Author: Tony

iPad trial . . .

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There have been a number of occasions when I’ve wanted to write a post, but have not had my laptop available. The most recent occasion was last year , when we were away for a few days. By the time I was in a position to write the post, the moment had gone and the reason I wanted to write didn’t seem to matter anymore.

So this is another test time. I’m using a Bluetooth keyboard and the web version of WordPress. I do have Jetpack on my iPad but it doesn’t seem to have all the features that the web version has. If it does, I’m struggling to find them all. For example, I cannot seem to find the side panel hat has the tags and categories.

The only real problem I can see is when I come to insert any graphics or images. On my laptop, I can edit an image to the size I feel is best for the site. By size, I’m not talking about the dimensions of the image, but its size as in the space it will take up. I’m conscious of the amount of space I have with the WordPress plan I use, so I try to minimise the space I take up, as fas as possible.

I’ve yet to find a decent iOS application that will ‘shrink’. picture without affecting the quality too much. The image n this post was edited, cropped and had its size reduced using an ad supported version of Paintshop Pro Express. Not the the most ideal option.

A bit of a shocker . . .

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It was an INR (see my brief guide) test day today. It’s been 5 weeks since the last test so I had no expectation of it being correct. It is never consistent and over the past few tests, it has been rising. So I was fully expecting it to be ‘out of range’. My range is 2 – 3.5 with an overall target of 3. This means my safe blood clotting range is between 2 and 3.5 with an ideal clotting value of 3.

I was expecting the value to be at least at the top of the range but quite possibly over the maximum. What I wasn’t expecting was the value to be lower. I could never imagine it to be as low as 1.3.

The nurse who regularly does the test looked quite worried and decided to repeat the test. But it came back the same! She decided that in cases like this, I would need to have injections of Heparin to ‘keep me safe’ and get the INR value back to where it should be.

So, the medication was quickly prescribed, and a nurse was assigned to explain and show me how to take the injection. I have never self-injected and so it was a bit of a concern. But it was not painful and I am confident I will be able to manage. It only going to last for 5 days and by then, hopefully, I will be back on track.

We have no idea why the value was so low. The tester asked all the usual questions: had I missed a dose, was I taking supplements, was I on any other medication. All were a ‘no’ and the only thing different about this past two weeks was that K**h and I have cut down on alcohol. It seems that could have been the cause. But I don’t know.

The downside to the morning was that instead of it taking 10 – 15 minutes for the procedure, the whole thing took nearly 2 hours. Which included having to go to another pharmacy to pick up a special box to put the used syringes in!

Not entirely stupid . . .

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I sometimes think that manufacturers think that all their customers are stupid! It’s either that, or they are just pandering to the ones that are stupid.

I bought a pair of ‘cheap’ leather belts from a famous inexpensive clothing store in York. When I say ‘cheap’ I mean that they were not of the best quality leather, although they were actual leather. The two belts cost just over £5.00 for the pair and will probably last a year or so. I realise that if I spent a lot more, then they would last longer, or so they tell me. But for what I need, they will do the job just fine.

The issue I have is that both belts had a ‘wash care label’ stitched into the belt near the buckle. I thought it was funny enough to have one of those labels on a belt, but that was before I actually had the chance to read it. It was quite a small label, but a magnifying glass showed up the detail very well.

I just think it is quite ridiculous that have a label that explains, in 14 different languages that you must only clean with a wet cloth!

Here endeth today’s rant!

Almost . . .

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For some time now, I have wanted to have another go at using Google Blogger as an alternative to WordPress. I intended when I signed up to Blogger, to use the site to cross-post writing that I had posted here. I considered this for a while but then read that ‘cross-posting’ was frowned upon in the blogging community. I also thought that it could be a good place to upload some of the creative writing I was working on.

This morning, I was reading a posting on Reddit from someone asking for help on deciding which site was the best to use. I, of course defended WordPress to the hilt, but was intrigued by some the comments regarding Blogger. It appears that since my last attempt, Blogger has improved and is now a credible arena for posting one’s thoughts.

I bit the bullet and logged on to Blogger. Well that was my intention. It seems that the password I used initially had expired due to lack of use, and I needed to reinstate my site by creating a new set of credentials (something I had not heard of before.)

After a good deal of “messing about” I finally got the site up and running again. My first thought was to create a paragraph to explain about the site. That done, the next job was to add an image or two. This is not as easy as the Blogger help forum states. I previewed the post at the end of the experience and decided it was not for me. Without being too critical, the theme(s) were not very attractive, the font display was too small, the images didn’t format correctly and the whole thing looked messy.

I have said goodbye to Blogger for the second (and hopefully the last) time. I’m going to stick with something I know a little about where I can get the help I need when I need it.

. . . and you’re welcome to it.

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I had the misfortune on Friday to visit Leeds City Centre. K*** had a hospital appointment and I went along for the ride. Actually, I went along in case I had to move the car if the appointment went too long. To think that less than ten years ago I was working in the City centre every day, I was a little shocked.

I used to be proud to say I lived in Leeds, but the whole place is beginning to look like a huge building site. I passed two of the offices I worked in whilst working for Leeds City Council. They are now being ‘transformed’ into ‘luxury City Centre apartments. These dwellings will not be for the everyday people of Leeds to help solve the housing crisis. No, these places will probably be second homes for people working in the centre.

K*** is often asking me to go to Leeds. Have a meal and see a show, but I cannot face it. You cannot walk up any street without seeing a sleeping bag in a disused shop doorway. Forever being asked if you have any spare change. As for driving there, I would not have a clue! Many of the roads I used nine years ago have either been pedestrianised or just closed.

Thankfully, the appointment did not take as long as we thought it might, and we were able to leave quickly. However, I am going to have to take K*** to the hospital in July, so I’m going to have to get my head around it

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We needed some food items, and K*** decided to go to a nearby Tesco. We wandered around and I thought it would be nice to get some chocolate biscuits.

This caught my eye. It seems that the said KitKat is now made from recycled plastic! Obviously, it refers to the packaging, but the position of the wording has not been thought out too well.

May – Shorth month . . .

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By that, I mean it’s going to be a short work/pay month. One of the downsides of working at the cafe is when it comes to Public Holidays. If it is a normal day when I would be working, I have to take the time off as either unpaid or accrued holiday. I normally get one day’s holiday for every month I work. They are usually quite good at allowing people to take a holiday that has yet to be accrued but not always. This financial year there will be eight days that I work that will be classed as Public Holidays. That just leaves me four days to take when I need them as an actual holiday. I’m lucky in that I can afford to take some of the days unpaid. The coronation has not helped although, I’m a little surprised that the May Day holiday hasn’t been moved to cover it.

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I need a few days next week with dry weather. The lawn (if you can call it that) at the front of the house needs cutting. That’s a bit of an understatement. It seems to have grown some jungle like qualities. I know it may sound like an excuse, but on the days when I have been able to cut the grass, it is either raining or had rained before. With a small lawnmower, it can be difficult if the grass is wet and as it is powered by the mains electricity, it’s not a good idea to cut in the rain. It’s a small lawn, but it has a steepness to it that makes it hard even when the conditions are perfect.

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The “When are you going to quit?” question came up again the week. A friend and former school colleague asked me on Thursday. I said that I was not sure yet, but that I’m giving it some consideration. It would be nice to not work now I’m 68, and if I’m honest I possibly could afford not to. But £100 a week for twelve hours of work, is not to be sniffed at. It covers a bit of shopping and some pocket money and I think I would miss it. I would probably miss the company also.

A strange time . . .

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Last week was a bit strange. The public holiday on Monday for Easter didn’t help. I wasn’t working because the cafe does not open on public holidays. Although it was open on Good Friday, which I thought was odd. When the cafe is closed we have to take the time as either unpaid or Annual Leave. With three public holidays coming up in May, I thought taking the day unpaid would be better.

Tuesday was back to ‘normal’. Well, I say normal, for me it wasn’t a day people would normally expect. Two weeks previous there had been an ‘incident’ so to speak, that involved a friend and former colleague. I had been told something, and it came out in conversation with the chef. It was just an ‘off the cuff’ remark when we were talking about standards.

However, the chef related the incident back to the boss who then quizzed my friend. It apparently was most embarrassing and unrequired. This type of thing has happened before and I was not happy about it. The chef can be very irritating at times. When he is busy he can get angry and quite aggressive. There are times when he will be ‘chatty’ but then will suddenly go moody and not speak for hours.

I took the decision before I went in to be on the quiet side. I would speak when spoken to, but I would not start a conversation and any reply would be brief and to the point. It made for a strange day. We shall see what this week brings as I am minded to be in the same frame of mind.

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I managed the get my car washer pump fixed eventually. It has not worked since August last year. I tried to get it repaired when the car was serviced, but the garage was not able to get the part. He explained that his ‘supplier’ did not stock the part, but that if I got one online he would fit it. That was in September and I simply never got around to buying the said pump. Then Mrs H had a problem with one of the tyres on her Mini. She got it repaired and it seemed quite reasonable for the type of tyre.

I then checked if that garage was just a tyre fitter or if they did other repairs too. It seems they are classed as an ‘Auto-centre’ and are able to do most repairs. This place was only six miles from home, whereas the garage that did the service was over fifteen miles away. So that was settled and £125.00 later, I now have working washers again.

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Two events next week !! Birthday on Thursday and dentist on Friday. What a combination! I’m not saying what birthday it is but suffice it to say that I will be nearer to 70 than 60. And I’m beginning to feel it.

I was intending to quit the job at the end of April. It is quite physical working twelve hours over two days, but when I get my wage packet on Tuesday afternoon, it doesn’t seem as hard going. That is until ten-thirty the following Monday when the doubts start again. I do think that I will quit in April 2025 though, but then again … who knows?

Research . . . more

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As a bit of a follow on from yesterday’s post, I suppose part of the initial problem could have been the manual that was with the device. If you could call it a manual. It consisted of a piece of flimsy A6-sized paper folded in half. On the front was a company logo. the three other pages had the instructions in a) Chinese, b) Chinese characters and c) English. Or to be more accurate the English could probably be described as “Chinglish”.

Don’t get me wrong, I think it is quite brave of any person whose primary language is not English, to try and write English. To be honest, there are a good few people whose primary language is English who have problems trying to write readable English.

I still have the manual, and the instruction to connect the device to the computer is written as this: “4. To contract the DVD to the computer, you must utilise to cable provisions…” The word provisions must have led me to think that I should use both cables.

I now tend to look at the product website for a manual and use an online translator to convert to English. But even that can have its problems sometimes.

Research is the key . . .

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When I replaced my laptop computer a few years ago, I bought one that did not have a built-in CD/DVD drive. It was a financial decision as I understood that I could get a separate drive for around £20.00, whereas the built-in drive would have added another £50.00 to the price. At the time I wasn’t really watching any of my DVD collection as they are not something K**h and me would watch together.

However, just after Christmas, I decided that I needed some way to watch some of my DVDs and so looked around to buy a portable one. I found one on the internet, at a reasonable price and duly purchased it. There were problems right from the start.

My laptop has a number of ports. There is an ethernet port, an HDMI port, a USB C port, and a Card reader port, but only two USB 3.0 ports. The DVD reader shipped with two USB cables. I needed a multi-port USB hub.

Back to the internet and I found just what I was looking for. I ordered it but received an email explaining that it was currently out of stock, but would be available in two weeks’ time. I was promised that it would be posted, 1st class. So I sat back to wait.

Just over two weeks later my new hub was delivered. It must have been another three or four days before I could plug it in and set up the external DVD. That’s when problem number two reared its head. My laptop just would not see the external DVD. I plugged memory sticks into the hub and they were seen. So were my wireless mouse and external camera (the internal one is not the best).

I contacted the seller about a refund or replacement, only to have pointed out that I had exceeded the return date by two days. It left me no real option but to consign the unit to my so called “tech drawer” in the garage.

Fast forward to the beginning of last week. My eldest son asked me if had an external DVD. I explained that I did have but it did not appear to work. So before letting him have it, I once again checked that it did not work. It was then that I realised. After reading an online article, that USB 2.0 (which was one of the cables) was being phased, being almost obsolete, I tried connecting the unit with just the other cable. Success! It appears that both cables should not be used together as Windows can get confused about which one it should be using.

Lesson learned … do more research.

A scary day . . .

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It started like any other Sunday. Up at 08:00, breakfast as usual and then K**h off to work at around 09:15. She works in Customer Services at a local supermarket. I was planning my day which was a shopping visit to Aldi to save me from going after work today (Monday). I was thinking about going for a sandwich and a beer at lunchtime, but that was just a maybe.

I went to brush my teeth and suddenly felt a little dizzy. That feeling you get when you stand up too quickly or move your head suddenly. I sat down on the side of the bath, closed my eyes and tried to do some deep breathing. I have had the dizziness feeling before, but a couple of breaths and a few seconds and it usually is all okay.

Not this time. I opened my eyes and the whole room appeared to be spinning around, with me spinning in the opposite direction. I reclosed my eyes and waited for a few seconds before opening them again, but rather than the feeling wearing off, it was getting worse.

I thought I would lie down to see if that helped. That was a nightmare. I could not walk straight. I was staggering all over the place and felt that I was going to fall over. I managed to crawl to the bedroom on my hands and knees and got to lie on the bed. I closed my eyes, tried to relax and had another go at deep breathing. Nothing appeared to be working and I was beginning to get a bit worried.

After about an hour, I thought I had better go downstairs in case I needed to telephone anybody. I didn’t take my phone with me when I went to brush my teeth. I managed to get down the stairs.

I realised what I was experiencing when I Googled the symptoms. I was suffering from a Vertigo attack. Not the 1958 Alfred Hitchcock movie, but the medical condition, which can be serious. Apparently, there are times when the condition can last a few seconds but can last hours or even days.

I was able to lie down on the sofa and dozed for a couple of hours, and although the feeling did dissipate somewhat, I was still feeling quite uncoordinated when walking. So I spent most of the day sleeping on the sofa or in a chair. I couldn’t face making any lunch, and in fact, wasn’t really feeling very hungry.

By the time K**h got home, I had decided that I was not going to work the following day and it was a good job I had. The boss has had Vertigo, so was quite sympathetic (unusually.) I still have that slight light-headedness this morning. So I now have to decide, before mid-day whether I’m going to work tomorrow. My feeling is that I shouldn’t.

Testing time (again) . . .

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I’ve just installed the Jetpack mobile app for WordPress. It seems to all intent and purpose to be not much different from the original WordPress app.

I only tend to use the mobile apps to read and approve comments, so using the app may be a little bit of a challenge. We shall see.

So this is a test on an iPad. I shall test with my android phone at a later date.

Only problem I can see immediately, is that there doesn’t appear to be any way of fully justifying text. That is a disappointment, but that may be a feature yet to come.

It’s really intuitive and I have yet to find and master all its current features, so there may be some way to go yet.

I don’t see this replacing my desktop application, more of another string to my bow.

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So the original post was written on my iPad and then edited using Jetpack on my Android phone. Seems to work okay.

Not always moaning . . .

/ Tony / 1 Comment

We currently have an exhibition in Leeds highlighting the sewerage systems’ problems. One of the most significant issues is so called “Wet Wipes”. It seems that these do not degrade over time, and will stay as they were made forever. Thus eventually blocking the sewer pipes.

This is my argument: “How are manufacturers allowed to get away with creating a product that can only go into land-fill?” The water companies say they should be placed in the bin! That is fine for the odd one or two to go in the bin, together with the polythene bin liner. But if you have a young baby, that can amount to a lot of wipes, in polythene bags, every day. Surely it is in the interest of everyone for these wipes to be fully biodegradable?

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We get our broadband and television services from Sky. Recently we were informed of the latest price increases. However, we had been told last year to contact them before the increase to see if anything could be done to keep the increase to a minimum. So about 3 weeks ago, K**h rang Sky to see what could be done. After about an hour of talking, a deal was agreed upon. The agent explained that the current router we had was rather old (about 4 years old) and a newer, much better one was available. We were told that it would be here within the week, and to be honest, it was.

The youngest was on his biweekly home visit (he is Autistic and lives in a residential care home) so I waited until he had returned before attempting to install the new router.

It all went fine at first. All the devices, laptops, phones, and tablets were connected without any problems. I then had to connect the router to the “Sky Box”. Now, this was a two part operation. Firstly, the main box had to be connected, and then I had to connect the “Sky Mini Box”.

To cut, a long story short, it simply would not connect. I went through all the guides I could find, but eventually we had to call Sky. After about 50 minutes in a queue were connected to a “service engineer”. This gentleman attempted to get me to go through all the things I had already attempted. After another 30 minutes, a supervisor (I believe) took over the call and asked me to reinstall the old router and that an engineer would visit to get us back up and running.

The engineer arrived the following week. I explained that I had connected all the devices without a problem, but just wasn’t able to connect to the Sky Box. He replied, in a very patronising way that ” … it is a very simple procedure …” I had to go out for a blood test (another story!) and when I returned we had another new router, which was working. It seems that he had tried everything he knew and was getting very flummoxed. It was then that K**h suggested that ” … could the router be faulty?” He said that he didn’t think so, but he would try another one from his van. Ten minutes later and this new router was connected and he was on his way. Simple as that!

But wait! There’s more.

The youngest son (R**s) was due home on Friday. He would be expecting that everything IT-based would be the same. To all intense and purpose, it was. Everything was going smoothly until the early hours of the morning. I may have mentioned this in a previous post, but R**s likes to have his television on all night. It’s on very quietly, but we understand it is a comfort for him.

At around 4am I heard him call out. I got up to see if there was a problem with him and noticed that his Sky Mini Box was off. I went downstairs to check the main box and that was off also. I pressed a button on the handset, and the box began to start up. I made the assumption that the box had had an update and needed to restart.

The same thing happened last night/this morning. The main Sky Box had turned off. I got it restarted and everything was okay again. When I got up, I Googled the problem and found that one of the settings had been set to “Eco” mode. This meant that at 02:30, the box would power off and restart at 05:50. The idea being that it saves money.

We had never had this before, so it must have been changed by the engineer without asking or mentioning it.

Problem solved! We can all sleep easier in our beds tonight!

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On a lighter mood. The half-term holidays are over here. I don’t know why it is but at half-term, some parents of very young children (and I’m talking 3/4 year olds) like to bring their offspring to the cafe for lunch. The cafe where I work two days a week is an older persons cafe. It’s not a place for young children to work off their youthful energy. But still, they come and the majority of them enjoy making a mess. Food dropped to the floor, drinks spilt, cups and glasses broken, are all things that happen during half term. But it’s over for the time being and we can get back to being a “grown-ups” place.

Do they care ? ? ?

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Over the past couple of years, I have realised that many car, van, lorry and even bus drivers need to learn the basics of numbers. It seems to me that the most challenging number to grasp is the number 20. We are seeing increasing use of the number 20 on our roads in the form of a maximum speed sign. All the roads within the boundary of our village have a maximum speed of 20mph. However, many drivers seem to be of the opinion that this limit doesn’t apply to them.

A couple of the roads have another sign. This has been given the nickname, SID. Apparently, this is an acronym for its real name of “Speed Indicator Device”. In our village, if you are travelling at the speed limit of below, then the sign alternates between a Green Smiley face and your actual speed. Go 1mph over the limit and the face turns to a Red Angry face.

This red face is supposedly designed to make you instantly change your speed down to the limit or below.

It doesn’t work.

The reason it doesn’t work is simple. Enforcement! Without anybody enforcing the limit, the limit is pointless.

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In another motoring gripe, I must ask this question. Why does the driver behind me think that ‘tail-gating me will make the line of cars in front of me go faster? It seems to happen whatever road I’m on. I was, at one point beginning to think it was just me, but other people have said the same.

And it’s not just small vehicles. Thursday was a good example. The speed limit on the particular stretch was 40mph, and I was travelling at, and I must be honest at around 42mph. But behind me was one of those tipper wagons that was returning to a local quarry. It was so close, that I could not see the driver’s cab and could only make out the make from the front grill. If I had to make an emergency brake, the impetus from the wagon would have carried me quite a long way. Is there any need?

Thankfully, it’s over . . .

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I’m not the biggest fan of Christmas. In fact, I would go as far as to say, I almost ‘hate‘ Christmas. I think it’s a combination of the cost, the ‘compulsory’ happiness (that’s expected), terrible television (repeat upon repeat) and the fact that the true meaning of Christmas has been lost.

When I was a child, one of the most exciting parts of the day was opening the present (not presents) and wondering what you had been given. Hoping and praying that Mum and Dad had taken the hint and realised why that mail order catalogue had been left open at that particular page.

These days that expectation that had kept you from being a bit naughty has gone! Today, children have a list of things they want (not things they would like).

Saying that Christmas Day and Boxing Day were enjoyable days. The youngest was home from his care home for the week and was quite excited. He just loves opening parcels. Does not seem to care what is in the parcel, it’s the opening that matters. The eldest, his partner and our Granddaughter came too which made for a pleasant day. Boxing Day, saw my father-in-law come for lunch and another pleasant day ensued.

It went downhill from there!

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Eldest and his partner both were suffering from a terrible cough and cold, and I knew it would only be a matter of time before me and K*** followed suit.

I started on Monday evening with a cough and by 10:00 the following day, I was taking a Covid19 test as I felt so bad. Thankfully it proved negative. It seemed to get worse. By the time to take the decorations down, I had decided to try and see my GP. Luckily, there was a slot that day and after a good examination, the doctor pronounced that I had some kind of virus. As my chest sounded clear and my blood pressure was normal (for me) there seemed to be no need for any antibiotics.

I should be back at work tomorrow but I’ve decided to ‘throw a sickie’. As I’ve mentioned before, it’s not a difficult job, but it is heavy going. I doubt very much that the boss was pleased that I called, but my health is more important. this may just be the first step to me giving the job up.

Better than expected . . .

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Of course, it was the work night out. The thing I had been dreading since around October. But it wasn’t the disaster I thought it could have been. I think I almost enjoyed myself, although that could be a slight exaggeration.

The meal was at best moderately average. The veg was overcooked, the potatoes were slightly underdone (how you can undercook roast potatoes, I’ll never know!) and the dessert had a strange taste for, what they called ‘traditional Christmas Pudding’. There was a slight minty aftertaste, which was not really pleasant. However, the meat (roast beef) had been cooked nicely. I was hoping to have Seared Halibut but that seemed to have transformed into a nut and lentil roast!

I think the worst part was the obligatory “quiz”. The boss’s father always does a quiz and it is supposed to be the fun part of the evening. The problem is that the boss (and possibly her husband too) check that the questions are suitable for the whole team. Guess which two teams came joint first?

Then there was the entertainment! This was a rather loud DJ who only seemed to play tracks where people could either jump up and down, wave their arms, sing loudly, or combine all three. Not for me these days.

I was trying to think of some excuse to leave early when the boss asked if I could take one of the staff to a different venue to go to a family get together. My prayers had been answered.

But I think that may be the last time. The lease on the business is up around August 2023, and the way thing seems to be heading, I think the place may close. Renewals seem to be very expensive and a few businesses have decided to close rather than renew. Plus, I’m not sure the owners want to carry on. Neither appears to want much to do with the day to day running of the cafe and only seem to want to be there when there is nobody else to run the place.

I for one will not be too sorry as I am beginning to feel very weary after each day’s work, which is not good at my age.

Not much to say for a while . . .

/ Tony / 1 Comment

When I say that, I mean that I have not done much to talk about really. Work has been just work, and home life has been the usual. We did have a few days in Whitby though. It was for our wedding anniversary. We should have been going from the 6th of November and returning on the 10th. But … I was told that I could not have that time off as the chef I work with was off and there would be nobody to cover for me. I do the washing up !!!!

It was a lovely few days and the weather was kind to us. We were up on the West Cliff side, not far from those famous whale bones. The only downside was the walking up and down the hills to get anywhere. My arthritis was playing up a little and I found it very difficult to walk down the hills. I was not so bad walking up, but coming down I seemed to be putting a lot of pressure on my knees. If you had seen me sometimes, I looked as old as I felt. I should talk to the doctor about this again.

We were in a small apartment on the Esplanade called Amber Rose. It was on the 1st floor and consisted of a living/dining room, kitchen, bedroom and nice sized shower room. The best thing was that when you sat at the dining table, you could have a sea view. We ate out on two evenings and on both occasions we went to the famous Magpie Cafe. I always believed that it was an expensive place, but compared with other establishments, it was extremely reasonable.

It’s the staff night out soon. I’m dreading it! I don’t like being out at night. And I especially don’t like being out at night on a staff party night. I was hoping it was going to be a night when the youngest was home as that would give me an excuse not to go. Although it would not be a problem for me to be out when he is home, there is always that nagging fear that something may happen when K*** was the only one home.

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We are going to a hotel that provides rooms for functions that are away from the main restaurant but as we are a fairly small group we will be in the main function room with other party-goers. The menu is a typical Christmas menu and I expect most people will either go for the roast turkey or the roast beef with possibly one going for the vegan option. Me … I’m going for the fish dish! The beef sounds okay, but these places cook for the ‘masses’ so it will be slightly overcooked. As for the turkey, I’ve not had any this year and I’m already fed up with the stuff.

What I dread the most is that it states on the menu that we can enjoy “… fantastic entertainment from our resident DJ …”. I can say no more!

Trying again . . . or not

/ Tony / 1 Comment

Back at the very end of 2019, I took the decision to start using the WordPress Block Editor. I had previously been using some open source software called “Open Live Writer” or OLW for short. I had been quite happy with this but had been told (by one of the so called “Happiness Engineers”) that the OLW software was out of date and would no longer work with future versions of WordPress. So I stopped. It hadn’t been updated since 2017 so I believed they could be correct. There also seemed to be some issue with images being duplicated in the gallery.

I struggled on with the Block Editor for a while and then found that I could use Microsoft Word as a blog editor. As I had experience with Word, I gave that a go. Worked reasonably well, so I began using that. However it soon became clear that some of the posts were not formatted correctly, so I went back to the Classic editor. It’s not a very exciting editor and is no longer being developed by WordPress. I flirted with an application called “Net Writer 2” but that was not successful so I returned to the Block Editor and that has been my editor since.

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After a few tests, the issue with the duplication of images remains, and the only way around this is to save draft posts locally before posting them as a final draft on my blog. So at the end of the day, the Block Editor lives to ride again.

Payment methods ? . . .

/ Tony / Leave a comment

We had an invoice to pay to the Local Authority(LA). Not a problem I thought. Wrong!! There were several ways to pay, the most obvious one being a BACS transfer. It is safe and so easy that an 87 year can do it without an issue.

Not so in this case. Usually, I would go onto my banking website, enter the payee bank details, the amount and a reference number. On this occasion, the payee account was a collection service (whatever that means) with an account number consisting of simply zeros. I would also be required to email a “remittance advice” to the Local Authority showing the payment details. Not the kind of thing that should be sent by email. Also, I don’t remember receiving any “remittance advice” when I made payments before.

The next option was “Telephone Banking“. This was a 24/7 payment line, which meant it was an automated payment system. I have worked in the Local Authority and know that these automated systems often “misplace” payments. So that was out.

Option three was to visit the LA’s website and pay online, following the “… simple on-screen instructions …”. Unfortunately these instructions did not exist in the same format as on the invoice. Option four was to pay by cash at the Post Office which was another non-starter.

So we are left with a Postal option. I have to write a cheque, write the invoice number on it and post it. No pre-addressed envelope and certainly no pre-payment on the envelope. Given that technology has moved on so far over the past few years it seems very strange that the oldest payment method (that I have ever used) is the prime method. Looking for to paying in groats and shackles in the not so distant future

Accidentally . . .

/ Tony / 1 Comment

I applied for another job last week! It was entirely by accident. I have been casually looking for another job for a few weeks now. A previous post explains some of the reasons. I visited the “Indeed” website and entered the search criteria for the particular type of job I was looking for. I spotted one at the local Sainsbury’s which seemed quite interesting. There were no details regarding hours or pay rates, but I thought that was because I had not logged into my Indeed account.

I clicked the “Sign in” button, but it would not let me sign in and asked me to create a profile. I’ve not used the site since getting my current job, and I assumed that my account had expired. I began to enter the details it was asking for. Some of the questions I remembered from the last time, the general ones “Name”, “Address”, “DoB” that kind of thing. But some seemed a little more direct “Why Do you want this job?” was one of the questions, which I thought was a little odd.

I finished entering the required details and pressed the save/submit button. A few seconds later, I received an email notification which I took to be a confirmation. I read a few more job descriptions and then left the site. A quick flick through my emails and a surprise, surprise … there was an email from … the Local Sainsbury’s! It was thanking me for my interest in ‘applying‘ for the position and advised me that I would hear from them soon if I was successful in getting an interview. I could not believe it, I had actually applied for the job!

Fast forward 30 minutes and another email arrives congratulating me on my success and inviting me to select the time I would like for my interview.

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It’s now Friday morning and I’m pacing up and down the street next to the supermarket, passing time before my interview start time. I’m chattering away to myself, practising what I was going to say to the questions I may be asked. I was getting some funny looks even though I had a pair of earphones and was looking at my phone.

About five minutes before my allotted time I entered the store and spoke to someone at the customer service desk. I was shown to a room and told that the manager would be with me soon. She arrived very quickly and we went through a few legal details. She then explained the hours. It was evenings on two of the days I could not do. We both agreed that it was pointless to continue and we shook hands and thanked each other.

I left feeling a bit dejected but also a bit relieved. It had been a long time since I had a proper interview. Even though it was ‘short and sweet‘ I felt I had achieved something. There would not be as many self-doubt nerves the next time.

Waste ! ! !

/ Tony / 7 Comments

Medical Centre

Back in the middle of September, I received a text message from my GP’s surgery. It was an invite to book a Covid 19 booster jab. Because of my age, I had become eligible for the “Autumn Booster” jab. The date they had offered was not a particularly good date for us for a number of reasons. However, as I had an appointment a day or two after receiving the text, I was able to make a different appointment.

COVID-19

At the beginning of October, another text message appeared. This time, it was from the NHS, inviting me to book an appointment for the booster jab. I checked with the GP’s surgery and they told me that I was booked with them and it was on my medical record. So I left it at that making the assumption that there had been some kind of crossover delay or something.

This morning, the Royal Mail delivered a letter. It was from the NHS reminding me to book my booster jab, and explaining all the problems that ‘could’ occur should I fail to take advantage of the booster.

It seems to be such a waste of valuable Health Service resources to issue an invite and a reminder for something that is already booked. It’s not the first time this has happened. Last year I received an invite and reminder from the NHS about the annual flu jab, that I was entitled to. This was two weeks after I received the flu jab. I’m having the flu one today so will be looking out for messages and letters in the coming weeks.

Rant over !!!

Work and stuff . . .

/ Tony / 8 Comments

I need another job. I’m having issues with one of the ‘the team‘ and have just found out that I cannot take some time off as the chef is off at the same time. I’m a kitchen porter! I wash up! I don’t really see how my taking time off can affect the chef. It seems it can. I am looking for another job, but I’m limited in the hours I can work or to be more accurate, the days I am able to work.

I have done this job for four years now and can say that I know it inside out and it bugs me when a new member of ‘the team‘ try to tell me what I’m doing wrong. I’m not saying much more, but it could get …

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I would be intrigued if anyone has a definitive answer to this one. When the access from the village to the motorway was changed, a cycleway/footpath was created along the side of the new access road. This cycleway/footpath is wide enough for both cyclists and pedestrians to use safely. So my question is, why do the majority of cyclists not use this facility? Is it some kind of protest against motorists? Or is it a case of ‘… it’s my road too …’? Either way, it can be dangerous for all.

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Well, the blood test was fine and as expected my dosage of Rampiril has increased to 2.5mg a day. So I will jave another blood test in 2 weeks and we will see what happens then. I’m expecting it will increase again to 3.75mg, but who knows. I’m not sure it has any effect on my warfain, but my INR was too high again. That’s after six weeks of it being in range. It shouldn’t cause a problem, but knowing my luck these days.

I’m also having to monitor my blood pressure. I’m checking every couple of days, but from 19th of this month, I will have to do a check twice a day for four days and submit the results to the Dr’s. Then the following week I will get my flu jab followed a week later with the Covid booster. It’s all go!

More strange stuff . . .

/ Tony / 6 Comments

I am currently Home Alone. Mrs H has gone away for a few days, with her sister and father, to a cottage in North Yorkshire. I don’t like that kind of holiday, in fact, these days I don’t really like holidays. So here I am, the ‘saddo’ supposedly ‘enjoying my space’ (whatever that means.)

My sleep pattern does not exist. Some nights I can sleep for seven hours uninterrupted, but other nights it’s three hours then four or five hours of dozing sleep. The kind of sleep where you don’t realise you have slept, but time has moved on.

Well, last night was one of those nights! I staggered off to bed at around 11:45 (wife away, don’t forget) and was soon asleep. I assume I was soon asleep as I don’t remember being awake for long.

At around 3:30am I awoke. Unusually, I still felt sleepy, so after a quick visit to the bathroom, I snuggled down to sleep. After a few moments but could have been longer, I suddenly realised that the room was getting lighter. Sitting up, I quickly noticed that the Amazon Echo Dot that we have in the bedroom had somehow activated and the room was filled with a blue light. It lasted no more than ten seconds, but it was quite disturbing. I spent the next 30 minutes or so, trying to think if I had mentioned the ‘Alexa’ word in my sleep. Very disturbing!

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You may recall, I had a cause to contact WP support over an issue I had. I’m told that the issue has been passed on to the developers. I have now discovered another issue.

I decided that I would like to change the theme I use for my blog. I’ve had this one (Independent Publisher 2) for a couple of years now, and I thought I needed to have a refresh. Endless scrolling followed, but there was a problem! I seemed to be unable to preview a large number of the themes available.

I thought at first the issue was with the ‘free themes’ (I’m not paying any more for this.) But no! The issue affected most of the paid themes too! So I contacted Support! I pay for it so they might as well earn it.

I got a reply the next day (which was good service, I thought). It seems that my current theme is a “Classic” theme. Most of the themes are what they like to call “Block” themes. Support explained, clumsily I thought, that the ‘preview’ only worked properly for ‘Classic’ themes if I was previewing a ‘Classic’ theme. I needed to be using a ‘Block’ theme to preview ‘Block’ themes.

This has also gone to the developers, but as the ‘Happiness Engineer’ explained, they didn’t think there was any chance of it being changed or fixed.

Strange goings on . . .

/ Tony / 3 Comments

I’m having an issue with the WordPress Block Editor currently. It’s to do with adding ‘tags’ to the post. I use ‘tags’ quite a lot as I feel they can draw people’s attention to the post’s ideas. Recently, however, a problem has arisen.

I usually add ‘tags’ at the end of writing the post as it gives me a reason to re-read the post and check for any typos or other errors. I occasionally add the ‘tag’ whilst composing the paragraph. This has served me well over the years, and there are a great many ‘tags’ in my Tag Database on this blog

Tag Database

The problem I have is (bear with me as it is not as complicated as it seems) that if the word I wish to use as a ‘tag’ is not in the ‘Tag Database’ then typing in the Add New Tag box in the editor, the new ‘tag’ is not saved if I use the ‘Enter’ key. I can use the comma key and the ‘tag’ is saved, but not if I use the Enter key.

I have raised a support call, but I don’t think they really understand the problem. The solutions (all of which have failed) have ranged from “using too many tags” and “clearing the browser cache” to “logging on to a different network” and “rebooting the router“. It was even suggested that it may be the theme that was the problem. I have tried three different browsers on my laptop all with the same result. The only browser that I didn’t have the issue with is the Safari browser on my iPad. However, that is not a practical solution.

As it has only just started to happen (in the past two/three weeks) I suggested that the problem may have been caused by the latest update. That didn’t go down too well with the “Happiness Engineers.”

It is very baffling and a little bit of a bind to use the comma when I’m used to just typing and pressing enter.

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Update:
I think I have found the root of the issue. From my many times of entering data into various spreadsheets, I came to the conclusion that the Enter key on the numeric keypad was the fastest key to use. This has led to me always using this key as opposed to the main keyboard Enter key. I discovered quite by chance that the tag will be saved if used the main Enter key. I have reported back to WordPress and am awaiting their next response.

Hope it’s for the best . . .

/ Tony / 5 Comments

The results from my 24-hour ECG came through last week. It seems that I do not need the Cardioversion treatment. The Cardiologist felt that the results didn’t warrant it and I was prescribed an ACE Inhibitor. My GP explained, or tried to, over the phone that this drug would help “relax my veins and protect my heart“. So at the present time, I am taking 1.25 mg of Ramipril with an instruction to book a blood test in 2 weeks time. It will then be decided if the dosage needs to be increased.

So that means that I am now on 6 different medications a day. I’m beginning to rattle a little I think. I have alarms set on my phone as some of the medications need to be taken at around the same time every day. It’s got to the stage where I need 2 Dosette boxes. One for the morning and another for the evening.

I’m quite pleased that the Cardioversion treatment is off the cards. I have read seen and pictures of the process and it was somewhat worrying. A number of people that have had it done have related that it does not always work, and that it can only be done once. So I could have ended up with the new medication anyway.

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The cardigan I’m knitting for my granddaughter has reached a critical stage. the main body is complete and I’m at the point when I am ready to start knitting the sleeves. And there is the problem! I will have to use double-pointed needles (DPNs) for this part of the job as the number of stitches involved means I cannot use circular needles in the standard fashion. I find using DPNs quite difficult and have never really had to use them except for a few rows when I was finishing a beanie hat.

I could use a technique called Magic Loop, but that is something I have never tried and wouldn’t want to learn on this piece of work.

So, the problem I face is … do I persevere with the DPNs and hopefully manage without any issues, or … do I put the work to one side and learn the Magic Loop technique with some scrap yarn. I am told that it is quite easy, once I have learned it, but it is ‘biting that bullet‘ which concerns me.

I will then have a button band to work on, and that is a different ball game altogether.

Glad that’s over . . . hopefully

/ Tony / 3 Comments

The past ten days or so have been a bit stressful, to say the least. It started on the Monday when my father-in-law was rushed into hospital with suspected pneumonia. My wife stayed with him until 3am on Tuesday, in the A & E department, hoping to get him onto a ward. That didn’t happen until Tuesday evening. Then on Wednesday, in a bizarre twist, my Mother was rushed into the same hospital with the same suspected condition. She too was left in A & E for over 19 hours until a bed could be found. The staff, what little there was, were brilliant and did all they could with the limited resources available, but unfortunately, they tend to bear the brunt of patient and visitor frustrations.

They are both out now and on the mend, hopefully.

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Another bit of stress came when our youngest came for a home visit. He has an obsession with Mickey Mouse and his flat, at the care home has many pictures and wall stickers of this cartoon character. Towards the end of July, he came for a visit. He came with a request for “51 Mickey Mouse stickers!!” He was able to show me the ones he wanted. They were located in South Africa and at a price of 1900 Rand (plus postage), but I managed to explain that they were too expensive, as it worked out to around £100. He accepted this, but almost immediately ask for “4 Mickey Mouse stickers.” He then showed me the new ones, and I agreed to get them.

That’s when the problem started. The seller was on holiday and wouldn’t be back until the 16th of August. He seemed to accept this, but then the nattering began. He was asking everyone for “4 stickers.” We managed to order them eventually and told him that they would be arriving at his flat on Monday 22nd. All was going well but then a new phase came in. He started asking for “16 stickers on Tuesday!” Nobody had any idea about these new stickers, but he kept mentioning them.

The stickers finally arrived on the 23rd and he is very happy with them. It was later that day when it suddenly struck me where the “16 stickers on Tuesday” had come from! I had told him about the seller being on holiday and had said I would order the stickers when he came back … the 16th of August, which was also a Tuesday. I am convinced, that in his Autistic mind he was checking that the stickers had been ordered on Tuesday the 16th!