Tuesday, August 21, 2007

The Word Processors


Yup, we're safely back in Amsterdam. And Yup! Back to Farm Day!


Sister Nancy (on the right) had a deadline to get some word processing done by Monday for printing. She was condensing a 1000-page HUD handbook into a more manageable 250-page book, simply by reformatting it. That's Wilma, my brother Jim's wife, trying to help her with a formatting hitch.


No amount of finagling could get those @#$@*& columns to line up in the Table of Contents!
So, enter Donica, the Word Processor guru.


Nancy tells Donica exactly what she wants and what the blasted program isn't allowing her to do.


And listens while Donica discovers that the original handbook was mixing Word Perfect and Word in it's document. UGH. No wonder!


Wilma comes back to get in on the action.


And even my brother, Jim, acts like he gets it! Nancy says that what Donica did saved her hours of time. So, thank you, Miss Microsoft guru! (Don't get Donica started on Microsoft!!!)

BTW, Jim and Wilma are the parents of nephew Paul in The Jammer's post. And Nancy is the mother of nephew Eric, the lead guitarist.

18 comments:

  1. This is a funny sequence the way you've built it up, but I'm sure it was frustrating to Nancy until they all figured it out (esp. Donica). I don't know a single techie who likes Microsoft.

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  2. Go Donica! I remember you telling me about that giant handbook that Nancy was dealing with. So glad everything was resolved.

    And how's the weather in Amsterdam? It's been POURING here since early morning with no signs of letting up. Great for the garden, at least. :-)

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  3. Ruth: What was funny to me was all these distinct things that were going on in almost the same space there on your front lawn. It was such a cozy atmosphere.

    Christina: I never heard if the book ended up at the printer by the deadline, but I'll assume no news is good news.

    And NO, it's been sunny and breezy all day since arriving here in Amsterdam this morning at 7. It's COOL,too. In the high 60's or low 70's. My kind of weather! But if you could send some of the rain to Atlanta, I know a lot of people who'd be grateful!

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  4. Gosh i wish had a guru in my family. glad that it all got figured out.Puters are so frustrating at times.

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  5. Hilarious!
    But not when it's me mixing open office and Word, grrr..

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  6. Sometimes it takes the input of four brains to make sense of Microsoft. But I'm glad there was a successful outcome. That's the problem with laptops, there's no excuse for missed deadlines, you can take your work with you, even on Farm Day!

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  7. How does 1 family all have so much great hair?

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  8. haha.....all's well that ends well...and i know several techies who love to claim that they own MS-free computers! :)

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  9. RK: I do, too. :)

    L&N: I can't tell you how thankful I am!!!!

    Ex-S: Exactly! On both counts! :)

    JK: HA! That reminds me that I need to make sure I post a very lovely photo of Ruth for you. :) My brother, John, is the only one who's losing his, which really is something. The rest of us DO have thick hair still!

    And I LOVE the off-topic! :)

    Moi: Is there such a thing as an MS-free computer!! I guess that would be a Mac. Yes, indeed!

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  10. Hee! What a great series of photos. They are all intent on solving the problems!

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  11. And you?

    Behind the camera of course...

    Well done this pic's as a story like this...I like to meet your family,hus etc. by your photograpy. What a great idea.

    :) JoAnn

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  12. Hi, you are a fantastic story teller.
    And I do agree - Open Office - it's fre to download....

    Hope to see you in Amsterdam

    ps - we suddenly got a touch of Summer - 27 C - downtown Oslo.

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  13. I do agree: it looks like a mystery if you don't know the tricks while if you knew: it's piece of cake and I can tell Donica is a master.

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  14. we keep getting the sun all week and not on the weekends here.

    What a great post. And yes my mom is quite the guru too. I tend to take after her but I have to see it to figure it out. My mom actually trains her entire law firm on the programs! Giving Donica major props!

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  15. Think how easy it would be with one open office standard?

    This is very well documented. And even your brother - ha-ha. Advanced fun at the Farm

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