Snap and Scribble

I should be getting my shit together and driving down to NSW now – not sitting on my arse in front of this stupid computer and writing my third blog post of the morning! This is all your fault Gwen! I hope you’re satisfied!!!

Anyway, seeing as i’ve booked my flights and stuff, and i’ll be in England in just over two weeks, i thought i’d better organise a broadband connection for my mum’s place – so i don’t feel like my lifeline’s been cut halfway up a tree!

I did the same thing last year, a couple of weeks before i went there from Afghanistan in December. I was only going to be there for a month then, but i knew i would be back again 3 months later, for another visit, and it was cheaper to leave it on in the meantime than to pay to get it disconnected and then reconnected again. But i cancelled it when i left there at the end of May.

So i had a look around to see if there’s any better services than what i’ve had before, and there wasn’t. I’ve had broadband in England a couple of times now, and both times i signed up with Virgin, because they’re the only reputable one that doesn’t tie you down to a minimum contract. I signed up with them again for the same reason.

I don’t need to worry about a mobile account, because i’ve still got an active one there – with credit that doesn’t expire and no monthly charge, which is handy.

It’s crazy, really, when i think about what it used to be like to travel. No carrying a bloody computer around the world with you. No carrying a mobile. No signing up for broadband services on the other side of the world…

But that’s a long time ago now. Well, the not carrying a computer part, anyway. I bought my first laptop in London in 1995 – and brought it back to Australia, via India, Malaysia and Laos – mostly staying in dorms in backpackers. My current laptop’s a lot bigger and heavier than that one though!!!

That’s another thing i did recently – i bought myself a new laptop. I wanted a new one because i get quite a severe allergic reaction to the fumes that come out of the fan of the old one – which i bought in Kabul a year ago. I also wanted a smaller one, so it was easier to travel with.

So i bought a Thinkpad – mainly because i had one before that last computer and never had any allergic reaction to it. But… This one’s considerably bigger and heavier than the old one! And… I still get an allergic reaction to it!!!

Strewth!

Anyway, i like it a lot more than that last one – for several reasons. It’s got a matt screen – the last one had a shiny one, which hurts my eyes. It’s got a much better keyboard, too. It’s got more RAM, a bigger hard drive, and a much faster processor as well. The hard drive on the last one was getting full up – so i knew it was time to buy a new computer!

Still, now i’ve got to cart this great big heavy thing halfway round the planet with me!!!

Ok… Now i really must go!!!

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