RK's Wrant

What the heck is a "wrant" you ask?  

Well, it isn't exactly a real word, it's a word I just invented about ten minutes ago to describe the kind of things I will be posting here.  

Once I start writing, sometimes it turns into a rant, so write/rant, wrant. I guess it isn't all that clever, but ten minutes ago it seemed kinda cute.  

I'm starting with a positive post. So here goes...  

Last week after a very rough start, which I will write about at another time, I entered the twenty-first century at the age of 63, with the installation of high speed internet on my old Mac and my brand new Ibook, and by adding a router. Wow, I'm wireless!  

This has sent me into a frenzy, much like the one that began in 1994 when I used my youngest son's Mac to go onto the internet. That first visit opened my world. It began an obsession that continued for years, and introduced me to a whole bunch of terrific people with similar interests.  

Then the rest of the world moved on to DSL or broadband, and I was left with dial-up, becoming more and more frustrated with my internet life. From checking email three or four times a day, I had gone to twice a week, and my computer had become a word processor as more and more I used it to write memoir pieces and poetry rather than surf the web.

World, I am back, checking out websites that up until last week took too long to load or told me in no uncertain words that I needed an update or to download some program that would have taken two days to download with my dial-up.  

I can watch little video things that used to show up as a blank squares or give me error messages. I feel free as a kid on a snow day!

The other new technical wonder that arrived last week from the same lovely people who sold me my high speed Internet, is a DVR. Now this is the kind of toy that should be on everyone's Chanukah or Christmas list.  

I was an early fan of taping. I learned to use a Beta Max in the days when there was a major argument going on about which was the better format, back before everyone else chose the VHS.

I was the first person I knew in my age group to be able to program it, and I've been programing whatever machine was around, because I'm not going to miss my soap or any of my other favorite programs just because I wasn't at home at the time it was on. I've always considered these things to be wonderful, and I feel that I've been appreciative of the technology involved, but whoever invented the DVR, deserves more of my appreciation.

This thing is amazing!

I set it to tape the two shows I had been taping since September. It was so easy. Then Friday night, I was watching The View, which I taped that morning, and suddenly glanced at the clock. It was 9:15 P.M.

Oh my God, Friday Night Lights was on, and I was supposed to be taping it. I freaked out. Then I looked up at the DVR box. A little red light was on. It said "record". I was shocked. The doggone thing was recording Friday Night Lights at the same time I was watching the show I had recorded earlier that day.

"It's magic!" I shouted jumping off the bed and scaring both cats, who were sure their mom had
lost her mind, but no, I had just discovered a new and wonderful toy.

How did I ever live without it?