Climbing the walls

I came in after clearing away the snow, put my feet up at my desk and began working on my laptop then fizz... the screen went dull.



Melting snow had dripped onto the transformer connecting my laptop to the power, leaving me with just two hours of battery power to back-up my work which thankfully I did. That was the beginning.



The next step was to get a replacement, which Karin ordered from Dell... Then after a day or three no sign of the money coming out of my account to pay for the thing, so we checked the order with Dell and no sign of it. Thankfully we were able to get one locally for less dosh. Meanwhile, yours truly was suffering from computer withdrawal and not too quietly climbing the walls.

Of course I could use Karin's laptop when she wasn't using it so I could keep up with email and what-not but then Karin has a lot of work to do on her machine.  I took to making notes and using the Oxford Shorter English Dictionary for checking my spelling, which though not too hot seems better than the average college student's.

The thought occurred to me that at some point in the future we'll hear about the well-to-do having to go through rehab for laptop withdrawal.  What would happen if something was to mess up the digital infrastructure and cell phones stopped working - imagine the chaos?  No 'like' chatting on the 'like' Blackberry and worst of all, no texting!  Will the kids get over it?  Would commerce grind to a halt?

At one time Blackberrying meant going into the countryside to pick blackberries, it did not mean texting someone in a strange, almost incomprehensible language that would even have Dr. Daniel Jackson confused (one for the Stargate fans there).  If this were to be suddenly removed from the young I suspect it would be worse than taking the beer from a dorm party!  For older folk, just think of a cheese-less Wisconsin or one without Miller Light and the Packers!  I think you get the picture.