I hate Windows 10

Seems to me the last time I even opened CHMusings was about six months ago. That has to be close to the time when my computer installed a Microsoft Update to Windows 10. 

I was pretty satisfied with the new operating system. I was using the Windows 7 version. I really liked that, but fell for the hype about upgrading to the free version of the free operating system for a limited time, blah, blah, blah. Then around Aug. 16 when Microsoft released its dreaded Anniversary edition, it all changed.

I haven't been happy with my computer since then. It seems that every time I open a program I haven't used in awhile, something goes awry. 

Early on, I found new problems every day. Many of them have been fixed, thanks to the computer pioneers who have availed themselves to us poor inexperienced users. There are so many fixes for the multitude of problems that Windows 10 has unearthed that I now wish I had resisted using it.  

Had I known I could, I would have uninstalled it pronto. However, it wasn't until about a month in that I realized that was even possible. Then I learned that Microsoft limited rollbacks to only 10 days, I believe. It was too late for me; I was stuck with it.

Remember my obsession with Crossy Road, a game available in the Microsoft Store. I wrote about how much I loved this game in a previous post. Well, I did love it. Microsoft killed it.

I used my event viewer in Windows to try to troubleshoot the problem. I used the built in troubleshooters; I left messages in the Windows forum, that were never adequately answered. I searched for a solution to the multiple problems loading and ultimately playing the game. I read about solutions, one-by-one, trying them in an effort to get the game to work. I took chances with repairs I really didn't understand, like editing the registry and altering code that didn't make sense to me. All the while I expected my computer to just become a giant paper weight. I had the important files backed up, so I felt almost safe.

Windows continued to update their system. I kept hoping that one of them would make the game work, but to this day, it will load, but it doesn't play correctly. 

Funny though, I can play it on my laptop which I bought with Windows 10 installed on it. Everything works fine on that system. It is just my desktop where nothing works correctly, you know, the one that I've used for years for everything from writing to household finances to listening to my favorite music. 

I've also found that the sound no longer works in Quicken, the software I use to track our household finances and pay my bills online. After following advice and trying everything I could, I broke down and bought the latest version of the software. It still doesn't have sound. Truthfully, I like my old version of that better too. 

I've used Quicken for years. I was always accustomed to hearing that little cash register sound every time I hit the enter key. Now, I am now faced with black hole silence. 

My camera won't upload photos through the USB cord, even though I bought a new one. That doesn't work either. I now have to physically remove the card and insert it into a card reader that works sometimes. Who knows how long that will last? 

The other day I opened Google Earth. Oops, it won't load. I tried updating the software and using the compatibility setting, but to no avail. I no longer have Google Earth. I wonder what program is next.

I'm so frustrated with Windows 10 that I'm thinking of wiping the hard drive and installing a clean copy of Windows 7. I just know I will lose data though, so that is a really last resort. One day I worked up the courage. I was going to go there. First, I thought I'd double check my backup. It was on a thumb drive. Windows said it couldn't read it. So, once again, I'm stuck. 

I'm thinking of trying to manually install whatever I can on my laptop and going with the paper weight idea. In the meantime, I'm not happy!

Dancing in the rain...

It is just no wonder rainy days make me happy.

Check out this little hummingbird doing his Gene Kelly impersonation of dancing in the rain.

It is times like these that I just can't help but run for the camera...

Latest obsession

I'm no gamer, but I am a little bit obsessed with computer games.

My latest obsession is Crossy Road, which isn't too different from the old 1980's game Frogger, where the frog had to cross the road, dodging traffic along the way.

Crossy Road is fun because whoever thought of this game, came up with various characters. I have two favorites. I love the leprechaun. I find his voice endearing. He speaks as he goes, in what I can only describe as non-sensical gibberish. But he's a quick little guy who can easily make his way around trucks and cars. 

I also like "The Dress" character. This is so clever. Remember the controversy over the beige or blue dress? Some people saw one color, while others saw a different color. In Crossy Road, if you are playing that character and you lose, the next play is the other color. That just cracks me up! 

Some of the other characters are equally as endearing, like the basketball player that dribbles all the way across the road, or the caretaker that carries a light around with him. Sometimes, even the scene is varied. It really is a very clever game. And, if I don't beat my score--presently at 319--I'm going to go crazy.

Crossy Road incorporates more than a road. It also includes a body of water to be traversed on moving logs. There are waterfalls on either side, on which there is a danger of falling off. I almost always lose the game in the water. It is positively infuriating!

I got started on computer games when my life began to revolved around the computer, some 40 years ago. As a writer, there were times I just needed to take a break. My computer is an extension of my brain, so I use it for taking notes, managing finances, and just about any other use there is. I also use it for cheap, mindless entertainment. Games always seemed to help me break away from the grind, but not too far away, in case a thought came to mind that I needed to jot down.

I find that playing is relaxing overall, even though at times I can get a little frenzied, trying to beat my own score. I'm very self-competetive.

Long before I was a writer, I was enamored with the old Atari and Activision games played on the Atari 2600 game console. I was the neighborhood Space Invaders champion. And my high scores earned me an Activision arm patch for the roundup game, Stampede. When I was pregnant with my second child, I watched my due date come and go. My son finally arrived 11 days later. I was Those video games got me through, occupying my mind while I waited for his arrival. 

Through the years, I've had my favorites, from word games--I simply love Words With Friends--and mostly all word games, especially Scrabble like games or making words from jumbled letters. I'm not at all into the shoot-em-up games with the realistic blood and gore. I just like the mindless, simple ones.

Over the years, I've definitely had my favorites. I played a simple version of Mahjjong, and Welltris, a 3D version of Tetris. I wish I could find a version of that which would be compatible with today's computers. That was so fun.

I love Bubble Spinner, Yahtzee, Hidden Objects games, and Solitaire games, with my favorite being Spider Solitaire. The best game I've ever found like those are Pretty Good Mahjjong, which combines solitaire with mahjjong tiles.

I also love the silly little game, Click only Red.  

Cats hide in the darndest places or don't leave the pantry door ajar

The other day I was preparing dinner when I heard the weirdest sounds coming from the pantry. I wondered if there was a mouse in the house. That is always a humorous event, what with five cats lurking around, always anxious for something fun to play with. I don't like the idea, but I was ready for anything.

I opened the door wide, already ajar. I almost didn't see Junior, alias Boo, the Bug, Buggar, or whatever else comes up at the time, who was way back in the far corner, past the toaster, mixer, mini food processor, roasting pans, and mini tool kit, curled up among a stack of empty egg cartons. I was saving them for my friends who raise chickens. The noise I heard, a kind of squeaky sound, suddenly made sense as I watched her snuggle up to one of the styrofoam cartons. 

So much for the neatly stacked, bagged egg cartons. At least I don't have to deal with a dead mouse. 

And once discovered, out she came. She'll probably have to find a new hiding place, since this one has been found!

Gardening--I might as well laugh...

My green thumb has to be a recessive gene, because I have more trouble trying to grow food here in Arkansas than anyone should have to. I keep trying though. One day I am going to figure this out and will have the world's greatest crops to eat all summer, have a pantry filled with canning jars and a freezer brimming to capacity. At least that is what I dream about.

Granted, this year, I didn't put much effort into it. Since my husband, John had a stroke a year and a half ago, I've been relegated to chief household chore meister, cook, therapist, and animal tamer--we have cats. Truthfully, I'm lucky to get the yard mowed. I did however, get a container garden going on the deck. I planted some tomatoes, peppers, herbs, and a couple of flowers. The result is, as always, a mixed bag.

This pot of Basil, that I shall call "Count," fills a huge 20" pot, shown left, with its intoxicating scent, is attractive all on its own. It would be a success story for anyone, but the beauty of it is, I didn't do a thing. This was last year's garden plant, wintered over inside. The plant died--I have very little luck keeping Basil growing all winter. When I cleaned my sun porch this Spring, I placed this pot on the deck. The seeds that had fallen previously began to sprout and this is the result. I just love how it turned out.

I think it is time to make a little pesto, yes?

You can't get much more neglectful than this pot of Bermuda grass, at right. I call it "Shorts." I actually hate this stuff because it invades every garden and tries to wipe out every plant I have ever dug into what little soil I have.

This stuff is a scourge, for sure, but doesn't it make a pretty plant when it is contained in a pot?

At least that was my thought.

I have no idea what was growing in this pot before. I suspect a tomato plant, but whatever it was, it is long gone.

Shorts will be having an abortion the moment I see seeds form. And, it will be cremated in the Fall. But for now, I kinda like it.

One of my success stories, except for last year, has always been my favorite Serrano peppers. This year is no exception.

I just love these things. The heat is just about perfect. They might be a touch hotter than jalapenos, but it is a different kind of heat. And, they have such a wonderful flavor when cooked. They make delicious salsa, taco seasoning, and can be added to chili, or any other tomato-based dish.

This plant, "Peppy" like Count, is from last year. I dug it out of the garden and brought it indoors. I got a pepper or two while it was inside. It was really happy when I brought it out in the Spring, once it was warm enough. Peppers don't like the cold, so I was careful to monitor the temperature before I subjected Peppy to his new environment.

I think he liked it, because almost immediately, he started growing flowers and making babies.

And then there are the tomatoes, the one thing I really want to grow more than anything. For some reason, I am just unable to make it happen. This is one of several I have in pots on the deck. Thank goodness for the farmers in the area that are much more skilled than I. Only once in the 11 years that we've lived here have I canned tomatoes. A friend, who is no longer with us, was overrun with tomatoes and donated to my cause.

These pictured above happen to be Black Cherry tomatoes. The plant was doing really well, growing some beautiful fruit that was just nearing its ripening phase when I saw a rotten varmint squirrel carrying off the one I had been eyeing for weeks, in its fat little cheeks. This literally means war. I've begun playing Annie Oakley with a BB gun and mostly I just scare them...so far! As much as I love little animals, I see squirrels as evil thieves.

Anyway, a little fertilizer has encouraged this plant, "Tommy" to begin again. I still have high hopes for my garden.

A green bean plant seeded itself in the garden, which I have totally ignored this year. I've harvested one bean from it. There are lots of flowers though, so it behooves me to keep my eye on it.

And then, there's always next year.