“All you need to do is press control v to paste the files”, Amanda told me, handing me the loan laptop she’s had whilst her old one has had most of it’s internals replaced at PC World.

I’ve been setting up a new Sony Vaio for her and today’s the day of the great laptop switch over. This time she’s also got an external backup device so when this happens again it shouldn’t be so much of a pain. If the backup’s to CD were a little more up to date it wouldn’t have been so stressy but that’s water under the bridge and hopefully we’ve all learnt.

I’ve arrived laden with stuff. Laptop, cases of disks, backup drive and the camera to take more pictures of Ben and also of Reubin, the son of Antonia, a friend from NCT classes. The day is geared around Ben who has a new routine for feeds and sleeping but one that still allows us to sneak out for lunch and to catch up on news.

It’s been an odd and tiring week…

Posted by Mark at 11:27 PM | Permalink

Today the whole road was on the move. At least the people I know in this block of terraced houses.

Some people were on the move to places they go to almost everyday, like Sue and Don heading out to work. Others were heading out to places further afield. Ram and Krishna were off to India, a last minute decision, which, now they are both retired they can now do. Martin and Fhai were off to Thailand.

We’d arranged to leave early and made it in good time to Heathrow which was just as well as due to a computer failure the check in desks were grinding to a halt. It seems ages ago that I brought them here when Joanne was barely walking, held in my arms as we watched the bags disappear down the belts. Now they are seasoned travellers with Joanne holding dual nationality.

We had a coffee while we waited and then, all too soon, we headed to the departures gate for those last, awkward farewells. Richard rushed off with a case full of teddies while Martin and I said goodbye. As I started to walk off Joanne hugged me and said, “I’m going to really miss you” which summed up how we all slightly felt.

Posted by Mark at 11:34 PM | Permalink

In Nelson’s day women waved goodbye to their men folk from this spot. Three hundred years later it still happens but today they use mobile phones and binoculars to grab that last look at a loved one. They still lose them for months on end and the parting’s still painful.

Good Bye, Fare Thee Well

We’re going away to leave you now
Good bye, fare thee well
Good bye, fare thee well
We’re going away to leave you now
Hoorah, me boys, we’re homeward bound

Ah, give me the girl with the bonny brown hair
Your hair of brown is the talk of the town

So fare you we’re homeward bound
Homeward bound to Liverpool town

So fill up your glasses for those who were kind
And drink to the girls we leaving behind

We’re homeward bound I hear them say
We’re homeward bound with eleven months pay

Our anchor we’ll weigh, our sails we will set
The friends we are leaving we’ll never forget

traditional Sea Shanty

Posted by Mark at 6:57 PM | Permalink

I was walking through London when I got the call.

Seems H is bored and fed up of the cold in Stockholm and has as much of an itch to travel as I do. We’ve been trying to workout where to go, restricted as she is by available SAS airmiles and a general lack of days off. Leaving things to the last minute before Easter doesn’t help either.

After considering Istanbul, Budapest, Paris and Milan we’re off to Amsterdam. I’d prefer a little more sun but some different sights and tastes will be good for us both.

Posted by Mark at 5:35 PM | Permalink

The holiday year is changing this year. All part of a flexible benefits package which we apparently need.

The upshot of that is in the next week most of the company seems to be trying to burn off their last remaining days before 1st April. At least that seems to be the case from the mail I sent today. More out of office agent replies than mail from real people they varied in response from “I’m on holiday” to “Don’t contact me at all”.

I must remember to turn mine on.

Posted by Mark at 9:37 PM | Permalink

I seem to be spending every weekend afternoon drinking at the moment, but in a nice way.

This weekend it was at Ann’s where we all were for Sunday lunch. In part a celebration of Mother’s day with three at the table but also a chance to spend a little time together before Martin, Fhai and the kids head to the sun.

Richard was wearing his new glasses, Joanne her new pink wellies. Paul cooked an excellent meal and I rummaged through his cookery book collection in search of new things to cook. It was nice to catch up with James and Daisy’s news and to see Martin’s mum.

I love these moments in a family. They really are so special to me and I’m so lucky to have them both here and with Amanda.

Posted by Mark at 7:40 PM | Permalink

I have a real problem seeing everyday things, at least through the lens of a camera.

Whilst exotic places and bright colours attract me I fail to see those everyday sights which make great photographs and me jealous.

It’s something I’d like to get better at, along with drawing, but unlearning the habits of all these years is proving difficult. I wandered around all day and failed to see anything. In part that was due to a headache and also the fact I had shopping to do as well. Despite that you’d think I could have seen something…..

In the meantime see how it should be done at Chromasia, Quarlo and The Way We See It.

Posted by Mark at 9:50 PM | Permalink

With Richard off for a sleep over it was just Martin and me tonight.

It was a good chance to catch up with news and spend some time together ahead of their trip to Thailand next week. I’m really torn. I’d love to go but thanks to a whole forest of bills which appeared and a rather rash loan I made last year I simply don’t have the funds to go.

Standing in the door, watching him walk down the road, the rain was caught in the street light outside my house. It’s odd to think in a week they will be there and I will be here…

Posted by Mark at 11:21 PM | Permalink

At last a hot day, lunch out and a book ….

Posted by Mark at 1:28 PM | Permalink

BBC NEWS | Technology | 3G mobiles ‘change social habits’

How do you use your 3G phone?

• Social gatekeepers: Fulcrum of a social network and use 3G mobiles to keep friends up to date
• Piratopians: Creative outsiders who use 3G phones to make short films and other broadcasts
• High Street hedonists: Use phones to show off new purchases, take pictures of items or asked for instant opinions from a dressing room

A study by The Future Laboratory concluded :

“Bloggers, film-makers and clubbers all benefit from 3G phones”

“The report’s authors dubbed the new generation of mobile phone users Generation C, with C meaning content. As well as offering bloggers the chance to post instantly to their own sites, researchers saw 3G phones used as a counterpoint to retailing, socialising, and as a tool for documenting their lives.”

“Men used the technical capabilities of their phones more extensively than women, the report suggested, often adopting fictional personas to make amateur news reports, dubbed the “Andrew Marr effect” by researchers.” Some women used their phones to take pictures of taxi drivers in an effort to guarantee personal safety. The increasing use of camera and video capabilities has already opened up new opportunities for phone users to contribute to news coverage on TV and online. And the time-honoured blind date could soon fall out of fashion, if the report’s conclusions are correct. More and more people might use 3G phones to check out a potential date before meeting them, or use video calls as part of an interactive dating service. “

I have enough problems with my ordinary phone …

Posted by Mark at 10:06 PM | Permalink

The Outlook alarm pops up on my screen and I take a drink of water. It’s the third call of the day and this one will go on for two hours. After that I have 15 minutes for lunch and then calls all afternoon.

BT used to say it’s good to talk but more and more my job seems to be like working in a call centre with the phone headset on, listening to people on the phone or some remote meeting room with a phone in the middle of the table, picking up every rustle of paper and scratch of pen.

I guess the advantage of this is that I don’t have to travel so much but tied to a phone all day isn’t good on the ear, the soul or the bottom ….

Posted by Mark at 10:54 PM | Permalink

Well the weather didn’t last. The Spring Equinox was cold and grey. Work today was a confusing mix of meetings and contracts, trying to sort out what we have sold and what we haven’t.

I looked out wistfully at lunchtime hoping some of the sun from yesterday was still hanging around and I could eat outside but alas no. Perhaps tomorrow.

Posted by Mark at 8:33 PM | Permalink

After the despondency of the week I needed to escape. Today started grey but luckily cheered up early enough for me to call Martin and for us all to head to the seaside.

I’m always amazed just how cheered I feel there. Maybe it’s the air, maybe today it was the bright, clear skies and just the hint of warmth in the sun. It’s been a five months since the last time I was at this beach. That was a little further along to the west on a Sunday with the papers, a picnic and the radio. Today we were off in the other direction walking to the town in search of adventures and food.

As we sat talking to a couple who owned a beach hut and kindly dispensed drinks and biscuits to us they explained that the bull dozers on the beach were there to extend it by another 80 yards for the summer season. I thought I knew this area pretty well but I was shocked when we turned the corner and there before us was a small strip of sand compared to the wide expanse we’d been walking along.

As I said to Martin, these early Spring seaside walks are becoming a tradition and again this year we were so lucky with the weather. The downside was that it brought a sudden rash of people to the seaside so every where we went there was a 45 minute wait for food. We eventually settled on a smaller restuarant for fish and chips and fish pie.

Walking back the sun was low in the sky but still warm. It seemed to be one of those days you remember for ever, bathed in golden light.

We drove home for a meal of Thai prawns, some estimating homework and a nice bottle of red.

Settled.

See the pictures here.

Posted by Mark at 11:31 PM | Permalink

I can remember my college days when I’d spend the day drinking in the pub down the road from where I was supposed to be studying. We’d discuss music, bands, the best way to play a minor ninth on the guitar, English, poetry and jazz.

Looking back now they always seemed sunny days. People would drift in and stay : college staff would come down and hold court with those who would listen. In effect it was an extension of the campus but with drink as a leveller between staff and student.

I rarely go to a pub now. They seem too loud and full of smoke. Today, however, I was taken out for a days drinking. It wasn’t supposed to be that but with time slipping by and after walking one end of Oxford to another we found a small empty Irish bar to take a late Guinness for St. Patrick’s day and make roll ups.

The rugby was a great game to watch. The company excellent and for a while I was back in my college days, until the shock of travelling back on the train.

In lots of ways I need to move on in my life but today was a pleasant trip back to a time when I was happy.

Posted by Mark at 11:56 PM | Permalink

Things seem to be getting away from me again. Both at work and outside. As much as I struggle get control of it things slip by and I feel insecure and unsettled.

Tonight at least I’m alone with those feelings which means no one else is getting burdened.

Posted by Mark at 8:13 PM | Permalink

I’ve suspected for a while that the camera L kindly got me for Christmas has a fault.

I only noticed it when I was playing around with HDR images and needed to stray into some of the more advanced features on the camera. I found out I couldn’t turn that feature on. Then checking the flash (which I rarely have ever used on any camera I’ve owned) I found that didn’t work either.

I’d tried the Canon website and logged a call via email which had seemed to disappear after they asked me the opening questions Id already confirmed in the mail. Today I decided to call.

It’s not unusual to be greeted by a foreign accent and Barbara seemed to be from Eastern Europe. I tried to tell her succinctly what the problem was with the camera and what Id done to check it wasn’t me. But no. We had to start from the top of her list. “Is the camera on ?”, she asked. “Is lens cap off ?”, a good question as I’ve done that trick before but not on this occasion.

Eventually we got closer to the part of the script with the word flash in it. “Is flash button on?”, she shouted triumphally. Crestfallen when I said yes she asked for my email address. “You must send it in for fixing”.

Which I guess is what I will have to do. Hoping that they will sort it without the guarantee as that’s not with me and seems very unlikely to be forwarded..

Posted by Mark at 10:18 PM | Permalink

After the darkness of yesterday today my desk is lit in brilliant sunshine.

Outside the sky is wide open and blue. It really is a stunning day.

All of today has been devoted to project planning and sorting : trying to fit all these months of work into less time with the same people. It’s not a task I mind but I do wonder how closely the plan will be followed and what the real value of it is.

The phone call came as a complete surprise on a number I didn’t recognise. A few stolen moments away from work and a lot of laughs.

Shame it wasn’t under the same piece of sky.

Posted by Mark at 4:07 PM | Permalink

Moving a plan from one format to another seems to me to be the kind of work a Medieval Scribe used to do.

I don’t have a cell, just the usual desk at the office and two plans. One an example of how it should be and the other written before the new format was devised. Not simply a change of font and presentation the old plan has to be reviewed and pushed and prodded into the new format with all it’s new tasks and dependencies.

The plans are printed out and with colour pens I’m trying to match them, seeing where things cross over and then moving one to the other, finding new resources on the new plan and checking that it all makes sense.

It’s not really the kind of work that I want to do but in the absence of any formal project planner it has to be done. It means I can work in the office and sit in some of the technical discussions on The Project as we work out how we can fit all the kit into the lab or listening to one conference call or another.

Probably in time I’m going to have to manage this plan. I can’t see the planners who should do this work (who declined this reformatting job on the basis it was too hard) wanting to take on the management and tracking of it.

At the moment that’s a log way off. As the afternoon drags on it’s time for Evensong and some more transcription.

Posted by Mark at 4:39 PM | Permalink

It’s not often I post a link here really but this caught my eye.

It’s an online tracker for ship locations.

Busy isn’t it ?

Posted by Mark at 11:23 PM | Permalink

After a late night and several feeds we all felt a little like Ben this morning.

He was lucky and slept this morning while Amanda and I dealt with some business issues. We all then headed out for lunch and some shopping.

Amazing what turns up out of the blue …

Posted by Mark at 11:39 PM | Permalink

The rather relaxed nature of the weekend continued with Sunday lunch Italian style.

The breasola was nice, the chicken was good and all in all we had a good time.

Posted by Mark at 9:18 PM | Permalink

It’s amazing how much a small two month old child can change your world.

From a change of car from Mercedes SLK to Jeep, travelling with small, overnight Italian luggage to Moses basket, pram, car seat, your clothes, his clothes, changing bag and rucksack of toys, milk bottles….

I took a day off work today to get ready for Amanda and Ben’s first stay here. The morning spent deciding on food, shopping and preperation. The afternoon clearing all those odd jobs which have been hanging around for ages and getting belated birthday wishes from Rachel and H.

It’s been a while since Amanda was here last and that was just before Ben “appeared” so we both had a lot of catching up to do, including my Christmas presents and our birthday presents.

Martin, Fhai, Richard and Joanne joined us to see Amanda, meet Ben and come to share food and drink with us. We managed to avoid the dough fight when Richard and Joanne made pizza and we moderated the drinking so no one was out watching stars at 4:00am. Thanks to Jamie Oliver we enjoyed chicken breast stuffed with mushrooms in puff pasty with a wine, cream and mustard sauce, roasted squash and baked new potatoes. Fig, mozzarella and parma ham salad and chocolate torte to finish.

Amanda looks so well, happy and settled. Ben was happy and quiet despite being passed from person to person. Joanne spent the evening following Amanda around helping to look after Ben where she could. Richard sat in the front room playing video games from the 70’s with Amanda in some never ending Pac Man competition.

It’s nice to have some happy noise in this house. True it’s a little crowded with all the additional things for Ben but on balance we’re all happy Amanda left the days of the small Parada bag behind.

Posted by Mark at 11:25 PM | Permalink

Well, they were remarkably tolerant : we only had Coke and tea, we were the last to leave but it was fun and I’m sure our laughter kept them amused…..

Posted by Mark at 11:24 PM | Permalink

I’ve been so close to travelling a few times recently and every time I get there something comes up.

What happens is that I end up adding another place to the list of places to travel to.

The latest is Istanbul.

I need a serious plan of places to travel to …

Posted by Mark at 9:28 PM | Permalink

“You want to use this with no procedures ?”.

I sat down again and tried to explain that the best way to get technical people to talk to each other was to give them something new to play with and allow them to share ideas and show off a little. Compared to the Quality Management System and the Work Request System which we had spent all morning discussing the Wiki seemed an easy and simple win.

We had discussed the best way to introduce these two new systems across Europe for hours. Negotiating different working practices, legal requirements and the patchy response of what is laughing called a global network. All of that needing to have formal procedures and documentation to support them.

The WIki seems simple enough. Self regulating, easy to use, no overhead in terms of managing it, fun.

It seems to be a real struggle to get people to collaborate, share information and learn and grow.

I really can’t see that loading more procedures and formality onto people will help that.

So, yes. We will use it without procedures and we will try it make it work.

Posted by Mark at 10:17 PM | Permalink

The red light on the electronic lock and the whine of the alarm meant my card was being refused by the security gate at work. I tried again with the same result. Had it really been a month since I was here ?

I walked back into reception and tried the other gate. This time the green light and the click as the lock opened probably meant the other gate was either broken or sulking and refusing my card. Either way I was in and off to find a free desk.

With all of the team here for most of the week we at least stand a chance of doing some useful work and finding a new direction whilst The Project is on hold. It’s good to see the chaps and you quickly realise the inadequacies of online contact. I was still nailed to the phone but could wander out to lunch with people or go share a coffee and talk over what we think we should be doing.

A load of the Europeans are over as well so there’s an opportunity to meet then and build some bridges and share some ideas. I still struggle with the concept of almost having to force people to work together but talking this through across a table is a lot easier than trying to do it on the phone where visual clues aren’t present.

I ended up working too late and driving back in the dark. The motorway signs were on and it seemed more like winter than early spring. It seems odd going past that junction on the motorway and taking the next one down.

Posted by Mark at 10:17 PM | Permalink

It was supposed to be a quite Sunday at the pub but ended up a very different affair with some of Karen’s friends, most of whom seem to have recently parted from someone significant.

It’s probably not the sort of company I’d seek out at the moment (Karen and the kids aside) as the last thing I want to do is pick over the remains of what happened and soul seek. I was hoping more for a quiet drink, a nice meal and to catch up on news.

That said we all seemed to have a good time skating around some of the more painful aspects of what happened and taking it out on the bar staff when the combo platter seemed to have shrunk from last time.

Maybe with the copy of Lonely Planet’s Blue List Karen and I can plan to find some sun …

Posted by Mark at 11:05 PM | Permalink

Sometimes, as we all know, you can hope to go in one direction and you end up in another.

That really was the story of today. That said I got Amanda’s birthday present bought.

Tomorrow’s another day …

Posted by Mark at 7:11 PM | Permalink

After years of listening to the BBC’s cricket commentary on long wave radio, with all it’s crackles and pops I now (thanks to Martin and Fhai) can listen to it on DAB.

It’s an amazing present and very kind of them. Great indoors on the mains and, when the summer’s a little more above the horizon, I can use it powered by batteries out in the garden.

Despite the lack of any decision after another week of deliberations work is slowly getting a little more form. More meetings, plotting to change direction on some of the work and trying to steer everyone through the malaise and mess that is corporate life has taken up most of the day but hopefully left us all with a little structure that we can hang next week on.

Now I just need an early night. Seems that tomorrow will be a mix of seeking, exploring and discovering both in old haunts and new things.

Posted by Mark at 10:11 PM | Permalink

In fact as the years go by I seem to be getting less and less wise. Some of the decisons and investments in terms of heart and money I’ve made have been questionable and with the benefit of hindsight I should have taken a breath and thought a litte harder.

That said I’m still here. Older by another year and a little lighter of wallet. I am really touched at those people who took the time to remember today : who called, or mailed or sent a card or more. A few who worked for or with me, some who put up me on good days and bad and some who simply care.

This evening I was treated to a birthday meal of pasta made with Margie’s special sauce which always beats my attempts with tomato and herbs.

I had some wonderful presents from people who really thought about what I’d like and gave with care and love which as you get older is the best way to ease yourself into another year.

Posted by Mark at 11:23 PM | Permalink

Today has been a day of sorting things out. Trying to get work back on an even keel and dealing with the odd thing around the house.

Despite my best intentions I know have a parcel to return which was on it’s way up the road but now no longer need be. I hope that’s the last thing kicking around in the background.

At work there’s still no clear way forward on this project and in the mean time I’m picking up scraps of work here and there, none of which seem to be beyond a week or so of work and nothing which sems to be a technical challenge.

Perhaps the fact that I’m noticing this means things are sorting out and I can do more. The longer days are helping as well. It’s light until 5pm on a clear day and it feels like Spring is close.

Posted by Mark at 11:41 PM | Permalink