Cornish Pasty Blog

test cellspin post

2010-06-12T10:27:00.001+01:00

Test from cellspin on hd2

Quick intro to my new website

2010-06-06T22:45:00.001+01:00

I just wanted to let you know that I have started up a full website where i will be making blog posts to in the future – I will do my best to cross post them here too but the new site will be my first focus.

To see how it’s going pop over to www.philipferris.com

It’s early days and I have already decided to change the template look but it was my first effort.

See you there.

Technorati Tags: New bog

Let’s see how photos behave from Live Writer

2010-06-05T21:03:00.001+01:00

A mention for this blog in Cornish World magazine (and some Link Love)

2010-06-05T17:03:00.003+01:00

A very flattering mention for this humble and, of late, somewhat tardy Blogger blog and the pressure is on. The item is in the smartly turned out Cornish World magazine. (For anyone not completely familiar with the online world, click on the magazine tile in the previous sentence and it will take you to the magazine’s website.)

In addition to being highly flattered at being given a mention, it was particularly pleasing to be featured in a magazine that is both in touch with Cornish culture and bang up to date with technology. Reading the June/July edition, No. 70, I see they are clued up with a web presence both at www.cornishworldmagazine.co.uk and www.mycornwall.tv, a Twitter account and a Facebook page.

My only regret was a dearth of decent photographs to offer following the death of my Acer netbook, (that’ll teach me to be lax about backups). The one that was used was not the sharpest of the bunch but, then again it woud have detracted from the writing if it had been pin sharp, so I will console myself that the low resolution photo plays it’s part.

If you have come to this blog from reading the article, then welcome gentle reader. Do visit again and I will aim to live up to the warm reception Catherine gave me in her article.

Of course, you may well be a fellow blogger who has visited in order to confirm for yourself that your efforts trump anything I may have recorded. So be it, read, confirm any preconceptions and submit your blog for a mention in despatches by emailing catherine@cornishworldmagazine.co.uk.

Technorati Tags: Cornwall,cornishworldmagazine

Putting my best foot forward

2010-05-29T08:40:00.001+01:00

Technorati Tags: Walking Boots,Brasher,Lithium GTX

I would like to declare at the outset that this post id the result of a competition that I won recently.

A while ago I started my search in earnest to find a really good pair of walking boots with a view to a trip to the States to celebrate a special birthday for my wife, Cathy. One of the places I went to look was Brasher. While on their site I saw they had a newsletter and, as I signed up, I saw that they did a monthly drawing to win a pair of boots for new subscribers. I signed up in the hope that I might get some sort of discount offer in a newsletter, what I got was a complete surprise. A few weeks after signing up I found that I had been drawn to win a pair of new Brasher boots of my choice from their catalogue!

The boots arrived today, Lithium GTX, full of Goretex goodness. I couldn’t wait to get them out to try on.

These boots mark a change for me. I have always been a leather boot sort of chap, never gave a lot of thought to newer developments – to be fair I didn’t expect to be buying the top end type of boot and many much cheaper fabric boots seemed to be more like beefed up trainers.

Having the freedom to choose any boot I took time to learn about the many different types and what they were best suited for. We will be visiting a variety of terrain in the US from mountains to salt plains to westrn seaboard so I needed a boot that was versatile. We might undertake activities such as horse riding so I needed a boot that wasn’t too bulky. The boot would also need to comfortable in all sorts of locations as I intend wearing them in urban and country settings, in hot and cold temperatures.

I needed to have my feet carefully measured before committing to size, since Brasher would be sending the boots direct. Fortunately with the help of Sarah in Brasher’s publicity department I went along to their Premier stockist nearest to West Cornwall – Penrose Outdoors in Truro. Cathy and I were treated really well at the store, even though I explained I needed measuring but the boots would come to me direct from Brasher. While Cathy would need a pair of boots for the US we had decided that the most we would do is by some socks to say thanks for measuring my feet. (In fact, Lynette at the store was so knowledgeable and helpful we ended up getting Cathy a pair of boots from there, plus some sets of socks and boot care products).

I can’t wait to be able to try the boots out on a walk but that’s another post, as they say.

When does one stop waiting for the big idea?

2010-05-26T15:15:00.001+01:00

I have started a bunch of posts over the last month, (yes, month). Not one idea managed to grow into something resembling my idea of a post. The month before that I struggled to hold on to the big thoughts I have when driving in this beautiful county of Cornwall; much of what I have to say when behind the wheel relates to the views, reflections and memories of growing up here. But that’s where it stops, (yes, I started a sentence with But – that isn’t necessarily a crime, no matter how uncomfortable it is making me feel. I am trying to get to grips with whatever creature it is that gets in the way of my writing these days. With the idea that the human mind will put all sorts of obstacles in the way to avoid change, I am embracing the awkward and uncomfortable, in the hope that I am doing good, making a difference, playing my part in the electronic world I have hung out in for all these years).

It’s views like this when nipping down to the shop, that pass me by nine times out of ten but that one time pulls me up short every time.

Thoughts that occur to me, when I visit coastal locations similar to Porthleven, I immediately think about how closed in they feel but I never think that about my own village; even though, looking out from the Harbour Head (as the grassed area at the back of the harbour is called), I struggle to see the open sea. Where the natural geography stops the man made finishes off the enclosure but I do not normally see that. When I say don’t see i mean that I have a scotoma, as Lou Tice would put it, I just couldn’t see it. I can look at it but I couldn’t “see” it. It could be because I have climbed the sides of the village and see the open sea but I don’t think so, I think that like so many people before I see the world in a drop of water, the world in the life of the village. Porthleven, built from the fractals of the rest of the world.

I have been thinking about houses lately, in comparison to many our little cottage is plain but I have decided that I don’t mind what the house looks like – when it comes down to it, if I live in a house it’s the outside that means more. There are places in Cyprus which are pretty much boxes but that’s fine, they have something to look at, greenery, sea, whatever, heck in the right location most of life can run outdoors. When things are rough weatherwise, I can be at home in a room, this netbook my window on the world.

A musical interlude at this point. As I go to write more, in the background the theme music from the science fiction series Star Trek Voyager isplaying. I love this piece of music, with it’s classical and futuristic associations. Here is a link to a version on YouTube:

Technorati Tags: Porthleven,Star Trek,Music,Houses

An Encounter with the International Space Station

2010-03-15T21:07:00.001Z

Another beautiful day today, again almost completely spring-like. Particularly pleasant behind glass, the breeze that has been so cold of late has warmed a little.

I went outside this evening to caqtch a sight of the International Space Station (ISS) as it passed over Cornwall. There was still light in the ky at 7.09pm and I wondered whether I would be able to see it. I needn't have worried. From the West came a golden ember that travelled more than twice as fast as the airliners that pass by going to or from the USA.

It was literally a brilliant sight and what made it even more poingnant was the fact tat I have been reading Tweets from one of it's astronauts. Soichi Nguchi is an astronaut currently onboard the ISS and a very active member of Twitter @astro_soichi. The connection between me in our back garden, on an almost balmy evening, in the last glow of an evening sun and a group of people sailing outside the atmosphere, was something special. I felt like our cottage was my station and I was on an earthbound spacewalk.

I have been getting alerts of an impending flyover of the ISS via Twitter for quite sometime, ( setup instructions at http://twisst.nl ), but kept forgetting at the last minute. I will definitely making extra effort to get out and watch in future.

Fighting the apathy not to post

2010-03-13T13:23:00.001Z

I just don't know what it is - that hidden creature that saps my energy when I feel the urge to write. Creeping up on me and dulling the desire or arranging circumstances to ensure that I do not put fingers to keys.

My friend Alan tells how the ideas come but fade before he has time to write them up. For me it's the energy to get the thoughts and ideas typed up. I can get fired up in the morning and be back in a state of calm by tea.

I started a post 2 days ago and it faded, for familiar reasons - I come home, get the coal fire lit and eat, then start to watch the regular television that I have got into. Watching programmes on the laptop is fine but I do think that I would gain some time by recording them, (even more time by not watching of course). I'm keeping my eye on www.giveawayoftheday.com for a recording option but have yet to find one that will record in the background while I go off and do other stuff, a prerequisite for the operation I would say.

As I type this I am undertaking the compromise that works for some programmes. In one FireFox window I have Time Team playing. (Time Team is the UK television archaeology show, which visits under explored sites and tries to find out as much new information as it can in 3 days). I am typing this in a window over the top of the FireFox browser and that allows me to listen to the show but not see. Shows like Voyager, the Start Trek spin-off I missed when it was first shown so watch it each evening now, is a visual experience - the story lines may be easily translated to what we have now but the added value is in the visuals.

Well, this post is in danger of going the same way as the last if I don't get it posted. There's a nagging voice in the back of my head, it's trying to point out that this post isn't polished and I should work on it before sending it into the outside world; trouble is I am even more rubbish at the editing than I am at the writing. I am ignoring that voice and the next mouse movement I make will be to post this. A post of some sort is better than no post at all with be my watchphrase.

A beautiful day at the Japanese Garden in St Mawgan, Cornwall

2010-02-14T20:49:00.001Z

I have neglected my blog for far, far too long. I would like to think that it is because I didn't have anything to say, as in. "If you've nothing to say, say nothing"; truth be told I just couldn't get my self motivated.

I read constantly and am sure that I am a born and bread consumer. I soak up other people's output without the urge to replace it. What could I do to get myself writing again? I have asked myself this many times and at last I think I have come up with something.

As word has slipped out to Cathy about the destination, I can now refer to something big enough to bring me back to blogging. Later in the year we are going to be visiting the United States of America. It's 31 years since my parents and brothers visited our Uncle and Aunt in Utah. I stayed at home to take mock exams, foolishly in my opinion; I missed time with some wonderful people and failed most of my mocks wishing I was abroad. To compound things my birthday was during the month they were away. But hey that was then and this is now.

We spoke about it and said I could go once exams were out of the way but then life got in the way and I never made it. Both aunt and uncle have passed away now and I do regret not getting there. This year we aim to rectify that by making it the destination of a celebratory 50th birthday trip for Cathy.

The birthday trip is the catalyst for a long overdue visit to see some great people and places.

The bit that Cathy now knows ahead of her birthday, due to a friend's
accidental slip, is that we are visiting relatives and friends. There is a second half, that also includes friend visiting that I am not divulging till Cathy's birthday on 26th March 2010.

Even the preparation for the trip is exciting. I hardly knew how ignorant I was about the size and layout of the USA. I casually mentioned to someone about meeting and felt a little foolish when it was explained that it would involve a drive 6 hours one way.
What can I say? The UK is quite a few inches from the US in an atlas so I haven't directly compared. My thoughts would always stray to the US of my childhood when I looked across the page. Images of Californa, the Banana Splits, New Mexico and Petrocelli, the streets of San Francisco, cities pounded by Columbo, Mission Impossible, the Rockford Files. So much colour in a black and white world. It was all so exotic for a Cornish lad in a small fishing village that formed the engagement ring in Mounts Bay. (I think it still is).

I have started to conduct research into the places we will be visting and that's almost as exciting as the travel. Also various stages are fun milestones such as, flights booked, visa process sorted. I'm already at the: why didn't I do this before stage!

It's going to be some trip and there's so much yet to define. We are pushed to cram everything in now, goodness knows how people manage to get the time to travel even further afield.

2009-08-30T19:28:00.000+01:00

The first paragraph is a very brief summary and the rest is a much longer review.

We booked and stayed one night in August 2009. Hotel 55 was extremely easy to find coming out of the station. The garden facing room ensured a peaceful night, though there is room noise from neighbouring rooms using shower/bath. The bed is one of the most comfortable I have ever slept in at a hotel. The bathroom was smart, the shower powerful but make sure the plug is open in the sink when you turn the tap on, to reduce the chance of the vigorous water pressure causing a spillage. The staff were welcoming, patient and very helpful. Continental breakfast was available in a very light and airy conservatory. This is definitely a hotel we would return to if we needed to spend the night in London and will recommend to friends.

We booked and stayed one night at the hotel in August 2009. Hotel 55 is a very easy hotel to locate. On leaving Ealing North train station, (a very quaint almost rural feel to it), one turns left and walks along what is Station Road, the car approach to the station. (From the Hotel 55 website it says walk along Queen's Drive, which is the road with a row of shops in it but one can just as easily just stay on Station Road, which runs parallel, the only advantage of the former is it affords one a pavement. On reaching a set of traffic lights, which are in view within 100 meters of walking away from the station, there's just the matter of turning right and the hotel is the first on the right.

The hotel itself is boutique-ish but I would almost say a little tired. Unlike premium hotels, where all maintenance is kept from the eyes of guests, tools, equipment and large laundry bags were in view from the stairs as one climbed to the first floor. Reception was very helpful, especially as I was not listening when told our room number and not see it tucked under the stapled receipt; I also forgot about the room card feature, where it must be placed in a holder on the wall to activate the lights, air con etc., which necessitated another trip to reception. The two staff we had dealings with were genuine in their desire to help us have a great stay.

The room was on the far side of the building away from the road, I had booked this and we had what was referred to as a Garden Facing room. We did not open the window and were unaffected by any road or train noise (the station being only a few hundred metres away but we wouldn't have known that if we hadn't arrived there and walked the very short distance to the hotel).

I did have visions of sitting looking out over the garden but our room was directly above the long conservatory, where the Japanese restaurant was situated and continental breakfast was served; we could only see a few bushes from where we were. I did wonder whether we were given that room as it was the only one not booked or because we didn't book directly with the hotel, where the price was only a few pounds different, but that would be disingenuous of me given that we really enjoyed our stay.

The room was small but there was room to get around the bed and room in the passageway from the door to put cases for opening. The bed was King Size and extremely comfy, with it's orthopedic mattress. The flat screen had a good picture, though with interference on Channel 5 in particular. The direction adjustable lamps were bright.

The bathroom was smart with a bath and shower at one end. The shower was powerful with slightly adjustable jets via the showerhead. The water in the sink was very strong an,d if the lever is pulled too briskly, water will shoot out of the sink, but once is enough to teach one not to do it again. A small shower/bath gel and shampoo are provided, along with a good quality mini soap. The towels were the white fluffy ones that are a pleasure to use, stored in a rack but with two hooks on the back of the doors where they could be hung.

It was nice to have complementary bottles of water, a small still and larger sparkly, given that it was a hot trip on the underground.

I initially thought that we didn't have a fridge but there was one, just that it was tucked away in the wardrobe, along with a safe. The wardrobe had a reasonable sized section to hang clothes for a number of days, given that half of one side was occupied.

Wifi was suggested as being available and I could see and connect to it; unfortunately the connection reported No Internet Access. As I always have a tethered option with me, which is a much more secure option, I didn't take it up with reception. There was a wired network point on the vanity shelf in the room as an option too.

Continental breakfast was served in the conservatory where the Japanese restaurant operates lunchtimes and at night. It was clean, tidy, smart and airy, very comfortable with seating also out on the decking looking over the garden, though I didn't see the tables out there laid for breakfast. We didn't get to try the restaurant as it was closed for a week for staff holidays and opened the night after we were there.

This is definitely a hotel we would return to if we needed to spend the night in London and will recommend to friends.

Catching Up on Old Times

2009-08-07T22:58:00.001+01:00

A few things occurred last weekend that got me to thinking.

I had a surprise visit on Friday evening from my old friend Rob. Whenever he comes back to see his family he always takes the trouble to call by and arrange to go for a catch up over a drink.

As well as being good company Rob is a font of knowledge and my one connection to a previous life, that of gaming. Not the gambling sort of gaming but Role Playing and various board games played, in pre-internet days, through the post via ‘zines (a form of printed newsletter, named from fanzines, magazines created by fans of a subject. Produced invariably by students or people who could not afford glossy professionally printed material; zines were often run off simple typewriter created stencils using an early duplicator or, in rare cases an early photocopier).

I used to spend a huge number of leisure hours pouring over aspects of role playing games such as Dungeon and Dragons and paper based science fiction games such as run Galactic Society Four, developing characters, studying statistics, or developing businesses or running whole empires. I am convinced that this use of my brain enhanced my cognitive abilities and was, in part, how I could do things I would never consider feasible now,for example, attending Greek and Japanese language classes in the same week for the better part of a year, ( I have always found language learning extremely difficult). When I think back I cannot recall another time when my brain was so active, though I am aware that the googles of nostalgia and the aging process will have something to do with this.

Our conversation today was that of friends and would not have been riveting to an audience. Much of what we talked about was to catch up on other old friends, in the main people Rob had remained in contact with and I had not. I learned about what had been happening in his life and filled him in on mine. I always really enjoy hearing about what Rob has been doing, as it is almost like a view of an alternate world - no, it is a view of an alternate world – one where maybe I would have done similar things if my life had taken a different route. I am not looking for change and don’t want this read as though I do, it’s just the latent story teller in me speculating, just as I speculate when sitting in a cafe, here or abroad and wonder what is going on in the lives of the people I see. Sometimes I will witness an encounter and imagine a story line that precedes and proceeds from it, I occasionally do the same about my life. I would love to be a writer and this is part of how I try to develop my skills. I imagine my name on the spine of a book on the shelf in my local library or bookshop but in that dream lies madness; having tried to compose fiction at different times and forms I am confident in my lack of ability to string a narrative together.

The range of topics rpgs, prog rock, books, music,comics all leave me feeling nostalgic, from programmes and general tastes that have come around again I guess it’s a certain amount to do with the age I am at.

All at sea

2009-08-01T13:26:00.001+01:00

In the seaside village of Porthleven in Cornwall in the UK, where I have lived all my life to date, I have thought of there being two groups of people: those who farmed and those who fished.

My family and most of my associations when growing up were from the farming side, even though the Methodist Chapel I attended through my childhood was a predominantly fishing orientated one. Consequently I never developed links with the sea and had never been on a boat I the harbour.

I say had never because this weekend was something special that changed that. My best friend Jer bought a boat designed and built in Porthleven by someone I knew when growing up. The boat was called Girl Ruth (and yes in a moment of synchronisity I know the actual Girl Ruth it was named for).

After a couple of years of work Jer had the boat ready as above and the day for launch arrived.

First it needed to be taken from Jer’s home down to the harbour

The person in the yellow oilskins and driving his tractor is one of my personal heroes – that’s my Dad Spencer, (or Spencer Cornet as some children used to call him when he was still selling ice cream). Dad and my youngest brother Chris restore old tractors and go on tractor runs and local shows; specifically Ferguson T20 tractors as in this picture.

The route the tractor took was down to the main street of Porthleven, down it past Fore Street Methodist Chapel and into the shipyard, in preparation for reversing it down the slipway.

The big challenge would be in lowering the boat carefully down the slip while maintaining control at all times. I was not concerned in the slightest with the launching, as Dad can get his tractors to turn on a pin, he is such an excellent tractor driver (comes from growing up with them I guess).

The boat is one designed by Dennis Swire, a ship’s architect of many years standing. The interesting thing about this all wood boat is that Dennis designed it for himself and it was built in the village, at a guess in the late 1960s when the shipyard functioned as such.

Dad reversed it slowly across the road and down the slipway.

The weather wasn’t sunny but the rain was only very light so everyone who came to watch were able to do so without getting soaked. Eventually the boat was ready to be floated off it’s cradle. At this point a number of seagulls hoved into view, thinking that the boat had just come in and there might be scraps to eat. Aboard her for the launch were our best friends Wendy and Jer and our Godson Neythan.

This was quite a momentous day already with the launching of Jer’s refurbished boat but more was to come for me, after a snagging check. Jer sensibly had advice and guidance from another local fisherman Robert, who came along side and accompanied the sea trials that came next.

Jer asked for volunteers to go on the boat’s maiden voyage since refurbishment and I jumped at the chance. As I said I fell into the farming camp when growing up, so had never been to sea from the village. I had a few slight qualms about how I might feel, being in a boat many times smaller than the ferries I have mostly travelled in previously in different parts of the world.

We set off into very calm waters off the village, which was good – given that the harbour existed in particular to give shelter from storms that ravaged shipping in the 18th and 19th Centuries.

In all the time out and back I was mesmerised. I had seen a film made of a boat trip out of the village but that is no substitute for seeing it with your own eyes. Everything was fascinating and I only wish I had a more powerful camera to be able to zoom in places, but am happy I got some decent shots with the 5 megapixel Touch HD phone.

The boat rolled up and down as it crested the swell and turned but not once did I feel anything other than excitement and fascination, (no doubt this will change one day when the weather is less friendly). All too soon we were back at the slip and the trip was over. Before I accompanied Dad back up the road, with the now empty trailer, I took a quick shot of what it must have looked like when we went out.

It was a fun day out and I hope to be able to try that again.

View from the bus stop

2009-03-17T07:45:00.001Z

Regards

Phil Ferris

This message was Handcrafted on the HTC Touch HD phone

Just ore of the same general musings

2009-02-21T18:37:00.001Z

This time I am writing on my Touch HD with my Stowaway Bluetooth Keyboard. I should use this more often; it's so convenient and very comfortable balanced here on my lap tray. This phone does have everything one would need to get stuff done. I am currently typing into Mobile GBlogger but could be surfing with Opera or Twittering with PockeTwit, collecting emails with Flexmail 4, recording notes in OneNote Mobile or my current favourite - EverNote - notes that synch automatically with the cloud and any of my other computers. Yes a larger screen can be good but for grabbing some quick content or carrying out a swift action this HTC Touch HD can do it and do it well. (I don't subscribe to the Windows Mobile doesn't cut it school, especially when it allows me to do so much.)I'm off now to cook down some onions to go with the frankfurters and baked rolls for tea (or dinner, as some posh people say over here and abroad).I hope you have a good time with whatever you are about to do and thanks for stopping by.

A brief, if unexciting, catchup on what we’re up to

2009-02-21T10:41:00.001Z

This is going to be one of those rambling-mostly-of-no-interest-except-to-the-writer blog posts. I write it because I am fed up getting the urge to jot things one moment and then losing the desire by the time I get to the computer. It’s sad really and entirely my own fault, since I have so many ways of recording my thoughts and posting to the internet. I am going to try to avoid the whinging pom ppost in this, in tribute to my most excellent antipodean friends who occasionally peruse this site and whom it was great to see at Christmas.

First off is a look forward to we have in March. I find that it helps in winter particularly to have what our friends Chris and taff call look-forward-tos. We will be celebrating a special birthday with them and combining it, all things being equal, with a long overdue visit to Winchester, to visit the Cytronex bicycle location.

I had posted enthusiastically last year about sorting out an electric bike via the UK Government subsidy scheme. Cathy persuaded me that going into winter was not the best time to purchase a bike and I should wait till spring; an added complication was when I had the incredibly kind offer to purchase a car from a friend at well under market value. It was the correct decision, as for the end of last year I had to make a load of trips to our North Cornwall office 70 miles away.

We are going to have a day in Winchester while up seeing our friend and so I will arrange a trial ride. (I was also contacted via my post last year by a couple near Hayle who have Cytronex bikes and I haven’t ruled out taking them up on their offer to see the bikes in action.) Recently the car has been off the road with a heater matrix problem and I have been walking the 30 minutes to the office from where the bus drops and the 45 minutes in the evening to the bus station. I have enjoyed the walking but the bike will give me more scope. I have joined Morrab Library following my visiting to take part in a genetic People of the British Isles but it takes a little over 30 minutes to walk there from work, not practical at lunchtime but perfectly feasible if cycling.

On Monday Cathy and I are excited to finally be going to archery classes. We have fought shy of doing so in past years as the adverts we saw were for evening classes starting in Setpember and we would miss half of them through holidaying then but then we saw the advert for February and jumped at it. I am not convinced that I will be any good but that’s what the 6 course is all about. I like the romance of the thing but you won’t be seeing me parading about robed in Lincoln Green.

Our friends from London are down at the beginning of March which is always good and I am hoping we will get some good weather like the blue sky and sunshine of today. Talking of which, I need to be off and in the shower as I promised to head out shopping wit Cathy. It’s good to be able to get out after all the flu and chest infection (slept in a chair last night due to ciughing but hoping that was just a bump on the road to recovery).

Stay well kind reader and most of all, remember to have fun.

In defense of my vice: Internet use

2009-01-31T10:54:00.001Z

My vice is the Internet, if vice is something that takes one away from healthier alternatives.

Today is the Day That I Happily Refuse to Purchase and iPhone by Tim Samoff (timsamoff)

I started when training at a training company. I couldn't help myself. It was just so easy to access.

i had always loved writing to other people and exchanging ideas with people outside of my social circle. I didn't travel that much so didn't encounter other geeks like me.

The Internet is my vice. I have no doubt I spend too long on it but I find it such a source of interest for my brain. I love learning as well as interacting with people who see things differently to me. I still live in the village I grew up in and my family live within doors of me; this makes for a great support network but isn't conducive to moving outside one's comfort zone.

My time on the net allows me to learn new stuff every day, to delve deeper into new things I might come across (I love researching things), to interact with people who have similar interests to me, to rediscover things that had meant a lot once but had faded out of my life.

I use a tablet PC these days and it enables me to be in the room with my wife and enjoy conversations but still be able to dip in and out of the net when she is otherwise occupied, say watching television. I am conscious of the need for social interaction in relationships so make an effort to be a part of conversations, see friends, etc. but I still get a special buzz from all that knowledge out there I can tap into within a few clicks.

If I had easy access to a helicopter, I'd fly to Oxford this weekend

2009-01-31T10:36:00.001Z

Take me to the city of Dreaming Spires

I love the city of the Dreaming Spires. I get such a buzz standing in college quads and almost hear the neurons buzzing. The Bodleian Library is amazing and Oxford University's connections with people I admire sparks all sorts of ideas and imaginings.

I never made it there to study myself but I like to sit in a pub or cafe look at people and imagine what their life might be like, what it might have been like if I had made it there.

It's not just about the gown either; the city has some great shops and architecture but it is definitely the academic side that draws me there.

Trevarno

2009-01-01T12:42:00.001Z

Regards

Phil Ferris

This message was Handcrafted on the HTC Touch HD phone

A Family Boxing Day

2009-01-01T12:42:00.000Z

Regards

Phil Ferris

This message was Handcrafted on the HTC Touch HD phone

Blogging from the Touch HD & Stowaway BT Keyboard

2008-12-15T15:54:00.001Z

I usually work through lunch to allow me to insert breathing spaces throughout the day. Sometimes I will go and look out the window, or pop down to chat with the people who make come by making/selling sandwiches; I went out today and found, yet again, that the day was really too nice to be spending it indoors at a desk.Today I decided to put some of the time aside to jot down a few lines for the blog. Nothing momentus, just a capturing of what's going through my head. My friend Alan has blogged int he past about how ideas come and ideas go, not least the ones that make for blog posts; these come at awkward times, such as when he's on the tube and unable to post. For me the problem is seeing great photographic shots but unable to capture them as I am in a stream of fast moving traffic.

Blogging from the Touch HD

2008-12-10T23:05:00.001Z

This is a test blog post using my Stowaway Universal Bluetooth Keyboard. The 2710p is versatile but what I need sometimes is an altogether more portable and less power hungry option. When out for a stroll I would like to be able to stop and write up mmy thoughts. With this setup I can easily charge the phone back up, from the Expasys portable power supply I have, to give me a greater amount of useage; the 2710p will last a long time with the extended battery and, theoretically, I could charge from the car power outlet, but not in my pocket as I walk.I carry the tablet whenever I am out and have it with me, I don't leave it in the car for instance, I am used to the 3 or so pounds in a backpack or bag; still, it's nice to go light sometimes and still have the option to type more than a Twitter post. I find the Full Querty keyboard very easy to use and am impressed with how it distinguishes taps from my less than boysh finger tips. I have also loaded the Cailligrapher programme to be abe to wrte anywhere on the screen, from constant tapping on my Dell Axim I saw how it wore away on my screen protector. I have found it to work well though I use it most in character recogniser mode at the moment till I can get into the swing of writing in a slightly tidier hand.Another programme, or programmes rather, I have been experimenting with are SPB Mobile Shell and Pocket Plus. I have found I can run both and have a set of 5 small tabs and 4 larger ones on which I can hold all the shortcuts I need. One thing to note, there is a bug at the moment that prevents me choosing additional programmes on the phone screen; this means I have to run a small free programme to display my phone on the computer and then run down the list of available items that I can add to the tabs.I enjoyed using TouchFlow 3D for a day or two but it didn't give me enough control over it's display. - I found out I could edit the Weather Database and cities more relevant to me but the tabs were, on the whole, fairly rigid. The SPB software coupled with Pocket Informant and Flexmail 4 has given me a huge advantage in how I can quickly access and interact with information. I am finding the phone a joy to use, though the neat onscreen slider to answer a call took a little getting used to.Other software I am using includes CeBit for Twitter, a quick and easy option with reasonable displays of posts and extras like TwitPic insertion. My RSS reader is the inbuilt one. I seem to have corrupted eReader on the phone but also have Mobipocket installed so am OK for reading material. Windows Media Player works wella nd allows me to catch up on BBC programmes I have downloaded. I would like to thank Pocket Watch Software for their GBlogger software. I am using the free public version at the moment and will be buying my own copy of their Pro version next week after payday; I am very grateful that they have taken the free route as an offering for users, it has given me the chance of a proper trial of everything except picture inclusion, only available in the paid for Pro version of GBlogger.That's it for the moment. We turned in early and while Cathy caught up with the BBC 1 spy show Spooks on the 2710p, I thought it a good time to give the phone and keyboard option a try.- Posted using Pocket Watch Software Mobile GBlogger.

Versatility of the human voice - Flying Pickets

2008-12-09T19:20:00.001Z

I do love the versatility of the human voice and a cappella singing demonstrates that

Yes, another Desert Island disc.

This is how an angel's voice would sound in the icy regions of Norway

2008-12-08T23:18:00.001Z

I first encountered Sissel on a Christmas album singing with the likes of Placido Domingo and was immediately captivated. I hope you will be too.

The song Pie Jesu has been perhaps over performed given the large number of people who have produced versions but I think that it does justice to her voice.

Another singer who is on my Desert Island disc list.

If I was to marry someone for a particular attribute it would be Eddi Reader for her voice

2008-12-08T22:59:00.001Z

Eddi Reader is a woman who can make my hair stand on end (no easy feat if you've studied my Twitter profile picture), can reduce me to tears and have me laughing all within a few notes. Her concerts are amazing, a study in how the human voice affect people on so many levels.

This song is from 1994, Eddi has much brilliant stuff that comes after this but it is a particular favourite of mine. If you're not sure about the video production remember that it was 1994 and it is tweaked for YouTube and close your eyes and listen to the music.

A contender for my Desert Island disc to rescue if the all others were to be washed away.

Forever Autumn by Justin Hayward

2008-12-08T22:20:00.001Z

Jeff Wayne's War of The Worlds has been a favourite album since I first heard it.

In particular is this song that summed up my teenage angst years. I had them but most of it was in my head and I didn't go through any sort of rebellious period. (Hindsight is a wonderful thing and I can see now how many times "Doing what I thought was expected of me" or "avoiding potential embarrassment" stayed my hand and caused me to miss out on what I know would have been wonderful times - even for a little while).

This is the third of my Desert Island discs.

Fur Elise has a hold over me and I am transported to when it was played for me once

2008-12-08T22:04:00.001Z

It was just a front room and was played almost casually, but the image of the person playing and the time spent are some of the most vivid I have of anything.

This video is presented as a tribute to that memory. (I do not know the person playing, it's just that the piece is nicely played and the jeans remind me of that time). Thank you for playing it on YouTube Tinaw19.

This is one of my Desert Island Tunes.

I cannot get over how much I am affected by Pachelbel's Canon in D

2008-12-08T21:49:00.001Z

Here is a great version from YouTube

This is one of my Desert Island discs.

This is a test post from my HTC Touch HD

2008-12-06T23:24:00.001Z

I am trying out Mobile GBlogger to post and see it does. Here's to it being excellent.This is the free version. The Pro version lets me insert Pictures.- Posted using Pocket Watch Software Mobile GBlogger.

A Touch of Heaven Definitely (a geeky stroll through the phones of my past and today)

2008-11-19T23:49:00.001Z

I took the plunge on my birthday, 18 months after I received my Nokia N95, the most versatile of all my gadgets and one that I carried more places than this Tablet (and it goes virtually everywhere.

In what I call doing a Miller I ordered a phone just coming onto the market.

Not just any phone at that, no sir-ee, it had to be the HTC Touch HD.

In the UK the phone is exclusively available via the Orange network until 2009, except...

Expansys UK have a great scheme whereby they will sell a SIM free i.e. an unlocked phone and sell a coresponding mobile contract. By using this route I have been able to obtain the phone on a T-mobile contract and pay no more for the phone than I would have to when (I feel sure) T-Mobile added the phone to it's line-up next year.

The purchase from Expansys UK was fairly straightforward, I say fairly straightforward for no reason on their part, just that the theft of my wallet complicated things unnecessarily. Having ordered I received a series of clear emails talking me through the various checks that the network makes and clarifying what the order tracker would display until my order was despatched.

Being an impatient sort of geek, I kept checking the tracker on the Expansys UK site on a daily basis. Initially I was horrified to find that my expected 5 days to delivery suddenly shot up to 18 days but 3 or so days after this it suddenly said shipped! I clicked on the very clear link to their chosen transport firm, in this case ANC/Fed-Ex UK, and saw step by step what was happening. The very next day the phone arrived in the village and I collected it from my parents after work.

I have owned in the last few years, a Sony Ericsson P800 followed by the P910i and latterly by the Nokia N95. Each of these phones has been a revelation and joy to use. With each one improvements in technology was very noticeable and I found that they enabled me to work in a more mobile and eficient manner. I did miss handwriting recognition when I first moved from SE to Nokia but a Dell Axim x51v filled the gap. Handwriting recognition became an extremely quick way to enter data and I I eventually got up to dictation speed using the P910i in meetings. The Dell was ideal, but for one thing, it didn't have a camera.

The P800 and P910i were a great opportunity to bring me back to photography, something I had enjoyed in the past. Being able to take photos and quickly and easily add them to my computer or email them was a clear boon for work. I could make up directions to offices using photos of the locations, copy items of interest and email them to interested parties, photograph problem areas such as building damage or equipment issues and email them to support staff.

Moving to the N95 was a big leapt in photographic terms, one that compensated for my giving up the touch screen. With high capacity mini-SD cards available I could snap away at the full 5 megapixels and not have to worry, trimming down the size when necessary but having the ability to choose. Quicker wifi and features such as AGPS meant that I could start using the N95 in place of solutions such as the Axim and TomTom.

Constant use and the rough and tumble of every day use meant that gradually gremlins started to creep in, the odd SIM not found or unexpected reset suggested a need to invest in a newer phone. I saw the iPhone come and it didn't move me, the N96 was good but not good enough. I thought it would be into Spring next year before I would find a phone that appealed to me; one that offered the best of both worlds from my phone past, a touch screen, faster wifi, gps, WM 6 to integrate with my other Windows devices, at least a 5MP camera, lighter weight than the fairly hefty smartphones I had been using, a large screen area. I saw a friend's Samsung Omnia recently and thought it a smart phone but wanted more screen space or a higher resolution.

Something caught my eye when googling the Omnia, someone mentioned or compared it to the HTC Touch HD. I naturally did a search on the Touch HD and fell for the phone, (not sure how else to put it - geeks will understand, Apple Fanboys will comprehend). It seemed to have everything, 5mP camera, the highest resolution touchscreen, agps, b & g wifi, Windows Mobile 6 (no, I don't think it as bad as some make out), light and with a decent battery.

It has arrived and I hope to take some shots of it and with it and do a follow up post but, for now I wanted to cover the background that brought me to this point.

The phone came in the very robust and, I think, stylish box (see photos adjacent to this paragraph), inside the sleeve that is shown at the start of this post. The phone lay on top of a inner box that held cables, battery and 8GB micro-SD card. In the bottom of the main box lay the manuals on CD and a trial version of OneNote 2007.

The phone is as gorgeous as i hoped and I will post examples in another post. As a taster I can say that the things that impress me most at this point are:

the way the stylus is grabbed by the phone when only a few millimetres are left to push in (sad though this confession of impression might be); this is a great feature as it ensures the stylus is fully seated and not liable to dropping out when put away in a rush.
The excellent display of the weather, though Microsoft please add cities to the choices, the nearest forecast I can currently get is 75 miles away!
The speed of the wifi, my network doesn't slow much now all devices can access at 54g minimum.
The ability to use my fingers to type and that the keyboard can tell even though the keys seem (to my novice eye) too small.
The phone battery came partially charged so that, within 3 hours, I was up and running.

Musings amidst man-flu

2008-11-15T22:52:00.001Z

I began speculating on the chances of catching a cold when ouside work waiting for a lift the other night. The mind is a powerful beast and by the next evening I was feeling lousy. Things only got worse and I felt sorry for myself come Friday morning - "Surely no one has known a cold as bad as this" and other quotes to make my wife roll her eyes. Sorry for myself until I bumped in to a friend from my childhood.

She was in the village because her father, a friend of mine, passed away this week. Talking to her and seeing a gentle strength in adversity brought me a sense of perspective. I told myself, in that internal dialogue one has with oneself [please don't write and say that this only happens to me] I had a cold, if that was the limit of my worries on that day, I was actually very fortunate and should appreciate it.

I also heard a melancholy episode that happened to a friend on holiday and this made me realise how really special our time away was. We visited with friends, made new ones and had such a good time.

Another event that might have had me feeling sorry for myself, but for the above lesson, was the sudden delay in my HTC Touch HD Expansys order. I spoke to a representative when ordering last week, who said that once I had got as far as passing the mobile carrier checks, I was guaranteed to get one of the first batch of Touch HDs they had in. I paid by bank transfer to ensure there would be no hiccups but my delivery date went from 3 to 6 days. I

am not a pushy individual but decided that, having paid, it would be reasonable to email and ask why the longer delivery estimate. Bad timing I guess but 24 hours after my email I find my delivery date was now 18 days away - had I upset someone at the Expansys end, gotten my name on a watch list? Not according to customer service when I rang on Friday afternoon. Apparently the extending of the delivery date wasn't because they had sold all the stock, despite the guarantee I had been given (yes, I know, a verbal contract is worth the paper it's written on), it seems there was a technical problem with the delivery of Touch HDs and they had to be sent back. I have Googled but can't see any mention anywhere of a problem with the first Touch HDs, commercially sensitive I suppose. The late delivery of a phone isn't a world shattering event but noteworthy in my world all the same.

Luxuriating in mindmapping goodness - MindManager 8

2008-11-11T21:55:00.002Z

If I thought it was a jump from MindManager X5 to 6 and that the develop from 6 to 7 was brilliant I had a big surprise coming with version 8.

What marks out great software?

When it not only enables the ordinary to be done more easily but makes the extraordinary seem simple.

It boosts your effectiveness in ways you hadn't previously considered.

Just a couple examples, as the fresh new Mindjet website with it's customer input and examples will illustrate better than I can.

Just a Couple of Advantages of Mindmanager

They say a horse is a camel designed by a committee. Trying to agree and tie up dates for parts of a particularly large or tight deadlined piece of work can be a nightmare when faced with a room of project workers in my job. With the Roll-Up completion feature I can get a few crucial dates/timescales prior to the meeting and it will fill in and update the Parent topics automatically, presenting people with a proposed timescale based on component parts will be so much more straightforward. (Don't let on to my Manager but it will also help me to prioritise and get a bunch of related tasks completed more efficiently.

One of my all time favourite programmes is Ken Hinckley's InkSeine (his blog gives a good idea) partly because it is digital ink based but also because I can do everything from within the programme, by that I mean make notes, search on the notes, view and open the results. MindManager 8 brings this awesome ability into my other favourite programme. Whatever I want to mindmap about and I mindmap everything from shopping lists to article ideas, blog posts and holiday packing, I can do so and develop my ideas without leaving the programme, the time saving from leaping between a complicated map can be immense. For businesses this can extend to their databases, in addition to planning this makes presentations much more dynamic being able to grab such live data.

As I say, you will find many more examples on the website and it's active community is always able to help with questions of how to do something new or discuss ideas. I haven't even covered MindManager Web for the cloud based workers out there!

If you don't believe me why not take up the 30 day trial? But be careful, once you have used something this powerful and this simple you will be loathe to put up with anything less.

MindManager 8 will spoil you for other mapping programmes, so why not spoil yourself and visit the Mindjet site today.

I would like to thank Mindjet for the opportunity to try out version 8 and be part of an exciting programme.

Count your blessings

2008-11-09T22:53:00.001Z

Granny Ferris used to sing this song to me when I was a small child sitting on her knee. (I used to pester her, calling out "Tell me a story" and she would launch into the first line of a hymn "Tell me the old, old story" but that's a tale for another day).

No sooner had I begun to get into the doldrums (to use a nautical expression) than I began to look for the positives.

I have a new wallet, I had a great birthday with Cathy last week and at work a cake and card from a friends (thanks for choosing what was a really excellent cake K). Also I have something that I saved up till me birthday as a present to myself, though it was actually a prize from a competition.

I have written in the past about how, on a sunny day with a warm breeze, I can close my eyes and be transported back to Greece. Now I have another way to that is just as evocative as what I refer to as a Greek Day.

I am the proud reader and owner of a copy of Harlot's Sauce: A Memoir of Food, Family, Love, Loss and Greece

This book is a non-fiction narrative of time that the author Patricia Volonakis Davis spent living in Greece after being married to a Greek in the USA; this fact is important as it gives Patricia the ability to see life from both sides, the the incomer and the insider in Greek family life. (The title is from an Italian sauce and not an indication of a book of dubious content).

I am still only partway in to the book, as I save it for those periods when I can read uninterrupted and savour the excellent writing. In the book there are all the emotions I associate with Greek life and the situations run from pathos to bathos.

There are parts when I have said, yes that's how I thought Greek families would behave and others which I never would have guessed.

I have to declare something of an interest here, as I got to know Patricia a little on a blogging site before entering the competition; that said, I know a whole bunch of people who make or do stuff but I only promote things that I find special and this book is one of them.

Christmas is coming and if you love Greece as much as I do, I feel certain that you will enjoy the book.

I will repost this tomorrow when I have had time to transfer a cover photo but I want to get the text online now, while it's fresh.

[In addition to the book, Patricia is the person behind Harlot's Sauce Radio too.]

Not my best day

2008-11-09T20:31:00.002Z

I was going to write a couple of posts yesterday.

One was a thank you piece about a wonderful book called Harlot's Sauce, that I won in a competition. Events today mean that I will shelve that till I am in a happier mood.

The title I was going to use was Bastard's Cheek, (but I didn't want the association attached to this picture - which is just to illustrate my sadness), and would have been is a play on the book title I was going to write about. It refers to the so-and-so who pinched my wallet today at a local Tesco store.

Picture thanks to bbaunach

I had been generous in the past and espoused the theory that, if my wallet was stolen, I would look at it philosophically and say "Well, maybe the needed it more than me".

Now that it has happened to me I am singing a different tune. Tuesday was my birthday and I was carrying my birthday cheques and cash for paying in to my account when I could get to my bank. Probably the worst of it is that it will now mess up getting my new phone this week as there is no card to process the payment with for around 7 days. [Yes, if that's all I have to worry about life's not too hard but it has happened to me and that makes it personal, my blog-my rant].

We are fortunate, I need money for Mum's card and Cathy will lend it to me, all the same I would like to have taken it around to her now but that will have to wait until we have been to town.

An indulgence day

2008-11-01T14:06:00.001Z

Back from holiday and managing to avoid succumbing to the cold at present. Not managing to adjust for the clock change that comes from returning from Cyprus. This morning we woke before 6am and couldn't get back to sleep. Rather than just lie there, we made tea and watched an episode of Mock the Week. This is how the indulgence day began.

Joost is a boon for anyone wanting to enjoy an indulgence day starting at home. It has a range of channels that one can watch, my favourite is Sci-Fi Fix which has been running through the Babylon5 canon a handful of shows every few months. Not having digital nor the £80 available for the full DVD set I am so grateful. As I type this I am watching the episode Mind Wars and thoroughly enjoying it.

My phone contract is now past it's contract period and I can source a new one without penalty. There is one phone that has caught my attention, the HTC Touch HD - a 3.8", WVGA touch screen phone that runs Windows Mobile 6.1.

The only downside I can see at the moment is that it is exclusively available from Orange. I moved from Orange to T-Mobile because of their hugely superior data bundle, I am somewhat reluctant to move back. It was not easy to locate but I have found that Orange has a £7.50 monthly bundle with a cap of 25MB per day; a massive leap forward from the £15 for 25MB, or some such, that once existed but still not quite what I have now. More research needed I think, the phone isn't due till the second week of November I believe anyway.

The place to go for advice on neat notebooks

2008-10-30T22:36:00.002Z

This is a very quick post, to recommend a site I watch regularly to get the inside info in the search for the perfect black notebook/moleshine alternatives.

Go and have a look at Moleskine alternatives.

The attractive side of television and a twinge of Cornish patriotism

2008-10-29T11:35:00.003Z

Quite appropriate I guess. I have been away for a long holiday in Cyprus and am just back and feeling nostalgic for the UK in Autumn.

One of the things I was keen to do now I am back was catchup up on a few essential television programmes that I had missed while away. First was the series Stephen Fry is fronting about the states of America, named naturally enough Stephen Fry in America.

What I hadn't realised but, much to my delight, I could see more than the last programme. For some reason I had it in my head that I could only watch the last 7 days; whereas the reality is that I can watch more than this - a month's worth at a guess. Just as I went to click on the link to see the first show New World my cursor passed over another show that mentioned Cornwall.

The show was Railway Walks presented by the very attractive Julia Bradbury, seen in the picture on the left. (I just had a peek at her bio and see that her beauty comes in part from Greek origins, very understandable). To give balance to this piece, I want to point out Julia's professional approach as demonstrated through a bunch of programmes across several channels, see her website www.juliabradbury.com for the list.

The episode that my cursor ran across was the broadcast from 16 October on BBC4; this invlolved Julia walking from Portreath on the Atlantic Coast of Cornwall to Devoran, that sits on an estuary which runs to Falmouth on the southerly side of this wonderful home country. I felt a quickening of my pulse at the prospect of a programme about God's wonderful country. I put this feeling down to a surge of patriotism brought on by my sojourn on foreign shores. I am a patriotic sort of chap and love this country of Cornwall, (even if I can't see how it could be economically independant - no dwelling on politics here), but my reaction to a programme would not normally be so pronounced.

I have just watched the show and can thoroughly recommend it to any who gets the chance to see any episodes, I do hope the BBC has the foresight to broadcast this internationally. I certainly learned new things about my country.

This show follows her previous excellent series, Wainwright's Walks, where Julia followed in the footsteps of Alfred Wainwright reclusive chronicler of walking in the Lake District here in the UK.

Appraising the Toshiba P300 - reposted to display photos

2008-10-29T09:09:00.001Z

This posting is so overdue if it was a sick patient more than one reader would have been asking if it had shuffled off the mortal coil.

My apologies to jack of TalkToshiba for the inordinate delay. (It has increased my already substantial respect for people like James and Kevin of jkontherun and Matt, a blogger in his own right, who podcasts with them on Mobiles on the Run. With my new job and the rush to the end of the old one I haven't breathed never mind blogged).

Whenever I have been asked what laptop someone should buy I have always responded by asking the enquirer to write down on apiece of paper all the things they want to be able to do. I then look at the list and compare it to the laptop I use. I end up either recommending the one I have or, if their IT useage is a lighter one than mine, something of a similar size. You see, I love the 10" (25cm) or 12" (30cm) screen size notebooks.

Ask me about buying a 15" monitor on a laptop and I could be seen drawing in my breath. Make it a 17" screen and I would also start shaking my head; suggest that I might be wrong and I could get to tutting mode (I know I hate it when people do that too).

Time has passed since my initial excitement at trying something new on this blog. As you are reading this I would like to thank you for your patience.

Out of the blue I had the opportunity to try out a laptop that was new to me. For me this is a blogging dream. I get my hands on some new kit without the worry, nay fear, of having to explain to my long suffering wife why I needed another piece of technology.

So a little over 3 weeks ago, I took receipt of a Toshiba P300 laptop computer. For those of you who have not encountered this beast you can click on it's name in this sentence and be taken to the Toshiba website for a view. I have decided to make this an opinion piece rather than an in depth technical review, since the majority of my readers are currently non-geeks (I mean that in a nice way folks - honest). The technical specs are listed on the Toshiba site and elsewhere if you care to Google.

The first thing I noticed, if it was a dog it would have leapt up and bit me, was the proportions of the thing. 17" (42.5cm) of laptop monitor and the rest to support it really is big; especially seem against this HP 2710p in the photo on the right. Working for NCH, my previous employer, I often worked on desktop machines that had 15" screens but this form factor made the Toshiba's real estate look even bigger than it's 17".

Compensating for the size was the weight of the laptop. I didn't have scales to hand but I could carefully pick it up using just one hand and it was lighter than I expected. The chasis was rigid and gave me confidence in it's ability to stand up to knocks. Not that it should have too many. This is definitely a machine in my eyes that is built to be a desktop replacement. It would be a rare occasion indeed where someone intended to lug a 17" laptop around all day as their portable solution (queue the hoards of blog comments saying otherwise).

On the cosmetic side the glossy appearance to the surfaces (see photo left), including keys appealed to me. It felt like the sort of machine that Darth Vader might choose to use. I only ever had clean hands when I handled the P300, out of respect for it being my first trial machine. (I wonder, do reviewers not out to test to destruction try out equipment with everyday dirty hands?) The glossiness seemed to help me select keys when typing but was no help when trying to type in dark conditions (well, we can't all be touch typists like my friends James and Kevin over at www.jkontherun.com). Another pointer to it being a desktop machine, other than the size, is a lack of built in illumination as I have on this HP 2710p and my x60s Thinkpad.

Firing up the P300 I was impressed with the speed that it booted into Windows Vista. It was faster than either of my normal machines laptops or my current desktop Lenovos in my new job. There wasn't a huge amount of software on the computer so it was lacking in those attractive little add ons that seem to fill machines i own for more than a couple of years. (Every so often I go on a purge and remove a bunch of memory sapping, start-up programmes that I think are well worth loading but then hardly, if ever, use - mental note to self, about time I had another purge I think).

I had the choice of setting up a bunch of software on the machine itself but decided to make use of programmes that could be run from a memory stick. Partly my decision was because I had some teething problems getting the Toshiba recognised by my wireless network; not a fault of the P300 hundred in my opinion rather a vaguery of my setup. For reasons of much delayed interior decoration it wasn't practical to work while wired to the router in the other room. I also reasoned that working from the usb memory stick would tax the system and help me see how quickly it would run. I am not familiar with the various benchmarks used by technical reviewers and wasn't prepared to go down that route blind. The Toshiba continued to run with speedily despite a number of programmes running at the same time as a DVD.

I used the VLC video programme to watch a number of DVDs, in particular the Lord of the Rings trilogy, my thinking being that it would tax the processor and graphics more than a less effects orientated film. The picture quality was excellent, the colours rich and the glossy screen enhanced blacks in much the same way as my brother Nigel's Sony Vaio laptop does.

In addition to films I listened to podcasts and found that the sound was very clear and sufficiently loud that I never found a reason to have the volume at more than halfway. The Harmon Kardon speakers are prominent in the corners at the top of the keyboard but I think the sound quality is compensation enough and if you want people to see small and discreet, you're not going to be lugging a 17" beast about with you.

I often watch programmes from the BBC and Channel 4 in here in the UK on my computer when it suits me and so could easily see me doing this with a P300 at my desk (once I get the pesky decorating sorted - I have long come to the realisation that I hate Do-It-Yourself and DIY hates me). Don't get me wrong, I love sitting in a comfy chair catching up on all sorts of things with this hp2710p on the arm of the sofa but there are times when 1) a bigger screen would help and 2) a more formal setting is required; I am sure that I am the only one that finds it hard to get any writing done when I am too comfortable.

The controls are neatly laid out at the top of the keyboard and enable multimedia control, always a handy feature and helpful when watching in the dark as it saves trying to look for keyboard combinations or bringing up onscreen ones.

All in all I have to save that I enjoyed using the P300. For me it's particular strength is as a desktop replacement, offering a certain amount of portability (say, when away for the holidays) and providing a very enjoyable media experience. While I have my options covered at present, it would definitely feature in my shortlist of choices for when I need to replace my ageing desktop computer.

Thanks Jack for the opportunity to see life from the sunny side of the street.

Cyprus the journey out

2008-10-27T10:55:00.001Z

It’s been a funny holiday. Coming out I was holding my breathe for fear of something cropping up that prevented us going. (I was more laid back last year but this one saw me heading out only 5 weeks into a new job).

A number of things ell in our favour this year, including an enlightened manager who rang me to reassure that of course I could take the holiday I had saved for in the preceeding year. For a few years the best price for flights that we could find was with the now defunct XL airlines. Monarch actually proved to be the cheapest this year and, with flights that enabled our friends to collect and return us to the airport with minimal disruption, became our airline of choice. First of the favours, we did not pay by credit card and our travel insurance did not cover for airline failure, (tip: Googling will show you a company that, since the start of October, will insure travellers now for £ 5 each way), we would have lost money if booked with XL.

We had a brainwave that made the start of our holiday the best sort, we stayed with best friends in Surrey the night before the flight out. We don’t see anywhere near enough of them and so it was a delight to be able to turn up and go hang out for the night and have breakfast together, (admittedly with only one of them as I baulk at rousing myself at 5am,particularly when not hitting the sack at the other end till the wee small hours). The staying was due to their generosity and we were further feted by having the delicious evening meal cooked from scratch, thank you very much, (you know who you are).

On reaching the airport we had a simple process to follow, dump bags at the express checkin; online checking in suits me as I am wired and have a gorgeous knew printer – photos etc when I get home but the extra motivation to do so was to prevent queuing at the airport, just my luck then that there happened to be 3 ordinary checkins empty and available at the same time as our dropping our bags. The next step we had planned was to go from checkin and get signed up for the retinal scan that means a very quick throughput at passport control when returning to the UK. Last year we were flying at the wrong time to get scanned, this year we started to get a little tense and skipped this to go straight through security and go and eat.

The Flying Horse (as I recall) is a Wetherspoons pub and is on the upper floor of the South Terminal departures area, accessible once one has passed through security. For once Cathy was patted down as well as me at the gates; I get chosen because I normally wear walking boots when travelling and the metal lace holders get picked up by the detectors. Once through security we headed for the Wetherspoons to get what I felt would be the best value refreshments and, as ours was a scheduled flight, we felt flavour on the ground beat bland in the air. The pub was spacious and had plenty of room. I particularly enjoyed the bookcases that formed the walls 2/3 of the way in to the pub and which, I later discovered, screened an area that had a large television showing the news and a live departures screen.

While waiting for our meal I picked out a book that radiated serendipity, being about a special place we had once visited, it was an old account of the Scottish island of Iona.

The books were shelf fillers, bought mainly by the box load for the purpose of filling shelves with books that looked old. I perused as many titles as were in reach and would have made an effort to read if we had more time, but this one I photographed (see left) as its title had resonance for me. I also got to thinking about all the people who might have previously owned the books in the shelves, I was assuming many owners given the wide range of genres, fiction and non-fiction, on display. I may not have been the best of company while doing this but Cathy did her best to tolerate it, knowing that I was in my element and the pull that books have always exerted on me.

Quite a surprise and a delight for the waiting bibliophile.

The trip to the gate went well and we go a seat in the departure lounge. The only slight minus was that we found that the seats we had chosen previously online were far enough down the plane that 2 other groups were asked to board ahead of us. That apart we got settled and enjoyed the trip out. The flight was a little over 4 hours and passed relatively quickly. Cathy watched some of the on board programmes and read a little. I tried to watch some BBC programmes on the iPlayer that I had downloaded but only managed an episode of the BBC Click show before I felt tired and couldn’t concentrate.

We arrived and were pleasantly surprised to see that the buses and steps for the plane were waiting nearby when the plane came to a halt, in fact we were through check-in and outside with our bags within 25 minutes of touch down. Our friends we actually just coming across the car park as we came out, we were that fast. Being in the tourism business they are well experienced in the timings for arrivals and said that it was easily the fastest they had known for landing to stepping outside.

Appraising the Toshiba P300

2008-10-25T15:57:00.000+01:00

This posting is so overdue if it was a sick patient more than one reader would have been asking if it had shuffled off the mortal coil.

Time has passed since my initial excitement at trying something new on this blog. As you are reading this I would like to thank you for your patience.

Thanks Jack for the opportunity to see life from the sunny side of the street.

A very quick hello from laid back Cyprus

2008-10-24T10:07:00.000+01:00

DSCN1645.JPG

I had all these great plans for blogging from Cyprus when we got out, until
the Avrio factor kicked in; combine that with very patchy internet

Access and not wanting to carry the tablet around for fear of damaging it
(we travel by bus) and there have been no posts.

[Not even the one about how the Toshiba P300 impressed me, it did by the
way, it sold me as an excellent desktop replacement.]

DSCN1671.JPG

The photos here are by Cathy on her Nikon Coolpix P2, it has wifi to
transfer photos to computer, a handy feature.

There is a time to chill

2008-10-10T14:56:00.000+01:00

Sent from my Nokia N95 phone.

Plans for something of a lifestyle change

2008-08-24T19:52:00.003+01:00

Above is a picture of the gorgeous Cytronex Trek. (Thanks to Mark Searles of Cytronex for spotting my error in the original post.)

Hmm, maybe it's the Olympics, maybe it's following Kevin Tofel's occasional blogging/ twittering on cycling, I would like to think it's also a concern for the environment, that has prompted me to consider a new method of getting to work. The week after next I am to start worth for a different charity from the one I currently work for.

There will still be a base in Penzance where I am currently based, but 1.5 miles further out of town. There is just one bus in the mornings and practically none in the evening that would help to get me home by even 8pm. I have been catching the bus and walking for 15 minutes to get to work currently. If I were to continue this in my new job I would have to walk for 30t minutes. Not a problem in itself but in bad weather a bit of a chore which includes several hills.

The lifestyle change is my decision to take to two wheels. I have blogged about my trip on my mate Taff's Triumph Bonneville and it was something I enjoyed enough to consider buying a 125cc motorbike. On reflection I decided that I would be safer travelling at 15mph rather than 50mph. Also I have been putting quite a bit of weight on (hard to believe on this gazelle like frame I know). Cycling occurred to me as an ideal alternative alternative. By cycling I could get exercise at a more manageable 15 miles per hour.

There are downsides to this cunning plan. Cornwall hasn't been the land of sunshine it has been in previous years and we don't get all the luscious greenery that covers this beautiful land without paying the price. Rain and wind are a common combination in West Cornwall and the route to Penzance from home is exposed to the coast. I will have days when I really won't want to saddle up but doing things you don't really want is character building, so I'm told.

Whenever I feel like exercise I normally lie down until the feeling goes away. So, on the surface, this does look like a plan setup to fail.

On the positive side, I have carried out exercise in order to get to work for a few years now. In St. Austell it was up to 30 minutes from train to office, as part of a car, train and walking route; in Penzance a bus then 15 minute walk - it is becoming clear 15 minutes is not sufficient to keep on top of things.

Now for the cunning part of the cunning plan. Having examined all of the options I had two routes that I could go. One was folding bikes, that I could carry on the bus and use at the far end; the other was a standard bike. The folding bike in itself would be enough to reach work but not a huge amount of help if I missed the bus, I couldn't see myself making the hills out of the village. While researching the folding option, I came across AtoB magazine ( http://www.atob.org.uk/ ) and this alerted me to the latest developments in pedal assisted bikes. Pedal assisted is a term for electric bikes and these have come quite a long way it seems, far enough to have a number of distinct advantages ( http://www.atob.org.uk/electricbikeadvantages.htm ).

I have ruled out an electric folding bike, now that I have had a chance to see what full bikes can do. There are a number that are reported to have the power and range to take me, with me peddling too, to Penzance without raising a sweat (that has yet to be proven).

I won't bore you with all the bikes I have tried, save to say that there is a budget involved here, so sporty bikes with names like Pedelec are outside of my scope. The limit on price is set by the government and I am pleased, as I might not have spent an age looking before I found the bike for me.

What I now need to do, is get to Winchester to visit Cytronex at their shop. I hope to do this when passing there on holiday in early October. (For anyone interested in having a trial of this bike, Cytronex do have a booking facility on their website to be able to try one out in Winchester - I shall be doing so nearer the time.)

Something good this way comes...(and, even better, I didn't have to prick my thumbs)

2008-08-22T13:39:00.001+01:00

All this rain and chilly weather gives thoughts of warmer climes

2008-08-17T00:10:00.001+01:00

I have lived in Cornwall all of my life (so far) and I do love the place. I love it's beautiful countryside, the coast, the moors, valleys and villages; it's history, especially the people and it's seasons of mists and mellow fruitfulness.

What I don't love so much is it's out of season weather. We are in August already and to date the taste of summer has had a distinctly autumnal flavour. While I am not a sun worshipper, I have far too many moles for that (plus none of my devices have outdoor screens), I do like everything to be in it's season. Being able to travel to work under blue skies is one of those pleasures I do enjoy, walking along in shirt sleeves when so much of the year requires fleeces and/or wet weather gear is beginning to grate.

What I need, what I have been thinking more and more about, are the times we have spent in Corfu and Cyprus.

In both locations it has firstly been about the people; what enabled us to make the most of our time was the good weather. Yes, we were on holiday but even after working our friends could come home knowing that they had time to enjoy the rest of the day outdoors. The photos here are of Cyprus, as our Corfu ones are on a different computer, but they illustrate my point.

Admittedly we have been to Corfu a number of times in September, when the weather is known to turn decidedly wet but it's expected. Spring and summer bring the weather for pleasure.

Cyprus I am ready to admit can be extremely hard for people not used to intense heat but, again, it is to be expected. Hot and dry or cold and wet, hmm.

We will be visiting our friends, Sarah and Jim, in Cyprus again this year and it is this thought that is keeping me going in these water filled days. If only I could taker some of it with me to relieve the pressures of that sun soaked island.

Something new coming soon

2008-08-14T21:48:00.001+01:00

More of London and a quick whizz to Southsea

2008-08-13T21:57:00.001+01:00

Here are a couple of photos featuring Cathy, Chris and Taff and then me, Chris and Taff (to show I did go too).

The above shots were when walking along the Southbank in London.

We had such a wonderful day and I have said it before but it bears saying again, whenever we have a really great time it is invariably due to the company we are keeping at the time.

This is the recreation of Shakespeare's Globe theatre and somewhere I do want to visit to both see behind the scenes and to see a performance. Maybe next time; the trouble is with London there is so much to see.

I have been to London a dozen or more times in the last couple of years and have never found enough time for everything that catches my eye. I think the secret in part is to mix the free with the paying, especially as the costs of staples such as heat, food and shelter rise ahead of salaries (for those of us fortunate enough to be in paid employment).

Left is a shot of Chris and I waiting for (don't tell anyone) donuts. Right is how we felt about our imminent dietary sinning.

Well, you can't travel for an hour from Surrey to Southsea to the seaside fair and not pig out.

It was an excellent trip, thanks in the main to the company, my mate Taff's insistence on doing all the driving and in part to the fact that he has the most gorgeous luxury car.

Malaysia Week at Potters Field in London

2008-08-13T21:26:00.001+01:00

While wandering around London on Saturday 2 August 2008 we came across a celebration of all sorts of things Malaysian. Above is a recreation of a Malaysian wedding and the main figures above are the bride and groom.

It was located adjacent to City Hall and Tower Bridge, see photo top left after this. At the end of the day they had a fashion show with amazing examples of batik - painted silk as I understand it. The evening actually crowned the day.

A Great Day Out in Kent

2008-08-12T23:08:00.001+01:00

Further London Southbank highlights

2008-08-12T22:51:00.001+01:00

A couple of highlights on the Southbank in London

2008-08-12T22:31:00.001+01:00

My first proper motorcycle ride

2008-08-12T22:10:00.001+01:00

Inspirational videos

2008-08-12T21:27:00.001+01:00

http://zenhabits.net/2008/08/top-5-most-inspirational-videos-on-youtube/

The London Artist

2008-08-02T16:17:00.001+01:00

The London Artist
Originally uploaded by Phil(hellene).

I was very impressed. George Fanshaw has been resident artist at Hays Galleria for the last 16 years.

Randy Pausch died today

2008-07-27T10:32:00.002+01:00

I just caught a post on Rob Bushway's personal blog saying that Randy Pausch
died on Thursday.

That was the day I found out I will have a job still in September.

That is life a mixture of the good and the bad.

Here is the Scientific American item on it

Quiet but productive day

2008-07-17T22:50:00.001+01:00

Bit of a thoughtful day today. Most of the staff where I am based went off to a union meeting.

I always enjoy it when the building is quiet, as I get more done, but today was even more effective. I made a start on revamping my CV, downloaded some advice on the topic and had a skim of the local job adverts.

Also gave me the chance to reflect on what I had done and what I want to do in the future. I have a week away soon and this will give me an opportunity to mull as well. Not knowing what's happening with me is a little unsettling as neither my current charity nor the new one are willing to commit to anything in writing at present. I am retaining my optimism which is very comforting, given so many others who have had a commitment are unsettled or negative even. I try to lift spirits by example.

Worse things happen at sea as they say.

Another advantage of the quiet time was that it coincided with a Web Conference on Windows Live meeting about using BT Conferencing for web collaboration. I joined in via conference call and web site, since the desktop I used was locked to application install. I enjoyed it and the timing to suit Europe helped (it started at 11.30am GMT). The saddest part was my, out of character, reluctance to ask a question live; it meant I missed out on a $400 prize, given to the first person who called in their question rather than type in a question from the web. Hey ho.

Just typing then posting this before heading off to bed.

Times when I wish I was in London No.1

2008-07-17T20:56:00.001+01:00

Times when I wish I was in London No.1
Originally uploaded by Phil(hellene).

The Journal and BBC iPlayer in harmony - typing on the HP 2710p

2008-07-13T23:18:00.001+01:00

The Journal and BBC iPlayer in harmony - typing on the HP 2710p
Originally uploaded by Phil(hellene).

Well, I think that I may have gotten over the novice Tablet user hump. It's
what I refer to the fascination with handwritten composition on the my first
Tablet PC to the near exclsuion of all else. Since getting this HP 2710p in
November I have used it in Tablet mode with pen for input for, let's say, 40
hours per week (well, I don't use it for more than a few hours a day at
work) and maybe 1 hour in keyboard mode - seriously, that little. I have
had a Pocket PC that let me write but it didn't allow me to do as much as
easily as this HP.

These last couple of days I have started typing with the keyboard and, in
doing so, I think I may have found a killer use. I have a wide screen on
this computer which I love for giving me the equivalent of an A4 page when
working in portrait mode, my preferred orientation for pen input; Today I
set up the journal programme with the BBC iPlayer along side and this meant
I could catch up on watching stuff while being able to write a journal and
also blog. I'm really excited by this as I have been distracted on a number
of occasions from writing by the watching of web content.

2008-07-13T19:55:00.000+01:00

We managed to carry out our sponsored walk today, postponed from when I was first struck down with strep throat or whatever you'd like to call it.

It was a good day to go walking. The sky was a split between blue over the village and white cumulus clouds over the neighbouring one, half and half for our walk. Combined with the trees that line much of the walk we were cool and comfortable most of the way around.

There was just one downside to what was a very pleasant walk and that was the number of people who refused to respond when we greeted them in passing. The main culprits were cyclists, given that cycling was not supposed to be done through the Woods they were already on dodgy ground in my book.

On the way back we encountered the gigs racing at Porthleven Gig Day. I only just managed to get a shot of the gigs in the harbour as they were already heading in as we approached the harbour. My phone went flat as we entered the village because I had been using Location Tagger to tag the photos i took on the way around Penrose Woods.

As the first full day out for me since getting poorly and, while I got around without any problems, I do feel tired now. We were off to the cinema to see the latest Narnia film but will do that tomorrow. Cathy has gone upstairs to lounge on the bed and catch up on Deal or No Deal streamed from Channel 4's catch up website using the Lenovo Thinkpad (we refer to it now as her computer). I am writing this using The Journal programme,(actually typing on the HP 2710p, because watching and writing seems to work best in landscape on this widescreen. I am watching BBC programmes, Sun Sea and Bargain Spotting currently, I have downloaded previously. I have taken to downloading programmes to cover for times when Cathy is streaming programmes, my BT connection is currently 1.5MB - not a lot in some people's book but it works for me most of the time. Next year the exchange is going to upgrade and allow much more speed but I am not complaining.

Now to send this to the blog from The Journal. Posting photos didn't work earlier but text is fine, (I reaquainted myself with blogging via email and Flickr earlier today, that works well with text and photos).

The Journal programme a quick peek

2008-07-13T10:37:00.002+01:00

The Journal programme a quick peek
Originally uploaded by Phil(hellene).

tr keep trying to write in One Note but it in still an information gathering place for me. I hope I can do better with a dedicated writing programme.

2008-07-12T22:42:00.000+01:00

This is something new to try to both encourage me to write and blog on a more regular basis than I do now.

This is being produced in a programme called The Journal ( http://www.davidrm.com/thejournal/ ). As it's name suggests the programme is designed to act as an aid to journaling. One of the features is a calendar layout that tracks and stores entries by date; I hope that this will help to highlight when I have not made an entry for a while. I am not unrealistic enough to think that it will get me blogging everyday.

I have hopes that it will encourage general writing as well and is at least an improvement being a tool for writing rather than just another book. This is a programme I will only use for writing so hope that it will also encourage me to concentrate on the one thing.

I am using ritePen to enter text as it gives me the flexibility to write anywhere on this tablet screen, just like on my Pocket PC, which I have really enjoyed using.

2008-07-12T15:54:00.000+01:00

This is a test to ensure I have setup the Journal to post to my blog.

What do I want to do?

2008-07-05T19:53:00.001+01:00

BBC iPlayer has had a makeover and it looks mighty fine

2008-07-05T17:22:00.002+01:00

A few minutes with my hero

2008-07-05T13:13:00.001+01:00

The late great physicist Richard Feynman

I am nothing but in awe of Richard Feynman.

How much would we have advanced, if only we could have bottled such passion or been blessed with more years in his company.

The above link brings a podcast of an interview with Richard Feynman.

Thanks to RobiNZ for the heads-up.

A fortunate location

2008-06-21T16:36:00.001+01:00

Test post to figure out how LiveWriter changes picture sizes

2008-06-17T21:27:00.001+01:00

A fine evening

2008-06-16T21:57:00.002+01:00

Writer's Block and the Creative Mind

2008-06-16T20:57:00.001+01:00

The Joy of BBC iPlayer

2008-06-14T22:19:00.001+01:00

A gentle summer's day

2008-06-14T18:51:00.001+01:00

Richard Vobes - why he deserves to be discovered

2008-06-14T18:34:00.001+01:00

The Naked Englishman

The Vobes Show

Blogging Onsite 2 - The Train Station

2008-06-13T19:05:00.002+01:00

If I were a rich man Part 1

2008-06-10T08:04:00.001+01:00

The Italian Job (1969)

2008-06-01T21:08:00.001+01:00

The Italian Job (1969) - Soundtracks

eScala - fingers crossed for a tour

2008-06-01T10:31:00.001+01:00

eScala - Electric String Quartet

2008-05-31T19:24:00.001+01:00

eScala - Electric String Quartet

The Universe From The Big Bang

2008-05-18T11:26:00.001+01:00

A diagram explaining the expansion of the universe since the Big Bang.tr love ways of visually explaining complicated topics.

read more | digg story

APOD: The Origin of Gold

2008-05-18T11:21:00.001+01:00

Where did the gold in your jewelry originate? No one is completely sure. The relative average abundance in our Solar System appears higher than can be made in the early universe, in stars, and even in typical supernova explosions.

read more | digg story

SMS Text News » Archives » Roadchef motorway services now offers Free Wi-Fi

2008-05-16T19:32:00.001+01:00

SMS Text News » Archives » Roadchef motorway services now offers Free Wi-Fi

Has BBC's iPlayer been hacked?

2008-05-09T21:05:00.001+01:00

I was watching the episode of Inside the Medieval Mind entitled knowledge. Suddenly, at 7 minutes 42 seconds, I noticed a number of bizarre subtitles that bore no relation to the copy I had downloaded.

No picture in the centre of the screen but I included this image as an aid-memoire.

It's certainly cause for concern if the programme has been hacked into.

Windows XP Service Pack 3 Available

2008-04-29T13:28:00.001+01:00

Windows XP Service Pack 3 Available from Microsoft.com downloads site
Originally uploaded by Phil(hellene).

xp service pack 3.jpg

Reflection on my definition of a great weekend

2008-04-27T22:36:00.002+01:00

Goodbye Humph

2008-04-26T08:35:00.004+01:00

Jazz legend Lyttelton dies at 86

If you love bananas as much as me, this one's for you.

2008-04-24T22:31:00.002+01:00

Can Science Save The Banana

17 Life changing Books Chosen by Leading Scientists

2008-04-24T22:03:00.002+01:00

17 Life Changing Books

Mysterious photo time machine reported on by Photojojo

2008-04-24T15:24:00.004+01:00

http://photojojo.com/content/websites/age-photos/

Blogging Onsite Series No. 1 The Library

2008-04-19T22:35:00.002+01:00

Hello Stansted

2008-04-17T22:57:00.001+01:00

Hello Stansted
Originally uploaded by Phil(hellene).

Text blogging in 3 steps

2008-04-17T22:51:00.001+01:00

Text blogging in 3 steps
Originally uploaded by Phil(hellene).

I'm in Love

2008-04-17T17:08:00.001+01:00

I'm in Love
Originally uploaded by Phil(hellene).

2008-04-13T20:08:00.000+01:00

Yes, OK, Britain has got talent

2008-04-13T16:00:00.002+01:00

In the old days, approaching middle age

2008-04-12T16:55:00.000+01:00

Amidst the streets of Redruth

2008-04-12T15:22:00.002+01:00

Faster broadband is getting closer

2008-04-09T23:23:00.001+01:00

Bring it on 24Mb here we come 2009(or there abouts).

Please spare a moment to visit the following post by Ken, an Internet friend of mine

2008-04-07T21:54:00.000+01:00

Ken Hinckley's post Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

Sometimes the timing just comes together

2008-04-06T21:48:00.001+01:00

Musing on writing and not writing

2008-04-02T15:33:00.000+01:00

I like the idea of a deluxe one. What does it say about me?

2008-03-31T20:36:00.001+01:00

UK Channel5's website has swallowed its self

2008-03-31T19:40:00.000+01:00