Technology Drama

We all know someone who is a "drama queen," turning ordinary circumstances into academy-award winning performances as they moan about their bad luck and how the world has done them wrong, and as they describe countless tragic outcomes that are bound to occur any minute now.

When it comes to computer problems, I call this technology drama. If you think your computer is acting up for the sole purpose of making your life miserable, you might just have technology drama.

Because my friends, family, neighbors, and other acquaintances that I see on a regular basis know that my former career was working with computers, they have no problems telling me their computer woes.

The three most common types of technology drama that I hear about are computers that take on human-like characteristics, electrical interruptions caused by ghosts, or computers that are infected with super-bugs, viruses, or other types of "nasty" critters that are immune to normal software cleaning programs.

Do not get me wrong; I love these types of people. For many years, these people were not only my bread and butter but were also my sources of entertainment, bless them.

No matter what the problem was, it was always amazing that the minute I sat down in front of the person's computer to diagnose what the problem was, the computer magically started to work (of course, the person afflicted with technology drama then asserted the computer was out to make them look bad). I have seen this a hundred times and it never gets old!

If you think you suffer from technology drama, here are some pointers.

1. Your computer is not human. There are only two times in my life that I have seen a computer start thinking on its own; an episode of Bionic Woman and the movie 2001:A Space Odyssey. Your computer is not out to get you and ruin your life. The problem is most likely that YOU are doing something wrong. Period.