Archives: boring

I spent some time digging in the eaves on Sunday morning – some old artwork I’d had a hand in might be presented to the world as part of a larger project.  It was something I played an ancilliary role in producing,  but it’s me who has the original artwork, so my responsibility – no A3 scanner though, so no way to get a good copy – I have one copy of the comic, but cannot find others, so only half.  Must be somewhere, but I’m vague on things like this. 

It seems I’m mildly being pushed toward comics again – something I would like to be more ‘doing’, but oddly I do find I put up internal barriers – a little procrastination here and there.  I was hoping to get some technology sorted out (Windows tablet with proper pressure sensitive pen)  – this sort of thing always jollies me along – but I’ve been frustrated and thwarted on this level – disappointed, leaving me sending back things purchased as not working as advertised.  Still… that will come, it will.  Technology wise I have to rely on my phone, as there’s always someone (invariably Jude)  at the computer doing things (uh… Minecraft) so I don’t get a look in.  To impose myself on what’s considered the ‘family computer’ means dying by a thousand ‘huffs’ and ‘sighs’.  So now my laptop broke, I have just the phone that I can say is ‘mine’ and I need to use to this to get something done.  Very personal computer, this (at least)  doesn’t get shared.  So this new (failed, returning)  device was meant to replace the laptop – I had high hopes it would meet one of my main criteria when looking for ‘stuff’ being, “Can I draw with it? ” the promised, “Yes” is a resounding “No”.   I could grumble more, but that would be base grumbling.  What appeared to be a truth,  was not: thwarted.

So that level of procrastination has been eating up what time I don’t have, when i should be concentrating on other things.  It’s hard to be tough with yourself over motivation when you hung up petty on things like that.  I should finished those pencils, but I want to ink and certainly need to colour all this digitally, therfore while I could,  and should get this done, there a gaping ‘hole in the road’ to the next ‘step’.

…been a while of lack of updates.  while i’d not be so foolish as to say ‘oh yes, i’ll be here regularly now’  I’ve actually got the domain and the website sorted out at last, so in theory there’s nothing stopping me.

for now here’s a picture:

Well, that took longer than I would have liked… I have now reposted everything that was on the old blog to this new blog. It would have been easier if I could have got access to the old blog database as that would have allowed import/export properly… No, I had the database through phpMySQL, but not in an … oh never mind… That’s all too boring… I found that I could not effectively import things, that’s the point; so I have been left with no choice but to ‘manually import’. Being now unemployed this was not too bad, because I have a little more of the ‘time’ thing.

Right – I think I should basically leave things for now – Jack’s off to school in a minute, I’m sure Esme will be here soon as well (wake up & come downstairs), so I stop.

having to move web hosts means that I am resetting up blogs…

Been reading a bit recently, rather than typing & I know I’ve not ‘posted’ owt for some time, therefore all is behind… I am slack, I am remiss – I’ve enjoyed reading.

Half term holidays last week & the kids were… themselves… noisy, boisterous & demanding & drove Louise a little nutty.. And she’s not been able to get out to even do some shopping (not that grocery shopping is what might be called ‘fun’, but it’s a change of pace). Still there have been better bits & all that, so I shouldn’t paint a monochrome picture.. They did manage to get all down to the park one day – that’ll be easier as the year progresses… it’s a little less hospitable in February.

At work… Well… We did get a visit from our new overlords last week… Delayed from 2 weeks past due to snow & … er… weather or whatever. No pronouncements yet, & little progress. As expected they’re not so impressed with our customer database that might require a little ‘normalisation’ here & there. Naturally I hate Sage & naturally I’ve been handed a wodge of stuff from ‘aged debt’ to see how valid it all actually is? On top of everything else I do this seems that my progress on this one may be …limited. I have advised this & been told that I should try to get the other lads to help.. which I’ve said would take better people management skills than I have… essentially I know the response – I’ve tested the water & as thought I’ve been told I’m a fool for ‘taking it on’ – therefore enrolling them of a ‘fools errand’ that I’ve been set seems an argument I can’t win.

Been a tiring week – work wise I’m still floating backwards while paddling all I can – but then that is not an actual change; just the usual for me. There are the days when there’s less paper on my desk, but usually there’s more; I try to do too much. It gets me a bit down at times (like yesterday) but on the whole I remain ambivalent enough about it to not get to me; the work ethic thing in me is quite strong – who knew?

I didn’t take Jude back down to bed & try to assuage whatever worries he has last night because I couldn’t. I don’t remember when he started this now, but it seems to have been a nightly ritual for too long now. He did come up – he muttered something to me & lay down on the cushion by the bed, but I was incapable of rousing. Louise was woken & she decided to go to the toilet, so Jude followed her downstairs & got into bed Hm – I hope he’s OK… Sure to be – probably went to sleep a charm or something.

Jack got his mp3 payer yesterday – I managed to get another for him (because I’d grown rather attached to this Lplayer) – he now has a not so wee thing that has a pop-out speaker at the back – which I though was more appropriate for his needs. The other 2 have wee memory stick things – not by any rate as fancy as what Jack has, but they need something as a way of satiating them when they discover the one that Jack’s using, Eve almost rumbled it yesterday (Jack is not as discrete as he could be because he’s excited to have it, so I don’t blame him).

Not been typing for a while… Nothing wrong per se – I’ve just been preoccupied reading.

So… yes… writing…

Well – the days have passed as you’d expect them to – so no real revelations there: days are days no matter what spin you put on them.

But what has bee happening within those days?

I’m not sure, but I think I’ve been so lax that I didn’t mention hat we got up to on my birthday. Louise & I went to Leeds & did a little shopping. I got a couple of books (thanks to the present from my brother). Louise managed to get a couple of bit of clobber from Mark’s & Esme enjoyed the day (I think).

At the moment Esme is not so well.. Jude is getting a little better. Jack is over it & Eve seems to be coming down with the lurgy that’s been lurking around the family. I seem to have scraped through (but given that felt lousy a few weeks back I may have had it already I may have not quite so much escaped…) As Esme’s been very warm in the night Louise took her to se the doctor yesterday & it seems that it’s agreed that there’s something awry & they even conceded that as we ended up with the hospital bout over April that they quite understood Louise’s concerns (unlike the firewall receptionists who seem to think it their duty to use tactic to make you feel guilty or stupid for deeming it necessary to try to see a doctor). Esme has some antibiotics, so they must think there’s a bacterial element to this illness rather than it being just a virus.

Jack was off school the end of last week with this bug, Jude had Friday off (I think) & has had a racking cough that only abated yesterday. Louise is worried that Jude’s got skinny again. Unfortunately last night’s school nativity seems to have taken its toll on Eve. She complained of a headache & sore throat from the shouting & singing. This morning before I left for work she (she’s stirred n bed & asked for some more water because hers, “Tasted funny”) she was very warm & complained of a headache & sore throat. I suspect that if she’s not a lot better when she actually gets up that she’s going to find that Louise may keep her off school. Naturally this will cause problems getting Jude to school… He is a lot better though – he can’t hope to justify it.

Hopefully she’ll be back tomorrow as I’ve yet to sneak all the Christmas presents home from work. It’s daft – I can’t get them into the house when there’s anyone about, & next week they’re no longer at school.

We’ve also got a ridiculous amount of wrapping to do.

Other sparkling highlights missed out on are the fact that I redid the seal around the bath at last. Cleaning out the rabbit’s hutch with rabbit in situ (she doesn’t like getting out) She doesn’t seem to mind at all.

Misty moisty morning. Trying to take a snap of the interesting light at the station, & probably just missed the point where the colours were really clear… ah well.

What was it that we were doing on Friday evening? I have a vague recollection of something, ut that might just be a phantom of previous weeks…

Esme was not unsettled (at least I don’t think so). She has a tummy bug – probably the same one that Jude is suffering with (which has Put him back in a crabby mood) but I don’t think that Friday to Saturday was an especially restless night Saturday to Sunday was… That was a poor nights sleep & I expect to be suffering from it today or tomorrow (as these things tend to hit me nowadays) . Having said that I did manage a bit of lie in on the Sunday morning – so I may be fine (grasping around for future excuses).

Without a plan we set out to Wakefield on the Saturday; a couple of things: Jack needed some new casual shoes (his last pair having finally given up & fallen apart) & Louise wanted to get some ‘practice papers’ for Eve (& Jude). As this was not especially planned we set out later than we … um… might have planned after a morning that drifted that way that Saturday mornings tend to drift. The kids (being Eve & Jude) have stated to get up for Saturday morning TV (Toonatic) which has some of their favourite cartoons wrapped u p- in the usual Saturday morning TV nonsense. It would be better if it was the BBC though, as they subject themselves to a good deal too many adverts (too many latent ‘wants’).

So having decided that we need to go out & where we are going we get them all focussed on the task to hand & actually set out. Esme was definitely not feeling her usual self & needing to be held or reassured most all of the time. It can get a little rattling on the nerves after a bit which is not fair on her as she needs the reassurance of clinging to you even if your nerves need to just have a rest from the relentless barrage of attention seeking from all parties.
The plan was to get the train to Halifax, change there (the kids get softmints) & then catch the train we usually catch to Huddersfield, but stay on to Wakefield. Now this train is not usually so brilliant as it seems to take a while to get to Huddersfield, having to wait at signals every so often, but the kids did well – no grumpiness & Esme only mildly clingly. Esme did start to get a little worse though, & the journey did start to drag past Huddersfield to the extent that the journey became less than enjoyable for me. Off the train & Esme in the pushchair. We knew that she was not going to be doing so well, so we knew the pushchair would be needed. I remember Wakefield being a bit more interesting on my last visit. Perhaps the route from the train station shows off a not so great aspect to the town. Actually that’s not so uncommon; train stations were only built so close as they could to city centres as a rule & if they are central they are in what are nowadays the older parts of town centres (the centres of commerce shift). There were some very grand buildings close to the station, but a few were boarded up.

07/10/08@06:53
Recent economics would have had these old grandees turned into flats – hopefully they will be spared that indignity – but then again – hopefully they will be spared & actually put to use again.

Signage from the station was a little vague (or invisible) so we drifted a little before backtracking to the centre to do that traditional 1st stop – a cafe. Well… BHS Cafe, at least. There are a lot of cafes around, but we want somewhere fairly innocuous with our brood. Esme had fallen asleep on the train, so she missed this bit; didn’t mess a lot though. Kids were in a good mood & it was nice & easy.

Right then, the business to hand; we’d come to get Jack some shoes as he can’t wear his school shoes all the time – so we set out through the shopping centre to see what we can see. TK Max seems a good spot, (if a little ‘pot luck’ ) & we stumble across one of these & pop in. Louise checks out the shoes while the kids are distracted at the ‘toy’ section. They each gather something & Esme wakes up, so she gets to choose something as well (through her complaints. She’s not happy & is unwell. Jack is dragged off to try on some shoes & is quite happy with them; a little less happy that he can’t have the Monopoly game with accompanying DVD though . Eve manages to get new pair of boots (not wellies) as well (lucky her). Next stop WHSmith as the next most important thing is getting Jude one of those ‘mechanical’ pencils that have … um… well – they have multiple little plastic bits that have sharpened leads in them & when one is worn out you take it off & push it into the top end of the pencil to push a new sharp lead plastic thing out the front end… There’s probably a name for those that you wouldn’t know if it was used so you’d have to write a foolish description as I just had to do. So.. WHSmith were a bit short on these… Not in vogue, I suspect. A company that does interestingly odd pens that are alleged to help with handwriting had one of these pencil things though, and it was the only one in the shop – so we had that.

Two for one on whatchermacallists – study books – so Louise got the ‘introduction to’, & books one & two of some Verbal Reasoning books. Thence to Waterstones (next door) for bookishness. Louise got Jude a Maths practice book (as Jude likes Maths) but Jack seemed to not be interested in getting another book. They didn’t have the latest Barnaby Grimes (by Stewart & Riddel) so I couldn’t even tempt him with that!

Then Esme started kicking off – not happy at all. Louise had taken Jude to the toilet (elsewhere in the shopping centre) so after my phone rang a couple of times & dropped off (Louise trying & failing to call me for some reason & failing to get a signal through all the concrete of the centre). Okay – Esme is not happy – uncomfortable & Louise has been an age & failed to contact me. Rather than staying put I had also to go off to the toilet as Eve needs to go, so I get stressed. Stress,stress,stress….

So, eventually back to Waterstones to wait (where there’s an uncommonly unpleasant smell)

09/10/08@06:54:37
Louise & Jude have been getting a little shopping – which what I assumed that they must be doing, but it didn’t help with the stressy bits. Esme is still complaining vociferously but I can start to calm a bit. Rearrange the shopping for carriage & skedaddle. Esme complains she’s feeling sick & that she’s going to be sick. Actually… of all the kids Esme is the one that’s usually right about this… She’s not usually pukey (unlike the others) and when she says that she’s, “Going to be sick” she’s the one we can take seriously. Out of the shopping centre, into the clear(er) air & here’s a plastic shopping bag Esme. Perhaps it was the sorftmints as these are the greater ingredient of the vomit…. Fortunately it doesn’t escape the plastic bag & Esme is not so disturbed by it all, so we set off & pop the back in a rubbish bin round the corner. Different train back – an Intercity to leads & a transpeninne (the usual via Bradford) back home. We were curious to see how that journey to Wakefield would be, but I think it’s safe to say that we won’t be taking that route again (it’s just too tedious).

So – this week?

Well I got a wireless adsl router to act as a bridge fro the DSL modem – this is the next step to getting Caroline next door on the web (having purchased Lee’s laptop for her & installed an easy Linux (Ubuntu) system on there. The only thing is I’ve not managed to pass the laptop over to her yet – which is a little silly. It’s starting to be used as a an Internet radio at the moment… Still – I need to go through a few of the basics of usage with her so that she’s not al at sea with it. Change passwords as well – stuff like that.

Hmm – it would be nice to have something like that as well – but then we couldn’t afford such a thing… Hey ho.

Jack has been using his laptop with the Wifi – been able to slob on the sofa or sit in his room & watch the BBC iplayer without difficulty. He’s getting a better hang of his homework, but this is proving a frustrating (for us) distraction. Although he’s doing OK we worry that he’s banking things us a bit, s there’s going to be a lump to do all at once which might cause him a problem… but hopefully we can keep him chipping away at things.

Home again, Home again, Jiggety -jig

Hm

Well big hurdle hurdled today was the fact that I go Eeebuntu to recognise the SD card & the USB drives… Sheesh – what a silly thing. Not having these working really messed me up for a bit. That sinking feeling in the pit of the stomach that this was all for naught; the feeling that control will never be in my reach – it will forever be slipping me by… drowning… drowning… drowning…

Sort of.

A bit of searching on the we instructed to check over the etc/fstab file (File System Table (?) – apparently used by the Operating system to glean information about the set up drives it is to expect. This has a line in by default to look for the CD/DVD drive. Now I’d imagine because the Operating System cannot locate a CD/DVD drive on an Eepc it goes for whatever the first drive to become available is – this being a SD card not a CD/DVD it can’t get over this anomaly, assuming it is a D/DVD & there’s some weird problem accessing it as it would a CD/DVD. It advises if this in an unhelpful way (basically: can’t do that) & that’s it. So – commenting out the reference in the ‘fstab’ for the non-existent CD/DVD allows the OS to understand it’s not to be looking for the mythical CD/DVD & it should jolly well get along with opening the S drive…. & it does… & it works… & I’m no longer drowning.

OK & the external Hard drive on the MAC at home was playing silly buggers. The MAC has a penchant for playing silly buggers at the moment. I’m not best pleased with it – but it’s the family workhorse – it needs to work – I need it working…

Louise called back 5 minutes later jolly pleased that she had got it working – so this is good.

All good.