Unsurprisingly, we have Covid. I say unsurprisingly because although I have been steadfastly avoiding people for almost two years, my good lady wife her indoors
Category: Stuff
New/Old tech
Without shifting from the comfort of one’s own comfy chair, how does one get on the receiver/scanner and listen to real-time radio traffic in more
Runner! Runner!
Yesterday morning we followed our little routine; a 2-mile lap around most of the village, a lap around the garden to collect any overnight dog
Blogathon xx/22: The after party party
Well, it’s that time of the year, sadly, when the curtain reluctantly runs down on the internet phenomenon that is the Young Masher’s Annual Blogathon.
Blogathon 28/22: Happy Unbirthday!
For a couple of reasons it is impossible to believe that three years ago today Robyn came to live with us, even though this is
Blogathon 27/22: Bangin’ away all day
We are incredibly fortunate to live in a very small rural village in the middle of the countryside. On a still Sunday you can stand
Blogathon 26/22: Glarses
I went into West Bridgford the other day for an eye test. The last one was about 2-1/2 years ago, so for no other reason
Blogathon 25/22: Security
As I am no longer sheltered by various know-all/see-everything IT security umbrellas afforded me by certain Central Government departments and their agencies, I have flashed
Blogathon 24/22: Dear Diary
Despite a number of attempts over the years, I’ve never been able to maintain a diary. And when I say ‘diary’ I really mean a
Blogathon 23/22: Old school info
It’s a charming C21st anachronism that BT are still sending out hardcopy telephone directories. The one that rattled through the letterbox this morning (and well
Blogathon 22/22: People are weird
The date today, in case you have had your head stuffed under a pillow all day, is 22/02/2022. Unless you’re American, in which case the
Blogathon 21/22: Two things
I set myself two jobs today. Two relatively little jobs. I estimated an hour for each one. The first job took two and a half
Blogathon 20/22: Bad bad bad tech
We have a new(ish) boiler. It’s now in its third year (because it’s just had its second annual service). It’s hanging on a wall in
Blogathon 19/22: Rooms for a view
The first lockdown was a gamechanger for a whole big pile of reasons. The first ‘don’t go out to work’, the first don’t attend office
Blogathon 18/22: Bit blowy out
Storm Eunice is currently giving it maximum effort and throwing everything it has at various parts of the country. I managed to avoid the worst
Blogathon 17/22: til
The Internet is forcing what (until the age of computing, at least) had been the slow and gradual evolution of the English language. ikr? New
Blogathon 16/22: Now where was I?
There’s an Internet meme that says: Well… This morning I drove to the caravan (it’s kept at a place just outside the next village over
Blogathon 15/22: Incredible journey (not)
Unlike the morning or afternoon excursions, our evening dog walk is just a quick turn around this part of the village. It’s about 2,600 steps,
Blogathon 14/22: Family Tree
Over the last six months I have been researching the family tree. There are various services to help with this sort of thing. I tried
Blogathon 13/22: Rydyn ni yng Nghymru!
Prynhawn ddoe fe wnaethon ni ddringo mynydd. It is raining. It hasn’t stopped raining. It will continue to rain. If we don’t get washed away,
Blogathon 12/22: Roadtrip!
We (two humans and two spaniels) are on the road. We are taking a well-deserved weekend break away from everything. Well, not away from everything.
Blogathon 11/22: Apparition, apparently
The other afternoon, about 16.45, I was walking the dogs down the first jitty (there are two in the village and we differentiate between them
Blogathon 10/22: Glotech?
Just over three years ago we bought a complete kitchen from IKEA. When I say ‘complete’ I mean it included all the usual white goods.
Blogathon 08/22: Scanner!
A very, very, very long time ago, when I had an appetite for such things, I bought a scanner. You have to bear in mind
Blogathon 06/22: Nice pipes!
I’m considering an upgrade to the Ninja. She’s almost completely standard (apart from the aftermarket tail tidy that I had fitted before I picked her
Blogathon 05/22: Scottish Power!
This post is not to be confused with my position on devolution (which I completely support, thank you for asking). We have had our gas
Blogathon 04/22: Most illuminating
I’m breaking off from watching ‘Sharknado 5: Global Swarming’ to bring you today’s update. But before I progress, I need to share a view on
Blogathon 02/22: It’s Groundhog Day. Again
I could write a detailed academic essay on the film Groundhog Day, but I will make every effort to avoid that level of analysis here.
Blogathon 01/22: economically inactive
Hello and welcome to the Very Big News Announcement. Popcorn ready? Seatbelt fastened? Good. Here we go… According to our Government of Incompetence, I am
Blogathon 00/22: The gift that…
Friends, Romans, Countrymen. Lend me your ears. No. Holdup. Eyes would be better. Yes, lend me your eyes. We are staring down the barrel of
Hearing voices?
We do love our animals. All six of them. They’re family members and part child-substitutes. Like, I suspect, many pet owners, our animals talk to
The King is Dead
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away I bought one of the greatest devices known to the human race. I bought a
Can’t get no
This is topical, so in a few weeks/couple of months it’s either going to be seen as being incredibly prescient or a non-event but… The
Neighbours
I dabble (the only word to use) with an app called ‘NextDoor’. It is (in case you’re not yet acquainted) a type of ‘social media’
Home invasion
After a long absence, next-door’s cat has started creeping into our house. He’s cunning, only attempts entry when everyone is asleep. Everyone except the dogflap
Going back to my routes
I’m going up to Deganwy in a few hours. If I wasn’t taking a few bits and bobs for spare parts and many tools, I’d
And another thing
Now that we are doing more handwashing than Pontius ever considered possible, how do I educate my bladder not to kick in with some kind
In the club
Without even applying for membership, I seem to have joined a club. I am now a member of the South Nottinghamshire chapter of the ‘grey-haired,
Safe dogging
The little brown spanner has been enhancing his spaniel hearing lately. Spaniel hearing is where he goes temporarily deaf to all commands as he heads
Getting serviced
It’s that time of the year again. Despite a serious lack of mileage over the last 12 months, the Ninja needs to get serviced. After
Strange goings on (not going on)
Some time ago I was approached by a recruitment consultant. The usual call. They had a terrific opportunity right up my street and wanted to
Fraud prevention? Denied
Every day at 08.30 we get a call on the landline. The voice on the call has been run through a speech generator, so it
That time of the year again
The woes of having a 200BHP machine, eh? The insurance on the Ninja is due. And the bike is due for its annual service. The
Holy arm, Batman
24-hours ago I had v1.0 of the Covid-19 vaccine. The AstraZeneca/Oxford variant. I’ve had more painful general inoculations, TBH. The pharmacist who ‘did’ me was
Thank you for the music
I attended a Synology seminar a couple of weeks ago. It was all about how to use the NAS as a streaming music station, but