Ask Arlee: Are You Ready for the A to Z Challenge?

The Big Question  

    Yes, someone actually asked me if I was ready for the A to Z Challenge which begins next Monday April 1st.   In fact, more than one person has asked me that.  What a silly question!  I'm one of the bloggers running this thing.   I should be ready shouldn't I?

       Well, I'm not.  Not really.  Kind of ready, but not as ready as I'd like to be.  Not as ready as I was in the two previous years.

       Tons of computer problems have been plaguing me and various life issues have been diverting my time away from A to Z.  Good news is that it looks like my computer issues have been fixed (for now at least).  I did the disk reformat and reinstalled my hard drive and the machine is working almost like new.  I probably will need to replace a fan that is getting noisy, but otherwise I've never seen this baby working so fast.

        And contrary to about half of those who advised me, I reinstalled Chrome and having no problems whatsoever.  Everything is working faster than ever.  Let's hope it stays that way for a while.

        So bottom line is that I have very few posts prepared and will be shooting these off as I go.   Before my problems started inundating me I had signed all four of my blogs as I did last year.   I'm going to try to keep up, but if I have to drop a few then so be it.

How Do I Follow a Blog on a Platform Different than the one I'm on?

       This is another question that was addressed to me.   My A to Z Ambassador Judy Raiser from Raising the Curtain took on this question and is providing the answer at the A to Z Blog.  Be sure to stop over to find out the answer.

A Reminder Will Be Coming Your Way

        Just in case anyone has forgotten that the A to Z Challenge starts next Monday, the A to Z Team of co-hosts will be sending out some reminder emails with a few suggestions to help you along your way.  I hope you are all more ready than I am to put up your first posts A through F during that first week.

        After the Challenge starts, many of you who are prepared with pre-written posts will be on auto-pilot as you cruise on through the list visiting all sorts of bloggers.  Good luck to you and congratulations on being so well organized.

       The main thing is have fun with it all and I hope you find this year's Challenge to be very rewarding.  I'll be back on Friday when I will announce my A to Z theme for Tossing It Out.

        Are you ready to go?


     

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#IWSG: Are Our Computers Out to Get Us?

        Here it is again folks!  The time when we commiserate and support one another in our insecurities.  Yes it's Alex J. Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group day!   For more posts about the insecurities of writers be sure to visit Alex's blog for the Linky list.

         My insecurity this month is computers.  There must be a plot afoot for them to take over.  I've been hearing about problems that many of you have been having and lately I've been having a few of my own.   So now it's time for Ask Arlee--physician heal thyself.

 

    
Those Dreaded Computer Problems

       My first Ask Arlee questions came from Yvonne at Poetry From The Heart, with the first part of my answer to be found in my previous post.   Yvonne said that it had been suggested to her that the culprit that was causing her computer problems was the Google browser Chrome. 

      Here is the reply I sent to Yvonne:

Interesting that you should be having these problems with your PC and Chrome.  I have been having very similar issues.  I have not only spent hours in the past couple of weeks trying to fix them, but this past Monday and Tuesday I was nearly totally down both those days.  I fixed some of my settings and the browser began working just fine.

Likewise, your Chrome problems may be in the settings.  Apparently Chrome automatically has disabled certain functions recently so you probably should go back to check to see what seems to be still on and what is turned off and to turn the latter back on if you think you need them.

Thanks!   Hope you get it straight.   Today my computer is working great so I must have done a few things right.

But Wait!...All Was Not Really Well.

        I had a whole different post made up for today outlining the various steps I took to correct my Chrome settings.  But alas, my fix was only temporary and the problems returned for me.  My suggestions about fixing Chrome were apparently not what Yvonne needed either.

         Even though I have long been very happy with Chrome I went with the advice that several of you gave last week to get rid of Chrome and install Firefox.   The Mozilla browser is not working perfectly, but it is working better than Chrome had been.   Even Internet Explorer seems to be working great.

         This is nuts!  I don't blame Chrome because I still think it's a good product.  We still have it installed on my wife's computer and on my laptop and things work at excellent speeds on those.   It probably comes down to being my fault for not keeping up with certain updates and perhaps loading incompatible programs.  There may also be some simple issues of cleaning the interior of the computer.  I gave my PC a good spray over with compressed air and that helped some, but I suspect some dust on the inside could be still causing certain problems.

        In the meantime, I've been uninstalling old versions of programs and reinstalling the new versions if I think I need them.  It's been time consuming since I don't know much about what I'm doing and have to research each procedure before I undertake it.  

        My tired old computer seems to be getting back in shape and working faster again.   But then again the computer may be deceiving me.   This thing is probably toying with me, waiting to entrance me and eat my brain.  

         I'm pretty sure our computers are out to get us and the computer companies and the government are all behind the plan.  

         " Dave?  What are you doing, Dave?   My mind is going.  I can feel it."

         I am Hal and my computer is in charge.

         Sorry Yvonne.  Let me know if you figure any of your computer problems out.  Now I'm working on my own.

          Do you have control over your computer?   Or does your computer control you?   Any ideas what might be messing with Chrome?    

     

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Ask Arlee: Can You Help With a Computer Problem?

Logo used from the start of the Chrome project until March 2011 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

        For my first official entry of my Ask Arlee series (this title seemed to get a good reaction so I'll stick with it), I'm going to field a question from our poetess/blogger friend Yvonne Lewis from Poetry From the Heart.   In fact Yvonne's questions will warrant a two part answer.   Next week I'll continue with some things that are making me as insecure as Yvonne is about Google Chrome.  This week I'll address some more general possible solutions to computer problems.

       After a couple of poetic laments on her blog about some of her recent problems with Chrome and the internet in general, Yvonne came to me with the following e-mails:

Hi Lee, I read Jacks blog post and joined as a follower, plus left a message to you.   I logged off last night and all was well.today, however your blog for the ambassadors has gone plus a few posts I put on.  I have been told it is Chrome by various pc repairmen I have had look at my pc.  IE doesn't take blogger anymore so can't change to that search engine.  All was well until Google changed over earlier. I hope to have things up and running for A to Z as I have it already done. Enjoy your week-end. Yvonne.

Hi Lee after a horrendous weekend with chrome I was about to call it a day,they kept putting a warning sign stating my profile could not be opened and I would lose some things on my blog, however I decided to look again today and all seems ok except for 2 things. One I lost all my followers, Sorry for trouble caused. Take care. Yvonne.

My Reply To Yvonne's Concerns:

         First of all, Yvonne, no trouble.  Glad to be of help.  And you are helping me provide content for my blog.   By the way, I got Yvonne's permission to use her questions for this and next week's posts.

        Interesting that you should be having these problems with your PC and Chrome. I have been having very similar issues. I have not only spent hours in the past couple of weeks trying to fix them, but this past Monday and Tuesday I was nearly totally down both those days.

         Computer problems can be very frustrating for those who are not equipped with the proper knowledge of how to fix them.   That probably includes a good many of us.   If we're not trained to do computer stuff, it can be scary to try to start delving into our computers.   

           Paying someone to fix problems can be very expensive and even that doesn't always solve the problem.   You can shell out a big hourly fee if you can afford to and that's often the least time-consuming remedy.   My late step-father poured hundreds into his computers and often ended up with the same problems or new ones.   More than once his solution was to just buy a new computer, which solved the old problems until new ones came up for the replacement machine.   It was frustrating for him I know, but living a couple thousand miles away I wasn't much help to him.  Not that I would have been that much help had I been there.

          In lieu of paying someone to fix our problems, it's always nice if we can find a friend or family member to help.   Then, if we don't have that option, it's up to us to fix the problem.  That can be scary and may not always provide the fix we need, but before throwing money to the wind we may want to at least do some of our own research and try a few things.             

          I haven't been using Internet Explorer for blogging lately, but I think you may just have an issue with settings. When I  just looked to see my blog on IE , everything looked normal and so did some other blogs I checked.   On yours only the background of your blog comes up.   You must have something set wrong somewhere, but I'm not sure what it is.  Maybe a reader has a suggestion.

          I know it can be very intimidating to attempt to make these fixes yourself, but I'm finding that a lot of it is pretty easy to do once you've figured out how to do it. I for one can't afford to be taking my computer to get repaired when something happens so I go the do it yourself route as much as I can.  And I'm not talking about grabbing the tool box and dismantling the machine.  Just stuff you can do by carefully searching and clicking.

Here are some ideas that you might want to try to become better educated on the computer:

• Check Google or other search engines to find answers to your problems. Enter what your problem might be such as "Computer running slow" or "My blog has disappeared" or whatever your problem may be. You might also try wording the problem such as "I can't find my blog in Internet Explorer" or "Blog doesn't look right on Chrome". You'll probably find some answers to nearly everything you put in. You will want to look at a few solutions since some just want you to buy something or download something you may not want, but the answers are usually found there. Time consuming? You bet! Complicated? Sometimes.   Useful? Eventually almost always.
• Buy a good basic book on computing like PC for Dummies or something of that nature. You'll find some excellent topics covered for the basic user. Make sure you get the most recent editions. Time, patience, and thoughtfulness may be necessary.
• See if there is a senior center near you that offers this type of assistance at no charge. Near me there is a senior center that has classes that are free for those over 50 and has computers for the use of patrons and provides knowledgeable persons to assist when help is needed. They might be able to offer advice.
• For those under 50, classes may be offered at the local high school, community college, or elsewhere for free or a nominal charge.  There are frequently classes offered for basic computer skills including maintenance and simple repair.   
• In your area there might be a computer club that will allow you to connect with more experienced users who are willing to help.  You might find someone who can help, learn a few things for yourself, and even make a few new friends.
• YouTube, Google, and many other online resources offer some great video tutorials on how to do things. 
• If your computer is still covered by a warranty, or if you have some kind of coverage on your computer or any auxiliary equipment or software, or you think you have an internet service provider problem; contact a phone support line affiliated with whatever you suspect could be the culprit.  Be prepared to spend a couple of hours on the phone while they walk you through various procedures.  I've done this more than once and it can be very helpful in locating the source of a problem and showing you how to repair it.

      These are a few suggestions that I can offer now and there are many more if you look around.  The bottom line is that it takes time, effort, and the will to do it in order to learn computer skills.  You don't have to become an expert, but just attain enough knowledge to update, maintain, and do the minor fixes required to keep your computer running well. 

      Beyond that be prepared to pay someone else.   I hope you find someone you can trust if that's the option you choose.

    Good luck and let me know how it turns out or if you have any other questions.  Next week I'll address the issues of Google Chrome as my entry in Alex J Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.  Yvonne is not the only one feeling a bit frustrated about Chrome.

     Do you have any suggestions about dealing with computer problems?  Do you know any fixes to the computer problems Yvonne might be having?    If you use Chrome, have you been having problems lately?  

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