Hound Behaviour
Posted: Sat 5 July, 2008 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Animals, Domestic, Own Business, Travel, Work-related | 1 Comment »Apparently, Hound has been an utter pain for the last few days while I’ve been away. She really hasn’t handled the change in routine caused by me being away four nights during the week.
As it is, during the week she’s been anxious and stressy, and generally just a pain.
Today, with me home, she’s lying in the doorway of the office, fast asleep. One of her other primary stressors, the washing-machine, is on in the kitchen, and she’s still fast asleep – most uncommon.
It does seem that she’s relaxed because I’m home. Which is a good thing in general – although it does make life a hassle for Herself if I’m going to be working away from home a lot.
Hound truly is a bizarre creature…
Another week down
Posted: Sat 5 July, 2008 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Travel, Work-related | Leave a comment »Today is the end of my second week working in Essex. So far, it’s been going pretty well, and I’ve managed to get two sites out in that time – no bad thing at all.
Next week’s looking like it might be more interesting, as there’s obviously some bug function or event going on here, and all the hotels are booked solid for at least the first half of the week. So I’m going to be commuting for the first couple of days. One hundred miles each way, so that’ll be a laugh.
Still, at least everything’s going ok, so we’ll just see how next week works out.
Where’s Good RIP
Posted: Sun 29 June, 2008 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Own Business, Work-related | Leave a comment »Over this weekend, I’ve finally pulled the plug on Where’s Good, the site I launched a while back with the idea of user-generated content for reviewing restaurants, pubs and places to go. It had been around since May 2006 and while the initial take-up and first-year business was OK, it had faded to nothing by the start of 2008.
If I’m honest, the idea stagnated a bit – there was still stuff I wanted to do on it, but I just never got round to doing the second phase, so it all just kind of stayed there, doing nothing much. It may come back when I’ve done a version two, but I don’t know.
When all’s said and done, it didn’t get the interest – again, some of that is down to the fact I didn’t do a lot to promote it. I still think the idea’s good, but there are other sites around that do a similar thing, so I need some kind of USP (Unique Selling Point) and really that’s something else it just didn’t have. Interestingly, at about the same time I bought the Where’s Good domain name, another one called Where Shall We Eat came up, and that one’s never taken off either – the holding page it now has is the same one it’s had since 2005.
Over the last three or four months the registration was also getting hit hard by spammers. Interestingly, the account set-up process I’d written meant that those spammers names/profiles never actually saw the light of day – the system blocked them, or forced the extra verification that they couldn’t supply – so that’s something I’ll probably take on and use elsewhere. (In truth I already have used it elsewhere, but it’s nice to see that it works when getting attacked upwards of 200 times a week)
I’ve a couple of other ideas that may use the same domain name, or I may let that curl up and die as well. I don’t know yet. In the meantime, I haven’t invested that much time in the work on the site (and yes, perhaps if I had invested more time it would’ve been more successful. I know.) so it’s not a massive loss, but it is a bit of a disappointment to pull the plug on something that could (and perhaps should) have been so much better.
Time will tell whether anything comes from that particular revenant’s remains, though.
Business Organisation and Paperwork
Posted: Sat 28 June, 2008 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Domestic, Own Business, Work-related | 2 Comments »Today I’ve been getting stuff organised business-wise. And about bloody time too, I hear you cry. (Besides, Herself has kind of been on about it for ages, so it’s also a good way to appease the beast)
So today has involved:
- Bringing the company day book (I.e. a lopping great big diary) up to date
- Organising all the business cards I’ve kept and accumulated over the last few months
- Sorting out the filing of business paperwork, receipts, contracts etc.
- Filling in some registrations for business things: local directories, hotel account, fuel account, etc. etc.
- Organising all the filing and documents into proper files and putting them all in a now-confirmed resident location
- Emailing the accountant with a few queries and updates
- Sorting out a couple of outstanding invoices that needed completing
So how was your day “off” ?
On the way home…
Posted: Fri 27 June, 2008 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Domestic, Travel, Work-related | 2 Comments »Well, that’s week one over and done with. It’s been pretty productive, and the clients are happy, so that’s all cool.
It’s also given me some thoughts and material for the company site, which are in the process of being written and published sometime over the next few days.
But I’m on my way home now, completed time-sheet in my little paws so that I’ll be getting paid next week – always a good thing. A weekend at home, and then back to Essex on Monday morning. Oh lucky me.
Still, it’s been a good productive week, and all’s well with the world.
Scruffy Shorts
Posted: Fri 27 June, 2008 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Domestic, Getting Organised, Thoughts, Work-related | Leave a comment »Many moons ago, I had a truly horrible pair of shorts, made from a material like tracksuit bottoms. (proper tracksuit thing, not like a shell suit look) They were scraggy, and had paint over them from some ill-advised decorating attempt or other. (Don’t ask) I used to wear them on slobbed-out evenings when I wanted to just sit down and fuck about on a computer, or whatever.
In short (pardon the pun) they were great for just being scummy and slacking out. And for that they were great. They died the death a few years ago – in fact I’m not even sure Herself ever saw them – and I’ve never got round to replacing them. In most of that time, I haven’t even missed them.
This week, though, I have. I’ve been working in the hotel room, and I would have loved to be able to just put on my scabby old shorts. Just to be crunched out and comfortable for a while, if utterly unpresentable in public – that would’ve been really nice.
So yes, I’ve missed my scabby old shorts, and I’m even thinking about buying some nasty pair of cheap-ass shorts if I have to keep on doing this working away from home lark…
Halfway Already
Posted: Wed 25 June, 2008 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Domestic, Own Business, Travel, Work-related | Leave a comment »Today is halfway through my first week in Basildon. It’s going well so far- although I can’t deny, I’m quite happy that I’m not anywhere near the town centre.
As it is, I’m right on the outskirts of the town, and that’s fine with me. There’s enough things nearby to keep me amused (including the cinema, although I haven’t been yet) so all told it’s not too bad.
Yes sure, I’d rather be home in Norfolk. But this is just what I have to do for a couple more weeks, then they look like being cool with me working primarily from home. No bad thing at all.
In the meantime though, don’t expect any incisive reviews of the place – I’m just here to work, and sightseeing in Basildon (even in the evenings) really doesn’t seem all that appealing.
It’s all going OK though. I’m even getting work done in the evening, so it’s not too bad at all. And it’s paying the bills.