligent person. I can do a lot of things.

Last night, we had a lot of bad storms on the Ok/Ks border. My husband drives for a living and he called to ask me what I knew about the weather. Of course, I fired up our local news online and started to navigate the weather portion.

Or rather, I TRIED. It was not my first time on the site for this reason. My husband's wellbeing depended on it; he wanted to know how far south he could come from Witchita and not get into any heavy storms.

I absolutely could not even get into the right area on the radar map. I finally went over to Accuweather website; I wasn't any more successful there.

This aggravates me. I feel like I'm losing my ability to do things sometimes. The other night, we were watching a How it's made. They had an assembly line going a million miles an minute; I couldn't watch it; too much movement. My husband knows my vulnerability on that and told me when it was ok for me to look again.

Yesterday, I just couldn't tolerate watching any tv. Again the movement. I was afraid of triggering a seizure. The computer, though static, wasn't much better. I didn't feel like cooking last night; ate cereal for supper. Yesterday was not a good day.

[Nenne]

Molly97,

Just focus on all the thing u can do!! Yes there will always be things u cant do! but if u focus on them it will just make life harder! I think everybody has this days when we just feel like everything is horrible and life sucks, at least i do sometimes And i think maybe its good to have those days also. But dont forget to remember all the thing u have and that u can do! Write a list that u can look at when u feel like this!

have u though of getting one of those LCD screens for u computer? i have heard that they are suppose to be better for people thats sensitive.
Are u watching TV in the dark? I cant watch TV in the dark so i have a lamp behind the TV and the one in the ceiling on.

And a very very warm hug from the desert

[RobinN]

Do you ever notice that when you are trying to do something under pressure that you have a much more difficult time of it. I know I do. My mind is half on the person waiting, or the situation that is happening, and half on the fact that I am slow, or messing up, and the rest is on the task at hand.

Perhaps, if when you find yourself in this situation, you take a deep breath, count to 10 and tell yourself that you can do this. Instead of negative thinking at that particular moment, try to revert to the calm state that is needed to focus you might find yourself more successful.

I am sure you were very worried about your husbands safety, and it brought up all the other emotions at that time.

Remember all the things that you can do.

Rebecca shared this with me today.

[Molly97]

Robin,
I loved the youtube; how inspirational is that? Did you notice how they both used his crutch? What a metaphor for life.
Yes, now that you mention it, I have noticed that when I'm under pressure, I perform poorly. And trying to give my hubby important info that impacts his very life(lots of tornadoes in this area he was in last night during the past 3 days)was indeed a great deal of pressure. I have him on the phone, driving south, into potential danger. Trying to figure out the path of the storm-it was headed right for him. Finally he got frustrated with the situation and stopped for the night. And yes, the thunderstorms did eventually get to his location, but not with their early intensity.
Take a deep breath and count to 10 to calm down so I can focus. Good advice that I'll try to remember to put into practice the next time I find myself in a situation of needing to perform. Thanks.

Nenne,
I believe that I have an LCD screen on this mac. My problem with it is the brightness, which is turned down as low as possible. We bought a 24" screen, thinking it would be easier for both of us to see(we're not blind, we're just 60). He has a problem with the brightness too. I know sometimes you can get something to attach to the screen to cut the glare; maybe that would help.
Add to the actual brightness issue the fact that I have a fan overhead with a light that casts a shadow on the ceiling and wall as it turns. Not in my direct line of sight, but my eye just catches the movement on the wall I'm facing. We bought this fan kit not too long ago; I commented at the time that I didn't like the light kit because it throws the light back up into the fan, which then creates the flickering shadows we see in the room. He has promised me that when we have the money, we'll change out the fan. We have other fans in the house that I run constantly while I'm awake, and if I don't look directly at them, I'm fine.
Good advice, making a list to remind myself of the things I can do when I have a week like I've just had. Thanks.

[RobinN]

There is a method that helps some with reading call the Irlene Treatment. I wonder if the same might be helpful on a computer screen. Different colored gels. Wouldn't be very good if you are an artist, or needed true color, but for reading it might be helpful.

The link to that information is here:

http://irlen.com/index.php?s=selftests

[Molly97]

Thanks. I'll take a look.
L

[alivenwell]

There is a method that helps some with reading call the Irlene Treatment. I wonder if the same might be helpful on a computer screen. Different colored gels. Wouldn't be very good if you are an artist, or needed true color, but for reading it might be helpful.

The link to that information is here:

http://irlen.com/index.php?s=selftests

I know there are two types of flat computer screens. Some can be seen from a side view (newer ones) and some have to be viewed directly from the front (older ones).
It might be worth it to check out when your screen was manufactured. I'm a techie nerd...what can I say?!

That video was really inspiring. Absolutely amazing. Dancers have practically every muscle developed to go into those odd positions and these two haven't stopped their passion, obviously. Your daughter definitely picked a great inspiring video, RobinN!

[Molly97]

We just bought this mac new back in February of this year.
What does that have to do with it, oh techie nerd?

[alivenwell]

We just bought this mac new back in February of this year.
What does that have to do with it, oh techie nerd?

If you took a side view of the screen, can you see a clear image of the picture? If so, it should be one of the newer ones with less flash. I'm more familiar with IBM compatable devices, so I'm not sure if MACs have the same features. But, since a lot of colleges prefer MACs for graphics, they're probably a higher quality. We have a 'Sceptre' brand flat screen.

If your MAC has USB ports and you can locate a better screen with a USB plug, you may be able to change your screen viewing. Also, maybe a simple adjustment to the contrast as well as brightness in your current screen may help you.

[Molly97]

Oh techie one,
This is an imac--o fiddle! It's the one with the computer guts and screen into one unit as a desktop. So I don't think that finding another screen is an option. We've adjust the brightness to death; tried it this way and that. It is sitting at the lowest setting. I think that it's just the sheer size of the screen(24")that is making it so darn bright. We have adjusted contrast as well; no help.
I wear glasses with antiglare because the light bothers me so much. I wear sunglasses on cloudy days because, believe it or not, light can strobe through the clouds and cause a seizure.

[alivenwell]

If you know the exact model of your MAC, you can go out to Amazon and join their forum and ask about the options you can do to that PC. If you have an additional port in the back, it may be used for a better screen (possibly smaller). Since the monitor and PC are all one unit, a wireless mouse and a wireless keyboard could be used in place of the traditional ones. We used a removable hard drive (a little memory stick) in one USB port that received and sent data to the mouse. The wireless keyboard has a receiver and transmitter plugged into the back of the PC. If you have a USB port, it could be used for these 2 devices.

There's an excellent site in Amazon called askville with people who are nerdier than I am and may be more familiar with your PC. It can be found on http://askville.amazon.com
if that helps.

There are a lot of computer shows in my general area where they sell PCs, devices, software, etc. Marketpros shows is just one organization that does it. But, I imagine you could order stuff on the web rather than travel and hope that you find it.

There are also simple anti-glare covers that go over a screen. If you know the screen's dimensions, you may be able to find one out there in the market or order one online. A lot of people at work use them.

[RobinN]

imacs rock I use a PowerBook so there is not changing my screen either.
If you have an Apple store nearby, I would ask a Genius what they recommend.
or better yet... start here:
http://discussions.apple.com/categor...categoryID=189

[Molly97]

We have a Genius Bar at the Apple store at our mall. I had never thought to ask them. Thanks for the idea!

O nerdie one,
I think, in fact I know, we have exactly 2 usb ports. Right now, the printer is in one, and my favorite Logitech rollerball mouse is in the other. My husband swears when we get the money(it's always about having the money, isn't it?), we will get a wireless Logitech rollerball mouse for me. He has complained mightily about the lack of usb ports compared to our Dell.

[alivenwell]

I can relate to that! I'm left handed, my kid is left handed and my husband is right handed. So, that wireless mouse seemed really practical for all of us.

If you had ANOTHER PC, you could set up a wireless network. The PC would be installed on the network's drive other than the harddrive. We have one set up with Linksys with a transmitter and a receiver on our 2nd floor. The linksys transmitter has to be connected to a router (connected to your Internet Service Provider's wire). And, just to be careful, a really good encryption should be set up in that wireless network. If encryption isn't set up very well, other people can view and use your web service/passwords, etc. The other risk is that if a virus is put into the network, it can affect all PCs connected to the network.

I work where I have to hardwire one connection directly into the router. This maintains confidentiality. All other PCs are wireless receivers.

[Molly97]

Well. I got on the computer a little while ago after talking to hubby on the phone. I know it was 1:00. So I surf a little on two forums I'm following right now, respond to some stuff on each. Was attaching a picture to one post; talk about taking a while!! I have to use Explorer for one forum if I post a pic; the mouse to the Dell is so skittish. Touch it just a little too hard on the sides, and you get to start over. Did that routine 4 times before my picture posted.
Anyway, I go to check the dryer. I look at the clock and it says 1:13. I thought it was at least quarter of two. I have lost time in the other direction before, thinking it was earlier than it was. Never like this.
I'm so glad hubby's come home day is later on tonight.

[Molly97]

Techie nerd,
We are using the mac airport for all the computers in the house(we have a mac laptop and a Sony laptop with XP as well). What we like about this setup is the level of encryption. It is wireless; already too many wires in this room, lol. But this isn't the airport hub(I can't think of what that's called).

[alivenwell]

Techie nerd,
We are using the mac airport for all the computers in the house(we have a mac laptop and a Sony laptop with XP as well). What we like about this setup is the level of encryption. It is wireless; already too many wires in this room, lol. But this isn't the airport hub(I can't think of what that's called).

I was thinking that the wireless network with a LAN (local area network) could work for you. The printer would be installed on the LAN. The printer would have its own drive letter (like the P drive rather than the C drive). Then, either PC could send print requests to the printer. That frees up the USB port on your MAC for something other than that printer.

I believe this would be technically called a client and server network. The server would potentially be your sony where the printer would be set up on a shareable drive and the client would be your MAC.

I am unfamiliar with the airport stuff that MACs must have. This sounds like a special type of network designed specifically by Apple. We use Linksys, but I'm not totally sure if that's compatable with MACs. There must be some options in that airport network that give shareable drives somewhere. I know there's a 'setdrive' dos command used in IBM computers, but I'm not sure what MACs use for that.

[Molly97]

I'll run that by my hubby and see what he thinks.
You know, there are days when I am focused and clear, and can even work the Canon 40D camera I got for my birthday. Then there are other days when I'm just out of focus. I like that. The phrase I just used I mean.

[alivenwell]

All I remember from Apple computers is that their keyboard shortcut commands are slightly different from IBM computers.

I've had IBM PCs after that point.

But, if you're using digital photography with your PC, the MAC may be a good choice. I know several art college courses recommend the MACs.

[Nenne]

I went to a "media" highschool, and we only used mac, in both grafic design and photo, its just the best computers to use! i love mac i have both Macbook and ipod i just wish i could have Iphone but thats way above my student economy but they are pretty!