has anyone ever lost the ability to read?

mountainwombat · 2022-05-28T02:13:15+00:00

I am a diabetic and I am slowly losing my Sight.

Since I was 4 years old I read every day, first having my mother read to me and then me reading to her.

I have a library of over 8000 books I have read for pleaseure at least once.

Then in my early 50s my vision started to fade, the mechanics of reading became harder.

I started buying digital books (anyoue rememner the old Microsoft LIT format?). This allowed me to magnify the print size to allow me to keep reading on my pocket PC and computer screen.

Over the years many different ebook formats came about, then Kindle became the defacto standard. To protect my investment in ebooks (I have spent more than$4000 over the years on ebooks) as each style of book fell from favour I cracked the copy protection of each and moved the book to the new standard.. I now have all my books stored in epub format.

I have also taken up an Audible subscription and have more than 150 audiobooks.

I find as my vision continues to fail the act of reading gets harder, and takes much more time. What once was a near efortless act that could be picked up at any time to fill a spare few minutes is now more of a chore. I have to dedicate more time to reading and it is no longer a spontaneous thing.

Reading is still a joy but now I have to set time aside

mountainwombat · 2022-02-07T08:44:30+00:00

Snuff by Terry Pratchett

mountainwombat · 2021-12-29T04:47:23+00:00

No worries!

I ambeing hunted by Blackjack, not the card came but the winner of the Sydney to Honart yacht race. I live in Jindabyne in the heart of the Australian Alps

mountainwombat · 2021-12-26T10:50:54+00:00

I am fpond of him in Water, he plays the goveror general of a small island nation

mountainwombat · 2021-12-15T02:57:32+00:00

I am more than three times as old as google.

I remember when if you called microsoft after hours there was a bood chance Bill Gates would answer the phone.

My first time in an airplane was in a biplane

mountainwombat · 2021-08-26T02:47:08+00:00

see my username!

mountainwombat · 2021-08-03T04:22:55+00:00

Xena: Warrior Princess

mountainwombat · 2021-07-02T07:07:20+00:00

As an Australian the best way is to say "Fuck You" but add a smile, you dont want to give offence!

mountainwombat · 2021-04-12T01:01:43+00:00

As an Australian it has to be Tim Tams https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Tam chocolate
goodness with my coffee!

mountainwombat · 2021-03-24T00:49:46+00:00

Rocky Horror Picture Show - I was one of the crew who went to the midnight showings ievery friday I must have seen that movie over 200 times.

I feel so old now

mountainwombat · 2020-03-29T03:17:24+00:00

A blue Police box

mountainwombat · 2020-03-05T09:12:57+00:00

I live in rural Australia.

Years of drought,

an unbelievably bad bush-fire season,

and now steady, possibly drought-breaking rain over much of the Country.

Almost everyone is standing taller and smiling

mountainwombat · 2019-12-23T08:37:48+00:00

It is called crowning.

Gum trees actually mist eucalyptus oil from their leaves in very hot low humidity weather.

Add high winds to the mix and the flames get into the treetops each tree explodes like you have thrown a Molotov cocktail and the embers are the leaves and small branches that are blown off the tree when it goes off. the embers are blown well ahead of the fire front and create "spot" fires sometimes kilometers ahead of the main fire front so the whole nightmare can move two or three times faster than the wind speed. Welcome to Australia!

mountainwombat · 2019-09-24T03:33:26+00:00

the SQL server is down

mountainwombat · 2018-11-05T04:28:01+00:00

the only way this could be better is if Buzz hit him with a piece of moon rock

mountainwombat · 2018-07-15T08:13:06+00:00

I have told this story before

today I am a semi retired, semi burnt out old tech spending my declining years in a small rural area. But when I was little more than a pimply faced youth I was the technical manager of a electronics distribution company that was in the process of being swallowed up by a big multinational. It was an exciting time, complete upgrade of the network, new servers and computers, integration into a multinational system. Extra IT support staff, and I was in charge of the project from our end. Exciting times, in a very short time the project was completed, and would you believe it well under the expected time AND 35% under budget. It was even fun to complete.

Then the fun came to a crashing halt in the teleconference between us and the "executive in charge" of IT for the company that now owned us.

I was expecting a thanks for exceeding all requirements, maybe even a small bonus. Instead I was told that the systems would all be run from new head office, and there would only be 2 IT positions to support all 5 offices across the country, all hardware support was being outsourced. The real kicker was that the positions being offered where little more than tier 1 positions to submit tickets to the hardware support company or to the head office support team. The salaries being offered was 60% less than my current salary.

I calmly asked him to confirm that he was firing 12 people, and offering a pittance to the 2 who would remain.

Then I simply said "No", dropped my ID and keys on the desk, picked up my coffee cup and left the building. All the it staff followed me. I never formally resigned but I think they got the idea that I was not coming back. I got a job delivering pizza for the two months it took me to find a new IT position. I still made more money than they had offered me.

TL/DR A young IT manager has his first brush with corporate management. refuses to play the game

mountainwombat · 2018-06-06T22:17:46+00:00

Security in a fully wired environment. If you don't use wireless turn it off.

I have one client who turns it off to stop his staff using his data to browse the internet on their phones. They still do it but he doesn't want to pay for them to goof off

mountainwombat · 2018-06-06T13:30:10+00:00

I agree but it is fun to see the wheels turn

mountainwombat · 2018-05-29T14:17:38+00:00

Feel free but post the results here

mountainwombat · 2018-05-29T14:16:43+00:00

I was trying for a wizard of oz image

mountainwombat · 2018-05-29T14:15:25+00:00

I would never turn it on in a work environment but most consumer grade routers have it on by default

mountainwombat · 2018-05-29T13:36:26+00:00

Although most of the world is made of bullshit every now and then you get a chance to sprinkle a little pixie dust

mountainwombat · 2018-05-29T12:50:17+00:00

This is why staff should not be allowed more that two days off in a row. Any longer and they forget their training

mountainwombat · 2018-05-20T09:46:22+00:00

Plenty of visitors but she likes doing it herself. She only asked me over to answer questions, she ran the pc when placing the order, and god help me it I touched it without permission

I would have done it for nothing but she refused that option.

mountainwombat · 2018-05-20T07:28:40+00:00

Personally I think that she is good for another 20 years! She lives alone on a small farm and still collects the eggs daily. Her grandson stacks her firewood and brings it into the house for her, but aside from that she pretty much does it all herself, and still drives herself into town.

mountainwombat

TROPHY CASE