perhaps a run through the meadows:

yeah, thanks Paras. I know all the things you're saying, and while I appreciate it, I really just needed to vent when I posted that... I realize that there's nothing else that I can do except just wait and deal with what gets thrown at me. The whole frozen car thing is a problem in that if Grandma needs to go to the doctor, there's no way for it to work. Incidentally, my cousin's car also wasn't working, so there (at the time) seemed to be no solution if a problem did arise (Grandma's ubersensitive to fragrances that often can be found in taxis too).

So, yeah, my post, more than anything, was to get all that off my chest, not to actually find a solution. I know I'll just have to wait and deal with things as they're handed out to me, it was more just trying to vent some of that pressure...

And I'm not avoiding my Grandma, we're bringing dinner to her on Saturday and I talk to her at least once a day on the phone, it's just the whole inevitability of death (in the near future, not just 'sometime') that was getting to me... and the worry that I'd have to phone the folks on the boat and tell them the news and start organizing all the rest of it... not my idea of fun, all considering.

I'm not sure what to say, Alison, except not to focus too much on the "I'm in charge" big picture and just trust that you'll be able to handle whatever needs to be handled until your folks get back.

Would that I could help with the situation with your Grandma. I'd seen the same thing with my uncle for two and a half years; where everyone knew he was dying, but no one knew when. It was tough to talk to and visit him (the language barrier, along with other issues, just added to it.) I think it was better for both of us that I did go, though.

And your car will be fine (it's just a little cold.)

okay, so what do you do when your Grandma is dying (as made abundantly clear from the doctor, and it truly is only a matter of time, and there's nothing else you can do except wait), she's not doing well at all right now, your parents and your uncle and aunt are all on a cruise through the Panama Canal (and won't return for two weeks), your car hasn't started in a little while, and you're the eldest of all three relations still in the city?

I mean, what do you do?

I'm so scared.

Before you check out this link... try to guess what its about before you go to the site:
http://www.thethreeamigos.org/

Possibly because the casual user doesn't do anything important on the computer. Me for example, I don't give out credit card number on the internet and all my passwords are to pretty useless e-mail accounts. I guess I just don't trust the internet enough to do anything "risky".

Use a metal hat like the one Magneto has. It prevents mind reading for sure.

Actually, Albert, it's not the data on your computer that's valuable, it's the stuff you do with it. Passwords for e-mail, credit card numbers, online banking; all of this data is valuable in the hands of someone with bad intentions. But, apparently, this is not an important concern for consumers...

Alison, isn't the point of a tin-foil hat to prevent people from reading/controlling your mind with some sort of EM signal? Wouldn't antennae make it easier (at least, easier than for a hat without antennae) for them to do so?

Of course, I could be wrong; I was wrong about the term. Apparently the correct terminology is afdb (aluminum foil deflector beanie).

Just saw Star Wars holiday special... I want that hour of my life back!

so apparently I'm one of those secretly tinfoil-hat- wearing people who doesn't like spy ware for the fact that they don't like people spying on them... awesome. I think my tinfoil hat will have antennae.

Most people don't have anything valuable on their computer. Or if they do a hacker could easily get it using Kazaa or something faster. Therefore people care about how fast they get somewhere rather then if someone is hitching a ride. Well that is what I think anyways.