Micro Mouse

Posted: Tue 18 March, 2008 | Author: | Filed under: Geeky, General, Own Business, Travel, Work-related | 3 Comments »

At the moment, I’m doing a lot of work on my laptop – the new workplace didn’t have a spare PC, so I’m using my laptop as a work machine on a daily basis. (I use it as a work machine when I’m working from home anyway, but there I still have the option of using the main desktop PC too. It depends more on where I want to sit/work, really)

Anyway because of that, and also because of some of the work I’m doing, it’s a lot easier to do it using a mouse, instead of the laptop’s touchpad. Yes, I can use the touchpad still but well, a mouse is easier.

So I’ve ended up buying a little portable optical micromouse thing , and it’s marvellous. I tend to just leave it in the office at the moment, but I’m truly impressed with how easy (and comfortable) it is to use on a regular basis. I particularly like the way that the receiver stick can be stowed inside the mouse body when it’s not being used, and also the retractable USB-to-miniUSB cable for charging the damn thing – that’s going to get used in a variety of other roles as well, believe me.

All told, very very impressed with the entire thing. And it does make desk-based laptop life a whole hell of a lot.

Off for a week

Posted: Fri 14 March, 2008 | Author: | Filed under: Domestic, Travel | Leave a comment »

Yes, it’s the time of year when we go off for a week again. This time it’s the Lake District (as it was two years ago) and we’re going to the same place as we did before.

With luck, this time we won’t be driving up there in a blizzard – one of the high points of last time up there.

There’ll be some posts coming up through the week, but they’ve all been written already.

During the week, we’ll be pretty much completely out of contact. No email, no internet access, and distinctly ropy mobile coverage. (unless it’s been ‘upgraded’ in the intervening two years) To me, that’s fantastic.

I’ll still be taking the laptop – after all, it’s going to be useful for processing/storing photos, and I want to use it for some writing stuff as well – but it won’t be connecting to anything. And that’s just fine with me.

Counting Down

Posted: Wed 12 March, 2008 | Author: | Filed under: D4D™, Domestic, Own Business, Travel, Work-related | Leave a comment »

It’s not long now ’til we go off to the Lake District. In fact, we go off on Friday morning for a week – which will bring us neatly to Easter, so I’m actually not working from this Friday the 14th to Tuesday the 25th. Not a bad break, all told.

It does mean that this week is bloody manic, with normal work plus stuff for my own clients, and trying to get a dollop of work completed for them before I go off. (Which is going pretty well, and I’m sure getting through the list – but it does make for some seriously long days) I’m enjoying the work, and I’m sure it’ll make me appreciate the holiday even more.

We haven’t got much planned for while we’re away – in fact, the weather up where we’re going looks like it’s going to be bloody wet which I don’t mind – but at least it’s not looking to be as windy as it is here at the moment. It’ll mean some proper time out (although I do intend to be putting in place some more stuff for the foundations of the new business and so on) which really is much needed.

Oh, and yes, I’ve also been writing some extra posts that’ll go up here while we’re away. I’m still sad like that.

MOT – All Passed

Posted: Fri 7 March, 2008 | Author: | Filed under: Customer Services, Driving, Travel | Leave a comment »

So yes, the car passed it’s MOT with flying colours – it didn’t need a thing doing to it.

Needless to say, after a year of being thrashed around motorways and dual carriageways, covering about 20,000 miles, and with the prospect of a long drive up to the Lake District in a weeks time, I’m really rather pleased about that.

I know I’ll need some new tyres for it before long, but for now at least they’ve passed the MOT, so *shrug*. We’ll see. Still, now I know it’s not an urgent requirement (bearing in mind that long drive in a week’s time) which is another relief – I wasn’t sure quite when I was going to get time to do it…

Old Dog

Posted: Sun 17 February, 2008 | Author: | Filed under: Animals, Domestic, Travel | Leave a comment »

When we’re away in the Lake District in March, we’re realising more and more that we’re going to have to take a bit more care with Hound this time round. It was last weekend that really made the point to us, though.

When we took Hound to the beach last weekend, she had about ninety minutes of running around all-told and she was knackered for the rest of the day, and into the day after. A couple of years ago, ninety minutes on the beach would’ve been just the starter, but now it’s more like the main course.

With her throat condition, we always knew that she was going to get old before her time, and that’s what we’re beginning to see. It’s no bad thing, to be fair, but it’s strange to see after so many years of having her running around like a barmpot all the time. Besides, when she was diagnosed with the Megaoesophagus, Herself was told that Hound was unlikely to even get to the age of five. Now she’s nearly eight, so we’ve had a good run with her – and far more of one than was ever expected.

But when we’re up in the Lakes, we’re just going to have to take a bit more care, and keep an eye on her – particularly when we go up to Aira Force, which she loved last time and wouldn’t stop going in and out of the flowing river.

Coastal

Posted: Sun 10 February, 2008 | Author: | Filed under: Animals, Photography, Travel | 1 Comment »

Yesterday, we went out on a trip to a piece of Norfolk we hadn’t seen before/yet/so far. While we’ve regularly been up to the North coast around Wells, Blakeney, Holkham and so on, we hadn’t yet been up around the Cromer area, or down some of the East coast.

So we ended up going around Necton, Bacton and Walcott (If this means sod-all to you, this link to Multimap might help) and taking Hound for a couple of plays on the beach at Walcott, which was thoroughly enjoyable.

At the same time, while touring around I managed to stop the car, and start a photography project I’ve been considering for the last nine months or so. I won’t go into loads of details just yet, but for now it’ll suffice to say that I’m pleased with how it’s gone so far, and that the start seems to have been successful. Now I just need to carry it on, of course. (*Ahem*)

All told though, it was a really pleasant and relaxing day. Much, much needed.

Not Going

Posted: Thu 31 January, 2008 | Author: | Filed under: @Media2007, Domestic, Geeky, Getting Organised, Travel | Leave a comment »

Today I got an email about the 2008 @Media conference in London at the end of May. Normally, I’d be there like a shot – in fact, I was well on my way to booking a ticket, particularly as it was £355 today (for today only) against the full price of £495. (although until mid-March it’s an ‘early bird’ price of £395 or so)

But there was something nagging me about those dates, 29-30 May. Something… So I checked the calendar. And it turns out it’s lucky I did, because on the 30th we’re going over to Wales before travelling to Ireland the next day.

So it’s good that I didn’t book the place before remembering about the holiday – but it’s still a bummer that I’m going to miss this year’s @Media conference.

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