I'm Back. Did You Miss Me? Did You Even Care That I Was Gone?

[Paul]

Some of you may have noticed that I have not been here for a few weeks, then earlier today caught up on posting to a few of the threads I had missed. Here is the reason. (To some this may appear like an excuse to be gone for a few days, not a few weeks, but remember three out of seven days were lost to dialysis, and a few of the in between days were lost to feeling too rough from dialysis to do anything useful.)

Burn's Night - I did the thing properly. Imported a proper haggis from a proper Scottish butcher north of the border (i.e. from the actual Scotland). Got out the whiskey and gave the haggis the proper Burn's Night salute before eating. Unfortunately I was reading the salute from a web page (it is a long poem) and I managed to spill the whisky on the keyboard. The result was that the keyboard got drunk. Whatever I typed, it produced gibberish instead ("The quick brown fox..." would come out as "!pz2*gy! pro9y$ Got+34U9 ......"). Tried to dry it out, no luck, so ordered a new keyboard. While waiting for it to arrive, I tried using the on screen keyboard that is hidden away in Windows "ease of use" folder. "Ease of use" is a misnomer, it is very difficult and slow to use, so I only typed short messages with it, and then only when I had to.

While I was waiting for the new keyboard I fell asleep while using the computer and when I woke up the screen was blank. Rebooting still gave me a blank screen, realised I would have to take the computer apart to fix it.

Two days later (too tired that night and the next day was dialysis) I got round to it. I have three screwdriver sets, two are old with drivers missing, the third is fairly new and complete. Or so I thought. I had every size screwdriver except one - the driver I needed to open the computer's case.

A few days later I eventually had a day off dialysis with the energy to walk to the nearest hardware shop to get a new driver. They were closed.

Noted the opening times and a few days after that tried again. They had an enormous selection of screwdrivers, every size and type conceivable - except the one I needed. Sorry, they had more on order.

A few more days later and I found another shop with exactly the screwdriver I needed. Too tired from shopping to work then, but two days later I opened the case and started working. Wasn't what I thought it would be, so I spent a day testing everything. Everything in the computer seemed to be working fine, but still a blank screen. Eventually I gave up and just left it.

A few days after that I decided I had best move the computer from my desk as it was doing nothing and turned the monitor round to unplug the connection wire from the back. I found that I did not have to, the plug on the end of the wire had fallen out of the socket on the monitor.

And that was all the fault had been. The monitor cable had fallen out of the back of the monitor. I just plugged it back in, and everything worked fine. A job of about 15 seconds, and it had taken me several weeks!!!!!!

To add insult to injury, I had not, at that point, put the cover back on the computer (had been hoping for inspiration). Now it was working again I tried to do this, and found I had lost the new screwdriver I had bought for the job. Searching for it I did not find it (still haven't), but I did find the lost screwdriver from my original set, that was that size.

Arrgh, nearly threw it, and the computer, through the window.

Still, at least I am back on line now and beginning to calm down.

[cassandra]

O men that's too funny!!


             




Welcome back anyway. 

[Charlie B53]

All sounds perfectly Normal around my house.

Haggis?  I've heard of people buying it.  Still don't know of anyone that has actually eaten any.

[Paul]

Haggis?  I've heard of people buying it.  Still don't know of anyone that has actually eaten any.

Get a good one and it is delicious. Get a cheap one and it is just grains, a little offal, and a lot of animal fat - revolting and unhealthy. That is why I "imported" mine from Scotland, from a proper Scottish butcher, not a factory churning them out in Birmingham (England not Alabama). Try a good one, guarantee you will bankrupt yourself after that, spending all your dollars importing your food from Scotland.

[Charlie B53]

Step-Grandfather was an old German Butcher.  I loved the sausages, headcheese, wurst, etc.

We tend to eat what we had as children. Sometimes it is difficult to try 'foreign' food as local markets simply do not carry them.

[Thesunwillshinetomorrow]

Paul...I must have arrived on this board while you were away and busy "repairing" your computer.
I just wanted to comment on the Haggis. My very first experience was when I was 15 and was up for any new experience.
I worked as a childcare provider every Sunday at a Church. After every service there was a social gathering that I was always invited to attend. I partook in the Robbie Burns Celebration; Haggis and all. It was delicious.
Years later I worked at a restaurant where once a week the Kiwanas had their meeting....with a meal and all. They would sing O Canada before we served them....
This is where I learned the verse True Patrioat love was not To pay true love....hahaha but that's another story. Actually myself and another waitress were singing while we waited for them to finish and us to start bringing out the food and I sang, "To pay true love" and she looked at me and said, "What did you just sing......"
She taught me then and there the correct lyrics 
Robbie Burns day was an event...bagpipes and all...the poem and the spearing of the Haggis....
Then I worked at a Spa and Inn many years later. Then and there I decided I was trying everything on the menu. When I started they were in the process of the, "seasonal switch".
The Servers were brought in to sample the food. I had Tuna Crudo (raw tuna) Beef Tartar and a few other items that never stood out like those ones because in all honesty I would never order either of those however they were actually pretty good. My absolute favourite was the grilled watermelon. Delicious!

[kristina]

Hello Paul,
... just goes to show, that it's sometimes the simple things which make our life more complicated and sometimes it just takes a little longer to sort it all out. I am very glad the answer was found and hopefully your computer serves you for many years to come!
I did notice your absence and thought it might have been connected with your moving away from Croydon...
I do hope you are alright now and hopefully you are also living in better accommodation  ...
Best wishes from Kristina.

[Paul]

thought it might have been connected with your moving away from Croydon...
I do hope you are alright now and hopefully you are also living in better accommodation

Nope, still in this dump they used to call "Crocus Town" (and unbelievably where they still farm saffron, although nowadays it is not a multi million pound business with fields of crocuses across the town but a few crocuses on a bit of waste land farmed by people trying to prove a point). However those of us stuck here don't care that Croydon still farms saffron - sort of commercially, me still wants to move to east Norfolk, swapping crocus fields for poppy fields.

[MooseMom]

However those of us stuck here don't care that Croydon still farms saffron - sort of commercially, me still wants to move to east Norfolk, swapping crocus fields for poppy fields.

OOOOOH, they have nice lavender farms in Norfolk!  It's a beautiful part of the world!

[kitkatz]

Always check the plugs first when undertaking any computer fixing.