No. 10 Saturday 23 July 2011
Where has the Summer gone?? I think it must have heard "A Song of the Weather" by Michael Flanders and Donald Swann in the middle of which there are two lines:
"In July the sun is hot,
Is it shining? No it's not"
At least the rain has been spaced out so my activities (such as they are) haven't been affected. Anyway I can always do odd jobs on the computer when I don't want to go out or watch TV. It never fails to amaze me about the amount of information on any subject which can be found on the Internet. A recent example is that I've done a couple of quizzes for the club I belong to (they will get one of them next week) and I have been able to check the accuracy of some of the answers on the Internet. The facilities available in Windows 7 (now I'm getting used to it) plus the speed of my computer both help in that.
Having mentioned Flanders and Swann reminds me that I am planning a talk on "Humour on Record" and it is surprising how many amusing recordings there are even in my collection of CDs. The oldest compositions come from Gilbert and Sullivan, such as the Judge's song from "Trial by Jury" or the Admiral's song from "HMS Pinafore", but the earliest recording by the original artist goes back to 1912 on a CD about the Music Halls. From then on right through to (relatively) recent times I can find a lot of examples - all I have to do is to fit a selection into a talk. Music has always been an interest of mine, but my record collection started properly when I bought a record in a sale. This was the music of Jimmie Lunceford and his orchestra (from the 1930s) which I found I liked so started my collection with artists who were dead and therefore couldn't make any more new records. It even got to the stage that the main objects of a holiday in USA were to visit Nashville to hear some Country and Western music (my wife's favourite) and New Orleans to hear some Traditional Jazz (my favourite). We achieved both of these.
My new washer/dryer has performed as expected but the display was in French and my attempts at changing it, as set out in the manual, were unsuccessful. A phone call to the makers produced an explanation of how to cure it but I still failed to manage it because it meant pressing three buttons simultaneously - probably my lack of accurate control of my left hand was to blame. This was shown to be the case when a recent visit by my daughter enabled me to get her to do the button pushing - so now the display in in English and I can understand it !! Maybe the guys who installed it weren't quite as good as they seemed to be.
Mike
Life goes on
No. 9 Friday 15 July 2011
My 6 year old washer/dryer had developed a third fault so I decided it needed replacing. I had managed a work-around for the first two faults, but this third one needed an engineer. As it was obviously beginning to show its age I realised that the costs of repairs would mount up so buying a new one was advisable. The purchase was the problem - should I go to a shop to find one, or would the Internet suffice. Although the weather was favourable enough for going out yesterday, I decided to try the Internet first. This decision proved to be correct - it took a little over half-an-hour to find one which matched my requirements, buy it, and arrange for delivery. It was delivered and installed just before lunchtime today and they took the old one away. In going through the inevitable paperwork I found that I could register it on line - which I did. I think that must go down in history as the smoothest, most trouble-free major purchase that I have made and furthermore there was a great saving of time.
In an earlier blog I mentioned that I was waiting for the workmen to fit a fence on the far side of the brook at the end of my 'garden'. A couple of weeks ago this was done and it achieved the aim of blocking the view to/from the bungalow immediately behind. I thought that had completed the work that needed doing outside, but when I went out to the postbox (just up the road) I noticed that I had forgotten about the footpath which runs up the side of the bungalow. I rarely go up the road in that direction and never go along that path (which only leads to the 'garden') so hadn't really noticed how dilapidated it is - it was the good crop of marigolds on it which drew my attention to it. Oh well, I'll have to get something done about it fairly soon while the weather is not too foul.
Mornings, I have decided, are definitely not my favourite time of day!! I have never been a 'morning person' in fact I remember reading somewhere that one is at one's best at about the same time of day that one was born. As I was born at about 7.30pm that theory would explain my dislike of mornings. Anyway, having limitations to my abilities makes what were normal activities into a struggle of serious proportions. Of course, I could always get a carer to help me along but my independence would be compromised if I did that and there would be a tendency for me to get help with other jobs. All this would mean that I wouldn't be able to enjoy doing things that I like doing when I feel like doing them rather than fitting in with someone else's schedule. At present I only have to fit in with the timings of those who come to put on my socks and shoes and pull up the duvet, and I have specified their approximate times.
Mike
My 6 year old washer/dryer had developed a third fault so I decided it needed replacing. I had managed a work-around for the first two faults, but this third one needed an engineer. As it was obviously beginning to show its age I realised that the costs of repairs would mount up so buying a new one was advisable. The purchase was the problem - should I go to a shop to find one, or would the Internet suffice. Although the weather was favourable enough for going out yesterday, I decided to try the Internet first. This decision proved to be correct - it took a little over half-an-hour to find one which matched my requirements, buy it, and arrange for delivery. It was delivered and installed just before lunchtime today and they took the old one away. In going through the inevitable paperwork I found that I could register it on line - which I did. I think that must go down in history as the smoothest, most trouble-free major purchase that I have made and furthermore there was a great saving of time.
In an earlier blog I mentioned that I was waiting for the workmen to fit a fence on the far side of the brook at the end of my 'garden'. A couple of weeks ago this was done and it achieved the aim of blocking the view to/from the bungalow immediately behind. I thought that had completed the work that needed doing outside, but when I went out to the postbox (just up the road) I noticed that I had forgotten about the footpath which runs up the side of the bungalow. I rarely go up the road in that direction and never go along that path (which only leads to the 'garden') so hadn't really noticed how dilapidated it is - it was the good crop of marigolds on it which drew my attention to it. Oh well, I'll have to get something done about it fairly soon while the weather is not too foul.
Mornings, I have decided, are definitely not my favourite time of day!! I have never been a 'morning person' in fact I remember reading somewhere that one is at one's best at about the same time of day that one was born. As I was born at about 7.30pm that theory would explain my dislike of mornings. Anyway, having limitations to my abilities makes what were normal activities into a struggle of serious proportions. Of course, I could always get a carer to help me along but my independence would be compromised if I did that and there would be a tendency for me to get help with other jobs. All this would mean that I wouldn't be able to enjoy doing things that I like doing when I feel like doing them rather than fitting in with someone else's schedule. At present I only have to fit in with the timings of those who come to put on my socks and shoes and pull up the duvet, and I have specified their approximate times.
Mike
Time for everything
No. 8 Thursday 7 July 2011
Living alone, some folks wonder how I spend my time. Well it is partly taken up by the extended time taken for even the simplest of tasks, but I ration my watching of TV to specific times of day or to specific programmes - because I don't want to spend all my days glued to the 'box' like some elderly people do. I am able to use my hobbies of computing and music to take up some remaining time, the music part being listening not playing !! As far as computing is concerned I recently bought a new computer, built to my specifications (based on advice from my son Neil) and added a new printer. This means that I am having to transfer data from my old computer, editing it in the process. I hadn't realised how much I had stored which was either out of date or no longer needed - so the editing has become a slightly laborious process. This is not the only use I make of the computer but I do exclude certain activities which many others use. For example, I don't use any social networking sites (such as Facebook or YouTube) because I am concerned about identity theft. In addition I keep the computer for things it does which I cannot do by other means like only watching TV programmes on the TV set not the computer or only playing CDs on the hi-fi. However I make quite a few purchases on the Internet and use it for other activities as well.
Other time consuming activities, which I have mentioned in previous blogs, are shopping, going to Quaker Meetings and my weekly visit to the retired people's club. For the latter I am preparing a talk (for when they would like it) on 'Humour on Record' which will use songs taken from my CD collection. I was surprised at the variety of such music which is available for this. Shopping is not much of a problem because it only takes about 10 minutes to get to the supermarket and, with a prepared shopping list, it only takes about 40 minutes to do the actual shopping. Quaker Meetings are, generally (for me) a weekly affair because some other activities are outside my travel range or are inaccessible by wheelchair. If I find a slot of spare time it is easily taken up with essential paperwork, which despite the 'paperless office' plans in the early days of computing, seems to have increased to the point where one almost needs secretarial training to keep things in order.
Another annual activity for most people is a holiday which for me is an extremely difficult project - even if I wanted to, which I don't. Part of the problem is that I never know what to do on a holiday, especially having travelled to, and worked in, many foreign lands. In fact we had done so much travel between the UK and overseas that, on arrival back at Heathrow when I retired, I told my wife that I wasn't going to travel on another b****y plane again. If I wanted a holiday (an unlikely prospect) there would be the problems of travel, wheelchair access, a suitable bed and coping with toilet facilities. Here at home all that is organised out in one way or another. The only thing I really miss is motoring and motor-cycling but I am even coming to terms with my inability to spend time that way. If there is something that I really want to go to which is any distance away, like an exhibition at the NEC at Birmingham, I can always splash out on a taxi.
Mike
Living alone, some folks wonder how I spend my time. Well it is partly taken up by the extended time taken for even the simplest of tasks, but I ration my watching of TV to specific times of day or to specific programmes - because I don't want to spend all my days glued to the 'box' like some elderly people do. I am able to use my hobbies of computing and music to take up some remaining time, the music part being listening not playing !! As far as computing is concerned I recently bought a new computer, built to my specifications (based on advice from my son Neil) and added a new printer. This means that I am having to transfer data from my old computer, editing it in the process. I hadn't realised how much I had stored which was either out of date or no longer needed - so the editing has become a slightly laborious process. This is not the only use I make of the computer but I do exclude certain activities which many others use. For example, I don't use any social networking sites (such as Facebook or YouTube) because I am concerned about identity theft. In addition I keep the computer for things it does which I cannot do by other means like only watching TV programmes on the TV set not the computer or only playing CDs on the hi-fi. However I make quite a few purchases on the Internet and use it for other activities as well.
Other time consuming activities, which I have mentioned in previous blogs, are shopping, going to Quaker Meetings and my weekly visit to the retired people's club. For the latter I am preparing a talk (for when they would like it) on 'Humour on Record' which will use songs taken from my CD collection. I was surprised at the variety of such music which is available for this. Shopping is not much of a problem because it only takes about 10 minutes to get to the supermarket and, with a prepared shopping list, it only takes about 40 minutes to do the actual shopping. Quaker Meetings are, generally (for me) a weekly affair because some other activities are outside my travel range or are inaccessible by wheelchair. If I find a slot of spare time it is easily taken up with essential paperwork, which despite the 'paperless office' plans in the early days of computing, seems to have increased to the point where one almost needs secretarial training to keep things in order.
Another annual activity for most people is a holiday which for me is an extremely difficult project - even if I wanted to, which I don't. Part of the problem is that I never know what to do on a holiday, especially having travelled to, and worked in, many foreign lands. In fact we had done so much travel between the UK and overseas that, on arrival back at Heathrow when I retired, I told my wife that I wasn't going to travel on another b****y plane again. If I wanted a holiday (an unlikely prospect) there would be the problems of travel, wheelchair access, a suitable bed and coping with toilet facilities. Here at home all that is organised out in one way or another. The only thing I really miss is motoring and motor-cycling but I am even coming to terms with my inability to spend time that way. If there is something that I really want to go to which is any distance away, like an exhibition at the NEC at Birmingham, I can always splash out on a taxi.
Mike
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)