Cold Hard Disk

I convinced myself that I wasn't reliant on computers. I don't get to spent too much time using 'em at work, and when I get home its a few hours online, then forgetaboudit...

And then the computer blew up.

A weird noise from inside somewhere then the game was up. Nowt would move.

I think the restart probably did the rest, because when the darned thing got going again it was all that MS DOS stuff. That's when I get a little impatient with the whole computing thing.

I got on the phone to the techie support via a phone number I had written down. Typically the warranty had expired, so it was out with the credit card before they'd tell you the time.

Then I'm hanging on the telephone into the small hours instead of chucking the damn thing in the wheelybin. This goes on for so long that I never want to talk on a phone again.

Did they solve it? Naw.

So the thing was packed up in a box and delivered to the local computer fixer.

He's a regular charmer - the sort who looks down his nose at anyone who owns a computer that's more than six months old. But he talked the talk and walked the walk. So I left the crate with him.

"You sure I haven't lost everything?" " No problem - It'll be ready by next Tuesday..."

So I'm laptop free and hanging in there. No withdrawal symptoms so far. I've got our lasses computer if I get desperate. And I'm back using hotmail to keep communicating. And using the text on the cellie to keep in touch.

Which is how I'm communicating this blog, by the way, instead of doing it the high tech method. I kept track of the football results thanks to good old teletext, which still does the business when it comes to finding stuff out.

Who needs a computer anyway. If I get desperate I can go down the library and get out one of those book things. With pages and writing and everything. They are amazing them books. You don't have to plug 'em in or charge 'em up or anything! Totally portable and lightweight. Major fact storage capacity. Totally interactive.

Given the right sort of publicity this sort of thing could really catch on..

- B