Electronic Nightmares

I guess I’ve addressed some electronic mishaps and frustrations in the past, but when several hit at the same time it’s more a nightmare that should never be forgotten.

It all happened in a two to three day span, one issue after the other.

The neighbor who wanted my utility trailer had agreed to mow and weed whack in exchange for use of my trailer, so we both jumped on the plan.

He was about to mow the last round for me the other day and I was supposed to disconnect (turn off) the auto sprinklers so the lawn would be dry early that morning.

When I heard his truck arrive in my driveway at O’ dark thirty, I panicked realizing I had forgotten to turn off the sprinklers the night before.

But when I looked out toward the lawn, it wasn’t wet at all, leading me to think maybe I had turned it off. But checking the control box for the sprinkler system, it was still in the on position but no digital reading visible.

The yard guy and I figured the clock battery must be dead, which turned out to be true. The 9-volt battery in fact was deader than a doornail. After the lawn was mowed I replaced the battery and figured all would be well and working the next morning. So for the day’s watering, I turned it on manually at the valves, one at a time for the 10 minute intervals.

The next morning I was up at the crack of dawn and rushed outside figuring to see a wet lawn and garden, fed by the irrigation system’s drippers.

To my dismay, all was dry and I mean bone dry.

“Drat,” I thought to myself (actually using a different word). What now?

Something was definitely wrong so I got on the phone to my friend who had an auto system, too. She came to my house and we looked the thing over and re-programmed it figuring that was the problem.

Another manual watering and a day went by and the following morning I just knew it was going to be a successful auto sprinkling day.

Wrong.

Now I’m getting really frustrated, so I called the guy who replaced the old valve system in the front yard. I had to refer to an old phone book as his ad wasn’t in the new book.

What a guy! He walked me through all the possibilities that could have affected the functions of the unit. He reminded me that the battery wouldn’t power the switching mechanism for the valves and was just a backup source to remember the clock and settings. Sure, that made sense. He asked if it was all plugged into the main house power. I said sure, it was. Then something hit me that I had totally forgotten about. The portable light to the barn wasn’t working, didn’t seem to have power. I walked around the house, the sprinkler guy still on the phone and told him my portable power was connected to a GFI plug on the house. I pushed the red reset button, went to the barn and Voila light!

How embarrassing. I could have figured it out if I had remembered the GFI outlet. I have them in the house next to sinks and every once in a while they trip off and I have to re-set them.

I guess that was only part of my electronic frustration that week as I had to install a Wi Fi unit in my laptop computer so I can use it here and there when I work on stories.

Holding out for a better Internet server at my home, I figured this would be the temporary answer. Well, it finally is, but it’s been a two-day ordeal setting it all up with a no-cost e-mail server and utilizing a friend’s web server. My laptop is now totally portable.

It is a frightening thought that one day very likely it will all be electronic data, no paper, just airwaves sending information, money and all wherever and to whomever we are dealing with.

Some say it’s a brave new world, but for some of us it’s a lot to digest. Fortunately the youngsters are taking it in stride. After all, it’s what they are growing up with. Good thing we older generation have younger grandkids and nieces and nephews to guide us now and then. I’ve got one of these geeks under my roof, close at hand, and let me tell you he comes in real handy when grandma is stifled by technology. While we are responsible for teaching them responsibility and instilling character traits, they are the technological geniuses that we will refer to when the going gets tough and the tough get going in cyber space.