Two Lapdogs, A Lost Face & No Strings At All

This week I’ve done something that I’ve been meaning to do for quite some time: I took my ancient lapdog into the local computer guru to see if it could be enabled for wireless use.


The computer in my office has become a bone of contention between The Joshua and me and it’s literally heaving with all his bookmarks, all my bookmarks, a mass of saved general tosh and all the usual accumulated things that sit on a computer. Its primary use is, of course, for work but - if Josh had his way - it would be perpetually logged into Club Habbo or some such site or used to upload his animations and cartoons to You Tube. I, of course, frequent Twitter and really the poor computer is overloaded.


The good news was that the old lapdog could indeed be “fixed”. The bad news was that by the time I’d been told it could be repaired, I’d already spotted a shinier, smaller and lighter brand spanking new puppy that seemed to need a new home. After a few rapid calculations I worked out that I could have that, Josh could have the old lapdog (he doesn’t mind too much that its portability really requires a wheelbarrow or forklift) and the computer in “My Office” could revert to being used just for work.


I ordered a Home Hub from BT to go “wireless” and when it arrived was pleasantly surprised to see the Quick Start guide was written in plain English. I have a dread of technology – so after bidding friends on Twitter a fond farewell in case I should get lost forever in cyberspace, with trembling hands I separated the computer from its trusty modem. I got onto the floor behind my desk and with much scrunching of eyes and praying to a god whose existence I’m cynical about when upright, I connected the hub to the computer – and, to my utter astonishment, it was done! The next step was to get wireless onto my new shiny puppy and this, too, was accomplished without any problems.


By this time my confidence was at “cock sure” level. What fun it would be to upload a new picture for my Twitter avatar. I deleted the old one. Big mistake. However hard I tried to upload the new one, all that happened was a message from Twitter that it was “too big”. I knew it had to be “under 700k” – but, what’s a “k”? How many “k”s are there to a bag of sugar? I certainly didn’t know how to reduce them.


In the end, I resorted to enlisting the help of The High Priestess of All Things Technical (and Shoes), @belle_lulu, who came to my rescue when I emailed the photo to her. She managed to disappear some “k”s and once again I had a face. When she’s not helping her technologically challenged friends, Belle Lulu finds time to write a slightly bizarre but very witty blog – Lulu’s Lala Life. Do take a look – you may need a glossary for some of the less familiar words that you’re likely to read but I guarantee that your funny bone will be tickled and that you’ll be left wanting more!


So, now I happily wander from room to room rarely missing a beat on Twitter – connected but ... er ... wireless, and with a new avatar. Josh is happily ensconced on “his lapdog” and the computer is now, as it should be, just for work.


The house looks as if it may be PC World’s newest franchise and DH is either feeling rather left out of the 21st century or perhaps he’s enjoying a rare lack of interruption from his wife and son. Josh and I can cope with that ... we have our heads stuck happily inside our laptops.