I'm many things, obedient may not be one of them.
If you're anywhere near my age, you remember when televisions looked like this.
Our rabbit ears were broken so someone, probably a brother, cleverly bent a clothes hanger to replace it.
Very classy stuff!
Our rabbit ears were broken so someone, probably a brother, cleverly bent a clothes hanger to replace it.
Very classy stuff!
One morning our screen was mysteriously cracked, still intact but covered by intersecting lines of blur.
The sound worked perfectly but you couldn't see anything.
The sound worked perfectly but you couldn't see anything.
I suppose we couldn't afford to fix it because it stayed that way for the rest of its life. Did my folks have it hauled away? Nope, it just sat there torturing reminding me that all my friends were watching the TV shows I couldn't see.
I have vivid (I really must get a more exciting life) memories of sitting in front of that monstrosity...listening to Bewitched and wondering what was happening as Darren did stupid things and Samantha twitched her nose to fix them which caused boisterous laughter to erupt from the audience.
It was pretty frustrating and annoying. I recall cramming myself behind the beast in hopes of figuring out just what was wrong and see if I could magically fix the worthless POS.
Where upon I encountered one those terrifying labels. The same kind that's on the back of my computer.
WARNING!!
NO OWNER USER PARTS, NOT TO BE OPENED BY ANYONE OTHER THAN AN EXPERIENCED PROFESSIONAL yada, yada, yada.
Ok, at 10 years old that stopped me.
WARNING!!
NO OWNER USER PARTS, NOT TO BE OPENED BY ANYONE OTHER THAN AN EXPERIENCED PROFESSIONAL yada, yada, yada.
Ok, at 10 years old that stopped me.
What I'm wondering now, is why that didn't stop me this week from ignoring an equally serious warning on the opening screen access to my blog HTML?
What? I think I've become proficient enough to change a light bulb so I can certainly play around in language that has more symbols than letters and words!
Um..no. Apparently not.
When it suggested I backup my template before making any changes, I couldn't even figure that out.
There was my clue...right then and there.
Back slowly and carefully away from the certain screw up you are about to inflict.
Um..no. Apparently not.
When it suggested I backup my template before making any changes, I couldn't even figure that out.
There was my clue...right then and there.
Back slowly and carefully away from the certain screw up you are about to inflict.
Well, I just burrowed right in, banged things around a bit and voila!!
Some things are gone and some have stopped working altogether.
So...I think I may dive right back in later this weekend and see what I can do to fix it all up like brand spanking new.
What are you doing with your weekend?
Oh, dear! I hope you're able to restore communications -- we'll miss you, otherwise.
ReplyDeleteYour reminiscing about old-school televisions reminded me about going to the drugstore with my dad where they had some sort of machine for testing the various tubes that mysteriously coaxed picture and sound from our old black-and-white. . . . do you have any such memories?
I do, we must be close to the same age. Things have become so disposable now.
DeleteAnd another thing about the televisions of our youth....why were all family photos taken posed in front of the console television? Every Easter, Christmas, prom and graduation picture? So lovely!!!!
ReplyDeleteOh I am always messing up something on my blog design. My header decided to move to the left this morning. It took me 45 minutes to figure out how I centered it last year when I messed it up. I feel you pain...I really do!
LOL, I guess we all were just so proud of that TV we wanted it in the shot!
DeleteI kind of feel your pain...I opened up a link too quickly a few days ago and released a beast of a virus. $300 later my computer is back, but still a little persnickety....such is life! No use getting upset...just deal! I hope it all works out!
ReplyDeleteOuch, viruses in public and for the computer!
DeleteOh no! That' why I am so afraid to try anything! What a bother! We had a tv just like that! Lucky for us though,the next door neighbour was a TV repairman and he would always come right over and give us a loaner till ours was fixed!
ReplyDeleteWe had a dentist next door, so nothing got borrowed from him. You were the lucky one!!
DeleteI had to laugh at your TV experience. When I was single, I had a TV that eventually did weird things like squashed the entire picture to only a couple inches tall and then oddly expanded it so people had two feet long necks, for example. Would you believe I lived with that until I got married? Thank goodness husby had a working TV.
ReplyDeleteI had the original tiger mom. However, one thing she instilled in me was the belief I have the ability to do anything. Just about. Some things I've fixed and some things I've messed up. But I guess that's life. ;)
I got it from my mom too, she could repair anything. Of course not our TV and we didn't have computers then.
DeletePoor Jennifer... Now you know that HTML is worse than Greek. I once lost all my blog set ups trying to change what I thought was a minor thing. You are right: old TVs were probably easier to fix....
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
xoxo
Anne Touraine (Playing with Scarves)
That's no fun Jennifer!
ReplyDeleteWe had an antenna and father could turn it around on the roof so we could tune in blurry stations for a better picture. There were about 4 stations when I was young...CBC of course a local one and 2 from the Seattle area.
Perhaps Blogger will have some support for your dilemma? Fingers crossed that you can sort it out.
Their support is a tad sketchy at best.
DeleteI may just leave it as is or hire a child to fix it. They know everything.
Hello Jennifer:
ReplyDeleteWe have not had a television for over thirty years now but as children we can still recall being glued to the BBC testcard for hours on end just waiting for something, anything to happen, which, of course, it hardly did.
Perhaps it is this early televised hypnosis that has since resulted in our fear of approaching anything in the least bit technological but we do admire your adventurous spirit as far as Blogger is concerned.However, as our parents would often remark....'having made your bed, you must now lie in it.....' or at least wait until the testcard is replaced!!! Hoping that normal service will be resumed for you as soon as possible!!!!
Thank you Jane and Lance. I'm not sure my service was ever "normal" but I think I will just carry on. "Adventurous spirit" is such a charming description of my folly!!
ReplyDeleteI think we still have one of those TV's laying around our house somewhere. LOL. The older I get the more I appreciate antiques and fixing up old things. Making do or do without.
ReplyDeleteOne, snowy and much-interrupted CBC channel - that's what I remember....with rabbit ears that worked best when covered in aluminum foil. We had a TV that died and my parents didn't remove it until we moved house. I guess it was too much trouble to rearrange the furniture.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the HTML etc etc
I think anything involving blogger should come with the notice 'There Be Dragons'.
Ha! This is so funny and YES I do remember having a television like the one at the top. I'm with you regarding all this HTML stuff.. making progress with my blog as been at a snails pace and I can't keep up with technology. It was not a part of our childhood/school curriculum as it is now.
ReplyDeleteleslie
Jennifer, I am so sorry this happened to you (really!) but you do crack me up. HTML...I would have no clue.
ReplyDeleteOur "childhood" TV was a Zenith black and white for YEARS. When the annual showing of Sound of Music or Wizard of Oz came on, we would hightail it over to my aunt and uncles to see it in glorious color.
Color?? Lucky you!!
DeleteI hate when that happens. And it's happened. And I've ignored the warnings too - to my temporary demise. HTML is definitely a language I don't read or speak - except in tiny, tiny increments. had to laugh at yours and some of your reader's memories of television sets. They've been a part of our lives, collectively and continue to evolve, don't they?
ReplyDeleteIt's still a mystery to me. I don't watch much television to this day.
DeleteI do remember that type of TV and the constant finagling with the aerial and ours always had an unsightly wrap of brown sellotape tape round it. I always dive right into things too, it's a mix of impatience and being middle aged and looking for a cheap thrill!
ReplyDeleteI get in more trouble looking for cheap thrills!!
DeleteI commend your courage to fix the TV on your own. As they say, “you have to risk it to get the biscuit“! I hope you were able to fix it though. My husband and I tried the same thing with our washer before and what do you know? We were able to fix it! I wish you all the best in your future endeavors, and keep on sharing your stories!
ReplyDeleteBrooke Harris