Who has parents like mine?

Submitted: Thursday, Jul 29, 2004 at 20:00
ThreadID: 15130 Views:2526 Replies:14 FollowUps:11
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This is a VERY TRUE story!

My old man & old lady are 67 years old. A few days ago my old man bought mum an Acer laptop computer & printer. Mum’s always writing letters, and the typewriter she’s got is getting too old.

Anyway, Mum’s all excited and wants to start using it straight away, like head long into it without any regards as to how computers work.

Mark ( my 20 y/o son ) & I spend some time with them so they can perform the basic functions....... open, save.... etc......

All is good, for a while, then it goes downhill REAL quick. Mum’s arguing with dad because she can’t set a particular font up as a default. We tell her that you just set it up and save as stationery, but she won’t have any part of that, oh no...... “I thought these new fangled machines were supposed to do what you wanted to!”

Well, now they’ve both got the shlts up with each other, and the old lady sinks in the boot by dragging out the old typewriter and FIRMLY placing on the desk IN FRONT of the laptop, she didn’t have any letters to write, just making a point........ it was priceless.

She tells me ”Your bloody father can have the damn thing! I’m sick to the back teeth with it. He can use it to get onto the internet, that way he will have something to bloody well do!”

Okay, so we’re not at a total loss yet. Mum’s spat the dummy, but the old man is prepared to learn about the net. WRONG!!!

Now, just run with me here for a minute......... these are THE VERY SAME PEOPLE that do not own a Microwave, Mobile Phone & DVD player. These are the VERY SAME PEOPLE who bought a pack of CDRs so they could record the ABC FM classic music onto their CD player!

So, the old man rings up an ISP and SOMEHOW!!!!, manages to get himself on the net. Stroke of luck if you ask me. Anyway, he thought he would go to all of the Pommy newspapers and download their crosswords, and all the other stuff old people do......

Well, you should of heard it....... ”Jesus christ Ian, they want you to PAY to download things, and the smut!!!, where does that all come from?” His victorian upbringing is clouding his view of the net. I try to explain how things work, but he already knows EVERYTHING!
Anyway, 4 days pass, and he’s managed to visit all of the sites that had any reference to where he has lived in the past. “Guess what Ian, I’ve been everywhere on the net now, I don’t need this computer anymore!”

I was just about to tell him of his folly, but I sensed that he was battling with this new technology. At least they had a go.

Now, it gets worse!!!!

My sister lives next door to my olds, and she wanted to buy it from them. They sold it to her, and she was away........ surfing the net.........sending me emails............until it stopped working. Oh dear........

She calls me... ”Ian, can’t get this thing to work properly, ISP said to download this and do that etc...” This girl is in the same mould as the olds, never had a computer, let alone surf the net, and now she’s downloading and installing drivers etc.! Warning bells are sounding.

I heard the other day that she took the laptop back to the shop where dad got it from originally, and told them to fix it, or refund her.

Today I received a phone call from mum.............”Ian, it’s Mum.......your sister’s in tears! The bloody computer is back, but not working properly. Your sister has accused your father of selling her a bum steer, and dad’s not happy, I’m sick and tired of this whole damn fiasco!”

To cut a long conversation short, I managed to onsell the laptop to one of my friends, who is a computer geek. All the way through this, I kept thinking about that bloody film.....The Gods Must Be Crazy........ where the coke bottle falls from the sky and causes turmoil amongst the tribe, so they send one of their men to the end of the earth to throw it away.

I just couldn’t get the image of an Acer Laptop falling from the sky..............

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Reply By: Al & Mrs Al (Vic) - Thursday, Jul 29, 2004 at 20:20

Thursday, Jul 29, 2004 at 20:20
hmmmm...Wolfie that's so close to my parents it's scary. Mum has my old computer she decided she was "going to learn computers", she has managed to turn it on...pressed a key and the screen went black...rang me up and said "I've done something horrible to your computer, I think I've broken it, do you want it back"...hahhahahaah...I go over there and it's working fine....my father on the other hand couldn't give a toss, as long as he's got the radio tuned to the ABC who cares about any other form technology......and forget about trying to explain how a GPS works....very suspicious about that....it's a wonder they don't walk around with sundials on their wrists.....my mum did attempt to get with it one year...and decided to listen to some "modern" music....but this was shot down in flames when she asked "why on earth are they singing about cheap wine and a three legged goat"....we've never let her forget that one....

I think this kind of suspicious eratic behaviour is some sort of parental revenge...

cheers

Lyn
AnswerID: 70283

Follow Up By: Lone Wolf - Thursday, Jul 29, 2004 at 20:45

Thursday, Jul 29, 2004 at 20:45
"why on earth are they singing about cheap wine and a three legged goat"....we've never let her forget that one....

That....... is very bloody funny!!!

Tracy near shlt herself when I read it out to her!

I am so much going to tell people about that at work tomorrow.......

Cheers

Wishing I was adopted Wolf.......
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Follow Up By: Member Eric - Thursday, Jul 29, 2004 at 20:54

Thursday, Jul 29, 2004 at 20:54
Sorry Lyn , i don,t get it ?

why on earth are they singing about cheap wine and a three legged goat"....we've never let her forget that one..

What songs that ?
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Follow Up By: Al & Mrs Al (Vic) - Thursday, Jul 29, 2004 at 20:57

Thursday, Jul 29, 2004 at 20:57
Wolfie..you try singing it with the original words now....I can't...hahaahahaha.....
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Follow Up By: Al & Mrs Al (Vic) - Thursday, Jul 29, 2004 at 21:04

Thursday, Jul 29, 2004 at 21:04
Oh Eric...Cold Chisel's - Cheap Wine and a Three Day Growth...you obviously weren't listening to chisel at Lalor Tech....
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Follow Up By: Member Eric - Thursday, Jul 29, 2004 at 22:15

Thursday, Jul 29, 2004 at 22:15
Comon now , you must know by now the movie wog boy was writed about me lol . And your right , Dico tunes and a little aca daca
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Follow Up By: Member - John (Vic) - Thursday, Jul 29, 2004 at 22:56

Thursday, Jul 29, 2004 at 22:56
I can just picture Eric as John Travolta on the dance floor. LMAO.

And better yet he is singing "cheap wine and a three legged goat"
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Follow Up By: Member - Bruce (San Diego) - Friday, Jul 30, 2004 at 09:35

Friday, Jul 30, 2004 at 09:35
Wolf,

Great story..........

Reminds me of buying my folks a microwave about 17 years ago, my dad took me aside and said they didn't need it as the oven was just fine, it sat on the counter for about six months until they even tried to use it on their own,

WELL ABOUT 16 YEARS LATER IT FINALLY GAVE UP THE GHOST WHILE DAD WAS WARMING UP A CUP OF COFFEE.........IT TOOK HIM 5 MINUTES TO GET IN THE CAR AND GO DOWN TO HARVeY NORMAN'S AND GET A NEW ONE SO HE COULD FINISH HEATING HIS COFFEE.

He's 82 years old now and we just got him a computer..........

Bruce
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Reply By: Member - AndrewPatrol - Thursday, Jul 29, 2004 at 20:21

Thursday, Jul 29, 2004 at 20:21
Good story Wolfie, Ithink we all can relate. But by christ I hope they shoot me before I get that bad.
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Reply By: Baz (NSW) - Thursday, Jul 29, 2004 at 20:24

Thursday, Jul 29, 2004 at 20:24
How could anyone be bored with a family like yours thats just priceless, the yanks would make a TV series out of that.

Baz.
AnswerID: 70285

Reply By: GOB & denny vic member - Thursday, Jul 29, 2004 at 20:30

Thursday, Jul 29, 2004 at 20:30
goodday mate
sounds like my outlaws poor old bugger is 78 and has a go we write down how to do things but i think they have run out of trees now but roflmao about your story and how close it is to ours

steve
ps no its not the nissan but a couple of old 100series we used to keep warm at a camp out lol

steve
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Reply By: Member - Jimbo (VIC) - Thursday, Jul 29, 2004 at 20:46

Thursday, Jul 29, 2004 at 20:46
"Ian"

That's a bloody unusual name for a Wolf.

I would have thought "Fluffy" would have been more appropriate.

Maybe even "Fatty" or "Baldy"
AnswerID: 70291

Follow Up By: Lone Wolf - Thursday, Jul 29, 2004 at 20:56

Thursday, Jul 29, 2004 at 20:56
Jimbo.........

When I was born, Mum called me Ian. I haven't the heart to tell her about my internet name, it would kill her........

Cheers

A Wolf called Ian
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Follow Up By: Muddy 'doe (SA) - Thursday, Jul 29, 2004 at 21:08

Thursday, Jul 29, 2004 at 21:08
Nothing wrong with Ian as a name. It's the surname that carries a sting in the tail apparantly!

Muddy
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Follow Up By: Member - Sand Man (SA) - Thursday, Jul 29, 2004 at 21:19

Thursday, Jul 29, 2004 at 21:19
"A Wolf called Ian"

I thought it was "A Man called Wolf"
Bill


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Follow Up By: Member - Jimbo (VIC) - Friday, Jul 30, 2004 at 21:28

Friday, Jul 30, 2004 at 21:28
I would prefer to be a man called horse, but alas, that's a dream
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Reply By: GOB & denny vic member - Thursday, Jul 29, 2004 at 20:56

Thursday, Jul 29, 2004 at 20:56
I dont know about threst of you but everybody tells me i was abugger of a kid both my parents have gone so this is now my punishment for my younger years
"in laws" anyway they are pretty good to us (even looking after our dog while we are away they spoill her rotten morning and afternoon tae with them i have to get twice as much exercise to trim her down again )

steve
AnswerID: 70294

Reply By: Allan Mac (VIC) - Thursday, Jul 29, 2004 at 21:25

Thursday, Jul 29, 2004 at 21:25
Ah ! Wolfie ol mate what a great story ! thank god I seen "the gods must be crazy" some time back and woke up to the fact that things aint what they seem! I hope my kids and grand kids dont think of me and Jan like that. hahahahah Bad luck if they do because when were gone they will find a file on the money file called SKI. that will be the payback !!!!
AnswerID: 70299

Reply By: Troopy Travellers (NSW) - Thursday, Jul 29, 2004 at 21:34

Thursday, Jul 29, 2004 at 21:34
PMSL here, its the other way round here,

i.e. daughters talking to each other,

"The only way to talk to THEM is to send them an email"

"Do you know what they are calling themselves now???"

"We don't want to hear about your "invisible" friends!"

"SHE is on that computer for hours"

"I have 833 viruses must be when SHE baby sat!"

But the grandkids are fine,

"Can we have a turn too?"

"I like that funny picture nanna"

"How do we make the doll blink?"

You just can't please all of the people all of the time.

Carolyn ROFL

AnswerID: 70306

Reply By: Member - Glenn(VIC) - Thursday, Jul 29, 2004 at 21:36

Thursday, Jul 29, 2004 at 21:36
The scary thing with me Lone Wolf, is that I work in IT and my son, now 7, use to kill my pc all the time by opeining up a command line and typing in delete lines...at age 3. Even I didn't know how to do that....hahahahahha

Cheers, great story
AnswerID: 70308

Reply By: Member - JohnR (Vic) - Friday, Jul 30, 2004 at 09:15

Friday, Jul 30, 2004 at 09:15
Wolfie, no need to have a go at the older generation like that. LOL I am part of it though not as old as your folks. I have been playing with the things for 21 years and more now, but 21 years in my house. We now have two desktops and a laptop in this house - all net enabled.

I see two generations behind me, wireless networks to support to access sites on a farm. Like the 4by they are tools we can have fun with. Seem to keep buying things at Dell auctions, just another backup monitor last week. It is important to keep staff literate too.
AnswerID: 70377

Reply By: Nudenut - Friday, Jul 30, 2004 at 15:42

Friday, Jul 30, 2004 at 15:42
mine have both passed on ...but i reckon mum is still giving dad the shiets
AnswerID: 70423

Reply By: Savvas - Friday, Jul 30, 2004 at 17:19

Friday, Jul 30, 2004 at 17:19
Yep ... sounds like my parents.

Dad is 75 in a few weeks and technically non-savvy in all respects. My sister has dial-up internet with 5 accounts and has given him one of them. Wasn't that a mistake!

He sends out these emails nearly daily with heaps of pictures attached. He has actually worked out how to do multipart emails to get around email size limitations. But for the life of me I cannot get him to understand why it's not a good idea to keep sending out 8Mb emails!!! Apart from the extra cost that my sister is now wearing, the complaints he's getting from others are just falling on deaf ears. His view is that "it shouldn't be this slow, they should make it faster, like on TV!"

Lucky I have cable!

AnswerID: 70444

Reply By: Member - Russell - Friday, Jul 30, 2004 at 22:28

Friday, Jul 30, 2004 at 22:28
Ohhh sooo familiar, and quite funny. Our episode had an upside though. Dad was about 79 and fading mentally when we arranged his first computer. After the initial fun and games, very similar to your's, he sat down and wrote his life story.

What an eye opener for us, his kids. Stuff he's never talked about before all came out and we gained a far greater appreciation for the life we've had.
It seems the simple act of having to sit down and nut it out after some very basic tuition was like an intensive exercise regime for his mind. Amazing results.

To cut a long story short, a direct result of all this was we were able to get him out in the 4wd and show him things he'd never seen. A damn fine result I thought.

But back to the point, it sure was a hair pulling exercise to get him started!!
AnswerID: 70514

Reply By: Troopy Travellers (NSW) - Saturday, Jul 31, 2004 at 08:29

Saturday, Jul 31, 2004 at 08:29
In our area there is a Seniors Computer Club and the "Seniors" website on line also suggests places to learn computers and the net, U3A and WEA also have classes suited for Seniors.

I think probably the biggest problem for males is the lack of typing skills which most females of our generation have from school days. Its amazing how fast some males get typing two or more fingers though.

Its good to encourage Seniors to use the computer. Paying bills (it does have its problems, but so does having your pin written in your wallet or purse), doing groceries, making penfriends or chat friends for those lonely long hours when some seniors dont sleep (somewhere in the world someone is always awake). I think Dr's especially appreciate (LOL) their patients looking up their complaints and finding medications on the webb (PMSL). You can also have your groceries delivered if you are not well enough to get your own or dont want to bother your family.

So dont let them give up, just send them to a more suitable teacher.

Carolyn
AnswerID: 70544

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