I am actually still here

Wow, I've just found the background colour button, this is fun. I haven't given up blogging but due to the apparent decline of Blogger have been using another one I have where I know people read it and comment, while in 2004 this was all the rage and now seems to have been left behind. But it costs me nothing and will keep updating here in case anyone reads it.

The main issues since last visit have been the optician found two aneurysms in my retina, nothing in themselves and often go away, but needed to know the cause and diabetes was the possible one. Otherwise it's random but had to have a blood test for anything else as well and thank goodness that all came back clear so can now relax on all the other potential health problems I thought were possible as well as the diabetes. The stronger reading glasses are costing me a month's income or so but what can we do when quizzes are being spoilt online by misreading words?
I also got a photo printer for my birthday, late as it took me that long to decide what I wanted. It was a total mistake for many reasons. The research I did didn't raise a photo printer at all, so when I went to the local superstore (plus I wasn't paying except for the extras) I bought the best one my research had identified, which produces wonderful photos but so far appear to be costing me about 65p each at the combined price of ink and paper compared to 5p plus postage (now 1p) online. The convenience of printing as soon as I've taken the photos is wonderful but talk about a luxury and ongoing cost.

So it turns out I bought something totally useless. I have a very old and good printer and scanner, and have no need for others. Of course you can buy photo printers but are specialised and not sold in large stores, and only discovered their actual existence by chance. I now have a huge photocopying machine (I may use a few times a year) as well as combined printer and scanner, I can't keep it in the same room as the PC as it's like trying to fit two cars in one garage, but thought I'd use the portable memory option in the new conservatory. No way Jose, the Sale of Goods Act states all goods should be fit for their purpose, this only reads 1000 photos and memories store 3000 plus. As I'm not spending months on a court case for an irritation the final option is to leave the printer there and use its wireless facility to receive the photos by a network connected to my PC. I went back to the shop and told them I wanted to do this and they sold me a USB dongle, which appears to be to connect a laptop to receive wireless, it seems they should have sold me a router.

I am now in correspondence with the printer people and the shop as if they've sold me the wrong hardware they have to sort it out, and if not then the company have to explain how to connect it up. I emailed and the first reply told me to use my wireless router via an ethernet cable. As I'm connected via a cable modem I had to reply and tell them what I had and how to connect with that. If they confirm I need a router then it's another potential court case (for £35 or so this time) to swap a presumably useless dongle (I can't carry the PC around to use in the park with a generator) for a probably far more expensive router. I'm not going wireless at home as besides the printer I don't want the computer open to all and sundry and losing speed, as well as paying Virgin for a wireless router, and if not will end up carrying the printer in every few weeks from the spare room to make more prints. If I'd done my research then I'd have spent about £30 (plus the same 65p per photo) on a photo printer I'd have bought online (the superstores won't touch them for some reason, probably as they sell mugs like me photocopiers they don't want or need hoping they'll never realise) which is so small it could sit on the desk next to me here. So for the benefit of a few potential photocopies a year I've got a huge useless printer which won't read memories or connect wirelessly. The prints are bloody good which is why I bought it, but would be identical on a photo printer and I'd have £100 plus left over. How they rip us off as they know we don't know as much as they do...