By Tom Fotherby on July 24, 2007
|
Whenever I see flooding on the news I always feel sorry for the people involved but never imagine it would be me. However, last night a lady from the Environment Agency knocked to say that they are advising our street to be evacuated as the Thames is due to burst it’s banks early in the morning. We decided to stay, but spent all evening moving everything upstairs and taking pictures of things in case we need to show the insurance company the extent of the damage.
|
This morning there was no evidence of flooding but they now say it’s going to happen at 4am tomorrow morning. I hope not. We took ages doing our kitchen up – it would be soul destroying for all our work to be undone.
Posted in Journal |
By Tom Fotherby on July 1, 2007
The electrics and plastering and windows were done at the same time as the main bedroom. The only thing we didn’t replace was the original skirting board and window sills as they still seemed solid. We gutted the airing cupboard and put in some new shelves. We painted the room neutral, then bought a new carpet and curtains and choose a wardrobe with a full length mirror on one of the doors. The beds were left over from when my Grandparents moved house (we figured having single beds was more versatile for a spare room). The curtain poles were a wedding present.
The best thing about our spare room is that we have a shoe cabinet! (cue Wagnes World quote to scary ex-girlfriend after she gives him a gun rack as an “anniversary” gift) A gun rack… a gun rack. Shyeah, Right! I don’t even own a gun, let alone many guns that would necessitate an entire rack.). Except, I do own some shoes and it’s very zen to have them nicely lined up in a shoe cabinet! 🙂
Posted in DIY |
By Tom Fotherby on June 26, 2007
I have found a great shortcut for my bike journey out of Heathrow airport to my office. Instead of following the road, I can climb a disused fire-escape staircase and cut out a big slow uphill loop. I love streamlining travel routes 🙂
I do have a bit of a nightmare on the way home though. I have to cross an 8 lane road from one side to the other otherwise I have to meander around on a longer (but safer) route:
Posted in Journal |
By Tom Fotherby on June 22, 2007
Fiction, 8/10 – June 2007
|
I had heard of Jeffrey Archer from various political scandals in the news and I was curious to read one of his books. Kane and Abel considerably raised my opinion of him because I really enjoyed it (apart from the monstrous death of Wladeks sister in the castles prison which was so disturbing that it nearly made me put the book down for good).
|
I enjoyed the drive and determination that was shared by both characters. I also liked how the book spanned 60 years rather than most books I have read that only focus on a small chapter or event in the characters lives. It’s nice reading about how people grow up and change as they mature.
I guess that some people are on Abel’s side and others on Kane’s. I desperately wanted them to be friends but I think I’d choose Kane’s side if pushed.
Any book that you can’t put out of you mind in between reading sessions and for a few days after you finish is a good investment of time by my judgement.
Posted in Book Reviews |
By Tom Fotherby on June 13, 2007
I took Chloe to Venice for our “paper” anniversary. It’s a very charming place. I like how there’s no cars and how most of the streets are narrow and maze-like. Once or twice we ended up at a dead end with nowhere to go except if we had a boat. I liked the waterways, especially the quiet back-waters. They were much cleaner than I expected, we saw fish swimming around in them.
|
We were there for the biennial art exhibition which was vast – we looked round it for two days but only just skimmed the surface of what was on offer. The big pity was that most of the artists didn’t take the trouble to explain their pieces, so much of it went over our heads! However hidden in all the abstract confusion, we found a few interesting ideas.
|
Posted in Journal |
By Tom Fotherby on June 3, 2007
Dahon D7 Folding bike
My company started a government sponsored scheme called “bike to work” which gives a significant discount on bicycles as long as they are used for getting to work. I chose an entry level folding bike and also a large frame mountain-bike.
I have been thinking about how to streamline my commute for a while. Having a bike->coach->bike journey instead of a walk->coach->bus journey improves things enormously. No more waiting at the coach station because the bus and coach don’t synchronise their timetables.
I estimate that it saves me about 30 minutes a day which is fantastic. It should also provide some much needed exercise. It’s takes me about a minute to fold or unfold the bike and put it in it’s carry bag (which the coach company insist on). The procedure is quite fiddly and takes a bit of practice. It’s a bit too heavy but it feels robust, even if I weigh at the maximum end of the suggested weight limit. The 7 gears give a decent range.
I actually wish I had spent more money on it and got a better model because I use it so often and the folding mechanism could be improved on.
Carrera Vulcan 2007
Because I can’t see the delicate folding bike going off-road, I got a huge (22 Inch) chunky solid bike to compensate.
This is the first time I’ve used disk-brakes and so far I’m disappointed because they don’t give any more traction than rim-brakes. Also the suspension is too soggy for my weight (I didn’t know that suspension is designed especially for a weight range).
Posted in Toys |
By Tom Fotherby on May 20, 2007
|
Until now, I have never bought a mobile phone because my Criteria for buying one was pretty damn strict. But, finally (after waiting pretty much 5 years) one that meets most of my requirements was on sale and as soon as I had a chance to test it out for real I bagged it (there was no way I was going to buy it without trying it out for real).
|
| Criteria |
Pass/Fail |
| No more than £300 |
Fail but close – £330 |
| Large color screen (minimum of 4 inches). |
Pass– 5 inch screen |
| Can play music files in “ogg vorbis” format (using headphones). Can play videos. |
Pass but needed to install better media player than the default (e.g. coreplayer rather than windows media player) |
| Storage space for any type of file. |
Pass – 8GB hard disk + 2GB miniSD card + USB port for pendrive. |
| Easy to attach, full-size Qwery-Keyword. |
Fail but close – Large magnetic keyboard but doesn’t allow touch typing. |
Can Browse the internet for free
- Can send emails (in googlemail, for free).
- Can ssh into home machine.
|
Pass – T-Mobiles Web’n’walk on 3G. PocketPutty |
| Location can be shown on map |
Pass – This has GPS and TomTom works really well |
| Can run my own code on it |
Pass – Can do (but I haven’t tried yet). I want to be able to load my Java cocktail program to tell you what you can make given different ingredients. |
| Decent battery life. |
Pass – The battery lasts all day, even after watching 2 hours of video on it. |
| Doesn’t use a Microsoft OS and doesn’t require Windows for interfacing with PC. |
Fail – It runs Windows mobile 5 🙁 |
The screen is huge and bright, perfect for viewing movies on the coach to work. The internet connection speed is unfrustrating and the browser supports tabs. The input methods are flexible (there’s a touch-screen, mouse nub, keyboard and a mode where you tilt the device to scroll). It has SatNav. It has more than a 3 hour battery life. In short – It’s pretty magic.
The big disappointment (and something that I’m deeply ashamed of) is that it runs Windows. I get very excited about open-source software and I don’t enjoy kicking it in the teeth but my hands are up, I’m guilty this time. It is only the 2nd time I’ve paid for Windows and I hope it is my last. Please forgive me.
Posted in Toys |
By Tom Fotherby on May 18, 2007
Posted in DIY |
By Tom Fotherby on May 14, 2007
I finally got round to fitting a boiler cupboard door in the kitchen and doing the last of the skirting and architrave. I’ve wanted to do this ever since we moved… a before and after pic:
|
Before
|
|
|
After
|
|
Removing the partition wall was definitely a good decision as it made the room a little bigger.
Posted in DIY |
By Tom Fotherby on May 7, 2007
|
Our bedroom needed a Hi-Fi with a nice DAB radio with sleep and alarm functions. This also takes a memory card so it can play mp3’s and record radio. We chose this model because we thought it’d match our Squeezebox nicely.
|
Posted in DIY, Toys |
By Tom Fotherby on April 30, 2007
Fiction, 3/10 – April 2007
|
It’s a light-hearted read about the temptation and pain of infidelity. Tom Cartwright, a ghost-writer living in Edinburgh, throws away his girlfriend of 5 years, to chase a unrealistic dream. The characters in the book have a number of brilliantly described personality flaws which I could laugh at but otherwise, there didn’t seem much point to the book. In fact, God makes several appearances just to remind us that love is just chemistry and chemistry that he isn’t proud of at that.
|
The parts I liked:
- I liked all the excuses and quick-thinking that Tom had to do when trying to cover up his affair. e.g. “How did you get that bruise?” “I fell over a tramp”.
- I thought the book conveyed Sara’s hidden intelligence very well.
- I thought the description of pain that Tom felt when he realised how much a fool he had been was vivid and imaginable.
- Toms agent, Ami the drunk, was entertaining.
- I thought the ending was satisfying.
- I liked Saras cooking. e.g. ice cream and fried eggs.
Posted in Book Reviews |
By Tom Fotherby on April 20, 2007
We got the bedroom plastered and we painted the walls and ceiling and fixed some new skirting board. We had a new bedroom carpet fitted and have just finished building 6 pieces of flat-pack furniture. It’s so nice to finally get some upstairs storage space, it’s going to feel so luxurious compared to living out of wire boxes
Next, we need doors and curtains and a few finishing touches.
Posted in DIY |
By Tom Fotherby on April 16, 2007
This is only a £20 mass production from “Next” but it’s the first piece of wall art that Chloe and I have bought together. The colours match the room.
Our walls are a bit bare so I’m on the lookout for some cheap but interesting pictures.
|
|
|
This was the first piece of art that I bought. It’s a upside-down photo by “Nigel K Swallow” of Brighton beach. I got it in Brighton North Lane Photography Gallery as a stag weekend souvenir. The anti-symmetry is amazing.
|
Posted in Journal |
By Tom Fotherby on April 3, 2007
Wii,Microgame,5/10 – March 2007
This crazy game is perfectly suited for getting to know the Wii. It is designed around thinking of all the different ways the Wiimote can be used. Each level is split into 5 second long microgames which begin with asking you hold the Wiimote in a certain way. The main challenge of each minigame is to figure out what you are supposed to do within the time frame. For example: your asked to hold the Wiimote like a pencil, then shown a picture of a pencil and a sharper and the clock starts ticking – You have to work out that your supposed to twissle the Wiimote around to sharpen the pencil. If successful, you’re quickly moved onto the next challenge.
|
Other microgame examples include flying a paper airplane, driving a car, slicing a piece of bamboo, balancing a stick, sorting objects into piles, etc. The image shows a game where you have to balance a stick by moving the Wiimote forwards or backwards or side to side.
|
Beware, the storyline is totally nuts.
Posted in Game Reviews |
By Tom Fotherby on April 2, 2007
“No, I didn’t download you off the Internet,
I gave birth to you. End of discussion!”
|
I have been asked this question in just about every interview I’ve been to. If I answered truthfully I’d be committing interview suicide (e.g. can you imagine saying something like “I have a bad web surfing habit”) and if I make something up like “I work too long hours” I seem like a suck-up. I think, rather than asking me to self-incriminate the question is actually designed to evaluate my ability to deal with awkward questions.
|
These are the choice of answers:
- Evade the question
- Answer with a lie using a weakness that is actually a strength
- Answer truthfully (because I have low self confidence this would expose a huge set of weaknesses: I’m bad at communicating at a very technical level, I’m a slow learner, I have a bad memory, I can’t think fast on the spot, I don’t like public speaking, I’m lacking in written skills, I have zero general knowledge, etc, etc)
- Answer with a true but mild weakness (e.g. I like to focus on a small area and dig a niche for myself, therefore I can lack the global picture).
I think the best solution is to start with choice 1 and actually talk about how this question is a trick and then finish off with choice 4 to show a bit of sincerity.
Posted in Journal |
