The borrowed small machine stopped working on Saturday morning as I went to check my email account as you do which was a bit of a blow.
I found that little machine pretty handy because it's a bit like a Tablet computer such as an iPad but comes with a built in physical keyboard which makes writing on emailing, forums or blogging easier than touching a virtual one.
It also unlike any kind of Windows computer I've used took just seconds from switch on to be fully usable and it looks after its own updates with speed too.
Thus I decided to buy myself a brand new one made by Asus,the C202SA GJ0027 which features an 11.6 inch screen that I found about right for use say on a arm of chair or table comfortably and at the same time small enough to carry about which if you have fast WiFi or travel by bus or trains that have free access to it makes it easy to use.
I always detested big desktop machines for keeping you rooted to one spot and near enough everything I do is through the browser that's okay talking of which because it is a Chromebook it uses Chrome as it's browser which I really like.
All I'll need to do do is put some footie stickers on and it'll be the bestest boys toy for this one to go with this kewl case to keep it in when it's not being used.
This weekend gone I was talking with some people from a Furry Arts site while some stories were being red so if you're reading this from a link there, Hi!
As anyone who knows me and specifically about this blog realizes it is very rare for me to post about a physical item unless it is in some way connected to either being an adult little boy or actual boyhood.
It's not just a protection from being overrun by things like dvd or book reviews but to ensure there is clear reason routed in this blogs purpose for each post and that always comes back to being about me
The reason I am talking about something I own today is because the music of the Carpenters is heavily connected emotionally to being a boy as it that I listened to on the radio and played in our house as that boy being a part of the soundtrack of that time as you did things like read comics or make things from meccano or lego.
Play a track by them and mentally at least I'm back in that time.
This is a special limited edition set from 1990 when I was returning to more of the interests and routines of boyhood that contains all of their individual albums with notes about who sang and performed on what.
One reason for getting is I find listening to song in the order I am familiar that of the original records or tapes we had pulls me more into 'the past' than just a random selection to the point I recall the people and activities.
It also is a more rewarding object tactilewise for being a fraction bigger than a record with inserts behind glossy paper to flick through with photographs and the like which also help in taking me back.
The individual cds are in wells within the box which keeps the form factor small and the set comprises of the following albums:
Ticket To Ride
Close To You
Carpenters
A Song for You
Now and Then
Horizon
A Kind of Hush
Passage
A Christmas Portrait (1978)
Made In America (1981)
Voice of the Heart (1983)
Lovelines (1989) - from not issued Karen Carpenter solo album sessions of 1977/8
The cds themselves are manufactured by Nimbus in Great Britain
While this isn't a technically minded blog the cds are very clear and rich sounding which is a very good thing.
For me then having this set isn't just convenient it helps in returning to those past times.
Dogs were very much on the edge of my life growing up as we only had one briefly when I was very young and he went off the rails unfortunately so the only dogs I interacted with were those of my relatives one of which had a definite thing for Dashounds and Labradors or the Alsatian one of my teachers in the third and fourth form had and to which I took for long walks.
I mainly encounter dogs today when I go for short walks or are otherwise engaged in more scout like activity when they're being taken out by their owners, a number of which I have got friendly with in recent years.
In the last few days however I haven't been able to get about as much as I'd like due to the very severe rainfall we've been having something in the region of over two months worth in as many days and indeed as I managed to nip out for a half hour earlier on as I'm typing this, it's pouring down.
One hopes this will clear away so we can have more of a real summer this year as much as last year it was very hot and dry.
We enter a new Month in this increasingly maturing blog that somehow manages to marry the past and the present into it and this shows as we've just had the FA Cup, Europa and Championship League soccer matches which I enjoyed jumping up and down in my footie strip watching the tv.
Well back in my boyhood I was quite passionate about soccer, watching matches with my much missed nan on Sunday afternoon scoffing Cadbury's Fruit and Walnut chocolate bars while she'd bring me the Dandy and Sparky comics she kindly bought for me.
That Manchester United souvenir goes back to that era a gift from a schoolboy friend who saw the boyish side of me.
One thing I have been enjoying of late on CBBC is the soccer based drama Jamie Johnson which sprung up from Dan Freedman's stories of an Eleven year old boy with talent but feeling pushed out by bullies who don't want to face real competition.
The Tv series makes the team mixed but it does explore some powerful themes such as sexist behaviour, the power of social media, personal responsibility to yourself and team members, things that may be on young players minds such as parental splits, caring responsibilities,safeguarding, the corrosive effects of parents living their dreams through their children as shown so well with Dillion on yesterdays episode and bullying.
The books are ideal for boys packing in lots of detail in a easy to follow way as we follow the lives of Jamie and his team mates being in many way just the kind of book I'd love to had in upper juniors and lower seniors as a boy making their way match by match navigating drama.
It's hardly surprising I have the full set because it taps into my past feelings, the sense of still being that boy loving playing the game as one of the boys.
