Читать книгу How to predict the weather with a cup of coffee: And other techniques for surviving the 9–5 jungle - Matthew Cole - Страница 12

Compared with the microwave the fridge and the freezer are the old timers in your kitchen, still running on technology barely changed since the 1940s. Of all your white goods this pair are the oldies, humming quietly to themselves, barely noticed. So it’s especially pleasing to be able to help them get one over on new technology.

‘The click of death’ is the name sci-fi-obsessed tekkies give the sound a computer’s hard disk makes when it can’t retrieve any data, and it usually means that it’s time to panic. On hearing it, your palms go clammy, the blood drains from your head and, when people ask ‘Did you save it anywhere else?’, you have to fight the temptation to scream. In all cases of panic, the advice is always do something, anything; make a cup of tea, dig a hole, bake some bread. Well, I’d suggest what you do is put your hard drive in the freezer; it will keep you busy and it could just help.

Fridges and freezers are sealed by a magnetic strip running around the inside of the door. That’s why you need to give it that extra little tug when you open it. Have a look – it’s obvious when you know it’s there. You can use it to slip little notes underneath for the next person to open the fridge, or to magnetise a pin and make a homemade compass. And when it comes to sorting the recycling it’s a handy helper for telling aluminium cans from steel. Aluminium won’t stick to the magnet, but steel will.

WARNING! This is a last resort that may not work. I offer it to you in the knowledge that it’s helped many people before, and that right now you’ll try anything.

ANOTHER WARNING!! This can get quite technical, but the urban bushman isn’t one to shirk the challenge of reading an instruction manual or downloading a help page or two.