Ran outa time today, and everyone, including me has been having ‘puter problems. Mine began with, of all things, hinges on the laptop. Seems they’re similar to us, you know, backbone connected to the neck bone and all that. Dave Shafer’s havin’ his ‘puter problems too, but he’s takin’ care of it and should be back in the saddle quickly. Max Whitmore is a whole ‘nother story. Apparently he’s so special, the manufacturer must make his new machine with a few 007 gadgets added to the hardware. I knew his stuff was complex, but it seems a couple of his apps require custom-built touches. Who knew? Also, after plowin’ through a few IT guys, he was booted to the engineer types who figured out what was corrupting his old machine.
Allow me to give you a real life almost real time example of Murphy’s Law. As I’ve written here before, Max Whitmore, Tom Vanderwell, and me have been workin’ with the technical guy (GeekDude) to create a subscription site for our more in-depth work. It was ‘posed to be up and running by around the first of the year. It’s been one thing after another — not to mention all three guys are in different states, different generations, (42, 73, 58) and with different technical skill levels.
First off was the general stuff that happens to all projects more complex than clickin’ a few WordPress buttons. Our go-to guy, a real superstar named Chris Johnson (GeekDude), has shown incredible patience — showin’ us how things work, explaining all the bells and whistles necessary for us to understand, if only at a rudimentary level.
Just when it looked as if we were hittin’ the fast lane, ready to launch, the earthquake hit Haiti. What? You want relevance? Tom Vanderwell is a hugely key player in one of the orphanages there, having a couple adoptees himself. His life was literally turned upside down. He packed his wife off to Haiti, along with his laptop for communication. Then he went into overdrive working for the orphans, AFTER working his day job at the bank. He mobilized network TV folks, raised money (almost $250K in cash), and much more.
Folks around the country collected food at their stores, left their jobs to help, and many other selfless acts. One example was a hardware chain back east. 130 stores strong, they collected several dozen pallets of food, then paid outa there own pocket for an 18 wheeler to take the food to the designated airport. Another generous guy flew supplies and anxious parents-to-be to the devastated island — but only on the strict condition that he remain absolutely anonymous. My kinda guy.
Over a 3-4 week period, two of which he said that more than 3-4 hours sleep was a luxury, he ramrodded one of the most successful spur of the moment aid efforts privately mounted. Believe me when I say, Tom is one of those unsung heroes we hear about too long after the fact. His wife returned only last week. During her absence, Tom, workin’ essentially two full time gigs now, also had to deal with three of his five kids.
So, time to launch the site, right? We thought so too, until our GeekDude’s parents-in-law were kidnapped — no, really, ya can’t make up this stuff — in Africa. They’re missionaries, and apparently this happens every now and again. According to Chris, and again, I swear on Grandma’s sainted memory this is the straight scoop, this was about the 17th time they’ve been kidnapped and let go in the last several years. They were again freed unharmed, thank God, and everyone relaxed. Chris says kidnapping has been so common that a couple times they’ve been snatched and ransomed before he and his wife knew anything at all was happening.
Come on people!!! What’s next — aliens landing on my roof?
Then my ‘puter started playin’ with my head. Then Max’s was possessed by at least half a dozen demons. And that’s where we are now. The latest development is family oriented, but it involves illness and is being taken care of, along with a contributor’s solvable health problem.
For the record, my in-house soft personnel has stopped askin’ me when the site is gonna be up and runnin’. She knows all the inside scoop, but wonders if somehow we’ve gotten on Murphy’s bad side. Um, DUH. Last thing I heard her mumble was something about pigs flying.
Anywho, that’s our sad story in a nutshell. We’ll prevail in the end, but geez, Louise, Myrtle — seriously Lord, what’s next? Locusts?
Many very kind folk, and some not so kind, have been askin’ about the subscription site, so I thought you might wanna hear our Chronicle of Tribulations. Frankly, if this is all that happens, I feel blessed. These problems are merely irritations compared with what’s happening out there in the real world.
Wanna talk real estate investing for your retirement? Gimme a call at 619 889-7100. Have a good one.
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About BawldGuy
what’s the funniest is this: it happens in cycles. we all take turns. you’d think there would be some economy of scale or whatever with three of us.
the ransoming thing was just an oddball thursday mishap, and the other part is that the kidnappers rarely secure the ransom. they are more like robbers and there’s a negotiation that takes place on when they’re gonna get out.
The police are just as bad. they have random roadblocks that sometimes cost money to get out of. Carying money is dangerous and so is not carrying money.
Apparently there’s a tale of a robber/ransomer making change when negotiating his release.
Readers — See what I mean when I say we can’t make up this stuff? Kidnappers making change for ransom?
Wanna help your business online? click Chris’s name and you’ll thank me later. He’s the real deal.
Any news when Max will be up and running? thanks hc
Thanks for asking. Max just returned from a family funeral. The site is now operational, awaiting launch. Also, at the last minute it’s been decided Max’s charts will be supported by video of him explaining the day’s/week’s charts instead of text. That will be much better for Max, and surely preferred by his followers.
I’m guessing next week, depending upon Max’s equipment arriving and working correctly.
Bawldguy: Do you have a start date for Max? We are at 1217 on the S&P and we need his thoughts at this level.
My guess is that Max is long gone for some reason. Too bad! Gettin it together can sometimes be real difficult in life.