Computers seem to be making life worse and worse

Remember 1992, the year it seemed as if everything that could go wrong for the royal family in the UK did go wrong?

Chuck and Di separated and eventually divorced, Fergie got her toes sucked and was photographed topless. Oh, and Windsor Castle almost burned down.

Speaking of an anus horribilis ...

Other that the fact that she was still on the young side of 70, Queen Elizabeth II didn't have much good to say about 1992. What was it she called it? Oh, yes.

"An anus horribilis."

"Annus, not anus."

"Well, she was prostate with grief."

"Prostrate with grief, a joke none of you will get unless you saw Richard Lester's 'Finders Keepers.'"

So maybe I should get to the point.

The year 2017 has been, shall we say, of the annus horribilis variety for me as it approaches the three-quarters mark.  On my wife's birthday in March, she slipped outside the paint store and fell on her right shoulder, fracturing it.

In July, I bought an iPad 2 through eBay only to have it stolen in transit. It was actually a pretty complex theft, one that made it look as if someone had signed for it at my front door. At a time when I was home. Oops. No refund. Bye bye iPad.

Then came the third Wednesday in September.

Yesterday.

I checked my balance online.

No deposit.

Again today.

No luck.

So I went to the local Social Security office and waited for 45 minutes for the privilege of someone telling me my check had been diverted to an account in my name at a bank in Killeen, Texas.

"Yippie ki yay, motherf --!"

I should eventually get my money back, and if I don't, it's not like I'll be destitute. Still, it may be time to take a long look at home much faith we're putting into computers.

I certainly don't trust voting machines anymore. The last Republican I'm certain was really elected president was in 1988 when Poppy Bush beat Mike Dukakis; since then we have traded faith in our elections for speed in finding out who won.

All of the last three "victories" by Republicans have come under suspicious circumstances by voting machines. There's no record and no way of knowing how many votes were actually cast. Ronald Reagan said trust but verify. W.C. Fields said trust but cut the cards.

Is there anyone in politics today who would have the trust of everyone on both sides?

Jimmy Carter? Not the far right.

Colin Powell? Maybe, but I doubt the far right would believe him either.

I think when it comes down to it, the only way to rebuild faith in our elections is to go old school -- in-person registration, paper ballots. No problem with extended voting, but I think we need to cut back on mail-in voting.

There may be some areas in which we can't go back. Medical records, corporate inventories, personnel records. I'm pretty sure we're farther down all those roads than we should be, but I don't really think we can go back.

At least until we're forced to.

Then we really will be prostate, er, prostrate with grief.