Galaxy Tab 2 7.0

So  I bought a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 from eBay. It's not like we don't have enough tablets in the house, but this was a proper bargain. The seller described the tablet as 'not working', but in the description she went on to say that the tab was locked because a family member had set a lock code and forgotten what the code was.
Now, you and I know that if you forget your lock code, you can factory reset your device (if it is Android) by pressing a combination of the power key and one or more of the volume keys. So, as the tab was on eBay for less than £20, and the postage was £7 (or £6.95), I put in a bid of £33.75. I knew that would take me over the £40 mark, but I thought that would be an okay price for me. Please remember, I am a skinflint and we already have several tablets in the house, so it was an impulse bid and I would not regret losing the auction if the price went above £40 (incl. postage).

Actually, at this stage let's take a small detour and list the tablets we have / had....
Firstly I started with a Samsung Galaxy Tab 7, the original. I used it as a phone for a while, because it has 3G capabilities. And while my HOX was being repaired recently, I went back to using it. God, it's cumbersome! But a great little device.
Then when the Blackberry Playbook started tumbling in price, I bought one of those. I think it was £129 for a 64gb 1080p 7" device. It had a very nice screen, and I used to watch TV shows on it while commuting to work. Unfortunately the design flaw in the Playbook was that you could put the USB cable into the socket either way, and if you put it in the wrong way, you could damage the socket. Guess what I did? Unintentionally, of course... Luckily I had taken out insurance from Currys, and so they replaced it with a 1st generation Nexus 7. Then I think we bought a no-brand tablet for Daughter #2 for Christmas.
I also bought a Nook Simple Touch when they were being sold off dirt cheap, and then became interested in the Nook HD 32gb when they were being sold off cheap. I managed to get one of those off eBay for £87 or so (the P&P was unreasonable though :) ).
Next I bought a broken Blackberry Playbook for £21 but couldn't get it to work, so I sold it for £25, and now I bid on the Tab 2 7.0.

So for a while the bid was sitting at £16.70 or so, then it rose to £33, just shy of my limit. I hmmed and hawed and upped my max bid to £38.25. With the postage that would have been just over £45. But as it happened, no one else put a bid in, and so I got it for £33 +£7 postage.

So it turned up yesterday and I spent most of last night trying to reset it, The problem was (and this wasn't mentioned in the eBay description) that even when the power cable was unplugged, the device thought it was charging. When it was plugged in, the red 'x' showed in the battery, but it was charging. When I unplugged it and switched it off, if I pressed the power button the screen showed the charging animation. The state of the phone (that it thought it was charging) was preventing me from booting into Recovery and resetting the tab. But I scored a breakthrough, and realised that if I unplugged the charger from the wall but left it plugged into the tab, it could work... And so it did, I was able to reset the device. So I had a working Tab 2 7.0 for £40 including postage.
Then, unfortunately I noticed that the issue with the battery was persisting; that when I was charging it, the red 'x' was on display, and when it was unplugged it thought it was charging. But I noticed that there was a software update available, which would take the device up to 4.2.2 from 4.1.1; would that fix the issue? I was thinking that if the update didn't fix it, I could always put it back on eBay as 'not working', but aim to make a small profit.
As it was, the update did work, the tab is now running Jelly Bean and the battery issue appears to be fixed. So that is a result - perseverence pays off :) .

Now though, I am in a quandary, as She is expecting me to sell one of the tabs we've got in the house.
I am not losing the Nook 8.9", nor am I losing the Nexus 7. So it's down to either the OG (Original Gangsta) Samsung Tab or the Tab 2 7.0. And to be fair, the Tab 2 7.0 is really nice.
I've hacked around with the OG Tab, it's running 4.2 as well, I believe, but I think I will sell that one. I see that they go for about £100 on eBay, even £75 would be okay I guess. We'll have to wait and see, though. I know that until recently I had kept the box it came in, but I suspect I've thrown it away in the moves in and out of the loft, and so I'll have to take a hit on that. It does have a lovely case though... I'll let you know how it goes.

Cruzer Force (32gb Thumb Drive)

So I bought a Cruzer Force 32gb usb stick earlier in the week and it arrived yesterday. Looking at the photos, I was expecting a large-ish drive that would slope down to a usb junction. How wrong I was.

It's tiny! I don't know how they managed to write 'SanDisk' on there, let alone squeeze in 32gb of memory...? It's a great little invention, and it was in a flash sale on eBay - £9.99.
A bargain piece of tech. And I might find a use for it...

Speek Yer Branez I

So that Maria Miller then, eh? Gone, like that. In a flash of allegation and half-truths.
I'm not going to go into them. I'm sure it's all well-documented somewhere.
But, how depressing must it be to wake up day after day, and realise that your fizzog is going to be all over the news AGAIN, for all the wrong reasons? Politicians are a hardy, egotistical bunch (my own conclusion based on my senses), but to know that your 'misdemeanours' will be driving the news cycle must be depressing. Ah well, we build em up, and we knock en down. And tomorrow's another day.
Sleep well.

Windows Vista Service Packs 1 & 2

You know, it's strange. For such a neophile, I didn't realise that I hadn't installed Vista Service Packs 1 & 2. Crazy, when you think about it. I've been fussing about the latest update to Android and sweating on the release of the Chromecast. But my laptop was running an outdated O/S.
So I've updated to Service Pack 1, via manual installation. And I'm currently installing Service Pack 2. It seems to be going well. I'm hoping to get regular updates once this Service Pack is installed. But I know that Vista is at the end of its serviceable life, and really we should get a new laptop. But I like tinkering, as you know by now, so it's a good way to pass the time :)

Mayor's Charity Swim, Worthing

And so to the Mayor's Charity Swim in Worthing.

This was held at Splashpoint, the new swimming pool in Worthing, and very nice it is too. The only possible criticism is that it is not big enough. (I reckon when the old Aquarena was still in action, a lot of people used to go to Burgess Hill, so maybe they underestimated its popularity on that basis?) Even though the leisure centre was closed to the casual swimmer, it was still packed. There was the choir from Thomas a'Becket First School, as well as their parents, and the swimmers and their parents/families.
The choir sang 'Learn to Swim' to open proceedings (Daughter #2 is in the choir, I have to declare an interest) and then it was to poolside to watch the swimmers.
There was a delay in starting, as it took time (as I understand) to arrange the swimmers into ability. And as a result, there wasn't a clear break between the first and second session; more swimmers just kept being herded into the pool.
There were a load of people raising money for the Mayor's charities, and I'm sure he was pleased with the turnout. All the swimmers got a certificate and some goodies, that certainly seemed well-organised.

All-in-all, it was a good afternoon, and a lot of people came together to do something good. Well done Worthing,

Jonathan Creek - A New Series

Well, I'm not a happy bunny.

Alan Davies is back, playing Jonathan Creek, and I have a lot of time for his downbeat, slightly other-worldly portrayal of Creek. He manages to get over the idea that Creek is always thinking about slight of hand and deception, to the detriment of observing what's going on here and now.
This is a run of three all-new episodes, but the twist is that the crime is shown before Creek arrives on the scene. Unfortunately this takes away the dramatic intrigue and the engagement of the viewer. All we're left with is Creek bumbling around in his usual way, humming and hawing, and 'Oh, I see'-ing until we know that he has caught up with us.
I watched two of the three last night (thanks iPlayer and Tivo!) and I will watch the third, but I'm not waiting with bated breath - which is a shame.

Chromecast for the UK

So, disappointed to realise that the Chromecast is not available in the UK today. I've been checking the Google Play Store, Currys, and teh interwebs in general, but no joy.
I don't know what I would do with it; I quite fancy signing up for Netflix, but I can access that through the PS3, so I don't need a Chromecast for that, The girls will probably end up using it for 'casting Youtube to the TV, and we can do without that.
I guess I just want to be at the forefront of technology; again, I think that tech will provide the answer, but really the Chromecast is a means to an end, and not an end in itself. Likewise my Chromebook, and my Nexus 7, and my HTC One X should all be means to an end and not an end in itself. But I believe the acquisition of new technology is driving us onwards, to consume more and more...
I've just replaced the battery in my One X for the princely sum of £45. I'm hoping that will enable me to put off replacing it for at least another six months. And then I am very interested in getting the Moto G as a replacement. £160 for a 16gb mid-range Android phone running the latest software with ease - nice.
My O2 contract is up for renewal on 5th April and I think I'm going to go SIM-only with Tesco. I believe they have a decent mix of minutes and data. I don't use many texts, so that's not important to me. With the combination of a Moto G and a SIM-only deal, I reckon I'll save a few pounds...

The UK Royal Family and Ivory

From The Times yesterday: Charles Hides His Ivory (paywall)

Basically the gist is: Wildlife and campaigning charities are asking the royal family to destroy their antique ivory pieces; that is, ivory pieces that they collected and were given before the trade in ivory was declared illegal.
To me, this sounds insane. Destroying these items won't change how they were made, or the pain and death  inflicted on the elephants killed to make these items. But they were made at a different time, when we had different values. Destroying these items will mean they no longer exist, and therefore the pain and suffering of the creatures killed to make these items will have been in vain.
Surely it would be better to display these items and change the message to a 'never forget' kind of message? Reinforce the hideous way in which these items were obtained and impress on the public / kids looking at these displays that we've moved on and are not so barbaric any more?

The Saturday Times

Who says the Times is dumbing down? These five (four on show here) full pages of ads give me a breather before continuing with the important info contained in the 'Register' section.

Resetting a CNM 7" Android Tablet

So my daughter, the silly sausage, set a password on her CNM 7" tablet and promptly forgot what it was.
I googled a solution, but was unable to find anything that worked.
First suggestion was to try Google's password recovery service. Tried that, no luck.
Then, link the tablet to a PC using a USB lead, and find the Username in the Play Services downloads.
No dice, tablet didn't link to the PC.

I found one suggestion, that I should turn the tablet off entirely, and then hold the Power and Volume Down button in together for 12 secs, which (the advisor claimed) would put the tablet into reboot menu. As it was, the person seeking advice saw a table of options but in oriental (Chinese?) script.
The next bit of advice was to turn the tablet off, and then hold down the Power and the Volume Up buttons together. I did that and got into the necessary menu - and from there, chose the Factory Reset option.

So if you're looking, the solution is:
1. Power off completely.
2. Hold down the Power and Volume Up buttons at the same time for approx. 15 seconds
3. Choose the Factory Reset option.

This will reset the tablet though, and you will have to reapply any settings and preferences, as well as download again all apps, widgets and wallpapers you had installed. The reset will restore your device to 'factory fresh' condition.

As 2013 Comes to an End...

In 2013 I ran 91.1 miles and weighed 13st 7lbs (At one stage I did weigh over 14st) - that's 86kg.
If I can reach the end of 2014 weighing less, having run more, and feel in better shape, that would be an achievement.
I'll also have to cut down or cut out the alcohol, but that will be a tough ask.

It's a simple aim, I need to break it down in to weekly and monthly targets in order to achieve it... :-)

Wreaths all Year Round?

It struck me the other day that it would be nice to have wreaths on our doors all year round. They do make front doors look nicer. They would have to be non-festive; you couldn't have holly up all year around. But you could have seasonal wreaths, marking spring and summer.
I'm not sure if anyone's already thought of it; I don't think I've seen any, but maybe someone could design something nice which didn't immediately signify Christmas, and we could put up on a semi-permanent basis?

How Important is Facebook?

In the UK at the moment, there is a news item about a missing 17-year old, Jayden Parkinson. I don't want to talk about the case, or what's alleged; it must be dreadful for all involved.
What struck me as odd, though, about the reporting, is this: I was in the canteen, eating my customary bacon and cheese turnover, when the BBC reported what Jayden's mother had posted on Facebook. I thought that was odd, but looking on Google tonight I have found the same information in the Guardian and The Mirror.

When did Facebook posts become newsworthy? I don't understand; I think this is an invasion of privacy and an unnecessary intrusion into someone's personal tragedy. It doesn't 'add colour' to the story, which I suppose might be an argument. But do you really need to see what someone posts on Facebook to imagine what they are going through - if you have to imagine that sort of thing? Surely updates on social media sites are personal and not news? If this was just the BBC, I would shrug this off, but the fact that other news sources are reporting from Facebook as well strikes me as bizarre.

Having said that, maybe I'm just an old fuddy-duddy who isn't moving with the times.

S.A.D.

Very difficult to believe that currently the sun is going down before four p.m. at the moment. It seems that we're living at night, although that was always the case. By the end of this week, though, the days will start getting longer again. And then, next stop summer on the beach in balmy summer climes...

America's Got Powers

I have just finished reading “America’s Got Powers” by Jonathan Ross and Bryan Hitch. A number of months after everybody else, I expect, but it was worth the wait.
Originally billed as a six-part series, eventually this ended up stretching to a seven-part series. Maybe that was why it took so long to come out; the first issue was dated April 2012 and the final issue was dated October 2013.
I had read Ross’ previous effort, “Turf”, and so was expecting big things of this new story. Reflecting on it now, I don’t think I was disappointed.
The story starts with the arrival of a large intergalactic crystal which glows brightly and gives nearby residents ‘powers’. Of course, the authorities investigate and end up separating those with powers in some kind of apartheid. And they also have some TV show in which those with powers have to combat challenges and each other in some vicious kind of ‘Gladiators’ game show with real consequences.
There is a kind of arms race developing, whereby those with powers want to be free of their ‘normal’ overlords, those without powers want to harness their capabilities for their own ends, and some people advocate pacifism.
It’s a thoughtfully-written story, as well as being exciting and entertaining; any more than that might result in spoilers, and it really has only just officially ended.

I see that Ross has a new series out in Jan called “Revenger” - based on this and “Turf”, I will be getting my grubby mitts on a copy. The one thing I can’t understand is why the full series #1 - #7 are available on eBay for pennies. I spent about £15 collecting that series, and you can, if you’re lucky, pick it up for less than £2 (not incl. P&P) from the online fleamarket. Not that I want to sell my set, I was just wondering how much other people valued this set at. Maybe it’s a slow burner?

Everyone Sin a While

Today I took the girls to Splashpoint while TW went Christmas shopping. She's already done most of it, there were just the last bits to do. And of course she couldn't take the girls with her.
Which was lucky, as TW was out until the wee early hours and when she got back she woke me up and even our eldest. So she probably needed some time to get her head straight, as she was certainly out of it last night.
So, anyway, Splashpoint. I was rather reluctant, as I had already ferried T and L to gymnastics, but they really enjoyed it; flitting between the slide, the diving board, and the inflatable, they played nicely together and enjoyed the variety. When we got to the hour, I told them they had ten minutes; T went off to swim lengths and the other two went back on the inflatable for a final two times. L was upset when I told her that time was up, but they were well-behaved and got dry and dressed in good humour.

I was really surprised by how empty Splashpoint was. Apparently it's been like that for a week or so. I reckon everyone is off shopping for Christmas. They'll probably be swamped again after Christmas, but it was nice, just once, to stroll in, walk straight up to the counter (rather than queue for 20 mins) and collect our bands. It may never happen again... :)

Thinking About My Eldest Daughter

So, here's a thing: I get frustrated *a lot* by my eldest daughter. Much more so than by my other daughters, even if they do the same things. So I got to thinking why that might be.

My eldest is quite mature for an eight-year old; that might sound strange, but all her friends are older than her, so even though she is the eldest of her sisters she has role models to emulate. And she is quite tall as well - taller than some twelve year olds in the street.

So I think it boils down to this:- I think my eldest daughter is older than she actually is. I need to remember that next time (and the time after that) she does something childish... She is actually a child. So it's to be expected, and these things happen and should be used as an opportunity to teach her how grown-ups handle situations.

Grant Shapps and the BBC

It seems Grant Shapps has misjudged the British public, so I question Grant Shapps:

Grant Shapps told the Sunday Telegraph the BBC must tackle a culture of secrecy and waste in the wake of recentscandals and rows over stars' salaries and pay-offs to senior executives.Would that be in the same way that MPs have 'tackled' the culture of secrecy and waste in the wake of the expenses scandal?

And he said there was a "question of credibility" for the BBC over whether it applied "fairness" to its reporting of politics. If the public were asked who was more credible, MPs or the BBC, who does Shapps think would be voted 'most credible'?

Shapps said the £145.50 annual fee would be "too much" if the BBC failed to reform. I'd be happier to pay more, if there was a chance of not receiving the BBC's output.

Shapps made clear Conservative frustrations with the BBC: "They have ended up working in this culture which is buried in the last century, which is 'we are the BBC, we do what we like, we don't have to be too accountable'," he told the paper. And which century do MPs operate in, with their weird customs and ways of doing things? Do MPs really think they are 'accountable'?

Shapps: "But they are raising £3.6bn through the licence fee, which is a tax, and, quite rightly, the public wants to have sight of how the money is spent. Things like the pay-offs have really caused concern, as have, obviously, things like Savile and Hall and the culture that goes around that. I think it is one of too much secrecy." MPs' salaries are a tax as well, and we get much more for the the money we pay to the BBC.

He said the BBC director-general, Lord Hall, should consider publishing all expenditure over £500 – including stars' salaries – and opening up to freedom of information requests. Can I opt out of paying MP salaries? Agreed, transparency is a good thing.

Shapps: "If they do that they can make sure they win back public trust. If they don't, they are in danger of frittering away Auntie's public trust that has been built over a long time." In my opinion, the BBC have never lost the public's trust.

Shapps: "I would also say that £145.50 is quite a lot to pay for everyone in the country who has a TV. It is too much if we don't see the kind of reforms [we expect]" Like Grant Shapps cares about the level of the licence fee. Is he going to suggest some of that is shared with Sky?

A BBC spokesman said: "Mr Shapps is right that transparency is key to the future of the BBC. So is its freedom from political pressure.

When I read this sort of crap from people like Shapps I think perhaps Russell Brand is right - we need a revolution to get wrong-thinking people like Shapps away from power and out of situations where he could harm perfectly decent public institutions.
If people weren't happy paying the licence fee, there would be more cases of non-payment.
Shapps should reconsider his ideas on this occasion, IMHO.

Deportation by SMS - WTF?

So here is the story: text messages (SMS) are being sent to people advising them that they are not at liberty to stay in the UK and they should leave.

Link to Guardian article
Link to Indepenent article

When I first heard this story, in the Independent, my brain could not compute.
Firstly, why would anyone choose to communicate regarding such a delicate subject using such an impersonal method?
If you send an SMS message, you can't guarantee it's been read. I have friends I text about possible nights out, and they never respond - it's so frustrating!

But still the SMS comes. So you assume it's been sent to the right person.
I get a load of texts from O2. That's only right; they supply my phone and airtime, and I can't be bothered to go online and update my preferences so that I don't receive these text messages. There is no follow-up; O2 don't ring me up and ask if I received their SMS. My learning? There are no consequences to ignoring SMS.

So, people don't respond to SMS, and ignore SMS which are not from people they know.
Surely a better option would be to have someone visit the intended 'target' - that would be more effective.

What's the point of sending these, and why be so impersonal?

I'm a floating voter. I think the Tories are doing better on the economy, but Labour are more considerate.
When I hear about initiatives like this, though, it makes me wonder if there aren't more important things in this life, like manners and compassion. And then I start thinking about Michael Gove and other less 'nice' Tories, and it makes me think that possibly it might be worth having a Labour government again. Sod fiscal discipline, at least if we're all nice to each other we can go to hell in a handcart all together and smile about it.

Eco Day at School (TAB First)

Saturday morning and we go to school regardless. For today is "ECO DAY" and our our presence is required.
In truth, Eco Day is just a bit of gardening, but on an industrial scale. By turning up to help, we are probably doing about a term's work in a day for the school. We move soil, weed flower beds, and generally titivate areas so that the school looks nice and attracts 'mini-beasts' (insects to you and me) at the right time of year.
The day was supposed to go on until three pm, but it was raining and a bit miserable, so we called it a day at about one pm. Then went home and had a bath to warm our chilly bones.

Ralph Miliband and the Daily Mail

The whole affair has affirmed my view that the Daily Mail is not a pleasant paper to read.
Why bother dragging up and insulting the memory of a dead man?

Others have said that Cameron's and Osborne's upbringing has similarly been questioned.
But I don't think that's right.
Someone said they've been accused of being 'posh boys' - that was actually an accusation levelled at them by Nadine Dorries, a tory. And in my opinion, the front bench on either side of the House is equally posh. So that doesn't wash.

The fact that Cameron's and Osborne's status has been questioned, I agree with. People have said they are products of Eton and they don't know how people on benefits live, that the laws they pass benefit people like them. I agree with that as well.
But I don't know Cameron's father's name, or his views, nor do I know Osborne's father's name, or views. I know he ran a paint company and became fabulously wealthy.
I don't believe any journalists have completed a widely-published hatchet-job on Cameron's or Osborne's father.

On the other hand, I don't think I'll ever forget Ralph Miliband's name, or the diary entry he wrote when he was 17.
Nor will I forget that Ralph Miliband served in the Royal Navy for three years while Rothermere sucked up to Hitler.
Nor will I forget that the Mail's attempt to smear Ralph Miliband, and Ed by association, backfired spectacularly and kept news from the Tory conference off the front pages.

The article published last week, and still causing bad feeling, shows more clearly than ever that British newspapers are merely the mouthpieces of their owners / editors, a way to promulgate bilge (in the case of the Mail).

You can love a country and question where it is going at the same time. You can question the necessity of the institutions and direction of political travel. That's because we live in a democracy.

The reason Ralph Miliband is so despised by the Daily Mail/Dacre, is because he questioned things.
The Daily Mail doesn't want you to question things.
It wants to tell you what's wrong with this country, and have you accept it wholesale.
It wants you to follow blindly its worldview.
You can't stop to think about this.
If you stop to think, you might notice the little man behind the curtain, telling you that this country is going to hell in a handcart.
What? No, there's no man there, don't look over there, look here, look at how Labour will screw up the country.
Look at how the country is falling apart because women don't stay at home to look after the children any more.
Look over here, and see how immigration is bringing this country to its knees...
Just don't look over there - there's nothing to see.

It's almost enough to make you vote for Ed Miliband, just to prove to Paul Dacre and the rest in charge at the Mail that this sort of crap won't wash.
If you deal in dishing dirt for long enough, you'll end up smelling of shit.

Banshee

Catching up on Banshee, the new U.S. drama somehow related to True Blood. I believe the same creative team are behind both. However, whereas True Blood is fantastical and a tale of good vs. bad, Banshee is a grim ultra-violent tale of bad vs. worse.
It's grim. Did I say that already? The episode with the albino in prison is especially memorable / repugnant. There is a liking for stretching out the violence too far in this show, so where other shows might have the fight last two or three minutes, Banshee pulls it out to seven or eight. And then pounds the unconscious skull with a hundredweight.
I will always remember 'are we good?' with a shudder.
I'm sure in years to come, it will take on the same horrific meaning as 'is it safe?' in Marathon Man. Not that I've seen MM in full, and I'm not sure that I want to; it is more a case of having to. Banshee could turn out and if to be a turning point in TV.
Where The Sopranos was psychological, and True Blood was sexy, and The Wire was involved, and Battlestar Galactica reinvented the space odyssey, Banshee has pushed ultra-violence that bit further and made it integral to the plot.
The story of the ex-con taking on the role of the Sheriff and then defending his position by all means necessary is a good plot device - you start rooting for him, but then as events occur, you start questioning exactly what is going on, and who you should support.
The scene in the prison with the albino is particularly intense, or at least it was for me. I believe I'm on now ep09 of 10, and that still pings around in my head when I'm at a loose end. It's quite an intense scene.

Anyways, I guess I'm saying that Banshee is compulsive viewing, and I'd recommend it.

Syria - What's the Endgame?

So, I've been following the news about Syria. I'm quite concerned that we might go in and attack. I don't understand what the endgame is. What are we hoping to achieve by this?
Until someone can explain that to me, I suggest we leave well enough alone.

Test

Test

Test IFTTT

So I've set up a couple of IFTTT 'recipes' which will do some cross-posting for me. Let's check whether my Tumblr and WordPress blogs pick this up.

Mad Domestic Skillz

So yesterday I spent the day with Daughter #1 while TW took Daughters #2 & #3 to Petworth House. We went on a bike ride to see M&P, as they wanted to install Skype and needed some reassurance from me. Dad also sorted out my bike tyres. Then we cycled to Sea Lane Cafe and had an overpriced slice of banoffee pie and some Millionaire Shortbread for the heiress.
TW took an age at Petworth, so I popped to the Co-Op and bought dinner. I cooked sausage and mash for the girls and chilli con carne for the adults.

I wouldn't make a song and dance about it, but we live a very traditional lifestyle; TW does the cooking and I earn the cash. So for me to cook two meals in one evening is a bit of a special occasion. And of course I tidied as I went, so the place was tidy at the end as well - result!
And then TW went to work this morning, so I've cooked breakfast, fried egg and bacon sandwiches, and washed up too.

Now all I need to do is put on a load of washing, and I will be King of the Domestic Chores...

TTFN.

Illness and Frailty

Child No. 2 was sick this week. And by 'sick' I mean we awoke to the sound of vomiting on Monday morning. Her little six-year old body was wracked with vomiting 10 times in three and a half hours. And then, as quickly as it came, it went. We'll never know what caused it. And I got to work from home on Tuesday because the school insists on a 48 hour quarantine.
In other news, I banjaxed my neck on Friday morning and have been suffering since. It's on the mend now, but I'm taking it as a sign that need to get running again.

My Bloody Valentine

So, another of my lifelong wishes achieved. I got to see My Bloody Valentine at a sold-out Hammersmith Apollo on the 12th March 2013. I went with a couple of friends from Uni; Ewan and Erin, as well as Ewan's sister who was celebrating her 50th, and Erin's friend from the U.S., Rachel.
I've never been to the Apollo before, and I was impressed by its grandeur. It must have been a theatre or a cinema in a previous life, but all the fittings in the main auditorium have been taken out, except the strips of carpet leading up and down in between the rows of chairs.
On the bars were free earplugs, and signs saying earplugs are available everywhere, so I took a pair and placed them very carefully in my coat pocket. We got a beer, and moved into the main room. The support band, Le Volume Courbe, were good and worthy of further investigation - I may have to check if they have any releases on Amazon. They reminded me a bit of Stereolab at times, but then they went a bit folk-y. So, 'drone folk'? Is that a musical category? I'm not sure, but they were interesting.
Then, about 21:15, MBV came on. They didn't talk much; I don't think anyone expected much chat. They built slowly, played a couple of songs I knew - I've got the "You Made Me Realise" EP, with five tracks on it. They played a couple off that, some off Loveless, I think I recognised "Soon" off the Glider EP.
Then they played the track we were all waiting for - You Made Me Realise. Wow. What an epic track. The wall of noise MBV produced was amazing. I could feel my jeams moving around my legs with the air vibrating, which was unexpected, and the drums were thumping against my chest.
I would have put my earplugs in, but unfortunately I had taken off my coat and packed it in my rucksack. The noise was building and building, and I did have to plug my ears with my thumbs instead - for the very last crescendo. So I can say that I experienced the MBV wall of noise - and survived.
And then, it was time to go home.
Unfortunately I missed the 23:17 so had to wait for the 00:06, which meant I didn't get in at home until 02:00.

But bloody hell. What an experience. People were nodding their heads, or semi-dancing, but IMO, MBV just make a noise to experience. Standing there and letting it wash over me was pleasure enough.

And I've got the added bonus that the new LP and CD are waiting for me at Resident Music, when I can get in to pick them up - so I can listen to the new tracks and fall in love with MBV all over again.

Partitioning a Disk

So this morning I have mostly been trying to repartition my netbook disk drive. It was very frustrating. I had some unallocated, unformatted space next to my C: drive, and as part of my adventures with Linux I had partitioned the Windows C: drive to just 20GB.
But recently the C: drive has been filling up, probably with error reports as I have been trying to stabilise Windows and install Windows 7 Starter Pack 1, unsuccessfully :(
So I used the Disk Management function but was unable to increase the size of the C: drive.
Eventually I downloaded a third party partition manager and reformatted the unallocated space into drive D:, as NTFS. Then I deleted that partition, and then I was able to extend the C: drive up to 231GB.
That sounds quite straightforward, but it took me three and a half hours of looking, googling, trial and error, as well as restarting and scanning disks to complete. At times I was quite frustrated. But I have now resolved it, and I'm happy with the result.

Todd, The Ugliest Kid on Earth

So, have just read Todd, and looking at the cover again i realise i completely missed the kid with the paper bag over his head in the middle of the picture. D'oh!

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Amazon and Tax

An argument I've heard recently is that if Amazon paid more tax, prices would have have to go up and we would all end up paying more for our CDs.

This is utter tosh.

Taxes are paid on profits. So let's take a working example and see it through...

Amazon get a CD in at £3.50 cost. They sell it for £5.00. They have a profit of £1.50 on that CD. It's a simplistic example, I grant you.

The interesting thing is what happens after the sale and the profit is earned. It's how Amazon decide to declare that profit. Or, do they pay that £1.50 in 'licence fees' to their U.S. HQ so that it's not registered in the UK?

In a perfect world, Amazon would pay corporation tax on that £1.50, which I believe is about 22%, or 33p. But thanks to the wizardry of the Amazon accounting team, that £1.50 is not declared as £1.50, or it's declared in Luxembourg where corporation tax is 3%, or it's set off against previous 'losses'. So it's about how Amazon declare their profits, not how they price their goods.

If they choose not to indulge in complicated tax affairs, they would pay the 33p for the CD. If they choose to complicate things, they may pay as little as 5p (or even less, who knows?). But that doesn't change the price of the CD to the consumer. The difference is in how Amazon decide to declare the profit. Or do they declare it as profit at all?

So Amazon pay tax on their 'profits'. Any company can follow Inland Revenue guidelines to minimize their 'profits' and so reduce their tax burden.

The issue is that companies like Amazon and Google, who are actually HQed in the U.S. and don't give a rat's piss about the economic welfare of the UK, are aggressively reducing their tax profile. This means that although they transact plentifully in the UK, apparently (according to the Inland Revenue) it's not worth their while.

And we ("the people", or David Cameron, if you want to be specific) claim this is immoral, despite the fact that it is not illegal. DC, the Prime Minister, the person in charge, thinks that "aggressive tax avoidance" is immoral, but is not changing the law to make it illegal.

Well, you work it out. Me, I think that the companies have a declared responsibility to their shareholders, and if they are not committing explicitly illegal acts, they're okay.

It's not nice, or pretty, or moral, but they aren't breaking the law.

If we want to change the situation, we need to change the law.

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Blog Email Test

Email Test

#test

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Restoring a Kindle Fire (1st Gen)

In case you weren't aware, the first Amazon Kindlle Fires were only sold in the U.S. This annoyed non-U.S. technophiles who liked the look of the devices, and some people outside the U.S. got their hands on them. Their frustration increased when they found out that access to the Amazon Store through the Kindle was limited to those with credit cards with U.S. addresses.

Anyway, a friend of mine got hold of one, during a trip to the U.S. During an official update, the device appeared to break. It was probably not charged enough, or the update was flawed; I'm not sure. Amazon were running a returns programme, but as he was in the UK and not supposed to have it, he thought he would take a different approach. He knew someone who had rooted the device previously and thought he would do that. 

Unfortunately he 'soft-bricked' it. That is, it would switch on, but would not proceed beyond the power up screen. I read a bit about Kindles and I thought maybe it was stuck in Fastboot mode. I offered to help, and downloaded the Kindle Unbrick Utility (from XDA) on to my netbook and took it in to work. When we plugged the Fire into the netbook, it wasn't recognised as a device - which pointed to a driver problem. So I brought the Fire home and had a play here. 

The first goal was to get the Fire recognised by the netbook - which meant messing about with drivers. I found this site run by Jayce Ooi and followed the instructions there. This involved installing a generic Kindle Fire driver so that the netbook could talk to the Fire, and then the Fire itself installed the correct drivers.

Once that was done, I re-ran the Kindle Unblock Utility and Hey Presto! The 'brick' was revived. 

The Kindle Fire is a nice device, with a good screen and a nice UI linked to the Amazon ecosystem. If I were in the market for a tablet now, it's one I would consider.Unfortunately it don't mean much if you can't actually buy anything from the store...

So, almost as an afterthought I rooted the Fire with the Kindle Fire Utility and installed Google Play. Now, at least, the Fire's owner should be able to access Play Books and other apps from Google Play.

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Dutch Tvashar Plumes

I bought an album from Resident Music last week, based purely on their description of it. It has to be said, I was intrigued - Dutch Tvashar Plumes by Lee Gamble.

Having listened to the first couple of tracks, I think I made a good decision; it sounds a bit like Ambient Classics, or at least in that sort of mood. I'm looking forward to listening to the rest of it.

A detail I was really impressed by was the record sleeve. At first glance, it looks like your common or garden plain transparent plastic sleeve. But take it off, and you realise that the album name (the white writing in the photos is actually on the sleeve itself. Genius!

See the full gallery on Posterous

It's little touches like this that make me smile. And yes, I know that makes me a bit of a nerd...

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iTunes Frustration

Technology can be frustrating sometimes. I was installing iTunes the other day to upload some songs on to ED's iPod but it just didn't seem to work. When it was connected to the computer, the computer recognised that the iPod had tunes on it but when I detached the iPod Nano from the computer it said it had no music on it. I had installed iTunes on the PC from a CD which came with the iPod Nano- the first generation one . I did try to update it through iTunes itself but the message I kept getting was that the service could not be found. I looked online and I found articles advising that in order to play aac files I would need the iPod software version 1.3 which I knew that the new iPod Nano could not support. So I tried loading other files - wav files, mp3 files, anything I could find. But still no music appeared on the iPod Nano. Then I decided to update iTunes by downloading the latest version from the Internet, from Apple's website itself. That took an absolute age; it was deleting files, restoring files, replacing files, registering files. By now it was about 22:20 - past my bedtime! So I thought I would give it one last try. Once iTunes had installed itself - the latest version of iTunes, that is - I synced the iPod Nano with iTunes and hey presto! the tunes appeared on the iPod Nano. I believe it was because I was trying to use iTunes version 6 to upload songs to a newer machine. Once I installed iTunes version 10, which is the current version, all of a sudden life was very easy indeed. So that's a lesson learnt for me. Always use the latest software when required. And in the process I've learnt more about which files iTunes and my iPod support!

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Hats Off to Apple...

So, we chose to be really generous and give our eldest daughter an iPod for Christmas. It was an iPod Nano, and to be fair, it was a 1st Generation iPod Nano which Amy had been given a number of years ago, But, thanks to my inability to throw anything away, we had all the original packaging, so we were able to clean it up and make it look like new - like a Christmas present, in fact.
We charged it up, and on Christmas Day we gave it to ED. I loaded some songs on to it when I had a moment. On Boxing Day, ED brought the iPod to me and told me it wouldn't switch on. I thought maybe she hadn't held the button down for long enough, so I gve it a go. Unfortunately that didn't work, so I thought maybe I would reset it. I went online to look for tips, and while I was browsing around, I came across a "1st Generation iPod Nano Replacement Scheme". It turns out that some of the batteries in the 1st Gen Nanos were a bit dodgy, and as a result they had decided to replace all 1st Generation iPod Nanos. Result!

So I went to the Apple website, entered my serial number, and clicked 'Enter'. I got an instant reply; Apple were sending me some packaging I should use to return the Nano, and they would replace it. ED and I waited a day or two and the packaging arrived. We packed up the Nano and sent it off, and waited. I checked the website regularly for updates, and then I saw it - a replacement unit had been dispatched and UPS were going to deliver it last Friday. Unfortunately TW wasn't in, so UPS took it back to their depot and advised they would redeliver it on Monday.

Monday came, and I sat on UPS's website, refreshing my tracking number every five minutes. I was worried that TW had such a full day of exercise and work and dropping off the kids and picking up the kids and driving and errands and BEING OUT OF THE HOUSE that she would miss the delivery. I think I was more eager to receive the delivery than ED! Late in the afternoon, I pressed F5 for what seemed like the 1,000th time, and instead of being "Out For Delivery", the replacement iPod Nano was "Delivered and Signed For by Customer". I rang home immediately to check, and counted down the minutes until I could leave the office and get home.

Upon arriving home, I went to look at the delivery, and we had been sent a 6th Generation iPod Nano. This iteration has a touchscreen and 8gb of memory.

So because Apple had identified a potential fault in a 6 or 7 year old piece of tech we had lying unused in the bottom of a drawer somewhere, an old bit of kit with a clickwheel and 1gb of memory, they were willing to replace that with a two-year old newer bit of kit with a touchscreen and 8gb of memory. And it's got a 90-day warranty. I'm sure that by then ED will be bored of it. :-)

Great customer service - but then I think most people say that, right?

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And So the Festivities End

Welcome to the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas. It's been a period of over-indulgence in several ways; we've had lots of fun, lots of presents and lots of booze.
TW spent a lot of time in hospital with her gran - she's fine, still going strong and is as stubborn as ever.
Our Christmas Eve drinks party / open house tradition was a success again. I say 'our', but really it is all down to TW. She loves it. The Day itself was a restrained affair at M&P's, and then friends came over for the evening.
I was back to work on Thursday 27th as I had drawn the short straw at work.
New Year's Eve was a second wave of over-indulgence and January 1st was a very slow day indeed - all the girls saw in the New Year though, which was a good thing (I think).
Then 2nd Jan was back to work again and for me it's been back to normal every since. TW, on the other hand, restarts her routine tomorrow - and that might be a shock to the system... :)
Me? I've already been out running twice this year, and looking forward to getting out more.
Happy New Year!

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Early Sunday Morning

So here I am again, up early and watching India vs Pakistan first ODI. We have six people asleep upstairs - five girls aged from three to seven, and TW. We're having a sleepover to help out some friends who had a party to go to. I'm glad to see the girls are actually sleeping...

Not much going on today, possibly a trip to Arundel later, as TW mentioned she wanted to visit Sparks Yard. It's always nice having a mooch around that shop :-).

We'll see...

And then tomorrow morning it'll be back to work for me, albeit from home, for the morning, and then will we see in the New Year in style? Possibly...

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New Year's Resolutions

It's that time of year when thoughts turn to the coming year and how we can improve our lives in the next 52 weeks.
Serious resolutions will be made. Ho yus.

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The Wonder Stuff not Wonderful Any More...

So I went to see the Wonder Stuff on Wednesday; they were appearing on a triple bill with PWEI (Pop Will Eat Itself) and Jesus Jones in a night entitled "Sleigh the UK".

I met up with my sister at Victoria and we made our way to the Shepherd's Bush O2. We got in just as Jesus Jones were starting up, with International Bright Young Thing. They stormed through a number of songs off Liquidizer, as well as a couple from Doubt which I recognised, and of course they played Info Freako - but it wasn't the closer, surprisingly.

The songs were good, but it seemed there was something missing; I'm not sure what it was, but the music didn't seem quite rounded out. It was very enjoyable though, and I felt the hairs on the back of my neck prickle at several points during the set.

Next up were PWEI, which now only contains one original member - Graham Crabb. But he's backed up by (apparently) an ex-member of Gaye Bikers on Acid, and they certainly look like they're having fun on stage. The guitarists looked younger, but also joined in the fun. I saw PWEI last year at the Concorde II in Brighton and was initially sceptical, but they produced a full-on wall of sound and they know how to get their crowd moving. There was some serious moshpit action, which looked scary to me! But from my vantage point, they were the highlight of the night.

Lastly, The Wonder Stuff came on. Again, they only contain one original member, but I think we would all agree that Miles Hunt is the original member; he was the songwriter, the mouthpiece and the creative engine-room of the band. Miles took the stage like the all-conquering hero he is, but the band didn't seem to interact at all. It seemed like they were doing it by the numbers, and the only one enjoying themself was Miles. Things did pick up a bit when Erica left the stage so that the band could "play their boys' music", and the band romped through a few of their hits, but it was 22:45 by this time, and it was too little, too late.

The last time I saw the Wonder Stuff, Malc Treece and Martin Gilks were onstage (must have been 2005 or 2006) and the sense of communal enjoyment was palpable. It just wasn't there last Wednesday, and it probably would have been better billed as "Miles Hunt sings The Wonder Stuff". I still listen to 'Groove Machine and Hup, and I was reminded how good Never Loved Elvissounds (and my sister re-bought that for me a few years ago). I also have Escape From Rubbish Island and Suspended By Stars from their new incarnation, so I think the creative spark is there, but there was some enjoyment, some joie de vivre missing from the gig.

I'm glad I went; it was good to see Caroline and hear Jesus Jones and PWEI again, and Miles had his moments, but I shan't be attending Sleigh the UK 2013.

TTFN !! 

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Gay Marriage

I don't understand what the big deal is. If people want to get married why shouldn't they be allowed to do so?
How can the fact that two people are married have any impact on anyone outside the marriage?
Surely supporting gay marriage should be the default laissez-faire approach of the conservatives.
Why would anyone want to deny the benefits of marriage to others?
If marriage leads to stability in society, why would one want to deny that to anyone?
Just asking...

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Shopping With Hattie

This morning I have taken a day off to help out TW - she's got a Christmas Fair to organise later, and doesn't need to worry about the kids.

So I've got Hattie for the day. I asked her what she wanted to do and she said she wanted to go shopping. And she especially wanted to go to Tesco - that's apparently her favourite shop.

So we went into Worthing, moved from bank to bank, and then went to Caffè Nero, where Hattie could have a melted cheese sandwich - she'd been banging on about it all morning. She also got to run up some steps and down a slope twice. And I collected a birthday parcel from the Post Office. And that took eighty minutes. It's slow going with a youngster... :-)

.

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Apple got Served

So, I see that Apple have been told off for not complying with the judgement handed down by the UK courts. As well as publishing the required apology, they published additional detail confusing the issue and making it look like other courts disagreed with the UK judgement.
Looking at the 'apology' the last phrase is "Samsung willfully copied Apple's far more popular iPad." which kind of misses the point.
Apparently Apple asked for 14 days to make the change but were denied. As someone else pointed out today, they didn't wait 14 days to publish tributes to Steve Jobs. They were obviously playing for time, looking for a way to weasel out of the judgement again.
Well, I don't think it went their way.
Apple make lovely products, they should rely on that. Going after Samsung boosted sales of the SIII - so the action Apple took was self-defeating.
I hope these companies stop their court activities soon, it's getting tedious.

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A London Weekend

We were very lucky that a friend of TW's was going away for the weekend and offered us the use of her flat. We pootled up on Thursday night after work without incident and installed ourselves in Earlsfield, SW18.
Friday we spent the day at London Zoo. It rained but the kids enjoyed it. Saturday we spent walking through London - we visited Leicester Square, Chinatown, Trafalgar Square (the NFL were in town), and we were entertained for hours by the street performers at Coventry Garden. There was a very funny guy who majicked oranges from under hats - great patter! and also a guy on a unicycle, who I think was underselling his skill, but being funny with it.
We also went to the National Gallery and the Tate Modern, and finished the day off with Pizza Express and a walk in the dark back to Waterloo along the Embankment, to see the London Eye illuminated.

Just a Distraction

I'm beginning to get a bit fed-up.

The main stories on Friday were Andrew Mitchell's resignation as Chief Whip and Gideon Osborne's train incident.

I'm reminded of small boys playing in the playground, gloating loudly at each other.

"Naa naa, na-naa naa!"

These stories are just a distraction from the news / real events going on in the world.

Can we just stop it?

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Farewell Strauss

I read with surprise the news yesterday morning, suggesting that Strauss was about to resign as captain of the England cricket team. As the morning wore on, articles and items on the Guardian website and Sky News persuaded me that it was not just an idle flight of fancy. 

And then at 12 midday the press conference took place and Strauss resigned from the captaincy and all international and domestic cricket.

It was a real shock. I can understand resigning from the captaincy and the England team entirely - although if he only resigned the captaincy in order to concentrate on his batting, that would have been okay. But a complete break with the England team makes sense - he won't be a shadow, interfering in Cook's decision-making. He's done the decent thing and given Cook a clear run, so well done to him.

I am surprised that he won't be returning to Middlesex though, I would have thought another season or two could have cushioned the blow of his England departure. But again, I suppose we are coming to the end of the season, and he wouldn't play again until March next year. 

I know Cook is the anointed one, and he's been groomed for this role, but I'm not sure. And his first experience will be against India in India - not the easiest way to bed yourself in. In fact, it may be a bit of a baptism of fire. But let's wait and see, I suppose.

Fingers crossed he makes a good fist of it. I'm looking forward to it.

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Saddened

Kevin Pietersen. I know that pretty much everything has been written already, but I wanted to say that I will miss watching him play. And it's a shame England can't accommodate him because I still think he has a contribution to make to English cricket.
Can't they just accept he's not a team-player and give him his own dressing room or something? That might seem like special treatment, but he wouldn't get to share the highs and he would have to internalise the lows.
That could be seen as a punishment rather than a privilege. And we'd still get to see him play for England.

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Running IV

Woo hoo! I managed a sub-10 minute mile this morning, I'm quite chuffed. Obviously not on a par with any serious runners, but it's good for me...
I was almost sprinting at the end - or that's what it felt like, anyway. Probably not very nice to watch, but I did it!

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Away

So, last weekend we went away.

It was only a short trip, in both time and distance, to stay with the MiL and her man. But we went on Friday and came back on Tuesday, and during that time I completely relaxed and forgot about work.

On the Saturday we went for a walk in the grounds of Blenheim Palace, and despite the distance we walked, The Brood did remarkably well. I had The Youngest on my shoulders for a while on the way home, and they whinged a bit, but they made it. Well done...

On Sunday we had friends and their parents over for lunch. The friends have recently become parents, and their daughter was a delight.

Unfortunately, at the end of the day, I suffered from a bit of food poisoning.  I was a bit concerned I had overdone it on the wine, but looking back now it was obviously something different. Anyway, I spent the evening in bed and missed the Olympics Closing Ceremony.

On Monday TW & I went into Oxford by ourselves; the MiL looked after The Brood. I was still weak from vomiting and lack of food, but appreciated the relative peace and quiet. I managed to rebuild my strength with a McDonalds burger and fries, which was a surprise, but it worked.

Tuesday morning TW and the MiL went into Witney with The Brood, and I creamed The Girl Who Played With Fire. I've finished it now, it's a good book, and I've started with the third in the series, I hope to finish it in the next couple of days.

Any way, it was a good rest. I've been on light duties at work this week, or at least it's felt like that. But things are good.

TTFN.

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Running III

So I continue to amaze myself. We stayed up until 23:30 last night, And I was up at 05:45 ready to go for a run. I'd had a bit of drink taken, but not overly so (and I reckon my unit intake was lower than The Wife's), but I was still surprised to be awake and ready to go.

And this time I decided to extend my run, to a whole 1.24 miles. Again, I ran the entire distance (except for a short stop while crossing the road, to let a car past). I maintained my average running speed at 10m19s per mile; a bit slow, I know, but I'm hoping this will come down as the weeks go on. 

In addition, I'm hoping to push out the distance I run, slowly so that I don't stop or have to take breaks. I may even get up to 20 or 25 minutes running - we'll have to see.

But tomorrow I'm off to the in-laws for a long weekend, so I won't get to run until Weds. Boo!

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Running II

So today I went for my third run in eight days. If I'm not careful, this could be habit-forming. Still just over 10 minutes for a mile, but at one stage today I felt like I was actually running, if that makes any sense?
Normally it's a case of putting one foot in front of the other and trying not to fall over or stop.
Today I realised I could stretch out my pace and run. I'm hoping for a bit more of that when I run again on Thursday.

Again?

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Running

First run in years. I think the last time was with Caroline while we lived in Kemptown, so pre-2003.
One mile in eleven minutes, not great. Room for improvement. And if I'm less wheezy next time, that would be good...

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Tindersticks at Somerset House

Last weekend I went to Somerset House to see Emmy the Great and Tindersticks.
Against the odds, it was sunny and a lovely evening.
I made my way into the courtyard and lots of the audience were sitting down. Then Emmy came on, they were pretty good. Played a good song called Gemini. I think it was their cover of Pixies' Where is My Mind which was used as an advert for a holiday company. The sound was really good and clear. I'd not heard them before, I was expecting something a bit more folky, but I liked what I heard and should search out some of their releases.
Then Tindersticks came on, I have two of their CDs but haven't really got to know them. Again the sound was clear and crisp. The backing band were quite funky, a good rhythm section. Stuart Staples the singer had a lovely voice, like a deep Roland Gift. A bit mannered but lovely and rich, like a good chocolate. As I didn't know the songs, I only stayed for 50 minutes as I had to get home. But it was worth it - I won the tickets in a lottery at work.
All in all a good evening.

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Timoleon Vieta Come Home - a Review

So I bought the book through the Amazon Kindle app on my phone, since it was on offer at 99p.

I enjoyed reading it, it was well-paced, but I think it was a short story padded out into a novel.

A lot of the book was taken up with a series of unrelated vignettes, linked by the dog, and not part of the story of Cockroft.

My final impression was that it was irrelevant to me, and unfulfilling. It's a shame because I wanted it to be more.

 

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Same Ol', Same Ol'...

Another night at the cricket, another crushing victory for Sussex.
What was different about tonight was that it came on the back of England winning the first ODI vs. Australia. Perfect.

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Linux Mint 13 - A New Day

So I bought a netbook a while ago and installed Linux Mint 12. I wrote about that in May, if you recall. Unfortunately once I had installed that version of Linux, it didn't always load properly, and when it did, I had intermittent issues with wireless connectivity.  So I defaulted back to Windows; because actually, what is the difference between Linux and Windows for me? Is there a benefit to running one system in preference to the other? Not really.

What do I use my netbook for? Let me list the ways...

• Watching ripped DVDs
• Reading/Updating Facebook
• Emailing (reading circulars, mostly)
• General net browsing
• Looking for updates on XDA
• Updating a couple of spreadsheets

 

So it's all about what sits on top of the OS, rather than the OS itself.

Having said that, there are some customisations which are nice / different in Mint which make it stand out from Windows, which is nice. But I could get similar desktop pictures in Windows. I do like the fact that with Linux you can experiment with the command line, if you choose not to use the GUI. So I did use the terminal facility to delete multiple installations of Linux, when I was messing things up before, which made me feel like a 'real' programmer :)

So when I heard that Linux Mint 13 had been released, I decided to give it a go. Again, I had a few issues for a couple of days, but then I remembered the Mint4Win approach I adopted last time, and used that. Again, it worked like a charm.

And the great news is that every time I've booted into Mint 13 the load has been successful, and wireless works flawlessly! Sometimes I think it knocks our laptop off the network, but we're getting a new router today, so hopefully the signal will be a lot stronger (our existing router is over five years old).

So because it is reliable, I am more likely to use Mint. What I do need to do is sit down and personalise the menu and options, using the new Cinnamon settings. I might get some time tomorrow - let's see...

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Pietersen, Retirement & ODIs

Having followed the news over the last couple of days, I'm saddened by the fact of Kevin Pietersen's retirement from international limited overs cricket.

Apparently the fella wanted to continue playing T20 for England, but the ECB advised that to be eligible for T20 he had to be available for ODIs (50 over cricket) as well.

ODIs can be a bit tiresome on occasion, but they are still a good way to pass a day. Especially with people of Pietersen's callibre playing, who can sense that the game is dying or becoming dull, and inject a bit of adrenalin into the situation. KP and his ilk can turn a game and make it exciting.

A few days ago, I believe it was Thursday, while we watched the rain at Edgbaston, I listened to Andy Flower talking about the medium- and long-term interests of the team. And I think Flowers and the ECB have got it right.

You can't make an exception for individuals. And I think there is a concern that ODI cricket is the poor relation to Test and T20 cricket. If they (the ECB) allow KP to pick and choose, they will have to let all players pick and choose. And especially with the strains that modern bowling inflicts on the body, I could see the entire first-class England bowling attack retiring with immediate effect from ODI cricket.

T20 is the glamourous form of the game; Test cricket is the strategic mind game. Fifty over cricket is a way to watch a complete game in a day, but it isn't differentiated; it needs to build its own reputation. I don't think that cricketers are crying out to play ODIs, and that needs to change. ODI cricket needs its own image, its own brand and specialists.

Until it does that, ODIs, for England at least, will always be a secondary thought. They might attract large crowds in the sub-continent, but so do T20 matches.

I'll miss KP and the anticipation of his appearance. But his performance was always hit-and-miss. He could be out for a low score or hit a quick 50. The team as a unit needs to be reliable. And with the strength and depth of the English team as it is at the moment, perhaps now is the best time for KP to retire. At the age of 31. Lucky git.

Posted via email from Rob Thorley's Posterous Site

Corfe and Camping

So we took our annual camping holiday early this year, since it's rained in August for the last three years every time we've been.
We went with new camping companions Carol & Nick, our neighbours, and their kids. And lo, the weather was good. Except when we were packing up the tent and coming home - then the rain pissed down.
We were in Swanage on the bank holiday Monday for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and I've never seen it so busy. Of course we went in on the steam train, which the kids enjoyed.
We also spent a day at Bluepool, where Tilly completed the Squirrel Quest and won a bear. We passed a day at Studland Beach, although not in blazing sunshine. And in the evenings we relaxed around the fire and drank copious amounts of wine. All in all it was great, and I expect we'll go again - in fact, I'm looking forward to it!

Posted via email from Rob Thorley's Posterous Site

Daredevil (and comics in general)

I have mostly been reading Daredevil this week. After the dark and gothic environment of the Shadowland denouement to Vol. II, the new comics (Vol. III) are a breath of fresh air. The artwork is very bright and summery, people are smiling and enjoying life, and Matt Murdock wears a jumper with "I am not Daredevil" emblazoned across it.

Since deciding to give up the booze, I've caught up with Uncanny X-Force, Astonishing X-Men, and even decided to invest in Iron Man - from 500 onwards (which is the number I picked up Daredevil from, if I remember correctly?  What a coincidence...)

So I have a pile of comics on my bedside table, ready for reading. I'm looking forward to starting Supurbia, a four-part series from BOOM!, as well as catching up with Morning Glories.  I think I'm about a year behind on Incorruptible, and don't even get me started on Haunt...!

But the new system might just work, and if I can read more in a week than I buy on a Saturday, hopefully the pile next to the bed will slowly diminish (we can live in hope...). And if I can continue to read some comics on the train as well, that'll help too.

Job's a good'un!.

TTFN

Posted via email from Rob Thorley's Posterous Site

Sussex Cricket Season Opens

Last Sunday was the first of many trips this summer to the Probiz County Ground in Hove. Of course to see Sussex play cricket in a CB40 match against the Unicorns, who are (as I understand it) an ECB development side which was formed to give exposure to potential stars of the cricketing future.
As such, Sussex walloped them. 291 from 40 overs, with centuries for Joyce and Machan. When the Unicorns were 45 from 15 overs I realised the jig was up and made my excuses.
It was a good day; the sun was out, it wasn't too hot - in fact when the wind blew it was quite chilly. I had a fleece on for much of the later afternoon. I managed to read a couple of old Guardian Weekends which I've been hoarding for years, and I got to road-test my new, bigger and more powerful binoculars.
I saw a girl from work, M, and exchanged a few words with my fellow spectators. I enjoyed a couple of pork pies courtesy of the Tesco Express by Hove station, washed down with a couple of bottles of Coke - no alcohol was taken! I also enjoyed a cold homemade burger which TW had prepared the night before.
All in all it was a lovely day, a good start to the season and a taste of things to come. Apart from Machan's innings, it wasn't a compelling match, and I'm hoping for better atmospheres and more gripping cricket as the season continues. But there's no better way to spend a sunny afternoon than at the Probiz - especially with Sussex in control.

Posted via email from Rob Thorley's Posterous Site

Bank Holiday Style Pt. I

It's been a busy three days.

The list of to-dos began even before I got home. TW phoned me at work to let me know that the fuses had blown. "Darling, I wasn't doing anything. Just hammering a picture hook into the wall above the light switch." So job #1 was to rewire an old fuse.
And of course, I left the picture hook in the wall. So, as soon as I put the repaired fuse back in the box and switched the circuit back on, it blew. Dammit!
So I had to redo it. This time I took the picture hook out of the wall. A neighbour came round and reckoned I was on a hiding to nothing, but I thought it was worrth a try. The other alternative was to call an electrician *on a bank holiday* to come out and repair it. We would have had to sell the house, I reckon, to pay a bill like that.
Anyway, this time it worked, thank the lord. Old style fuses are so fiddly. So that was job #1 completed.

Posted via email from Rob Thorley's Posterous Site

Adventures in Linux / Customizing a Netbook

I may have mentioned I bought a netbook a few weeks ago. It may have slipped my mind to record the fact. But either way, I've had a new toy to play with.
The annoying thing with Windows on a netbook, though, is that it feels like only part of the display is on view.
So I asked a guy at work about Linux and he recommended Mint. I happily bumbled home and looked it up.
Mint's big selling point is it's multimedia capabilities. Aha! I thought, that'll do me.
So I downloaded the ISO onto a USB stick - several times. It appears that 1GB sticks don't hold 1GB of data, so I had to use a 16GB stick I had. Of course, Linux users being more precise, the ISO is actually 1024MB in size, and it won't fit on a USB with 997MB free. My bad.
I tested the system by booting it from the USB and I liked it, so decided to install it. And that's where I came unstuck. The system is supposed to install a dual-boot menu, so that on start-up you get the choice between using Linux or Windows. But the menu didn't kick in. So I reloaded it and tried again. Same thing.
Eventually I had to delete three installations of Linux Mint! And it still wasn't booting as expected.
Then I checked the MD5 value, to ensure the downloaded software wasn't corrupted. No problems there. So I tried again. Went through some serious problem-solving steps and ended up deleting and reinstalling the bootloader - that was a bit worrying since if the procedure had not worked, I would have borked the netbook.
But all this effort was to no avail. I just could not get the boot menu to install from the USB.
So I decided to change my line of attack. I used mint4win to install Linux inside Windows. It took some time; I had to download a virtual drive piece of software, and download a cut-down version of Mint. But it installed as smooth as butter; I then clicked on the 'upgrade to DVD Version' and voila - the full version installed. And the boot menu appeared as desired - so I now have Mint on my netbook! Hurrah.
TTFN.

Posted via email from Rob Thorley's Posterous Site

Punished by PayPal

So I received an email from PayPal the other day, advising that they were going to withhold my funds for 35 days. So when I try to withdraw funds, I won't receive them for a month.
The only reason for this that I can see is that I've been more active with my account recently - so I am being penalised for using my account in the way it was intended.

Way to go, PayPal! Thanks for your support!

TTFN.

Posted via email from Rob Thorley's Posterous Site

Commuter Etiquette

So I was on the train on the way home this evening. Admittedly it was a bit more crowded than normal, but I still tried to get a seat. And lo and behold, the crowds parted and there was indeed a seat. Except it was next to the window, and someone was sitting in the aisle seat.
So I asked the gentleman politely if I could please 'sit in there'? People were standing, and this selfish loser was hogging a double seat. We're all travelling together, we've all paid for a ticket. Why make it more uncomfortable and difficult than it needs to be?

Come on people - when commuting, let's look out for each other. Let's make life that bit easier for us all, eh?

TTFN.

Asus Padfone

Ha! Now that I've invested in a two-year contract with O2 for my HTC One X, I see that more details are forthcoming about the Asus Padfone.
For those not in the know, the Asus Padfone was announced in about March 2011, and is a large-screen mobile phone that slots into a tablet. Because of the way the Android development has progressed, they needed to wait for Ice Cream Sandwich (the current version of the Androind operating system) to be ready. Then they had to make their tweaks and changes. And then there was the disk drive shortage due to flooding in Thailand.

Plus, I've been on XDA Developers' Forum, and the devs there are finding it hard going to create workable ICS custom ROMs. So I think Asus probably had a few problems creating a usable software package - but that is just my inference and is not based on any known fact apart from time to market.

Well, I think the Asus Padfone is a damned sexy very exciting bit of kit. Imagine it; you have a phone for mobile use, which then slots into the back of a tablet, so you can play Angry Birds HD or catch up on that latest book you bought on Kindle while you're couch-surfing. Then you need to email a couple of people, so you slot the tablet into its keyboard dock and you can use it as a netbook. That's all the tech you need, right there, in a 10.1 inch foldaway package.

The one area where this package falls down is that the tablet is not a stand-alone device. The tablet is powered by the phone's operating system - so once you take out the phone, the tablet is useless, except as a display screen for another bit of kit, maybe?

But of course, cutting-edge tech like that doesn't come cheap. For the phone and the tablet which is available for pre-order in Taiwan, will cost about $850, and with the keyboard dock, that's $980. I converted that to GBP and added VAT at 20% and arrived at a figure of £740, so I can see this costing £750.

Thinking about it, I'm not sure it's worth it. If a smartphone costs between £400 - £500, that would mean paying £250 for a display and a keyboard. Hmm, I still want one though!

New HTC One X

Wow. I'm so cutting-edge. So, I took the plunge and invested in the HTC One X on Thursday. It is a pretty good phone, but there are one or two settings which are annoying. I'm sure I will overcome those though, and use this device to its full potential.

England Falter

I started today in a very optimistic fashion. Trott and Bell were at the crease and playing sensibly. Then I made the mistake of showering, and upon my return I learned that Bell was out for 13. A sad day.
Then my hopes were revived again by Prior, who managed an impressive 41 before his wicket fell. But it was okay, I told myself, Trott was still in and Broad & Swann could back up.
I guess I knew it was over when Trott fell. Broad and Swann could have made a go of it, but Swann was out sharpish. And from there it was only a matter of time.

Shame. TTFN.

Posted via email from Rob Thorley's Posterous Site

It is NOT a Granny Tax

I know, it's crazy.

 

But let's remind ourselves of the facts here.

The state pension is £102.15 per week, which means the government, and by extension, we, are giving pensioners £400 per month or £4,800 per year. Then there is a free TV licence, worth £100, and fuel allowances, and cold payments, and other allowances.  There is also the Second State Pension, which apparently pays an extra £25 per week on average, or £1,200 per year. And then, if you are still not receiving enough money to live on, there are pension credits.

 

Pensioners have a higher threshold before they pay any tax at all - over £10,000, compared to £8,100 (approx.) for today's workers.

 

If pensioners have worked and saved they should have a private pension which will provide an additional income over and above all the income sources mentioned above.

 

None of the benefits which pensioners receive today are being taken away. So, if a pensioner is receiving any of the benefits above today, they will continue to receive those.

 

What this budget lays out is that some of these benefits will not be available to future pensioners, nor will the current allowances continue (automatically) to grow with inflation.

 

Yes, it's a tough message. For those who've worked and saved, and have an independent income, all of the above is just gravy. For those who haven't, the above is what they can expect. Anyone retiring in the future can expect less. I believe this government is moving towards a universal pension scheme, where all pensioners will get the same - more or less. By removing anomolous benefits here and there, and baking those into the basic pension, we can save on admin costs and ensure that the basic pension is more generous.

 

I repeat, no-one is losing anything they currently receive. But, things will look different in the future. As time passes, things change. That's a natural phenomenon. The Daily Mail will just have to get used to it. But then, I suppose there are *some* things that don't change :)

 

Posted via email from Rob Thorley's Posterous Site

Changes to Higher Rate Tax

Initially, I read with bemusement the news that George Osborne may reduce the rate of higher tax to 40%. I am hoping that he will do more to raise the threshold at which we start paying tax, as this will be a benefit to me. I thought that if he reduces the top rate of tax, there will be no room to increase the threshold at which we start paying tax - on the grounds that he would be reducing the tax take at both ends.
But I'm thinking that reducing the top rate of tax may increase the tax take. I know it sounds strange, but let's think about it for a moment...
If the top rate is reduced to 40%, fewer people might move abroad, and fewer people might take action to avoid paying taxes. So the %age of tax take may increase, and the overall amount taken in tax may increase. Let's see...
It won't have a big impact any way, as the number of people earning over £150k are few and far between - and I'm not one of them :(
TTFN.

Development Planning Time Again

It's that time of year at work when Management insist we produce Development Plans. This to demonstrate they have our best interests at heart. I'm lucky this year in that I've just changed roles and so my development plan is to get to know my new role. A stretch goal would be to excel in my new role.
I'm becoming more aware, however, that I'm quite happy doing what I'm doing - whatever that is. I'm not sure that I want a promotion, because I see managers having their priorities changed hourly, as information is requested for decks, or Management are planning a visit. As long as I can ensure our standard of living improves, I think I'll be happy with that for now. Which is lucky, since I should now stay in role for 18 months or so. I'm sure by the time I get to the end of that time, I'll be looking for another opportunity / promotion. Happy days.
TTFN.

Woop! Woop!

So today I accomplished two things...

I took possession of my new Motorola bluetooth keyboard, for use with my Tab. It`s a very sexy bit of kit, but the layout is slightly strange. I`ll just blame Android for that. I managed to sync it without instructions and I`m using it now, so it can`t be all bad..!

And the second thing was that I connected up my CD player to my separates - now I can play CDs downstairs! The guinea pig CD was Underworld - `Dark and Long`, so I will have to keep it classy going forward. I predict lots of Wonder Stuff and PWEI to come...

It's a grey Saturday on the South Coast.
I'm feeling pretty lacklustre myself, that's probably due to the wine I imbibed last night.
I had a good whack of sleep though! From 22:30 to 07:00 this morning, and I wasn't aware of being awake for long passages during the night. I was awake for a short time, awake enough to publish a separate blog post, but that is functional and follows a template, rather than this blog which is more reflective and subjective.

I've started a new job, back in GNS. It's good to have job security, but I think it's going to take some time to adjust. Luckily my trainer went on holiday last week so I saw an unfiltered version of the job. I need to get my groove on, though.

Off to Elly's 40th tonight, I am looking forward to a night out although I might be driving so will have to stick to the lemonade :( But that might be a good thing because tomorrow we're off to see Caroline and her new baby son, Daniel! He's a bit jaundiced but I think he's okay apart from that. Might be nice to hold a newborn and be able to hand him back :)

Black Sheep Ale

Ah, what a lovely beer. Brewed in Masham, Yorkshire, at 4.4% abv it is not too strong. But really, the thing is the flavour. It develops on your tongue and gets fuller and riper in the mouth. Absolutely lovely. Well done.

New User UI - Testing

So, testing the new Blogger UI.
It wasn't so good  last time

but they advised they've had lots of feedback and ironed out the bugs.

So if this posts successfully, I might make the switch permanently.

Deficit Reduction

I understand that deficit reduction is high on everyone's agenda. My understanding is that the deficit referred to is the annual deficit, that is - the amount we borrow annually vs. the amount we spend. So, annually, we are still borrowing more money than we spend - as a nation. So, if we are still, on an annual basis, borrowing more than we spend, then we are still adding to the overall amount that we owe. 

Even if we reduce the amount we borrow annually, this is still adding to the amount we owe overall. 

This is like me, as an individual, entering 2011 owing £5k, and promising to only add £1k to the £5k sum - rather than stop borrowing and pay back the original £5k.

What planet are we on, people? How can we, as a nation, agree to adding to our national debt? For the next three years? I am amazed and appalled. Still, until the general populace become aware that "deficit reduction" does not equate to "debt reduction", there won't be an outcry.  Clever...

TTFN.

Winter Lurgy

I have been laid low by the lurgy. Even now I don't feel great.

Hungover & Housebound

Not how I planned to start the New Year. Stuck in the house with three kids demanding to watch kids' TV, and TW playing computer games. We can't go out because it's raining and I'm still drunk - so I can't drive anywhere. And nowhere will be open anyway.

2012 Resolutions

1. Be hungover less often
2. Stop spending money unnecessarily
3. Get a new job
4. Read the comics I buy
5. Sell the comics I don't read
6. Buy flowers for TW more often

That should do it, I reckon.
TTFN.