By: Keith Kappes
Columnist
Carter County Times
It was years ago when I first quoted Plato about necessity being the mother of invention and then I bragged about my experience with a tablet computer.
I had returned from a business trip and realized my tablet was on the blink, likely due to rough baggage handling.
As an admitted low-techie, I turned to tech-savvy family members, co-workers and others for advice on how to fix the handy little device…but all to no avail. I turned it off and on and reset it twice, but the blue screen, squiggly lines and blinking lights persisted.
Totally frustrated and faced with doing without the tablet, I recalled the advice of a friend who works in information technology. He says that when all else fails, the IT professionals discreetly go to Google for answers.
So, I went to that incredible Internet search engine and was swamped by the number of suggestions on eliminating the blue screen. I selected a YouTube entry that asked if I had ever “spanked” my tablet.
Concerned that I might have hit a naughty Internet site, instead I found a fully-dressed young woman holding a tablet with a blue screen.
She slapped the machine twice on the back and the normal screen images returned. I did the same trick with my tablet, got the same joyful result and shared it with my readers.
Weeks later, I tossed that same tablet onto the back seat of my car and it bounced right out the door onto the parking lot. Yep, the blue screen returned.
Three days later, I was totally frustrated with an Internet problem at home. In my distress, I grabbed that tablet and began slapping it as hard as I could on its little behind.
I finally came to my senses, stopped the pounding and turned the tablet over to find it fully restored, just like before.
At that point, I gave thanks for another tender mercy. And then I remembered that old saying about fools and widows and who looks after us.Contact Keith at keithkappes@gmail.com.
