Solving Problems

Today was one of those days where everything seemed to go wrong with my computer projects. Some of the problems were real and reared their ugly heads today, while others were just old problems that I put off solving until now. By the end of the day, I got tired of researching problems and just wanted to get one solved.

One can only take so much lack of progress before it is time to sell the computer and start entering pie eating contests. I grabbed my screwdriver and headed to my wife's sewing room. She has a light that hasn't worked in a year or so and so I was determined to fix it.

I unscrewed a few bolts and removed the light fixture from the ceiling. It took about a minute to figure out the problem. Moisture had gotten into the wiring causing excessive corrosion. Eventually it built up enough oxidation to stop working. I had a spare light fixture from remodelling my kitchen last year and replaced the old one. Ten minutes after I started, my wife's light was working correctly.

There is a certain satisfaction that comes from solving a problem. It pulls you out of that frustration caused by too many dead-ends and reminds you that you are not a moron. It also makes it easier to go back and attack those nasty problems.

If you find yourself getting frustrated with your computer, push the keyboard away and see if there is another problem you can quickly solve. Sometimes I will clean my desk or take the dog for a walk. Then sometimes it seems cold fusion has a simpler solution than the problem I am trying to solve.