Can Anybody Help Me?

Okay, yes, I know...no one can help me. Old joke, but somebody was going to say it, so I thought I'd say it first. So there! *sticking my tongue out at you*

I've been doing this blogging thing for a few months now, and I've looked at quite a few blogs done by other people. One thing I've noticed is that nearly all of them look a lot more professional than mine! This could be related to a number of different things. First of all, I'm not trying to sell or promote anything. I'm not trying to make money off this blog, so I don't really have to impress or appear businesslike. Another reason is that I'm old. I don't like to admit that to just anyone, you know! When I was in high school, technology meant using an electric typewriter. I could do another whole post on my high school but, I digress. We didn't have classes in web design, html, dos, or any of that other 'techie' type stuff. Another problem is that I'm a nurse. As my DH has come to find since he started working in a hospital, medical/nursing type folks are generally NOT computer/electronically savvy people. Need someone to stop some bleeding or give an enema, I'm your guy (or girl. whatever). Need someone to hopelessly mess up a computer program; just call a nurse or doctor over the age of 30.

When I do something on the computer, I want it to be simple, one or two steps, and DONE. I don't know anything about writing code. Cutting and pasting is about the extent of my computer knowledge. (Unless you need something purchased. I CAN do that really well!) The point that I'm circling around (and around, and around) is that I need HELP!! I've seen several doohickeys (isn't that a techie word?) on several blogs...I think they're called 'badges'. Like a little emblem, right? And underneath this nifty little badge is a line that says something like "grab a badge" or "get a follow button" or similar. My question is HOW do I do this?? Is it like cut and paste, or different? How do I get it from another place to here, and then when I do, how do I tell it where to go on my screen (template?) and stay there? I feel like I'm trying to herd cats. sheesh.

Oh, you young folks are so lucky...sigh...(Lord, don't let me start talking about how I walked 5 miles to school in the winter...) ahem...anyway...
I know, I should just ask my lovely technically GENIUS DH to do some of this stuff for me, but I'd like to know how to do it myself, you know? If I can be responsible for someone's LIFE at work, I ought to be able to do more than buy things and email people! I've mastered Facebook and Twitter (unless all those tweets have been going to siberia...hmmm....)

After this post, there will probably be absolutely no question whatsoever that I am, undoubtedly, an old, straight, white woman. No one else under the age of 40 would be having these problems, right? LMAO. The reason I say that is because recently on blogs, web sites, and twitter there has been some controversy recently about whether or not people are being honest about who they are. This is actually kind of funny, because that's been happening since the beginning of the computer age! Hello!?! Remember chat rooms, where you could be anyone, anywhere, or be a completely different person? So now we know I am absolutely who I say I am. As much as I might like to be, I'm NOT a 25 year old Victoria's Secret model. I'm a going-on-fifty year old woman who lives in her pajamas (except when I play a nurse at work), who is hopelessly computer-stupid when it comes to real life. But I DO know how to work a mean Kindle!

Oh, and I did figure out how to put a cow mooing as my phone's ring tone last week!

Technology Today; Positive or Negative?

As DH and some of you out there may know, I'm not particularly tech savvy. I know enough to muddle through this blog, use email, surf the net, and order things online, but that's about it. DH, of course, is a tech genius, writing his own code (whatever that is) for his web site and others, seems to be able to do all sorts of sneaky things online, and has two degrees in electronics thanks to the US Air Force. DH has also learned through his job in a hospital that nurses and doctors are about as dumb about computers as a box of rocks. If I go to him with a question or a problem, I have to have him "dumb down" his explanation to about a first grade level.

So that's my question today: Is technology today really worth it? There are some things that I couldn't do without. I LOVE my Kindle e-reader and wouldn't leave home without it. How else can you carry around hundreds of books in the palm of your hand? (I have 800 and counting on mine currently) I also really like my android phone, now that I can actually do more with it than just talk on it. I keep up with the Facebook stuff a lot better than I did when I had to get on the computer to do it, and I've become obsessed with Twitter.

BUT...we recently switched from satellite internet to cable internet. (I think that's what happened, but I could certainly be wrong) Now for some reason when I go to get online with my laptop I get some weird messages preventing me from getting to Google. But if I use my tablet (which I'm using now) I can get right on. What's up with that? Okay, logic says it's probably a problem with the laptop, right. The problem with the tablet, though, is that the keyboard is right on the screen, so it's not easy to type on. ( in other words I'm back to the two finger style of typing) And with the tablet you can't be as precise with cursor placement as you can with a mouse. So for instance, if I find a spelling error at the top of this page, it's really hard to go back and fix it. Maybe this is a problem with the operating system more than anything. This tablet doesn't run on windows, it's android. See my frustration?

In any case, I'm sure when DH reads this he'll have an appropriate detailed explanation for these issues, most of which I won't understand. *sigh* What's a computer-retarded nurse to do?
By the way, does anyone else think that computer companies are crazy like foxes because as soon as you buy a piece of electronics, they become obsolete within a year when the "next best thing" comes out? I'm on my second Kindle since they originally come out (maybe 3 years ago?) and the Kindle Fire releases in November. It's now going to have s color screen for TV, movies, magazines, and books. I've started to lust over it, but DH is also talking about a different kind of tablet with a REAL keyboard you can use with Bluetooth.

Never fear. Even though I've thrown out all these fancy words, I still don't really have a clue when it comes to this kind of stuff. I can only hope that my hospital will someday get a computerized charting system so I don't have to triple chart everything when I get a new patient admission. It's still hard to believe that the little 40 bed hospital I worked for before this was more advanced than my current employer. I guess you can never win!