Friday 16-10-28 Farewell then, Oneplus One

Last Wednesday I dropped and smashed my phone, my Oneplus One. I'd had it for over two years, so I think I got enough usage out of it. I was walking briskly to get up to the Station to catch a train, while at the same time trying to insert my headphones into the headphone jack, when suddenly my phone wasn't in my hand any more, but was face down on the pavement. So despite being in a case, that didn't prevent damage to the screen and the digitizer.

I was in a hurry because the RMT were striking, and the trains were less frequent than normal. Southern were able to run about 60% of their trains, so I wasn't worried about getting home, I just wanted to be on a relatively uncrowded train. So I blame Southern and the RMT for my loss.
I bought the phone outright in August 2014 and it's been the best phone I've ever had, unsurprisingly. It had a 5.5" screen and an 801 processor, as well as 64gb of storage. I kept it updated with CyanogenMod nightlies, which satisfied my need to be as up to date as possible, and it was running Marshmallow when the screen broke. I had been running CM on my HTC One X before I bought it, so the idea of buying a phone running Cyanogen out of the box was very appealing.
I was in a bit of a quandary after I dropped it, as it seems to be okay apart from the screen. So if I could get that repaired at a reasonable price, I could have carried on with it for another year I reckon. But Oneplus themselves quoted me between 80 - 100 Euros and firms up in London would have charged £99. Then there was the worry about not knowing whether those firms were reputable and if I sent it back to China for repair, how long would that take? So I bought a replacement, a Huawei P9 Lite for £199 (with a £10 SIM) from O2. They did have a Oneplus Three in stock, and I was tempted to buy that, but the price difference (the OP3 was £336) was too great.
The P9 Lite is a smart little phone, it has a 5.2" screen and only 16gb of onboard memory, which is expandable with a micro SD card. I did buy an SD card but unfortunately it wasn't "micro" - d'oh! Never mind, though, that can sit in the chromebook. I'll know next time to make sure I buy the right sized memory card. I'm very impressed by the camera on the P9, the pictures don't pixellate when you zoom in on pics you've taken, which is nice.  And it's got a fingerprint sensor, which I've become used to very quickly. The two things which are missing that I wanted in my next phone are fast charge and a USB-C connector. But I think I will be able to live without.
So the OPO is now sitting on eBay. Currently there is a bid of £36.02 on it but there are 12 watchers so I am hoping it will go for a bit more than that. If someone is able to get a screen / digitizer repair kit, and they have the patience and skill to replace the screen themselves, then they should be able to get themselves a powerful phone for about £100; they'll be happy and I'll make a bit and be happy too - that'll help pay for the P9 :-) .
TTFN.

Wednesday 16-10-26 Paddy II

Last night I placed a number of bets on a few football games. I didn't think I did that well, but looking at my account, I did okay. With PaddyPower the minimum withdrawal amount is £10, I think, and my aim is to stay above that, or reach that, so that I can take my cash out when I want.
Currently I am floating slightly below that, I'm above £9 but not quite at the £10 mark. So I chose a few (what looked to be) low risk wagers last night to try and boost my pot.
The first bet of the night was on Motherwell U20s to win against Ross County U20s. I know, I didn't realise you could bet on the Scottish Under 20 league either. Motherwell were favourite to win at 11/10, but there was no score for ages. Then there was an own goal at 60 mins by Ross County, and Motherwell went ahead. The cash out value had jumped to 15p, so I took it and that was the first win of the night. It was a good choice, because Ross County scored again, but at the right end, and the match ended 1-1.
I also bet on Aswan FC to beat El Entag El Harby, at 21/10. Aswan went ahead after 28 minutes and again I cashed out to take 18p on a 10p bet. Again, that was lucky because thanks to a penalty in the last few minutes of the game it ended in a draw. I feel an affinity with Egyptian football because I did live in Cairo for several months back when I was 20.
Trapani (Italy Serie B) were good to me, but Deportivo Espanol (Argentinian Primera B Metro) weren't. Altrincham (English National League North) unfortunately lost against Bradford Park Avenue but Hitchin Town (English Souther Premier League) won away to King's Lynn, netting me 27p.
The bet I am proudest of though is backing Leeds against Norwich, in the English Football League Cup. I put 15p on Leeds to progress to the next round, at evens. Norwich went ahead but Leeds fought back and the game ended in a draw. Then in extra time each team scored again, meaning that the game went to penalties. Leeds finally triumphed, and I had an extra 15p, in addition to my original stake of 15p.

Overall I placed nine bets worth £1.03 and my returns were £1.18. I know it's small potatoes to most people, but it keeps me interested.

Upcoming bets are: Man City to progress to the next round in the EFL Cup against Man Utd (evens), especially after how badly Man U performed against Chelsea last Saturday, and England to win the seccond test against Bangladesh (4/5), which starts on Friday. I have also, for some inexplicable reason, put some money on InterMilan to beat Torino this evening at odds of 10/11. If those all come in then I shall be at £9.86, and close to that £10 target...

Sunday 16-10-23 Paddy I

Paddypower was good to me today. I had placed three bets across three football games, and two of the three came in. To be honest, I had forgotten all about the first game, St. Johnstone vs Dundee. I checked the website to see that my bet had come in at 5/6 odds on. Well, it was a relief that I hadn't missed the opportunity to cash out while St. Johnstone were ahead, and then lose at the end. It seems that St. Johnstone went ahead after 60 minutes and stayed there.
My next bet was on Man City against Southampton, and Man City were playing at home, so I thought that they would have home advantage. Alas, it was not to be. It was a toss-up, being frank, whether to bet on City or Southampton, and Southampton scored first. If I had bet on Southampton I guess I would have cashed out then, the odds were much better. Man City apparently equalised, and were very much more attacking in the second half, but they never went ahead, and the game ended in a draw. Unfortunately I shan't see that 10p again.
Lastly I considered the Chelsea vs Man United game. Again, I thought that Chelsea might benefit from home advantage. I was right, as it turned out, because Chelsea scored in the first minute. I was a bit concerned - should I cash out? What happens if Man U equalise and they just sit on the ball for the rest of the game? - but then Chelsea went two ahead, and I was able to relax. Eventually they went 3-0 up, and then 4-0. Paddypower actually paid out at about 78 minutes, which I was surprised to see, but it would have been a miracle for Man Utd to score five goals in the final fifteen minutes.

So from my initial outlay of 30p, I am now up 41p, a net gain of 11p. I haven't yet got back to my initial stake of £10.00, but I hope with some more judicious gambling, I can get back above that threshold. Of course, it will be completely due to luck and not judgement, we shall have to see how it goes.

Tuesday 16-10-18 Active

It's been a busy few days. On Friday we had a team-build event at the Martlets Hospice Shop, where we sorted toys and clothes to sell in their shops. It was nice to get out of the office and do something different for a change. And of course, after we finished up, we went to the pub (The George Payne) for a few pints and a rest. It was tiring doing something physically different, even though it wasn't demanding, but it was a change from sitting in a chair for seven hours. I wasn't intending to drink much, as we were planning to go to the Park Run again on Saturday morning, but I ended up having about four pints, before heading home. What can I say? The Timmy Taylor Landlord was a nice drop to savour.
Despite feeling hungover we did the Park Run on Saturday morning; TW and TE both got PBs, but I stopped because TY was crying, because she couldn't do it. So I walked with her for a bit and came in at about 31 and a half minutes. I probably wasn't going to go sub-30 anyway, and I figured the mental well-being of my child was more important than a timed run.
After that we came home, and TW & I showered. In the afternoon we went to see H&I's new trailer tent, which was very impressive. It started to rain, so we helped to take it down and it was pretty quick to pack away. They offered to have all three of the kids for a sleepover, which was very nice of them, so we ended up having another child-free night.
We were planning to go and see Rob Beckett at the Connaught anyway, so the fact that the kids were having a sleepover meant that we could relax and take our time getting ready, and we didn't feel that we had to rush back after the gig. We ended up in the Corner House again, which was nice, sharing a bottle of wine. Rob was very funny, as expected, and his support, Tom Lucy, was very good too. TW & I laughed a lot, both during and after the gig.
On Sunday TW picked up the girls, and we (the girls and I) baked while TW painted TY's room. I made my coffee and walnut cake - again - and the butter icing curdled - again. I didn't actually get to taste any of it as it was for TW's open house on the Monday. TY made gingerbread men, TE made a very nice rocky road, and TMO made some very crisp flapjacks. It was quite a busy day in the end. I was glad to get to bed by the end of the day :) .

Tuesday 16-10-04 Pixel

Here it is then, the Google Pixel phone. It looks quite nice, but it does look like an iPhone in my humble opinion.



I watched the presentation live on the way home, and I was very impressed with the Assistant feature. It seemed very intuitive, but I am wondering the extent to which it can be replicated using Google Now on existing phones. I expect that there would be certain capabilities that could not be reproduced elsewhere, but if it is only a matter of degree, then the question has to be: is it worth it?
The camera certainly looks to be something special, and perhaps that would be the feature that might prompt people to buy it. Apparently the camera achieved the highest score by any smartphone ever, according to the DxOMark system.
I like the white version, and if this had been priced similarly to the Nexus 4 or the 5X, I would have been on it like a car bonnet. My OnePlus One is two years old now and I am looking for a replacement. It is still a good phone, but if I am using it in the evening I do have to recharge the battery. I expect I will update it to Nougat shortly; the Marshmallow nightly updates seem to be thinning out. That may give the battery a boost, since Nougat Doze is supposed to be better. We'll see, I guess. I think I spent about £280 on the OPO, and I would be willing to spend up to £330 on a new off-contract phone. The OnePlus Three is looking as though it fits the bill nicely; I need to seriously think about it. I also have to pay back the Bank of Mum and Dad for the car loan that they recently extended to us, and I am thinking about getting a second car just to get me in and out of work. So I don't have money to burn on a new phone.
I certainly don't have £600 to spend on a phone with a 5" screen and 32gb of memory, even if that screen is Amoled, and it comes with a fingerprint sensor. The family laptop, which is a 15" job with an i3 processor was less than £250, so unfortunately there is no way I can justify spending £600. And if I were to buy the version I actually wanted, that would be the 5.5" screen with 128gb of memory which would set me back £819. Even the offer of a £50 Play Store voucher wouldn't ease the pain of that hitting my bank balance.

So, I guess I won't be at the cutting edge of Google tech this year. The gizmos and widgets that I do have are enough for me, really, and it's always nice to have something to aim for, somewhere down the line. So if you do see me carrying around a white Pixel XL, and there hasn't been a massive price drop, it'll be more than likely that I've won the lottery or come into an inheritance.

Sunday 16-10-02 Snowdogs

Yesterday was spent wandering around Brighton, spotting the Snowdogs scattered around the town. It was a brilliant sunny day, it couldn't have been much more different from Saturday if it tried. The girls were in good spirits, they were chatting with each other and pointing out various things to each other. They did bicker a bit, but once we got into the walking they got on well with each other. 

We stopped at Hove Lagoon to see the first one, but couldn't find it. Apparently it was in the café, but we weren't to know that... We didn't find the one at the King Alfred's Leisure Centre either, but after that we started flying. You can see the photos below. 

We walked from the i360 up to Churchill Square, and then on to the train station. From there we cut down through The Lanes back to the seafront, then we drove to The Level where the kids played in the skatepark for an hour. Then it was on to The Marina, where we saw another couple, and we had dinner at Pizza Express, which was lovely. M & D, our friends (and neighbours), did the same thing, and our paths crossed several times during the day. We had planned to have dinner together anyway, but we were at The Level together too. Our children get on really well, and so they loved the day. 

And I made it home in time to see Antiques Roadshow too, which was nice. 

Saturday 16-10-01 Soaked

We did another Park Run, despite the rain. It wasn't supposed to rain between 9am - 10am, but apparently the forecast was wrong. And it was torrential. Some of the runners were squealing because the rain was coming down so hard. It was bouncing up off the tarmac to knee-height, it was coming down so hard. At one point, and then for the remainder of the race, I felt like I was running in a corset because my top had absorbed so much rainwater. I did think at one point I would be better off taking it off and dumping it in the hedge, and recovering it after the run (but I didn't do that). Nevertheless, I was only 45 secs slower than my time last week. I'm quite happy to have run through the deluge, and I am happy that the deluge didn't slow me down - noticeably. I did predict that PBs would tumble, and I was wrong, but there is always next Saturday morning.

I spent a long time moving and alphabetising my CDs, so they are now arranged nicely in the living room. I realised that I have a couple of CDs missing, and I also have a couple of duplicates, most notably Circlesquare by The Wonder Stuff and Comforts of Madness by Pale Saints - they will probably go on eBay. 
I think I will have to prune my collection; they should fit into two of these units. I will digitise as much of it as I can (I've digitised a lot of it already, but I find it hard to let go of the physical discs) and there are some CDs that I've never listened to, so I can probably get rid of those without too much of a problem. I do find though, that when I get rid of CDs I always want to listen to them the following day/week/month, even if I haven't listened to them in years. So I don't want to sell or bin discs completely so that I don't have them at all, but it would be nice if they were stored tidily across the two units. 

In the afternoon we went to see the GiL, who seemed to be in good spirits. She had been out to The Spotted Cow for lunch, as is her habit most days. For a 97-year old, she is doing well. I think she could do better if she accepted help, but that's not in her nature. Her short-term memory is shot; she kept asking if she'd given the girls money, and she asked me several times how my job was going: "any sign of promotion, Rob?" We'd bought her a few bites to eat, some pork pies and a quiche, and some biscuits. And a bottle of wine, of course. We stayed for a while and then headed home. 

TW went out in the evening, and I caught up with the last episode of Banshee, a really good, enjoyable gangster/criminal/satanic thriller. I don't think I've ever seen such a relentlessly bloody, vicious series. I also watched a bit of Kate Tempest on BBC2, which was great. I'd heard a lot about Kate before, I know that Scroobius Pip is a fan, and I was interested to hear her stuff. I was blown away, and now I'll need to go out and get another CD or two... :(

And that was Saturday. 

Friday 16-09-30 Forgetful

Oh, how we laughed.

I got up as soon as the alarm went off yesterday morning. I say "alarm", but I have the radio programmed to switch on to Radio 4, the Today programme, and so I normally stay in bed and listen to it for a few minutes because they are normally discussing something interesting, or they are about to round up the day's newspaper headlines.
But no time for that this morning, I had sold some comics yesterday on eBay and I had emailed the winner to tell him I would post them today, but I hadn't even packaged them up yet. So out of bed, quick shower and dressed, and downstairs. Bubblewrap, sellotape, scissors and brown paper, and it was done. I told the girls that they needed to get dressed, and the normal morning hubbub ensued. Teas were made, breakfasts were had, questions about locations of school uniform were answered. I was aiming for the 07:47 train, so I gobbled down some own-brand wheat biscuits, gulped my tea, and then headed upstairs to clean my teeth. That done, I was back downstairs, popped my shoes on, gathered up my workbag and comics to post, and headed to the door. Kisses to the children and TW delivered and farewells made, the door closed and I was on my way, leaving the hubbub behind. I popped my headphones on and got back into one of the many podcasts I listen to while travelling between home and the office.

It wasn't until I was crossing the Shoreham bridge that TW phoned. "I could f***ing kill you", she said. Oh, dear. What had I done? I wasn't aware of anything I'd messed up. "You've left your cake on the side", she let me know. In all the rush of the morning, and the packing up of the comics, and the breakfasts and the rush to catch the right train, I had forgotten to take the cake with me to work. Macmillan Cancer fundraising would have to do its best without my deliciousness. I couldn't believe it; that was the third time I'd made that cake, the second time for charity, and I'd forgotten to take it in to work.
To compensate, I donated a tenner while at work. And it made for a funny story, so that was a good thing. And it meant I got to have a big slice after dinner last night, so it wasn't all bad news. But it was completely unintentional.

I had lunch out at the Bangkok Kitchen on London Road with a friend, that was nice. I had a massaman curry, which is peanut-flavoured and is basically a plate of satay.
And TW was out in the evening, so I got to watch the penultimate episode of Banshee, which was as gripping and bloody as expected. I'm really stringing out my enjoyment of the show.
I had two beers which is less than my usual intake on a Friday night, due to the Park Run in the morning. Hopefully I can improve on my last time, which was 30:43. We'll have to see.

TTFN.