:: I broke my computer!!

I did a stupid, stupid thing; then I did another stupid, stupid thing which compounded the earlier stupid thing. Finally, Windows XP did a stupid, stupid, stupid thing. The net result was that I spent most of today backing up my files (whew). I've done some research on the net and have a solution for the short term, but in the long run I really need to do a complete reformat and reinstall. Given the amount of damage already inflicted, I think that would be best.

The first indication that something had gone horribly wrong was pretty spectacular: the screen was filled with just one word, repeating endlessly:



Grub is a Linux boot manager. It wasn't working.

Ah well, I'll get there in the end. In the meantime, however, I am without an internet connection. GRUmBle GRUmBle GRUmBle. I won't even have this work connection, as -- hurrah! -- this is my last night before a whole week off.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Oh, speaking of Christmas, I heard a great one on the radio this afternoon: a woman who runs some kind of Christmas decoration business was wittering on about changing fashions in tree-dressing. Her favourite was a Byzantine theme she'd devised. "I wanted something colourful so I thought, where's a colourful place? And it came to me: the Middle East! Even though the Middle East has nothing to do with Christmas, quite the opposite in fact."