Narrowboat Alacrity

Well the new power supply arrived so I stripped the pc down to fit it ………not so easy in a micro cube….well it went in

It buzzes and the fans come on but ……………….a big fat nothing…..

Well it seems that when the power unit went pop so did the video card …………..£40 later and it works………now for the spanish inquesition.

On asking the SWIMBO if she noticed anything odd on or around the time of demise of the power unit “no” she said ” I just moved some books”

Ahh the penny dropped… the books… the same books that were tight up against the computer blocking the cooling air fans…………………………..

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Well having just picked up the cats, done the shopping and visited Vi (my mother-in-law) I decided it was time to update the blog.

Whilst I was away I had read a few books on Linux (alternative computer operating system) I had sort of decided to try Ubuntu a variation of Linux, Having downloaded the programme I decided to load it.

It loaded like a dream and recognised all my hardware it even went on to start downloading the updates……………….Phutt…………….Sod all happened…..ok ok so I should have left well alone, But as you all know I never learn……..The upshot is that the power supply has gone faulty and yes its £89.00 to replace.

So while waiting for it to arrive I’ll have to use my laptop………………

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It would be easier to get Blood out of a Stone than get a refund from my local computer shop.

Well the saga of the Netgear storage unit is over, The Computer shop finaly admitted defeat, It took them 2 days and a change of hard drive manufacturer to get the Bloody thing working so what chance did I have…………………

My argument that it was not fit for purpose, siting the “Easy installation instructions” NOT. and could they gurantee that my data would be stored safely, had them……………Result a refund…………….and a dare I say happy “Grumpy Old Man”

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Well after the trials and tribulations of yesterday I decided to return the Netgear Storage unit “Wrong”. The shop that used to open Sunday mornings doesn’t now. Never mind I may have calmed down a bit when I take it back tomorrow.

Well I thought while I’m out I might aswell call in to Halfords for some firegum to fix the small exhaust leak (That the mot man pointed out) on the other love of my life my Landrover.

When I got underneath (between showers) and took a better look, yes there was a small leak, but the rest of the down pipe was like a piece of lace along the welded seam……..”Bugger”………. it’ll take more than firegum to fix that……..Get a new one I hear you say……..Not on a Sunday….

Twenty minutes later and a set of bloodied knuckles the downpipe was off with only a little application of the gas axe. In the vice with it and grind out the rusty seam. It wasn’t just the seam that was rusty so were my welding skills I realised that it must have been a year since I’d done any gas welding but hey hum its like riding a bike you never totally forget, but there again I Can’t ride a bike…..

It took me about an hour to re-weld the seam and the flange on the end, not a bad job done, even tho’ I say so myself.

There’s one thing about Landrovers there is so much ground clearance that re-fitting the exhaust was easy… and it didn’t leak.

I rewarded myself with a can of Bass………………………….heaven…………………………

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Lately Ive been pondering on getting some network storage for my computer system so I can back up my pictures and website.

looking in my local computer shop I saw the Netgear SC101T which looked to fit the bill so I bought one and two 500 gig drives to put in it.

If i’d only read the reports on the web about it I wouldnt have bothered……….what a total lump of wasted space suffice to say it worked when it wanted, it stopped my computers talking to each other, it seemed to just appear then disappear at will and after spending a whole day trying all the permutations I gave up………

In a foul temper and only put of from smashing it up by the chance of returning it and getting my money back………………I decided that it was beer time…….

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With holidays looming I was just checking the cats vaccination certificates and found that Katie was due for her booster, I dutifully booked her in to the vets………………..

Katie is a small cat, and has been ever since we got her from the Woodgreen Animal Shelter she is active and eats like a horse.

The vet prodded and poked her and said “shes lost some weight since you were last here” I explained that she was always small “mmm we had better do some tests they won’t take long” said the vet and rattled off something that was out of the script of Holby City with a price tag that would feed a third world country.

The vet told me to wait in the waiting room and they would get a blood sample and give Katie her booster.

That’s what she thought…………………..a yowl rent the air……..  it sounded like Katie was objecting to giving blood, normally she doesn’t make any noise unless she’s killing her stuffed mouse.

The vet appeared a mite dishevelled and bloody  ”she’s a bit feisty, can you give us an hour to calm her down and take the sample”……………………………….

An hour later I went back to pick Katie up…………. well the vet looked worse than Katie ” we got a blood sample but we haven’t given her her booster yet she’s too upset”……………”Upset” looking at Katie sat quietly in her basket having a wash………….no you don’t say……..

Leaving the vets with a smug cat and the “Call us on Monday for the results” ringing in my ear. and a wallet £76 lighter and still no booster……………

Groundhog Day………………

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Well Saturday dawned bright but cold, we had decided to spend the day at home catching up on jobs put on the back burner because there was something better to do.

Today was not a good day for me as it’s the second anniversary of my mums death it also was the birthday of my father-in- law also deceased two years ago so I had a tendency to be maudlin.

It was a day to keep busy.

Come lunch time we decided to visit the Gibraltar Castle a pub near Harpenden

A homely cottage type pub with open wood fires and great service the food is definitely not “pub grub” and the beer is well kept. Try the Fullers ESB…..mmmmmmmmm.

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