My first wireless...

At last. The central heating has been fixed, and normality is restored. Thanks to the British Gas engineer who, when he got here, resolved the issue. Thanks also to my brother-in-law who helped the diagnosis which meant the gas man wasn't here long.

Now; in today's blog I want to extol the virtues of digital radio. Last week I decided to treat myself to a DAB (that's Digital Audio Broadcast if you didn't know) radio. Tesco. £29.99.

OK. So it's cheap, and I was taking a risk. But, I switched it on, it ran it's setup, found all the stations it could, and I set the programmable buttons. Easy.
And the quality? Great? I've never heard Radio 5 Live so crisp - so that's how it's meant to sound!
BBC 7 - tremendous fun. Comedy. Drama. Wonderful. Alright, so there is much more than the BBC, and I intend to delve in and find some little gems.

I know there are more expensive models available, and ones where you can pause live radio (a bit like the audio version of Sky+) and some where you can set the time to record specific programmes, but for 30 quid, it's a great way to dip a toe in the digital radio water and see how it is. Next time (don't tell the wife) maybe I will spend a little more on a radio with more features. Right now, I don't need it.

That's all for today. Not a rant in sight.

Sleep well.

Start The Week...

Yesterday was a drag.  There we were, sat in a rather long meeting, with not a lot happening.

 

The demo of the system wasn't going very well, and general chatter was of a disapproving nature.  Mainly, they were concerned that so much time has been spent discussing the requirements, that when we finally see a demo, they aren't there.

 

So, I can understand their frustration, but I do feel sorry for the people doing the demo, who are bearing the brunt of the disapproval, but they aren't the developer (and in some cases, weren't even there at the initial stages of the project).

 

It's my 1-2-1 review today, and hopefully there will be some positive feedback, and some good objectives set for the year ahead.  Mmmm.

 

Watch this space.

Another Week Over...

So, that's another weekend almost over, and the bell will ring again to signal the start of another motorway marathon.

BTW - I completely forgot to regale you with our boiler system issues. It stared last weekend, when we woke Saturday morning to discover that the heating had been on all night, and the house was almost sauna-like.
I checked the timer, and it all showed that the heating was off. Then I heard the boiler fire up.
So - we called British Gas (with whom we have a contract). They got very excited and said "you have a runaway boiler, someone will be with you within the hour".
Very prompt, we thought, until they advised that this is not good news, and we may have to evacuate the house!

Transco duly arrived, checked everything out, then switched off the boiler and put a notice on it - Do Not Use. Apparently, a British Gas engineer will call - "anytime, could be 2am!).

So, no heating and no hot water. Charming.

My brother-in-law is a plumber - so we called him. He had a good look, and between us we decided the fault lay with the timer - as it had been knocked, and there was possibly a loose connection.

All was repaired, the boiler was re-started, and we tested the theory. Hurrah. The boiler fired up, and when we switched it off at the timer, it stopped.
Problem solved; and without being woken in the middle of the night.

Anyway - to bore you further. It happened again yesterday.
My brother-in-law came round again today. Had the timer in pieces. Had a good look at the boiler and decided, again, that it must be timer at fault and not the boiler.

He was 'happy' that the thermostat was working correctly, because the boiler switched off when the temperature had been reached. So - no further panic. Except the fuel bill is going to be astronomic. At least we're warm.

British Gas are coming on Tuesday to have a look. I'll give them all the details, and hopefully it'll be a quick diagnosis and fix. At least I can give them some information to help them. With the contract in place - it shouldn't cost anything either.

So there you are. A very long post about central heating, British Gas and late night callers.

I'll keep you posted on what happens next.

Date: 25 January 2007
Time: 20:55
Place: Home

Warm at last. Well it would be wouldn't it. My wife believes in heating the whole house. The kids are in bed. We're in one room, and the temperature is stifling!
Still - beats freezing my backside in the office.

Oh, what a day. Started in the office at 7:45. Finished in the office at 5:35 and made my way to another site. Finished there at 6:45 before heading home (a 1 hour journey) and stopping on the way to get some fish and chips.

I was thinking about them since lunchtime. Maybe it's the Slimfast diet. It works wonders, but I do like a big meal in the evening.

So, shall I bring you up to date with our news. Won't take long. I don't have a social life. The children, mind you, well they're non-stop. The Family Taxi has the meter running constantly!

Time: 20:59 - A fav TV programme is due to start, so I'm off.

Sleep well.

Trying to get back into the flow...

Here I am again. I want to get back into writing a regular blog. So, I'll write - but it might be rubbish.

It's another cold day, and had to scrape the ice off the car. In the dark.

So that's all, as I'm now at work, with people gathering around my desk...

More soon.

I'm Back

Monday. 22nd January. 08:30. In the office. Absolutely freezing.

Everyone is wearing their coats, hats and scarves. The heating has not come on, and it must be colder inside than outside. And that is saying something, since there is snow on some of the cars.

Big day today. A major project is entering a new phase today, with the start of UAT (User Acceptance Testing). This has been in the planning stage for the last couple of weeks, so fingers crossed it all goes accordingly.

Too cold to type now. Off to defrost.