Date: 2008-04-20 10:17 Subject: Doctoring Shottingham Security: Public

Yesterday was a pretty full day for me. In the morning I went off to work to lecture to some distant learning students in Education (reading for a degree in Managing Volentary and Community Organisations) for my boss who...well let's just say couldn't be arsed to teach it. I've picked up from the other folk at work that he does rather dodge out of the teaching bit of his job, so I'm going to be wary of future requests of this nature.

Of course what I'd not counted on was that the uni had a massive power failure overnight, knocking out the network and the library too. As a result it took ages to get into the building, but at least I got to have a chat with the saturday staff whilst I picked up my handouts. The education staff couldn't have been more welcoming too. The lecture and workshop on the other hand was a bit of a curates egg. Since I couldn't access my slides I didn't get to use them (other than on the print hand out) and since we only got computer access back for the last 15 minutes of the whole 2.5hr session, the students really didn't get the hands on experience I was hoping for. Rather buggered up the running order of the session, but doesn't worry me. I've run enough conferences know to be prepared to run sessions without any aids whatsoever!

Drove back (noting that I'm glad I take the train as driving out of Leicester on a quiet saturday lunchtime was bad enough, let alone doing it in the evening) and had a few hours at home before heading out to Shottingham to meet up with Steve, Sim and some of their Doctor Who mob (Planet Skaro types). The Wife declined to come, which is a shame as I think she'd have enjoyed herself too.

It was a bit of a first for me - the first time I've gone out in an evening to a pub just socially in nearly a year (I think the last pub I was in was in southern Ireland in the 2nd week of June 2007). What with my illness, this was a pretty major step forward - and whilst I'm a bit washed out this morning as a result, it's nice to feel tired for a real reason rather than just waking up exhausted as normal.

The evening and multiple pubs were fun, and to be honest they were the least geeky bunch (with occassional exceptions) of hardcore Whovians I've ever met. Indeed I had quite a few very intellectual and wonderful conversations with them (with Sim and Steve I'd expected it, with the others less so). So a good evening that I was dead sorry to cry off around 9.45, but was flagging and needed to go back to my car.

And as usual getting out of the Lace Market car park in Shottingham sucked major goats - it really is one of the worst car parks I know! Expensive, awful surface material, teeny tiny spaces to park in and the only place that I have to queue for 15 minutes to pay to leave and then another 10 minutes to queue to get out. In London's west end I might expect it, in Grottingham not so.

Date: 2008-04-20 19:24 Subject: Fighting the war on dust! Security: Public

I have today won a mighty battle, nay a war, upon the scourge of the 7 kingdoms - dust! Ever since we had the building work, my PC room (and the PC itself) has slowly been fading under the gray menace. Sadly the room is so small and cluttered with kit (animals, props, costumes etc) that cleaning it was never going to be an easy option. As it was I needed to dismantle the Wife's PC too, increasingly this runs at a snail's pace. So i stripped it down, blew dust out and then took the processor fan off.

OMLord! Solid dust cake. I was in the process of finishing that off when Sim and Steve popped in on the way back south. Twice in two days - huzzah! Without a doubt the best of company, and smashing to see them so much over the two days (guys we are so going to have to come visit you properly too!).

After they went (and thanks to an on going power failure problem in Sielby - these seem to be following me this weekend) we headed off to Quorn for lunch at the Chinese place there. Yum. Duck course was excellent! First time I've had chinese in 10 months as well.

Came back and got on with the main event of the day, taking my PC appart, cleaning it out totally and then doing the same to the PC room. By 5pm I'd about got the room clean, and by 6 the PC was back and running. As of now I've finally got the sound drivers running normally, and I think I'll put off updating the video drivers until next weekend now! But the room is reorganised, the wires under control more and generally a better place to be.

Even better the Wife is trying to track down a matching door for the room (which is needed oh yes indeed) and I've got rid of the sodding curtain in the way at last (it was just full of dust).

So two very busy full days one thing or another, might go and watch Doctor Who finally in the near future...