Technophobia

Imagine my delight when I got home from work this evening to find that Bert was having a lovely bonfire after he’d hacked back some horrendously overgrown shrubs. Then imagine my rage when he suggested that I ‘might like to get stuck into that buddleia.’ Stuck into that buddleia? You spend a hard day desk-jockeying for the construction industry and before you’ve even got a second to enjoy a cup of coffee you’re being invited to get stuck into a buddleia. Naturally I told him to wise up. It was then he told me the phones weren’t working.

I bought new phones on Saturday. Our old phones were D-O-N-E. They wouldn’t hold a charge any more. We were missing calls.

After a 24-hour charge I plugged in the phones in and straightaway test-phoned Matty. All was well. We received a few calls on Sunday evening. So I assumed that the new phones were a big success.

So when I heard they were buggered my first thought was that Bert had been playing with the phone and hit the stupid button and knocked the whole system off. So then I got out the manual and tried messing with the buttons myself. No joy. Then I had a go at testing our line over the internet. Our connection was working but the test site wasn’t. Then I phoned somebody real at BT. She was very helpful and advised me to remove the face plate and try the phone straight into the hole behind the plate. This meant getting out my lady toolbox with its dinky little screwdrivers and hammers. (Bert is not allowed to touch my lady toolbox.) I stuck the phone straight into the hole behind the plate and it worked. Which was good. Unfortunately I lost my broadband connection. Fortunately I got it back again when I stuck the phone into the hole in front of the plate again. Unfortunately the bloody phone stopped working again.

Sometimes I wish I was a bloke and cared enough about this sort of thing to never give up until it was all sorted. Sometimes I wish Bert was a bloke who cared enough….

And don’t even get me started on my new computer.

Do I go for Linux and embark on a steep learning curve that may involve the tearing of hair and lots of gnashing or do I stay with Windows XP? I’m torn.

Mad Dog Drops By

Mad Dog came by to look at the new laptop. He says he is thinking of getting himself a new computer. His last one one was a Spectrum 7x so I reckon it's time he had an update.

The photograph was taken with the camera that is embedded in the laptop. I told him he looks like "the Divil".

New Laptop

I'm writing this post on my new laptop. Zoe's beloved has just spent the best part of two hours fixing it up for me. The time spent also included a bit of a tutorial.

D: And this is how you switch it on.

N: Oh yes.

D: And this is how you switch it off.

N: Riiight.

There was other really complicated stuff but I like to think I've grasped the basics.

The machine is an Acer 5102WLMi.

I'm on a steep learning curve here because I've started the course where I'm supposed to end up as an ICT tutor. Luckily I have the perfect guinea pig to practice on - Bert. He hasn't a notion about computers and I'm going to teach him. This time next year he'll have his own blog. Won't that be good?