The library; the voice recorder; Microsoft

I drove over to the library this morning and picked up a few books, but only one is in large print. It's amazing how much easier that is to read, but I wanted to read Walden again so I had to take the normal-sized type.

I love libraries, and have loved and been fascinated with them since my earliest memories. But living in Northern Virginia in the Metro Washington DC area really spoiled me forever. Having been just a few blocks from the Tyson-Pimmit Branch of the Fairfax Co. Public Library was one of the best things about living in Northern Virginia. Any other library can't come near it, so I am always a bit disappointed when I enter one.

I had to get down on my knees to see what is on the bottom two shelves, and I had a heckuva time getting back up. What a predicament if I couldn't have done it. I sympathize with folks who have had a knee replacement because I remember how my mom had a lack of strength in the replaced knee. She fell while going out to get her mail one day, couldn't get up, and lay in the driveway for about an hour before a neighbor found her. I still have two good knees, but they don't work like they used to.

When I returned and was backing into my parking spot, one of the landscapers was waiting to get by, so I motioned for him to go ahead. But no, he decided he needed to direct me and my truck back into the space. I can do it perfectly until I have an audience, and I wish he had just left me alone.

I found a couple of occasions to use my recorder today, and it is is so simple to do. It is NOT voice activated so I have to turn it on and off, although I believe there is a feature that is called Variable Control Voice Actuator Function, which I think may have something to do with recording a meeting or class lecture. I quit reading the instructions before I got to that function which I'm sure I won't be using.

I made an attempt to back up my desktop computer, but since I have the Home Edition of Windows XP it doesn't seem to have backup capabilities. I copied some files I wanted to be sure to save and then decided I would try to reformat the hard drive. No go. I have the original system disk, but can't boot from it. I did fool around with it and found a text file on the disk that explains how to reformat; after reading just a part of the file I decided I'm not even going to try it myself. I'm in no hurry, so I will just wait until a computer geek knocks on my door. I deleted the files I copied to my flash drive, plus removed some large programs I don't use, such as all the files HP set up (and all the space they took up) when I tried to install the HP printer. I gave the printer away because I disliked it so much, and getting rid of the files and doing a disk clean up seems to be making a small difference in performance.

I will be leaving for a camping trip this coming Monday morning and won't return until Sunday afternoon (the afternoon of July 4th). I'm sure my cell phone won't work and I'm not even taking my laptop computer with me, so I will just immerse myself in nature for a week, which I need desperately. My hit-the-road-itis is getting worse by the day!