Has Anyone Seen the Remote?

I will admit to being, in the past, what might be called "remote challenged."  Steve could not keep his patty-paws off electronics, and was continually swapping out this for that, hooking one thing to and/or through another, and buying bigger and better remote controls.  The problem was that it would sometimes take three different remotes to just turn on the television.  Having been a transcriptionist for many, many years, I tend to be a kinetic person, using muscle memory to touch the keys without looking.  I would howl with frustration when he'd tell me he'd gotten a new remote, and also when I'd punch a key and lose the picture or sound...whatever.  In October 2005, he announced he was switching us to a new satellite company.  Oh goody...that meant a new remote...and the day after it was installed, he had to leave for a three-day seminar.  I couldn't even turn on the television, and now we had a DVR!  I sat for three days with the remote in one hand and the instruction manual in the other, going page by page until I could make that sucker do everything but make dinner and dust.  Recently the receiver went funky and the company sent me a new one...to install myself.  No problemo, even though it also meant reprogramming everything.  The situation now is this:  the ceiling fan also works by remote.