Tomorrow we go on our holiday trip for my wife's birthday. Everything seems to be arranged ok but I'm still nervous that it will all work out properly. There will be a lot of activity to make it all happen and I know something won't go to plan but all the up front planning and stuff is done so all that can be done now is to let it happen.
It doesn't help that our oldest cat is off being groomed today and they said they would be done in a couple of hours. It has now been over 4.... We want our boy back.
Still going to be quiet around here for a while and we will be off doing stuff seeing places and eating food. Not to mention living in a nice large house for a week as well as a good hotel for a little bit. Talk about good life (I hope).
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Where was I?
There are some things in my life that are indelibly imprinted on my memory. I can remember exactly where I was, what was around me and picture it in my mind so clearly (to me) even now years later. The moment my wife told me she was interested in my romantically (one of the biggest shocks of my life to say the least (in a good way)). The moment I heard that Margaret Thatcher had stepped down (a big thing for someone who grew up in Thatcher Britain). The various parts of the day my wife and I got married. Things like that are still in there as clear as day.
You never know what will become one of those things. Take this morning for example, my grandmother was buried early today. What was I doing? Sitting down at work eating my breakfast going over the morning emails/forum posts/bugs etc. What exactly I will remember about my grandmother dying I don't know but I suspect something will stick. I can remember being with my brother in the conservatory when my mother came out of my grandparents house and told us our grandfather had died from a heart attack. I remember the phone call I got at university from my parents telling me my other grandfather had died. I recall exactly the reaction I had after hearing my grandmother had died the day before my wife and I's 10th wedding anniversary. Even down to knowing exactly that our pet dog had died when I was a teenager I can clearly see what I was doing trying to distract myself from it as my father and brother took him to the vet.
These kind of major things in your life you always can picture, you just never know what they are going to be even as they are happening. They just are the things you can still see after all that time. There are even ones from my very young childhood when I was barely 3 or 4 I can still picture and I have no idea why those particular ones. Some are sad, some are happy but all somehow stuck with me.
Here's looking forward to many more happy ones with my wife than the other type.
You never know what will become one of those things. Take this morning for example, my grandmother was buried early today. What was I doing? Sitting down at work eating my breakfast going over the morning emails/forum posts/bugs etc. What exactly I will remember about my grandmother dying I don't know but I suspect something will stick. I can remember being with my brother in the conservatory when my mother came out of my grandparents house and told us our grandfather had died from a heart attack. I remember the phone call I got at university from my parents telling me my other grandfather had died. I recall exactly the reaction I had after hearing my grandmother had died the day before my wife and I's 10th wedding anniversary. Even down to knowing exactly that our pet dog had died when I was a teenager I can clearly see what I was doing trying to distract myself from it as my father and brother took him to the vet.
These kind of major things in your life you always can picture, you just never know what they are going to be even as they are happening. They just are the things you can still see after all that time. There are even ones from my very young childhood when I was barely 3 or 4 I can still picture and I have no idea why those particular ones. Some are sad, some are happy but all somehow stuck with me.
Here's looking forward to many more happy ones with my wife than the other type.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Nothing much going on
Not much happening at the moment although it is more of the quiet period before the flurry of activity. There is going to be so much happening over the next couple of weeks with the trip for my wife's birthday that we should be happy, tired and ready for a break when we get back. I think both of us, well me mostly, are taking it easy before we go away. With lots of traveling, family being there and generally stuff to do we won't get much down time although I do have some planned so that we don't feel completely knocked off of our feet.
So with that exciting news I'm off to do a bit of boring work, have some lunch, do some more boring work then go home and be with my wife. Who would have guessed I would be doing that?
So with that exciting news I'm off to do a bit of boring work, have some lunch, do some more boring work then go home and be with my wife. Who would have guessed I would be doing that?
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
What to say?
I really suck at knowing what to say in situations. Take today for instance, I was ordering some flowers for my grandmothers funeral this week and I had to come up with some words to put on the note to go with them. It took me somewhere in the order of 30 minutes to think of what I wanted to say. To start with I didn't even know what I wanted to express other than saying goodbye. How do you sum up the entire interaction you had with someone who has been part of your whole life in just a few words?
Obviously I managed it in the end which is something I suppose but it was hard. You know how you feel about someone but putting that down as a permanent record so that other people will be able to understand and get that same feeling is one of the hardest things to do. I think that is why I tell my wife I love her every day. I want her to not just know but feel that she is loved by me, there is nothing more important to me than her. Hopefully by the time her and I are the age my grandmother lived to she will have known and felt that for a long long time and when the time comes will know and feel it until the end.
Obviously I managed it in the end which is something I suppose but it was hard. You know how you feel about someone but putting that down as a permanent record so that other people will be able to understand and get that same feeling is one of the hardest things to do. I think that is why I tell my wife I love her every day. I want her to not just know but feel that she is loved by me, there is nothing more important to me than her. Hopefully by the time her and I are the age my grandmother lived to she will have known and felt that for a long long time and when the time comes will know and feel it until the end.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Speedy Gonboobez
Just had to go out for a check up for my wife on her, well you can probably guess from the post title. Rather than the usual wait around for ages and then wait even longer while my wife sees a doctor this was positively lightning fast. We walked up, got checked in, my wife went through a minute later and 5 minutes after that we were done.
That is how all doctor stuff should be done, no waiting around for ages past when you were meant to see the doctor and no taking forever to actually discuss what you are there to see them about. The only thing that could have been better about this visit was making it non painful since having delicate body parts squished to take an image of them is not the nicest way of doing it.
That is how all doctor stuff should be done, no waiting around for ages past when you were meant to see the doctor and no taking forever to actually discuss what you are there to see them about. The only thing that could have been better about this visit was making it non painful since having delicate body parts squished to take an image of them is not the nicest way of doing it.
Paid to think
I've spent a lot of today just sitting around at home thinking. Considering I get paid to do this it seems an ok use of my time. The added advantage to doing it here rather than at the office is that I have a bikini wearing wife sitting next to me, not something I get at the office.
The other advantage to thinking for a job is that I can look like I'm doing nothing for most of the day when in fact I'm solving world (ok, computer code) problems. I can distract myself for a moment and then go back to what I was thinking about and come up with new ideas. In fact I saw some research the other day that said doing a distracting task that allowed your mind to wander in between bouts of problem solving allowed people to be better at solving the problems and more creative in their solutions.
Therefore I have an official reason why I can goof off every so often during the day other than the fact it stops me from burning out. It makes me better at what I do so that I can do it while sitting next to my wife. I think I shall distract myself by looking at her now and allowing my mind to wander again.
The other advantage to thinking for a job is that I can look like I'm doing nothing for most of the day when in fact I'm solving world (ok, computer code) problems. I can distract myself for a moment and then go back to what I was thinking about and come up with new ideas. In fact I saw some research the other day that said doing a distracting task that allowed your mind to wander in between bouts of problem solving allowed people to be better at solving the problems and more creative in their solutions.
Therefore I have an official reason why I can goof off every so often during the day other than the fact it stops me from burning out. It makes me better at what I do so that I can do it while sitting next to my wife. I think I shall distract myself by looking at her now and allowing my mind to wander again.
Told you so
Seems my powers of monetary prediction are correct. Today facebooks stock price has already dropped 12% now that it is no longer being artificially held up by the big banks handling the IPO on friday. So now anybody who bought in to it is now poorer while facebook is richer. Kind of funny how it works like that isn't it.
At least one good thing though is that people are seeing no chance of a stupid bubble that will burst and do massive amounts of damage when it goes like it has before. Yes facebook may be a big slightly profitable company but it isn't that big and worth lots of money.
The only people who are now richer are the banks, the facebook employees who had stock options and the original investors in the company. Anybody else won't make any money unless facebook can make more profits over the years and bring their stock price up. Investing in stocks really is a mugs game.
At least one good thing though is that people are seeing no chance of a stupid bubble that will burst and do massive amounts of damage when it goes like it has before. Yes facebook may be a big slightly profitable company but it isn't that big and worth lots of money.
The only people who are now richer are the banks, the facebook employees who had stock options and the original investors in the company. Anybody else won't make any money unless facebook can make more profits over the years and bring their stock price up. Investing in stocks really is a mugs game.
Friday, May 18, 2012
Idiots and their money
With all the fuss over the facebook IPO this morning it is clear a lot of people are idiots with their money. They are buying up something for a company that has no real business plan other than advertising and Zynga. Facebook has no real way to make money and yet because it is popular people are buying up the stock like crazy hoping that they will somehow use that vast user base to somehow have a revenue stream. That in turn, due to the dumb way the market acts, as long as it is what analysts expect will raise the stock price etc etc.
The only people who will come out of this rich will be people who had an investment in facebook before the IPO. The founders, anyone with low priced options and the original venture capitalists. They now own shares worth far more than they "paid" for them and can sell them at a profit. Anyone just buying shares today is very unlikely to see any money.
I can just think back to the heady internet bubble days around here. People were throwing money at companies just because they were "online". No valid business plan, no way to actually make a profit and any idiot was given a job just because the company needed people. The amount of money lost and people disrupted when it all came crashing down was astounding. I fear that history is going to happen again soon with all these new tech companies around here with so few of them making money. Just because something is cool doesn't mean it is profitable or going to still be around.
Now if only people could send some of the money they are wasting my way I could find much more productive ways of using it. Like Lego for instance or new houses for my wife and I :| .
The only people who will come out of this rich will be people who had an investment in facebook before the IPO. The founders, anyone with low priced options and the original venture capitalists. They now own shares worth far more than they "paid" for them and can sell them at a profit. Anyone just buying shares today is very unlikely to see any money.
I can just think back to the heady internet bubble days around here. People were throwing money at companies just because they were "online". No valid business plan, no way to actually make a profit and any idiot was given a job just because the company needed people. The amount of money lost and people disrupted when it all came crashing down was astounding. I fear that history is going to happen again soon with all these new tech companies around here with so few of them making money. Just because something is cool doesn't mean it is profitable or going to still be around.
Now if only people could send some of the money they are wasting my way I could find much more productive ways of using it. Like Lego for instance or new houses for my wife and I :| .
Thursday, May 17, 2012
I could buy so much
I"m looking at buying my wife gifts right now. I already have gifts for her for her birthday but I want to buy more. There are quite a few things that I could get her and I would have no problem doing it. Well one problem I suppose, we would be dirt poor and in debt for a long time. Yes longer than paying off the mortgage on the house.
I love getting my wife stuff since the look on her face and the happiness she has as she gets them is a delight to behold. Making her happy makes me happy. That is the way it should be basically. I don't think there is anything else to know about what you should do when you love someone. If you can look after them, protect them and make them happy then you are doing it right as it were.
Still given who I am I always get that niggling doubt am I doing enough? Sometimes I don't I think but I find it hard to see the line sometimes since I can also do too much. Knowing the relative amount to do for the occasion is awkward for me. To me celebrating my wife is something that should happen all the time. In fact I'm going to get her something right now.
I love getting my wife stuff since the look on her face and the happiness she has as she gets them is a delight to behold. Making her happy makes me happy. That is the way it should be basically. I don't think there is anything else to know about what you should do when you love someone. If you can look after them, protect them and make them happy then you are doing it right as it were.
Still given who I am I always get that niggling doubt am I doing enough? Sometimes I don't I think but I find it hard to see the line sometimes since I can also do too much. Knowing the relative amount to do for the occasion is awkward for me. To me celebrating my wife is something that should happen all the time. In fact I'm going to get her something right now.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
New thing itch
I'm getting an itch to try a new game. The problem is there isn't much coming out about now that I'm interested in so I ended up looking back at stuff I've missed in the past. I'm tempted by Kingdoms of Amalur since it will give me a lot of game to play. Then again I could go for the cheaper but ultimately much shorter Resistance 3. I'm not sure which yet if any.
Then again I wonder why I have this compulsion to try new games all the time. It doesn't apply to the rest of my life, I'm happy eating the same things over and over. I'm going to be with my wife for the rest of my life and don't want anything new there. In fact it is hard to think of any other areas, other than maybe Lego, that I get the itch to want new things all the time. Maybe it's the new experience of it all, that I know I get enjoyment out of it and want to have more and varied ways of playing and enjoying games.
In other thoughts I really don't have much at the moment. Annoyed at the health insurance company for dragging their feet about letting us know if my wife can have more physio, worried about getting my wife and I moved since where we are is getting us down and generally fed up with other people holding us back.
Still I have my wife in a bikini top to go home to in a bit so :) .
Then again I wonder why I have this compulsion to try new games all the time. It doesn't apply to the rest of my life, I'm happy eating the same things over and over. I'm going to be with my wife for the rest of my life and don't want anything new there. In fact it is hard to think of any other areas, other than maybe Lego, that I get the itch to want new things all the time. Maybe it's the new experience of it all, that I know I get enjoyment out of it and want to have more and varied ways of playing and enjoying games.
In other thoughts I really don't have much at the moment. Annoyed at the health insurance company for dragging their feet about letting us know if my wife can have more physio, worried about getting my wife and I moved since where we are is getting us down and generally fed up with other people holding us back.
Still I have my wife in a bikini top to go home to in a bit so :) .
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Can I plan?
My wife has an important birthday coming up, one that I had last year. I've been planning stuff for a trip we are taking to celebrate it for quite a while now and it all seems to be working. No big snafus so far or spanners thrown in to the works. Can this be something I've planned that actually works out?
Normally I don't plan much, I usually just wing things as they go along. I really don't look ahead that far and consider what is coming up, I'm much more reactionary. It can be a bad way to live for some things but most of the time it works. This time though we are traveling 2000 miles (roughly), have other people coming to join us there and a 18 month old nephew along for the ride. I'm kind of dreading the possibility that something goes wrong since I don't want to disappoint my wife but it is hard to predict everything.
Still if everything works it will be good. I hope I can give my wife as good a birthday as she gave me.
Normally I don't plan much, I usually just wing things as they go along. I really don't look ahead that far and consider what is coming up, I'm much more reactionary. It can be a bad way to live for some things but most of the time it works. This time though we are traveling 2000 miles (roughly), have other people coming to join us there and a 18 month old nephew along for the ride. I'm kind of dreading the possibility that something goes wrong since I don't want to disappoint my wife but it is hard to predict everything.
Still if everything works it will be good. I hope I can give my wife as good a birthday as she gave me.
Monday, May 14, 2012
I don't feel anything
Well I found out over the weekend that my last living grandparent had died. My 92 year old grandmother on my mothers side passed away in the hospital, never really standing a chance of coming back from the heart attack she had last week. She was a frail old woman who lived in a home since her memory was a fraction of what it used to be. Compare that to my other grandmother who died somewhere around age 88 when her body gave up from disease while her mind was still sharp as anything.
The strange thing about this death though is I really don't feel anything. She is gone and I'm sad about that but she has been mostly gone to me for years now. She lived in another country and even then she wasn't the woman I knew. I remember her as the intelligent and incredibly strong willed woman that shaped my mother. I don't remember her has the woman she became that I only saw a glimpse of on a trip back to England quite a while ago now.
The other thing this brings up is should I feel bad about not feeling anything. I think if people understand why I feel like I do it should be ok but in a way you are expected to grieve. I may do at some point when I think about her, as I probably will having had this happen, but for now I will just live my life as per normal and see what happens. I'm here at work typing this not sure how the day will go. Still you can only move on and see what happens and then deal with it.
The strange thing about this death though is I really don't feel anything. She is gone and I'm sad about that but she has been mostly gone to me for years now. She lived in another country and even then she wasn't the woman I knew. I remember her as the intelligent and incredibly strong willed woman that shaped my mother. I don't remember her has the woman she became that I only saw a glimpse of on a trip back to England quite a while ago now.
The other thing this brings up is should I feel bad about not feeling anything. I think if people understand why I feel like I do it should be ok but in a way you are expected to grieve. I may do at some point when I think about her, as I probably will having had this happen, but for now I will just live my life as per normal and see what happens. I'm here at work typing this not sure how the day will go. Still you can only move on and see what happens and then deal with it.
Saturday, May 12, 2012
A cats mind
What goes on in a cats mind? Watching our 4 I often wonder why they suddenly get interested in something. Some of the time it is obvious, an insect flying/crawling around, a bird right outside the window (although why cats have an innate interest in birds is another question) but on other occasions they prick their ears up and try to find out what some noise was that was absolutely nothing.
There can be all sorts of noises and bangs outside and they won't take any notice. But then some noise happens and they all take note. Then there is some difference in how the cats react to certain noises. Fudge and Lucy will run a mile once they hear the hoover moving. Fudge will also clear out of the living room like a shot if any booming sound effect in a film or tv program happens.
I think it is Boots who is the most relaxed about sound. There can be a war going on around him and he won't flinch, as long as it doesn't physically disturb him he doesn't give a damn.
Still, all that makes you wonder why they pay attention to some noises and not others. Some of it is instinctual certainly but others seem really random sometimes.
Now if only I can crack the code of cats minds I could move on to my mind and my wifes mind and try and understand those. I think that is a bit of a taller order. I'm sticking to cats.
There can be all sorts of noises and bangs outside and they won't take any notice. But then some noise happens and they all take note. Then there is some difference in how the cats react to certain noises. Fudge and Lucy will run a mile once they hear the hoover moving. Fudge will also clear out of the living room like a shot if any booming sound effect in a film or tv program happens.
I think it is Boots who is the most relaxed about sound. There can be a war going on around him and he won't flinch, as long as it doesn't physically disturb him he doesn't give a damn.
Still, all that makes you wonder why they pay attention to some noises and not others. Some of it is instinctual certainly but others seem really random sometimes.
Now if only I can crack the code of cats minds I could move on to my mind and my wifes mind and try and understand those. I think that is a bit of a taller order. I'm sticking to cats.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Skyrim again
I started playing Skyrim again the other day. I decided to clean up the last few trophies I haven't already done. I'm down to one final one now and I'll have platinum trophy number 15. Simple things like this keep me so amused but I just don't know why. Strange really, I know I enjoy doing something but I have no idea why. Why do you become happy about something? Why does it bring a good feeling that you want more of? I know some of this is pure brain chemistry but trying to understand it and how me sitting there pushing buttons and making things happen which makes me happy just seems so abstract.
Anyway enough of that thinking stuff, let me finish with a slightly overexposed shot of some of the stupid rag doll physics you can end up with in Skyrim with a shot of a dead bandit holding his "sword"
Anyway enough of that thinking stuff, let me finish with a slightly overexposed shot of some of the stupid rag doll physics you can end up with in Skyrim with a shot of a dead bandit holding his "sword"
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Another 52 years
Had a phone call from my parents yesterday. My sole living grandparent, who is 92, had a heart attack and was in the hospital. They didn't expect her to survive long (although as of writing this she is still alive as far as I know). It was mixed news since for quite a few years now my grandmother has been losing her memory and living in a home. However it is still incredibly sad to know she probably doesn't have long left. Very mixed feelings on it.
Still, thinking about it a bit more if I live that long that means I'm not even half way through my life. Given that you really don't know what the hell you are doing when you are a child and even later on don't have the means to do what you want to in life the later parts of your life really can be the best bits. If I have another 52 years to go what would I do with all of them. There is a crap ton of stuff I could do with that amount of time. When you figure that most people in my family (just not the ones who smoked like chimneys) live in to their late 80s or early 90s there is a good chance I'll last that long. What a weird thought.
Here's looking forward to all the stuff yet to come in my life and that it is all with my wife.
Still, thinking about it a bit more if I live that long that means I'm not even half way through my life. Given that you really don't know what the hell you are doing when you are a child and even later on don't have the means to do what you want to in life the later parts of your life really can be the best bits. If I have another 52 years to go what would I do with all of them. There is a crap ton of stuff I could do with that amount of time. When you figure that most people in my family (just not the ones who smoked like chimneys) live in to their late 80s or early 90s there is a good chance I'll last that long. What a weird thought.
Here's looking forward to all the stuff yet to come in my life and that it is all with my wife.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
I don't know
Sometimes I just don't know what to say. My brain freezes up and refuses to think even semi logically. Why it does this I don't know. Usually it does this at the worst possible times as well and I end up in a worse position than I was already in. I know I should be better but when I am in those positions I also don't realise I'm in that position so that I can do something about it.
More often than not my wife is able to see I am getting like that. She will prod me to make me change what I'm doing but other times, when she isn't around, I get flustered. For someone who tries to be logical and sensible about most things this really frustrates me. Especially since I hate seeing ignorance in people and me being like that is a form of unintended ignorance.
So if you ever see me clam up and/or say something completely out of left field let me know. I'll try and get my brain back on track and say something actually intelligible.
More often than not my wife is able to see I am getting like that. She will prod me to make me change what I'm doing but other times, when she isn't around, I get flustered. For someone who tries to be logical and sensible about most things this really frustrates me. Especially since I hate seeing ignorance in people and me being like that is a form of unintended ignorance.
So if you ever see me clam up and/or say something completely out of left field let me know. I'll try and get my brain back on track and say something actually intelligible.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
I intend to die poor
My wife and I have no kids. We have noone to inherit our money so as far as I can tell we should end up on our death beds with no money left. Isn't that how people plan it? You don't need it anymore when you are dead so try to run out just as you die. That is the ultimate in planning I would say. Admittedly the knowing when that is going to be is kind of hard but that should be the goal.
So far my wife and I, once my career got going, haven't been poor. Before that she was very and I was so so. She struggled more than I did growing up so it has been nice to be able to treat ourselves, within reason, to the things we want. There are always more little things, like this Lego model, that turn up over time but we have got as much stuff as we really need. The only real needs we have now are to try and live somewhere away from people since living around other people doesn't match our personalities and likes.
So there you go, one of life's big mysteries solved. Live doing what you love within your means and try to die with nothing left. Simple life plan really isn't it?
So far my wife and I, once my career got going, haven't been poor. Before that she was very and I was so so. She struggled more than I did growing up so it has been nice to be able to treat ourselves, within reason, to the things we want. There are always more little things, like this Lego model, that turn up over time but we have got as much stuff as we really need. The only real needs we have now are to try and live somewhere away from people since living around other people doesn't match our personalities and likes.
So there you go, one of life's big mysteries solved. Live doing what you love within your means and try to die with nothing left. Simple life plan really isn't it?
Monday, May 7, 2012
A good weekend
This weekend was pretty planned as they go. I'll leave it without saying who out of the two of my wife and I did the planning. It was a very good weekend as far as doing enjoyable things goes. Admittedly there was overgrown bush hacking back and lawn mowing but apart from that lets go through the highlights:-
- We got to see The Avengers. I loved it and other than the humourous dialog my wife didn't love it. No surprises there given out taste in films etc. I'm so glad my wife suffers through these things so I can enjoy them.
- We both got some small Lego sets since I had yet more Lego VIP points (spend money to get points to get multiples of $5 off Lego). Adding more Lego to your life and collection is a very good thing.
- A delicious dinner of filet mignon, salad and jacket potato was made Sunday to celebrate a certain birthday (not ours :-) ).
- A trip to the farmers market right as it opened on Sunday got us a whole load of good veggies and sweet stuff. More delicious eating is in our future.
- When I got a headache (missing out on watching Captain America my wife just got for me) on Saturday my wife tried her best to make it better. In then end 12 hours of sleep (7pm Sat to 7am Sun) was needed.
- I got my 14th platinum trophy in PS3 games on Saturday.
- Bath time with two of our cats was as fun as it always is. The forlorn look a cat gives you once it realises it is completely drenched is priceless.
Good photography
There is a lot required to take a good photograph. First is some decent equipment, sure small cameras and phone cameras can take decent shots but in anything other than good daylight they are not so great. Take this picture from my phone of the moon this morning. It was nice and bright and high in the sky when I got to work.
Not so great huh? Not a lot you can do in low light conditions even with the ability to frame a picture properly. Compare that to some of the pictures my wife took last week with the new lens I got her for her Nikon D3100 and the difference is astounding. Even in relative low light inside the pictures come out perfectly, properly focused and every last detail is visible.
I'll find an example and post it here soon but for all the people who think phone cameras are going to replace all cameras. No way dude. They simply can't deal with all conditions in which you need to take photos. They can deal with normal, during the day, well lit conditions and come out ok. But throw in anything out of the ordinary like low light, movement or distance and you will get a blurry mess.
*edit*
Ok, here we go with a picture of the lovely Fudge taken in a dark room. Hard to say this is a bad photo isn't it?
I'll find an example and post it here soon but for all the people who think phone cameras are going to replace all cameras. No way dude. They simply can't deal with all conditions in which you need to take photos. They can deal with normal, during the day, well lit conditions and come out ok. But throw in anything out of the ordinary like low light, movement or distance and you will get a blurry mess.
*edit*
Ok, here we go with a picture of the lovely Fudge taken in a dark room. Hard to say this is a bad photo isn't it?
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Smelly t-shirts
I think my t-shirt smells a little bit right now. I've just mown the lawn and as a result I'm slightly sticky. I did have another smelly t-shirt on this morning from hacking back at the bush that is overgrowing the driveway with my wife yesterday. As she correctly pointed out though it did stink a bit so I changed it. Now I'm almost back in the same position.
I don't think I stay in any clothes for long before they are sweaty and stinky. I'm just that kind of guy I think. Then again I do prefer lazing around the house in summer in just a pair of shorts so I don't make too many clothes smelly. Other than protection for vital parts clothes really do get in the way most of the time. Outside in summer vital parts are basically your whole body since getting sunburned around here sucks and can happen really quickly.
No idea where this blog post is going. Just thought about smelly t-shirts are I seem to be espousing the benefits of not wearing many clothes. Hmm, the way my mind goes *thinks about naked wife*.
I don't think I stay in any clothes for long before they are sweaty and stinky. I'm just that kind of guy I think. Then again I do prefer lazing around the house in summer in just a pair of shorts so I don't make too many clothes smelly. Other than protection for vital parts clothes really do get in the way most of the time. Outside in summer vital parts are basically your whole body since getting sunburned around here sucks and can happen really quickly.
No idea where this blog post is going. Just thought about smelly t-shirts are I seem to be espousing the benefits of not wearing many clothes. Hmm, the way my mind goes *thinks about naked wife*.
Friday, May 4, 2012
The problems with certifications
In order to make sure everything works together in telecoms there are certifications you have to pass to make sure that when you hook up your equipment to the telephony world you are not going to bring down the entire network. These are necessary, complicated and something you have to have.
We are currently going through this with the software we just released and something came up in testing. I'll put a quote here from the certification test engineer:-
"This is not a problem in real life as most NTs keep the interface activated. Unfortunately in order to meet the requirements of TBR 3 you need to fully implement the state table."
To paraphrase, nobody in the real world does this but because the certification requires it you have to implement all this extra crap to pass a test. Talk about wasted effort, just because some "official" test requires you to do something you have to jump through some hoops. Think about all the things in the world you have to do just because some procedure or requirement says you have to. Some of them are there to keep people safe but others are just downright red tape.
It is amazing though how many people just blindly follow these rules. They don't think why they are there or what they are intended to do. It is the people who question these things that I think get things done. They ask why. A simple thing to do but due to ignorance, laziness or stupidity people don't do it.
So from now on I'm going to ask "why?" more often.
We are currently going through this with the software we just released and something came up in testing. I'll put a quote here from the certification test engineer:-
"This is not a problem in real life as most NTs keep the interface activated. Unfortunately in order to meet the requirements of TBR 3 you need to fully implement the state table."
To paraphrase, nobody in the real world does this but because the certification requires it you have to implement all this extra crap to pass a test. Talk about wasted effort, just because some "official" test requires you to do something you have to jump through some hoops. Think about all the things in the world you have to do just because some procedure or requirement says you have to. Some of them are there to keep people safe but others are just downright red tape.
It is amazing though how many people just blindly follow these rules. They don't think why they are there or what they are intended to do. It is the people who question these things that I think get things done. They ask why. A simple thing to do but due to ignorance, laziness or stupidity people don't do it.
So from now on I'm going to ask "why?" more often.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
I almost saw the sun
This time of year is the very brief time of year where I can see the sun before I get to work. Today was one of those days where even though I couldn't actually see the sun due to the hills to the west daylight was starting to appear. The sky looked pretty good so I took a picture as I got to work.
Some nice colour graduation with the clouds and the sun just appearing over the horizon. Sorry about the serious lens flare from the car park lights but not much I could do about that. Still it's a good sign of more daylight hours to come and I can truthfully say that it is an exceedingly rare day when I get home from work and the sun has already set. Most people can't say that.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Not much going on
Other than quite a bit of work not a lot is happening right now. Working, commuting, eating, pooping, TV watching, wife loving, cat adoring, game playing and sleeping is pretty much my life at the moment. There are some more exciting things coming up like a holiday trip for my wife's 40th birthday. That is going to be fun, stuff to do etc (no spoilers here though).
Other than that though not much happening, I'm content to just get on with things until I can make things better for my wife and I. Now I just need to stay away from the temptation that is the new Lego R2D2 so we can save more money for us to move and me to retire.
Other than that though not much happening, I'm content to just get on with things until I can make things better for my wife and I. Now I just need to stay away from the temptation that is the new Lego R2D2 so we can save more money for us to move and me to retire.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
I still flutter
I can still vividly remember, over two decades ago now, the stomach flutters I got when I first talked to the woman who became my wife and my companion and friend for the rest of my life. It all started innocently, talking over a computer, a rare thing for me who would rather lurk online most of the time. It took all of a few sentences to get those flutters and I fell in love.
I get those flutters still, that slightly nervous feeling tinged with excitement. It doesn't take much most of the time, more often than not just when I get home from work and see my wife for the first time in 12 hours or so. Other times it is when she gets dressed up for us to go out and I smile more on the inside than is possible on the outside and I have a huge Muppet sized grin.
If you can't get this kind of feeling about someone, even after two decades, I really don't think it is love. I know that since I still get this feeling I still love my wife. There is no other proof I need, I know it and I physically feel it.
I get those flutters still, that slightly nervous feeling tinged with excitement. It doesn't take much most of the time, more often than not just when I get home from work and see my wife for the first time in 12 hours or so. Other times it is when she gets dressed up for us to go out and I smile more on the inside than is possible on the outside and I have a huge Muppet sized grin.
If you can't get this kind of feeling about someone, even after two decades, I really don't think it is love. I know that since I still get this feeling I still love my wife. There is no other proof I need, I know it and I physically feel it.
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