Computer Woes

I have had all kinds of problems with my laptop recently. The immediate need was to install the latest TurboTax software to file my income tax returns. The install would not work, complaining about Windows installer being missing. TurboTax tried to fix my computer. It did not work.

Next I have had some weird problems browsing. I would Google some topic. Then if I click a link, instead of going to the search result, I get sent over to some rogue search engine. When I try to open the search result in a new window, I get a "404 not found nginx" page. Fail.

So I bit the bullet and restored my computer to its factory settings. That was a pain. But at least I was able to file my taxes. Then I found the Google browsing problems had returned. What? I tried finding some fixes online. The latest fix was Norton Eraser, a free tool that would supposed to help. The only thing it did was make it so my computer would not boot up. Luckily I had some system recovery CDs. However I am back to restoring my system to the factory default.

Maybe it is time to buy a Macintosh like Momoko.

Hail of a time

Yesterday I buckled down and did my taxes. Good news. I am getting money back from the fed and the state. Yee haw. I hate paying at tax time.

Momoko got me TurboTax. So the job was not that hard. Today I decided to take my tax returns to the post office. I always file by mail. I figure it makes it harder for them to audit me if I do not file electronically.

Got some lunch. The parking lot of the sub shop was jammed. They have some farmers market going on Fridays. Coming home it started to rain. Then it felt like the rain was pelting the car. No. It was hail coming down from the sky.

This was all a surprise. The weather was very warm. I wore a short sleeve shirt outside. I guess it is colder up in the clouds.

The Tax Man Cometh

Last night I stayed up and did my taxes. Luckily Momoko had me buy Turbo Tax. It made it easier to figure everything out. One painful part of doing the taxes was being reminded how the downturn in the economy affected the stocks I owned. In simple terms, I lost all my money.

These are lean times. We used to be high on the hog. Need a TV? We could go buy it. Want to go on vacation? Price was not an option. Now we need to be very scrappy. And that is just plain no fun.

Things could be worse. Both Momoko and I still have our jobs. However these jobs are now our lifeblood. We need these jobs to stay in the house. That's a bad position to be in. It is like financial slavery. It is going to take a while for me to regroup, figure out a plan, and get back on track to take over the world.