I mentioned a while back that I was having problems with my hitherto faithful Toshiba laptop. In December, I took it to Curry’s to see whether it could be repaired. It could, but as it was now quite old, I decided to buy a new laptop.

I chose a Dell Inspiron and since then I have come to cordially hate the wretched thing. The main reason for my dislike is that it has an intermittent fault. This takes the form of an unstable mouse pointer that darts about madly, making the computer impossible to use. I discovered that I can stabilise the pointer by closing the computer for about 20 seconds. The pointer then behaves, possibly for a couple days but sometimes only a couple of minutes. I have to keep interrupting my work by closing the computer.

Curry’s were unable to help because when I took the wretched thing in to them, it of course refused to misbehave. While I understand that intermittent faults are difficult to deal with, I was less than impressed with Curry’s seeming lack of interest in my problem.

This morning, I went online to Dell to try to obtain help from them. I tried to access the settings they suggested I change and at that moment the cursor decided misbehave: it neatly turned off the trackpad, leaving the computer unusable!

Aboard the 73

All I could do was to stuff the PC and its cable into my shoulder bag and cart it round to Curry’s when they opened at 10 am, by number 73 bus.

Arriving at Curry’s

Fortunately, I was the only customer at the repair counter and I was attended to straightaway. On my previous visit, the (male) assistant had shown a lack of interest in my problem, as though he had already decided that it was insoluble. Today, the (female) assistant was a lot more helpful.

She fetched a mouse and used this to access my computer’s settings. She re-enabled the trackpad and, having listened carefully to my account of the jumping mouse pointer suggest reducing the sensitivity of the trackpad to see whether helped. Unlike The previous assistant, she told me to come back if the problem persisted and she would send the laptop away for testing.

Inside Curry’s store

As I was there, I thought I ought to take a look around the store, especially as it is virtually empty at this time of day. My heart wasn’t in it, though, and after a brief tour of the displays, I left.

Homeward bound on the 73

I boarded a 73 bus which carried me home.

I have used the computer on and off during the day and so far, the mouse pointer has behaved itself. That doesn’t mean that problem has been solved because we often go a day or so without the fault reappearing. It’s a hopeful sign, however.

Inside Pizza Union
Photo by Tigger

Tigger was working the late shift today and we decided to eat out this evening. We arranged to meet at Pizza Union near Old Street Station. Just as I went out to catch a bus, there was a heavy downpour of rain. Fortunately, I had a bus straightaway but not before I had become wet and bedraggled.

Cloudy skies from inside Pizza Union
Photo by Tigger

I arrived first but Tigger was not long in coming. We chose a table near a window. The view outside was wet and miserable.

Watching the Pick Up counter

At Pizza Union, you order and pay at the counter and receive an electronic pager. When the pager buzzes, your pizzas are ready at the Pick Up counter.

Having eaten, we had to confront the wet streets again and walk to a bus stop. Fortunately, it was barely raining, in contrast to the downpour in which I was caught earlier.

We let a loaded 205 bus go by and caught a 214 because we know that this bus is usually much less crowded. So it was this time and we easily found seats. The bus carried us home to the Angel. We changed our wet clothes and made tea. A relaxing evening ahead!