Had some plans for what could have been an enjoyable weekend. What happens? My father-in-law somehow managed to screw up the parents’ TV and hifi setup. They couldn’t hear the TV thru the built-in speakers so I donated an old amp and bookshelf speakers to the cause (knew this would bite me in the arse at some point). Well, Dad got in there and pushed the crap out of all the buttons. Mom can’t troubleshoot anything more complicated than an Etch-A-Sketch even with detailed instructions, so now we have to drive five hours there and five hours back to fix things. Likely just need to restore settings.
Neither of them can keep their place up anymore, they’re not even getting the farming done (the neighbours are keeping them going) and they refuse to move. Dad should be in a bloody home because of his dementia. Neither of their kids will confront them about it (wife’s brother fled to another province).
So tired of this.
I’ve been promised that this is my first Xmas free of them in two decades because of my work schedule (I carefully don’t take more than two days off in a row now), but I don’t trust them not to screw it up somehow. They’ve ruined nearly every major holiday for me since I met my wife.
I can fix their computer via Team Viewer. I can’t physically push buttons from five hours away. They even lost one of the remotes for the TV so we couldn’t verify settings thru it, they only still have the satellite remote. I have a programmable one I’m taking so I can access the TV settings. Lord knows if we’ll find the remote they lost or not.
Mate. 10 hours. That is ridiculous and know you need to look after them. Isn’t there a local reputable dealer to deal with it? It’s probably an easy fix as you say. Damn. 10 hours of driving there and back is a lot of gas money in itself.
Outsource…it’s the modern equivalent to better business!
I was the reputable local dealer when I ran Meadowlark PC. That service has been gone from said region since I shut down and left. Keep in mind that the population density out there is 0.11/km². That’s a lot compared to your Outback region (0.015 per km²), but as you well know, those numbers don’t support much in the way of services. The hospitals there barely work for farmer/redneck (hold my beer) injuries and can’t cope with things like women in childbirth. Car dealerships? Nope! Affordable groceries? Nope! Electronics servicing? Nope!
Yeah fair cop. Didn’t consider the vast distances involved! I forget that Canada is like us. Most of our settlement is around the coast. There’s no one out west! My bad!
Couldn’t drive out after work today, it’s below freezing and it’s pouring rain across the chunk of the province we need to travel. Said rain to be followed by snow. I’m a good winter driver, but I’m not that good. We are going to leave tomorrow and stay overnight, come back Sunday. This ensures we now ruin the entire weekend. Just wonderful.
I never had an in-law problem because I never married. I had one crush on a guy but never wanted to meet his parents so the relationship never got off the ground.
Update: The problem that we couldn’t fix over the phone was that the amplifier was on the VIDEO input rather than the TV SOUND input. Apparently telling the mother-in-law to try pushing every button at the top right corner of the unit was too complicated.
Wow. Just wow. I really feel for you. My in-law problem isn’t something I can discuss, but suffice it to say, I don’t have to deal with him. My dad is kind of like your in-laws, though. He can’t remember his passwords, doesn’t know how to delete stuff, can’t remember which button is for internet access, etc. I have all of his passwords here just in case he needs them. He keeps changing them, though, and if he doesn’t tell me, I can’t help him figure it out.
All of the inlaws’ online accounts use a GMail account that I have control of. I’ve setup rules that auto forward everything to their own GMail account (which uses the first account as a backup address). I don’t read their stuff, this just lets me recover when dad changes passwords every two weeks and can’t remember. I also have remote access to their computer via Team Viewer and backup access via Chrome Remote Desktop in case they sabotage the first option, which they did once.
I do this stuff all the time with my grandparents. Well mostly my grandma. Every week she’s complaining she has a problem with her internet, the internet is code for Facebook. Always something simple. I generally don’t complain about it much because she has been there for me. It’s just the stubbornness of that generation.
Been here for five and a half hours and the suicidal ideation is already cranking up. That’s how you know when you’re in a healthy environment. Popped an Ativan (BE PREPARED!) and am trying to lose myself in remixes on Youtube.
Sounds like your in-laws lack of a bit of training in how to use modern technology. I fear that I could become a burden to my son if I don’t keep up with the pace of the development of new electronic devices. One has to learn new things even if you are older than 80.
Squirrelette made a smart-ass remark about having to help me keep up with tech someday in the near future. I took her downstairs to my soldering station and told her she could help me recap the Pioneer amp I’m restoring. That shut her up.
