Wednesday 30 June 2010

Back To Mac

For the last couple of months I have been using my Mac as a PC - sacrilege I know.  I had repartitioned my hard drive using Boot Camp with the larger share going to the PC and I also set the system to automatically boot into the PC side.

This was so I could get used to using Windows 7 which, in my opinion, is the best version of Windows Microsoft have ever produced.  It is still more resource hungry than Snow Leopard though and now it's time to go back (OSX being better than any Microsoft product).

So, my experiment is now over and I have repartitioned my system to give the lions share of my hard drive back to the Mac and I am now back to using Snow Leopard full time.

It took a bit of technical jiggery-pokery to do the repartitioning and involved me using the Mac application Winclone to shrink the NTFS Boot Camp partition and then copying it as a disk image to an external hard disk.  I was then able to run Boot camp once to remove the NTFS partition and then again to create a new smaller partition.  I then had to run Winclone for a second time to copy the imaged NTFS partition back into the new space and then expand it to fill the new Boot Camp partition.

The only thing that has been a pain has been re-syncing my iPhone with iTunes as you are only allowed to sync with one user account.  I have kept my media files on the Boot Camp drive so I had to import them into a new library in iTunes for the Mac.  Unfortunately, part of re-pairing my iPhone to what it thinks is a new computer involves it automatically deleting the music from the phone and then re copying the "new" library to it.  This will take a while as I use the option to convert music files from the original 256kbs MP3 files to 128kbs AAC ones.  However, once this is done it will be OK.

I know all this sounds a bit of a faff but, if I'm honest, I enjoy doing things like this.  I actually miss being a technical engineer and this sort of thing helps keep my hand in.  I still think that Apple could make it a bit easier though.

Tuesday 29 June 2010

That Will Teach Me To Be Smug

The nice air conditioned train I was sitting on last night broke down before it left the station and I had to transfer to a non-air conditioned older one.

I still got a seat which, in hindsight, was unfortunate as I fell asleep in it and woke up 2 stops late resulting in a 30 minute walk home from Waddon. Up Hill.

Oh well.

Posted from Blogium for iPhone

Monday 28 June 2010

People Are Starting To Get Fractious

It's topping 30C in London and I'm at London Bridge. Most of the trains are late and the platform signs are up the spout.

As always happens when it's hot, peoples nerves are getting frayed and so far I have witnessed two altercations.

I'm OK now as my train is here, I have a seat and it's air conditioned. So now I am watching that madness through the window.

Whilst I was standing on the platform I heard someone say, "There is a weather warning in place, apparently there is a shower of shit coming in from South Africa. "

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Sunday 27 June 2010

Like An Alcoholic Running A Pub

We were due to go to my parents this weekend however my Mother-In-Law had been admitted to hospital again and so we had to divert down to Salisbury instead.

I drove down in my newly repaired Mini and the journey was fairly uneventful apart from Hamish slamming the glove box door on my finger as I was adjusting the volume on the radio.

Evelyn had actually been discharged from hospital when we got here.  This was unexpected as we had been told that she would be staying in for the weekend.  In fact, the way Salisbury District Hospital (normally an excellent hospital) handled her discharge abominably, leaving her alone in a discharge lounge for 6 hours and also leaving a bloodied needle in her arm.  The experience was so bad that we are writing a letter of complaint to them.

We went over to her flat to see her and it was great to see how well she was looking.

We also went into Salisbury for a walk around town and I bought a Bumper for my iPhone 4.  I'm still not experiencing the network issues but the Bumper will help to protect it if I drop it.

It was almost unbearably hot and it was a relief to get back to Roxana's to sit in the garden with a large glass of iced water.

This morning was a bit of a challenge as I cooked a full English breakfast for the family and whilst they ate I had my shake.  I was quite pleased to find that I didn't miss the breakfast at all.  Yesterday I bought the Tony Ferguson fibre supplement which helps to add body to the shakes.  Unfortunately, looking in the jar it comes in puts you in mind of someones cremated grandfather!

We are heading back into Salisbury this lunchtime and then are going round to my Father-In-Law's to have words again as he is not behaving himself.  Families - don't you love them.

Friday 25 June 2010

Just Hold It In A Different Way

Apparently owners of the new iPhone are having problems with signal drop out when they hold their phones to make a call. The belief is that touching the lower left hand side of the phone attenuates the signal and it fades out.

I've seen the videos on YouTube and I've read the comments in the bolgosphere but I can honestly say that my phone doesn't do it. Whether there is a faulty batch out there (the are definitely some faulty units that have yellow stripes on the screen) or if it's something to do with the people themselves I don't know. There are people who cause interference when they walk past portable tellies and our wifi does drop out whenever Hamish is in the room.

I'm just counting myself lucky as, usually, if something is going to be dodgy it's me that buys it. I once owned the only Honda in the world that regularly broke down. "This just never happens", said the AA man as he picked up my exhaust that was now lying in the road.

Posted from Blogium for iPhone

Thursday 24 June 2010

I Got One!

Well I went with my heart in the end and got the upgrade to the iPhone 4. Thanks to those nice people at the Carphone Warehouse who put one aside for me I was able to collect it after work this evening.

There were still people coming into the store to see if they had stock so I felt very privileged (read smug) to be walking out with the last one in the shop (read south of England).

So I am now typing this on a nice shiny new iPhone and it's lovely. The only fly in the ointment is that I am waiting for O2 to activate the micro sim in it and this can take upwards of 24 hours. I can still use wifi though so all is not lost.

My diet is still going well and I managed to lose 4lbs in Paris so I must be doing something right.

Also my car has come back from hospital with a shiny new bumper and they even managed to clean the crap off the roof which was a bonus.

Posted from Blogium for iPhone

Wednesday 23 June 2010

Home Safe And Sound

We got back home safe and sound at around 16.30 although the train from Watford to Croydon took almost as long as the train from Birmingham to Watford. I've had a wonderful time but it it's always good to get back.

I've sorted out all the stuff for work in the morning and cooked and eaten dinner.

Time for bed now I think!

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Birmingham and Cirque de Soleil

After our visit to the Catacombs we went back to the hotel to collect our cases and then caught our bus to Charles de Gaulle airport for our flight to Birmingham.


Our flight was from Terminal 1 which is a bizarre flying saucer like structure that probably looked very futuristic when it was built in the 60s but now looks horribly out of time. The interior of the ‘saucer’ is criss-crossed with long moving walkways that undulate up and down over each other.

The flight itself to Birmingham was uneventful and we caught the train from the Airport into the city centre.

Wow! I haven’t lived and worked in Birmingham for 16 years and God has it changed. There are new skyscrapers and entire new districts everywhere. It is like seeing a CGI enhanced ‘Birmingham of the Future’.

We were staying in the Ramada hotel in the new (well new to me) Mailbox district and the hotel was very comfortable and modern with amazing views over the new developments. After a quick coffee and shower we set off for the National Indoor Arena for our evening with Cirque de Soleil.

The walk from the hotel to the NIA was very pleasant, along the canals and past all the new waterside cafes and bars.

When we got to the arena we found that out tickets had been upgraded and we now had excellent seats with great views of the performance area. The NIA is massive and the seats soon filled up before the performance started.

The show itself was absolutely stunning with jaw dropping feats of human acrobatics with a healthy smattering of comedy and audience participation. I have to admit that during one of the trapeze sequences my heart was in my mouth as the performers contorted themselves into impossible positions whilst soaring tens of feet over the audience.

After the show, we picked up some food and headed back to the hotel.

This morning, after we checked out and had a light breakfast, we set off to have a look around the Bullring Shopping Centre. I could recognise bits of it but the vast majority was gleaming and new. It was so good to see the city re-born and I hope that the recent downturn in the economy doesn’t stop further development.

As I type this, we are on the train heading home and, sadly, my birthday weekend is coming to a close.

Thank you, Hamish, for organising everything and making what was a depressing birthday (in terms of my age) into a fantastic and memorable experience.

Tuesday 22nd June Part 1 - Paris Catacombs

Our last day in Paris included something that I have wanted to do for a long time and that is take a tour of the Catacombs.

Like many major cities, Paris used to have a large number of cemeteries located within the various inner-city 'villiages'.  Around the middle of the 19th Century, these cemeteries were long since full and, in some cases, were literally overflowing.  Poor people were often buried in unmarked graves and also not very deep.  In fact, during heavy storms, it was not uncommon for bodies to be washed back up to the surface.

To solve the problem a number of large cemeteries were built at various locations outside the main city centre.  The problem, however, was what to do with the hundreds of thousands of bodies that were buried in the original, inner-city cemeteries so that the land could be cleared and used for new building projects.

Paris had a rather unique solution to this problem.  Most of the grand buildings are built from a particular type of stone and this stone was quarried from deep under the city itself.  Years of quarrying had led to miles of tunnels below the new sewer system (and also below the Metro lines that would be built later).

It was decided to move the corpses from these old cemeteries and deposit them in these tunnels.  As most of the corpses had been in the cemeteries for many years, they had decayed to skeletons. 

It is not unusual to reuse parts of cemeteries for new burials and the existing bones are usually moved, intact, to another part of the cemetery.  The tomb that they are placed in is know as an Ossuary.  However, the decision to move so many corpses was unprecedented.

It would have been impossible to identify each corpse once moved to the new location so it was decided that the bodies themselves would be anonymous but that all the bones from a particular cemetery would be located together and marked with the name of the cemetery and the date moved.

These Catacombs as they have become known stretch over a huge portion of Paris and only a small part have been mapped.  This has now become a tourist attraction and, as it was located close to our hotel, it was an attraction that I could not resist visiting.

We got there around 11am and I was quite surprised to discover that a large queue was waiting to go in.  This is not a major attraction and I didn't think there would be that many people there.  Although the tour of the Catacombs is taken at your own pace, to preserve the solemnity of the place only 200 people are allowed in at any one time.

After a wait of around 40 minutes, we found ourselves at the front of the queue and, after paying the entrance fee, we were on our own to start our exploration.  We stated by descending a long, winding, stone staircase that continued downwards for around 4 minutes.  You could hear the distant rumbling of the Metro but we were soon well below that.

At the foot of the staircase you lead your way through a little over 500 metres of winding tunnels cut into the solid rock.  The tunnels continue to slope downwards, ever deeper under the city.  After a few minutes it is impossible to picture where you are in relation to the streets above.

After around 10 minutes of fairly brisk walking (with Hamish going 'woooo' in a spooky voice every few minutes) we arrived at a rather unexpected cavern where the quarry men had carved little cityscapes out of the rock.  Everywhere there were gated tunnels leading off in different directions and at one point there was a gated stone staircase that descended even deeper into the dark.

A couple more minutes of walking and we came across another cavern with a doorway, the lintel of which read (in French), "Silence - You are now entering the temple of the Dead".

And they they were.  Thousands of bones.  The leg and arm bones had been laid end on to form the walls and every few inches, embedded in this wall, were skulls.  Behind the wall of bones were more skulls and bones, not placed but heaped around 5 feet high.  Occasionally there were crosses made of arm bones set into the walls.  This went on as far as the eye could see.  We walked on for at least 20 minutes and the skulls and bones continued in an unbroken line forming the walls of the tunnels.  Every so often was a marker, like an over sized tombstone, with the name of a cemetery and the date the bones were deposited here.

It became hard, as I got acclimatised to what I was seeing, to remember that each skull was a person who had lived, laughed and loved.  It was a very humbling and moving experience.

Eventually, we came to the end of the tunnels and another stone spiral staircase, this time leading up (although curiously not as long as the one we had originally descended) and we found ourselves back in the blazing sunshine of the living, bustling, vibrant city.  We were some way from where we had gone in and it took is a few minutes to work out where we were.

I implore anyone reading this who is planning a trip to Paris to make a visit to the Catacombs - I guarantee that you will love life that little bit more if you do.

Champs Elysées And An Unexpected Night Out

On Monday we spent the day window shopping on the Champs Elysées.  We caught the Metro to the Arc de Triomphe and slowly worked our down towards the Palais de L'Elysée.

It needs to be said that there a huge number of pointless shops, including many of the big names in fashion with displays of overpriced tat but they must be successful otherwise they wouldn't be there.

One of the highlights was finding out that the Virgin Megastore is still alive and well and is still in it's prime spot.  In fact, C&A is still going as well and I saw quite a few of them all over Paris.

After lunch we went down Embassy Row where we were a little disappointed to note that the American Embassy had a bigger flag than us and theirs was fluttering majestically in the breeze whilst our threadbare effort hung limply on it's pole.

We ended the day at Madeleine which is much more spectacular inside than out.

After going back to the hotel to freshen up we went out for dinner and ended up at a bar called 'Vini Lounge' (we had actually had a couple of drinks there the night before).  Tonight, however, they had a DJ  with speakers setup in the street (much to the disgust of the residential neighbours) and we sat at the bar working our way through their cocktail menu.  The cocktails were served by an incredibly cute and amazingly talented barman (whose name (and alas phone number) I neglected to get!). €65 later plus a couple of free drinks we staggered back to the Hotel where the room span merrily until we got to sleep. 

Tuesday 22 June 2010

Quick Update

Sorry for the lack of updates, I got a bit well pissed last night so didn't get a chance to write anything!

We are back in the UK now and at a hotel in Birmingham about to set off to see Cirque de Soleil.  Had a fascinating trip to the catacombs under Paris this morning and I will write all about that later.

Sunday 20 June 2010

iPhone Dilema

I'm having a bit of a dilema regarding the new iPhone. Apple seem to have cocked up resulting in a shortage of phones for the launch date on Thursday. My provider, O2, have said that any iPhones they have will be reserved for exisiting customers which is great, but it doesn't gaurentee that I will get one.

I think I will phone the O2 shop on Friday and see if they have any in stock but I think that I will be disappointed. I have been looking again at the HTC Desire but I'm not sure I want to move away from the iPhone just yet.

Steve Jobs is getting on my nerves with his refusal to let the iPhone run Flash (something that the Desire will do) but the build quality of the new iPhone is amazing. Of course, there is actually nothing wrong with my current iPhone (I'm writing this on it now) so I could just hang on for a month until the stock situation has sorted itself out. That's what my brain is telling me to do (and it would save me £20 early contract termination fee) but my heart is saying get the new iPhone now. Maybe this time I will go with my brain. Or maybe not. Like I say, it's a dilema but it's a nice one to have.

Playing with the iPad this morning in the Apple store at the Louvre did nothing to change my opinion of it. Yes it was gorgeous, yes it was so intuitive to use but it's just so impractical. Typing on the iPhone is a natural experience as you are holding the phone in your two hands and typing with your thumbs. You can't do that with the iPad and you need to crook it in your lap or lie it flat on a table, which doesn't make for a natural or comfortable situation. A prime example, I think, of style over substance.

Birthday Weekend - Part 7 (Sunday)

We made it over to the Louvre this morning to see what I missed the last time I was here, the Egyptian collection.

Getting into the Louvre itself was actually quite daunting as they have built a huge shopping centre between the Metro station and it. We came out of the station slap bang into a beautiful but vast mall with no visible way out. After a couple of false starts we made our way outside and then back in again to the Louvre entrance itself.

We made a brief pilgrimage to the Apple store to play with the iPads and then found our way to the wing of the museum that held the Egyptian gallery.

Wow the Louvre is massive. You could easily spend your entire holiday there and still not see everything. The last time we came (and did the Mona Lisa) the Egyptian section was being renovated so I wanted to make this special trip today.  It didn't dissapoint and we spent a very pleasent hour looking at the exhibits.

As I write this, we are sitting at a cafe near Opera watching the world go by. Just what the doctor ordered.

Birthday Weekend - Part 6 (Saturday Afternoon and Evening)

Sorry for the slight delay in updating but by the time I got in last night, coupled with the amount of alcohol I drank – sleep was all that I could manage.


Yesterday morning we headed off for Montparnasse cemetery. On the way there we came across a wonderful market that was selling all types of food imaginable. Everything looked so fresh and tempting. I bought a couple of strips of baby tomatoes on the vine which were the sweetest I have ever tasted. It seems that most people buy their food from these markets rather than going to the supermarket. It was possible to buy all the ingredients for a main meal there. I wish we did something similar in the UK. But for us, the market seems to be where you buy cheap clothes and three lighters for a pound.

Montparnasse cemetery is amazing, with large, above ground, vaults and monuments. I have always been interested with the human obsession with death and the marking of burial sites. The French cemeteries, like those in the UK, have borrowed heavily from the Victorian ideals and symbolism. There are broken columns (symbolising a life cut short), covered urns (symbolising life force smothered) and mourning statues.

One thing that stood out, however, were the number of ‘modern art’ memorials celebrating a particular trait of those buried beneath. Like its sister cemetery at Père- Lachaise there are a few famous people buried at Montparnasse including Jean-Paul Sartre, André Citroën and Camille Saint-Sains.

After spending a good hour and a half in the cemetery we headed back toward the hotel stopping off for lunch on the way. This was the first time I have had to sit and watch Hamish eat (he had the most amazing looking quiche). This was very hard to do but at least I had my delicious, nutritious cardboard bar to look forward to.

After an hours kip in the hotel we got changed and headed out to the restaurant for my Birthday meal. It was a 30 minute walk, made slightly longer by a freak rain shower. In fact we are actually 20 minutes late resulting in a phone call from the restaurant asking where we were!

The ‘Le Petit Prince de Paris’ is a gay friendly restaurant on a little, out of the way street near Boulevard Saint-Michel. We went there a couple of years ago with Roxana and Geoff and it was great to see that it hadn’t changed at all. It gets very busy in there – hence their call to us to see if we were still coming.

I had a wonderful meal (goats cheese terrine followed by suckling pig followed by little pots of chocolate mousse). We were getting ready to pay and leave when ‘Happy Birthday To You’ in French, of course, blasted over the speakers accompanied by a small coffee ice-cream with a sparkler in it!

We had a slow walk back to the hotel stopping off for a beer on the way. And, as I said at the start of this entry, by the time we got back to the hotel, all I wanted to do was sleep!

Saturday 19 June 2010

Birthday Weekend - Part 5 (Saturday Morning)

Very good nights sleep last night and we have been out for coffee and croissants (well Hamish had croissants, I had already had my morning shake (that's my diet drink)).

We were on a bit if a mission this morning.  When Hamish got his camera bag out of the suitcase last night, the clip that holds the shoulder strap broke off.  We have been to a number of bag shops trying to find a spare strap but I don't think we will find anything. 

Our hotel is opposite a large, underground, shopping centre so when we get back from looking around Montparnasse cemetery we are going on a bit of a shopping expedition.

The weather is cooler today and it has been raining in the night but it is a perfect day for walking around.  I will be taking loads of arty photos in the cemetery with our decent camera but I won't be able to post them on here as we don't have a way of transferring them to the netbook.  I will take a few with my iPhone and put them up though.

Friday 18 June 2010

Birthday Weekend - Part 4 (Friday Evening)

Ah Gay Paris, the music, the culture, the food, the all pervasive smell of wee.

We went for a wander around in the streets leading off from our hotel. We knew we wouldn't get lost as we are staying almost at the foot of Montparnasse Tower, a gigantic and somewhat ugly office block that is the tallest building in Paris after the Eiffel Tower. It has a restaurant and viewing gallery at the top but I don’t think we will partake.

We set off down the Rue de Rennes where we encountered some incredibly fit firemen on a fundraising drive. Hamish bough a €3 raffle ticket which was worth the money just to spend 30 seconds in the young lad’s presence!

We then paid a rather large sum for 2 coffees but to be fair, we were tourists and we were sitting at the pavement tables so it was worth the money just to watch Paris drive and walk by.

After a quick stop at a tabac we set off in earnest to look for somewhere to eat. We always go off the main streets when looking for restaurants as you always pay a premium in a main street one. So we had a nice amble through the backstreets heading in the general direction of our hotel.

We ended up a wonderful little crêperie (Crêperie de Pont-Aven) where I had omelette and salad and Hamish had a savoury crêpe followed by a rather decedent sweet one consisting of pears, chocolate sauce, crème and ice cream. We had a little entertainment when a French lady on a bike, not looking where she was going, cycled, rather forcibly, into the rear of a taxi – always good for a laugh.

After dinner we popped into a small art gallery that was holding a cheese and wine event, showing off (what I assume) was some local artists work. Not the most accomplished artist as I could have done some of the paintings myself and at least two could have been done by my best mate’s four year old. Each to their own, I suppose.

Now we are back at the hotel and are going to get an early night so that we can be up and out early tomorrow to make the most of the day.

Birthday Weekend - Part 3 (Friday Afternoon)

We are safely at are hotel in Montparnasse in Paris.

We have unpacked and discovered that WIFI is working (always a priority) and we are going to sit down now and plan our few days here.  We are going to the restaurant I mentioned tomorrow evening but we also want to have a look around Montparnasse cemetery and also have a look down the catacombs (not morbid at all but a facinating historical record).

I would like to get over to the Louvre if possible as the last time I came the Egyption section was closed.

Looks like I will be able to stick to the diet OK apart from decafinated coffee.  Ask a French man for a decaf and they will shrug their shoulders at you and then look at you as if you have just shat on their mother (although come to think of it, the French always do that anyway).

Birthday Weekend - Part 2 (Friday Morning)

We were up on time this morning and left for East Croydon Station.  I thought that we would have a problem getting the suitcases on the bus/train/tube/DLR because we were travelling at rush hour. But it turned out to be amazingly quiet - I wonder if that's got anything to do with the England game tonight?

London City Airport is a paradise compared to Heathrow or Gatwick and we were checked in and through security very quickly.  The pat down was a bit over zealous with the security guard putting his hands somewhere I really don't think he should have done but it is all for our protection I suppose.

We are now sitting in a comfortable coffee area awaiting the 11:35 take off.  Very few people around and nice and quiet - I must fly from here more often.

I will update again this evening.

Thursday 17 June 2010

Birthday Weekend - Part 1

I've finished work now for a few days as this weekend (on Sunday) I turn 40.  I find this quite scary and, to be honest, I can't quite believe it.  10 years ago Hamish took me to Geneva and I can remember it as if it was yesterday.  This is why I am starting this diet - I feel that I have wasted the past 10 years and now I want to get fitter and be able to do more in the next 10.

Hamish has planned a wonderful weekend for me.  Tomorrow morning we fly from London City Airport to Paris where we are staying in a nice hotel.  We have been to Paris a number of times over the past 13 years but this time we are not doing the standard tourist things but are going to explore a little more.

On Saturday night we are having a meal in a wonderful gay friendly restaurant that we found a couple of years ago when we went with Roxana and Geoff.  The food and service were excellent and I am really looking forwards to going back.

We are staying in Paris until Tuesday when we fly back but instead of coming back to London we are flying to Birmingham where Hamish has booked us tickets to see Cirque Du Soleil.  The following morning we are going to have a look around Birmingham.  Although this is my home city I haven't been there for a number of years and since I left it has been completely redesigned with a whole new shopping centre.  I am quite looking forwards to seeing what has happened to the place. 

We then travel back home by train and I go back to work next Thursday.

I believe there is WiFi in our hotel in Paris so I will update you daily with our adventures.  If I can't get onto WiFi I will post the daily entries when I get back to the UK.

We've Upgraded You, That's Why Your Service Is Rubbish

Well, one week on and my broadband speed is still slow.

For years I have managed to get a download speed of 8MBPS and, when I renewed my contract for another year a few weeks ago, this went up to 14MBPS.  However, overnight last week the service went down to 4MBPS.

4 calls with BT later I have just been told that I have been moved to a new fibre optic exchange to improve service and the speed I am getting is quite good!  Oh that poor BT helpdesk man in India - I hope my shouting hasn't damaged his hearing too much.

Now I am waiting for a BT engineer to visit (next Thursday) and all I can say is that he better know more about broadband than the helpdesk do!!!!!

The Sound Of Drums

I woke up this morning with a banging headache but at least yesterdys stomach upset has gone.

The diet is going very well and I have lost 3lbs so far. I'm not hungry and, apart from the coffee shake, the meal replacements are very good.

The next few days will be a challenge as I will be in Paris. I will be keeping up the diet apart from Saturday when I am going out for a Birthday meal. The good thing is that I should be able to eat out on the other days without cocking things up as I know the types of things I can safely order.

I've a busy day ahead as I've got to ensure I hand everything over.

I'll post again later when I'll update you with my ongoing BT saga.

Wednesday 16 June 2010

Upset Stomach

I've got a bit of an upset stomach today.  Nothing to do with the diet but a side effect of the medication I take.  It's odd but I can go for days without a problem and then it suddenly returns.

Netty's been a bit poorly over the last couple of days and I have been getting the BSOD when I boot up. I suspected that the video drivers were at fault and I have removed then reinstalled them and it seems OK at the moment.

There's no new info on O2s website regarding the iPhone 4 so I may have to sort it out when I return from France.  I'm sure I can wait an extra week for my new phone.

Just heard an announcement for 'Inspector Sands' at the station.  That is code for a fire or other incident and they use it so that they don't cause panic.  Unfortunately, as I know what it means, I always become alert.  I can't see any evidence of a fire so all looks OK at the moment!

Big Boots Box

My box full of products turned up last night containing all my replacement meals for the next month so there's no going back now.

I want to keep this up while I am in Paris so I will need to ensure I take enough with me. Eating out won't be a problem as I can have salads and simple omlettes etc. My birthday meal (on the Sunday) will be the only one that won't be controlled but I am OK with that.

Posted from Blogium for iPhone

Tuesday 15 June 2010

Chicken Soup

So lunch today was the Chicken Soup and I have to say it was very good indeed.

It needs quite a bit of stirring and I think the best way to make it will be in a jug and beat it with a balloon whisk and then pour it into a cup.

The consistency was smooth, it was not too salty and actually tasted like cream of chicken soup. Just like the shake this morning, I was hungry before I ate it and it has filled me up (and I am used to sandwiches, crisps and a mars bar for lunch).

I have heard that the vegetable soup is not as good but I have ordered some in my initial order from boots (4 weeks worth of products) so I will let you know how it tastes when it arrives.

Like many on the Tony Ferguson diet I suspect that most of my eating is just habit and I can't honestly remember when I was last actually hungry. I am getting hungry before I eat now but I see that as a good thing as my body is telling me that it is actually time to eat.

Bananas And Bumpers

I had the Banana Shake for breakfast this morning.  That was much better and actually quite nice.  I made another stirfy last night, this time with chicken breast and will have to have the same tonight to use the rest of the chicken up.  It takes less time to prepare than to take a ready meal out of the freezer, defrost it and then re-heat it.  I hope I can keep that up when I have one of those evenings when all I want to do is sleep.

I am working from home today as I am waiting for the bodyshop to come and pick my car up for repair.  A couple of weeks ago someone drove into the back of it while it was parked in the car park at home and smashed the rear bumper (and didn't leave their details of course).  It wouldn't have been too bad except that my bumper has parking sensors in it and they also need to be replaced.  £310 pounds excess charged but at least I have protected no claims bonus.  I will be without the car for a few days though (I could have had a loan car but, as I am away for a few days from Friday it wasn't worth it).

Monday 14 June 2010

Well That Tasted - Different

I took the opportunity, this lunchtime, to go to the Boots close to my work and get an additional shaker for the diet I am about to start (I had only ordered one off line and I realise that would mean taking the shaker home with me every night - this way I can leave one at work).  Whilst I was there I got a couple of the shake mixes so that I will always have one to hand.

Well, the one I have just tried was Cafe Latte but it actually tasted like wet cardboard upon which someone once spilled a cup of coffee.  That said, I was quite hungry before I took it and now I'm not so it has served it's purpose.

As one of my goals is to reset my relationship with food I'm not too bothered that they may not taste too good. Until I have lost weight I need to see food as fuel not something to comfort myself with.

Back Home And Well Fed

After a fairly intense afternoon (family meeting) we went over to see Evelyn again.  She was much better than yesterday (she had had a bad cough and was finding hard to breath) and she was more back to her old self.

We dropped Roxana off at home and then Hamish drove us back to London.

The meal tonight was really good and, if all the recipes are as filling and as easy to cook as that was, I am really looking forward to trying them out.

Off to bed now as I have an early start in the morning.

Sunday 13 June 2010

New Eating Regime Starts Here

I've been planning this for a while but have not said anything but today is the first day of a new eating regime for me.

I am 5 stones overweight with an eye watering BMI and, as I am about to hit the big four oh, I need to do something about it.

I met with a pharmacist in Boots last week and have signed up to their new weight management programme which is based on the Tony Ferguson plan which has been very successful in Australia.  I am going to have to make some big changes in the way I eat and I need to re-educate myself to understand food as energy and not just as a comfort.

I am keeping a sister blog on the plan's website where I have promised to be completely honest about my progress.  If it doesn't work for me it will be interesting to see if my posts stay on the site

I will also keep this blog updated so that again, if it fails, people doing a search for Tony Ferguson will be able to see what I think.

I can't start the plan properly until June 24th which is when I get back from Paris and my months supply of meal replacement products come through, but I am starting to cook the recipes and we are having one for dinner tonight (Stir Fried Pork with Baby Sweetcorn and Sugar Snap Peas).

I have also made the switch from sugar to Splenda - one that was not at all hard as Splenda doesn't seem to have the unpleasant aftertaste of Aspartame or Saccharin.

Wish me luck!

Bread Now Bed

Well, it's now 02:17 on Sunday morning and Roxana's bread has just finished.

I have been up for 23 hours so I think it is finally time that I went to bed!  Night night.

Saturday 12 June 2010

Wiltshire Bound

We finally made it down to Salisbury at 16:00 and when Roxana got back from shopping and we had had a cup of tea and a fag we went over to see my Mother-In- Law.  This is by no means a chore as Evelyn is one of the nicest people on the planet and it is so good to see her settled into her new flat.

We had helped her move a few weeks ago and all the hard work has now paid off.

We spent a couple of hours there and then Hamish, Roxana, Alison and I went back to Salisbury for a pint or two by the river.

It's usually very peaceful there, with only the sound of the Avon and the various hoots and quacks of the aquatic bird life.  However tonight was England's first game of the world cup and the pub, like so many, had a large screen and it was quite noisy.  England drew 1-1 with the USA so that was a bit embarrassing.

Due to Roxana pressing the wrong button on her bread machine (she intended to set a timer but inadvertently set it going) someone needs to stay up to take the bread out when it has completed.  I have offered to do this although I now realise that I will have then been awake for 23 hours.  At least I will sleep well when I finally do get to bed.

I have decided to start a new diet that Boot's are promoting.  Hamish has said that he will support me so I plan to start it the week after I get back from France.  I'll keep you posted.

Night And Day, You Are The One.....

I had a difficult day at work yesterday and, when I got home, I lay down on the bed and fell fast asleep.

That was at 8pm so I woke up at 3.30am and I am now up and wide awake!  Hamish got home at 1ish and went to bed at 4 so I am now ready to start the day and it's only 4.30.  Bugger.

We are going down to Salisbury later but by lunchtime it's going to feel like early evening.

Friday 11 June 2010

Aargh!

Well, BT booked an engineer to look at the line fault that they had identified and I got a call from him this morning.

Unfortunately, as BT farm out their support to a third party he couldn't help and told me that I should speak to BT! "I'VE ALEADY DONE THAT, THATS WHY I'M SPEAKING TO YOU !!!!!", I whispered quietly.

Why won't any company take ownership any more and why do they always make you feel that you've done something wrong?

Posted from Blogium for iPhone

Thursday 10 June 2010

Arse


O2 have just announced their tariffs for the new iPhone 4 and have scrapped the all you can eat data part of the plan.

Thinking about it though, it really shouldn't be a problem.  I checked my usage for this month so far (I have 10  days left to run) and I've only used 70MB and I use the phone quite a bit.  So, 500MB should be more than enough.  Hamish looked at his usage and, in almost 18 months, he has only used 1.5GB and he too uses the data part of his phone a lot.  When we are at home we use WIFI and I've noticed the phone jumping onto BT Openzone and The Cloud more and more when I'm out and this usage remains free.

O2's reasoning is that only 3% of it's users exceed this sort of usage and they are hogging the bandwidth making the network slower for everyone else.  If they pay for this extra usage then O2 can invest more of this money into improving their network.

AT&T have done the same in the States and analysts predict that other UK carriers will follow suit.

On the BIG plus side, O2 have said that I qualify for an early upgrade so my shiny new iPhone 4 will be winging it's way to me on, or shortly after, the launch date on 24th June.  Woohoo!

People On The Internet Are So Clever

Like so many others, I only found out about the limitations of Windows 7 Starter (Netty's OS) when I started using it.

All of the things that Microsoft has stripped out of the OS to make it run on a lower powered netbook I can live without (the ability to create a home share, run applications in native XP mode, use the Areo UI etc.).  However the inability to change your windows desktop background to anything other than the Microsoft default is ludicrous.

I don't like being restricted by a corporation and, whilst I rarely change my Windows desktop background, the fact that I couldn't, and for no good reason that I could see, really narked me.

However a quick surf of the web showed me that I am not alone and, of course, someone has already written a free bit of software (Oceanis Change Background W7) which does exactly what it says on the tin.  Genius.

I had another technical problem today which needed another soul destroying conversation with a call centre - this time BT (who's call centres are somewhere in Mumbai).

I had noticed over the last couple of days that my downloads were taking longer to, er, download.  I logged onto my router this morning to see that my ADSL download speed had dropped from 14000 Kbps to just 4000kbps.

Speaking to the help desk and doing the usual, painful, tests I thought they would say what they always do, that the fault was in my router, my internal wiring, my laptop - anywhere but with them.  However, credit where credit's due, he did a full line test and determined that there is a fault on my line, somewhere between the exchange and home.

I didn't tell him this but it seems mighty coincidental that there are roadworks going on outside!  Let's see if they can work it out.  In the meantime, my broadband is fast enough to use - I just won't be downloading any high definition movies for a while.

Wednesday 9 June 2010

Bet You Wish You Hadn't Sent Me That Survey

I had a text this afternoon from O2 asking me to take part in a survey following my support call with them yesterday. Tee hee hee. I enjoyed filling that in.

Today has been another great day and once again I've got loads done. Depression is weird - it's all about spirals. Sometimes they go down and other times they go up but they never seem to stay still. I'm definately on an upward spiral at the moment and it feels great.

Going to relax tonight and catch up with Corrie.

Posted from Blogium for iPhone

Frizzy Hair Day

It's really humid this morning and the train was packed, adding to the humidity.  The upshot is that my hair won't lie flat and I look like I've just got up.

I went to bed really early last night and had a fantastic nights sleep.  Unfortunately I woke up at 6 and was watching telly at 6.15 so now I think it's lunchtime and  it's only just gone 9.

Found a fascinating website this morning - Wikileaks.  Basically they get access to and publish documents that the government and large corporations would rather you didn't see.  Read a really interesting document, published by Microsoft, that details all the personal info they collect about you when you use any of their online services (Windows Live, Hotmail, MSN chat etc.).

Loads to do today and, as I still feel quite good, I'm looking forward to cracking on.

The UK Government are gearing up for the new budget in 2 weeks time and they are asking the general public what services we think they should cut back on to save money.  I think the cuts that are coming are going to be really hard and I think that they will really affect families with children.  These cuts are necessary though as we owe so much money.  It's not just the UK, Greece are in trouble, as are Spain.  Germany, although it's national debt is not too high, has already made cuts.

The only upside at the moment is that the pound is quite strong against the Euro and, as I am going to Paris next week, it means that I will get more Euros for my money.  Better stock up on DVDs and BDs while I'm over there then!

Tuesday 8 June 2010

Feelin' Good

Well today has been a good day all told.  I had a good meeting with my Doctor, got the O2 account rubbish sorted out and got quite a bit done at work.

I have had more bad days than good over the past year so let's hope this continues....

That's An Hour Of My Life I Won't Get Back

Well I was right.  Trying to get O2 to sort my multiple account information was a nightmare that took almost 50mins on the phone.

I spoke to two Geordie woman first (who kept calling me 'love' in a disinterested sort of a way).  Neither of them could solve the problem however one of them actually managed to create two additional accounts for me, taking the total up to nine.

In the end they latched onto the fact that I had an iPhone and so put me through to iPhone support before I could stop them and tell them that it was nothing to do with the iPhone.

When I finally got through, I was told "This has nothing to do with the iPhone".  I think my sobs of despair made the guy feel sorry for me as he actually managed solve the problem.  It turned out that there was a tenth user account that I had never seen before and this had all my info in it.  He also managed to link my O2 3G dongle to it and reset the password.

On other matters, I had my Doctor's appointment this morning and he seemed happy with me and doesn't need to see me again for three months.  Which was nice.

Netbook All Setup And Housework Done (At Last)

Well Netty is now complete.  I have got all the apps that I need to work efficiently and also all the links and apps I need if I don't have access to my main computer.

I have Evernote for my work notes and personal lists etc, SugarSync so that my work and personal documents are always current, Open Office so that I can open Word docs and Excel spreadsheets and Microsoft Money so that I can update the finances when I am away from home.

I've set up my commonly used web links in favorites so that I can catch up with stuff (although to be fair, I usually browse the web on my iphone and will continue to do so but it's nice to be able to see some sites on the larger screen).

I could have put more applications on but I want to keep Netty as a tool and not as an entertainment diversion.  By restricting what I have installed I will ensure that I'm not tempted to procrastinate when I am supposed to be working.  Even so, going back to my original point about the iPad, I still have more applications and will be more productive with the Netbook.

I am excited, however, about the launch of the iPhone 4.0, it looks great.  My current airtime contract is up in a month, just in time for me to get one!

Anyway, off to bed now as I have to be up early to go to my monthly session at the Doctors. 

Monday 7 June 2010

There's Too Many Of Me

Well day one with Netty went very well.

The only problem I am having seems to be with O2 as, according to their website, I seem to have 7 accounts.  This is odd as I have only ever had one mobile number and now I have the O2 broadband.

It should be easy to get them to sort this out - but I bet it won't be.  I know that after I have finally got them to understand what the problem is they will proceed to delete all my accounts leaving me with no phone and no broadband.  Do I risk it?

Everything else has gone very well and testimony to this is the fact that I am now typing and about to post this entry from the train.  Of course, if you never read this then something will have gone wrong, but then you'll never know, will you?

So Far So Good

Well I've added all my work files (via SugarSync) to Netty and have been using Evernote all morning.  I deleted Evernote from my work laptop to force me to use the Netbook.  I've set up email and used Netty in a meeting (to amused faces from my colleagues) and so far all is good.

I had to download a few updates for Live Mail and Adobe PDF reader and also had to install the latest version of Java and so far I have only used 160MB.  As the majority of this was the actual update downloads which would normally be done at home over WIFI (I have set Windows Update only to notify me about new downloads and not actually download them until I am ready) I don't think I will ever come anywhere close to my 3GB data limit per month.

Morning Routine

Had a bit of a shock this morning as Hamish was up and about with music playing and coffee on. This almost never happens and took me by surprise.

Because of my medication I'm no longer a morning person and need at least 30 mins, a coffee and a fag before I'm able to communicate.

Netbook almost set up, today is the first day I will be using it at work. I must remember that it is simply a tool and not really for entertainment, especially during the work day. At least I will now be able to leave my heavy work laptop in my draw at night and not have to carry it around any more.

I'll let you know if Netty and I bond today!

Posted from Blogium for iPhone

Sorry Apple

Well I had a good look around town and for much less than the price of the most basic iPad I have got a Samsung N150 netbook and 18 months worth of mobile internet.

This is where Apple are going to come unstuck.  Yes I know my netbook isn't as shiny as a new iPad and doesn't have the same wow factor but it is a 'propper' computer with a decent screen and a real keyboard.  It runs real software (including Flash) and, when closed takes up less space in my bag than the iPad would.

Anyway, I have set up my software (Evernote and Sugarsync) and will start using it in earnest tomorrow.

Sunday 6 June 2010

Small And Light

Not me unfortunately, but what I am looking for in a net book.

We have a number of computing devices but I am looking for something small and light that I can slip into my bag and use for taking notes at work (I use the fantastic Evernote service) and also take on holiday with us so that we can keep up to date with flights etc and keep our blogs up to date.

I would love to be able to say that the new Apple iPad is what I want but, as beautiful as it is, it's not really up to the job.  Apple, in their own inimitable Big Brother way (ironic when you think back to their iconic 1984 advert) have basically made a large iPod touch upon which you can only install their Apps.  Had they launched it with a cut down but non-the-less open version of Max OS X then it might have been a contender but as it stands it seems fairly useless.

No, I need a 'propper' computer that I can install normal applications onto.  It doesn't have to be particularly powerful as I won't be playing games or watching videos (I have my iPhone for that) but it does have to be thin, light and have good battery life.  WiFi would have to be included but I don't need to connect to the mobile phone network with it as I can sync Evernote when I next get access to a WiFi hot spot.

I have a feeling that nothing out there will do exactly what I want but, if I find something that's 99% there I can put my Mum's £100 pounds towards it.

As usual we are late going into town so if we leave in half an hour the shops will only be open for 2 hours but that may help focus my mind.

I'll report back later.

A Few Good Men

No, not my idea of a good night in but the title of the play we have just been to see by the Miller Centre Players, an amateur dramatics group to which a friend of ours belongs.

The story, by Aaron Sorkin, concerns the military trial of two US Marines who were involved in the accidental murder of a fellow Marine.  Excellent dialog and a gripping court room drama in act two made for a diverting evening.  The acting was, on the whole, excellent with two people in particular standing out.  One for his absolutely fantastic acting and the other for his absolutely abysmal acting!

After the play we went to "Bollywood" a very nice Indian restaurant in Caterham with great food, only let down by the slightly surly service.

I must admit that I wasn't really looking forwards to going out tonight but I'm glad that I did.

We got back just before the rain started and, as I was waiting to pay at the petrol station on the way home, I think I saw a flash of lightening so we could be in for a wet night.

I am determined to get up early tomorrow and do the housework that I have been putting off for the past two days and then we need to nip into town.

Saturday 5 June 2010

Bit Low Today

I got up at 7.30 this morning feeling a bit low. The trouble with my illness is that you can never tell how you are going to feel from one day to the next.

It's now 15.30 and I haven't really done anything just sat arround listening to music and feeling a bit sorry for myself.

We need to go the supermarket soon as we have to be ready to go to the theatre at around 7. We were supposed to go to the dump and take some old electrical items but that closed at 15.30 so we will have to do that next week.

I still haven't done the housework and I really must get on with it as we recently took a week off work to do a massive spring clean and I am determined not to let the house get back into that state again.

We are going into town tomorrow and I want to have a look for something for my birthday, which is coming up in a couple of weeks, and my Mum has offered me £100 to get myself something I want. Trouble is, I can't think of anything at the moment!

Anyway can't keep sitting around here must get out and do the shopping. As the kiddywinks say, laters.

Posted from Blogium for iPhone

To Sleep Perchance To Dream

Well my plans of doing the housework went out of the window this evening. I was so hot when I got in from work that I wheeled the air con unit into the bedroom, lay on the bed and fell asleep. That's when the trouble started.

I am taking medication at the moment a side effect of which is very vivid nightmares. This evening's involved my parents, my husband, one of my brothers-in-law and a tall, leather skinned vampire. I woke up very traumatised as the vampire bit through my jaw after uttering the phrase "I like rabbit and I like to take my time". Bizarre now but very disturbing at the time. The nightmares tend to persist for a while after I wake and this one was no exception.

I'm off to bed again now and I hope my dreams will be a little sweeter this time.

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Friday 4 June 2010

London In The Heat

It's another pleasent commute tonight with temperatures reaching 27c, the tube packed to capacity and every second person smelling of garlic.

Mind you, the air conditioned new Southern trains are nice. It really is refreshing to get on board.

I need to get on with some housework tonight and then I'm going to relax in front of the air con unit until I freeze!

I've got a bit hooked on the BBC TV series "Luther" and I have a couple of episodes to catch up with. The series is a bit far fetched and some of the acting is a bit suspect but it's quite gory in places and it's a good diversion.

I was supposed to be watching "Siege Week" in Coronation Street but after the horrific shootings in Cunbria, ITV have pulled the episodes this week which, whilst dissapointing, is totally understandable.

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Up She Goes


The Shard, set to become London and the UK's tallest building continues to rise.

I have been watching the work take place since the building previously on the site was demolished 2 years ago. The Shard is being built next to London Bridge Station so I get a close up view every day as I come into London.

The Shard's concrete core is now at the 30th floor and will rise to 84 floors and just over 1000 feet.

If you look closely at the picture (taken from outside my office on Blackfriars Road) you can now see the core peeping over the buildings between me and London Bridge. Soon the Shard will fill this gap. Exciting stuff!!!

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A Fresh New Start

I am relaunching my blog today after a few months off.

It's a glorious day and I'm feeling ok so today seemed like a good a day as any to start.

It's Friday and this weekend I'm not going down to Salisbury (first time the weekend has not been Salisbury related for a while) instead we are going to see our friend Peter who is performing in a stage production of "A few good men".

Regarding this blog, I'm going to post a little but often. I am mostly using Blogium on the iPhone so please excuse any spelling mistakes and typos!

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