Call Me Radio Shack

I've pretty much told this story to anyone who would listen but since this is my blog, I'll be telling it again. About two years ago we bought a new laptop that I just love. Unfortunately about six months after I bought it, Big Boy thought it would be a great idea to pop about twenty of the keys off. I decided the best way to handle the situation would be to lay a black cloth over the keys, plug in a keyboard and never think about it again...

I don't know why I let it go as long as I have but I've finally gotten around to having it fixed. I checked online to be sure I can get a replacement keyboard and luckily I found one right away. Not knowing much about this kind of thing, I was a little worried about how readily available a replacement keyboard would be and discovered it's a piece of cake to get one so I called a computer place my parents use and asked them what is would cost to take care of the laptop fiasco. They told me it would be about $45 for the keyboard and another $30-35 to remove the old one and install the new one. Interesting. Needless to say I was a little put off and I went online and ordered the keyboard myself and paid a total of $20.25 including shipping. I ordered on Sunday night and it was in my mailbox today. I mulled over taking it over to the computer shop just for the installation but decided to check out a site I found the other day on how to do it yourself. I figured since the computer shop couldn't guarantee they wouldn't damage the motherboard, what the hell did I have to lose? In all fairness though, the computer shop is really good. I know my parents have been using the same shop for years so I don't want to take anything away from it.

After a few minutes of going back and forth over what to do, I just went for it and after about fifteen minutes and a few choice words, my laptop is as beautiful as the day it was taken out of the box. I still can't believe it and I'm totally patting myself on the back for this one. What's really cool is I did a factory restore last week so it's like having a brand new computer! This is a really great site if you ever need to perform surgery on your laptop. Heck, he saved me over fifty bucks so he's my hero of the day!

Some Great Music

I know I've been quite the slacker lately when it comes to blogging. The few hours of home time after work seem to be flying by and before I realize it, it's after eleven and time for bed. I have been loitering around YouTube a bit though and have come across some great music. The artists aren't new by any means but I could get in to listening to a lot more of this guy, Josh Ritter. Apparently he has been flying under the radar but had a strong following. His song "Good Man" was used in an episode of House and since hen, he has become pretty popular.

I love watching how genuinely happy he seems...all the time. You can tell by his smile he loves what he does for a living and he just looks like he would be a fun guy to get to know. Definitely some music I'm looking to listen to a lot more of in the future.



This next kid is absolutely one of the most talented musicians I have ever come across. I'm a huge music person and I was completely blown away when I saw this clip. His name is Jake Shimabukuro and what this kid can do with a Ukulele is breathtaking. Being a George Harrison fan, I was intrigued when I saw a link for "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" done on the Ukulele. I couldn't figure out how someone could replicate the string work on a four string instrument? I WAS WRONG. He's been around for sometime but for some reason I never checked him out. I'm thinking it's because I figured the Ukulele wasn't going to hold my interest for too long, know what I mean? Anyway, this clip is a few years old but worth watching over and over. Keep an eye on his hands when he moves into the meat of the song....Amazing!



Enjoy the music!