Considering a replacement

Over the last few weeks, I’ve noticed that my laptop is slowly but surely dying. It may just be time to start thinking about a replacement.

In fairness, this one has lasted two years of really pretty abysmal treatment. It’s been dropped a couple of times, and survived with no more than a couple of cracks. (One by the cd-drawer, one on the back) and a couple of dents. If nothing else, that’d be impressive.

However, it’s also spent most of its life being lugged about in a backpack (I make it a matter of principle to not bother with laptop bags) and is generally scuffed, beaten, and it looks like it gets used every day. Which, of course, it does.

But now the keyboard is also dying, the keys are getting more temperamental, and more than a bit worn.

It’ll last me a while yet, I’m sure – but I think it’s time to start thinking about a new one. Which is a bit of a pain – but at least this time it’ll come in as a business expense, which is a bit better for things in general.


Work Overload

At the moment, my workload is slightly crazier than it really should be.

I’ve still got the contract based in Essex, although the work from that is currently best described as “intermittent”.

However, I’ve also got a full-time (i.e. 40 hours per week) piece of work for the next month or so, based in Cambridge, so I’m doing that as well.

And just to top it off, there’s two other sites that have suddenly come up where I’ve got plenty of work on them.

So yeah, all told it’s just a little bit crazy right now.


Insect Food

I don’t know exactly why (other than that it’s something which runs in our family) but in summer, I’m apparently exceptionally tasty to all forms of insect – particularly gnats, mosquitos and bastard horseflies (to give them their proper name) but really any biting bug will have a go at me.

Over the weekend, I got bitten by several of the aforementioned bastard fucking bugs, including one bite on the base of my left thumb. It’s that one that today is causing me real hassle – not least because of course I am left handed.

You see, with me the bites aren’t the only thing. The area round the bite swells up into a solid lump of lymph fluid and gubbins, which makes the entire thing even less fun. And in particular, it’s making the entire of the base of my left hand (i.e. the thumb and wrist area) really stiff and painful.

It’ll wear off after a day or so, but right now it’s driving me utterly fucking bananas.


Lights Off

Driving today was utterly horrible – particularly on the M11 – with heavy rain and spray for the entire duration, and visibility down to maybe thirty feet at some points.

What gobsmacks me in these conditions though – and I know I’ve mentioned it before – is that there are so many people who don’t put their lights on. Sure, they don’t need to be on full-beam, but even sidelights and rear lights add massively to your visibility.

Now, the car I drive is silver, and I know how silver cars just disappear into the spray, they become virtually invisible. So when the weather gets like it did today, I always put the lights on – it’s about being seen, not about seeing – but that logic has obviously avoided a lot of the drivers out there.

In fact, it seems to be primarily the drivers of white and silver cars that couldn’t be arsed to turn on their lights at all, let alone something that might mean they got seen at a decent range – you know, like foglights.

Personally, I suppose that I just don’t understand the mindset that means they allow their safety to be reliant on the observation and driving skills of other people on the road. But maybe that’s the control-freak side of my personality coming out again…


Distance Commuting

I have to say, on the evidence of yesterday and today, that I’d made the right choice by staying in a hotel close to the office in Essex while I’m there, rather than doing the commute on a daily basis.

While the journey yesterday was ‘only’ 2 hours each way, that’s still four hours of driving in addition to the eight hours of working, which amounts to what is effectively a twelve-hour working day. It’s also meant that in spite of the journey being twenty minutes shorter on the way in today – a frankly gobsmacking 1hr 40 to do the 110 miles, an average speed of 65mph – I’m still utterly knackered. And I’ve still got to drive home.

Thankfully, tomorrow I’m not in the office, as I’m seeing another client about some work. It’s still a 60 mile (ish) drive, but I’m not seeing them ’til 10am, so that’ll be a dead easy run, and not having to start ’til two-ish hours later than the current run.

I know I couldn’t do this on a daily basis – I’d be dead within the week.


Off to Essex

So, another week starts, another two hour drive. (if I’m lucky)

And because there’s no rooms available for the first part of the week, I’m driving home again tonight as well. So that’ll be fun.


Yet more organisation

Due to grungy weather (or at least fitfully grungy) it’s been another fairly quiet weekend chez Lyle. However, it has meant we could get various odds and sods organised and/or planned.

Among other things, that’s included

  • Amending some bits on my company site – I hadn’t been happy with how they were, so decided in the end to just rewrite them
  • Sorted out all the current receipts, invoices, and late payments for the company, so I’m as up to date as possible on that score
  • Updated the Google and Yahoo sitemap files for the company site, the photography site, and a couple of client sites that were having issues
  • Planned what we want to do with the big chicken run, and what we need to buy
  • Planned out the ideas for another garden section as well
  • Planted some more small stuff in the garden, thus making a bit more room in the greenhouse
  • Weeded out some more of the veg patch, getting rid of some of the smaller shit between the rows of potatoes etc.
  • Sorted out more pots for stuff that’s still up in the greenhouse
  • Contemplated methods of murdering the dog, who has been an utter pain in the arse while we’ve been in the garden
  • Cleaned out the chickens, and given them a coating of delousing powder, just in case

So yes, another quiet weekend. Cough