The Answer is Blowing in the Wind

sensitivefern.jpg


It was exactly the kind of morning I dread: no traction, no resolution in sight, damned if I do or if I don’t. The issue, to upgrade my internet security / antivirus software (PC-Cillin 2007) before the deadline a week off–to suffer the ills I know, or change to something else entirely. The pros just about exactly equaled the cons, and I could not for the life of me decide.But in the end, given the bad consumer reviews of my current program, I decided for a change despite the negatives–like the fact that I have to buy separate licenses for laptop and desktop. But wait: there’s a competitive upgrade, $25 off. All I do is send in my original install disk of PC-Cillin 2005. Hmmm. Now where have I seen that lately?

But it wasn’t in any of the obvious places, and yet I had a clear image of it in my mind. Where the heck could I put my hands on it, now that I had committed to Kaspersky Internet Security 6?

Aha! I remembered: it’s tied out on the garden fence, one of a dozen sparkling, twirling CDs blowing in the morning breeze, software defense turned gardening offense.

I think they’ll take it for the rebate, even though it has a little hole drilled in it for the fishing line. Ya think?

Image: Sensitive Fern, Onoclea sensibilis, so named for its susceptibility to the first frost of fall, and somewhat unusual in that its pinnae are lobed lightly but not dissected like the more lacy ferns. I think the term is “once-pinnately divided”.

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Fred First holds masters degrees in Vertebrate Zoology and physical therapy, and has been a biology teacher and physical therapist by profession. He moved to southwest Virginia in 1975 and to Floyd County in 1997. He maintains a daily photo-blog, broadcasts essays on the Roanoke NPR station, and contributes regular columns for the Floyd Press and Roanoke's Star Sentinel. His two non-fiction books, Slow Road Home and his recent What We Hold in Our Hands, celebrate the riches that we possess in our families and communities, our natural bounty, social capital and Appalachian cultures old and new. He has served on the Jacksonville Center Board of Directors and is newly active in the Sustain Floyd organization. He lives in northeastern Floyd County on the headwaters of the Roanoke River.

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  1. At risk of sounding like advertising spam, AVG free edition consistently rates extremely well in reviews, above many of the big-name subscription anti-virus packages. I’ve never suffered any viruses since I switched over to it a couple of years ago. ‘Course, that’s a dangerous thing to say and guarantees I’ll get hit tomorrow…

  2. Would love to see a picture of your CDs blowing in the wind to see exactly how you did it. Any tips?

    We need something like that to ward off those dive-bomber birds from eating our green bean seeds!

  4. I am a big fan of AVG myself. I have it on 3 or 4 of our home machines. The only trouble we ever have is when someone shuts it off…

  5. Sorry – I don’t speak P-cillin or AVG – MAC. But I am quite curious about the flapping CDs. I, too, would love to see a picture of your garden (with or without CDs). Do you think they would confuse deer, raccoon, and squirrels? Maybe only if one of them is playing a song or two?

  6. Gorgeous Fern, Fred, and it WOULD have been nifty to see an image of your software CD blowing in the wind along the fence.

    … had the same set of issues to get through when our own virus protection expired several months ago and opted for AVG (the paid version however). We are very happy with it.

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