Golden Orb Weaver

Golden Orb Weaver Spider - Florida
My wife and I enjoy cruising.  We were booked on a cruise to the southern Caribbean, leaving out of Ft. Lauterdale, last spring.  I discovered some time ago that if you have to be somewhere anyways, it is a good idea to get there early and explore a bit.  So, we took a flight to Florida four days ahead of when our cruise was to leave.  The plan - check out the area and relax a bit to get ready for the cruise.

I had booked a motel near the area we wanted to check out.  It was close to the beach and a major water way, and there was a wildlife park nearby.  So, all things considered, the price was right and the timing was perfect.  We arrived and got to our destination with four days to spend getting to know the place.  That was when the unthinkable happened - my travel laptop computer picked up a virus.  I am not sure where it happened; I have Norton and update it frequently.  But here I was, a hostage to this electronic villain.

There is always a "good news / bad news" story in any event, and if you are in the right mood you can even make a joke about it.  I wasn't in the right mood.  I take pictures as part of my home business and passion.  The images get stored on my computer as a back up.  Since I shoot all my stuff in RAW I also process all the images that I think are good or useful.  That happens during the down times, usually in the evening before bed.  It has worked out very well, but all of a sudden there is no such opportunity.  My computer was almost non functional.  The good news was that I had four days before departing on the cruise.

If this had happened on the ship I think I would have preferred sinking.  This, of course, is not true, but it certainly would have epitomized the black cloud which would have followed me around.  Here I was at the motel and had no computer.  I managed to get internet working well enough to get a contact for what I thought was a help center.  It turns out it was a scam establishment that would have held me and my computer hostage.  I later found a local fellow who had raving reviews on line.  I gave him a call.

He was amazing.  First he came to my room where we were staying, collected the broken machine and kept in touch.  He fixed it all up and got it working with time to spare.  Best of all the price was reasonable given the door to door service.  My laptop was back, all my software was working, and I could start doing what I do.

I had a great time shooting in Florida.  The park I mentioned was a wonderful place to visit and I discovered, and photographed, the spider at the beginning of the post.  Every time I see that spider, I think of my computer.  My mouse feels jealous.


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