What Do You Do With Yourself When...

Go nuts. ;-) I don't know how I ever lived without one, or the internet for that matter.

i have a spare computer i use.

but there were other things before the computer was invented. books. work in the shop, garden. you can take pictures of stuff. you can press your face up against the windows of computer stores. you can "visit" a friend and play with their machine.

usually i try to fix the machine before it breaks down. or get the new one while the old one is still working.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

Me too! I become a clean freak! Good for my home at least! LOL!

Or your teenager is around. The house gets a lot cleaner.

during sandy we had no power for 12 days. i had a real limit of what i could do. i made art in other ways. by the time i was able to sit in front, i forgot how to type, and the screen looked odd there. i didn't need to sit in that chair the whole time. but if i had nothing to do, i'd keep working on the shop or something. for the last 2 months we cleaned the attic. i would probably do the other one if the machine was down.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

I make tea.

Dave

I have not had my own computer in six months and it's been excruciating! I'm on my work computer now, but am limited in what I can do on it. I can borrow my sisters computer, but it's a Mac, so I can't open my Word files and when I edit shots, I have to relearn iPhoto all over again. It's been difficult. I was looking at replacing the one I lost in my seperation when my engine blew in my car and then I had my foot surgery and missed two months of work.

Sorry. No humor here. I feel your pain. The upcoming football season will help pass my time though.

Sorry sorry for your loss, Joseph! I feel for you!

1. Clean house, while contemplating the computer problem.
2. Spruce up the yard and garden, while contemplating the computer problem.
3. Put on some music (loud), pull out my toolkit, and crack open that uncooperative computer! ;-)


(@Joseph -- I hear you. I've been there, having to choose medical costs over computer and internet more than once. I began this year without 'net access for nearly three months; luckily, I was just sick enough not to care . . . much. It's been harder not having a camera for more than a year. I truly hope things improve for you soon.)

I am a computer geek, so I have 3 systems....But if the power was out I would fill every SD card I had with images, fill the bird feeders, work in the flower beds, well make flower beds, plant a garden, make myself a new camera bag (I make my own out of cool fabric and parts from bags I get at thrift stores) maybe dye my hair a different color, do my nails, do housework, wait...no housework, annoy my husband, charge the camera batteries in the car, buy more SD cards, take more pictures.

So you have your camera and take photos, but can't upload them to computer!? OUCH!

I start to shiver and get nervous and look for an internet cafe.

I fix it or buy a new one, we live in a disposable society, broken computer is like a broken shoelace, it happens.

I did have an extra computer, but it just bit the dust. Last time I found a great deal on QVC and paid payments for 6 months with no interest. It worked out well, and I keep an extra hard drive with all of my pictures backed up. Have a great day! Christal

ive had to retriev data by removing the hard drive and purchasing the relevant correct SATA cables to read from anothe rmachine... if you need to
(not if the hard drive physically disintegrated or got infected tho)

The question was NOT what do you do, but what do you do with yourself?

Same answer. Me, myself and I are one and we don't sweat the small stuff, it's all small stuff.

Good attitude, Mario!

Call my repair guy and work off library computer long enough to tell everyone it's down BRB..when fixed.
Of course that's what I use to do,. Now I have a backup computer.

Yes, I put myself in an internet cafe

Chocolate

I have a new laptop waiting to be used. As soon as my old laptop showed signs of breaking down I bought a new one. I'm using the old on until it dies and it keeps going and going.

It's sort of like a camera body... If it dies It's one of those things I'm going to fix/replace immediately.

Joseph, try downloading OpenOffice on the iMac to read your Word files. It's just like Microsoft Office, but it's FREE! :) That's all I ever use for docs, spreadsheets, presentations, etc. OO can be installed on Mac or PC

I haven't had any issues with my iMac. I rarely had issues with my PCs, as I maintained them, didn't install junk or bling and put everything I could on external hard drives. Did more within the brain, but wouldn't suggest those who aren't familiar with it doing what I do.

Quality bourbon.

More seriously, I've been earning a living on the Internet for over a decade - so I've got backups of everything. I have "older" computers I can move to and if the DSL goes out I switch to my phone's hot spot.

While I'm doing all of that, or enjoying some down time, I can also mix up a cocktail with some quality bourbon or maybe even just pour some over a single ice cube.


---------------
~ Bill
~ US Pictures .com

Paint

I would watch some movies from my VCR, play some records from my turn table or listen to radio from my walkman, remember those?

I'm often without internet, computer, TV, radio. There's a whole world of wonderful things to explore. Real world relationships, fascinating natural dynamics in the world of plants and beasties. Every day I see things in nature that I've never seen before and I'm blown away.

The longer I'm away from electronics, the more I immerse myself in what's real as opposed to what's fed to me via the wires and the wireless. When I transition back to them, they feel alien and artificial. Not needed, though I admit I am a bit of a news junkie and very political so when I do connect after a spell away, I fall back into checking my sources to see what's going on in the world. Lately I'm finding that I'm weary of knowing. Instead, I'm spending more time reading fiction and though that's just another form of escapism, it feels different than when I'm being force-fed things I don't want to hear or see.

I'm slowly and organically weaning myself away from computers and commercial television. I've swapped the background noise of TV or NPR for the lovely sounds of wind chimes singing from the limbs of an apple tree nearby. I love the Grace Note chimes especially and plan to add more to harmonize with these. When I do turn on TV to escape, it's to binge on Netflix offerings. I'm currently deep into episodes of The Killing. Great stuff.

I finally have an older computer set up just in case. It wont really replace it but at least I can get on the internet etc.

Turn the music WAY up and dance.
Then chocolate
Then wine
Then sleep

Great answer Kathleen Bishop!

Hi Jessica...I have an iPhone and Kindle to do some basic stuff (like check FAA ...I'm on my Kindle now) if my computer needs repair. In the meantime you can:

Go to Michael's and get a few holiday ornament kits and make them (for gifts or to keep)
Listen to music and dance
Clean something you've been putting off for a while (not regular boring housework, like clean a fan, microwave, bathroom tile, a few desk or dresser drawers)
Do garden or yardwork (if you're lucky enough to have a garden or yard)
Catch up on reading
If you have a smartphone get the app for public radio's This American Life and just rest and listen to some interesting stories (free app)
Get the Flowpaper app and mess around with that (free)
Walk in nature....take pix to edit later
Learn something new like how to play mahjong, get a book on something you want to become expert in

Have fun on your break and don't curse the time you have away from the computer :)

Think I would have to resort to the good old British tradition of going to the pub.

When your computer breaks down? Of course one gets mad, however, you switch to one of your other computers while dealing with the problem. It is worth when wifi breaks down...

Punt

I start hanging around and talking to my family..... I start eating at the table.....I start normal conversations.... I start to wash the dishes. I start folding clothes... I start making repairs around the house.... As by magic, within 72 hours a new computer shows up at my door step.... I don't really comprehend the cosmic reason why ???? It just happens..... just when I was getting ready to learn how to make toast ! Oh well, back to computing.....

When that happens my wife has a bigger smile on her face.

I become more hateful then I already am.....LOL

Darren! Is that possible? LOL!

Get out my camera?

Here's EXACTLY what you do:

(1) Mentally commit to getting a new computer.
(2) To research it, go to your public library, where there should be public access computers to work on with a time limit.
(3) While you're there, if for any duration of days, take note of the decaying standards of respect for public spaces - your next piece of art could be a statement about this.
(4) Buy the new computer.
(5) Set it up.
(6) Get proficient in using it.
(7) During all this, if you do not already, take daily committed walks, ... and stretch.
(8) Get back to normal.

When I first came here...I guess I was here for about 6 months or so...my computer broke. I'd fixed it a number of times but this was it...it was a goner. Now since this was computer number four or something like that, I decided I was done with computers. I was too hard on them or more likely... didn't know what I was doing. So, I tossed the thing out and decided never to own a computer again.

Granted I did experience some withdrawal, but what I found was I lived more fully. I read more and saw friends more, I was outdoors more, exploring nature and getting more exercise, my house was cleaner and I cooked better food. I didn't have hours fly by while I was in a computer fog. I made art with my hands and not a mouse and in doing all this I forgot all about the computer and why I needed it. I was free of the thing and was actually ok with it. I was living life computer free.

But after many months, my son, thinking it was ridiculous that I didn't have one, gave me one as a gift...now I don't get out as much, see my friends less, eat what I find in the fridge, read less, paint with a mouse, and my house is a mess.

I can't say more because I have to go check my 3 email accounts and like something on FB and make sure I twitted and googled before 9:30 becomes midnight.

Joseph, if you don't mind sending your word docs out in the open, there are many online services that will convert word files to something else (even…rich text files…shudder). Unfortunately, these websites limit the of pages they convert, and I don't know any that are completely secure.

Sketching is a nice relaxing activity.

Val… :(

Read, because not having electricity is pretty much the only way I could be computerless in this house. HATE when that happens, and it happens often. #PECOsucks

Curl up in a fetal position with the dogs, grab my iPad, and start designing.
As a backup plan? Chocolate of course!

I paint with or without a computer, with or without a camera. These are just helpful tools for reference and marketing. Leonardo didn't have them.

every week I deliberately spend a day without the computer, mobile phone, etc, just so I can be with my family without interuption.
I find it's great to not be beholden to the advances of technology all the time.

It assures my physical activity level goes into overdrive. After the initial what just happened, what can I do moments have passed and I realize it is beyond my control, I get my butt outside :)

Im actually outdoors shooting most of the time and outside of wirk am only on the computer to come here and upload.