I may have mentioned before that one of the great joys of writing a blog post, especially using a computer, comes through letting the creative juices flow in perfect harmony with the tapping of your fingers on the keyboard. When I hear that sound – which I obviously don’t when I’m jabbing at the screen of my Kindle – I’m reminded that something is happening, and that I’ve had the confidence to see the idea I might have agonised over for hours, days weeks or even months through to completion. As I write the opening sentences of this post now, my fingers are racing across the keys of a new laptop, bought to bring an end to the “steam-driven” (as I put it in a tweet the other day) experience my previous five year old laptop had given me. At the beginning of its life, it was pretty much untouched and was something of a lifesaver in that it kept me occupied during six weeks in which both legs were plastered due to my hamstring operation. By Monday 4 July 2016, when its replacement was delivered, it had slowed to the speed of an arthritic tortoise and was living on borrowed time anyway seeing as I was consistently being reminded of the rapidly shrinking battery capacity.

I can sleep easy in my bed with this new and shiny addition to the Hawker household. The last post I published, on Monday night, was the first to be written on the new laptop and I hope I can continue to update Third Time Enabled on it for many years to come. Indeed, one of the main points of consideration before purchase revolved around whether it would be fast and efficient enough to do this and other creative things (the ability to play games came a close second). In the time that I have it, I want to add photos, videos and a more vibrant overall atmosphere for the blog, to lend it a proper and noteworthy identity of its own. I will also get back onto Celtx, the scriptwriting software I’ve used for the last few years, to work on some bits and pieces – including the second draft of my film, which I haven’t yet managed to stick to due to the presence of my old foe Writer’s Block. I’d like to think there can be many more possibilities than these to follow.

Yes, you might say it’s only a laptop and wonder why I have these high hopes, but I do view it as an opportunity for a fresh start creatively and for a new leaf to be turned over, so to speak. I no longer have homework dating back to Year 9 cluttering up my computer, and the thought of all that empty space waiting for new creations that are yet to be dreamed up and discovered, all things introspective and imaginative, is very appealing. Who said technology prevented productivity? Certainly not me – I’ll get started as soon as I can stop playing F1 2015…

Mason