Wednesday 9 June 2004

Morning Blues

It's quite amazing how attached to my little cyberworld I've become. I've been online for less than a year, but the sense of connection to the outside world is considerable. I'm convinced that when I'm "put in a home" I'll be perfectly happy provided I can have a broadband connection.

Which makes it all the more disconcerting when something goes wrong. I was just about to post my blog last night when I discovered I'd gone offline. I couldn't edit the post which read "[....I think I hear one coming....]" - the device I use just before midnight to ensure that my post appears on the appropriate day.

I tried all the usual things to get it working again. I switched the modem off and on. I rebooted. I paced up and down the room several times. I went up and down stairs,waving my arms and crying, "I don't know what to do!"

I tried to be stoical and tell myself that there are lots of things you can do with a computer which don't involve internet access. One quick game of Doom showed me how wrong that is.

Finally I located the number of the free telephone information service.

Apparently I was the victim of essential work in the Midlands on the rubber bands holding the Internet together. Why this should have an effect in the North East, I can only wonder, but they said it could last up to 8 hours.

When I got back upstairs to the desk, I was online again. Sometimes all it takes is a phonecall.

But now it's Haloscan letting me down. I get all excited when I see there are comments on my latest post. No matter that it may be someone telling me to give it all up and get a proper job, I want to read it! And all I can get out of Haloscan is "Can't connect with the database."

I've tried to connect through other blogs, but that's no good. So I have to wait to read the words of drivel or wit someone has kindly left for me.

Bugger.

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