No more computers, PLEASE!!!!

Christmas, 1979, my folks bought me the most wonderful present in the world - a computer. Yes, it was wonderful. It had 4 kilobytes of memory, and 1013 bytes were reserved for system function, leaving 3,583 bytes of accessible memory. It did not have a disk drive - that was an extra $150 for a 5¼" floppy - but accessed everything from cassette tape. To load a program that fit in 3,583 bytes took nearly 3 minutes.

That Christmas present changed my life. I went on to get a BS in Computer Science, and pursued a career in networking and field support. I trained my daughter to build a computer from scratch and load an operating system. I filled my home with technology (notice I didn't say "latest" - I can only afford other people's trash!), including a home network with wire and wireless capabilities.

For those of you who aren't too good with math (CS students have to be good in math! :P ), that's nearly 30 years of working on computers. Most people retire from a career after 25-30 years. I'm about ready to retire from this one.

Now, I realize that computers are the modern-day equivalent of television, typewriters, telephone, etc. I also realize they are here to stay. And, I enjoy gaming and surfing the 'net. But I'm tired of being the go-to guy when someone's computer dies.

• "Clay, my computer isn't reading CDs. Why?"
  "Is the CD you're trying a good CD?"
• "Clay, my computer monitor doesn't work. Why?"
  "Is it plugged in?"

I CAN'T TROUBLESHOOT EVERYTHING OVER THE PHONE!

I am officially tendering my resignation as the official phone support guy for your broken computer. If you don't bring it to me, I can't fix it. No, I'm not going to drive to Dallas to spend a weekend with you just so I can fix your broken computer.

End rant.

If you want to call me with your computer problem, go ahead. I'll do my best to work on it. I feel bad that I even wrote this. I'll likely delete this entry within the next week...