I must have some kind of Net curse following me around. Last week the T1 line at work went out. Now, the cable modem at home is on the fritz. And – again – I’m posting through AOL. Steve Case, what would I do without thee?

At least I know it’s nothing that’s my fault this time. I can still access all of Charter Pipeline’s servers, I just can’t get past them to the outside world. Plus, half of the cable TV channels are out right now too. And we’re having the most raging storm outside that we’ve had since May. Gosh — if I put the clues together, it sure doesn’t seem like a coincidence.

So what does this mean? No distractions, nothing to keep me up, so it’s a perfect chance to actually get to bed early for once. I better go before everything gets fixed.

Update: Oh balls, it’s back. Wasn’t fast enough.

That’s the mantra of Windows users the world over – Format and Reinstall. The ultimate fix to any problem. A yearly ritual, or even more often for some people. This was the week it came to the Schrantz household.

I guess it’s my fault for still running Windows 98. But 2000 has its limitations, notably with games, and I’m still staying away from XP just on ground of principle against Product Activation. So what’s that leave me with? 98. So, I choke it down, and part of the compromise is the knowledge that the time’s going to come sooner or later. The house of cards falls down, and it will be time to whip out the old Windows CD. Maybe one day we’ll have self-healing computers. Or maybe one day I’ll feel comfortable enough with Linux to make the switch. But for now, when I’m getting “Windows Protection Error. You must restart your computer.” twice a day, I know it’s part of the territory.

Anyway, is there a moral to this story? No. An amusing tale of tragedy? No. It was a pretty routine install, but it’s annoying that I had to do it at all. Let’s just hope things get better one day.