The Sturdy Soapbox

Wow, that's impressive

I had a gentleman caller yesterday, virgin.  No not him, that's where he was from, come to put fibre broadband in.

I have not been til recently, dissatisfied with Tesco broadband which gave download speeds of about 12 Mb/ second especially as they extended the free broadband element into year 2 meaning I was just paying phone line rental. Year three and my bill went up by about 7 pounds a month which was no big deal, but then Talk Talk took over.

First thing they did was block access to torrent sites.

I trawled the deals on offer for broadband, not necessarily fibre.  Virgin were doing a 50 mb fibre option with phone line for £ 21 a month for 9 months, goes up to about 34 after that.

Decided to try that as the worst thing would be I would be stuck with them for 9 months if the performance was rubbish. I couldn't have been wronger !

Took the guy less than half an hour to set things up. The wireless mo down as Wally the Welder calls the router, is over by the window where the junction box for satellite service etc is already wired in as these blocks have been for a while.

This is good, because I have been able to site mo down and both my network hard drives out of sight behind the telly meaning my end of the lounge where there where under the dining table is now looking extremely clutter free.

The mo down has 2 wireless settings it gives off, 2G and 5G as they call it.  The 5G is the faster and fortunately all my wireless toys have latched on to that successfully.  Did a speedtest and got the reading you see at the top of this post and most have been the same since.

Because this is a high rise block, there's a lot of steel in the construction and despite being a small flat (you could spit as far as the bedroom from the lounge), I've never been able to get a decent wireless signal in the bedroom.

the guy said the Virgin mo down was one of the best around (it's certainly got lots of lights on). Sadly, the signal in the bedroom was piss weak.

A while ago, I bought a repeater which is in the hall, but trying to stream music from the network drives was hit and miss even with a signal strength of mid 50%.

I'm getting a lot better from this network, mid 80% and did a test streaming some video and some music to my phone with little to nothing in the way of drop out.

The one bone of contention which I knew about in advance was site blocking.

To get round Talk Talk's shenanigans, I started using Opera browser (which I like) which in their "turbo" mode routes data through their servers and therefore you could access the sites blocked by the likes of Virgin, BT etc who are all running scared these days.

Somehow, this is not the case with this connection. So, any geeks out there with some simple solution to this for proxy, I'd like to hear from you.  Yes, I know about VPN, but I don't want to start paying out money and I want it to be SIMPLE, like just opening a browser.

Talking of the welder as I was, not heard from the little piglet in ages.  See, there's been no food on the go with me involved with full time work and being tired all the other time.

You don't write, you don't phone is certainly apt in this instance. Told Bob the Butcher and he just said "bless him"...

Told you the only time you get Wally's attention is when you have food.

Bob's been on form recently. We were talking about something musical and Bob said you day know I've sung in front of the Prince of Wales did ya ?"

I looked at him quizzically. "No" I replied.

"Oh yes, and quite a few other pubs in West Bromwich too".

Fell for it hook line and sinker I did.

Quite a lot of other things going on, but will have to post about that another time. Lots to do this morning.

 

 

 

 

All change...

When I got back into work in August 2014, I was very surprised, considering my long period out of full time work and especially my age.

I could give a seminar on being 58 and actively job seeking.

I did 13 months in the environmental company, yet I knew on my first day I wouldn't be happy there and I never was.

The new job is a bit of a story. I'll keep it brief.

Saw a job advertised (through an agency) which every line read as if it was written for me.  A lot of it was what I've been doing for the last 13 months, some SEO, blog writing, photography and promotion stuff.

Applied, heard nothing. Because of the close match, I was pretty miffed at this. I did a bit of research and managed to find the company who was recruiting, so I wrote to them directly.

Nothing !

I wrote it off as yet another bad experience, then out of the blue, a month later I received an e mail on a Sunday afternoon asking if I was still looking for work.

Went along a day or so later and did a really good interview. They are looking to put in ISO 9000 too, which would be a good project for me, as I don't see myself as a full time IT type.

Computers for me have always been tools to help me produce decent quality output.

I provided a lot of hard evidence of what I had been doing, after all, a lot of what I did was out there in the public domain.

Was a little surprised when I was asked along to a second meeting after all that had passed.

That did not go as well and I thought, this is it, close but no cigar.

After a few more e mails, I was offered the job and decided to take it, on the advice of a couple of close pals who's opinion I value and a little of the what's the worst that can happen.

I start tomorrow. I had a week at home, just resting and getting my mind in order. One thing that will be nice is I will be leaving home a little later each morning, as it's not as far as the old job (which moved premises about 6 weeks ago and was a bit of a pain with the buses).

This is one straight bus route, regular buses and a three quarter of a mile walk to the business.

I should be home around the same time as before, but hopefully less tired.

The transition from weekly pay to monthly will be a bit of a pain. I've managed to alter payment dates of some of my bills, but still have a couple of hundred quid I have to make sure I have by certain dates.

It will hopefully be a fresh start. It's a much smaller company than previous. LED decorative lighting and pond fountains and stuff.

9;30 start on my first day, woo hoo.

 

 

 

RIP Basmati restaurant

I'mentioned it here in the past. I've been using the restuarant on and off for twenty years. It's the only place I know of in miles that does a methi gosht (cos it's a Bengali restaurant).

I can forgive the fact their website had a scrolling banner wishing us Merry Christmas til a week or so ago.

About 2 months ago, I ordered myself a Saturday night treat of a methi gosht and a paneer dish in a rich creamy tomato sauce.  they are about 4 miles away, but do deliver down to us in the Birchills and the couple I'd had previous were excellent.

That night, an hour or more passed and still no curry, then the phone rang and the guy said I'm outside. Down I went in the lift and no one in sight. Back up I came in the world's slowest lift and called him back. Where are you, I enquired.  He gave me an address that wasn't mine. I googled it and he was the other side of Bloxwich.

By the time he got to me, the food was cold.

A few weeks later, I ordered up a methi gosht and a Bombay potato. The meat in the curry was tough as old boots. the potato dish tasted strongly of vinegar and was inedible.

I mentioned this to OBC and he said that with him, restaurants are only as good as their last meal. 

Last night was the first time in a while  I've craved a Saturday night curry treat. I called Basmati at 5pm. Firstly, the guy seemed not to be paying attention. He kept putting the phone down and I could hear him jabbering to someone as I sat there wondering what was going on. Then I'd have to repeat myself (this happened three or four times). 

Then he didn't know what matar paneer was (despite it being on the menu as muter paneer).

I even explained, paneer and peas. Then when it came for me to pay, he kept getting the number wrong despite my clearly orating it. He said he was having a problem and would call me straight back.

Ten minutes went by, no call. I rang him back and he said he'd been busy taking take away orders on the phone. Whilst mine ordered half an hour ago is ignored.  I told him to forget what I'd ordered and I'd get curry elsewhere (there must be fifty in the locality who deliver).

The boss rang me back. He also offered up the busy taking orders excuse certainly unaware that for every order they took, pushed mine ordered at the minute they opened was pushed down the line.

After putting them in their place, I opted for the more local Shahi Grill who delivered up a very nice lamb bhuna (apart from the pieces of raw onion in the sauce) and a matar or muter paneer, which had an excellent flavour, good portion but unfortunately more raw onion.

I've no idea what is going on at the Basmati, a place I've raved about for so many years and recommended others to go try.

Am arranging a boys night out with Audie and Junior Cockwomble in a week or two's time. Guess where we won't be going?

 

Coffee, a complicated kettle of ball games

I've not bought coffee from a supermarket in easily a year. I've been getting it from a specialist supplier online called Coffee Real.  

They do varieties from all over the world and very very good they are too.

A while back, I started having problems with my machine. Well, I have a lot of problems with the damned thing. It's a very high maintenance piece of kit, not actually going wrong, but just throwing wobblers every so often and making the simple practice of making a cup of coffee a rather longwinded and frustrating process.

The milk frothing unit for example.  Had to buy a new one of those before Christmas at £ 20 (thirty if you buy it from DeLonghi).  I've had to buy new baskets, I think I'm on my third.

Then even with a new basket, I had problems getting the machine to pour at all.  That's when me and Coffee Real got into a long discussion about fineness of coffee ground.

They sent me four samples with different grades 5, 6, 7 8. I used them and they all poured beautifully. I decided to buy a burr coffee grinder and have discovered that even on the finest grade, it is too course and I get coffee with little to bugger all in flavour.

I also discovered that grades 1 to 12, grade 1 is the finest. 

All I want is my cappuccinos in the morning with some oomph in the cup. I've not been getting it. 

I was always of the opinion that dripping a bit of hot water through ground coffee and a paper filter was a waste of good coffee, as the stuff just isn't giving  up its flavour. 

Now I discover it only yields the kind of wow I seek, if it is ground to a particular fineness and has water of a particular temperature forced through it at 15 bar.

Why does everything these days have to be so complicated ? 

I remember back in my teenhood, all that was on offer was mellow Bird's.

Fat, devious little piglet !

Who am I talking about ? Wally the Welder.

Last week, I had two days off (to celebrate my birthday). We'd planned to get together, he Pat and I for a drink, but this got cancelled  due to problems their end.

Welder came over on the morning of my birthday, not only to give me a pressie, but to hand over gifts from Christmas and receive the same from me.

You'll recall I was so ill over Christmas, I saw no one and still had a ruck of presents for people until last week.

I handed over a bag for him, a bag for pat and then alerted him to the fact there was a big slab of toffee for Irene.

Late that afternoon, I received a picture through on my phone of a half eaten slab of toffee. I rang him and expressed dismay. "I told you quite clearly the toffee was for Irene",

"I thought you said biscuits" came the reply.

"Were there any fucking biscuits in either of the bags" I enquired, as there clearly wasn't.

 

Then I recall a while back when I sent three portions of curry home with him, again one for Irene.  Pat blabbed that they'd eaten all three because piglet hadn't told her one was Irene's. She's on a diet anyway, I heard him grunt in the background, still smacking his lips together.

So Irene never got her curry or her Christmas present of toffee all because of a greedy little oinker named Wally !

 

 

 

Cry myself to sleep I will...

No post, no postman struggling with Valentine's cards, Charlie Chalk had three !

I did tell him one of them was from me, but he didn't buy it. Frankly I don't care. I was more narked at the fact I ordered a new double shot basket for my coffee machine over a week ago and it still hasn't come. 

Arrived at Bob the Butcher's this morning and he handed me a Scotch egg and said try that. what flavour is it I enquired. Spring onion he said. I've already tried them.

I handed him 4 cans of Bank's mild asking do you want to try these. I've already tried them, he told me.

Still had em though.

He told me how his nephew recently lost his mobile. A couple of days after a young lady rang one of his family numbers that was in the phone and said she'd found it in the park.

They arranged to meet her in the park. Bob took him to claim it. Got there, no girl. Rang her and said we'm here. She said so am I.

After a few quizzical questions, the lad asked which park. She gave her location which turned out to be a park in Truro Cornwall where they'd been a week or so before.

They were in a park in West Brom, they couldn't see her from where they were.

Bob's life is littered with little dramas like that. Like his sister's dog which weighs more than Bob and refused to get out of the car because it knew they were at the vets.

My sister took me to lunch today as an early birthday present. Popped up to the Bell on the Birmingham road. Nice Doom Bar steak and ale pie, but the mash tasted like instant.

I also got a nice big bowl of just sprouting hyacinths she'd planted up for me. She knows I've loved them since I was a little kid. I like Honeysuckles too (not to eat you numpty).

To help me get over the disappointment of the filter basket (I'm on single shot cappuccinos now), I haz beer for Saturday night. Be up to fighting come 9 o clock.

Back on track

That run in with Lyxumia was a pretty unpleasant six weeks. Fortunately, my bloods are now much more near normal early in the morning, better still, I feel almost human again and have more energy.

January bills are a drag. I'm still cutting the Christmas tree up. Had to go out and buy some new secateurs as depite having two pairs, could I find either when I wanted em ?

Popped in to Wilko and ended up buying a new hanging feeder for the beaky villains, a square block of fat with fruit in, a special cage so you can hang it so the pigeons won't get it, fat balls for the starlings and a bag of mealworms.

Saw someone stacking dog baskets or something and asked if she could point me in the direction of the secateurs which she did.

It was only when I got to the checkout and saw this lady paying for her stuff, including a new dog basket that I realised she didn't work there. I apologised profusely for mistaking here for a dog basket stacker.

And yes, you guessed it, the beaked villains are eating better then me at the moment, especially as I've all but given up alcohol and have been strict on calories since the start of the working new year.

This weekend is the national RSPB bird watch weekend, where you record and send to them the results of one hour's bird watching just about anywhere you are.

I don't need to record, I can tell them now. At least a dozen overfed cheeky greenfinches who take up residence on a peg at the feeder and munch black sunflower seeds, spit out the husks and don't move until they are full.

When there are free pegs, hyperactive blue tits and great tits who sweep in, take a seed and fly off again. One or two like to hop up on the bird table and bash the seed to get at the heart, though these days I don't see Basher who did that all the time, I'm sure he gave himself a headache.

Then there's up to fifteen cheeky starlings who like the hanging cage filled with fat balls. They're indifferent to the new block with fruit in, picky little bastards.

Meal worms are put out as a treat, as they aren't cheap. Those last minutes if the starlings spot them.

Still not heard about getting a Euro grant to fund this feeding program. Must've got lost in the post.

So I will indeed set aside an hour for the RSPB, but the result won't be much different than reported here.

Rhyming slang

Many years ago when I lived and worked in the west country, there was an incident where my rather tough boss Richard was giving someone a jolly  good dressing down on the phone. As he put the phone down, he muttered the C word which was unexpected considering the admonishement itself had been bereft of expletives.

I cracked up, Richard cracked up and Denise our well spoken secretary who was in an adjoining office with the door open shouted through "what's got you boys laughing"

"Richard just called (whoever it had been) a word that rhymes with a flat bottomed boat that goes down the river" I replied.  There was a long silence and she came back with "I can't think of a swear word that rhymes with gondola"

Took us well over an hour to recover.

As for Denise and her posh accent, it was all well and good most of the time, but if she got excited and wanted to labour a point she'd say in the broadest west country Dunnit evurrr.

 

Blood like treacle

Boy, have I been having trouble with this new medication.

It ruined my Christmas and beyond. 

I have kept excellent control of my blood sugar for the past 10 years to the delight of the medicos I see on a regular basis. When the specialist put me on the injected stuff, it was partly because of a change in my long term sugar control and partly to help me lose weight.

What the new stuff has done is make me very sickly indeed especially in the mornings.

Every day this week, I have eaten sensibly and less than 1500 calories each day. I've had an early night and when I got up next morning have been feeling fo sick and dizzy whilst I wasn't feeling that ill when I went off to bed.

Checked my blood sugar this morning and it was 15.9 14 hours after I last ate  and that's why I felt like I did.

I've contacted the GP and am waiting on a phone call to arrange an emergency appointment to review my medication and the reason for my early morning hyper readings.

It was over ten years ago I had a problem like this and then my readings hit 19.

I perked up a bit at noon today which at least means I can concentrate a bit more on my job, but I am now dreading mornings.

I follow the instructions of my specialist to the letter which is probably why I'm so messed up.

Hope I can get on top of this, because gooey blood doesn't half make you feel ill.

 

Jobs always jobs

As I write this, I have no ironed shirts for my return to work tomorrow. 

The Dodgers Christmas shoot was December 17th (a lifetime ago) and I finished on the 19th. I washed those shirts on the 20th and in the wardrobe they still hang.

Until this afternoon, the photos from the shoot sat on the laptop. I had sent half size pics to Trev who knows everyone's names and what medal they wonned. I got those back and today galvanised myself in to  creating the slideshow for the Dodgers site.

It's not quite my standard, I settled for copyrite music (Dean Martin) where nomally I'd seek free issue. The movie finished bfore the music which to me is annoying.

Knowing me, if I can get above the shitty feeling these new injections are causing, I will change it.

Anyway, for now, here you go:

 

The Dodgers really are a fine set of people, many with more serious health problems than me, yet they manage to get to Hereford and Worcester Shooting Ground each Wednesday for a well organised yet relaxed meet of trying to hit the clays where success is varied and expletives many.

After this short presentation, there was a fine Christmas feast much of it brought in by the members, but a large and tasty pork pie from HWSG to provide a very fine table.

Sorry it was so long in coming people, but just consider one of us will either be up early in the morning with a smoothing iron or going to work with a shirt the resembles a weather map.