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Post by Brian on Apr 7, 2009 0:17:18 GMT -5
I wish I could be posting a bit more, but my senile machine has been acting truly weirdly.... first my monitor became cranky, and needed to be hit on the screen to come up, and then degenerated to having to be shaken harshly and finally fried.... and then the computer 'blew up'. What a smell ! Burning wires all round ! Yummy, it wasn't. So I'll have to get it sorted out, and bum a keyboard whenever I get the chance. Machines ! It reminded me of an occasion when I was living on a farm 90 miles south of Halifax and going to art college in Halifax - a long commute. I was driving back into town one late night in my old wreck of a Volks beetle, and picked up a hitchhiker. Going up a long sttep hill, the car started to slowly fill with smoke - you know, hardly enough to notice at first, but eventually impossible to ignore. I stopped the car, we got out, I open the back (that's where the engine was) and it was on fire ! Just by chance, there was a ditch with stinky water right beside us so I used an old anti-freeze container to douse the flames. Endgame ? After 10 minutes or so, the engine started up, and we drove the remaining 20 miles to the city.. back in the country, I gave it to a farmer, who used it as a chicken coop - from machine to housin for the birds. There's something in that. brian
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varrtan
Security Guard Class 1
Posts: 243
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Post by varrtan on Apr 7, 2009 0:57:52 GMT -5
Hey, Brian! It's good to hear from you.
Break it up break it up break it up
Watch out You might get what you're after Cool babies Strange but not a stranger I'm an ordinary guy Burning down the house
Hold tight wait till the party's over Hold tight were in for nasty weather There has got to be a way Burning down the house
Here's your ticket pack your bag: time for jumpin' overboard The transportation is here
Close enough but not too far, maybe you know where you are Fight fire with fire
All wet Hey you might need a raincoat
Shakedown Dreams walking in broad daylight
Three hun-dred six-ty five de-grees Burning down the house
It was once upon a place sometimes I listen to myself Gonna come in first place
People on their way to work baby what did you except Gonna burst into flame
My house is out of the ordinary
That's might Don't want to hurt nobody
Some things sure can sweep me off my feet Burning down the house
No visible means of support and you have not seen nuthin' yet Everything's stuck together
I dont know what you expect starring into the tv set Fight fire with fire
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Post by julieann on Apr 7, 2009 14:12:16 GMT -5
NICE TO HEAR FROM YOU AGAIN WE MISSED YOU BRIAN XX
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Post by Brian on Apr 8, 2009 2:04:52 GMT -5
Thank goodness for delicious friends, and unwanted monitors ! There is a place in Halifax that sells used monitors (with a 30 day guarantee) for $20 ! And a lovely friend has loaned me (on a long term basis) a lovely Mac G4 Powerbook. Machines rise and they fall, and then there are machine replacements. It's the same old story. For instance... for years I was happy to sweep my floor (or carpet) with a broom and a dustpan. Then I moved into a 3 story townhouse here in Halifax with three bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, and carpet everywhere. Brooms and dustpans where not quite enough to keep up, so I bought one of those expensive "turbo, cyclone, carpet sucking, wall- shaking" vacuums . The drive belt broke within a week, the Hepa filter cloggedin jig time, the replacement parts were the same price as a new Aston-Martin, and the motor was as noisy as a Concorde in take-off. It was a misery. I finally took it to a small specialty store run by this very nice, older British gent. "Oh, we get those in here all the time", he said. "Useless machines, really". "Well, sir", I said, "Could you use the parts ?" He took it. On the way out I spotted this tiny sanyo thing. "What's this ?" I asked... "Oh, just a very light duty machine, nothing like your old one is supposed to be." I bought it - $75 - and I swear that little thing could suck elephants out of Africa if I turned up enough. I've had it for a number of years, and all it has ever need is an occasional change of diapers. The machine rose to be a friend of man..... well .. one man anyway. brian
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varrtan
Security Guard Class 1
Posts: 243
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Post by varrtan on Apr 8, 2009 5:56:07 GMT -5
Urgh. I'm typing on my g4 powerbook. I bought it with my credit card, when it was the top of the line. And, I still have roughly the same amount of dept on my credit card since then. Now, it's too old for some software. I did a similar, buying the top of the line behavior, with some other gadgets that are now old and out dated.
So, I've kind of given up on trying to get new snazzy things. Why, when I was a kid they made things to last, and I had to walk 10 miles bare foot in the snow, just to eat cold oat meal, and we were grateful for it.
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Post by sunshine on Apr 8, 2009 15:47:02 GMT -5
Good grief is everyone having technical difficulties these days? Although I made it through midterms without any computer problems, the same cant be said of my car. I had my brakes replaced recently and right after noticed a weird noise coming from my engine, how nice I thought not only did I get over charged -my fault for going to someone closer to my new place instead of my regular repair guy- but they messed up something and didnt bother to tell me. fortunately for me I noticed it right off and took it in to my guy who had it fixed in no time, and it only cost 400 to replace the something or other and added odds and ends matainence. If it had gone on for longer it wouldve turned in to a nightmare, and I rock out in my car ( everyone seems to in so cal) with the music LOUD so Im kinda surprised I even caught the noise right off. And dont even get me started on vacuums..my ex used to buy me a new expensive one every year because apparently Im hell on them, the last one he got me cost over 2 hundred dollars and is surprisingly still going strong, you gotta clean them out constantly. I remember once my ex laughed at me for using the small mini vacuum to clean part of the big vacuum, but it made sense to me..while I do not have OCD I am very anal about keeping my home clean.
Brian, have you considered sending smoke signals? Its gotta be more reliable than computers.
By the way Varrtan, nice to hear (or read) burning down the house! I love a little talking heads now and then! As for walking in the snow for cold oatmeal and being grateful...I wouldve gotten away with it if it werent for those damn meddling kids with their french-fried potatoes and their handburger -sandwiches talking about how they love dicks (fish and chips)....
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