For over a couple of weeks now my computer has not uttered a sound. Back whenever now, I fired it up, as usual, and in hindsight noticed that it didn’t give me the usual strong ’pong’ sound of awakening from its slumber. But soon enough, upon going to my emails, I noted that I had no sound. To either audio or video. I shut my machine down - it’s an Apple iMac desktop, that I got nearly six years ago, now; and have had no trouble with it the whole time - and disconnected my Internet link from the wall telephone socket for just short of a minute, as I often do (I have a lot of problems with my mouse arrow freezing on me; especially on conservative sites, I have noticed; another story), and then fired my machine up again. And again - no sound. I exited my Internet link and tried a CD. No luck there, either.
On an off chance, I emailed my Internet provider, and got into a ‘chat’ on the Live Chat line with ultimately three different trouble shooters (the link kept blocking me from being able to answer their questions after a number of them had been successful; don’t know why), the last of whom seemed to be a senior member of the team, who ’said’ that he sent a signal down my line, and there was some problem with its return, and he would write out a Service Request order for me, and hold on a minute…that will be next Tuesday, the such-and-such, between such-and-such times, and they would call me a half-hour ahead of time to confirm. So, some hope for a possible answer to my problem there.
The day before my appointment, I happened to see one of my phone-&-Internet providers on a service call further down my alley, and mentioned that I might see him the next day, and what for, and he said that it didn’t sound like a problem with them, that it was a problem with my computer (to which reply I interjected that I had been coming to think that as well), but that he would check it out. In the event, no one from the company called me or came by the next day at the appointed time. I assumed that it was because the particular Service guy reported to his supervisor about the conversation that he had had with me, and perhaps they had decided between them that the Service guy was right, and since he had told me that that was probably the matter, that they decided to leave it at that.
So the ball was back in my court. I remembered that I had seen a sign in a shop on the main street nearby about doing various such electronic repairs, so I went by there. The guy listened to my story, off the top of his head figured that I may be able to solve the problem just by buying some external speakers, but that he would take a look at my machine in a week’s time, being tied up with a job until then. We set a time period that he would call me. On that day, and during that time period, I got a call, not from him but from somebody who said that they were with Apple Stores, and that -
well, I’ll let my email response today (yesterday, now) to a friend, to whom I had confided my sad tale, tell that part of the story. First, my preliminary email to him (in part), of late two days ago, now:
“Oh - and by the way: I got some bad news today (two days ago, now) (…).1 It would cost me $200 just to have a 'Diagnostic' run on my computer, to find out the extent of the problem inside it. Not something I'm really feeling up for. I miss online videos and audios, and my evening dinner-preparatory musical interlude via CD, and the occasional DVD. But 200 smackers, just to tell me what's wrong - and then whatever the tariff is from then on. Upgrades of sound apps, or external speakers, or worse…”
and the followup email to this friend, in reply to an email that he sent me earlier yesterday (our time) after the one that I sent him, as quoted from above:
“So last night I decided not to entrust my computer today into the hands of The Geek Squad at the Best Buy store that I had bought it at nearly 6 years ago, not feeling comfortable either with the basic cost of their Diagnostic 'procedure' [the same figure, I noted, that the other Repair guy was going to charge me, just for a ‘diagnostic’ check; it must be the standard repair rate quoted just to have a look at a computer] or the fact that they have a deal w/Apple whereby, if they find from their Diagnostics testing that they have to go into the machine to trace down a problem in there, they have to ship it to Apple somewhere else in the country, and they will contact me over the phone w/whatever info they choose to share w/me. And thus my machine would be in their hands. Capable of being held on me, until I forked over however much money I might be extorted for...to upgrade to their newest model, or whatever other excuse that they might hit me with......he said, indicating his cynicism over the profit motive environment that we are embedded in, w/out any indication of acknowledging that we are 'spiritual beings having a human experience,' but are simply cattle to these people in charge of things these days......
“…and so I go online somewhat briefly, before going out to run some errands for the day, and scrolling down my plethora of emails, see some from my good friend over in Scotland; and in checking on the first of them I see some advice, including:
"'1. Check Sound output options in your System Preferences: make sure 'internal speakers' is selected, the slider is all the way up and the mute is deselected.'
“So I go to my System Preferences, and see an icon marked 'Sound,' and check it out, and there are two sliders, one for output and one for input, and the one for output is all the way over to high, but for some reason, the one for input is not all the way over to high; and so I move it all the way over to high; and go back to my emails, and check out a site that has an audio link in it...and
“I can now hear it.
“And then I check out a site that has a video link in it...and
“I can see that, and hear that, now, too.
“And all it cost me was to have a friend in life.
“Thanks, friend.
“Stan
“P.S. And what I am left with - besides access to my computer's sound, now - is the question: What happened to my machine.
“I think I have the answer. On Tuesday morning I got a call from an East Indian guy telling me that he was from Apple Stores and they had checked my computer and found that I had something or other [faulty] going on, and wanted to check it out for me, for security purposes; and ran me through some sites for them to check things out - which I was open to their doing, since I did have this problem with my sound, and if they could uncover that problem for me, well, great. And at one point they had me do something that allowed them to take over my computer remotely (as you suggested I could let you do) and check some things out. And they found a whole bunch of people had hacked into my computer, including someone from China. And with all of that showing graphically to me on my screen, they then told me that they could save me from all that sort of thing, if I bought such-and-such an app/coverage from them, that started with $299 for one year's security cover, and such-and-such an amount for 3 years, and...and......and I told them no, thanks. And they hung up abruptly on me. And I am left thinking: If they are so good at their job, they may well be good enough at it to get into my computer, and cause me a problem in the first place, for them to then come along and try to sell me a deal to keep that sort of thing from happening. It's called extortion. It's the same as the mob saving your store from being firebombed if you pay them a monthly stipend to keep you safe, from such a terrible possibility...
“…at least that is what I am thinking now that happened to my computer. And which, of course, leaves me wondering what else somebody, who has something to sell me, might do to my computer remotely, for them [then] to come along and try to sell me on their deal.
“Leaves me aware that we are at their electronic mercy.
“As I said:
“Get ready to beam me up, Scotty. Either things change, in this hellhole. Or I want out.
“And I don't plan on going anywhere. Too soon.”
-
So, the moral of this story:
It is something like, Don’t try to do everything by yourself. That’s part of what friends are for. And the other part of that equation, is to think to communicate with your friends. Unless they are really advanced, they can’t tell what’s on your mind.
And another take on the moral of this story, is, like:
Don’t go to a surgeon to find out how to keep from going to a surgeon. Or a general practitioner either, for that matter. (Looking down their noses at the likes of a mere 'dietician'.) That is not what they are in business for. So, don’t expect them to let you in on ways to keep from having to go to them.
I am saying, that our current ‘economic system’ is a terrible incentivizer, for people to do others in, for ‘economic gain’. Pits us against one another.
When we have lost the plot.
Which such a system encourages us to do.
And so, would a communist, or merely ‘socialist,’ system be any better, huh, huh, how about that then, huh, huh??
But the thing is, it doesn’t have to be either/or.
It can be both/and. In a way.
In an Ascended way. That combines elements of both such systems. In a process of Synthesis.
And adds a new element to the equation.
Not just the combination of them, with ‘the whole being greater than the sum of its parts’.
But with the opening to the larger dimension of reality that the end of the evolutionary geopolitical process brings into being.
In, as I say:
Ascension.
Out of this hellhole.
For aspiring gods.
As an incentive for them not to get stuck in it.
But to get back to their true natures.
Those chips - sparks - that I have talked about in these pages before.
Which is all the moral of
the Story of Life.
—
footnotes:
1 To explain: After the Repair guy near me failed to call me to have me bring my computer in to have him give it at least a quick check, I called another General Repair guy with a shop front further closer to downtown, who told me that it would cost me $200 just to have him look at it, but that there was a chance that all I needed to do was buy a couple of external speakers for it. Where could I get that sort of thing? "Oh, Best Buy, or Amazon.” Best Buy…that was the outfit that I had bought it from in the first place. Maybe they could help me, if I go in there and ask them some basic questions…which was what occasioned my trip to the Best Buy store, where they gave me the news that I shall now report on.
2 A note: Three different East Indian guys were involved in that phone call with running me through measures to check out my computer. It feels now as though the first guy was like the caster of the fishline, for a strike, and then the second guy comes in to hold the reeling-in space, and then the third guy comes in to net the catch, if their process had gotten them that far.
How did they know that I had an Apple if they weren’t connected with that company, in some fashion or other? And if I had gone along with the game, would I have been asked simply to give them my credit card info over the phone, and they could be anybody that way?? And if I had refused to do that, and insisted on mailing it to some Apple address or other, would they have been prepared to handle such an event???
Questions, about this whole strange 'business'…...
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