I'm BAAAAACK!

Hello, my faithful Followers! If you've been wondering why I haven't posted in over a month--it's been a most trying one!

Several weeks ago my 5-year-old computer--which up to that point had been performing reasonably well--became infected with a series of nasty viruses that made the machine all but unusable. After much searching for help and labor, I'd get them cleaned off, only to have something else invade within a few days. My security software--two suites' worth--seemed incapable of keeping the system healthy. Ultimately, it became painfully obvious that the only effective solution would be to replace the computer entirely, which I reluctantly did. That meant going through all my files and programs (when the old computer would allow me to), saving to an external hard drive everything I wanted to keep, detaching the old machine and hooking up the new one, then painstakingly copying back onto it the old files, reinstalling what old programs I could and installing new ones, and configuring/reconfiguring EVERYTHING. All of that while trying to learn a new operating system. All this in the evenings and on weekends, including holidays. ARRGGHH!!!

On top of that, I had to buy a new mp3 player to replace my old iPod (that was left in a pants pocket and run through the washing machine while we were down in Florida in June to visit my parents and sister's family), and learning/configuring that and loading my music onto it--most of which had to be searched for and retrieved from the external hard drive. AND, my dear wife--the one who professes a deep antipathy toward computers and digital devices generally--decided she wanted an iPod Touch, which has a decidedly higher learning curve than your average simple mp3 player and even old iPod models. So, I've put in a good bit of time in the last week or so figuring out how to set up that little item.

Bottom line: no time for blogging in almost seven weeks! Now that I seem to have gained some degree of familiarity and control over the new computer, and have the new devices set up on a basic level, I hope to have more opportunity for blogging. So much has happened, here and in the world generally, since I've been "incapacitated"! How have you all managed to find your way without my inspiration and guidance? Well, take heart, friends--your sage counselor is back to impart his matchless wisdom and return humanity to Truth, Justice, and the American Way!

It IS getting a bit deep here, isn't it?