Dodgy Dealings In Country Pub Car Parks

Back in the office today after a few days of site. Not much news. Pleased to see that all arrangements are in place for the PCS7 course next week up in Manchester. Looking forward to that. Replacement RAM turned up so my PC will be rocking with 2Gig. Need to get PCS7 installed and get into it. Trashing my engineering drive this afternoon.

After raving about Google Earth the other day, I haven't had much chance to play with it since. Servers seem down all the time. I guess lots of other people liked it too.

Lunchtime I met up with the guy who we sold Dads caravan awning to via eBay. Dodgy dealing in country pub car parks. So I've got a handful of folding to give to Dad tonight when they visit.

Taking tomorrow off without pay. Steve suggested it due to me being on waiting time and having just worked a weekend. Suits me fine. A long weekend before being away on the course next week.

Google Earth

Once again the vast scope of Google activities continues to amaze me with the launch of Google Earth. I downloaded it this morning and am simply ASTOUNDED by it. It's free, it's got the whole world on it, you can skip around the globe exploring, I've hardly scratched the surface. Brilliant. You do need quite a whizzy PC with good graphics and a broadband connection to run it, but so what? I got that. 'Ave it.

MediaMan

I think I've blogged before about a media catalog program by Delicious Monster that I thought looked very cool. Can't find the original post, must sort out how to search my own blog someday. Anyway, this cool program was unfortunately Mac only. Well, hurrah once again for Lifehacker as they linked me to MediaMan which on first view looks to be a very similar thing for PC's and it's free. I've just installed it and it's just the job. Top notch!

A Tip Top Tip

This has got to be one of the coolest tips I've ever read! I love to open links in new tabs in Firefox but I hate the way you have to right-click the link and choose new tab from the pop-up. Imagine then my delight in finding this tip whilst browsing through Lifehacker.

I'm loving Lifehacker right now.

Me At Work

Just spotted that Blogger now hosts pictures in the blog. What a splendid idea. So now I don't have to limit my blog pictures to just the ones I post up on Flickr. This is good news. So here's a picture of me at work in the Coventry office some months back taken with my phone. Can't remember who took it. Trapper or Dan I think.

A Weekend Sold Off For Cash

Yet another weekend of site support down in Kent. Drove down Friday night for an early start on Saturday. The shift was uneventful and felt like forever. Got back to my hotel room and promptly fell asleep. Woke up feeling dreadful and hence couldn't be arsed to go for a swim. Back on site this morning and nothing happening that needs my attention. The pipe cooling process continues at its own pace. Can't wait to be driving up home tonight. A weekend sold off for cash. I hope we see the benefit.

Postscript: A desk, an internet connection and hey presto! Lots of blog postings! So at least I feel like I've done something positive in my day.

Darth Beyblader

Playing a Beyblade match tonight with Dylan. My cool blade setup was all black so I adopted a suitable Vader-like voice to intimidate my foe. Alas, Dylan still beat me, 20 to 15. Harriet kept score and made trophies for us both.

Had Seventeen Seconds by The Cure on in the background. One of those albums I can not listen to for years and years and then I know every note, beat and word just as they come out of the speakers.

Normal Service Will Be Resumed

Managed to screw up my blogger template tonight after experimenting with an RSS feed in the code. So I've had to quickly republish with a standard template which I'll get around to changing and customising over the next few days. Should have made a backup of the layout maybe? Well, it's probably a good thing it's gone as it was overdue a change anyway.

Schcoobydoo

Hadn't heard anything from Mike for ages. He hasn't been updating his blog much but this morning I checked it and he had posted yesterday for the first time in ages! Seems that he has been through a bad down phase but thankfully he reports that he is back out the other side. I called him lunchtime and he sounded in good form considering he'd been in hosptial this morning for his long-awaited procedure. Hopefully he can finally get some relief from his pains and get on with his life. Must meet up soon. Lots to talk about.

Throwing Down The Beats

Been doing quite a bit of the music stuff lately. Still scratching the surface of Ableton Live and my new PCR-1 midi controller, but having fun enjoying the learning curve. My current musical doodles end up as electro-loop kind of things but in my head I keep hearing Laika / Mice Parade rhythm-driven pieces. I just need to keep on throwing down the beats until it starts sounding like what I'm hearing in my head.

Where My Head Is At

I realise that lately my posts have been catch-up summary style entries. These fail to get the real 'blogging' essence of expressing thoughts and moments. This is because I'm not getting web access until the arse end of the day and all I can think is to report the days events. I've only really thought about this today so I'll try to post some more 'random' things to make the blog more representative of where my head is at.

The Cure For Fathers Day

The weekend just gone was HOT! It was nice to be back in the weekend routine as it felt like ages since I'd seen the kids swimming. Went over to Marys on Saturday afternoon and the kids had great fun with water pistols. Sunday was Fathers Day and we brought Jim over to ours for lunch.

Today I got my belated Fathers Day gift, the remastered Three Imaginary Boys by The Cure. A great package of the album plus a disc of extras. And the best news is that Jacq has ordered me the next three Cure albums, the classic trilogy of Seventeen Seconds, Faith and Pornography. Awesome albums. I got them all already but these versions are extra-special.

Working over at BPA Kingsbury site today and got some good stuff done. Doing tomorrow and Wednesday on site then maybe into the office on Thursday to get some paperwork done. Got a call from the office asking me to work this weekend down on the Grain site. I really don't fancy the gig but I suppose I have to keep on taking my turn. And of course the money will come in handy.

Ending The Working Week

Today I was working at home, which was great because it was such a lovely day. Jacq was working down at school, helping with some science activities in the playground. I got on with some sales support stuff for a few hours. When Jacq came home we grabbed some pizza then went to Ikea. The kids went to Aksa and Sofias house to play after school. I got a haircut, took some garden garbage to the dump then we got the groceries before collecting the kids. Watched 'Empire Strikes Back' then up to bed. It's amazing how into the Star Wars universe the kids are. A busy sort of day and really enjoyable. Now it's wine, beer, bombay mix and telly (plus a bit of blogging).

Working Week

The lack of posts this week has been mainly down to lack of energy at the end of the working day. The days have been long but the work has been ok. Regular chats with colleagues such as Phil have helped establish quite a positive mindset for me at the moment. Things aren't perfect but I'm looking into the future with expectation.

Grain Again

Down on site at Grain this weekend. The usual mixture of terror (not knowing what to do ) and boredom (having nothing to do). It's a strange situation. Didn't want to do it but don't like refusing and I suppose we do need the cash. I'd rather put some hours in on a job of my own though.

MP3

My current computer task is transferring all of my CD based MP3 archive onto my Lacie external drive ready for some serious organising. There's 60 CD's in the archive and it's taking ages. Hopefully completed tonight, currently copying CD #41 across.

Dog

I'm coming under some intense pressure lately from Harriet for us to get a dog. My instinct is 'no way' I don't want to share my life with an animal. I've been clear on this for years. I've listed the reasons over and over and I'm convinced, but part of me is aware that maybe my logical objections can't overrule the natural event of having a dog in the family. My case wasn't helped much by us going over to my parents tonight and meeting my brothers new puppy who is staying with them. A black labrador puppy undeniably cute. I wonder is my argument crumbling?

Hospital

Back to hospital today to follow up my kidney stone situation from Feburary. The appointment letter did not indicate what was planned for today. I spoke with the consultant then he sent me off for an x-ray. His tone suggested he thought the stone has probably come out but he will write to me once he has seen the x-ray. So no real progress today.

Pembrokeshire Holiday

Broadhaven,
originally uploaded by Tingy.

A great holiday last week in Saundersfoot, Pembrokeshire. The weather was kind and we got lots of beach action in. The kids had a great time. Took the Playstation for lots of Lego Star Wars play at the end of each day. Once the kids were in bed the TV was dire, especially S4C.

A School Day

Today revolved around Bearwood school. The kids went into school and Jacq and I followed into Dylans class. We had agreed to help set out seating for Dylans sports day but before that we got roped into doing some reading with the kids. It was sweet being able to sit in the corner of class and observe as Dylans school day started. Chairs setup, the sports day began and Dylan got a 2nd place in his team relay race. Putting the chairs away was even harder work, thankfully Steve stayed back and helped me and Jacq. Back home I sorted out some work admin then we went out to lunch at Pizza Hut. Mmmm... melted cheese. From there we went to the swimming baths to watch Harriets swimming gala. Wow, the noise! The kids were lifting the roof off the place, shouting and screaming for their friends. Harriet came 2nd in her race. I was very proud. Back home for a quick cuppa with Zaida then back to school to collect the kids. Hurrah, school is over, it's holiday time!

Rest Day

A fifteen hour day yesterday down at the new T5 terminal at Heathrow airport. What an amazing sight it is seeing this huge building coming together. It's still a long way off complete, but so impressive with the innards exposed. I've never been so impressed by the sheer nuts and bolts of a building construction.

The meeting that I had agreed to attend at Cov today was cancelled so the planned 'rest day' could be considered precisely that. Harriet was off school with an upset stomach. We popped over to Jims to collect Jacqs mobile that she had left there yesterday. Called into WHSmith to pick up some comics for the kids and a book for Jacq for the forthcoming holiday. I'm sorted with the latest copy of The Wire still unopened on the shelf. Got down some bits and pieces from the loft ready for the packing and sorting which will probably commence this evening. The big question is of course, should I take the laptop? Probably not. It would be a good idea to have a break and maybe concentrate on just listening to some stuff and maybe make a few notes.

Acrobat

Monday on site I at least had something to do. With testing and handing-over to Trapper, I actually had quite a busy day. Came back home in the evening in time for an hour with the kids.

This morning I went into town for an Adobe Acrobat training session. Met up with Phil and Dave in there. Glad I went, learnt quite a bit, hope the use of PDF technology could be engineered into our processes. Need an early night tonight as I have to be down at the BPA Heathrow T5 site by 8:00AM.

On Site On Sunday

Still here. System still standing. Sun is shining. Wind is blowing. Not much to do. I've a few mods which I'll implement later.

On Site On Saturday

Had an earlier night last night than the night before but it seems I missed out on some good gossip from Dave A. Oh well, a pleasant evening all the same with my swim length totals reaching new heights and a chat with Neil in the bar. He's one of the good 'uns.

Hopes are high that the server problems on site are gone. Time will tell. Dave, Adrian and Deiter are leaving site with Gordon staying back to babysit. No site tasks for me so far today. Hoping to do a few mods tomorrow in readiness for some testing on Monday. For some reason it seems that webmail is not being blocked on the site network. Bonus. Nice to have Gmail running again.

Site Stuff

Came down to the Grain site yesterday. Problems with servers. Lots of Siemens bodies on site. Today a German specialist has arrived. Let's hope he can sort things out and then everyone can calm down. I've had a few bits to keep me busy. Good chat in the bar last night. Gordon from the Manchester office is a sound guy. A very useful person to know.
Prior to Grain, I was up at the Mersey BPA site which was a busy day but I'm happy to report that I managed to make time to grab myself another pair of Vans. 75 notes down to 30, top bargain.

Coffee Morning

0517_101753.jpg,
originally uploaded by Dylzuzu.

Dropped the kids off at school then myself and t'wife headed up town for a stroll. Picked up some couscous and olives from the Selfridges deli for my lunch. A tall Americano and carrot cake in Starbucks whilst looking out over the bullring (see photo).

Happy Birthday Dylan!

Dylan is 6 today, Happy Birthday Son! He got us up before 6 this morning to open his presents. He's been looking forward to his electric guitar for ages. We've kept a few prezzies back for a mini-party tonight for just the four of us. It's been party season lately. The weekend just gone had a school friends party at the Wacky Warehoue on Saturday, then a cousins party at our house on Sunday. We then went to Warley Woods to enjoy the sunshine, although I didn't get to play with the kids much as I was helping Jim walk there and back. Hopefully Steve K uploads his photos to Flickr so I can blog them.

Went into work yesterday to do some paperwork then over to site in the afternoon. Good to catch up on the work gossip. Looks like a project has landed that I can take on. Need to convince my boss that it's just a one-man-job so I can have the freedom to work on it at home. Hmmm... the summer working from home, sounds like a good plan.

Sunshine At The Edge Of The World

A sunny day today on site and busy with various testing activities which makes the day go fast. So nothing to complain about I guess. The landscape around here has that 'edge of the world' feel about it. I like it. Must try to remember my camera for the next shift down here as I've seen a few opportunities for some industrial vs wildlife shots.

Having internet access down here on site sure does help to feel connected to my normal life via emails, blogs and news sites. I'm not suffering from those 'isolated/offline blues'. In fact I feel quite serene. Which is nice.

A Good Thing Or A Bad Thing?

My new site colleague is not very happy being down here on site which is perversely making me more chipper. Site goes at it's own pace and I just do bits that I can when I can. Phoning back into the office it seems that there's still no real co-ordination within the project. A juicy rumour I've heard could spell a sideways move for my manager which could be a good thing. But I guess, depending on who we get, it could also be a bad thing.

Making Room For A Microwave

So Saturday was a weekend in one day. The morning swimming lessons were fun. Dylan and Mitchell were split up by Keith to stop them playing about during the lesson. Cue much banter between the two families about the 'bad influence' of the others son! In the afternoon Harriet and I played a bit of frisbee in Warley Woods. The wind made it a quiet a challenge. Dylan basically just threw himself around on the grass for fun. Watched 'The Terminal', which was nice.

Sunday was a work day. Down on site by lunchtime. The handover didn't ammount to much. Things still seem quite quiet. By myself in the hotel and a book during the evening meal. Reading Stuart Maconies Cider WIth Roadies which is very entertaining. Suprised to see that he still lives just around the corner from me in Quinton.

Today I'm trying to get a handle of the progress of the job on site. Throwing out duplicate snag lists, updating change logs, generally being a bit pro-active. If nothing else it's helping to make the day go faster and the job seem less daunting. Phoned Jacq at lunchtime to learn that our fish died this morning. Poor old fishy. Oh well, as Jacq said, at least we've got room for a microwave now!

Friday Is My Saturday

My two days off are Friday and Saturday so I've declared today my Saturday. Does that make any sense? No matter. Home from site last night in time to hang with the kids, put 'em to bed then pop out to vote. Later I opened my post, an Edirol PCR-1 midi controller. Been wanting one of these for ages. Sold a bunch of CD's to justify it and now here it is. Fiddled a bit getting the drivers set up then I was away playing with the Operator synth within Ableton Live. Sweet Lordy! It was LOTS of fun. Stayed up too late. When I finally took the headphones off, one of my ears actually ached!

This morning we dropped the kids off at school then I went to get my hair cut. A quick 'number one' later and I met up with Jacq having a cuppa round the corner with Jane and Anna. We all went back into school for Year 4 assembly. Harriet did a powerpoint slide about her beloved Neopets. Had to endure more of Mr Pies poorly played Beatles songs!

Jacq and I then spent a pleasant few hours in Merry Hill browsing the shops. Picked up Simon Reynolds new book Rip It Up And Start Again for a tenner. Spotted the remastered CD's of 'Seventeen Seconds', 'Faith' and 'Pornography'. The classic trilogy of Cure albums. Boy I wanted them all so bad, but at 17 quid a pop it's a bit much really. I guess I need to sell some more CD's.

Dreaming Of Snags

Sitting in the site office. No tasks from the loop checking. Nothing really to do. Timesheets updated. Expenses done. I've started work on a proposal document for the Snags database I 've been wanting for so long. I'm not sure when I would get the chance to knock one up on the Coventry IIS so I might as well get my thoughts down on paper so that I can gather a few opnions. With a document ready, I could put it under a managers nose if the opportunity ever arose.

Grain Again

Back down to the Grain site this morning. Still getting used to being driven by events here on site. I'd prefer to be driving things a bit more myself but I just don't have the info to enable me to do that.

Bank Holiday Weekend

Got home Friday night just in time to catch the tail end of Derren Browns show. Still don't know how he can possibly do some of that stuff. Glass of wine and watched the 3rd disk from the 'Spaced' box-set Mike lent me. Top stuff. Obviously way too late to get to the Apple Store opening tonight in Brums Bullring. Hope to get to it soon.

Saturday morning at the swimming baths as usual. Getting out of the car, Dylan pointed out that he was still wearing his pyjama top! We laughed too much and I had to take him home to change before his lesson. Dave signing up with Force9 got a true bargain as they are not charging for sign-up right now. In the afternoon took Dylan to Arrons bowling party. Evening viewing was 'When Harry Met Sally' a good old rom-com.

Sunday morning at the cinema. Met up with the Tomkins crew. Steve, Jacq and I saw 'Hitchikers Guide' and Mary took the kids into 'Valiant'. Movie was good. Episode III trailer looked great. Afternoon visit from my parents with stories and photos from their recent holiday in London doing the sights. Had a nice stroll and play in Warley Woods. Hope we get more use of this green open space in the coming summer.

Isle Of Grain

So here I am on site. Got a quiet moment and a network connection, so let's blog! Yesterday was a total stress-out for me. A thumping headache from start of day to end.
Got my induction done having travelled down the night before. The safety guy was a complete racist and spent his lecture telling us to shop the foreigners if we see them breaking site rules. Jerk.
Trying to get into the system felt daunting. Adrian had new code to install and was under pressure. Doing mods on your last day on site is a no-no as we all know. But he had to. And guess what? It went badly and he was on site till 7PM getting the system up and stable. Hence I don't fancy doing anything at system level, I just don't know my way around it well enough. Everyone tells me I'm there to support loop-testing but you just can't predict events. We shall see.
Yesterday I was depressed as hell. Today I'm much happier. A swim and a good breakfast set me up right. Haven't actually DONE anything but have been involved in the general flow of the day. Lots of talk about various tasks but all fade into nothing. There always seems to be a reason why something can't be done. I just hope this doesn't build into an explosion of tasks all at once in the future.
Glad to be going home tonight having had a brief taste of site. Baby steps. At least I know what to expect when I return next week.

Sitework Beckons

Well, it's been on the cards for a while and today I have been finally asked to join the Grain project team to help out with some sitework. Jacq not happy about the short notice for this weekend so I've declined that. Although I'm not thrilled about doing site, I'm most definitely NOT stressing about it. Site happens. It's about time I copped for some. So bring on the overtime! 'Ave it!

Another Nice Weekend

Another nice weekend just gone. Sunday was full of fun especially. Swimming in the waves at Crystal in Stourbridge, then Robots at the AMC cinema followed by a miniature railway ride in a park.

More Changes?

It was announced yesterday that our General Manager is being replaced. Not that suprising. The last of the Dickinson management is gone. Hopefully the changes that are bound to follow will improve my feelings about work. I need to fix my head. Warnings about my blood pressure are focussing me a bit more on my stress levels. I need the skills to chill. I need to be able to accept the bits of work that wind me up and not get stressed by them. Easier said than done I guess, but I have to try. I need to change.

Google Maps

Google maps is very cool. Check out Bearwood. Just wish they had the great satellite images for the UK that they do for the US. Scrolling around the US is a blast. The Google Sightseeing site is great fun.

Coffee & Croissants

Is there any better smell on a sunny Sunday morning than coffee and croissants? I don't think so. Off now for a visit to Bourton On The Water. Don't ya just love a sunny day?

Good To Be In The Weekend

Work was tiresome this week. Morale very low. Drifting. Giving me headaches. So glad that the weekend is here. Harriet had me up 6:30 this morning to go fetch a parcel from the sorting office for her. A 'Harris' Neopet that Jacq got her off eBay, she was thrilled with it. Kids back into swimming lessons again today then after we booked Dylans party at the Wacky Warehouse. Rest of day filled with the usual chores and just hanging out at home. Tonight me and Jacq watched Dodgeball which was a good laugh. Balls wacking into the nutsack is always good fun!

The High Line

This site has some beautiful images of a side of Manhattan that I didn't know existed. The disused High Line track is a wonderful place that I do hope can be reclaimed as a public promenade. I know that I would dearly love to take that stroll.

Delicious Monster

Check out Delicious Monster. Cool website. Cool application. And best of all, I love that fact the companys workplace is their local coffee house where they get free wifi. Sweet.

Catching Up

It's been a week since my last post and there's quiet a bit to catch up on. The kids second week off school for Easter. They had loads of fun over at the sleepover then Dylan had a full day of play over with his friends David and Aaron. Wednesday was another product brief day and once again it was very interesting. It really does show up what a clueless operation we run at Coventry. Dentist visit gave an all clear to the kids and I'll be having a crown on my busted tooth. Thursday and Friday down at Weston again. A little trip for the end of the holidays. Nice times at Wookey Hole and Weston but the wind too cold for much beach action. Dylan lost his first tooth. Freaked him out a bit. Back home for the weekend and ready now for the new week.

Kids On A Sleepover

Just dropped the kids over at Marys for a sleepover with their cousins. We're back home and cooking dinner, listening to music, all very civilised but feels weird. Just seems WRONG not having them around the place.

Lovely Days

On Top Of The Hills,
originally uploaded by Tingy.

After a week based mostly in the office, yesterday I was on a sales visit over in Erdington just around the corner from Cincinnati. Home nice and early so later in the afternoon we went for a walk up the Clent Hills. The weather was lovely and it felt great to be out in the fresh air. Took some nice photos although some of the best ones were taken by jacq and she's nabbed them for her photostream.

Picked up a top bargain at HMV in Merry Hill, Volumes 1 to 4 of UFO for 20 quid. Result.

No swimming this morning due to Easter break. Me and Dyl got our hair cut. Spent most of the day in the garden. Cut the grass for the first time. Sorted out the shed. Very satisfying work in the spring sunshine.

Kids are exited about tomorrow cos they're going over to Becky, Jodie, Katys for a sleepover.

Ourmedia

Got my place setup over at ourmedia.org in anticipation of good things. It's early days at the moment with the place still in alpha so it's a bit creaky but I hope it settles down to be my one repository for online stuff. The fact that it's online FOREVER is quite a cool concept. Let's see what uses I can put it to. Check my page here.

Happy Easter!

Max out on the brown stuff people! Check Wooster Collective.

Weston Super Mare

You Looking At Me?,
originally uploaded by Tingy.

Had a nice pre-Easter break down in Weston Super Mare. Met up with my parents who where down there in their caravan. Weather was kind and we had a nice day in Cheddar. Did the Cheddar Gorge caves and wandered around the village shops on Thursday. Spent a bit of time on the beach on Friday morning before travelling back up home in time for the Easter weekend choccy frenzy.

Skatepark WSM

Skatepark - Weston,
originally uploaded by Tingy.

Discovered this cute little skatepark right next to our hotel down in Weston Super Mare. Nice little halfpipe with gentle curve. I'd fancy my chances on it if I had a skateboard with me. Although NOT during this trip cos I had a bit of a bad back. Pussy.

iSeminar

Toady I experienced my first iSeminar at work. The presentation itself was ok but the concept is fantastic. I know this sort of thing is nowhere near the cutting edge but for the little part of SIEMENS that I work for it's a revolution.

Good to be focussing some of my work activities towards the SIMATIC world. It's been a long time since I've had much to do with it. I'll be glad to see the back of Rockwell stuff. It's ok kit but it's of no long term use to me.

Without Wires

At last I am again wireless! Picked up a modem/router/access point from Micom yesterday whilst travelling from office to site. Quite a bargain and bundled with a USB adaptor also so now the main PC is wireless too. Set everything up this morning on my first working at home day for some time. Beautiful day today. Lovely sunshine. Great to be at home. Didn't get huge ammounts of stuff done. Found it hard to concentrate.

Jacq said recently it's about time we had a day out somewhere. So last night we booked a couple of nights in a Travel Inn down in Weston. My parents are there in their caravan so we can hook up with them Thursday/Friday. Should be fun. Especially if the weather is like today.

One Hundred Photos

Dylan & Harriet

Got around to posting up a few photos taken at the weekend during an afternoon walk around Warley Woods. Noticed after the upload that I've finally passed the 100 photos point on Flickr. Took me long enough!

Githead

Githead

Saw Githead last night down on the South Bank. Got there really early after a site visit in Hemel in the afternoon. Killed time by walking to Tate Modern. Forgot my camera. Annoying, but I got over it.

Saw the first band but left after the first number. They were shit. Never trust a band that co-ordinate their clothes. When I returned to my seat for Githead the guy next to me said I'd made a good decision to leave. Turned out the guy (Gary) was on the IC list.

Caught up with the IC Massive, Paul, Mark, Alistair, Keith and a few others. Had a couple of beers and some good chat. Good to see them.
Githead pretty much rocked out convincingly. Scanner played his part. Malka nailed the bass. Colin seemed to be enjoying himself. Even joking when a string break caused him and Scanner to swop guitars. Didn't stay for much of the headliner set. Walking across the bridge back to the tube, Big Ben struck ten. Nice sound. Enjoyed being in London tonight. Finally got back home at 1:00AM. Knackered.

A Lazy Day Planned

A nice lazy day is planned for today. It's almost midday and I'm still in pyjamas. Took some nice photos yesterday afternoon in Warley Woods so I'll sort them and post up on Flickr later. Dylan had a party yesterday morning. Chatting with Sangeevs dad it turns out he is a lecturer in electronics at UCE. Sounds like he teaches the course I took way back in the day. Much before his time. He was asking me about SCADA and PLC, makes a nice change for someone to know a bit about the area of software I work in.

Rant! Academy

Thanks to Phil for inspiring this post. Poor sod only stopped by my desk to exchange a conversational pleasantry but I started off on a rant about the state of current 'popular' TV formats. Sorry. But. It seems at the moment that all TV programs, regardless of content, are blindly adopting the format of reality, vote-based shows. Doesn't matter what the program is about as long as there is an element of public or 'expert' judgement involved. What the fuck is that all about? Why can't programs just BE about stuff? Why are the program makers happy to be such unimaginative sheep! Rubbish, just rubbish. The lot of it. TV is by far the most unimaginative communications medium. Shite.

Gizmodo

Gizmodo is a blog I check on a regular basis for gadgets news delivered with some humour. Chuffed to see this announcement about Siemens sponsoring the Gizmodo attendance at an upcoming German exhibition. Spot on decision by my colleagues.

Everday Matters Today

Found a wonderful, inspiring story in the Everday Matters blog today. I feel like I want to read it through again a couple more times. I'm sure I can something in it for me. I notice that yet again the 'move to New York' motiff reappears.

Bowling

Family get together at bowling this morning. Good fun as before. A few of the kids didn't last the distance. Bowling couldn't compete with running and skidding along a length of carpet!

Mexican food after which was ok but because there were so many of us, the food took ages. More fun back at Marys recreating an old photo which Steve uploaded here and here. Nice new camera he's got. Managed to get Steve K to upload today also. Result.

The kids had a great day playing with their cousins. Back home, Dyl and I had a top session of Soul Calibur before bed. The little trickster still keeps beating me, I'll have to get some practise in.

Steam Powered Fun

Jacq bought it for me for my birthday last month but I only got around to installing it last night. But my God, what and awesome piece of work HalfLife2 is! It was quite late by the time I got it installed, updated, verified and running. Jacq went up while I waited for the startup. A couple of hours later I had to force myself up to bed too cos of work in the morning. It is such an amazing, immersive experience. The design is so clever as it masks the scripted moments and they feel so real. The art design is stunning. The mix of european, industrial, future tech is delicious. Can't wait to get back in there.

Another Week Almost Passing

Harriet not well, throwing up lots last night. Poor thing is drained. Must be some bug/germ thing she's picked up. Hopefully not from Jims flat the other night. We didn't get much sleep last night and I should be doing some work stuff to catch up my hours but the energy isn't really there.

A few more in the office today which was better than yesterday. Although a point of interest yesterday was the introduction of Quake 3 to the office LAN. Me and Mark played a quick deathmatch. Passed a copy of the CD over to Dave today and he sounds up for it. Would be great to get the luchtime deathmatch going again. But of course not at the expense of regular walks as they are valuable too.

So the week ends tomorrow with a day on site which will be made more pleasant by the fact that Geoff is coming over also to finalise the HCI release. Then it's the weekend and another week done. My, they go by so quick. I wish I could slow them down and focus real hard on individual details more. Especially the kids. There isn't a day goes by I don't cherish them but I'm paranoid that I don't get the most out of every moment. I know it's a stupid unreachable goal but the thought nags away all the same.

Snowy Bandstand

Snowy Bandstand,
originally uploaded by Dylzuzu.

It tried to snow this morning but once again the battle was lost. When I got into the office it was coming down heavy and looked lovely through the window. On the way back from school Jacq took this lovely picture in the park. I think it really captures something. The empty bandstand symbolic of the muted sound produced in a snowfall.

It's luchtime now and there's no trace left in Coventry. Shame.

Move To New York

Over on the Everyday Matters blog is a list for boosting creativity. Point 4 caught my eye, "Move to New York". Is someone trying to tell me something? Or can this point be taken as a philosophical concept? Maybe I could move into a mental space that emulates NYC and gives me the inspiration and feedback that being in such an exciting environment would provide. But the question remains, will I be able to get fresh bagels at two in the morning there?

Haunted Weather

Fergus mailed today that he's in Cork having a meeting with David Toop about an exhibition he's planning for later in the year. By coincidence I'm currently reading Toops Haunted Weather at the moment. Some people have interesting jobs...

NYC Envy

I'm suffering from a condition known as NYC Envy. Paul texted me to let me know he was standing in the queue for the Empire State Building. Lucky bugger.

Has Bruce Left Then?

The runour about Bruce leaving WIRE hit the list a few days ago and it's still running. Shame that WIRE can't put out any clear communication about this. Don't know why most artists seem unwilling to communicate directly. Maybe they need to preserve a distance.

So It Never Did Snow

Enjoying the weekend. No snow left at all from the past week. Every day we hoped we'd get a decent snowfall but it never happened. One morning in the playground the kids were scraping together the dusting of snowfalkes in a desparate attempt at a snowball fight. Such a shame we never got a chance to have a real play in some deep snow. It never seems to snow here anymore.

No More R.E.M. Ranting

A knight who says Ni.

I've said my piece and I'll say no more. But I wish I had taken the camera like Steve did. He got some nice shots even though he was miles away. Good work.

R.E.M.

Tonight we went to see REM at the NEC. Top band but shit venue. I really hate stadium gigs. They are really pointless souless affairs. The band are an inch high and the sound is lame. It was the quietest gig I've ever been to. And what the fuck is the clap-a-long all about? A bunch of fools displaying a rudimentary graps of a songs rhythm and tempo? I want to hear the music, not the claps of middle-aged cretins. And yes, I know I'm middle-aged but I'm a different sort to this lot let me assure you.

A real gig involves shoving, sweating, spilt beer and music so loud that you can't hear properly the whole bus journey home. Give me one of those any day.

Happy Little Skater Boy

Well it's Wednesday and I still don't have my car back yet. Hopefully this morning, I'm waiting for the call back to say it's ready to collect. I should have chased them earlier yesterday but I was up on site. While up there I grabbed myself my first ever pair of Vans trainers! Only had to wait thirty years! The little skater boy inside of me was a very happy chappy.

Trying to snow a bit again today but still not having much impact. No where near deep enough to both walking round to the woods.

My work laptop looks like it's gone tits up this morning so I'm not being very productive while waiting for my car to be ready. Hopefully the I.T. man will fix it this Friday. Though knowing my luck it'll snow hard and he won't bother coming up from Winchester. Need to get into the Coventry office and collect my old laptop.

Car Service Day

Today was my annual car service day which always fills me with dread. Somehow I've got the whole power relationship wrong with garages. When they phone me up to advise me of things that need doing I almost feel like I'm in trouble. I need to remember that I'm the customer here! So the car needs some work doing on the brakes but by the time I spoke to them it was too late to complete the work today. Good job I've got a hire car for site at the moment.

Popped into the office this afternoon. First time for ages. Got stuck in a meeting with my boss and a salesman. A cruel reminder of how deep the talent pool runs at that place. Trapper updated on the latest gossip. Seems like SP is still a possible for the Winchester job. Maybe change is coming?

Totally Pooped

A busy weekend involving all the usual stuff and more besides.

Paul over first thing Saturday to dump his camcorder footage onto DVD clearing his tapes for his trip to NYC next week. Dylan asked him to come and watch him swim which he did. Watched the Bourne Supremacy tonight. Top stuff.

Sunday morning took the kids to see Spongebob at the cinema. Met up with Steve his kids there. It wasn't as funny as the TV version. I fell asleep for a while which made it mercifully short. Went to the Bullring in the afternoon to pick up a present for Maleeq. Over to Star City for the bowling party. What a noisy place. Dylan was unsure at first but settled into having a great time with his mates. He was pipped for first place by one point right on the last turn. Harriet was pretty stressed out by the place. I ended up chatting with Steve and Ruth same as last Saturday. When the party was finally over we visited Jim and dropped in some groceries for him. Back home about 8:30PM totally pooped.

A Week Offline Is A BAD Thing

Back from a week on site and so glad to be back online. No real tales to tell about my week. Long days but finally my project comes to a sort of close. Some mopping up left to do but all the sites are now up and running.

Phil down on site this weekend coverng for the Grain team. Hope it's no too tedious down there mate!

Watched Anchorman tonight. Bit of a dissapointment. Very patchy for laughs. Not really worth a copy, and that's saying something.

Chloes Party

Got up early. Couldn't stay in bed any longer. Decided to go for a walk. Boots on and striding out with purpose. Did a big circuit around Bearwood for about 35 minutes. Felt good. Gave swimming a miss this morning. Harriet stayed with Aksa while we took Dylan and Sofia to Chloes party. Dylan had a great time. Good chat with Steve and Ruth while there. Rest of day spent just lazing about. Downloaded some good tunes. Enjoying 'The Lost You' by Hood who are playing the Flapper this week but I won't be able to catch them cos of working on site. Put off the groceries until tomorrow. Feel OK in myself.

Nathan Barley

Mike came over this morning. Great to see him and ramble on about all sorts. Reviewed some of my latest loops. Some of them are definite keepers. Got him to agree to restarting the 'whatever' stuff under a different guise. Plan is to use the blog structure and concentrate on content. My first task is to plough the box of stuff we've collected and get them scanned in.

Lots of work comms again today. Seems that there is no alternative to me going up to the Mersey site on Monday. Thankfully Geoff while be there as backup if I flake out. More gossip circulating about the new engineering structure. Interesting times ahead.

At last some decent comedy on the telly tonight with the start of 'Nathan Barley', the new series by Chris Morris and Charlie Brooker. Okay, the target were soft, Hoxton media types, but it was damn funny shit all the same. Check out www.trashbat.co.ck

Nintendo DS VIP Pack

Fresh in the post today, the Nintendo DS VIP Pack. The latest addition of Nintendo goodness to our household. It's a lovely bit of kit. It came this morning while I was kipping in bed. Jacq bounced into the room to show me Mario 64 in all his touch-screen glory.

Not feeling too bad this morning I guess. Although it has varied throughout the day. Going to the toilet feels like I'm pissing needles! I've been assured it will ease after 24 hours so I just have to grin and bear it.

Jacq went out to help with a school visit to church this afternoon and I spent the entire time on the phone. Spoke with Mike and arranged a 'coffee-morning' session this Friday. Should be just like old art-school times. Dad called and we compared painful pissing stories. Spoke with Geoff on site to try and help with problems. Have suggested to Stuart that I work next week from Kingsbury just in case I need to flake out back home. Trapper phoned with the latest gossip. Seems that the new my systems manager post in Winchester is not in the bag. Maybe things won't be changing in Coventry after all. Apparently the new Team Leader roles are salary based, rather them than me.

Back Home From Hospital

So glad to be back home tonight. All done and feeling pretty good really. Yesterday was an anti-climax as it was only planned to admit me to the ward on Monday with the procedures booked in for today. It took until 4PM to get confirmation of a bed by phone then I had to haggle for the latest time that I could 'check-in'.

Took the bus down to City Hospital to save Jacq and the kids disrupting their eveing routine. After all I was just going there to sit in an uncomfortable chair and bed then attempt to sleep. Had trouble sleeping on the awful bed and with the sounds of the ward.

This morning dragged until I was called for theatre at 1:00PM. The procedures went to plan except that no stone was found! There's a chance that it's got washed up into the kidney so I'll be having follow up in four months. If it's still in there they can sonically smash it. Felt a bit yuck afterwards but perked at the thought of getting outta there this evening. The first was REALLY painful and still is for 24 hours. Ouch!

Jacq and the kids turned up for a visit at 6:00PM and I was chuffed to tell them I was coming home. The kids had drawn up some lovely get well cards which made me blub. Got my stuff together and home for a relaxing evening. Post from Phil (thanks mate) provided the evenings viewing of Collateral which was excellent.

Feeling OK at the moment and hoping for a restful nights sleep. Great to be home.

Blog Summary

It's been a while since my last blog so I'll attempt some sort of update:

Wednesday, February 02, 2005 - On the way into the office Jacq called me. She was feeling rough so I returned home to take the kids into school. This meant of course that my time in the office was reduced so I had to knuckle down to get all the tasks done to prepare for the Mersey site commissioning. I'm hoping that Geoff doesn't get dumped with the job. I hope I'm fit enough to do the business.

Phil gave me a birthday card which I found really touching. He really is a top mate.

Thursday, February 03, 2005 - Dropped kids off with Jayne then down to City Hospital for pre-admission checks. An x-ray confirmed that the stone was still in there. Had all my bloodworks done and confirmed Mondays procedure is still on.

Friday, February 04, 2005 - My 41st birthday. Went to Harriets assembly. She had some words to say which she delivered beautifully. Jacq and I went up to the Clent Hills for a walk. Same as we did last year. Very enjoyable just walking and talking in the fresh air.

Post from Amazon, Everyday Matters which I discovered via the blog of a Flickr contact rbanks. The book is lovely and inspiring. Makes me want to try to do a drawing. Something I haven't done for years. Recently I got my art folder down out of the attic and was looking at some pencil drawings I'd done of my own hand drawing. I wondered if I could still do such a drawing.

Saturday, February 05, 2005 - The usual swimming lessons and groceries plus Paul and Lyn came over tonight and subjected us to their holiday snaps from Australia. So much easier to check out photos when all jpeg'd onto a cd through the telly. Looks like they had a good time although the place has no appeal for me whatsoever. The lucky buggers are shooting off to New York in a couple of weeks time. Now THAT appeals to me bigtime.

Product Update Briefings

Good day in the office with a series of update presentations from various bits of the business. Good explanation given of how my company fit within the organisation. Pity that we didn't get something similar a couple of years ago! Feel quite positive coming out of the meetings. Wonder how long it will last?

When I got home Jacq and kids were having a 'cinema party' on the sofa watching a DVD. I set about making a chicken curry for Jacq with a quorn version for myself. Not bad for a first effort.

Mersey Monday

Monday on site. Had to go into the office first to pick up a cable then back up to the Mersey site. Long day but generally successful. In the evening I picked up a bummer email from Fergus confirming the rumour about Bruce. Depressing news.

The Snowman

Lovely day on Sunday started with a visit to the Birmingham Rep theatre to see a production of The Snowman. It was great watching the kids experience live theatre. At the end, fake snow was dropped onto the audience which was top fun. Went to the museum tea room for lunch. Lovely surroundings. Overhead someone humming the 'Walking In The Air' tune. Walked further into town and checked out some shops. Jacq bought a hat and bag from Accessorize. In the Bullring we picked up some new books for the kids. Harriet chose some Jacqueline Wilson novels and me and Dyl picked up Captain Underpants.

Back Online Again

My ADSL modem decided to go titsup on Thursday which was a major drag. Quite shocking how much I miss being online. Still, I've got the situation in hand now. Picked up a 'stand-by' modem and we're back online today.

Went to see Gang Of Four on Thursday night. Top gig. They were fantastic. Good to see Paul and Mark of the IC list. Also bumped into Graeme there who claimed that Bruce has retired. I hope that it's not true.

Worked from home Thurs/Fri. Documents coming along fine. Got mail from my boss about overhead booking so I sent him back an explanation of my situation over the last few months. I wonder if I'll get some sort of response.

Another Site Day Plus Add-Ons

Well it gets me out of the office and gets my hours in. Not much reason to be in the office anyway. A very dull place when the good 'uns aren't in. Home working the rest of the week to try and bash out some more documents. Got a call from Trapper confirming that SteveP is after the Winchester position but it's about two months away so no point getting too excited just yet. As discussed with Phil, Trapper might end up being a good boss. At least we can shout at the guy and it's got to be better than another 'outsider' being foisted upon us.

Hopefully got my DVD burning sorted. Fixed at 4 speed, I made a good copy of Shaun Of The Dead which we enjoyed watching last night. Might take the speed up a notch later but at least I can do reliable copies now.

Wires new DVD The Scottish Play released at PostEverything today. Got my order in.

Looking forward to seeing Gang Of Four tomorrow night. Hopefully get a few shots for up on Flickr. Cool story on FlickrBlog tonight about a girl being photographed taking a photograph in Japan. Both images are up on Flickr now. What a great place it is!

On The Sick

Couldn't face it this morning. Stayed home and booked the day off sick. Caught up on some work documents and spent a lot of time on the phone to work. Suppose I might as well have been in work. Oh well.
Dylan's playing at Davids tonight. Harriet has come home with the cold symptoms also. Put her straight into bed. So I guess it's her turn this week.

Why Doesn't It Snow Anymore?

Feeling OK. Rallied yesterday after being called to site by client. Could have done without it but at least it got me motivated. Symptoms cleared enough to permit the usual Friday night bottle of wine to be opened.

Swimming lessons this morning followed by a walk around the block with the kids on their new scooters. It's started snowing this afternoon. I wish it would settle and we could have a winter wonderland for a few days. I know it won't. It's turning to drizzle already. Bummer. Why doesn't it snow anymore?

The Worlds Biggest Headache

This morning I've woken with the Worlds Biggest Headache. I can barely open my eyes. Tottered downstairs to medicate myself and I await some kind of relief. Please. I need it to get a bit better than this if I am to work today. Otherwise it's a day on the sick.

Yesterday in the post I got the latest issue of The Wire and a package of CD's from 4AD. I haven't even opened them yet. THAT'S how ill I am!

Location Update

So here I am at work. I WAS planning on working at home but when I phoned in, Geoff said he could do with a meeting. So here I am. Feeling rotten due to approaching cold and a 1.5 hours plus drive to the office. At least the Beard is not in and DaveH is. Hoping for an informative Team Brief later.

Adrift Midweek

Losing my bearings this week. Keep forgetting what day it is. Starting to feel cold symptoms from Dylan so I'm going to work from home tomorrow and Friday to save the tedious travelling. Cleared site today. No snags. One more site to go. Probably going to miss tomorrows Team Brief but sounds like there's no-one in anyway so it might be cancelled.

Gang Of Four related coincidences this evening. Got mail from Fergus asking if I was going to the Brum gig next week to which I replied yes, probably. Then Paul from IC mails out a ticket offer. Spooky. I guess I HAVE to go now.

Home Cinema

Fun evening 'cinema session' with me, Jacq and the kids all sharing the sofa with drinks and snacks, the lights off and Thunderbirds in the DVD. Pants movie to be honest. But a fun experience all the same.

Long Day Ends In Balti

The working day was tiring but at least it went by fast. Phoned Jacq on the way home about 9 o'clock. She then phoned the Raja with our order and I swooped by 15 mins later to pickup the baltis and home for feast. Kids staying up late to greet me. A top treat.

Thoughts In The Remix

Tired from a long site day and another tomorrow so just a quick few thoughts. It's good being out of the office and occupying my time, even if it is tiring. I'm enjoying quite a few of these new bands I'm hearing at the moment, especially TV On The Radio and Bloc Party. I even bought the NME today! Decided to shift focus of my recent musical dabblings back to rhythm. Beats are my thing, always have been, drummer in a punk band and all that. I've been neglecting the beat recently. Ideas above my station. Need to get back to my roots. Looking forward to a bit of free time to get creative. Also looking forward to a little drinkie tomorrow night. A nice glass of wine with the wife and a chillout infront of the box.

Have a good 'un y'all.

Thoughts In The Mix

Lots of things going on my brain in the last few days. Kewl stuff and depressing stuff all mixed up together. Buzzed yesterday by the new Mac mini. I want one of those suckers. Work was good too, Geoff over on site with me. But work today was a downer with Trappers stories laying it on thick. My confidence in the whole setup erodes more and more with each fresh tale of incompetence. Phil had had it all yesterday and I got it today. The lunchtime walk was subdued. Where do you start? Tonight we went over to my parents and I sorted out Dads printer and checked out his ADSL modem a bit more. Right now I'm busting some live DJ Shadow tunes on headphones. Loving the track 'InFlux', when the track moves up a gear as the vocal says 'change', it felt awesome. I've always naturally thought that change is a GOOD THING. Do I need change?

Bed Time Stinks!

Got my 1990 Wire photos scanned and uploaded today which I'm pleased about finally doing. Nice mail from Fergus about yesterdays upload. Took sometime finding a workaround to cope with the poor scanner software. But now I know what to do I can now hopefully start plowing through all the stuff Mike and I have been collecting. Hopefully do something creative and get it uploaded somewhere. Which reminds me I still haven't got the Tingy domain registered with my new ISP.

The kids have been a treat today. Let them stay up a bit longer tonight as they were playing with Animal Crossing and some Spiderman 2 Lego we got in the sales today. At the call for bedtime they quickly produced plackards and marched around the room chanting 'Bed Time Stinks!'.

Scanning Stuff

Got my scanner setup on XP SP2 tonight at last. It's not fully integrated so the scanning can only be done from the crappy software supplied by Packard Bell. But at least I can start getting some stuff done. Scanned in the WIRE Nottingham warm up gig from 2000 and got it up on Flickr here. Plenty more stuff to do.

Jacq found an article on the Guardian site about postal DVD rentals spelling the death of the video rental store. So we signed up on the Sainsburys rental site and were both online busily adding titles to our rental queue. Time to get some blank discs ordered I think.

Derren Brown

Watched Derren Brown tonight. HUGELY enjoyable! He managed to convince a whole bunch of 'experts' in all sorts of wack religions that he is the real deal. The guy was trying hard to maintain a kind of impartial line but he SO easily could have started into an anti-religion rant. I wish he had, it would have been SO cool. And even though I know it's just tricks he does and he admits as much, I REALLY wish I knew how he did 'em cos they are completely mystifying. Top stuff. By coincidence (or is it?) I got a leaflet today advertising his show in town. I think I might book a couple of tickets.

Movin' & Groovin'

Yesterday in the office day was not too bad. Perked up by a good moaning session by me and SteveD to Neil. Let's see what comes out of it. Visited Jim tonight then back home with enough time for the kids to play a while. I put a few tunes on and before long we were all dancing away to Fatboys 'Rockafeller Skank'. The kids were collapsing with laughter at my groovy dance moves. Copied 'Dawn Of The Dead' that Phil had lent me (looks good) while Jacq watched 'The Day After Tomorrow'. Gotta love that DVD writer!

Starting The Working Year

Got in early this morning to get it over with quick. Not a bad day in the office but still so many examples of poor performance from management that it's quite a struggle to maintain a positive attitude. Bart stuck his notice in Christmas Eve and will be gone in a couple of weeks. Good for him. He has needed to do it for a long, long time. Problems for the Coventry team though. It's another man down and I'm sure he won't be replaced. No plans in place for the transition which is no suprise. Steve down in Winchester again so things just drifting as before.

On the plus side it's good to catch up with Phil, Dan, etc. Excellent DVD of The Incredibles from Phil. Quality looks good from what I've seen. I'll have to knock out some copies of that when I get home tonight.

Punk

Enjoyed 12FU on BBC3 tonight, a documentary about Punk by Jonathan Ross. Totally understood his nostalgia for that unique time and also agreed with his analysis that so much creativity is powered by the energy and ideas of Punk. Good points well made.

I could well do with channelling some of that energy into some creativity of my own.

Tsunami

Haven't been able to form my thoughts about this still and it happened a week ago now. My previous posts have made no hint as I simply did not know what to say. And what do my words matter anyway? Donated tonight. Now what? What else can I do? Does it help to keep thinking about it? I haven't been watching the TV news during this holiday, it would probably have been just too much. My head struggles enough with the internet reports.

Can't believe todays comments in the media that peoples faith might be tested. Yeah? Really? Like, duh! When will the world just GROW UP and dump this infantile attachment to its religions. Just what use are they being right now?

My thoughts and opinions on these matters are inadequate and irrelevant I know, but I just wanted to put something down.

Happy New Thing!

A happy two thousand and thing to all my reader! Been over at Lizzies this afternoon, she made a nice curry then we played Triv. Nowhere near as much fun as the recent Taboo session. Questions just too hard and uninteresting.

Changed my Flickr buddy icon tonight back to a non-festive style. The tree will be coming down sometime this weekend. Christmas will soon be over.

Pulling down a few tunes from Soulseek as I type. It's been a while since I downloaded much but magazine and website lists of the years releases have given me some ideas.

Fireworks are going off like crazy right now. People are out in the street looking up. Families with little 'uns staying up for the new year. It's never really meant that much to us. Seems a little too forced. I'd rather find a moment to meditate on the past year than set off fireworks.

Listened tonight to a Peel Radio 1 documentary I'd recorded recently. I wonder if his passing is my defining event of 2004? Right now I can't think of anything else that comes close.