Yes, we had to bite the bullet and buy a new one. I wrote the column last week under some duress as we were waiting for someone to come round and fix the old one. We heard nothing from the guy who was due, nor have we heard from him since. On Friday I phoned up a couple of other people but neither could offer any help, instead recommending we buy a new machine. Which we have.
It's very similar to the old one, different in only a couple of ways, chiefly the spin function is 1,400rpm rather than 1,600rpm – although improvements in design and efficiency may make up for the difference – and IT WORKS! We've tested it and run a full wash through it and it seems to be working perfectly. No more hand washing my smalls of a weekend (OK, one weekend).
Next up, new glasses, which I'll be picking up tomorrow, Hopefully it will resolve the eye strain I'm currently suffering. The work I'm involved in at the moment means I'm reading tons of stuff on the computer screen and I'm beginning to realise how bad a lot of websites are, with their pale text against coloured backgrounds. You know it's bad when you have to highlight paragraphs to read, or (what I've been doing) cutting and pasting them into text documents, where the text can be made black and of a size that's reasonably comfortable to read. (It also means I have those notes should I need to go back to them, rather than try to figure out which one of a dozen websites that I've been looking at contained the information I'm after.)
The "con" to this is speed. Although I'm keeping up a reasonable pace of around 1,200 to 1,400 words a day, I'm often missing one or two vital details – usually financial, which companies often won't commit to their website. Trying to get this information out of said companies is a nightmare and I'm seriously worried for some. Who ignores the opportunity of free advertising?
A quick plug: on 1 February, Crikey! Volume 1 appears reprinting the first five issues of the magazine from 2007-2008 in a 200-page, perfect bound book. This is a best of rather than a full reprint, but will include articles about Frank Bellamy, Don Lawrence, Ron Embleton, Adam Eterno, Lady Penelpe, Andy Capp, plus features My Comicy Saturday, Nutty Notions and The Crikey! Chat.
If you never had the opportunity to read the original mag., this is a great chance to catch up.
That's my lot. Tired eyes have got the better of me.
Most modern browsers have a reader function that provide a clean, easy on the eye, page designed for easier reading. #UseTheToolsAtHand
ReplyDelete