Mr Peabody, set the wayback machine for two weeks ago!

That wasn't quite how I intended to start the new year, but it is exactly what I had to do. I picked up a nasty virus on my computer and after I got rid of it, I found many of my security files were trashed or completely deleted. Bummer!

You see, I got my wife this new toy for the holidays and wanted to get some videos to try it out. Since I don't have any way that's obvious to me to turn a DVD or home movie into a digital file, I thought well, everyone is always talking about watching movies and such online. I never do it myself but my friends brag about all the things they download, and for the fun of trying this thing out I'll give it a whirl just once.

So I went in search of something. Oh there were plenty to find that were silly and useless but oh no, I was looking for something she might actually enjoy, something to dazzle her. Based on a tip from someone I followed a lead and....

This is where things get tricky. My virus checking software was screaming at me no no no but I thought listen bub I'll be in and out, how much trouble could I get visiting one scary website just long enough to download some file? Like 5 minutes? Thus I ignored my well meaning but overly paranoid do-goodie anti-virus and plowed on in. Annoyingly, I couldn't get the file because apparently I had to tell them my life story and give a kidney. Even though I get kidney stones, I'd druther keep them both thank you, and I got outta there fast. No harm no foul, right? Well.... Something followed me home and I found myself in a bad situation. Fortunately I have backups I do regularly, and was able (after killing the evil thing off) to restore all my files and live happily ever after, sadder but wiser.

Yes, I am imploring you to NOT follow this example! I know it's a new year, maybe you are a teen and are "one year older and closer to being an adult" and want to dabble in adult things. Maybe you are an older person who thinks their life is slipping by and they want to try something they never have before (that they think they are missing out on!) And so you say "I've never done this before but my worldly friends do much worse, what will just a quick sample of sin really hurt?"

And you see things that are mild and actually pretty tame, but no you've decided if you are going to try this you are going to not be a wimp but have this one thing to brag about, so you can impress your friends. Of course your godly friends are saying no no no this is a bad idea but what do those goodie-two-shoes know about fun? Besides how much trouble could you get into in just one evening/event/whatever?

Except here's the thing. You can't fire up the wayback machine and repair a reputation which now has people referring to you as a lush, easy, or just plain stupid. You can't become "unpregnant" if that should be the result. There's no backup of your life you can call on to wipe the memory and damage away you've done. However there IS a wayback machine for you! Want to know about it?

OK here it is - This is your friend Randy. You did the bad thing and were only able to send ME back to warn you before you did. This is a message from a future you, the one that can't fix things before they happened, and the message is for the current you, who hasn't done it yet. Here's the message. Take it seriously.

→Don't!← ...See how easy that was?

Randy