We all hope you have a brilliant day.
Nov 10 2008
Pack It Up, Pack It In
So, with the move imminent, what are ‘must packs’, and what are we leaving behind, either for DaveG & Nat to look after, or leave at the in-laws? Well bulky things obviously are a big no-no, so if we had any real sporting equipment around, they’d be left behind. For Irina, she needs to have clothes to keep out the damp in sunny Wales this winter, as well as clothes that aren’t too tight fitting (our little Lolik is still growing! (I need to find out if I can get permission to post a picture of Ira’s bump sometime 🙂 )).
Personally, I’ll be taking as many t-shirts as I can get away with, a few shirts and a couple of thick jumpers in case we go for any long bracing walks in the local hills and mountains. I think I’ll leave behind my big winter boots and furry coat, as it won’t be reaching -40 centigrade unlike here in Astana. I’m also trying to keep the gadgetry down to the bare minimum, though I suspect Ira and I will have different interpretations of that phrase 😉
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Nov 10 2008
198 Hours To Go
Yes, just 11,800 minutes, (assuming I manage to publish this post within ten minutes of starting it, that is), until our plane is due to take off and fly the first leg of our trip back to Clydach. We are going via Kaliningrad because of KD Avia’s wonderful reputation for supreme meals, friendly staff and high efficiency they were close to 50% cheaper that the normal routes!
From there it is on to Gatwick, then John is scooping us up and driving us back to sunny Wales where we can relax, catch up with Mum and Lolik can meet her grandma for the first time 🙂
We’re hoping to go and see Dad and our friends in Gloucestershire sometime the next week, but no definite timetable just yet. As we will be away for six months, we have had to think a lot more about what to pack, and arrange for the kittens and flat to be looked after whilst we are away.
The fact that we will be returning with one extra person (unless the ultrasounds missed out on a twin 🙂 ), means that we need to try and leave space (and weight allowances) for all the related clothes, necessities and presents in the suitcases.
Oct 31 2008
Face Fuzz Reduced
I have not done a good job recently with trimming the beard to a tidy length, and the stubble around it meant it had pretty much lost all shape. So, a few days ago (OK, OK, a week, I just didn’t get around to finding the mini tripod to enable self-portrait until now) I decided to trim the hair down to the bare minimum, and shape it into a Van Dyke style goatee. Anyway, it has been a long time since I posted a picture featuring me on the blog, so here is one for you to snigger at.
Face Fuzz Reduced
And as it is Halloween, here is a quick Photoshop (can’t remember exactly what I did, something along the lines of negative re-applying the original image on top, with some settings to prevent the skin from also going negative.)
Halloween Face Fuzz Reduced
Oct 28 2008
More Catchup Pictures
Another few photos this time, again taken with my phone, so the quality isn’t great.
I’m leaving the Amsterdam ones until I get the time to write some proper posts, and integrate them with the ‘proper’ camera photos and 2007’s trip.
First we have a couple of Aynak, the guard dog over at the inlaws. I realised she hadn’t featured very much at all in the 25 months or so this blog has existed. Time to rectify that oversight…
Aynak Face On
Aynak Profile
Here we have Irina proudly modelling her Mum’s wellies (gardening boots in case that is a UK English-only word) that we sourced in Britain for her.
Ira And Her Mum's Boots
Finally, we have what I think is a really nice photo of Ira’s Dad smiling in the garden. (I should probably point out the obvious before I get any comments from my dearly beloved… his attire was chosen for working in the muddy garden, not looking as smart as he normally does, and the beer on the table was the reward for working hard in aforementioned garden. There, think that’s all the bases covered 🙂 )
Ira's Dad Smiling
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Oct 28 2008
Nick et al Off To Australia
This Wednesday my brother, Nick, is going to Australia with his girlfriend, Roz, and her mum, another Chris. They will be back by Christmas, but not before Irina and I return to Swansea this mid-November (more on that later).
As I was going through the almost year-old photos on my phone (I really need to sort and post them more often than that), I found this one of Nick and Roz, just after Christmas last year at Mum’s.
Nick And Roz At Xmas 2007
I hope their trip over goes smoothly, that they have a great time there, and will come back with lots of stories and photos to show us all 🙂
Oct 16 2008
UK Broadband Speeds
Back when 2Mbit connections were the most a residential customer could aspire to, the broadband speed tests that were available were, in general, reliable. Of course, if the server that the test data was held on was over in America, then you could expect slight variance between reported speeds and your actual potential maximum throughput, and if the test data size was too small, you would need to shop around for larger data test schemes. However, as ADSL+ and then ADSL2 became available, some of the older tests, or less reliable servers meant that such tests could not be relied upon to give accurate results. Of course, you could find three or four different suppliers of tests, run each four times and then average the results, but most people don’t bother. Virgin Media has been complaining that those of their customers who complain about slow speeds were often led to false, or at least slightly inaccurate conclusions. So they are apparently teaming up with on such bandwidth test supplier to try and ensure future tests are more reliable. For now, with my 256Kbit/sec connection, I don’t think I need to worry about changing my bookmarked tests just yet 🙂
Oct 06 2008
Strike A Pose
As avid readers may remember, my brother is shortly off to Australia with his lovely girlfriend (Happy Birthday again 🙂 ) and her mum. With impressive foresight, he has been asking people what they want for Christmas, so the two of them can try and sort out all the pressies now, rather than rushing around like headless chickens when they return to the UK, just a few days before Xmas itself. I would have been tempted to use the trip as an excuse, and wait for the New Year sales to pick up some bargains, but Nick has a more mature outlook already I guess 😉
Anyway, I’ve been struggling to find something I’d really like, and having asked for contributions to charity for my birthday earlier in the year, I have to admit my selfish side is rearing its head, and wanting to have something to unwrap this December.
Something I noticed over at buy.com was a pretty high quality webcam, which has a number of attention grabbing features. Primarily, the $30 rebate on an already competitive price obviously caught my attention, although the Carl Zeiss lens (as used on many top end Sony digital cameras) is pretty important for those of us hoping for a little more than the traditional grainy, blurred video provided by older webcams.
I’m not sure whether the face tracking software included would be a useful addition, or simply a toy to play with, but the ability to pan and tilt the camera from your PC is a definite boon. Although not apparently a built in feature (yet?) I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t be too difficult to bodge up some code in conjunction with remote software, so you could scan around your room whilst in another house or even country! Anyway, I’ll need to check a few other details before considering the purchase (by proxy 🙂 ), but even if this webcam doesn’t end up on my wish list, there are enough other products at buy.com to keep day dreaming for a good long time to come…
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Aug 19 2008
Quick Update
As you may have noticed, there have not been a lot of posts recently. The three posts below this were written ahead of time and post-dated, to ensure I didn’t miss any birthdays. However, the day before Ira’s Mum’s birthday was in fact also an important date – seven years since Irina and I were married back in Astana! Although we are not in the same country, I want her to know she is always in my thoughts, and I look forward to seeing her soon 🙂
Anyway, I am currently in Britain, having come over here three weeks ago. Gramps (Mum’s Dad) was very ill in hospital, so I came and said hello. Unfortunately, he passed away very recently, and I just wanted to say a quick thank you to those friends that have sent their messages of support. I will be returning to Kazakhstan by the end of August, and look forward to meeting up with our friends back East. Finally, congratulations to Jonnie, Seb & Con’s brother who recently got married.
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Aug 11 2008
Happy Birthday Genya
Today is Irina’s mum’s birthday, we hope your day goes well and that those around you make sure the day is a relaxing and enjoyable one.
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