16 January, 2013

Spring

Funny thing is that spring is so far away some 12 weeks it seems like miles away, it's not but I am looking forward the extra sunlight and it getting warmer.

Snow

So the weather men are saying that its due to snow heavy on Friday, I hope that they are wrong.

13 January, 2013

colder

I find hard to believe that spring is 12 weeks or less away. Especially as its so cold at this time.

Blog

Have also toady changed the template that the blog is based on, well its a change and it is a new year and all that. If I don't like it I can always change it.

Blog

Just edited the blog a bit so it does not take up so much screen space, not sure if it's worked.

Some how I have also got Google+ not sure what it is and how to use it, wonder if I can remove it if I don't like it?

DJ Studio

Just downloaded the latest update for DJ Studio, and the good news is that the bugs from the last update have been removed, and the app works as it should do, which is nice as I love having an app that's fun to make mixes for my fun.

Sadly some of the mixes I have done I like and listen to them in the car or when I am working on the computer.

The only thing that would make DJ Studio better would be an easier way of getting my mixes off the iPad  at this time there only appear to be two ways, one is to upload your mix to Soundcloud the other is to save it to some sort of audio clip board, which at this time I just don't have a clue how to use.

I am sure the an earlier version of the app allowed you to get your mixes from a directory on the iPad when connected using iTunes.

so apart form the above i am having fun with the app and that is all that matters.

12 January, 2013

Nikon D600

So the new camera is working well, lots of new things to try on it. The new memory card for it is also working well, in fact I don't think I will run out of space when taking photo's.

64GB is a lot of space but when shooting images at 24MB a time and at 30 frames a sec you can I suppose run out of room quickly if you are not careful.

Colder

If anything today is colder than yesterday and I think if I can I will stay indoors.

11 January, 2013

Gender

Was reading an item on the Internet somewhere about gender. Now what struck my about this item and what I came away from it was the fact that in biology terms there is no such thing as fully Male or fully Female.

This was a surprise to me, but on thinking about it it does make sense in that biological systems are not digital but analog and so it goes without saying that for that very reason you can not have such a thing as fully Female as there has to be some Male part to the system, and when you look at human biology that does indeed turn out to be the case, as it turns. Out the men and women have male and female hormones running around inside them, and that you do need both for things to work.

When you look at other animals it also appears to be the case that there is a mixture of male and female.

It would see that only mankind has for reasons lost far back in time decided that there are only two sexes male and female, when really there is a spectrum of male to female.

So as I said I learnt something today and that is always good, as the day you stop wanting to find something out is the day you should give up.

10 January, 2013

Cold

So it has turned cold and the weather men are saying we could have snow!

This for me is not good as I don't like snow.

The weather men also said this cold weather will last at least two weeks, isn't that just bad news.

07 January, 2013

Kites

It's been a while since I brought a kite, but this year for some reason I want to get back into traction kiting, as its fun and I hope this year to have some time to enjoy it, that's assuming that the weather here in the UK plays its part by being nice, at least some of the time.

Blossom

Today I have seen my first tree blossom.

64Gb sdhd

So I have just installed in the new camera a 64gig card, I don't think I will fill the card up any time soon even if each image is 24mb.

06 January, 2013

Drink of the day

So today's drink of the day is....

Abbott's ale, very nice it is too and draft so even better when well looked after and well served

One Egg Frying Pan

Having just brought a one egg frying pan I wonder if it started out as a joke? and has now become a real product?

The pan that we brought was made by Tefal so at that last time of checking I don't think they go in for gimmicks, don't get me wrong the pan is a useful thing to have once you have worked out how to cook with such a small pan.

05 January, 2013

Drink of the day

Today's drink of the day is diet coke by coke cola with ice and lemon, and very nice it is thank you very much.

One egg frying pan

You think that cooking an egg in a one egg frying pan would be easy? Wouldn't you?

Well it's not as I found out today, have the gas to high and the result is a burnt egg not a fried one.

Have the gas too low and the result is that you die of hunger so the trick appears to be to get the gas just the right.

As you can tell this is something I have yet to get right.

Reading

Big news so far this year is that I managed to pick up a book and do some reading!

It might not be news or of interest to you but to me it is as I love to read but for some reason or other over the last 6 months or so I have not managed to read a book!

So the book I am reading is the Year Best Science Fiction 24 ! yes yeas old but it was on sale in kindle format which always works better than iBooks does on the iPad or at least it does for me and that's all that counts.

03 January, 2013

Mild

So at last for a short time the weather is mild, and that's good, I like it mild.

02 January, 2013

First Day Back

Always a bit of a shock to the system first day back at work after Xmas.

You think after all these years, I would know what to expect, but no it's the same old shock to the system each and every time.

01 January, 2013

Family Tree

Just trying out a new family tree app on the iPad, wow according to it I have 246 living relatives!

Gallery 3

Gallery 3 still does not work, it still throws a 500 error, which can mean so many things may or may not be broken that I don't know where to even start looking.

Looking on the help forms has not proved to be very helpful either as the one person who reported such an error does not yet appear to have fixed their problem with it.

Blue Sky

Wow first day of the year and we have at this time a blue sky and sunshine, which is something we have not seen for a few days now.

First post

So this is my first post of 2013 and for the record it wet

31 December, 2012

Last blog 2012

So the last blog of this year 2012 wonder what 2013 will be like

Drink of the day part 3

Today's drink of the day is........... Tea!

Yes I know but as its the last day of this year I am staying sober right up-to midnight.....

Gallery 3

Had a lot of fun today trying to install Gallery 3 on my web server, the result so far is all the files are on the server, the database is set up.
So the end result?

Error 500

So until I work out what throws this error no Gallery 3.

Gallery 2 works well.

End of year

So the last day of 2012 and I have to note here that the weather has been wet dark and cool all day.

30 December, 2012

2013 iPad

Dear Apple before you loose your market share and become a has been could you please produce an iPad with some decent memory storage. 64GB is just a joke especially if you are really using the iPad to create things on it like music, books, images, its a great device for consuming content but with so little memory creating content on it is getting to be rather hard.

If you can not see your way to creating more storage, and don't say I can use the cloud, what use is that when I have no connection to the cloud?

Also I don't want to have to keep paying to store my files, which may or may not be safe from others actions.

Why can't I have a USB port on the machine?

I have a lot of content that I don't want to move but if you keep coming up with iPads that can't do the job then I shall join the other millions and look else where for my new tablet.

Largerita ( Updated Content part 2) 2012


How to make a Largerita ( Updated Content) 2012

Largerita

This is a great summer drink (Yes, it's true that the UK does have summers, it's just they don't last very long!) that with great food and friends is a very nice, and is also a hot summers day drink and a hot summer is even better (But much much rarer here in the UK), and a BBQ is well even more better!

So to make my version of a  Largerita you will need ( I did say to make my version of a Largerita! 

you may find others that have similar ideas, they are also worth having a go at, it may be that one of the versions is just what you are looking for! )

So you need the following bits and pieces

Bottle of Mexican Beer (Sol) (330ml) make sure it's cold,(I said Cold got it?) if you have no Sol,(yes and I also do bad puns!) I have found that any 5% (Alc vol) bottled Larger works, but for some reason the less "sweet" ones work much better, your taste buds might have other ideas....(and if they do, give them a taking to.....)( make sure the beer is cold, you will see a theme, about cold here....)

One shot of Tequila (The best you have around, also without this ingredient you will not have a Largerita, and I mean the best you have, your Largerita will taste much better if you don't skimp on the quality of the ingredients  honest.....if you happen to have Patron Platinum, and who doesn't? then go for it it really does make a big difference to the final drink, I should know as I have tried this drink with several different Tequila's and its sad to say that in the case of Tequila you get what you pay for, at least that's what my taste buds are telling me!.)

One shot of Triple Sec (Any make seems to work, but please do note that different Triple Sec's do have different tastes, and deep flavour so find one you like.)

One shot of Lime Cordial (The higher the Lime content the better, here in the UK, I have found that Britvic and Rose Lime Cordial work well, for me that is (my taste buds again).)

Fresh Lime Juice to taste (Not really needed, but try it for the first glass or two, it's a real surprise what a little fresh Lime juice can do to the taste of a drink.)

Mix vigorously& serve with ice. (Well don't ask me why, but do not leave this out, as it makes all the difference to he final drink you end up with in your hand, well to me it does...and I promise you I have tried this recipe both ways and this is the best way (with Ice that is) I have read somewhere that it deepens the taste, whatever that means!(All I know is that it really does change the drink into something-worth having on a hot day, with Blue sky, your shades on and a BBQ near by...)

So there you have my version of a Largerita, which I have to say it always works well for me.

I suspect that the better the ingredients the better the end result, but then you know that don't you?

Also it's a bit like when baking, keep to the measures given, as it makes all the difference.(yes just a little bit over on just one of the items can change the whole nature and final resulting drink) (I have warned you as I know from my own experience! that it can make a great drink complete crap!)

Have fun, please do let me know how you got on, and if you can remember what Larger, Lime cordial and Triple Sec and Tequila you used, let me know, so that I can try them out assuming I can get them in the UK that is.

Drink of the day part 3

Today's drink of the day is......Tea!

Well it works for me.

29 December, 2012

Drink of the day part 2

So today's drink is not that exciting, as things go, but it is a nice steady drink it is Fosters Larger 4.0% which according to the can has been brewed in Europe by the fine fellas and sheilas of Heineken, so I have no clue where the yeast used has come from, and from what part of the world the water is used to brew the Larger is also supposed to come from, is it Austria ? or somewhere else?

The thing is the can does not make this clear, where the water for the larger is to come from and as you know Europe is a big place so it could be anywhere.....

AF Lens Part 2

It now appears that I don't own two AF lenses only one, the good news is that the lens that I do own is a primary 1.4 lens, and very nice it is too.

28 December, 2012

AF Lens

It appears that I do own two AF lenses this is good news and I am sure my Nikion D600 is also very happy about it.

Reading

For the first time in ages I have read a story in a book, which for some reason or other I have not managed to do for more than a few months now.

Yes there is stuff I want to read I get the book out either in paper form or in electronic and for some reason after a few minutes I give up reading, strange that.

Car service

So the car is having a day away from me while it gets its service, will I notice any difference in her when she comes back to me?

Dark

Why is it so dark today, apart from the rain clouds that is, it does not even feel like early afternoon.

27 December, 2012

DJ studio

DJ studio is an app on the Ipad that I use a lot in fact its now one of my music apps that I use the most.

So you can how happy I was when I saw that there was an update for it, which like a prat I downloaded straight away, this was not a good move on my part as it turns out that the update has just a few very bad errors in it.

To add to my joy Xmas is not a good time to get quick fixes for software, being that fact that everyone likes to have some down time, and why not?

So the several faults are the that I can not recorded anything longer than 3 minutes, which is just a bit of a pain as some of the items I now recorded are 20 minutes or more in length  the other problem is that the brought in app purchases don't appear even after doing a restore purchase.

So I am not a happy little bunny but the good news is that the programmers are aware of the errors, the question is can they fix them?

I hope so, as its a program that I spent a lot of time getting used to, I have also spent a lot of money on.

I shall report back if and when another update is released that fixes the problems.

Drink of the Day and other stuff

Just for my records on when I look back at this day in my life the drink of the day today is Carlsberg 3.8% which means that sadly it was brewed in the UK but I am told by the guys that know this sort of stuff that the yeast is as used in Copenhagen and that the water used in the UK is made to be very very similar to also what is used in Copenhagen.

Now for some reason I don't think the UK version tastes the same as the one from Copenhagen maybe it has something different that can not be added by those clever chemists?

The only thing that I can think off, but here I have no poof is that the zoology of the Bactria in the water is some how different and the fact that it is boiled is supposed to kill all the low temperature Bactria, does not mean to say that the Bactria that can survive temperatures of 100 centigrade are not still alive and that some how or other they react with the yeast and that what goes to creating the taste difference?

I know its a stupid idea but I can not at this time think of another reason for why a can of UK brewed Carlsberg and a Copenhagen brewed Carlsberg taste to me different  and yes I have made sure both cans are of the same age and are both the same temperature when I taste tested them side by side.

I have no problem with the fact that there is in drinking water Bactria that lives on after being heated and having Chlorine thrown at it.

Normal drinking water has lots of stuff in it that don't do us any harm but are in there, in fact it may be that we need some of the unknown stuff that is in the water after being Chlorinated.

End of Year

So the end of the year is coming real quick and in one way that's great in another its not so good. But with the end of year comes something that I do like and that is the fact that the days are getting longer, and in my book that is always good.

Nikon D600 Part 2

So I have the new camera and I now find out that DX lenses are not using all the sensor of the D600, after getting off the floor at the cost of AFX? lenses its a good job the camera knows I am poor and can use the cheap? old lenses that I have even if they are only DX type.

I must say that the results from the camera are very nice, yes they are very nice.

Nikon D600

So the new camera is going well I have worked out how to put the straps on to the camera, now I have to work out what settings I want on the camera.

Patte

So we got some duck patte from M&S why is the date so short on is use by date?

Famous dead people

So each year we loose loads of people who I have heard of from the world of entertainment, I think the rate of loss is no more or less than any other year, I suppose the only differance is just how much or little attention I place on who it was who has passed away, and also weather or not their work had any impact on my life in some way or other.

New toys

I got a new camera for Xmas, which was very nice to get, it's just the cost was to say the least more than I have ever spent on a camera but I am sure that the d600 is worth the money.

The only thing is I am going to have to learn how to get the best out of it.

Rain

So for a big surprise it's raining again,this is good in one way in that its not cold.

26 December, 2012

Xmas

So Xmas is over and all to soon it's back to the grind.

Lost days

Arh I appear to have a few missing this week, how does that happen?


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Boxing Day


Boxing Day time to take things easy

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22 December, 2012

Upgrades

So I have an iPad that is used very very heavily one of the apps that I like to use a lot is called dj studio. Before the latest update I could create track or mixes as long as I wanted but since the upgrade it only runs for some 3 minutes.

I am not happy....

Rest

Yeah time to have a rest from work, and I really need it this time.

18 December, 2012

Books

Why is it that I have brought some books that I do want to read, but for one reason or another I find myself unable to read them?

16 December, 2012

Podcasting

Pod-casting again?

Well I have done just 3 pod-casts

Then time has some how got in the way so I have not done any more yet....

To add to my lack of pod-casts another excuse that I can use is that the software that I use on the iPad has just been updated and there are new things to learn.

Well that's the excuses that I am going to use.

Rich

Would I be happy with no worries about money?

How different would my life be if I did not have to go to work?

I suspect that even the very rich are never completely without something to do and always worry about their last million, and who can blame them?

Would I be happy being rich?

I don't know the answer but I would love to know the answer!

Sometimes I get upset that I am never going to be anything other than a small wheel in the big wheel but at least I have the chance to be happy with what little I do have, which is more than I thought I would have, so yes I would love to be rich, who wouldn't?

But I am never going to be well off that's just how life is... unfair and it does not care but then again when you see just how few really rich people there are it makes sense that most of us are going to be poor.

Darkness

I have had I suspect the same thoughts as many others as to what happens when your time is up. As I think about my life I have noticed that I can only go so far back with the memory's that I have, I have seen photo's taken of me when I was younger and I have no memory of them being taken.

I have spoken to lots of people and they have the same problem, it would appear that you only start to form memories from a certain age, and as far as I can tell that age changes from person to person, but in broad brush strokes we all only start to lay down memories at about the same time.

So I suppose it should not come as a surprise that the first 3 or 4 of my first years of life I have no hard and fast or complete memories, why is this?

Any way I started this note to myself with what happens when your time is up?

As know-one has ever answer from beyond the grave yet the answer is unknown.

I would like to note here that I don't worry about my end when ever it is, what I do worry about is that I hope my exit from this world will be pain free, as I don't like pain and sadly my pain threshold is so low that I think it is one of by biggest fears that my passing will not be pain free.

not that I want to go any time soon.

I have also found when talking to others that it appears to be a common fear, so I am not so different from everyone else, that's good out of some 6 billion humans on this planet I turn out to be just like everyone else...nice that.

Real Ale

Just a note to me I have just had a drink of wells Bombardier which is a real ale 4.3% it's okay as a drink, but not for me as there is a long after taste.

12 December, 2012

Is it true?

Well just seen a news item if that's the right word that according to one of the many Maya calandra the world is supposed to end on the 21st December, not that I believe that it will but it did make me think we're the maya aware of the rest of the world eg the UK?

I think the answer is no, so I have decided that their prediction only meant the maya world would end and I seem to remember it did in the 15th century under the Spanish.

11 December, 2012

How many?

How many designs are there in the world at any one time?

How many designs were created today?

Is there any way of finding out?

I think the answer to the above questions is nobody knows and also nobody knows how to find out in an easy to do way.

Sir Patrick Moore

So I have now just found out that Patrick Moore has died which is sad but I don't think it was that unexpected as his health was and had been in decline for some time.

It would appear that through his long life he effected lots of people in lots of ways and that he himself was a complicated man who like all of us had good and bad parts of his personality and I without the good and bad parts Patrick would not be the person he was.

I think seeing him on telly when I was younger sparked an interest in the night sky and also in science which has stayed with me to this day and I thank Patrick for that.

I never met him but from what I read he could be a fun person to be around and as he likes cats what more is there to say.

So thank you Patrick for bringing the wonder of the skies into my live and many many others.

Colder again

Wow I think today has been the coldest day of the year so far.

10 December, 2012

Dark

Wow its getting dark quick, i know the shortest day is soon but wow.

04 December, 2012

Wolford Tights

I wonder just how many pairs of tights a year Wolford sell a year.

Colder

It is according to the weather people 6degrees colder than average at this time, that's not news to me I know it's cold.....

27 November, 2012

Cold


Just a note to me that as soon as that wind turns from theNorth wow it gets cold quick, either that or I just feel the cold real bad these days.

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26 November, 2012

Dirk Maggs Website

So my Dirk Maggs website is no longer listed on Google, bum....


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Websites

Just checked my websites out on google and I am nowhere to be found!

Yes it's a surprise to me, but thinking about it I have not updated my sites for a while so I suppose it should not be a surprise.

Growing up

So daughter is going to leave home to be with her boyfriend, this was not unexpected and they clearly love each other, so why do I feel sad?

25 November, 2012

Grand Prix

Well it was great watching the last race of the year in formula 1 entertaining although towards the end it was obvious who was going to win the race


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24 November, 2012

Podcast Pt 3+1+7+kjghgfdhgk

Well I know there are lots of blogs today about my pod-casts on my server, but hey it works and so its my new toy and i just want to play with it.

one thing that I have noticed is that all 3 of the episodes on there have the same date, even though they where recorded at different times, the story or the reason for the same date is that I had to move them from one part of the server to another and the files got re date stamped..

Podcast test

Looks like the podcast test works....well it did today 24th November 2012 Odd Thoughts from a High Desk go on click it, it might also work for you.

If you are looking at this years into the future I would be surprised if it works, but you never know it might, so what have you got to loose?

Test podcast lik

This is a test of links to my server with pod-casts on.http://pod.dswilliams.co.uk/?p=home so click the link should get you to my pod-casts, there are not many of them, but they are mine all mine.

Sub domains

Well setting up sub domains on the server are proving interesting not sure if I have got it right yet, it takes my ISP an hour for them to become active, so I don't know if I have got it all working right.

Podcast

Managed to install on the server software that allows me to serve my podcasts which is good.

ESB


Drinking ESB from Fuller's and its nice but I am not sure if I like it more or less than Fuller's London Pride, then again I am only on my first pint.......

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23 November, 2012

Weather

Not so windy today, which is good, but sadly the weather people have said that its going to get cold.

22 November, 2012

Podcast 3

I recorded podcast no 3 of odd thoughts from a high desk yesterday and I have today managed to put it on my web server.

What I have yet to work out is how to link to them on this blog!

The podcast it's self runs to a whole twenty minutes....

Weather

It is very very windy at this time 20.07

20 November, 2012

Things

Wonder what else I can note here apart from the fact that this post is being written on an updated version of the blogger software on the iPad, it's not got lots of bells and whistles, if it has I have yet to find them. The good news is that it just works.

So this now means that I have two bits of software that I can use to do my blog on my iPad and that has got to be good, hasn't it?

Podcasting again

So some how I have done 2 podcasts and I have even got them sat on my web server , what I have yet to work out is what to do with them next.

I have not yet worked out how to get them linked into a blogger post, although from the reading that I have done that should be possible, which is good

Perhaps what I should do is just carry on doing the podcasts and stack them up ready to go, so that when I work out how to link them there will be loads for people to try. Not that I expect to get a lot of downloads, as the subject of my podcasts is similar to this blog and I do this blog for myself, if people find it and read it good for them.

Rich

I often wonder what it would be like to be rich, by rich I mean that I don't have to worry about the odd million or two as petty cash!

Do really rich people have a better life than me?

Do really rich people have the same worries as me?

Do really rich people have a happier time?

I don't know the answers to theses questions, and at this moment in time I don't know any really rich people to ask the question.

Another thought that just occurred to be as I wrote the above was do really rich people even talk to people like me , sadly I think I do know the answer to this one....

19 November, 2012

Tights with Patterns

Tights

Donna brought from Marks and Spencer the other day a pair of Autograph tights with a really great pattern, which were very expensive, I was surprised when she told me just how much she paid for them.

I did say to her that they made her legs look longer. and that they looked really great

I think I got a smile and a thank you!

Father in Law

Well the good news is that he is now on a surgical ward and is getting better, sadly it looks like he will be in hospital for at least two weeks as his breathing is not as good as it should be.

But the goods news is that he is doing well.

Misting

So why is it at this time of year the inside of my car keeps getting misted up?

I even put the AC on to try and demist it, as it is not nice to be driving along and then suddenly you can't see out of the car window.

Cold

Wow cold but not cold if that makes any sense. The gauge reads 3 centigrade but its colder than that.


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17 November, 2012

15 November, 2012

Father in law

So father in law is in hospital and had to have an emergency operation. The good news is that he is now breathing on his own, but he is still in ICU.

Testing Blogger

So Blogger has had an update and this is a test post to see if it all works.

14 November, 2012

Podcasting

So the test podcast links don't work, I think I shall have to go on the Internet to find out how to get blogger to link to my mp3 podcasts


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Test Podcast

This is a test podcast

11 November, 2012

Books

Just done a quick look at my reading pile of books and find that I have got far too many needing reading, how did that happen?

As for my ebooks the number is even more than the paper ones, I shall just have to get back into the habit of reading again.


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Most looked at

One of the most looked at blog posts of this month is called November why? I just don't have a clue. But someone somewhere has managed to find that post, sadly it's not even an interesting post and is also very short.

So why is it getting hits?

I suppose it's one of those mysteries......


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Mocha

I have to admit that a hot cup of mocha is going down a treat and why not.


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11/11

Did twitter go a bit slower at 11am today?

I don't know as I was remembering the fallen.


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10 November, 2012

Podcast

I have not yet moved any nearer to doing a podcast again  other than buying some real neat software for the iPad that makes pod casting much much easier.

There are only two things that are getting in the way, choosing the music at the start and end of the podcast, which is just a case of me getting off my backside and getting on with it.

The second and much more difficult thing to get over is getting used to the idea of talking into a microphone again, why a bit of metal and plastic can be so scary I just don't know.

Subject matter for the podcast is not a real problem as I have lots to say about my two website, The Dirk Maggs Production Website and also the James Follett website.

As there is a lot to talk about on both sites hopefully by the time I get any where near the end Dirk Maggs might have done some more radio work, although looking at the BBC's output its not looking good, as they seem to be on a downward spiral into producing less and less radio plays ect...

Sunrise

Note to self at this time of year you should not be surprised that sunrise is 7.10am.....

09 November, 2012

Real ale

Drinking a real ale called TEA traditional English ale, and very nice it is to.


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November

It's easy to know that you are in November as the shops are now full of Xmas stuff that you just know that in a few weeks you are going to hate the sight of it.

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05 November, 2012

Work

Do you work to live or live to work?


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Lottery

I think it's time for me to win ten quid on the lottery.


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Winter

I know it's winter cos it's cold.... And some folks yesterday had snow in Wiltshire.


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LLM's

 so I have jumped on the bandwagon with everyone else, and have started to play with local LLM's and my own agent, one of the problems t...