Hello, villagers ~
The good news is the adjustments I've been making to my computer have not resulted in the thing blowing up or otherwise making it unable to access the internet.
I spent Thursday and Friday working on the desktop pc. Literally working on it, as in updating the internet browser and virus protection software. It took so long because of course programs don't come on CDs any more, one has to download them. Download them with a dial-up connection that the ISP frequently and arbitrarily disconnects.
So yesterday as I was planted in the desk chair fiddling with and babying the screen, I emptied some boxes. One that I thought was old craft supplies to donate turned out to be years-old newspapers. (Obviously the result of a stash-&-dash.) Although I could not bring myself to dump them unseen into the recycle bin, it was easy to quickly flip through the pages, pull out the comics for a future coffee-break treat, read a few feature articles, and toss the rest. The recycle bin will definitely be stuffed full on Wednesday.
One thing I found interesting was the difference in the physical newspaper. Current issues are physically much smaller in the size of the paper and also in the paper's thickness. Each page of the Sunday's comics pages used to be somewhere between the thickness of printer paper and card stock, very easy to handle. Now it's more like the weight of old newsprint from the 1800s.
Plus there is not nearly as much content in current print issues. I hate to give up the printed page. However, last week when I renewed the subscription, I only paid for the shortest timeframe while we evaluate reading the online version once we get our high-speed connection.
Yesterday I placed the order for DSL, hoping that the phone line infrastructure in our Tiny Town can handle high speed internet. DH is concerned that it might not, he's been told that the town's system is still several decades old.
I'm desperate to give it a try, though. Part of the reason I can't come here to the village every day is that it just takes soooo creeeeping long to connect and load the pages. You can imagine how long it takes for pages with photos ....
I misunderstood the timing of the DSL install, though. The modem instructions make it sound instantaneous. Actually it will not be "activated" until late Tuesday afternoon.