mostly david ephgrave

I spent most of the day wrestling with my mobile phone, trying to make sure my contacts are backed up before I take it to the shop to be repaired and risk losing my handset. (You're in for a riveting read today.)  This should have been easier than it was. The software on my phone and laptop should have dealt with it sufficiently, but of course, as with most technology, I couldn't get it to work. I downloaded various apps to do it, none of which would back everything up. I looked on forums for advice. I deleted and reinstalled software, to no avail. I was like I was trying to do something seriously outlandish.  In the end, I resorted to the old-fashioned method of copying my address book out manually. I roped my wife into typing the numbers into an Excel spreadsheet as I read them out; we know how to relax. I can now visit the Vodafone shop tomorrow, safe in the knowledge  that I can text my friends and colleagues afterwards, to let them know how it went. Most ...

Spinny, spin, spin, spin, went the colour wheel on the screen of my MacBook Pro. Spinny, spin, spin, spin. Would it ever stop? The answer to this question, unfortunately, was "no". After watching a myriad of shades rotate for a good - or bad - twenty minutes, I started to panic.  The time had come to put my money where my mouth was (not literally; unhygienic); to call out the big boys (again, not literally; homoerotic); to plump for that last resort taken by so many before me - and switch it off and on again.  From this point, things went from bad to worse. After an hour's-worth of furtive Googling on various internet-enabled devices, the horrible truth slowly began to dawn: a large chunk of the work stored on my computer could irretrievable forever .  (I'm being over-dramatic to keep you interested.) The most important file I might have lost is mine and Glyn's stand-up show. The show that we're currently hawking around. A good couple-of-year...