Black Veil & a Feather Boa

My Kindle Fire died Saturday evening for no apparent reason.  Maybe just old age, or perhaps planned obsolescence.  No matter, it's toast. I had recently downloaded a few books to hold me over when I receive  transfusions. And now?  "Poof"  All gone.  Bother!

I am in mourning. It was a gift less then 2 years old, and included a 2-year extended replacement warrantee, which means I can get a new one.  Which means I also have to wait…maybe.

So, I collected the necessary papers yesterday and took my sweet self the Staples technical desk to find out what to do next. They couldn't have been nicer. Claims aren't processed locally, nor do they provide a new product, but give a URL address to their  "square deal" site.  Couldn't have been easier.  Hopped on the site, input requested data, then spoke to a REAL, LIFE, BREATHING human being.

Tony!  He asked the usual inane questions: did you try another electrical outlet?, a different charger?, was the item dropped or have any visual damage? When I explained that the Kindle and the charger got very hot during that final attempt to charge the thing, he quickly said that it was likely a problem with the innards of the Kindle itself, and no fault of my own. Well, thanks for that vote of confidence! 

Tony gave me a "return authorization" number then sent an email with instructions for returning the item.  Smooth. Took everything to the UPS store this morning, packed up the Kindle with copies of all the paperwork, JIC, and sent it on to never-land, somewhere in eastern Texas… oh my!

Meanwhile, I am lost without reading material to help pass the time while resting in bed during the day or spending a day at the Center receiving blood. 

Isn't it funny how quickly we become addicted to certain technology.  Withdrawal, as you probably already know, is a bitch! In the old days, I would have just grabbed a real book and been done.  That ship has sailed.

It's very sad, really. They do not repair these things anymore.   I do hope they recycle the innards and don't just chuck it all in landfills. 

Had to run a quick errand in town before coming home. I noticed there were open parking spots near Dos Locos, so decided to show my smiling face and welcome the locosguys home - they just returned from their 3 weeks in Mexico. It was great fun. The restaurant was busy, but (thankfully) no kids. I got to remove the mask, relax, and enjoy the company of friends. 

Two staffers are real geeks (who usually agree on nothing), after hearing my Kindle tale of woe, suggested I had just hit the mother lode. No more Kindles, they said.  Get a REAL Android Tablet, they said. Improved technology has lowered prices and I can purchase something thrice as fast and reliable for the same price as 2 years ago.  But I need something small and light - nothing big and flashy, if you get my drift.  The arthritis and cramping in the hands make manipulating anything large (or too small) out of the question. 

They agreed on either the Samsung Tab - 3, or the Google Nexus 7. Both come close in price to the presumed refund and both are only 7" tall. I have homework to do before I buy either one. 

If any of you geeks reading this want to weigh in on the new tablet, please leave a comment.  I'd appreciate any and all information you're willing to offer.

Limited: Tony told me that the certificate would be valid only if used at the store, not online.  So that puts many limits on my choices. If up to it,  I'll drop by the store again tomorrow to see what I can discover - maybe there's even a sales associate who knows what they're talking about willing to answer my questions.

Just as an aside, here:  Watched part of Palin's speech at CPAC yesterday and it suddenly occurred to me that the only beings able to follow along and make any sense her word-salad rhetoric are the paste-eating mouth-breathers with the IQ just a tick above a Rubber plant. What a festering bile-wagon that crazy woman is from head to toe.

Never mind…where was I?  

And so it goes.

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