Sunday, November 30, 2014
Lopside
Sides were unbalanced for today's football. It always make is hard for the team that is short a man. It was fun, though, and quite high-scoring. (Not sure what the final score was, but the GF score a goal from his own goal line with the last kick of the game).
Saturday, November 29, 2014
Stupid Apple
The Gorse Fox has a love/hate relationship with his Mac. Today it is verging on the hate.
For some reason, when GF had to rejig his network to accommodate the new BT hub, the behaviour of the backup routines changed. Some directories wouldn't get created, and the backup programs would confuse source and target. This has led to several weeks of minor fiddling to try and correct the errors. Alas, this has not been wholly successful. It was time for a more radical approach.
The Gorse Fox created a new "share" on his target NAS. This would be the new destination for backups. However, this meant that there were hundreds of gigabytes of data to worry about. No worries, he thought. OSX is UNIX-based. A "move" in UNIX merely means the relocation of an inode pointer between directories. This would take milliseconds.
Oh no it won't. For some reason OSX still performs a copy(*)... which took nearly 24 hours. What's worse, it gives every file a new "last modified" time. Thus when the backups restarted they noticed the huge time difference and decided they needed to overwrite the files with the older version - just to be sure. The NAS device has been rattling away solidly for nearly 48 hours now... but at least the backups seem to be functioning correctly.
Jasper-the-cat, is quite sensibly, staying out of the way.
(*) Purists might tell you that using the "mv" command from the command line will do the trick. GF can inform them that after many, many hours the command fails claiming there are too many files in the filesystem. They may also tell you that holding "cmd" during the drag'n'drop will do a move. GF would counter that whilst the message changes to say it is doing a move... a task that should take milliseconds rand for several hours... and "touched" every file.
For some reason, when GF had to rejig his network to accommodate the new BT hub, the behaviour of the backup routines changed. Some directories wouldn't get created, and the backup programs would confuse source and target. This has led to several weeks of minor fiddling to try and correct the errors. Alas, this has not been wholly successful. It was time for a more radical approach.
The Gorse Fox created a new "share" on his target NAS. This would be the new destination for backups. However, this meant that there were hundreds of gigabytes of data to worry about. No worries, he thought. OSX is UNIX-based. A "move" in UNIX merely means the relocation of an inode pointer between directories. This would take milliseconds.
Oh no it won't. For some reason OSX still performs a copy(*)... which took nearly 24 hours. What's worse, it gives every file a new "last modified" time. Thus when the backups restarted they noticed the huge time difference and decided they needed to overwrite the files with the older version - just to be sure. The NAS device has been rattling away solidly for nearly 48 hours now... but at least the backups seem to be functioning correctly.
Jasper-the-cat, is quite sensibly, staying out of the way.
(*) Purists might tell you that using the "mv" command from the command line will do the trick. GF can inform them that after many, many hours the command fails claiming there are too many files in the filesystem. They may also tell you that holding "cmd" during the drag'n'drop will do a move. GF would counter that whilst the message changes to say it is doing a move... a task that should take milliseconds rand for several hours... and "touched" every file.
Friday, November 28, 2014
Cull
The Gorse Fox's spies tell him that Starfleet is about to begin another cull. This is euphemistically referred to as a "period of Employee Consultation". What this actually means is that the numbers are significant enough that they cannot do the usual trick of slipping them in under the radar.
So what has gone wrong?
Well the Gorse Fox would think it is pretty clear. It has spent so much time being driven by a (now unachievable) share-price target that it has taken its focus away from those things that actually have an effect on the share price; i.e. customer satisfaction, and employee satisfaction.
Indeed, as far as customer satisfaction is concerned, the problem lies with the lack of differentiation. Why would someone choose Starfleet over Klingon Partner Management Group, Huffing Pathetically, or any other services company. Starfleet tends to be more expensive - but they were at least brutally honest (which is why they lose some deals - where customer would rather hear what they want to hear, rather than the true facts surrounding their demands). However, in the corportae purchases of the past 10 years they have seriously watered down the ethos of the company, and many of those in high places were "imports" who may not have the same levels of rigour or conscience as the company once displayed.
As far as employees (cannon fodder) are concerned there is not one iota of respect from the company. They are expected to work anywhere in Western Europe, they must travel in their own time, they are contracted to work 37 hours a week, but measured on billing 44 hours or more. Many, if not most, work significantly more than the 48 hour EU directive allows, but are expected to have signed a waiver. On top of this they are expected to have done lots of "give-back" which is Starfleet-speak for free work. Meanwhile the accountant-defined distribution curve for the annual performance round penalises people by forcing them into an artificial ranking that determines exactly how top performers and unsatisfactory performers there must be (irrespective of whether they are).
The Gorse Fox is so glad he retired this year. It is a dreadful shame to see this corporate cancer eating away at the company to which he dedicated 30 years. He feels so sorry for those he has left behind on the Corporate battlefield.
So what has gone wrong?
Well the Gorse Fox would think it is pretty clear. It has spent so much time being driven by a (now unachievable) share-price target that it has taken its focus away from those things that actually have an effect on the share price; i.e. customer satisfaction, and employee satisfaction.
Indeed, as far as customer satisfaction is concerned, the problem lies with the lack of differentiation. Why would someone choose Starfleet over Klingon Partner Management Group, Huffing Pathetically, or any other services company. Starfleet tends to be more expensive - but they were at least brutally honest (which is why they lose some deals - where customer would rather hear what they want to hear, rather than the true facts surrounding their demands). However, in the corportae purchases of the past 10 years they have seriously watered down the ethos of the company, and many of those in high places were "imports" who may not have the same levels of rigour or conscience as the company once displayed.
As far as employees (cannon fodder) are concerned there is not one iota of respect from the company. They are expected to work anywhere in Western Europe, they must travel in their own time, they are contracted to work 37 hours a week, but measured on billing 44 hours or more. Many, if not most, work significantly more than the 48 hour EU directive allows, but are expected to have signed a waiver. On top of this they are expected to have done lots of "give-back" which is Starfleet-speak for free work. Meanwhile the accountant-defined distribution curve for the annual performance round penalises people by forcing them into an artificial ranking that determines exactly how top performers and unsatisfactory performers there must be (irrespective of whether they are).
The Gorse Fox is so glad he retired this year. It is a dreadful shame to see this corporate cancer eating away at the company to which he dedicated 30 years. He feels so sorry for those he has left behind on the Corporate battlefield.
Thursday, November 27, 2014
Cables
The Gorse Fox recently purchased some extra charging cables for the iPhones. He researched them ( as you would expect) and was dismayed to see that the Apple cables really got a poor write-up and seemed to give people trouble after a a very short time. However, there was an Amazon-own-brand cable which got a very good write-up and claimed to be certified. GF selected the Amazon cables which have worked flawlessly. He was, nevertheless, amused by a message on the iPhone when he connected it this morning warning that this was not an Apple cable and may not, therefor, work properly.
Excuse me! the reason this cable was selected was because of the poor feed-back on the Apple cables.
Excuse me! the reason this cable was selected was because of the poor feed-back on the Apple cables.
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Off
What a filthy day. It's grey, it's overcast, it's drizzling, and it's not very warm. In fact it's exactly how the Gorse Fox imagines it would be living in Wales.
The weather has a casualty. Today's walking football was cancelled. It was deemed that the pitch was unsafe, being waterlogged in some places and very slippery everywhere else. As most of the players don't have studs it becomes too dangerous. Indeed there were a couple of injuries at the earlier session (held in Littlehampton).
In other news the Tournament seems set for 10th December at the Amex Elite Training Centre with a TV company in attendance to film the proceedings. (Note to self: refresh fake tan, get yellow boots, and arrange for name to be highlighted in sequins on back of shirt).
The weather has a casualty. Today's walking football was cancelled. It was deemed that the pitch was unsafe, being waterlogged in some places and very slippery everywhere else. As most of the players don't have studs it becomes too dangerous. Indeed there were a couple of injuries at the earlier session (held in Littlehampton).
In other news the Tournament seems set for 10th December at the Amex Elite Training Centre with a TV company in attendance to film the proceedings. (Note to self: refresh fake tan, get yellow boots, and arrange for name to be highlighted in sequins on back of shirt).
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Away game
The Gorse Fox thought he'd try another football session. There is an open session on Tuesday mornings at Worthing so he pottered across, met up with Captain Jack (from Angmering/Ford) and joined in with the throng. It was chilly and wet, but the pitches were "all-weather" surfaces and were no problem to play on.
There were sufficient players to have 4 5-a-side teams and as we had 2 pitches we played a round-robin. GF's team (yellow) drew the first game, lost the second, and (apparently) won the third - though that's not how GF remembers it. Then the whole tournament was finished off with penalties. As it worked out, GF's yellow-team came second overall.
The pitches were a bit bigger which made the game more open and hopefully had more impact on levels of fitness. GF is still nowhere near the level of fitness he would like to achieve but is certainly improving. Having said that, the most difficult thing is still restraining yourself from running (fit or otherwise).
GF may go back and play some more when he has the odd Tuesday spare - but next week is out of the question.
There were sufficient players to have 4 5-a-side teams and as we had 2 pitches we played a round-robin. GF's team (yellow) drew the first game, lost the second, and (apparently) won the third - though that's not how GF remembers it. Then the whole tournament was finished off with penalties. As it worked out, GF's yellow-team came second overall.
The pitches were a bit bigger which made the game more open and hopefully had more impact on levels of fitness. GF is still nowhere near the level of fitness he would like to achieve but is certainly improving. Having said that, the most difficult thing is still restraining yourself from running (fit or otherwise).
GF may go back and play some more when he has the odd Tuesday spare - but next week is out of the question.
Monday, November 24, 2014
Keep it coming
Well the post arrived - one envelope contained the rebate of the outstanding Road Fund license for the Silver Vixen's old car (incidentally that rebate is bigger than the cost of the road tax for next year). The other envelope contained notification of the payment of our Winter Fuel Allowance.
This is an excellent start to the week.
It got better.
The phone rang. It was BT. The chap who has been handling the Gorse Fox's broadband issues was checking if the case can now be closed. GF agreed it could - it was clear there was nothing further that could be done until they lay some fibre. The BT chap then said that because of the inconvenience he would credit our account with two months-worth of broadband fees. (This is on top of the credit they gave us last month for the disruptions to the phone).
A very good start to the week - keep it coming!
Meanwhile we have heard from our fireplace supplier. The fire and surround are now available and we plan to have them fitted next week. This is good because we should also have the shutters fitted next week. Once that is done we are all set until after Christmas.
This is an excellent start to the week.
It got better.
The phone rang. It was BT. The chap who has been handling the Gorse Fox's broadband issues was checking if the case can now be closed. GF agreed it could - it was clear there was nothing further that could be done until they lay some fibre. The BT chap then said that because of the inconvenience he would credit our account with two months-worth of broadband fees. (This is on top of the credit they gave us last month for the disruptions to the phone).
A very good start to the week - keep it coming!
Meanwhile we have heard from our fireplace supplier. The fire and surround are now available and we plan to have them fitted next week. This is good because we should also have the shutters fitted next week. Once that is done we are all set until after Christmas.
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Lunch
It seemed appropriate to go back to "Amelie and Friends" which has rapidly become our favourite restaurant for special occasions.
When we arrived and announced ourselves the Silver Vixen was wished a Happy Birthday and, though early, we were shown to our table immediately.
We had a lovely leisurely lunch selected from their simple but choice menu. Starting with crab and prawn tian, halloumi tikka skewers on saffron risotto balls, we moved on to 6-hour roastes pork belly with spiced crackling and then finally a pear tarte tatin with which to round off the meal.
As expected, everything was just perfect... even to the point that they had written Happy Birthday on the Silver Vixen's plate in rich dark chocolate. Nice touch.
When we arrived and announced ourselves the Silver Vixen was wished a Happy Birthday and, though early, we were shown to our table immediately.
We had a lovely leisurely lunch selected from their simple but choice menu. Starting with crab and prawn tian, halloumi tikka skewers on saffron risotto balls, we moved on to 6-hour roastes pork belly with spiced crackling and then finally a pear tarte tatin with which to round off the meal.
As expected, everything was just perfect... even to the point that they had written Happy Birthday on the Silver Vixen's plate in rich dark chocolate. Nice touch.
Offside
The Gorse Fox is back from Sunday morning's walking football. The Silver Vixen, as is now becoming the norm, came along to watch all of the creaking wrecks bumping into each other and falling over at the arena.
The Gorse Fox was goalkeeper for the first half - and was pleased with his performance. In the second half he went out to play midfield. Whilst happy with some of the "play-making", passing, and dribbling, he didn't score himself this week. Also it is clear that he needs to improve his fitness. Plan at the moment is to do an extra session on Tuesday and see if it is worth keeping on the calendar.
The Gorse Fox was goalkeeper for the first half - and was pleased with his performance. In the second half he went out to play midfield. Whilst happy with some of the "play-making", passing, and dribbling, he didn't score himself this week. Also it is clear that he needs to improve his fitness. Plan at the moment is to do an extra session on Tuesday and see if it is worth keeping on the calendar.
Saturday, November 22, 2014
Family
It was a nice day - (well, excepting the weather, which was a bit naff). The Silver Vixen's sister and partner came down to visit for the first time. Soon after they arrived and we settled down with a coffee, Urban-cub also turned up.
The Gorse Fox prepared (bought and put in the oven) a three-bird roast with roast vegetables, potatoes, and mushrooms. This was accompanied by the odd glass of fermented grape juice, and finished off with an apple and berry crumble.
The Silver Vixen and her sister started to wade through bags of jewellery left by their mum. They sorted through deciding which bits each would have, which were not worth hanging on to, and which bits would be available for the girls. Meanwhile, the chaps watched the football from the Spanish League, on TV.
After the guests had left, the Silver Vixen had the residual items of jewellery and hug box of old photos. These proved intriguing as she waded through them and the other items from the box. The Gorse Fox clearly has a lot of scanning and filing on the horizon.
The Gorse Fox prepared (bought and put in the oven) a three-bird roast with roast vegetables, potatoes, and mushrooms. This was accompanied by the odd glass of fermented grape juice, and finished off with an apple and berry crumble.
The Silver Vixen and her sister started to wade through bags of jewellery left by their mum. They sorted through deciding which bits each would have, which were not worth hanging on to, and which bits would be available for the girls. Meanwhile, the chaps watched the football from the Spanish League, on TV.
After the guests had left, the Silver Vixen had the residual items of jewellery and hug box of old photos. These proved intriguing as she waded through them and the other items from the box. The Gorse Fox clearly has a lot of scanning and filing on the horizon.
Friday, November 21, 2014
Birthday in Brighton
We had planned a day in Brighton where, among other things, there was a craft fair at The Dome featuring (among others) one of the SV's friends. That was a good start to the day and we spent a little money on some nice articles that will be put aside for Christmas.
After the craft fair we headed out into the Laines.
We started at the North Laines and covered most of the ground without, on this occasion, getting sucked into any of the stores.
Heading back across North Street we stopped to take a picture of the block where Cousteau-Cub used to live. Evidently, they are doing some work on the roof... but those dormer windows used to be in C-C's flat.
We carried on down towards the sea and stopped at what used to be a cinema and is now an Asian buffet restaurant. We paid our money and then went about eating Chinese, Malaysian, Thai, Indian and Vietnamese cuisine. Being a buffet you could return as often as you wished. We were both very restrained and left feeling very content (neither of us had returned to the buffet more than 10 times).
It is funny how people define luck. As we wandered past a Thai restaurant that we had not noticed before, a passing gull decided that the Silver Vixen was a prime target. As it was her birthday, it could not resist the opportunity to deposit a gift on her head. Passers-by seemed to believe this was a sign of good luck. The Gorse Fox was less sure as he had to claw the deposit from her hair. It was no good. He did his best - but it was clear that would not suffice. We headed for Boots and purchased wet-wipes, hand-gel and a comb. Then outside the shop we had another go at the deposit - which by now had turned to the consistency of concrete. We did what we could... it was less noticeable. That's about as good as it would get.
Some final shopping in the Churchill Centre rounded off the day and we headed for the car. The journey home seemed interminable - taking nearly 2 hours, which seems ridiculous for a 25 mile trip, but that's Friday traffic for you.
Now if you will excuse - the Gorse Fox needs a beer and the Silver Vixen needs more tea.
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Serendipity
The Gorse Fox took the opportunity to cut the grass. It seems very late in the year to use the mower, but it was nice to tidy things up before the weather closes in.
Gorse Fox spent the afternoon doing admin and looking for some alternative astroturf pitches to use for the walking football. He was delighted to find a £40M community sports centre about a mile from home. He didn't hestitate - he went straight up there to take a look and get details of the facilities and the prices. Looks great - though the pitches are "all weather" - i.e. they are outdoors. The Gorse Fox is not too worried about the fact it is not indoors - but suspects for some of the older players they may prefer the warmth of an indoor facility.
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Exercise
The Gorse Fox had his usual football session this morning. His team won, and the Gorse Fox scored a couple of the goals. The best part, however, was the news that once these 6 sessions are complete, Brighton & Hove Albion hope to continue with more formal sessions at a permanent location with proper astro-turf. Thiis should save the Gorse Fox from needing to buy some proper football boots (with studs).
We also heard that there is likely to be a session at the B&H training centre with TV cameras there to record it. So there you go... the Gorse Fox may get onto Match of the Day, yet.
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Patience
The Gorse Fox is favouring impatience over playfulness today.
The phone ran. The Gorse Fox answered. Therr was a pause, and then in a strong Indian sub-contintent accent "Hello, this is Jack from Windows technical support".
The Gorse Fox paused for a nano-second. Does he play the poor sap along? or does he end the call.
Old age curmudgeoness overcame the playful urge. "I am well aware of this scam. I don't use a Windows computer. Goodbye." and at that, the Gorse Fox hung up.
Feeling at-peace with the world the Gorse Fox prepared some invitation cards. A carol concert is scheduled for early December, and we thought we would invite the neighbours in for some mulled wine following the singing. After supper the Gorse Fox wandered around the Crescent and posted the invites through the letter boxes. (A trip to Lidl for some Gluhwein and nibbles is cleary on the agenda).
Monday, November 17, 2014
Deskbound
The Silver Vixen had a visit from Handy Mandy so the Gorse Fox made himself scarce and spent much of the day in the study. This gave him a chance to do some scanning of a batch of old photos, some recent mail, and some insurance certificates. The Gorse Fox has, as explained before, adopted a paperless approach to admin. Everything is scanned, filed, backed up, then the original is shredded. There is no longer any paper filing. This is proving very successful and does make it very easy to find documents.
Sunday, November 16, 2014
In memory
It is just over a year since we said good bye to the Silver Vixen's mum. Today, we had the opportunity to get together as a family and plant a tree in the churchyard of Buckingham Parish Church in memory of her. It was cearly an emotional moment for some, but for others it was a time to remember with fun and fondness.
Affter the tree planting we all met up for a meal at a local restaurant, to chat, to plann, and to look forward.
A nice day.
It was also the first opportunity to take the Silver Vixen's new car for a run. It was very comfortable, and cruised effortlessly. for such a big vehicle the Gorse Fox was pleased to see a return of nearly 57mpg.
Saturday, November 15, 2014
Mulling it over
It has been a quiet day. Most of the morning was spent going through and updating the financial spreadsheets - the Money Dashboard software has been upgraded to allow a download of the historical transactions (which it always used to do, but this feature was lost in a recent update).
The Silver Vixen needed a birthday card for a friend so we headed to Chi. John Lewis was heaving, but we persevered. (John Lewis was obviouslyunder stress as the lights failed a couple of times while we were there). Silver Vixen found a suitable card and then we wandered through the store. The Gorse Fox was wondering what could be used to serve mulled wine at the forthcoming carol service. In the end we discounted stock pots, punch bowls, slow cookers and heavens knows what else. We plumped fo a bucket-like jam pot. We still have to find some suitable glasses, but at leas we have a receptacle in which to prepare and heat the wine, and from which we can serve it.
Friday, November 14, 2014
Just Stuff
Nothing too earth-shattering today. The Gorse Fox started with a Skype session with a couple of ex-colleagues discussing a work opportunity. GF was glad to see the broadband was up to the challenge and the Skype session was very stable. He's not tempted to do any customer-facing work, but he might help them out with some back-room stuff and some designs.
After that, much of the day was spent dealing with a slight back-log of admin, scanning, filing, and shredding. GF also managed to work out and test the "send to car" feature of the SV's new car. This allowed him to send locations to the car's satnav from the PC. Neat feature.
Talking of locations, GF has also managed to get the street where he lives onto Google Maps... and get them to correct the error in the mapping of the access road. Very impressed by the speed at which they responded.
After that, much of the day was spent dealing with a slight back-log of admin, scanning, filing, and shredding. GF also managed to work out and test the "send to car" feature of the SV's new car. This allowed him to send locations to the car's satnav from the PC. Neat feature.
Talking of locations, GF has also managed to get the street where he lives onto Google Maps... and get them to correct the error in the mapping of the access road. Very impressed by the speed at which they responded.
Thursday, November 13, 2014
More Little Victories
The Gorse Fox got call from BT. It was his exec helper. We discussed the service provision and all of the bits that had now been put right. GF was satisfied for the call to be closed off. The exec contact said that she had calculated the disruption to service from the day we moved in right up to yesterday and GF was due a rebate. GF told her to leave it as a credit on his account.
Another smug little chuckle as another victory was snatched from the jaws of defeat... and effectively he has several months of free BT service as the credit gets consumed.
Another smug little chuckle as another victory was snatched from the jaws of defeat... and effectively he has several months of free BT service as the credit gets consumed.
Stitch up - foiled
The Gorse Fox, obviously, had to sort out insurance for the Silver Vixen's new car. As his own insurance was about to renew it made sense to try and look at both vehicles together. He phoned his insurance company and got a quote for the SV's broomstick. He was not impressed and told them he thought the quote to be high and shouldn't they try and do better. They were not interested... and were going to charge him for amending the policy.
He phoned the insurance division of his bank (a perk of his account, and a department within the same insurance company he had just be speaking with). He asked for a quote. They offered to pay any exit fees from the existing policy and managed to come up with a quotation that was less for both cars than the original quote for just one. Deal done.
GF phoned the original insurer back and told them to cancel both existing policies. The agent asked why and when GF told him of the the price difference he offered to try and beat it. Too late, explained the GF - you should have done that to start with, and not tried to stitch up a loyal, long term customer. He said he understood but said that a cancellation fee was due. GF told him that was fine because the other department of his company was going to pay it.
GF allowed himself a smug little chuckle as he put the phone down.
He phoned the insurance division of his bank (a perk of his account, and a department within the same insurance company he had just be speaking with). He asked for a quote. They offered to pay any exit fees from the existing policy and managed to come up with a quotation that was less for both cars than the original quote for just one. Deal done.
GF phoned the original insurer back and told them to cancel both existing policies. The agent asked why and when GF told him of the the price difference he offered to try and beat it. Too late, explained the GF - you should have done that to start with, and not tried to stitch up a loyal, long term customer. He said he understood but said that a cancellation fee was due. GF told him that was fine because the other department of his company was going to pay it.
GF allowed himself a smug little chuckle as he put the phone down.
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Shiny
The weather had not been clement. Though dry, the ground was slipy and mushy. Too slippy and mushy to safely play football (without studs). As a result we just played some simple drills and then proactised shooting - or in the Gorse Fox's case saving. The Gorse Fox volunteered to go in goal and let all of the other take shots. Out of the 35 shots taken he only conceded 2 goals... though many were off target (so they weren't all saves).
After a quick shower we had to head back out. The Silver Vixen's new car was ready to be picked up. As usual this process took longer than expected - but she was confident enough to drive away immediately. Heading straight to Chi, we had a wander round Lidl (a first for us) - and managed to pick up some lobster. Then, stopping at John Lewis, we picked up the new TV and then headed home.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Playing
The Gorse Fox has been playing with the TV we installed in the family room last month (or was it the month before). It has a number of "smart" features which required exploration (an should be available on the new TV we collect tomorrow).
This morning GF has managed to find out how to link the TV with our network storage and thus was able to play music from our library, watch our old family videos, and display photos. What became clear immediately, was the excellent quality and clarity of video that we had taken on the little FlipCam in the past few years. Now, GF knows he has the FlipCam somewhere... but cannot remember where he has hidden it. He must keep an eye open for it.
Talking of video - we are also able to screen-cast from the iPhones. This lead to the embarrassing realisation that the video footage that the Silver Vixen had taken on her iPhone showing her brother and the Gorse Fox playing walking football could be seen on the screen. It is clear there is no hiding.
This morning GF has managed to find out how to link the TV with our network storage and thus was able to play music from our library, watch our old family videos, and display photos. What became clear immediately, was the excellent quality and clarity of video that we had taken on the little FlipCam in the past few years. Now, GF knows he has the FlipCam somewhere... but cannot remember where he has hidden it. He must keep an eye open for it.
Talking of video - we are also able to screen-cast from the iPhones. This lead to the embarrassing realisation that the video footage that the Silver Vixen had taken on her iPhone showing her brother and the Gorse Fox playing walking football could be seen on the screen. It is clear there is no hiding.
Monday, November 10, 2014
Bugs
Well there has obviously been a spate of failed TVs. When the Gorse Fox arrived at John Lewis's at 9:30 this morning there was already a cluster of people seeking to purchase new TVs. Indeed when GF asked if there were any in stock or when they could be delivered the chappie said there were none in stock and there were over 1000 of this model waiting to be delivered to customers... GF would have to wait 2 weeks. The Gorse Fox then asked about their click and collect service. Using that he can collect it on Wednesday. The deal was done.
After lunch the BT Openreach engineer arrived. A little bit of testing and re-wiring later and the broadband speed had increased by another 3-400Kbps. The problem he had was that his tests were indicating another fault on the line. With the faceplate on the master socket there was a fault, with the faceplate off, the fault disappeared. Different faceplates were tried and the results were consistent. In the end we decided the fault was probably with the automated test equipment because all of the local equipment showed up as clean.
Needless to say, the line-speed seems to have dropped slightly since he left. But we'll see how things progress.
After lunch the BT Openreach engineer arrived. A little bit of testing and re-wiring later and the broadband speed had increased by another 3-400Kbps. The problem he had was that his tests were indicating another fault on the line. With the faceplate on the master socket there was a fault, with the faceplate off, the fault disappeared. Different faceplates were tried and the results were consistent. In the end we decided the fault was probably with the automated test equipment because all of the local equipment showed up as clean.
Needless to say, the line-speed seems to have dropped slightly since he left. But we'll see how things progress.
Sunday, November 09, 2014
Blast
Well, at least it's not Christmas. As a rule, when a TV fails for the Gorse Fox and the Silver Vixen, it is Christmas time. This afternoon the Gorse Fox went to turn on the TV, but depite all he tried it would not spring into life.
Looks like the Gorse Fox has to go out and get a new TV tomorrow.
Convert
The Silver Vixen's brother stayed overnight, and this morning joined the Gorse Fox for a session ow walking football. He did very well and proved to be a good member of the team. We managed a 5-a-side session this week and the Gorse Fox's team won 8-7 which include a couple of goals from Gorse Fox.
Despite wearing the Gorse Fox's trainers - several sizes too big - Silver Vixen's brother is hooked and has already committed to get some trainers to bring with him on his next visit.
Saturday, November 08, 2014
Measure twice
We went to the local furniture store and bought a bedside table and mirror for the spare room. Worried that GF would mount the mirror askew, GF followed the old adage about measuring twice. This done, the mirror was fixed without incident. And it's level.
So why the the title of this post?
We then went to put the sheets on the bed. We bought them for a King-sized bed. The label clearly says they should be 150x200 cm.... but they don't fit. GF was intrigued, so measured the sheet. It was clearly too small - only 130x182cm. Frustrating when we had bought the new bedding specifically for the bed (and checked the measurements in advance).
We are expecting the Silver Vixen's brother this afternoon. So we should have some fun.
So why the the title of this post?
We then went to put the sheets on the bed. We bought them for a King-sized bed. The label clearly says they should be 150x200 cm.... but they don't fit. GF was intrigued, so measured the sheet. It was clearly too small - only 130x182cm. Frustrating when we had bought the new bedding specifically for the bed (and checked the measurements in advance).
We are expecting the Silver Vixen's brother this afternoon. So we should have some fun.
Friday, November 07, 2014
Dealer, again
Thee phone rang. It was the local dealership. The Silver Vixen's car has arrived on site so the Gorse Fox has made an appointment to see them in the morning and get the insurance sorted out and arrange when to collect the vehicle.
Dealer
We stopped at the car dealer to see if the Silver Vixen's new car was on site yet. It looks like it still hasn't arrived, so we popped in to speak to sales chap. There were no sales staff on duty so we met the new Manager. He couldn't answer the "when" question - only having started in the last week, but he did offer to move heaven and earth - or lend us his own car if we needed it. We weren't interested in people fiddling with the earths progress round the sun, nor dabbling with its axis - but were impressed with the offer of his car. The chap should do well as he is clearly focused on the customer.
Thursday, November 06, 2014
Master Socket
Ah ha! The BT Technical chappie called and we had a long chat. We discussed the slow broadband and possible causes. We also discussed the fact that it seems to be endemic, as most people that Gorse Fox has spoken to on the development seem to be having similar problems.
Eventually we got down to some testing and opened up the test socket. This had a significant difference in that the speed of the connection doubled. Now the question is where is the loss - inside the socket or inside the house wiring?
Engineer scheduled for Monday.
Eventually we got down to some testing and opened up the test socket. This had a significant difference in that the speed of the connection doubled. Now the question is where is the loss - inside the socket or inside the house wiring?
Engineer scheduled for Monday.
Wednesday, November 05, 2014
Assassin
Thhe football coach referred to the Gorse Fox as "The Assassin" as the Gorse Fox side-stepped round him to score his second of three goals in a 4-2 win. This was followed by practising taking penalties - after the first 8 (one for each of us) the Gorse Fox went in goal for the next 8. He was obviously feeling alert today - saving 7 out of the 8 penalties.
Good game.
Networks - pah!
The Gorse Fox has always commented that despite 43 years in IT, he has no appreciable knowledge of networks.
The arrival (eventually) of the bT Hub yesterday has stretched what little knowledge he had to its limits. The Hub is set up to use a different range of network addresses - and unlike the preceeding Netgear hub, doesn't allow simple configuration of static addresses - they have to be done in the client devices. This meant a load of faffing around and changing of addresses in various machines. Eventually everything is pretty stable... except the Gorse Fox's backup system which steadfastly refuses to handle the re-addressed NAS devices in a consistent and trustworthy manner.
This is obviously going to take some mucking about. But that can wait until after today's football.
The arrival (eventually) of the bT Hub yesterday has stretched what little knowledge he had to its limits. The Hub is set up to use a different range of network addresses - and unlike the preceeding Netgear hub, doesn't allow simple configuration of static addresses - they have to be done in the client devices. This meant a load of faffing around and changing of addresses in various machines. Eventually everything is pretty stable... except the Gorse Fox's backup system which steadfastly refuses to handle the re-addressed NAS devices in a consistent and trustworthy manner.
This is obviously going to take some mucking about. But that can wait until after today's football.
Tuesday, November 04, 2014
Good Start
The sun came up. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. It only took a few minutes for it to start drying off the fence at the side of the garden and we soon saw clouds of vapour billowing upwards in the still of the morning air.
Cliff Edge
Cliff Edge was youngest of the Gloucestershire Edges. He seems to feature in the last episode of each series of TV drama - particularly those made in the USA. It obviously keeps him very busy as each of these series finishes on a Cliff Edge.
The Gorse Fox and Silver Vixen, weary of this artifice, have come up with and successfully deployed a viewing strategy. When engrossed in a series, we keep an eye on the episode count: 1/8, 2/8 etc. (though US dramas are more likely to be 21/23, 22/23 as their seasons run for longer). We watch the series right up to the penultimate episode, then record the series finale. This recording is put on hold until the new season is released months later. Then we watch the final episode of the old series immediately before watching the first episode of the new series. Voila - Cliff Edge is rendered irrelevant as the suspense only lasts a few minutes.
(We also deploy this strategy when there is a good two-parter, such as the current run of "Lewis". We record both parts, then watch them back to back).
There you go - a little insight into "life on the edge".
The Gorse Fox and Silver Vixen, weary of this artifice, have come up with and successfully deployed a viewing strategy. When engrossed in a series, we keep an eye on the episode count: 1/8, 2/8 etc. (though US dramas are more likely to be 21/23, 22/23 as their seasons run for longer). We watch the series right up to the penultimate episode, then record the series finale. This recording is put on hold until the new season is released months later. Then we watch the final episode of the old series immediately before watching the first episode of the new series. Voila - Cliff Edge is rendered irrelevant as the suspense only lasts a few minutes.
(We also deploy this strategy when there is a good two-parter, such as the current run of "Lewis". We record both parts, then watch them back to back).
There you go - a little insight into "life on the edge".
Monday, November 03, 2014
Let down again
Well it appears that BT have let us down again. The router they promised for today has not arrived, but according to the GF's exec contact it has been closed as complete. She has immediately put in a further order for delivery tomorrow and if that makes no difference she will escalate to the technical team at Newcastle who support the chairman's office.
Putting in the new order has evidently triggered something as BT have sent an email demanding the return of the router they haven't delivered. GF can feel a fight brewing.
Putting in the new order has evidently triggered something as BT have sent an email demanding the return of the router they haven't delivered. GF can feel a fight brewing.
Expecting
The Gorse Fox is expecting a new router from BT today. Not one that he requested or ordered - but one they are sending anyway. (He is not paying for it).
He will install it and try it out - and show that the slow broadband is not a router issue - but a line/exchange issue. (We are only 2.5km from the exchange and GF is only 200m from the cabinet - so it should not be line length problems).
He waits in anticipation.
He will install it and try it out - and show that the slow broadband is not a router issue - but a line/exchange issue. (We are only 2.5km from the exchange and GF is only 200m from the cabinet - so it should not be line length problems).
He waits in anticipation.
Test Image
When the Gorse Fox has finished writing the code he hopes to post the noon image from the Pi Camera, on a daily basis. Should be an interesting exercise.
Sunday, November 02, 2014
Not so good
The Silver Vixen came along, as cheer-leader, to watch us play walking football again. To be fair she didn't have pom-poms, a crop-top, tight silky shorts, or knee-high white boots. The Gorse Fox expects that she is saving these for a more competitive game rather than a friendly.
There were not so many of us this week - so we only manages 4-a-side. The Gorse Fox was on the end of a significant tonking (to use a technical phrase). In fact he hasn't lost at anything quite so convincingly since playing for Barnet College in the late 1960s. He did manage to score a few goals, and save a few, but for every one his team scored, the other team seemed to score three or four. This was not so good, but he is convinced that once his general level of fitness returns such events will not recur.
Talking of disappointing performances - the Gorse Fox couldn't help but think that even the walking football team (all over 60) would have given Spurs a run for their money today. Ok, they won 2-1 at Aston Villa, but it was an embarrassing display. It reminded me of watching your father let loose at a disco. No idea, no rhythm, and utterly embarrassing.
There were not so many of us this week - so we only manages 4-a-side. The Gorse Fox was on the end of a significant tonking (to use a technical phrase). In fact he hasn't lost at anything quite so convincingly since playing for Barnet College in the late 1960s. He did manage to score a few goals, and save a few, but for every one his team scored, the other team seemed to score three or four. This was not so good, but he is convinced that once his general level of fitness returns such events will not recur.
Talking of disappointing performances - the Gorse Fox couldn't help but think that even the walking football team (all over 60) would have given Spurs a run for their money today. Ok, they won 2-1 at Aston Villa, but it was an embarrassing display. It reminded me of watching your father let loose at a disco. No idea, no rhythm, and utterly embarrassing.
Saturday, November 01, 2014
Stuff
The very lovely Silver Vixen was out at a workshop (broomstick making, or cauldron stirring, or something - as yesterday was Halloween, who knows!).
This left the Gorse Fox and Jasper the cat in charge. (Well, strictly it Jasper in charge - the Gorse Fox just did as he was told). The morning was spent filing a backlog of photos, writing some code, and trying various tools for making a movie out of a batch of stills. This had a modicum of success, but was hampered by the low resolution of the old webcam that GF had been using initially.
A trip to B&Q followed. This allowed GF to get the last piece of MDF for his project - and reassure the staff that I wasn't ignoring them, but had been doing other things. Back home the MDF was primed and left to await it fate. Some of the other sheets were marked up and made ready to be attacked with the router and saw.
While out GF drove to the car dealer to see if there was evidence of the Silver Vixen's new car on site yet. (It was due this week). Despite having a look around GF could not see any trace of it. Maybe it hasn't arrived, or maybe it gets delivered to their main branch in Worthing for the pre-delivery work. No doubt we will hear soon.
This left the Gorse Fox and Jasper the cat in charge. (Well, strictly it Jasper in charge - the Gorse Fox just did as he was told). The morning was spent filing a backlog of photos, writing some code, and trying various tools for making a movie out of a batch of stills. This had a modicum of success, but was hampered by the low resolution of the old webcam that GF had been using initially.
A trip to B&Q followed. This allowed GF to get the last piece of MDF for his project - and reassure the staff that I wasn't ignoring them, but had been doing other things. Back home the MDF was primed and left to await it fate. Some of the other sheets were marked up and made ready to be attacked with the router and saw.
While out GF drove to the car dealer to see if there was evidence of the Silver Vixen's new car on site yet. (It was due this week). Despite having a look around GF could not see any trace of it. Maybe it hasn't arrived, or maybe it gets delivered to their main branch in Worthing for the pre-delivery work. No doubt we will hear soon.
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