Monday 10 October 2011

Makes you spit

The picture at the top of the page is an 18th Century Lowestoft cuspidor, otherwise known as a spittoon.  It is there to show Tim and will go in a day or so.  Slightly lowers the tone, don't you think?

I spent all afternoon on the Sage's laptop.  In a using sense, not a squatting one.  It was fine, if dispiriting.  I had about 25 documents to download, several to type, then I had to combine the eventual 23 into a PDF with a rewriter - which is the reason I couldn't use my computer, the programme isn't compatible with Macs.  Every time I downloaded a file, I had to resave it to the desktop, because I couldn't find it.  Where on earth do they go?  I looked all over.  In recent documents, in downloads, I conducted searches - I daresay it's absolutely straightforward once you know, but I don't know and I couldn't find out.  Still, the job has been done and sent out and I'm ready for my meeting on Friday.  I'm not yet ready for Wednesday, but there's still a day in hand.

I downloaded an app that means you can handwrite directly on to the iPad, using your finger or a stylus.  Using my finger works, but can anyone tell me what to use as a stylus?  My finger handwriting is dreadful!  It's very convenient in other respects, but I really do need a tool to write with.  A leadless pencil doesn't work, nor does a chopstick.  Mind you, one of the things I bought it for was to be able to write musical notation, and that's fine.  Nothing complicated, it's simply that a clarinet is pitched in B flat, so to play with instruments pitched in C you have to go up a tone.  And, every time I write it out, I use it and then lose the paper between then and needing it again, several months later.  So having it on the iPad will be a Boon and a Blessing.

Big Pinkie decided to leave the meadow again this morning.  We had a phone call from Jonny, saying that another farmer had seen her.  So we went and searched, but we couldn't find her, so concluded that she'd moved on to another field with lots of cows instead of her friend 109.  However, the farmer has since moved the rest of the cows and left her.  "Could you lead her back?" asked Jonny this evening.  Well, only trouble there is that she will follow but not be led.  So one would have to walk half a mile with nothing but a bag of tempting apples to stop her turning into someone's garden or getting spooked by a dog or something.  The Sage has not been able to find out where she got out, but I suspect her of having opposable thumbed hooves.  I have not forgotten the time, several years ago, when she let herself out of her field, into my kitchen garden, ate all my sweet corn and went back to the field again.  We never did know how she did it.

I think I mentioned a while ago that Jonny has started to sell unpasteurised milk from the farm gate, and very good stuff it is too.  His mother makes clotted cream, and sells 10 tubs of it a day.  Clotted cream is not hard to do, but needs care, as it's quite a waste if you go off and forget it.  Hers is delicious, I'm restricting myself to tiny quantities but still feel that I will gain a whole lot of weight if I indulge more than occasionally.

18 comments:

Dave said...

When I download files to my PC, before pressing the final enter to start the download, one is shown where the computer proposes to hide (sorry, store) the file - and one can change it - I normally tell it to dump them on the desktop, to file away properly later.

Z said...

It doesn't, though. It does when, having opened it, I 'save as', I then put it on the desktop (and then into a folder there, I don't understand how files work at all on PCs). If I just download without opening it, I can't find it.

Z said...

On my computer, I file downloads as I go.

Dave said...

A lot of files that I download are church documents that I want to read, but not necessarily keep - so they go on the desktop so that after they're read, they are easy to put in the rubbish bin.

I can't explain why you don't get the option to decide where to file when downloading though - I certainly do on my PC.

Marion said...

Did you ever get Big Pinkie back where she belongs? You need to rename that cow Houdini. Goats. The neighbor's goats were on my carport today. Talk about escape artists!

Roses said...

Hope Big Pinkie comes home soon looking smug from all of her adventures.

She heard about the cow in Germany and decided she could do it too.

Dave said...

I've just tried downloading a doc onto my PC. I had the option (top of the form) where to download it, and what to call it (bottom of form) if I don't like the given name. I can't explain why this doesn't happen on the Sage's PC.

Z said...

We weren't going to look in the dark! The Sage has just gone out, so he's going to see if he can spot her, but we still are not offering to bring her back along the road. Asking for trouble. She is just wilful, old rascal that she is!

I'll have to get Squiffany to show me sometime, Dave.

Dave said...

I'm sure a child is the best bet. Windows help says:


When you download files, Windows usually saves them in the Downloads folder, which is located under your user name in the Users folder on the drive where Windows is installed (for example C:\users\your name\downloads). When you are saving the file, you can choose to save it to a different folder. Some different types of files are saved to different folders by default. For example, if you right-click a picture on a webpage and then choose Save Picture As from the menu, the picture will be saved to the Pictures folder by default. If you're not sure where the file was saved, you can search for it from the Start menu.

I remember now that I changed my default setting to be the desktop, but I can't recall quite how I did that.

Z said...

You can see why I stick to the computer I've got, as far as possible!

Dave said...

I know I once tried to use a friend's Mac, and couldn't manage to do anything without a mouse.

Tim said...

Thank you for the sighting, Z. It would feel like a desecration to spit into anything as beautiful as that; so I'll just have to stick to my swallowing policy. (If I ever attend another wine tasting, that is.)

Z said...

Swallowing is the best policy, in my opinion, Tim!

It's little things like a window closing on the wrong side and the @ being in the wrong place on the keyboard, for a start!

Bilbo said...

The file saving thing is probably because of the big changes between the last few versions of Windows, they like to keep people on their toes!
If you can touch type Z you could set your profile on the Sage's lappy to use a US keyboard and then you'd know where the @ is - in this case Apple were too lazy to make a proper UK keyboard. I use both so much that I normally get it right now - my fingers have learned which OS needs what key. I think it's weird that I cope...

As for Ipad Stylus choices, I've just ordered an Alupen after a bit of research otherwise there's always my friend Mr Google.

Pat said...

Speaking from the depths of ignorance would big Pinkie tolerate a lead?
Unpasteurised milk conjures up the awful forties. Do take care.

Unknown said...

I remember, as a boy, taking a Jersy cow about a mile and a half along an A road to her new home. If a car came up behind us, I would tighten the halter on which I was leading her and she'd gallop madly in a complete circle, which of course got her going in the correct direction again. Have you tried Pinky on a halter - it might work. As she knows you it should give you some control without panicking her.

Z said...

Well, it's easier for me to remember what's in (to me) the wrong place than it is for the Sage to learn that the @ isn't where the keyboard says it is. I rarely use his laptop after all.

Thank you for the link. You're jolly helpful and I appreciate it. Do I know you?

We tried Pinkie with a halter once, she did not appreciate it at all. The milk is very thoroughly tested, to higher standards than the milk that goes to be pasteurised.

Bilbo said...

I was thinking it would be useful if you had your own userid rather than using the Sage's - I quite agree it would be somewhat unkind to swap his keyboard around. Of course if you share the same userid it wouldn't work, I'll have to check if it works the way I think just to satisfy my own curiousity now!

I'm glad to be of help, I always feel knowledge is to be shared not hoarded - especially as I'm likely to be the one to benefit. We've never met and I can't remember now how I found your blog, been reading it for a while before I posted though. I recently moved up to South Cambs with my wife and child from the Big Smoke and I used to live in Norfolk for a short while. I'm Bill/William (answer to either) and was called Bilbo a long time ago and I just use it online these days.