Cycling home with my son

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My first intro to IRC

 

A long time ago (2004) I was working at a company in Accrington. I ran the IT systems for this company and they used an old version of Microsoft exchange (6 I think). One of the options which had been enabled was internet relay chat. Though mostly now used by career criminals. Back in the 90s and early 00s it was the a tool to communicate with other people. 

Microsoft produced at the time a client called Microsoft comic chat which in one mode rendered the conversations as a sort of comic strip. This was the first time I had seen Comic Sans in use!

Later I would try and start a venture which sold IRC bots which spectacularly crashed and burned after we were DOS attacked. The hosting provider not only took us offline but removed our server and sent it back to us. 

Cycling with Thom

 Kath filmed us getting back from nursery 

Alive

A long time ago, before Thom and pre covid 19 I booked tickets to see Pearl Jam in Hyde park. After several re-scheduallings Kath and I finally got the change to go to the gig. Pearl Jam produced one of my favourite albums and I have always wanted to see them live.

Nina and Bruce stepped in to take care of Thom overnight, so Kath and I could have a free time at the gig. We took the train and checked into the Pullman Hotel in St Pancras in time for lunch. We ate in the restaurant which was super cool but with a price tag to match. Overall I couldn’t recommend it for the food, but not bad for a cocktail in style.

After lunch and a quick change we headed out to Hyde Park to British summer time event. We arrived in time to grab a beer and catch Jonny Marr. The event was sponsored by American Express and they had a special setup where we picked up a free water bottle and tote. The weather was amazing, really sunny and warm, so the water was a good touch.

Next up was Stereophonics, they were the first band I saw live way back in 1999. They were really good and I enjoyed it very much.

We had a posh had a posh hamburger and celebrated being child free and out on a night out for the first time in months with a bottle of Moët. Kath also queued up and bought me a tour t shirt, very cool. Next up it was time for the main event. The set was amazing all my favourites and great banter. It must have been hot on the Great Oak stage with the full sun beaming in, I bet that they were glad when the sun set. 

There were times during the set where I was back to being a teenager listening to ten again, or Vs. It felt really good.

The tube was super busy on the return, we were lucky to get on. When were arrived back at the hotel from the 11 floor we had the most amazing view over the city. 

We woke up early the next day so checked out and got the train back to Wilmslow. We took Bruce and Nina out for lunch to thank them for looking after Thom. He seemed in great spirits. I think he had enjoyed seeing Connie too. 

Running up that hill

Sometimes it's possible to do something in a sustainable way that also saves you money. While recovering from Covid, Kath and I have been thinking about some ways to save money. One thing we thought of was to use the dryer less and line dry our clothes outside. Since we had Thom the washing pile has ballooned in size so we are doing more washing and drying. Given the recent good weather we thought that we could save quite a bit of electricity by drying the clothes in the sun. The energy saving trust estimates a £35 / year saving (though given the current high energy costs maybe more). We ended up choosing a Brabantia folding rotary dryer. Kath found a great deal on Amazon which came with the ground spike, cover and peg bag.

To fit the ground spike I ended up buying a 1.8kg hammer as my smaller nail hammer wasn't heavy enough to get it into the ground. Even with the heavy version it took a good deal of hammering to get the spike flush in the ground so that the mover would go over the top. 

Coin

Covid 19 lateral flow tests showing positive results

After managing to avoid it for a long time Kath and I finally got caught out by Covid-19. On Wednesday morning Kath she was feeling ill so she did a Covid Test. She gets the tests for free as she tests for work. So she did a test and it was positive as was mine and Thom's.

Thankfully (probably thanks to the Vaccines) it hasn't been to bad so far just felt very tired with a cough and head cold.

It did unfortunately mean I had to cancel a work trip to London and work from home this week.

We could be strangers

Arrived home after spending a lovely week in Pembroke South Wales. We rented a cottage about a mile from Pembroke Village. It was an air bnb on a Farm we were really impressed.

Pembroke is a lovely small town complete with a Castle which we had a tour around. They have a huge map of castles in Wales on what was once a tennis court! 

Rhino at Folly Farm

There was so much to explore, we went to a different beach each day. Plus managed to find an excellent Farm/Zoo experience. Thom saw a Rhino for the first time and was enchanted. 

Tenby was our favourite day trip, we ended up going twice we enjoyed it so much. I had been there before in my youth but only had very vague recollection of the trips. Very impressed with South Wales seemed much more friendly and clean than the North. Really amazing beaches too.

We were really lucky with the weather mostly clear and sunny perfect really was a wonderful family get away.

Enjoying beach life

Pembroke Castle

Hold my hand

Last night headed to see the Top Gun Maverick. We had been awaiting the arrival of the film for years, much delayed thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic we were excited to see Tom Cruise jet off once again.

We had decided to view it at the Light Cinema in Stockport. I met up with Ian to catch the train to Stockport only to find it had been cancelled. We ended up taking a taxi meeting up with Dan and Berger at the Swan with Two necks opposite the Red Rock complex. 

I haven't been in the Swan for many years maybe even a decade, it hasn't changed much with the wood panelling and anachronistic Smoke Room. Enjoyed a pint there before heading in the the Light.

I enjoyed the film, it was similar to the New Star Wars or Star Trek films been made to mirror the scenes and characters of the original in a way to keep old fans happy but have some new younger cast brought in. Interestingly as the film goes on the planes get older. Starting out with the experimental Jet to the F18, F14 ended the film with Cruise piloting a WW2 era prop plane. The cinematography was amazing, not a complete cgi lots of live action cameras strapped in cockpits and on the wing tips. It certainly was entertaining and well worth catching on the big screen.

On the way home another train was cancelled so we had to catch the very last train, after spending the day with Thom and in the Garden I was ready for bed. Think I am missing Cruises ability to still perform at the highest level in spite of his age.

Paramount have a twitter tool to generate you Top Gun Callsign, mine was rocket!

Everything's electric

Pre Race

Last Sunday was the Great Manchester Run. I had entered the 10KM so we headed out to Manchester on the train in the morning. I was in the White Wave starting 11:47 so had plenty of time. The trains were packed with runners and with city fans heading into town early to soak up the atmosphere pre game.

I had done the Great run a few times before, its a great event with loads of support on the course. The event started as part of the Manchester commonwealth games. I read that it's the third biggest participation event in the UK beaten in numbers only by the London Marathon and Great North Run.

While I was running Kath took Thom to relax in the peace garden. These are now part of the recently redeveloped Lincoln Square. At the moment its a slightly weird space with lots of new butemupty shop units. However the Lincoln statue now has more space to and the Peace gardens are back after being moved from St Peters square to make room for the second city crossing.

Waiting to start

I always found it slightly weird that there is a statue of Lincoln here, seems slightly incongruous to have an American president in a British city, Manchester supported the Yankee states and their desire to end slavery even though the blockade on the confederate states hurt the economy of Manchester.

I must admit that I had not done a huge amount of training for the run so I was pleased to come in just under the 1 hour mark. Far from my personal best it was still a great effort and I really enjoyed the run.

After meeting with Kath we headed for some much needed food then hopped on the train back home. Fortunately the train home was much quieter.

Post race in Lincoln Square

If you fancy doing the Great Run Manchester use this link to get £10 off your entry.

Sidelines

This weekend I am looking after Thom while Kath is working. Yesterday, I took him to my parents on the bike in the morning then spent the afternoon playing with the water table. Ive also taken him to the park on the swings which seems to be one of the favourite things at the moment.

Last weekend we journey to Wales to meet up with Kath's friend Jenny and her daughter. Her parents have a lovely cottage in the valleys. It was really nice to see the children interacting and we ended up getting Thom a writing tablet.

Bunsen burner

 

I took Thom to nursery on my bike for the first time this morning. Even managed to load up some more nappies and wipes. It was a little bit cold, so I put his big coat and a hat on underneath the helmet. He was still a bit sleepy at this point but I think he enjoyed it at least as much as he would have in the car.

I bought he Thule child seat which I can remove (apart from the frame mount) when not transporting Thom. Pretty impressed with it so far and its a breeze to cycle with the electric assistance of the X3.

If you want to get a Van Moof use this code VRR#NE0K-TJFU-WLZJ  to get a discount 

Child Seat

Thom bike seat finally arrived. A bit later than expected thanks o the global problems with shipping, thanks Brexit! Looking forward to zooming to the nursery on the bike.

The head that tried to strangle itself

COP26 is currently going on up in Glasgow, so far we have more delegates from the fossil fuel industry than anyone else. Lot of mention of the electric car future, no enough mention of active transport. To try and do my bit I have been walking to pick up Thomas from nursery. Only a small act but 2.5MK there and back but saves something, plus I often walk past a line of cars waiting to park.

I have ordered a child seat for my X3 which is going to arrive tomorrow so should be able to pick him up on the bike which should be fun. Though he looks a bit like a goomba from super Mario with the helmet on.

If you say the word

On Thursday I finally received the bike I had ordered back in September. I rather large box arrived containing my brand new VanMoof X3 electric bike. The X3 packs a 503w battery with a claimed range around 30 miles. 

I bought this on cyclescheme a government backed scheme while enables you to purchase a bike via your employer. The payments are made over 12 months and are taken out of your pre tax income so you save paying the tax on them. 

Before I was able to take it for a test spin I have to assemble a few items. Fortunately all the tools required come bundled in a neat little kit with he bike. The kit also includes a pump to inflate the chunky tyres.

The X3 is designed to be low maintenance, it uses hub gears which are covered from the elements. The chain has a good guard over it and the wheels are fitted with mudguards. It's all nicely engineered in a way to maintain pleasing aesthetics. 

The electronics and battery are all build into the frame. This helps the bike look quite normal, however it does mean that the battery can't be removed to charge you have to plug the bike in. This isn't an issue for me as I have a garage with power but for some might be a deal breaker.

On the top of a the tube is a very basic matrix display which displays some status information  including the current speed while riding.

There is an inbuilt lock which with a tap locks the motor and activates at alarm. Anybody who attempts to interfere with the bike will be treated to a very loud alarm. There is an inbuilt modem and sim card allowing the bike to phone home with its location. I believe this is used by the bike detectives to track down stolen bikes. The X3 is also able to be registered in with Apples find me so you can view the location of the bike from your phone. There is also a manual method to unlock the bike tapping in a code if you phone is out of charge.

The Bike is controlled by an app on you phone, this controls some of the gear settings, the chime of the bell and records speed distance and assistance of rides. One thing I would have really like to see is some integration with Apple Health. While you are getting assistance you still have to pedal so some calories are being used!

I popped to the postoffice using the boost assist to ride up the steep Cow Lane in Wilmslow. This is exactly what I bought the bike for, I was able to quickly pop to the town centre and back at least as quickly as if I had used the car. It only used about 8% of the battery on using full assistance and boost up a steep hill so can make plenty of trips before needed a recharge.  

Overall so far very impressed will write up a more long term review once I have used it a few more times. 

 

Night City

 

This morning I completed Cyberpunk earning the Temperance achievement leaving Jonny Silverhand to take over Vs body. I had already completed as many of the ending the other ending branches. Personally I've found it an amazing game, in spite of the glitches (of which there are many!).

I bought Cyberpunk 2077 back in December. I got a deal with it on stadia which included a free stadia pro edition to play on. Its a huge world you can get lost in, it might not have been the groundbreaking event that it was hyped up to be. It is however in my opinion a solid and enjoyable game. I hope that they release some extra content for it.

All you're dreaming of

After a very hectic time spent mostly at the various hospitals or trying to catch up with deprived sleep, on Christmas Eve we finally made it home as a family. 

It all started last Wednesday when Kath went in for a routine scan. They decided at that point to keep her in the antenatal ward and induce the labour. It turned out not to be an exact science and with the labour ward being very busy it wasn't until Saturday evening her waters broke.

Thom was born at 6:03 on Sunday morning, I was handed him by the midwife while Kath was still asleep from the general anaesthetic. I sat for a few moments with my newborn son and wife wondering what just happened! It was a scary few hours after a labouring through the night, Kath ended up having to go back in to the theatre again to remove a blood clot and make sure there is no further bleeding. 

Thom's also had a rough time during the birth. He was rather bruised and one of his legs was swollen. They thought that the leg got injured during the birth, and after much faffing at Wythenshawe Hospital we were told to take him to Manchester Children's. It wasn't quite the first family outing that we had expected! Hardly a National Trust family fun site. Due to Covid only Kath and Thom were allowed in, it took them a few hours to decide to admit him. Initially they expected him to stay in Manchester while Kath went back to Wythenshawe. 

Fortunately after some conversations she ended up getting transferred to the Manchester Royal too. After an MRI scan it turned out his femur was fractured near the hip joint, this wasn't visible on an X Ray as with his age the hip growth plate is cartilage rather than bone. Initially we were told he would need a surgery to pin the bone, he was first on the list in the morning. When morning came however the consultant had done a MDT with others and some literature review and decided instead to treat Thom conservatively using a harness which Thom will have to wear for a few weeks. At which point we will take him back for another scan and see where he is at.

Christmas eve both Kath and Thom were discharged, finally we got to go home! It was a lovely feeling. On Christmas Day we got up a little tired but glad to be home. My parents brought round Christmas dinner for us, and they got to meet Thom. Fortunately even in Tier 3 there is an allowance for a support bubble for children under 2. We spent the rest of the day cuddled up watching TV, Kath had never seen "It's a Wonderful Life" before!

Behind the buzzword

Feedback from the event

I did my first public ever speaking last night bit as part of behind the buzzword.  It seemed to go really well, I felt confident and got some great feedback and questions at the end.

The talk was about docker, giving some of the rational on why I think it is a great technology.

It was a virtual event using teams with something in the region of 100 attendees. Behind the buzzword is organised by Ross Townsend, and this time sponsored by carfinance 247. I'd been to one of the live ones back before the lock down.

For anyone interested I've uploaded the demo code to github and the slides are available below

Me talking docker

Locked down

Lockdown has been going on for more than a month now. While I am luckier than some, I have a job I and continue remotely, and a garden to relax in there are days when it all gets a bit much. 

Working remotely starting into other peoples living rooms, kitchens and home offices is a weird experience that I haven't quite gotten used to yet.

One of my colleagues lives in an apartment in the city centre, that seems a lot harder. No outdoor space to access easily.

Finland, ‎January 2020

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