Summer?

Summer is finally here. Friday was a scortcher.

The end of summer has taken me by surprise every year in the four years that I've been in the UK now but not this year! This year I'm going to make an effort to make the most of the warm weather and the garden in the house we're moving to next week is going to help.

Other than the packing and physically moving stuff from one house to another and the admin involved in getting all my accounts and stuff set up to reflect my new address, I quite like moving. It's a good opportunity to reassign roles to the various machines that are set up in the house and the fact that we'll probably be internetless for a few days anyway will help.

Google Maps

Google's beta for their map software looks pretty impressive.  I like the fact that it will actually give you directions as well as just showing the location that you're looking for.  Until now I've been using MS Autoroute to do that. 

 

Incorporating the search with places on the map is pretty cool as well.

Crazy Vespa

Hmmm... I was wondering what it would take to get my Vespa to sound like this.

(from Super Bike Magazine)

Number 5

Charter One Bank? Never heard of them.

I wasn't able to find a suitable AC Adapter at the fair today... I'm running out of ideas.

Number 4

A phishing email arrived from The Woolwich Internet Bank today.

Other news... my quest to get information off my flat laptop goes on...

Today was the day that I desperately needed to get some source code off it and decided to resort to removing the hard drive and plugging it into my desktop machine.... Unfortunately after getting an mini IDE to IDE converter I remembered that it's RAID over two disks. There goes that idea.

Tomorrow I'm going to go don to the Computer Fair in Tottenham Court Road to see if I can pick up the AC adapter that I need there. As long as I can get the right Volts and Amps I'll solder the right plug on if I have to!

I'm still without laptop.

Alienware are only getting stock of the AC Adaptor that I need next week and my attempts to by an alternative part have failed. The closest match to the one that I need is an Amp & Volt out and doesn't work. I guess I'm just going to have to be patient.

Phishing Season

What's the deal? I hardly ever get any phishing emails but I've received three since Friday. So far I've received dodgey emails from Lloyds TSB, Barclays and Abbey National... at this rate they should get to a bank that I actually have an account with by the end of the month.

Back to using my desktop machine.

The power supply on my laptop has died. I plugged it in at work this morning and to my dismay, I wasn't greeted by it's reassuring green LED. Using a different socket and power cable didn't do the trick... It's definitely dead.

Alienware tech support seem as distraught about this as I am and shipped a replacement immediately... Unfortunately I doubt it will arrive before next week which is a bit of a hassle and means that I'm going to have to be onsite for the rest of the week.

My next computer case.

OK, I've found the case that I want for my next PC. (Or at least Craig found it. Thanks Craig.)

I don't know how I've survived this long without one.