Life without cable is going surprisingly well. There’s definitely no shortage of viewing material, and despite my concerns to the contrary, I’ve watched all the football I’ve wanted to see without adding any subscriptions. I’m tickled pink.

Switching internet service providers has gone almost as well. Changing from fiber optic to wireless didn’t seem to make any difference. Getting everything reconnected has sometimes been a challenge. Reconnecting the HVAC thermostat and my laser printer required service calls.

I could have done the thermostat myself, but couldn’t find the right screen to change the Wi-Fi password. Instead of telling me how to do it when I called, they sent a technician. Took him about three minutes Sigh.

My super nice laser printer is a remnant of my teaching days. I’m done with inkjet printers. As God is my witness, I’ll never buy another inject cartridge again. The laser printer rarely needs a new cartridge and works every time, no matter how long it’s been idle.

My fabulous printer does not get along with the new network. My tech guy came to the house and resolved the issue. He said it would likely happen again and left the link to a program to reconnect it on the desktop.

I went to print a sample ballot last week and my lovely laser was not an option. After using the repair program about twenty times without success, I decided to ask a friend or neighbor to print one for me. Nobody I asked had a functioning printer at home, but a neighbor said she’d print one for both of us at work the next day.

In the mean time, I gave the repair program another couple of hundred tries. After connecting the laptop to the printer via USB, I wait for magical things to happen. Trial and error eventually paid off. Connected.

Went to print a sample ballot again and was happy to see the laser listed as an option. I hit “print,” but nothing happened. I hit print two more times (repetition worked before) and still the printer remained silent. Sigh. Back to square one.

I decided to try the repair program again. This time, the printer roared to life when I connected the USB to my laptop and spat out three copies. So much for wireless, but at least it works. After all that, I didn’t need to take the sample ballot in with me to vote.

I rarely print anything these days. Apparently, nobody else does either.

As always, thanks for stopping by.