Call me mad, but I agreed to going to Merry Hill this morning.... OK, not so loud... We got there reasonably early (10:45) and mad directly for the Debenhams Restaurant for breakfast. Once that was out of the way, we wondered about aimlessly for a while before passing an almost empty Lunn Poly.
2 hours later we emerged, proud owners of a 1 week vacation to Paris, France in August. We are stopping in a hotel half way between Disneyland and Paris itself. We Fly out on one Saturday, return the Next, and have three-day passes for Disney.
All in, inc. Flights, Accomodation, booking fees, C/Card surcharge, Insurance and Disney passes etc. - £1200 for 2 adults and 2 kids. Mind you the deposit was over £600! The flights with Air France needed to paid, in full, in advance.
I have also booked the theatre & Train tickets for our trip to London to see "Phantom of the Opera" (for the 3rd time), so all in all a very expensive couple of days!
Saturday, December 27, 2003
Friday, December 26, 2003
Christmas officialy started at 08:20 in the Bright houshold this year, that the time both kids woke up and came downstairs. For the next hour there was the usual mayhem of ripping wrapping paper, and cries of "Cool!" and "Wow"; meanwhile Amanda was trying to read the label, before total destruction, and I was writting it all down.
Amy was very happy with the GameBoy Advance SP + 2 games, and the Ticket to see Shania Twain in concert. Alex was really chuffed with his 120cm high crane, I am not so impressed on hearing the noise it generated at 08:00 this morning! Thank for that Stuart!
Amy was very happy with the GameBoy Advance SP + 2 games, and the Ticket to see Shania Twain in concert. Alex was really chuffed with his 120cm high crane, I am not so impressed on hearing the noise it generated at 08:00 this morning! Thank for that Stuart!
Wednesday, December 24, 2003
Well here we are Xmas eve, all set and ready to go. Kids getting excited, weather wet and miserable. Too tired to really enjoy it... Just a normal christmas.
I was rather suprised today, I walking into Birmingham city centre at lunchtime, expecting it to be a nightmare of packed short tempered shoppers - it was the quietest I have seen the town centre on any luchtime ever! I could even walk freely around the Bull Ring.
I did surcomb to temptation, and got a 5 pack of DVD-RW disks for use with the DVD burner in the laptop, and at £19 it was a bit expensive, but I want them now!
My cold finally appears to have cleared, still the occasional cough, and more blowing noses that would be considered normal, but I feel OK.
Yesterday I installed Publisher 2003 on my home PC & the laptop - it says I can in the EULA, what you mean you don't read them! - Shame on you.... It is actually rather good. I have got the first draft of the program for Amy's panto, cinderella, completed and printed out in under 1 hour. I now just need to find time to sit down with the powers that be, and agree the actual real content - and get the photographs of the cast members!
Well, I can't just sit here all night, I am going next door to a party soon, so I suppose I had better get washed and changed!
Merry Xmas everyone.
I was rather suprised today, I walking into Birmingham city centre at lunchtime, expecting it to be a nightmare of packed short tempered shoppers - it was the quietest I have seen the town centre on any luchtime ever! I could even walk freely around the Bull Ring.
I did surcomb to temptation, and got a 5 pack of DVD-RW disks for use with the DVD burner in the laptop, and at £19 it was a bit expensive, but I want them now!
My cold finally appears to have cleared, still the occasional cough, and more blowing noses that would be considered normal, but I feel OK.
Yesterday I installed Publisher 2003 on my home PC & the laptop - it says I can in the EULA, what you mean you don't read them! - Shame on you.... It is actually rather good. I have got the first draft of the program for Amy's panto, cinderella, completed and printed out in under 1 hour. I now just need to find time to sit down with the powers that be, and agree the actual real content - and get the photographs of the cast members!
Well, I can't just sit here all night, I am going next door to a party soon, so I suppose I had better get washed and changed!
Merry Xmas everyone.
Saturday, December 20, 2003
What a lousy night - I am so congested with this cold... I slept downstairs sat up in the chair from 03:00 to 08:00 this morning - I just can't breath when I lie down.
On a lighter note, My copy of office 2003 arrived this morning, £109 from Amazon. It is the Student edition, so technically it is Amy's copy but the box states that it is licenced for use of three PC's - Mine, Amy's and The Laptop...! There was an offer enclosed for a copy of One-Note and Access 2003 at reduced rate. £30 the pair - I have taken them up on that. I use Access occasionally, and have no idea what ONE-NOTE is about - so I'll give it a try.
All the xmas presents are wrapped up, I still need to get a pair of Trainers, for me - off Mike & Carol, but I will wait till after Xmas.
I still am getting used to this idea of total mobility with the laptop on the wireless network. , I am upstairs sitting on the edge of the bed entering this !
I successfully configured a network printer on the laptop, so I can now print from wherever I am in the house - As long as the Main PC is switched on!
Amanda has taken the kids out shopping with her - She has gone to Merry Hill... She must be mad, but at least I am left in peace and quite to feel sorry for myself... I am not good at being unwell!
On a lighter note, My copy of office 2003 arrived this morning, £109 from Amazon. It is the Student edition, so technically it is Amy's copy but the box states that it is licenced for use of three PC's - Mine, Amy's and The Laptop...! There was an offer enclosed for a copy of One-Note and Access 2003 at reduced rate. £30 the pair - I have taken them up on that. I use Access occasionally, and have no idea what ONE-NOTE is about - so I'll give it a try.
All the xmas presents are wrapped up, I still need to get a pair of Trainers, for me - off Mike & Carol, but I will wait till after Xmas.
I still am getting used to this idea of total mobility with the laptop on the wireless network. , I am upstairs sitting on the edge of the bed entering this !
I successfully configured a network printer on the laptop, so I can now print from wherever I am in the house - As long as the Main PC is switched on!
Amanda has taken the kids out shopping with her - She has gone to Merry Hill... She must be mad, but at least I am left in peace and quite to feel sorry for myself... I am not good at being unwell!
Thursday, December 18, 2003
Well, another day out of the office, but this time is a Rota day and I am feeling a lot better.
So I started the day off by going to the cinema - Lord of the Rings : Return of the King. A truley amazing film, not to close to the book, but an excellent film just the same. Mind you at 3 hours plus it was hard work on the bladder!
From there into town to tax the bike, just 6 months - I don't want to do it again next xmas!
When I got home, my new laptop had arrived! Switched it and charged it up, configured the wireless networking and I am on line in the lounge... The first couple of hours was downloading the updates and security hotfixes from Microsoft. Next was installing the supplied Norton Antivirus, followed by the obligitory updates! Finally drive image went on and the C drive was backed up.
The screen is amazing, 1400 * 1040... Thats a really wide display. The keyboard is good, or at least as good as any laptop keyboard is!
I now need to get some DVD - R discs to test out the DVD writer! How about configuring a network printer? uhmm I'll give it a go...
So I started the day off by going to the cinema - Lord of the Rings : Return of the King. A truley amazing film, not to close to the book, but an excellent film just the same. Mind you at 3 hours plus it was hard work on the bladder!
From there into town to tax the bike, just 6 months - I don't want to do it again next xmas!
When I got home, my new laptop had arrived! Switched it and charged it up, configured the wireless networking and I am on line in the lounge... The first couple of hours was downloading the updates and security hotfixes from Microsoft. Next was installing the supplied Norton Antivirus, followed by the obligitory updates! Finally drive image went on and the C drive was backed up.
The screen is amazing, 1400 * 1040... Thats a really wide display. The keyboard is good, or at least as good as any laptop keyboard is!
I now need to get some DVD - R discs to test out the DVD writer! How about configuring a network printer? uhmm I'll give it a go...
Wednesday, December 17, 2003
back again,
I am off work today, I have a very sore throat, and sound not unlike Barry White! It started on Saturday as just feeling a little "Under The Weather", increasing into a general feeling of "Urghhh" by Monday, before settling into my throat, and dropping my voice 2 octaves! Apart from the fact that I feel pretty awful, talking is a little painfull, and the thought of spending another day on the phone tipped the balance.
Well Xmas is almost here, everything brought, presents hid etc. Tree and decorations are up - Bring It ON...
My best present is one that I am buying myself - a new PC! In fact a laptop - The Acer 661LMi which I am buying from The Laptop Shop
I have added a little festive decoration to my "Localsite" website, and as yet have not really progressed with the mainsite revamp. It's still on my to-do list, but I really do not feel up to it at the moment.
I have almost finished the 2nd book in the "His dark Materials" series on BBC Audio Book. Not only is the book very readable and engaging, the BBC dramatisation of it is excellent. Well recommended.
I am off work today, I have a very sore throat, and sound not unlike Barry White! It started on Saturday as just feeling a little "Under The Weather", increasing into a general feeling of "Urghhh" by Monday, before settling into my throat, and dropping my voice 2 octaves! Apart from the fact that I feel pretty awful, talking is a little painfull, and the thought of spending another day on the phone tipped the balance.
Well Xmas is almost here, everything brought, presents hid etc. Tree and decorations are up - Bring It ON...
My best present is one that I am buying myself - a new PC! In fact a laptop - The Acer 661LMi which I am buying from The Laptop Shop
I have added a little festive decoration to my "Localsite" website, and as yet have not really progressed with the mainsite revamp. It's still on my to-do list, but I really do not feel up to it at the moment.
I have almost finished the 2nd book in the "His dark Materials" series on BBC Audio Book. Not only is the book very readable and engaging, the BBC dramatisation of it is excellent. Well recommended.
Sunday, December 07, 2003
Nothing much to report over the last couple of days, Amanda has been running around like a headless chicken : Drama, Xmas parties etc. so I have been doing the "Child Minding" thing.
Amy's Birthday was on Friday, but her party is this afternoon, that should be fun.
We went into Birmingham yesterday evening and had an hour around the German Market - it was brilliant. Lots of free samples of the food, interesting craft stalls and a really great atmosphere. I should have taken the camera!
I have started on re-vamping the website this morning... Nothing too major, more a cosmetic overhaul. The live site has had a "partial", that is the colour scheme has been changed in the CSS file, but there are a large number of inconsistencies where I have not used templates or Syle sheets! I have now made a copy, and am working my way thro' updateing the general feel. If I get it right, I should be able to change it much easier next time! Once it is fully CSS'd I may go for a more radical redesign... who knows?
Amy's Birthday was on Friday, but her party is this afternoon, that should be fun.
We went into Birmingham yesterday evening and had an hour around the German Market - it was brilliant. Lots of free samples of the food, interesting craft stalls and a really great atmosphere. I should have taken the camera!
I have started on re-vamping the website this morning... Nothing too major, more a cosmetic overhaul. The live site has had a "partial", that is the colour scheme has been changed in the CSS file, but there are a large number of inconsistencies where I have not used templates or Syle sheets! I have now made a copy, and am working my way thro' updateing the general feel. If I get it right, I should be able to change it much easier next time! Once it is fully CSS'd I may go for a more radical redesign... who knows?
Thursday, December 04, 2003
After 3 days of a 230 mile round trip down the M40 to Maidenhead I am officialy knackered, even in a rather nice Rover 75 1.8L estate. Excellent drive on the motorway, but the seat was just *not quite* completely comfortable.
The bad side of it was - an accident on the Motorway on all three mornings causing quite a hold up in the traffic, and generally heavy rush hour traffic when you get back up to Birmingham. 230 miles was taking about 5 hours a day!
The good side was, I have finished "Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix", *AND* Northern Lights (Part one of 'His Dark Materials' by Phillip Pullman on Audio book, before getting three chapters into "The Subtle Knife" (Part Two of "His dark Materials")
Rockbox 2.1 is now released, and is now happily flashed onto my Archos FMR.
I have changed the Ink cartridges from the 'Inkrite' to the new 'ColorJet' ones and they are a big improvment, they actually print onto Photoquality paper... Also the Paper I purchased on Sunday : 200g/m2 'Ultra Photo Glossy' (£5.50 for 20 sheets) and 230g/m2 'Matt Coated - Both Sides' (£6.50 for 50 sheets) gave excellent results.
I can at least have a 'Lie In' tommorow - back in the office, so I don't need to get up till 07:00, I have been up at 06:00 for thr last three days to get to Maidenhead in time to start at 09:00!
The bad side of it was - an accident on the Motorway on all three mornings causing quite a hold up in the traffic, and generally heavy rush hour traffic when you get back up to Birmingham. 230 miles was taking about 5 hours a day!
The good side was, I have finished "Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix", *AND* Northern Lights (Part one of 'His Dark Materials' by Phillip Pullman on Audio book, before getting three chapters into "The Subtle Knife" (Part Two of "His dark Materials")
Rockbox 2.1 is now released, and is now happily flashed onto my Archos FMR.
I have changed the Ink cartridges from the 'Inkrite' to the new 'ColorJet' ones and they are a big improvment, they actually print onto Photoquality paper... Also the Paper I purchased on Sunday : 200g/m2 'Ultra Photo Glossy' (£5.50 for 20 sheets) and 230g/m2 'Matt Coated - Both Sides' (£6.50 for 50 sheets) gave excellent results.
I can at least have a 'Lie In' tommorow - back in the office, so I don't need to get up till 07:00, I have been up at 06:00 for thr last three days to get to Maidenhead in time to start at 09:00!
Tuesday, December 02, 2003
Sunday I went to the Micromart computer fair at the NEC, I treated myself to a new video card - A Radeon 9600 128 MB one. That's now installed and performing rather well. I will have to load Unreal II back on and give it a good work out at some point. I also got a pack of 25 blank DVD +R's for £21, some good quality photopaper and another set of Ink cartridges for my Epson 950 (£30 for all 7 cartridges) - see if these (ColorJet) are any better than the last "Clone" one's I tried (Inkrite)
I finished off the cabling at outlaws, and installed my old Sky box - it worked fine, but without a viewing card it did not receive many of the "Free" channels. Barry has an unused box with a viewing card, so he has sent that up to me. I will put that in later in the week and see if we do indeed get a good range of channels.
I put their (6 week) old Freeview box in at Debs, and it worked a treat. All being well with the Sky box at Mike and Carols, she will be keeping that.
Monday was my first day back at work after a week off, and most of the day was spent getting up to date with my e-mails, the latest Nortel patches and updateing two PC's in the office with the latest set of MS Hotfixes.
Today, and for the next two days - I am at Nortels training centre in Maidenhead - travelling daily, so I am shattered - and I still have another two journeys to do...!
I finished off the cabling at outlaws, and installed my old Sky box - it worked fine, but without a viewing card it did not receive many of the "Free" channels. Barry has an unused box with a viewing card, so he has sent that up to me. I will put that in later in the week and see if we do indeed get a good range of channels.
I put their (6 week) old Freeview box in at Debs, and it worked a treat. All being well with the Sky box at Mike and Carols, she will be keeping that.
Monday was my first day back at work after a week off, and most of the day was spent getting up to date with my e-mails, the latest Nortel patches and updateing two PC's in the office with the latest set of MS Hotfixes.
Today, and for the next two days - I am at Nortels training centre in Maidenhead - travelling daily, so I am shattered - and I still have another two journeys to do...!
Saturday, November 29, 2003
Well Friday was a busy day... went to the outlaws new bungalow.
Started off with helping arrange the furniture in the lounge, then working out where the speakers for TV and Hi-Fi should go.
I then re-assembled the hi-fi (with temporary speaker cables) and tested it all worked OK.
Third stage, reconnect the Home Cinema system, and "FreeView" digibox. TV, DVD and video were fine, but the terestial picture quality is pants! The digibox only picks up BBC 1, 2, 3, News 24 and CBBC - not much use really.
Lots of trunking, new speaker cable and 6 hours of hard work and it's still not all connected up properly... Hope to get some more finished late on Sunday, when we go to collect the kids...
Yep, we have lost the kids for the weekend.... :-)
So, today we took a trip 100 miles up the M1 to "Meadow Hall" shopping centre in Sheffield. Lots of Xmas presents purchased, a very nice meal out, and a trip to the cinema to see "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" before a nice steady run back - arriving home at 22:00 - Well knackered!
Tommorow is the MicroMart computer fair at the NEC, a day out with Barry - The girls are going to the "Good Food Show" that's on at the same time.
Started off with helping arrange the furniture in the lounge, then working out where the speakers for TV and Hi-Fi should go.
I then re-assembled the hi-fi (with temporary speaker cables) and tested it all worked OK.
Third stage, reconnect the Home Cinema system, and "FreeView" digibox. TV, DVD and video were fine, but the terestial picture quality is pants! The digibox only picks up BBC 1, 2, 3, News 24 and CBBC - not much use really.
Lots of trunking, new speaker cable and 6 hours of hard work and it's still not all connected up properly... Hope to get some more finished late on Sunday, when we go to collect the kids...
Yep, we have lost the kids for the weekend.... :-)
So, today we took a trip 100 miles up the M1 to "Meadow Hall" shopping centre in Sheffield. Lots of Xmas presents purchased, a very nice meal out, and a trip to the cinema to see "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" before a nice steady run back - arriving home at 22:00 - Well knackered!
Tommorow is the MicroMart computer fair at the NEC, a day out with Barry - The girls are going to the "Good Food Show" that's on at the same time.
Thursday, November 27, 2003
What a busy day, run around like a headless chicken and seem to have done bugger all...
Started off well enough, Amanda's Birthday, so she had a cup of coffee in bed and got to open Cards, Gifts etc. and after getting the kids packed off to school, I took her to work at 10:15.
From there to Deb's - Ariel man was there, son once he was finished, paid him... Trip into Pensnett to get a timer for the boiler, non in stock but the really helpfull guy behind the counter pointed me to one of him competitors that had a Digital version in stock at 1/3rd the price of the original...! Result!
From There (Kingswinford) to Cosely to pick up some stuff from the Outlaws, back to Kingswinford to drop off at the new house, then back home just in time - to collect Amanda from work.
Fitted the new time clock in the boiler - works a treat... Hope this one lasts longer than the 3 or 4 year average of the mechanical ones...
Started off well enough, Amanda's Birthday, so she had a cup of coffee in bed and got to open Cards, Gifts etc. and after getting the kids packed off to school, I took her to work at 10:15.
From there to Deb's - Ariel man was there, son once he was finished, paid him... Trip into Pensnett to get a timer for the boiler, non in stock but the really helpfull guy behind the counter pointed me to one of him competitors that had a Digital version in stock at 1/3rd the price of the original...! Result!
From There (Kingswinford) to Cosely to pick up some stuff from the Outlaws, back to Kingswinford to drop off at the new house, then back home just in time - to collect Amanda from work.
Fitted the new time clock in the boiler - works a treat... Hope this one lasts longer than the 3 or 4 year average of the mechanical ones...
Tuesday, November 25, 2003
OK, you ask, where were you for the last month?
I was here, but after an accident with my PC, I had lost the cached login information to the Blogger site, and the tech support link to get you details back was faulty... They have now fixed the page, and I am back on air.... Whoopeeee
Well whats happened in the last month... I have managed to spend two complete weeks in the office, but I am on leave again this week ;-)
Alex's Sunday morning football has failed to take off, only 4 to 5 kids most weeks, so not sure if that is going to continue.
England won the Rugby World Cup, but you already knew that...
I stll haven't finished decorating the hall...! 4 panelled doors upstairs to paint.
Have managed to go to BodyPump classes twice a week for 4 weeks now, have lost about 2 Kilo's, but about 1" off my waist.
I have informed the boss that I am no longer prepared to do "On-Call" - That's created a bit of a stink...
I am activelly looking for a new job (again) - I am just getting bored and need a new challange.
My Out-Laws have finally managed to sell their house, and are moving on Thursday - I have been roped in on Wednesday and Friday to dismantle the HiFi and Home Cinema systems and rebuild them at the new address...
I have changed the Sky box for a Sky+ box - Worth every penny - what a magnificent bit of kit.
Finally my Archos came back from repair - fully working again... and Rockbox is about to be Rls 2.1
That's it for today...
I was here, but after an accident with my PC, I had lost the cached login information to the Blogger site, and the tech support link to get you details back was faulty... They have now fixed the page, and I am back on air.... Whoopeeee
Well whats happened in the last month... I have managed to spend two complete weeks in the office, but I am on leave again this week ;-)
Alex's Sunday morning football has failed to take off, only 4 to 5 kids most weeks, so not sure if that is going to continue.
England won the Rugby World Cup, but you already knew that...
I stll haven't finished decorating the hall...! 4 panelled doors upstairs to paint.
Have managed to go to BodyPump classes twice a week for 4 weeks now, have lost about 2 Kilo's, but about 1" off my waist.
I have informed the boss that I am no longer prepared to do "On-Call" - That's created a bit of a stink...
I am activelly looking for a new job (again) - I am just getting bored and need a new challange.
My Out-Laws have finally managed to sell their house, and are moving on Thursday - I have been roped in on Wednesday and Friday to dismantle the HiFi and Home Cinema systems and rebuild them at the new address...
I have changed the Sky box for a Sky+ box - Worth every penny - what a magnificent bit of kit.
Finally my Archos came back from repair - fully working again... and Rockbox is about to be Rls 2.1
That's it for today...
Thursday, October 30, 2003
Not good so far this week...
My ADSL Wireless modem has yet to arrive. should have been here Monday or Tuesday... I have e-mailed BT to chase it
HALO has arrived, but the controls are awfull... I need to spend some time setting that up....
My FM Recorder has gone faulty, and it's out of it's 30 warrantee - It's going to cost me £55 + post to the USA to repair. The charging circuit seems to have failed, and it can't switch on.
I did my first Body Pump class yesterday, I really enjoyed it - me and 5 women! Was a little stiff in the legs yesterday afternoon - nothing too serious. But this morning - My arms!! OH MY GOD... My biceps seem to want to be permanantly contracted! Ouch.
I was intending to swim today at lunch, but it looks like I will have to walk into town for the Post Office.
On the Plus side - Man United beat Leeds 3-2 AET in the Carling Cup! We have West Brom at the Hawthorns in the next round.
We seem to have got to the bottom of the Clock Change failure on a number of systems - now we just need a fix from Nortel. This morning will be a ball-ache - I have 5 escalations for Call-Pilot to raise!
My ADSL Wireless modem has yet to arrive. should have been here Monday or Tuesday... I have e-mailed BT to chase it
HALO has arrived, but the controls are awfull... I need to spend some time setting that up....
My FM Recorder has gone faulty, and it's out of it's 30 warrantee - It's going to cost me £55 + post to the USA to repair. The charging circuit seems to have failed, and it can't switch on.
I did my first Body Pump class yesterday, I really enjoyed it - me and 5 women! Was a little stiff in the legs yesterday afternoon - nothing too serious. But this morning - My arms!! OH MY GOD... My biceps seem to want to be permanantly contracted! Ouch.
I was intending to swim today at lunch, but it looks like I will have to walk into town for the Post Office.
On the Plus side - Man United beat Leeds 3-2 AET in the Carling Cup! We have West Brom at the Hawthorns in the next round.
We seem to have got to the bottom of the Clock Change failure on a number of systems - now we just need a fix from Nortel. This morning will be a ball-ache - I have 5 escalations for Call-Pilot to raise!
Monday, October 27, 2003
First visit to the Gym this morning... not quite early enough for the BodyPump class at 07:15, but have a better idea of timing to enable me to make it on Wednesday. The plan is BodyPump Monday and Wednesday morning, swimming Thursday and Friday lunchtime, and some weeks (but possible not every week) a relax in the sauna/steam room after work.
I had a steady aerobic workout this morning, 10 mins on the Rowing machine (2000 M) and 5 mins on the Stepper (15 Floors), and some light resistance weights. Even so I am aching a little this evening.
Not managed to get very much done at work today, there seem to be quite a few problems associated with the clock change again this year... Nothing we can put a finger on, but there have been more reports than normal today! And to top it all, those nice people at Stratus have upgraded their web site, and seem to have locked all the users of it out!
I'm off to bed... good night
I had a steady aerobic workout this morning, 10 mins on the Rowing machine (2000 M) and 5 mins on the Stepper (15 Floors), and some light resistance weights. Even so I am aching a little this evening.
Not managed to get very much done at work today, there seem to be quite a few problems associated with the clock change again this year... Nothing we can put a finger on, but there have been more reports than normal today! And to top it all, those nice people at Stratus have upgraded their web site, and seem to have locked all the users of it out!
I'm off to bed... good night
Sunday, October 26, 2003
Oh yes,
Man United got stuffed 3-1 by Fulham yesterday, but at least Arsenal only got a draw against Charton. Still only two points covering the top 3.
I have also won my first ebay auction - A copy of Halo for the PC - £24.50 Have already been looking for cheats etc...
And finally for today, I have changed the template I use, and I think that Archives now work. These have been changed to monthly rather than weekly...
Man United got stuffed 3-1 by Fulham yesterday, but at least Arsenal only got a draw against Charton. Still only two points covering the top 3.
I have also won my first ebay auction - A copy of Halo for the PC - £24.50 Have already been looking for cheats etc...
And finally for today, I have changed the template I use, and I think that Archives now work. These have been changed to monthly rather than weekly...
Yesterday was a long day, out the house at 09:30 to head up to vanessa's dad's farm. That's where Amy got changed and had her makeup done. We then headed over to the church for the wedding. The wedding went fine, but the weather was lousy... all the photo's had to be done inside the church.
The problem with that is, the flash on the Minolta f300 is rubbish! never mind, lots of tweaking in Photoshop recovered most of them. You can see my efforts here.
We then had a 30 minute plus run to Weston Hall for the Wedding Breakfast. That started badly... I turned the wrong way out of the church! Never mind, thanks to the trust map book, we managed to get there with only one argument!
Once there the photographer spent another hour, taking outdoor pictures (the rain had stopped, but not for long). By the time we sat down to eat, everyone was starving... The food was superb, and the service was good, but very slow. It must have been getting on for 18:30 by the time we finished.
The bestman's speech was one of the best I have ever heard. "Big Stuart" is an absolute natural public speaker. It lasted about 30 minutes, and he hardly refered to his notes at all!
By 21:00, both Amanda and the Kids were getting tired, so we made our excuses and left, arriving home a little before 22:00.
Guess who forgot to put the clocks back last night... I got up an hour early this morning... Good job Amanda realised!
Alex has had his second football 'Lesson', 6 players this time. His main problem at the moment is that he doesn't understand the concept of 'Teams' and chases after anyone with the ball regardless of which colour bid they are wearing!!
Most of the afternoon was spent 'Photoshopping' the wedding pictures, whilst Amanda took the kids out Shoe Shopping.
Watched "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Arc" tonight - Amy loved it. Anyway, I am shattered so an early night - I am going to the Gym in the morning...!
The problem with that is, the flash on the Minolta f300 is rubbish! never mind, lots of tweaking in Photoshop recovered most of them. You can see my efforts here.
We then had a 30 minute plus run to Weston Hall for the Wedding Breakfast. That started badly... I turned the wrong way out of the church! Never mind, thanks to the trust map book, we managed to get there with only one argument!
Once there the photographer spent another hour, taking outdoor pictures (the rain had stopped, but not for long). By the time we sat down to eat, everyone was starving... The food was superb, and the service was good, but very slow. It must have been getting on for 18:30 by the time we finished.
The bestman's speech was one of the best I have ever heard. "Big Stuart" is an absolute natural public speaker. It lasted about 30 minutes, and he hardly refered to his notes at all!
By 21:00, both Amanda and the Kids were getting tired, so we made our excuses and left, arriving home a little before 22:00.
Guess who forgot to put the clocks back last night... I got up an hour early this morning... Good job Amanda realised!
Alex has had his second football 'Lesson', 6 players this time. His main problem at the moment is that he doesn't understand the concept of 'Teams' and chases after anyone with the ball regardless of which colour bid they are wearing!!
Most of the afternoon was spent 'Photoshopping' the wedding pictures, whilst Amanda took the kids out Shoe Shopping.
Watched "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Arc" tonight - Amy loved it. Anyway, I am shattered so an early night - I am going to the Gym in the morning...!
Friday, October 24, 2003
Not been keeping upto date this week, mainly I havn't had time... But to recap the last few days :
On Wednesday I joined the healthclub next door to where I work : Livingwell. Bt have negotiated an improved corporate deal - £40 per month, if paid 6 months in advance. On Thursday lunchtime I did 10 lengths of the pool to gently re-introduce my body to exercise.
On Thursday evening, the auction closed on the Fuji Finepix : £320.13 + £10 P&P. Payment was by PayPal, so today I was off to the Post Office to dispatch the camera to it's new owner (In Cornwall, so it should get plenty of use)
Today, I ordered a "BT VOYAGER 2000 WIRELESS ADSL Modem" (£140) and a "BT VOYAGER 1010 USB ADAPTER" (£45). My PC will connect into the LAN port, and the USB adaptor will be connected to Amy's PC upstairs. I will then install Norton Security suite, with the parental control and allow Amy to access the internet on her own PC.
I have recieved my Black 'Third' man Utd top. Long sleeves and 18 Scholes on the back. My DVD box set for "Indiana Jones" should be here real soon - the only problem with CD-WOW is the long delivery times...
I have also ordered a case (MCSDG200 : Minolta Leather Case For F100/F200/F300 £12.76) and an additional memory card (LSD256 : Lexar 256MB Secure Digital £51.06) from fotosense.co.uk. If you add the cost of these accessories to the £240 I paid for the camera, it just comes to the price I got for the Fuji... I just lost out on the Fee's. Even so, changing your 2 year old camera for a new (higher pixel rating) model, and it only costing £30 is not too shabby....
I took a few pictures of Birmingham with the Minolta at lunchtime, I will stick them into a web album later on tonight...
Tommorow will be a long day, Stuart & Vanessa are getting married (it was his stag do, the other weekend) and Amy is the bridesmaid. Not sure who most excited.. Vanessa, Amy or Amanda!! We need to get to Vanessa's dad's farm for about 10:00 am to make sure that Amy has enough time to get ready for the 12:30 wedding. By the time we get home after the evening reception, we will all be shattered!! I can try out my new camera in anger...
On Wednesday I joined the healthclub next door to where I work : Livingwell. Bt have negotiated an improved corporate deal - £40 per month, if paid 6 months in advance. On Thursday lunchtime I did 10 lengths of the pool to gently re-introduce my body to exercise.
On Thursday evening, the auction closed on the Fuji Finepix : £320.13 + £10 P&P. Payment was by PayPal, so today I was off to the Post Office to dispatch the camera to it's new owner (In Cornwall, so it should get plenty of use)
Today, I ordered a "BT VOYAGER 2000 WIRELESS ADSL Modem" (£140) and a "BT VOYAGER 1010 USB ADAPTER" (£45). My PC will connect into the LAN port, and the USB adaptor will be connected to Amy's PC upstairs. I will then install Norton Security suite, with the parental control and allow Amy to access the internet on her own PC.
I have recieved my Black 'Third' man Utd top. Long sleeves and 18 Scholes on the back. My DVD box set for "Indiana Jones" should be here real soon - the only problem with CD-WOW is the long delivery times...
I have also ordered a case (MCSDG200 : Minolta Leather Case For F100/F200/F300 £12.76) and an additional memory card (LSD256 : Lexar 256MB Secure Digital £51.06) from fotosense.co.uk. If you add the cost of these accessories to the £240 I paid for the camera, it just comes to the price I got for the Fuji... I just lost out on the Fee's. Even so, changing your 2 year old camera for a new (higher pixel rating) model, and it only costing £30 is not too shabby....
I took a few pictures of Birmingham with the Minolta at lunchtime, I will stick them into a web album later on tonight...
Tommorow will be a long day, Stuart & Vanessa are getting married (it was his stag do, the other weekend) and Amy is the bridesmaid. Not sure who most excited.. Vanessa, Amy or Amanda!! We need to get to Vanessa's dad's farm for about 10:00 am to make sure that Amy has enough time to get ready for the 12:30 wedding. By the time we get home after the evening reception, we will all be shattered!! I can try out my new camera in anger...
Monday, October 20, 2003
What a good day Sunday was...
Alex had his first football training session. Got took out for a very nice meal by the mother in law on the evening. The best bit, however, was shopping round Merry Hill.... Yes Shopping...!
The first good deal was "Matrix Reloaded" for £15.90 from Asda - £1 cheaper than Play.com. Next was a pair of 'hiking' trainers - List price £69.50, on sale in 'The Officers Club' for £19.50...
The best deal was at Debenhams... a 'Minolta f300 indigo' for £240 !!!!! The next best price I have seen is £311....
Alex had his first football training session. Got took out for a very nice meal by the mother in law on the evening. The best bit, however, was shopping round Merry Hill.... Yes Shopping...!
The first good deal was "Matrix Reloaded" for £15.90 from Asda - £1 cheaper than Play.com. Next was a pair of 'hiking' trainers - List price £69.50, on sale in 'The Officers Club' for £19.50...
The best deal was at Debenhams... a 'Minolta f300 indigo' for £240 !!!!! The next best price I have seen is £311....
Saturday, October 18, 2003
At least it was quiet at work today, only a few calls, and they were pretty simple. Even better - No Calls At All between kick off and final whistle on the Rugby match between England and South Africa.
Another bid received on the 6900, £205 now - still quite a way to go there....!
Man United also won today, 1-0 against Leeds - unfortunately Arsenal beat Chelsea, I would have prefered a draw.
"Today Matthew, I will be very boring"...
Another bid received on the 6900, £205 now - still quite a way to go there....!
Man United also won today, 1-0 against Leeds - unfortunately Arsenal beat Chelsea, I would have prefered a draw.
"Today Matthew, I will be very boring"...
Friday, October 17, 2003
1/2 day traing course in Chester today, nice weather, nice ride out on the bike. 150 mile round trip took about 2 hours each way. decided against the motorway, so went up the A41. It was a little bit chilly this morning (42 F - 5 C), but was very pleasant and sunny on the return journey (58 F 15C).
Tickets have arrived for Eric Clapton at the NEC next April. One of these will be placed in the father-in-laws birthday card next month...
My topbox has arrived at streetbike, and is now firmly fitted to the back of the bike. It does look pretty darn good!
No movement yet on the Fuji Finepix on eBay, but there are still 6 days to go.
Tickets have arrived for Eric Clapton at the NEC next April. One of these will be placed in the father-in-laws birthday card next month...
My topbox has arrived at streetbike, and is now firmly fitted to the back of the bike. It does look pretty darn good!
No movement yet on the Fuji Finepix on eBay, but there are still 6 days to go.
Thursday, October 16, 2003
Busy day at work today, mostly web updates, patching updates etc but it kept me busy... I have been having another think about digital cameras. The DiMage is starting to feel like the favourite, but not 100% convinced yet. It seems that Comet are offering it at £311.99 online (£380 instore!) hmmmmmm tempting...
Wednesday, October 15, 2003
Well, the headache is still there, but a second coat of paint has now been applied, and it is looking good. If I was a perfectionist, and had another litre of paint, I would go for a third coat... But I'm not, so I won't!
Popped over to my mom's this afternoon - got a right telling off - its been 4 weeks since I last visited! Whoooops!!
It seems that someone at work has been busy. They have negotiated a special discount rate at the health club (Livingwell) next door to our office. It should be £51, we can have it for £40 - well for the next 6 months. If 45 new members have joined from BT in that time, the rate stays. I may well take them up on that offer, the one thing that became painfully obvious during the Paintball on Saturday, is that I am really out of condition.
I will be glad to get back into the office tommorow, for the rest! I am exhausted after another 3 days decorating. Mind you, I am out again on Friday - back up to ITEL at Chester for a 1 day top-up course, before being in again on Saturday.
I have been looking at digital cameras today. The Olympus C750 was excellent on paper (screen?), but when I held a real one, it was just too bulky. I now have a new shortlist:
Minolta DiMage F300 - 5 Megapixel (2560 x 1920) - Very clever autofocus etc. £325
Pentax Optio 450 - 4 Megapixel ( 2288 x 1712) - 5 times optical zoom £380
Popped over to my mom's this afternoon - got a right telling off - its been 4 weeks since I last visited! Whoooops!!
It seems that someone at work has been busy. They have negotiated a special discount rate at the health club (Livingwell) next door to our office. It should be £51, we can have it for £40 - well for the next 6 months. If 45 new members have joined from BT in that time, the rate stays. I may well take them up on that offer, the one thing that became painfully obvious during the Paintball on Saturday, is that I am really out of condition.
I will be glad to get back into the office tommorow, for the rest! I am exhausted after another 3 days decorating. Mind you, I am out again on Friday - back up to ITEL at Chester for a 1 day top-up course, before being in again on Saturday.
I have been looking at digital cameras today. The Olympus C750 was excellent on paper (screen?), but when I held a real one, it was just too bulky. I now have a new shortlist:
Minolta DiMage F300 - 5 Megapixel (2560 x 1920) - Very clever autofocus etc. £325
Pentax Optio 450 - 4 Megapixel ( 2288 x 1712) - 5 times optical zoom £380
Tuesday, October 14, 2003
First coat of gloss has been applied, and I have a bad headache to prove it. This paint is very difficult to apply, and looks pretty rubbish after the 1st coat, but the second one should be easier and it does make it look a lot better. That's a job for tommorow.
I collected my Givi rack this morning, and fitted it this afternoon. It only took 1/2 hour and looks pretty good. I have also ordered a top box from Streetbike. That should be here by the end of the week. I have just recorded the engine on the Moto Guzzi with my FM Recorder, just click on the bike picture.
I collected my Givi rack this morning, and fitted it this afternoon. It only took 1/2 hour and looks pretty good. I have also ordered a top box from Streetbike. That should be here by the end of the week. I have just recorded the engine on the Moto Guzzi with my FM Recorder, just click on the bike picture.
Ok, first bid has been recieved for the Fuji, not at reserve yet, but there are 9 days left. Three of these cameras have sold this week for £300-£310, I would be more than happy at that.
I finished "Sword of the Shannara" last night, and will be starting "Elfstones of the Shannara" very soon. I have also finally realised that there are two 'N's in Shannara!!
I have just had a phone call from Speedaway Motor Cycles, my Givi rack has finally arrived. I will collect that later today.
I had a lie in this morning, and managed another chapter of Harry Potter, and then found that Chapter 19 was also missing the start. I had better fix that one soon, as I will be listening whilst painting today. Yep, the decorating plan has changed again, I really cannot take another day of rubbing down just yet, so I will gloss the woodwork I prepared yesterday - ready to second coat it tommorow. At least it will look completed downstairs then.
I finished "Sword of the Shannara" last night, and will be starting "Elfstones of the Shannara" very soon. I have also finally realised that there are two 'N's in Shannara!!
I have just had a phone call from Speedaway Motor Cycles, my Givi rack has finally arrived. I will collect that later today.
I had a lie in this morning, and managed another chapter of Harry Potter, and then found that Chapter 19 was also missing the start. I had better fix that one soon, as I will be listening whilst painting today. Yep, the decorating plan has changed again, I really cannot take another day of rubbing down just yet, so I will gloss the woodwork I prepared yesterday - ready to second coat it tommorow. At least it will look completed downstairs then.
Monday, October 13, 2003
Well, I've done it... My Fuji 6900 is up for save on eBay hopefully I can get £300 for it, and then the hard part... Which camera do I get next..?
I have been listening to my Harry Potter Audio book whilst decorating today, and have discovered that my MP3 conversions were not without problems. Two chapters have been completely recreated and 1 chapter had a minute misssing in the middle, this has been corrected. I can start again tommorow from Chapter 18 - Dumbledore's Army. I have only a couple of chapters left on Sword of the Shanara, I am going to see if I can't get that finished tonight - before Stargate...
I have been listening to my Harry Potter Audio book whilst decorating today, and have discovered that my MP3 conversions were not without problems. Two chapters have been completely recreated and 1 chapter had a minute misssing in the middle, this has been corrected. I can start again tommorow from Chapter 18 - Dumbledore's Army. I have only a couple of chapters left on Sword of the Shanara, I am going to see if I can't get that finished tonight - before Stargate...
OK, I am now done decorating for today... I have managed to rub down and prime the complete banister, posts, spindles and sides of the stairs. Tommorow the four upstairs panelled doors, and Wednesday, first coat glossing.
I have just ordered an upgrade to Sky+, £200 including fitting and no additional subscription fee's. I could have had it October 20th, but have had to put it back to Saturday Nov 1st, to find a day when somebody will actually be in the house!
I have just ordered an upgrade to Sky+, £200 including fitting and no additional subscription fee's. I could have had it October 20th, but have had to put it back to Saturday Nov 1st, to find a day when somebody will actually be in the house!
Sitting here trying to work up the enthusiasm to start rubbing down paintwork again, I have found that Eric Clapton is to play the NEC on April 30th 2004. I was right on the phone, and am now the proud owner of two tickets, thats also sorted out the problem of what to get the Father-in-Law for his birthday.
I have also ordered 4 Adult tickets for Old Trafford, ManU v Blackburn on Sat Nov 22nd, now just have to wait to see if I get them. So far this season, I have applied for 6 sets, got 2, failed 3, waiting on 1. Not too shabby.
Well, I really can't put it off any longer.....
I have also ordered 4 Adult tickets for Old Trafford, ManU v Blackburn on Sat Nov 22nd, now just have to wait to see if I get them. So far this season, I have applied for 6 sets, got 2, failed 3, waiting on 1. Not too shabby.
Well, I really can't put it off any longer.....
Sunday, October 12, 2003
Well, back home and a little bruised and battered... The Painball was good fun. I have three very nice bright red marks on my back and a very sore lump on my head where I was hit. The team we played against were mostly regulars - we got hammered.
The final game was the most fun, well to everyone except Groom and Best Man! They were given bright red flack jackets, and deemed invincible. They were then given a head start, and the pack was let loose. Both Stuarts got a severe spatting, and the bruises to prove it.
The evening was pretty tame, and it generally petered out by 11:30, so the remaing four of us carried on drinking at one of the local lads houses till 02:00. The end result - I am shattered today, and it took a couple of cups of strong coffee to keep me awake for the return journey.
Our host Ian has a new toy, a Caterham 7 with a Honda Blackbird engine!! the acceleration was quite amazing, and the road holding superb. very nice, damn good fun, but i'll stick to the bike thanks.
Ahh well, lets get a reasonably early night - its decorating again tommorow :-(
The final game was the most fun, well to everyone except Groom and Best Man! They were given bright red flack jackets, and deemed invincible. They were then given a head start, and the pack was let loose. Both Stuarts got a severe spatting, and the bruises to prove it.
The evening was pretty tame, and it generally petered out by 11:30, so the remaing four of us carried on drinking at one of the local lads houses till 02:00. The end result - I am shattered today, and it took a couple of cups of strong coffee to keep me awake for the return journey.
Our host Ian has a new toy, a Caterham 7 with a Honda Blackbird engine!! the acceleration was quite amazing, and the road holding superb. very nice, damn good fun, but i'll stick to the bike thanks.
Ahh well, lets get a reasonably early night - its decorating again tommorow :-(
Saturday, October 11, 2003
Well, none of the jobs that I intended to do, or any of the ones that I should have done were completed yesterday... instead I spent most of the morning investigating MS03-40, and does it need to be installed on Symposium Servers, and most of the afternoon on a conference call discussing SNMP traps from our new Stratus server...
Today, however is different... For one thing it's the weekend, and I am not in work. Also today is my mate Stuart's Stag do. Starting with paintball at Hotshots (Newbury, Berkshire), lunch is at 12pm, the games will start at 1pm and should be over by 4:30pm That means we need to leave the house by 08:30 to get down there in time...
The evening venue is the Assam Indian & Nepalese Restaurant in Wokingham, moving on to 'The Ship'.
Fortunately, it is the birthday weekend of Lilly Thornton (3 year old daughter of Julie & Ian) who live in reading, and we have been invited down for the weekend. I will miss the party, but at least have somewhere local to sleep tonight...
Today, however is different... For one thing it's the weekend, and I am not in work. Also today is my mate Stuart's Stag do. Starting with paintball at Hotshots (Newbury, Berkshire), lunch is at 12pm, the games will start at 1pm and should be over by 4:30pm That means we need to leave the house by 08:30 to get down there in time...
The evening venue is the Assam Indian & Nepalese Restaurant in Wokingham, moving on to 'The Ship'.
Fortunately, it is the birthday weekend of Lilly Thornton (3 year old daughter of Julie & Ian) who live in reading, and we have been invited down for the weekend. I will miss the party, but at least have somewhere local to sleep tonight...
Thursday, October 09, 2003
Ok, I am now officially exhausted. Out of the house at 06:30, got back at 18:15 with 3.5 hours driving up and down the M40 in heavy(ish) traffic, and in-between several hours of lectures on the latest version of Symposium Web Client Server 4.5. Now I need to get two heavy folders into work tomorrow in my rucksack!
The driving was shorter than I expected, and I am only just starting Chapter 14. The Astra was quite comfortable to drive, but my neck and shoulders are really still and sore now - I hate motorway driving.
I really should have filled the car back up with fuel, but I was only just back in time for Amanda to go out... So National will just have to fill it and charge a ridiculus 90p per litre. The advantage from my point of view is - Just one bill to claim back the money for.
Back in the office tommorow, and if I get time - I have a PC to rebuild with XP, and a Windows 2000 PC to 'Hand Over' to a user, neither of which is part of my 'Proper' job - but if I don't do it, no-one else will. I also have some more bits to tidy up on the Web server, as I am off again for three days next week. Decorating here we come again...
The driving was shorter than I expected, and I am only just starting Chapter 14. The Astra was quite comfortable to drive, but my neck and shoulders are really still and sore now - I hate motorway driving.
I really should have filled the car back up with fuel, but I was only just back in time for Amanda to go out... So National will just have to fill it and charge a ridiculus 90p per litre. The advantage from my point of view is - Just one bill to claim back the money for.
Back in the office tommorow, and if I get time - I have a PC to rebuild with XP, and a Windows 2000 PC to 'Hand Over' to a user, neither of which is part of my 'Proper' job - but if I don't do it, no-one else will. I also have some more bits to tidy up on the Web server, as I am off again for three days next week. Decorating here we come again...
Wednesday, October 08, 2003
Glad to get home today, work has seemed to last forever... I have just rebuilt a PC witha Windows 2000 'Gold Build' over the network, that was OK, but no-one can tell me the Admin password and domain users can't install software, so the build won't complete. Eventually got one of the Network administrators to access it remotely and reset the password.
Finally got a copy of my DPR (Development and Performance Review) for this year (It was due in August) - It is last years with two words changed! OK, so the scores are OK, but have I really made so little progress during the year? Or is my manager just lazy?
Finally managed to book my hire-car this afternoon. I booked it online with National Car Rental - A group U (Astra 1.5 estate or similar) at about 14:15. They delivered a 1.6 Astra car to my home address at 15:30 - Quite impressive.
Checked my e-mails when I got home, the iPod has arrived safe and sound in London :-)
I have now got towards the end of "Sword of the Shanara" so I may spend an hour or two tonight in an attempt to finish it. Tomorrow I have a two hour (each way) drive to Maidenhead to deal with, so I think it will be 4 chapters of Harry Potter on Audio Book... That should get me to Chapter 15 - The Hogwarts High Inquisitor...
Finally got a copy of my DPR (Development and Performance Review) for this year (It was due in August) - It is last years with two words changed! OK, so the scores are OK, but have I really made so little progress during the year? Or is my manager just lazy?
Finally managed to book my hire-car this afternoon. I booked it online with National Car Rental - A group U (Astra 1.5 estate or similar) at about 14:15. They delivered a 1.6 Astra car to my home address at 15:30 - Quite impressive.
Checked my e-mails when I got home, the iPod has arrived safe and sound in London :-)
I have now got towards the end of "Sword of the Shanara" so I may spend an hour or two tonight in an attempt to finish it. Tomorrow I have a two hour (each way) drive to Maidenhead to deal with, so I think it will be 4 chapters of Harry Potter on Audio Book... That should get me to Chapter 15 - The Hogwarts High Inquisitor...
Tuesday, October 07, 2003
Monday, October 06, 2003
well, Auction closed and the iPod has gone for £280, which means it cost me £120 to own it for 10 weeks. Not to impressed by that, but at least it's not a £400 write-off! Just need to wait now to ensure that I actually get some cash before I post it off.
It was a 'catch up' day at work today, no real work just e-mails, updating the website with the latest downloads etc. The one interesting thing I needed to do today was make sure that pcAnywhere version 11 was backwards compatible with versions 8, 9.2 10 and 10.5. It seems to be so far.
Still didn't book the hire car, really must do that tommorow.
It was a 'catch up' day at work today, no real work just e-mails, updating the website with the latest downloads etc. The one interesting thing I needed to do today was make sure that pcAnywhere version 11 was backwards compatible with versions 8, 9.2 10 and 10.5. It seems to be so far.
Still didn't book the hire car, really must do that tommorow.
Sunday, October 05, 2003
Been playing "Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004" today, after 2 practice rounds I am now consistently getting 5 to 6 under at Royal St Andrews... Impressive eh! (Well not too impressive, I am still on the 'Novice' setting.
The good bit is that it has been a quite weekend on-call (So far - touch wood)
Ah well, back to work tommorow - Must remember to book a hire car for Thursday for a training course in Maidenhead (Well you didn't expect me to put in a five day week did you?)
After re-discovering the convience of the compact form factor in Digital Cameras on Saturday, I am considering getting a new one myself. Amy's is easy to carry about, but the quality is rubbish and it has no zoom - not to mention a menu structure that makes deleting too easy Grrrrrr! I have seen a couple of favourable reviews of the Olympus C750 - a 4 Megapixel camera with a 10, yes 10!, times optical zoom
Here's an example of just what that means (Using two pictures borrowed from the above review)...
At Wide-Angle setting:
The red square is the area covered by this shot at full telephoto:
And to give a better idea of how close that is, this is a
small segment of the telephoto picture at 100% scale:
I shall give that some more thought over the coming weeks... There may be a Fuji 6900 Zoom going on e-bay before too long. Talking of which, less that 24 hours till the end of the auction for the ipod... bidding at £240 at the moment. Lets see how that goes.
The good bit is that it has been a quite weekend on-call (So far - touch wood)
Ah well, back to work tommorow - Must remember to book a hire car for Thursday for a training course in Maidenhead (Well you didn't expect me to put in a five day week did you?)
After re-discovering the convience of the compact form factor in Digital Cameras on Saturday, I am considering getting a new one myself. Amy's is easy to carry about, but the quality is rubbish and it has no zoom - not to mention a menu structure that makes deleting too easy Grrrrrr! I have seen a couple of favourable reviews of the Olympus C750 - a 4 Megapixel camera with a 10, yes 10!, times optical zoom
Here's an example of just what that means (Using two pictures borrowed from the above review)...
At Wide-Angle setting:
The red square is the area covered by this shot at full telephoto:
And to give a better idea of how close that is, this is a
small segment of the telephoto picture at 100% scale:
I shall give that some more thought over the coming weeks... There may be a Fuji 6900 Zoom going on e-bay before too long. Talking of which, less that 24 hours till the end of the auction for the ipod... bidding at £240 at the moment. Lets see how that goes.
Yesterday was a busy day for me, Second coat of paint on the ceiling (With a bit more tint - looking better), then at 11:45 - collected Pete and Matthew and headed North.
We avoided the M5/M6 junction, choosing to go to Walsall to join the Motorway... Comming down the slip road there was bizarre - There was not another car in sight Northbound (Southbound was stationary, but that's normal!). We made really good time up to Stoke, but as we reached J15, traffic was coming to a halt - There had been an accident by J18 earlier...
We than collected Arthur, and headed up the A50, which is a really nice road that runs parallel to the M6. Once we reached the outskirts of Manchester things slowed down a bit - LOTS of traffic. Got to Cricket ground and parked up, from there a short walk to Old Trafford. Crowd was huge (as normal), but was a bit dissapointed to see some trouble between fans on Sir Matt Busby way... Police were in there quick, but it was a bit too close to us for comfort.
Got into the ground, and in our seats at 15:02, fortunatley kick off was delayed till 15:05. The view from our seats was great, we were the closest to the pitch we had ever been - Strettford (West) end, between the 6 and 18 yard box lines. When United got a Penalty I took out Amy's digital camera and timed the click to perfection - The ball was just hitting the back of the net!!! I was almost as happy with the photo as the goal! Trouble is, I stared to try and zoom in, clicked the wrong button (not familiar with this camera) and deleted it :-(
Final score 3-0 to United, no problem with getting back to the car... getting off the carpark took 45 minutes, traffic fine - Back down the A50 (Motorway was still looking slow). Dropped Arthur off, and arrived back at Pete's for 20:20. There Jackie had prepared a very nice Balti, and Amanda was there with the kids.
The top three in Fame academy turn out pretty much as expected, Alex first, Alister second and Carolynne third. No problems with that, but I personally thought Ali's performance on the night was the best of the three.
Fed and watered we got back home at about 10:30. Watched the highlights of the game on TV before finally getting to bed at about 11:30.
We avoided the M5/M6 junction, choosing to go to Walsall to join the Motorway... Comming down the slip road there was bizarre - There was not another car in sight Northbound (Southbound was stationary, but that's normal!). We made really good time up to Stoke, but as we reached J15, traffic was coming to a halt - There had been an accident by J18 earlier...
We than collected Arthur, and headed up the A50, which is a really nice road that runs parallel to the M6. Once we reached the outskirts of Manchester things slowed down a bit - LOTS of traffic. Got to Cricket ground and parked up, from there a short walk to Old Trafford. Crowd was huge (as normal), but was a bit dissapointed to see some trouble between fans on Sir Matt Busby way... Police were in there quick, but it was a bit too close to us for comfort.
Got into the ground, and in our seats at 15:02, fortunatley kick off was delayed till 15:05. The view from our seats was great, we were the closest to the pitch we had ever been - Strettford (West) end, between the 6 and 18 yard box lines. When United got a Penalty I took out Amy's digital camera and timed the click to perfection - The ball was just hitting the back of the net!!! I was almost as happy with the photo as the goal! Trouble is, I stared to try and zoom in, clicked the wrong button (not familiar with this camera) and deleted it :-(
Final score 3-0 to United, no problem with getting back to the car... getting off the carpark took 45 minutes, traffic fine - Back down the A50 (Motorway was still looking slow). Dropped Arthur off, and arrived back at Pete's for 20:20. There Jackie had prepared a very nice Balti, and Amanda was there with the kids.
The top three in Fame academy turn out pretty much as expected, Alex first, Alister second and Carolynne third. No problems with that, but I personally thought Ali's performance on the night was the best of the three.
Fed and watered we got back home at about 10:30. Watched the highlights of the game on TV before finally getting to bed at about 11:30.
Saturday, October 04, 2003
Shutterline - Photo Contests and Digital Camera Forum
"Welcome to Shutterline, the Internet's premier digital photography community. Our site hosts a wide variety of digital photo contests and a high-traffic photography discussion forum. Shutterline keeps digital photography enthusiasts challenged, entertained, and connected. We encourage you to browse through our diverse online community and join so that you can participate in the photo contests. Win recognition for your photo, fame for you, and even great prizes!"
Highlights : Photo of the Day, Photo of the Week and the Critique Forum
"Welcome to Shutterline, the Internet's premier digital photography community. Our site hosts a wide variety of digital photo contests and a high-traffic photography discussion forum. Shutterline keeps digital photography enthusiasts challenged, entertained, and connected. We encourage you to browse through our diverse online community and join so that you can participate in the photo contests. Win recognition for your photo, fame for you, and even great prizes!"
Highlights : Photo of the Day, Photo of the Week and the Critique Forum
Friday, October 03, 2003
Only 1/2 a day today, mostly performance monitoring etc..... Yaaawwwwwnnnnn! Nice lunch at the pizza place again today, Tagliatelli with Chilli & Garlic....mmmmmmmmm
The instructor left us with a list of usefull 'Geek' sites before we left :
http://www.annoyances.org/
http://www.labmice.net/
http://www.sysinternals.com/
http://about.com/
http://www.flashpeak.com/
http://www.omnibooksuk.co.uk/
http://www.megabytebooks.com/
http://www.happyhacker.org/
Gave the hall ceiling a quick once over with emulsion this afternoon, I still think the colour is too light, AND it's almost identical to the existing paint. If it wasn't so streaky in places it would be hard to tell it had been touched. I think I will mix the contents of a Matchpot to just 'Tint' it before doing a second coat.
I have successfully arranged cover for my on-call tommorow, so I can go to the football without having to worry about the phone ringing. Thanks Lee...
Had a nice e-mail via the Website Feedback form, a guy called Lawrence who said : "hello Mark, I like your new bike, but I just bought one too, it was the grey demonstrator you tried at speedaway (hope you didn't thrash it)" - Small world isn't it....?
The instructor left us with a list of usefull 'Geek' sites before we left :
http://www.annoyances.org/
http://www.labmice.net/
http://www.sysinternals.com/
http://about.com/
http://www.flashpeak.com/
http://www.omnibooksuk.co.uk/
http://www.megabytebooks.com/
http://www.happyhacker.org/
Gave the hall ceiling a quick once over with emulsion this afternoon, I still think the colour is too light, AND it's almost identical to the existing paint. If it wasn't so streaky in places it would be hard to tell it had been touched. I think I will mix the contents of a Matchpot to just 'Tint' it before doing a second coat.
I have successfully arranged cover for my on-call tommorow, so I can go to the football without having to worry about the phone ringing. Thanks Lee...
Had a nice e-mail via the Website Feedback form, a guy called Lawrence who said : "hello Mark, I like your new bike, but I just bought one too, it was the grey demonstrator you tried at speedaway (hope you didn't thrash it)" - Small world isn't it....?
Thursday, October 02, 2003
Ok, so a 2-1 loss was not too good, still enjoyed the game tho'...
Another spectacularly unproductive XP training day, lot of remote desktop, working with group policies on a w2k domain etc. There was very nice Chilli & Rice lunch involved at "the Garden House".... :-)
Slight problem with my own PC tonight, loaded Partition Magic 8 to have a look at it, and it informed me that there was a major problem with the partitioning on my second drive. Tonight's mission was to backup the D,M and P drives to the 80GB 'Backup' partition (Cunningly named eh!) - wipe the drive, re-partition it, re-Format it and restore the data. All done and working OK now.
Starting my week on call - one call already tonight at 5:30, couldn't really help the guy, but he managed to get agreement to leave it till tomorrow morning... Phhhhew.
Ok, I am now off to bed, good night all.
Another spectacularly unproductive XP training day, lot of remote desktop, working with group policies on a w2k domain etc. There was very nice Chilli & Rice lunch involved at "the Garden House".... :-)
Slight problem with my own PC tonight, loaded Partition Magic 8 to have a look at it, and it informed me that there was a major problem with the partitioning on my second drive. Tonight's mission was to backup the D,M and P drives to the 80GB 'Backup' partition (Cunningly named eh!) - wipe the drive, re-partition it, re-Format it and restore the data. All done and working OK now.
Starting my week on call - one call already tonight at 5:30, couldn't really help the guy, but he managed to get agreement to leave it till tomorrow morning... Phhhhew.
Ok, I am now off to bed, good night all.
Wednesday, October 01, 2003
Not much to report from the XP training today, lots of practice with "Remote Assistance" and a couple of hours on TCP/IP theory as related to DNS and DHCP. Not much new to learn, but really difficult to stay awake through.
It was the "Quattro Formaggi" today, and very nice it was too.
Man United on Sky Sports 2 tonight against the current Bundesliga leaders - Stuttgart, potentially a very testing game, I think a draw would be a good result, but you always hope for a win....!
It was the "Quattro Formaggi" today, and very nice it was too.
Man United on Sky Sports 2 tonight against the current Bundesliga leaders - Stuttgart, potentially a very testing game, I think a draw would be a good result, but you always hope for a win....!
How bloggers game Google: "How bloggers game Google
Or is Google dumbing down blogdom
by feeding their drivel back to them?
And what happens when that drivel is fed to you? "
Or is Google dumbing down blogdom
by feeding their drivel back to them?
And what happens when that drivel is fed to you? "
Quiet day yesterday, second day of the XP course - Nothing much new there. We spent quite some time on the 'Encrypted Filing System' and Troubleshhoting the boot sequence...! It was a very nice lunch at "The Garden House" pub however - Gammon and chips, Apple crumble and Custard.
Not a lot on TV last night, watched Arsenal's 0-0 with L.Moscow and then had an hour reading 'Sword of the Shanara' then went to bed early (10pm and listened to 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix' on audio book.
I did check with the bike shop, and my Givi rack still hasn't arrived from Italy - Doh!!
Ah well, lets get ready to take on the might of XP again today and see what joys we have in store.
Not a lot on TV last night, watched Arsenal's 0-0 with L.Moscow and then had an hour reading 'Sword of the Shanara' then went to bed early (10pm and listened to 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix' on audio book.
I did check with the bike shop, and my Givi rack still hasn't arrived from Italy - Doh!!
Ah well, lets get ready to take on the might of XP again today and see what joys we have in store.
Monday, September 29, 2003
Not a bad day yersterday, I had the afternoon to myself on the PC, and we went visiting the Sankey's at 16:00 - a good evening was had by all...
Another day, another matchpot - still undecided on the colour for the ceiling, but it's now tending towards 'A Hint of' type white, I think it's too light, but I seem to be in the minority on that one...
Today was the first day of the Microsoft course for Windows XP, pretty good it was too. It seems that MS have put a lot of effor into the 'Unattended Install'. On NT4 and W2K training this was a last day topic, covered briefly and in haste. On the XP training, it is an integral part of the 1st day! Lunch time was a trip to "Ask" where I had a very nice (and quite large) Stromboli (Double pepperoni sausage, mozzarella, tomato), I think it will be Quattro Formaggi
(Four cheeses, tomato) next time.
Stargate series 7 starts tonight on Sky one.... Whhhoooooo Hooooooo!!!!!
Got Dido's new CD today, Life For Rent - just listening to it for the first time, and so far - Yes it's a good 'un. White Flag is the most immediate track, but I suspect that there are two or three others that will be fighting for top spot before too long.
It's already on the walkman (24.5 GB on there now!), so may well have a listen on the bus in the morning.... On the Bus! yep, the weather is dire, and there are no real facilities for dealing with wet bike gear at Parity's training centre, so I will rough it on public transport for a couple of days.
Another day, another matchpot - still undecided on the colour for the ceiling, but it's now tending towards 'A Hint of' type white, I think it's too light, but I seem to be in the minority on that one...
Today was the first day of the Microsoft course for Windows XP, pretty good it was too. It seems that MS have put a lot of effor into the 'Unattended Install'. On NT4 and W2K training this was a last day topic, covered briefly and in haste. On the XP training, it is an integral part of the 1st day! Lunch time was a trip to "Ask" where I had a very nice (and quite large) Stromboli (Double pepperoni sausage, mozzarella, tomato), I think it will be Quattro Formaggi
(Four cheeses, tomato) next time.
Stargate series 7 starts tonight on Sky one.... Whhhoooooo Hooooooo!!!!!
Got Dido's new CD today, Life For Rent - just listening to it for the first time, and so far - Yes it's a good 'un. White Flag is the most immediate track, but I suspect that there are two or three others that will be fighting for top spot before too long.
It's already on the walkman (24.5 GB on there now!), so may well have a listen on the bus in the morning.... On the Bus! yep, the weather is dire, and there are no real facilities for dealing with wet bike gear at Parity's training centre, so I will rough it on public transport for a couple of days.
Sunday, September 28, 2003
Well I did get into the new DIXONS XL, and quite an impressive store it is too... We managed to get all the shoes and stuff we needed to get in quite good time, and I just managed to get home before my patience completely evaporated...
Fame Academy was good last night, my fave 3 are all in the final. I don't think Alex had her best performance, but I still think she may win it. Alister was really good, and he has every chance of winning, but Carolynne was superb, and on that performance deserves to win...
I have now finished 'Ripping' and merging the MP3's for "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" audio book, so now I just have 38 files - 1 Chapter each, with no "Chapter 2 Continued" etc prompts in the middle of a file.
I am now going to see if Amy fancies going a ride on the bikes, I could do with the exercise, and the mood Amanda is in this morning, she would be better with us out of the house.
Fame Academy was good last night, my fave 3 are all in the final. I don't think Alex had her best performance, but I still think she may win it. Alister was really good, and he has every chance of winning, but Carolynne was superb, and on that performance deserves to win...
I have now finished 'Ripping' and merging the MP3's for "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" audio book, so now I just have 38 files - 1 Chapter each, with no "Chapter 2 Continued" etc prompts in the middle of a file.
I am now going to see if Amy fancies going a ride on the bikes, I could do with the exercise, and the mood Amanda is in this morning, she would be better with us out of the house.
Saturday, September 27, 2003
Just looking at the weblogs and found the link to avland below was broken, I have now fixed that... Sorry whoever you were..
I remortgaged earlier this year, and now have a nice shiny "Offset Mortgage" from First Direct. One of the real big advantages of this (for me) is that my savings account now earns (effectively) 4.6% APR - TAX FREE, this is much better than the ISA's and other tax free savings methods I have been using, so I have closed them all down and movedthe money into my savings account... Ok I don't get any GROWTH on my savings, but it does REDUCE the interest on my mortgage by a significant amount, and means about 3 years reduction in the life of the loan!! Think about it, you know it makes sense.
What does today hold in store - Shopping!! No not the good sort, computers, gadgets, Bikes, HiFi etc., the boring stuff, Food and shoes!!! I can hardly wait. On the plus side, we will be trying the new BULL RING again, so if I can get the girls into a shoe store, I may be able to sneak out into the new BIG DIXONS for an hour!
Hopefully we can get home at a reasonable time, and I can listen to the football on the (internet) radio, followed by the semi final of Fame Academy.
I remortgaged earlier this year, and now have a nice shiny "Offset Mortgage" from First Direct. One of the real big advantages of this (for me) is that my savings account now earns (effectively) 4.6% APR - TAX FREE, this is much better than the ISA's and other tax free savings methods I have been using, so I have closed them all down and movedthe money into my savings account... Ok I don't get any GROWTH on my savings, but it does REDUCE the interest on my mortgage by a significant amount, and means about 3 years reduction in the life of the loan!! Think about it, you know it makes sense.
What does today hold in store - Shopping!! No not the good sort, computers, gadgets, Bikes, HiFi etc., the boring stuff, Food and shoes!!! I can hardly wait. On the plus side, we will be trying the new BULL RING again, so if I can get the girls into a shoe store, I may be able to sneak out into the new BIG DIXONS for an hour!
Hopefully we can get home at a reasonable time, and I can listen to the football on the (internet) radio, followed by the semi final of Fame Academy.
Friday, September 26, 2003
Well, it's now Friday, and I have done no decorating for 4 nights... admitidly I havn'e been at home for 3 of them... I have been away on a traiing course at a company called ITEL in Chester, stopping at the Ramada Inn. but don't get me started on that one, enough to say that if I ever need to stay in Chester, I will NOT be staying at the Ramada.
The Training course was for the Stratus FtServer 3300. A very nice piece of kit, the major problem being that IF you need to wipe it and start again from scratch, it takes about 7 hours...!
I have managed to get to chapter 25 in the "Sword of the Shanara", and have reached chapter 5 in the audio book version of 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"
Have just spent anout 1 1/2 hours getting up to date with e-mails etc. and am now going to have a break, and a rest before getting an early night... back in my own bed, bliss.
The Training course was for the Stratus FtServer 3300. A very nice piece of kit, the major problem being that IF you need to wipe it and start again from scratch, it takes about 7 hours...!
I have managed to get to chapter 25 in the "Sword of the Shanara", and have reached chapter 5 in the audio book version of 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"
Have just spent anout 1 1/2 hours getting up to date with e-mails etc. and am now going to have a break, and a rest before getting an early night... back in my own bed, bliss.
Monday, September 22, 2003
I am now the proud owner of a pair of Sony MDR-EX71SL Fontopia Headphones for use with my Archos FM Recorder Walkman. They fit great, feel really comfortable when in, sound good, and really block out outside noise well - £34 from www.avland.co.uk
My 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix' Audio book CD's arrived today. I have just ripped the first 6 CD's to the PC. I have located which of the 65(ish) tracks on each disc are the start of chapters, and am just about to use 'MP3 Splitter & Joiner' from EZ SoftMagic to merge tracks together to give me one file per Chapter. I will then load these onto the walkman.
The Hall is now looking good, the plates have been mounted along the stair wall, and a new *LARGE* mirror has been placed on the radiator wall. I was plesently surprised with the Mirror £45 from B&Q. Total cost for hall so far (not including the Mark Spain painting that started it all off) is £250. I have also finally found a colour that I like for the ceiling, but that too can wait a while.
My 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix' Audio book CD's arrived today. I have just ripped the first 6 CD's to the PC. I have located which of the 65(ish) tracks on each disc are the start of chapters, and am just about to use 'MP3 Splitter & Joiner' from EZ SoftMagic to merge tracks together to give me one file per Chapter. I will then load these onto the walkman.
The Hall is now looking good, the plates have been mounted along the stair wall, and a new *LARGE* mirror has been placed on the radiator wall. I was plesently surprised with the Mirror £45 from B&Q. Total cost for hall so far (not including the Mark Spain painting that started it all off) is £250. I have also finally found a colour that I like for the ceiling, but that too can wait a while.
Sunday, September 21, 2003
Yes, the new plan worked fine... Started the Paper Hanging this morning at about 08:30, by 16:00 I was almost finished... Took a break to watch Man United v Arsenal on Sky Sports... Out to Pizza Hut down Merry Hill to eat, and when I got back another 30 minutes doing a couple of finishing touches and putting curtains back etc.
The upstairs still has to be done, as do the actual banister rail and spindles, but rubbing them down can wait a couple of weeks.
The new Seal album arrived in the post yesterday morning, and I have listened to it twice today - love it to bits, must make a copy to play in the car. (Yes, I know that I shouldn't but I refuse to keep a couple of hundred pounds worth of original CD's in the car...)
Amanda has already gone to bed, she was up several times in the night with Alex, he was sick several times. Not sure what the cause was, but he is feeling better now.
Was very upset with Fame Academy last night, the bottom 3 were Carolynne, Peter and James. The safe money was on the judges saving Peter again, but NO!, they saved Carolynne.... Result... But then the blummin students voted Peter in and James out... Now I am not a big James fan, Yes to good voice, talented, good looking etc etc etc, but basically I find him a bit boring. But Oh My God, he is 500 times better than Peter, the guy is just a loon! and a randy little bugger to boot. OK with modern studio technology and enough time they could make a good album with him, and he would be entertaining miming on TOTP, but would you PAY to see him sing live!
My top 3 in order is Alex (So much emotion in her singing), Carolynne (Amazing voice, and what a stunner) and Alistair (Good voice, great personality, very talented songwriter). This has been the case for several weeks now, and I have seen no reason to change it as we get closer to the final... except with Alistair now get James' votes???
The upstairs still has to be done, as do the actual banister rail and spindles, but rubbing them down can wait a couple of weeks.
The new Seal album arrived in the post yesterday morning, and I have listened to it twice today - love it to bits, must make a copy to play in the car. (Yes, I know that I shouldn't but I refuse to keep a couple of hundred pounds worth of original CD's in the car...)
Amanda has already gone to bed, she was up several times in the night with Alex, he was sick several times. Not sure what the cause was, but he is feeling better now.
Was very upset with Fame Academy last night, the bottom 3 were Carolynne, Peter and James. The safe money was on the judges saving Peter again, but NO!, they saved Carolynne.... Result... But then the blummin students voted Peter in and James out... Now I am not a big James fan, Yes to good voice, talented, good looking etc etc etc, but basically I find him a bit boring. But Oh My God, he is 500 times better than Peter, the guy is just a loon! and a randy little bugger to boot. OK with modern studio technology and enough time they could make a good album with him, and he would be entertaining miming on TOTP, but would you PAY to see him sing live!
My top 3 in order is Alex (So much emotion in her singing), Carolynne (Amazing voice, and what a stunner) and Alistair (Good voice, great personality, very talented songwriter). This has been the case for several weeks now, and I have seen no reason to change it as we get closer to the final... except with Alistair now get James' votes???
Saturday, September 20, 2003
Friday, September 19, 2003
Better day today, got the gloss roller on the go, finished all the pale colour - except for minor touching up, that can be done this evening after the kids are in bed. Got two coats on of the darker colour (Auburn Falls 2) - The first coat looked awfull : Translucent Red, a second coat and it is nearer to the Mahogony sort of Red/Brown that I was looking for.
I actually got out the house at about 13:30, and enjoyed a couple of hours round Merry Hill where I did nothing more exciting than get a Very Large Latte from Starbucks, and a Cinamon Bun. Gave Lofty a call on the mobile, and withed Deinise a Happy Birthday - then came home.
All I need to do (after the touching up on the paintwork) is relax and work up the enthusiasm to wallpaper on Sunday!
I actually got out the house at about 13:30, and enjoyed a couple of hours round Merry Hill where I did nothing more exciting than get a Very Large Latte from Starbucks, and a Cinamon Bun. Gave Lofty a call on the mobile, and withed Deinise a Happy Birthday - then came home.
All I need to do (after the touching up on the paintwork) is relax and work up the enthusiasm to wallpaper on Sunday!
Thursday, September 18, 2003
Finally finished the painting, all the downstairs skirting and picture rail completed, one of the three door frames, two of the three window frames... I am knackered. It was a walkman night again tonight, starting of gently with 'David Sneddon', Vamping it up wildly with 'Bat Out Of Hell' by Meatloaf, a nice funky blues break with 'Strong Persuader' by Robert Cray, before finishing of with more Retro OTT... 'Moving Pictures' by Rush.
Tommorow - The Roller... should get the doors, panelling and remaining window and door frames finished by lunchtime... I may even get a lunch break tommorow.... Whoooo Oooooo!
Just had a quick 1/2 hour on the PC, to create a new Photo Album on the Website, for our day out at Avoncroft on Sunday.
That's it for today, I'm off to bed... My neck and arms are killing me.
Tommorow - The Roller... should get the doors, panelling and remaining window and door frames finished by lunchtime... I may even get a lunch break tommorow.... Whoooo Oooooo!
Just had a quick 1/2 hour on the PC, to create a new Photo Album on the Website, for our day out at Avoncroft on Sunday.
That's it for today, I'm off to bed... My neck and arms are killing me.
Yes, a plan that looks to be working.... I have now finished the paint prep downstairs, and may even nip down to B&Q to get the Gloss, so that I can start the 'Out of Reach' places tonight...
Amanda should be due home with the kids any minute, and then I am in the shower to get rid of all this paint dust. I hope dinner is early tonight, I haven't eaten at all today!
Just checked on DigiGuide, and there is nothing on TV tonight to get excited about, so it looks like painting (Dulux - Auburn Falls 5)may be the order of the evening.
Amanda should be due home with the kids any minute, and then I am in the shower to get rid of all this paint dust. I hope dinner is early tonight, I haven't eaten at all today!
Just checked on DigiGuide, and there is nothing on TV tonight to get excited about, so it looks like painting (Dulux - Auburn Falls 5)may be the order of the evening.
It seems that the bad guys have indeed been busy this last week, and a new worm/virus is on its way really soon... Ahh bugger, I'm at work on Saturday, hope they hold off till after then...
New plan for the decorating has been formulated, finish paint prep downstairs today - possibly getting started on the downstairs glossing (Picture rail etc where the kids can't accidentally get covered in paint). Tommorow finish the downstairs glossing of skirtingboard, door frames, doors and windows. This leave me clear on Sunday to paper the downstairs hall, up the stairs as far as the bathroom. On Monday night I can paint the 'Dark' gloss on the bannister etc, after the kids have been put to bed.
I am away in Chester for three days then on a training course, so it then may well be the following weekend before I get chance to finish the upstairs paint prep, and the downstairs glossing (The panelled are under the stairs) The remaining paper hanging is relatively simple and could be done in one evening.
I have just downloaded the trial version of Dreamweaver MX 2004, it looks to be a real improvment of the previous version - subtle but significant changes to the user interface, WYSIWYG support for CSS (Usefull as that is an area where I am actively 'Playing' at the moment, ready for a reworking of my web site)
Finally for this morning, as much as I like to support all the britsh teams in the European cups, it was nice to see a full strength Arsenal team given a lesson by Inter last night. Arsenal lost 3-0, and I really do not see what Arsene Wenger will be able to blame for the defeat, except to finally admit that the team is not as good as he likes to think it is. As long as they win the next few European games, they will probably be OK, and get thro' to the knockout phase.
New plan for the decorating has been formulated, finish paint prep downstairs today - possibly getting started on the downstairs glossing (Picture rail etc where the kids can't accidentally get covered in paint). Tommorow finish the downstairs glossing of skirtingboard, door frames, doors and windows. This leave me clear on Sunday to paper the downstairs hall, up the stairs as far as the bathroom. On Monday night I can paint the 'Dark' gloss on the bannister etc, after the kids have been put to bed.
I am away in Chester for three days then on a training course, so it then may well be the following weekend before I get chance to finish the upstairs paint prep, and the downstairs glossing (The panelled are under the stairs) The remaining paper hanging is relatively simple and could be done in one evening.
I have just downloaded the trial version of Dreamweaver MX 2004, it looks to be a real improvment of the previous version - subtle but significant changes to the user interface, WYSIWYG support for CSS (Usefull as that is an area where I am actively 'Playing' at the moment, ready for a reworking of my web site)
Finally for this morning, as much as I like to support all the britsh teams in the European cups, it was nice to see a full strength Arsenal team given a lesson by Inter last night. Arsenal lost 3-0, and I really do not see what Arsene Wenger will be able to blame for the defeat, except to finally admit that the team is not as good as he likes to think it is. As long as they win the next few European games, they will probably be OK, and get thro' to the knockout phase.
Wednesday, September 17, 2003
I have enabled archiving on the Blog today, not quite sure what I am doing with it thro'... I seem to have gained three links in the side bar that all give a "404 page not found" error.
I have ordered a copy of Seal IV from Play.com it's only £8.99... See, price them low, and they will buy...
I have ordered a copy of Seal IV from Play.com it's only £8.99... See, price them low, and they will buy...
A new plan is definately in order, I was supposed to have started glossing today, but it will be at least tommorow, if not Friday before the paint prep is complete... I am at work on Saturday, so Sunday looks like being a busy day :-(
Do you Remember Seal? he has a new album out 'Seal IV' and you can hear most of the tracks online here...
Time to let the primer dry before getting the Dyson out and getting the house fit for kids again...
Do you Remember Seal? he has a new album out 'Seal IV' and you can hear most of the tracks online here...
Time to let the primer dry before getting the Dyson out and getting the house fit for kids again...
OK, Pete's PC is now fully 'Norton'd with Firewall, Parental Control and AV software installed. Finally something that did go smoothly and acording to plan.
On the decorating front, all of the plasterwork has now been fully prep'd with Uni-Bond, and a significant percentage of the paintwork has been rubbed down and primed. No music yesterday I had a cracking headache, not helped by several hours beind a face mask with a Palm sander...
Found enough time to wash the car, and visit the local McDonalds for lunch... The Chicken Club Flatbread sure is a tasty meal.
To round of the day, football... Man United v Panathikos which United comfortably won 5-0 without actully playing very well.
Oh well, another hour till the kids go to school and I have to start rubbing down again... I am about a day behind schedule on my original plan, after only 2 days! Looks like it's time for a new plan!
Over at iPoding, there is news that about iTunes for Windows...
And Apple, NEWSWEEK learned, quietly informed
some music insiders that it’s moved up the date for
expanding its current Mac-only iTunes for the vast
universe of Windows-based PCs to mid-October
It may be worth hanging onto the iPod till after I have had chance to play with iTunes. In addition if it does make the iPod more Windows friendly, it may make it easier to sell...
On the decorating front, all of the plasterwork has now been fully prep'd with Uni-Bond, and a significant percentage of the paintwork has been rubbed down and primed. No music yesterday I had a cracking headache, not helped by several hours beind a face mask with a Palm sander...
Found enough time to wash the car, and visit the local McDonalds for lunch... The Chicken Club Flatbread sure is a tasty meal.
To round of the day, football... Man United v Panathikos which United comfortably won 5-0 without actully playing very well.
Oh well, another hour till the kids go to school and I have to start rubbing down again... I am about a day behind schedule on my original plan, after only 2 days! Looks like it's time for a new plan!
Over at iPoding, there is news that about iTunes for Windows...
And Apple, NEWSWEEK learned, quietly informed
some music insiders that it’s moved up the date for
expanding its current Mac-only iTunes for the vast
universe of Windows-based PCs to mid-October
It may be worth hanging onto the iPod till after I have had chance to play with iTunes. In addition if it does make the iPod more Windows friendly, it may make it easier to sell...
Monday, September 15, 2003
Monday morning 09:30 - Phone call from BT to confirm that my line is now working again!! Only 120 messages in my inbox, plus another 100 in various mailing list folders.
I have had one offer for the iPod, but not accepting offers under £300. Even at that price I will be down £120 in 2 months...
Started on the hall this morning, paper stripping is the order of the day... I have removed about 70% of it with no effort, it really did need doing. Now, after a quick break to check e-mails etc. back to work with a scrapper and a bucket of hot soapy water...
That was almost 6 hours ago, and the wallpaper stripping is only just finished. I, however, am completely finished... It was quite relaxing listening on the walkman all day.. I had forgetten just how good Dido's first album was, listened to Liberty X for the first time - not bad - and played the album by Quechia, another one that was too good to have forgotten about.
One bit of news I did spot today, "Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix" is very shortly to be released (22nd September) on audio book, once again narrated by the most excellent Stephen Fry. List price for the CD version (24 Discs!) is £75, BBC Shops are offering it at £60, Amazon.co.uk at £52.50. Thats me sorted for a few weeks on the walkman then....
Missions for this evening include such breath taking exciting jobs as, pot up 30 Fuscia and Geranium cuttings, Install AV software on Pete's PC, and watch Star Trek 3 on DVD. I told you I have an exciting existance....
I have had one offer for the iPod, but not accepting offers under £300. Even at that price I will be down £120 in 2 months...
Started on the hall this morning, paper stripping is the order of the day... I have removed about 70% of it with no effort, it really did need doing. Now, after a quick break to check e-mails etc. back to work with a scrapper and a bucket of hot soapy water...
That was almost 6 hours ago, and the wallpaper stripping is only just finished. I, however, am completely finished... It was quite relaxing listening on the walkman all day.. I had forgetten just how good Dido's first album was, listened to Liberty X for the first time - not bad - and played the album by Quechia, another one that was too good to have forgotten about.
One bit of news I did spot today, "Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix" is very shortly to be released (22nd September) on audio book, once again narrated by the most excellent Stephen Fry. List price for the CD version (24 Discs!) is £75, BBC Shops are offering it at £60, Amazon.co.uk at £52.50. Thats me sorted for a few weeks on the walkman then....
Missions for this evening include such breath taking exciting jobs as, pot up 30 Fuscia and Geranium cuttings, Install AV software on Pete's PC, and watch Star Trek 3 on DVD. I told you I have an exciting existance....
Friday, September 12, 2003
OK, it's been a couple of days... I have no internet connection at home at the moment. My line is faulty, it was reported Wednesday night at 9pm, a BT engineer will be coming round on Saturday morning to fix it. So for today, I will update from Work...
I had a phone call on Wednesday (on the main line, not the faulty one!), from the Credit Card Fraud department of my bank... It seems that two gentlemen were booking into a hotel with a credit card in their name, but with my number!! They are now under arrest.
My 'New' MP3 walkman has arrived, complete with a £30 import duty bill... Grrrrr... and is fully charged and loaded with about 25 Gbytes of MP3's - which thanks to the USB2 interface took less than 1 hour. The iPod will shortly be going up for sale on eBay.
The 'Sword of the Shannara' story is building nicely, and is gently pulling away from the 'Lord of the Rings' clone feel in the early chapters. I am now at chapter 10 and starting to get well into it.
Should be a busy weekend, we have house guests, my bike is due in for a service, and the phone line has to be repaired. I will then have to work my way thro' a huge backlog of e-mails!!
Work wise, Panic and Paranoia is starting to spread over the new vulnerability in Microsoft NT class OS's (MS03-039) as most of the applications we support are based on NT4 or W2K, we have already had several customers requesting that it be fitted.... I am glad I'm off next week, it could be a long one...
I had a phone call on Wednesday (on the main line, not the faulty one!), from the Credit Card Fraud department of my bank... It seems that two gentlemen were booking into a hotel with a credit card in their name, but with my number!! They are now under arrest.
My 'New' MP3 walkman has arrived, complete with a £30 import duty bill... Grrrrr... and is fully charged and loaded with about 25 Gbytes of MP3's - which thanks to the USB2 interface took less than 1 hour. The iPod will shortly be going up for sale on eBay.
The 'Sword of the Shannara' story is building nicely, and is gently pulling away from the 'Lord of the Rings' clone feel in the early chapters. I am now at chapter 10 and starting to get well into it.
Should be a busy weekend, we have house guests, my bike is due in for a service, and the phone line has to be repaired. I will then have to work my way thro' a huge backlog of e-mails!!
Work wise, Panic and Paranoia is starting to spread over the new vulnerability in Microsoft NT class OS's (MS03-039) as most of the applications we support are based on NT4 or W2K, we have already had several customers requesting that it be fitted.... I am glad I'm off next week, it could be a long one...
Tuesday, September 09, 2003
Ok, the phrase 'Famous Last words' is one that now springs to mind... Setting up Pete's PC proved to be a bit more work than anticipated. Got it set up and working in under an hour - no problems, installed the ADSL modem - fine. The PC then went online to update help files and driver, then promptley announced that it would shut down in 60 seconds!!! The bugger had been MS.Blaster'd.... in under 30 seconds online!!!
Quick trip back home to get a copy of McAfee Stinger and the Microsoft hotfix, and we were back in business, but just how many fixes / patches are there now for XP on the Windows update site - it took hours!!
Back round there tonight to install Firewall / Virus software / Office / Paint Shop Pro etc. Hopefully this won't take tooooo long.
Quick trip back home to get a copy of McAfee Stinger and the Microsoft hotfix, and we were back in business, but just how many fixes / patches are there now for XP on the Windows update site - it took hours!!
Back round there tonight to install Firewall / Virus software / Office / Paint Shop Pro etc. Hopefully this won't take tooooo long.
Monday, September 08, 2003
Back to work today after two weeks out of the office... :-(
The good news - it's my early finish day, the bad news - I have a dentist appointment.
It's been quite busy at work today, so at least the time passes quickly. I started to read my new book at lunchtime, I am now two chapters in, and it seems to be a really good read. I can see the Tolkein inspiration, but it isn't just a copy. I especially liked his explanation on the origins of the dwarves.
One clean bill of health from the dentist and I am happy again.
My mission for this evening is to assist a friend set up his new PC and get connected on his new BT Broadband connection. Shouldn't take too long...
The good news - it's my early finish day, the bad news - I have a dentist appointment.
It's been quite busy at work today, so at least the time passes quickly. I started to read my new book at lunchtime, I am now two chapters in, and it seems to be a really good read. I can see the Tolkein inspiration, but it isn't just a copy. I especially liked his explanation on the origins of the dwarves.
One clean bill of health from the dentist and I am happy again.
My mission for this evening is to assist a friend set up his new PC and get connected on his new BT Broadband connection. Shouldn't take too long...
Sunday, September 07, 2003
No kids this weekend, they have gone camping with Nanny and Grandad. We took the opertunity to go into Birmingham on our own.
The New Bullring is OK, but nothing special. All the usual suspects are there - Clinton Cards, Dixons, Boots etc but you really could not look around - there were about 5 times more people there than would be comfortable. We will go back again in 4 to 5 week - Hopefully before it gets busy for Xmas!
I bought myself a new paperback - 'The Sword of Shanara' by Terry Brooks, it's the first in a series so if I like it at least the kids will have an easy option of Birthday and Xmas presents for a couple of years.
Stopped in at the Halcyon Gallery. After much debate we have bought another Mark Spain painting. This time it's an original. 'Woman Looking Down' is a pencil/watercolour study for 'After The Party' and is stunning.
This one will go in our bedroom, the print from there is going in the hall - So I now have to redecorate the hall! We stopped of at B&Q on the way back home and have chosen a Paper and two paint colours. I know what I am going to be doing on my week off in September!
We went to the Pictures to see Terminator 3, *Lots* of action and good fun for a couple of hours and I think they have finally wrapped the story up. Complete rubbish of course in the common sence / physics department but I enjoyed it.
The New Bullring is OK, but nothing special. All the usual suspects are there - Clinton Cards, Dixons, Boots etc but you really could not look around - there were about 5 times more people there than would be comfortable. We will go back again in 4 to 5 week - Hopefully before it gets busy for Xmas!
I bought myself a new paperback - 'The Sword of Shanara' by Terry Brooks, it's the first in a series so if I like it at least the kids will have an easy option of Birthday and Xmas presents for a couple of years.
Stopped in at the Halcyon Gallery. After much debate we have bought another Mark Spain painting. This time it's an original. 'Woman Looking Down' is a pencil/watercolour study for 'After The Party' and is stunning.
This one will go in our bedroom, the print from there is going in the hall - So I now have to redecorate the hall! We stopped of at B&Q on the way back home and have chosen a Paper and two paint colours. I know what I am going to be doing on my week off in September!
We went to the Pictures to see Terminator 3, *Lots* of action and good fun for a couple of hours and I think they have finally wrapped the story up. Complete rubbish of course in the common sence / physics department but I enjoyed it.
Friday, September 05, 2003
Finished early today, so been to the bank, visited my Mom, cut the grass, check work & personal e-mails and fixed a few problems on the website and updated a few pages. The girls are out at a party tonight, so a night with the PC and TV is all mine.....
Finally discovered Blogger the free Weblogging tool that's part of the new Google toolbar.
Finally discovered Blogger the free Weblogging tool that's part of the new Google toolbar.
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