Antisocial Networking

I am still on medical leave and have always enjoyed my techno gadgets. Through the past few years I have wired everything with a computer chip in the house to our computer network and nurtured my little family of networked devices like it was a family. Once a new member was added to the family would then proudly announce to my husband and son about how they could now access one file on the new device rather than having to walk ALL THE WAY across the house to get it from the device it is actually stored on. Isn't that great? Huh? Huh? Then they would look at me that halfhearted "yeah, I guess" like Kip said to Uncle Rico in Napoleon Dynamite and go back to what they were doing.

Of course the real reason I like that feature is because I love the response when I send a file to print from my laptop unannounced to the desktop printer and someone is already on the desktop. The first time I did that, my son was at the desktop and his panicked response was hysterical. "The printer is printing!" He looked like he has seen a ghost. I think he thought a ghost was in the printer. Sadly, that still did not cure him of a bad addiction to Angry Birds, but it was worth a shot.

You can't teach an old dog new trick, though and old routers do not fare much better and our old router is rather antiquated. We usually end up needing to reset it about every 1/2 hour to keep our Internet connection. Now was a great time to update. So I ordered a new high speed router with better coverage, faster speed, and better security. It even was supposed to detect its own settings rather than being done manually upon set up. Just plug'n'chug. Like they used to tell us in Algebra II in high school. Wasn't that a load of crap?

After about three hours of plugging, unplugging, starting, restarting, and doing LOTS of bending and stooping, the old router is back on the computer. I am not supposed to be stooping or bending for four weeks post op. Now I see why. Which means we are having to cross the house and reset the router about every 1/2 hour again. The old router's green light mockingly blinks as if it were winking at the new router. "See, I told you she'd never be rid of me. Ha, ha, ha!" The old one sits in it's packaging lifelessly.

I must heal, but I will win this battle sooner or later. If I can conquer medical school, I can conquer a stupid router.