Decorating the master bedroom...
Today we have chosen, and purchased, the wallpaper, paint, and some accessories a grand total of £270!! Amanda is still talking about changing the carpet, curtains and headboard - man this is going to get expensive!
Just tidied up some of the rubbish that has found a home on the dressing table etc. today. paintwork prep and wallpaper stripping will probably be done on Monday, as we have to go to Mom's tommorow, and then collect Amanda back from her mom's - she is staying over tonight to let Carol have a good nights sleep
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Lord of the Dance
Just returned from the NIA Academy in Birmingham where we have been to see "Lord of the Dance"...
It was great, I don't get too excited about dancing, but this is just something else. Just a pity the Mr Flatley isn't still in it. The guy dancing his part was really good, but just looked too young and too , well, nice to play the character.
Since returning I have booked tickets to see Michael Flatleys new show - also at the NIA - in April "Celtic Tiger" and "Jeff Wayne's Musical version of the War of the Worlds" at the NEC - also in April... Having left it late to book, I don't have great tickets for either show, but they are the type of show where a close up view may not be the best on to have, so I booked them anyway!!
It was great, I don't get too excited about dancing, but this is just something else. Just a pity the Mr Flatley isn't still in it. The guy dancing his part was really good, but just looked too young and too , well, nice to play the character.
Since returning I have booked tickets to see Michael Flatleys new show - also at the NIA - in April "Celtic Tiger" and "Jeff Wayne's Musical version of the War of the Worlds" at the NEC - also in April... Having left it late to book, I don't have great tickets for either show, but they are the type of show where a close up view may not be the best on to have, so I booked them anyway!!
Another Nikon for the Collection...
I am not too happy with the Minolta Compact camera I have been using for the last 18 Months, It is very bulky (for a compact) and it seems to be eating batteries for fun just lately, so I have decided that it too must be replaced... and as I am feeling very favourable towards Nikon recently I have decided that a Coolpix 7900 will be the replacement.
It's currently out of stock at Jessops (I want the black model), so delivery in 2 to 4 weeks....
It's currently out of stock at Jessops (I want the black model), so delivery in 2 to 4 weeks....
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
A Strange Xmas
It's been a bit odd this year, and to be honest - I will be glad to see the back of Christmas this year...
Amanda's dad, Mike, is *really* ill... On Christmas Eve he was hardley able to catch his breath, his chest was rattling with fluid and his colour was mid grey!! By Christmas day, he had imprived a little, but was still barely aware of anyone else being in the room with him. On Boxing day, he actually woke up for a few minutes, and his colour had improved a little. The strain is really starting to get to the rest of the family.
Having said all that, some very nice gifts were recieved this year...
A Pair of Golf Shoes,
A Statue (of a Golfer!!),
A large 'Cup and Saucer',
A 'Container Gardening' book,
Jeremy Clarksons book,
A Second 'American Chopper' - Cody's Bike
And the look on Alex's face when he got, not only, his Golf Bag AND a Guitar, but also a bed for Edward was fantastic, to round it off he got his first wrist watch today...!
Amanda's dad, Mike, is *really* ill... On Christmas Eve he was hardley able to catch his breath, his chest was rattling with fluid and his colour was mid grey!! By Christmas day, he had imprived a little, but was still barely aware of anyone else being in the room with him. On Boxing day, he actually woke up for a few minutes, and his colour had improved a little. The strain is really starting to get to the rest of the family.
Having said all that, some very nice gifts were recieved this year...
A Pair of Golf Shoes,
A Statue (of a Golfer!!),
A large 'Cup and Saucer',
A 'Container Gardening' book,
Jeremy Clarksons book,
A Second 'American Chopper' - Cody's Bike
And the look on Alex's face when he got, not only, his Golf Bag AND a Guitar, but also a bed for Edward was fantastic, to round it off he got his first wrist watch today...!
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Not really the sort of thing to Blog about
[Listening to: Comfortably Numb (Tiga Remix) - Scissor Sisters - Remixed! (05:49)]
From the Register:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/12/22/manslaughter_teen_blog_confession/
Dear Santa...
[Listening to: Comfortably Numb (Tiga Remix) - Scissor Sisters - Remixed! (05:49)]
If it's not too late....
Can I have one of these for christmas please....
Feeling a little SMUG
[Listening to: Comfortably Numb (Atoc Dub Remix) - Scissor Sisters - Remixed! (04:45)]
I am actually feeling quite smug and just a little bit pleased with myself... Why? because I gave blood yesterday...
At this time of year, it is way too easy to not bother, but bother I did.
Hospital Appointment
[Listening to: Comfortably Numb (Atoc Dub Remix) - Scissor Sisters - Remixed! (04:45)]
I have just recieved my appointment to attend the Outpatient Clinic, in the department of General Surgery at Russells Hall Hospital, on the 23rd January 2006.
Finally used the Nikon
[Listening to: Filthy And Gorgeous (Atoc Vs Superbuddha Remix) - Scissor Sisters - Remixed! (04:14)]
Yesterday lunchtime I took advantage of the pleasent weather to go a walk into Birmingham town centre, and took the D50 with me.. The results of this trip can be seen here
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Tried VISTA again...
This is the third time I have installed Windows Vista (AKA Longhorn) on the laptop, this time build 5270, and sadly for the third I have removed it pretty quickly. This time it looked a lot better than the first time, more feature are present, and the needlesly complicated virtual folder nonsence has been improved... however, a Centrino based laptop that cannot see the wireless adaptor is of no use to me!
I even went to the Intel site and downloaded the Vista BETA driver, and installed that - It still cannot see any wireless networks!!
It is also a shame that the video card in the laptop is not capable of displaying the AERO interface, so no transparent windows etc.
The install routine has been improved a lot, but it was *really* slow, taking almost 1.5 hours to complete - previous builds were about 1 hour.
Just as well I ghosted the laptop before I started - ah well, better luck next time.
I even went to the Intel site and downloaded the Vista BETA driver, and installed that - It still cannot see any wireless networks!!
It is also a shame that the video card in the laptop is not capable of displaying the AERO interface, so no transparent windows etc.
The install routine has been improved a lot, but it was *really* slow, taking almost 1.5 hours to complete - previous builds were about 1 hour.
Just as well I ghosted the laptop before I started - ah well, better luck next time.
Monday, December 19, 2005
Weight Check
At 19:30 on 30-07-2005 : 14st 1lb, 26.7% BF
At 16:30 on 14-08-2005 : 13st 5lb, 26.3% BF
At 19:30 on 29-08-2005 : 13st 3lb, 25.8% BF
At 17:30 on 12-09-2005 : 13st 0lb, 25.7% BF
At 17:30 on 26-09-2005 : 12st 12lb, 25.0% BF
At 19:30 on 10-10-2005 : 12st 10lb, 24.5% BF
At 17:30 on 24-10-2005 : 12st 8 lb, 24.9% BF
At 18:30 on 07-11-2005 : 12st 7 lb, 23.9% BF
At 22:00 on 21-11-2005 : 12st 7 lb, 23.9% BF
At 22:00 on 05-12-2005 : 12st 6 lb, 23.1% BF
At 22:00 on 19-12-2005 : 12st 4 lb, 22.9% BF
Although I am still generally relaxed about my intake, I have been a little stricter this week to allow a bit more lattitude over the Christmas holidays. Added to this, my training regime now includes quite a bit more CV exercise, which seems to burn the fat off quite well.
I am clocking in at between 7:30 and 8:00 minutes for a single timed mile at present. I would like to try and get that up to 16 minutes for 2 miles as my next major benchmark.
At 16:30 on 14-08-2005 : 13st 5lb, 26.3% BF
At 19:30 on 29-08-2005 : 13st 3lb, 25.8% BF
At 17:30 on 12-09-2005 : 13st 0lb, 25.7% BF
At 17:30 on 26-09-2005 : 12st 12lb, 25.0% BF
At 19:30 on 10-10-2005 : 12st 10lb, 24.5% BF
At 17:30 on 24-10-2005 : 12st 8 lb, 24.9% BF
At 18:30 on 07-11-2005 : 12st 7 lb, 23.9% BF
At 22:00 on 21-11-2005 : 12st 7 lb, 23.9% BF
At 22:00 on 05-12-2005 : 12st 6 lb, 23.1% BF
At 22:00 on 19-12-2005 : 12st 4 lb, 22.9% BF
Although I am still generally relaxed about my intake, I have been a little stricter this week to allow a bit more lattitude over the Christmas holidays. Added to this, my training regime now includes quite a bit more CV exercise, which seems to burn the fat off quite well.
I am clocking in at between 7:30 and 8:00 minutes for a single timed mile at present. I would like to try and get that up to 16 minutes for 2 miles as my next major benchmark.
Friday, December 16, 2005
The Minolta has a new home
[Listening to: Across the Universe of Time - Silent Night, Holy Night - Pure - Special Edition (03:43)]
Today I posted the Minolta A200 to it's new owner in Oldham.. I got £270 for it, a figure I am very happy with. jessops had only offered £100 in part-ex against the Nikon!!
Friday, December 09, 2005
Boys Toys
[Listening to: Everyday - Erasure - Other People's Songs (02:01)]
Today I once again went into Jessops at merry Hill to torture myselft over a new camera...
OK! I admit it I cracked under pressure - I am now the proud owner of a Nikon D50 Digital SLR camera, a 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED lens and a 70-300mm f4-5.6 G lens. I also had a 512 MB 80x SD memory card and a Lowpro bag.
All in a grand total of £655
Oh yes, the reasoning for picking the D50 over the D70s... twofold, one - price, I just could not spend the extra, and two - a nine week delay in getting any stock of the D70s
Looks like I'd better get the Minolta A200 on EBay, pretty sharpish!!
EDIT:
It's now on EBay
FIA push ahead with planned aero changes
[Listening to: Let's All Make A Bomb - Heaven 17 - Penthouse And Pavement (04:07)]
From www.formula1.com:
The FIA’s World Motorsport Council met on Friday and agreed the main objectives of the 2008 Formula One Technical Regulations.
The FIA's Centreline Downwash Generating (CDG) Wing design. October 24, 2005. © FIAFollowing the FIA’s recent release of plans for their Centreline Downwash Generating (CDG) rear wing, one of those objectives remains to change the aerodynamic characteristics of the cars so as to make it easier to overtake without increasing cornering speeds. The other is to reduce drastically the cost of competing.
According to the FIA, detailed 2008 regulations will be finalised in the week commencing December 19, 2005, and will include:
A standard Electronic Control Unit
Long life engines
Long life gearboxes
A single tyre supplier
Restrictions on the ability of the teams to change their aerodynamics during the season
Rev-limited engines
and other measures
OK, I understand What they want to do, and Why they want it done, but surely this range of changes removes the cutting edge technology that is supposed to make F1 the pinnacle of motorsport?
ALWAYS read the small print...
[Listening to: The Way - Clay Aiken - Measure Of A Man (04:06)]
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/12/08/xbox_photo_auction/
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Weight Check
At 19:30 on 30-07-2005 : 14st 1lb, 26.7% BF
At 16:30 on 14-08-2005 : 13st 5lb, 26.3% BF
At 19:30 on 29-08-2005 : 13st 3lb, 25.8% BF
At 17:30 on 12-09-2005 : 13st 0lb, 25.7% BF
At 17:30 on 26-09-2005 : 12st 12lb, 25.0% BF
At 19:30 on 10-10-2005 : 12st 10lb, 24.5% BF
At 17:30 on 24-10-2005 : 12st 8 lb, 24.9% BF
At 18:30 on 07-11-2005 : 12st 7 lb, 23.9% BF
At 22:00 on 21-11-2005 : 12st 7 lb, 23.9% BF
At 22:00 on 05-12-2005 : 12st 6 lb, 23.1% BF
I have continued my relaxed attitude to my intake, without going too mad, and have still maintained the weight. Very pleased indeed.
The training Session with Liz last week, went well and I have a new program to (hopefully) prevent boredom setting in...
At 16:30 on 14-08-2005 : 13st 5lb, 26.3% BF
At 19:30 on 29-08-2005 : 13st 3lb, 25.8% BF
At 17:30 on 12-09-2005 : 13st 0lb, 25.7% BF
At 17:30 on 26-09-2005 : 12st 12lb, 25.0% BF
At 19:30 on 10-10-2005 : 12st 10lb, 24.5% BF
At 17:30 on 24-10-2005 : 12st 8 lb, 24.9% BF
At 18:30 on 07-11-2005 : 12st 7 lb, 23.9% BF
At 22:00 on 21-11-2005 : 12st 7 lb, 23.9% BF
At 22:00 on 05-12-2005 : 12st 6 lb, 23.1% BF
I have continued my relaxed attitude to my intake, without going too mad, and have still maintained the weight. Very pleased indeed.
The training Session with Liz last week, went well and I have a new program to (hopefully) prevent boredom setting in...
Monday, December 05, 2005
Amy is 12 Today
How time flies...
For her birthday, she has had a makeover at Boots No7 counter, and recieved £50 worth of cosmetics.
Click on the above image for a larger (870 KB version) of Amy in her very natural looking makeup.
For her birthday, she has had a makeover at Boots No7 counter, and recieved £50 worth of cosmetics.
Click on the above image for a larger (870 KB version) of Amy in her very natural looking makeup.
Now *that's* III
True to his word, my new plugs arrived in the post today. Tommorow will be the first chance I get to wear them, so lets see how well they do...
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Firefox 1.5 - Final Release version
From http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/
The award-winning Web browser is better than ever. Browse the Web with confidence - Firefox protects you from viruses, spyware and pop-ups. Enjoy improvements to performance, ease of use and privacy. It's easy to import your favorites and settings and get started. Download Firefox now and get the most out of the Web.
Here's what's new in Firefox 1.5:
* Automated update to streamline product upgrades. Notification of an update is more prominent, and updates to Firefox may now be half a megabyte or smaller. Updating extensions has also improved.
* Faster browser navigation with improvements to back and forward button performance.
* Drag and drop reordering for browser tabs.
* Improvements to popup blocking.
* Clear Private Data feature provides an easy way to quickly remove personal data through a menu item or keyboard shortcut.
* Answers.com is added to the search engine list.
* Improvements to product usability including descriptive error pages, redesigned options menu, RSS discovery, and "Safe Mode" experience.
* Better accessibility including support for DHTML accessibility and assistive technologies such as the Window-Eyes 5.5 beta screen reader for Microsoft Windows. Screen readers read aloud all available information in applications and documents or show the information on a Braille display, enabling blind and visually impaired users to use equivalent software functionality as their sighted peers.
* Report a broken Web site wizard to report Web sites that are not working in Firefox.
* Better support for Mac OS X (10.2 and greater) including profile migration from Safari and Mac Internet Explorer.
* New support for Web Standards including SVG, CSS 2 and CSS 3, and JavaScript 1.6.
* Many security enhancements.
The award-winning Web browser is better than ever. Browse the Web with confidence - Firefox protects you from viruses, spyware and pop-ups. Enjoy improvements to performance, ease of use and privacy. It's easy to import your favorites and settings and get started. Download Firefox now and get the most out of the Web.
Here's what's new in Firefox 1.5:
* Automated update to streamline product upgrades. Notification of an update is more prominent, and updates to Firefox may now be half a megabyte or smaller. Updating extensions has also improved.
* Faster browser navigation with improvements to back and forward button performance.
* Drag and drop reordering for browser tabs.
* Improvements to popup blocking.
* Clear Private Data feature provides an easy way to quickly remove personal data through a menu item or keyboard shortcut.
* Answers.com is added to the search engine list.
* Improvements to product usability including descriptive error pages, redesigned options menu, RSS discovery, and "Safe Mode" experience.
* Better accessibility including support for DHTML accessibility and assistive technologies such as the Window-Eyes 5.5 beta screen reader for Microsoft Windows. Screen readers read aloud all available information in applications and documents or show the information on a Braille display, enabling blind and visually impaired users to use equivalent software functionality as their sighted peers.
* Report a broken Web site wizard to report Web sites that are not working in Firefox.
* Better support for Mac OS X (10.2 and greater) including profile migration from Safari and Mac Internet Explorer.
* New support for Web Standards including SVG, CSS 2 and CSS 3, and JavaScript 1.6.
* Many security enhancements.
Monday, November 28, 2005
Now *that's* Customer Service Part II
[Listening to: Boulevard Of Broken Dreams - Green Day - Bullet In A Bible (04:45)]
Antone from www.customearprotection.co.uk was due to call at approx 18:00 last night to attempt to fix the problem with my left ear plug.
At about 18:30 he phoned to say he was just leaving Stafford, but due to traffic problems it was about 21:45 before he got here!! he checked the plugs, and decided the best thing was make a new pair of moulds...
It should take about a week, as he has several more days of travelling to do before he gets back to Poole.
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Scrap the Toaster...
[Listening to: Music Of The Night - Katherine Jenkins - Living A Dream (05:48)]
http://www.thetoastshop.co.uk/!!
I really hope that this is actually a spoof - but with the internet, you can never be totally sure!
Katherine Jenkins - Concert Program Cover
[Listening to: Time To Say Goodbye - Katherine Jenkins - Second Nature (03:44)]
Click on the above thumbnail for a larger version (213 KB)
Saturday, November 26, 2005
Letter from the Hospital
Dear Mr Bright
I am writing to confirm that the hospital has received a referral letter requesting and appointment for you to be seen in MISS S SHIRALKAR's clinic
We will contact you again in a few weeks time. We will then ask you to telephone the BookIng Service and arrange a suitable date and time for your appointment. etc. etc.
Good to see we are not wasting taxpayers money with unnecessary bureaucracy! I mean we could have spent millions an networking all the surgeries and hospitals computers together, allowing GP's to request an appointment on-line, and for the system to send you an appointment direct!!
Now *thats* what I call Customer Service
you may remember a few weeks ago I mentioned that I had ordered a pair of custom ear protectors from the bike show...
Well, it took about two weeks for the company to catch up with the backlog, and for the royal mail to get them to me, but arrive they did, and they fitted great... very comfortable. The only problem is, that the left one seems to keep coming loose everytime I look over my left shoulder. By the time I get to work (15 minutes) it is so loose as to be ineffective!
This morning I sent the company an e-mail explaining the problem, I got a phone call this afternoon - Antone is in the midland tommorow, was I available late afternoon/early evening for him to come and attempt to sort the problem out!
Well, it took about two weeks for the company to catch up with the backlog, and for the royal mail to get them to me, but arrive they did, and they fitted great... very comfortable. The only problem is, that the left one seems to keep coming loose everytime I look over my left shoulder. By the time I get to work (15 minutes) it is so loose as to be ineffective!
This morning I sent the company an e-mail explaining the problem, I got a phone call this afternoon - Antone is in the midland tommorow, was I available late afternoon/early evening for him to come and attempt to sort the problem out!
Katherine Jenkins - Symphony Hall Birmingham
The following is taken from a latter on complaint to the managment of Sympony Hall...
Last night we attended a (very good) concert at Symphony Hall by Katherine Jenkins, which was a birthday treat for my wife.
We had tickets for Level 4, Door 3, Row C seats 28 and 29. We arrived at the correct door at approx 19:20, and waited to be show to our seats. On presenting our tickets to the girl, she did not seem to know how the seats numbered in her area of the auditorium, and spent several minutes trying to local the correct seats, leaving us standing like lemons in the doorway.
She then sought advice from the other usher at that door - it seems that seat 29 was occupied! Having collected all the tickets from the people in row C from 29 to the end, they were unable to sort out the problem - in spite of the fact that there was NO ONE in that row with a ticket for seat 29!!
Having left us standing even longer whilst see when to talk to the box-office - the ushers seemed to think the seat had been double booked!! - the concert had by this time (19:35) started, and we were starting to feel very uncomfortable standing by the pillar - not just because we need to sit down!!
After a few minutes, the male usher than directed us to some spare seats on the back row of that section - causing several people to be disturbed. We at least were able to settle back and start watching the show. At 20:10, the original occupants of out 'new seats' arrived, and we were then asked to move again. We received several nasty comments from the people we disturbed (again) on our way out of the row, and we were highly embarrassed.
We were than taken to some other empty seats on C row (23 and 24 I think), and once again had to disturb several people on our way to them. During the interval we had opportunity to explain the situation to those around us and apologise - but why on earth I should have felt compelled to apologise for a mistake over which we had no control I am not sure!
We then took the opportunity to talk to the usher, who actually wanted us to move back to our 'correct seats' at this point - in spite of the fact that he still had no adequate explanation as to how there were still more people to fit on that section of row than there were seats! I did not really fancy ending up in the middle of an argument with other customers just as the second half was to begin! Fortunately there was another woman there with him by this time (supervisor?) who suggested that it would be better if we stayed were we were for the second half - and if the original occupants of those seats did eventually turn up, *they* would be seated elsewhere.
Fortunately, this situation did not arise and we were able to enjoy the second half of the concert without further embarrassment, and did queue up afterward to meet Katherine and get our program signed.
The entire episode, did however take the polish of what was planned to be a very special evening with my wife on her birthday
Last night we attended a (very good) concert at Symphony Hall by Katherine Jenkins, which was a birthday treat for my wife.
We had tickets for Level 4, Door 3, Row C seats 28 and 29. We arrived at the correct door at approx 19:20, and waited to be show to our seats. On presenting our tickets to the girl, she did not seem to know how the seats numbered in her area of the auditorium, and spent several minutes trying to local the correct seats, leaving us standing like lemons in the doorway.
She then sought advice from the other usher at that door - it seems that seat 29 was occupied! Having collected all the tickets from the people in row C from 29 to the end, they were unable to sort out the problem - in spite of the fact that there was NO ONE in that row with a ticket for seat 29!!
Having left us standing even longer whilst see when to talk to the box-office - the ushers seemed to think the seat had been double booked!! - the concert had by this time (19:35) started, and we were starting to feel very uncomfortable standing by the pillar - not just because we need to sit down!!
After a few minutes, the male usher than directed us to some spare seats on the back row of that section - causing several people to be disturbed. We at least were able to settle back and start watching the show. At 20:10, the original occupants of out 'new seats' arrived, and we were then asked to move again. We received several nasty comments from the people we disturbed (again) on our way out of the row, and we were highly embarrassed.
We were than taken to some other empty seats on C row (23 and 24 I think), and once again had to disturb several people on our way to them. During the interval we had opportunity to explain the situation to those around us and apologise - but why on earth I should have felt compelled to apologise for a mistake over which we had no control I am not sure!
We then took the opportunity to talk to the usher, who actually wanted us to move back to our 'correct seats' at this point - in spite of the fact that he still had no adequate explanation as to how there were still more people to fit on that section of row than there were seats! I did not really fancy ending up in the middle of an argument with other customers just as the second half was to begin! Fortunately there was another woman there with him by this time (supervisor?) who suggested that it would be better if we stayed were we were for the second half - and if the original occupants of those seats did eventually turn up, *they* would be seated elsewhere.
Fortunately, this situation did not arise and we were able to enjoy the second half of the concert without further embarrassment, and did queue up afterward to meet Katherine and get our program signed.
The entire episode, did however take the polish of what was planned to be a very special evening with my wife on her birthday
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Visual Basic .Net 2005
This evening I have finally started to play with the FREE VB.NET 2005 that I downloaded the other week.
The main reason for the delay was lack of ideas on what to try and program.... That and lack of time... and that - well you get the picture...
But then this morning I remembered an application that I started working on in VB6 some 2.5 years ago - RockConfig
Since then the amount of options that are available to set in Rockbox have grown at an alarming rate, so I thought:
Not only would starting again in the 'New' language be a challenge, but there is probably even more need for an application f this type than ever!
All I have done tonight is rework the 'File Handling' routine to load the entries from an existing .cfg file, and output status messages to a log file. No error trapping yet, no use is being made of the data read in, but it's a definate start
The main reason for the delay was lack of ideas on what to try and program.... That and lack of time... and that - well you get the picture...
But then this morning I remembered an application that I started working on in VB6 some 2.5 years ago - RockConfig
Since then the amount of options that are available to set in Rockbox have grown at an alarming rate, so I thought:
Not only would starting again in the 'New' language be a challenge, but there is probably even more need for an application f this type than ever!
All I have done tonight is rework the 'File Handling' routine to load the entries from an existing .cfg file, and output status messages to a log file. No error trapping yet, no use is being made of the data read in, but it's a definate start
Monday, November 21, 2005
Firefox 1.5 Release Candidate 3
What's New in Firefox 1.5 RC 3
Firefox 1.5 RC 3 is a test preview of our award-winning Web browser. Firefox 1.5 RC 3 is available for our testing community, Web site and Web application developers, and our Extension developers.
Here's what's new in Firefox 1.5 RC 3:
* Automated update to streamline product upgrades. Notification of an update is more prominent, and updates to Firefox may now be half a megabyte or smaller. Updating extensions has also improved.
* Faster browser navigation with improvements to back and forward button performance.
* Drag and drop reordering for browser tabs.
* Improvements to popup blocking.
* Clear Private Data feature provides an easy way to quickly remove personal data through a menu item or keyboard shortcut.
* Answers.com is added to the search engine list.
* Improvements to product usability including descriptive error pages, redesigned options menu, RSS discovery, and "Safe Mode" experience.
* Better accessibility including support for DHTML accessibility and assistive technologies such as the Window-Eyes 5.5 beta screen reader for Microsoft Windows. Screen readers read aloud all available information in applications and documents or show the information on a Braille display, enabling blind and visually impaired users to use equivalent software functionality as their sighted peers.
* Report a broken Web site wizard to report Web sites that are not working in Firefox.
* Better support for Mac OS X (10.2 and greater) including profile migration from Safari and Mac Internet Explorer.
* New support for Web Standards including SVG, CSS 2 and CSS 3, and JavaScript 1.6.
* Many security enhancements.
Firefox 1.5 RC 3 is a test preview of our award-winning Web browser. Firefox 1.5 RC 3 is available for our testing community, Web site and Web application developers, and our Extension developers.
Here's what's new in Firefox 1.5 RC 3:
* Automated update to streamline product upgrades. Notification of an update is more prominent, and updates to Firefox may now be half a megabyte or smaller. Updating extensions has also improved.
* Faster browser navigation with improvements to back and forward button performance.
* Drag and drop reordering for browser tabs.
* Improvements to popup blocking.
* Clear Private Data feature provides an easy way to quickly remove personal data through a menu item or keyboard shortcut.
* Answers.com is added to the search engine list.
* Improvements to product usability including descriptive error pages, redesigned options menu, RSS discovery, and "Safe Mode" experience.
* Better accessibility including support for DHTML accessibility and assistive technologies such as the Window-Eyes 5.5 beta screen reader for Microsoft Windows. Screen readers read aloud all available information in applications and documents or show the information on a Braille display, enabling blind and visually impaired users to use equivalent software functionality as their sighted peers.
* Report a broken Web site wizard to report Web sites that are not working in Firefox.
* Better support for Mac OS X (10.2 and greater) including profile migration from Safari and Mac Internet Explorer.
* New support for Web Standards including SVG, CSS 2 and CSS 3, and JavaScript 1.6.
* Many security enhancements.
Weight Check
At 19:30 on 30-07-2005 : 14st 1lb, 26.7% BF
At 16:30 on 14-08-2005 : 13st 5lb, 26.3% BF
At 19:30 on 29-08-2005 : 13st 3lb, 25.8% BF
At 17:30 on 12-09-2005 : 13st 0lb, 25.7% BF
At 17:30 on 26-09-2005 : 12st 12lb, 25.0% BF
At 19:30 on 10-10-2005 : 12st 10lb, 24.5% BF
At 17:30 on 24-10-2005 : 12st 8 lb, 24.9% BF
At 18:30 on 07-11-2005 : 12st 7 lb, 23.9% BF
At 22:00 on 21-11-2005 : 12st 7 lb, 23.9% BF
I have really relaxed my intake over the last few days - Fresh Cream Cake on Friday, Toffes over the weekend, Stollen Cake from the German Market etc, and have still maintained the weight. Very pleased indeed.
I have another trainig session booked with Liz for next Monday, as I am starting to get a bit stale on my current training program, and need to 'mix it up' a bit.
At 16:30 on 14-08-2005 : 13st 5lb, 26.3% BF
At 19:30 on 29-08-2005 : 13st 3lb, 25.8% BF
At 17:30 on 12-09-2005 : 13st 0lb, 25.7% BF
At 17:30 on 26-09-2005 : 12st 12lb, 25.0% BF
At 19:30 on 10-10-2005 : 12st 10lb, 24.5% BF
At 17:30 on 24-10-2005 : 12st 8 lb, 24.9% BF
At 18:30 on 07-11-2005 : 12st 7 lb, 23.9% BF
At 22:00 on 21-11-2005 : 12st 7 lb, 23.9% BF
I have really relaxed my intake over the last few days - Fresh Cream Cake on Friday, Toffes over the weekend, Stollen Cake from the German Market etc, and have still maintained the weight. Very pleased indeed.
I have another trainig session booked with Liz for next Monday, as I am starting to get a bit stale on my current training program, and need to 'mix it up' a bit.
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Sony's CD rootkit infringes DVD Jon's copyright
From "The Register"
Sony's rootkit-style DRM software, XCP, designed to prevent copyright infringement, looks like it's breaching the terms of a copyright agreement itself.
In fact it contains code written by the Motion Picture Ass. of America's villain of the week for several years running, 'DVD Jon' Johansen, who was dragged through the Norwegian courts by the MPAA using a very dubious extension of US law, for circumventing the DRM on DVDs. Johansen eventually prevailed in having the spurious charges against him thrown out.
The irony of a company using code from someone who circumvented DRM to develop an even nastier form of DRM - without even saying "Thanks!" - will surely feature in geek trivia quizzes for years to come.
Sony's rootkit-style DRM software, XCP, designed to prevent copyright infringement, looks like it's breaching the terms of a copyright agreement itself.
In fact it contains code written by the Motion Picture Ass. of America's villain of the week for several years running, 'DVD Jon' Johansen, who was dragged through the Norwegian courts by the MPAA using a very dubious extension of US law, for circumventing the DRM on DVDs. Johansen eventually prevailed in having the spurious charges against him thrown out.
The irony of a company using code from someone who circumvented DRM to develop an even nastier form of DRM - without even saying "Thanks!" - will surely feature in geek trivia quizzes for years to come.
Friday, November 18, 2005
Windows Genuine Advantage - A Firefox Plugin
For those of you running with Firefox, you will - i am sure - be aware of an annoying problem when using this browser to download Microsoft tools and utilities...
With IE, an ActiveX control is installed on your machine the first time you access one of these files, subsequently Microsoft can easily check if your copy of Windows is a genuine copy before allowing the download to proceed.
With FF, this active X approach does not work, so every time you need one of these downloads, you first have to download a seperate .exe file, run it, and then you are allowed to download... Not anymore - it seems - visit the WGA Plugin site to get a plugin installed into FF that allows it to behave in the same way as IE....
With IE, an ActiveX control is installed on your machine the first time you access one of these files, subsequently Microsoft can easily check if your copy of Windows is a genuine copy before allowing the download to proceed.
With FF, this active X approach does not work, so every time you need one of these downloads, you first have to download a seperate .exe file, run it, and then you are allowed to download... Not anymore - it seems - visit the WGA Plugin site to get a plugin installed into FF that allows it to behave in the same way as IE....
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Been looking at Nikons again...
Handled a D50 and D70s again today... I think I prefer the D70s, the D50 just feels so light and plasticky by comparison!
I have been reading some reviews on both the D50 and D70s as well as some lens reviews, and was a little dissapointed with the optical performance of the standard kit lens supplied with the D50, the D70 lens being significantly better. The general opinion is that you should get a D50 body, but with a Sigma 18-55 f2.8 lens. The problem with that combo is - the price is the same as the D70s with the Nikon lens, and both seem to be about the same quality.
Given similar lens specs and similar price, would it not be better to have the higher spec body? Uhmmmmm...
How much I wonder for a D70s Body only and the Sigma lens? - Ah well, a little more reading to do yet
I have been reading some reviews on both the D50 and D70s as well as some lens reviews, and was a little dissapointed with the optical performance of the standard kit lens supplied with the D50, the D70 lens being significantly better. The general opinion is that you should get a D50 body, but with a Sigma 18-55 f2.8 lens. The problem with that combo is - the price is the same as the D70s with the Nikon lens, and both seem to be about the same quality.
Given similar lens specs and similar price, would it not be better to have the higher spec body? Uhmmmmm...
How much I wonder for a D70s Body only and the Sigma lens? - Ah well, a little more reading to do yet
First Parents Evening at Earls
Tonight we attended Earls High School to haer from her form tutor how Amy is doing after her first 3 months at High School.
Well - that girl has a lot to live up to!
We are very proud of her, but as I pointed out to her:- from here the only way is down!
Well - that girl has a lot to live up to!
- Every topic of every subject was ticked in the "Excellent" column
- Amy is House Form captain
- Amy is top of the House Points League with 37
- Her teacher could find *nothing* negative to say about her performance and behaviour
We are very proud of her, but as I pointed out to her:- from here the only way is down!
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Sony DRM Rootkit - Microsoft's view
From the Microsoft Anti-Malware Engineer Team Blog
I've been getting a lot of questions in the last week about Microsoft's position on the Sony DRM and rootkit discussions, so I thought I'd share a little info on what we're doing here. We are concerned about any malware and its impact on our customers' machines. Rootkits have a clearly negative impact on not only the security, but also the reliability and performance of their systems.
We use a set of objective criteria for both Windows Defender and the Malicious Software Removal Tool to determine what software will be classified for detection and removal by our anti-malware technology. We have analyzed this software, and have determined that in order to help protect our customers we will add a detection and removal signature for the rootkit component of the XCP software to the Windows AntiSpyware beta, which is currently used by millions of users. This signature will be available to current beta users through the normal Windows AntiSpyware beta signature update process, which has been providing weekly signature updates for almost a year now. Detection and removal of this rootkit component will also appear in Windows Defender when its first public beta is available. We also plan to include this signature in the December monthly update to the Malicious Software Removal Tool. It will also be included in the signature set for the online scanner on Windows Live Safety Center.
Not sure what all the Rootkit fuss is about? Read all the gory details on the Sysinternals site: Sony, Rootkits and Digital Rights Management Gone Too Far
I've been getting a lot of questions in the last week about Microsoft's position on the Sony DRM and rootkit discussions, so I thought I'd share a little info on what we're doing here. We are concerned about any malware and its impact on our customers' machines. Rootkits have a clearly negative impact on not only the security, but also the reliability and performance of their systems.
We use a set of objective criteria for both Windows Defender and the Malicious Software Removal Tool to determine what software will be classified for detection and removal by our anti-malware technology. We have analyzed this software, and have determined that in order to help protect our customers we will add a detection and removal signature for the rootkit component of the XCP software to the Windows AntiSpyware beta, which is currently used by millions of users. This signature will be available to current beta users through the normal Windows AntiSpyware beta signature update process, which has been providing weekly signature updates for almost a year now. Detection and removal of this rootkit component will also appear in Windows Defender when its first public beta is available. We also plan to include this signature in the December monthly update to the Malicious Software Removal Tool. It will also be included in the signature set for the online scanner on Windows Live Safety Center.
Not sure what all the Rootkit fuss is about? Read all the gory details on the Sysinternals site: Sony, Rootkits and Digital Rights Management Gone Too Far
Saturday, November 12, 2005
BBC unwraps new series' Cybermen
[Listening to: Push - Madonna - Confessions On A Dance Floor (03:57)]
The BBC has revealed what the major villains from next season of Doctor Who will look like.
Yes, that's right, the Cybermen have a new design, the latest in a long line of silvery, cybernetic fashion statements that the monstrous Mondasians have been attempting to foist upon Earthlings since the late 1960s.
See The Reg for a picture and more information
Friday, November 11, 2005
Free Programming Tools from Microsoft
Every fancied having a go at writting some code, but not had the tools to do so, Visual Studio etc too expensive...
Not any more:
With the release of Visual Studio 2005, Microsoft have decided to GIVE AWAY the 'Express' versions of the tools..
Visual C# 2005
Visual C++ 2005
Visual Basic 2005
Visual Web Developer 2005
and even
SQL Server Express 2005
Download then and register them (for free) to recieve additional benefits:
At Microsoft, we understand that product registration is usually a hassle. It can take a long time, requires you to enter personal information, and you usually get very little in return. Quite frankly, it hasn’t been worth the effort. Until now.
We are offering thousands of dollars worth of resources from Microsoft and third-party partners to ensure that you have a great experience with the Express Editions. Depending on the product you register, your benefits may include the following:
orbis Image Pack — An assortment of 250 royalty-free images from Corbis for inclusion in your web sites and applications
IconBuffet Studio Edition Icon Suite — A collection of over 100 professional, royalty-free stock icons from IconBuffet.com
Various Components — A selection of components for use in applications that you build
E-Books and Articles — Full-text electronic books from Microsoft Press along with articles on topics of interest to beginners, hobbyists, and people trying Microsoft Developer Tools for the first time. E-books that will be offered include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following:
Not any more:
With the release of Visual Studio 2005, Microsoft have decided to GIVE AWAY the 'Express' versions of the tools..
Visual C# 2005
Visual C++ 2005
Visual Basic 2005
Visual Web Developer 2005
and even
SQL Server Express 2005
Download then and register them (for free) to recieve additional benefits:
At Microsoft, we understand that product registration is usually a hassle. It can take a long time, requires you to enter personal information, and you usually get very little in return. Quite frankly, it hasn’t been worth the effort. Until now.
We are offering thousands of dollars worth of resources from Microsoft and third-party partners to ensure that you have a great experience with the Express Editions. Depending on the product you register, your benefits may include the following:
orbis Image Pack — An assortment of 250 royalty-free images from Corbis for inclusion in your web sites and applications
IconBuffet Studio Edition Icon Suite — A collection of over 100 professional, royalty-free stock icons from IconBuffet.com
Various Components — A selection of components for use in applications that you build
E-Books and Articles — Full-text electronic books from Microsoft Press along with articles on topics of interest to beginners, hobbyists, and people trying Microsoft Developer Tools for the first time. E-books that will be offered include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following:
- Microsoft Visual Web Developer 2005 Express Edition: Build a Web Site Now! by Jim Buyens
- Microsoft Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition: Build a Program Now! by Patrice Pelland
- Microsoft Visual C# 2005 Express Edition: Build a Program Now!by Patrice Pelland
End of the Dancing Robot
[Listening to: Love Over Gold - Dire Straits - Private Investigations: The Best Of Dire Straits And Mark Knopfler (06:19)]
The dancing robot car is back. But this time hes got company...
http://www.jakx-game.com/carjakd.htm
Flowchart of Sex
[Listening to: Private Investigations - Dire Straits - Private Investigations: The Best Of Dire Straits And Mark Knopfler (05:59)]
It all Leads one way - Well not quite...
PPS File : http://uk.download.yahoo.com/pr/fu/oa/flowchartofgettingsex.pps
Nice Bogs!
[Listening to: Private Investigations - Dire Straits - Private Investigations: The Best Of Dire Straits And Mark Knopfler (05:59)]
Why can't all public urinals look like this:
http://uk.download.yahoo.com/pr/fu/oa/bog.jpg
Check twice - Agree Once
When deciding upon an internet domain name, perhaps people should give a second long hard look before agreeing...
Firstly there is "Who Represents", a database for agencies to the rich and famous:
http://www.whorepresents.com
Second is the "Experts Exchange", a knowledge base where programmers can exchange advice and views:
http://www.expertsexchange.com
Looking for a pen? Look no further than "Pen Island":
http://www.penisland.net
Need a therapist? Try:
http://www.therapistfinder.com
And there is an Italian Power company:
http://www.powergenitalia.com
Finally we have the Mole Station Native Nursery, based in New South Wales:
http://www.molestationnursery.com
Well, they made me smile anyway....
Firstly there is "Who Represents", a database for agencies to the rich and famous:
http://www.whorepresents.com
Second is the "Experts Exchange", a knowledge base where programmers can exchange advice and views:
http://www.expertsexchange.com
Looking for a pen? Look no further than "Pen Island":
http://www.penisland.net
Need a therapist? Try:
http://www.therapistfinder.com
And there is an Italian Power company:
http://www.powergenitalia.com
Finally we have the Mole Station Native Nursery, based in New South Wales:
http://www.molestationnursery.com
Well, they made me smile anyway....
www.pandora.com: Updated
Dear Pandora Listener -
I hope this email finds you well, and enjoying some great music discovery.
We're writing to you now, at the stroke of midnight, so that you would be the first to know about an important development in our service. The sheer volume of new listeners has led us to accelerate our timetable for offering expanded functionality. We have been scrambling to complete a bunch of work originally slated for next year and are now ready to bring it online.
As you read this, we are releasing Pandora Version 2. In addition to many new features including bookmarking, station editing, playlist improvements and much fine-tuning, the new service will now include a free, ad-supported version. Listeners have the choice to subscribe and stay clear of ads, or use the free service which will gradually incorporate advertising.
As one of our most treasured early listeners, we want to make sure this transition works for you--recognizing that you subscribed at a time when subscription was the only option. To that end, we've automatically given you a complimentary upgrade of your current annual subscription to a 2-year subscrition--12 additional months at no cost to you. If you would prefer a full refund, please just reply to this email with your request and we'll process it with no questions asked. No matter what, all of your stations will remain intact.
Thank you for being part of a magical two months for Pandora. The enthusiasm and support from our early listeners such as you, has been nothing short of overwhelming. In just 8 weeks you have collectively created over 1 million stations from over 70,000 different artists and songs... Amazing! In the process you have showered us with countless new feature ideas, and thousands of great new suggestions for the Music Genome Project. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Cheers,
Tim
Tim Westergren
Founder
Pandora Media
I hope this email finds you well, and enjoying some great music discovery.
We're writing to you now, at the stroke of midnight, so that you would be the first to know about an important development in our service. The sheer volume of new listeners has led us to accelerate our timetable for offering expanded functionality. We have been scrambling to complete a bunch of work originally slated for next year and are now ready to bring it online.
As you read this, we are releasing Pandora Version 2. In addition to many new features including bookmarking, station editing, playlist improvements and much fine-tuning, the new service will now include a free, ad-supported version. Listeners have the choice to subscribe and stay clear of ads, or use the free service which will gradually incorporate advertising.
As one of our most treasured early listeners, we want to make sure this transition works for you--recognizing that you subscribed at a time when subscription was the only option. To that end, we've automatically given you a complimentary upgrade of your current annual subscription to a 2-year subscrition--12 additional months at no cost to you. If you would prefer a full refund, please just reply to this email with your request and we'll process it with no questions asked. No matter what, all of your stations will remain intact.
Thank you for being part of a magical two months for Pandora. The enthusiasm and support from our early listeners such as you, has been nothing short of overwhelming. In just 8 weeks you have collectively created over 1 million stations from over 70,000 different artists and songs... Amazing! In the process you have showered us with countless new feature ideas, and thousands of great new suggestions for the Music Genome Project. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Cheers,
Tim
Tim Westergren
Founder
Pandora Media
The End of the World is Nigh!!
Well, not really - it just feels like it...
Amy had her first French Horn lesson today, and she has been blowing it most of the night!!!
Amy had her first French Horn lesson today, and she has been blowing it most of the night!!!
Announcing Windows Defender
From the Microsoft Anti-Malware blog:
What's in a name?? A lot!!
Every week seems like a big week for us in the engineering team working on our anti-malware technology. However, last week was especially important in a sentimental way. We got the final name for the cool technology our team has been developing for Windows. The name, after long consideration by our product marketing and branding folks, is "Windows Defender"! What's really cool about this name is that it’s more positive than "Windows AntiSpyware". Windows Defender is about what Windows will do for customers, defending them from spyware and other unwanted software. Our solution has really been about more than just the standard definition of "spyware". We’ve always said we will provide visibility and control, as well as protection, detection and removal from other potentially unwanted software, including rootkits, keystroke loggers and more.
What's in a name?? A lot!!
Every week seems like a big week for us in the engineering team working on our anti-malware technology. However, last week was especially important in a sentimental way. We got the final name for the cool technology our team has been developing for Windows. The name, after long consideration by our product marketing and branding folks, is "Windows Defender"! What's really cool about this name is that it’s more positive than "Windows AntiSpyware". Windows Defender is about what Windows will do for customers, defending them from spyware and other unwanted software. Our solution has really been about more than just the standard definition of "spyware". We’ve always said we will provide visibility and control, as well as protection, detection and removal from other potentially unwanted software, including rootkits, keystroke loggers and more.
Firefox 1.5 Release Candidate 2
Firefox 1.5 Release Candidate 2 is now available for download. This is the second release candidate of our next generation Firefox browser, to be released later this year, and it is being made available to our developer and testing community for compatibility testing and to solicit feedback.
Note: This may not be the final release of our Web browser; it has been made available for testing purposes only, with no end-user support. If that sounds scary, you'd probably be better off with the latest version of Firefox 1.0.
Checking the Readme for RC2 gives the following additional information:
Here's what's new in Firefox 1.5 RC 2:
* Several fixes to automated update system.
Uhmmm - not too sure that I will bother, just yet, with this update...
Note: This may not be the final release of our Web browser; it has been made available for testing purposes only, with no end-user support. If that sounds scary, you'd probably be better off with the latest version of Firefox 1.0.
Checking the Readme for RC2 gives the following additional information:
Here's what's new in Firefox 1.5 RC 2:
* Several fixes to automated update system.
Uhmmm - not too sure that I will bother, just yet, with this update...
Monday, November 07, 2005
Weight Check
At 19:30 on 30-07-2005 : 14st 1lb, 26.7% BF
At 16:30 on 14-08-2005 : 13st 5lb, 26.3% BF
At 19:30 on 29-08-2005 : 13st 3lb, 25.8% BF
At 17:30 on 12-09-2005 : 13st 0lb, 25.7% BF
At 17:30 on 26-09-2005 : 12st 12lb, 25.0% BF
At 19:30 on 10-10-2005 : 12st 10lb, 24.5% BF
At 17:30 on 24-10-2005 : 12st 8 lb, 24.9% BF
At 18:30 on 07-11-2005 : 12st 7 lb, 23.9% BF
Starting to level off nicely, and a good reduction in BodyFat... Weights have increased quite a lot over the last week, so all in all, I am quite happy!
At 16:30 on 14-08-2005 : 13st 5lb, 26.3% BF
At 19:30 on 29-08-2005 : 13st 3lb, 25.8% BF
At 17:30 on 12-09-2005 : 13st 0lb, 25.7% BF
At 17:30 on 26-09-2005 : 12st 12lb, 25.0% BF
At 19:30 on 10-10-2005 : 12st 10lb, 24.5% BF
At 17:30 on 24-10-2005 : 12st 8 lb, 24.9% BF
At 18:30 on 07-11-2005 : 12st 7 lb, 23.9% BF
Starting to level off nicely, and a good reduction in BodyFat... Weights have increased quite a lot over the last week, so all in all, I am quite happy!
Sunday, November 06, 2005
Glazer regime now attacks own fans
[Listening to: Your Love Has Got A Handle On My Mind - Vanessa Paradis - Vanessa Paradis (03:57)]
From MUST NEWS 2005-11-04
It was only a matter of time perhaps but, true to form with their actions in Tampa the Glazer regime are now attacking their own fans in Manchester too. United's lawyers have objected to the registration of the name Manchester United Supporters' Trust.
We do not think their objection is legally valid, but it will not prevent us from launching MUST and carrying out the activities which we are planning. It is perhaps another example of the new 'pravda' regime at Old Trafford.
In the meantime, predictably, the situation at OT gets worse. Should we blame the Glazer takeover?
We all know that things have not been going well on or off the pitch in the last couple of years, but there can be no doubt that the hostile Glazer takeover has in two ways steeply accelerated a possible decline into a potentially disastrous downward spiral.
First, by the way that the takeover has ripped the heart out of the club with the loss of loyal fans, worsening atmosphere at OT and job cuts. Morale seems to be low throughout the club. Sir Matt wanted United to be like a family, but this dream is further away than ever under the new ownership.
The second reason is the debt - it seems that there is no money to rebuild the team in the areas everyone has identified, because of the priority in cutting costs and paying off the growing debts.
An example of how this affects the team is the cutting of one reserve team and the loan-out of several key junior players like Jon Spector, whose would have filled the vacancy at left back instead of Kieron Richardson but whose loan terms are such that in order for Charlton to pay his full wages, he cannot be recalled before the end of the year. When money drives decisions, the football will suffer.
That would not happen under a supporter-led ownership of United.
Firefox 1.5 - Release Candidate 1
[Listening to: Be My Baby - Vanessa Paradis - Vanessa Paradis (03:42)]
Firefox 1.5 Release Candidate 1 is now available for download. This is the first release candidate of our next generation Firefox browser, to be released later this year, and it is being made available to our developer and testing community for compatibility testing and to solicit feedback.
Note: This is not the final release of our Web browser, it has been made available for testing purposes only, with no end-user support. If that sounds scary, you'd probably be better off with the latest version of Firefox 1.0
I had a problem with this new version initially - I installed it over 1.07 and when I clicked on the icon to start it up - Nothing happened!! I uninstalled 1.5, reinstalled 1.07 and that worked fine... Next time I tried 1.5, I uninstalled 1.07 first, renamed the installation folder (C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox), then installed 1.5 - it worked fine
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Bike Show 2005
Last of my three days off today, and to treat myself I went to the Motorcycle Show at the NEC Birmingham.
Arrived at the NEC after only 25 minutes, traffic was really moving freely on the M40/M42, but it then took a further 30 minutes to get parked, bus to the actual building, buy ticket and enter!
As you would expect, lots of very pretty girls in very few clothes, lots of VERY nice bikes, some extortionate prices on food and drink, and an awful lot of people - yes, even on a Wednesday morning...
What, I hear you ask, did you buy then?
Well, a replacement pair of boots - Frank Thomas (£100),
Two new PinLock visor inserts - 'Yellow' and 'Dark Tint' (£30) and
a pair of custom ear plugs (£45)
Arrived at the NEC after only 25 minutes, traffic was really moving freely on the M40/M42, but it then took a further 30 minutes to get parked, bus to the actual building, buy ticket and enter!
As you would expect, lots of very pretty girls in very few clothes, lots of VERY nice bikes, some extortionate prices on food and drink, and an awful lot of people - yes, even on a Wednesday morning...
What, I hear you ask, did you buy then?
Well, a replacement pair of boots - Frank Thomas (£100),
Two new PinLock visor inserts - 'Yellow' and 'Dark Tint' (£30) and
a pair of custom ear plugs (£45)
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Guess Who's Got An Hernia?
Yep! Me!!
Whilst I was at Maidenhead a few weeks ago, I found that I was getting quite a lot of pain in my abdomen after lunch and breakfast, and that there was a small but significant bulge visible just above my belly button. Pushing on this was quite painfull, but it was soft and squidgy, and it was possible to push it back into my abdomen.
Yesterday, I went to the doctors, and he confirmed it was a hernia, and I have been refered to the local hospital to see a consultant. Just waiting now, anyone care to guess how long that will take!
The good news is, it seems that hernia repairs are able to be carried out as "Day Case" and the recovery time is only a metter of a few days
Whilst I was at Maidenhead a few weeks ago, I found that I was getting quite a lot of pain in my abdomen after lunch and breakfast, and that there was a small but significant bulge visible just above my belly button. Pushing on this was quite painfull, but it was soft and squidgy, and it was possible to push it back into my abdomen.
Yesterday, I went to the doctors, and he confirmed it was a hernia, and I have been refered to the local hospital to see a consultant. Just waiting now, anyone care to guess how long that will take!
The good news is, it seems that hernia repairs are able to be carried out as "Day Case" and the recovery time is only a metter of a few days
Saturday, October 29, 2005
Laptop is safely back on XP Pro
After a minor scare - Ghost could not see one partion on the removeable HDD - the one with the back up on!! I copied the image to another partion, rebooted, selected the image and Voila!!
Took about 6 minutes to boot from CD into Ghost shell, but only then took another 10 minutes to restore the drive...
Took about 6 minutes to boot from CD into Ghost shell, but only then took another 10 minutes to restore the drive...
Vista - Update
It took about 1 hour to install the build, looks pretty much the same as before (no surprise there - it is only an interim release).
The first problem was getting the wireless network up and running - it just did not want to play, but after about 20 minutes of messing about, it suddenly sprang into life!
Created a new (standard) user, and set about customising the desktop - You don't seem to be able to remove the wallpaper!! You can change it to another one, but it wont' accept non as an option... :O
Downloaded MS Anto Spyware, and it needed the admin account to install - OK, did that - Got an error saying that it could not write to the registry - it needed admin rights!
Downloaded and installed ezTrust AntiVirus free trail - it's at the top of the list of reccomened AV products in the security centre - It failed to install - unable to copy system files - needs admin rights
It wanted to delete the shortcut off the desktop - I can't needs admin rights, every option I select seems to either demand the admin account, or simply a confirmation that I want to proceed GRRRRRRRRR!!!!!
Gave in and made my second account a member of Administrators - both apps still fail to install clean. MS AntiSpyware does at least run, but ezTrust does indeed seem to not be installed correctly.
I tried to add some data files to the laptop, and for the life of me I cannot find the documents folder - inspite of the fact that I have told Vista to display it on the desktop!
Overall, the feel is still very sluggish and I am sory to say, its back to XP Pro in a few minutes - hehehe Hope my Ghost copy works!!
The first problem was getting the wireless network up and running - it just did not want to play, but after about 20 minutes of messing about, it suddenly sprang into life!
Created a new (standard) user, and set about customising the desktop - You don't seem to be able to remove the wallpaper!! You can change it to another one, but it wont' accept non as an option... :O
Downloaded MS Anto Spyware, and it needed the admin account to install - OK, did that - Got an error saying that it could not write to the registry - it needed admin rights!
Downloaded and installed ezTrust AntiVirus free trail - it's at the top of the list of reccomened AV products in the security centre - It failed to install - unable to copy system files - needs admin rights
It wanted to delete the shortcut off the desktop - I can't needs admin rights, every option I select seems to either demand the admin account, or simply a confirmation that I want to proceed GRRRRRRRRR!!!!!
Gave in and made my second account a member of Administrators - both apps still fail to install clean. MS AntiSpyware does at least run, but ezTrust does indeed seem to not be installed correctly.
I tried to add some data files to the laptop, and for the life of me I cannot find the documents folder - inspite of the fact that I have told Vista to display it on the desktop!
Overall, the feel is still very sluggish and I am sory to say, its back to XP Pro in a few minutes - hehehe Hope my Ghost copy works!!
Friday, October 28, 2005
It's Vista Time again...
I initially installed Vista Beta 1 on my laptop, but it turns out that was about the time the hard drive started to fail, so a lot of my issues with performance were probably unfounded!!
When I rebuilt the laptop after the drive replacement, I went back to my copy of XP Pro, and once it was all working just as I like it, I ghosted it...
As I have now recieved an invite to trial the next version of Vista (Build 5231 - Beta 1 was Build 5112) - note this is NOT YET BETA 2, I downloaded a copy of the DVD .ISO file, and witha fresh image of the laptop stored safely on the external USB Hard Drive, I have started to install!!
I will keep the blog updated with progress...
When I rebuilt the laptop after the drive replacement, I went back to my copy of XP Pro, and once it was all working just as I like it, I ghosted it...
As I have now recieved an invite to trial the next version of Vista (Build 5231 - Beta 1 was Build 5112) - note this is NOT YET BETA 2, I downloaded a copy of the DVD .ISO file, and witha fresh image of the laptop stored safely on the external USB Hard Drive, I have started to install!!
I will keep the blog updated with progress...
Minor Change of (picture) Plan
I took Amanda to see "Leaving Las Vegas" at Castle Galleries yesterday, and she decided that it was not the correct colours for the bedroom, but she did like it. Whilst we were there, however, she saw "Lost in Thought" and fell in love!
I really like this one too, and was even more pleased when I found out that AP#1 was still available!! It seems that this is an almost unheard of situation, the artist almost allways keeps the first proof!
That picture is now on order, and should arrive within two weeks, looks like I may be decorating the bedroom soon...
I really like this one too, and was even more pleased when I found out that AP#1 was still available!! It seems that this is an almost unheard of situation, the artist almost allways keeps the first proof!
That picture is now on order, and should arrive within two weeks, looks like I may be decorating the bedroom soon...
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
No New Toy just yet
Having been considering a new camera for the last few weeks, I have now decidedthat it ain't going to happen - well not for a while anyway. I have seen a new 'Mark Spain' painting that has really grabbed both Mine and Amanda's imaginations..
Leaving Las Vegas
I have asked the Hlcyon Gallery to get a copy in to have a proper look at, but the initial signs are that we will be getting it. It will take pride of place in our bedroom (which will then need to be re-decorated!), a few other pictures will be shuffled, with Amy getting 'Head Study II' in her bedroom.
Leaving Las Vegas
I have asked the Hlcyon Gallery to get a copy in to have a proper look at, but the initial signs are that we will be getting it. It will take pride of place in our bedroom (which will then need to be re-decorated!), a few other pictures will be shuffled, with Amy getting 'Head Study II' in her bedroom.
Weight Check
At 19:30 on 30-07-2005 : 14st 1lb, 26.7% BF
At 16:30 on 14-08-2005 : 13st 5lb, 26.3% BF
At 19:30 on 29-08-2005 : 13st 3lb, 25.8% BF
At 17:30 on 12-09-2005 : 13st 0lb, 25.7% BF
At 17:30 on 26-09-2005 : 12st 12lb, 25.0% BF
At 19:30 on 10-10-2005 : 12st 10lb, 24.5% BF
At 17:30 on 24-10-2005 : 12st 8 lb, 24.9% BF
OK, still going down... A bit surprised, as I am now beeing far more relaxed about my Carb intake. The aim is to try and 'Level Out' at 12-4 to 12-7, so I can obviously 'treat' a bit more than I currently do...
The % Body Fat actually went back up a little this last time, but I haven't been to the Gym for over a week due to Training commitments in Maidenhead. I did get back into the Gym yesterday, but man was it hard work to get motivated again!
At 16:30 on 14-08-2005 : 13st 5lb, 26.3% BF
At 19:30 on 29-08-2005 : 13st 3lb, 25.8% BF
At 17:30 on 12-09-2005 : 13st 0lb, 25.7% BF
At 17:30 on 26-09-2005 : 12st 12lb, 25.0% BF
At 19:30 on 10-10-2005 : 12st 10lb, 24.5% BF
At 17:30 on 24-10-2005 : 12st 8 lb, 24.9% BF
OK, still going down... A bit surprised, as I am now beeing far more relaxed about my Carb intake. The aim is to try and 'Level Out' at 12-4 to 12-7, so I can obviously 'treat' a bit more than I currently do...
The % Body Fat actually went back up a little this last time, but I haven't been to the Gym for over a week due to Training commitments in Maidenhead. I did get back into the Gym yesterday, but man was it hard work to get motivated again!
Saturday, October 22, 2005
A Week in Maidenhead
I have spent most of the last week in Maidenhead on a Nortel training course for Call Pilot Rls 4. The course was good, if a little boring at times, but finding something to do with your evenings can be something of a challenge.
On Monday - M'Head Cinema - Oliver Twist - Very Good
On Tuesday - Reading Cinema - Serenity - Good
On Wednesday - M'Head Cinema - Curse of the Were Rabbit - Excellent
Add to this, "Burnout - Legends" and "Tiger Woods Golf 2006" on the PSP, reading "The Science of Discworld - Volume 3" and a reasonable amount of TV and that was a week taken care of.
When I got back home, I took delivery of the new cell phones: 1x Samsung D600 and 2x Nokia 6020's. I am currently in the process of getting our numbers moved from Orange to BT Mobile, it will save me £20 per month AND give us an extra 20 minutes per month in talktime!
On Monday - M'Head Cinema - Oliver Twist - Very Good
On Tuesday - Reading Cinema - Serenity - Good
On Wednesday - M'Head Cinema - Curse of the Were Rabbit - Excellent
Add to this, "Burnout - Legends" and "Tiger Woods Golf 2006" on the PSP, reading "The Science of Discworld - Volume 3" and a reasonable amount of TV and that was a week taken care of.
When I got back home, I took delivery of the new cell phones: 1x Samsung D600 and 2x Nokia 6020's. I am currently in the process of getting our numbers moved from Orange to BT Mobile, it will save me £20 per month AND give us an extra 20 minutes per month in talktime!
Friday, October 14, 2005
A Bit of Web Based Fun
Check out http://www.angryalien.com/...
A series of popular movies, re-enacted by cartoon bunnies in 30 seconds!!
A series of popular movies, re-enacted by cartoon bunnies in 30 seconds!!
Monday, October 10, 2005
Weight Check
At 19:30 on 30-07-2005 : 14st 1lb, 26.7% BF
At 16:30 on 14-08-2005 : 13st 5lb, 26.3% BF
At 19:30 on 29-08-2005 : 13st 3lb, 25.8% BF
At 17:30 on 12-09-2005 : 13st 0lb, 25.7% BF
At 17:30 on 26-09-2005 : 12st 12lb, 25.0% BF
At 19:30 on 10-10-2995 : 12st 10lb, 24.5% BF
Still heading in the right direction, in spite of the fact that I have more treats now than I did in the first 8 weeks. I have been to buy two pairs of trousers today, as my old ones now drop straight off my hips!
New target : Body Fat percentage in the 'Teens'... That should provide quite a challenge
At 16:30 on 14-08-2005 : 13st 5lb, 26.3% BF
At 19:30 on 29-08-2005 : 13st 3lb, 25.8% BF
At 17:30 on 12-09-2005 : 13st 0lb, 25.7% BF
At 17:30 on 26-09-2005 : 12st 12lb, 25.0% BF
At 19:30 on 10-10-2995 : 12st 10lb, 24.5% BF
Still heading in the right direction, in spite of the fact that I have more treats now than I did in the first 8 weeks. I have been to buy two pairs of trousers today, as my old ones now drop straight off my hips!
New target : Body Fat percentage in the 'Teens'... That should provide quite a challenge
Saturday, October 01, 2005
Golf Lesson this morning
After the disappointment of two weeks ago, where I just could not hit the thing in a straight line, I was not too optimistic for this mornings lesson. Even more so when you consider that I have not had chance to pick up a club since!
I was pleasantly surprised... After a poor first shot, John video taped my next two (which were not much better). Watching them back revealed a problem with my backswing - my left knee/hip was 'Collapsing' rather than twisting.
Correcting this is easier said than done, as it makes the back swing feel really uncomfortable, but the effect was nothing short of sensational! The next five shots were grouped within a 10foot area at about 150 yards.
I do need to go and get some practice in over the next week or two, to try and make this uncomfortable action feel a bit more natural.
I was pleasantly surprised... After a poor first shot, John video taped my next two (which were not much better). Watching them back revealed a problem with my backswing - my left knee/hip was 'Collapsing' rather than twisting.
Correcting this is easier said than done, as it makes the back swing feel really uncomfortable, but the effect was nothing short of sensational! The next five shots were grouped within a 10foot area at about 150 yards.
I do need to go and get some practice in over the next week or two, to try and make this uncomfortable action feel a bit more natural.
Monday, September 26, 2005
Weight Check
At 19:30 on 30-07-2005 : 14st 1lb, 26.7% BF
At 16:30 on 14-08-2005 : 13st 5lb, 26.3% BF
At 19:30 on 29-08-2005 : 13st 3lb, 25.8% BF
At 17:30 on 12-09-2005 : 13st 0lb, 25.7% BF
At 17:30 on 26-09-2005 : 12st 12lb, 25.0% BF
Still heading in the right direction...
At 16:30 on 14-08-2005 : 13st 5lb, 26.3% BF
At 19:30 on 29-08-2005 : 13st 3lb, 25.8% BF
At 17:30 on 12-09-2005 : 13st 0lb, 25.7% BF
At 17:30 on 26-09-2005 : 12st 12lb, 25.0% BF
Still heading in the right direction...
Monday, September 19, 2005
New Toy - Just Browsing
I have been a little dissapointed with the Dimage A200 Camera that I purchased last year. It has all the feature that I wanted, but the lens quality is just not good enough. So, I have been considering changing the camera again.
The shortlist was:
Canon EOS350D & the Nikon D70s - Both in the £600 to £700 region, both with excellent reviews
I am in no hurry however to change, but as I was passing Jessops today (With time to kill) I decided to go in and have a look at them. The guy behind the counter was excellent, getting all the camera's, lenses, memory cards etc ot, showing me A4 prints taken from both models...
My personal conclusion was that the 350 felt cheap and the build quality did not seem up to the standard of a £600 camera, but the NIkon, although fantastic, was just a little too large and heavy.
The compromise seems to be the Nikon D50, several £100 cheaper, smaller, lighter, few controls to hand (I considered that to be a good point!), but with a significantly 'shorter' zoon lens as standard (18 - 55 on the D50, 18 to 70 on the D70) However the difference in price would allow me to get an additional 55 to 200 lens, a large memory card, and still be within budget.
The combined range of 18 to 200 is 35mm Equiv to 28 - 300.
The 'trade in' price offered by the shop for my A200 was a rather pathetic £125 - they are selling 2nd hand on Ebay for approx £300!!
Hmmmm, maybe soon....
The shortlist was:
Canon EOS350D & the Nikon D70s - Both in the £600 to £700 region, both with excellent reviews
I am in no hurry however to change, but as I was passing Jessops today (With time to kill) I decided to go in and have a look at them. The guy behind the counter was excellent, getting all the camera's, lenses, memory cards etc ot, showing me A4 prints taken from both models...
My personal conclusion was that the 350 felt cheap and the build quality did not seem up to the standard of a £600 camera, but the NIkon, although fantastic, was just a little too large and heavy.
The compromise seems to be the Nikon D50, several £100 cheaper, smaller, lighter, few controls to hand (I considered that to be a good point!), but with a significantly 'shorter' zoon lens as standard (18 - 55 on the D50, 18 to 70 on the D70) However the difference in price would allow me to get an additional 55 to 200 lens, a large memory card, and still be within budget.
The combined range of 18 to 200 is 35mm Equiv to 28 - 300.
The 'trade in' price offered by the shop for my A200 was a rather pathetic £125 - they are selling 2nd hand on Ebay for approx £300!!
Hmmmm, maybe soon....
New Toy - Purchased
Well, it has been a while since I last treated myself to a "Boy's Toy"...
Today I was off work, and wandering around the Merry Hill Centre, when I was draw towards "Game"... Initially I was going to walk past, but then I saw MotoGP 3 for the XBox running behind the counter - It looked really good, especially after watching the real MotoGP on TV yesterday afternoon... Whilst I was looking at the XBOX games, I moved towards the PSP games... They have a couple of really good racing games...
Long Story - Short
I am now the proud owner of a nice shiny new Play Station Portable, complete with 1 GB memory card, latest firmware, screen protector, soft carry case, USB lead, UDM & Memory card case, carry bag and three games:
Burnout Legends
Midnight Club 3: DUB edition &
TOCA Race Driver 2
Today I was off work, and wandering around the Merry Hill Centre, when I was draw towards "Game"... Initially I was going to walk past, but then I saw MotoGP 3 for the XBox running behind the counter - It looked really good, especially after watching the real MotoGP on TV yesterday afternoon... Whilst I was looking at the XBOX games, I moved towards the PSP games... They have a couple of really good racing games...
Long Story - Short
I am now the proud owner of a nice shiny new Play Station Portable, complete with 1 GB memory card, latest firmware, screen protector, soft carry case, USB lead, UDM & Memory card case, carry bag and three games:
Burnout Legends
Midnight Club 3: DUB edition &
TOCA Race Driver 2
Friday, September 16, 2005
Been golfing today...
Indoors at LivingGolf...
After 10 minutes on the virtual "Driving Range", I played 18 holes at 'The Belfry'. To be honest, I was rubbish... but I did enjoy myself.
What was my score I hear you cry... well it was not impressive... 138!! Even accounting for my 28 handicap that's still in the region of 30 over!
Ah well, I will be better next time.
After 10 minutes on the virtual "Driving Range", I played 18 holes at 'The Belfry'. To be honest, I was rubbish... but I did enjoy myself.
What was my score I hear you cry... well it was not impressive... 138!! Even accounting for my 28 handicap that's still in the region of 30 over!
Ah well, I will be better next time.
Finally..
discovered how to remove the Hard Drive from the Acer Laptop... It was getting worse: 3 hours to format a 10 GB partition with FAT32!!
I have now scrapped the Travelstar 'IC25N040ATMR04' and ordered a TOSHIBA 'MK4026GAX'. This new drive has a 8 MB buffer and a 5400 spin speed, so should be quite a bit quicker than the old one...
I have now scrapped the Travelstar 'IC25N040ATMR04' and ordered a TOSHIBA 'MK4026GAX'. This new drive has a 8 MB buffer and a 5400 spin speed, so should be quite a bit quicker than the old one...
Monday, September 12, 2005
Weight Check
At 16:30 on 14-08-2005 : 13st 5lb, 26.3% BF
At 19:30 on 29-08-2005 : 13st 3lb, 25.8% BF
At 17:30 on 12-09-2005 : 13st 0lb, 25.7% BF
Still heading in the right direction...
At 19:30 on 29-08-2005 : 13st 3lb, 25.8% BF
At 17:30 on 12-09-2005 : 13st 0lb, 25.7% BF
Still heading in the right direction...
Been a strange week...
Not much going on:
Back at work, but waiting for it to be home time as soon as I got there!
Evening watching TV, because I couldn't be bothered to do anything else.
On the Plus Side:
Amy has started her new school, and is really enjoying it.
England won the Ashes back from the Aussies
Had a second golf lesson, and it seems to be starting to come together a little bit
On the Negative Side:
I think my laptop is sick: Looks to be a failed hard Drive, but it is not easy to locate the HD to change it... Took just about every screw out of the case, and still it won't come apart.
Back at work, but waiting for it to be home time as soon as I got there!
Evening watching TV, because I couldn't be bothered to do anything else.
On the Plus Side:
Amy has started her new school, and is really enjoying it.
England won the Ashes back from the Aussies
Had a second golf lesson, and it seems to be starting to come together a little bit
On the Negative Side:
I think my laptop is sick: Looks to be a failed hard Drive, but it is not easy to locate the HD to change it... Took just about every screw out of the case, and still it won't come apart.
Saturday, September 03, 2005
Post Holiday Blues?
I know we were only away for a couple of days, but I am feeling really miffed at being back, I just can't work up any enthusiasm for anything.
As expected, I didn't get up in time to go to the bike training, so that was a waste of £90, I intended to go to the gym this morning... got up in plenty of time, but just could not be bothered, and I *so* don't want to go back to work on Monday.
We have already started to discuss next years holiday, and an appartment in Turkey is amongst the current favourites, as All I want from a summer holiday at present is Rest, Relaxation, Sun and a pool to keep the kids from under my feet whilst I read a book or two, and chill with my MP3 player...
I have, however, finished the book I started on Wednesday - Night Watch - and jolly good it was too. I have also taken delivery of my external Hard Drive, and have backed up my Music, Pictures and Document partitions. It comes with some software to enable 'One Touch Backup' from the button on the front of the drive, but I have chosen not to install that. Instead I have created three partitions to mirror those I am backing up, and have used the "SyncToy" power toy from Microsoft to keep both sets in Sync..
As expected, I didn't get up in time to go to the bike training, so that was a waste of £90, I intended to go to the gym this morning... got up in plenty of time, but just could not be bothered, and I *so* don't want to go back to work on Monday.
We have already started to discuss next years holiday, and an appartment in Turkey is amongst the current favourites, as All I want from a summer holiday at present is Rest, Relaxation, Sun and a pool to keep the kids from under my feet whilst I read a book or two, and chill with my MP3 player...
I have, however, finished the book I started on Wednesday - Night Watch - and jolly good it was too. I have also taken delivery of my external Hard Drive, and have backed up my Music, Pictures and Document partitions. It comes with some software to enable 'One Touch Backup' from the button on the front of the drive, but I have chosen not to install that. Instead I have created three partitions to mirror those I am backing up, and have used the "SyncToy" power toy from Microsoft to keep both sets in Sync..
Friday, September 02, 2005
Back Home...
had a really great few days away,
The journey down to Torquay was fine, hardly any traffic on the motorway.
The Hotel was really nice, the outdoor (heated) pool kept the kids occupied for hours on end.
The food was generally great, and I am not expecting to loose much weight this time!
Weather was generally good
Started "Night Watch" by Terry Pratchett, and have got over half way thro' it already
We visited Cockington Village today, before stopping off at Weston-Super-Mare on the way back where we had a very nice Chinese take-away with Barry & Carol.
The journey back was fine, although starting out on a 2 hour journey at 9:00 PM on a full stomach meant that a can of red-bull and a strong cup of cofee were required to maintain my alertness.
The downside of that, is that it is now well past midnight, and I am still not ready to go to bed... I am supposed to be up at 07:00 tommorow (well actually today now) to ride to leicester for a track based riding course at 08:30. I think I am going to feel *way* too tired to be able to ride safely at speed for the best part of a day, and may just not bother to go...
The journey down to Torquay was fine, hardly any traffic on the motorway.
The Hotel was really nice, the outdoor (heated) pool kept the kids occupied for hours on end.
The food was generally great, and I am not expecting to loose much weight this time!
Weather was generally good
Started "Night Watch" by Terry Pratchett, and have got over half way thro' it already
We visited Cockington Village today, before stopping off at Weston-Super-Mare on the way back where we had a very nice Chinese take-away with Barry & Carol.
The journey back was fine, although starting out on a 2 hour journey at 9:00 PM on a full stomach meant that a can of red-bull and a strong cup of cofee were required to maintain my alertness.
The downside of that, is that it is now well past midnight, and I am still not ready to go to bed... I am supposed to be up at 07:00 tommorow (well actually today now) to ride to leicester for a track based riding course at 08:30. I think I am going to feel *way* too tired to be able to ride safely at speed for the best part of a day, and may just not bother to go...
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Happy Birthday to me...
Well, today I am 44...
Yes, not too long ago, I thought that 44 was ancient but I don't feel any older today than when I was 24.
Mostly "Cash in Cards" this year, but Amanda is taking me to Torquay for three days, and I have had two actual presents:
An "American Chopper" : A scale model of the "Black Widow" bike, off the kids and a 'Chipper Net' from Jackie, Pete and Matt, so I can practice more golf shots in the garden. I almost bought one of those nets yesterday, but decided at the last second that I best not, at least not before my birthday - Wow I am getting telepathetic in my old age!
Finally for today, checked my weight again last night:
At 16:30 on 14-08-2005 : 13st 5lb, 26.3% BF
At 19:30 on 29-08-2005 : 13st 3lb, 25.8% BF
So another 2lbs lost, and another 0.5% BF... still going the right way, and at a speed that I am happy with... New aim, to be below 12st 7lb and in the 24.x% BF range by Christmas
Yes, not too long ago, I thought that 44 was ancient but I don't feel any older today than when I was 24.
Mostly "Cash in Cards" this year, but Amanda is taking me to Torquay for three days, and I have had two actual presents:
An "American Chopper" : A scale model of the "Black Widow" bike, off the kids and a 'Chipper Net' from Jackie, Pete and Matt, so I can practice more golf shots in the garden. I almost bought one of those nets yesterday, but decided at the last second that I best not, at least not before my birthday - Wow I am getting telepathetic in my old age!
Finally for today, checked my weight again last night:
At 16:30 on 14-08-2005 : 13st 5lb, 26.3% BF
At 19:30 on 29-08-2005 : 13st 3lb, 25.8% BF
So another 2lbs lost, and another 0.5% BF... still going the right way, and at a speed that I am happy with... New aim, to be below 12st 7lb and in the 24.x% BF range by Christmas
Monday, August 29, 2005
Cool Website for Music Lovers
http://www.pandora.com/
Just tell it the name of an artist you like, and it will create a personal 'Station" containing tracks from a variety of artists with a similar "feel". Be prepared for some (pleasant) surprises.
You can try it out for free - for 10 hours - after that it is a subscription service... $36 for a year. You do need broadband tho' as it's a 128 kbps audio stream. I still have a few hours left to make up my mind with regard to taking out the subscription
Just tell it the name of an artist you like, and it will create a personal 'Station" containing tracks from a variety of artists with a similar "feel". Be prepared for some (pleasant) surprises.
You can try it out for free - for 10 hours - after that it is a subscription service... $36 for a year. You do need broadband tho' as it's a 128 kbps audio stream. I still have a few hours left to make up my mind with regard to taking out the subscription
It's back
On Thursday, Sky One, 20:00 - "Brainiac - Science Abuse" Series 3
The show that takes a chemistry PHD, and uses it to blow up Caravans!!
The show that takes a chemistry PHD, and uses it to blow up Caravans!!
Sunday, August 28, 2005
Been a strange week...
Not been blogging for a few days, for a number of reasons...
Started two weeks leave, so the daily routine has been disrupted...
House Guests for 3 days, who use the spare room, which is where the PC is, so limited access to internet...
Been out and about, due to 1 & 2 above, so little time at home...
On top of that, we have had a problem with Amanda's mom this week, who is getting *way* to close to a nervous breakdown... Mike is still stable, but seriously unwell, but Carol is showing signs of cracking under the strain of it all.
OK, highlights of what we have been doing this week...
Monday: Golf Lesson
Alex and I have had our first lesson with the Pro at Halesowen Golf Club. So far we have just worked on the Grip and the Swing, and as a result, neither of us can actually hit a ball straight anymore!! We have another 4 lessons booked for September, so we are hoping that it all starts to come together by then!
Tuesday: Garage Clearance
Spent the morning at Carol's... Cleared the garage out, put it back tidy, and took two VERY LARGE loads of rubbish to the tip!
Wednesday: Gave Blood
1st time in over 12 months, due to having the tattoo done last year, but back on track now at 44 times and counting.
Evesham Garden Centre... Three new house plants, all three are varietys of "Dracaena - Dragon Plant"
Thursday: Stratford-upon-Avon
Some very nice new Mark Spains were seen in the "Castle Gallery", but I resisted temptation, and did not buy one, but I did get a nice polo neck jumper for £6 (RRP £20) from "Soccer World" in there closing down sale.
Saturday: Misc
Visit my Mother, cut the front lawn, tidy the garage, wash the bike, trim the front hedge, watch the cricket, find problem with computer!!
Yep, the boot drive on my main PC seems to be a bit delicate at present, some partition swapping and a re-written MBR seems to have stabilised things, but it has brought home how poor my backup strategy is... *most* of my music is also on my Iriver, but a don't have copies of any of my general data, OR my photos...
Sunday: Order External HDD
I have just ordered a Freecom FHD-3 250GB 7200rpm External USB 2.0 Hard Drive from Amazon for £145 inc VAT and delivery
Started two weeks leave, so the daily routine has been disrupted...
House Guests for 3 days, who use the spare room, which is where the PC is, so limited access to internet...
Been out and about, due to 1 & 2 above, so little time at home...
On top of that, we have had a problem with Amanda's mom this week, who is getting *way* to close to a nervous breakdown... Mike is still stable, but seriously unwell, but Carol is showing signs of cracking under the strain of it all.
OK, highlights of what we have been doing this week...
Monday: Golf Lesson
Alex and I have had our first lesson with the Pro at Halesowen Golf Club. So far we have just worked on the Grip and the Swing, and as a result, neither of us can actually hit a ball straight anymore!! We have another 4 lessons booked for September, so we are hoping that it all starts to come together by then!
Tuesday: Garage Clearance
Spent the morning at Carol's... Cleared the garage out, put it back tidy, and took two VERY LARGE loads of rubbish to the tip!
Wednesday: Gave Blood
1st time in over 12 months, due to having the tattoo done last year, but back on track now at 44 times and counting.
Evesham Garden Centre... Three new house plants, all three are varietys of "Dracaena - Dragon Plant"
Thursday: Stratford-upon-Avon
Some very nice new Mark Spains were seen in the "Castle Gallery", but I resisted temptation, and did not buy one, but I did get a nice polo neck jumper for £6 (RRP £20) from "Soccer World" in there closing down sale.
Saturday: Misc
Visit my Mother, cut the front lawn, tidy the garage, wash the bike, trim the front hedge, watch the cricket, find problem with computer!!
Yep, the boot drive on my main PC seems to be a bit delicate at present, some partition swapping and a re-written MBR seems to have stabilised things, but it has brought home how poor my backup strategy is... *most* of my music is also on my Iriver, but a don't have copies of any of my general data, OR my photos...
Sunday: Order External HDD
I have just ordered a Freecom FHD-3 250GB 7200rpm External USB 2.0 Hard Drive from Amazon for £145 inc VAT and delivery
Saturday, August 20, 2005
The Corrs - Home - September 26th 2005
From "www.thecorrswebsite.com"
One year after their last studio album, The Corrs are returning full circle with their latest album Home, to be released by Atlantic Records on September 26th.
As the title suggests, The Corrs are back to fond beginnings, defining a journey that began 15 years ago. It is a record that is held close to the bands’ hearts, compiled through a songbook of the late Jean Corr, and brought to life by the bands’ urge to bring new interpretations to traditional Irish songs.
It was Caroline Corr who first suggested a return to traditional form, since “everywhere we go in the world we are asked to do more Irish music.” Featuring the BBC Radio 2 Concert Orchestra and working with orchestral arranger Fiachra Trench and producer Mitchell Froom, who has worked with The Corrs on three previous albums, the band set out to create an eclectic mixture of songs and instrumental airs.
Recorded over six months, the making of the album became a journey in uniting both old and new. Traditional Irish songs were carefully chosen, and set to new arrangements, whilst remaining true and faithful to the core emotion of the originals. The mixture of traditional and contemporary, is one that is truly celebrated throughout Home. Whereas the predominately Irish songs are interpreted in a contemporary way, other songs such as ‘Heart Like A Wheel’, originally written by Anna McGarrigle, remain strongly Irish in sound and spirit. This spirit shines through in tracks such as ‘Buachaill On Eirne’ which is one of two tracks sung in Gaelic; a true testament to the integrity of this album, and its desire to bring together Ireland’s past, present and future.
The full tracklisting is as follows: My Lagan Love / Spancill Hill / Peggy Gordon / Black Is The Colour / Heart Like A Wheel / Buachaill On Eirne / Old Hag / Moorlough Shore / Old Town / Dimming Of The Day / Brid Og Ni Mhaille / Haste To The Wedding / Return To Fingall
I have pre-ordered my copy from www.play.com for £8.99
One year after their last studio album, The Corrs are returning full circle with their latest album Home, to be released by Atlantic Records on September 26th.
As the title suggests, The Corrs are back to fond beginnings, defining a journey that began 15 years ago. It is a record that is held close to the bands’ hearts, compiled through a songbook of the late Jean Corr, and brought to life by the bands’ urge to bring new interpretations to traditional Irish songs.
It was Caroline Corr who first suggested a return to traditional form, since “everywhere we go in the world we are asked to do more Irish music.” Featuring the BBC Radio 2 Concert Orchestra and working with orchestral arranger Fiachra Trench and producer Mitchell Froom, who has worked with The Corrs on three previous albums, the band set out to create an eclectic mixture of songs and instrumental airs.
Recorded over six months, the making of the album became a journey in uniting both old and new. Traditional Irish songs were carefully chosen, and set to new arrangements, whilst remaining true and faithful to the core emotion of the originals. The mixture of traditional and contemporary, is one that is truly celebrated throughout Home. Whereas the predominately Irish songs are interpreted in a contemporary way, other songs such as ‘Heart Like A Wheel’, originally written by Anna McGarrigle, remain strongly Irish in sound and spirit. This spirit shines through in tracks such as ‘Buachaill On Eirne’ which is one of two tracks sung in Gaelic; a true testament to the integrity of this album, and its desire to bring together Ireland’s past, present and future.
The full tracklisting is as follows: My Lagan Love / Spancill Hill / Peggy Gordon / Black Is The Colour / Heart Like A Wheel / Buachaill On Eirne / Old Hag / Moorlough Shore / Old Town / Dimming Of The Day / Brid Og Ni Mhaille / Haste To The Wedding / Return To Fingall
I have pre-ordered my copy from www.play.com for £8.99
Friday, August 19, 2005
Monday, August 15, 2005
New Scales: New Starting weight
Last week, we replaced the bathroom scales, the new ones are electronic and calculate Body Fat %
So, as I am a firm believer in not comparing reading between two different scales, I shall take yesterdays figures from these new scales as the starting refernce point for any future weight gain/loss:
At 16:30 on 14-08-2005 : 13st 5lb, 26.3% BF (undressed)
So, as I am a firm believer in not comparing reading between two different scales, I shall take yesterdays figures from these new scales as the starting refernce point for any future weight gain/loss:
At 16:30 on 14-08-2005 : 13st 5lb, 26.3% BF (undressed)
Katherine - You were great!
A minor issue with lack of parking at Ragley Hall, but soon solved - even if the guya t the gate had no idea where we could park!
The concert itself was really good, KJ looked amazing, sang really well, and the fireworks were fantastic.
If you get to go to another outdoor concert, what have we learned?
1) Get there early!!
2) Take your own picnic chairs (£3 each to hire!! We sat on the picnic blanket!)
3) Take a flask (£2.50 for a small cup of coffee
4) Even if the BBC say the weather will be fine - Take a brolly!
5) Take a torch
There is a new CD out October 31st - "Living the Dream" - I pre-ordered my copy from Amazon as soon as we got back last night!
The concert itself was really good, KJ looked amazing, sang really well, and the fireworks were fantastic.
If you get to go to another outdoor concert, what have we learned?
1) Get there early!!
2) Take your own picnic chairs (£3 each to hire!! We sat on the picnic blanket!)
3) Take a flask (£2.50 for a small cup of coffee
4) Even if the BBC say the weather will be fine - Take a brolly!
5) Take a torch
There is a new CD out October 31st - "Living the Dream" - I pre-ordered my copy from Amazon as soon as we got back last night!
Saturday, August 13, 2005
It's been a week...
Since I wrote my note, message in a bottle...
Sorry, just got all Sting on my blog for a moment! Seriously I can't believe it's been a week since I last blogged..
Ok what's been happening then,
1) Been ill. Had a temperated and felt really rough for a couple of days. (Wednesday & Thursday)
2) Been to the Balloon Fiesta at Bristol (Friday) - Pictures to follow soon
3) Alex has managed to split his head open by fallingover at full speed in front of his mates push bike! He hs got a lovelly bruise and graze on the side of his face, and 3 sterastrips holding the gash together!
4) Recieved my Beta copy of Windows Vista, running it on the laptop. Not too impressed at this stage, some hardware not fully functiona, and IE7 is not nice! It also seem noticably slower that XP on the same (admittedly fairly low spec PC), and to top it all, the video card in the laptop does not support the advanced renedering on Vista, so I don't get the full visual effect.
5) Had my final weigh-in for the Body Transformation Program. Final results weight is down by 10lbs, waist is down by 4.5 inches, body fat% is down by almost 2%
6) Purchased the first three seasons of ALIAS on DVD
7) Managed to hear the new CD by Charlotte Church - Tissues & Issues; Excellent
8) Man Utd managed to get off to a winning start to the Premiership today with a 2-0 win at Everton
9) Purchased a new Electric Toothbrush (a Sonicare model from Phillips, on the advice of my dentist)
because... finally
10) Had my new tooth fitted. There was no need for a temporary one, and I have the finished article in my mouth NOW! - Picture to follow soon!!
Off to the gym early in the morning, the 6 week program is over, but I want to lose at least another 10 to 15 lbs... and then tommorow evening we are all off to see Katherine Jenkins in concert at Ragley Hall.
Sorry, just got all Sting on my blog for a moment! Seriously I can't believe it's been a week since I last blogged..
Ok what's been happening then,
1) Been ill. Had a temperated and felt really rough for a couple of days. (Wednesday & Thursday)
2) Been to the Balloon Fiesta at Bristol (Friday) - Pictures to follow soon
3) Alex has managed to split his head open by fallingover at full speed in front of his mates push bike! He hs got a lovelly bruise and graze on the side of his face, and 3 sterastrips holding the gash together!
4) Recieved my Beta copy of Windows Vista, running it on the laptop. Not too impressed at this stage, some hardware not fully functiona, and IE7 is not nice! It also seem noticably slower that XP on the same (admittedly fairly low spec PC), and to top it all, the video card in the laptop does not support the advanced renedering on Vista, so I don't get the full visual effect.
5) Had my final weigh-in for the Body Transformation Program. Final results weight is down by 10lbs, waist is down by 4.5 inches, body fat% is down by almost 2%
6) Purchased the first three seasons of ALIAS on DVD
7) Managed to hear the new CD by Charlotte Church - Tissues & Issues; Excellent
8) Man Utd managed to get off to a winning start to the Premiership today with a 2-0 win at Everton
9) Purchased a new Electric Toothbrush (a Sonicare model from Phillips, on the advice of my dentist)
because... finally
10) Had my new tooth fitted. There was no need for a temporary one, and I have the finished article in my mouth NOW! - Picture to follow soon!!
Off to the gym early in the morning, the 6 week program is over, but I want to lose at least another 10 to 15 lbs... and then tommorow evening we are all off to see Katherine Jenkins in concert at Ragley Hall.
Friday, August 05, 2005
Day out at the Safari Park
On Wednesday, we went to the West Midlands Safari Park. A good day was had by all, and I got some reasonable photo's (Having finally remembered to take my camera out with me!)
You can see them here : http://www.redbreva.com/Photography/_PhotoAlbums/WMSP-08-2005/index.html
You can see them here : http://www.redbreva.com/Photography/_PhotoAlbums/WMSP-08-2005/index.html
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
Impressions, eBay, Buckets and Choppers
We have started a new working pattern this week, and I now get 1.5 rota days every three weeks. As I had a dentist appointment this morning, I booked 1/2 a days leave, and I get two days off...
So this morning I went to visit the dentist, and he has taken the (hopefully) final impression of my mouth. I have to go back next Wednesday for the fitting of the initial tooth... A final ceramic one is still a about a month away.
From there it was a vist to the post office, I sold three audio books on ebay last night, and then on the the driving range where Alex and I shared a bucket of balls. He is getting about 20 yards, I am getting about 120!
Finally, for now, We are hoping to go the Bristol (Parkland of Ashton Court Estate) on the 12th of this month... There is an "International Balloon Fiesta" on, but the main attraction will be that "American Choppers" will be there! You can even buy your car park ticket online, get access to a closer car park, save money and beat the queues!!
So this morning I went to visit the dentist, and he has taken the (hopefully) final impression of my mouth. I have to go back next Wednesday for the fitting of the initial tooth... A final ceramic one is still a about a month away.
From there it was a vist to the post office, I sold three audio books on ebay last night, and then on the the driving range where Alex and I shared a bucket of balls. He is getting about 20 yards, I am getting about 120!
Finally, for now, We are hoping to go the Bristol (Parkland of Ashton Court Estate) on the 12th of this month... There is an "International Balloon Fiesta" on, but the main attraction will be that "American Choppers" will be there! You can even buy your car park ticket online, get access to a closer car park, save money and beat the queues!!
Monday, August 01, 2005
Busy Weekend
As a surprise for the kids, we have just spent the weekend at Alton Towers.
It was not a good start, with Amanda feeling unwell on Saturday morning. A couple of phone calls to the doctor and we were sent to the Primary Care unit at the local hospital. After a trip to a pharmacy to collect the required medication (Anti Biotics and a Nasal Spray, she has sinusitus) we were finally able to get on our way : at 13:30!!
Got to the hotel with no major problems, and spent a couple of hours in "Caribba Creek". Alex is now big enough t have a go on most of the rides in the waterpark, but the 'Master Blaster' did scare him a bit. A nice evening meal, with a glass of wine, followed by an hour of watching TV before 'trying' to get an early night rounded things off nicely.
Sunday morning, we were up, fed and out to the park by 09:15, and by 10:15 we (Amy and Myself) had been on Nemesis twice (Once front row, once back row) - Excellent... and Air twice (Again once front row, once in the middle)- Good. By then the park was starting to fill up a little, we went on Ripsaw, and arranged to meet Amanda and Alex for lunch at 13:00..
We then queued for 100 minutes!!!! to ride Rita: Queen of speed, and OK it was good, but not that good... After lunch, Enterprise (with Alex):OK, Oblivion (with Amy):Excellent!!, Hex (with Amy and Alex): Pretty Good, Corkscrew (with Amy): OK, Dual (Amy and Alex): OK, Runaway Train (with Amy and Alex): Good and finally the River Rapids (with Amy and Alex) : Good.
A steady walkt back to the car, and a clear run home - back for 19:00, and an early night was had by all.
It was not a good start, with Amanda feeling unwell on Saturday morning. A couple of phone calls to the doctor and we were sent to the Primary Care unit at the local hospital. After a trip to a pharmacy to collect the required medication (Anti Biotics and a Nasal Spray, she has sinusitus) we were finally able to get on our way : at 13:30!!
Got to the hotel with no major problems, and spent a couple of hours in "Caribba Creek". Alex is now big enough t have a go on most of the rides in the waterpark, but the 'Master Blaster' did scare him a bit. A nice evening meal, with a glass of wine, followed by an hour of watching TV before 'trying' to get an early night rounded things off nicely.
Sunday morning, we were up, fed and out to the park by 09:15, and by 10:15 we (Amy and Myself) had been on Nemesis twice (Once front row, once back row) - Excellent... and Air twice (Again once front row, once in the middle)- Good. By then the park was starting to fill up a little, we went on Ripsaw, and arranged to meet Amanda and Alex for lunch at 13:00..
We then queued for 100 minutes!!!! to ride Rita: Queen of speed, and OK it was good, but not that good... After lunch, Enterprise (with Alex):OK, Oblivion (with Amy):Excellent!!, Hex (with Amy and Alex): Pretty Good, Corkscrew (with Amy): OK, Dual (Amy and Alex): OK, Runaway Train (with Amy and Alex): Good and finally the River Rapids (with Amy and Alex) : Good.
A steady walkt back to the car, and a clear run home - back for 19:00, and an early night was had by all.
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
heheh, I was back...
Sooner than I thought... that's another basket of balls blasted into a field!
Quite pleased, the 7 iron is now going regularly between 100 and 130 yards, usually quite straight and onlt the occasional complete 'fluffed' shot. On the other hand, I took the 3 iron, I was useless!! Only managed about 80 yards and noware close to straight, so I switched back to the 7...
My hands and wrist were quite sore by the time I finished, so I will leave it a few days before I go back again.
Quite pleased, the 7 iron is now going regularly between 100 and 130 yards, usually quite straight and onlt the occasional complete 'fluffed' shot. On the other hand, I took the 3 iron, I was useless!! Only managed about 80 yards and noware close to straight, so I switched back to the 7...
My hands and wrist were quite sore by the time I finished, so I will leave it a few days before I go back again.
Monday, July 25, 2005
My first visit to ...
... A driving range.
I swung my way thro' a basket of balls this evening at the local Driving Range. Under the expert eye of "Nigel from Work" a complete Golf fanatic, my 7 Iron improved from 30 yards, no elevation and a directional accuracy of +/- 45 degrees to about 100 yards, waaaay up in the air with an accuracy of about +/- 5 degrees.
That's not to say every shot was good, but there is a definate improvment. I now need to work on the consistency before moving up to a bigger club. As Arnie may well have said.... "I'll be back"
I swung my way thro' a basket of balls this evening at the local Driving Range. Under the expert eye of "Nigel from Work" a complete Golf fanatic, my 7 Iron improved from 30 yards, no elevation and a directional accuracy of +/- 45 degrees to about 100 yards, waaaay up in the air with an accuracy of about +/- 5 degrees.
That's not to say every shot was good, but there is a definate improvment. I now need to work on the consistency before moving up to a bigger club. As Arnie may well have said.... "I'll be back"
Bandit's First Service Today
... having done about 700 mile, it was time for it's first service - mainly oil change and check valve clearances, chain etc. All OK and it cost the princely sum of £40
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Finished!
I have just finished reading Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince... Started to count down the months to the final book!
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
June's Site Hit counts
In the calendar month of June, my redbreva domain recieved over 11,000 hits!
The Breakdown is as follows:
Unique Visitors : 6,369
Most Popular page : http://rockboxvideo.redbreva.co.uk/ : 3,501 hits
Browser Technology Breakdown:
IE (all versions) : 75%
IE (version 6) : 65%
Mozilla Based : 20%
Operating System Breakdown:
Windows (All versions) : 97%
Windows (XP) : 77.5%
Windows (2000) : 9%
Windows (98) : 8%
Mac's : 2%
Linux : 1%
Both the http://rockboxvideo.redbreva.co.uk/ and http://startfromhere.redbreva.co.uk sites have a Google 'Page Rank' of 4/10
The Breakdown is as follows:
Unique Visitors : 6,369
Most Popular page : http://rockboxvideo.redbreva.co.uk/ : 3,501 hits
Browser Technology Breakdown:
IE (all versions) : 75%
IE (version 6) : 65%
Mozilla Based : 20%
Operating System Breakdown:
Windows (All versions) : 97%
Windows (XP) : 77.5%
Windows (2000) : 9%
Windows (98) : 8%
Mac's : 2%
Linux : 1%
Both the http://rockboxvideo.redbreva.co.uk/ and http://startfromhere.redbreva.co.uk sites have a Google 'Page Rank' of 4/10
New version of Firefox
Mozilla Firefox 1.0.5 has been released. This latest update contains several security fixes and improvements to stability.
Grab Firefox 1.0.5 from the Firefox product page and check out the Mozilla Firefox 1.0.5 Release Notes for more information.
Grab Firefox 1.0.5 from the Firefox product page and check out the Mozilla Firefox 1.0.5 Release Notes for more information.
Saturday, July 09, 2005
Good end to a quiet week
Not much on the local news front this week, but yesterday we got the School Reports for Amy and Alex...
Amy got a complete set of 5's in her SAT's... 4 is the expected score for an 11 year old, so all results were above average, well done Amy
Alex got a mixture of 2B and 2C's with one 1... 2B is the expected score for a 7 year old, so results were almost there, considering he was so far behind at the start of the year he has done really well.
The diet is still going well (I think!!) and the strength training is really hard work - I have had permanently aching legs, shoulders and back since last week!! The leg press machine was out of order on Thursday, so I was told to do Squats with free weights - damn my quads ache!!
Why is it so difficult to avoid large amounts of Carbs?? I have even started to drink Diet Coke!!
Amy got a complete set of 5's in her SAT's... 4 is the expected score for an 11 year old, so all results were above average, well done Amy
Alex got a mixture of 2B and 2C's with one 1... 2B is the expected score for a 7 year old, so results were almost there, considering he was so far behind at the start of the year he has done really well.
The diet is still going well (I think!!) and the strength training is really hard work - I have had permanently aching legs, shoulders and back since last week!! The leg press machine was out of order on Thursday, so I was told to do Squats with free weights - damn my quads ache!!
Why is it so difficult to avoid large amounts of Carbs?? I have even started to drink Diet Coke!!
Monday, July 04, 2005
BTP - First Training Session
On Saturday I spent an hour in the Gym with Liz. After initial measurements were taken, she worked me rather hard on the weights. The system used is the "Single Rep Max" method. This involved determining the maximum weight to you can manage to perform just one rep of. Once this figure is established, you set the weight to 80% of this max figure and do a set of 8 reps, if you get the initial figure correct the 8th rep is *very* difficult!
The aim is to do this program three times a week, normallt this would be Monday, Wednesday and Friday as you should leave a day between (to allow muscles chance to recover), but as today is a ROTA day, I need to leave it an extra day this week... Mind you, given the pain in my chest, legs and back I think I need it!!
The tail of The Tape:
Chest 42"
Waist 41"
Hips 42"
Upper Arm 12.5"
Upper Thigh 21"
My Program for Weeks 1 & 2
Warm up : Rowing Machine, Level 10, Rate 30, 5 minutes
Leg Press : 150 x 8
Single Leg Press : 60 x 8 (each leg)
Chest Press : 125 x 8
Upper Back : 145 x 8
Biceps : 125 x 8
Dips : 9 x 8
Abs : 3 sets of 10
Plank : 30 seconds x 2
Stretches
The aim is to do this program three times a week, normallt this would be Monday, Wednesday and Friday as you should leave a day between (to allow muscles chance to recover), but as today is a ROTA day, I need to leave it an extra day this week... Mind you, given the pain in my chest, legs and back I think I need it!!
The tail of The Tape:
Chest 42"
Waist 41"
Hips 42"
Upper Arm 12.5"
Upper Thigh 21"
My Program for Weeks 1 & 2
Warm up : Rowing Machine, Level 10, Rate 30, 5 minutes
Leg Press : 150 x 8
Single Leg Press : 60 x 8 (each leg)
Chest Press : 125 x 8
Upper Back : 145 x 8
Biceps : 125 x 8
Dips : 9 x 8
Abs : 3 sets of 10
Plank : 30 seconds x 2
Stretches
Thursday, June 30, 2005
The Body Transformation Program - Day 1
Starting figures:
Weight = 14st 1.4lb
BMI = 28.3
Body Fat% = 26.7 (That's over 3st 10lbs of FAT!!)
Target Body Fat% = 11 to 22%
I need to lose just over 1st to reach the upper limit, and 2st 7lb to reach the lower limit
My first training session with Liz (Personal Coach) is on Saturday afternoon.. That's when I get measured to check on the inches in addition to the pounds... I will be posting those results then...
Weight = 14st 1.4lb
BMI = 28.3
Body Fat% = 26.7 (That's over 3st 10lbs of FAT!!)
Target Body Fat% = 11 to 22%
I need to lose just over 1st to reach the upper limit, and 2st 7lb to reach the lower limit
My first training session with Liz (Personal Coach) is on Saturday afternoon.. That's when I get measured to check on the inches in addition to the pounds... I will be posting those results then...
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Bandit is doing 49 MPG
Filled up again yesterday, it's managing about 49 MPG which gives a 'Tank Range' of just about 210 miles - should be easily enough for three and a half weeks commuting.
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Looks like it's NOT broken
The bruising has spread over a large section of the front of my foot, and faded in the process... I can now walk comfortably on it, with just an occasional wince if I flex it just wrong.
Friday, June 24, 2005
Ouch
Getting out of the bathtub this morning, I managed to kick the handrail (very hard)... after much cussing and hopping I have a black toe on my left foot.
Don't know if I managed to break it, but it really is very sore - look like I won't be getting back to the treadmill for another few days.
Don't know if I managed to break it, but it really is very sore - look like I won't be getting back to the treadmill for another few days.
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
WPS for my iRiver running Rockbox
The following code:
Vol:%pv Batt:%bt [%bl]
===========================
%s%?ig< %ig|* GENRE NOT AVAILABLE! *>;%t15%s%?ig< %ig|Path: %fp>
+ %s%?ia<%ia|%?d2<%d2|[\root]>>
|-+ %s%?id<%id|%?d1<%d1|[\root]>>
|-+ %s%?it<%it|%fn>
%?%ps<%t5 Shuffle Mode| Normal Mode>;%?iv<%t2 Tag: id3v%iv|%4[No/Unsupported tag]>;%t5%?ic<%s%t4 Composer: %ic|%t0>;%?iy<%t3 Year: %iy|>;%s%t3 File size: %fsKb
%pb
%pc/%pt | %pr | %?pp<[%pp/%pe]|>
%?Fn<%s%t5%>%>Track: %?It<%It %?In<[#%In]|>|%Fn>|%t0>;%?Fn<%s%t3%>%>Artist: %?Ia<%Ia|%?D2<%D2|%t0>>|%t0>;%?Fn<%s%t4%>%>Album: %?Id<%Id %?Iy<(%Iy)|>|%?D1<%D1|%t0>>|%t0>;%?Fn<%t1.5%>%>Genre: %?Ig<%Ig|%t0>;%s%?Fn<%t0|%<%< Next Track Unbuffered %>%>>
---------------------------
%fc: %?fv<%fb kbps VBR| %fbK> @ %ffHz
Generates the following 'While Playing Screen's
Vol:%pv Batt:%bt [%bl]
===========================
%s%?ig< %ig|* GENRE NOT AVAILABLE! *>;%t15%s%?ig< %ig|Path: %fp>
+ %s%?ia<%ia|%?d2<%d2|[\root]>>
|-+ %s%?id<%id|%?d1<%d1|[\root]>>
|-+ %s%?it<%it|%fn>
%?%ps<%t5 Shuffle Mode| Normal Mode>;%?iv<%t2 Tag: id3v%iv|%4[No/Unsupported tag]>;%t5%?ic<%s%t4 Composer: %ic|%t0>;%?iy<%t3 Year: %iy|>;%s%t3 File size: %fsKb
%pb
%pc/%pt | %pr | %?pp<[%pp/%pe]|>
%?Fn<%s%t5%>%>Track: %?It<%It %?In<[#%In]|>|%Fn>|%t0>;%?Fn<%s%t3%>%>Artist: %?Ia<%Ia|%?D2<%D2|%t0>>|%t0>;%?Fn<%s%t4%>%>Album: %?Id<%Id %?Iy<(%Iy)|>|%?D1<%D1|%t0>>|%t0>;%?Fn<%t1.5%>%>Genre: %?Ig<%Ig|%t0>;%s%?Fn<%t0|%<%< Next Track Unbuffered %>%>>
---------------------------
%fc: %?fv<%fb kbps VBR| %fbK> @ %ffHz
Generates the following 'While Playing Screen's
Saturday, June 18, 2005
Body Transform Program
I have just signed up for a 6 week Body Transform Program at my Gym...
Over the 6 weeks, you get 3 seminars on nutrician and diets etc, in addition to you weight, body fat % and measurements being taken, you also get 3 sessions in the gym with a trainer to work with you on an individual exercise program.
As I am currently stuck at about 87Kg (13st 10lbs to you oldies, or 190lbs for any americans out there) which gives me a BMI of 28.2 and officially classes me as FAT!!
I'll keep you posted on any results/changes as they come in... It's due to start in about two weeks, stay tuned.
Over the 6 weeks, you get 3 seminars on nutrician and diets etc, in addition to you weight, body fat % and measurements being taken, you also get 3 sessions in the gym with a trainer to work with you on an individual exercise program.
As I am currently stuck at about 87Kg (13st 10lbs to you oldies, or 190lbs for any americans out there) which gives me a BMI of 28.2 and officially classes me as FAT!!
I'll keep you posted on any results/changes as they come in... It's due to start in about two weeks, stay tuned.
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
My "Quick & Dirty" IQ Score
| My IQ score is 110 |
 Your Logical Intelligence is Exceptional Your Verbal Intelligence is Exceptional Your Mathematical Intelligence is Exceptional Your General Knowledge is Average |
Monday, June 13, 2005
Just finished the first tank of fuel on the Bandit
and it did 160 miles before the fuel warning light started to flash...
Compare that to the SV which managed approx 90 miles before warning...
OK 3L bigger tank, but even so my rought mental calculations tell me that it's a 30% improvement in MPG's.
The important thing from my point of view, however, is only having to fill up every 3 weeks instead of every 1.75 weeks when commuting.
Compare that to the SV which managed approx 90 miles before warning...
OK 3L bigger tank, but even so my rought mental calculations tell me that it's a 30% improvement in MPG's.
The important thing from my point of view, however, is only having to fill up every 3 weeks instead of every 1.75 weeks when commuting.
Saturday, June 11, 2005
Pocket PC - Hard Reset
My PDA (Dell Axim A5) has been playing up a bit recently, it keeps locking up when in the docking station, and has needed a soft reset almost every day for the last three weeks! I have been reluctant to perform a hard reset as it is running TomTom and I didn't want to have to set it back up again - addition POI loaded, full PostCode location add on etc etc etc...
But this week Tomtom have announced the availability of TomTom 5, so I ordered the upgrade (about £40), and as I need to wipe and reload that application, I decided I may aswell perform a Hard Reset on the PDA.. I moved all the data files onto the 1GB SD Card, and then removed it (Just to be safe)
All went fine, till I tried to reinstall BatteryBar Pro & Journal Bar, and they would not install!! Eventually I found that Zone Alarm was blocking them! Unable to quickly see why, I disabled ZAP, and installed both apps. The benefit is that they are both much later versions than the ones I had on before... After a quick sync, and re-inserting the SD Card - the only thing now missing is TomTom.... Just waiting for the CD to arrive now!
But this week Tomtom have announced the availability of TomTom 5, so I ordered the upgrade (about £40), and as I need to wipe and reload that application, I decided I may aswell perform a Hard Reset on the PDA.. I moved all the data files onto the 1GB SD Card, and then removed it (Just to be safe)
All went fine, till I tried to reinstall BatteryBar Pro & Journal Bar, and they would not install!! Eventually I found that Zone Alarm was blocking them! Unable to quickly see why, I disabled ZAP, and installed both apps. The benefit is that they are both much later versions than the ones I had on before... After a quick sync, and re-inserting the SD Card - the only thing now missing is TomTom.... Just waiting for the CD to arrive now!
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Dalek theft sparks a Who-dunnit
From the BBC News site
The owners of a Somerset visitors' attraction are offering a £500 reward after a full-size Dalek was stolen.
The 5ft model, believed to be an original from the cult BBC Dr Who series, was taken from Wookey Hole Caves near Wells overnight on Monday.
Bosses say it is worth thousands of pounds and promise to pay the reward for its safe return "or capture".
A spokesman said: "There may be a black market out there for Daleks - but it's still a strange thing to steal."
The owners of a Somerset visitors' attraction are offering a £500 reward after a full-size Dalek was stolen.
The 5ft model, believed to be an original from the cult BBC Dr Who series, was taken from Wookey Hole Caves near Wells overnight on Monday.
Bosses say it is worth thousands of pounds and promise to pay the reward for its safe return "or capture".
A spokesman said: "There may be a black market out there for Daleks - but it's still a strange thing to steal."
Saturday, June 04, 2005
Ouch - almost picked up a virus
This little begger sits in the root of the C drive called IO.EXE and claims to be a Microsoft file. It's a downloader that attempts to add itself to the startup section of the registry and then download a 'proper' virus on reboot.
Microsoft Antispyware alerted me to it's attempt to write to the registry, for which I refused permission... A spyware scan gave the machine a clean bill of heath, and then a scan with McAfee located the file and allowed me to delete it with confidence.
I think I got it from a *very dodgy* website this morning... I opened up a RAR file and attempted to read the 'Readme.html' file, which then redirected all over the place!!
Be carefull out there!
Microsoft Antispyware alerted me to it's attempt to write to the registry, for which I refused permission... A spyware scan gave the machine a clean bill of heath, and then a scan with McAfee located the file and allowed me to delete it with confidence.
I think I got it from a *very dodgy* website this morning... I opened up a RAR file and attempted to read the 'Readme.html' file, which then redirected all over the place!!
Be carefull out there!
Better news on the health front...
Mike is feeling a lot better, he is sitting up and talking (actually giving orders!!) and feeling a lot better. He is still bed bound, not allowed solid foods and still seriously ill - but it is a major improvement on the last two weeks.
Mom is out of hospital and walking with crutches after her knee surgery. She is still in a lot of discomfort and stairs are difficult, but she should start to improve quite quickly now.
Mom is out of hospital and walking with crutches after her knee surgery. She is still in a lot of discomfort and stairs are difficult, but she should start to improve quite quickly now.
New site design goes live
Given that 1) the old site was never actually completed after the last rebuild, and the new one is already almost as complete, and 2) duplicating some of the sections was a fairly major drain on my server space, I have moved www.redbreva.com and www.redbreva.co.uk to the new site.
In addition startfromhere.redbreva.co.uk which is my generic start page, and travelling bookmark list has also been redirected the the newsite. Many of the other subdomains that I had created in the past have been deleted, except for rockboxvideo.redbreva.co.uk (gets lots of visitors from a link on the rockbox site) and torquemonsters.redbreva.co.uk (just because I like the name)
So far I have managed to keep almost exclusively standards compliant, there are two areas that need work:
1) I have used an align:center in startfromhere which is frowned upon, but I couldnt work out how to get the table centered by other means... It's on my TODO list
2) Because I have a subdomain pointing directly into a folder, I have problems with CSS links not working across domain, so I have used full URL's in the paths. I intend to move these folders into a seperate area and correct this later.
In addition startfromhere.redbreva.co.uk which is my generic start page, and travelling bookmark list has also been redirected the the newsite. Many of the other subdomains that I had created in the past have been deleted, except for rockboxvideo.redbreva.co.uk (gets lots of visitors from a link on the rockbox site) and torquemonsters.redbreva.co.uk (just because I like the name)
So far I have managed to keep almost exclusively standards compliant, there are two areas that need work:
1) I have used an align:center in startfromhere which is frowned upon, but I couldnt work out how to get the table centered by other means... It's on my TODO list
2) Because I have a subdomain pointing directly into a folder, I have problems with CSS links not working across domain, so I have used full URL's in the paths. I intend to move these folders into a seperate area and correct this later.
Thursday, June 02, 2005
May's Web Server Log Details
Total Unique Visits : 5408
| 01 | Windows XP | 76.94% |
| 02 | Windows 2000 | 09.36% |
| 03 | Windows 98 | 07.73% |
| 04 | Linux | 02.54% |
| 05 | MacOS | 02.03% |
| 06 | Windows NT 4 | 00.49% |
| 07 | Windows NT | 00.30% |
| 08 | Windows 95 | 00.28% |
| 09 | Windows 95/98 | 00.17% |
| 10 | Windows Server 2003 | 00.15% |
| 11 | Linux 2.2 | 00.15% |
Monday, May 30, 2005
Half Term Week
I booked the week off, to be able to spend some time with Amanda and the kids over the half term holiday week, unfortunately, due to her dad's continuing slow decline, we dare not go too far. The upshot of that is, I manged to get the new website to the stage where I am happy to start filling in some of the content.
The front page is near complete - still some temporary messages still on there, the menu is working pretty much how I want it to, and my page is now just about finished.
The front page is near complete - still some temporary messages still on there, the menu is working pretty much how I want it to, and my page is now just about finished.
Saturday, May 28, 2005
What a week...
Just a quick update...
- Amanda's dad is extremely ill, and Amanda and her auntie have been taking it in turns to spend the night with her mom.
- My mom is recovering well in hospital after her 'Total Knee Replacement' surgery, she is quite a bit of discomfort with it, but getting better rapidly.
- Alex is now 7... yesterday was his birthday. We spent an hour in the garden last night playing with our new golf clubs (9I and putter each)
- Today is Alex's swimming party at the local baths, with some of his friends from school.
- The bike is settling in nicely. I have now managed to get 60 miles on the clock, and am gradually comming to terms with the very different ridding style involved (not to mention the huge lack of power relative to the SV), but it is a much easier bike to ride in traffic.
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
New style menu - testing
I have used the DHTML menu builder system to create a floating menu bar on Redbreva.com, the only link that is really functional at present is the Photography one.
I have been experimenting with using Photoshop CS2 to provide the webpage slideshow for various picture albums... Works quite well, not sure if that's the final look and feel I want yet tho'
I have been experimenting with using Photoshop CS2 to provide the webpage slideshow for various picture albums... Works quite well, not sure if that's the final look and feel I want yet tho'
Alex not feeling well...
He is still not fit enough to return to school. The sicknes etc. has stopped, but with the amount of sleep he had yesterday, and the total lack of food he has had a lousy night... awake for long periods and having 'bad dreams'. In short, this morning he is totally knackered, and very emotional.
As 1) I am not feeling at my best - sore throat and headache, 2) the weather is awful - very windy and raining and 3) we have a high staff level in today... I am having the day off to look after him, and allow Amanda to continue with her plan to spend the day with her Mom and Dad
As 1) I am not feeling at my best - sore throat and headache, 2) the weather is awful - very windy and raining and 3) we have a high staff level in today... I am having the day off to look after him, and allow Amanda to continue with her plan to spend the day with her Mom and Dad
Monday, May 23, 2005
Got the new bike, but not a good day...
Today did NOT go as planned...
It was supposed to be a 10:00AM collection, followed by a 2-3 hour ride to get some miles on the tyres in the nice sunny weather that the BBC had forcast only the day before...
At 07:00 Alex was sick, and was pronounced not fit to go to school. Amanda arranged to go in a little later than normal - allowing me time to get to the dealers for my 10:00 pickup, so that was the morning ride out the window. When I got to the dealers, it was the salesmans day off, and he had not handed the sale over to anyone!! Neither had the bike been taxed or PDI'd...! The sales manager was very appologetic - especially after the mixup with the registration number three weeks earlier... so offered to provide the new summer weight bike trousers I was after as compensation. £127's worth of goods and the bike can still be picked up at 14:30 when Amanda gets home from work... Still time for a ride out (OK, a bit shorter, but a ride out just the same)
Amanda was then able to get to work for 11:00, in time to be useful before dinner. I then had a call from Amanda's mom, Mike is seriously ill, and the nurses are advising Amanda to take the week off from work and spend as much time with her dad as she can...
So once she got home, and I told her the news, I walked back to the dealers, rode the whole mile back home, and then Amanda went to her Mom's...
Later on I phoned my mom, who is due to go into hospital tommorrow for knee surgery, to see if everything was OK, and explain that visits may be difficult over the next week due to Mike's condition. At 15:00 today, the hospital still do not know if they have a bed available for her tommorow morning... Who said the NHS has too many office staff! She has to call again in the morning - before 08:00, to know if she still needs the ambulance that has been booked the take her!
On the plus side, by about 16:00 Alex was starting to feel a little better, managed to eat a couple of biscuits - and keep them down, and had a drink of water, so hopefully he will be fit for school again in the morning. Amanda is planning to drop the kids off, and go directly to help her mom.
It was supposed to be a 10:00AM collection, followed by a 2-3 hour ride to get some miles on the tyres in the nice sunny weather that the BBC had forcast only the day before...
At 07:00 Alex was sick, and was pronounced not fit to go to school. Amanda arranged to go in a little later than normal - allowing me time to get to the dealers for my 10:00 pickup, so that was the morning ride out the window. When I got to the dealers, it was the salesmans day off, and he had not handed the sale over to anyone!! Neither had the bike been taxed or PDI'd...! The sales manager was very appologetic - especially after the mixup with the registration number three weeks earlier... so offered to provide the new summer weight bike trousers I was after as compensation. £127's worth of goods and the bike can still be picked up at 14:30 when Amanda gets home from work... Still time for a ride out (OK, a bit shorter, but a ride out just the same)
Amanda was then able to get to work for 11:00, in time to be useful before dinner. I then had a call from Amanda's mom, Mike is seriously ill, and the nurses are advising Amanda to take the week off from work and spend as much time with her dad as she can...
So once she got home, and I told her the news, I walked back to the dealers, rode the whole mile back home, and then Amanda went to her Mom's...
Later on I phoned my mom, who is due to go into hospital tommorrow for knee surgery, to see if everything was OK, and explain that visits may be difficult over the next week due to Mike's condition. At 15:00 today, the hospital still do not know if they have a bed available for her tommorow morning... Who said the NHS has too many office staff! She has to call again in the morning - before 08:00, to know if she still needs the ambulance that has been booked the take her!
On the plus side, by about 16:00 Alex was starting to feel a little better, managed to eat a couple of biscuits - and keep them down, and had a drink of water, so hopefully he will be fit for school again in the morning. Amanda is planning to drop the kids off, and go directly to help her mom.
Sunday, May 22, 2005
Actually we did drop Lucky..
It absolutely threw it down earlier this morning, stopped and the then the sun came out and dried everything back up. It stayed that way till almost the end of the party. The Bar-B-Q went well, and Alex had some lovely presents.
Any one know of a way of stopping your kids having birthdays?
Any one know of a way of stopping your kids having birthdays?
Just Our Luck...
Last weekend the weather was glorious ( I should know, I was out on my Bike with West Mids Police for most of it)
This weekend, we are having a Bar-B-Que for (what seems to be) 500 people in honour of Alex's 7th Birthday, and it has been raining on and off all morning...
This weekend, we are having a Bar-B-Que for (what seems to be) 500 people in honour of Alex's 7th Birthday, and it has been raining on and off all morning...
When in Rome...
never mind what the Romans do... do what Dan Brown did...... Take the "Angels and Demons Tour" and see if you could have come up with the idea for the book of the same name from what you see
Friday, May 20, 2005
It's not much but...
In view of the hostile take over of Manchester United by Malcolm Glazier, I have today canceled my club memberships (Me, Amanda and Amy) and my MUTV subscriptions.
OK, £130 per year is not going to change his mind, but if 10's of thousands of people to the same....
I really enjoy going to matches, but sometimes principles are more important, I will not be going back to Old Trafford untill there is another change of ownership!
OK, £130 per year is not going to change his mind, but if 10's of thousands of people to the same....
I really enjoy going to matches, but sometimes principles are more important, I will not be going back to Old Trafford untill there is another change of ownership!
Saturday, May 14, 2005
New game for the XBox
Forza Motorsport
Not got too much to compare it to, but...
Way more drivable than Colin McCrea on the XBox,
Just as much fun as TOCA Race Driver on the PC
Graphics are excellent, options are plentifull, fun factor is high....
Not got too much to compare it to, but...
Way more drivable than Colin McCrea on the XBox,
Just as much fun as TOCA Race Driver on the PC
Graphics are excellent, options are plentifull, fun factor is high....
Just got back from my first Bikesafe day...
I have really enjoyed it, the instructors are excellent. They have managed to explain all the principles in a simple and humerous way, lunch was good, and the ride out was an experience!
It takes a little bit of time to get used to ignoring a uniform police bike a couple of meters behind you! The one thing I did not expect was my initial feedback is that I was riding too slow! Seems that my speedo is about 5 to 6MPH too high at 50/60... So proceeded to dide at 55 in a 50 limit, 65 in a 60 limit and all was well.
Tommorow is more about cornering and overtaking with a 3 hour ride out on open roads... I am knackered after todays 2 hours, god knows what state I will be in after tommorows ride
It takes a little bit of time to get used to ignoring a uniform police bike a couple of meters behind you! The one thing I did not expect was my initial feedback is that I was riding too slow! Seems that my speedo is about 5 to 6MPH too high at 50/60... So proceeded to dide at 55 in a 50 limit, 65 in a 60 limit and all was well.
Tommorow is more about cornering and overtaking with a 3 hour ride out on open roads... I am knackered after todays 2 hours, god knows what state I will be in after tommorows ride
Friday, May 13, 2005
Going to a concert in August
Today, I have booked tickets to go and see Katherine Jenkins in Concert at Ragley Hall (Alcester) on the 14th of August. All four of us are going... well it's only £5 for children, so I amy as well take Alex - Amy wanted to go anyway.
It will be Alex's first live concert, and a classical mezzo-soprano would probably not be his first choice, so it will be interesting to see how he reacts, but he does like all sorts of music... BTW he would choose BUSTED if he had any say in the matter!!
It will be Alex's first live concert, and a classical mezzo-soprano would probably not be his first choice, so it will be interesting to see how he reacts, but he does like all sorts of music... BTW he would choose BUSTED if he had any say in the matter!!
I am 'BikeSafe'ing this weekend
Over the next two days, I will be spending a lot of time in the company of the West Midlands Police Force on their BikeSafe event.
- Your day will start at 8.30am with drinks and meeting your fellow riders. This is followed by initial registration and document checks.
- You will then meet your classroom instructors who are all police motorcycle instructors. They will take you through advanced riding techniques using powerpoint, 35mm slides, videos and good old dry wipe boards. These classroom sessions have provoked some interesting and humorous discussions in the past so don’t let us down this forthcoming year!
- We also have West Midlands Ambulance Service paramedic motorcyclists who cover your actions to help yourself and other motorcyclists should the worst scenario occur.
- Lunch is between 12.30 and 1.30 (included in the course fee). This gives you an opportunity to review and discuss the classroom sessions with the other course participants prior to the afternoon road sessions.
- After lunch you will meet your road assessors who will all be advanced grade police motorcyclists on marked patrol bikes. They will follow you during your time on the road and offer observations regarding the ride on your return. You will be on the road for approx. 3hrs in total with a ratio of no more than two riders to one police officer.
- The day ends with a debrief and review of the days experiences!
- Day two follows a similar format focusing more on the aspects of open road riding, bend assessment, overtaking etc. The afternoon is again spent on the road with the police motorcyclists.
- The course finishes at 5pm on the Sunday with presentation of certificates and review of the course plus a few nice surprises for some.
- You will at no stage be asked to do anything that you are not happy with and certainly will not be forced to ride quickly (a common misconception about advanced riding).
- You should take away from the course a greater understanding of the risks involved in riding motorcycles on today's roads, and be better equipped to combat them. You will have a lot of fun with other motorcyclists and should get more enjoyment from your machine more safely.
Thursday, May 12, 2005
Now it's Video Blogging...
Check out http://www.rocketboom.com, a Video Blog presented by Amanda Gongdon... It's updated daily with quirky news stories and clips, and on Amanda is rather easy on the eye to boot!
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Finally getting back to the Gym
After a break of approximately 10 weeks, I finally made it back to the gym yesterday lunchtime... I am starting back gently with a short swim, but aim to be back in the gym proper by next week.
I got weighed yesterday, and I am 87.4KG - That's 13st 10lbs in real money!! I really need to start getting some regular exercise again!
I got weighed yesterday, and I am 87.4KG - That's 13st 10lbs in real money!! I really need to start getting some regular exercise again!
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
Now got Instant Messaging working on Linux
Easy Peasy - Started Kopete, selected MSN Messenger format, added my Passport Username and Password - and, well, that's it...
It's really a rather smart application, and I like it a lot.... Anyone know if there is a Windows XP version?
It's really a rather smart application, and I like it a lot.... Anyone know if there is a Windows XP version?
SUSE Linux on the laptop
I have recently installed a copy of SUSE Linux 9.3 Professional on my Acer Travelmate 6600 laptop, dual booting it with XP. Each OS has 20GB of disk space to play with, which seems adequate.
I originally installed 9.2, but then found 9.3 had just been released, so updated. The only area that required any help with the initial configuration was the Wireless Networking... The Centrino chipset was recognised, but did not want to connect. I endede up disabling the fixed LAN ethernet card, and removing all security from the link. Once it connected the first time, it was happy to connect afterwards with the security re-enabled. Upgrading to 9.3 simply preserved all the settings - and it just worked!
The main reason to install Linux is to learn, and at the moment all I can seem to do is use multiple browsers to view the web, it comes with 4 graphical browsers and 1 text only browser as standard.
I originally installed 9.2, but then found 9.3 had just been released, so updated. The only area that required any help with the initial configuration was the Wireless Networking... The Centrino chipset was recognised, but did not want to connect. I endede up disabling the fixed LAN ethernet card, and removing all security from the link. Once it connected the first time, it was happy to connect afterwards with the security re-enabled. Upgrading to 9.3 simply preserved all the settings - and it just worked!
The main reason to install Linux is to learn, and at the moment all I can seem to do is use multiple browsers to view the web, it comes with 4 graphical browsers and 1 text only browser as standard.
Guess who's getting a new bike...
Me!!!
yes, I visited Streetbike today, and took the new 650 Bandit out for an hour... I have now ordered a brand new blue one, for collection on the 23rd May, and even arranged the Insurance cover etc etc.
It was interesting riding the Bandit, after the SV1000. There was noticably lack of power, but in a good way... It was far easier to control in traffic, but still had enough 'Get up and Go' to , well, get up and go!! It seemed much better at pulling gently in the lower rev ranges (4 to 7 thousand) than the old bandit.
Summary, not as good a bike as the SV, but in this case Head says Bandit, Heart says SV1000 - Head wins.
yes, I visited Streetbike today, and took the new 650 Bandit out for an hour... I have now ordered a brand new blue one, for collection on the 23rd May, and even arranged the Insurance cover etc etc.
It was interesting riding the Bandit, after the SV1000. There was noticably lack of power, but in a good way... It was far easier to control in traffic, but still had enough 'Get up and Go' to , well, get up and go!! It seemed much better at pulling gently in the lower rev ranges (4 to 7 thousand) than the old bandit.
Summary, not as good a bike as the SV, but in this case Head says Bandit, Heart says SV1000 - Head wins.
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
DAB Radio
New audio toy added to the household : A "BT Aviator 10M" Digital Radio. It's on the unit next to my PC where I can listen whilst I surf.
The only problem is, I am spending even more time on the PC now!
The only problem is, I am spending even more time on the PC now!
I am getting a real hatred for Internet Explorer!
One of the functions of my job is to maintain in intranet website, this site has grown over the two years it has been operational, and no is over 400 HTML pages and 11GBytes of downloads. Over that time it become completely unmaintainable.
When it was originally written, the company PC's were still using Netscape 4 as the primary browser, with IE5.0 installed for the few departments that needed it. Now, IE 5.5 is the main browser - NN 4 is still installed for backwards compatability - and I have been allocated some time to re-design the website, so a XHTML/CSS solution was in order.
I have created a template page, seleted a colour scheme that is easy on the high but still with high contrast, and completely based on 'em's. My own PC has Firefox and IE6 installed, and the pages displayed fine, the HTML and CSS both passed the W3C validation with flying colours.
I then asked another staff member to have a look at the new layout... None of the buttons appeared where they should. Seems IE6 is better at standards than IE5.5!! Eventaully after several hours of 'mucking about' I managed to get a combination of Margin, Padding, and width that all three browsers would load!! Even then, IE5.5 does not allow you to change the cursor over objects!
The difference in disk space taken is amazing, 18 pages from the new site (no downloads attached yet) came to 36KBytes, the old main menu page was 25KBytes ON IT'S OWN! Best of all, it's all written in Notepad... I do load it into Dreamweaver occasionally to check out some of the more obscure CSS synax, and to ease the 'Cut and Paste' of template code between pages, but there is absolutely NO BLOAT in this design. It's not just snobbery, many of the engineer's accessing this site do so over a 56K modem so every few K matters.
And finally, it's a perfectly usuable site on an 800*600 screen, the old site was OK with 1024*768 but liked bigger!
When it was originally written, the company PC's were still using Netscape 4 as the primary browser, with IE5.0 installed for the few departments that needed it. Now, IE 5.5 is the main browser - NN 4 is still installed for backwards compatability - and I have been allocated some time to re-design the website, so a XHTML/CSS solution was in order.
I have created a template page, seleted a colour scheme that is easy on the high but still with high contrast, and completely based on 'em's. My own PC has Firefox and IE6 installed, and the pages displayed fine, the HTML and CSS both passed the W3C validation with flying colours.
I then asked another staff member to have a look at the new layout... None of the buttons appeared where they should. Seems IE6 is better at standards than IE5.5!! Eventaully after several hours of 'mucking about' I managed to get a combination of Margin, Padding, and width that all three browsers would load!! Even then, IE5.5 does not allow you to change the cursor over objects!
The difference in disk space taken is amazing, 18 pages from the new site (no downloads attached yet) came to 36KBytes, the old main menu page was 25KBytes ON IT'S OWN! Best of all, it's all written in Notepad... I do load it into Dreamweaver occasionally to check out some of the more obscure CSS synax, and to ease the 'Cut and Paste' of template code between pages, but there is absolutely NO BLOAT in this design. It's not just snobbery, many of the engineer's accessing this site do so over a 56K modem so every few K matters.
And finally, it's a perfectly usuable site on an 800*600 screen, the old site was OK with 1024*768 but liked bigger!
Saturday, April 23, 2005
And the bridge is out...
This one is a little delayed, I had a checkup with the dentist on Thursday morning and at the end of that he re-fitted the temporary bridge (approx 09:15).
at 03:15 on Friday morning, I woke myself up... I had been clenching my teeth so tight (in my sleep) that I had sheared the cement holding the bridge in place... so 18 hours this time.
I don't think I'm going to bother getting it put back in... :(
at 03:15 on Friday morning, I woke myself up... I had been clenching my teeth so tight (in my sleep) that I had sheared the cement holding the bridge in place... so 18 hours this time.
I don't think I'm going to bother getting it put back in... :(
Thursday, April 21, 2005
I've got my bike back...
The clutch slave cylinder has been replaced FOC under the warranty, so I am a happy bunny.
It seems the problem was quite well know to the Suzuki techies, as this cylinder is in the left hand side of the engine casing, and the bike leans to the left when on the side stand, it collects any water running off the bike, and the seal is not good enough to keep it out. As a result, water gets into the cylinder and, when left to stand overnight, causes some corrosion. This causes the piston to stick and not release the clutch... However once the engine gets warm, so does the cylinder and the fluid within it, this warm fluid can work it's way past the corroded surfaces, and eventually frees it...
Not sure I completely understand it, but I don't care - no bus for me tommorow, and I will be able to get home 40 minutes earlier......
It seems the problem was quite well know to the Suzuki techies, as this cylinder is in the left hand side of the engine casing, and the bike leans to the left when on the side stand, it collects any water running off the bike, and the seal is not good enough to keep it out. As a result, water gets into the cylinder and, when left to stand overnight, causes some corrosion. This causes the piston to stick and not release the clutch... However once the engine gets warm, so does the cylinder and the fluid within it, this warm fluid can work it's way past the corroded surfaces, and eventually frees it...
Not sure I completely understand it, but I don't care - no bus for me tommorow, and I will be able to get home 40 minutes earlier......
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