h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

What email programme do you use? It is easy to fix. My husband says he has the same problem and fixed it easily. He is a bit of a computer genius which is very handy.

I'm not sure what you mean by programme. Do you mean Outlook Express? That is what I use.

You need to log on to your original service provider ie blue yonder or virgin or whoever it was the second part of your email address will tell you who that is. Then log onto that. Collect and read all your emails and then delete or file them. Make sure you log off properly restart outlook express get it to send and receive it will take a while to down load the first message because it is that message that has been causing you the problem. It may take an hour or so to do this but let down load. Any further problems. Get back to us and my husband will be glad to assist.

I'll try to explain what has been going on. Keep in mind that I am a computer moron. In my previous attempts to fix the problem I had deleted all my Inbox messages. When the last mail I had received kept repeating I put a sender block on it. That stopped the message but the incoming mail persisted. When I clicked on send and receive all, nothing happened. I unblocked the the last message received but it did not reappear. The receiving message icon is still in place. This icon is static. The little arrows do not move. I left the comp. on all day while I played golf. No change. A friend received a message I sent him and replied, but I did not receive his mail. It is quite likely that I did not follow your instructions properly as I am not good at doing what I am told and if there are two buttons to push I will invariably push the wrong one. I played a terrible game of golf also.

Good grief poor old you. My OH is not here now, he has gone into town to play with other computers. He understood when you talked about a loop. He explained that your last email has got stuck in that loop and you need to go to your service provider read all of your emails and then delete them. If you want to keep them then of course you put them in the appropriate file.

When this has been done you have then only the snarl up at the loop to clear and that is done by carrying out the second procedure, which of course I have not got infront of me. Keith tells me that it may take some time to clear but it will do so eventually.

Not many days ago this happended to him. It was a large document that someone had sent that snarled up his loop, so he went through this procedure and found it worked.

Like I said if there is anyway we can help let us know. I do know what you mean about pressing buttons I haven't a clue and Keith gets quite amazed at how I cannot understand something SO SIMPLE

Still no joy. Not to worry. I'll have to take it to the shop. Do you happen to know if they go through your histoty and such like when they do an overhaul? I have been a few places that were nopt all that nice. Purely by accident of course. Ah well, be sure your sins will find you out. I think my mother used to say that.

I am not sure where abouts you are. We are in the Caribbean but originally from England. In America the laws are probably different but Husband says the law says the reairers of a computer must check it out for child porn whatever, so I would say unless you are into that you should be ok

Hi cookie,

From now on you're my own special

I started another thread called Adrian 67 come in please. But this will do if you think that you feel safe enough. Privacy and confidentiality are very important. As you see Lew and I have a conversation but it is like one message each day. I pour my heart out and he does too.

First off, I live in Australia. Second, child porn is not my worry or my thing for that matter. I do stray into the naughtier aspects of the internet for I am an inquisitive type. Well, let's face it, I am of an age that immediately classifies me as a dirty old man. But it is not just that. I am somewhat introverted and withdrawn and it is only the anonimity of this medium that allows me to be as open as I am in these communications. I have a poetry page in another name, and a Spaces blog in a nom-de-plume in which I reveal more about myself than I would say in the flesh. All of this is probably just an excuse not to take action. I am, before anything else, a procrastinator. I have lived alone for at least twenty years and I hate having to let anyone else do anything for me. My only social life is the golf club where for five or six hours I can appear to be a fairly normal bloke. I am not unpopular there and there are a couple of the members who would willingly help me if I were to ask. I had to ask one friend to take me to the hospital recently for a cystoscopy. It really annoyed me that they would not allow me to drive myself. That is the trouble with growing old. The bureaucrats and do gooders try to take control. There are aspects of the coming years to which I have no good feeling, but when things become inevitable, unavoidable, I suppose I will have to become obedient. As one of our fabled figures called Ned Kelly said, just before they hung him, "Such is life."

I really wanted my husband to have anotther go at explaining to you how to get out of your loop, now he is in bed with tonsillitis. He seems to get this when he is stressed an odd thing to get but hey.

I know what you mean about being independent, I don't drive and one of the biggest regrets I have is that I don't drive. I cannot stress how much of life I have probably missed. My jobs have had to be walkable or busable.

By the way I love the idea of Australia. Why? haven't a clue but when other people are talking spiders as big as men and other creepy crawlies, I am thinking wonderful animals, wide open spaces megga history (such as your guy Ned Kelly) or even our guy Mick Jagger. I mean the history of Australia is amazing. Rather like the Caribbean it goes back further than any other history.

The other day we were watching a programme on tv. Most of our tv is American, and this lady was gushing because she had found a muskett which they reckoned was about 130 years old and she could not believe something was that old. Good grief there are people older than that in some countries.

Have you had any interest in the World Cup Football? Tennis? or cricket? or are you just a golf man. Sometimes they show golf on TV somehow I have never thought it was a spectator sport more a sport to do.

I don't know about spiders as big as men, but we certainly have some strange animals here. And not all of them men. I suppose being such an isolated land lends Oz the attraction of the unknown. I have not seen as much of it as I would have liked, mainly because of my previously mentioned limitations. I have a friend whose English cousins come to visit occasionally, and they have seen far more of Australia than I have, and at age 77 I feel I have left it too late now. Also I have a little cat who is a lovely companion but a bit of a tie down. She is what they call a Twisty. Not many people have heard of these cats and it is a shame that people are breeding them for their novelty feature. They have distorted front legs that in some cases, of which mine is one, give them a cute appearance. She sits up on her hind legs quite often and her paws fold on her chest like a kangaroo. Naturally her name is Kanga. I think if you Google Twisty Cats you can see pictures of these cats. Some of them have severely stunted paws. Sad.
Ned Kelly is not a favourite of mine, mainly because I like to go against popular opinion. The various media have made more of him than he deserves and the local knuckleheads love anyone that flouts authority, especially if he kills a copper or two. I reckon the press have been doing their best to whip up a frenzy about this damn World Cup thing. They are probably disappointed that there were no riots.
I am not a sport person. I like golf because it is a game that you can play as an individual and even though you may not star, you more often than not make a shot of which you can be proud. My current handicap is 20 but it has varied over the years from 13 to 25. Age and arthritus are additional handicaps now, but I enjoy the game.
I was going to discuss the relative merits of Australian Rules, (it originated in Victoria, where I live) and your Football (we used to call it Soccer here but the press wont allow that anymore} but I think I have said enough for now. Hope your husband improves. I had my tonsils out when I was about six, and I sometimes think that is where my troubles began.

When you live in a country you rarely see as much of it as if you were just visiting. I lived in New York for 8 years, I never had a vacation, and just about saw the things you couldn't miss. Only recently have I been back and actually explored the place.

I don't know that 77 is too old for anything. My husband gran, was 100 when she died, at 94 she decided to take up collecting antiques because she said she had become one. When she was 97 she started learning Spanish because the family were taking her to Spain for her holidays.

I looked up twisty cats on google, they do look cute but can they run away from dogs for instance or run to catch a mouse?

Arthritis don't talk to me about that curse. I have walked and stood all my working life and now the bastard (if you will excuse me) arthritis has put a stop to all that. I find it difficult to walk or to stand for long periods at 57 the disease has made me an old woman.

Australian rules football now aren't they allowed to bite and punch? Australia was robbed in the World Cup. The press make me sick they seem to be able to decide who is important and who is not, and they colour everything and everybody the colour they want. They seem to build people up just to rip them down.

My husband has got a really bad dose of tonsillitis and of course it is a holiday here for carnival so I can't get him any antibiotics, that is what living in a small island does. I am making him cold drinks, ice cream and mushroom soup. He is ok thank you.

I too had my tonsils out when I was little. They say it was the worst thing to do as now germs can just enter your body. The tonsils were the gatekeepers so to speak.

The Americans call our football soccer and their big girls game football, they look more like they are going into battle than playing a game.

Look after yourself.

They say you are as old as you feel, so I guess I vary quite a bit. Actually I feel quite young. It's this crummy body that is getting on a bit. I think that if it doesn't get any worse for a year or two I will have little to complain about.
I take glucosamine and evening primrose oil for my arthritis and I think I am better now than I was a year or two back. As in all things there are good days and bad. While I can play golf I am not unhappy with my lot.
Little Kanga is not much of a hunter, though I am sure she would like to be, and she runs like a rabbit, both hind legs move in unison. But she is a happy little soul.
No, you are not allowed to bite and punch in Australian Rules, though I dare say a bit of that goes when they can get away with it. It is a fast moving game and there is plenty of bodily contact, but if a player goes down it is because he is really hurt. I have seen two players going flat out in opposite directions collide and they are up within seconds and back in the game. No writhing around and screaming. Of course there are sometimes serious injuries. Not long ago a player received a broken neck. The game does not stop when a player goes down, unless some other player takes umbrage and several physical discussions break out. That Italian player that was head butted in the chest by the Frenchman would have to be a favourite for an Oscar. If you ever get the chance to see an Ozzie Rules game you should give it a go. The Rugby players like to refer to it as aerial ping pong, but there is much more to it than that.
I did not know that about tonsils being germ stoppers. Perhaps that is why I get so many colds. I like to say I have just one cold a year. It just gets worse every now and then.

I too take the glucosamine and evening primrose, dunno if they help along with the garlic and the cod liver oil. I know what you mean I am still the 22 year old gorgeous gal who could knock em all dead, drink like a fish and dance till dawn.

Then I catch sight of the poor old fat lady and remember who I really am. Looks aside like you I am a healthy old bird, not too many cold and since I gave up smoking bronchitis has cleared up.

I really like the sound of Kanga she sounds great, with no need to hunt as she has you to feed her.

I think your ozzie rules football sounds like the game that should be played, that lots of real football fans mourn. Football should be a contact sport and all that messing around ducking and diving makes most of us sick. I really will have to keep my eyes open for a game. I really like the term physical discussions. In a regualar game of football the red cards would certainly be waived.

My husband is getting worse. I have to wait until tomorrow when the island gets back to normal again and I can get him some antibiotics. Today is Vincy Mas it appears that today people cover themselves with paint for a Mardi Gras.

What kind of climate do you have in Victoria? I imagine in the ignorance of poor geography that you are beginning winter at this time.

You have my sympathy. I know it is not the same thing, but kanga only seems to get sick on the weekends when, if you I can get her to the vet it costs twice as much. I guess cats and husbands can be equally awkward, but cats don't complain much. Sore throats are a real misery though.
Weather? In Victoria, and particularly south of the Ranges, the popular saying is, "If you don't like the weather, wait five minutes." Actually we don't have much to complain about. We don't have the extremes that the northern states occasionally suffer. This morning it was about 6 degrees centigrade and it will probably max about 15c. We are in the second month of winter and it has been colder and drier than the last couple of years. With our increasing population water is a worry yet our brilliant politicians want more immigration and keep telling the younger people to make more babies. When will they ever learn that overpopulation can only result in reduced standards of living and social
aggrevation of all kinds. I don't think politicians read science fiction which has proved more prophetically accurate than the best of the so called seers of the past. The current degradation of the planet should be enough to convince anyone. These 'important' men live by the creed of 'I'll get mine now, and I wont be around to suffer the consequences'. End of the polemics.
The Mardi Gras sounds good. There is a site I visit (too often) called Fun Pics which features lots of photos, some of which are extremely rude, and among them are photos of nude bicyclists who paint themselves brightly and ride through the streets. I'm not sure why they do this but it does answer the question of what happens to a man's bits when he rides a bike.
It would be a dull world without a few harmless eccentrics around.
I'm really crooked on it that we did not have these computers when I was young. Talk about broadening the mind!

Cheered me up thinking about all those bear bums sitting on bikes. I also wish we had computers when I was younger. I keep telling my husband that he should buy his mum a computer so that she does not spend her life watching TV and not seeing the world she lives in.

I know what you mean about doctors and vets. We have a gorgeous samoyedxlabrador. His name is Ruud after a Manchester United Football Player. (sad aye) When he arrived here he was bitten by a tick which infected him with a real nasty illness EHRLICHIOSIS it nearly killed him. Thankfully the vet had just been reading about the illness and gave him medication and he is now fit. The illness is nasty and late at night the poor dog had the nose bleed from hell. In the UK I would have had an emergency number here it was Friday night and sod all.

Many years ago there was a politician in UK named Enoch Powell, he said that immigration should be stopped he said a whole lot of truth. People rose up and called him a nazi and a racist, he was a very clever man. Racism breeds from over population.

Sometimes I think the world is going mad, I cannot believe some of the bulls**t that I hear coming out of the mouths of people who run countries. When oh when will they learn. This country is very small about 110,000 the amount of crime and violence and HIV is unbelievable. The politicians are happy to treat the average person here like mushrooms. (Keep them in the dark and feed them shit)

Well, I can't put the world right today as Keith has a really bad throat, I cannot drive so my brother in law has been asked to get some antibiotics.

Not long back from a game of golf.



A slightly better game than last Saturday, but still pretty bad. The air was very cold but fortunately very little wind. I am still procrastinating about my email problem. I will try to make myself go to one of the computer shops and see if I can get some advice before I commit myself to getting some radical surgery performed on my pet pc.
Full of good intentions I am. The sort the road to hell was paved with.
One of my contemporaries had a turn after golf. One of the good old blokes. Happened just after the caterers had delivered my fish and chips. I felt real guilty about enjoying my feed while he was lying on the floor waiting for the ambulance people. He was able to walk out with them so my guilt was eased a little. Another reminder of how tenuous is our connection to life. I have had a nasty sort of cough for a while, I think it might be a touch of pleurisy. My G.P. is a popular doctor and it usually takes a week to get to see him so most of the time I just wait to see if the problem solves itself. Like with my pc.
There is no doubt that the world is going mad, the only question is how long before the idiots in charge prove how mighty they are and press all their red buttons. Some day there will be a new Ozymandias.
In the meantime let us be happy in our humble way. Be well.

I still find it amazing that it actually gets cold in Australia.

I just hope you enjoyed your fish and chips, sounds like me I think if I was in a coma I would wake up when I smelt food. Nothing puts me off of my grub.

The husband has finally got his antibiotics and already is feeling better. He is still resting and being waited on hand and foot but is doing well.

Did you try my suggesion in treating your pc? Were my insturctions clear or was it like trying to understand the information that comes with furniture that has to be put together?

Pleurisy is very dodgy so do take care I had it once and it turned into pneumonia. If it hurts to breathe then try and see a doctor. Sometimes getting to see a doctor is like trying to see the pope it makes me so mad, people who are really sick get pushed to the back of the line. Don't get me on that in UK we have the National Health Service and because of over population it is fast going to rack and ruin.

Please take care of yourself.

You should not be surprised by anything you hear about Australia. It is a very big country. With the tropics up north and the temperate where I am. It snowed on the Great Dividing Range yesterday and possibly today, it was only 4c. this morning, but it very seldom snows south of the ranges. I have never seen it snow and as I dislike the cold I have never been to the mountains to see the snow up there. In the summer we have had temperatures of 48c which is about 107F. Australia stretches from 10 degrees latitude in the north to about 43 degrees at the south of Tasmania. Roughly 2500 miles. The main population lives on the eastern coast where the conditions are most suitable. The west coast is more sparsely populated and it is a mystery to some of us why they have not seceded from the rest of us. Of course the main source of income is concentrated in the east but the mineral wealth of Western Australia should be enough for them to survive. In my schooldays they used to teach us that you could fit all of England in Victoria (my state) which is the smallest mainland state. Here endeth the lesson. You may ask questions later.
I think I followed your advice properly and I even tried variations but you know how easy it is to go wrong. So the status is still quo. Every now and then it does all manner of strange things, but then next time I use it everything is rosey. Except for the email.
I was nearly going to make an appointment to see the doctor but I thought nah, I'll wait till Monday and I might be better or dead, but at least I will know how I stand. I have been living alone for a long time now and so far I have followed my intuition and survived. I don't neglect the important things and I've had television poked into every opening except my nose. I've had a hernia operation, a TURP operation, and a slew of 'oscopies. I've had cardiograms, heart and bladder ultrasounds, and various x-rays. It sounds like I am a fullblown hypochondriac, but most of these things came about from a casual comment that the doc. thought should be investigated.
So you see, I do take care of myself. Thank you for the kind thought.