My Chrome-plated browsing experience

This device is old, in computer years --- and resistant to change. It runs a version of Windows that will not support the latest variety of Internet Explorer, represented by a familiar icon I've been clicking for as long as I've been computing.

The number of annoying messages has accelerated this year --- demanding an upgrade to a "modern" browser, warning that scripts hazardous to my browsing experience were running, notifying that an obsolete browser was forcing favorite sites into "compatablility view" mode.

Finally, when a Web site I wanted to examine refused to open in Explorer the other day I hit "upgrade" and in about five minutes had installed Google Chrome. Seamlessly. Now everything operates smoothly --- and quickly --- lots of gain, no pain.

The only complication is the "Store" icon on the Chrome cover page --- offering hundreds of free aps. Can't stay away from it. Can't stop playing, adding, removing, repeating the process.

The neighbor and I talked this out yesterday. He's experiencing a similar crisis of browser. His wife and children keep telling him there's nothing to fear. Now I'm able to add, "nothing to fear but fear itself."

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If the forecast is to be trusted, a three-day window of sunshine (partial at least) is opening before the rains resume. We've been lucky so far (fingers crossed) that it's been just rain and not the awful storms that have struck farther south and southwest.

But the grass keeps growing and I still have three big planters to fill, four big hostas to get in the ground, five borders to trim --- and maybe a partridge in a pear tree, too.

There's not going to be time for much else.

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It looked for a while yesterday as if marriage equality legislation would pass in the Illinois Legislature before it adjourned, but that didn't happen. The sponsor of the House bill pulled it when it became evident there were (narrowly) insufficient votes. So that debate will resume in the fall.

Pro-equality forces credited pressure from the Roman Catholic and black protestant wings of Christianity for the setback. Discriminatory stances on these fronts always seems a little odd, although not unexpected. Just a few years ago, if I remember correctly, the protestant majority looked upon Catholics and black people as sub-human, too. But what can you do?