Categories
About Me Photos Stunt 2007

Stuff on my desk

*This is a companion piece to a similarly-themed article on Karen’s site which, all things being equal, should be published at roughly the same time.*

My desk

Here is my desk. It’s an Ikea Jerker that I bought about 14 months ago, when we moved into this house.

My desk (overlay)

(Yes, the PNG is transparent, so you can overlay it on the JPG if you so desire).

1. Three boxes. One contains AC adapters, one contains receipts, and one is labelled “Misc crap” and contains all those little things that you don’t have a real home for. Mounted on the underside of the shelf below these boxes is a little OSRAM LED lamp.
2. Red Dwarf videos. I’m currently going through a bit of a Red Dwarf phase, reliving my teenage years. One, or more, of these VHS tapes may have been acquired at a reduced rate by switching price labels in WHSmiths. Such a rebel, I was.
3. Camera box. Nikon D40. Haven’t quite got round to putting this box in the garage or loft or wherever. On top of it is my camera case.
4. Books. One that I’m reading, one that I’m yet to read, and my 2005-06 and 2006-07 diaries. Older diaries are kept in a storage box in the garage, but I like having my last two to hand, just in case.
5. My pyro box. Lighters, matches, and an ancient pack of Golden Virginia.
6. Audio cassettes. All the live recordings, taped rehearsals, and early albums by my old band. On top of this little box is my bank statement book, and in front of it are my watches.
7. Pile of Terror. One of these boxes is also labelled “Misc crap”. Everything in this pile has no home, but hopefully I will rectify this one day. It’s a low-priority thing, and to be honest, most of this stuff could probably be thrown away, and I would never notice.
8. Postcards that Karen brings me.
9. Keyboard. It’s a Casio CTK-671.
10. Monitor. It’s a Sony. It’s a good monitor, but still… Sony. Ugh. Sorry. Tucked beneath it is a hefty reusable plastic bag. In front, a notepad with a comb on it, and to the right of that is the magnet that opens the drawers down to the side of the desk.
11. Man bag.
12. 8 track. It’s a Yamaha MD-8. I don’t use this much any more, so it now lives under here, and can be slid out if/when I need it.
13. Keyboard. It’s a Microsoft. It’s a good keyboard, but still… Microsoft. Ugh. Sorry. Behind it is a cheap plastic toy that my dad brought back from China. Its purpose is to spin round, light up, and play the Crazy Frog theme. It worked twice, then broke. So sad.
14. Photo of Karen. Whenever Bernard sees this, he points and says “Mama” about thirty times in quick succession.
15. Margarine tub containing a secret project that I’m working on. In front of it are my two coasters, by Marcus Gray.
16. Backup CDs and burned Linux ISOs.
17. A4 paper for the printer. To the left, empty CD spindles.
18. Printer. HP Laserjet 4L.
19. Some old envelopes for the recycling box. I just left them here while I took the photo to make the place look untidy. I am smart like that.
20. Second camera. Pentax Optio S30. Again, it doesn’t normally live here, but it gatecrashed the photo shoot. Behind it, an empty CD spindle. In front of it, the lens cap for my camera.

What else is on the shelf with the monitor?

* Two speakers (Harman Kardon Soundsticks II, the woofer is down there on the floor, glowing blue).
* Letter rack, containing things to file, things to do something about, and envelopes.
* A little pile with some post-it notes and Carmex lip balm on top.
* Pen pots
* Camera manual
* Some more pieces of paper to deal with
* Spindle containing blank CDs.
* Desk lamp.
* On the wall, some photos.

How has my desk changed in the last year?

14 months ago, it looked like this. Those two shelves at the top used to contain a lot of junk, so I moved one of them down to act as a monitor shelf. This gives me more space to work with at keyboard level, and also allows me to raise the speakers by six inches, out of Bernard’s reach (he likes grabbing them and playing with them. I can understand why – they are quite lovely). And the 8-track, as I previously mentioned, is now underneath that shelf.

You can also see that I’ve installed the second side-shelf, and used it to make a nifty little keyboard stand (the other end of the keyboard rests on my bass amp). This has been in place for quite a long time now.

And finally, here’s a photo of my desk at the previous house. It’s only six months older, so much of the hardware is the same.

Categories
Displeasure Guidance

How To Leave Pipex: Part 1

14 months ago, I moved house. Pipex don’t offer a “Move House” service, as such – you have to cancel your own account and start a new one. Pipex are one of the few ISPs who still enforce a 12 month minimum contract, and as a result, I found myself once again chained in. I wish that I had been thinking a bit more clearly that day.

My Pipex contract is “unlimited”. This means that I can download as much data as I want. Oh, but then there’s a Fair Use Policy, which means that if I’m downloading “too much”, where “too much” is calculated by some magic secret formula, they can put me on the slow pipe. Oh, and they cap peer-to-peer traffic to about 10KB/s in the evenings, which is exactly when I want to be using it. Nice.

Basically, they’re unable, or unwilling, to supply what they originally sold me. So I’ve found someone competent, and today I began the process of migrating.

Phone Pipex

Phone Pipex on 0845 072 2865. Press the relevant buttons to get through to the right department. Ask for your MAC code. They’ll ask you why you’re leaving, and you tell them why. Be as polite as possible – remember that the person that you are on the phone to has feelings too, and they are not personally responsible for the atrocity that is Pipex. They will tell you that they are sending your MAC code in an email, and it will take up to five working days. You ask them why it takes five days, and why they can’t just tell you the code over the phone. They reply “Ofcom allows us five days to send you a MAC code.” You may have noticed that this does not actually answer the question, but hey ho, so it goes.

For the next five days, watch your inbox, and Spam folder, like a hawk.

*Continues here*.

Categories
Photos

Turkey

Turkey

Categories
Top Photos

What a difference a week makes

The tree last week

The tree this week

Categories
Blogging Computing TITGIG

Wouldn’t it be cool if…

For a while, I’ve been thinking “wouldn’t it be cool if Google Reader could automatically generate a blogroll from my subscription list?” Obviously, I’d want to be able to choose whether each individual subscription appears on the list or not.

Well, it seems like Steve Lacey, a developer at Google, has also wanted this. And so he did it.

It’s currently only available as a JavaScript include, which goes against my usual stance of avoiding using JavaScript for core functionality, but I’m making an exception in this case. Because, for the first time in years (at least four, by my reckoning), I have a public blogroll on my site! And it requires very little additional maintenance on my part ((all I need to remember to do is add the label “blogroll” to new subscriptions that I wish to share)).

Categories
Meander

Odourometer

Where you have a choice of toilet cubicles to enter, it would be handy if there was a LED-based panel on each door to let you know what kind of fragrance exists within.

For example, a green panel would indicate that the air inside is neutral, breathable, and basically bearable. If any green panels are visible, then go for one of those.

A yellow panel would indicate that the previous occupant’s aura still exists within this room, and it’s a rather eggy aura.

Blue would be used to indicate that the air inside is somewhat chemical. This could either be due to the previous occupant’s liberal use of air freshener, or the cleaning lady’s liberal use of terrifyingly-coloured cleaning products.

If the panel is displaying a brown colour, this means that the system’s chemical analysis has determined that there is a very high probability that the bowl contains a floater.

A red panel indicates that using this room or cubicle will be a highly unpleasant experience. It is not recommended that you enter this room, unless your only alternatives are…

Certain death.

Cycling to work: update

A couple of weeks back, I started to write a blog post, but I got distracted by something terribly important, and so it has been lounging in draft. It said:

> I have now been cycling to work for six weeks. And it’s awesome. I enjoy it, I feel fitter, I feel happier, it’s all good.

> But winter is coming, and I’m starting to think that it might be time to pack the bike away for a few months. It’s getting cold and dark, and wet and windy can’t be far behind. I’m not equipped for such conditions.

This evening, I discovered that dark and wet don’t go well together when you are wearing spectacles. Whereas the path is usually crisply illuminated by my pair of bike headlights, today the droplets of water on my glasses reduced everything to a blurry melange, and often I couldn’t tell where the edges of the path were.

To be honest, I’ve achieved my goal of reaching November. Anything else is a bonus. But the longer I can keep riding, the better, because there’s no denying that the regular exercise is doing me good.

Categories
Peril

Horrifying

Have you ever read the plot synopsis to a horror movie and thought to yourself “that sounds like possibly the most disturbing thing imaginable?”

And do you then find yourself wondering whether to watch the movie or not? On the one hand, a part of you wants to watch the movie, because that kind of terror can be quite exhilarating, in a way. You want to test yourself, not to see how much of a man you are, but to see how capable you are of understanding that it’s all make-believe. But then the rational part of your brain says “Hold on, once you’ve watched that film, you’re going to have a hard time thrashing the image out of your brain. Heck, it’s making you feel queasy just imagining it in your mind’s eye. Surely this is a no-brainer?”

What would you do?

Categories
About Me Blogging Music

Resolution Conclusions 2007

*Hey, I did this last year too! Maybe it’s turning into a “thing”?!*

1: Blitz “to do” and “to buy” lists

Karen and I have a big “todo” list. It used to be a handwritten sheet of paper, pinned to the notice board, divided up into “things to do” and “things to buy”. Nowadays, it’s on a wiki, and it is basically divided up into “tasks for Karen” and “tasks for Pete”. The principle is the same.

Anyway, over the course of the year we’ve really kept on top of this list. Sure, lots of things have been added to it, but we’ve managed to keep it at roughly the same size, and there are very few items on there that have been on since the start of the year. I’m quite pleased with this.

2: Less computer time, more films

The most crucial point here was to spend less time surfing the Internet, pretending that absorbing all this data is good for me. Instead, I wanted to spend more time watching films, basking in the unashamed brainlessness of it all. I think I’ve succeeded, more or less. I’m sure that next year’s resolution will be something along the lines of “Less films, more blah”. Maybe computer games. If Rockstar released a “GTA San Andreas Stories” for the PS2 I’d be in heaven.

3: Quality, not quantity. Less reading and writing blogs

I’ve certainly managed to write less, and I feel like the quality is higher. However, I’m still reading more blogs than I need to. But it’s hard to stop myself, when there’s so many well-written sites out there.

4: Make more music

My actual resolution set a much more specific target, which I am not going to print here, for reasons of my own. Suffice to say, I have failed to meet this target in the most magnificent manner possible, despite having revised it downwards twice during the year. Some things just aren’t meant to be.

5: Stop being afraid of strangers

Who are you? Get away from me! Argh!

6: Keep writing with my pen held properly

Back story here. Towards the end of last year, I started making an effort to improve my grip. Basically, this resolution has been an unquestionable success. I now hold a pen like a normal human being. This is so fucking awesome.

7: Less nostalgia

Another success. I used to dwell on the past, thinking about all those good times that passed me by in the blink of an eye. But now I realise that one day, I’ll look back on today (or hereabouts) and wish that I hadn’t wasted so much time being nostalgic. There was the threat of a vicious cycle there, but I’ve managed to break it, and now I am able to appreciate every moment as it happens.

8: Be a leader, not a follower

Hahahahahah.

9: Stop worrying about other peoples’ blogs. Their spam comments, botched templates and missing alt-tags are their own problems

Tick.

10: When someone sends you a link saying “Click this, it’s really funny/cute” then don’t, because it’s just that sneezing panda yet again.

As mentioned here. Haven’t seen the sneezing panda since.

11: Get some exercise

Sorted.

12: Get a project

Had one, but it went away again. I’m not sure whether that counts as a success or not. I should have been more explicit in my statement of the resolution (ie, “Get, and keep, a project”).

13: Improve posture

*Straightens back.*

Uhm… yes.

14: Don’t be so crap at making new friends. Actually, just see #5

Marginally better. But I’m still very bad at this whole “small talk” thing. Maybe I should see this as a strength, rather than a weakness.

15: Learn a bit of Polish

When we were contemplating a short weekend away in Warsaw, this seemed like a very worthwhile resolution. But then we changed our plan and decided to go to Center Parcs instead, so the resolution seemed less important. Still, I’d like to learn some Polish one day (I’m a quarter Polish, by the way) so it’s still something that I’d like to do.

16: Don’t keep getting up from the table in the middle of meals

On Karen’s request (though I added it to the resolutions list voluntarily). I am getting better at this, but I’m not yet perfect.

17: Take time in conversation

By which I mean, don’t just blurt out any old nonsense. Stop, think, come up with an intelligent response. This doesn’t really sit well with #14, as small talk needs to be relatively rapid-fire, so I don’t think that I’ll be able to do both. If you take too much time coming up with a carefully-executed reply, you tend to find that your audience has walked away. Meh, their loss.

18: When on the phone at work, replace “Cheers” with “Goodbye” and “No problem” with “You’re Welcome”

A bit more formality is probably appropriate in this environment. This one was quite a recent addition to the list, so will probably be carried over to next year.

Categories
Top Photos

Toadstool

Toadstool

UPDATE: It’s a Amanita Muscaria