Normal Service Resumed
I've written quite enough about blogging, writing, the internet, technology, and various other geeky crap recently. It's time I got back to the head emptying festivals of mundanity that made this blog famous in the first place. Okmaybe not famous, but mildly notable. Ok, ok. Not notable, but certainly more interesting than the snooze-fests that I've been posting lately.
I'm sitting in the room we laughably call a “study”, but is in reality the junk room. One of many junk rooms. I think I've said beforeour house resembles “The Burrow” (the Weasley's house in the Harry Potter books) on a good dayon a bad day it's more like the kind of house you find on a documentary about people that have hoarding problems.
The computer I'm using is “Trigger's Broom”. I should rename it on the network (yes, we have a Heath Robinson style network of sorts). I'm sure I've described the meaning of “Trigger's Broom” in the past, but I'll repeat it because I have very little else to do.
In the UK there was a sitcom in the 1980s called “Only Fools and Horses”in the programme, one of the characters (not the sharpest tool in the box) was called “Trigger”, who's job was sweeping the streets and picking up litter. In a later episode of the show, he won an award for services to the community, and made a comment that he had been using the same broom for 20 years. The handle had been replaced numerous times, and the head countless more times, but it was the same broomThe computer under the desk in the junk room began it's life at PC World about 10 years ago. In the day it was the fastest cheap PC they had. Since then the hard drive has been replaced, the memory has been replaced, the graphics card has been replaced, and the power supply has been replaced. The only original components are the processor and motherboard. It's still the same computer I bought all those years ago though. I think when it was originally bought it had Windows Vista on it (possibly XP)since then it has had various flavours of Linux, various versions of Windows, and lately Windows 10mostly because the kids need it for school work. I miss Linux.
Just across from me in the study sits a newer PC given to us by my parents. It's a Dell of some description, and is better than the computer I use in pretty much every waybut I'm used to this one. They are both left switched on all the time, and the kids have logons setup for both of themso most arguments are defused immediately when they want to use the computer for homework, or more likely to watch some TV show or other on YouTube.
Behind meon the back wall of the room -stands a book shelf that used to live just inside the doorway of my apartment. It's filled two-deep with row upon row of books and DVDs. Pretty much the entire set of Studio Ghibli animated movies are secreted away in it's depthsto protect them from the childrenalong with numerous books about the Apollo space program, and various “to read” books that I will get around to one day. Balanced at the top of the book shelf is the entire set of Garry Kasparov's “On My Great Predecessors” chess booksthey are probably collectors items now. I used to play a lot of chess years ago.
I can't remember the last time I played anybody at chess. I used to play regularly at lunchtimes in the office at work against a co-worker, but he left the company and I don't think I've played anybody “properly”since. I'm deliberately not counting the children in that, because you always play differently against childrentrying to feed them chancestrying to educate as you go. I did play against my Dad a couple of years agoin the guise of helping my daughter who was getting thrashedbut other than that, nothing.
I think I've probably subjected you to quite enough random detritus about the room around me. Time to put the kettle on. Time for a coffee.
Oh, and if you're wonderingthe photo accompanying this post was taken about five years agowhich explains the netbook, and the rather ancient work laptop on the corner of the desk. I must have been working at home that day