Good Evening Folks...

So I was without power until bedtime so all I accompolished this evening was some darn good conversation with a friend of my neighbor while we all sat on the deck in the dark. My neighbor is moving out. She got a car and found a much cheaper place to live. So she is doing much better! Turns out her friend is some sort of rock star singer type who is definitely nice enough and even seemed to (sort of) forgive my snort of laughter at the description of his music type as "transcending any current genre" as well as his refusal to be "pigeon-holed". Dude, I couldn't help but snort, it sounded like a Saturday Night Live sketch about a rock star singer type. But as hour two of no power rolled around and we talked about our spouses at home and his special needs son (quadrapalegic due to a rare and horrifying disease) and how he had to fly his family home because this island is not handicap accessible. They luckily got out before the last hurricane. He is excited because he is flying home soon and can't wait to see them. I took some time to mention how a service dog might be a great addition for his son and I told him about this website (http://sneakpeeks.typepad.com/mastiffs/). I seem to mention dogs in every conversation. I don't remember exactly when I became a crazy dog lady, but there you have it...I'm a crazy dog lady.
But then happily power came back on and he was spared any further dog chatter. :)
But then guess what? I figured out how to hook my computer up to my television. So I can now watch online tv on a real tv. I had some assistance from Jen (bless her) and here is a slight paraphrase of our instant message conversation during some troubleshooting:

H: I have it hooked up but it doesn't work

J: Yeah, I need more info than that...

H: oh, sorry. I plugged in the computer to the tv but all I have is a blue screen.

J: Is the tv on the right input?

H: I think so.

H: whoops.

H: it wasn't. sorry. It's working now. YAY!!!

J: go you!

Some things I have learned today:
#1. it is user error 99.9% of the time
#2. if you turn a microscope light up too high for an hour it melts the microscope.
#3. you can meet really interesting people when you spend an hour or two chatting with no interuptions. I always forget how much email/blackberry/cell/tv cuts into actual getting to know someone. This island is good for me, it is teaching me to slow down and enjoy life.
#4. Make sure your computer is fully charged when you leave work and then you can watch stuff on your laptop when the power is out otherwise you end up wandering over to your neighbors house 'cause you have nothing better to do and end up having to actually get to know someone! (kidding!)
#5. don't melt your microscope...it is really hard to find parts for discontinued microscopes.