Daily Prompt: Learning Style

What’s your learning style? Do you prefer learning in a group and in an interactive setting? Or one-on-one? Do you retain information best through lectures, or visuals, or simply by reading books?

If you have a computer, why learn? If a cyber golden oldie forgets, she has the possibility of her iPad, computer and even iPhone, if she has one and don’t we all? Otherwise we would not be writing our daily prompt, although it is becoming possible to even write your contribution just by phone if your have small dainty fingers to be able to tap on the integrated keyboard. I do not, so I prefer comfort on a chair with a computer.

The question is do we learn anything? Life today has become easier for those of us whose memory fades quicker, especially if you are approaching the age of forgetfulness. Mrs. Angloswiss and Mr. Swiss are having a discussion. 

“Do you remember Fred Smith? They are showing one of his films this evening on the TV.”

“Oh yes, he was quite good, is he still alive?”

Mr. Swiss disappears and returns with his iPad in his hands.

“No, he died in 2013 apparently, had a heart attack.”

Is Mr. Swiss now the memory man, does he remember everything about Fred Smith? Of course not, where there is a Wikipedia there is a way. I do tend to annoy him from time to time when one of my favourite golden oldie songs are being played on the radio and I begin to sing along, word for word perfectly. Just enter the name of the song into your iPad and google supplies you with the title of the song complete with lyrics. Perfect, I can now sing along in a duet with the correct words. Today they played “Imagine” by John Lennon and I must say I never realised what perfect words the song contains. I am not sure if my rendering of the song as a duet with John Lennon was a perfect match. Mr. Swiss just mentioned afterwards that John Lennon was the poet of the duo Paul McCarthy and John Lennon, and I found it to be true - thanks to Google. There was a comment afterwards that my rendering of the song together with John Lennon was a little out of tune.

There are some things that the computer cannot supply and that is our local tax form and how to do it. The form is on the computer and Mr. Swiss has been completing it for many years. 2-3 years ago I decided I should be able to do it as well. One day I might be confronted with the problem of submitting our financial details to the local government on my own and so we both sat down at the computer together for 5-10 minutes. I know that was not enough time to learn how to do it, but there was a problem. I learn with the “learning by doing” system and Mr. Swiss can already do it and wants to show me how good he is at it. That system does not work, leading to various disagreements. We came to the conclusion that if circumstance ever arise that I was left to do the job on my own, I could give it to an office that is equipped for the task. It would cost something, but at least not my nervous condition. In the worse case I always have son No. 2, although he lives on the other side of Switzerland and has his own tax problems to deal with. I come to the conclusion that Switzerland is a country of accountants.

It also came to my mind that I have now lost touch with how the television functions. I can switch it on and off, but what lays in between are about 80-90 various channels in various languages and a DVD recorder which is not my sort of thing. I can operate an Apple computer, a windows computer with all the newest bells and whistles, but a TV - not really. Mr. Swiss does it perfectly. He even records the programme in the background, you do not even see the programme, but he makes it appear on the TV screen a few minutes or hours after it is finished. It is all organised. The programme begins on the hour and we begin watching 5 minutes later but it is all there. The wonders of modern science and Mr. Swiss of coure.

And now I have an appointment with my feline Tabby, who wants to write her contribution to today’s prompt.

Daily Prompt: Six of one, half a dozen of the other

Write a six-word story about what you think the future holds for you, and then expand on it in a post.

Who needs more than one word when you are 69 years old?

My immediate future is the daily removal of the leaves that fall from this buddleia. It all started on Monday, the ground was covered with leaves and so I removed them, only to have them replaced the next day by the tree. It resembles the painting of the Fourth bridge in Scotland, or perhaps the Golden Gate Bridge for my colonist friends in the States. As soon as you are finished, you can begin all over again. Every leaf is a rheumatic twinge more, but I will win eventually. When all the leaves have fallen and Autumn is conquered by the icy fingers of the Winter (now that is poetical isn’t it), I can relax in a chair in front of my computer.

Another one of those happy go lucky prompts where a 69 year old golden oldie can talk about a future that is already happening. What does my future hold for me? Never give up, always think positive so I organised a new computer yesterday with Windows 10, something good with SSD drive and 512 GB or whatever, a super machine. Others may be more into knitting socks or pullovers for the Winter, even planning on catching up on the films that they never saw to occupy their Winter evenings.

Me: I decide to organise a new computer for I, me and myself. As they say you cannot take it with you, so make the most of it when you can still think in Word, Excel, Powerpoint and all the rest. Ok, I am spoiling myself I know. I already have a super Apple Macbook with all the trimmings but it is not the same. After dropping my Acer on the floor last week, it was either me or the computer, it seems that a few parts have become loose. It still works perfectly if I hang the cable over the lid to keep it in an upright position, but I decided the time is now ripe for something new and I need space for my photos, at least I think so.

I do not need this new computer tomorrow and the delivery is beginning December which suits me fine. I can work out how and what arrives on this wonder machine. Shall I keep the tiles, or convert the look by applying Classic Shell which will give me a  Windows 7 appearance. I will make my decision when the computer arrives, but I think I will go with the times and see how I manage with the tiles. I can always get rid of them if I do not like them. Now I have something to do through the Winter months. My new computer will also be an Acer, a Black Acer, known as Acer Nitro.

So why get all cosy in the Winter, when there are computers?  And if I really get bored I can take my camera for a walk in the Winter wonderland, hoping that I will not skid on the ice and break something.  Must go now, have a few leaves to collect.

Topic Generator: Stormy Private

When I saw these two words on the Topic Generator I was going to give it a miss. However, circumstances have changed my opinion (as well as a silly churned up old daily prompt). At home we have a small private storm which could be reworded as stormy private. Yes our super fantastic technically advanced computer provider has decided too change things. It is not broken, and it does not need any sort of revision, no, so I ask why mend it and even replace it. As you can see from the photo it is very neat and compact, in spite of the many hanging cables on the floor.

It all began with an SMS (you know one of those telephone message thingies) from the provider to tell us that their established system will be renewed with IDP. I discovered that IDP is Internet Datagram Protocol meaning that all our modem and cable connections will now be made via Internet. It seems the telephone is already there. Before I continue, I am far from being an expert on these things, that is the world of Mr. Swiss, although he is also not Bill Gates but he seems to know what is actually going on and some of my explanations here might not be as correct as they should be. We called our provider and asked them all about it. It seems that they also wanted to include our television in this new and wonderful system, but Mr. Swiss found that if the Internet would break down, as it has from time to time in the past, we would be left without our TV connection. I mean they do not have to jeopardise everything now do they. So the television remains were it is (to be quite honest I do not really know where it is, but it works).

The young lady on the phone said that she could take that part out of the package (yes it is a package) with no problem and so we forgot about it all and decided to wait and see what happens. Today in the post we received a real package, one you could unpack and examine.

“What is that” asked, no exclaimed, Mr. Swiss.

“Looks like something electronic” was my answer. “Perhaps it has something to do with that new and wonderful telecommunications experience.”

Mr. Swiss opened the box of Pandora and what did he find. Cables and switches Yes, our provider were efficient and quick, but complicated. A “how to do it” plan was included to show how you can set up your connections. After closer examination Mr. Swiss realised that the cable was not long enough to attach the modem to whatever it was supposed to be attached to. A further telephone call was made for an explanation.

“When will the new system be activated?” he asked.

“Tomorrow morning” was the answer.

It was then that I applied some profanities in the background, with visions of being Internetless for a few days. Mr. Swiss sort of signaled to stay cool as it seemed that the gentleman on the phone could probably hear my various exclamations. It was then that Mr. Swiss did lose the cool and calm state of mind and asked if they were perhaps overdoing it. The gentleman explained that we had received their e-mail and agreed to the installation. Mr. Swiss informed them that we never received an e-mail and that it was all done by SMS and as far as he was concerned an agreement did not exist. It seemed to be an assumption on their side, a false interpretation of the state of affairs. I was still trying to remain calm and collected in the background. 

“We do not want you to covert tomorrow. The cable you sent is too short in any case. When is the deadline for this new IDP system?” he asked

“2017” was the answer. “From 2017 the old system will no longer exist.”

The result was that Mr. Swiss, with my verbal support in the background still being rather excited, told them what to do with their new system in a civilised way, thinking probably uncivilised, and so this afternoon Mr. Swiss made an excursion to the post office and returned the new unused toys.

I would add he also called in at the rival company and made arrangements for our Internet to run on their system from November. This other company is cheaper and has a very good reputation. Above all I was in the  village first aid group with the wife of the big boss, so what could be better. 

I now rest my case and hope that Part 2 does not follow and the gentleman on the phone remembered to tell the workers no to change our system tomorrow. If you hear nothing from me tomorrow you will know why.

Windows 10? No thankyou

Looking out of the window of an aeroplane is probably a lot safer than uploading (or downloading - I never know the difference) Windows 10 on your computer. I must admit I was still thinking about it before take off arrived, so I did not reserve my entrance to the magical world of Windows 10. The little emblem at the bottom of my ageing Acer computer was ignored, left in expectance of a click and reservation.

On the second day of the Windows 10 appearance a colleague proudly showed a screen capture of his newly arrived Windows 10. He is an expert, knows the difference between a download and upload, and it looked very neat. The tiles had been removed and it looked quite friendly, just like my Windows 7, which I love with all my bytes and online feelings. I began to think about it and did a click. Windows told me I was in the waiting line. It might be tomorrow, a week, or perhaps a month and yes I will get it eventually. 

Mr. Swiss found he would rather wait, after reading all the horror stories about the privacy sphere, which no longer existed with Windows 10. Windows were collecting vital information about your life from your eating habits, to the way you slept as well as your health condition and were keeping it in their records for distribution to the advertising agencies of the world, the FBI, Deuxieme Bureau and the CID : at least it seemed like it. 

I mentioned to Mr. Swiss I was now in the queue and he found “OK, I will wait until you have it, take a look and make a decision.” In the other sense of the word, I was to become the Windows 10 guinea pig.

This is now history and I am still waiting, but no longer with impatience.  In the meanwhile I have read a blog from my blogging colleague with the comments. She knows what she is talking about, having experience with the computer world. In the meanwhile a colleague in Facebook uploaded it (in India). Afterwards his computer refused to work, so he unloaded it, back to his old programme, but the computer decided to strike. You cannot hold a carrot in front of a donkey and afterwards take it away. The donkey wants his carrot and probably this was the feeling Windows 10  had waiting to be eating and digested. Now he has given his computer to the repair shop - an expensive task.

To sum it all up,, when my invitation for an up/down load arrives from Silicon Valley, or wherever the windows central is, I will ignore it. I will not have my Windows 7 machine contaminated with a Windows 10 killer programme that will spy on my secret files to tell Bill Gates all about it. Mr. Swiss finds this a wise decision, taking into consideration how old my computer is. 

I can wait until the first computers arrive with a built in Windows 10. By then all the glitches and problems will be solved perhaps by Windows 20.

WordPress The Feline Daily Prompt: Race the Feline Clock

Here’s the title of your post: “An Offer I Couldn’t Refuse.”

Set a timer for ten minutes, and write it. Go!

“What has the postman brought? There is a parcel addressed to Tabby and Fluffy Feline from California.”

“Oh, great Mrs. Human, it has arrived at last.”

“Tabby what has arrived?”

“It was an offer that we couldn’t refuse.”

“Ok Fluffy, understood. You two felines have ordered something, probably online with my credit card, so the only way to find out what it is, is to open the parcel.”

“Mrs. Human it is addressed to us felines so we will open the parcel.”

“Paid for with my credit card.”

“What is that?”

“It is the latest computer model.”

“But you have pawpads, you do not need a computer.”

“Of course we do, it is operated by feline telepathy.”

“Huh! Ok I will plug it in.”

“Not necessary Mrs. Human, it is Whisker controlled, look.”

“It seems to be working, but looks very complicated. I cannot read anything.”

“Mrs. Human it is all written in meow of course, only for felines,”

“Who designed this machine? I noticed there was a postmark from America on the package.”

“It is a Tuna computer, you can see the fish on the specially designed paw friendly case: a product of Paw Valley”.

“Look Mrs. Human, it is very easy to control. I just have to concentrate and twiddle my ear with one of its 32 muscles and the job is done.”

“What job?”

“Oh we have just ordered 50 tins of tuna fish online.”

“What?”

“It was an offer we couldn’t refuse, 50 tins for the price of 25.”

Needless to say the computer is now in the attic, together with the diamond studied cat flap and the chinchilla fur lined feline cushions, they were all offers that couldn’t be refused.

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WordPress Daily Prompt: A Moment in Time

What was the last picture you took? Tell us the story behind it. (No story behind the photo? Make one up, or choose the last picture you took that had one.)

Not a story behind the photo? Of course there is a story behind the photo, my life is one big story. Unfortunately I have not yet met the famous author or movie producer to do the necessary to make me famous. I noticed at a quick glance we have 0 responses for this prompt. Did someone forget to press the magic switch, did Wordy have a little too much of the hard stuff with lunch? Perhaps it is just one of those days where things go wrong all the time. I might be the first with something to say which is a general state of affairs with me. By the time I finish this epic piece of literature others may have beat me to it. Now to the subject of this post.

It is not an easy task and I am a little overstrained with this. Actually it was my blogging friend Marilyn that was guilty of me taking this photo. She is a cyber golden oldie, and if Bill Gates had not been there first, she would now be running all the Windows stuff probably. At the moment she has router problems: don’t we all from time to time. I often lose my way on the roads due to new road signs, although I believe her router is more in the online sense of the word.

I decided yesterday evening to take a quick photo of the external digestive system of our computer. Marilyn got me thinking, where is our router, where is our modem, where is anything like that. I only play with my keyboard and laptop, the rest is a Mr. Swiss department. It all has a nest on a glass table next to his operational centre. Now and again I might lose a connection, which is not so bad. It tends to be a habit with me. Mr. Swiss shakes his head and carries on regardless. If I say no more, it means Apple has found the connection again and I am making a fuss about nothing. If this state of affairs becomes permanent and he also loses the connection, then we have a lost modem wandering around in the Angloswiss cyber world. No problem, he presses a button somewhere and everything is working again. It does not happen often, but now and again it might. I think they make these things just to see if we know what we are doing.

I definitely do not know what  I am doing, but Mr. Swiss does. He showed me once where the magical button is, but I forgot. I am diverging from the subject matter. Now I have a photo showing where everything is. I had to ask for directions from Mr. Swiss as all I can see is a white box, a nice designer black box standing up and a few leads and flat boxes.

Apparently we have two modems combined with routers, or did I get that wrong? Anyhow the nice designer black object standing up in the back right corner is a modem it seems and the big white flat square thing is also a modem combined with router. I think the black designer model also has a router combined, but am not sure. It is all so complicated.

We have some other technical stuff with wires leading out of it. There is a DVD burner. I think that is the square black thing at the front in the corner. There is a little square thing in front of the nice black modem which is a blue tooth loudspeaker. The teeth seem to be hidden inside, I suppose I could feed it now and again but I do not know what blue teeth like to chew on. There are two hard disks in the middle at the front laying on top of each other and on the left almost out of the picture there are lots of cables attached to something that might be the heart and lungs of the whole thing, but don’t ask me, it is a man thing. There is also an iPhone somewhere in the middle. It is always a good thing to have a few iPhones laying around, you never know, you might lose one.

So there we have the latest and newest photo in my collection. I notice we still have 0 Responses.

“Wordy!”

“Yes Mrs. Angloswiss.”

“What is going on in Silicon Valley, the grid has again collapsed.”

“Oh, I will have a look. I am sure it will be working by this evening. There is probably an update on the system, or perhaps we are having some new software fitted. I will have a look after I have finished my chocolate cake.”

“Wordy, put that cake down. We have an urgent situation. Thousands of daily prompt writers have their fingers poised on the upload button and there is nowhere to upload it.”

“You can always try the Reader Mrs. Angloswiss.”

“I could also hold you prisoner in the snow out in the garden holding you to ransom for an efficient grid system that works.”

“But my circuits would freeze and I would become brittle.”

“You think I care, get it working Wordy.”

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WordPress Daily Prompt: A True Saint

In 300 years, if you were to be named the patron saint of X, what would you like X to be? Places, activities, objects — all are fair game.

Why keep them behind an iron gate, a few of our saintly guys originating in our local town of Solothurn. The place is steeped in canonisations, and today it has become quite fashionable: every year a new Saint or two, although I thought you had to be dead first. If they still have room for a few statues, why not me? Usually you have to be martyred, tied to a stake and burnt, or perhaps thrown to the lions. Of course today we do it in a civilised way.

There I am sitting innocently at my computer, sacrificing my brain on another blog and it happens, I am attacked by a virus. Suddenly letters begin dropping from the top of the screen to the bottom, letters dripping with blood. I try to stop this by pressing the rescue keys, control alt delete, and nothing happens. The letters continue to drop, now blood oozing from the printer. This is a sign, somewhere in the cyber universe a demon has taken over and it is my job to fight this peril, to conquer the evil forces. I call for help from Bill Gates, but there is no answer. He is laying prone at his desk after banking online to see how much his Window invention is bringing in Wall Street and has noticed that without Windows 9 the profits will continued to sink. There is only one answer to this invasion: Saint Blog to the rescue.

The letters continue dripping but I call for Saint Grid, the new god of WordPress. The room is flooded in light, a blade of lightening engulfs me and I feel the power. I am still not sure what power, but that does not matter, you just have to feel it. It is then I hear a voice. “Fear not, we are with you. You are the bringer of the great new look, your daily prompt grid will shine and you will never be forgotten amongst bloggers.”

I looked upwards, I mean newly recruited saints always seem to look upwards, and I saw it. A finger was pointing towards me and then to my computer screen, which was still dripping with blood red letters. Slowly but surely the finger turned my screen into a touch pad. It was then I heard the voice again “wipe the words away, change the page and go forth and do good blogging works”. I must say that Saint Grid guy is really worth the money.

A miracle in my little computer room, I had the power. I touched my screen and it moved, just like an iPad. Had I been given Windows 8, or was this a miracle? As I did not want Windows 8 and am waiting for Windows 9 to appear, I decided it must be a miracle. The blood red letters disappeared and turned to gold. There was a problem because gold was not such a good colour on a white background.

“Who are you?” I asked the finger. Stupid question, who talks to fingers, but I heard a voice.

“Fear not, I am the finger of the WordPress Universe and have come to reward you with your efforts for our Daily Prompt. From now on you will be known as the rescuer and guardian angel of all daily prompts. Writers of the daily post will hold your memory in honour. Saint Blog aka Angloswiss will remain in all blogger brains.”

This was becoming a little strange, I had a strange feeling.

“Can you perhaps change the background colour to black Mr. Saint Grid. Just a minute, I thought I had to be dead for all that.”

“No problem” and I had a black background to the golden letters.

“How do you want it” Saint Grid with the big pointing finger continued. “Short circuit on the computer, strangled by the lead, or the black wall of death although I believe Acer cured that one. Of course we can send a 0 virus, but thanks to the WordPress rescue squad, this has been killed. You know the one where the daily prompt does not work until repaired.”

“But I do not want to die, I have daily prompt blogs in my body to last for a few years. I don’t think I want to become a Saint, just keep the blood red letters away from my computer and I am happy to blog away for the rest of my living days.”

With this the big finger shrunk to normal size and the voice again spoke. “Ok it was worth a try, we wanted to make our daily prompts a little more realistic, to keep the interest. It is called public relations. I suppose I will have to call back in 300 years and then you will be remembered in the blogging world as Saint Blog who defeated the red letter dripping virus.”

“Fine by me, would it be too much to ask to wipe the blood away from the printer, it makes stains on the table.”

“Of course, see you on the flip side.”

The finger disappeared the table was clean, no more blood stains and my computer was working again. Sometimes these Daily Prompts get just a little too realistic for my taste.

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WordPress Daily Prompt: I Did It My Way

Describe the one decision in your life where you wish you could get a “do-over.” Tell us about the decision, and why you’d choose to take a different path this time around. 

Photographers, artists, poets: show us ITERATION.




This subject seems to be a déjà vue, but me never being at a loss for words I will continue. The photo has absolutely nothing to do with what I am writing, except perhaps for the fact that I planted the pampas about twenty years ago. It was then just a few leaves. With time it has taken over the centre of the lawn, spreading its roots and feathery flowers in all directions. I just let it grow and spread and have never regretted my decision to plant it. I also planted a Japanese reed, but that was a regrettable decision. It grew to three meters height and began to spread in all directions. A decision was made and the gardener removed the complete growth. It has been replaced by a buddleia and rose bush since, although it still pokes up now and again as if to say, I am not being done-over.

Perhaps I should never have joined Facebook, but then my computer would feel neglected. Facebook is even in the start programme. If I had not joined I would miss all those wonderful words that people write about how they feel, what they are doing, and why they are doing it. I even caught a spam this week and it really was not my fault. OK, I saw this stupid video about some bloke called Justine Bieber (who?) and clicked, thinking why not. This was a mistake, I was trapped and had to say yes. It was then I noticed that my name was attached to this brainless video for all to see in Facebook. How degrading, even my terminal was blushing. I naturally deleted this post and made a public confession. I was calmed when a few of my 900 colleagues in Facebook said how surprised they were, as it is not something to be expected from me. If I had never joined Facebook I would have 900 friends less, so always look on the bright side. I must admit I only perhaps know 100 of these friends, the rest being ballast that I picked up on the way.

I was a gamer (another confession), but I did a cold turkey and discovered that my day had more time to spare for cleaning, washing, ironing and a little bit of blogging when I cast the brainless games on one side. I often wonder what my café, farm and house are now doing without my daily visits. There again, I did it over all on my own. I am still thinking about Candy Crush, but I am not yet addicted. Just do it when I have restless fingers on my iPad.

I could go further and say I should never have bought a computer. Actually Mr. Swiss installed the first computer at home complete with e-mails . I remember back in the dark days when we had just one computer and received perhaps two e-mails per week. I thought what a waste, I really do not need this. How wrong can you be? A year later I had my own computer. E-mail traffic was still at a minimum, but it was growing and Internet was via telephone. If your son decided to also have a computer with Internet connection, it could become very expensive and a source of family tension, although I do have my son to thank for my initiation into computer games on floppy disks. Oh what wonderful memories still linger colouring various screen landscapes with a Wizzball and exploring the details of Korronis rift (for the younger computer freaks amongst us, these were two of the pre-online games). I am glad I did not get a “do-over” in connection with the computer.

I am still wondering if it was a good idea to give a home to three felines.

“Mrs. Human, just a small correction. You did not give us a home, we decided to move in.”

“Yes Nera feline, I know.”

“No stupid ideas about a “do-over” in that connection. Tabby, Fluffy and I have decided to stay. The food is OK, although the tuna fish portions could be a little more. We were successful in our training programme and the litter box is regularly cleaned.”

“Glad to oblige Nera, just let me know if something is not to your taste.”

I am still wondering if the feline adoption take over was a good idea: Must make a note to serve tuna fish three times a week instead of just twice. I cannot live with three unhappy felines.


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WordPress Daily Prompt: Life After Blogs

Your life without a computer: what does it look like? 

Photographers, artists, poets: show us WITHOUT.

This photo of part of my kitchen looks bare. Has no atmosphere, something like a hospital ward. It is dead, no life. Now if you could see my computer sitting on the breakfast table in the morning, it would live.

Who needs a computer? Life without one is no problem. I would arise in the morning, go to the kitchen, make some breakfast (usually cereal), a cup of breakfast tea, sit at the table and ……… Yes well, I would eat my breakfast of course, look out of the window and find the world is OK, Everything in its place, but not quite. I would have restless fingers, restless eyes and worst of all a restless brain. Switching the radio on is not the same. So where is it? The part of my breakfast life which has accompanied me since the invention of the lap top.

I have to check to find out what has happened in FB, e-mail life, and my blogging sites through the Swiss night. Did anyone actually make a click on yesterday’s masterpiece of blogging literature, did someone stray to my blog and decide their day would be incomplete without reading the wise words of Angloswiss. Proably not, but I can always hope.

There is now a further problem. There is no Blog, no e-mail, no words from the Facebook universe, because it all does not exist. I sit at am empty table, spooning my breakfast cereal and sipping tea. Something is missing. Yes, the milk stains on the black shiny surface of my beloved computer. There is no computer. Ok, no problem, of course I can be without. I stopped smoking 15 years ago, so everything is possible. Me a computer addict? Never. I would eat my breakfast with an incomplete feeling in my body and carry on with my daily housework chores as usual in the morning. Did I run the crap cleaner, the spyware doctor before closing down my faithful, trusty friend, the computer. You see, I have more time because there is no computer and all these trivial routines are no longer necessary.

“Are you ready to go shopping” I ask Mr. Swiss.

“No, not yet. What is going on? We have another hour and I am not ready to go anywhere” is the Mr. Swiss answer.

I have an extra hour, I have completed time saving without multi tasking. My housework is completed, my visit to the shower is long behind me and now I am bored. I could play a brainless Facebook game (Candy Crush is my favourite at the moment), but even this enjoyment is missing. I have no computer. Read a book – on my Kindle or iPad – ok, you know the answer.

Eventually lunch time arrives. No I do not miss my computer, because it is safely stashed away in its own little place until the afternoon if I have one. Whilst I am cooking lunch I like to have a peek at my iPad to see if ….. OK, forget it, iPad does not exist, so I just cook. After lunch Mr. Swiss and I tidy the kitchen and sit down to a coffee/tea outside on the patio (weather permitting): Mr. Swiss reading the newspaper and me, also reading the newspaper on my iPad of course (forget it, no news today, no iPad) and afterwards play a brainless game (you got it).

After a golden oldie midday sleep it is time to see what the Daily Prompt requests, ok no Daily Prompt, so I could do some knitting because I have not yet found the computer that knits, although I have forgotten how to knit I think. I could take a walk to the post office to pay my bills (no online banking sitting comfortably at the computer). A photo safari would be an idea, no computer replaces the camera, or does it? The happy hours I have spent uploading my Pulitzer Prize suspicious photos on Flickr, Picasa or whatever the programmes are called, tuning them up with Photoshop and sorting them are a thing of the past. I would have to take the film to be developed to a shop, which would mean taking a walk, the car or a bus.

I decide to read a book, but after five minutes it already weighs heavy in my hand, and turning the pages is so exhausting. I have finished my book, and will download another. Sorry, I will get dressed and visit the local bookshop, or the library to choose a new book.

Evening arrives; I have survived without a computer. I usually like to read in the evening outside, but must illuminate the porch, as my book does not have a built in light. You think that is a problem, yes it is. I am being eaten alive by the various flying blood sucking insects that have been magnetized by the lamp, so I flee inside. I switch the light on and continue reading whilst Mr. Swiss watches television.

“What did you say? The light bothers you.”

I go to bed.

Life without computer is really no problem, just a matter of getting used to it.

There would be no unemployment, everyone has something to do, the computer does not exist. Perhaps Bill Gates is working for MacDonalds selling hamburgers. We would all be talking to each other at the bus stop, just like the old days instead of poking around on our iPhones finding an interesting site to read or playing some sort of game. The world without computer does have a lot to offer I suppose.

And now to wrap up this Daily Prompt, that I wrote on my computer, whilst Mr. Swiss listens to music on his iPod. Oh, isn’t life wonderful when you are online?

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I am not a computer addict

Have you ever been let down by your computer? I think most of us have had problems. Perhaps the computer itself was not working properly. The screen, the sound or something that you knew what was wrong and also knew what to do to put it right again, or even have it repaired. These are things that give you a little bit of hope that all will work again, although it might cost something, but at least you know the answer to the problem.

A funny thing happened to us and it all sort of started on Thursday morning. Mr. Swiss was up early at 05.30. When I got up at 6.00 his first words were to forget the computer, the internet connection is down. This was a shock to begin the day with, but I composed myself and ate breakfast. after my visit to the bathroom and getting ready for the days work, my usual routine is to spend 10-15 minutes on the computer checking on the nocturnal activities of my virtual colleagues somewhere in that big country called America, as well as a few night owls that live in England (those concerned know who I mean). All this was missing. I could not do my check and was feeling completely lost. Mr. Swiss said he would contact the computer people as soon as they were awake, which would be around eight in the morning, so I substituted my fifteen minutes on the computer by reading further in my current book (The Foucault Pendulum by Umberto Eco in German as I took too long to get the english version and basically it was written in Italian originally so it made no difference to me which version I read).

Anyhow back to the computer. I am only working half days at the moment so when I arrived home at lunch time my first question was .. Is it working? The answer being negative I resigned myself to my book after lunch wondering how life could go on. Up to this point my husband had spoken to at least two different people at the help desk and had fetched a new modem and new wiring. All this was fitted, but to no avail, computer was not connecting. The funny thing was that we have a net work at home combining three computers and this was working perfectly. Our modem (see picture of the new one - the box at the front) just did not want to turn green but was yellow. Just like the traffic light that prepares you with yellow, but does change either to green or red.

Thus this was Thursday, a day without computer. I had read one hundred pages in my book in the meanwhile. If I smoked I would probably have gone through a packet, but I gave it up fifteen years ago, so this did not come into the question. It is funny how you miss things. After the evening meal I am used to writing a few words, visiting my various favourite sites and checking my mails. This was all missing in my life. I even went to bed earlier.

Friday morning I awoke hoping that modem had turned green in the night, but he didn't. During the morning Mr. Swiss was again on the telephone to computer help (known as Swisscom or something like that). Up to now he had spoken to at least four different people. He even started differing according to the ones that were ok and those that spoke as if he was a complete idiot. My husband fitted our network up at home (with a little help from our computer specialists in the village) so he does know what he is talking about. I arrived home in the afternoon and noticed that Mr. Swiss's nerves were becoming a little frayed at the edges by his word selection. Most of the words he used describing the helpers are not translatable so I won't go into details. Eventually he asked if it would be possible that someone could come past and they told us they would call back.

I was quite surprised that they did. A young lady was on the phone and informed my husband that someone would come next week on Tuesday. Mr. Swiss became very strong with his word choice and the young lady did say something about she would throw the visiting ticket away if he would not calm down. However, my husband did win the battle and the young lady informed that someone would visit on Saturday, today, from eight in the morning until twelve lunchtime. Twelve lunchtime arrived but our visitor did not. Mr. Swiss once again called and was informed that the repair man, or whatever he was, had been delayed in another part of Switzerland (thank goodness it is a small country) but would definitely arrive during the afternoon. After a while the repair man called to say he was going to lunch and would come and see us soon afterwards.

Our next call was from the computer central in Solothurn our nearest town. The repair man seemed to understand what he was doing and decided to call there first of all to see if there could be anything wrong on that side of the tracks and there was. Our modem in the central was kaput, broken, burnt through or whatever. He said it had now been switched through to another new one and should be working. Unfortunately our new modem was not the same opinion so eventually the repair man called past. I decided it was time for me to go shopping and leave the experts to solve the problem. I can't remember where the actual worm was, but when I arrived back home from my shopping trip everything was working again. It is now much quicker and our modem shows a flashing green light instead of staying yellow.

I now feel much better being on line again. I really must say I managed to keep cool all the time. Thank goodness the doctor gave me some "keep cool" tablets after my Burnout. They are very useful for such situations and I am now half way through my book. I even started sorting out some photos I wanted to do for the past year. I am not really addicted to computers, I just cannot live very well without them.

So now I feel much better.

Tuna Fish Wednesday

Yes, it's Wednesday when me and my husband make a tuna fish salad for tea and the cats get their portion of tuna fish as well. I unpacked the tins and Fluffy was already having a sniff. He looked around for the tin opener but as he couldn't find one he jumped off the table and with Nera waited eagerly for the fish to be served.

They were not disappointed and soon all three were munching away at their feline portions. Tabby said she was so photogenic today and wouldn't let herself be photographed.

Otherwise one of those days at work where a new, fantastic, most modern and wonderful computer programme was introduced. It was so good, that after an hour or so we started realising that it didn't work as it should. Why do these things always have teething troubles. I won't go into details, but we were all in the office 30 minutes longer today until we more or less got everything done. I am sure tomorrow will be better (I hope). And this is a short blog this evening, there is another match on the tv. This time Barcelona v Manchester United. I am getting quite spoilt this week, 2 matches in one week, and thanks to a Liverpool player that is probably feeling very sad at the moment, Liverpool and Chelsea will have a reply of yesterday's match in about a week's time. Somehow I have to fit yesterday's episode of East Enders into this evenings viewing.

If anyone is interested I did take a few pictures of yesterday's match, not such perfect quality as they came from the tv, but a little souvenir of the match. Almost as interesting as the match was watching the two trainers watching their teams. But have a look for yourselves.

Liverpool v. Chelsea 22.04.2008

My new computer

It has been a few years since I bought myself a new computer/notebook. My last notebook was a Toshiba and I had it a few years until the screen stopped functioning. I then attached it to a terminal, but that was not the solution as I like to go outside with it in Summer on the porch. We have a cable connection to Internet and I could nicely thread it through the window.
I then had to find a solution and Mr. Swiss let me have his Del, as he had a new computer in the meanwhile with Vista etc.

Deutsch: Es ist ein paar Jahr seit ich habe meine letzter Computer/Notebook gekauft. Meine letzter Notebook was ein Toshiba und ich hätte es ein paar Jahre bis die Bildschirm nicht mehr funktionierte. Ich habe es denn an ein andere Bildschim an gehängt, aber das war nicht die Lösung, weil ich gerne draussen gehen in Sommer auf den Patio. Wir haben ein Kabel Verbindung für Internet und ich könnte die Kabel durch die offene Fenster ziehen. Ich musste denn ein Lösung finden und Hr. Schweizer gab mich seine Del, weil er ein neue Computer gekauft hat mit Vista usw.

So this was my computer for the last couple of years and during the Summer I had to forget computing outside.

Deutsch: So das war mein Computer für die letzter paar Jahre und während die Sommer ich musste computer draussen vergessen.

Today my new notebook arrived. Again a Toshiba as I couldn't find anything more suitable. I knew what I was looking for, but the choice today is so wide. I now have vista, which is not a lot different to the programme I am used to. Outlook is a bit different, but you have to move in the computer world. I won't be able to do my web sites on this computer as the software does not work with Vista. It is expected that you buy a new Dreamweaver and at the price of two and a half thousand francs, I will not bother. I have the school version and that was a lot cheaper. I will continue doing my web sites on the other computer. So I will not be long on my blog this evening as I am still trying all the different corners out on my new computer. And here she is.

Deutsch: Heute meine neue Notebook war da. Wieder ein Toshiba, weil ich fand nichts anders was mir passt. Ich wusste was ich suchte, aber die Wahl heute ist so breit. Ich habe jetzt Vista, was nach meinem Geschmack, ist nicht viel anders als die Programme ich sonst brauche. Outlook ist ein wenig anders, aber man musst sich bewegen in der Computer Welt. I werde mein Websites nicht machen können auf die neue Computer, weil die Software geht nicht mit Vista. Es wird erwartet das ich ein neue Dreamweaver kauf aber für CHf 2,500 ich werde es nicht machen. Ich habe die Schuleversion (das gleiche eignentlich) und das war viel billiger. Ich werde mein Websites pflegen auf die Del computer. Ich werde nicht lang machen heute Abend, weil ich bin immer noch am probieren die verschiedene Ecken von meine neue computer. Und hier ist sie

Not a very succesful day

It all started this evening on the way home from work. I switched on the lights on the car and noticed I had an extra light showing on the dashboard, meaning that one or some of the lights on the car are not working. When I got home, I had a look and noticed that the big light on the left at the front had given up the ghost. I gave it a short sharp tap and it was alive again, but only for a minute. I told hubby, but he has to get the winter tyres put on the car in any case, so will take it to the garage tomorrow.

That was the first problem. The second was when I switched on the computer and wanted to visit Yahoo 360° to see if it was still working, my Kaspersky antivirus programme had decided not to allow any visits to Yahoo 360. Perhaps that was correct, but Kaspersky had been annoying me for some time now as it seems to have started to block everything I want to see. We then eventually got rid of Kaspersky and loaded up another anti virus programme from hubby's computer. All was working well, but all of my animated gifs, moving pictures and above all my blinkies were not showing. I just love my blinkies - little things please little minds.

We then removed the second choice and loaded a third anti virus programme, which now seems to be working. I just ask where it is all leading to. Eventually you probably can only switch the computer on and off and every site you visit will have to be noticed somewhere or the other. Oh, and guess what, this is the second time I am writing this blog - I wanted to have a preview and it disappeared - probably to the Yahoo side of the country.