I have finished my Excel book now and I have uploaded it to Kindle.
It is being reviewed now so I will have to wait to post full details here.
Within spitting distance of 600 pages.
DW
11.8.12
10.8.12
Excel Book: final hurdle
585 pages and 136,291 words as at bed time last night.
I should finish the Excel Book today. Then it's introductions, summaries, bits of formatting and it's done.
Ta daa!
DW
I should finish the Excel Book today. Then it's introductions, summaries, bits of formatting and it's done.
Ta daa!
DW
9.8.12
Ching and Ken Hom
I stumbled across a cookery programme last might: Ching He and Ken Hom, travelling across China in a culinary quest.
Yes, we have seen celeb chefs going abroad but this was exciting!
Both chefs are Chinese, both speak the language and both know how to cook: they have a fundamental understanding of their ingredients and techniques.
Ken Hom seems to be shy and modest. Ching seems to be more outgoing and more willing to use her language skills.
One of the highlights of the programme was when Ching went to a B&B outside Beijing and shared a kitchen with a fantastic 57 year old local woman. The brought out Ching's personality really well.
They also went to cookery classes: not the sickly, Oh! Wow! That's amazing of a Gary Rhodes either.
Can't wait for episode two!
DE
Yes, we have seen celeb chefs going abroad but this was exciting!
Both chefs are Chinese, both speak the language and both know how to cook: they have a fundamental understanding of their ingredients and techniques.
Ken Hom seems to be shy and modest. Ching seems to be more outgoing and more willing to use her language skills.
One of the highlights of the programme was when Ching went to a B&B outside Beijing and shared a kitchen with a fantastic 57 year old local woman. The brought out Ching's personality really well.
They also went to cookery classes: not the sickly, Oh! Wow! That's amazing of a Gary Rhodes either.
Can't wait for episode two!
DE
8.8.12
Is the Cloud a Good Idea?
The Internet cloud is a great idea isn't it?
Software online, storage online, technical staff online. Software updated without the need to know it or even do anything about it.
Shangri La solution isn't it!
Well, everything has an Achilles heel doesn't it? Yes, is the answer. In my case the Achilles heel is my BT broadband connection. It is very slow and it is unstable. I have been complaining and have met engineers, had long conversations on the phone ...
Last week, the latest engineer of engineers left me a brand new router/hub. This evening my connection dropped completely and the techie on the phone said it is probably because the hub is broken.
Smart solution to leave me with a broken hub.
Why mention this, though? My book is almost complete: 570 pages written and just the index to complete. Hear this: I decided to keep it in the cloud using Dropbox so that I could easily access it from anywhere ... crap idea!
Fortunately, I also save backups locally and have TWO up to date copies on my system.
I am not impressed.
DW
Software online, storage online, technical staff online. Software updated without the need to know it or even do anything about it.
Shangri La solution isn't it!
Well, everything has an Achilles heel doesn't it? Yes, is the answer. In my case the Achilles heel is my BT broadband connection. It is very slow and it is unstable. I have been complaining and have met engineers, had long conversations on the phone ...
Last week, the latest engineer of engineers left me a brand new router/hub. This evening my connection dropped completely and the techie on the phone said it is probably because the hub is broken.
Smart solution to leave me with a broken hub.
Why mention this, though? My book is almost complete: 570 pages written and just the index to complete. Hear this: I decided to keep it in the cloud using Dropbox so that I could easily access it from anywhere ... crap idea!
Fortunately, I also save backups locally and have TWO up to date copies on my system.
I am not impressed.
DW
Words of the London Olympics
Words of the London Olympics
amazing
unbelievable
phenomenal
right now
marvellous, marvellous
hopefully
stand out
yes, no
a piece of running, a piece of history
big ask, tough ask
goosebumps
sideburns
Is ... ... ... ... the greatest British Olympian ever?
Pronunciation matters:
HeptAthlon has become HeptathLON
TriAthlon has become TriathLON
There's probably more that I should write, I'll add them later.
DW
amazing
unbelievable
phenomenal
right now
marvellous, marvellous
hopefully
stand out
yes, no
a piece of running, a piece of history
big ask, tough ask
goosebumps
sideburns
Is ... ... ... ... the greatest British Olympian ever?
Pronunciation matters:
HeptAthlon has become HeptathLON
TriAthlon has become TriathLON
There's probably more that I should write, I'll add them later.
DW
Fantastic Chris Hoy
I've just watched Sir Chris Hoy winning another gold medal with a fantastic effort in the velodrome. Really fantastic.
DW
DW
6.8.12
Champion Pasty
I was inspired to make a Cornish Pasty. I made rough puff pastry and realised, after about 45 years (quick, ef?!), that this is the pastry my mother used to make and that was so good. I used the lard that I had left over from last Xmas too.
Well, here are some photos! Instead of meat I used veggie sausage mix and that worked well.
Recommended: the one I ate, with mushy peas, was really good :)
DW
Well, here are some photos! Instead of meat I used veggie sausage mix and that worked well.
Recommended: the one I ate, with mushy peas, was really good :)
DW
5.8.12
Team GB Footballers out!
Sorry to say but it was the penalties wot done it!
Again!!
South Korea have gone through to the semi finals and good luck to them now!
Having seen those two games at Old Trafford I know how much everyone enjoyed the Olympic football so it's a pity we won't be involved any more.
DW
Again!!
South Korea have gone through to the semi finals and good luck to them now!
Having seen those two games at Old Trafford I know how much everyone enjoyed the Olympic football so it's a pity we won't be involved any more.
DW
Mo Farah did it too
Well done Mr Farah! He won gold with a fantastic performance: the first 10,000 metres Gold for team GB ever!
Brilliant night for team GB
Oh! Team GB drew 1:1 with S Korea ... Every silver lining has a cloud as they play extra time and maybe a penalty shoot out! Crikey!
DW
Brilliant night for team GB
Oh! Team GB drew 1:1 with S Korea ... Every silver lining has a cloud as they play extra time and maybe a penalty shoot out! Crikey!
DW
A Raft of Medals for the Rowers!
It's been a very good day at the Olympics today. Rowers won, Cyclists won, Jessica Ennis won, the Long Jumper won and Mo Farah is running as I type ... 3,000 metres to go.
Brendan Foster is commentating on Farah's 10,000 race and it's fair to say he's lost none of his talent. On a score of 1 to 10, Foster's talent has always been firmly lodged at 2.
Will report on Farah in a minute or two.
DW
Brendan Foster is commentating on Farah's 10,000 race and it's fair to say he's lost none of his talent. On a score of 1 to 10, Foster's talent has always been firmly lodged at 2.
Will report on Farah in a minute or two.
DW
1.8.12
BT Battle
I am in the middle of a battle with BT over my broadband. I have reported the sloth of my broadband several times over the last two years and each time I have either been fobbed off or told to call back later.
Well, since I am at home for a while I am chasing them now. They have gone through the, oh dear that's not good, sorry to hear that ... So I called back and they sent out an engineer: he told me that he could probably do nothing but after he'd gone I waited 24 hours and as nothing had happened I called again. They told me the engineer had changed some settings and I should wait up to a week. They promised to call me on Monday evening to check up: they did; but they asked me, is your broadband working? I answered, yes; and they said good and put the phone down. I was furious so I sent them another sms to tell them the following:
Over the weekend I downloaded the new iOS Mountain Lion ... but it took me 5 days to do it. Part of the reason for the problem with downloading was that my connection kept dropping ... another factor that's driving me on is that I am paying far too much to lose my connection and have a speed around one eighth of the national average broadband speed.
I have now been promised an engineer of engineers to come and sort me out! He's coming on 2nd August and I will report back.
DW
Well, since I am at home for a while I am chasing them now. They have gone through the, oh dear that's not good, sorry to hear that ... So I called back and they sent out an engineer: he told me that he could probably do nothing but after he'd gone I waited 24 hours and as nothing had happened I called again. They told me the engineer had changed some settings and I should wait up to a week. They promised to call me on Monday evening to check up: they did; but they asked me, is your broadband working? I answered, yes; and they said good and put the phone down. I was furious so I sent them another sms to tell them the following:
Over the weekend I downloaded the new iOS Mountain Lion ... but it took me 5 days to do it. Part of the reason for the problem with downloading was that my connection kept dropping ... another factor that's driving me on is that I am paying far too much to lose my connection and have a speed around one eighth of the national average broadband speed.
I have now been promised an engineer of engineers to come and sort me out! He's coming on 2nd August and I will report back.
DW
Radio Star ... Again!
There was a discussion on You and Yours on Radio 4 today and they asked what we thought of the Olympics so far. I can't believe how many people are being so negative: the cycle race is coming through my town and already they have put barriers up in front of my father's house and he'll be 100 years old in three weeks ...
Anyway, I am a great supporter of the London Olympics so I wrote up; and they read out most of what I said! This is what I said:
Anyway, I am a great supporter of the London Olympics so I wrote up; and they read out most of what I said! This is what I said:
"Dear Sirs,
I have been a firm supporter of the London Olympics from day one and whilst the seat allocations are a bit of an annoyance, they are not a major distraction are they? The security guard problem was another blip that has hardly presaged the ruination of the Games has it?
On Sunday I went to Old Trafford to watch two Olympic football games and it was a magical experience. 66,212 people were there and the atmosphere was magnificent: everyone cheered everything. Yes, there were supporters of particular teams but everyone cheered every goal, all substitutes were given standing ovations as they left the pitch.
As we all left the ground, there were probably hundreds of policemen and security guards: they really weren't needed as nothing needed controlling!
People had come from all over the world to see their own team, the opposition teams, Old Trafford itself. The standard of football was pretty high too. And for an average of £20 a game I even got to see a Brazilian team whose players are the senior Brazilian players of the future: they were an inspiration too!
Just listen to the crowds at every event on the television too: so much energy and emotion.
£9 billion will prove to have been very well spent when all of this settles down."
DW
30.7.12
Olympic Football Summary
In response to an email from a friend today, I wrote the following and It seemed like a good summary of my trip to Old Trafford today.
I went to Old Trafford today to watch two Olympic football matches. 66,212 people were there. From many nations. The substitutes were clapped into the stadium. The teams were cheered onto the pitch. Whichever team scored, everyone applauded. Everyone was happy.
The Egyptians played New Zealand in game one: one all draw. Good game, great spirit. Many Egyptians there. Two rows down from me there was a posse of young Egyptians: faces painted with their flag, wearing their team shirt, banging a drum they'd brought with them, chanting and singing in Arabic. No one cared, everyone enjoyed it! Come half time, one of the cheer leaders had a bit of banter with some young children in the row in front of him ... perfect English.
The second game was Brazil v Belarus. Suddenly, half the stadium seemed to be Brazilians. Fantastic atmosphere. Superb skills from such young players. Time flew. Belarus scored, everyone cheered. Brazil equalised, everyone cheered but the Brazilians cheered louder still. Brazil won the match by three goals to one.
This is the Olympic spirit.
DW
I went to Old Trafford today to watch two Olympic football matches. 66,212 people were there. From many nations. The substitutes were clapped into the stadium. The teams were cheered onto the pitch. Whichever team scored, everyone applauded. Everyone was happy.
The Egyptians played New Zealand in game one: one all draw. Good game, great spirit. Many Egyptians there. Two rows down from me there was a posse of young Egyptians: faces painted with their flag, wearing their team shirt, banging a drum they'd brought with them, chanting and singing in Arabic. No one cared, everyone enjoyed it! Come half time, one of the cheer leaders had a bit of banter with some young children in the row in front of him ... perfect English.
The second game was Brazil v Belarus. Suddenly, half the stadium seemed to be Brazilians. Fantastic atmosphere. Superb skills from such young players. Time flew. Belarus scored, everyone cheered. Brazil equalised, everyone cheered but the Brazilians cheered louder still. Brazil won the match by three goals to one.
This is the Olympic spirit.
DW
29.7.12
I Arrived ... Old Trafford!
This is where I am now. Train on time. I spotted two likely lads and shared a taxi to the ground with them ... security was OK!
The ground seem smaller than it is on the telly!!!
Egypt v New Zealand first, in about an hour from now.
DW
The ground seem smaller than it is on the telly!!!
Egypt v New Zealand first, in about an hour from now.
DW
<Whispers> the Old Trafford Journey Begins
For the first time ever I am on my way to Old Trafford, football ground. Never had the need to go there before and it's the Olympics that beckons!
Egypt v New Zealand at noon followed by Brazil v Belarus around 3 pm.
I hope the journey is without strife, collecting my ticket is straightforward and the games are exciting.
DW
Egypt v New Zealand at noon followed by Brazil v Belarus around 3 pm.
I hope the journey is without strife, collecting my ticket is straightforward and the games are exciting.
DW
28.7.12
Olympics Opening Ceremony
After three hours I'd say the Olympics Opening Ceremony has gone very well. Some interesting tableaux, music and dance. Interesting way if taking everyone through British history.
The athletes are all in the stadium now and the Arctic Monkeys are singing: not particularly my cup of tea I have to say.
We are promised more interesting spectacles to come.
One fabulous thing they've done us to build dot matrix lights in to the seats and that 's very effective.
DW
The athletes are all in the stadium now and the Arctic Monkeys are singing: not particularly my cup of tea I have to say.
We are promised more interesting spectacles to come.
One fabulous thing they've done us to build dot matrix lights in to the seats and that 's very effective.
DW
Am ... aaaaa ... zing!
I am watching BBC One TV in the build up to the Olympic Games opening ceremony. I am sitting here wondering how many times we'll hear the word amazing over the next 17 days.
I know, grumpy old chap!
The Red Arrows have just flown over the Olympic Stadium ... lovely sight, that. I remember driving around Oxfordshire a few years ago and I could see a chevron formation in the sky ahead of me. As I got nearer to the chevron I realised it was the Red Arrows, in perfect formation.
DW
I know, grumpy old chap!
The Red Arrows have just flown over the Olympic Stadium ... lovely sight, that. I remember driving around Oxfordshire a few years ago and I could see a chevron formation in the sky ahead of me. As I got nearer to the chevron I realised it was the Red Arrows, in perfect formation.
DW
27.7.12
Ding Dong the Olympic Gong!
I am looking forward to the Olympic Games now. Let's hope that nothing serious goes wrong and that the true spirit of the Olympic tradition shines through for everyone.
DW
DW
25.7.12
Lawn Done: let's grow some rice!!
We've had three dry weather days and my back garden was dry enough for me to mow my lawn this afternoon and rain is forecast overnight. So, I mowed the lawn!
The part of the lawn that gets very little or no sun is still very wet. So wet that I'm thinking of growing rice there!!
I feel better now!
DW
The part of the lawn that gets very little or no sun is still very wet. So wet that I'm thinking of growing rice there!!
I feel better now!
DW
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