The Palm Beach Post from West Palm Beach, Florida • Page 55

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1996 4 The Palm Beach Post SECTION AMERICANS USING THEIR NOODLES As Americans become more health-conscious, pasta is becoming more popular. A recent survey found 76 percent of Americans eat pasta one to three times a week. INSIDE HEED WARNINGS ON MEDICINES Don't take label warnings for granted when using over-the-counter pain relievers. HEALTH NEWS, PAGE 3D Palm Beach County Living ACCENT living Grandparents: Mind your own beeswax It's inevitable. Your computer will fail you someday.

Here are some common problems and what you can do about them. Grandparenting is easy. Never hesitate to tell your kids how to rear their kids. Persist until blue flames shoot out of their heads. Wrong! The fact that you had your own child farm once does not entitle you to offer advice, according to Lillian Carson, grandmother of nine and author of The Essential Grandparent ($10.95, Health Communications I called the Los Angeles psychother- when ij apist ana argued mat i grandparents cannot possibly be expected 1 vou to sit on a mother lode of child-rearing experience without risking stroke.

It's tough, she admitted. "About the worst thing you can do is Ron Wiggins PC give your children advice for their own good. What I suggest is that you find things parents are doing and praise them." We'll try that in the next lifetime. For now, how do we get in our 2 cents' worth without being told to go soak our heads? "You are entitled to your point of view," Carson said, "but you are not, I repeat, NOT entitled to meddle. Take a deep breath and remember not to make suggestions without being asked.

Don't kid yourself by thinking that asking a question really isn't interference." Drea clow By STEPHEN POUNDS Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Right. Like you have nine grandchildren and kept quiet. "Of course when we see things we would do differently, we struggle with it. When I walk into my son's house and the TV is on incessantly, I think this is really a bad idea. One of the things I .,.1 I- Mike Riiss is not your average computer schmo.

The 80-year-old former Navy pilot and chief engineer on the aircraft carrier USS Leyte has been fiddling with personal computers since the ROB BARGEStaff Artist Disaster List If you own a computer, at least one of these is probably in your future. DEAD BATTERY: You thought your machine was all electric? Think again. MODEM MALFUNCTION: Easy to diagnose: No Internet, no e-mail, no chat. HARD DRIVE FAILURE: Backed up your system recently? You'll wish you had. MONITOR MELTDOWN: Your computer works normally, but you can't see what it's doing.

COMPONENT COLLAPSE: Everything from the power supply to the motherboard can crash, and you could be to blame. So, Is The Plug In The Wall? If your computer isn't working, make sure you check these basics before you call the repairman. IS IT PLUGGED IN? Don't laugh. Electrical cords have minds of their own. Unplug everything and plug it in again.

If you're using a power strip, make sure you didn't accidentally flick off the switch. IS THERE POWER IN THE OUTLET? Unplug the computer and plug a lamp in the socket. Does it work? If not, you may have a blown fuse, not a broken PC. CABLE CONNECTIONS TIGHT? Loose connections between the cables that connect your computer to your printer, monitor and other peripherals can make your system appear broken. Push the connectors in as far as they'll go.

Remove and reattach ones that don't seem fully seated. POP THE HOOD: Many problems involve loose internal connections that don't take an engineering degree to fix. Unplug the machine, remove the screws at the back and lift the cover. Inside you'll find the green circuit boards that control your monitor, printer, modem and sound equipment. Press down firmly on each to make sure it is seated in its slot.

Source: Michael J. Himowiti, Fortune magaiine, '1996 Time Inc. early 1980s. lie won't hesitate to crack open the back of a computer and switch a motherboard or hard drive or video card. "I went from a 286 (microprocessor) to a 386 to 486.

Swapping out a component is easy," Riiss, with four patents to his credit, brags. "I don't like to pay $40 to $70 for something I can do myself. It's like what working on a car was before cars became too complicated." But for those who bought their first computer with the words "Pentium, please," the task of repairing your own machine can be daunting. Riiss, of North Palm Beach, sees the fear in his friends' eyes as they ask why their PC is beeping or why it isn't. "This information age has exploded so fast, it's not surprising to me that most Joe Blows who want to use the Internet don't know how to put in a modem," he said.

Riiss' message: If you're not computer savvy, don't make complicated repairs on a $2,500 appliance. If you know which component is broken, maybe you can replace it. If you're not sure, ask before popping the cabinet. Please see REPAIRS7D carson old, 'Let's turn off the TV set and read a I keep up with my 11-year-old granddaughter's interests, so now I'm looking for books and stories about astronomy." What happens when your kids don't like the way you reared them? "Becoming a grandparent opens an opportunity for healing some of those breaches. There can be an edge here, all the more reason to give parents room and not jump in with advice." My own parents never understood why my brothers would tolerate children who interrupt adult conversations.

"I see many cases where parents react to an authoritarian upbringing by an over-permissiveness with their own kids that drives grandparents crazy. You can ask the child directly not to interrupt." I had one last question: How do you sneak behind your kids' backs and help your grandchildren grow into healthy adults despite their parents' bungling? "First, it's healthy for us to have our own lives," Carson said. "If we build our lives around our children and grandchildren, we can become a burden. If you don't read anything else in my book, read the four major tasks of the grandparent." I'll do better than that. I'll cite them: 1.

Help your grandchildren believe in themselves through unconditional love. 2. Model a good life, living with enthusiasm and taking care of yourselves. 3. Remind your grandchildren they belong to something bigger than themselves, a family with roots.

4. Be there with security and stability, the helping hand and a safety net. a Lillian Carson will sign her book at Liberties in Boca Raton, p.m. Tuesday. 1 Ik.

SURFMASTERS GAME GUY Need help getting ready for the SAT? Five computer-savvy teens show you where to find it on the Web. STORY, PAGE 7D Our game guru tees off with Arnold Palmer, Greg Norman and other pros in three golf simulations on CD-ROM. REVIEWS, PAGE 6D For the latest technology news, plus columns and computer features, visit the Click Here Web site at http:www.pbpost.comclickhere Bye-bye, Big Boy: Comic creator loses meal ticket Which Of These Guys Must Go? When we killed Sherman 's Lagoon to make room for a new comic, Tommy, on Oct. 7, approximately 200 readers called to complain. So, here's your choice: Of these three strips, which would you kill? Sherman 's Lagoon, Andy Capp or Born Loser? Call today votes will be tallied on Monday.

(To vent your feelings about all the comics, watch for a comics poll in January.) To cast your vote: Call 820-4511 in Palm Beach County, (561) 337-0511 in MartinSt. Lucie or toll-free from anywhere, dial 930-2511. Enter line number 7779. To vote to ki Andy Capp, press 1. To vote to kill Born Loser, press 2.

To vote to kill Sherman's Lagoon, press 3. Tfcl uunch Loretta Grantham Ponder, for a moment, the bloated icon we call Big Boy. Red-and-white checked overalls, soft-serve ice cream swirl of hair and a smile so innocent it's unsettling. The guy behind the hamburger-hoisting symbol, however, couldn't be more unlike his creation. Svelte Manfred Bernhard, 79, has a diamond stud earring, a gray ponytail, a waterfront pad in West Palm Beach and a knack for nailing pop culture icons.

"A young apprentice artist did the original design," he says, as we wander past his father's paintings, which fill his Flagler Drive apartment. "The idea was fine, but it wasn't executed very well. Big Boy had this moronic expression, and his T-shirt was hanging out. "He was holding up a hamburger with a bite already taken out of it, and I said, 'Nobody wants to order It Please see IORETTA5D a U. i SHERMAN ZENTSlaff Photographer 'The underlying theme has always been for kids to do the right thing says Manfred Bernhard of Big Boy.

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