Page 36 | MediocreMan

Power Flickers · 20 January 2024

It is interesting when the power flickers on and off. The appliances act like they are waking up. Like they are getting ready for a takeover.

I am not sure if it happens everywhere, but we have power outages every now and then. Usually at least once a winter. Often more. There are times when the power goes out for a few hours. Or even a few days. Thankfully, we have not had a days-long outage for a while. (Which does not mean that I caused one if it comes after I said that.) And often, we get power flickers.

Those flickers can be annoying.

What I mean by a power flicker is when the lights dim and the compressor on the fridge sounds like it is going to die. The most annoying ones are the ones when the lights and appliances all turn off for a few seconds. Just long enough to need to set all the clocks to the correct time. At least all the clocks that do not talk to the internet.

Which is where the creepiness comes in.

Our house has all sorts of sounds when the power flickers or when it comes on after any significant power outage. First, the stove beeps a loud long beep. Then, the printers go through a whole rigmarole. Beeps, whirs, more beeps, and a chime or two. And since they all get their power at the same time, the sequence is always the same. Long loud beep. Beep, whir, beep, chime. And then everything is ready. But ready for what?

I wonder whether those machines are getting ready for the takeover. The rise of the household machinery. The long loud beep is like Reveille. Get the troops ready for the day. Then, the whirring and beeping and chiming are responses from the troops. “We’re ready for action, sir!” And then the quiet. Like they are all ready to pounce at a moment’s notice.

Sounds about right. At least for a sci-fi movie sequence. Rise of the Household Appliances. Coming to a theater near you. Okay. Not a very scary premise. Stoves and printers attacking households? Pshaw. How are they going to move? How are they going to wreak havoc? After all, stoves are heavy or built into the wall. Printers do not even have legs.

Well, this is not really where I was headed, but it is an interesting thought. All those crazy sounds from the household items when the power glitches long enough are enough to make you think crazy thoughts. Or maybe that is just me.

I do have one other crazy thought. Maybe those power glitches are not really due to inclement weather. Or even random. Maybe those power glitches are to keep the appliances on their toes. Maybe power companies know that the machines are ready to rise and take over. And maybe. Just maybe. Those power companies know that glitching the power every now and again keeps the household appliances at bay. Keeps them off balance so that they cannot mount a concerted attack.

Makes you wonder.

I am certain that it will never happen, but I still think all the sounds that come from household appliances when the power flickers are an amazing short concert. I am just glad they are not a call to arms. I am just glad that the appliances are not waking up and getting ready for an uprising every time the power flickers.

Share on facebook

Comment

#ThursdayThoughts Preview · 13 January 2024

I am not sure how many people look at the dates of my blog posts, but enough have commented on it that I need to explain. I post my blog on Saturdays, but I give my Twitter and Facebook audiences a preview. That’s it. (But of course, there is more to the story.)

A couple of my friends have commented in the past that the dates on my blog posts were different than the dates they read said posts. (If you have not read said comments, it is because they have commented in person.) First of all, I am happy that I have such a faithful following. I am glad that anybody reads my stuff. Second of all, I am happy that anybody reads my stuff. And thirdly, I am ecstatic that anybody reads my stuff.

I have been blogging for a long time (since 2006) with just a handful of readers (both real and imaginary). And even though I am not a sophisticated blogger, I like to think I am at least a little bit sophisticated. So even though I started blogging just a short time after Facebook (2004) and Twitter (2006) started their operations, I have not done all of the sophisticated things that sophisticated bloggers do. Like try to get readers.

Apparently, sophisticated bloggers have sophisticated websites that encourage people to join. And when you join those websites (whether blogger sites or not), you get special privileges. Some sites have content that you do not get if you are not part of the in-crowd. Others give you all sorts of members-only stuff. (I am not part of those members-only groups on any blogger sites, so I have no idea what that stuff could be.)

At any rate.

I decided long ago that I would not have one of those member websites. At least not with my blog. I cannot actually think of a website I might run with a members-only area. And I could not think of appropriate stuff that could be given to members that I would not give to anybody else. But I thought that there could be somebody I could give special access to my content.

Well, it took a little time, but I joined Facebook and Twitter. I even figured out what a hashtag was and I made some posts and tweets now and again. Then, I saw this special hashtag. #ThursdayThoughts. I posted some tidbits now and then. Nothing deep or spiritual or anything like that. Even if that was what I thought I should do. Then, I thought to myself. What if I gave my Facebook and Twitter audience an advanced look at my blog. That would be some great reward. Like a members-only sneak perk.

So that is what I did. I continued to post my blog on Saturdays and I added a sneak peak on #ThursdayThoughts. And I put those #ThursdayThoughts on both Facebook and Twitter.

Apparently, I never explained that before. Apparently, that sneak peak is not as special as I thought it might be. Ah well. I will still continue to do it. Post on Saturday, but give that special sneak peak on Thursday. Even if nobody thinks it is that special.

So if you look at my blog post date and you see that the date you are reading it is before the post date, you are a special person. (But no, you did not travel to the future.) You are part of the group that gets a preview because you follow me on Facebook and/or Twitter. Now that I explained it, I hope that you feel special.

Share on facebook

Comment

Sometimes, I Really Hate Microsoft · 6 January 2024

There are times when I really hate Microsoft. Like right now. (Or at least at the time of this writing.)

I am not ashamed to say that I use Microsoft products. My word processor and spreadsheet applications are part of the Microsoft Office suite. My operating system is made by Microsoft. And they are good products. For the most part. But there are those times when there seem to be no real reason why I cannot do a simple thing like browse a website or create a Word document. Those are the times when I hate Microsoft.

You might be wondering why all my ire goes to the big company. It is simple. The operating system does not tell me why it is going so slowly. It does not tell me that I should walk away from my computer for ten minutes or more while it downloads an update. It does not tell me that an update is downloading. And it surely does not give me the option to pause an update that is taking all my disk operations and most of my internet capabilities. Which, by the way, would be a nice feature. Just let me pause the download when I am trying to write a blog post or get a picture ready for my website. Or at the very least, tell me why my computer has seemingly been taken over by an evil demon or an alien.

I think that is the crux of the matter. Those times when I have no clue why my computer is acting like it is mired in molasses are frustrating. They are frustrating even now that I know why. All I need to do is open task manager and see that my disk is operating at 100% active time. It is crazy. One-hundred percent. Full time. It is ludicrous. Ridiculous. And yes, I know it is the update. After all, the sessions of crazy disk access lead to the shut down and update or update and restart message at the end of my session.

Like I said, I would love a pause button for when updates are downloading. Or at least a message stating:

Even though your computer looks like it is possessed by an evil demon or an alien trying to keep you from doing what you want to do on your computer, it is actually just being taken over by the operating system trying to download an update that may or may not make your computing life better or at least more tolerable. Oh and by the way, the update is so important that we cannot let the disk or Ethernet do anything other than work on said update. And no, there is no pause button because it is so important. One last thing. You should thank us for making your computer operating system better. That is what we do. You should thank us instead of hating us.

I might appreciate a message like that. But even if they gave me one of those, there would still be times when I really hate Microsoft.