a boing moment
discover things when bored
finally found my word count system
more creative when bored
should be bored more often
Another Amazing Discovery
By pyewacket
@pyewacket (43903)
United States
September 26, 2008 9:22pm CST
You know....I think I should be bored more often...LOL. I seem to be either at my most creative or discover new things about my computer that I didn't know before.
Now for a long time it drove me nuts that since I have a Mac computer, I have a different word processing system..one is Text Edit, the other Pages. So in other words I don't have Microsoft Office. I knew Microsoft Office for instance had a word count feature so you knew how many words you had written in any document...this was/is particularly helpful if you're a writer and maybe there is a word count limit.
So it frustrated me, that my word processing system didn't have a word count...I actually had to sit and count words for articles if there was a limit...enough to drive one batty.
Well like I said, tonight I'm in one of my restless and bored moods...so out of the blue I decided..crap...there just HAS to be a word count feature in my word processor...I had even asked one of my friends who has only used Mac computers ...I thought if anyone knew she would...she didn't
Okay so here I am puttering around....I open up my Pages processor and I'm looking at the links to click...there was one gizmo, an italicized "i" in a blue circle and underneath are the words "inspector"....never explored it..so click on it...so out pops a dialog box with a zillion things to click on...I click on the icon that looks like a text page....which opens up to another dialog box...then there are tabs to click..Document...TOC...Info. I click each one and come upon the Info one...and a table comes up there are boxes that show up that one can fill in...Author, Title, Keywords, Comments...then underneath are the words...Words, Pages, Lines, and on and on...So ladies and gentlemen....I FOUND THE FRIGGIN WORD COUNT..where even my genius Mac friend user didn’t know about.....feel like calling her up and go nah, nah, nah, nah, nah
So...do you sometimes find you are either more creative when bored, or discover something, anything while bored that you might not have discovered or created otherwise in your non bored state?
5 people like this
15 responses
@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
27 Sep 08
y aknow what never thought of it that way as I try never to be bored. but I do look alover in the puter for new things to use or not use. the one thing I would like to really find out is ho do I get rid of a lot of folders and things I neer use!
2 people like this
@BarBaraPrz (51811)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
27 Sep 08
Curiosity killed the cat... so I nap. =^..^= -zzz
Seriously though, if I feel like using a word processor, I usually go back to OS 9 so I can use my Microsoft Word rather than the Appleworks... didn't even know it was called Pages (had to check in my applications list to see if I had it). But I've never needed to count my words, so didn't even know (or perhaps forgot) we could in Word.
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
28 Sep 08
Maybe the Pages is only in the later Macs...I have the OS X 10.4.10 Tiger Edition...love how all the systems are named after cats...heehee
1 person likes this
@BarBaraPrz (51811)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
28 Sep 08
No, I do have it, just wasn't aware of it. (I have OS 10.4.11)
1 person likes this
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
27 Sep 08
I have only used word, did that program not have a help or tutorial?
2 people like this
@BarBaraPrz (51811)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
27 Sep 08
She probably never needed to use it...
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
27 Sep 08
Of course my program had both help and tutorial, but when I typed in word count nothing came up....Like I said..I asked my friend about word count....she has never used anything but Mac computers and is an expert on them, yet when I asked her, even she didn't know..so it pleased me no end that I discovered it on my own
1 person likes this
@ronaldinu (12422)
• Malta
27 Sep 08
My question is Mac's are really more user friendly than PC's nowadays? They used to be more user friendly than Pc some time ago but I have my doubt whether this really holds now.
2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
27 Sep 08
I totally think Macs are more user friendly..first and foremost the most important issue, Mac users don't have to worry about picking up viruses...PC users usually have to have a ton of protective anti-spyware and virus protection software...we don't ...not to say that there aren't viruses that can affect Mac users but the chances are real slim as the majority of viruses are aimed at PC users...I don't even have anti virus protection software and am still going strong
1 person likes this
@kenzie45230 (3560)
• United States
27 Sep 08
I'm so envious of you having a Mac. I had never used one until I worked for a newspaper and I loved it. As a dinosaur who had used DOS commands for years, I had to make myself a cheat sheet about the commands to use on the Mac for things like copying and pasting. 
Myself, I had an "ancient" computer up until March - a Gateway I purchased in 1999 - with Windows 98. Then I got this wonderful reconditioned Dell with XP in March and I'm still making discoveries on it.
Myself, I had an "ancient" computer up until March - a Gateway I purchased in 1999 - with Windows 98. Then I got this wonderful reconditioned Dell with XP in March and I'm still making discoveries on it.2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
28 Sep 08
Yup, I probably will find more things on my computer
1 person likes this
@blackbriar (9075)
• United States
28 Sep 08
And I bet when you go back to find the thing you accidently found the first time, it 'disappears'. In other words, you forgot how you found it the first time. lol I'm really good at doing that, gabs.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
28 Sep 08
Well I often find things if I'm looking for one thing and come across something else too but I seem to find things better when I'm bored...LOL
blackbriar That often happens to me when I've suddenly discovered some new technique to use in my Photoshop...I get all excited about some new special effect to apply on my photos, the next time I try and use it.....forget how I did it...wwaaahhhhhh
@Aussies2007 (5336)
• Australia
28 Sep 08
The problem with the programs of today... is that they are so huge... that one never get the chance to learn it all.
A so called "expert"... working with Microsoft Office every day... would only know about 20 per cent of it. He knows about all the features that he is using to do his job. But he knows nothing about the features that he has not yet used... and probably never will.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
29 Sep 08
My neighbor downstairs has a Mac..but he has the newer Leopard edition of Mac while I still have Tiger (Macs must have a thing about naming their programs after cats...LOL) He's always asking me how to do this how to do that...and I'm like...duh? I'm sure there are similarities to both editions...but it would be the equivalent of a person who still uses Windows XP versus a person using Vista...there are differences as well
@teapotmommommerced (10359)
• United States
27 Sep 08
Good for you. You found it yayayayaya
I think I would have typed in at the help part (Word counter) then push send. It many have helped you.
I just bought Microsoft office/student package. It was on sale and I had a coupon for 45 dollars off. I downloaded this morning. With my job I think I needed an upgraded version of office. I am so pleased because if I buy it from Microsoft is it over thee hundred dollars. I am glad I waited until I found it on sale. The best part is it is compatible with the 2000 version that I use to have.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
28 Sep 08
Nope I did that scores of times by typing in "word count" in my help section and got nada. I even have this gigantic manual type book I got about my particular edition of Mac computer and looked in it...also nothing. So am real glad I found it by myself.
Glad to hear you upgraded your processor
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
28 Sep 08
most people who have Macs really don't use them big time for their word processing capabilities but for their superior graphics capabilities...being a photographer that's why I got it...but just so happens being a writer I need the word processor. One can get Microsoft Word for Macs...but cost a bit much...
1 person likes this
@teapotmommommerced (10359)
• United States
28 Sep 08
I am glad you had time to search for your self. You should call Apple or someone and complain.
1 person likes this
@zigzagbuddha (4601)
• United States
27 Sep 08
How UN-user friendly to have to go on such a complex search to find the word count tool in a word processor function!! Jeez! I hope you don't have to go through that rigmarole every time you want a word count!?! But I know exactly how you're feeling... it is such a rewarding thing to resolve longtime issues just because you got energetic and went exploring when you were bored instead of simply sitting there quietly going mad, hehehe.
I had a bunch of shelves once that I was going to hang when I got the room they were going in ready. In the meantime I put them behind a closet door, that always remained open, to get them out of the way till I was ready for them.
Well, one day I figured I was ready to hang those shelves but I could not for the life of me remember where I had put them. I searched that house up and down (there was a basement and an attic) looking for those friggin' shelves! After a couple of gut-churning days of futile search I had to let it go or tear my hair out by the roots, or smash the place apart with a sledge-hammer!
A couple of weeks later, after I had calmed down and forgotten about those freaking shelves I was bored one day and decided that rather than lounge around at my computer sucking down coffee and cigs, that I would 'be a good girl' and clean the area around the bird's cage instead. I had to close the closet door to get to the seeds that were all over the floor and lo & behold, there were those shelves leaning against the wall, right where I had put them, acting like good little children!
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
28 Sep 08
I guess a Mac computer does sound more complicated..it's not really once you get used to it..which I'm STILL doing...the problem is I still remember how PCs work so I have to get that out of my mind since the way a PC works isn't how a Mac works.
As for those shelves....I've done that too. I "misplace" something and for the life of me can't find it...I put it in a "safe" place which means I may not find it until a year later...LOL...sure enough it's when I'm NOT looking for whatever it is, is when I find it
1 person likes this
@littleowl (7157)
•
28 Sep 08
Hi Pye--my answer to that is sometimes I get a bit more creative othertimes I will sit at the computer and wonder how can I do this and that but am always afraid of crashing it!! 
so never delve too far..at the moment am using my son's computer and everytime I turn it on it tells me that it is full with 1600 and something mg's as this is a basic laptop I just close the box as I really don't know what it means or what to do about it..have you got any idea as you seem to be more in the know of how to do things on the comp'?..bb littleowl
-my answer to that is sometimes I get a bit more creative othertimes I will sit at the computer and wonder how can I do this and that but am always afraid of crashing it!! so never delve too far..at the moment am using my son's computer and everytime I turn it on it tells me that it is full with 1600 and something mg's as this is a basic laptop I just close the box as I really don't know what it means or what to do about it..have you got any idea as you seem to be more in the know of how to do things on the comp'?..bb littleowl1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
28 Sep 08
MG's usually have something to do with the hard drive or memory..uh, I think...LOL
Laptops usually don't have as much memory or hard drive space, so maybe it's warning that the disc drive or memory is getting too full????
Laptops usually don't have as much memory or hard drive space, so maybe it's warning that the disc drive or memory is getting too full????@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
29 Sep 08
I think perhaps the best thing to do is try and eliminate some files you have....old letters, documents, photos...photos especially take up a lot of storage space...I routinely do that myself. Otherwise you have two options...one to get an external hard drive to store more stuff, or get more memory or hard drive....both options though are kind of expensive
@littleowl (7157)
•
29 Sep 08
Hi pye..yes it is full but it is a basic home laptop..apart from backing it up is there anything else I can do to get some more space? Am totally naive as to what to do littleowl
littleowl1 person likes this
@zhuuraan (961)
• United States
27 Sep 08
Lol pye you always seem to start the most interesting discussions lol. I agree that sometimes you find or discover things better when bored. It's kind of like the thing where you search and search for a lost item and you can't find it. Then, when you aren't looking for it, you find it, and what's more, it was right under your nose the whole time! lol. Okay so that wasn't quite right under your nose, but you found it anyway, way to go!
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
28 Sep 08
I can't tell you how true that is...trying to find something, and not finding it, then when you're NOT really looking for it...you find it
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
27 Sep 08
Nice going Pye! I knew you'd find it! Now my question to
you is where is the one on Microsoft? I know where the
line counter is, but not the word counter. So I'm not
too bright either. So don't be too hard on your friend!
Some of us are slower than others!lol I just don't have
the patience and the determination that you do. You don't
seem to get all bent out of shape with stuff like that.
Hell, you put things together like it's nothing. I would
have been crying and tearing out my hair and would have
been bald if I did some of the things you did! So even
it I am bored I don't look for things to do like you do!
I'm very content to just veg out!
2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
27 Sep 08
I sent you an email...but will answer here...It's been awhile since I've used a PC type computer...and do remember there is a word count thingie..just where to find it??....I'll have to look at this book I have about PCs ..the uh, PCs For Dummies book...LOL...I'm sure it'll mention about finding word count..when I do I'll email you and tell you.
1 person likes this
@asselg1984 (375)
• Philippines
27 Sep 08
I was too bored in the house when I decided to open my laptop, I don't use it often because I have no internet connection, and my elder sister borrowed it and when she returned it, it was already infected :( and when I tried to see what is really in it, I found the voice recognition, wow! I did not think that I could use my voice to command the computer, but I did not try because I did not have some mic also.
i am interested and willing to discover more about it if ever i will get my own internet.
happy myloting!
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
27 Sep 08
Mmmm...now you got me wondering if my computer has a voice recognition thing...well, maybe next time I'm bored I'll try and find it...LOL
1 person likes this
@tamarafireheart (15384)
•
27 Sep 08
Hi pye,
Well done to you for finding what you were looking for but as for me I dare not fiddle around on the computer because I am afraid I might do something wrong, as I have only master to use it to only do Mylot, but I have got microsoft works for my poems and I have been neglecting it since I've been on Mylot, I should go back to it soon.
Bright Blessings
Tamara
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
28 Sep 08
I tend to be hesitant also...its like if I make a weird mistake it's not like I can call one of my friends and ask how to get something back to normal, since they all use PCs....
