stage lights

Years ago, I used to be involved in stage lighting with an amateur dramatics company, they had their own theater which was quite well equipped with lights and a lighting desk. It was only recently whilst browsing stage lights at music123, that I realized how much LED's have had an impact on stage lighting. I remember how flimsy (and expensive) 'old school' lamps were, and can see how the introduction of LED technology not only gives a more reliable light source which doesn't 'blow' every five minutes, but also provides a much more cost effective system. Not only that, but the number of LED's of different colours that you can cram into a light makes a flexible system ideal for DMX digital control - with no need for lighting gels.

seat cushions

A few years ago, we had a window seat made for one of our bay-windows, and we decided to make the seat cushions ourselves. It's no too difficult if you're OK at cutting foam to a plan, but even if you're hopeless at it, you can just order seat cushion specials online to match your project. We covered the seats with the same fabric as we have on the dining chairs as we had some spare. It worked out pretty well, and we made throw cushions in a contrasting material. I say 'we', but to be fair, I didn't have a lot of input myself... apart from attaching the seat cushions to the seats.

Saturday

A busy day ahead - today I am fixing my sister-in-laws computer. The motherboard has died and I bought a replacement on eBay - annoyingly it was advertised as 'new-other' - turns out it's more 'other' than 'new' as it has clearly been well and truly used. On the upside it came with a spare processor and memory, and considering the price of the total package (30EUR), it's a pretty excellent bargain. I reckon I may be able to sell the processor and a spare stick of memory) adds time to the process because I will need to show that they are working...
After the usual frustrating prodding and poking of the replacement motherboard, I managed to get the thing running - seems like the operating system won't load from the original hard-drive, so I am wiping the drive and will install XP pro (was originally Vista) - I expect more frustrations along the way, as these jobs are rarely straightforward, but with the experience of repairing plenty of laptops, I am relatively relaxed about it. If all else fails, I will just split the computer up into it's component parts and flog it on eBay....but hopefully it won't come to that - I still find it very satisfying to complete a fresh operating system install.

The hard-drive wipe (done with 'BCWIPE' free software) has two hours remaining of the 12 that it takes to do a 'standard' wipe of all free space (already formatted the drive). I am doing this by attaching the drive via USB to another computer.

I also have to take my daughter to an all-day choir event, and then squeeze in a game of football and a visit to the library....

IM creator

Just came across IM creator the other day, this is a new 'create your own website' service, but with more of an artistic edge than some of the conventional business services that you may have seen. The templates and example sites in the portfolio have a definite bias towards the artistic world whether they promote music, art or even architecture. Of course, you don't have to be an artist to appreciate their style, but if you are looking for a website builder with some artistic flair, you can try out their templates and get a feel for how your new website might look.

March Update

It's March already, and whilst off-line life has been as busy as ever, on-line seems to have slowed down quite a bit this year. I haven't even worked out 'earnings' for the last few months, but I'm pretty sure I have spent far more than I have earned...
I am expecting a payout for contextual ads this month, and some of the regular stuff has continued, but it has been a while since I did a tape conversion. Bearing that in mind, it is probably time that I concentrated my efforts on WordPress as this could be a potential earner for me if I can set up easy-to-edit websites for a few local businesses. I need to get my Livewyre.NET brought over to WP, and then maybe create a few more examples to form a portfolio - I have an idea for updating an old site - which could involve building a 'sister' site. Of course, once I have created one, the sister site will be relatively easy to set up using the same or similar WP theme.
All these things take time and I am deep into another DIY project at the moment as well as being tremendously busy with the 9-5. There's still nothing quite so satisfying as making a bite of extra cash on the side doing on-line stuff, so I'm not ready to give it up yet...

L clamp

The l clamp is just about the most useful tool in the 'advanced' home maintenance tool-box. You can wait forever for someone around the house to give you a helping hand, or you can reach for the handy-mans friend - the clamp that do the holding for you.
I have several of these in a variety of sizes and made from a variety of materials, and they turn out to be useful for almost every job going. Whether I am looking for something to secure a paint pot whilst I am decorating, hold some wood for gluing, or even keep the rest of the toolbox in one piece... this handy clamp is the master of many tasks.

Happy Valentines

I managed to forget my wallet yesterday, so had no flowers to greet my wife with this morning... However, I was still presented with a very large bar of chocolate despite my error. I will of course be purchasing an extra large bunch of flowers on my way home this evening....

To be fair, we don't really buy into 'Valentines' as it seems to be just another of those dates made up by manufacturers of greetings cards. It may be fun as a youngster, but when you have been married a few years, just to select one day of the year to demonstrate your affection for your spouse seems a bit pointless, unless of course you are in the sort of relationship where demonstration of affection once a year is actually an improvement on the norm...

Essential oils perfume

Now the 'busyness' of Christmas and the New Year has died away, I am once again on the lookout for presents for the next few months. In April I have several birthdays and other events that will demand gifts of some sort. I have been looking at some essential oils perfume as a perfect inexpensive gift that would most likely be welcomed by any of the female persuasion...

It is not always easy to find lady-gifts that will be readily welcomed, yet are not too expensive (!), so I am really hoping that these will hit the spot....

Snow in the UK

Winter has come a little later this year with snow bringing the usual chaos and mayhem. The UK is famous for not being able to cope with snow and I have two observations to offer that might be used as mitigation for this failure to come to terms with extreme weather.
The first is that for us, snow is fairly extreme and relatively rare - up until the last two years, I can't remember how long it has been since we had proper snow that has been good enough to build a snowman that would last more than a day... Hence, to invest in tonnes of hardware such as snowploughs and heavy-duty gritters is hard to justify in our relatively mild climate. Before we bemoan the local councils inability to cope with snow, we should ask ourselves how much more we would like to pay in taxes for this hardware to be purchased.
Secondly, in the last few decades we have become a country that loves to take action in the courts. I spoke to a teacher friend this week, he works at a school where the school caretaker used to grit and clear the snow from the premises in order to keep the school open. I say 'used to' because one year he did so and a pupil slipped and fell on some ice on a step. The parents of the child took the school to court over the 'inadequately' cleared snow, and as a consequence, the caretaker has been instructed NOT to clear away snow, and the school remains closed for 'health and safety reasons' when the snow falls.

The knock-on effect is that the local council/education authority ends up paying (from our taxes), and consequently instructs all schools to adopt the same strategy - tax-payers lose out in that they either have to foot the bill for compensation or accept a lower standard of service (more school closures). Either way, it is this willingness to sue that ensures many places stay closed when in all honesty there is no good reason why they shouldn't stay open. The parents of pupils affected by closed schools must then come up with a strategy which usually involves them having to take time off to look after the kids for at least a day until suitable arrangements can be made with family or friends - this in turn affects all types of industries that that parents are engaged in (unless they are teachers who are also off work of course...).
In the 'good old days' when we use to have 'accidents' and didn't have to sue the council because we fell over on the pavement, schools remained open - the only time I can recall my school closing was when there was no fuel for the boilers and the school heating system could not be operated.

In conclusion then, I don't suppose things will improve in the sense that firstly there is not the money to invest in snow-clearing equipment, and secondly, 'ambulance chasing' is a growing industry. I have however sensed another reason why snow closes us down, and that is simple acceptance that 'it is snowing and therefore I need not work'. It is one of those self-fulfilling philosophies in that if only a few people attempt to get to work, then there is little point going to work at all... This is the most concerning development, personally I will do whatever it takes to get into work when it snows, either by motoring through the drifts or by getting the waterproof trousers out and walking. I have noticed that there is a growing tendency to make plans to stay at home at the first sight of snow as if it were a foregone conclusion that it will not be possible to get to work - this is of course true for many who will have to look after school-age kids, but I notice this attitude equally affects those who don't have kids, and who frankly (it seems to me) can't be bothered. In fact there was a news report the other day and the interviewer was talking to adults who were 'skiving' off work and playing in the snow - some had even driven to snow-covered hillsides with their sledges having first rung into work to say that they were snowed in and wouldn't be able to drive into work.

At least this kind of weather is sufficiently rare for it not to be too big an issue, but with the current harsh economic climate, people should probably be trying to protect the businesses they work for, by keeping high ethical standards when it comes to attendance and work-rate.

Back in the saddle

After a reasonably relaxing Christmas and New Year, I am back into the swing of things and working long hours at my day job once more. More deadlines and a huge work-load are keeping me particulalry busy. To be fair, the last 12 months have been manic, I was hoping that it might have levelled out a bit by now...

It's always good to be busy, so I don't want to moan, and in fact I enjoy having a lot to do, but what is missing is a bit of balance.

I beleive all humankind needs balance in all areas of their lives including work-time and home-time. At home, it's nice to balance family-time with a time to do tasks and time to yourself. At work it is good to have a variety of tasks, and a little time to relax in between. Right now, I need to be able to get a bit of balance into both work and home life.

Karaoke

Whatever you may think about Karaoke (personally I pretend to look down on it, but in reality I think I really want to have a go!), there can be little doubt that the choice of karaoke system available nowadays is mind-boggling. There are an increasing range of systems at very affordable prices, with a surprisingly high level of sophistication.

At one time, you could only get full-blown professional systems and very poor imitation systems for home use. Now the gap between the professional and the home systems has narrowed considerably whilst systems across the board have become more affordable. Home systems of today (costing less than a cheap Hi-Fi of 10 years ago) have functionality that would have been reserved for expensive professional systems of only a few years ago. In fact, some home systems would put some karaoke pubs and clubs with older equipment to shame.

Whiteboard mounts

It's back to work time, and it's almost as if there was no Christmas break at all.
I am fully back into work mode and desperately trying to catch up with tasks that were beginning to go into 'overdue' status at the end of last year.
On the plus side, there are some great deals around in end-of-year clearance sales for office-related equipment like whiteboard mount deals and deals for printers etc. I have already bought some office storage for my home office in the January sales and some sundries such as printer paper.

English Language

15 reasons why English is hard to learn...

1. The bandage was wound around the wound
2. the farm was used to produce produce
3. the dump was so full they had to refuse any more refuse
4. we must polish the polish jug
5. he could lead if he would get the lead out
6. he decided to desert his dessert in the desert
7. there is no time like the present to present your present
8. I do not object to the object
9. the insurance proved to be invalid for this invalid
10. there was an almighty row about how to row the boat
11. we were too close to the door to close it
12. a buck does notice when does are present
13. the farmer taught his sow to sow seeds
14. the wind was too strong to wind the sail in
15. I shed a tear when I saw the tear in the curtain

This is just a small selection of the many anomalies in the English language, once again I marvel at the ability of others to speak my native tongue, and am embarrassed at my lack of competence in other languages.

Wireless POS system

The wireless pos system is fairly well-established as a vital piece of kit for restaurants and markets etc.
most electronic developments, the portable POS is available in many different forms, has been developed to run a wide variety of software, and has, along with mobile computing in general, become a lot more affordable even for smaller establishments.

You can buy specific systems  with pre-loaded software, or buy software that will run on your existing portable devices. For security reasons, a purpose-built POS system is probably a better option especially when using wireless networks.

Blu Ray Player

I love to browse the bargains in the January sales, but to be fair I really shouldn't be spending money at the moment.
Nevertheless for a long time I have been looking to get a flat screen TV  with surround sound and a blu ray player. I can't really justify the expense right now, but I think it would be a nice family gift that we can all get something from.
Although I love new technology, I am not a 'first adopter' as I prefer the prices to come down before buying the latest gadgets, Blu Ray players are certainly very affordable right now, and the disks are often only a little more expensive than DVD's

Happy New Year

Unsurprisingly, we seem to have survived 2012 despite predictions to the contrary... I have also had a reasonable month of online earnings at almost £170, the best of the year so far. I was hoping to have another cassette job that would have taken me well past £200, but it didn't happen in the end.. There's just a few months left until the end of the financial year, but I am not expecting to reach the levels of the last few years.
Last year, for instance, by this time, I had a profit of £1100 on a turnover of £1300, this year in contrast I have only a profit of £600 on a turnover of just under £900.
I tend to split income into three main categories:
1. blogs
2. passive (including contextual adverts)
3. Cassette conversions
Each of these categories are showing a significant reduction in turnover, so there is not one specific area which is suffering. It's a little disappointing, but as it is just income that I am earning in my spare time, I guess I am having more spare time to myself... although I am spending a lot more time and effort on my 'day-job' this year, and have had significant bonuses to show for the effort.
I still have a few more projects (mostly Wordpress) that I want to explore, and have just come up with a new idea for a website - not sure whether there is any great way to monetise it, but the idea tackles a subject I am interested in, which is the key to seeing a project through in my opinion. I am going to use a WP theme for this which gives me three projects currently on the 'front burner' (plenty more on the back burner..). I am still working on getting Livewyre.NET onto a WP platform, it is looking really good, but I still have a lot to do. I have another site that I want to transfer onto a WP theme (tricky client though, it's for my wife!), and this new project that just occurred to me.
It's good to keep busy, and they always say that there is no rest for the wicked, in which case I must be particularly bad! If you are kind enough to read my posts, then Happy New Year - and to those that pay me for posts, Happy New Year to you too!

Lakland

Many years ago, I started to learn the bass guitar, and actually bought myself a cheap one to learn with. When I moved house, I loaned the bass to a friend with the idea that I might collect it at some point, but I never did.
From time to time I wonder whatever happened to that guitar, and when I see bass guitars on sale such as the lakland at Musician's Friend I hanker after buying myself another one and devoting myself to learning the instrument properly this time - A New Year's Resolution maybe?

All over bar the shouting

Well it's all over now, Christmas Day and Boxing Day have gone and life reverts to 'normal'. Thankfully the holidays passed without too much shouting, but nonetheless, it is all over.. We actually passed a pleasant few days away from home, Christmas Day was spent in the traditional family gathering, but we had Boxing Day to ourselves. I got a good deal on an 'executive room' in a hotel over the Christmas break, so I booked an extra night and my wife and daughter and I had the extra day to ourselves yesterday. We started with a swim in the hotel leisure complex, a walk in a local park, lunch in a diner, a film at the cinema and home in time to have dinner in the hotel. Remarkably few arguments, and money well spent on a small 'suite' comprising two rooms (each with an impressive flat screen TV) in the hotel - an experience which I will be only too ready to repeat in the future.

Capo

A capo is a true guitarist's friend, enabling the musician to transpose on the frets of his (or her) guitar. There are a great variety of capo available, but few outlets can boast the range of capo at Musician's Friend.

As well as different models to suit different types of guitar, the range of designs available is quite outstanding. Whether buying for yourself, or for a friend or relative, you will be sure to find a design that suits your guitar, your personal taste and your pocket.

Knee scooters

If you are planning a vacation or special event, but are inconvenienced by a below-the-knee injury, you can rent knee scooters at rentakneewalker.com. There is no need to be inconvenienced by a lower-leg plaster or foot injury, as these scooters can take the strain and allow you to partake in many activities that would not be suitable for someone using crutches or a wheelchair.
Regain your freedom and comfort by renting a scooter for short or long-term, for the truly long-term patients, purchasing a scooter maybe the best solution.