Oh Lordy!!!!!!!

Simple job, go up and connect two more feeds from the Sky LNB. All was going well until the head of the retaining screw flew off and the hinged part of the collar followed it. Over the wall, down onto the ground floor roof and down into the dark that is our covered yard. No chance of finding it in the dark so I strapped the LNB up with cable ties. It didn't work very well and we lost the signal. Hazel was not impressed. I tried a few things but nothing worked well enough so I went to bed. This morning, I found the offending piece of plastic in about fifteen seconds..................Doh!
Previous to this, I had some success when I moved the test PC down to the lounge and plumbed it in. I also spent about two hours, on and off, fiddling with the work station PC only to discover that it was the raid drivers that had been compromised by the MS update. This may be easier to do if I simply put in a new drive and start all over again.

Very little work done but an improved kitchen system.

Not a song title..........

I spent all of ten minutes yesterday re-connecting the cables on the kitchen set up and it's now very tidy and neat. After that, I simply ate, watched TV and recorded the first episode of a new SF series onto the test PC. I have decided to install it, the test PC, in the lounge this evening and that will clear space for me to re-build the work station in the den. The new multi sat setup will start in the den but may move to the bedroom until we have our second Sky box activated.

The tenants in the other house have found somewhere to move to and are leaving us on November 5th. This gives us an opportunity to do some extra maintenance before Lulu and Ian move in. They should now be in by Christmas though. 

A curates success.

Re-tread of a very old Punch cartoon.

On Friday, nothing was written due to it being Sally's graduation. She is now officially a BA(hons) and is going for her masters.

Well, I was correct about the network sync, it all works perfectly again now including both NAS boxes.

I have also played with the dish positioner and software and I have come to the conclusion that the software isn't currently working. As it was working fine before I stuck my size tens in, I am thinking of moving to another setup and beginning again.
Whilst talking to Russ on Saturday, I had a sudden brainstorm and worked out a method of setting up all the various pieces of technology I need to litter the house with. So, on Sunday, I did it. I have made a lot of space, been able to place gear where I wanted it and it's cost me nothing. Naffi breaks, chuffed to.

Life gets teedjus, don't it?

Song title.

I proved my fix on the test PC yesterday by running the fix in reverse and then forwards again. There was also a problem with seating the RAM as in the early days so I have fixed that too. The network seems to be flaky though, the second NAS box will not reveal its contents and the working one seems to time out. This must be a boot sequence problem surely?

The positioner motor should arrive tomorrow and I will get that fitted on the mast and the dish fitted and then try to set it up. Once I have it working, I will push the assembly up the mast to give me some extra height for H to H working.

Settling back in

After the excesses of the wedding, Hazel and I moved on to our shakedown holiday in janis and took off for Dover on the following morning. But that's another story!

Here, it's business as usual with my report on last evenings result with the test PC back in working order after some jiggling with the BIOS. I also set up the third LNB output on the Sky dish and used it to record a movie to watch this evening. One of the NAS boxes is now back on line and it can only be a matter of time before the second is on line again. Once I have checked out the test PC, I shall attempt to do the same with my work station and once that is resolved, the test PC will get a new OS (Windows 7) and a complete re-build. And, of course, the eight Sky/Eutelsat feeds have to be run in and the big dish fitted and connected.

The reception.........................at last.

Once we had all arrived at the venue, the getting to know you part began.

Ian soon got friendly with the guests and told them just how lucky he was.

Then the DJ decided to get the best man, Dave, up for his speech. Dave did very nicely and I was just settling back to enjoy the evening when  the b*****d DJ called me up for a speech. Nothing planned, not a thought in my head, told weak joke, toast to bridesmaids and outa there. Let the dancing commence.


The evening then progressed into the sort of  reception everybody hopes for but rarely gets, happy dancing and happy talking. A bit loud for me but most thought it tolerable. We continued until around 11pm and gradually drifted away. Wendy did almost all of the organizing and it's a tribute to her just how well the whole day went.

Pounds House

We all followed the Roller from the church to the park and then waited whilst photos were taken in the car park.

Then on to the steps................

And on to the park itself.

This, of course, was magic for the boys and Alfie.
Mess was made and coats were removed.

And from here, to the reception..................

The wedding.

Saturday 29th August 2009


Lulu and Ian married at Central Hall in Plymouth city centre.
Most members of both families turned up from parts unknown and a high number of friends too.
For me, the day began with several trips out and about collecting and delivering things and bodies from and to various places in Plymouth. Once into my suit though I was able to relax somewhat and take a few photos.

The apparent snarl on Samuels face is his "Monster face" as taught to him by a member of the family who wishes to remain anonymous. And, no, it wasn't me. I only taught him "Pull my finger" in a restaurant on the previous evening.That was fun, eh Gill?


At the church, we forgathered and entered the building just ahead of the bride who was late but not quite late enough for some of the more elderly family and friends. She is a very keen girl!


The ceremony went without a hitch thanks to the various pieces of advice and instruction whispered from all areas of the floor. Then it was time for some photos.

Then, we thought, off to the reception......................

NO!

Off to the garden at Pounds House.

A Kentish plan or a plan of Kent?

We went on a holiday to Kent.The weather was good, in places.

The views had to be seen to be believed.

The trains were small and steamed a lot.

One of the trains was blue.At the end of the week, we came home

Nearly back to normal...................

For a given value of normal.

I have installed the new Sky dish and it is working well, I wish I could say as much for the magic eye remote system.
We have been very busy, one way or another, over the weekend. Samuel and Keane came to stay on Friday night and we have had a lot of football on the field and playing in the park as well. It's all very tiring for an old codger like me. I have also finally sorted the photos and have them re-sized and web ready now. the whole wedding set are on Picasa  and a small number of holiday pictures are also ready for this blog.
My keyboard has just died on me so I am typing with a Sun keyboard at present, very good quality but American layout.

Getting on getting on.

Spent a couple of hours fixing the brackets and mast on the terrace last evening. Got the holes in fairly quickly but had problems with the last two bolts. I need a socket set to do it easily and I couldn't find one in the dark yesterday. I am down at 238 this evening so it may not get done until tomorrow.

Then I fit the dish and octo LNB and orft we jolly well, as Jim used to say.

Back to the grind...........

Well, home again and whilst sorry to have ended our holiday, we have at least returned to very good news. Our planning application has been passed very quickly and I can, at long last, get on with finishing the terrace in time for Christmas. That means installing all the sat gear and generally cleaning the whole area up.
Sal had two wisdom teeth out yesterday, very subdued and sorry for herself when I arrived home. She did perk up a lot when the sedatives wore off but she will be on some fairly heavy pain killers for a couple of days.
Hazel and I went down to have a chat with the tenants in 238 last evening, wow, what a smell from their animals. It's no wonder they have mice problems...........