Good grief! For the past couple of weeks, my computer has slowed to a crawl, often freezing up and my internet all but worthless, taking foreer to open pages when they did open and often freezing up. I have managed to get some things done offline and around the house, but online has been all but forget it! The very last things I needed to happen when I planned to re-energize my webite and my online presence and try desperaately to make enough money to survive once I got caught up (hopefully with some help from my friends).

Three possible culptirs loomed large. First, the slowdowns appear to have happened right after a "critical update" from Microsoft - and those have caused problems at times in the past. Secondly, the internet service out here has been off a couple of times out here and never seemed the same after it was restored.

And thirdly, in a moment of weekness I opted for "free" software that promised to speed up my computer and internet. I knew better, but the service was from a Microsoft approved vendor and it boasted some good reviews so I went for it - and surely enough, performance did improve. For awhile. But then performance became slower and slower and instead of daily pop-ups telling me how many glitches they caught I began to get daily pop-ups advising me to upgrade to the latest version - which turned out to be far from free. $42. I tell ya, I smell a ra. Don't let that word "free" fool you!

So OK, I tried to do a system restore on my computer but could not. Then I was finally, able to uninstall the "free" speed boost software. After which, or during which, I also was able to do a system restore. Performance improved, but not by a whole lot, and Google Chrome was as slow as ever (Firefox was a bit better, but still slow and would only open so many windows at a time).

Next I called my internet service provider, CenturyLink to see if they could do a test on my modem and possibly check for problems (in the past, branches had fallen on the lines, squirrels had chewed on the lines and ants had done a number on the lines). CenturyLink said that I would likely see considerable improvement with a new modem, given that the one I had dated to 2011 and was outdated. And they said that all I had to do was unplug the old modem and plug in the new modem and I would be good to go.

So the new modem arrived Friday evening. I plugged it in and . . . no internet. And CenturyLink had a recording that I had reached them after hours, but they might be able to help me if there was a technical problem which led to the same after hours message. Same message on Saturday

I finally figured out that I had to change my network settings to the new network that appeared when the new modem was plugged in. And THEN I had to somehow read the teeny tiny password with my faltering eyesight. Only by putting on my strongest magnifying glasses and stepping outside in the daylight and holding the little label just so was I able to read it. Finally, I had serviceable internet again. Uninstallled and then re-installed Chrome and it was serviceable again too.

Before the internet crapped out, I had posted a few things on my website I intended to sharre days earlier. A bit late for the 2019 Healthy Holiday Recipes featured at the top of my website (tbyil), though still plenty of time for Christmas, New Years and other holiday meals. I suppose I can also still share the Dream Pie recipe and the article warning about the dangers of whiippped topping products. But what I did was post a few funnies to hopefully brighten the rest of the weekend. before I heade out to enjoy some Thanksgiving leftovers at my cousins. Don't know about everyone else, but until Saturday afternoon, my Thanksgiving was dreary, cold, rainy, damp, frustrating and then some and lonely.

And get this: several days ago my cell phone provider (Cricket) did a system update and since then I have no keyboard function, not for messages or anything else. The only option is speech to text and that software does not know how to recognize "Texan" very well at all. So, after over an hour and a half wasted this morning with Cricket technical support, I am told that I must go to a Cricket store and have them do a reset, which will probably be a hassle because they will have to save my contacts and photos and such before they wipe and reset the system.

I guess it goes without saying that I have NOT been making any money. Nor did I ever pursue my final fundraiser the way I had planned to do (No formal GoFundMe, PayPal or Facebook fundraisers, just a few personal messages). I may still do that, but if you have made it this far in my message and are so inclined, I desperately, desperatley need help in getting caught up and not getting thrown out. Here is my info:

Paypal address: dquixote1217 @ gmail . com (eliminate the spaces)

Mailing address: Tony Isaacs, 267 County Road 2045, Klondike TX 75448

Again, heartfelt thanks to one and all. And again, I think I can make it if I can just get caught up and buy a little time - though not the way things have gone in recent days and weeks. At this point, I am very concerned that I may not be able to increase my income largely enough quickly enough. And thus I am again seeking money making opportunities (jobs) which I am able to perform given my limitations. Even then, I am going to have to get new lenses and a larger monitor in order to see well enough to do anything. Doesn't really take a lot of money, but even a little money is a lot more than I have right now.