Old School = New Monitor

(Just FYI, the background visible on the monitor is from from http://vladstudio.com/)

Remember me commenting in one of my first posts about my new job that I didn't even have a flat screen monitor? I had an ancient CRT tube monitor, with a curved screen even. There are absolutely no 2012 dollars left in the budget, so no chance of getting a flat screen any time this year. Other than the glare, I figured it was liveable, at least until January or February. Then, I started working with my massive spreadsheets. And the monitor started whining at me. Literally! Depending on the magnification of the spreadsheet, the high pitched squeal would change pitch. I could play Mary Had a Little Lamb with it by flipping between 70%, 80%, and 90% magnification. No, I'm not joking!! The noise was giving me an awful headache daily. I had no idea what I was going to do.

I've likely mentioned before that we've had a computer in my home since I was 7 or 8 years old. That means I am rapidly approaching 30 years of experience with them. Despite the fact that most of my coworkers are 15-30 years older than I am, I assure you, I have more computer experience than they do. Which probably explains why this monitor was still laying around. If you've ever worked in "cube land," you know that cube dwellers are notorious scavengers. We'll dig up all sorts of things from abandoned cubicals. I found this flat screen monitor abandoned in a cube on the floor. It had dust on it, so it had clearly been there a while. No way it should still have been there, with flat screens so rare on the floor. So why was this one still sitting there? Maybe it's broken? Only one way to find out.

I take it back to my desk, only to discover that it has the wrong cable on it. The format was one I had never seen before, but the cable just screwed in to the monitor. All I had to do was unscrew it and see if I could find the correct cable in the spare parts room (yes, we have a whole room of spare tube monitors and keyboards and the like). Now, most of the tube monitors have "fixed" cables, meaning they don't unplug from the back of the monitor, and there weren't any of the right kinds of cables in the huge box by the door. I checked every single monitor in the room (there had to be at least 40), and finally found a single one with the right kind of cable. Plugged it in, hooked it up, and flipped it on. It lit right up! It's not a widescreen monitor or even high def, but it doesn't whine at me anymore. I'm betting those young whipper snappers today who have only ever had laptops and tablets couldn't have done that!! LOL Yay for old school computer geeks!!

Currently feeling: a little bit smart, and a whole lot old!