Yahoo Pipes and a general update on us all
“Gosh I’ve never seen so many windows opened on anyone’s computer before.” Danny said. It was an air through the teeth moment. I’m learning how to use Yahoo Pipes. It’s a tight learning curve but I’m enjoying that, as long as the frustration is matched with an occasional triumph. In the olden days (2-3 years ago) people used Yahoo Pipes to increase backlinks to their sites and climb up the Google rankings. I’m not sure whether Yahoo Pipes are relevant to that particular task anymore. I will do some tests and report...
read morePeace and or conflict: I‘ve realised that it’s down to me
We still haven’t switched our rooms. The blocker on progress is down to me. I just have too much stuff in my areas for Danny to move any of his things into my ‘old’ space at present. The situation reminds me of a toy that I used to love when I was little. It was a square plastic frame filled with individual plastic tiles. On each tile there was a letter. There was one square left without a tile. The idea was to manoeuvre the letters around, using the free space to create a word. Back then it took me ages. It probably would take the same...
read moreNew plans and projects
When I went back to college to train as a 3D computer animator I had been making wooden toys for 10 years. Enjoyable though the toy making was, it was hardly rocket science and my brain was rarely stretched. Not only was the software extremely complicated to use but I had never used a computer before. Despite the power of positive thinking, the learning curve was pretty tight. I could literally feel my brain sweating for the first month or so. I was learning how to use 3DStudio at £2000 in the Dos platform it was hugely outpaced by software...
read moreMorphy Richards Essentials 70455 Compact Steam Cleaner: a review
I hate cleaning. Even more than cleaning, I loathe grunge. Deep ingrained dirt that seems to be dug right in and almost impossible to remove. Black mould at the bottom of windows. Grease in oven. Those nasty deposits of lime scale around the base of the taps. Stains on the carpets where one of the Min Pins has had an accident. Old fat spills on the kitchen carpet. Every now and then I tackle the grunge but the effort put in no way matches the poor results, leaving me frustrated and peevish. Also I find that cleaning is hard work and time...
read moreAssumptions can kill
Thank you so much for all your good wishes over the past few days. Your comments are a real tonic to be savoured. The trip to the doctor was worthwhile, the pain is now bearable, the lung infection is being tackled with the antibiotics and I’m happy to lie in bed and recover. Yes Codeine’s great buddy is Constipation. But a small overnight pill breaks up that friendship in a trice! Within a few hours of getting ill the world contracts to just a few essentials. The warm bed a boat in a sheltered harbour. The world outside the window is...
read moreCoping with pain
“I’m afraid you are going to be rattling for the next couple of weeks or so.” The duty doctor looked at the screen as he filled out the prescription. I didn’t care if I rattled or even hooted at midnight. Anything to get rid of the pain. Rushing down the garden last Friday, I slipped on a mossy brick path and fell backwards. Breaking a rib on an old stone planter. Apart from being a bit sore over the weekend I must have been cage fighting in my dreams on Sunday night. By Monday I could hardly move – the pain was so severe. I also had...
read moreLiving like animals
During the last few years of my decorating days I worked a lot with a particular builder – let’s call him Reg. He didn’t choose me. Rather I was selected by his clients. I was employed by one and then her friend, and then her ex husband and so on. If you do a good job the local bongo drums of personal recommendation bang far more vociferously than an expensive marketing campaign. I liked this builder and had a lot of respect for him. His team was good, the work was excellent and this made my life very easy. If you are matched with an...
read moreFeeling like a character in a Victorian novel
I’m still in bed although I did totter to the bathroom today to indulge in a long indolent bath. I’ve got over the fever and aches but am exhausted. I’m beginning to feel like a character from a Victorian novel who wakes to find herself in an unknown bed in a strange room. Arabella shifted in the bed and opened her eyes. She was lying in a comfortable bed in a large room. A plump lady was sitting beside a warm fire. There was an old rocking horse in the window. “Where am I?” Nanny Hug lifted her head. She put aside her mending...
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