A Tsunami of Technology Woes

Wander the halls of any academic institution in June or July and when one academic encounters the other the conversation usually goes along the lines of... "Have you recovered from the end of the semester? Are you getting a break...at all?" Fast forward to late August and regardless of where you wander, you'll note that the conversation has changed to... "Are you ready? Are you ready for it to all begin...again?" 

I used to try to get ready for the semester and then I realized it doesn't really matter. One can anticipate some of the potential obligations - faculty meetings, applications for endless committees to join, endless work to get those committees up and running, getting course Blackboard sites up and running, copying syllabi, etc. But, the tsunami comes and crashes regardless of preparation. At that moment, it's sink or swim. After week two or three of the semester, we usually find ourselves lying on the equivalent of a trash ridden beach, just barely breathing. But, we are breathing. It is impossible to anticipate all of the things that might go wrong -- books that don't come in, students who forget to register for class, students who realize that getting a master's degree is a tremendous amount of work and decide to withdraw, and on and on. 

This year? I was inundated with technology woes. In the first three weeks of the semester, we had meltdowns or near-meltdowns with: my computer (an ongoing saga), statistical software (SPSS and Stat Transfer), Neil's computer's touch pad/mouse, my iPhone stopped playing sound, our landline was cutting in and out, our Internet went out for 24 hours, and our cable TV stopped working. I had to contact 4 help centers (or as my friend, Kathy, calls them, "helpless centers") in a mere week. Everything I touch falls apart. I'm afraid to walk near electrical grids and gas lines. Heck, I'm even afraid to use a mechanical pencil. 

I eventually started taking pictures of our technology woes and I have posted them here for my readers. Enjoy.

This happens every day to me - about 5-7 times a day. Waiting for my new computer. October. I am promised that it will arrive in October. 

This is from the night that I stayed up until 3am preparing a submission for a conference. This was around 1am. Perfect - a computer meltdown in the middle of the night.

I know how to take a screen shot of my computer, but I didn't know that iPhones could take a screen shot. This one did it all by itself! Even though it has stopped playing sound, it clearly is advanced in other ways.

We only get about 13 channels with our $12/month cable package. But, on this night I guess that we only got 12.

More messages from the cable company. We could not read this one.

Another moment in a usual day for me.

When I plug my laptop into the external screen in my office, this  is a usual occurrence. Two black screens. Just sit back and wait. Eventually the computer's image pops up on the monitor.

Adobe Acrobat crashes weekly. I update it and I am always told that the update has failed. It's a beautiful thing.

Yes, another "Not Responding" message - this time from Power Point.