Monthly Archives: September 2014

No

So it’s looking like a no majority in the Scottish referendum. But the pretty huge yes vote should be a major slap in the face for the Government. I say should because it probably won’t be. One must wonder how large the yes majority could’ve been had Labour been in power. And what the outcome would’ve been during a second coalition parliament.

Hopefully, there won’t be one of those.

Office

I was quite happy with the rather outdated version of Microsoft Office that I’ve been using at work for the past few years. It hadn’t changed a lot since the 90s, apart from some cosmetics. Everything was in a sensible place and reasonably quick to use.

At home, I’ve been using Open Office or Libre Office for years. They’re nicer to use than the Microsoft package, but work in a similar way. Most important, they’re free.

But today my world has changed. At least at work. A rather beautiful new computer arrived today, with two large screens. It does all look rather nice, although I’ll miss Windows XP. I’ll also miss Office 2003 (or whatever it was).

While I only use Windows 7 at home for iTunes, I can tolerate it. But the new works Office (2013?) is horrendous. It seems to be an exercise in cosmetics rather than productivity. Hardly any of the familiar functions are easy to find and everything takes much longer than it used to. I know I’ll get used to it, but it’s not at all intuitive. I just hope that the open source alternatives don’t follow Microsoft’s lead.

And, yes, I needed to work late because Word trashed the formatting of the paper I was working on.

Fishless beer

I came across this on twitter earlier today.

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I’ve never actually been inside the Star and Shadow cinema, although I’ve walked past many times. The mention of vegan beer attracted my attention, even though most unfined/seaweed fined beer is vegan. So that’s our Saturday afternoon sorted.

And a visit to the Crown Posada afterwards could now be on the agenda too.

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Man cave brewery

It’s funny how quickly the weather changes isn’t it. I was sitting in the garden early yesterday afternoon, thinking how green the grass looked in the sunshine (and how it needed cutting).

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And, pretty much at the same time today (after cutting the grass and potting stuff), it’s so dull. Ok, so it’s still quite warm and certainly pleasant enough to sit outside with a beer, but it doesn’t feel the same.

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Anyway, I’ve been sitting looking at the shed (it’s not really a shed, you can just make it out behind green things), thinking that I really need to make use of it. It’s empty apart from an old wheelbarrow with a wobbly wheel, a bag of compost and a couple of chimney pots. The intention was always to make use of it, since it’s a decent size and actually a pretty cool building, but I’d not originally appreciated its damp issues (the garden of the house behind ours reaches halfway up the back wall of the shed). So, if I want to use it, it’ll need tanking (since parts of the walls are covered in soil). And that’s what I plan to do. After I finish the bathroom. And the spare bedroom(s) – we’re considering knocking the two together, as they were when the house was built.

For some time, I’ve thought that the shed would be an excellent place to make beer. From scratch. It’s ideal; easily heated, but cool even in the summertime. Which naturally makes it the perfect man cave (perhaps with the addition of a TV and beer fridge). I do love a good project.

Biscuits

In the past two weeks, I’ve consumed only two things made from (or including) animal derived products. The obvious was Quorn. There’s still some in the freezer, so there’ll soon be more. And then it’ll be used up. Then there’s margarine, or spread as it’s now called. Again, the spread was already in use. Which means I’m pretty pleased with myself.

I’ll concede that biscuits have been the biggest issue. Until this evening, that is. In two weeks I’d eaten no biscuits. But, then, my second in command made a random purchase from the corner shop at the end of the street. Initially, I’d dismissed them as almost certainly not vegetarian. And then I bothered myself to read the packaging. To find that they contained no animal-based contents. Now, this was surprising. As a new vegetarian, around 1982-3, I seriously struggled to find anything which was free from animal fat or sugar (which at the time involved charcoal made from bones).

So, it seems that it may not be so difficult to avoid animal products entirely after all. I think that this demonstrates the huge influence that vegetarians have had on the food industry over the last couple of decades.

Now, compared with becoming a vegetarian all those years ago, when most meals had to be made from scratch and eating out wasn’t possible, maybe it isn’t as difficult as I ‘d imagined.

I’m looking on this as a slow process. But at least I now have biscuits.

Bundestag

Really, not so long ago you could walk in off the street (ok, so the security was a bit tough). Now you have to go through an arduous online booking process.

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I know, I shouldn’t leave everything until the last minute.

iPhone 6

So the iPhone 6 has been on show. I’m on my second iPhone, an almost end of contract iPhone 5. I love the phones, even though they’re ridiculously overpriced, and had, until a few months ago, intended staying with Apple with my next upgrade. But, with a bit of luck, I’ll be parting company with my iPhone in a little while. That’s reliant on the launch of the Ubuntu phone going ahead, of course. I appreciate that there’ll be no more than 50 apps available when it’s launched, and the phone’s unlikely to be on sale on the high street. But I like the idea of a phone running linux (properly). With a bit of luck it’ll happen.

Forthcoming events II

A rather embarrassing amendment.

I currently have tickets booked for:
The Hold Steady
Bryan Adams
Augustines
Interpol (well, from a tout on the day)
Elbow

Forthcoming events

Currently have tickets booked for:
The Hold Steady
Augustines
Interpol (well, from a tout on the day)
Elbow

I think I’m probably looking forward to seeing the Augustines the most.