Morning All,

hope the week hasn't been to stressful for everyone

Here, at Chez Smith, life plods on as normal. We have actually achieved one of the goals of the summer, Liam now has his "Liverpool" bedroom (pictures later when I get time to take any), all that is needed now is a few hours to pull everything form the loft and place everything back in it's proper place - before it gets turned into a "normal teenagers" bedroom -

It has also been a very hard, if hard is quite the correct word, week at work. It's been one of those "complex" weeks, nothing went the way it should.

The main focus of my working week was a "State of the Nation" type Conference at a Hotel in Sleaford. to be honest, I should have been going to another event in Grimsby, but I am day off on that day, and EVERYONE has to go, whether you want to or not, so there I was, driving through the darkness and cold, of a quickly descending Winter, at 07:00 a.m in the morning to make the start at 09:00 (having picked some else up first!!). The only problem with these events in our area tends to be hinged on one thing - Our CST Manager. For anyone who would like to know, a CST manager is, in effect, what other Companies would call an Area / Territorial Manager, and in the scale of things you have the workers (that's ME), my Boss (he's in charge of Our Local Team, usually based on, or around a, Town /City or large district of a City, usually a team or 30 lads and lasses - give or take) and then you have the CST Manager, who , in our case, is in overall charge of all the Teams in the Lincolnshire County area. His "problem" ? - he tends to take over everything and do it his way. That , normally isn't really a problem, but when his boss is there, as one of the main speakers of the event, and then our CST Manager "butts-in" when Matthew was trying to say something.
If it had happened to me, I would have been insulted. The thing is, as well, when our CST Manager has finished, you always tend to feel "depressed". When he makes a point, it always comes over as full of "doom and gloom". The BT way of life is coming to an end - we're all "Dooomed".
To be far to him, I know what he was trying to say. Make us aware of the Competition.
Make us aware that the Telecoms world is changing, evolving
I have no problem with that.
But it's just the way it's done. I think we should be looking at this as an opportunity, a way forward, a "nettle" to be grasped. But "Doom and Gloom"?. It takes several days to become "positive" again, and I did feel for the lads and lasses yet to go

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Now we go to Smudgers' trawl of the Internet's stories

iTunes launched for Windows Apple's hit on line music service iTunes is made available to millions of PC-using fans for the first time.

[via BBC News | Technology | UK Edition]

I must admit, that in actuality, this story is now at least a week old, and the reason I'm posting it now is that I feel "cheated" if thats the correct way to put it. Being a "law abiding" sort of person, and someone wishing to do things the right way, when I heard of stories by which you could download Music Files, by paying a nominal fee, and then everyone gets what they want, but that sort of system was available only on the MAC format, I mumbled something "negative" into my coffee cup, and went back to being a fed-up MP3'er. Then, last week, the above story appeared. Windows users could now have what the MAC user had been able to access for many months - HURRRRRRRAY. So I download the iTunes software, anxiously waiting for the next step.
Then?
Reboot the computer, access the program, click on the shop link, AND?
"iTunes would like to apologise, but due to the information your have supplied, this service is only available in the USA at present" - " OHHHHHH ~@@'$$%%". What have we in the UK done wrong to deserve this. The "Artist on demand" system on Music Match is restricted to the USA only, and I'm starting to think that we, over this side of the pond, don't count for anything

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'Keep cool' over computer hassles People are letting computer problems get to them, potentially damaging their health, a survey suggests.

[via BBC News | Technology | UK Edition]

I know stress gets to people in different ways, but now, they have proved that your computer is harmful to your health. Talk about tell us something we already knew. How many of us have avoided low flying CRT's which have been thrown in frustration - No, to be serious, as with anything else, frustration leads to stress, and stress, over a period of time, certainly leads to illness.Apart from wrist strains, eye strain - ear ache (from the kids going "DAD DAD DAD DAD - can I have a go, it's my go")

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Burrell 'saddened' by Princes' attack Former royal butler Paul Burrell says he will not apologise for writing a book on Princess Diana, despite criticism from Princes William and Harry.

[via BBC News | News Front Page | UK Edition]

I think this, at least in the UK, one of the saddest things that I have seem this week. Princess Diana seems to attract as many "Conspiracy" theories as does the the deaths of many other "Famous" people, but I think it is the apparent betrayal that's probably the most obvious "stab in the back". On the evening news last night, they showed an Interview with Paul Burrell, not long after Diana had been killed, saying that, in effect, any information, any conversation,and probably more pertinent, any correspondence, he had with, or from Diana, would be their secret, their private confidence. But now we see him using the "premonition" letter as a way of advertising his book - what a creep. And in all this, until now, Diana's Sons, the Princes', have kept a dignified silence. But it could only be for so long, and yesterday it came. A Statement, read on their behalf, talking of betrayal amongst other things. Their lives are always in the Public Eye, 24/7. A life they never had a chance to refuse, that is just not an option. They loose their mother in such a Public, "suspicious" way.Revelations about this and that over the intervening years, and now this?I'm not a Royalist as such (but the thought of "President Blair" gives me the shivers), but no-one deserves to grow up , suffering the loss of any parent, in this way. Why doesn't Burrell just leave it be?

Well That's all for now
God bless

Dave

Sunday 19th October 2003

It's Back - and I've been playing again

 

The playing part first. Over the last Week,as a "reward", I treated myself to a Graphics Tablet. Along that came a program called penSoft. This program is listed as a "Handwriting Recognition " program. To be honest it's hopeless -very much a creature of it's time. It's Window's 95/98 program and it shows.

So I spent a little time downloading a few trials to see what else was out there. smartWriter has lost out straight away. It appears to be something close to what I was after, but they didn't offer a trial, they made a 30 days money back offer , but at $70 dollars (all but a few cents)or approx £45 - £50 pounds in Smith money, they can keep that.

What I did find was PenOffice, My Script, PenReader and Softwriting.

Although all work on some sort of "training" basis, Pen Reader and SoftWriting went very quickly, they were, to me at least, hard to use and not very accurate, even after several tries. So that left  MyScript and PenOffice . Both of them work fairly well, with accuracy falling slightly into the MyScript court. But PenOffice has more to offer. I'll continue to try them both - for the next 12 days at least, until the trials run out.

The main question has to be - are they any quicker than typing? Sadly, at the moment NO. I am finishing this post off by typing it in - but I'll keep giving "handwriting" a try, it may just need a little more practise.

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 It's well and truly back, Living TV's (and one of my personal favourites) Most Haunted program is back for it's third series. I have made mention of my like for this program, and its cast, several times before, and this series promises to be as good, if not better than the previous two.

 

It is actually on program two, with the first program, an investigation of RAF East Kirkby, being an absolute classic. With Evie, Derek and the rest of crew (and the site owners Grand Son), they encountered things being thrown at them, strange noises and people "suffering" pain from the other world (a burning sensation on the arm and the smell of burning hair), along with Derek, the psychic, picking up the spirits' of several dead Airmen. One particular Airman asked for his wallet (though Derek) and this wallet had been found in the wreckage of an aircraft several years ago, but only a handful of people knew about it.

Spooky or what?

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Only a quick entry this week - to much to do and no time to do it.

Talk to you soon

God Bless

 

Dave

Sunday 12th October 2003

I'm I losing it again ?????

Morning Guys' hope everyone is well?

I am sat here, early on an English Sunday Morning, with the last Grand Prix of the season running on the TV in the background. It is a really good stage - Schmacher has lost a lot of track position because he collided with Sato and lost his nose cone. He pitted and then came out LAST (Hurray). Kimi R is, at present second, but he needs to win, with Schmacher in the points.

Kimi needs to win, with Schumacher out of the points - what will the rest of the race bring?

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Depending on which of my weblogs you are reading , with my blogger and Xanga logs being some of the oldest (My "That's Life" Blogger log being the very first), you may well remember that some time ago, I posted about the number of Weblogs I had running at one time.

I ranted on about how I felt I was over doing the amount of work that I had created for my self, having to run five or six logs at the same time (or was it more?). I even remember questioning my own sanity at the time.

WELL ----- GUESS WHAT?

I'm at it again, I now have THIRTEEN individual weblogs, the original 3 or 4 that I kept ( Xanga , Blogger, Big Blog Tool, Tonguewag and Blog City), but over the last 8 months or so my interest in Weblogs has grown to such a point that I have "found" a couple that I had forgotten about in the orgional rationalization (Crimson Blog,Blurty and Diaryland ) and then gained a few (to many to list), I even found what could be first ever weblog type site I ever used, a long time ago, when I first went net.The BBC's "Hitch hikers Guide to the Galaxy" forum was the first sort of "diary" that I tried to use. I was attracted to it because of the Sci-Fi referrence (Douglas Adams and his stories being one of my all time fav reads). To be fair, Although I have only ever used the site occasionally, I never really got on with the way it works. It runs its own "code" and its very difficult, concidering all the logs I use will take HTML code, to remember to change "style" to use H2G2But , for all that, that is really NOT what the site is based on. It is, I suppose, a copy of the "Guide", and index of "this and that", take a look and see what you think.

I must be Mad!!!!!!!!!!

I even concidered "installing " the b2 evolution software on my website, but that would really be too much.

But this time I am wondering whether I should do anything at all?.

It is obvious I haven't got the will power to leave alone. But the question is "Do I want to leave things alone". I do like putting my thoughts forward, on the Internet I find it so much more "straight forward" to do, than maybe even talk to someone directly. But do I need so many "opportunities"?

Maybe not!

Will I "rationalize" again?

This time I doubt it, I couldn't leave things alone last time, why would this time be any different.?

Never Mind!!! - Just to wind up

I have just realised that it has taken the best part of an hour and a half to enter this log. Not that I have been continually on the keyboard (keep taking Tea and Race breaks), it no wonder that I never get anything done other wise -
The Grand Prix has just finished. The World Champion is Micheal Schumacher. Six Times World Champion. You just really can't get your head around it - a real record. And to be fair Rubens did an excellent job to actually win the race, tears and joy all round for the Ferriari team (you should have seen the joy on Rubbio's face as he sprayed the champagne around - it is a joy to see such pleasure - nice guys' do win occasionally). Well done to them all. Whether you like them or not, they did the job, and that's what counts. It was also nice to see that Kimi and David were second and third - maybe next year will be Mclarens year.

I hope the week gives you what you wish

God Bless


Dave

It only seems like yesterday................

.... but it has been nearly two weeks since I last placed any posts on my "normal" weblogs (my Opinionated Parent is slightly different as that is comment on my lads Scoccer Team and their trials and tribulations), and it really goes to show that life can be so relatively boring. Life in the Smith household is so "normal" that there really hasn't been to talk about.

Even searching through the Newzcrawler information has brought out little of interest to me, least ways. Below are some of the few stories that have attracted my interest in the past few days.

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Archbishop reflects on cost of war The Archbishop of Canterbury says the US and UK will be "held to account" over Iraq during a remembrance service.    [via BBC News | UK | UK Edition]

Yesterday (Friday) there was a memorial service held here in the UK in remember of those soldiers lost in the recent Iraq conflict (or would it be more accurate to say ONGOING?). One of the saddest things that I have seen though, was the embittered interview that had been shown on the BBC with the father of one of the soldiers who had been killed. Heavy with grief, sorrow and no short amount of anger (and who can blame; him), he lambasted Tony Blair for costing him his son. He hoped that the Prime Minster would see passed the "Public Duty" of attending the Service, and look into the faces, full of tears, of the families of the people he had sent to their deaths.

There was no doubt, this poor man blamed the PM for sending his son to his death for no real reason. I know the anger clouded his words, but to be honest he did have a point. What has the conflict solved?

Where are the weapons of mass destruction?

Where is Sadam Hussain?

Are the people of Iraq really any better off?

You have to wonder.

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Patients set to book online Every patient in England should soon be able to book their hospital appointment online at their local surgery.   [via BBC News | Technology | UK Edition]

About time, how many years have we had the technology?

All we need now is the online facility to actually book an appointment to see the GP in first place!!

At the minute, I thank God that our phone has the "press 5" ring back facility, as the appointment line is usually busy from 08.00 till closing (apart from the lunch break at one, when they won't answer the phone anyway), and then you'd better hope what you have is nothing fatal, as there maybe a spare appointment next doomsday.

To be fair, our Doctors are trialling an "on the day system" (my mum's tried, and it does "seem" to work), but again the problem is getting through on the appointment line.

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Nasa tests laser-powered plane Nasa flies a tiny model plane powered solely by an invisible laser beam from the ground, in an aviation first...[via BBC News | News Front Page | UK Edition]

Europe gets set for Moon mission Europe should finally get its Smart 1 Moon mission under way this weekend after a series of delays...[via BBC News | News Front Page | UK Edition]

 

Science corner -

 

I know this isn't "Man on the Moon" stuff, but it is interesting. Could you imagine Space ships, flying through the void of space, using nothing more innocuous than light its self. No major waste of dwindling resources. Just a controlled light source. Brilliant or what?

 

And, after nearly thirty years, attention switches back to the moon. I remember, as a boy, the forecasts' that there would be a Manned presence on the Moon by now. Cities, "a galactic bus stop" the lot. However history has shown that the dreams have not been matched by technology, or maybe by something more important, a willingness and the funding.

 

I wonder if this will be the next step to mankind moving "off planet". Maybe we don't deserve to. If we can't look after our own planet, what would suggest we would look after anything else. Sad indictment - but true none the less 

 

Mozilla Firebird 0.7 Release Candidate Another RC release from the folks over at Mozilla. "Password manager, download system upgrades, web panels, advanced preference panel, autoscroll, improved cookie management, send page/link/image, miscellaneous bug fixes." (Meryl) ...[via Lockergnome's Technology News]

My present "fav" browser is out in it's latest incarnation. I really like it, although it does still suffer the pervasive "Microsoft Internet Explorer is the only real browser" problems that Netscape suffered from, but that said it is brill. For a start the initial download is very small compared to IE. The reason? You download a basic browser, no bloat, no pointless additions. And then you add the plugins , or "extensions", that you need to customize the browser to work your way, not the way Microsoft deem is the way you work. I can see this would be a disadvantage to some people, not being told what to do, but that is one of the reason that I like it.

Give it a try, you might find you actually like it like I do.

 

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And now to finish on a love story..............

Dutch prince renounces throne Prince Johan, second in line to the throne, gives up his right of succession in a row over his forthcoming marriage........[via BBC News | World | UK Edition]

It's sort of fairy tail stuff. The "hansom" Prince gives up the chance to be King in favour of the Woman he loves.

And all because of the womans' past. So sad, but then, in a cynical world, this man's love for his woman is the most important thing to him in the world. For a change,love overcomes duty, just because someone has deemed his bride "unsuitable". Well I say the best of luck to both of them. The past should be the past.

 

I hope the week brings you everything you wish.

God Bless

 

Dave