Random Confessions

[TallyT]

Hello my name is Moose and I turn into a rageaholic when I try to interact in the Russian Ladies Thread.

It's been 15 minutes since my last meltdown and I fear I'm going to get a warning.

What makes you guys unreasonably furious?

I know you probably don't feel you can do this, being Plushy's fan, but I have put every single Russian lady, and every single thread about them, on ignore, and skating is much better and more fun for me without it all.

 

[TallyT]

I feel guilty for complaining when so much of the rest of the world is having so much worse than me at the minute, but...

Okay, it's good that the warm, wet spring has meant that we are looking at a much lesser fire season. On the other hand, it has also been prime breeding conditions for one of the natural joys of Australian life.
We have had to evict no less than five spiders, mostly medium, one pretty big huntsman, from the house this week. I do. not. like. spiders. in. my. bedroom.

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

As those that read my Predictions posts for the Russian and Japanese Championships will know, our Windows 10 computer died just before Christmas week. Barely a year and 2 weeks after it was bought.

At first, it looked like the hard drive had failed. And I was panicking because although there weren’t many personal files on it (practically everything is on my external hard drive, and a backup), those few files that were on it were things that I wanted to keep.

Since we couldn’t go online ourselves, my Uncle started researching online. And he found that the general advice was to re-install Windows. The problem was that the computer did not come with installation discs!

So, we contacted the company that we bought it off. And when they eventually got back to us, they said the same, and provided a link to where to download the installation files.

As the installation file is 8.3GB, and a DVD is only 4.5GB, it had to be put onto a USB stick. And the biggest USB stick I have is 8GB! (Because I had the external hard drive that fitted in my coat pocket, I never felt the need for a bigger stick). So, I had to buy a bigger stick.

This is not a good time to have to buy items that are deemed to be non-essential. Due to the strict COVID-19 restrictions we currently have in Northern Ireland, all non-essential retail is closed. That wasn’t a problem during last year’s lockdowns, as we could just order stuff online. But, that was before the end of the Brexit transition period.

So as to avoid having a hard border on the island, the EU and the UK government came to an arrangement whereby Northern Ireland remained in the Single Market, with the customs border instead being in the Irish Sea. Sounds like a good solution in theory, but it has turned out to be disastrous in practice.

Since the Brexit transition period ended at the start of the year, it has become VERY difficult to get stuff delivered to Northern Ireland. Probably due to the fact that trade arrangements for Great Britain were finalised so late (i.e. the day before Christmas Eve), companies and people outside these islands are now wary of sending things to anywhere in the UK. I don’t think many realise that NI has different arrangements to GB, and that essentially nothing has changed if they are sending things to NI.

On top of that, a lot of people and companies in Great Britain are refusing to send stuff to Northern Ireland, because we are still in the Single Market and the new customs arrangements are too complicated. There are companies that are accepting orders, and are then cancelling them when they realise that the delivery address is in NI. One of the big postal companies that operates here but is based in GB has even stopped doing deliveries to NI.

The most visible result of all this is that the big supermarkets have empty shelves because stock coming from GB cannot get through.

Some context. Before 1997, all the supermarkets in NI were owned by companies that were based on this island. But since then, all the chains except one have been bought by English companies, and we have also had a couple of completely new entrants to the market. The three biggest supermarkets by far in NI (one German chain and two English chains) all have a substantial presence on both sides of the border, so it shouldn’t be hard for them to make changes to their supply chains.

The smallest chain (English) also has stores across the island (6 stores in the North and 17 in the South). However, it is the most affected by the changes, as ALL their stock comes from GB. So, given that it has such a small presence (and the company as a whole has been struggling for years), I wouldn’t be surprised if they pull out of operating on this island.

The 4th and 6th biggest supermarkets in NI (both English owned) do not operate in Southern Ireland. The 4th biggest chain (17 stores) has had a string of different owners in the 23 years since the original NI owner sold up. Their most recent parent company has recently been sold, and I would not be surprised if the new owners did not want to operate in NI. If the new owners do put their NI stores up for sale, I fully expect the 6th biggest supermarket (13 stores) to buy the stores, as it would give them a presence across the whole geographic area of NI. There would be no competition concerns, as there is only one town where the two chains overlap, and one of the stores there could be sold or closed*. Plus, having a supermarket in more towns would mean that the currently smaller chain could more effectively pursue their aim of integrating their catalogue business (which is present in practically all major towns in NI) into their supermarket business.

The 5th biggest supermarket in NI is the chain that was not bought over, and is still owned by a Southern Irish company.​

Sorry, I digress. Back to the subject.

So, we were very restricted on where to get a USB stick. I told my Uncle what I wanted – a 128GB stick ***with a cap*** (I don’t trust the sliding sticks that are in fashion at the moment to keep dust out), and he went looking. And although sticks with a cap are like hen’s teeth nowadays, fortunately he was able to find one that fitted the bill on a website that does deliver to NI.

While waiting for it to arrive, I decided to do some experimenting. Since I couldn’t get onto the hard drive when it was in the new Windows 10 computer, I took it out and put it into the old Windows 7 computer. And I was relieved to find that all the personal files were still on it. So, I was able to transfer them off that hard drive. Which was a huge relief.

However, I know that there are some files in the recycle bin that my Mum deleted thinking that they would not be needed again, but that I would like retrieved just in case they are. However, the recycle bin on the Windows 7 computer is only displaying the files that were deleted from it’s own hard drive. And although I have found the location of the recycle bin on the new computer’s hard drive, it won’t let me access the folder. And hence, I can’t get the files out.

Yesterday, I sent an e-mail to the tech support at the place we bought the computer from, and they came back to me today explaining how to get access to the folders. However, when I did gain access, they too only listed the files that were deleted from the old computer’s own hard drive.

So, I sent them another e-mail updating them on what happened, and am currently waiting for a response. But once I get an answer, and hopefully am able to do what I want to do, I will be straight into re-installing Windows 10 on the new computer. Because this not being online has meant that I have got so far behind in so many things.

That said, there have been some benefits to not going online. Such as being able to get completely caught up in editing all the Word documents I have for my Fan Fests to be in a more Xenforo friendly format. And doing the same for all my Predictions Games files from the past 7 years.

Admittedly, not being online has meant that I was not able to actually update the contents of the Fan Fests. But, sorting out the formatting means that a big hole has been made in the work.

I am hoping that this will all be sorted by the start of the week. Because this has gone on for too long.

See you sometime soon!

CaroLiza_fan


* = This is the reason I included this off-topic discussion. The two stores in question are in retail parks that are located 1.5 miles apart on opposite sides of the same road. The significant thing is that one of the stores is right beside the building that used to contain the town’s ice rink (it is now a cinéma). So, if this store closed, it would surely be the perfect location for a new ice rink!

 

[Jeanie19]

As those that read my Predictions posts for the Russian and Japanese Championships will know, our Windows 10 computer died just before Christmas week. Barely a year and 2 weeks after it was bought.

At first, it looked like the hard drive had failed. And I was panicking because although there weren’t many personal files on it (practically everything is on my external hard drive, and a backup), those few files that were on it were things that I wanted to keep.

Since we couldn’t go online ourselves, my Uncle started researching online. And he found that the general advice was to re-install Windows. The problem was that the computer did not come with installation discs!

So, we contacted the company that we bought it off. And when they eventually got back to us, they said the same, and provided a link to where to download the installation files.

As the installation file is 8.3GB, and a DVD is only 4.5GB, it had to be put onto a USB stick. And the biggest USB stick I have is 8GB! (Because I had the external hard drive that fitted in my coat pocket, I never felt the need for a bigger stick). So, I had to buy a bigger stick.

This is not a good time to have to buy items that are deemed to be non-essential. Due to the strict COVID-19 restrictions we currently have in Northern Ireland, all non-essential retail is closed. That wasn’t a problem during last year’s lockdowns, as we could just order stuff online. But, that was before the end of the Brexit transition period.

So as to avoid having a hard border on the island, the EU and the UK government came to an arrangement whereby Northern Ireland remained in the Single Market, with the customs border instead being in the Irish Sea. Sounds like a good solution in theory, but it has turned out to be disastrous in practice.

Since the Brexit transition period ended at the start of the year, it has become VERY difficult to get stuff delivered to Northern Ireland. Probably due to the fact that trade arrangements for Great Britain were finalised so late (i.e. the day before Christmas Eve), companies and people outside these islands are now wary of sending things to anywhere in the UK. I don’t think many realise that NI has different arrangements to GB, and that essentially nothing has changed if they are sending things to NI.

On top of that, a lot of people and companies in Great Britain are refusing to send stuff to Northern Ireland, because we are still in the Single Market and the new customs arrangements are too complicated. There are companies that are accepting orders, and are then cancelling them when they realise that the delivery address is in NI. One of the big postal companies that operates here but is based in GB has even stopped doing deliveries to NI.

The most visible result of all this is that the big supermarkets have empty shelves because stock coming from GB cannot get through.

Some context. Before 1997, all the supermarkets in NI were owned by companies that were based on this island. But since then, all the chains except one have been bought by English companies, and we have also had a couple of completely new entrants to the market. The three biggest supermarkets by far in NI (one German chain and two English chains) all have a substantial presence on both sides of the border, so it shouldn’t be hard for them to make changes to their supply chains.

The smallest chain (English) also has stores across the island (6 stores in the North and 17 in the South). However, it is the most affected by the changes, as ALL their stock comes from GB. So, given that it has such a small presence (and the company as a whole has been struggling for years), I wouldn’t be surprised if they pull out of operating on this island.

The 4th and 6th biggest supermarkets in NI (both English owned) do not operate in Southern Ireland. The 4th biggest chain (17 stores) has had a string of different owners in the 23 years since the original NI owner sold up. Their most recent parent company has recently been sold, and I would not be surprised if the new owners did not want to operate in NI. If the new owners do put their NI stores up for sale, I fully expect the 6th biggest supermarket (13 stores) to buy the stores, as it would give them a presence across the whole geographic area of NI. There would be no competition concerns, as there is only one town where the two chains overlap, and one of the stores there could be sold or closed*. Plus, having a supermarket in more towns would mean that the currently smaller chain could more effectively pursue their aim of integrating their catalogue business (which is present in practically all major towns in NI) into their supermarket business.

The 5th biggest supermarket in NI is the chain that was not bought over, and is still owned by a Southern Irish company.

Sorry, I digress. Back to the subject.

So, we were very restricted on where to get a USB stick. I told my Uncle what I wanted – a 128GB stick ***with a cap*** (I don’t trust the sliding sticks that are in fashion at the moment to keep dust out), and he went looking. And although sticks with a cap are like hen’s teeth nowadays, fortunately he was able to find one that fitted the bill on a website that does deliver to NI.

While waiting for it to arrive, I decided to do some experimenting. Since I couldn’t get onto the hard drive when it was in the new Windows 10 computer, I took it out and put it into the old Windows 7 computer. And I was relieved to find that all the personal files were still on it. So, I was able to transfer them off that hard drive. Which was a huge relief.

However, I know that there are some files in the recycle bin that my Mum deleted thinking that they would not be needed again, but that I would like retrieved just in case they are. However, the recycle bin on the Windows 7 computer is only displaying the files that were deleted from it’s own hard drive. And although I have found the location of the recycle bin on the new computer’s hard drive, it won’t let me access the folder. And hence, I can’t get the files out.

Yesterday, I sent an e-mail to the tech support at the place we bought the computer from, and they came back to me today explaining how to get access to the folders. However, when I did gain access, they too only listed the files that were deleted from the old computer’s own hard drive.

So, I sent them another e-mail updating them on what happened, and am currently waiting for a response. But once I get an answer, and hopefully am able to do what I want to do, I will be straight into re-installing Windows 10 on the new computer. Because this not being online has meant that I have got so far behind in so many things.

That said, there have been some benefits to not going online. Such as being able to get completely caught up in editing all the Word documents I have for my Fan Fests to be in a more Xenforo friendly format. And doing the same for all my Predictions Games files from the past 7 years.

Admittedly, not being online has meant that I was not able to actually update the contents of the Fan Fests. But, sorting out the formatting means that a big hole has been made in the work.

I am hoping that this will all be sorted by the start of the week. Because this has gone on for too long.

See you sometime soon!

CaroLiza_fan


* = This is the reason I included this off-topic discussion. The two stores in question are in retail parks that are located 1.5 miles apart on opposite sides of the same road. The significant thing is that one of the stores is right beside the building that used to contain the town’s ice rink (it is now a cinéma). So, if this store closed, it would surely be the perfect location for a new ice rink!

Hang in there, things will get better. You are missed on Golden Skate.

 

[ladyjane]

As those that read my Predictions posts for the Russian and Japanese Championships will know, our Windows 10 computer died just before Christmas week. Barely a year and 2 weeks after it was bought.

At first, it looked like the hard drive had failed. And I was panicking because although there weren’t many personal files on it (practically everything is on my external hard drive, and a backup), those few files that were on it were things that I wanted to keep.

Since we couldn’t go online ourselves, my Uncle started researching online. And he found that the general advice was to re-install Windows. The problem was that the computer did not come with installation discs!

So, we contacted the company that we bought it off. And when they eventually got back to us, they said the same, and provided a link to where to download the installation files.

As the installation file is 8.3GB, and a DVD is only 4.5GB, it had to be put onto a USB stick. And the biggest USB stick I have is 8GB! (Because I had the external hard drive that fitted in my coat pocket, I never felt the need for a bigger stick). So, I had to buy a bigger stick.

This is not a good time to have to buy items that are deemed to be non-essential. Due to the strict COVID-19 restrictions we currently have in Northern Ireland, all non-essential retail is closed. That wasn’t a problem during last year’s lockdowns, as we could just order stuff online. But, that was before the end of the Brexit transition period.

So as to avoid having a hard border on the island, the EU and the UK government came to an arrangement whereby Northern Ireland remained in the Single Market, with the customs border instead being in the Irish Sea. Sounds like a good solution in theory, but it has turned out to be disastrous in practice.

Since the Brexit transition period ended at the start of the year, it has become VERY difficult to get stuff delivered to Northern Ireland. Probably due to the fact that trade arrangements for Great Britain were finalised so late (i.e. the day before Christmas Eve), companies and people outside these islands are now wary of sending things to anywhere in the UK. I don’t think many realise that NI has different arrangements to GB, and that essentially nothing has changed if they are sending things to NI.

On top of that, a lot of people and companies in Great Britain are refusing to send stuff to Northern Ireland, because we are still in the Single Market and the new customs arrangements are too complicated. There are companies that are accepting orders, and are then cancelling them when they realise that the delivery address is in NI. One of the big postal companies that operates here but is based in GB has even stopped doing deliveries to NI.

The most visible result of all this is that the big supermarkets have empty shelves because stock coming from GB cannot get through.

Some context. Before 1997, all the supermarkets in NI were owned by companies that were based on this island. But since then, all the chains except one have been bought by English companies, and we have also had a couple of completely new entrants to the market. The three biggest supermarkets by far in NI (one German chain and two English chains) all have a substantial presence on both sides of the border, so it shouldn’t be hard for them to make changes to their supply chains.

The smallest chain (English) also has stores across the island (6 stores in the North and 17 in the South). However, it is the most affected by the changes, as ALL their stock comes from GB. So, given that it has such a small presence (and the company as a whole has been struggling for years), I wouldn’t be surprised if they pull out of operating on this island.

The 4th and 6th biggest supermarkets in NI (both English owned) do not operate in Southern Ireland. The 4th biggest chain (17 stores) has had a string of different owners in the 23 years since the original NI owner sold up. Their most recent parent company has recently been sold, and I would not be surprised if the new owners did not want to operate in NI. If the new owners do put their NI stores up for sale, I fully expect the 6th biggest supermarket (13 stores) to buy the stores, as it would give them a presence across the whole geographic area of NI. There would be no competition concerns, as there is only one town where the two chains overlap, and one of the stores there could be sold or closed*. Plus, having a supermarket in more towns would mean that the currently smaller chain could more effectively pursue their aim of integrating their catalogue business (which is present in practically all major towns in NI) into their supermarket business.

The 5th biggest supermarket in NI is the chain that was not bought over, and is still owned by a Southern Irish company.

Sorry, I digress. Back to the subject.

So, we were very restricted on where to get a USB stick. I told my Uncle what I wanted – a 128GB stick ***with a cap*** (I don’t trust the sliding sticks that are in fashion at the moment to keep dust out), and he went looking. And although sticks with a cap are like hen’s teeth nowadays, fortunately he was able to find one that fitted the bill on a website that does deliver to NI.

While waiting for it to arrive, I decided to do some experimenting. Since I couldn’t get onto the hard drive when it was in the new Windows 10 computer, I took it out and put it into the old Windows 7 computer. And I was relieved to find that all the personal files were still on it. So, I was able to transfer them off that hard drive. Which was a huge relief.

However, I know that there are some files in the recycle bin that my Mum deleted thinking that they would not be needed again, but that I would like retrieved just in case they are. However, the recycle bin on the Windows 7 computer is only displaying the files that were deleted from it’s own hard drive. And although I have found the location of the recycle bin on the new computer’s hard drive, it won’t let me access the folder. And hence, I can’t get the files out.

Yesterday, I sent an e-mail to the tech support at the place we bought the computer from, and they came back to me today explaining how to get access to the folders. However, when I did gain access, they too only listed the files that were deleted from the old computer’s own hard drive.

So, I sent them another e-mail updating them on what happened, and am currently waiting for a response. But once I get an answer, and hopefully am able to do what I want to do, I will be straight into re-installing Windows 10 on the new computer. Because this not being online has meant that I have got so far behind in so many things.

That said, there have been some benefits to not going online. Such as being able to get completely caught up in editing all the Word documents I have for my Fan Fests to be in a more Xenforo friendly format. And doing the same for all my Predictions Games files from the past 7 years.

Admittedly, not being online has meant that I was not able to actually update the contents of the Fan Fests. But, sorting out the formatting means that a big hole has been made in the work.

I am hoping that this will all be sorted by the start of the week. Because this has gone on for too long.

See you sometime soon!

CaroLiza_fan


* = This is the reason I included this off-topic discussion. The two stores in question are in retail parks that are located 1.5 miles apart on opposite sides of the same road. The significant thing is that one of the stores is right beside the building that used to contain the town’s ice rink (it is now a cinéma). So, if this store closed, it would surely be the perfect location for a new ice rink!

I really miss you on Golden Skate, not just for being getting far behind on certain topics and discussions but also because I like your input in various threads, so I hope everything will be sorted for you next week. You'll be warmly welcomed back!

 

[elektra blue]

i could tell it was you before even seeing your avatar by the wall of text get back soon!

 

[LadyB]

As those that read my Predictions posts for the Russian and Japanese Championships will know, our Windows 10 computer died just before Christmas week. Barely a year and 2 weeks after it was bought.

At first, it looked like the hard drive had failed. And I was panicking because although there weren’t many personal files on it (practically everything is on my external hard drive, and a backup), those few files that were on it were things that I wanted to keep.

Since we couldn’t go online ourselves, my Uncle started researching online. And he found that the general advice was to re-install Windows. The problem was that the computer did not come with installation discs!

So, we contacted the company that we bought it off. And when they eventually got back to us, they said the same, and provided a link to where to download the installation files.

As the installation file is 8.3GB, and a DVD is only 4.5GB, it had to be put onto a USB stick. And the biggest USB stick I have is 8GB! (Because I had the external hard drive that fitted in my coat pocket, I never felt the need for a bigger stick). So, I had to buy a bigger stick.

This is not a good time to have to buy items that are deemed to be non-essential. Due to the strict COVID-19 restrictions we currently have in Northern Ireland, all non-essential retail is closed. That wasn’t a problem during last year’s lockdowns, as we could just order stuff online. But, that was before the end of the Brexit transition period.

So as to avoid having a hard border on the island, the EU and the UK government came to an arrangement whereby Northern Ireland remained in the Single Market, with the customs border instead being in the Irish Sea. Sounds like a good solution in theory, but it has turned out to be disastrous in practice.

Since the Brexit transition period ended at the start of the year, it has become VERY difficult to get stuff delivered to Northern Ireland. Probably due to the fact that trade arrangements for Great Britain were finalised so late (i.e. the day before Christmas Eve), companies and people outside these islands are now wary of sending things to anywhere in the UK. I don’t think many realise that NI has different arrangements to GB, and that essentially nothing has changed if they are sending things to NI.

On top of that, a lot of people and companies in Great Britain are refusing to send stuff to Northern Ireland, because we are still in the Single Market and the new customs arrangements are too complicated. There are companies that are accepting orders, and are then cancelling them when they realise that the delivery address is in NI. One of the big postal companies that operates here but is based in GB has even stopped doing deliveries to NI.

The most visible result of all this is that the big supermarkets have empty shelves because stock coming from GB cannot get through.

Some context. Before 1997, all the supermarkets in NI were owned by companies that were based on this island. But since then, all the chains except one have been bought by English companies, and we have also had a couple of completely new entrants to the market. The three biggest supermarkets by far in NI (one German chain and two English chains) all have a substantial presence on both sides of the border, so it shouldn’t be hard for them to make changes to their supply chains.

The smallest chain (English) also has stores across the island (6 stores in the North and 17 in the South). However, it is the most affected by the changes, as ALL their stock comes from GB. So, given that it has such a small presence (and the company as a whole has been struggling for years), I wouldn’t be surprised if they pull out of operating on this island.

The 4th and 6th biggest supermarkets in NI (both English owned) do not operate in Southern Ireland. The 4th biggest chain (17 stores) has had a string of different owners in the 23 years since the original NI owner sold up. Their most recent parent company has recently been sold, and I would not be surprised if the new owners did not want to operate in NI. If the new owners do put their NI stores up for sale, I fully expect the 6th biggest supermarket (13 stores) to buy the stores, as it would give them a presence across the whole geographic area of NI. There would be no competition concerns, as there is only one town where the two chains overlap, and one of the stores there could be sold or closed*. Plus, having a supermarket in more towns would mean that the currently smaller chain could more effectively pursue their aim of integrating their catalogue business (which is present in practically all major towns in NI) into their supermarket business.

The 5th biggest supermarket in NI is the chain that was not bought over, and is still owned by a Southern Irish company.

Sorry, I digress. Back to the subject.

So, we were very restricted on where to get a USB stick. I told my Uncle what I wanted – a 128GB stick ***with a cap*** (I don’t trust the sliding sticks that are in fashion at the moment to keep dust out), and he went looking. And although sticks with a cap are like hen’s teeth nowadays, fortunately he was able to find one that fitted the bill on a website that does deliver to NI.

While waiting for it to arrive, I decided to do some experimenting. Since I couldn’t get onto the hard drive when it was in the new Windows 10 computer, I took it out and put it into the old Windows 7 computer. And I was relieved to find that all the personal files were still on it. So, I was able to transfer them off that hard drive. Which was a huge relief.

However, I know that there are some files in the recycle bin that my Mum deleted thinking that they would not be needed again, but that I would like retrieved just in case they are. However, the recycle bin on the Windows 7 computer is only displaying the files that were deleted from it’s own hard drive. And although I have found the location of the recycle bin on the new computer’s hard drive, it won’t let me access the folder. And hence, I can’t get the files out.

Yesterday, I sent an e-mail to the tech support at the place we bought the computer from, and they came back to me today explaining how to get access to the folders. However, when I did gain access, they too only listed the files that were deleted from the old computer’s own hard drive.

So, I sent them another e-mail updating them on what happened, and am currently waiting for a response. But once I get an answer, and hopefully am able to do what I want to do, I will be straight into re-installing Windows 10 on the new computer. Because this not being online has meant that I have got so far behind in so many things.

That said, there have been some benefits to not going online. Such as being able to get completely caught up in editing all the Word documents I have for my Fan Fests to be in a more Xenforo friendly format. And doing the same for all my Predictions Games files from the past 7 years.

Admittedly, not being online has meant that I was not able to actually update the contents of the Fan Fests. But, sorting out the formatting means that a big hole has been made in the work.

I am hoping that this will all be sorted by the start of the week. Because this has gone on for too long.

See you sometime soon!

CaroLiza_fan


* = This is the reason I included this off-topic discussion. The two stores in question are in retail parks that are located 1.5 miles apart on opposite sides of the same road. The significant thing is that one of the stores is right beside the building that used to contain the town’s ice rink (it is now a cinéma). So, if this store closed, it would surely be the perfect location for a new ice rink!

Good to hear from you! Hang in there!

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

Random confession: I really got into the whole video project thing here on Golden Skate, and now I feel like a crazy stalker. It's one thing to search for videos on youtube, you mostly just find competition recordings there, but if you start googling skaters and looking farther than page 2, you might come across some really wild things. It's amazing what kind of stuff people put up on the internet, and once I find it, it's very hard for me to look the other way.

 

[anonymoose_au]

Random confession: I really got into the whole video project thing here on Golden Skate, and now I feel like a crazy stalker. It's one thing to search for videos on youtube, you mostly just find competition recordings there, but if you start googling skaters and looking farther than page 2, you might come across some really wild things. It's amazing what kind of stuff people put up on the internet, and once I find it, it's very hard for me to look the other way.

Ha ha now I'm wondering what you saw?! Not Stephane's Red Cat or Brian Joubert's naked photo shoot?! (I too like researching and have been known to go beyond page 3! )

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

Ha ha now I'm wondering what you saw?! Not Stephane's Red Cat or Brian Joubert's naked photo shoot?! (I too like researching and have been known to go beyond page 3! )

Lol, believe me, you don't wanna know. I wouldn't actually have an issue with some Brian Joubert nudes, if they are done professionally and in good taste. But some of the stuff fans put up on the internet about their favourite skaters is just .

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

Next random confession related to the GS video project: While linking videos I got into the habit of listening to The Skating Lesson on Youtube. Now I'm hooked and also listening to it while cleaning the house, doing the laundry,... The guys can be pretty controversial and I certainly don't agree with everything they say, but some of the stories (especially about coach Galina Zmievskaya) really crack me up.

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

i could tell it was you before even seeing your avatar by the wall of text get back soon!

Am I really that predictable?!

I know you love me really!

Hang in there, things will get better. You are missed on Golden Skate.

I really miss you on Golden Skate, not just for being getting far behind on certain topics and discussions but also because I like your input in various threads, so I hope everything will be sorted for you next week. You'll be warmly welcomed back!

Good to hear from you! Hang in there!

Thank you all for the kind words. I really appreciate them.

Just letting you know that the major computer problems I was having are all now sorted out.

I still don’t know why the computer went wrong, but doing a clean re-install of Windows did solve it. It was just unfortunate that it took so long to work out how to get our personal files (and in particular the items that were in the recycle bin) off the hard drive. But, we did, and in the end we haven’t lost anything, thank goodness.

We did the clean re-install of Windows on Tuesday. Now, maybe I am a bit weird, but I decided to re-install the programmes in alphabetical order this time, so that the icons on the desktop would appear in alphabetical order, making the shortcuts quick and easy to find. (Thank goodness our antivirus starts with the letter “A”!) Consequently, it was Thursday by the time I reached Microsoft Office. Once everything was installed, it was a case of sorting out all the personalisation and the wee things that needed smoothing out, and then getting stuck into writing replies to the PM’s I copied to file the last time I was on here. Which took until last night.

So that we are not left stuck again, we are now shopping for a laptop. We were actually planning on buying a laptop a couple of years ago, but when I couldn’t find one that did as many things as my old laptop, I decided that it would be better to get mine fixed. But, when we couldn’t find anybody who would fix it, we just left things the way they were, with just the desktop.

The only thing now is that, with the schools being closed and the kids having to do schoolwork at home, laptops are in high demand. I know when I went looking into getting a new webcam a few months ago, they were like hen’s teeth, because everybody was wanting them to make video calls. So, it is probably the same with laptops now. And that is even before you take into consideration that a lot of places won’t ship to Northern Ireland any more, so the selection will be even more limited for us.

Incidentally, in case you were wondering about the webcam shopping. We didn’t actually have an urgent need for one. But, since our old one wasn’t compatible with Windows 10, and since we were hearing lots of stories on the TV about how vital video calling was to life during lockdowns, it put the idea into my head of going looking for a new one. But after doing some research and finding that the one I fancied was sold out, I decided not to bother. Hey, we hadn’t even had our old webcam plugged into the old computer for a good 10 years, so the likelihood of wanting to use one now was very small.

Anyway, I’m not going to waffle on and create another wall of text for my darling elektra. I just wanted to let you know that I’m back now.

The question now is what to do first now that I am back on here...

• tie up the loose ends from the Nationals Game
• start installing Fan Fest and video project updates that I was working on before this all happened
• start watching Russian Nationals

Answers on a postcard please to…

CaroLiza_fan

 

[ladyjane]

Yay! CaroLiza_fan is back. Fantastic. Welcome back! Will this picture do for a postcard?

 

[elektra blue]

Am I really that predictable?!

I know you love me really!

perfect start for a brand new wall of text

 

[Amei]

Next random confession related to the GS video project: While linking videos I got into the habit of listening to The Skating Lesson on Youtube. Now I'm hooked and also listening to it while cleaning the house, doing the laundry,... The guys can be pretty controversial and I certainly don't agree with everything they say, but some of the stories (especially about coach Galina Zmievskaya) really crack me up.

I have times where I enjoy listening to them, you are not alone They have some really interesting analysis of the skates, but I think they really need to tone down the TMZ-wannabe dialogue - I mean some of its funny, but when they start getting into some of it that's just outright malicious is when they lose me.

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Yay! CaroLiza_fan is back. Fantastic. Welcome back! Will this picture do for a postcard?

Awwww!!! What a lovely picture of a field of poppies!

Although, I have to admit, when I saw the thumbnail before I actually opened the image, I thought it was one of those colour blindness tests.

It is so rare to see a meadow of wildflowers nowadays. At least it is here, anyway. So, seeing this is a nice reminder of the beauty of nature when she is left to her own devices.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

perfect start for a brand new wall of text

You can go off people, you know...

Nah, I'm only joking. You won't get rid of me as your friend that easily!

Come on, this was only a wee short one in comparison to the last one!

Think yourself lucky. I could have written a lot more, going into all the details about what I had to do to get everything back to normal. But I decided not to bore you all.

By the way, the mouse started misbehaving not long before the computer went wrong (that would hardly have been what set this all off, would it?!) It was opening multiple windows when you clicked on something, and closing multiple windows when you tried to close one. So, we ordered a new one just before this all kicked off. On the website, it looked practically the same as the old one. But when it arrived, it was so much smaller! Too small, I would say! And I am really struggling to get used to it!

So, now I am debating whether to take the chance of ordering the alternative one we were looking at, and keeping this one for when we get a laptop. Because for all we know, the alternative might turn out to be tiny too!

It's amazing how the photos on shopping websites can make you think one thing, when it is actually something else.

Like, photos don't lie...

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

You know how over the past year I have started watching a lot of films from the 40's, 50's and 60's. And that I was specifically targeting comedy films. Well, it is getting to the stage now that I have now seen most of the comedy films that are being shown on the movie channels. So, I decided to start watching films about periods and events from history that I do not know much about, and wanted to know more about.

A couple of weeks ago, I watched "The Lady With A Lamp" (1951), which was about Florence Nightingale. And I got a big shock. I discovered that we were fighting on the opposite side than I thought we were! I always thought we were on the Russian side, fighting the Turks. But, we were actually on the Turkish side, fighting the Russians!

This week, I watched two films about Henry VIII's second marriage. The first, "Anne Of The Thousand Days" (1969), was told from Anne Boleyn's perspective. The second, "A Man For All Seasons" (1966), was told from Thomas More's perspective. And with both films, I was really struggling to keep track of who was who. It is not easy to keep up with what is happening when there are characters called Thomas! (Cranmer, Cromwell, Howard, More, and Wolsey) The number of times somebody was referred to as "Sir Thomas", and I was thinking "which one is this one?"...

My Mum commented to me afterwards that she had the same problem when she was being taught this at school. And that it was things like this that put her off history. And having watched these 2 films, I don't blame her. All I can say is thank goodness the syllabus had changed by the time I was at school. Because if I was taught the things she was, I wouldn't have developed a love of history.

All three of the films I have mentioned so far were really good. The same can't be said about "Marie Antionette" (2006), which I watched before Christmas. Whilst it was interesting to find out more about the story, it was an awful film! The only good things about it were seeing the settings and the costumes; and the soundtrack!

I have another confession related to a film I have watched in the past couple of weeks, but it is a bit embarrassing. So, I don't know whether I should admit to it...

CaroLiza_fan

 

[elektra blue]

i'm going to judge you anyway, so go on

 

[Leo11Ha]

Huge confession here: I actually enjoy Danny's choreo.