In preparation for the extension we wanted to overhaul the kitchen. First thing was to change the colour of the doors and woodwork. It was blue - and is now in the process of turning white. This turns out to be a lot of work! We spray-painted the doors and have been brush painting the rest of it. This would be a lot easier if the gloss paint did not require 16 hours to dry after each coat.... that's my lunch-break for the next few days sorted then!
K and I made a impulse decision and drove to Padstow this weekend to see Grandma. We had a great time - drank champagne, walked around the town, visited an art show, listened to a Jazz concert and even managed a pint in the Red Lion and some of Mr. Stein's fish n' chips (we even managed to find room to eat-in this time). Only problem was having to leave...
My new laptop came yesterday and today has been spent installing all the various bits and pieces needed on it for work. You forget quite how much you have until you have to set it all up again!
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I finally got fed up of wet shaving when I am away on business - carrying everything through security at airports is a nightmare. So, I finally bought an electric shaver - the Braun 7 790. It comes with a stand that is also a cleaner and a travel pouch. Will see if it is as good as a wet shave when it arrives later this week. Update - it is good, but not as good as a wet shave.
We went to a garden centre this weekend to buy some bamboo cane. We came back with one of these :) A bit of an impulse buy but we got a fantastic deal for the last one in the store.
I'm trying to figure out how to get heating to it...
In an attempt to speed up video transcoding (I'm putting many of my DVDs on iTunes) I bought a new processor for my main machine today. I am upgrading from a Core 2 Duo 2.4 to a Core 2 Quad 2.88 (Q9550). Should be here early next week...
UPDATE: It's here - it's fast!
It's official - our planning application for our kitchen extension is on - today our neighbours received their forms and we had this attached outside the property. It's slated for the Parish meeting next week - all seems well so far...
More details here: North Herts Planning Site
Had a great weekend at Sonisphere (Knebworth's Rock Festival). Heard Metallica, Linkin Park, NIN, Paradsie lost - just to name a few. Only annoyance was that my phone was pinched on the last night :( Photos linked in title and vids on my youtube page.
HTC TD2 IMEI 356158020116907 SN HT94BL100586
The lovely chaps at Dell are replacing my Latitude D620 with a brand new E6400 as the old one keeps crashing due to heat. They say it will be with me very soon, am hoping it comes on or before next Thu so that it coincides with Win7 being released on MSDN.
Our white picket fence finally rotted through and we made our minds up on what to replace it with. We've opted for a privet hedge this time - a softer, more natural look than the fence - plus it never needs painting!!
I lost a hubcap a couple of weeks ago whilst in the UK heading for the ferry. Very annoying looking at the car all week with one black wheel. Anyway, Merc kindly replaced it under warranty and I am, as of an hour ago, back to 4-silver-wheeled symmetry again. Thanks Merc!
Lowepro have just introduced a new range of their popular 'sling' bags (one if which I own). The new one is wider, more flexible in terms of storeage and offers a padded compartment for a laptop. It also fits airline carry-on sizing - tempting! Need to find a store with them in to see if I need the small or large version.
K and I just got back from a week in the Summer House at Kivik. It was meant to rain all week but we had fantastic weather - sunny and warm! There are lots more pics at flickr (link in title). We drove over and back this time and the 17.5 hour drive back was still preferable to RyanAir :)
Hmmm - I'd like on of these: http://www.expansys.com/d.aspx?i=183117. You put your 3G data SIM in it and it acts like a mini router so you can connect several wifi devices to it. Would be great in hotels or whilst travelling. Or, even as a backup home internet device should the BB fail.
Since around 09:30 this morning there has been nothing but thunder and rain. Not the usual stuff either - massive trpoical downpours and incredible thunder. Internet has been down twice, Vodafone died for 30 mins - am worried the power might go later :(
K and I were invited to Renault's World Series at Silverstone. Had a great day with the hightlight being K getting to sit in Alonso's car from last year. Thanks to RS for making the day so awesome! Pics linked in title.
12 Hours - night ride - for charity :)
OK - I'm in alongside J, A and S. We've created a 4-man team called Knebworth Nights and although I'm never one that does much of the sponsored thing we created this page if you fancy throwing some cash to the BHF: http://original.justgiving.com/knebworthnights
With V-Media I get 50 Snapfish photos free a month. I just recieved my first set - they are ok but dissapointing.
When there is an outsized picture, instead of shrinking it to fit, they crop it. So, nice landscapes and tall photos get made into rubbish. Not happy :(
K got a slightly early wedding anniversary present yesterday - a shiney new 13" MacBook Pro. Took 6 hours to transfer her info from the old one to this and most of today for its first timemachine backup. Seems nice though - I like the backlit keyboard!
After 10 years it is back: http://www.telltalegames.com/monkeyisland
If you are quick you can order the special edition pack ;)
K bought a fridge for the car recently - it will keep the contents 20C below ambient - it also warms to around 60C if needed. It uses a solid-state heat pump making it quite economical. It just plugs into the 12v car socket to work. Best but - she also bout a 240v mains to 12v transformer - so we can use it in the Tiki Bar in the summer :)
Dad turned 60 last week and to celebrate we went sailing in the Greek islands on a 44 foot Bavaria yacht. We had a great time and I managed to eat calamari every night apart from one.
Day 1: Flight left on time - S remembered which airport we were leaving from. Arrived in Greece mid afternoon and made it to the Alimos Marina an hour or so later. After some fun finding the yacht (there are hundreds in this Marina) we went through the various checks and forms before being haded the keys. Kids sent to fetch supplies whilst the adults did the paperwork. As a result we returned with way too much beer :) We spent the night on board and dined at the nearest taverna.
Day 2: The engines started at some ungodly hour - Dad could wait no longer. We slowly edged out of the marina before being able to set sail on our way to our first stop on the island of Egina. Lunch was spent swimming whilst moored near a small taverna. We spent the night in Perdika and ate lovely seafood in a place owned by a man who spent half the year working on big ships and the rest of the year in the taverna. The table-clothes had maps of the island on them - which proved useful for plotting the next day's adventures.
Day 3: We awoke and had champagne with breakfast whilst wearing silly hats and sang to celebrate Dad's birthday - much to the amusement of the other boats. We left on a tip from the previous night for a bay a few headlands along where we stopped for lunch and swimming. In the afternoon we sailed south for Methana where we had a birthday meal amongst the occasional whiff of sulphur from the mountain.
Day 4: We left Methana and headed back north searching for a bay. In then end we went most of the way around the 'island' until we discovered the small port of Vathy. Here we enjoyed a fantastic lunch whilst watching a cat stealing fish from a recently arrived boat. That evening we headed across the bay for Epidavaros - we moored in the bay and took the tender into port for dinner. S hit another boat on the way out, nearly fell in on the way back and received applause from the nearby diners.
Day 5: We left mid-morning and caught light winds heading east. At one point we were under sail at 1.5kts - all of us in the water behind the yacht (on auto-pilot). Unusual but fun. We managed some serious sailing today as the winds hit force 7. The girls were hanging on for dear life at the bow whilst the boys winched and tacked from the stern. That afternoon we moored at Agistri to avoid the high winds that had built throughout the day. We found a taverna for lunch that didn't do calamari - but this was more than made up for at the evening meal when we found a taverna owned by a fantastic lady that cooked us a feast.
Day 6: Caught the bus to Skala first thing for provisions. We sailed north for the island of Salamina and had lunch in a bay on it's south coast. By evening the wind was picking up so we stowed the two anchors we had out and headed west to find more shelter. We moored in Kanakia and ate a a strange taverna where our food came out a piece at a time over a 90 min period. I had finished before others had started. We spent a rough night as the winds shifted about.
Day 7: We set sail at first light to try and find shelter for some more kip. In the end we spent a lovely few hours in a sheltered bay near Ais Klab before heading back towards Alimos. We arrived back at the marina mid-afternoon and decided to take a trip to the Acropolis for a culture hit. Entrance was €12 each - apart from me - free with student card! We had our last meal back at the same taverna we had first eaten at.
Day 8: Taxis at 09:30 and off the the airport. A 40min delay to the flight but back in good time. Exhausted - but a fantastic holiday.
Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rakh1/sets/72157620652132388
Videos: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=322A99C6CF457998
A small package turned up in the post this morning from our energy supplier. It clips into the mains supply and wirelessly transmits to this monitoring station. We can now see exactly how much energy we are consuming at any one point and historically what we have used.
K took one look and immediately turned off all the lights :)
Huzzah - today the Sky man came and installed HD for us - not quite the 3 month wait we were told to begin with. One small problem though - my sky account is showing as £1M in debt so they won't turn the HD on!!!! Turns out this is a known bug with Sky's system. Took an hour or so to remove the £1M charge from the account and now I have glorious HD :)
