More shirts

Decided to add a few more colours to my wardrobe so stopped by my favourite shirt makers and bought a few more.  As a bonus they allowed me to exchange a single-cuffed shirt I bought by accident for a double-cuffed equivalent.  They also had some black label shirts on sale again :)

Smart Sold

With a week left on insurance and tax we sold K's Smart. K was very upset and even cried a little when it left. It was such a cool car to drive - it'll definitely be missed.

Roomba Broken

So, sad news, my robot vacuum cleaner broke. The somewhat too common problem of the gearbox becoming full of hairs. Not all bad though - still under warranty so UPS picked it up today for a trip to Germany to be fixed. Hope it is back soon!

Mud and Cold

Brrr - went out for a ride today around the woods of Hertfordshire and boy was it cold!  Managed about 11 miles of sticky, sodden ground including the largest hill in the area.  Was quite surprised I didn't fall off once :)

Tiki Bar

It seems like our house move is one stage nearer completion having agreed terms based on the surveys.  As such it seemed a good time to open the Tiki Bar for a cocktail or two after hours.  J and A recently bought some strange exotic liquor back from Hungary (Unicum) which seemed like a good idea - until you tasted it.  Amazingly bitter and the sort of aftertaste you just cannot get rid of.  Seriously - it is now some 8 hours later and I can still taste it - uck!

SatMap 1.42

There's a new firmware version for the SatMap and an upgrade to SatSync.  They fix some small bugs and add a few new features - the best of which is the ability to recognise newly imported routes without a restart - nothing major though.  Link in the title...

New Job - Week 3

So, I am in week three of my new job - just starting to find my feet - and loving every minute of it.  I have a team of 8 in the UK and 3 in Singapore split between new client projects, enhancements/fixes and QA.  They are all dedicated, professional and fun to work with - qualities which run through the rest of the organisation also.  What I am most happy about though is the refreshing change of moving from an industry in decline to one that is growing.  Photo is the one sent around company-wide to introduce me - oh dear :)

FS: Smart Roadster Brabus Xclusive

Kris has decided to sell her Smart Roadster - so, if you know anyone that would like it pass this on to them.  It's black/black with ALL the usual Smart toys (flappy-paddle gear box, auto roof, air-con, elec everything...).  It's a 55 plate, MOT Sep, Tax Feb, full Smart service history (last in Nov) and has all keys, receipts, etc.  There's more info on Pistonheads (link in title).

Snowed in

Got to the train station this morning to find it all snowed in.  Eventually a train turned up (30 mins late) but was so full no one else could get on.  They then started canceling other services.  So, I went home and dialed in to the office for the day instead.  Turns out to be a good choice - we've had much more snow since and it looks like all trains might be canceled coming back out of London!  Here's a pic from my front door webcam.

English Xmas

Happy Xmas everyone - we woke up fairly early (for us), had some champagne in bed before opening presents.  K got a Kindle, I got a guitar fx pedal and we both got Band Hero :).  We then ate breakfast and playing Band Hero for 2 hours before going to the Station pub for lunch (which was very nice).  In the afternoon we played some more and then watched films.... perfect!

Swedish Xmas

Today is Xmas Eve - or Swedish Xmas in our house.  K prepared the traditional smörgåsbord including xmas ham, eggs, fish, sausages and meatballs.  There may also have been a few bottles of champagne :)  I am now incredibly full and trying to make room for porridge later.  We also did some last minute xmas shopping although I am not allowed to open ANY of my presents until tomorrow.

New Job: Thomsons Online Benefits

It's official - I have *just* been told that I passed the security vetting and as such have been offered a new job to start in January.  I will be the Implementation Team Leader for UK and Asia looking after a team of around 10, based in Victoria (London).  So, if you cannot get hold of me next year it will be because I have a new mobile number and email - IM me for my new details.

Girls from Uni

K and I had the girls from Uni over for a party on Sat night.  Also a chance to meet R (L's boyfriend from the States).  Thanks to the snow we had plenty of outdoor fridge space for the crate of champagne K bought.  Party was fun - introduced B to Guitar-Hero and was told to turn it down at 23:30 (sorry!).

Snow

I chose a good day to take from work - we had 6 to 8 inches of snow overnight!  Traffic came to a halt this morning all over the county and trains were cancelled.  Meanwhile I was warm in bed watching Discovery :)

I did venture out later in the day to pick up some presents - but had to wait for A and his large, knobbly-tyred jeep.  Perfect vehicle for this weather!

Leaving Tera

It was a difficult decision but I have decided to leave my current employer and seek new challenges elsewhere. I've been with Tera for six and a half years and enjoyed pretty much all of it. In this time I've gotten to know a load of people and I hope many of those will stay in touch. As for what's next - there are a couple of ideas in my head but a lot depends on the next few weeks - watch this space!

Back from Sweden

K and I returned from a 5 day visit to Sweden last night. I left with a cold, and Kris came back with one :) We didn't get any snow (boo) but did have a great time with the family and celebrated G's birthday (yay). Whilst there I also met with a friend and was pretty much offered a job - not sure now is the right time to move to Sweden for us though...???

New COLD clothes

It was cold in Sweden - very cold - ok, not that cold but still quite chilly.  The coat and shoes I bought with me were not quite up to the challenge.  So, K and I went shopping and I got some new cold weather gear.  The coat has lots of pockets and some neat features such as places for your thumbs.  The shoes have quicklaces and serious tread :)

MSc Results

News just in - I was awarded a DISTINCTION :)  WOOHOO!

MSc Dissertation Results

I just heard of my latest results - very happy to find that I received an A3 grade for my dissertation.  Now I just have to wait a few more days (weeks?) for the MSc itself to be awarded.  I am on the cusp of an A or B I think...

SatMap Active10 Firmware 1.4

SatMap released their newest firmware for the Active10.  1.4 includes several new features - the best of these is the 'night mode' which uses a red filter to stop the display harming your night vision.  It now also allows you to reduce the screen intensity in 2% increments once below 10%.  Perfect timing now the nights are drawing in.

House for Sale

Here we go again - we've put our house on the market and made an (accepted) offer on another property.  It will be sad to leave this house - it fits us so well - but fun to start another project.  If you know anyone that would like to live in this beautiful Victorian cottage set in the picturesque village of Knebworth and has £299k to spare get in touch :)  More pics linked in the title.

Details: http://www.vebra.com/property/1008/19578032

Caterham

A and I went to Caterham today (A is thinking of buying one).  I got to have a test drive which was fantastic.  Also got to sit in the R500 that was on Top Gear (photo).  More photos linked in title...

Network Rail Helicopter

Here I am trying to work in my home office and for the last 20 mins there has been LOTS of noise from outside.  It seems Network Rail are inspecting the line.  Nice helicopter though :)

Microsoft Tag

I made a tag - for this site - so if you scan it with your 'Microsoft Tag' enabled phone it'll take you... well, here! :)

Ivinghoe Beacon

J and I went to Ivinghoe Beacon for a bit of a discovery ride.  I grew up riding in this area so was fairly familiar but could not quite remember everything.  We started by riding up to the Beacon and then across the ridge, we swooped down, crossed our original path and then rode to Ashridge and back.  Along the way we diverted to ride down and up one of the biggest crevasses in the area.  A lot of fun - but very muddy.

Photos linked in the title - and even a little video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITIm6iLilSE