Saturday, October 29, 2005

Made me smile...

Video of "I Want It That Way" - Performed by two students

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...

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!!

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...

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...

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.

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!

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!

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!!

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

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.