Tuesday, 15 May 2012
Connections
A friend laughed at my joy over Erin Mae's TV/audio system when we were buying her 18 months ago. His father-in-law (a liveaboard at the time) would have reserved such enthusiasm for a vintage diesel engine requiring constant loving care. It wasn't so much the surround sound – haven't even got that at home. But there are certain things we enjoy watching together, and music has played a large part in our lives. Boating's rural idyll is all very well, but there are times when you want to watch some good Danish drama, or listen to whatever you listen to without the MacBook's speakers completely ruining it. Dolby 5.1 doesn't equal hi-fi, but it sounds pretty good to my somewhat impaired eardrums.
It depends in part on what floats your technological boat. Ever since I wasted homework time drawing transistor radio circuit diagrams, I've loved the magic of electrical connections and the systems they generate. So the most recent challenge was to connect the MacBook to Erin Mae's AV system. Amazon came up with a range of leads and adaptors, while Great Haywood's wonderful poste restante service saw them delivered locally. Today's appalling weather meant it was a day for jobs indoors, so I finished adapting the support for the TV we had brought from home, connected all my new connectors, and now we can listen to the iTunes collection or watch something from iPlayer in proper style. Mind you, an AppleTV added to the setup would do it all with even more aplomb…
The rest of the world of connections goes up and down. We've mislaid the charger for my best beloved's phone, and it's so ancient that neither Carphone Warehouse nor the man with the trolley-load in Stafford's shopping centre stocked one. Calamity! The device that provides Erin Mae's wi-fi works pretty well for the most part, but will occasionally suddenly decide to stop talking to the MacBook. But on the more human front, yesterday we met Philip and Hazel (nb Matthew Flinders, also based at Great Haywood) and found that Philip reads this blog from time to time. Nice to meet you guys. A good connection!
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Good to meet you and to be able to follow your blog again. There is, almost, nothing like cruising vicariously! P did the Northern Lights trip with hurtigruten February last year - but don't forget the yaktrax.
ReplyDeleteNot sure what the yaktrax is – you'll have to enlighten me when our paths cross. It's sounds like an inebriant, an analgesic or one of the excursion experiences!
DeleteYaktrax fit over your shoes and will prevent you looking like an inebriate when going ashore. On our voyage several bones were broken and negotiating the wheelchairs on board thereafter was a challenge. Talking to a Norwegian I was told that the secret to staying upright on the ice is to plant your heel down firmly first and, whatever else you do, don't look down. You pays your money and takes your choice.
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