"Post No. 554"

It's sad.

A few days back my computer simply died.

It was not an "unexpected" death.

I acquired my old pc back about ten years ago when I was having other people list items for me to sell on eBay. One of these people told me that I should really get a pc of my own and that way I could list any time I wanted, and have my items anyway I wanted, but I thought I just couldn't afford one at that time. I mean, a new computer in 1999, a GOOD one that is, cost about a thousand dollars. I was told not to worry about that since the sellers could whip me together a nice system and just take it out of my auction wins, so I agreed to those terms and ended up with a pc that, even though it's been reworked and rebuilt a few times over the years, still served my purposes.

But it only had 64 RAM (top of the line back then). And I'll admit that with the old pc I made a considerable amount of money. Enough, in fact, that (at one time) I could have quit my regular employment and done nothing but sell on eBay as I was bringing in twice the amount of my usual paycheck. I even bought me a real nice digital camera which cost around $450. and made back that money in a mere month.

Things change.

9-11 just about destroyed eBay sellers. Everyone was scared to let go of their cash, and my personal sales dropped to next-to-nothing very quickly. I got to where I'd only occasionally list items. Here in the past few years it's been just a handful every six months or so.

Instead, the computer became more of a learning tool, and a device to converse with people who shared my interests on various chat boards, an instrument to quickly receive e-mail from all over the world, and to post my numberous blogs.

And I'll also have to say that the old pc did not die quietly, but in screams of pain as it began beeping very loudly as it crashed. Really, it was like seeing a pet finally give in to old age and breath its final breath.

One can become much too connected with "things". Before 1999, I didn't need a computer. Had no real use for one. Blissfully didn't know what I was missing, and therefore, just as happy. I passed the time back then with the usual work, television, reading and visiting local friends. I didn't sit for literally hours on end looking at on-line auctions and chatting or looking up information from various sites.

But with technology as it is, I have become dependent on having a connection to The Net. It's become a security blanket of sorts, and even when the pc wasn't turned on, I still had a more secure feeling that it was only a push button away. So at present just to look at The net, I walk down three houses to my mom's and use her's for a little while, but I can't post my blog there because it's just a simple one I put together for her to use for e-mail and has no floopy drive. This extra one I'm typing this on here at home at the moment has the A-Drive and I'm saving these mullings to a New Word Pad Document to copy to a disc and, whenever I do finally get a new pc, copy and paste these words onto a blog post. When exactly that may be I don't know. It depends on how quickly I can find a usable system that will connect and allow me to do so.

What we have here is just the reason "why" I haven't posted, and I'll attempt to keep it updated on what went past between the time of "the old & the new".


Thus I'll speak of some recent acquisitions, "comic book wise" that came in. I got one of the two large "surprize" lots of comics which contained 50 misc. DCs. It was a pretty decent lot although there was around 7 duplicates I couldn't use. In this lot I got a run of JLA 47 thru 65 complete, a few issues of The Flash V2 (and even one from the 1970's of the previous series), a few issues of V2 of Green Lantern, plus other "stuff". The best book in this lot is a copy of The Demon Annual #2 from 1993 which features the first app./Intro of Garth Ennis's "Hitman". I'd had this on a want list but couldn't find one in the bins of the comic book store I sometimes visit, and didn't want to pay what dealers were wanting for a copy on eBay. This is a nice FN-VFN copy and I'm quite pleased with the entire lot.

I'm still anxiously awaiting the second lot to arrive which contains approx. 60 Marvel Comics, the largest part of which are issues from both V1 (formerly:Tales to Astonish) AND V2 of The Incredible Hulk, and, in particular, several issues which contain the "Planet Hulk" storyline which I've been wanting to read for some time. It should make it in within this next week.

Still reading Transmetropolitan and have presently gotten up to issue #51, which covers Spider jerusalem discovering he has a disease of the mind which will destroy his thinking and reasoning abilities within a year. He's still working on bringing down the current president, and with time running out for him to get all his facts straight, he's certainly not wasting time being "nice" about acquiring them. Still great stuff! I'll miss not reading his exploits when I finish the remaining nine issues in this series.

Mom is doing better all the time. I don't have to take her back to the doctor until the 28th. of October. Maybe then she'll get (or maybe before) an appointment to have her stomach rescoped from the surgery of past July. Today one of her friends came by to take her to church for the first time in a couple of months. (10-05-08)



So here's how things stand presently. I'm still on dial-up. All of the locals who used to work on pcs have all either moved and stopped doing that and the closest pc repair shop I know of is a good 25 miles away. What I need is a free download for this Windows 98 4.10.1998 Pentium (r)II processor, which is what my server told me when I tried to get my DSL connected this morning. I WAS able to get my Outlook Express back up, however, which was good. So I'm still able to do my blog posts, but I'm doing it all on a New Word Pad document at the moment, then doing a copy/paste to my blogger posts. The main problem with dial up is that my server: 1) Charges me more for it, and 2) My phone lines are tied up when I'm on line.

(UPDATE: I did finally get hold of one computer guy today and I'll be taking this pc just a few miles up the road Thursday to have him work on it. He seems to think, pretty much, it's my Network Card. Talked prices with him and still looks like, total, I'll have $100. or less in a good workable pc again.)

In other news... I finally finished all 60 issues plus the specials of Transmetropolitan and am now in that let down stage due to not having a "fix" of Spider Jerusalen exploits nightly. I must say that Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson certainly didn't disapoint me a bit with this series. Just wish there was more of them to read.

In the meanwhile, I've taken a little break to read some mainstream comics such as "The Planet Hulk" issues of The Incredible Hulk (1999 series) #'s 99 thru 103, which takes him thru a battle to secure the planet several of the Marvel heroes sent him to, and his marriage to the alien warrior woman who fought along beside him there. This storyline is, as I said before, the freshest Marvel has presented in years and it was good to read some of these in their original format.

And before I get into reading the full set of DC-Milestone's Xombi #'s 0, 1 thru 21 complete, I have a run of JLA 47 thru 65 that I think I'll dive into, along with a handful of of The Flash V2, plus a few issues of The Astonishing X-men. (10-07-08)

And RAIN today! The first decent amount in several weeks. Perhaps the drought here has finally ended.