Sparky The Hamster

Phoned home last night and Dylan picked up. I asked how he was and what he was up to and his reply was, "We haven't even got a hamster!" What a cutie! (That's Dylan, not the hamster. The hamster I've not met yet.)

Travelling Back

Travelling back today but in the office all day till six before setting off for the train/plane. It's going to be one l-o-n-g day today. The iPod is on charge on the desk getting ready for the journey. Progress has been happening within the project so I guess it's been a worthwhile trip. I'm back out here again on Monday for some more.

Sitting here at my desk I'm really cherishing my internet connection. Couldn't do without it. Makes being away so much easier. Checking my regular blogs helps loads. Keep on posting people!

Some great web stuff to pimp at the moment. 30 boxes is looking good and being very useful in practise as I'm planning out my forthcoming weeks. Looking forward to getting chat working within my Gmail as this will be an even greater way to keep in touch using IM. Lifehacker keeps on feeding the goodness with a link to this tidy little torrent client which I'll install when home and then I'll be hitting this list of torrent sites hard.

The Great Bull

This is superb, The Great Bull, a version of 'The Great Bear', which in itself is a version of the London tube map. Made me a bit homesick. And a bit proud strangely.

Another Day In Karlsruhe

Ate out last night with Marco at an African restaurant which was very nice indeed. I gave the crocodile meat a miss and stayed with the vegetables.

Not much to say about the work side of the trip. Things are plodding along and it seems I'm expected to turn up here every week even if it's just to show some 'presence'. Seeing as I don't really command much presence, being a humble sort of chap, I don't really know if I will meet this requirement. But, if that's what they want me to do...

Karlsruhe Again

Karlsruhe again. Monday is basically travelling. The journey is not hard, but the time taken means that not much else can be done in the rest of the day. Hotel is a bit basic but it'll do for a few days. The noise from the surrounding area is a challenge. There is a level crossing right outside the hotel where the tram cuts across. A bells rings constantly while the barriers are down and this happens every ten minutes!

Tuesday now and I'm in the office, meeting some new guys on the team. Looking forward to a productive few days. Initial meetings have been promising.

On a comedy tip, I got an entertaining mail from Mike today. Reading his latest blog entry at the weekend was laugh-out-loud funny. I really hope he keeps it up cos it sounds like he's on a roll right now. Check him out here.

Happy Birthday

To me!

The above display was made for me by Harriet on the dining table. Opened up my cards this morning and I got some lovely hand-made ones. Dylans card of a fast car featured working flames! Got a cool Hellboy figure plus the directors cut DVD. Also got last night from mom, the Firelfly DVD box. I'm picking up some great DVD's lately, just need to get around to watching them.

Ramblings From The Week & Other News

The big news in the office is the suspension of the current redundancy program that was due to be announced next week. Very strange news which has been explained away by the management but could be a cover for something else big. More waiting and uncertainty I suppose.

In other news, I shall be in Karlsruhe again next week for more collaborative work on the project. Can't say I'm hugely looking forward to being away again but I'm itching to get into writing some code. It's been another busy week but not of much substance.

Got new tyres fitted during the week while at work using a mobile service I found on our intranet. Most convenient way of getting a chore done is to do it during work hours. Saves me wasting a few hours at the weekend.

Dylan has been off school all week with a throat infection and I've enjoyed taking Harriet to school for a few days. Last day of the working week and I'm taking the opportunity to work from home.

Work have blocked access to flickr through IE so I've installed Firefox to get around it. Enjoying the look of the Firefox Aquafox theme.

Yuk! Yet fascinating account of wasps making roaches into zombies here.

Big Telly

Hurrah! We got a big telly! At last!

Showed t'wife the slimline Samsung telly and she agreed to the purchase. 500 notes for a 32" CRT widescreen pure flat and 100Hz refresh ain't bad, and the slimline design is a real bonus. I had to go back to the store by myself to pick it up and it only just fitted in the back of the car. No way could I have fitted in one of the full size beasts, and no waaaay could me and Jacq have lifted one into the house. We only just managed with this slimline one. Just watched House Of The Flying Daggers on DVD and it looked a treat. Check it out:

Snowing In Karlsruhe

It's been snowing here all day in Karlsruhe. That's more snow than I've seen in a long time compared to Birmingham. The snow has actually made the weather feel slightly warmer.

Work stuff is still ok, not much to report about that. Ate with Marco last night at an African restaurant which was really nice. Couscous and vegetables, yummy. Not sure what we're doing tonight. Haven't managed to watch any of the DVD's I brought over with me. Haven't slept very well all week in the hotel. Looking forward to my own bed.

Karlsruhe

I'm in Germany this week. Busy busy with work stuff. Working with colleagues on the initial setup of the software project. Quite a nice office environment as you can see:

Not much to report about the trip. The work is going pretty much to plan. The weather has been sunny but bloody cold. The beers have been nice. The team went out to a local brewery on the first night. A nice gesture. We ate Mexican last night and tonight I think Marco is taking me to eat African. Should be interesting.

As always, looking forward to getting back home. Sounds like the kids have been busy with friends and clubs. A week away is about as much as I can stand.

Puter Fixed

The nice man from Siemens-Fujitsu called today with a new motherboard. Hurrah! The puter is alive again.

Been Poorly

Just another cold I suppose but it knocked me about a bit. Came on last Thursday so I went home and sweated it out like a whore in church. The fever passed and I struggled back to work as I had a colleague visiting from Germany. Got most of the usual tasks done over the weekend but basically I was wiped out. Well enough for work Monday and feeling better now. Work is loading my brain quite a bit and learnt yesterday that I'm working in Germany all next week. The project is at a critical stage and I reckon we'll be working some mad long days next week.

Oh well, hence the non-blogging recently. Will try and get back into it. Oh yeah, the main home PC busted last week as well. That's another reason I haven't blogged. Waiting for a Siemens engineer to bring us a new motherboard. Oh well.

Bought a new washing machine last night. Not the most fun way to spend cash it must be said. Went for a Bosch which happened to be reported at the weekend by the Guardian as the best supplier of white goods accoring to Which? reports. Would have liked a Siemens one of course but not worth the extra hundred quid. Hope it gets delivered before I'm away next week.

Lost Without Lost

The two-part final episode of Lost season 1 is over. Superb stuff. The hatch is open. The boy is taken. But what now? Channel 4 say that season 2 is coming in the Spring. When is Spring? I need more detail. I need dates!

Google Earth Out Of Beta

Google Earth rocks my world once more! It's out of beta and the latest download scored me some high-res pictures of my part of Birmingham at last. Superb fun just buzzing around my local area. The data might be a few years old but what the hell. Download it yourself and see if you're on there!

Good Time For The Gogglebox

Nice to see Richard Dawkins on the telly tonight pointing out what a right old load of bollocks religion is. Top man Richard. No new arguments in the programme but good to hear the sane voice of the atheist being broadcast.

Also on telly, more good stuff, a new series called Life On Mars. Nicely done. Cool seventies detail. I think I'll keep watching.

And with the last two episodes of Lost coming on Wednesday, it's quite a good time for the gogglebox.

Probably The Last Weekend Without Overtime (For A While)

My Name Is Earl is fantastic! Caught the first episode on Channel 4 friday night and I'm a fan straight off. The characters are superb, Earl and Randy are classic and I'm undecided at the moment who is my favourite. If you haven't seen it yet then catch up quick people, it's an absolute treat.

Nice to have a good laugh at the end of a strange week. Depressing work news plus lots of intense project activity. I brought the laptop home but never switched it on. It's probably the last weekend I'll be able to do that for a while. Things are getting seriously busy.

Back into the swimming lesson groove on Saturday. Good to catch up with Carol and Dave. In the afternoon myself and Dylan went with Dave and Mitchell to see Kong. The boys enjoyed it. I was kinda bored but I did like the digital recreation of 1920's New York.

Sunday morning, the girls weren't up, me and Dylan went to McD for breakfast. It was really nice, just the two of us tucking into pancakes.

Work Stuff

Simultaneous announcements at our offices today. NEVER good news, and it wasn't. The company is looking to loose people, specifically engineering capacity. They've said that we are safe at Coventry, but it's only the start of a process and what shape we'll be in at the end, who knows? I'm not feeling very positive, but today was so busy working with Wolfhard that I've hardly had time to focus on it. I'm unsettled at the prospect of having to attend an 'interview' next Wednesday in Manchester to discuss my skill-set. Can't shake the feeling that I'm re-applying for my own job. Not nice.

Christmas, The End

The end will be official today as we're taking the tree down. I don't really want it down yet but tomorrow I'm back at work and it seems right to draw a line between. Overall it's been a good holiday. We could have done without the colds but there you go. I didn't get all the creative stuff done that I had planned. In fact, I did nothing creative at all, which is a source of a little regret. But I'll just do something about that, I'm NOT going to stew over it like I have been doing. New years are for resolutions, so I'll simply resolve to be a bit more creative in my free time.

New Years Day

Went back over to Marys to look at their wireless network. Steve had installed AOL software on Beckys PC and now the network don't work. God, I detest AOL! Their software is completely shit! The interface is nasty and the functionality limited. It's an impoverished experience of the wonderful web. Why anyone would want to use it is beyond me. Oh well, rant over, Steve wanted it on, so I simply un-installed, then re-installed the wireless adapter and things came back to life.

The kids stayed to play for a few hours and me and Jacq went into town for a walk around the shops. This was very enjoyable. No kids to worry about for a while. Picked up a few nice things. Some DVD's for the collection, Hitchhikers movie, Complete Ripping Yarns, Fear & Loathing and Filth & The Fury.

Watched Fear & Loathing later with some bottles of wine. Johnny Depp was superb as Hunter. Debauched.

Un-Happy New Year!

Let's be clear about this...

I HATE NEW YEAR!

I tend to feel the sadness of another year passing rather than any pleasure from the new year to come. Consequently, I always have this impression of new year 'celebrations' being completely false. I dislike the pressure to have 'the best night ever'. The idea of being in some place surrounded by 'revellers' horrifies me. MIserable sod I am, I know, but this is how it is for me. I'd rather meditate a while and focus on the new year, NOT listen to bloody fireworks!