Live in the Philippines

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Have we arrived?

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For people of my age, or older, can you remember the days when we were kids.  Computers existed, but were not the household item that they are today.  Back in our day, only a very big office would have a computer, like major corporations and such.  As we became older, “home computers” became more common, though.  The thinking was back then that there would be a day when computers would take over the daily jobs that had to be done to keep our lives moving.  I can remember thinking that when we hit the 21st Century, computers would be handling many of the mundane tasks in our lives.

Have we arrived at that day?

I think not!

This past weekend was a real work weekend for me, computer-wise.  I had tons of jobs to do, and they were mostly computer related.  First, on Friday, I decided to do a few things with Feyma’s computer and with mine.  The results were not too good, and took me two days to repair.  Yes, I ended up crashing Feyma’s computer.  I don’t do things like this often, usually I am pretty good at handling computer stuff.  This time, though, it came to the point where I needed to just wipe the disk clean and re-install Windows and get her PC back up and running.  Installing Windows turned into a major hassle.  I kept running into different hardware issues, and I must have re-installed Windows a dozen times (seriously) before I finally got everything working as it should.  It was already Sunday, mid-morning, before I had Feyma back up and running with her PC.  All the while, I had problems, although more minor, with my own computer, requiring attention.  I did not attack mine until I got her computer up and running, though.

All along, at the same time, I had purchased a new computer for my niece, who works in our business.  So, I had to get her new PC up and running too!

By the time I got my own computer back online, it was Sunday.  Yesterday.  Sunday was my birthday.  So, I was happy to get back online for my birthday.  I opened up my e-mail program and started downloading all of my e-mails and I had over 300 e-mails from Facebook.  Hmm… I thought, why so many notifications from  Facebook?  Well, I quickly realized that it was Facebook friends posting “Happy Birthday” messages on my Facebook Wall, and also sending me private messages on Facebook wishing me a Happy Birthday.  Wow!  As the day progressed, I got more and more notifications of greetings on Facebook!  I suppose in all, I got nearly 500 greetings on Facebook between public postings on my wall and private messages from friends!

My policy both here on LiP and on Facebook is that I respond to all of the messages I receive.  So, can you imagine, I had about 500 greetings on Facebook to respond to!

Well, I realized yesterday that the computers in my house are not taking over my work, they are creating more work for me!  Ha ha… yes, it’s true.  Between fixing various computer problems over the weekend, and then responding to hundreds of birthday greetings, it was a busy weekend for me!

For all of you who wished me a Happy Birthday, thank you very much, I appreciate it.  I hit 49 this year, so next year is the big one!  I am not sure whether I am looking forward to that milestone or not, though!

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Comments

  1. You didn’t have to reply to all of us separately Bob, but we do appreciate the personal touch. Don’t know if you can get British BBC2 on your internet, but they have a programme about Manila on now,for an hour, It’s called ‘Toughest places to be………’

    • Hi Larry – I have a personal policy that if somebody takes the time to greet me or send me a message, I reply. So, I did have to reply to all of them, or I would not be true to my own policy! 😉 It was a big job, but I did it!

      I have not seen the show that you are mentioning, but maybe I can find it and watch!

      • Bob

        Happy belated 49th Birthday. Don’t you Bob once you turn 50 you stop having birthdays. Thats what I did hahaha. Hope you have a wonderful Monday!

          • Hi Bob,
            As you might recall, when I met Daisy in Singapore nearly 10 years ago I told her my age was fourty eleven (51).
            Once ahe found out the real number we were in love and it didn’t matter. I was too shy and a bit insecure with the number. We are okay now as we have always been in in our relationship. Mabuhay!
            Jade

  2. Well Bob..Happy birthday and well……50 is not that bad..after you reach 50 you can look forward to being 60. That was great you got Feyma’s pc up and running…sure she loved that. When I was a kid in the 50’s no computors other than maybe the goverment….not even the shack had one yet and do not think the VIC-20 was ready yet then…so things have really changed……..a lot since then.

  3. Bob again Happy Birthday to you & Wishing You many more to come. If you are ever stuck with a computer question I’d be more than happy to help you anytime. Information Technology is my specialty.

  5. That’s my experience too, Bob, that although I love computers and the many things I can do with them, the idea that they reduce workload in any way is just a pipe dream. They speed up work, so you can do more and do different things that … even things we didn’t really dream of when we were younger, but reduce work? Not from what I can see.

    Oh and don’t worry about number 50 … it’s exactly the same as the ones before and after. There are ways to stop growing older, but mostly they are a very unpalatable alternative … we ‘old boys’ will have the door to the ‘old boys’ club propped open for you whenever you chose to arrive 😉

    • Hi Dave – I think it is a matter of the more we can do, the more we need or want to do! Computers certainly add to the “can do” side of things! Like you say… no way it reduces work!

      Fifty… oh, I don’t even want to think of it right now! 😉

  6. Happy Bday. I am 54 and just the few months I have been here has me feeling a lot younger from all the pampering you can afford to give yourself. I also had a computer crash but I was fortunate to know about a place in town that for P500 would install the operating System of my choosing. I decided to go back to XP and for an additional P150 they reinstalled all the programs I had previously before the crash. I had the disks and the files on my USB so fortunately no headaches. It took them about 5 hours so I was able to pick it up the same day. Maybe I got lucky. Normally I would do this myslef but I just didn’t want the hassle and hey I’m in the Philippines where labor is cheap and a massage is waiting for me around the corner while I wait LOL

    • Thanks Dwayne. I know a number of shops here who can do computer work and such… but I like to do it myself, because when it comes to my computer, well, I want it just the way I want it, and to get that I have to do the work myself! Maybe I’m a gluten for punishment!

  7. Bob;
    The first computer I saw was on the USS Alstede AF-48 in 1967. It took up 60% of the space in the office I had to share with the operators. It required the A/C to be set like a meat locker, and in the summer I wore my wool Pea-coat to work, the huge monster broke down twice a day, sometimes throwing thousands of IBM punch-cards all over the office. (that was funny)
    I had a desk in the corner with my file cabinet and an IBM Select-matic typewriter. I kept the accounting records for the Ship’s Store and all it’s stock, like a scribe toiling away on my paperwork, over the following years they computerized my old job. As we were told it will make your work day easier and faster. All it did was make you do more work during the day. It added stress, deadlines, and more work as they would break down so often the Navy required us to still post our records both on paper (as a backup) and the computer when working. It never did live up to the hype that it would cut your workday in half. But for me where it is now recreational, and I can walk away whenever I want. Bob; I really would never want your job, but because of your family I understand why you do. Now get back to answering those greetings!

  9. Bob,
    Back in the 80’s the company I worked for installed a $6 million computerized quality and accumulation system with robots stackers. It never did eliminate 2 people like they thought but the robot stackers worked OK most of the time. Then they gave us email, which was so slow and time consuming that no one used it. We didn’t have a couple of hours to stand around (no chair) and flip through the pages one by one.
    I now enjoy using my laptop at home, but when I had a job they required me to send in reports every day which got tiresome after working 10 hours (10 PM to 8 AM) and I got fussed at if any mistakes, because it went all the way to the corporate office. Computers are good at tracking performance both local and long distance and give the higher ups information faster. Oh, Belated Happy Birthday
    Richard D

    • Hi Richard – Oh yes, those were the days! The old computers that took up a whole room and were slower than our mini-computers today! What memories!

      Thanks for the “happy birthday”. Take care.

  11. Hey Bob,
    I remember in 6th grade they taught us how to use a slide rule…They put a man on the moon using those…lol. By the time I got to high school they had four function calulators ~IF you could afford one, and they were big too.
    I still wish I had my ’56 chevy.

    BTW…Happy birthday!

    • Ha ha… I hear you Hudson. I remember when they came out with the 4 function calculators…. like you say, very expensive. Now, if you fill up your gas tank, they give you a free scientific calculator! The world has changed!

  12. Increase productivity allowing less work per task, yes, but most folks are going to put in the same amount of work effort per day allowing much more work to get done. Imagine writing 500 responses by hand and then and addressing and mailing them.

      • I’m with you on that – I’m often unable to read a note that I scribbled down – I better get it into one of my gadgets pretty quick if I want to hang onto something I handwrite 8D

        • Hi Gary – I hate to admit this, but it’s true.. I usually can’t read my own handwriting! I’ve been using a keyboard too long! Feyma can read my writing better than I can! 😆 Sad but true.

  15. happy brithday
    old man u are over the hill better u and me mate i still have a little way to go be for i am there too all the best mate and god bless u with all u do there peter martin tassie….

  18. Happy Birthday Bob !

    Glad you got all of the PC maintenance work successfully completed. Thigng sure have come a long way with not only the computers themselves, but just the way the Internet has and continues to evolve in the past decade or two.

    With the way prices have come down and the components offered it has afforded me to have a couple of spares handy at all times. Although for the most part I avoided home computers untill about 2000, our local amateur radio club had members involved with consumer computers as farback as the 1980’s and the local wide coverage repeater used to be going day and night with others talking about such things as the Msi ( don’t know the real spelling of it ), then the Sinclair, which were in kit form and just about everything that came out since. All that computer chatter used to annoy me at times but I sure learned a lot from just listening to it, LOL . One of my neighbors bought a Radio Shack TRS 80 for about $1000 bucks that had a whopping 1K of memory ! That was a big thing then.

    On one of my visits to England, I visited Bletchley Park, home of the worlds very first programmable electronic computer. It was kept secret until some time in the 1970’s although the original ” Colossus ” was built during WW 2 as part of a system to break the German Inigma code. The original Colossus computers were destroyed after the war to hide their existance. A few decades later a group of those involved with the inception and creation of the original machines began a project to re-create Colossus, identical to the original ! A few years later it was completed and is now demonstrated to visitors to Bletchley Park. I was quite fascinated by watching the demonstration of this computer, and the history behind it. It was designed by a British telephone company engineer, uses over 2000 Vacuum Tubes and probably just as many electro mechanical relays and other vintage components.

    So it was not Univac or IBM, it looks like ” The Britts ” originated and had the worlds first programmable electronic computer, obscured by secrecy for several decades after its creation, the original ones destroyed to retain its secrecy and then an exact working replica built by those with a desire to preserve the historical value of it.

    Here is a brief video of Colossus on Youtube. There are other videos that have appeared on youtube since this one was put up too.

    Can you imagine if you had one of these Bob and you had to repair it ? I think it may have taken you more than a weekend.

    Link to one of many videos about Colossis, the worlds first programmable electronic computer >
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wuzPYGf1sw

    • Hi Bob – Thanks, my friend!

      Yeah, computers sure have come down in price, meaning we can afford to have more than one! We have a total of 10 or 11 computers in the house! They’re everywhere!

  22. Hi bob happy birthday ,i turned 51 in january this year i must say i dont feel much like a 51 year old only feel around 35ish i rekon still there are times when i do realize that i aint as young as i used to be but they are soon forgotton till i look in the mirror and see the grey hair and the wrinkles ehhhhh! My father passed at the age of 83 now he had been through a world war had very little education but at about my age he got his first computer an amstrad from there he was hooked on computers this man had seen the first attempts to fly and to man landing on the moon and beyond ,at 74 he built his own computer which is still in use to this day and he was one with the first editions of windows xp what he didnt know about these things wasnt worht knowing he was always fixing someones computer for the knowledge of what to do ,he would sit for hours if something wouldnt work out and find out why and fix it unbeleivable paitience , i used to get really angry when he got ripped of by fast talking computer shop salesmen and have had a share of runins with these scoundrels to get him his money back on dodgy gear ,you seem pretty savy with computers bob so although the work might not be fun next time it happens it will be fixed in an instant by you ,think about how much you will save on repair men and the bragging rights youll have ,”oh i fixed feymas computer myself ahh nothing to it ” all the best bob for your birthday
    chris

    • Hi chris – Yeah, I think that is the thing about aging… it’s all in the mind! If you think of yourself as young, you feel young!

      I’m glad that your father is able to enjoy computers! My mom does too! Not the building and such as your Dad does, but my Mom enjoys the ability to communicate with people around the world, especially us – me, Feyma and her grandkids! Computers have certainly brought us all closer together no matter where we live!

  24. Hi Bob! Another email message to respond to, eh? Happy birthday and I hope that you had a blast! I bet, despite those hassles you mentioned, yours was still an enjoyable and memorable birthday! Keep writing!

    Alf

  25. Bob;
    Happy Birthday and by the way there is life after 50. Life is like a bottle of rum it gets better with age. 🙂

  26. Hi Bob – While I was at work earlier, I had to send a reports to one of my office mate. Computers sure makes tasks and life much easier.

    Hope your Birthday was fun. For your 50th Birthday next year, a you should have a cake with 50 candles to blow for 50 wishes to come true. 🙂

  29. Hi Bob. Belated birthday wishes, your only as young as you feel lol.

    The programme mentioned above of BBC2 was Toughest place to be a bus driver. A London bus driver was paired with a Manills jeepney driver and stayed with him and his family. The London lad was deeply moved by a lot of things he came into contact with. Driving in Manilla scared him to death too.

    Marjorie

  30. Happy Birthday Bob!

    I know. I am late. But I have to work. Running 730 miles per day over the Rockies… You know. Some of us have to work and can’t sit in the sun like you guys. 😉

    Computers and my Audrey – that is something what doesn’t fit at all. She broke already 2 Laptops. One by getting up from the Dinner table and “forgetting” the power cable. Bang! Display gone. Last year. She grabbed here Laptop, walked to the sofa and forgot (again) the power cable. Power connector ripped off inside the Laptop. Repair cost? Around $250! So now she is using my Laptop and…? No not the Power cable. She tried to install something what a classmate from the Philippines send her. Windows 7 didn’t liked it at all that someone tried to install a Windows 2000 software and I got the “YOUR Windows 7 is not GENUINE” message. “Ohh isn’t that the same Windows 2000 and Windows 7????” So yesterday after 5 hours sleep. I installed Windows 7 again. Plus all the drivers and software packs….. Nice Sunday…. 🙁

    And Bob. I am not a birthday guy. But all full ones will be special ones from my 50th on. I did work on all my other birthdays because I was thinking: “What the hack. It is a day like all others!” But, Bob. NO it isn’t!! And my birthday is falling here in Canada on Thanksgiving. So all our friends are together and I don’t have to send cards at all. 😉

    • Thank you Holger! I’m glad that you are out there working so I don’t have to! No, seriously, I wish I was sitting out in the sun all day, but like you I am working hard still!

      Sorry to hear your experiences with Audrey and her laptops! Doesn’t sound like fun!

  31. Next year, Bob, if you truly want to lower or eliminate the Facebook “Happy Birthday” messages, I believe I just thought of a way you could do just that.

    As I am sure you know, Facebook sends out a reminder to all your friends that you have a birthday this week. On your appointment calendar (2 weeks before your birthday) place a note to “move your birthday back 3 weeks”. Then go into your Facebook Profile and make the change and since your birthday has just gone by, no message will be sent to the massive amount of Facebook friends you have accumulated. If that little white lie bothers you, change it back to the correct date after the birthday has passed.

    And by the way, “Happy Birthday, Bob!”

    • Hi Rich – I can even make it where nobody can write on my wall on FB. However, social interaction with my friends on Facebook is important to me. Yes, answering 500+ “happy birthdays” was a big job, but it is an important part of my online presence and to my business. I did enjoy hearing from so many people, but it did take work!

      Thanks, Rich!

  32. Happy Birthday old man 😉 I am not 49 until this September.

    Anyway yes computers can be frustrating at times, but I enjoy them. I had the pleasure of building our current computers here in the household.

    And Feyma blessed with u–Very considerate of you to fix hers be4 urs—sign of true love methinks. 🙂

    Take care—I am on the computer just finished editing a vid–what is really frustrating is the slooooow 64-70 kbs upload speed here.

  33. I sure remember my first computer. A little Sinclair, put 64 kb of ram in it. Had to write my own programs in Basic. Clock speed was 1.2 meg. I thought I was in hog heaven. Everything was on tape then. I am so glad things have sped up.

    BTW – I retired at age 49. Because of a broken back. Don’t try it, not much fun.

    Life is only beginning Bob…enjoy!

  34. Happy Birthday Bob.

    I had a little extra time on my hands at work today so I wrote a VBA program of a download for an Excel spreadsheet. I thought my little program would save time and take 10 to 15 minutes to run. It took about an hour and 40 minutes to run through 90,000 rows of data. Oh well.

  35. Hi Bob, here’s a computer user who hasn’t left yet:

    This has to be one of the funniest things in a long time. I think this guy should
    have been promoted, not fired. This is a true story from the WordPerfect Helpline,
    which was transcribed from a recording monitoring the customer care department. Needless to say the Help Desk employee was fired; however, he/she is currently suing
    The WordPerfect organization for ‘Termination without Cause.’

    Actual dialog of a former WordPerfect Customer Support employee.
    (Now I know why they record these conversations!):

    Operator: ‘Ridge Hall, computer assistance; may I help you?’
    Caller: ‘Yes, well, I’m having trouble with WordPerfect.’
    Operator: ‘What sort of trouble??’
    Caller: ‘Well, I was just typing along, and all of a sudden the words Went away.’
    Operator: ‘Went away?’
    Caller: ‘They disappeared’
    Operator: ‘Hmm. So what does your screen look like now?’
    Caller: ‘Nothing.’
    Operator: ‘Nothing??’
    Caller: ‘It’s blank; it won’t accept anything when I type.’
    Operator: ‘Are you still in WordPerfect, or did you get out?’
    Caller: ‘How do I tell?’
    Operator: ‘Can you see the ‘C: prompt’ on the screen?’
    Caller: ‘What’s a sea-prompt?’
    Operator: ‘Never mind, can you move your cursor around the screen?’
    Caller: ‘There isn’t any cursor; I told you, it won’t accept anything I Type.’
    Operator: ‘Does your monitor have a power indicator??’
    Caller: ‘What’s a monitor?’
    Operator: ‘It’s the thing with the screen on it that looks like a TV.
    Does it have a little light that tells you when it’s on?’
    Caller: ‘I don’t know.’
    Operator: ‘Well, then look on the back of the monitor and find where The power cord goes into it. Can you see that??’
    Caller: ‘Yes, I think so.’
    Operator: ‘Great. Follow the cord to the plug, and tell me if it’s Plugged into the wall.
    Caller: ‘Yes, it is.’
    Operator: ‘When you were behind the monitor, did you notice that there were two cables plugged into the back of it, not just one? ‘
    Caller: ‘No.’
    Operator: ‘Well, there are. I need you to look back there again and find the other cable.’
    Caller: ‘Okay, here it is.’
    Operator: ‘Follow it for me, and tell me if it’s plugged securely into the back of your computer.’
    Caller: ‘I can’t reach.’
    Operator: ‘OK. Well, can you see if it is?’
    Caller: ‘No.’
    Operator: ‘Even if you maybe put your knee on something and lean way over?’
    Caller: ‘Well, it’s not because I don’t have the right angle — it’s because it’s dark.’
    Operator: ‘Dark?’
    Caller: ‘Yes – the office light is off, and the only light I have is coming in from the window.’
    Operator: ‘Well, turn on the office light then.’
    Caller: ‘I can’t.’
    Operator: ‘No? Why not?’
    Caller: ‘Because there’s a power failure.’
    Operator: ‘A power … A power failure? Aha. Okay, we’ve got it licked now. Do you still have the boxes and manuals and packing stuff that your computer came in?’
    Caller: ‘Well, yes, I keep them in the closet.’
    Operator: ‘Good. Go get them, and unplug your system and pack it up just like it was when you got it. Then take it back to the store you bought it from.’
    Caller: ‘Really? Is it that bad?’
    Operator: ‘Yes, I’m afraid it is.’
    Caller: ‘Well, all right then, I suppose. What do I tell them?’
    Operator: ‘Tell them you’re too stupid to own a computer!’

    LOOOL, Enjoy!

  36. Thinking of retiring to RP. Am married to someone born there. I hear that affects this in a positive way.

    Would like pointers to information about any complications of US citizenship, i.e., must I return annually or at some other interval. Is there any effect on Social Security payments?

    There must be some writeup on this somewhere. If you could point me to that, I will be glad to dig through it.

    Thanks, Mike

    • Hi Mike – The whole website is filled with articles on how to live here!

      There are no requirements to go back to the USA ever. You can go back in a year, or you can go back in 100 years, it does not matter. You are a citizen, and can always return, but are never required to do so.