Tag: Work

Random Stuff

  • Picked up a new router as the old Linksys was starting to misbehave with Xbox Live. The D-Link DIR-655 has performed admirably since purchase with no issues to report. The wireless N has also increased speed for the laptop and has a far better range than the G Linksys. Gigabit ethernet has also increased speeds from the NAS and web sites and downloads are also a lot snappier. A great purchase!
  • Turned 34 last week. Getting old. Fast.
  • Spaces on the laptop works really well.
  • Still not bought an iPhone 🙂 Getting over the initial urge is the biggest hurdle on holding off for version 2. Christmas is next followed by official app’s in Feb.
  • Leopard is performing well although there are a few niggles here and there like images not dismounting or Finder taking a while to refresh. Nothing big really.
  • Four shopping weekends to Christmas – not got a clue what to get.
  • Weight loss still progressing well. I’ll do a proper progress post later in the year.
  • Some job changes at work are in progress. Hopefully. Maybe. Probably.
  • If you miss OS X hierarchical folders then OldFolder is for you.
  • The new Worpdress plugin update feature is great. Makes managing plugins a lot easier than it used to be.
  • Shut down Forza Leagues this weekend. We put a lot of effort into it but unfortunately the game and the small community let us down really. It still niggles just how much people demanded from the site and the admin team but put little back in themselves. It’s the first time I helped to run a community site and it’s an experience I don’t fancy repeating soon. Once bitten.
  • Still got a really nasty cold. Tiredness now gone but the snot hasn’t.
  • COD4 is the new Halo 2. The abuse and shouting before a game is tiring. If the dev’s could have picked up one thing from the beta or Halo 3 it should have been a quick method of muting and no way of hearing the other team until AFTER the match. Still, it’s a great game and the upcoming patch should address the small issues the game currently has.
  • OmniFocus now available. Looks nice and integrates well with iCal and Mail. Need to see how it stacks up against iGTD which is free and includes .Mac syncing.
  • Car passed it’s MOT with little trouble. I’ve had the Focus for six years now. While I’d like a new car, I don’t really need one so I’ll have it for a while yet I’d imagine.
  • Only four more weeks at work before I stop for Christmas break….and three weeks off. Bliss.

Madrid

Madrid - Plaza de ColonArrived back home from Madrid yesterday – what a great place. Unfortunately there’s not a direct flight from Glasgow to Madrid meaning we had a transfer at Schiphol in Amsterdam. On flying in you realise how flat Amsterdam and surrounding area really is. If you haven’t been before this airport is massive – we taxied over two motorways before getting off the plane. The driving around the airport is also manic – so much hussle and we had a couple of near misses in our bus to the terminal. Inside was great though – very modern and lots of shops – pity we had so little time there.

From the air the outskirts of Madrid are a total contrast to what I’m used to or expected – the area was so dry. The airport is nothing to write home about either. Our hotel and company we were visiting are based in Tres Cantos, about 20 minutes north of the centre of Madrid. There is nothing much there to see so we made our way via train back to Madrid after checking in (taxi driver did try to fleece for more money but I’ll put that down to our lack of Spanish).

Getting out the train station it took a bit of time to get our bearings – Madrid is very big and very busy and it took a half hour to work our where we were. Only now do we realise that we were 5 minutes form the Bernabeu and in time for a stadium tour – something we missed by five minutes the following night. Never mind – next time.

We walked around for a few hours then ate at Hard Rock cafe. Hardly your traditional Spanish meal but we were pooped by that time having walked down Paseo de a Castellana – one of the busiest and widest streets in Madrid. Next night we were treated to a meal by our hosts at Restaurante Gaztelupe, one of the best Basque restaurants in Madrid. What a feast. I had the monk fish and it was to die for – the restaurant is highly recommended if you ever visit Madrid although it was pretty busy so you have to book in advance. We also had a few beers in a small cafe/bar in the same area. It’s odd as the beers come in smaller sized glasses and in most paces you are served with Tapa each round – small selections of food to share. We later went to the Irish Rover – yep – an Irish themed pub. I guess it wouldn’t be a capital city without there being an Irish themed pub but unlike seemingly everywhere else it was busy for a Wednesday night at 1AM.

The train and metro system in Madrid is excellent with most services frequent and on time. We found it pretty easy to get around. Not so good was our use of the Spanish language. Terrible. Robert at least made an effort but next time I visit I will prepare beforehand and at least learn some basics.

There is so much to see and do and the people in general are pretty friendly. Weather is also good with temps of 20-24C although it was dropping to Glasgow temp’s overnight. We didn’t get anywhere near visiting the old part of Madrid or any of the museums but I have put up some photo’s of the trip. Hopefully next time will get us into the Bernabeu and other parts we haven’t yet seen.

Is everyone a Jack?

After a few comments at work today I was driving home with the thought that it would be so good to know just one topic inside out – to be an expert in a certain field and not just a guy that thinks he’s smarter than he his and has a bit of knowledge about lot’s of things – a jack of all trades, master of hee-haw. Just another one of my crap random thoughts that will stay in my head. Then I read Gordon’s blog and today of all days he’s posted about a scarily similar topic.

Even worse – I’m pissed off like him. I would love to innovate and lead in a certain topic rather than copy and follow which is one of my better skills (that and Google searching which sums it up really). Reading the comments at Gordon’s the feeling though is it’s better to be a Jack than a specialist. From a career point of view I think totally the opposite as I struggle to describe what I do which if I was a specialist would be easy to determine.

So anyone owning up to being an expert or are we all becoming Jacks? Yes I realise that this is open to abuse and that for most I’m an expert in bullshitting and for Robert I’m an expert in bullying and betraying at Halo. They don’t count, OK!

Getting Organised

I’ve found myself getting more and more disorganised. Maybe it’s an age thing, maybe it’s getting lazy and letting things pile up, maybe it’s something else entirely. Whatever the reason action is required.

First step – e-mail. I’ve always struggled to get an organised inbox at home and especially at work due to the volume of mail. Home is easier as there’s less of it and I can keep as much as I like – no nasty disk quota’s. Work is a different beast. 25 Meg inbox, 2 gig archive and still running NT. I find mail gets ‘lost’ as I flit from one task to the next. I used to run rules to push mail into folders but this took time to keep up to date and some mail didn’t have a rule so defeating the purpose. I struggle to find mail thats somewhere between my inbox and archive. I’ve now followed some advice from the guy that runs 43 Folders and made over my Inbox. This now forces me to manage mail and act accordingly. At home it works a treat with Outlook 2003 as I can add a count to each folder and see exactly what’s still to do. I’ve installed MSN Desktop Search as I’ve found that to be the best desktop search tool – it suits my needs and allows me to find what I need quickly and accurately. I would do the same at work but I’m 4 weeks away from an XP upgrade – until then I’m stuck on NT.

Task management was next on the list. I’ve standardised a list of categories for home and work and I’m managing to make use of my Tungsten again using Keysuite which keeps Outlook talking to the Palm nicely. This has not been going to well so a bit more discipline is required. Once work upgrade takes place I can get a cheap usb sync cable for the Palm. Joy.

Finally I’ve ordered the Getting Things Done book from good old Amazon. I don’t intend to follow everything it recommends religiously but I’m sure it will give me good pointers that I can adapt for myself. Hopefully this time next year I’ll have remembered Lewis birthday before the day rather than after.

Arrogance

Couldn’t believe work today. A guy who is leaving this Friday decided to send round his own leaving sheet asking for contributions to his own gift. Not only that but he sent it round every department making sure that every office on both sites had his sheet. He even volunteered for one of the secretarys to collect in the money without telling her. Thankfully word got out before anyone contributed. The question is…what should we do in return? And will I get sacked for mentioning the word ‘work’ on a personal blog?

Proxy at work

Sigh – the work proxy is blocking more sites than ever – almost every gaming site has been blocked over the weekend. It’s only a matter of time before Google gets the treatment (they did ban Google groups a few weeks back but that was quickly reveresed). Guess I’ll need to do some work to fill in the day now.

Work Hell

This has been a terrible week at work. Quite possibly the worst ever and definitely the worst this year by a country mile. Worse is that the rant that was about to unfold here will have to wait for another rainy day (tomorrow?!?) as that familiar migraine feeling has arrived. Like someone pressing down on the back of my eye and a slightly blurred vision on the screen. Popped 2 pinks for what its worth as in half an hour I’ll be in agony in a blacked out room trying to sleep this off.

Hopefully tomorrow things won’t seem so bad.