Posted: 8th November 2001

Has anyone else noticed the law of the guarantee? If something is going to break down it will either do so just after the warrantee has expired or it will last for what seems like an eternity?

Sadly, my computer decided to conform to the former condition this weekend. It was quite happily humming away without, apparently, a care in the world on Sunday night and dead as a dodo by the next morning. It wouldn't be so bad if it was similar to my previous one... reconditioned and probably on its last legs when I bought it. This one was a Pentium 3, one year and two weeks old.

At first it seemed likely that the power source had failed. Not too bad a job to fix. This soon moved on to the possibility of the motherboard dying, but that theory was also proved wrong. No... it was the actual processor which had given up the ghost!

Luckily, in Holland, there seems to be an unwritten law that something failing so close to the expiry date of the guarantee should still be covered. Let us hope so! A new processor wasn't exactly on my shopping list for Christmas.

Enough of my problems... another huge edition this week with old favourites, new writers, occasional writers, new competitions and a (more-or-less) full report of the recent Dutch Meet. Enjoy!

shazzPRME

• 
  Dutch Sheep Galore
  


The first report from the Dutch Meet.

• 
  Notes from a Small Planet
  


Ormondroyd with his excellent, sometimes quirky,

look at current affairs.

• 
  The Dutch Meet - A Pirates' Perspective
  
  


A Dane travels abroad.

• 
  The Frankie Roberto Interview
  


This week 'The Willem Love Collective'.

• 
  The Flying Dutch Meet
  


Reports from Mina and Marijn.

• 
  h2g2 Life
  


Wowbagger with his wonderful cartoon series.

• 
  Plagiarism
  


Thoughts from John-the-gardener.

• 
  Islands In The Sun
  


Lodestone joins the Post Team with his

'Introduction to Orkney'

• 
  Bagpuss' Canadian Adventure: Part II
  


More adventures.

• 
  MaW's Musings
  


Written in haste!

• 
  h2g2 Storytime
  


Things hot up in Part Three!

• 
  24 Lies a Second
  


Awix butles with the elements.

• 
  A Holiday - Of Sorts
  


Linus stays home.

• 
  Paper Cuts
  


Spimcoot and his cartoons.

• 
  The h2g2 Post Emoticon Competition
  


The title says it all.

• 
  Greebo's Big One
  


The results from two weeks ago.

• 
  Hullabaloo's Vogon Poetry
  


More scribblings of the poetic kind.

• 
  Ask Morph!
  


Something strange is going on.

• 
  Tech No Babel
  


Pastey gets technical.

• 
  So Long and Thanks For Laughing
  

Blondie informs us of Early 00s
Vocabulary.

• 
  Masterbrain
  


The new challenge from Greebo.

• 
  Speak Your Weight
  


Pinniped introduces his pier machine.

• 
  Classified Ads
  


A great page run by Moonglum.

• 
  Announcements
  

• 
  The Post Page of Useful Links
  

• 
  The Post Page of h2g2 Clubs and Associations