The Abbott Family Website

Blame the Computer/ICT!!

Alan — Mon, 21 May 2012 12:49:48 +0000

Well It's Monday lunch time and the day has been going with its usual roller coaster ride.

One minute the ICT dept is 'the devil in-carnet', the next we are the ' great saviour'!!

Such is life. Nothing out of the norm there then lol, but it does make for frustration and stress. Yes part of the job and I accept that.

However, when you get people who basically use the technology/ICT dept as an excuse, that frustrates me.

Obviously I can't go into specifics, No that would be wrong. Its a common 'theme' though.

Boss: ' Have youy done xxx?'

Admin:' No we can't the computer broke. We told it about it days ago but they haven't done anything. We are waiting for them to fix it'!

This translates to:

Boss: ' Have youy done xxx?'

Admin: "oh Bu**er. I've forgot. I know lets blame the computer. The reality is that the person can't remember how to do some thing / does it wrong and so causes a problem (like saving all ther files on the desktop and not on the network where they are supposed to so they will be backed up).

The one that makes me laugh is 'The computers made a mistake'.

I have been in computing since 1981 and the number of times a computer has actually 'got it wrong' is so low as to not be countable!!

No the computer did exactly what it was asked to do. It was just asked the wrong questions.

Yes computers do fail. Yes they often do not do the thing you wanted them to do, but thats always because either yourself or the programmer got it wrong.

Anyway enough of that.

Computers are tools. nothing more and nothing less. There are times when they are the best tool for the job and other times when its better to use other means.

I am at or near a form of computer all day and night. Every day, but I use a paper pocket diary. It has not batteries to fail. It has survived the washing machine(!)

It has a very quick boot up time, etc.

So the right tool for the job.

I do not have an Ipad. Nothing wrong with them and yes it would be a nice toy. But (for me personally) It would run out of power trying to keep up with me.

My desktop is a quad core 3ghz with tones or ram and 2TB of hard disk space.

I often have to wait for it to catch me up. I have also often ran out of reasources. But I AM an exception. I run so many things at once and often many OS's at once (virtual machines).

So I have to wait.

But thats MY problem

Alan

Rant Time!

Alan — Mon, 14 May 2012 08:09:29 +0000

In my spare time , I setup and help groups starting out that want a website/forum to get going.

You know the type of thing. Say a group of enthusiasts on car wheels (example only!). They have no resources and need somewhere they can make as a home. So I provide a website and domain and the technical knowhow to build it up.

I do this free of charge from my acount where my domains are hosted. This is all within the AUP (acceptable use policy) of the host as no money changes hands.

95% of those groups die. Why? well it basically comes down to the attitude of members:

'I have joined this group (no fees), I want to be entertained'.

They never want to do any work themselves. No that requires them to get out of their comfort zone!

Making a good looking website/forum is easy. Its getting content thats the hard bit.

Oh yes the first 'flurry', but then after the 'honeymoon period, nothing. It all dries up!

This week alone I have shut down two such groups because of lack of interest.

what about Yahoo groups and such like?

Well they have their place, but sometimes thay just can't/don't provide the capabilities that a groups might need.

Also would you want to advertise that you are a member of a group like 'the car wheel enthusiastst'?

Ah well such is life. I always was a soft touch., but I am getting fed up of doing all the donkey work for other people to be lazy.

Time to change I think!

Alan

Time Flies

Alan — Wed, 02 May 2012 09:09:18 +0000

WOW is it a month since I last posted?

Sorry about that, I will try not to let it happen lol.

Well we had an interesting holiday. We went to Derbyshire. Darley Dale to be more precise.The day we got there was a fine sunnny day. The next day… We had over a foot of snow!

The first Day.

Then we woke up to this!

Snow!

The snow lasted a few days , but apart from the first day it wasn't a problem.

Since then the weather has been just plain silly.

Back at work and there is a mountain of work to do.

I am trying not to get stressed about it as there is no point, but everytime I seem to be getting on top of it, something else happens.

We have had to cancel our June holiday as it is the week after my operation and the surgeon said that he 'would be happier if it was a week or two later'. Unfortunately as I work in a school,I am tied to school holidays.

Ah well!

We have started the mamoth task of scanning 40+ years worth of photos. Eventually they will be available (mainly to family only but some for public viewing) online.

At a rough guess, I reckon we are looking at 20,000 Plus! to do, so I am not spending loads of time getting the settings just right for each photo. I just have not got the time.

Alan

Happy Easter!

Alan — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 09:26:31 +0000

You may not be religious, you may not be Chtistian, You may not celibrate Easter, but I do. So happy Easter everyone.

To me it does not matter about the Christian connotations, It's a sign of new life in nature.A sign of better times to come.

Now that alone is worth celibrating.

So have a happy easter!

A Well earned rest!

Alan — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 08:36:15 +0000

Not much to post just now. We are away on holidayand relaxing. The birds and squirrels are almost in the lodge! We have a woodpecker residing just behind our lodge wich is great.

It is not always posible to have a holiday (one thing the cost of it!), but taking a bit of 'time out' is vital these days. even if it is just a trip to somewhere local (a park/museum/gallery/hill/etc). Just to give yourself a chance to step back from everyday life and think, and to take a breath.

Last year and this year (so far) have been 'less then ideal'! for me.When I think back to last year and the number of asthma attacks I had that lasted a few hours, and I didn't know what they were! I thought I had a chest infection.

So a short post this time. Try and 'take a breath'. I will leave you with htis poem:

Leisure

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this is if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

William Henry Davies

Riverdance Monkeys remixed!

Alan — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 17:29:10 +0000

The 5 Most Spectacular Landscapes on Earth (That Murder You)

Alan — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 08:41:49 +0000

http://www.cracked.com/article_19705_the-5-most-spectacular-landscapes-earth-that-murder-you.html

How many forum members does it take to change a light bulb?

Alan — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 12:43:53 +0000

From a locksmithing forum, way too good NOT to share with my fellow stovies!

How many forum members does it take to change a light bulb?

One to change the light bulb and to post that the light bulb has been changed

Fourteen to share similar experiences of changing light bulbs and how the light bulb could have been changed differently

Seven to caution about the dangers of changing light bulbs

One to move it to the lighting section

Two to argue, then move it to the electrical section

Seven to point out spelling/ grammar errors in posts about changing light bulbs

Five to flame the spell checkers

Three to correct spelling/ grammar flames

Six to argue over whether it's "lightbulb" or "light bulb" … another six to condemn those six as stupid

Two industry professionals to inform the group that the proper term is "lamp"

Fifteen know-it-alls who claim they were in the industry, and that "light bulb" is perfectly correct

Nineteen to post that this forum is not about light bulbs and to please take this discussion to a lightbulb forum

Eleven to defend the posting to this forum saying that we all use light bulbs and therefore the posts are relevant to this forum

Thirty-six to debate which method of changing light bulbs is superior, where to buy the best light bulbs, what brand of light bulbs work best for this technique and what brands are faulty

Seven to post URLs where one can see examples of different light bulbs

Four to post that the URLs were posted incorrectly and then post the corrected URLs

Three to post about links they found from the URLs that are relevant to this group which makes light bulbs relevant to this group

Thirteen to link all posts to date, quote them in their entirety including all headers and signatures, and add "me too"

Two to post to the group that they will no longer post because they cannot handle the light bulb controversy

Five to say, "Didn't we go through this already a few months ago?"

Nine to say, "Do a Google search on light bulbs before posting questions about light bulbs"

One forum lurker to respond to the original post eight months from now and start it all over again

Yet More Marmalade!

Alan — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 08:44:24 +0000

Well I have got the bug!

Since my last post, I have made a lot more marmalade. I must confess to enjoy making it.

The results are very good with one exception. The rind ('bits') floats to the top of the jars no matter what I try. I have tried letting the marmalade cool first before pouring. I have tried part filling the jars then going around again to fill them up.

No joy.The marmalade tastes and looks great (apart from the rind being at the top).

So to date I have made (with some help from Suzanna), Two lots of Seville (about 22 1Lbs jars), one lot of lime(about 4 jars), One lot of Lemon(about 6 jars) and one lot of Grapefruit (12 jars).

The rubarb season is comming around, then the goosberries, then ……..

Marmalade

Alan — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 09:43:35 +0000

Its the start of the jam season. The season starts with marmalade. Seville oranges come into season (in the UK).

So We bought a kilo. For a recipe, we used 'Pam the jam's (River cottage jam/pickle maker). The restults are fantastic! 11 1Lbs jars to keep us in marmalade for the year.

Well….. yes but it did not stop there lol.

Next I made some lime marmalade. Just four jars from a 1Lbs of fruit (450g). At first it tasted great but a bit 'not quite right'. But by the next day it was literally mind blowing! FAR better then any shop bought stuff.

Enough? well….. nope lol

Next came another kilo of oranges and another 11 jars. Then yesterday it was the turn of lemons lol.

Suzanna thinks I have gone nuts lol, but I love cooking!

The marmalade we have made is really tastey, but I have not got the 'knack' of getting the rind equally though the marmlade. I have tried letting the marmalade cool a bit before pooring and pooring in stages.

so this is an area I need to practice more.

Its not just jams and marmalade I like making, pickles, chutneys, in fact almost all cooking.

So what do you like to make?

Alan