I guess that we all know that as time goes by, things change and so we have to learn a new way of doing something. When we were small, it was the radio and the movie houses that we got our inside intertainment from, and as the years went by, we progressed into using a television along with the radio for our inside intertainment. That was and still is the main source of enjoyment for most of us. Of course we try to get out as much as possible, but after a hard day at the job, we only want to stay at home and rest while watching our favorite tv show or a sporting event. Such as been the case for many a year, but now there are more things to do with your time.

I, in 1995, purchased a computer and I embarked on a journey, that to this day has been very rewarding and has helped me learn a lot more about this world and the people in it.  Starting out with a computer is sort of scary, and it takes a lot of fortitude to stay with it.  As you start out going into the depths of knowledge, that are stored in that vast world of the computer age, you find that you are lost as to how to get out of that program and back to where you started. You want to give it up because you don't understand how it works and it is making you nervous. You finally get off it and you wonder how you were able to get
off. You say to yourself that you are not going to work on it anymore.

And it isn't long before you are right back there on that computer, trying to learn more about it. And that is the answer to all your thoughts. You must keep at it and be the master of it. Don't ever let a computer take you over. You have to controll it. So you ask yourself how you are going to be able to use that computer, to help you make it in this computer age.

It is all basic, in that you learn as you go. That computer is no better than what you are. The Great Father gave all of us the greatest computer of all time and that is our brain. Your brain is only as good as the information that you put into it. The same thing goes with that piece of man-made equipment called a computer.   There is a wealth of knowledge, put in there by men and women who used their God-given brain to invent it. And you, the new user of that computer, will enter worlds that you
never knew existed.

I was very fortunate to have a grandaughter, who started me out on the right foot ,in learning about what makes that computer tick. And if it wasn't for the help of friends like Kent and Joe and Bill, who were always there to answer my questions, I don't think that I would of stayed with it. Every time I ran into a problem that I did not understand, I would write it down and then ask my three good friends how to do it. That is the best way to do it. Ask for help, because there are many of us ,out there that are  learning a new age, and we need to use each other to master that man-made computer.

As you get better, you enter into the search engines ,to get information about different things and people. That is a great way to find what you are looking for, but you really have to be careful on what words you use . As the search engines work to find what you need to know, they use keywords, to find those sites that want. If you use a certain word for the search engine to search with, you might come up with some sites,that you or your children do not want to enter. That is the bad side of using a computer. If you don't install a program, that does not let you enter the dirty sites, then you and your children will be very shocked, to see what is out there in sites put up by some of the worst kind of perverts around. The best thing to do here is to install a program, such as "Net Nanny" or any other program that will not let you enter these sites.

And there are always those hackers out there, that want to send a virus through the e-mails ,so that it will spread until it has done a lot of damage to our computers. That is where you need a good anti-virus program installed on your computer. There are lots of them out there , but like they say, you get what you pay for. That is where you use the knowledge of a good friend, or one who knows about computers.

That piece of man-made equipment costs a lot of money , and it can be an enjoyable purchase if you follow through on the advice of those, who know what they are talking about. But if it will only be a short fad for you, then I really don't think you should put out that hard earned money for it. I wiil say that it started out rough for me, when I first started using it, and now I put in about three hours a day on it, updating my web pages, and writing these articles for the Kokomo Tribune. It is a thing of enjoyment to sit down and work this computer, and make it do what I want it to do.

So, if you are thinking about investing in a computer, take time to shop around, ask questions, and to ask yourself ,if this is really what you want to do. Check out the programs out there and if possible , talk to those who have been with it for many years. Knowledge was meant to be spread around, and there is a lot of it out there for you to gain ,and store in that God-given computer called your brain.

Just remember, that as you use that man-made equipment, don't just let it sit  and get dusty. Treat it as another source of knowledge. And don't ever let it do your thinking for you. God gave us the way to learn and to store, and we need to constantly use our brain to reason with, and to learn with. If you don't use that gift that God gave us, it will gather dust and soon will not do you and me any good.

I hope that you have enjoyed reading about what I think, and I want to say that you are the reason that I write. It gives me great  pleasure to be able to be part of your past, present and future. As to what I have been able to do with my knowledge of the computer, you can check it out on one of my web pages on the internet at http://www.geocities.com/kokomoman/  All of this was only reachable because of what God has given me . The most important of which is called my brain. Thanks for reading and God Bless each and everyone of you.

Ray "Uncle Ray" Day