Google analytics

Monday, 16 March 2015

Why me?

Why is it that whenever someone I know has a problem with their computer, they phone me?

FFS. I'm an old bugger who should know nothing about the workings of the marvels of modern industry. The younger generation are supposedly brought up with computers.

However I think I have the advantage of being an engineer (retired). Engineers are fascinated by how things work and years ago I became interested in computing. My first foray into computing was when I bought, at vast expense, a Sinclair ZX81, with 1k of RAM memory. Wow. I soon learnt to write simple programmes in BASIC (Beginners all purpose symbolic instruction code).

These were the days of computers that really couldn't do much at all. Everyone was trying to find a better system to work with.

I was even on one class of ship that used an air operated computer system to control the engines (Fluidics).

Then windows came along and computers took off with a vengeance. How things have changed.

Why did I write this post? I think my ram memory has failed.


Posted by at

6 comments:

  1. Woodsy4216 March 2015 at 21:47

    Thery don't all phone you - I get a fair number.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous16 March 2015 at 22:32

    When are all these young people going to make a computer that is reliable - well as least as reliable as an abacus or an electric toothbrush.

    ReplyDelete
  3. James Higham18 March 2015 at 08:53

    You forgot to include your phone number. Just in case something breaks down.

    ReplyDelete
  4. APL18 March 2015 at 22:32

    You're lucky, my mother in law phones me any time a light bulb blows.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous19 March 2015 at 21:10

    OOOHHHH those air computers with the flip flop switches, and or gates etc. They had one on one the ships I sailed on. It was supposed to do the bunkers and ballast. Suffice to say they didn't use the bunkers system following putting a couple of tons of 3500 sec Redwood in Singapore harbour. The ballasting system worked, or didn't depending upon if there is a letter D in that particular day of the week.

    The best advice I ever got when bunkering was from an old Chief Engineer. "Son, there are only 2 instructions when bunkering, stop. And STOP, STOP FOR FUCKING CHRISTS SAKES STOP".

    Daedalus

    ReplyDelete
  6. APL22 March 2015 at 08:40

    "depending upon if there is a letter D in that particular day of the week."

    So, pretty damn reliable then?

    ReplyDelete

Say what you like. I try to reply. Comments are not moderated. The author of this blog is not liable for any defamatory or illegal comments.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)