23
Jan
2012
Posted by Quantum at 9:10 pm
The past few weeks have been troublesome. A constant scratching on my thigh as my keys pushed though the pocket wall of my work trousers. The temporary fix of micro-pore tape had worked for the last time as the fibres parted ways never to join again.
Today however things were different, a new pair of trousers that had been on standby were put into action. I slid my legs in and hoisted up the black cotton work-wear. Next the moment of truth as the attempt was made to locate button in hole, success the fabric had made it round my middle. I took a few seconds to enjoy the snug fit before selecting the days shirt from the hanger.
The morning routine was proceeding as normal when the time came to place my phone, keys and wallet in their usual pocket slots. I slid my wallet into my pocket as I felt the fabric tighten slightly, my phone and keys took up residence on the other side, their entry too resulting in a snugger fit than before. I looked down to realise what had been a nice fitting pair of trousers had suddenly grown ears bulging outwards. Unable to resolve the predicament I continued on to work in the knowledge that a passer by might quite easily think I was smuggling a Cornish pasty in each pocket.
I now reach the point of this post. Why on earth style a pair of men’s trousers with pockets when they are absolutely no use at all to put things in? A few pence of fabric may have been saved increasing the profit margin for the manufacturer; fine do that, but let me pay the few pence extra to have working pockets instead of being one unzip away from an elephant impression.
Posted in Me, My Opinion, Work |
No Comments »
Tags: Clothing, Problem, Trousers, Work
01
Jan
2012
Posted by Quantum at 10:09 pm
Happy New Year!!!
What can be said about 2011. Many things happened, many things did not. Moving into my own house was probably the most significant and with DIY projects in mind will continue to be a feature of 2012. What does seem to have suffered is my own creative projects, 2011 will go down as a year with many ideas not being realised. So now is the time to plan for the year ahead, to change a few things and make more things happen.
Aims for 2012:
- Design and have manufactured my own PCB
- Build a wireless sensor system for the home
- Fit new carpet to one or more rooms in house
- Finish loft insulating project
- Rid the house of vermin
- Rearrange Lounge
- Regularly Contribute to an open source project
That lot should keep me busy.
Posted in Me |
No Comments »
18
Dec
2011
Posted by Quantum at 12:32 pm
My recent posts have been detailing my war with the local rodent population. The battle has moved from the kitchen into the loft in recent weeks. During the loft insulation project several large holes were sealed trapping the enemy in the loft, numbers unknown. A clean kill and subsequent silence on the front lead me to believe a victory had been achieved. A scouting mission today showed the bait had been taken and my foe had gone to ground avoiding detection. Cut off from its usual supply line it had taken the tainted food cache. I can’t see my enemy but they are there. The signs of droppings not present before are an indicator of the restriction in their movements. The trap has been set, it is only a matter of time before their desperation leads to their downfall.
Posted in House, Troubleshooting |
No Comments »
Tags: House, Kitchen, Loft, Problem, Rat, update
15
Dec
2011
Posted by Quantum at 8:37 pm
The rat from the kitchen had decided to move up the cavity wall into the loft. This was not acceptable, its scratching was keeping me awake at night and its movements moving my insulation. Yesterday the problem was…..resolved (unless there are more).
Posted in House, Images, Troubleshooting |
No Comments »
Tags: House, Problem, Rat
05
Dec
2011
Posted by Quantum at 6:24 pm
The scenes of the aftermath of my exploitative kitchen destruction in pursuit of vermin. During my time lying on my side gazing into the cavernous hole in the wall I was taunted by my nemesis. Twitching whiskers a pointed snout of brown fur and an eye of darkness appeared before me. Out of reach it looked directly at me, with a cheeky grin it knew it was out of my reach. The battle has ended in a minor victory for me, advancing the front line past the first line of defences. The terrain ahead of me will pose a serious issue for I cannot follow the path my enemy treads. I shall ready the weapons of war and plan my attack. I have him under siege now, my victory in this war edges ever closer.
Posted in General |
No Comments »
04
Dec
2011
Posted by Quantum at 9:55 pm
It happened before, it is happening again. The rat is back!!
I entered a darkened kitchen and switched on the light. The murky darkness at the side of the washing machine was disturbed by a flicker of movement. Glancing down to focus, nothing. I approached the washing machine to hear a rapid exit being made by scurrying tiny feet. To where the intruder has fled is not yet known. 8:30pm on a Sunday evening is not the time to begin the destructive search of the kitchen sink cupboard. I have the rolling pin on standby, the offending vermin should give up now or risk being beaten to a pulp.
Posted in House, Me, Troubleshooting |
No Comments »
Tags: House, Mouse, Problem, Rat
30
Nov
2011
Posted by Quantum at 9:04 pm
During my upgrade from Fedora 15 to 16 several things broke, this is nothing new there were alot of major graphical components updated. Those issues were resolved in the week following the F16 release. What I had not expected to break was my network printing setup. In all the years I used Gentoo and upgraded over and over I never had many issues and when I did it was usually my fault.
This time nothing much was apparent aside from printing not working on either the host or client machines. First point of failure was the lack of a running CUPS service on each machine. Ok, so it was stopped during the upgrade and not restarted, annoying but not the end of the world. Still no joy. In the end I found I my previously set sharing settings had changed. With all the other changes in config files being highlighted allowing for manual updates this had slipped through the net. Sharing my printer again in the settings and bingo, everything works as before and auto detects. It has only taken a few minutes of fiddling around to fix but it has been finding those few minutes and being in the right mood to fix it. Hopefully the next upgrade will go a little more smoothly.
Posted in Computer, Fedora, Gentoo, Hardware, Linux, Troubleshooting |
No Comments »
Tags: Config, Fedora, Gentoo, Hardware, Linux, Software, update
29
Nov
2011
Posted by Quantum at 8:22 pm
Over the past few weeks I have found myself using Google+ more and more. I’ve never been a fan of Facebook and the idea of using a social network built around avoiding some of the Facebook missteps was more appealing. Certainly alot of my friends are not on Google+ but most of the people on Facebook I have added I never speak to anyway.
So what do I like, well maybe I trust Google more than Facebook with regards to privacy and business models. The interface is cleaner and integrates into other Google services that I use. The users of Google+ at this stage are to me more interesting to follow as they are more technology/science/engineering focused. That’s not to say that you need to be part of one of these groups to appreciate it. The interface for sharing and communicating I find more appealing. I have yet to use it to its full extent but its there when I need it.
Posted in Computer, Friends, Internet, My Opinion |
No Comments »
Tags: Google, Social Network
31
Oct
2011
Posted by Quantum at 11:28 pm
A week of being on call had taken its toll on the engineer.
Posted in General, Images, Me |
1 Comment »
Tags: Zombie
23
Oct
2011
Posted by Quantum at 11:09 pm
The food pictures are evidence from almost 2 months ago. Since that time there has been no more evidence of rodent food consumption. This week there was a smell in the kitchen that I assumed was the bin. Emptying the bin didn’t shift the smell but I was preoccupied by an plague of flies that were seemingly entering by the window vents. After dispatching with 10 of the winged tormentors I set about an in depth search for the continuing smell. It was at this point I discovered a rodent in the food preparation area and was unsure about how to proceed. If only there were some kind of song for situations like this. So I present Gaddafi- the Rat. Why did I name it Gaddafi? Well much like the Libyan dictator there is a mystery surrounding its death and do I care as it’s the outcome that matters most.
The puzzle is why did it settle on that location as its final resting place? It’s a rather exposed position when the alternate option would have been behind the fridge or washing machine. I didn’t set any traps nor use any rodent bait/poison. There was a dusting of ant powder about but that was mainly for controlling that invasion from the summer months. So how did it get in? Another mystery, perhaps from behind the sink, something that will not be known for sure until a new kitchen is fitted.
What will I find in my kitchen next? After invading ants, flies and a rat I am worried about the increasing size of the invasion force. Maybe an angry cat, a curious fox or a misplaced bison will be next. I will be keeping my kitchen door firmly shut and in future only entering with suitable armament.
Posted in House, Images, My Opinion, Troubleshooting |
1 Comment »
Tags: Ants, Flies, House, Invasion, Kitchen, Mouse, Pest, Problem, Rat, Rodent
