Archive for October 2008
Nokia N95 and the Lifeblog
Posted on Wed, Oct 22, 2008 at 9:57 by Michelle
I really love this bit of software. I like the way it organises my text messages and photographs into a timeline, which gives me a virtual diary to look back on. It has been updated and possibly improved on by Nokia photos and I just read, about to be done over again to be replaced with Ovi PC.
All of this was academic because after the latest update to the software on my N95, whenever I tried to sync with lifeblog I got the error that my database was corrupt and the sync was canceled. So of course I looked for answers on the net. The standard Nokia (and quite a few blog entries) response was to update the timelime in Lifeblog on the mobile, which also threw up an error.
I was now in the position of having a phone which is bursting with images, videos and text, that I don't want to delete but was unable to save. (Actually I did put the media onto picassa, but I didn't want to remove them from the phone until I had exhausted every possibility with Lifeblog/Nokia Photos.)
Yesterday i tried to call Nokia Customer Service and could not get through on their number, then my day was taken over by the virtumonde computer virus, now I've almost got that under control I'm back to the phone, going to give it one more try before deleting them. So I used PC suite to back up and tried another Google search for Lifeblog.
Woo Hoo, I found some more fixes, one of which was to delete the first couple of media (image/video) items in Lifeblog, but the one that worked for me, was to scroll back through the entries (all 900 of them) and delete anything that was blank. I found 3 blank entries in 900 which I deleted and it's only gone and worked, and is syncing while I write this.
As I got another fucking popup while I was searching for that, I better get back to the virtumonde fix, which may very well result in a full fucking format of the c: ....
|Posted in Geek Alert (RSS)
Pizza in Aldeburgh
Posted on Tue, Oct 21, 2008 at 12:03 by Michelle
This weekend was parents weekend when parents of children who attend Summerhill are allowed to see their kids, (It's not quite that strict, but almost). We had arranged to couchsurf another parent who has a house a few minutes walk from the school. This worked out very well, there were 3 sets of parents all in, and it was really lovely to feel homely with my kids, it's normally very difficult to think of things to do to fill in the time. When they were smaller we went to soft play, swimming pools and bowling, but now with petrol being so so expensive driving in to Ipswich works out really pricey, and there isn't a great deal to do locally, not that they want to go swimming any more and they are too old for soft play.
After picking them up we headed in Aldeburgh for something to eat. Chris will only eat outdoor reared meat, and I hoped we'd be able to find something but he ended up with a vege pizza from Prezzo I am sure a few other parents have mentioned this place and it was OK. I probably wouldn't go in again unless the kids asked to, it was a bit expensive for my pocket, the pizza's were nice, stone baked etc, I had the spinach with Chris and thought it bland, but we all loved the olives that came as an appetizer.
Aldeburgh is a quaint town on the the East Anglian coast. It is close
enough to London for the more affluent to have second homes there, which
shows in the boutique type shops that line the front street. It is a
very pretty town, although it's beach has nothing on South
Shields, the beach at Aldeburgh is a shingle beach, and unless you
like that crippled feeling, best not walked on in Crocs! After eating we
had a walk down to the sea and worked off some of the carbs. 
The seafront is lovely to walk along the houses are so prettily decorated, and this one has to be the smallest house I ever saw. I'm not even sure if it could be lived in. It looks as though there may be enough room for a sitting room and kitchen downstairs and bedroom and bathroom upstairs, but it would be squeeze. It looks only slighter larger than a beach hut.
Before leaving on the Sunday we went for a mooch around Snape Maltings, Dave and Chris had a hilarious game of guess the price in the shop, OMG that stuff was expensive. We went to the nearby Crown for lunch, which served their own home reared pigs. I was so pleased to be able to get Chris to eat some meat, umm that sounds so 'Jewish mother', it's not that I have any hang ups on what he eats, but he doesn't eat a 'good' vege diet and at his age I worry, tch, who am I kidding, there's always something to worry about. Anyway the pub was lovely, it looked as though it could fall down around you if someone sneezed hard, but they had Aspall's cider and a large and varied menu. We'll deinfintely eat there again. Looking it up for the blog, I can see it has received quite a few good review from travel and food writers, so if you're near it, or going to Snape Maltings, stop and have some supper.
|Posted in Eating Out (RSS), Family (RSS), Summerhill (RSS)
Babies and birthdays
Posted on Fri, Oct 17, 2008 at 14:55 by Michelle
Yesterday was my eldest grandson's 5th birthday. His name is David (the
name David is the Life of Brian joke in our family) and he is so cute
and god only knows where these last 5 years went. I went along
to the soft play area to help his mum set up and keep an eye on the
kids. I hope they enjoyed it as much as I did, watching the boys playing
and little Melissa wandering around in that "mm what's this" wonderment
at everything was truly amazing.
The worst part was a few minutes to the end, the kids were all tired and Harriette asked me to play some games to keep them occupied, trying to get a dozen 5 and 6 year olds to play musical statues and dead lions when they were tired and hyperactive from party food had me exhausted. The party finished at 7, and I hate to admit I was in bed by 8.30 and there's me wondering how come I never go clubbing anymore.
Congratualtions to Amalah whose blog I read avidly, we've all been patiently waiting for the birth and her gorgeous baby Ezra was born on the same day.
|The butcher, the baker and the ...fruiter
Posted on Sun, Oct 12, 2008 at 17:36 by Michelle
Oh, you might know the fruiter (pronounced froo'ta, or even froo'ta'rer) as the green grocer, if you're not from the north east of England. I try to buy most of the fruit and veg from the fruiter, it lasts longer, but more importantly it costs less than the supermarket, and we are lucky that there are still a few independent shops left locally.
The baker, well, I do most of my own baking, but since I lost the paddle for the bread maker, and it makes better bread than my hand made efforts I've been buying bread. I hate buying bread, it costs such a lot, over £1 for a loaf is way too high for my conscience. I try to get it when it's marked down and fill up the freezer, but I've been avoiding the supermarket as I'm particularly skint this month and have just picked up bread and milk as needed. I needed a few things and had a trip to Lidl planned, I asked my neighbour if she fancied a look over with me, she suggested we went in her car and headed to the newly opened Lidl's in South Shields. When we parked up she told me of a Gregg's seconds shop that her mam had been to which was near enough for us to take a look. Oh my, 3 small seeded loaves for 75p and 12 bread buns for 50p. I got a few of them and a pack of the ends of caramel slices, yummy. So we're OK for bread this week, and Gregg's seconds is firmly on my shopping trip agenda. (There's another of these Day Old shops on Westgate Road).
The butcher, this feels like a real indulgence I remember when I was small accompanying my nanna to the huge butcher on the corner of the high street in Gateshead. There was an aisle up the middle of the shop and butchers working both sides. There was sawdust on the floor and you could smell blood when you walked in. In the 25 years I've been buying meat it has mostly been from the supermarket. To be honest, I wasn't even sure what to ask for in the butcher's and in the supermarket it's so easy to pick up from the sterile, prepackaged, uniformly cut and extremely limited supply of meat. Last September I sold my car and decided to use public transport, (this exercise lasted for 6 months) but as the buses had convoluted routes, I found there was a butcher practically on my doorstep. What a find this turned out to be, a friendly, family butcher in Concord. I go there now about once a week. If I want thick pork chops they cut them that way. If I'm cooking burgers or making my own sausages they mince up the best pork or mince for the purpose. It's not organic, I can't afford that, but I'm assured that it's outdoor reared, it doesn't have water added and it tastes great. The butchers that work there are so friendly and helpful that it's a pleasure to shop there. The last few weeks, my purchases haven't been much more than mince and ham shanks. Thank goodness for winter when it's so easy to make nutritious, warming and cheap soups.
Luckily my daughter is not a fussy eater
Me, after the 4th night of soup: "Are you fed up with soup for tea?"
Her, "not when they are different types".
This week we've had;
- Leek and potato
- Roasted pepper and tomato
- Roasted butternut
- Chicken and veg,
I bought 2 free range chooks from Lidl's which made
- 6 portions of soup
- 2 days sandwiches for 3 people
- jerk chicken for (4 legs)
- fajitas for 3
- chicken korma for 4.
I know Jamie Oliver did the feed your family for a fiver advertising for Sainsburys, but I'd really expect to feed my family for a fiver a day, not a meal. And, while I'm on the subject of Jamie Oliver, the new show he's doing, 'The Ministry of Food' fantastic idea, people do need to be shown how to cook again, but really, families on benefits and he's showing them meals made from salmon and tuna steak, get real, it's possible to eat very well without spending that sort of money on ingredients.
|Posted in Frugal (RSS), Money Saving (RSS)
100 things about jordylass
Posted on Sun, Oct 05, 2008 at 11:53 by Michelle
-
My name is Michelle
- I'm into facebook at the moment.
- I have 5 children aged 22-12
- I have 3 grandchildren aged 5, 3 and 1.
- I love to drive fast.
- My best ever holiday was in Florida.
- I love to get away in my caravan.
- I used to have my tongue pierced.
- I ran away to London when I was 16.
- I left school (see above) with no qualifications.
- I qualified as a nurse when I was 25.
- I like to work out at the gym.
- It doesn't show.
- I couldn't boil an egg 3 years ago.
- I used to manage an escort agency.
- My favourite places to wander are Newbiggin by the Sea and Edmundbyers.
- I buy almost everything for my house from boot sales.
- I was a competitive diver when I was in school.
- I used to live on the 23rd floor of a tower block when I lived in London, (and I loved it).
- I'm scared of heights.
- I sold books on Amazon for a while, (but didn't make much money and don't have the storage space).
- I have written websites.
- Built PC's.
- Edited Movies and photographs.
- Ran an online enterprise.
- I've never had a lesson in computing or computers.
- I read a dummies book once.
- I like to play poker (no limit holdem)
- I've read loads of books about poker.
- I've read loads of websites about poker.
- I still don't win at poker.
- I like to wear crocs.
- I have 3 pairs of crocs. (purple, yellow and green)
- I've just started studying to become a podiatrist.
- I like being a student.
- I've learnt that Crocs are not good for your feet.
- I could eat jacket potatoes for tea every night of the week and not get bored.
- I make my own ice cream, and it's better than Ben and Jerry's.
- I love watching telly, X Factor, House, Greys Anatomy, No Angels, Secret Diary of a Call Girl.
- My favourite housework is hanging the washing outside on the line.
More later, as it's harder than I thought.
- I always take the alternative route.
- My 3 youngest children were born at home.
- My 2 youngest were home educated for a while.
- Now they go to an alternative school.
- I only drink Douwe Egberts coffee
- I only buy Charmin loo roll
- They are the only things I am snobby about, everything else is own brand/cheapest.
- I only drink tea outside of the house, 'cos coffee never tastes nice unless I make it.
- I've started to go grey.
- I have a reddish colour dye on my hair at the moment.
- I like to eat humanely reared meat, so I usually choose vegetarian if I eat out.
- I had a McDonald's with the kids just before they went back to Summerhill
- It was my first time in McD's for over 2 years.
- Most nights I can't be arsed to cook.
- I always do though 'cos I can't afford to eat out.
- My favourite food is rare steak.
- My favourite drink is champagne,
- cider
- red wine
- white wine
- coors
- southern comfort
- vodka
- Bacardi
- I'm thinking of having a tattoo on my wrist.
- I don't have any tattoos right now.
- My grandmother taught me to knit
- I can knit, but I don't.
- I think I have a sort of photographic memory.
- I'm good at exams.
- but not good at course work.
- I can't get a job in I.T. as I don't have a qualification.
- I'm looking for an evening job.
- I wish I could make a living at poker.
- I don't wear jewelry except earings now and again
- I have a fascination with the Amish way of life.
- Apart from Harry Potter, I mostly read non fiction.
- I'm currently looking out for Billie Piper's autobiography at the boot sales.
- I read loads of books about communism in my teens.
- I bought my car on eBay.
Only 20 more to go.
- I am a potty mouth and swear, a lot.
I think I'm an 81 item person.
- I researched Feng Shui for a while.
- We have a money tree
- Foo Dogs
- and some buddhas in random places around the house.
- I don't know if it works, but it helps with the clutter.
- I cry at movies, songs, sad stuff on the radio, pretty much everything.
- My Initials are the middle two letters of the alphabet (MN), to save you counting it through.
- I'm scared of dogs.
- I've had a stray cat here for about 8 months, she's called 'the cat'.
- I am a morning person and lose higher level consciousness after about 7pm.
- I want to live in the states for a while
- and Spain
- and maybe Italy.
- I'd like to walk the Camino De Santiago. (no mean feat for someone who doesn't walk more than 20 paces).
- I'm scared of heights. (oops, said that twice)
- I'm currently reading Slam by Nick Hornby, it's very good.
- My only allergy is to duck eggs.
- My 2 favourite sandwichs are peanut butter/banana and crips.
- I often cut my own hair.
Phew, that was hard going.
#97 The first of the Twilight series, and I can't put it down.
| Edited on: Mon, Feb 02, 2009 16:47Nokia N95, O2 and mobile contracts
Posted on Thu, Oct 02, 2008 at 15:02 by Michelle
What a piece of shit phone the N95 is. I have had mine for just over a year, as an out and out geek if I can jump on the technology bandwagon cheaply then I jump.
I'm very pleased it was cheaply becasue the phone is not worth it's RRP.
Don't get me wrong, it comes loaded with great features
- 5 meg camera with Karl Zeiss lens, (and another camera on the front for some reason)
- GPS
- and loads more that I cant remember or don't use.
I'm having a look at it now, to see what I actually use.
- oh yes, WiFi
The wifi connection is pretty slick, and I've used it on the train and in McD's etc to pick up my email. I have Google Mail on as an application as well as a couple of other apps.
When I first got it, there was this cool Lifeblog app, and when the phone was connected to the PC lifeblog would update a timeline with any photos and messages. It was a pretty neat feature and I liked being able to look back through the events. However the software on the phone and on Lifeblog have been updated, in fact Lifeblog has been replaced by Nokia photos, but since the upgrade, there is a constant 'import error' so that bit of the phone is now useless.
I accepted with good grace that my phone would run out of battery within a couple of hours if it was used for anything more than calls, for eg, using the camera, listening to music, surfing the web, but just recently it started to lose signal as well. The kids would say they'd tried to call but my phone was off. This obviously wasn't true, my phone is NEVER off (well, unless I'm on a plane!). So I became a little vexed that it was getting hard to make or receive calls, and, I'd had the phone for a year, and, I fancied an Iphone. A call to O2 customer service ensued, I have a pretty sweet deal with this phone, it didn't cost me anything and I get 600 mins and 400 texts each month for £15 per month, but the contract is 18 months. I tried to wangle it every way I could but the most they would offer was a replacement N95.
I backed up my phone and sent it off, called them after 4 days to ask about my replacement, for some reason they were waiting for this call before sending it out, doh!
So a lovely shiny REFURBED phone comes back to me and I restore the backup to it. This does not go smoothly, and I get an error telling me there is corrupt data on the memory card. Never mind, most of my settings are correct, I can make and receive calls and the signal keeps it's strength now.
I know, as I've read all the reviews that the Iphone is not as good as the N95, but it's so good to look at, the touch screen so easy to use and the browser so much better than that on the N95 that I think I could be tempted to swap.
I will point out though that for a phone the N95 is a kick-ass camera.
|Posted in Geek Alert (RSS)