Jackie
No churlishness noted, here's my three answers :
The rain on the prairies tends to come in downpours which are over soon. In Vancouver the rain can mizzle and drizzle and sprinkle and spit all day. (but when the sun shines the whole place sparkles!)
About the term fannydragger. I lived in England for a while and was told not to use the term fannypack (brit bum bag) as fanny was a rude word for a slightly different portion of the female anatomy. In fact there was nearly a fist fight when a well meaning US'n said it to the female half of an young English couple.
I sympathise about the computer. I don't have one at all except at work and they turn off the heat at 6PM. Now I'm going to stop typing and go home [shiver e]