A week or so ago I decided to try to see if I could get the digital TV antenna to work better than it had at Bay View. Fred pulled the RV out on the pad and rather than plug in shore power (a ten-step walk) I decided to just fire up the generator, because, after all, you need to run them, right?

The View's systems are a bit complex. Instead of rotating a valve on an external tank, you turn the propane on by pushing a button. That I didn't know about. I fired up the generator just fine, except it soon sputtered to a halt, and would not start again.  Oh boy. 

As I write about the latest View repair, I'm suddenly reminded of a Microsoft story.... 

During the ill-fated Windows Vista launch, Asus built proof-of-concept laptop prototypes for the marketing team. I shamelessly begged for the ultra-thin pearl white one, which, tellingly, never made it into production.

The laptop was as slow and buggy as it was beautiful, earning its nickname Fabio. Our steamy romance lasted just weeks, as Fabio's hardware flaws proved fatal. Even though he was dumb and difficult, it was a tough loss. 

The shiny, tempestuous View is bringing back those painful memories. I feel guilty, as if it may jinx everything, but I've already started thinking of her as Giselle. (Seahawk fans will know why.)