Lines from Linda

You Learn Something New Everyday

While wading through web sites concerning colonial Louisiana, I ran across a lot of interesting information. I knew, having lived in Arkansas the better part of my adult life, that the names of many communities were derived from the French influence in the 18th Century. I did not, however, guess, nor would I have ever guessed, that Smackover, Arkansas, was originally a French settlement.

Yes, Smackover, a small town in one of the southern most counties of the state, a town that boasts (proudly, according to their web site) the state's one and only "center of the road traffic light," was originally dubbed "Sumac Covert," (pronounced "co-vair"), which, in French, means "covered with Sumac." However, the English (and, yes, I can trace my roots to a long line of Hartleys, Hamptons, and the like), being, well...English, pronounced this graceful name that gives honor to the bright-colored weed that adorns many Arkansas roadways still today "Smackover."

No wonder the French and English never got along.

You Gotta Love the Internet

Where would we be without the Internet? I mean, how else would we know that today, January 13, marks the birthdate of Elisa Bonepart, Napolean's little sister?

So, how, when, and why did the Internet really get started? According to WikiAnswers:

The Internet was originally developed by DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, as a means to share information on defense research between involved universities and defense research facilities. Originally it was just email and FTP sites as well as the Usenet where scientists could question and answer each other. It was originally called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency NETwork). The concept was developed starting in 1964, and the first messages passed were between UCLA and the Stanford Research Institute in 1969. Leonard Kleinrock of MIT had published the first paper on packet switching theory in 1961. Since networking computers was new to begin with, standards were being developed on the fly. Once the concept was proven, the organizations involved started to lay out some ground rules for standardization.

Many others contributed to the Internet's development and its later commercialization, including Jennifer Wimborne, who coined the terms "Internet" and "Email."

And speaking of "Advanced Research Projects," I use the Internet quite a bit for my own research projects, such as answering questions like "What on earth am I going to blog about today?" Which is why I Googled "January 13" in the first place.

Another thing I learned today from browsing online is that one of my favorite actors -- Patrick Dempsey -- shares a birthday with Napolean's little sister.

Random Acts of Stupidity

I had high hopes for a series of uneventful days leading up to Saturday, when my vacation starts. Last week, among other things, my son discovered that germ-X is flamable, and I needed some peace.

Yesterday began like any normal Monday--I was late for work. My daughter had a crisis, which, even at nearly 20 years old, required Mommy. Stuck in traffic, she begged me to guide her around a wreck. Over the phone. Poor thing had to stay put as there was really no better way. Seven minutes later, I'm rushing out the door with wet hair and my phone rings again. She's on the Interstate, making good time. At least one of us was.

Mondays are hectic at the office. I rarely take a lunch break on busy days but had forgotten something important at home. (I hate to place blame, but it was likely that I'd been focused on my daughter's situation instead of my "don't forget to take this with you" list.) Besides, I needed to run some errands. So, I stopped by the Post Office, grabbed my hugemongous wad of "work keys," and got out of the car. I tossed my car keys into my purse. I do this often. Keys should go in purses when not in use. Well, women's keys, anyway. The problem was, at the last second, I decided I didn't want to lug my purse into the Post Office and chunked it into the floorboard, pushed the lock button, and headed inside. Oops! I called my Mommy.

Forty minutes later, I'm back at my desk. (Thanks, Dad!) By late afternoon, my brain had officially turned to mush. I took a break from bookkeeping (my favorite!) and decided to play with my blog for a few minutes. Just the night before, while talking to my dad, I told him after test driving about a dozen themes, I'd finally found the perfect WordPress theme. Simple and professional looking. I loved the double right sidebar. With the widgets lined up side-by-side, hopefully my readers could scroll through all my goodies without dozing off before they reached the bottom. Plus, all my widgets worked--and, big bonus--there was room for my tagline (which is rather lengthy). Yes, it was the perfect theme/plugin combo.

I love WordPress. I work hard on my blog, trying to make it fun, with a clean appearance, and easy for readers to use. Dad's new to WordPress, but likes it so far. I opened the control panel. Due to all the reported issues with WordPress 2.2, I hadn't upgraded yet, but I just knew the upgrade held wonders of WordPress my blog had to have. The words "Upgrade Now" enticed me. I clicked the button. And, viola! My entire blog disappeared. Nothing. A blank screen. My blog had been sucked into the black hole of cyberspace. I'd have to wait until evening to send out a search party, though. The pile on my desk beckoned.

I worked late to get everything done. No biggie. Daughter was still at work. Son's at a mission camp. Hubby works nights. Just me and the dog. (Oh, and forty-bizillion farm animals I had to feed and water.) I'd had a hard day and decided I deserved some ice cream.

The night before, hubby, still exhausted from moving the grandkids the previous day, decided he deserved some ice cream. Licked the dipper and it stuck to his lip. Poor thing. Took a hunk out of him. He said he didn't realize how cold those dippers got. When I finished dipping my ice cream, I licked the dipper. It stuck to my lip. Took a hunk out of me. Ouch! That's when I remembered hubby's warning that ice cream dippers were not to be trifled with.

Needless to say, I found my blog. Well, I found the files. Apparently, certain plugins aren't compatible with the upgrade, and sometimes they must be uploaded one at a time to see which ones are misbehaving. (Didn't know that!) But two and a half hours of bonding with my FTP client (Fetch--he's awesome!), and viola! My blog is back! Woo-hoo!

To the casual observer (and probably my hubby), days like yesterday appear to be a long string of random acts of stupidity. But to writers of Chick/Mom Lits, they're a research goldmine.