Isn't it strange how in a matter of days our perspective on world events can change completely. Only a week ago, we were worrying about the renegade state of North Korea and threats to destroy its neighbours and the United States. Given the events of the last few days, this all feels like old news, already consigned to history. No longer is it top of the world news agenda,. overtaken by the tragic events of the last week in Boston, Massachusetts. We live in a world of ever changing events where news is instant and often breaks through social media and on Twitter before it reaches our television screens. I daresay North Korea will be top of the news agenda again very soon, for it is on a continuous loop building up to issuing new and more daring threats. The last few days have seen a battle of good versus evil played out on 24 hour news feeds, more akin the the plot lines of Criminal Minds or Rizolli and Isles and demonstrating that the more powerful and secure country in the world can also be the most vulnerable. It has been a terrifying reminder for many.
I love news, I have to know what is going on and rather than go looking for it, I have it fed to me. E-mail updates, newspapers sent to my Kindle and SMS messages keep me in touch will domestic and world events. I'm a news junkie and in this 24 hour multi-media world, I've adapted well. A curious mind does.
We are probably more informed than we ever have been. There are some things we would perhaps prefer not to know about, but we know more about the world around us than ever before and we are all able to comment on what we see and hear, and for that same world to know. Now that's truly something.
Showing posts with label TV. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TV. Show all posts
Sunday, 21 April 2013
Wednesday, 17 April 2013
A Fine British Send-Off
The agreement documents for our (Blue Skies) funding arrived the end of last week. They just needed to be signed and sent back to Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust with an invoice for the £2,500 first payment we are set to receive. It's hard to believe that we will soon have the money we need to get off the ground two projects that will provide huge benefit to our members. For me, it is also an opportunity to deliver computer skills training once more and to demonstrate how computers and the Internet can really be put to the best use. I suspect we will receive the money by next week, and frankly I'm looking forward to spending it!
I spent this morning watching the funeral of Margaret Thatcher live on TV. For me, things like this are always an excuse to use my home cinema and I was more interested in the ceremony and the detail than anything else. I wasn't a fan of Thatcher though I do recognise her achievements and the way her policies have shaped the country. It is only now that I am able to appreciate why life was the way it was as I grew up in the 1980's.
The funeral was very well done. We are so good at putting on a show, whatever the occasion and this morning proved that once again. I think it struck the right balance. There are of course those who disagree and would rather have seen a private funeral, privately funded.
It was good that the much hyped anti-Thatcher protests didn't materialise and were confined to the odd 'boo' and shout. Any protests were very much the minority and a tiny one at that.
Credit should certainly go to the coffin bearers whose job it was to delicately convey Margaret Thatcher's heavy casket up the steep steps of St Paul's and the way they did this with such grace and without fault.
I spent this morning watching the funeral of Margaret Thatcher live on TV. For me, things like this are always an excuse to use my home cinema and I was more interested in the ceremony and the detail than anything else. I wasn't a fan of Thatcher though I do recognise her achievements and the way her policies have shaped the country. It is only now that I am able to appreciate why life was the way it was as I grew up in the 1980's.
The funeral was very well done. We are so good at putting on a show, whatever the occasion and this morning proved that once again. I think it struck the right balance. There are of course those who disagree and would rather have seen a private funeral, privately funded.
It was good that the much hyped anti-Thatcher protests didn't materialise and were confined to the odd 'boo' and shout. Any protests were very much the minority and a tiny one at that.
Credit should certainly go to the coffin bearers whose job it was to delicately convey Margaret Thatcher's heavy casket up the steep steps of St Paul's and the way they did this with such grace and without fault.
Saturday, 16 February 2013
A Lucky Find
I love second hand shops. I can spend hours in them sifting through stacks of records and rummaging through boxes of bric-a-brac. You never know what you might find from one week to the next. It is also important not to dismiss the humble box. Open it and look inside, you never know what it might contain. It was just such a box that caught my eye this morning in Long Sutton. The box in question was quite blank apart from a BT label. Opening it, I found two mains plug adaptors, both wrapped and an Ethernet cable. There were no instructions but on closer examination, I realised what they were.
A few years ago, I had read an article about how someone was experimenting with the mains circuit in a house and using it to transfer data from one point to another. In effect, it was being used as a data network as well as carrying domestic power to sockets. The idea seemed to me a little fanciful at first and the thought of high voltage and data mixing wasn't that appealing but as I thought about it a little more, it did all begin to make sense. It occurred to me that every home does have its own ready made network. It's primary use is to get electricity to every room but in theory, it could certainly be used to carry data if the current could be separated from the data stream.
Holding the adaptors it became clear that someone had in fact made the idea a reality - I had to have them! Looking at the box more closely, I could see that £5 had been written on the lid. I know for sure that they are worth a lot more than just £5 and to be honest I doubt if they have ever been used. I bought them instantly and was eager to get home so I could try them. As I drove home, I thought about how I could put them to practical use. I already have a good wireless network covering the house, well three in fact - each for a different type of data. But there is one gadget that would benefit enormously by being 'hard-wired' to my data network. We have a wireless media centre that streams video and TV programmes from a set of hard drives to our TV set. It's a few years old, but works very well. Not having a cable long enough and being loathed to drill a hole through our lounge wall, we have plumped for the wireless option but I've always been aware that the device can be hard-wired. Wireless is brilliant, but it can be subject to the odd stutter and this can be quite frustrating when watching a film.
I set about plugging in the adaptors, connecting data cables between the 'access point' adaptor and my data hub and between the 'receiving' adaptor and the media centre. A button on the front is all that is used to configure the devices and in a few minutes they were talking to each other. This was a very good sign so I tested the media centre and it worked perfectly, markedly quicker than it is on WIFI.
I always set out hoping to find something different, unusual and 'gadgety'. I was lucky today, doubly so as I was able to put it to really good use. I like days like this.
A few years ago, I had read an article about how someone was experimenting with the mains circuit in a house and using it to transfer data from one point to another. In effect, it was being used as a data network as well as carrying domestic power to sockets. The idea seemed to me a little fanciful at first and the thought of high voltage and data mixing wasn't that appealing but as I thought about it a little more, it did all begin to make sense. It occurred to me that every home does have its own ready made network. It's primary use is to get electricity to every room but in theory, it could certainly be used to carry data if the current could be separated from the data stream.
Holding the adaptors it became clear that someone had in fact made the idea a reality - I had to have them! Looking at the box more closely, I could see that £5 had been written on the lid. I know for sure that they are worth a lot more than just £5 and to be honest I doubt if they have ever been used. I bought them instantly and was eager to get home so I could try them. As I drove home, I thought about how I could put them to practical use. I already have a good wireless network covering the house, well three in fact - each for a different type of data. But there is one gadget that would benefit enormously by being 'hard-wired' to my data network. We have a wireless media centre that streams video and TV programmes from a set of hard drives to our TV set. It's a few years old, but works very well. Not having a cable long enough and being loathed to drill a hole through our lounge wall, we have plumped for the wireless option but I've always been aware that the device can be hard-wired. Wireless is brilliant, but it can be subject to the odd stutter and this can be quite frustrating when watching a film.
I set about plugging in the adaptors, connecting data cables between the 'access point' adaptor and my data hub and between the 'receiving' adaptor and the media centre. A button on the front is all that is used to configure the devices and in a few minutes they were talking to each other. This was a very good sign so I tested the media centre and it worked perfectly, markedly quicker than it is on WIFI.
I always set out hoping to find something different, unusual and 'gadgety'. I was lucky today, doubly so as I was able to put it to really good use. I like days like this.
Sunday, 22 April 2012
April Showers
My goodness, how quickly the weather can change. It's sod's law that as soon as we have a hosepipe ban, it rains. It had rained pretty much constantly the last week. We have a drought and reservoirs are less than half-full. Though despite the heavy rain, we are told we need at least three month's continuous rain before reserves can return to anything near normal. So, I continue to catch as much rainwater as I can. My water butt is full and every bucket and vessel large enough is in the garden catching rainfall. I've even applied for a free water saving kit and entered a competition for a free water butt with Anglian Water. They're giving away 5,000 apparently.
I've begun recording an audio blog. It's something I've wanted to do for some time and I'm hoping it will provide a daily journal of sorts in addition to my written musings. I had originally planned to use Podbean but discovered after a few postings that there is a monthly usage limit of 100mb, which is frankly useless. So I've decided to use my own site at pcknowledge.co.uk
I've been trying to do something practical with the site as I've done nothing with it for years, despite paying for the ownership and hosting. I'm no expert on websites and I suppose it should be full of stuff computer-related, but to be honest, I could never fully commit myself to keeping it maintained. So I expect it will just be kept as a personal site for now. That is of course unless I get a good offer for it :-)
I will certainly continue to write about my experiences of depression and how it affects me on a daily basis. I already write openly via this blog and will continue to do so, but I wonder if I might dedicate a small section of my site to the subject.
I've lamented previously on the loss of analogue TV across the UK in favor of crisp clean digital. Last week saw London make the switch to digital and the conversion of the Crystal Palace transmitter. This has a level of significance for me as I used to live in South London, under the gaze of the Crystal Palace transmitter, and I recall with fondness the hours spent tuning my TV and the attempts to obtain a good picture. Quite often I would fiddle about until I got a good picture on ITV only to find that the BBC channels were covered in 'snow' or 'ghosting'. Although there are many who question why the switch to digital was made, it is clear the conversion has gone extremely well. The advantages are obvious to anyone who takes an interest in this sort of thing and the increased number of channels provide a level of choice previously impossible under analogue.
The Bahrain Grand Prix has been in the news this last week. There have been calls for the race to be canceled due to criticism of the government and its treatment of protesters and opposition groups. It is clear to me that given the evidence appearing on the Internet, the government are certainly guilty of using extreme measures to control and put down any attempts at protest and this should rightly be condemned. It is also my opinion that the race should be canceled as a sign of our disapproval. Unfortunately though, where there is money to be made, justice and liberty take second place and as our own government have so much invested in this dictatorship, I suspect nothing will be done apart from the odd low-level rebuke.
I am worried about my father. He has recently had several moles removed from his body including his face and is due to have some stitches removed tomorrow. The hospital have been sufficiently concerned to remove anything they consider to be suspect and this has frankly left him resembling the victim of a road accident. I was quite shocked to see the dressings do find myself worrying as to whether this may be the prelude to something more serious. I am more convinced than ever that years spent gardening and working on his allotment in blazing sunshine has been the root cause and that the presence of moles has provided the environment for cancer cells to develop. This is a dreadful lesson and one that isn't sadly learned early enough. It is only when it is too late that the lesson is learned and it serves as a reminder that what we do in our former years can have a significant and sometimes devastating effect later on. I am hopeful that everything has been caught and removed in good time, but I know my father. He will not make a fuss if he feels unwell. He very rarely discusses his health and if there was something more seriously wrong, I fear he wouldn't mention it, not even to my mum. This worries me deeply.
I've begun recording an audio blog. It's something I've wanted to do for some time and I'm hoping it will provide a daily journal of sorts in addition to my written musings. I had originally planned to use Podbean but discovered after a few postings that there is a monthly usage limit of 100mb, which is frankly useless. So I've decided to use my own site at pcknowledge.co.uk
I've been trying to do something practical with the site as I've done nothing with it for years, despite paying for the ownership and hosting. I'm no expert on websites and I suppose it should be full of stuff computer-related, but to be honest, I could never fully commit myself to keeping it maintained. So I expect it will just be kept as a personal site for now. That is of course unless I get a good offer for it :-)
I will certainly continue to write about my experiences of depression and how it affects me on a daily basis. I already write openly via this blog and will continue to do so, but I wonder if I might dedicate a small section of my site to the subject.
I've lamented previously on the loss of analogue TV across the UK in favor of crisp clean digital. Last week saw London make the switch to digital and the conversion of the Crystal Palace transmitter. This has a level of significance for me as I used to live in South London, under the gaze of the Crystal Palace transmitter, and I recall with fondness the hours spent tuning my TV and the attempts to obtain a good picture. Quite often I would fiddle about until I got a good picture on ITV only to find that the BBC channels were covered in 'snow' or 'ghosting'. Although there are many who question why the switch to digital was made, it is clear the conversion has gone extremely well. The advantages are obvious to anyone who takes an interest in this sort of thing and the increased number of channels provide a level of choice previously impossible under analogue.
The Bahrain Grand Prix has been in the news this last week. There have been calls for the race to be canceled due to criticism of the government and its treatment of protesters and opposition groups. It is clear to me that given the evidence appearing on the Internet, the government are certainly guilty of using extreme measures to control and put down any attempts at protest and this should rightly be condemned. It is also my opinion that the race should be canceled as a sign of our disapproval. Unfortunately though, where there is money to be made, justice and liberty take second place and as our own government have so much invested in this dictatorship, I suspect nothing will be done apart from the odd low-level rebuke.
I am worried about my father. He has recently had several moles removed from his body including his face and is due to have some stitches removed tomorrow. The hospital have been sufficiently concerned to remove anything they consider to be suspect and this has frankly left him resembling the victim of a road accident. I was quite shocked to see the dressings do find myself worrying as to whether this may be the prelude to something more serious. I am more convinced than ever that years spent gardening and working on his allotment in blazing sunshine has been the root cause and that the presence of moles has provided the environment for cancer cells to develop. This is a dreadful lesson and one that isn't sadly learned early enough. It is only when it is too late that the lesson is learned and it serves as a reminder that what we do in our former years can have a significant and sometimes devastating effect later on. I am hopeful that everything has been caught and removed in good time, but I know my father. He will not make a fuss if he feels unwell. He very rarely discusses his health and if there was something more seriously wrong, I fear he wouldn't mention it, not even to my mum. This worries me deeply.
Sunday, 22 January 2012
Car Worries & Other Stuff
The car is going in for its MOT tomorrow morning. No matter how much I try to reassure myself that it's running fine and has nothing wrong with it, I'm resigned to the fact that there's probably something nasty lurking under the bonnet or something worn out that we can't see. There's money set aside just in case, but as normal it's money we've borrowed. I just know it's going to be a nightmare of a day. A friend is following me there and taking me back to theirs until the car is ready to collect again. My wife will be at home nervously awaiting my phone call to let her know the outcome. Whatever happens, we'll have to deal with it. It's not that it's a flash expensive car. Far from it. I used to own and drive nice cars and spend literally hundreds on MOT's and services. I look back now and cringe at the huge amounts of money I wasted. Now of course things are very different. We drive a basic little car. It isn't the cleanest, it isn't the fastest and it certainly isn't the biggest. But it gets us from A to B relatively inexpensively. Above all, it's reliable, very reliable. It starts first time whatever the weather.
So it's pointless worrying. We're fortunate to know the guy doing the MOT quite well and he knows the car. He's also honest. I know this to be true.
A busy Sunday. My son had a party today at the Funfarm in Spalding. It's a very popular venue and takes all the hassle out of arranging and hosting children's parties. The kids love it and the parents can sit in relative comfort whilst keeping a watcfull eye on their offspring. The allocated two hours is plenty, for the kids and the adults. Definately.
I'll write soon about music. I need to be in the right frame of mind and I'm currently stressed. I enjoy listening to a varied range of music, modern and old. But what's important for me and I suspect many others are the things that we associate to the music. The things we remember when we listen and the emotions certain tracks seem to trigger. I always treat music as a type of medicine or drug. It can have an enormous effect on mood, which for some is a very useful thing.
Something new, and I'm going to journal my viewing habits. I watch a lot of TV and much of it is obtained via the Internet. So here goes, and it's by no means an exhaustive list.
Stuff I've been watching...
Sherlock (BBC1 and current series now finished)
Bones (fantastic series from the US and downloaded via wonderful BitTorrent)
Criminal Minds (ditto)
Grim (ditto)
Rizzoli and Isles (ditto)
Person of Interest (ditto)
Call the Midwife (BBC)
Celebrity Coach Trip (Channel 4)
Idiot Abroad (Sky)
Dancing On Ice (ITV1)
Last film I've watched...
Hangover 2 - not as good as the first but still funny. I'd give it 8/10.
Stuff I'm eagerly awaiting...
Whitechapel (ITV1)
Stuff I'm listening to...
The Archers (of course)
Dad's Army (original radio series)
Sherlock Holmes - The House of Silk (BBC Radio)
So there we are. I suppose I'm a bit of a media junkie!
So it's pointless worrying. We're fortunate to know the guy doing the MOT quite well and he knows the car. He's also honest. I know this to be true.
A busy Sunday. My son had a party today at the Funfarm in Spalding. It's a very popular venue and takes all the hassle out of arranging and hosting children's parties. The kids love it and the parents can sit in relative comfort whilst keeping a watcfull eye on their offspring. The allocated two hours is plenty, for the kids and the adults. Definately.
I'll write soon about music. I need to be in the right frame of mind and I'm currently stressed. I enjoy listening to a varied range of music, modern and old. But what's important for me and I suspect many others are the things that we associate to the music. The things we remember when we listen and the emotions certain tracks seem to trigger. I always treat music as a type of medicine or drug. It can have an enormous effect on mood, which for some is a very useful thing.
Something new, and I'm going to journal my viewing habits. I watch a lot of TV and much of it is obtained via the Internet. So here goes, and it's by no means an exhaustive list.
Stuff I've been watching...
Sherlock (BBC1 and current series now finished)
Bones (fantastic series from the US and downloaded via wonderful BitTorrent)
Criminal Minds (ditto)
Grim (ditto)
Rizzoli and Isles (ditto)
Person of Interest (ditto)
Call the Midwife (BBC)
Celebrity Coach Trip (Channel 4)
Idiot Abroad (Sky)
Dancing On Ice (ITV1)
Last film I've watched...
Hangover 2 - not as good as the first but still funny. I'd give it 8/10.
Stuff I'm eagerly awaiting...
Whitechapel (ITV1)
Stuff I'm listening to...
The Archers (of course)
Dad's Army (original radio series)
Sherlock Holmes - The House of Silk (BBC Radio)
So there we are. I suppose I'm a bit of a media junkie!
Sunday, 4 September 2011
A waiting game, growing update & school
It's been a while again since my last post but in the last few days, I'm pleased to see that a new interface has been created for Blogger users. I'm using it now and I must say it's quite good, so thanks Blogger people.
I'm still waiting for word from my prospective new employer. I've heard nothing since my medical and being prone to constant bad luck, I did begin to fear the worst. I did call on Friday to get an update but I was told the chap in HR was on holiday and would be back on Monday (tomorrow). I was actually quite relieved in a way as this explained why no one had been in touch. So my optimism has been restored once again. I've resigned myself to finding out this coming week whether I have a future driving buses in Peterborough, or not.
I've been busy in the garden department. Having pretty much given up growing anything in the ground due to everything getting eaten, I purchased a very nice mini-greenhouse from Wilko. At £9 I thought it was a bargain not to be sniffed at, and expecting something flimsy and unstable, I was pleased to find a very sturdy and solid vertical greenhouse. So I've started filling it with new herbs that I'm growing from seed and some new tomato varieties. I'm also having a go at growing onions.
My peppers really haven't done anything at all so I will probably wait until next year before trying them again. There are many varieties I would like to have a go at growing but it's too late in the year to begin sowing.
My honeydew watermelon plant has grown about 6 inches in the last couple of weeks. I'm quite amazed at how clever the thing is. It sprouts 'arms' that seek out things to cling on to and they wrap themselves around whatever they find to provide much needed support. It is growing at such a rate that I'm wondering if the conservatory roof is sufficiently high enough to accommodate it! There is no indication of fruit yet though I expect to see something develop soon.
My sugar snap pea plant is also going well. I already have a couple of pods and it too is training itself to cling to the bamboo supports I've provided for it.
My herbs are growing very well, especially rocket, basil and coriander. I now have a surplus I am able to dry and freeze. The aroma from these plants is quite extraordinary, very pungent and sweet. I have recently bought some sweet cicely seeds which I hope to plant this coming week. They are said to produce leaves that have a slight aniseed scent and a sweet flavour. I have also read that they can be used as a natural sweetner. I'll certainly be giving this a try.
Onto other things and my son starts school proper tomorrow. We've bought his new school uniform, shoes and PE kit. He also has a new Scooby Doo rucksack and new lunch box. I'm probably more nervous than him to be honest. He's actually looking forward to it, which is a good thing given the fact he'll be spending most of his waking hours there for the next ten plus years. I'll take some photos tomorrow morning and try to record the event. My little boy is growing up too fast!
I'm also taking my parents to King's Lynn tomorrow morning to help them to buy a new TV and digital recorder. I know I am making a rod for myself but I simply cannot bare the thought of them being fooled into buying something they don't need or spending more than they really need to. Despite my many faults, I do still try to keep my finger on the pulse of everything consumer electronics-related and I like to think I'm able to dispense good advice. I am also thinking of myself as I am the one that'll be installing it all and on-call in case anything goes wrong. I'll report back on the experience in my next post.
The weather is appalling at the moment. It has been raining heavily for the last five hours. Apparently it's what is left of the arse end of a hurricane that hit the US recently. At least I won't need to water anything outside for a couple of days.
I'm still waiting for word from my prospective new employer. I've heard nothing since my medical and being prone to constant bad luck, I did begin to fear the worst. I did call on Friday to get an update but I was told the chap in HR was on holiday and would be back on Monday (tomorrow). I was actually quite relieved in a way as this explained why no one had been in touch. So my optimism has been restored once again. I've resigned myself to finding out this coming week whether I have a future driving buses in Peterborough, or not.
I've been busy in the garden department. Having pretty much given up growing anything in the ground due to everything getting eaten, I purchased a very nice mini-greenhouse from Wilko. At £9 I thought it was a bargain not to be sniffed at, and expecting something flimsy and unstable, I was pleased to find a very sturdy and solid vertical greenhouse. So I've started filling it with new herbs that I'm growing from seed and some new tomato varieties. I'm also having a go at growing onions.
 |
| A bargain at just £9! |
 |
| Growing fast! |
 |
| Coriander |
 |
| Basil |
Onto other things and my son starts school proper tomorrow. We've bought his new school uniform, shoes and PE kit. He also has a new Scooby Doo rucksack and new lunch box. I'm probably more nervous than him to be honest. He's actually looking forward to it, which is a good thing given the fact he'll be spending most of his waking hours there for the next ten plus years. I'll take some photos tomorrow morning and try to record the event. My little boy is growing up too fast!
I'm also taking my parents to King's Lynn tomorrow morning to help them to buy a new TV and digital recorder. I know I am making a rod for myself but I simply cannot bare the thought of them being fooled into buying something they don't need or spending more than they really need to. Despite my many faults, I do still try to keep my finger on the pulse of everything consumer electronics-related and I like to think I'm able to dispense good advice. I am also thinking of myself as I am the one that'll be installing it all and on-call in case anything goes wrong. I'll report back on the experience in my next post.
The weather is appalling at the moment. It has been raining heavily for the last five hours. Apparently it's what is left of the arse end of a hurricane that hit the US recently. At least I won't need to water anything outside for a couple of days.
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