We had hoped that a good night's sleep would see Ellie fully recovered and back to her old self. No such luck. Though she went down to sleep moderately early, she was awake and calling within about 30 minutes. This set the tempo for the rest of the evening and most of the night. She would sleep fitfully then wake up crying and calling for the Silver Vixen. The cycle usually allowed about 30 minutes of rest before the next intervention was required. The Gorse Fox was eager to do his bit but was not welcome at all. Only Nana would do. The Silver Vixen soldiered on, and Cousteau-cub did her bit around dawn. The Gorse Fox fetched and carried when needed but mostly just lay there feeling useless. He suspects we are all just running on fumes today.
Urban-cub came along early this morning to collect Ellie. The latest word from LA is that there is no real improvement and all she wants is cuddles with mummy. Let's hope she sees some improvement this afternoon.
The Gorse Fox spent much of the morning working on the family tree. There was little or no urge to do anything too active. The Silver Vixen is at the hairdresser this afternoon, and Cousteau-cub has been into Bognor Regis to shop for the Coventry-Hobbit who has decided that he will not return to Thailand after their holiday to Italy but rather will stay here in the UK and try and get a job.
Saturday, August 31, 2019
Friday, August 30, 2019
Beach time
It was a little cooler today. Still warm, but there was a cool breeze. Urban-Cub arrived just before 0900 to drop Ellie off with us. Ellie was clearly under the weather and was very clingy. To be fair, instead of being a misery, as many children can be when unwell, she was just a bit subdued.
The Gorse Fox dropped Cousteau-Cub off at work, mid-morning. She was explaining, on the way, that the Coventry Hobbit was not going to have his work permit renewed. His Visa allows him to stay until February, but his regular work will stop. He'll still be able to do some freelance work. The timing isn't great as it expires just as he returns to Thailand after his impending trip to the UK. The question they have to sort out is where he is going to go, and what he is going to do. Life is never boring!
Ellie had a nap at lunchtime and seemed a lot brighter afterwards. We decided a trip would perk her up.
The three of us hopped on the bus into Bognor Regis and after a quick stop in a furniture shop, we headed down to the promenade.
Ellie played on the swings for ages, whilst keeping a close eye on all the other children in the playground. We finally coaxed her away and stopped for an ice cream, then she dragged us back to play area and explored the slides and the swings some more.
It was coming up to 1700 before we hopped on the bus to head home for some tea. As the Gorse Fox writes, Ellie is in the bath under the keen supervision of the Silver Vixen. She still seems a little under the weather but hopefully a good night's sleep will restore her to her usual self.
The Gorse Fox dropped Cousteau-Cub off at work, mid-morning. She was explaining, on the way, that the Coventry Hobbit was not going to have his work permit renewed. His Visa allows him to stay until February, but his regular work will stop. He'll still be able to do some freelance work. The timing isn't great as it expires just as he returns to Thailand after his impending trip to the UK. The question they have to sort out is where he is going to go, and what he is going to do. Life is never boring!
Ellie had a nap at lunchtime and seemed a lot brighter afterwards. We decided a trip would perk her up.
The three of us hopped on the bus into Bognor Regis and after a quick stop in a furniture shop, we headed down to the promenade.
It was coming up to 1700 before we hopped on the bus to head home for some tea. As the Gorse Fox writes, Ellie is in the bath under the keen supervision of the Silver Vixen. She still seems a little under the weather but hopefully a good night's sleep will restore her to her usual self.
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Just stuff
It's been a nice day, though cooler than of late. The Gorse Fox was up first and pottered in the kitchen for an hour or so before there was any further sign of life. He had used the time to extend his infamous accounts spreadsheet even further. In turn, these additions have triggered further ideas that he will ponder before committing fingers to keyboard.
Urban-cub turned up with Ellie. Ellie would spend the day with us, and Pistol Pete would collect her when his shift finishes this afternoon. There was a certain degree of chaos during the handover as Ellie was eager to see Cousteau-cub, and she was only just emerging. At the same time, the window-cleaner had arrived to make everything sparkling clean and knocked for payment. Ocado was also due but fortunately, they were running late.
The rest of the day has really been spent at Ellie's beck and call.
Urban-cub turned up with Ellie. Ellie would spend the day with us, and Pistol Pete would collect her when his shift finishes this afternoon. There was a certain degree of chaos during the handover as Ellie was eager to see Cousteau-cub, and she was only just emerging. At the same time, the window-cleaner had arrived to make everything sparkling clean and knocked for payment. Ocado was also due but fortunately, they were running late.
The rest of the day has really been spent at Ellie's beck and call.
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
What's Up
The Gorse Fox is not playing football today. Cousteau-cub still needs to be taken to and from work, so he skipped football in order to help out.
There had been a bit of rain overnight, but nothing much. It was bright and warm when we went down for breakfast. The Silver Vixen headed off to Pilates and the Gorse Fox stayed put. The initial idea was to create some pivot tables in the accounts spreadsheet, but he was distracted for a while by the fact "condor" (the big Mac) seemed unresponsive. It took a while to get everything back to normal, but now it seems to be fine.
Returning to the accounts spreadsheet, the Gorse Fox created the first of the pivot tables. He will ponder its value for a while before rolling it out further across the months.
There had been a bit of rain overnight, but nothing much. It was bright and warm when we went down for breakfast. The Silver Vixen headed off to Pilates and the Gorse Fox stayed put. The initial idea was to create some pivot tables in the accounts spreadsheet, but he was distracted for a while by the fact "condor" (the big Mac) seemed unresponsive. It took a while to get everything back to normal, but now it seems to be fine.
Returning to the accounts spreadsheet, the Gorse Fox created the first of the pivot tables. He will ponder its value for a while before rolling it out further across the months.
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
Peregrine Down
It is an inauspicious day. Peregrine, the Gorse Fox's production server is down. It has run without intervention or interruption for 930 days but today it off the air. The Gorse Fox tried to resurrect it, hoping it was just a networking problem, it wasn't. This actually required a reboot. As it was in this state, it seemed like a good opportunity to bring it up-to-date with all of the latest fixes and kernel changes. It took about an hour to get everything done, but now the server is humming away in the Batcave again. Hopefully, it will be another few years before the next intervention is required.
The weather today has been glorious again. Temperatures have been up in the high 20s and the sky has been cloudless. It was a lovely day to play football. At least, that's what the Gorse Fox thought, but many of his fellow players spent the whole time complaining about the heat. It goes without saying that there was no second session. With all the complaints about the heat, the players just melted away at the end of the first hour. The Gorse Fox had done his customary laps of the track before the football started, then played for the green-bibs. We drew the first game, lost the second and drew the third game. It must be said that we played some lovely football, though the Gorse Fox failed to score this week.
The Silver Vixen met up with one her coven in Arundel. She commented on how hot it had been and also how busy Arundel was today. The outdoor lido was clearly doing a roaring business.
The weather today has been glorious again. Temperatures have been up in the high 20s and the sky has been cloudless. It was a lovely day to play football. At least, that's what the Gorse Fox thought, but many of his fellow players spent the whole time complaining about the heat. It goes without saying that there was no second session. With all the complaints about the heat, the players just melted away at the end of the first hour. The Gorse Fox had done his customary laps of the track before the football started, then played for the green-bibs. We drew the first game, lost the second and drew the third game. It must be said that we played some lovely football, though the Gorse Fox failed to score this week.
The Silver Vixen met up with one her coven in Arundel. She commented on how hot it had been and also how busy Arundel was today. The outdoor lido was clearly doing a roaring business.
Monday, August 26, 2019
Bank Holiday
The nice thing about a Bank Holiday is that you do not have to go to work. The nice thing about being retired is that every day is like a Bank Holiday. Today was a gorgeous day with record-breaking temperatures. The Gorse Fox had opened up the house early in the morning and maintained a pleasant airflow throughout the day. While it was hot outside, it was quite comfortable indoors.
There wasn't a great deal on the agenda. The Gorse Fox was distracted by some family tree stuff. This ended up consuming several hours of investigation and discovering some more cousins for the Silver Vixen. There's a bit more to do, but the groundwork has been completed.
The Gorse Fox manages his household accounts and budgets with a fairly sophisticated spreadsheet. Several thoughts collided and sent him scurrying down another track. The first thought was about the BBC show "Shop Well for Less". This is a rather pathetic look at people who have overspent and shows them how much money they could save if they hadn't overspent in the past. This made him think that the best thing they could do is manage their accounts and budgets properly. The second thought was that the cubs could probably benefit from a similar idea. Now, a spreadsheet such as that used by the Gorse Fox is all very fine if you sit down at a laptop every day, but maybe a better solution is a tool on the phone or tablet. The research started and in the end, the Gorse Fox installed "YOLT" to try it out and see if it was fit for purpose. Initial testing seems fine and it may be just what the cubs need... and is certainly what the victims of the BBC programme need.
There wasn't a great deal on the agenda. The Gorse Fox was distracted by some family tree stuff. This ended up consuming several hours of investigation and discovering some more cousins for the Silver Vixen. There's a bit more to do, but the groundwork has been completed.
The Gorse Fox manages his household accounts and budgets with a fairly sophisticated spreadsheet. Several thoughts collided and sent him scurrying down another track. The first thought was about the BBC show "Shop Well for Less". This is a rather pathetic look at people who have overspent and shows them how much money they could save if they hadn't overspent in the past. This made him think that the best thing they could do is manage their accounts and budgets properly. The second thought was that the cubs could probably benefit from a similar idea. Now, a spreadsheet such as that used by the Gorse Fox is all very fine if you sit down at a laptop every day, but maybe a better solution is a tool on the phone or tablet. The research started and in the end, the Gorse Fox installed "YOLT" to try it out and see if it was fit for purpose. Initial testing seems fine and it may be just what the cubs need... and is certainly what the victims of the BBC programme need.
Sunday, August 25, 2019
Family day
It was a cracking day, lovely and warm, hardly a cloud in the sky, and only the slightest of breezes. It was a day to savour.
Unfortunately, there was no football. Some of our players clearly have no dedication and think it's more important to go away on holiday than it is to play football on a Sunday morning. No commitment! The Gorse Fox and Silver Vixen had a quiet morning pottering about. We were expecting Urban-cub and Ellie to bring Cousteau-cub this afternoon and to stay for dinner, so the Gorse Fox popped round to the shops for some last-minute cheesecake!
The early afternoon was spent enjoying the sun in the garden, but then the Gorse Fox had to start on dinner and the Silver Vixen did some dead-heading in the flower pots. The family turned up mid-afternoon and we had a lovely few hours together with dinner out on the deck.
Unfortunately, there was no football. Some of our players clearly have no dedication and think it's more important to go away on holiday than it is to play football on a Sunday morning. No commitment! The Gorse Fox and Silver Vixen had a quiet morning pottering about. We were expecting Urban-cub and Ellie to bring Cousteau-cub this afternoon and to stay for dinner, so the Gorse Fox popped round to the shops for some last-minute cheesecake!
The early afternoon was spent enjoying the sun in the garden, but then the Gorse Fox had to start on dinner and the Silver Vixen did some dead-heading in the flower pots. The family turned up mid-afternoon and we had a lovely few hours together with dinner out on the deck.
Saturday, August 24, 2019
Friends
It was a glorious day. The Gorse Fox suspects people were heading for the coast in their droves. We had different plans. We headed up to the wilds of Hampshire to spend the day with Betty and Barney Rubble.
Driving against the flow, we had a wonderful journey up and had soon settled down for a cup of coffee and biscuit in their back garden. We caught up on all their domestic and family news. They too have ordered a new car. This was forced upon them by their impending house move. The new house has a single-car garage and a single parking spot. Their Prius wouldn't fit in the garage, nor would the Mondeo, so they have decided to sell the Prius and have ordered a Fiesta Active. This is small enough to fit in the garage. The Gorse Fox suspects that by the time we see them next, they will be ensconced in their new home.
At lunchtime, we headed off to the Hoddington Arms at Upton Grey. We had been there once before, several years ago, and liked it. It was time to revisit. We weren't disappointed. The staff were very friendly and the service was good. The menu was fairly extensive for a small out-of-the-way pub, but that doesn't detract from the quality of the food. We all started with some cod goujons, but then diverged over the main course. The Gorse Fox had some beer-battered haddock and it was really delicious. We were so full that we all skipped the desserts and headed back to Odiham.
We had a lovely afternoon drinking tea and chatting before bidding our farewells and getting back on the road home. Again we had an excellent trip back, clearly choosing a time when nobody else fancied being on the roads.
Driving against the flow, we had a wonderful journey up and had soon settled down for a cup of coffee and biscuit in their back garden. We caught up on all their domestic and family news. They too have ordered a new car. This was forced upon them by their impending house move. The new house has a single-car garage and a single parking spot. Their Prius wouldn't fit in the garage, nor would the Mondeo, so they have decided to sell the Prius and have ordered a Fiesta Active. This is small enough to fit in the garage. The Gorse Fox suspects that by the time we see them next, they will be ensconced in their new home.
At lunchtime, we headed off to the Hoddington Arms at Upton Grey. We had been there once before, several years ago, and liked it. It was time to revisit. We weren't disappointed. The staff were very friendly and the service was good. The menu was fairly extensive for a small out-of-the-way pub, but that doesn't detract from the quality of the food. We all started with some cod goujons, but then diverged over the main course. The Gorse Fox had some beer-battered haddock and it was really delicious. We were so full that we all skipped the desserts and headed back to Odiham.
We had a lovely afternoon drinking tea and chatting before bidding our farewells and getting back on the road home. Again we had an excellent trip back, clearly choosing a time when nobody else fancied being on the roads.
Friday, August 23, 2019
It had to happen
Yes, it had to happen. Ellie is just so good at night that we almost take it for granted. Last night, however, she actually woke and the Gorse Fox and Silver Vixen had to go into her. She eventually dropped back off to sleep after about 90 minutes and, fortunately, didn't wake until 8 o'clock.
Urban-cub arrived to collect Ellie and take Cousteau-cub into work. This left the Silver Vixen and Gorse Fox a couple of hours before we met up with the Sonning Crew. We had arranged to go into Chichester by bus and grab lunch at The Giggling Squid. It had been arranged as a "thank you" for the Gorse Fox taking Old Bill along to the hospital last week. It was a very generous and highly appreciated gesture.
As usual, the Giggle Squid provided a lovely setting for our lunch. Some tucked into the tapas platters, but the Gorse Fox went for the Chicken Gra Pao - asking for a "hot" version. It was delicious and it is unlikely any of us will need to eat again today. As usual, when we go out with the Sonning Crew, we had a lovely time.
Back home, the Silver Vixen and Gorse Fox took a stroll along to the far end of the Crescent where the builder's hoardings have just been taken down. This gave us an opportunity to see the layout of the latest phase of houses that have been built and get our bearings regarding the area where the next houses will soon rise from the dirt.
Urban-cub arrived to collect Ellie and take Cousteau-cub into work. This left the Silver Vixen and Gorse Fox a couple of hours before we met up with the Sonning Crew. We had arranged to go into Chichester by bus and grab lunch at The Giggling Squid. It had been arranged as a "thank you" for the Gorse Fox taking Old Bill along to the hospital last week. It was a very generous and highly appreciated gesture.
As usual, the Giggle Squid provided a lovely setting for our lunch. Some tucked into the tapas platters, but the Gorse Fox went for the Chicken Gra Pao - asking for a "hot" version. It was delicious and it is unlikely any of us will need to eat again today. As usual, when we go out with the Sonning Crew, we had a lovely time.
Back home, the Silver Vixen and Gorse Fox took a stroll along to the far end of the Crescent where the builder's hoardings have just been taken down. This gave us an opportunity to see the layout of the latest phase of houses that have been built and get our bearings regarding the area where the next houses will soon rise from the dirt.
Thursday, August 22, 2019
Delivery
The theory is that Ocado will turn up sometime between 09:30 and 10:30 with our weekly shop. At 10:30 last night we received a message to inform us that they had operational problems and our delivery had been cancelled. They were kind enough to give us a voucher for the inconvenience caused.
This morning dawned and the Gorse Fox headed across to LA to collect Ellie. Urban-cub had an early meeting at the airport and a diversion to us didn't make sense. We were soon home and Ellie was tucking into egg and bacon with toast and marmite. So far so good.
We printed off the list of items we had planned to get from Ocado and headed off to Sainsbury's. AN hour or so later we staggered home with the shopping. The list was all very fine, but it was based on Ocado's categorisation which is "cupboard", "fridge", or "freezer". This bears no resemblance to the way in which goods are organised in the supermarket. We zigged, we zagged, we doubled back, we looped and at times, we gave up. Eventually, we were done and everything was stowed away. Ellie had been very good and patient throughout the trip, which was a bonus.
There was a very quick turnaround. We headed back to the car, this time with Cousteau-cub in tow. We parked up in Chichester and Cousteau-cub hobbled into work while the Silver Vixen headed off with Ellie and the Gorse Fox went along to get his regular chiropody appointment. When we met up again we decided to grab some lunch so headed into "Crispin's". It's always so friendly in there and the Silver Vixen was able to share her jacket potato, bacon, and beans with Ellie. The Gorse Fox went for a Caesar salad.
Ellie fell asleep before we had even left the car park, but woke with vengeance as soon as we got home. We spent the afternoon in the garden with her playing in the sandpit. Hopefully, we have wor her out and she will go down quietly at bedtime.
This morning dawned and the Gorse Fox headed across to LA to collect Ellie. Urban-cub had an early meeting at the airport and a diversion to us didn't make sense. We were soon home and Ellie was tucking into egg and bacon with toast and marmite. So far so good.
We printed off the list of items we had planned to get from Ocado and headed off to Sainsbury's. AN hour or so later we staggered home with the shopping. The list was all very fine, but it was based on Ocado's categorisation which is "cupboard", "fridge", or "freezer". This bears no resemblance to the way in which goods are organised in the supermarket. We zigged, we zagged, we doubled back, we looped and at times, we gave up. Eventually, we were done and everything was stowed away. Ellie had been very good and patient throughout the trip, which was a bonus.
There was a very quick turnaround. We headed back to the car, this time with Cousteau-cub in tow. We parked up in Chichester and Cousteau-cub hobbled into work while the Silver Vixen headed off with Ellie and the Gorse Fox went along to get his regular chiropody appointment. When we met up again we decided to grab some lunch so headed into "Crispin's". It's always so friendly in there and the Silver Vixen was able to share her jacket potato, bacon, and beans with Ellie. The Gorse Fox went for a Caesar salad.
Ellie fell asleep before we had even left the car park, but woke with vengeance as soon as we got home. We spent the afternoon in the garden with her playing in the sandpit. Hopefully, we have wor her out and she will go down quietly at bedtime.
Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Fiddling
It's been a lovely day. There's wall-to-wall sunshine, and the temperatures are in the low 20s. Very comfortable. The Gorse Fox had cried off football again today, Cousteau-Cub still needs help getting to and from work - and while she is improving, we are happy to do our bit.
The Silver Vixen was out at Pilates for the morning and the Gorse Fox spent the time fiddling with this blog. He had received several comments from Google regarding some of the settings and some old posts which it deemed to be sub-optimal for mobile consumption. This triggered a bit of fiddling about and some experimentation. Thus we have a new theme, some widgets have been removed, and a couple of very old posts have been updated.
All Change
The Gorse Fox thought it was about time for a change of themes for the blog, and time to remove some of the redundant widgets. Please let him know if this causes any problems.
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
Indulgence
The Gorse Fox was up early this morning. He had to get Cousteau-Cub into work and planned to leave a little earlier than usual for football.
He arrived at the sports centre just after half-nine, got changed and headed out onto the running track. He had to make up for yesterday's indulgence! So it was that before the football started he had already tucked 9 laps of the track under his belt.
The football went well. We were a well organised team and moved the ball around between us. In the first game we managed a 4-1 win. The second game (which looked a bit harder) ended up 4-0, with a goal contribution from the Gorse Fox. In the last game of the first hour we managed a 2-0 win. As usual there was a big change of personnel and teams at that point. In the second hour we managed a win 2-1, a loss of 2-0, and a draw. It was really nice to get a full two hours of football played with decent numbers of players for the first time in a while. The Gorse Fox managed to cover over 12kms over the sessions - so felt that he had made up for yesterday's indulgences.
He arrived at the sports centre just after half-nine, got changed and headed out onto the running track. He had to make up for yesterday's indulgence! So it was that before the football started he had already tucked 9 laps of the track under his belt.
The football went well. We were a well organised team and moved the ball around between us. In the first game we managed a 4-1 win. The second game (which looked a bit harder) ended up 4-0, with a goal contribution from the Gorse Fox. In the last game of the first hour we managed a 2-0 win. As usual there was a big change of personnel and teams at that point. In the second hour we managed a win 2-1, a loss of 2-0, and a draw. It was really nice to get a full two hours of football played with decent numbers of players for the first time in a while. The Gorse Fox managed to cover over 12kms over the sessions - so felt that he had made up for yesterday's indulgences.
Monday, August 19, 2019
That was good
The Gorse Fox and the Silver Vixen headed into Bognor Regis on the bus. We were deposited at the end of the road where "Mustard's Bar and Restaurant" is, a few seconds later were were walking in the door.
It was surprisingly busy for 7 o'clock on a Monday evening and we had to elbow our way through the bar area to the restaurant. We later found out that there a supper club from Aldwick meeting there this evening and they were busy getting their drinks in before going through to sit down.
By going through immediately we were able to be seated, get our drinks, and place our order before the restaurant filled up.
The food was simply superb. The Silver Vixen had a Terrine of Nutbourne Tomatoes and the Gorse Fox chose Seared Sesame Crusted Tuna Loin. He has eaten in restaurants far and wide, but he has never had such a wonderful piece of tuna. It's a shame really. The Gorse Fox can't see himself ever ordering anything else as a starter, yet there was so much from which to choose.
For our entrees, the Silver Vixen chose Half a Lobster and the Gorse Fox selected Beef Wellington. Again these were excellent. It may be just a small restaurant, but the standard of the food is off the traditional scale.
Finally, the Silver Vixen had Pear Poached in Sauternes, and the Gorse Fox had Triple Chocolate Brownie.
What a stunning meal. To cap it off, we left the restaurant and as we got to the end of the road, the bus turned up. Perfect meal, and perfect timing.
46
A day of sunshine and showers, but more importantly it is our 46th Wedding Anniversary. We have a quiet meal planned at a local restaurant tonight, but most of the rest of the day has been fairly typical. It started with running Cousteau-Cub into Chichester for work, then after some breakfast, we got on with various domestic chores. We stopped for some lunch and spent some time looking at hotel booking sites with a view to taking a few days away around the time of the Gorse Fox’s birthday, next year. We were looking at places in Devon and Cornwall, but haven’t decided on any particular location as yet.
The afternoon was spent with code again. Having had such a successful afternoon yesterday, the Gorse Fox thought he’d set up the same environment on the Mac in his office. No such luck. The base IDE installed with no problems, but the GUI extension failed to link in, whatever he tried. A frustrating couple of hours.
The Gorse Fox has just got back from collecting Cousteau-Cub from work and taking her to the chiropractor. Now we are just getting ready to go into Bognor Regis for dinner.
The afternoon was spent with code again. Having had such a successful afternoon yesterday, the Gorse Fox thought he’d set up the same environment on the Mac in his office. No such luck. The base IDE installed with no problems, but the GUI extension failed to link in, whatever he tried. A frustrating couple of hours.
The Gorse Fox has just got back from collecting Cousteau-Cub from work and taking her to the chiropractor. Now we are just getting ready to go into Bognor Regis for dinner.
Sunday, August 18, 2019
Drips
The day started with torrential rain. This continued until mid-morning. Then the sky brightened up and the clouds were shredded by the ever-strengthening wind. Now, late in the afternoon, the sky is blue, the temperature is quite comfortable, but the wind is still fierce.
The Gorse Fox had football this morning. It was a simple 6-a-side game and, at first glance, looked well balanced. We had the two most mobile players, but they had a team that boasted all mobile players. We were under the cosh. By half time we were 4-0 down. Fortunately, we started to claw things back but never quite caught up. The final score was about 6-4. No goals from the Gorse Fox this week. He was too busy defending.
Back home it has been a quiet afternoon. The Silver Vixen has been reading and the Gorse Fox has drip-feeding some more aspects of coding in Python. He has now found a simple graphical user interface that he can use for simple dialogues, messages, and other displays. He doesn't need anything too fancy as he isn't trying to develop any complex systems. PySimpleGUI seems to fit the bill. Soon he will be ready to invent some application (or reinvent some utility) that will enable him to put all of this together.
The Gorse Fox had football this morning. It was a simple 6-a-side game and, at first glance, looked well balanced. We had the two most mobile players, but they had a team that boasted all mobile players. We were under the cosh. By half time we were 4-0 down. Fortunately, we started to claw things back but never quite caught up. The final score was about 6-4. No goals from the Gorse Fox this week. He was too busy defending.
Back home it has been a quiet afternoon. The Silver Vixen has been reading and the Gorse Fox has drip-feeding some more aspects of coding in Python. He has now found a simple graphical user interface that he can use for simple dialogues, messages, and other displays. He doesn't need anything too fancy as he isn't trying to develop any complex systems. PySimpleGUI seems to fit the bill. Soon he will be ready to invent some application (or reinvent some utility) that will enable him to put all of this together.
Saturday, August 17, 2019
More code
Nothing really to report today. The Gorse Fox and Silver Vixen pottered around first thing, then settled down for a day with our hobbies.
The Silver Vixen was sewing in the Orangery, the Gorse Fox was watching YouTube and practising various coding techniques. Cousteau-cub managed to go out for a couple of short walks, but spent the day as quietly as possible.
The Silver Vixen was sewing in the Orangery, the Gorse Fox was watching YouTube and practising various coding techniques. Cousteau-cub managed to go out for a couple of short walks, but spent the day as quietly as possible.
Friday, August 16, 2019
Code
Friday started earlier than planned. Jasper had decided he wanted to go out and, to reinforce the point, he used the Gorse Fox as a trampoline until he relented and opened up. Once up, there was little point in trying to go back to bed so the Gorse Fox had his first coffee of the day and settled down with YouTube.
The Gorse Fox has found a presenter on YouTube that has a clarity of style that makes learning quite easy. Though he has written Python code in the past, he never found that it flowed off keyboard the way some other languages did. The day, interrupted only by taking Cousteau-cub to Chichester, and lunch, has been spent buried in these YouTube videos as Corey Schaffer has patiently built up the Gorse Fox's understanding. In parallel, he has upgraded the version of Python and the development tools on each of his computers.
The weather, as forecast, collapsed soon after lunch. It's quite dark and the rain has been pouring down for most of the afternoon.
The Gorse Fox has found a presenter on YouTube that has a clarity of style that makes learning quite easy. Though he has written Python code in the past, he never found that it flowed off keyboard the way some other languages did. The day, interrupted only by taking Cousteau-cub to Chichester, and lunch, has been spent buried in these YouTube videos as Corey Schaffer has patiently built up the Gorse Fox's understanding. In parallel, he has upgraded the version of Python and the development tools on each of his computers.
The weather, as forecast, collapsed soon after lunch. It's quite dark and the rain has been pouring down for most of the afternoon.
Thursday, August 15, 2019
An arm full
Cousteau-Cub had to go to the chiropractor but the Gorse Fox was due at the surgery to get his bloods taken. The Silver Vixen stepped in. She ferried Cousteau-Cub across to Rustington and left the Gorse Fox to take his arm along to the surgery.
Perhaps he should explain. The NHS is currently providing free health checks for people between the ages of 40 and 74. As the Gorse Fox sneaks in to the lower end of the range he thought it would be sensible to have just such a check. He duly turned up at the surgery and presented his arm. The phlebotomist stuck her needle in and the vein started to express his very life-force. Unfortunately, the vein immediately shutdown. Perplexed, she grabbed another needle and stabbed him once again. There was a quick squirt of claret and, again, the vein shutdown. She decided to try the other arm. This was getting serious. The Gorse Fox only has the two arms and if this one didn't work there was no plan "c". The needle penetrated his limb and the process repeated itself; squirt, trickle, nothing. She decided the only solution was a different and much finer needle. She returned to the first arm. Blood finally squirted out and several vials were filled. She apologised for using the Gorse Fox as a dart board and he headed home. He will return in a couple of weeks or so to get the results.
The Silver Vixen arrived home with Cousteau-Cub who promptly went upstairs to lie down and get some relief before going in to work.
When the time had come, the Gorse Fox headed to Chichester with Cousteau-Cub. The usual 10 minute drive took well over 30 minutes today. It would appear that a van had overturned on the Fishbourne roundabout and the traffic was tailing back everywhere. As he fought through the back-doubles we heard that the A27 had been closed eastbound for recovery of the vehicle. Cousteau-Cub was duly dropped at work and the Gorse Fox, this time heading against the traffic, was home in few minutes.
We have received the quotation for the replacement of the decking. It is far more than we are willing to pay so we will look at other alternatives.
Perhaps he should explain. The NHS is currently providing free health checks for people between the ages of 40 and 74. As the Gorse Fox sneaks in to the lower end of the range he thought it would be sensible to have just such a check. He duly turned up at the surgery and presented his arm. The phlebotomist stuck her needle in and the vein started to express his very life-force. Unfortunately, the vein immediately shutdown. Perplexed, she grabbed another needle and stabbed him once again. There was a quick squirt of claret and, again, the vein shutdown. She decided to try the other arm. This was getting serious. The Gorse Fox only has the two arms and if this one didn't work there was no plan "c". The needle penetrated his limb and the process repeated itself; squirt, trickle, nothing. She decided the only solution was a different and much finer needle. She returned to the first arm. Blood finally squirted out and several vials were filled. She apologised for using the Gorse Fox as a dart board and he headed home. He will return in a couple of weeks or so to get the results.
The Silver Vixen arrived home with Cousteau-Cub who promptly went upstairs to lie down and get some relief before going in to work.
When the time had come, the Gorse Fox headed to Chichester with Cousteau-Cub. The usual 10 minute drive took well over 30 minutes today. It would appear that a van had overturned on the Fishbourne roundabout and the traffic was tailing back everywhere. As he fought through the back-doubles we heard that the A27 had been closed eastbound for recovery of the vehicle. Cousteau-Cub was duly dropped at work and the Gorse Fox, this time heading against the traffic, was home in few minutes.
We have received the quotation for the replacement of the decking. It is far more than we are willing to pay so we will look at other alternatives.
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
Foul
We\re not talking about football. It's the weather. It's been a foul day with incessant rain and blustery winds. The few breaks that have occurred were enough to lull people out then trap them in the next downpour. The Gorse Fox was not silly enough to get caught by that old ploy.
The Silver Vixen went off to Pilates this morning. The Gorse Fox had dropped out of the football. He had to get Cousteau-Cub to work in Chichester and had volunteered to take Old Bill across to Shoreham for a hospital appointment. Knowing the various bottlenecks between here and Shoreham, the Gorse Fox kept an eye on the traffic throughout the morning. Three options were suggested, none looked too problematic. In the end the Gorse Fox plumped for the A27 and despite being caught by two trains at Westergate, we still managed to complete the journey in 45 minutes.
Leaving Two Hats and Lady Penelope at the hospital, the Gorse Fox headed to the nearby superstores and plugging his headset into his ears went for a stroll around M&S and Tesco while listening to his book. Once bored with that, he returned to the car and sat in peace while the narrator chatted in his ears. A couple of hours later, as he had gone to grab a coffee, the text arrived to say the hospital appointment was over.
The Gorse Fox picked up his charges and pottered home through the late afternoon traffic. It looked as if it would be dire, but we managed to keep moving and were home within the hour.
The Silver Vixen went off to Pilates this morning. The Gorse Fox had dropped out of the football. He had to get Cousteau-Cub to work in Chichester and had volunteered to take Old Bill across to Shoreham for a hospital appointment. Knowing the various bottlenecks between here and Shoreham, the Gorse Fox kept an eye on the traffic throughout the morning. Three options were suggested, none looked too problematic. In the end the Gorse Fox plumped for the A27 and despite being caught by two trains at Westergate, we still managed to complete the journey in 45 minutes.
Leaving Two Hats and Lady Penelope at the hospital, the Gorse Fox headed to the nearby superstores and plugging his headset into his ears went for a stroll around M&S and Tesco while listening to his book. Once bored with that, he returned to the car and sat in peace while the narrator chatted in his ears. A couple of hours later, as he had gone to grab a coffee, the text arrived to say the hospital appointment was over.
The Gorse Fox picked up his charges and pottered home through the late afternoon traffic. It looked as if it would be dire, but we managed to keep moving and were home within the hour.
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