www.randomandtwisted.org

Thursday 7th January 2010 (late afternoon)

Got back home 0330GMT. Despite warnings that road grit doesn't work under
-7'C, and that temperatures would drop to -10'C overnight, pools of water on
the old A350 Hungerdown Lane had not frozen.

Finally - after four nights without it - got some decent actual sleep, for
eight and a half hours.

Local free intercafe closed early due to weather (internet down due to
weather(!)), so did my bulk flickr uploads at the rail intercafe.


Further lifting on duct tape on the VLDC halted by adding four spare small
plastic clamps onto. Forgot to mention last time: Serviced the four soldering
irons left in a pile: Sanded down the bits (only possible because they
detach), tinned, tested. Yellow-jacketed iron didn't work. Checked plug: Fuse
fine, connections so loose they weren't. Tightened those, retested; fine.

Something in RPC made funny noise on switch-on again; solved by shutting
down, switching off, then re-activating at the unit switch, instead of
starting directly from the mains. 'Will consult WAUG on this.

Off out soon with vodka and insecurity jacket, to do some more leafleting
(and Xmas Card deliverying).


Via facebook:
2310 Aprx 163 leaflets out, in 1:27 Hrs = 32 s/l. Slow tonight due to ice. Better grip on edge of town, due to undisturbed snow.


Friday 8th January 2010 (morning)

Too cold to leave the office last night. -10'C Outside, always 5'C colder
inside, so -15'C inside unheated enclosed areas, with in theory -20'C in the
kitchenarea & toiletroom.

Too cold to sleep, too. I had the choice of which side of my body was warm,
rather than which rooms were warm.

Via facebook:
0416 Outside -10'C, enclosed offices -15'C, kitchen/toilet -20'C. No washing-up possible this week!


Saturday 9th January 2010

Feeling much better after nearly two days' rest at home.

That was, until two of my stalkers invited me round for a talk and some wine,
and allegedly some mouldy coffee, saying they were lonely. Craziness
ensued...


One new one invited me round, actually giving me a correct address this time,
but another one was already there, with a camera. I turned up trying to be
sympathetic, but got groped instead, then accused of betraying one of the
stalkers by her daughter, on the grounds I didn't agree to what was going
on... I didn't even accept anything to betray it.

I decided to leave to get some vodka, to bring something to the party as it
were, returning a little while later to be told that I was trespassing and to
leave the premises immediately, by her daughter again. I do not think it was
her house.

Sod that for a game of dominoes I thought, and went down the office instead,
only to be phoned repeatedly, with apologies and pleas to return. Eventually,
I agreed, only to be threatened by her daughter again, this time insisting it
was her house and threatening to call the police. Well, that'd be handy:
I was thinking of calling them myself.

When I have time, I'll check down the council about whose house it is, or at
least who the householder is, if it's a council house.


Sunday 10th January 2010 (late evening)

Just finished leafleting most of Pewsham.


A bit of a facebook flap on, about nothing happening in Bassett on a Sunday.
There's a march tomorrow - sorry, I mean a repatriation - and apparently some
people wearing hats looked at the war memorial, I4UK started a rumour about
an imminent march, and the police went bananas. This created a story out of
virtually nothing. If this can happen on the coldest day of winter, what will
it be like next August????!


Islam4UK to be made illegal, under the grounds that it is a terrorist
organisation. Now, it may be many things, most of them unhelpful, but they
don't exactly go around blowing people up, so by this definition Wootton
Bassett Town Council and the Royal British Legion must also be terrorist
groups. But not, strangely, the British Army, whom do go around
blowing people up.

Meanwhile I4UK say they have "successfully highlighted the plight of muslims
in Afghanistan." B****cks they have. There's no acknowledgement of balance,
an outbreak of racism all over the country like a rash, and no enlightenment
of the refugee problem.

The News of the World said "comments made by I4UK on websites breached the
Terrorism Act 2000." I've looked at their website, and it's sanitised as far
as that goes', so no - I'm not so sure. I'd like to know what specifically,
and where.

The BBC says "... counter-terrorism experts remain concerned that it's [I4UK]
angry message feeds into a broad strand of extremist Islamist activism."
-Yeah, and likewise Wootton Bassett Town Cou...

Hang on, "Islamist activism"? Christian activism is church fetes and jumble
sales, so how bad can Islamist activism be? I think they've got the wrong
word there...

Curiously, nobody has banned the BNP or EDL. --Now that really is
odd.

Claiming they're fighting for a free country, while taking our freedoms away
AS THEY SAY IT: Yup, that's our government. Grrr.


Via facebook:
1551 Unconfirmed reports of very small protest in Bassett.
[Honeyball:] (Gossip & Hearsay news link)
[Robin:] Yes, I know. We reported that, infact.
1820 Leafleting in the vicinity of King Henry Drive.
2110 Leafleted most of Pewsham now. Staggering back to the office.
[Sally:] Why don't you pop into Rachel's for a quick coffee and warm up before you go home?
[Robin:] Very funny.


380 Leaflets out, in 2:42 Hrs, making 26 s/l.

Going good to firm, with melted snow and some insignificant extra-light snow.
Apart, that is, from one driveway on the mouth of Hedge Row, which boasted an
entirely frictionless driveway. I went over on there, but it was just like
sitting down heavily on my bum, albeit after an extended tapdance sort of an
affair.


Tuesday 12th January 2010

Nationwide's self-service till swallowed my passbook, and they can't retrieve
it for me until tomorrow morning, so I had to draw a small amount from my
business account to see me through.

Soap is running low, and ditto around town: I can't find any bulk packs
anywhere.


Switched three heaters on in the kitchenarea (a 1kW heat lamp thingy, a 1.5kW
fan heater, and a 2kW wall-mounted fan heater), and after a few hours the
temperature became bearable and the washing-up thawed. I still had to wear
several layers and a hat, though, but I could get away with not wearing a
heavy coat indoors, which helps when you have to roll your sleeves up.


Via facebook:
1839 police have locked off the road outside the office again, so I'd give it 20 minutes before trying to come in. A few screamers.
1849 Road clear, largely due to anyone who complained being arrested. Washing-Up done, building warmed.

SMS Comment:
1917 Grovelling apology from one of my stalkers, saying her daughter was
being protective, whereas she wasn't; it was pure abuse excuse.

Via facebook:
2025 scanning Class of '87 leaving book, for reunion purposes.


Wednesday 13th January 2010 (a bit past midnight)

Caught the admin of Islam4UK's facebook group gambling online, participating
in "Texas HoldEm Poker", which appears on his Wall, and grumbled. He says
it's okay because it isn't with real money. Hmmmm... 'Have to check about
that. I'm sure they're making these rules up as they go along - which is
against their own group principles, incidentally.

Ismlam4UK are a group that I am keeping tabs on, along with other bits of the
news, because they at first appeared to be possibly helpful and peaceful, but
on closer examination are neither.

Meanwhile, the Landlord (who is also an Editor,) gives the impression he
believes that because I am a supporter of peace in Afghanistan/Iraq, that I
must also be a supporter of a pro-violent group that pretends to be peaceful.
I'm going to have to clarify my position there - again!


Question [buried] on fb: "Are you a patriot?" And somewhere along the line
equating patriotism with racist, pro-war, oppression; essentially, fascism.
Support for bits of this country is not necessarily fascist! And since this is
not a fascist country (yet), in fact, never(, rather than just not
necessarily). Whatever happened to "Buy British?" It's turning into "Kill
Muslim," and trick statements like "If you're not with us, you're against
us." This is all wrong.


I4UK were banned partly on the groups that they are violent and political.
Well they're pro-violence, not actually violent themselves, but the EDL and
the BNP certainly are! Why haven't they been banned? -They're doing I4UK's
dirty work!

Note they didn't ban the actual march, just the group. I'm sure that's the
wrong way round. Still, something needs to be done about I4UK, whom have just
morphed into DoIW, ie a group of a different name with the same objectives,
that isn't banned (yet).

They could be charged with their previous incitements of violence, including
causing a serious fight, and a stabbing - that'd keep them busy for a while.

Via facebook:
0001 Just finished the scanning/processing. Non-confidential data coming to a flickr Set near you soon!


Friday 15th January 2010

Upgraded to a Pro account on flickr, mainly to stop me hitting my account
limit when I upload the reunion photos. Also put all my regional Sets in a
Collection, and activated my statistical traffic tracking facility.

Having settled into my 562% income tax problem, I was rather less than
pleased to receive a notice from the HMRC demanding I pay more tax with money
I don't have.

Now to go off down the bank to try to retrieve my passbook swallowed earlier.
I was held up at home from a few days, but everything should be just peachy
now (with the possible exception of my leaflet deliveries). It's just thawed,
too.


The bank says, although they were aware I intended to collect my passbook in
person, and they had put it in a safe for me for this reason, they decided
this morning to post it to me instead. -And tomorrow, they have limited
opening hours.


Saturday 16th January 2010

Via facebook:
1701 Robin has just narrowly escaped being run/cantered over by a horse. And on the pavement, too. recovering in the Pack Horse.
1850 Robin has just met a dog the size of a small pony.
1947 Robin is wondering which is best: A reviving drink in The Bear, or a wait for the bus (surrounded by old women).

In the evening, after I had finally managed to get home, sitting on the edge
of the bed about to drop off, and called by some of my stalkers, wanting me
to go out with them in Calne!


Saturday 16th January 2010 (just gone midnight)

Looked on the calendar for when my Jobseeker's Interview is due. Hmm,
Tuesday: Now, this is Friday, so I'd better gather up the necessary
documents... Ooops! Somehow, I've missed it, because it's last
Tuesday! Strange, they usually grumble on the day if I'm late, but miss it by
a whole week, and nobody ask's why. -Why?

And I can't tell them about this until Monday, now.


Via facebook:
0018 watching, as my computer types-up the scanned reunion data for me.
0114 Finished enhancing the reunion photos - taken out the halftone effect now - will upload later this morning.
0153 Robin has received a letter from the HMRC saying he is not paying enough tax. He's on 150%, previously 562%.

Ran all the text I had to type up through the OCR app beforehand - I should
have thought of that one earlier! Some it liked, some it fumbled. 'Reduced my
workload considerably, nonetheless.


Sunday 17th January 2010 (my Birthday)

Via facebook:
1946 250 Leaflets out in 2Hrs exactly, making 28.8 s/l. 3000 Leaflets out in total: Job Done.
2327 Typing reunion things and eating other things.


Passed by Wil Hogdson on the Bridge, whom is clearly trying to get noticed so
he can grumble about being famous, but nobody was biting.

The Hardenhuish Fifth Form 1987 reunion photos are up, with this inadequate
photostream link for mobile access.


Monday 18th January 2010 (a lot past midnight)

Just finished typing in the CSV file containing the main reunion data.


Tuesday 19th January 2010 (afternoon)

The strange loud whistling noise echoing through the streets of Chippenham was
http://riggott.co.uk burning line markings off the car park of the old
Sorting Office with a glowing flamethrower-jet thingy.

The 249th dead solider just passed through 'Bassett, (and the 247th and
248th,) meaning it'll all go nuts on the next one. (If there is a next one(,
as if not).)


Stronghold have contacted me about my non-depleted bank account after my
purchasing a pair of boots from them. I had checked with them previously; no
problem there. The bank was happy too, so I had run out of things to check,
and had given it a month's wait, then was just about to go through all that
again. It appears however, that they had lost my debit card details on the
journey between the sales department and the accounts department, and
consequently were until to debit my account, and also, it seems, unable to
notice for two months.

Retrieved card details and repeated it back to them; happy now again.

Meanwhile, the automatic flickr Pro account upgrade hasn't debited yet...


Busy tidying up things previously forced to one side during the inclement
weather.

Wednesday 20th January 2010 (early evening)

Told the DWP that I had missed my 12-week interview when I turned up to Sign
On today. They said, after some rummaging around to "find out what to do",
that normally my claim should have been closed yesterday, but because they
had forgotten about it too, that had lapsed, and they would let it
stand, and booked me a new appointment tomorrow.

Odd nightmare about being attacked by the police after being arrested under
the Anti-Terrorism Act for protesting against terrorism. It doesn't quite
make sense though: How do you protest against terrorism?

The bit about a series of irrational/illegal militant/fascist attacks from
the police has come true already though, so no worries there then(?)

That being a nightmare, extreme violence was there on both sides, but checks
IRL show things are fairly unlikely to go this far.

This is probably something to do with nasty letters from the HMRC. Preliminary
re-checks IRL show this is probably unfounded.


Did the washing-up because that is a simple worry that is simple to solve,
and will draw up a list of other worries so I do not have the worry of
worrying about how many worries I have.

Told the Landlord this, and he says:

1. I worry too much.
2. Sometimes he worries about me.

Via facebook:

2005 Jacqui Stubbs: Robin, where [are] you taking Rach, then?! She has gone and got herself a lovely outfit from Oxfam! It's beautiful! Why do you keep putting the date back, she is getting very disappointed! <sad> I hope you don't let her down! <grin>
(Slight misinterpretation of proposed meeting, from the organisers of the reunion)

2101 dropped into the Rose & Crowns Comedy Club: If you cant laugh at people who want you to laugh at them, who can you laugh at?

'Off to the Rose & Crown's comedy club night tonight, to laugh at other
people's problems with their blessing. -But really to experience a change of
scene to fuel creative thinking, and stop me settling into any vicious
circles or destructive ruts.

My diary is filling up this week.


Wednesday 20th January 2010 (nearly Thursday)

Just come back from seeing the Rose & Crown's Comedy Club: If you can't laugh
at people who want you to laugh at them, who can you laugh at?

As it turned out, I could hardly laugh at all, even after 2.5 Pints.

Food allergies are trendy: I've decided I have a Beer deficiency. Beer makes
me feel better, and it settles my stomach. Only half a Pint, though. It's
[fairly] strictly for medicinal reasons, like the bottle of Vodka under my
desk.

I don't [often] drink the Vodka, it's just cheaper than TCP, it's a better
broken-skin detector, a better instrument sterilant, and it can dissolve the
glue dressings are held on with.


Andrew O'Neil was interesting. Instead of merely trying to built a rapport
with the crowd, he attacked the audience, occasionally breaking off with
spots of loud musical style. He remind me of the now-famous (and dead) Mr.
Thompson, who could silence an unruly mob by talking to them whilst reclining
on the desk in a Moulin Rouge pose. People are too busy being confused, and
trying to work out what sort of an animal he is, to be disruptive.

There were lots of nibbles there, which was just as well: As usual, I hadn't
eaten all day. (Ah come on - you had to pay to get in!)

Opened 2100, closed 2330: Closing time helpful information, because it closed
just before the Pub did.


I thought I was okay for desperate food, being quite close to the only 24Hr
shop in 'Nam - the vending machine on the station platforms. At least, I
thought that until I realised I'm almost out of coins, it won't accept notes,
and it doesn't give change.

Serviced my insecurity jacket, so it says "Insecurity" on both sides, instead
of "Heavy Lifting" on the back as well.


Thursday 21st January 2010 (Silly O'Clock)

Via facebook:

1410 Worked through the night, on insufficient food for last two days - will have to rest soon, but office space lots tidier.
1541 So tired, staring into space in a sort of trance between bouts of work.
Karen Sheppard likes this.


Wanted to do some typing up, but not drunk enough to do the creative stuff
and too sober/headachy to do the accurate or dictation stuff, so corrected
some OCR'd stuff instead. Dried some of the washing-up, too.

Nabbed the empty leaflet boxes and tidied my office with them. Look's tidier,
but needs more sorting and labelling, not least so I an actually find the
stuff I've put away in identical-looking boxes now. Additional surprise:
Boxing supplies enables them to be stored vertically and release's space.


Thursday 21st January 2010 (late morning)

Worked through the night, and had a half-hour nap at 0530 to make it through
to when the local shop opened, for breakfast. Had to do this so I would be in
the right part of town for my rescheduled interview with the DWP. -So you can
imagine how delighted I wasn't when they phoned and said the appointment had
been cancelled. At least I'll get some sleep later on today (maybe).

Finished the drying-up, did some hoovering.


Enhanced some of the pages that had come out as gobbledegook from the OCR
app, and ran them through it again. This actually worked, saving me hours of
typing in the process.

Now late afternoon, and have to have a lie down before I can make it up the
hill home, for some food.


Friday 22nd January 2010

Via facebook:

1727 and so the set up to Calne Model Railway Show 2010 begins...
Timothy Hitch likes this.


Got a lift to Calne in BMRG's convoy for the set-up of CMRS 2010. This was
two cars and two large vans full of model railway bits, and exhibition
pieces. I noticed that the vehicles in the convoy pointlessly cut each other
up along the way.


Observed that this event remind's me of a summer festival, without the music,
or the tents, the bars, the mass of people, the women (okay a few pointed
themselves out, but it's not the same), the beer, or the weather... or...

Eventually, everything that could be set up was, barring early morning
arrivals from mid-distance exhibitors. At this point the office clown decided
to play with the junction motors on the flagship layout, saying as an excuse
that it's best to test them now, and somehow blowing an entire bank of
circuits in the process.

Got a lift back to the office with the Landlord/Organiser, who had to go back
anyway to get a new Capacitor Discharge Module for the freshly-toasted
layout, and was kind enough to gave me a lift home, too.


Saturday 23rd January 2010

Had a meeting down in bath connected with codename Ebony, which I almost
didn't make, having been stuck behind a trainload of rugby fans blocking my
access to the ticket machines.

Picked up some aspirin to take my mind off a fresh dental abscess.

Then in bath library for three hours, looking up the precise definition of
fascism. If you've ever tried to do this, you'll understand why it takes so
long.

And now back to 'Nam for some stocking[-up].


Via facebook:

1759 repaired the flaky lightswitch in the office building.
(actually done much earlier the previous night.)


Sunday 24th January 2010 (evening)

Went over to Calne to hep BMRG with the break down of CMRS 2010. Now all
that's left is dust, an empty venue, and a diaspora of exhibitors, and one van
on it's way to Trowbridge, for an associated private thingy.


Monday 25th January 2010 (Silly O'Clock)

Just finished typing in the last of the class of '87 year book data. Now in
HTML format, ready to upload to http://freedom.is/reunion later this morning.


Via facebook:

0253 finished typing in the rest of the class of 87 year book - should be online later this morning.
1152 Added flickrtab app to include flickr photographs in a facebook tab.
1215 Geotagged as many of the reunion photos as I could.
1228 Uploaded basic reunion page http://freedom.is/reunion


The abscess has now properly started to burst, and I'm wondering if it's worth
going to a dentist (there's one with places just two blocks away apparently),
and what level of horror they would react to me with if I did.

The problem with going to a dentist is, I don't feel any pain anymore, so why
bother? Also, the abscesses take care of themselves; treating it would either
involve drilling out the nerve (why?), or at least the core of the tooth and
filling it; dentists can't pull it out (it would require a stay in hospital);
I don't want it pulled out because I can't afford artificial teeth implants
yet.

The reason dentists can't pull out my teeth is my bones are the strongest the
surgeons I've met (and I've met a lot) have seen, and the teeth have deep
splayed roots, so they're locked into my jaw, and to get them out you have to
remove chunks of bone (which grow back very quickly). This needs a general
anaesthetic, and a 1-2 day stay, and stitches (which dissolve (eventually)).

There's also a very small risk with general anaesthetics, which I'd really
rather not expose myself to unnecessarily. And I also object to being X-rayed
several times more than usual because the orthodontists don't believe the
results the first time around.

The orthodontists also seem fascinated by my canines, although why I don't
know because they're no use I can see - I can't even use them to open beer
bottles. I'm sure there's a knack to that though, because Americans can do
it, and they file their fangs off, for some reason. (They also file their
teeth down to stumps, then fit plastic fake teeth over them, held in place
with resin. How is this different from false teeth??) When I can afford
implants, I intend to get one with a bottle opener fitted, or at least a
tooth shape optimised for common kitchen tasks. A Swiss army mouth, if you
like.

So there you are - more stuff to worry about.


Tuesday 26th January 2010 (afternoon)

Loud humming from RPC on switch-on again - last time it subsided naturally,
almost definitely something to do with the cold, I think.


Tuesday 26th January 2010 (early evening)

Someone reminded me I owed them some money yesterday - I've sent a cheque off
now!

I've also run off an invoice someone-else asked for (a formality).


Why do conversations on facebook tend to go saucy? Here's an innocent thread
on the subject of Cadbury's Creme Eggs:

Sam: Creme eggs - how do you eat yours?? xx
Jacqui: Lick the centre out first! <grin> x
Claire: Bite off the top and lick the middle til it's all gone and then eat the rest, yummy!!!
Averley: Bite the top off and suck out the cream!! Lol
Sam: I see a pattern forming here ladies - that seems to be the general way us girls prefer to eat it, and I have done lots of research, for scientific purposes of course. xx
Robin: Bite in half, eat first half, eat second half.
Jacqui: Boring, Robin!!!! <grin>
Averley: I will do some more research tomorrow! All in aid of the cause!! Pmsl x
Sam: See, blokes are alot less inventive! Averley, I will expect a full report. xx
Jacqui: Robin, why do you keep repeating yourself!?
Averley: Report and pics!! Of course!!! X Robin!! See, men have no idea!!! Lol
Denise: 3 at a time!! xx
Averley: Good girl, Denise!! I like two at a time myself, but I have been known to dabble in three sometimes!! Lol
Robin: Bloody mobile web - removed the echoes now. How do you fit your tongue into such a small egg?
Sam: God, this is like reading soft porn!!! Steady ladies. pmsl xx
Jacqui: You'll be surprised wot I can do with my tongue, Robin! <grin>
Denise: Averley haha. You can scoff 2 really quick, but the third I like to linger on and make it last x
Robin: I think there's a market for bigger ones.
Sam: Lol lots. Glad this has sparked such a debate! Oooh liking the idea of bigger one - yummy xx
Elizbeth: Sam.... Behave!
Denise: The bigger the better - but I bet it would give you jaw ache........
Sam: I meant the bloody egg needs to be bigger, you saucy mare!!! Just read your comment, too. Denise, 'think the secret is not to put it in all at once pmsl xxx
Robin: @Sam: Wouldn't more of a mouthful be more satisfying for you?

That's killed it.

Friday 29th January 2010

Went off to 'Bassett today, to see what would happen on the 250th
repatriation. There is also to be a celebration of the town council making a
decision and/or putting up a flag, and this also coincides with a royal
visit.


I have a feeling the ['Bassett] town's getting a bit fatigued from all this
hi-shine, spick 'n' span, wash 'n' paint, city-style public effect, and just
want's it, the uncomfortable aspects particularly, to go away so we can all
relax and get on with life.

This town-feeling is different to that in 'Nam, because 'Nam never relaxes.

'Tis interesting how I can identify with different town and their different
feelings, as separate from my own personal circumstances. It's a collective
thing, simply with different collectives, I think.


Anyhowsaway, I got off the bus at a temporary stop and walked up Vale View,
because the police had sealed off the road at the bottom of the High Street.
Crossed into Beamans Lane, with muffled brass band noises floating through
the air.

Took some photos on the High Street. Was too late from the repatriation
itself, but early for the flag erection/visit. My progress up the High Street
slowed as I encountered people coming out of Somerfield gawping at the
spectacle in the middle of town.

There was a brass band wearing white jungle explorer type hats, parked
outside the old town hall, patiently awaiting orders.

Beyond those was a gap, then a crowd barrier across the width of the street.

On "our" side of the barrier was the war memorial, and various local civic
creatures waiting outside the post office, which told me my plan to save time
by bring some letters with me instead of posting them in 'Nam beforehand, may
have hit a slight snag.

On the other side of the crowd barrier were thousands of people, er, also
waiting. Why they were on the wrong side is unclear, because the side streets
weren't sealed and they could easily have walked round. There were also the
usual police and media presence, but this time the press photographers were
sealed into little cages of crowd barriers, along with their equipment and
stepladders.

I edged a little further along, feeling exposed with only dribs and drabs of
people around me. The side road (Station Road), across my path, wasn't
sealed, and people were drifting across now and then, into the denser crowd
near the press pack cage. I seized my moment, and nipped across with some of
them, to find policepeople of various ranks walking up and down in the road
on the other side of the cage. Two of these were in rankless tunics, yet
appeared to be wearing military medals, or perhaps police ones. There was also
a high-ranking policeperson chatting to the local MP across the road. He too
had a collection of medals.

After a bit there was a sudden flashing of blue lights, and the royal car,
a lightly-armoured Jag with some royal protection officers in a Ranger Rover
behind, shot suddenly into the gap in the road space. They zoomed up Station
Road without warning - I hope they checked for pedestrians beforehand!

Prince Charles and Camilla got out the other side and started shaking hands
with the assembled creatures, who started bowing and scraping in turn.

Then their driver got out to do something, and left the door open with the
keys in the ignition! You could see right into the car (I took a photo), and
there was only a female PCSO between he crowd and the car! If someone jumped
in there, there'd be bugger all anyone could do to get him out. The car's a
prince-refuge, so it's designed to be impregnable. The only thing would be to
chase it until it ran out of fuel. You couldn't smash the windows, shoot out
the tyres, tip it over or block it in. You could probably blow the thing up,
but it might take a while to russle up the necessary resources.



In my photo, you can see the secret documents they had propped up in the
front, including a colour-coded map of 'Bassett, showing visit spots and
escape routes. No problem now, because the only real danger would be using it
to find the royal car, and we know where that is already.

There were some navy cadets standing around: One by the flagpole (across from
the war memorial), with, er, a flag, and two holding wreaths ready for the
prince & Co. So, the wreaths were laid, onto a memorial devoid of the little
graveyard around it, but still sporting a surrounding garden of turf. The
other wreaths had vanished, and been replaced by vases and bouquets of
flowers, many with messages attached.

Then an announcement was made, which turned into a sort of public prayer, and
dragged on for a bit. Subject matter was the war, and the dead, or rather 251
of them: "**** the civilians" mode was in place again. And so after asking
for "The Lord's protection", a freak blizzard erupted, which the crowd
thought was very funny. Isn't it nice how they've managed to keep the
religion out of it? The very-young lone cadet tried raising the flag in a
suddenly very-strong wind, and this took some time. Nobody offered any help,
and it wasn't for lack of helpers, or as if they had anything else to do.

One the flag was up, the band (also made up of very-young [participants)
started up, marching up the High Street, being a kind of personal sound
system for the prince. They started with the national anthem, then did a bit
of patriotic-type tunes, trailed off into the theme tune to Dad's Army, then
did a burst of Star Wars.

'Strange how that march isn't considered offensive.

And so the prince drifted off into the crowd (the one behind the barrier)
(maybe it was there to keep us out), and then into the Pub (The Cross
Keys).

The crowd thinned dramatically, and I was able to get into the Post Office -
but not out again easily, because the marching band parked itself outside on
the pavement, and started a shouting and standing to attention type game.

'Off to Boots, and the jewellers, getting a new battery for my watch. -All
the while watching the High Street carefully, for oddities from the police.

Unexpectedly ran into more crowd barriers further up the street, and anxious
looks of people inside the nearest building, the Conservative Club, not
knowing what (or rather when) was going on. Clearly next in line for a
princely visit. Detoured around this.

As I continued Northeast up the High Street, I realised I was going in the
wrong direction for the things I most needed to do, and circled round,
through Borough Fields.

Visited St. Barts, the "main" church, as part of my plan to spend more time
in quiet places. Retook some photos that didn't come out too well last time.
Found that while St. Barts is big, the walls are thin for a church, and the
road is near, so it isn't as quiet as you would expect. It was, however,
uncomfortably cold, and I had to retreat to a nearby Pub (The Five Bells).

Resumed contemplation in the Pub, and managed to list all my current worries.
The Five Bells also does coffee, and that helped. Later on, I was roped
[threaded?] into a drinking gang that arrived, and they plied me with more
coffee.

Asked by two of my stalkers to come round from drinks, but couldn't, because:

1. miles away, in a different town
2. got attacked last time I did that

Ran out of things to do in the Pub, and on my hungry way to the bus stop,
caught a whiff of chips, so got a small portion - very satisfying.

Got back to 'Nam late evening, worked through night, etc.


Sunday 31st January 2010 (Silly O'Clock)

Make an inventory of the sections of storage in my office space. Identified
some stagnation and inefficiency, which I shall straighten in the coming days.


Sunday 31st January 2010 (mid evening)

Did some token leafleting with the Trainwest-only leaflets in Monkton. 250
out in 1:54 Hrs, making for 27 s/l. Noticed these leaflets are on slightly
heavier paper than the combo ones, making it easier to put some unrolled
through 'boxes, and unnecessary to tightly-roll the others. Strangely, the
bundles of 250 are still the same thickness as with the thinner paper.

The PC is slow on startup, so ran a Chkdsk /F.
Some minor bits fell off, so next to run a Chkdsk /R, to get 'em back!
Bizarrely, all the bits fell off the PDF reader, yet it's functionality is
unaffected!

Second recovery took out the help centre, which I never use anyway, and
something to do with SQL, although if whether that's Apache SQL or not,
I cannot yet say. Removed redundant recovered files, and compacted the rest.

The second recovery took much longer. Checked over the machine, then ran a
defrag. Restarted the PC again, this time to see if the maintenance had made
a different to the start-up speed. Hmmmm - slightly faster, but only in that
the odd dotted-then-solid bar-graph pause-state is shorter rather than
absent.


Removed quite a large number of unnecessary teeny (and not-so-teeny) files
that came along for the ride from downloaded pages. Then had to run a defrag
again. Continuing to go through past directories, chucking out the
unnecessary, compacting the medium-useful, and moving the still-useful into
contextual areas. And then along come's an archive...

According the defragmenter, about 10Mb of redundant filespace released.
Strange... seems like more.

Further searching, and another 40Mb released.


Tuesday 2nd February 2010 (mid afternoon up till midnight)

The Others' AGM this evening. Did the huge amount of washing-up, cutting my
hand in the process.

Paid off outstanding rent - previously this was very difficult because the
people I needed to pay it to weren't around at the same time.

Wrote the core of a "basic" filter app, to strip the junk out of saved pages
like flickr and Wikipedia. I've called this !Defluff.

Reorganised more of my office space, finding surprisingly-large amounts of
material that should have been stored at home in the first place, and
stacking that up ready to shift out, to.

More boxing-up and shifting-around released enough space to put my reference
volumes (phone directories, electronic supplier catalogues, stationary
supplier catalogue) actually on a shelf so I can actually retrieve them
quickly, without limbo-dancing around an obstacle course.


Wednesday 3rd February 2010

Uploaded a batch of Bassett stuff to flickr, had Job Description "Interview"
at the funeral parlour, which the Job Centre insisted on.

Discovered undocumented feature of Samsung phone, allowing me to enter
punctuation marks such as apostrophes and quotes: When in text editing mode,
hold down # for 2-3 seconds. Release, and use arrow keys to move highlighted
selection square. From particular square, enter number key. Repeat as
necessary (or not). Sequence will be inserted at caret.

A new car park has opened in the old sorting office. (What a surprise - not.)

Crossing over to the office from Station Hill, following in the wake of some
crazies. They were puffing away on skunk, leaving a dense cloud of smoke in
their wake. So I'm feeling a bit spaced out now.

Conversation with the Landlord - he seems to think I'm stoned. Time for some
fresh air. "Fortunately," there's leafleting to be done.

Via facebook:

1947 Robin: 250 TW leaflets out again in Monkton, 1:55Hrs @ 28 s/l, whilst stoned.
1956 Sam: Impressive!! xx
2007 Kerry: Id love to see Robin stoned lol
2012 Robin: It wasnt voluntary.
2018 Kerry: Bless.
2029 Robin: a bunch of crazies were walking infront of me earlier, puffing out skunk like a chimney. It didnt dissipate and I couldnt avoid it.
2036 Jacqui: Robin stoned - I dont believe it!!!!! <grin>
2040 Robin: its wearing off now. It wasnt a pleasant experience, hence the fresh-air/long-walk work, to clear my head.
2041 Sally: pmsl... Goooo Robin, you skunk master.
2044 Kerry: Have you got the munchies yet? lol
2047 Robin: Dunno: I hadnt eaten for hours anyway. Ive had some food - rice, bread, tea.
2049 Sally: Wot, you on hunger strike? <wink-grin>
2100 Kerry: Sally, will you bake Robin a cake with or without hash? lol
2101 Sally: Kerry, I only know how to bake them with. lol
2105 Kerry: 'Used to go to the shops where they grow it in Amsterdam. lol


Noted that the office clown marked a road as leafleted which doesn't have any
houses on it, and has been taking last year's exhibition leaflets with him
all this time, which of course have all the wrong details on.

Started to flag seriously towards the end of the leafleting, so took the
opportunity to try the liquid pep pill of "Lucozade Alert". Yuk, but it did
the job. Nothing mindblowing though, which was just as well after the skunk.


Thursday 4th February 2010

'Report in the Gossip & Hearsay today, noting that the Band from the 250th
repatriation day got hypothermia, due to being young, small, dressed in light
clothing and made to stand still for hours in a blizzard. That would explain
the two ambulances rushing into town and staying put for hours. Oh dear - it
reminds me of playing rugby in secondary school. It's entirely feasible they
did that to us repeatedly and nobody cared. I wouldn't be surprised. Annoyed,
yes, but not surprised.

I expect they're still doing it. Someone should check.


Friday 5th February 2010

Many interruptions at home this morning, making me late for my 12-week JSA
Interview, which they rebooked for me again, instead.

Off to bath to do many things, including paying my secretary and buying some
underwear (for me, not her(!)).

Took a few photographs of some interesting streetscapes, hung around the
entrances of coffee shops, trying to gauge the average price of a cuppa -
�2-�3, Ithink. The theory there being they're warmer than churches and
quieter than Pubs & libraries (sigh).

Discovered I couldn't block one of my stalkers without unfriending her first,
so did that, and decided to leave that there - perhaps it will be enough(?)

Only �5 left in the kitty until Monday, now, because someone owe's me
�25, although I'm not certain if I should raise this next time I run into
him, because I'm uncertain whether or not I owe him �50. More thorough
checking required...

Sunday 7th February 2010

At home, wrote DIVsear, which searches a given HTML element for various
attributes and values, and returns a yes/no match, when passed a
pointer/length vector to a string in memory. Typically, this range, or a part
of it, would then be wiped if a match was found.

Also found LogicMod, which containers a parser, and Cleanb, which elegantly
trims whitespace off a string.

Brought those in and started knitting them together.


Monday 8th February 2010 (just gone midnight)

Written a mobile search portal, to be online at:
http://freedom.is/mobile
Best accessed from a smartphone.


Monday 8th February 2010 (late afternoon / early evening)

Just switched the phone off whilst it was plugged into the RPC (to charge
it), and the RPC reported a protocol error from (one of) the USB port(s).

The mobile search portal work's well in that it validates and doesn't throw
any errors, and simultaneously doesn't work well, in that it jumps to the
relevant homepage instead of passing on the searches. This will be a minor
trouble to fix, however: I just need to fine-tune the output parameters.

I've also forgotten to implement the character substitution, but again, this
is a minor fix-issue.

Let's see how it comes up on the mobile...

Well, that unordered list needs to be horizontally remastered, so it doesn't
make the screen scroll.


Tuesday 9th February 2010 (just gone midnight)

Several alterations and expansions to the portal. Let's just test the
new php on the offline server before letting it loose on the world...

... 'Glad I did that! A few teeny minor glitches taken out. Trivial offline,
but probably well-nigh-impossible online in a noisy intercafe.


Late yesterday, brought some essentials, including some new seafood types, to
give me variety in my vitamin D self-dosing. I've been feeling a bit odd
lately (no comments please) and I'm thinking what's changed: Heavy winter
weather and fighting that, possible sharp increase in carbon monoxide levels
due to relatives "I didn't block it, I put a piece of cardboard infront of
it" blocking vents, change in brand of vitamin supplements used.

Unpleasant weather - possibly.
Blocked vents - unlikely, because I keep unblocking them and opening windows
a crack when I can (and locking the windows in that position).
Change in food supplement branding - unlikely but easiest to control and test
for. I've stopped taking the vitamin D ones, but will carry on with vitamin C
for this week, then start taking D again if the condition lift's
(a double-test).

I'm feeling better today anyway, so it could be none of the above, perhaps a
incredibly mild cold, something I ate, or the tail end of that skunk.

I aired my office space yesterday. The air in it was getting a bit odd to
breathe anyway, what with being alternately dehumidified with the fan heater
and frozen when I'm not in. I'm in my office space now, so I will air the
place more regularly from now on.


Tesco are selling (lumpfish) caviar for �2 a pot! Tried some crab
(disappointingly plain and dryish), and some "dressed" lobster. Dressed turned
out to mean pure'e'd, which was a bit yuk, but still better than the crabmeat.

Will try more bursts of running - the spike of a wintery weather relapse has
put the stiltwalking practice back on hold - and more fresh food. Fruit
doesn't need cooking, but I suspect I won't get away with that trick with
vegetables, so I'll have to ask around for how best to microwave those. I've
cooked pulses and [cooked] canned veg before with no problems, but fresh 'n'
unsoaked is another matter. Even soaked potatoes explode in the microwave
when not chopped into small pieces, so I shall have to check my research
thoroughly.


Tuesday 9th February 2010 (evening)

Contending myself with fruit and rolls for the time being, I'm spending some
time preparing a birthday surprise for a friend, ie they'll be surprised I
remembered their birthday.

A modest amount of filing last night, feeling a bit livelier today, although
my messed-up sleeping pattern isn't easing the equation towards productivity.

I need to do some high quality "private" washing up of my old wine glasses,
but that will have to wait until after some of The Others have gone, and
anyway I need to get "their" washing-up out of the way first.


Digested down the 380 Kb of data covering blog, notes, and accounts over the
last six months, to 7 Kb. ready to sift through later. Also typed in rent
book data for the same period.


Wednesday 10th February 2010 (quite a bit gone midnight)

Several oddities in data. Two main discrepancies, firstly that rent appears
not to have been paid for October, and no arrears present in rent book to
indicate this. Possible explanation is that around this time, due date for
monthly rent was switched from end of month to beginning. No arrears noted in
my accounts or blog either, and no worry of arrears at the time, so assume
this is a false negative.

Second discrepancy is, if rent due end of this month, then 'okay.
If due at start and no arrears shown, then Agent X think's I have already
paid for February, which I have not: So we need to get that sorted out.

Meanwhile, the Landlord owe's me �25, because I invoiced him for �60 as
agreed, yet he only passed notice to Agent X that this payment was worth �35.
I paid the extra �25 to Agent X in cash, so the Landlord owe's me the
difference.

I haven't pointed this out to him yet, because I was busy with the
triple-checking, to see if there was another �25 due the other way somewhere:
There isn't.


Wednesday 10th February 2010 (traditional morning)

After working through the night (again!), livened-up around eight-ish and
went for a burst of hoovering, which turned out to be just as well, as well
it just turned out.

Realised earlier in the "night" that Wilkinsons' sell wine glasses just as
well as Sainsbury's, and that buying from them would concentrate my buying
within the town centre, and save me a hell of a walk.

Let's call this birthday surprise, Project Ta-Da!.


Wednesday 10th February 2010 (mid afternoon)

Mobile search portal now in Beta!
(Yet to say that online, though...)
http://freedom.is/mobile

Thursday 11th February 2010 (nearly midnight)

A little bit of Project Ta-Da! this morning, then distracted by some work:
Getting the mobile search portal, which I have now given the working title of
"MAP", working even better. Currently working much better offline only,
because I couldn't get enough online time today. 'Will upload the new version
early tomorrow morning.

Now getting back to Project Ta-Da!, which will include a bit of washing-up,
some cardboard origami, and a document shuffle.

STILL slaving away on Project Ta-Da (at 0422)! Will the madness never end?


Friday 12th February 2010 (just gone noon)

'Did the Telegraph's "Killer Sudoku" because/while half-asleep. 'Not sure
whether that's good or bad.

More [Portal] tests and uploads...

Small child in the freeeeezing intercafe' has just learnt how to open the
side door. Parents appear to be facebooking... HELLO?!

Mobile Access Portal (small child slams sidedoor with surprising force) now
mostly-debugged. Some problems with Sky News search and Hotmail login, due to
slow connection from those Servers at current location.

Mild enough early afternoon today to turn the heating DOWN in the office.
Usually, full-blast isn't high enough.


Friday 12th February 2010 (late afternoon)

Still feeling wide awake, but counting against the clock, clearly slowing
down.

Later on, had to abandon Project Ta-Da! for the time being, due to being
impractically tired, and then due to catching a weird illness. Even if I
could solider on, I wouldn't want my friends catching my disease - not the
sort of pressie people like.


Sunday 14th February 2010 (Valentine's Day)

Clobbered by strange sinus attack.

2250 Robin: Can anybody recommend some good sinus-clearing medication?
2253 Sally Fyall: ? turps lol
2254 Ben Aldhouse: Olbas oil works for me


Monday 15th February 2010 (Chinese New Year; of the Tigger)

The HMRC just sent me a tax bill for �1000 for 2010: Some people are very
optimistic.


Tuesday 16th February 2010 (Shrove Tuesday)

2359 (Monday) Honeyball: has had a productive evening of forum admin
-automatic promotion of gold & platinum members from the shop, and a new
mobile interface using tapatalk.

0002 Porcia: D!! Talk english!! X
0006 Honeyball: That was!
0038 Carolyn: No - That's Geekish, not English
0101 Robin: Ah, life behind the screen. 'Many users?
0111 Honeyball: 7760 registered members.
0112 Robin: Running phpBB or vBullentin?
0115 Honeyball: A partially tweaked phpBB3.
0119 Robin: I asked my boss to promote a company forum once.
When I asked why she hadn't mentioned the URL, she said "So that
was important then?" Tsk.
0121 Honeyball: Meh!
0133 Robin: I drove myself slowly insane Modding phpBB2 before I had a proper
offline server to test quickly it on, got it just right, then they bring out
version 3.
0158 Honeyball: Pretty much the same, the old phpBB2 I was running was
heavily modified. This version of phpBB3 is pretty modified too with various
mods and custom code.
0852 Lee: Will you lot stop talking in braille or get a room?
1106 Ivan: Aha, that must be the 5-Series Forum.

Too ill to get down town and watch all the tossers in the High Street.
('Nam's annual pancake tossing race.)


Wednesday 17th February 2010

Feeling very wobbley. 'Postphoned all appointments. A day of being laid flat
out, unconscious, and only just realised late afternoon.


Thursday 18th February 2010

Joined the fb group "Mendip Farmers Hunt supporters club", and
posted a patronising appeal to them:

"Can you please stop trashing Hotels? Other people have to run events in them
the morning after. Last February was particularly bad - hall curtains ripped
down, mud trodden into carpets, smashed glassware, etc."

Noticed one of my stalkers posted a quiz question "The Friend Quiz! via Sexy
Gifts", via fb, eight days previously:

10/2 Quizbot: If Robin could have any one person in the world as a dinner
guest, who would it be?
10/2 Jacqui: ''Me of course! :)''
18/2 Robin: Probably Yvette Cooper or Steve Furber.
18/2 Robin: I would have said Paul Middleton, but - strangely - I've already
had breakfast with him.
19/2 Jacqui: Oh Robin, you've upset me now! lol


Friday 19th February 2010

A bit tingly this morning after hyperventilating in my sleep due to blocked
nose. Viewable mobile fb offline (direct mobile web fb access had been down
for at least a day. Later on, I found fb searches via the Portal still
worked). 'Cancelled more appointments.

Well enough for a bath - feeling much better now, although not enough so to
travel yet.


Saturday 20th February 2010

Eight days since I last set foot in the office, and it feels like an
unfamiliar place - well, sort of anyway.

My nosebleed-flu has left me feeling drained, which is a pity, because
recovery from the preceding one left me feeling fantastic. Still, it's early
daze (sinc.) yet.

The fan thing in the RPC roared into life a minute or so after I powered up
this time, then grumbled back into silence 30s after.


Sunday 21st February 2010 (Silly O'Clock)

And so it is: First time I'm able to work straight through the night again,
I do.

Just found & rewritten an HTML syntax colourer, ready to plug into the
[Mobile Access] Portal.

'Wanted to get on with the last Portal updates, and do things like move the
"Why?" link, so it doesn't get first tab order, instead of the search query
field. However, not enough time, and needing to track down last movements of
files & results etc: Need to get mental bearings as it were, before I was so
inconveniently interrupted.

'Aim later to write a summary search engine, or at least the reporting bit of
one, this time in php instead of Perl, and maybe keep my sanity for longer
this method 'round. Also want to add bits to the Portal, including replacing
the InterNIC and Nominet options with a [universal] whois. Would like to get
mobile Buzz and hunch searches available, too.


Sunday 21st February 2010 (noon)

Going very well all through this morning, right up to 7am, when I suddenly
crumpled to the ground and was unable to move for four hours. But now I'm
fine again. I remained conscious for most of the time, maybe a bit cold if I
was going to grumble. Possibly the illness has not quite run its' course
yet...

Reconstructed missing 8-day chunk of this blog from my facebook posts.


Sunday 21st February 2010 (late afternoon)

Got the Portal updated (offline), taken about as far as I can go without
online testing for now. Got the source viewer linked into the Portal,
expanded the documentation, added test adverts, made the source viewer work
with (offline-simulated) remote documents.

-'Rather a miracle on very little food!

Monday 22nd February 2010

Able to Sign On. Discussed the frequency & futility of local job vacancies
for teachers and plumbers. Checked if they have carried on paying in the
money as they should have - they haven't. Went to pick up some plain paper;
out of stock until Thursday, but not urgent yet, so no problem.

Saw a vacancy for a cashier in a bookmakers, along the way.

Quick-ish tests in cold, noisy, but very handily-placed intercafe, and 10
further hours scripting away in the office, fuelled only by creme eggs and
coffee.

Discovered my use of Betsie for non-BBC sites is blocked, so downloaded the
source and knocked the blocking bit out, ready to run from my server instead.

Quick visit for sustenance to the shop, and back to work on the Portal.


Tuesday 23rd February 2010

Straight through the night, and out the other side; lots of food from Tesco
and fast internet access until job done...

Mainly beavering away in the office, though.


Wednesday 24th February 2010

Resting at home; printouts taken with in mistaken believe it will be quieter
and/or warmer there.

Fruit from Tescos near home.


Friday 26th February 2010

Back into the office for another stint, passing free internet access on the
way.

The pencils I use at home for jotting down ideas are scratchy and my rubbers
smudge because they're a bit old now, so brought higher quality versions of
these supplies. They're still inexpensive, because they're only a few
pencils, afterall!


Brought a 340g Admiral's Pie from Tesco, for a very reasonable �1.34. The
reason why it was so cheap became clear upon examining the nutritional
information:

Pollock fillets
in a rich and creamy butter sauce
with mashed potato and cheddar cheese
"Now with 25% more fish"


Potato (45%) contains 94% potato - so that'll be 42% potato, then.

Butter sauce contains 5% butter, with water the majority ingredient, ie at
least 75%. This means the sauce is a sneaky way of adding water. The
percentage of sauce is not given, but the other percentages ad up as 65%,
which leave's 35%, 75%+ of which is water, making for 26%, or 89g of water.

Cheddar Cheese (2%).

Pollock (18%). Which means it used to contain 14.4%.
These amounts of 340g are 61g and 49g respectively, so it's really
"12g more fish!"


There's no advice about how much water the fish contains, although my sample
was swimming in it (after preparation), so let's say half of the pollock is
water (9% of product, or 31g).

This means added water is 35%, ie 120g. -And that's just the extra
water sneaked in- foodstuffs contain liberal quantities of water even
unadulterated.

The product was a solid lump of ice, with instructions to microwave on full
power for 10 minutes (!) -Probably mainly to melt the ice.


It may well be that I have brought what is in effect a fish lolly.


Saturday 27th February 2010

Lots of continuing php-ing...

Straight through night, as before - and into the next night, too!


Sunday 28th February 2010 (Silly O'Clock)

Orange just threw a wobbly and interrupted me in the middle of my online
testing. Now I can access facebook again, but not my own Portal subsite -
strange. I suppose it's vanishing possible my own server has thrown a fluke,
rather odd/inconvenient at Strange O'Clock in the middle of the weekend.

No - just keep getting "Internal Server Error" all of a sudden. This usually
means the Orange server, but without another connection to test mine
separately, I just don't know. It's getting a bit late to run tests anyway.

Could not locate remote server... currently unavailable.

Opera Mini has a nice history list - ie, one that actually works.

Experimenting with taptu mobile search engine.
Is there a wiki-native mobile version of Wikipedia??
Yes, found it, it's Wapedia... run by taptu.

It seems my entire host has gone down, taking Bjork's site with them, too.
arionbanki.is and justice.is come up, so Iceland itself hasn't been cut off.


Sunday 28th February 2010 (early afternoon)

Feeling woozy late morning, but a good quantity of food sorted that out.

Have been experimenting with alternative java Browsers. Tried TeaShark.

Quite a lot in common with Opera Mini, except their landscape mode doesn't
interact properly, and the scroll fog's up.

Tiredness caught up with me suddenly.


Sunday 28th February 2010 (evening)

Lots and lots of mobile java downloads, from Sharejar.com .

Ones I like are:

• Opera Mini, TeaShark (browsers)
• BasicForMobile (No manual!)
• MobiColor (RGB colour calculator)
• nyamuk (Mosquito sound repellent)
• Compass (takes your time and location (by international airport code(!)),
  gives location of sun & moon for you to align display with - then read off
  compass indicator).
• MobileStarChart (Only for earth-based positions, which must be to annoy
  the abductee claimants. Interesting how this could be extended though: I
  prefer software that doesn't go out of date. Very annoying not to have
  compass data on this -- I thought that would have been the main point! -- 'Be
  nice to combine with the compass!! Constellation labels too small to read, no
  apparent zoom function (not for the text labels anyway), although alternative
  Chinese labels available, which is interesting.)
• Body Mass Index (says I'm overweight(!))
• MorseCoder (a bit fiddly)
• World Flags
• Quran (English version, starts with Adam, Eve, and "the Sabians", whoever
  they are.)
• Perfect Man (Related to the Quran)
• Mobile Maths (extensive calculator / graph / converter)
• EnTaggerMobile (file explorer)

Ones I've since got rid of are:

• spyPhone ([private] GSM activity logger, for line test thingies, doesn't
  do anything on my type of phone)
• Mobile Solar System (it isn't though; it's a subset of the star chart)

Wednesday 3rd March 2010 (mid afternoon)

Merrily testing away; switched off my phone to answer the call of nature so
that nature didn't try to call back, and all my bookmarks had erased! Zis
message will self-destruct in...

Examined offline archive of freedom site backup: Found many expired graphics
files and unexpected error logs, taking up in excess of 2Mb. Noted where
those are, so I can remove them when next online, ie in about half an hour.


Thursday 4th March 2010

The "Job Centre" made me an appointment with SeeTec, whom offer a work ethic
course (no point - I already have one) and free internet/stationary access
(could save a *lot* of money).

SeeTec demonstrated their strong work ethic by being about an hour late for
our meeting, and insisting we meet in a cafe, which I had to pay to get into.
(They did however pay for my drink.)

It transpired later that their pointless "work ethic" course would waste
25/Hours a week of time that I don't have, and also interrupt my voluntary
work that it is their job to encourage me to do by running the course. A few
days later, they called and cancelled.

Moved my RPC and PC USB extension cables next to each other, to make swapping
memory devices between them ergonomically easier.


Monday 8th March 2010

Feeling much better, able to sweat again, which means both that the outside
daytime temperature is up, and that the fever is over.


Tuesday 9th March 2010

Fiddling about with the hunch API. Yesterday I tapped in a test request,
manually, on my smartphone, and received a text page back in JSON format.

The request is via a http: query string, thus not requiring a horrible JSON
encode. This really is a very pleasant way of going about things.

Today I downloaded a package replicating php5 functionality of the
json_decode() function, for my version 4 of php. On my online server, I have
php5, but for offline testing I am locked into php4 for the time being.

Using the package, I decoded some sample JSON input from hunch's API
documentation into an array, displayed the array as a whole, and directly
accessed a value deeply nested within the array structure.


Surprisingly rapid progress, if I do say so myself!

It could have taken hours instead of two days - the break was to find
internet access to download the library/package.


Along the way, hunch contacted me personally after I facebook'ed them
corrected form data I couldn't send because their registration form was
broken.

I'm now a registered hunch developer, and I have a "secret" private API key.


Just noticed I've carried on the February accounts into March.

Thursday 11th March 2010

Lots of enhancements and bugfixes on the Portal, trying now to install the
JSON extension into my copy of php. Located the php.ini control file.
Naturally, it's not in the php or apache directories, it's in windows... No
other extensions explicitly used, so now it needs to be told where to look...

For some reason, Apache needs to be restarted after each modification, which
on my locked install, means restarting windoze as well, which isn't exactly
snappy about the whole business... 'Time for another meal break...

Switched the extension off. Will use the include-able library instead, and
compare decode results with that and native methods, on the online server.


Friday 12th March 2010 (right through the afternoon, from lunchtime to teatime)

There now follows some technical maxims about my auto-detecting,
syntax-colouring, source code viewer.

PCREs working again; but how well are following sections coping?
Substitute just for the search & return portions, then revert on those?

PCREs stopped working when newlines present. Fancy RegExp qualifiers fixed
that, but then the following sections stopped playing nicely. this turned out
to be to do with case insensitivity, solved by specifying in the exact case
in the first place, by not chucking data previously discarded.

Along the way, some portions failed if no SCRIPT or STYLE elements were
present in the input. This was solved by testing for these conditions and
making dependent portions of the function conditional upon them.

An added complication was when the standard HTML-interpreting function
appeared to conjure up previous data it had no business knowing, which turned
out to be a problem with assuming it took parameters like the other mode
function, when infact it grabbed a global. Smacked it about a bit and made it
behave.

Substitutions and "unsubstitutions", as well as rewriting the PCREs jobs for
them, turned out to be unnecessary.

Now everything APPEARS to be working properly, time to look at the dredges
and tidy up the mess left by riddling the script with comments and test code.


Friday 12th March 2010 (teatime)

After being driven slowly insane by obscure debugging, the aftermath of
realising there's still a lot of work to do anyway wasn't much better. It's
the empty stomach that does it.

The local internet cafe may be open late tonight, but if not it'll have to be
off down to bath.


Tuesday 16th March 2010 (early afternoon)

Amaaaazing... Warm sunshine, reclining cats, happy coatless people.


Thursday 18th March 2010 (Silly O'Clock)

Running printer tests after the long winter. Refilled the black, ran a
print quality test. Black fine, cyan low, yellow contaminated, magenta cut
off. Extra cleaning runs cured this, but it took three more of them to do
that.

Still only 50% on the colour tests. That only applies to precision printing,
though. Still, it does mean I will definitely have to refill all the colour
carts as well, and possibly replace the cyan, which is a bit leaky, although
still within working parameters.

Earlier on, prepared a meal and emptied the bins: Two things that simply
weren't possible only a week ago.

Earlier still, and later, for that matter, detoured in my computinging
(Sinc.) into the murkiness of JSON again, this time making clear all but the
second polling loop, in (php) code.

'Have to take a nap now, or I won't be able to function in the connection
point in an hour's time.


Thursday 18th March 2010 (early daytime morning)

That was more of a spaced-out tripping-out pause than a nap, but it did the
job.


I had a bit of a chat with the DWP (or bits of them anyway) yesterday
afternoon. They saw they're encouraging people into work, but they don't
behave like it:

1. If I earn £50, whether as business or personal income, and declare it,
   I would be docked that amount, and if it's the more valuable-to-the-economy
   business income type, that job would then suddenly be over, and I'd lose an
   additional few hundred Pounds before they'd let me Sign On again.
2. If it didn't declare or (presumably) back-declared business income, I'd be
   fined in additional to the higher loss, although the fine would be lower than
   if I was "honest" up front.
3. If it was personal income, they'd endanger the job continuing, but would
   feel charitable towards a extended commuting payment period and
   back-declaration.
4. If I while away the time claiming benefits without trying to get a job,
   but still saying that I am trying, no attention is attracted and, although
   nothing extra arrives, no punishment is metered out.
5. If however, someone gave me a gift of £2500 (unlikely though that is),
   I wouldn't have to declare it at all, because it wouldn't increase my savings
   to the minimum £3000 level. This also applies to Christmas presents, small
   lottery/bingo wins, and selling assets secondhand (although not as a
   business).

To summarise:

1. Trying to employ yourself with the prospect of taking more people off the
   unemployment register later on, with full "honesty": Heavily discouraged.
2. Trying self-employment dishonestly: Discouraged, but with lighter
   penalties.
3. Getting a job as an employee: Discouraged, but gently.
4. Sitting on arse: Encouraged.
5. Sitting on arse and getting money without working for it: Strongly
   encouraged.

And people wonder why this country's work ethic is under threat.

Thursday 18th March 2010 (late afternoon, around teatime)

After much slogging away, got the first part of the hunch API working online.

It doesn't do very much at the moment, just format's search results nicely,
and throw's strange errors if you try to goad it into further use.

The errors are behaving nicely and predictably, though, and I think I have
virtually solved them all now. I can't maintain detailed concentration for
another 48 hours though, so I have to go home a sleep for a bit now.

I hope to re-attempt Project Ta-Da! either Friday or Saturday evening, if I
can get my preparation-repairs together in time, and I also hope to regain
the ability to contact the HMRC about my kilopound tax bill.


Sunday 21st March 2010 (evening)

Got the mobile hunch working. Currently the online version has lots of
multicoloured debugging diagnostics all over it -and it needed it- but it
work's. The offline version is more advanced, with cleaner output and
callback to a single script.

I just asked it (from my mobile) what Starbucks' drink would be best for me,
based on a search for coffee, and it most reccomend's a Shaken Blueberry Iced
White Tea (with no explanation). Second place is Regular Brewed Coffee, and a
lengthier explanation.

So there you are. I shall try giving it a different set of replies and see
what happens.

Something odd on my mobile: An extra hidden request on the query string:
cs=myspace. Odd. 'Generated by the browser, that one.

Hmmm. It still reccomend's the Blueberry Iced Tea, but second is now a White
Chocolate Mocca. I specified new replies angled towards cold fruit juice.

Well, the results are different, but with hunch it's hard to divine the
process, so it's probably/possibly okay.

'Off to the forum with this...

... I wonder if I can authenticate forum posts with/through the hunch API?



... Back and forth to the intercafe...


Merged (the remains of) the third stage into the fourth.

Now combined all the stages into a single script.

I've called this combined.php, but I will later rename it as myhunch.php .
not right now, though, until the older fourth stage (previously trading as
myhunch.php) is safely tucked/lost away in the archives.

It all work's offline, recently debugged infinite loop out of topic poll.


Lots of toys / browsing options now, should be all good after I've got the
code as streamlined as can be - quite close now anyway. 'Better stop now,
though; I've a bit tired now, I can't upload after another five hours, and I
need to regularly test the scripts online; however well they work offline.


Thursday 25th March 2010 (Silly O'Clock)

Wrote simple API-plugged search filter, reverse-engineered from my own code,
as a bugfix for the bug report I will send to Hunch Inc. when the internet
connection point open's.

'A bit low on food, but Tesco opens in an hour.


A short break, then back to work on the proxy-thingy, then back to the
original analytic printouts for the source code viewer and related thingies.


Thursday 25th March 2010 (around noon)

Consider this portion of XHTML:

Code: Select all

<span style="color:#F44">First</span>
<span style="color:#D00">Second</span>

This fragments lives inside a definition of a black background.

On a desktop browser, both words are slightly different shades of red.

On a mobile browser, however, the first is red, but the second is white.

Why? Invalid markup? Typo? Bug? Cosmic ray situation? No - the browser
think's the colour contrast on the second is too low for it's display.

That took ages to nail down. (Grrrr.)


Thursday 25th March 2010 (late afternoon)

Bolted my proxy-handlers together. Worked very well on some simple sample
data, then a small page. Tried it on an offline simulation of a remote page,
and it didn't work so well. Urrrrrgh! That's not supposed to happen!

It's probably something minor. I think I'm also starting to strain the memory
limits of what php can do with "limitless" strings. For example, some code
breaks inside functions, but works well outside them. That could be something
else, though. That code was really sloppy with the globals, so it
might be that instead.


Friday 26th March 2010 (afternoon)

More replies from Hunch Inc.

When I registered as a developer, and submitted a bug report along the way, a
junior member of staff replied.

When I queried a technical matter and raised an idea, the CTO (American for
Head of R&D) replied.

When I submitted a bug report along with a bugfix and a working model, the
CEO and an Engineer replied.


Friday 26th March 2010 (evening)

Foo Bar HumBug!

Often I find I need to illustrate string formulae with more than two
variables. For these, foo and bar are not enough. So I've borrowed from the
octal Curwen musical scale, and now I continue with doh, rey, mee, fah, soh,
lah, tee.

Eg, http://foo.net/bar/doh/rey/mee.htm


Saturday 27th March 2010 (Silly O'Clock)

Got the proxy filter thingy working in the "tag soup" style. Some
relative-URL processing functional, too.


Saturday 27th March 2010 (mid morning)

Analysed efficiency of backup mirroring. Currently, I store all my recent
backups & archives on USB sticks (banks of which stored in different physical
locations), and I also have a mirror of these on my PC HDD, in case
the USB storage has some fading-type flaw.

I did a full binary comparison of some samples, and there is no degradation
at all after 7 months, the oldest last-copying time I could find the compare.

So it seems the HDD mirrors may be overcautious, and I will remove them after
the next full double backup cycle (to ensure the mirrors really are out of
date). The mirrors currently consist of very large ZIPfiles, which are not
kind to the PC's disk management system. Disk access is slowed down
considerably, as the FAT mechanism is stretched somehow, so it takes much
longer than it should do to lookup file positions from their names.
Defragmentation also has un-clearable lumps in it, due to an inability to
defrag very large files efficiently, and/or to move smaller files around
them.

So, time for another backup (but it's always time another backup...), and
also to review and clearly record the backup method, and of course also run
through the restoral method: Backups aren't a file-'n'-forget; they are there
to be restored from, if necessary. For that matter, it might help to have a
second and/or spare HDD to restore them to, incase the main one blows:
Not much help having well-maintained backups if you have to Save up for a new
HDD before you can access them!

I aim eventually, to buy more long-term storage in the form of writable
CDs/DVDs, and to look at extreme-long-term options that are more durable over
the very long term. Imean, CDs have a minimum lifetime of 50 years, as do
photographs. Cheap paper yellows after maybe 5 years, and cracks after(?).
expensive paper probably 100+ years. Vellum 1000 years, but we can't write on
vellum all the time, can we? Magnetic storage is flimsy, as is flash memory,
but in different ways. Older storage methods like carving into stone under a
ledge / in a vault/cave, last for over a million years, which is adequate,
but a little tricky for gigabyte-amounts, and speed, for that matter.

There must be a compromise somewhere; I will ask about this at the regional
County Archives (which are just up the road). Naturally, this is mitigated by
a lot of data not being required "forever", and most of that changing rapidly
or being deleted through obsolescence and/or transferred to/from other
people.

There are further difficulties reading older data: I once had to type in the
pattern from a punched tape I came into possession of, because although I had
the data format, I could not find a tape reader. I don't want that sort of
thing happening with holographic memory (400Tb discs (or is that 40Pb?)).

(Holographic memory's so large, you could store every film ever made on a
single disc and just sell unlock codes. They look like CD-sized discs of
frosted glass, and the full-capacity ones still live inside a Lab. You can't
buy high capacity ones easily, because the DVD manufacturers are worried
about being bankrupted overnight if they ever went on mass-market sale, and
have lobbied them into laterware; rather like the former argument
against selling long-life lightbulbs.)


Saturday 27th March 2010 (afternoon)

Started poking the hunch API for undocumented calls. Experimented with the
Auth method, aswell. No joy on either front, but I do now know what a API
error look's like: A simple 400 Bad Request status code. A nice JSON-coded
error message would be easier to handle.

Lots of experimentation & downloads done, lots of communications to Hunch
Inc. Looked through flickr for posts by Hunch members: Do they live a
super-rich lifestyle?: No, they don't. Or possibly they do, but they don't
put pictures of it online.

A bit tired. Very hungry.

Time for a review of where I am (workwise), how far I've come, what remains
to be done, and how much the results of going off on tangents has swung round
with solutions to the main problems.


Sunday 28th March 2010 (Missing O'Clock, Start of BST)

Hmmmm... The PC and the RPC both self-corrected, and the dumbphone didn't.
However, I had to look back at my analogue watch before I knew which was
which! And, now, off to alter the office clocks...


Sunday 28th March 2010 (late morning)

A time of "uncreaking" equipment stuck over the winter. The door on the
microwave was sticking and needed to be pulled open. Cycled each part of the
door mechanism repeatedly, and now it works again. The kitchenarea sink
coldwater tap was dripping. Turned it full on, varied middle, tight off,
repeated; and now it turns off without having to tighten. Did the same sort
of thing with the stopcock.

-And my printer: Grabbed an image of some colour palettes, printed that.
Quality good apart from yellow, which looked "dirty" (contaminated). Printed
three solid blocks of yellow, magenta, and cyan. Magenta and cyan came out
just perfect, but yellow came out in grades of black-mix, with stepped
tracking lines in medium-res. 'Printed a larger solid block of yellow, this
time in fine res. track lines gone, but still about 10% black - which is no
good. 'Running some cleaning cycles now. Will consider sucking the ink out of
that one, and replacing with new. The yellow may have started to gel, which
is a problem peculiar to yellow inkjet ink.

Ink volume (and thus pressure) readings on the bottom, apart from black.

Several repeated cleaning cycles, another ink-heavy fine-res "block dump"
(effectively a mixed test and clean), and the block dump was bright yellow,
as it should be. Another palette print came up "crisp and cheery".

I'll still have to top up the colours cartridges and run another cleaning
cycle before I can start printing more business stationary, but the
"uncorking"'s over.


Found why previous version of parser suddenly stopped working with larger
input sets: They had multi-byte leaders, which switched php's string
functions into "that must be multi-byte data, so we'll ignore it" mode.

A simple removal of top-bit set characters should fudge that.

Now I shall have to take all that I have learned from the replacement
alternative version "tagsoup", and re-apply it to the former method-version.


Sunday 28th March 2010 (evening)

Hunch Inc. just replied to one of my messages - on a Sunday!

There were three messages (all via different media, for different people,)
left after close of business (EDT) intended for collection Monday morning
(0430BST).

Anyway, the auto blocking shouldn't be a problem from now on; they've added
me to the whitelist (a sort of guest list for machines).

For some reason, when I corrected a URL via fb desktop that I sent earlier
via a keypad, the blocking had stopped. For that to happen at daybreak
(assuming some blocking count reset's each day), the server would have to be
in Toyko, which is odd, because it's supposed to be in NYC.


Power Naps have now replaced sleep, and pasta / Lucozade Alert shots replaced
refreshment. I have a license to use this office for 24Hrs/day, and I'm not
going to lose any more potential, now the sharp winter's over.

Just to further annoy, facebook seems to be timestamping my emails according
to PDT (LAX Time).


Monday 29th March 2010 (morning)

And now I really do need to go home and sleep. Lots to do, but too tired to
even attempt it now. I have been able to extend my period of activity to
three days instead of two by having "powernap" rest periods of reduced
activity, with alarms to prevent me falling asleep during them. However,
after three days, the need to sleep becomes debilating to other activities.


Wednesday 31st March 2010 (mid-afternoon)

Perhaps unwisely, told the DWP about Hunch Inc., at my Signing today.
Emphasised, however, that there is no contract between us. Blood pressure
shot up due to worries of misinterpretation, which I noticed because it gave
me a sort of stabbing toothache-type pain. All that vanished after I brought
some pain relief and - fortunately - Lucozade, a short while afterwards,
dropping my blood pressure just as sharply, and making feel like a burst
balloon. 'Never dull moment. 'Staggered back to the office.

PC Grumbled about losing things, due to CRC errors. The HDD, although marked
with bad sectors, is crumbling, because I have loaded it too heavily. The
backup/archive review has not come a moment too soon.

Lots of exciting software-type gubbins to get on with. I discovered over my
break, that "Hunchbot" sends copies of my Hunchmail to my ordinary email
account, so I can read new Hunchmail via my mobile, abiet in an indirect
manner.


Ran a Chkdsk while away at the intercafe', to stop the PC slowing down, and
now it's slower than ever! At first I thought it'd overloaded it's HD
capacity by writing too many recovered bad sector files to it, but now I
think it may be just already have too much stored on the HDD to begin with!
So it's off to the archives with a lot of stuff, then defrags, then disk
cleanups. Then buy another HDD, PC, etc etc; all to upgrade away from this
damn PC in the first place!

Ummm - Taking off the archive mirror and the copies of flv videos, and moving
all the large bits I could quickly (photographic archive and ZIP of bad
sectors (containing nothing particularly useful)), released an impressive 7%,
making 23% now available, which should be enough. Just running a defrag
sequence...

... Which could take a while, because the defragger is slowed down along with
every thing else...

Only 10.87Gb used on the HDD now. I should be able to get that a little lower
(and a lot of it will be windoze anyway). Then I will securely-wipe the
Landlord's brother's old PC's HDD, bung it in my PC, and backup for a swap.

-Among the way, copying everything to USB stick and redoing all the backups,
of course. And then with the reinstall, I'll have networking ability, so I'll
be able to transfer things on & off the RPC at a decent rate.

All this may take a while...


You're supposed to reinstall PC systems every six months. This one has been
running on the same install for about four years. That probably isn't very
good. It's spending most of it's time seeking files, which tell's you windoze
really isn't very good at it's job, which you probably knew anyway.

This RPC, meanwhile, has been running on the same install for about 13 years,
and it's still lightening-fast. Clearly all OS'es are not created equal.


I can't believe the precaution that was supposed to speed it up actually
slowed it to a crawl. This thing badly need's a reinstall. I may just
have to virtually halt all other work and do that, possibly spending more
money in order to do so.


System restart... Ah, now: That seem's stable. But is it back up to speed?
No.

To release some more speed, un-sharing and un-indexing everything. I won't be
able to share until it's re-installed, and I never use the windoze search
anyway. I use the Powerdesk search, which I didn't re-register with Powerdesk
because I thought it was part of windoze. Now I do, so I'm gonna have to do
that after the next install. I think everything else is paid for...

Maybe there just wasn't even space to do a proper Chkdsk Recovery. maybe I
should have just done a simple [Chkdsk] Fix. May, maybe: I wasn't watching
for prompts (because I wasn't there). It's supposed to be automatic, anyway.

Well, at least to attribute changer itself is running speedily. That's
something. 4Gb of files @ over 1Hr to go, and it still hasn't finished
counting due files.

The annoying thing is, half of that content is fluff, which I was busy going
through before archival/backing-up. Now I'll have to backup first, transfer
after, and go through sometime in the future, because now there's no
alternative. Some of the other bits to transfer are untidily "tied together".

Such as the "software ready" area, and some offshoots of that having already
been directly in use for some time, eg the ray-tracer. -And the offline
server areas, mixed in with the offline online mirror, partly by aliases,
partly by working areas.


The thing's finished counting now: Just over 100,000 files in just over
10,000 directories, at 8.8Gb (7.6 on disk). And that's just in the largest of
the main areas.

Ironically, the vast majority of that is due to go straight into ZIPped
archival files instead, so the optimisation won't be left to be used for
lone. However, it'd probably slow down the "ZIPper" if left to be done
directly, and I can't afford that.

Also ironically, the files were set as "shared" in the first place, only to
get XP to cooperate with the networking, which it didn't want to do in any
case, and the networking was attempted to make this sort of maintenance
unnecessary in the first place. Instead, it made it more necessary.



Hokay... got the current working stuff and the transfer instructions copied
if the PC HDD and transferred to the RPC, so at least I can carry on with
some work for now...

Got a "standard" Chkdsk /F running on the PC now, and we'll see what that
does/says...

Two blocks of four consecutive file record blocks are unreadable.

Taken out some index entries (it always says things like these, and it never
seems to hit anything vital).

windoze recovered various orphaned files, then said "insufficient disk space
to recover lost data".

(Vot? Thar's Gigabytes in them thar fil's!)

Corrected some bad clusters anyway, then booted up...


Interreestttinck! Appears to be running normally again.

YES! Speed ist back! I shall HAVE to use this now to backup some large file
blocks, in order to ease transfer...


Trundled on with the backup sequence - then hit a CRC check error inside one
of the directories I was copy-compressing.

This uncovers an additional problem: The HDD has issues. It's time to replace
that. (I need a bigger one anyway).

So... buy a bigger HDD. Transfer files to bigger HDD. Grab Landlord's
brother's old PC's HDD, securely wipe and use as XP-new one in new PC.

--Something like that anyway.

CRC errors in new bkups will be overcome by old bkups -- so Can't go any
further with new bkups!

Will do anyway, with most recent stuff.


Had to reset PC to get out of stuck opening-directory viewer problem thingy,
then again, and automatic Chkdsk instigated...

Will copy off most recent area straight to bkup USBs - no straight to
Archives (for the time being).


Huge list of orphaned files going into "directory 10587". So: Don't delete or
compress anything, just copy uncompressed directories. --Minimal disturbance
to HDD structure from now on.


Thursday 1st April 2010 (Silly O'clock, April Fool's Day)

ANNOUNCEMENT:

Stand Above the Crowd will NOT be advertising Trainwest 2010 in Melksham.

This pull-out is due to knock-on effects from the harsh winter.

Friday 2nd April 2010

Reinstigated project Ta-Da! (And about time too.)

Unfortunately, the person I had to call on was out, and one of the conditions
of surprise visits is you can't call and check beforehand.


Saturday 3rd April 2010 (late morning)

Uncorked my secondhand XP start disc.

Previously, I had dragged my feet on the whole reinstall issue, mainly due to
difficulties transferring such a large fileset and keeping the functionality
intact. However, with a HDD nearing the end of it's useful life, a much
easier solution emerged: Add a second HDD, fresh install onto that, copy the
files directly across. (Then reinstall everything, etc.)

Slight complications include that the new HDD is in a different machine and
has confidential data on it, and the potential of viruses. For both reasons,
I have to wipe it before moving it, and I can't wipe it in the target machine
because of the danger of wiping the wrong drive.

Fortunately, you can set boot to CD from the BIOS, and format the HDD from
the start disk, without ever entering the previous owner's setup.

If the start disk was a DVD, I could still format/wipe using a FDD start
disk, but tests on the RPC (and copyings of documentation) show the XP Home
start disk is a CD.


3D (the local IT service centre thingy place) say 160Gb is the minimum new
HDD sold these days. My reference book from the library about fitting second
HDDs into PCs says the maximum drive size for ATA connectors (probably the
type the old HDD uses), is 127.5Gb. So I've decided to try with the
it-was-to-but-scrap-but-it's-virtually-brand-new Landlord's brother's HDD.

During the course of this, it'll be reformatted (the long way, to mark bad
sectors,) and entirely overwritten several times. As a side-effect, this
process will securely delete any existing material beyond any possibility of
recovery, even that using government techniques.


Unfortunately, the old drive is 14Gb, and the LB drive is 10Gb. And I would
like a new larger HDD, and the motherboard of the PC is recent enough to
possibly have SATA connectors anyway... So I'll use a hybrid method:

Reformat the LB drive in the LB PC.

Stick identifying coloured labels on the LB drive and my original PC drive.

Put the LB drive in my PC as a second (slave) drive.

Copy across recent files to the LB drive.

Copy older files, in blocks across, compress them on the LB drive, transfer
to USB sticks, there to reside in a "midway archive", ie archived instead of
being backed-up, but to come back later (ideally with a larger drive) and
sort through into true archive and reused (context area) material.

Mark material archived by prefixing the old files (directories) with "xx" or
something. (Because deleting large blocks of material from the old drive
corrupts it because windoze tries to move the remaining material across
damaged sectors.)

If I can fit a new drive to the current PC, then take the LB drive out and
store in a padded jacket someplace, or maybe temporarily back inside the LB
PC (where it was safe enough before), and do a fresh XP Home install onto the
new drive, fitted as a master, with the current drive temporarily
disconnected.

Then re-connect the current drive as the slave, and copy material directly
from it to the new drive, using the LB drive as a fallback backup.


If I can't fit a new drive:

Buy a new secondhand PC, I suppose. I was going to write something more here,
but then I left it too long, and explanation this is long enough anyhow.

Once as much midway-archived as possible, copy the remaining stuff
(compressed) to USB sticks, then wipe/install to the slave drive, and copy
back.


These rather complex "Tower of Hanoi" swapping procedures are to ensure there
is always at least two copies of vital data, and that it is impossible to
accidentally wipe the wrong drive.

As an additional (another one) complication, some of small portions of data
(probably only one though) on the current drive have been corrupted (by being
moved onto damaged sectors (by the idiocy of windoze)), but have ZIPped
backups available, so they an be recovered from. However, this means also
copying the ZIPped interim backups, in order to do this, which means renaming
those (prefix with "rc" [(recovery)] or something), and taking up more space.

Previously, those interim backups were destined to be wiped after new backups
were made from existing data. Now it is no longer safe to do so.



I got the library book because with RPCs, you just pop open the case (no
screws), slide into the drive, possibly connect cables, and close the case. I
have a feeling PCs aren't like that.

microsoft say, if [you find] you have a pirated OS, buy a replacement OS
start disk from them, and reinstall. What they don't say is they've made it
virtually impossible to buy one from them, particularly if you don't want to
install their latest product. It took me six months to track down a true
secondhand license package. It's not easy being legal.


Once I'm through with this palaver, I really ought to get on and transfer
more working use to the RPC. It is what I'm supposed to be upgrading to,
afterall. I need to upgrade that to RO4.x, too.

I'm not too bothered with the urgency of backing-up the RPC, because a RO HDD
failure is unheard of (which reminds you just how crummy PCs really are), and
I'll just continue piecemeal backups of important data.

However, I will need archives & backups eventually, largely for security
purposes, and to transfer to RO4.x, so I'll have to look into that some time.
ie, Some time when I have more cash floating around. (When I get the
networking working, I can archive stuff via the PC's drives. Not very ideal,
but very cheap.)

Currently I have RO3.71, which although significantly more advanced than
windoze 7/8/9 or any linux install, is less elegant than later RO versions,
and has one serious drawback - no long filenames! Currently I run raFS in
some parts, which copes with that. If had the option to start with RO4.02
(4.20?), and I turned it down on cost grounds. I should've coughed up. Ah
well, I didn't know enough about the differences between them then, and I had
been on RO3.1 previously. Hey-ho.


Also to, er, check whether my PC's motherboard can accept SATA cables, what
those sockets look like anyway, if adapters are available, whether or not the
PC and LB drives actually are ATA, and so on. (Indeed, checking at 3D for
more options, too. And some USB extension leads; I've nicked one from a
networking adaptor to bring an RPC addition round to the front.)


Saturday 3rd April 2010 (early afternoon)

Started swapping over the KVM, which turned out to mean unplug power and
combo leads from my PC, plug into LB PC instead. The keyboard and mouse
connections fly off from the PC-end of the VGA plug.

Slight snag: The LB keyboard socket is an old-style DIN, but strangely the
mouse is still a mini-DIN. Left the keyboard unconnected and fired 'er up.

Appears to work, but no screen output. And no keyboard input. And no HDD
activity to speak of, which isn't a good sign for windoze.

So it look's like I'll be wiping the LB HDD in my PC afterall, using a
straight delete (instead of a long reformat) for safety.

I had envisaged leaving the LB PC chugging away, wiping itself today, but it
is not to be.

Instead, home for a rest, then opening, labelling, examining, noting, and
photographing (for 3D's benefit).

Possibly, see if the new drive fits, then get 3D to format it... if it isn't
already formatted.

I believe I am lacking a handy small screwdriver, so I shall have to nip down
wilkinsons on the way home.


Monday 5th April 2010 (afternoon)

Emergency backup mode... but first "count your chickens" mode.

Opened up the LB PC, removed HDD, some spare screws, and a multiway drive
cable. Photographed a few things, and made notes and sketches.

Altered jumper settings on LB HDD from master to CSEL (cable select).

Opened up my PC, inserted LB HDD in a disconnected state, examined guts,

Found that I already have a multiway drive cable, connecting not only my HDD
(apparently internally set as master but still with jumper settings), but
also connecting my CD & DVD drives, as slave (and presumably slave's slave).

This meant I can connect the LB HDD as slave without any tedious mucking
around.

During the course of this, had to pop out my (unwell) HDD, which doubtless
didn't do it any favours. This was necessary in order the photograph it, and
examine the jumper settings and documentation (sensibly printed on the
things). Then popped it back in and reconnected as before.

Also disconnected my DVD drive, which isn't essential right now, and whose
connector I will attach the new slave (LB) drive to.


Powered up my PC, looked in the BIOS (boot sequence is already CD, A, C,
which is very good). Tried altering the keyboard repeat rate, then forgot to
test that! Ah well, never mind, next time will do. Ignored automatic Chkdsk
request, created a start disk, checked everything was working, powered down
again.

Next, to disconnect my HDD, connect the LB HDD in it's place, boot from the
start disk, wipe the LB HDD. later, to do this sort of thing for the 3D HDD.

The inside of my PC is now covered with little labels, clearly showing what
bit is which (it wouldn't do to wipe the wrong drive). Fortunately, the
drives look fairly different, the LB drive is wearing a shock-absorbent
rubber coat, and my drive is (was) wearing a layer of dust.


Right then...



Now with two HDDs in, found new hardware... disk drive... Yes.

Now I can access both HDDs. There is some stuff on the new one. I carefully
shift-deleted that (so it doesn't fumble around with the recycle bin),
deleted his Windows, pausing to nick his fonts. ZIPped the fonts, & put them
on a USB stick, to virus check at the intercafe', next time I'm over there.

Deleted all stuff off D:, which was then showing only a recycle bin, which I
switched off, but it still showed. Never mind. Went into disk options,
searched for any ultra-hidden files. None to speak of, wiped them anyway.
Accidentally scheduled a chkdsk, via "verify".

Ran a defrag, which was over fairly quickly(!)

Now is drive is empty. This still isn't good enough for me, though, because I
originally wanted it reformatted, and now I can't do that safely. The data is
potentially recoverable though, so I must securely-overwrite it. I also don't
want there to be room for anything nasty to hide.

I created (using PaintShop Pro) a 3000 x 3000 pixel graphics file, filled it
with 100% colour noise, then increased the dynamic range so it covers all
values. Then I saved it as a BMP file. This makes a 25Mb pile of junk.

Then I created a batch file to copy it to 1.bmp ... 50.bmp. That should
create over 10Gb of junk, and fill the disk. Hmmm: It's taken it. It should
have overloaded.

Only used 1.28Gb. I think I may have underestimated by a factor of 10.

Never mind, all into a directory, and copy that 10 times...


Investigated help text on xcopy... and onward...

Some pointless activity on C:, but then this is bloody windoze.

I have examined a small version of noise.bmp, and the alpha channel appears
to be randomised as well. Not that it really matters, but I like to be
thorough.

Just incase anybody is interested, the tree-copy command for copying
directories like that, is

Code: Select all

xcopy junk 02 /s /c /i /y

ie, specifying all the common sense stuff that windoze (by default) stops and
asks about.

Okay, that's all merrily chugging away again. It may be some time...


Right - so - create a 25Mb junk file, and copy it 400 times. (And keep
copying it until something breaks.)

Then run a defrag sequence, then create the maximum size file you can to fill
the remaining space; delete half of them; run a defrag; delete the rest.

All this defragging shuffles the files around, negating the need to fill the
disk with more files and delete those again.

By the time I've done this, and cycled my backups through, all the Landlord's
brother's data will have been overwritten at least four times, which is
defined as inaccessible by our very-nosey government.

Better than taking the LB HDD out and smashing it to bits with a hammer, more
ecologically sound, and -more importantly- it saves me £50.


Wondered why the taskbar is showing C:\... for batch file running. It's
because cmd.exe is on the C: drive. Copied that to D:, and ran it from there,
then executed the batchfile from there. That works, but does it stop the
other hard disk activity? Of course not.


About 14s to copy a 25Mb file, making 10 minutes per Gigabyte, and thus about
an hour or so still to go before the drive melts.


After the previous setup's boot failures, I tried to switch it off, but it
wouldn't let me, and just flashed it's power light at me and refused to boot.
So I switched it off at the mains, which probably didn't do anything for the
ailing harddisk. This may be why it scheduled another chkdsk for itself, but
then again...


Finished doing that... formatted AND verified a floppy start disk... tested
CD drive: It work's electrically, but it isn't recognised, or it is, and it
doesn't work properly. Will have to try swapping it's connection, or (and)
maybe taking the CD drive out of the LB PC, and swapping the PC DVD drive
with it.

Will also have to try putting the CD drive into the slave cable socket,
instead if having it on the same cable as the HDDs!


Okay, copied the vast majority of files over to the second drive. Now
restarting, in order for chkdsk to do it's work. However, due to the
slowdown, shutdown is slow. At lest I think it's down to the slowdown:
Shutdown is always slow.

No errors at all on LB, although two disk checks accidentally scheduled. Tiny
number of errors on Orig, although upstairs eating for most of that and may
have missed some reports.

Some careful archiving to do... then back to the CD stuff, no maybe the CD
stuff before, prepare searches for the Orig HDD and it's jumper settings,
then back to the archiving (and subsequent deletion from both the HDDs when
transferred to USB).

Possibly/Probably buying more USB capacity.



Okay, uploaded new photos...

Can start on hunch stuff again soon, now Orig drive has suddenly decided to
behave again.

Still need to get the CD running, and nip off down 3D again...

Tired now; been at this for at least eight hours now, mainly fretting.

Go home, get food/sleep, back for the rest. Uploads & hunch stuff later.


Tuesday 6th April 2010

Tidied up misc. things online this morning.

Nothing major though - just getting the little distractions out of the way.

Downloaded jumper settings guide for the Orig drive. The current settings
aren't covered by it, and could be mistakenly-set.

Nothing wrong with my "pilfered" fonts; I just need to diff them against ones
I already have now.


Feeling awake, did my 6-month JSA Interview, some stocking up, then felt
inexplicably bloated, and keep nodding off and jerking awake, if you know
what I mean, which was odd, because I didn't previously feel sleepy.

Then I must have passed out on the desk without warning, for I noticed this
when a steam train hooted me "awake". (I don't classify passing out as
sleeping. Sleeping is voluntary and may break contracts. Passing out can't,
because people have no control over it, and no warning.)

Just before I passed out suddenly (which I am NOT prone to), I had a little
of the office clown's cola. I must have been out for 1-2 hours.


Ate some pine nut pasta, and some cous-cous. Had a lot of black coffee (with
more cola), then a Red Bull Shot.

Opened up the PC again, swapped round the connections for the LB and CD
drives.

It seems that rather from all the drives being on one long four-connection
cable as I previously reported, there are two separate ATA cables (and a
floppy connection), just like there are supposed to be. I shall have to
reverse-trace my notes to find out what the original configuration was.

Fired up the machine again. Both HDDs accessible as before, still no CD
drive. Tried "Add hardware". It found the CD drive, identified it, and knows
what it is, but grumbles about there being no driver, and refuses to go
further.

(The Orig HDD is the only one on it's cable, so it's weird jumper settings
don't matter at present.)

It is possible the driver got corrupted by the original Orig HDD fault, which
could explain why my visible CD and DVD drives disappeared from my My
Computer (renamed This Machine) view.

So I shall take the [CD drive] description given, and search [online] for
drivers and jumper settings.

It doesn't make sense to have a driver on the HDD though, when the OS is
capable of being (re)installed via the CD drive.

I shall pop out the DVD drive, and add the LB CD drive in it's place. This
has the added advantage of having a proper caddy, and being able to accept
mini-CDs.

This morning I located and downloaded a combined Apache/MySQL/php package for
windoze (WAMP), with php5 included, and separate on/off controls via taskbar
menu, without having to restart the machine or mess around in the task
manager. It is virus-checked (clean [I haven't ever found a virus])
and downloaded ready to be installed on the new reinstall (when I get that
ready). When this is done, I should be able to use CURL etc functions, and
take the strain out of server interactions, POST requests, and cookie
handling. In theory.


Naturally of course, neither of them say what type they are on the front, so
I will have to open up the LB PC again to read it's CD details off.


Wednesday 7th April 2010 (afternoon)

Took the CD out the LB PC, put it in my PC, took out my DVD drive to make
room for it. Come to think of it, I may have a spare 5.25" bay anyway.

I will later re-insert it, perhaps connect it up, and take out the defunct CD
drive. Well, certain remove the defunct CD drive, incase someone decides to
insert a CD and can't remove it! Perhaps I ought to leave just a power
connection in.

Disconnected the old CD drive, connected the new one. they both have
documentation printed on them, although to save time I squeezed my
cameraphone into the gap instead of removing the old one only to re-insert it
afterward.

Removed large amount of trapped dust from both machines.

Reassembled and powered up: Both the BIOS and XP recognised the new CD drive,
and I could read a disc on it when running. Next I will try booting from the
XP CD start disc; just as a test.


BIOS Says "Boot from CD." Then it whirls the CD around for a minute, then
says "Boot failure", and start's up from the HDD as normal, pausing for a few
minutes in the middle to present me with a blank screen and an
expectantly-whirling CD drive. Then it pop's up the desktop.

"Boot failure" -Vot? There's nothing wrong with that CD, nor the drive, as
far a I can tell so far. Maybe find and run further diagnostics.


Tried to open the CD on XP... It says it's not accessible, and disappears the
CD drive icon. Try the Add hardware wizard, which says the device is working
fine.

Try a RO CD, drive icon pop's back up. Number of files/bytes on RO CD = 17289
files, 1635 directories, size 626757437b, size on disc 645574656b.

Trying that on RPC (to verify)... 17289 files, 626757433b. Hmmm - 4 bytes
out.

PC Drive is 16x speed, RPC is 54x. 'Could try swapping 'em, I suppose.


PC read's CD volume name okay, abeit in 8/3 format.

XP Start CD a bit smudged on the bottom. 'Will clean.


Cleaning made no difference: Both machines can read the RO CD, but only RO
can read the XP one.

Ergo, next try swapping the RO & PC CD drives. Grrrr. (Always assuming that
will work at all.)

(Or get another start disc. (Somehow. -3D?))


Next, meanwhile, try booting the PC from FDD - while we've got it on. Yup,
that works - after a pause for the FDD to read it's half-megabyte start
sequence. HDDs and CD are inaccessible. Now, er, how do I shutdown/reset?
Look's like... Reset button: Yes.


Processed the photos, mainly for jumper settings and documentation readings.
Now, to open up the RPC/PC and swap over their CD drives...

... Opened up the RPC, the lengthiest part of which was lifting the
very-heavy monitor off the top without snagging any cables in the process.
Then I did some dusting and took some photos.

Then I shifted the PC and monitor out of the way to get some room. then
unclipped the clips, lifted off the lid, and took lots more photos.

Then I disconnected the CD drive, and found I don't have a clue how it's
fixed in. Eventually I had to reconnect the drive, pop the lid back on, and
reclip the clip-things.

'Screwless construction, you see. -Which is all very well and speedy, but the
drives presumably slide/clip in, so they must be fairly loose in there,
right? Wrong. They're more securely-held than in PCs, and I dunno what's
holding 'em in.

Time to call WAUG for help.


Just had a thought: What if the metal cases of the drives are part of the
base unit, and the drives inside simply slide out?


One odd thing that keeps happening on the RPC: Sometimes the shift will
"lock" on, yet there is no shift lock key. The only way I have found to
remedy this is to reset the machine, which burns at least five seconds.

Does anyone know what is going on? [General question]


With the help of a WAUG member on facebook (and some less helpful remarks
from female friends) Got the drive out. Two crews under the CD; reach by
taking the slice off and turning it over.

Put the RPC drive in the PC, also put in the old DVD drive in the spare bay,
and connected power to both otherwise-disconnected drives.


RPC read's RO disc well, and XP disc well enough too. Some odd pauses with
the XP disc, but no read errors found.

PC didn't want to close it's CD tray until I switched it off, and now I have
to be sharpish when switching it on... PC read's XP disc perfectly! Ah-ha, so
it was the (replacement) drive, then. -Either that, or 16x is too slow to
boot from. the PC booted from CD after prompting me if I wanted to do so. To
get enough time to open the drive door I had to temporarily distract it with
the BIOS setup area.

PC Play's RO disc, too. No apparent problems there, either. 16x Seem's fast
enough for current RO uses, so no loss... but don't think that high speed
drive is leaving with the PC whenever it is that I'm finished with the thing.

Anyway, my XP start disc now works, which was the point of the exercise.

Now/Soon I can buy a new HDD from 3D.


Thursday 8th April 2010 (Silly O'Clock)

'Looking through another letter from the HMRC. This one is a notice to fill
in a tax return, and they don't miss the opportunity to include a threat,
even though they have to threaten me with fines if I don't reply within seven
months in order to do that.

More implorisations to file my tax return online; they say it's:

• Simple
  Take train to connection point, run into all problems below,
  repeat as often as unnecessary, collect bonus fine for no apparent reason.
• Secure
  What if somebody look's over my shoulder?!
• Usable day or night
  Only when the connection point's open.
• You can quickly amend your personal details
  Not if I have to go all the way home to get a copy of them.

Finished postprocessing my photos of bits of kit an hour or two earlier. The
PC started making ringing (of metalwork) sounds whenever it went through a
burst of simultaneous drive activity, probably due to all the extra weight
inside.

Now for some food/rest, then long-overdue upload preparations.


The Archive Disc says that I don't need to reformat my HDD to run RO4.x, but
if I don't I won't be able to use long filenames (natively). I could,
however, fit a new HDD and copy everything over. It's all good. (Then I could
use the old HDD as an interim backup, like I'm gonna on the PC.)

Wednesday 7th April 2010

Litterpicked the office driveway 1556 today. Now photographing drive
specs/settings, for driver/usage searches.


Via facebook:

1619 Kaden: BBC news reports that the Dyslexic S.A.S have taken out 2 whole
floors of Debenhams with explosives lookin for "bed linen"
1945 Robin: Apparently two million Pounds worth of improvements were caused to
Swindon town centre.
1948 Kaden: lol


This evening my career/help usage of fb and my social/stalkers/flirting usage
clashed without warning, and it all went a bit Pete Tong:

Via facebook:

2108 Robin: Anyone know what holds the CD drive in, in a RiscPC?
2109 Sally: Cellotape?
2111 Dnise: Blu tac?
2117 Jacqu: Glue?
2125 MarkF: Two screws underneath the CD drive.
2133 Robin: Thank you. Er, how do I reach them? I've got the lid off and been
stumped by the screwless case construction.
2135 MarkF: You have to take the slice off and turn it over.
2135 Sally: Oh dear girls..looks like we were a bit blond there then lol
2137 Jacqu: I'm lost Sal! Lets leave them to it! lol
2137 Sally: Or ginger in my case pmsl
2138 Jacqu: PMSL Does that mean to say you have ginger ****s! lol
2141 Sally: Of course...cuffs and collars have to match dont they !!!
2142 Robin: Interesting! All this time I thought the first slice was
continuous with the base. Podules out... two extra clip-rods at
the front rotated... (wiggling continues)
2142 Sally: Perve !!!
2144 Jacqu: Wiggling! Wots he wiggling Sal?
2146 Robin: CD and FDD drives disconnected...
2147 Sally: God knows jac but he's got his podules out !!!and his rod has a
clip on it and he sounds like he can rotate it quite well !!!
2151 Robin: -Magic! Thank you! I'll have to start attending the meetings
again. Sorry about the spam from my somehow-frustrated female friends.
2152 Sally: We ain't frustrated robin!!!! We're just bored !!
2250 Robin: While I had my bits out, I took some photos. I'll put them on
flickr tomorrow, for educational purposes. I always amazed by how
that thin lid can take the weight of my 15 inch.
2252 Jacqu: 15 inches Robin I think you might be dreaming there! lol
2252 Jacqu: And is he calling us spam Sal! How rude!
2256 Sally: Bloody hell Robin... do you want my address?
2256 Jacqu: PMSL you couldn't handle it Sal! lol
2257 Sally: I'll have you know i can handle 17 inches if it has got a floppy
disc with it !!!
2259 Jacqu: Ouch is all I can say! And Robin can we have some pics of
your 15 incher please! <grin>
2303 Robin: It is traditional to refer to monitors by the visible diagonal
screen width, the point being a have a usually heavy one.
2306 Jacqu: Its heavy as well Robin! Oh I don't think I could handle it!
PMSL
2306 Sally: Me and Jac will help you carry it if you want robin!!!
2307 Robin: a have => I have, usually => unusually.
2309 Sally: He's getting all frustrated Jac..now he cant spell...he must be
typing one handed !!
2310 Jacqu: And wot are you suggesting he is doing with his other hand
Sal? Lol
2312 Sally: Playing with his podules obviously lol
2322 Robin: I'm typing on a phone, and yes I will take a pic of my monitor
for you, JS. Now think of something sexy about a thin plastic
lid.
2325 Jacqu: I'm stumped there Robin! But I'm sure Sal will come up
with something, she is a dirty *****! PMSL
2326 Robin: The PC now boot's from the XP home start disk, which is the main
thing. (The RPC's swapped CD drive works fine too.)
2332 Sally: Well a plastic lid isn't very sexy is it!!!! I'm still dreaming
about your 15 inch !!! Maybe we could carry your 15 inch on your
plastic lid?


Thursday 8th April 2010

Via facebook:

1722 Colin: Can you still buy cider lollies?
1724 Zowie: Yeah man <grin>
1724 Clair: Iceland 10 for a squid
1730 Robin: Freeze it yourself and the water freezes out, thus concentrating
the alcohol and annoying the HMRC.
1734 PhilM: Oh man I used to love those!
1744 Colin: Cheers Robin good thinking
1751 PhilM: Or put all 10 of them in a pint glass, wait for them to melt and
effectively you've got yourself a cheap pint!


1911 Robin: We all remember each other from school: Nostalgia or shell shock?


Monday 12th April 2010

Having been awake for two days up to the start of The Others' set up for
Trainwest 2010, I have recovered a day after the break down. Although
everything is (in theory) back from the venue, the office building is full of
hastily-dumped detritus, ie markers for the floor, exhibitor numbers, boxes
and boxes of leaflets, hazard tape, sawdust, etc.


Tuesday 13th April 2010

Properly refreshed after only a short day's working yestereve, I remembered
that I have forgotten a secret project's admin password. So I checked my
archives. It seems I haven't noted it in there. So I checked the database and
script. It seems it's encrypted with a one-way hash. Uh-huh. I may have to
fumble around with database overwrites and/or email myself stuff with the
online version. The offline version's database server has been knobbled by
the partial HDD failure, although the database itself appears intact.

It'd really help to have a known admin password before I re-negotiate with
the associated client...


Wrote an apology to hunch and it's users, for the delays I have been
experiencing recently, due to partial HDD failure and other problems from the
harsh winter.

Turned down advertising work from the Conservatives, in order to concentrate
on potentially more lucrative work from overseas (and onland).


Tuesday 13th April 2010 (late afternoon)

Inordinate amount of time soaked up reorganising flickrSpace to take
advantage of Collections feature. Also altered (after much searching for the
link) photostream page layout, to show Collections in the right margin,
instead of Sets. Older Sets were overloaded. The "Chippenham" Set still is,
and now contained within the Chippenham Collection.

Some hunch tests, although not very many today.

I was wondering what had happened to one of my old school friends, Polly
Verity. Today I found out she had contacted me via flickr. I'm trying to
remember the name of another schoolfriend I bumped into two years ago in WSM.
She had a birthmark, she was in the 6th Form, and, er... I'm thinking perhaps
she's on facebook, and that would make things nice and tidy. I blame being
roped into (and then abandoned about) that bloody reunion thingy for all
this.

Some people are thinking of starting a Bristol RISC OS User Group (BUG?), and
have approached WAUG about it. I am considering defecting and/or joining it
as a second group. But then again I've formed cooperative relationships with
many of WAUG's members, even if I don't attend as many meetings as I would
like.


Ready to knuckle down now, or rather ready for more food, or rather just
interrupted by heavy footsteps upstairs.

Because the PC's main HDD is performing so well, decided to run a defrag
sequence, followed by a chkdsk (just to be on the safe side). 'Forgot PCs
tend to go in for lengthy defrags.


Okay; bloody thing working "rapidly" (for windoze) again.

Still noisy here: Off home as a break, and to come back when quieter.
'Ought to buy some bleach for the toiletroom, aswell.


Wednesday 14th April 2010

Bad indigestion earlier. Facebook unhelpfully suggested appendicitis, kidney
stones, and radiation poisoning. Maybe I ought to see someone just to quell
the odd diagnoses.

Brief foray into cookies, but nothing worked. Will have to search for simple
cookie login solutions. Not urgent yet, though.


Thursday 15th April 2010

News coming in of a volcanic eruption in Iceland. They care about the
resulting ash cloud heading for Europe, not the Icelanders - but I do.

Lots of Portal updates, but nothing major next. Rather more tired than I
should be, too. Espresso time...


Starting to get somewhere, but now even more tired. Will pick up a shot on
the way home, and get some food at home.


Friday 16th April 2010 (afternoon)

Irritated by XP's discarding of directory date information when mirroring
files, I compared other methods.

It seems XP desktop copy and 7Zip both overwrite directory date information.
MsDos xcopy/copy do not. However, copy is useless for large mirrors.

My oldest archives are now only in ZIP format.
I suppose that doesn't matter too much for older material,
but it certainly does for current working areas.

Therefore:
- Use xcopy for current material,
- continue to use 7Zip for long-term archives (for now),
- and grumble to 7Zip and request this as a new feature.
(And if they add it, upgrade to the new version and maybe send them some
registration money).

Incase it helps anybody else, the command line options I have found to be
best with xcopy, are:

xcopy source destination /E /V /H /K

/E - Recursive copy, including empty directories
/V - Verify at destination
/H - Copy hidden and system files
/K - Copy attributes, normally will reset read-only attributes

Additional /O and /X options for copying ownership, ACL info, and audit
settings seem unnecessary, and won't work on non-NTFS formats, eg FAT32,
which what one of my mirrors uses. Not certain what ACL info is, anyway.


I will also make a junk 7Zip copy attempt, because it will perform a
read-verification, and flag any files xcopy will give up on. I will also
later do a "dir /s > file", as an additional data integrity check.

windoze is weird: You can't just copy stuff with it and expect it to copy
everything, and certainly not fancy stuff like reporting copy errors.


Meanwhile, my flaky current HDD system has lost ability to show CD/DVD drives
(now fixed), right-click options for viewing files with MsPaint and Wordpad,
and now I've lost MySQL and the ability to hold/set cookies on the offline
server.

Now, I don't use MySQL much anymore, and I'm not sure that server had cookie
ability in the first place, true, but it's all the more reason to get a new
HDD and do a reinstall (and some xcopy stuff, too, now).

Maybe I could do a preinstall of the new offline server on the current HDD,
but that's really just complicating already-strange affairs, and I have to do
a reinstall anyway... I can unplug the old drives, bung in the new, install
to that, I previously-copied data from a USB stick, setup some basic stuff
there, and then swap back to the previous system on the old HDD if necessary.

I will put the new HDD where the FDD used to be, in order to avoid having to
take out any HDDs or buying a 5.25-to-3.5 bay converter.

I may need to buy a 3.5" blanking plate...

Eventually, the old HDD will be redundant and stored off-site anyway.


This way I can do the install when I have spare time overnight, and still be
able to swap back to a working system fairly quickly, albeit with a spot of
cable-swapping. I also have to work out (by trial and error (guessing)) the
jumper settings to turn the old HDD into a slave drive, when necessary. It's
currently using non-standard settings, which seem to work as either master or
cable-select, and it doesn't really matter which it thinks it is in it's
current configuration.


For now, I will have either to build a concise cookie-faking file manager in
php, or use online testing for my cookie-based user-logger.

I am not on shared hosting anywhere anymore, so I can drop the silly levels
of security recommended, and get on quickly.

I'll have to get a cookie php script working separately from the main mobile
hunch thingy, and a hidden auth option, using my user area, for tests for the
time being (with the ability to disable the hidden options when necessary).
By the time any hackers can find them, they'll be gone anyway, and they
wouldn't be able to do any damage with them; just some vague "digital noise"
annoyance with my submitted statistical hunch preferences.


Saturday 17th April 2010 (early morning)

Coding straight through the night, really buzzing.
A bit bushed now after all that beavering away. Still not hungry, though.

Got "fake" offline cookie handler done, using files instead of cookies
and offline detect.

Made sample cookie code work with my handler, and then wrote/rewrote &
expanded a login skeleton.

Odd bug with that, where login sometimes reverts to previous user. Dunno if
it's a bug with my cookie handler, or the login skeleton, but it doesn't
affect the tests that I will be running. I will test it all again online, and
perhaps/perchance the bug won't show on a cookie-native system.

Short trial email sender, with header-injection blocker. Currently, it only
send's a simple message to a fixed address, but it is easily expandable. It's
purpose will be to send out registration links, and lost password reminders.

After round of online tests and debugging complete, next stage will be
to expand the login skeleton to allow:

• Anonymous logins (most data doesn't require a login anyway)
• Registration (initially without a confirmation link)
• Deregistration
• Auth-ing (get auth/de-auth link and display if auth successful when logged in)
• Change password
• Change email
• Send current password to email

Currently, you can only:

• Login from a selection of three fixed users
• Follow a link whilst logged in
• View "secret" [(dull)] data whilst logged in
• Log out again
• Be bewildered by a (in)comprehensive array of error messages when you enter incorrect password &c.

Passwordfile, when I build one, will contain username, password (reversibly
encrypted), email, AND authkey.


Then to merge the login skeleton with the mobile hunch skeleton, including
merging their mode parameters without creating a messy breakdown.

Just before then (and just after), to plod through the printouts time forgot,
looking for optimisations, and also to adjust the output so it's nice & neat.


Also to put in variables/constants, the names of the main scriptname itself,
and the name of the betsie filter. These so they can be changed at short notice.

Also also, to merge in the additional functions that are currently loafing
around in separate (small) scripts, and add caching bits.


At some later point, to upgrade the search alg with my better one.


BTW, these "skeletons" are libraries combined with as-simple-as-possible
scripting structures, that enable you to have run a login/cookie/API-calling
code from just simple-looking pseudocode, so you can continue to concentrate
on what is actually going on, and leave the worrying about how it does it to
other systems.


Saturday 17th April 2010 (late morning)

Will have to standby-write a false token login skeleton, because the new one
won't work at all on online.

Have downloaded some better (and pretested (always helps with tutorials))
examples, and a buffering fudge.

One of these look's to be a very promising candidate.

However. I am so tired now, everything in echoing, even though I am in the
zone.

I've drawn out some cash so I can buy a new HDD for the reinstall, but I'm
too tired to make serious purchasing decisions, and more cash will come
through on Monday, and the HDD might break the bank until Monday anyway.

Ah well, I've plenty to keep me busy!


All going very well, was more awake again for a little while, and starting
preprocessing; a photography, a spot of hoovering, watch a bit of a DVD,
small meal, more processing, and now I have to shut down and lie off. Or
something.

All this testing is keeping away from the core of things. It's all supposed
to collapse back in upon itself, after splurging off on various short
tangents.


Saturday 17th April 2010 (mid evening)

Varying periods of awakeness; and with them, varying bursts of
concentration/work.

Still need proper short-sleep, with an alarm.


Monday 19th April 2010

Printer decided to go into a sulk, at the PC end. I get the feeling I plugged
it in / switched things on in an order it didn't like, and that a full system
reset that I don't have time for will fix things. I've packed up ready to get
over to the connection point, but I'll try a system reset AS WELL.

Lots of misc stuff back from home with.

Okay, stuff printed now. Grrrr.

I wonder how people who don't know how to fix PCs get anything printed?
Perhaps they don't.


Discovered why the CSS blew on a secret forum under test: MsIE8 Checks pages
for standards compatibility, and displays them incorrectly if they don't
comply, plus providing a backward-compatibility button. However, it's standard
check doesn't work, and it flagged some my pages as non-compliant when they
were compliant!

This is thin ice for microsoft, and they have provided a get out of jail card:
<meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=EmulateIE7" />
So now I've inserted that in the page header templates, and all should be well for the sell.

Or at least it would be if I hadn't accidentally deleted the database while trying
to restore it's backup. I will ask the site Hosts to do it for me in the morning.

But my website IS modern standard compatible, and MsIE just isn't!
Also, the standard checker isn't up to standard!!!! Urrrgh!


Tuesday 20th April 2010 (mid morning)

Lots of mobile hunch stuff, mainly scaling back ambition but still lots to do
before it can move on!


Friday 23rd April 2010

Mutant three-inch wasp trapped in the kitchenarea window.

Brought the replacement main HDD. Service centre says XP will recognise all
of the capacity. Smallest available is 160Gb, but smallest in stock was
250Gb, for only £8 more, so I took that.

No time to fit yet; work to do.


Friday 30th April 2010

Filled in my postal vote, and fitted (in a disconnected manner) the new 3D HDD.

In order to accommodate all this:

• Altered the jumper settings of the 3D HDD to "master", which it always will
  be, in either setup (sole), or transfer (twin with original HDD), or
  final/working (twin with LB HDD), configuration.
• Took out the old non-PC-working CD drive
• Moved up the perhaps-working DVD drive into its place (power removed)
• Took out the FDD drive (only three 3.5" bays)
• Put in the 3D HDD
• Covered the exposed 3.5" bay door with a natty piece of foamboard taped to the
  other drive bay cover.
• Blanked off the CD drive bay with my 5.25" blanking plate.

Then rebooted to test things (and continue working).
PC halted in the middle of the BIOS POST, with "Floppy drive failure".
I'll say: It isn't there anymore.
'Required me to press F1 to continue each time, and that isn't convenient, so
I'll have to refit the FDD, set back behind the blanking plate, inside the
old CD bay. I think I'll use the LB PC FDD for that, to avoid stressing the
new (3D) floppy drive.

Now to carry on with some work... (Before switching over to the internal config &
pwr to sole 3D HDD only, for CD boot/install.)


Saturday 1st May 2010 (Silly O'Clock)

Disconnected my two current HDDs, and connected the 3D HDD. Installed XP
(Home?) to it from the CD. This took some time (about an hour), and several
false starts (stops), generally resulting in a "fatal error", restart, and
carrying on.

Various annoyances: BIOS Settings had to be altered to get the new install to
recognise the HDD. Doubtless will have to fiddle around with to revert now.

The XP Home Key and "Spare Key" didn't work, but the "Probably XP Pro Key" did.

I just hope it's XP Home.

Windows requires "Activate Windows", and connecting to the interwebnet in
order to do so. Supposedly, this is not essential... I can't (and won't!) get
an internet connection here within the next 30 days, and even if I did, I
wouldn't be stupid/foolhardy enough to connect a PC to it!

I have all the product keys... I'll try activating and see what happens...
"You may continue to use windows for 30days, but then you must activate" (or
something lie that anyway).

Help centre says "XP Home Edition".

Er, no internet or phone connection, so Windows Activation aborts.
There must be another way... Via phone to an Ms Rep...
Hmmm.


I have Notepad, Wordpad, MsPaint, and MsIE, but I don't have
MsWord nor Excel.

I've installed my own basic software (from USB): Samsung connectivity (not quite ready yet),
the Brother printer driver, 7Zip, the new WampServer, YouTubedownloader (a file converter)...
The PaintShop Pro CD is at home.

Bizarrely, it needed a defrag, so 'ran that.


Okay: So that's ready (ish). It feel's a bit sluggish, but then it is windoze.

I'll lookup about the activation, and in the meantime, I'll swap back to the usual fumble.


Shut it down, and instead of switching itself off, it tell's me to, then disables the power button.
(Yup, that's windoze!)

So, off at the mains again...


Pop'ed 'er open, swapped the cables round again, reassembled, booted up...

And after some "it's half guesswork again" BIOS fiddling, rebooted back as
the old system.

The BIOS fumble needed was specifying the IDE section to auto-detect
(manually), after the manual (auto-detect) had said it detected the HDDs
fine, then failed to start because it tried to boot from a HDD that wasn't
there.

Expect the unexpected? No:
"Expect the dysfunctional."


Okay, so I expected a schizophrenic computer (different identities on
different drives). I expected self-destructing and half slightly-better &
initially-faster. But what I got was one that's half nuts and half suicidal &
slow.

Maybe the slowness is a deliberate cripple until I Activate.


WHY is the new install slower?

Well, at least the new HDD works. It's nice & quiet, too.


And so... My pirated copy of windows think's it's legal, and the legal copy I
brought to replace it think's it's illegal, thanks to this stupid activation
key nonsense, which fails to take into account the legality of secondhand
copies where the previous owner has ceased using.
I'm sure that's illegal [Ms's AK practice].

There's gottabe a workaround.

Saturday 1st May 2010 (Mayday, Mayday; mid afternoon)

Got a very-basic version of Python working on the RPC, or rather fired up a
very comprehensive version in a very simple way.

A few hours ago, got a desktop hunch proposal working for mouseover image
enlargements, and enhanced various bits of mobile hunch, including getting
percentage results to show, displaying images when necessary under some
circumstances (previous decision to show never played), breadcrumbs over
topic plays... Maybe some other things; a bit tired now.

Started to fix bugs in bugfix of enlarged images mouseover for desktop hunch.


Tuesday 4th May 2010

As I was copying pages out of my library book on PCs so I could hurry up and
return it, I noticed a section on XP Activation: Apparently the freephone
dial-up number means talking to a person, not using a modem. Hmmm. This could
work.

Also, that I ought to configure the BIOS settings to LBA (Logical Block
Addressing) for the new HDD, as this refers to a faster IDE ATA protocol.

Out of the non-hunch things to do today, managed rolling the garden, handing
in my postal vote, and a spot of light food stocking, before admitting that
I've missed: Drawing out cash from my personal account to pay the rent with,
grumbling over the phone with the HMRC at the Job Centre, Copying/returning
my now-overdue library book on PCs and their annoyances -and paying the
fine-, taking out another book on learning Python, and asking the business
banking helpline the best method for an overseas company to pay me,
presumably either my faxing a cheque/check or "wiring" the money -whatever
that means- or using some SWIFT-like method (slow!), the emphasis being on a
fast method here.

Had various ideas about mobile hunch, variant simultaneous login schemes,
cookies on offline servers, and some algs and bugfixes, over the longish
mayday "weekend" holiday.


http.conf on the current offline Apache server has a list of virtual hosts
(eg localhost). Cookies can't be served by php with hostnames not containing
dots because it can't work out where the top-level domain is. So... Create
another virtual host with dots in the name... and test (requires restart)...
We shall see...

Not as easy adding an extra virtual server with a directory name containing
dots; so renamed that to just the servername having dots, and also renamed
the name of the usual servername to one with dots in... (I have a backup of
the conf file).

Some tedious repeat restarting going on here...

I will try installing the WAMPserver on the main HDD, as well, later, testing
for cookies compliance, then trying to get a "dot name" virtual server
running.

Current server just *refuses* to play ball, even a simple game of catch the
current server renamed, and so I have gone for a simultaneous install of the
WAMPserver, now armed with the knowledge that it just installs to C:\wamp,
and does not interfere with, overwrite, or otherwise molest the current server
install (which uses directories splattered all over the place).

Previous php.ini detect in your windows...

Bloody thing's overwritten my old php.ini file in C:\WINDOWS, thus neatly
knocking out the old server (which is otherwise intact).

Uninstalled; reinstalling with localhost specified as localhost.net, to being
with!...

Newsflash: WAMPserver handles cookies properly, and reports a bonus error,
and found (by giving me cryptic errors) that one of my libraries starts
<?... instead of <?php...

So now I'll have to reuninstall, then reinstall, this time with localhost
instead if localhost.net.


'Was going to get the old php.ini backup from an existing backup, but then
found it wasn't overwritten, just renamed for safety in
forward-compatibility.


... And when I've reinstalled this latest one, I have to wasexe the
uninstall, and transfer all the previous kafumple over.

I wonder if the <? error was what was keeping the old server from honouring
cookies?... No, can’t 'ave been; other scripts misfired as well.

Of course, now I try it again, it doesn't work... Urrrgh!

Maybe I should try again, specifying localhost.net again this time...
transfer all the stuff off again...


-So, don't rename old php.ini (restored - and apparently untouched),
specify localhost as localhost.net (when prompted) ... Try cookies...

Hokay - cookies now working (ie being honoured).

Chrrrist, this stuff drives me nuts. Okay, I know I get it working
eventually, which I suppose qualifies me as an "expert", but the process is
still bloody annoying.

Now... what could go wrong now?... 'Time for a swift backup to the LB HDD.

Backup windows/php.ini... & first, see if taking it out makes a difference,
backup www dir, uninstall the old Apache system, first checking for php dir
contents &c.


Apparently, windows/php.ini had nothing to do with cookie success.

Noting changes/additions to Apache, Perl (none), php (few), MySQL (lots),
before finding & running uninstall.

No uninstall capability for Apache, and MySQL & php now overwritten by the
new install (so I'll leave those alone, apart from removing the old
programs), so renamed the old server software oApache2, and stopped it's
services, via admin tools. Now restarting to see if anything complains....

No, nothing. Takes a while to start up though, as if it's ticking off and
tying-up things.


I'll put that specify localhost.net trick into their forum:
http://www.wampserver.com

New WAMPserver appears less of a strain on the system than the old server.
There still may be some scripts that grumble about their new environment,
but probably not my newest ones, whom have "localhost" detects built-in already.


Now three defrags in a row, and, since we're feeling lucky (and the
extended-seek hunts have stopped), a chkdsk.

Shutting down; ready to chkdsk on next power-up; when it's a bit quieter. The
Others are having a meeting.

Off for a walk and some fresh air. I thought I wouldn't be getting any
overnight infront of the information machines (and I was right).


Chkdsk passed @ 100%. Better than expected, but what is a security
descriptor? -And the usn journal (stage 4 of 3)?

"FreeBasic?" Hmmm, 'don't think I use that at the moment... 'Have to check
through for recent files before removing... Done that.

Later, to look through Start Menu for unused installs.


Wednesday 5th May 2010 (Silly O'Clock)

Python on PC working quite well. Got it doing my first hunch task (graphics
enlargement template) and thinking about trying it as a CGI script on the new
server, when...

Printer started cleaning for no good reason, then decided all the cartridges
needed refilling and replacing - otherwise it would sulk - now!
Unplugged the bastard.

Needing to get back to my ToDo and Done lists.


So many things to tidy up & finish off in a very small way each - but too
tired even to make a phone call or edit an email now. I have to take a break.


Wednesday 5th May 2010 (mid afternoon)

Updated lots of things, mainly non-hunch. Lots of minor errors in hunch-related scripts
prevented, Portal stuff updated to "fully ticked", things living in the root still
filling the error log tackled.

Some prior versions kept to simplify online testing, and away we go...


Earlier, was searching for the main page of Wiktionary.

Did you know that if you search for wiktionary in wiktionary,
the suggested result is "whacking off"?

They need to fix that.


Wednesday 5th May 2010 (early evening)

Early evening, and it's still light. Sunset at 1938BST, says my mobile. It's
now... 1936. Hmmmm. Hang about, it's just going dark. Hmmmm.

Anywaysawhilehow, I've just downloaded some things: Notepad++, Python
documentation in HTML and Text, and an offline Validator, using php's Tidy
extension.

Potentially this means I could get a Validator running on the RPC.


I've uploaded and strengthened all sorts of stuff, which I will list later,
and only had to debug one script online, and got the Portal almost
fully mature.

Starving-hungry now, so I'll have to brave the flurry of gathering politicians
outside in a mad dash to the shop.


Thursday 6th May 2010 (Polling Day, very late afternoon / very early evening)

(Voted two days ago, by taken unwanted-Postal-Vote round to council offices.)

Several over-pending non-computing jobs done: Taken library book back, not
exactly taken a book on Python out, but reserved one for when it becomes
available, topped up phone so I can afford to talk to the bank about putting
money in, tried to get to the Job Centre so I could talk to the HMRC, but not
enough time for that.


Sunday 9th May 2010 (evening)

Got into the office, emptied the bins and remembered to spray the weeds with
weedkiller.

Got stuck into my to-do lists, and budgeting, which I had recently run off
the end of. This doesn't mean that I've run out of things to do, it means I
haven't explicitly listed what remains.

Looked at how much money I still owe (102.43; 92.43 to my parents that they
had forgotten about, and 10.00 to Agent X, that he isn't here to collect).
The amount to my parents can wait until I am able to pay (probably July), and
the amount to Agent X is sitting in a bag waiting for his exalted presence.

I don't know yet how much "Big Bill", my annual WSP Hosting bill will come
to, partly because I don't yet know how long I will need to keep various
services running, and partly because nobody yet knows who will be in the new
government and how much they will damage the exchange rate. I think that it
will either be £214, £286, or £429.

By the time I have any money floating around, I will owe my secretary £40,
and Agent X another £50 in rent.

I expect to get an income this month of £296, mainly from JSA less minimal
expenses, and misc stuff I might be able to scrape together.

Having realised I can't possibly pay them £40, they have revised the amount
they think I owe them to £1092, which is just nuts, so they can take a
running jump, and I am in the process of telling them so.

If I defer that outgoing amount to June (ie, when it's actually due), this
means I won't have to borrow any money at all if the Hosting bill is under
£296, and at the maximum £429, I will only have to borrow £133.


So that's not so bad afterall then. There is also the possible software
income profits, although those are four plus ideas split between three
companies, and how much they might pay is a hazy calculation. From a big fat
zero to a big fluffy £2092, or maybe even more... However that's based on
guestimation of hours spent and expenses bled, and will need refining. My own
hourly programming rate of £10/Hr may well be way below market rate, ie I've
been offered £45/Hr for the quality of what I do (although the dumb DWP
blocked me from taking it - another story -), so we shall have to see.
Discussing rates with another software engineer, I get the impression
calculations of charging for the advantage a company may gain from a product
is not the done thing, a prohibitive hourly rate being seen as comfort enough.


Now, back to that to-do list... Bits of it are scattered everywhere.

Updated that a lot, but not [comprehensively] enough yet.
Programmically, made progress on several points not noted down...

Earlier on, installed Aspell on the PC, enabling Notepad++ to have a
spellchecker, but sadly not yet, alas, php.


Reconfigured some of the silly keyboard shortcuts in Notepad++ to sensible
!Zap ones. Still lots and lots to do, but rather too tired to do any of it
now, so 'have to stop.


Monday 10th May 2010 (morning)

Hey - suddenly it's two hours later. Nap or trip, who knows?
I feel a lot more awake, whatever happened just there.

In passing, disabled PC's main HDD from using search indexes, because it
slow's the thing down, and I don't use the built-in indexer anyway, and
whereas RO would do it in the blink of an eye, XP is thinking a few hours, as
it sets the attributes for every file individually. I could interrupt it,
but... Stuff it, I interrupted it.


Found some more bits of my incredible disappearing ToDo list.
The gist of it is: Bring the login wrapper up to a mature state; bring the
interactive wrapper up to a mature state; list demands of the various login
models; mate them together (not necessarily all the login models together in
the same calling script at the same time).

Also, find the filter-todo-list.


Looking back at the number of things I've achieved and the numerous problems
I've solved very quickly, it look's from the outside like I'm just breezing
through this job. Subjectively, however, it feels like I'm going insane.

This is probably because the pressure never let's up, and I am effectively
always facing a hard problem. The lack of sleep probably doesn't help either.


Monday 10th May 2010 (evening)

The last upload/update went surprisingly-well. In it, I made such improvements
as almost halving mobile hunch's search time and/or doubling the efficiency,
and preventing Quote All from engaging on empty strings in the Portal.

I also received a bizarre complaint of harassment from flickr. They didn't
say what it concerned though, so it is for the moment meaningless. A quick
random search show's one of my posts of a business address someone was
looking for has disappeared, so it could be a false complaint by the business
owner pretending that his business address is purely personal information in
order to try to hide from people he's stolen stuff from: That old scam.

And then again it could be something else entirely.


Wednesday 12th May 2010 (late evening)

Having serviced the printer, started printing the reunion photos, as
requested (as pleaded, actually,) onto standard plain matt A4, ready to be
cured then photocopied later on.

Then printed some business cards and promfolios onto glossy paper.


Thursday 13th May 2010 (the wee small hours)

Wondered what printing a photo onto glossy paper might look like. It looked
stunning! Extra black-depth and detail. Plus they won't need to be
photocopied, and they will be quite durable after curing. Presto, a higher
quality single-stage process. Right, we'll go with that run instead.


Friday 14th May 2010 (evening)

Very very noisy in the intercafe this afternoon, so it was just as well I
didn't have anything particularly complex to do. Found the elusive "primary
email address" flickr had passed the mysterious harassment case onto, and
replied. Also changed my primary email address to my actual primary email
address, so this won't glitch again in future.


Saturday 15th May 2010 (mid afternoon)

Struggling today. Did the washing-up, some hoovering, some listening to the
radio; some staring into space. Not enough food/sleep, you see.

Early this morning / late last night, printed a musical lolcat compilation as
a present for the ORT later on.

Lots of To-Do List writing/editing, and categorisation of stagnant office
areas to be getting on with, as well as "googlisation" of a copy of the
Portal, and outlining of bits and bobs (part of to ToDo ToDo (sinc.),
really).


Tuesday 18th May 2010 (just gone midnight)

All fresh-washed and furry(/fluffy), and raring to go. Tidied-up some office
bits, but it's only a start really. Some stuff all laid out ready to type up,
but much of it need's rewriting first.

The (short) break from work (caused by overwork) has given me fresh
insight/perspective, and so may not have been a bad thing afterall.

Added Python mode to !Zap, and a bit more configuring of the new version's
colours to the saner/older setup.


Tuesday 18th May 2010 (afternoon)

Planning to get some stiltwalking done today, instead I revised the login
wrapper for mobile hunch, in a flash of inspiration. Also added persistent
diagnostics, to both the login wrapper and mobile hunch.

Noticed someone has made an iPhone App for hunch, called hunchable, which is
embarrassing, as I haven't released mobile hunch yet, and it'll look like his
came out before. Also, his can log in, but that's not difficult for a
standalone single-user local app, running on a client machine, which doesn't
have to worry about security or multiple users.

I will ask permission to announce the existence of the current mobile hunch,
and list the new login model (once I've done some combination boolean
analysis on it), and all the new changes and features to the existing system.


Wednesday 19th May 2010

Got some stiltwalking done today. No strains/sprains, although did see some
little green stars at one point. 'Not seen them in that colour before.
Very pretty.

Planned to only do some lifts & stretches, and maybe a lap of the car park,
but felt good enough to do all that, and up Old Road, by Octoprint, along
Tugela, and back down via Langley Road. -Stopping often to sit and sip water.

'Emptied another bottle of weedkiller into the triffids, a short litterpick,
and bleached the black gunk surrounding the drain.


Friday 21st May 2010

Last Tuesday (18th), a carpet of daises covered Island Park. Yesterday,
flowers burst into bloom everywhere, in large "bunches". Today, there are
parasols and mini-marquee things in people's front gardens, and I've had to
put the fan on, on cool, for a bit in the office.

Friday 21st May 2010

Prepared a reply to the HMRC, having found traces of their online contact
form previously. However, the closest I could find was a website user
feedback area, which advised me not to include tax reference info, NI number,
etc. So not able to contact HMRC again! Selected "Very unhelpful" in
most of the fields.


Saturday 22nd May 2010 (afternoon)

Stupid bloody reunions. I hate them. Ironically, I have been roped into
helping organise this one.

Just printed out a guest list.


Saturday 22nd May 2010 (evening)

Almost didn't go to the reunion, due to the building heat. Had a long cold
bath, then go to the reunion, which started at 1930, at 2200. Tried to sneak
in quietly, and everyone cheered loudly when I arrived. 'Bit surprised by
that.

Fixed poses caught on camera by two of my stalkers, who organised the
reunion.


Wednesday 26th May 2010

Recovered from the Reunion, embarrassing pictures of me all over facebook.

Too hot (yes, only five weeks after being too cold,) for the Saturday,
Sunday, and following Monday. No hangover as such, but very tired and
drained. Probably a combination of overdoing it, the mix of heat making
alcohol more potent, not feeling drunk at the time, and the heat afterwards
making me feel horrible anyway.


Went down bath to get alternative types of double-sided tape for easy
removal. Tested those and the old tape in half-hour, dry, and wet, tests.
All Failed!

Lots and lots of jobs advertised in retail and service industries on doors in
bath! Applied to be a PT housekeeper. They say it involves serving breakfast,
cleaning rooms, and heavy lifting. They also seem to think PT hours are 8 a
day... Perhaps it's only occasional days.


Saturday 29th May 2010

Morning to noon, feeling good, begging for -and got- okay for cash loan of
£200. Missed the bank's deposit deadline, though, so no point collecting the
money until Tuesday.

Mid afternoon, suddenly felt rather tired and really not very well. Fumbled a
business call, then ate some bready things and went for a walk in the fresh
air to invigorate. This didn't work very well, but I still like to think it
helped.

A break, sit down, more bready things and some coffee, and this time I felt
okay. Went down to the circus camp, and asked for a re-meeting. This worked
well, and I think the gig's in the bag.

Back to the office (exciting today, this blog, isn't it?), and some minor
low priority prep.


Based on observations (of posters & variants held in records/stock),
generated and printed Chippenham strip for A2 Chez Nous poster, even though
I'm not working with them this time round. Slightly odd, but it is on my
To-Do list, it's a just in case [maybe] for next year, and I've been
procrastinating it for about a year.

Okay; printed, and drying out. Comparison with Trowbridge version show's
correct ratios/sizing used.


Sunday 30th May 2010 (an hour past midnight)

Just finished printing and highlighting the "unprintable" festival PDF.


Monday 31st May 2010

Very little "active activity" done today: Mainly resting at home after the
exertions of yesterday, and calculating my schedule of repayments (and other
schedules), in the office.

I will be able to remain solvent even in the worst case scenario; that of no
further (non-DWP) income, but only just [solvent].

I would like to promote the business in Bristol, bath, and 'Bassett; I
would like to ask festivals to let me exhibit; I would like to take the job
I've virtually been accepted for, down in bath: But the DWP won't let me.
I don't think they realise just how heavy an £800 fine is for the unemployed,
and how long it take's to pay for it. Not just paying off the fine itself,
but the knock-on effects, and paying those off. All in all, I think it will
take 13 months to recover from this fine, counting from the start of August
last year.


Tuesday 1st June 2010 (very very early morning)

Remade friends with the Landlord of the ORT, who can't remember making
friends the last time around. Discovered and/or one of his barmen discovered
that their Pint glasses bounce, when he fumbled one. Unexpected Hug with
Rose & Crown person.


Tuesday 1st June 2010 (noon)

Got the new loan into the bank on time, so half the worry over with.

Checked my repayments schedule, and that seems to be in order too, if a
little strained.


Tuesday 1st June 2010 (very early evening)

Sent the account details & authorisation over to the site Hosts, and found
registration acceptance from CEOP in another email inbox. Downloaded the CEOP
button (which I already have), and uploaded the sample page (which I already
told them about). Now it's in their database, which just leaves uploading the
button to the actual Portal, and expanding legal documentation. Perhaps
moving back into beta - what remains to be done for this? I've got permission
from virtually everybody, all the main features are working and tested, all
TOS either complied with or private agreements made allowing me leeway.

I will create a demo page showing CEOP's button as-is on a portal-like page.
Their animated GIF is a dozen times the size of the entire main portal output
page, probably won't display properly on most mobile screens, and may be too
big for most of them anyway. I will try to get a "photoshot" (photographed
screenshot) of the demo button page, and the revised mobile page.


Thursday 3rd June 2010 (early proper-morning)

After a day and a bit of catnaps and to-ing and fro-ing between home and the
office, eagerly awaited Lloyd's transfer notification so I could tell both
how much I had left over, and what exchange rate and/or transfer fee they had
used, except there wasn't one; the transfer hadn't gone through. 'Off to the
internetweb to check email and see why. Too tired to do site updates today,
but I have a half-hour minimum online time to fill. Fortunately I have one
longish search outstanding.


Thursday 3rd June 2010 (slightly-less-early proper-morning)

No new emails from "the other side", so nothing wrong there; just have to
wait a bit longer, that's all. 'Could be a misinterpretation of my
instructions not to charge before 0900 yesterday as not to charge before
today.

Got a download of the iPad PCB however, which is very disappointing!!

It's cop-out: Just what look's like an iPhone PCB, very big chemical
batteries (as expected), and lots of empty space! What a wasted opportunity!


Friday 4th June 2010 (early evening)

As I came in today, the office had been painted! Well, all except some part
of the window frames, which need extra filling and coating.

Check for any email, while renewing/taking-out library books, and found
invoice from site Hosts, negating the need to prod them. Amount charged this
afternoon, which means it was too late for my morning text alert.

Invoice a little confusing because the quoted amount was in US Dollars, and
this billing is in Icelandic Krona, but no problem with an online currency
converter, and it seems I have roughly £30 left over in my account, which is
good news for Table Top Circus, because it means I can afford to travel to
meet them. After buying essential minimal cleaning supplies, I have only 70p
spendable cash left.

This year's bill was for nearly 70,000 ISK, which is always a little alarming
even though I know it's a Lira-type currency. That equates to £375; in
theory: It's supposed to be paid in US Dollars, and go by the Dollar exchange
rate, although I'm not sure how much difference that makes, and I won't know
for sure until I check at the bank tomorrow.


Meanwhile, I have a kneepad to glue together. It's only a partial crack, and
gluing it will only extend it's life by two or three uses, but that should be
enough. I need to replace the pair ASAP, but in order to do that I need to
earn money, and I need to use the existing PPE in order to do that. Not
ideal: Maybe Tabletop will sale/lend me some near cost.


Tuesday 8th June 2010

Readied email to prod my site Hosts, but then this morning a text from the
bank saying the transfer has gone ahead! And I thought there was a problem.
It seems I have £20 left in my account, which is too close to travel on until
the 14th. Now I have to rewrite the other emails.


Wednesday 9th June 2010

Managed to send out the most urgent emails, and got a reply an hour later
from one of them (my secretary (she's good!)).

Lots of work apparently in 'Nam now too, if the DWP's Jobsearch is anything to
go by, which it probably isn't. Electronic assembly, cleaning @ 15Hrs/wk, and
one-week labourer vacancies. The last of which requires a CSCS Card, and now
how hard can that be to get? It's some kind of H&S awareness thingy, and the
standard test is multiple choice by computer.

The Job Centre recommended two local centres: NWT, who said because I wasn't
a single parent (or disabled etc), they couldn't help me. If I was an active
single parent, how could I work on a building site anyway? This makes no
sense.

Lackham College was the second option. I asked at Chippenham College, the
nearest branch, and they said their Trowbridge branch was probably running
one starting Monday 14th, passed on my details and advised me to expect a
call this week.


After some comparing of work types, discovered that I cannot take most of the
work take is available because it would interfere with imminent high-paid
work. However, I do not yet know exactly when the high-paid work will
occur.

Most work might also interfere with high-paid software work that I do have
more control over, but some may not, and certainly not with 3Hrs/day
cleaning-type work. However, cleaning-type work will (probably) not tolerate
me opting out of particular days.

Some types of work are for one week only, that those would be okay during
this period of scheduling uncertainty, but for most of them I need a CSCS
Card, so they'll have to wait for now too.

I need something ultra-flexible, like Betterware, but with maybe lower hours
and higher pay. Um.

So for the meantime, I will have to concentrate on high-paid work that seems
somewhat abstract in it's hours. One type of work precludes the other.
How annoying.

There are two different types of high-paid work causing the blocking,
however, the software-related ones will be over soonish, and the federated
work will become more defined and beget other well-defined independent work
sometime this month.

So - wait until the blocking work is more defined, but only wait for up to a
month. Meanwhile, concentrate on the software work.

Friday 18th June 2010

Now that my parents have agreed to a slightly less demanding repayment
schedule, my finances are looking very healthy again. In a fortnight's time,
my commercial rental debt will be gone, and by the end of August all my
commercial debt and my major loan. Then it'll be time to look at paying off
another loan which both I and the loaner had forgotten about (!)

This assumes the worst-case scenario; there is the potential of extra income,
through "gifts" (that do not have to be declared), although of course
identifying potential and turning that potential into actual are two
different things. The potential stuff that I've so far seen through has been
all very successful, but hasn't brought with it any actual money. Yet.

Aroundabout October, the DWP should run out of excuses to keep fining me, or
rather forcibly collecting repayments for money I borrowed when they owed me
money (and still do); which is what got me into real actual debt in the first
place.

All I have to do is keep not buying any food or other nonabsolute-essentials.
Currently I get some food "for free" as a spinoff from financial advice I
gave my parents some time ago; the analysis that also wiped out my residential
rent three times over.

I don't have any extra food to speak of at the office, so it's back to a
subsistent-and-starve lifestyle, which should also take care of the excess
fat I had to (deliberately) put on to get through the winter. Because it might
also hit lengthy office work, I have allowed myself to buy some cans of rice
(under a Pound), and I take some food from my home allowance.

All I need to do now is give up sleep as well, and I'll be sorted. I could do
with revitalising my "motivation" - my "get up and go" has got up and gone.
This is no good. So whenever I feel down or it is too noisy to work, I will
now go for a walk instead of napping my way through it.


Went to the HMRC to pick up a short tax return form, only to discovered
they've changed their opening hours (again).

On the way back, searched for and found the location of the gun party I have
to go to later. Found a shortcut back to Pew Hill, then instead of going back
to the office, had a look along Cocklebury Lane to find out what the big
orange diggers were out for.

Took lots of photographs, found the Right of Way probably leading to the old
subway did, took a shortcut to get back down, only to be told "you can't get
out that way" just after I had.


Saturday 19th June 2010

BBQ Birthday Party at Hill Rise. "Party" and "Hill Rise" do not naturally go
together. And so off to the bring-a-gun party I went with a bottle of water,
and a birthday present and card. The present cost £1.79 and was wrapped in
plain white cartridge paper, with a bow made of the same stuff, and a card
and envelope also of white A4.

The party was dripping with stalkers, probably because it was one of my
stalkers' birthdays, and her party, and she had also invited most of my other
stalkers. It's a conspiracy I tell, you, a conspiracy.

The one that staged all the embarrassing photos at the reunion was there.
Someone wanted to sit on my lap, then invited me to sit on her lap. Odd, I
thought, but complied. Then someone made a joke which I laughed at, and
someone-else distracted me in the direction of a camera... "Click!"
Oh no, not again. "I hope you're not going to put that on facebo..."

After talking to lots of people, then holding down the swings to save two
stalkers from wrenching the whole lot out of the ground and putting
themselves in the bushes, it was "Let's go on the trampoline!"
"Let's not go on the trampoline."
"Click!"

Then a friend who I knew quite well turned up, but was so drunk she couldn't
talk, and this didn't win her any friends at the party, even though most of
us\them were rather sloshed as well.

So... I didn't feel at ease with the people I sort-of knew, I couldn't talk
to the person I knew better, and she wasn't getting on with them.

She managed to escape outside, but word was she was so tired, she decided to
kick her shoes off in the road and go to sleep on a grassy knoll in the
middle of Hill Rise, which is about as safe as having a nice lie down infront
of a tank in Iraq, just out of view of the driver, whilst wearing an American
flag with a depiction of the prophet painted on it.

So I (with some difficulty) left the party and went to look for her to check
she was okay, ie to go and help her. Found her quite quickly, and then was
found by my stalkers - they follow me around, afterall.


Sunday 20th June 2010

Couldn't do much for her except try to keep her more awake than asleep, so we
waited for a taxi to try and get her home. Then two policecars turned up.
"That is not a taxi," I observed.

A constable and (probably a) probationer got out. The probationer helped us
collect my friend's possessions from the road, with the help of my torch - I
have to do everything around here. Then the PC bent down, apparently to help
my friend up and/or check on her wellbeing, and assaulted her instead.

"Oi!"

This happened in a blur of speed, so I couldn't react fast enough to help her
- sorry about that.

The PC claimed self-defence. What infact happened was that he grabbed her
very roughly, she lashed out in the opposite direction in
self-defence/protest, he deliberately misinterpreted that as an attack, and
used "reasonable force" to painfully cuff her and drag her into the back of
his car. He's supposed to be coming to her aid. This is premeditated bullying,
and I'm not happy about it.

As I objected to his actions, he looked up and sized me up, ready to attack
me as well. Then he realised that I might be able to defend myself, and
relented into argument mode: A classic bully mentality, you see.

Then followed a shouted argument, where I like to think I got the upper hand,
but it didn't really get anyone anywhere, and it didn't really help my
friend.

"Don't tell me how to do my job!" He retorted at one point, not that he even
knows what his job is, let alone how to do it.

At the end of the argument he quietened down, and agreed to admit his
identification number, which he appeared not to be wearing.

At the start of the shouting, the people with me very much wanted me to
desist from engaging; "They'll take care of her," they insisted; but I've
experienced how the police "take care of" people, and that was why I objected
in the first place.

Miraculously, nobody tried to arrest me during all this, perhaps because I
could defend myself, perhaps because I'm blackmailing the police (which
perhaps these ones didn't know), perhaps because they didn't really care that
much, and then the taxi turned up and my stalkers invited me to run down town
in it with them.

Stopped off at the office to pick up a bottle of vodka (used to pep up coffee
to take out writer's block and\or to help get through extremes of temperature
in winter), and then down to Jax (Bar).

For tedious reasons I won't go into, I then ended up waiting for my stalkers,
which is not healthy. However, they knew where the second party was, so I
couldn't do without them at that point.

Jax wouldn't let me in due to the vodka I was carrying, and I was damned if I
was going to shuttle back and forth between there and the office for such a
trivial thing.

For reasons only they know, they then kept me waiting for an extended period,
then roped me into getting a taxi driver to take us to Castle Combe at a
substantial discount. This is very cheeky. They wanted to pay just £1, and I
reverse-bartered it up to £10, paid for with, er, entirely my money.

So off we shot out to the middle of nowhere in the dark, one stalker chatting
away to the driver, and the other in the back with me, vigorously groping my
knee, which she seemed to like for some reason. The things I put up with to
get/stay drunk.

We arrived outside the party, and, expecting a walk in the dark, I switched
on the headlamp, and rear and hazard indicators I had brought with me. My
stalkers departed immediately I had paid the driver, which possibly explains
what all the groping was about.

I entered the maze of the very-well-lit party, and picked my way through a
series of marquees to find all the other attendees camped around a flaming
brazier on garden furniture and haystacks.

At this point, both my remaining stalkers announced they were off to a third
party, and abruptly departed. I need one of them to help me get back home.
I'm wasn't certain exactly where I was, and I didn't have any cash left over
for another taxi.

The hosts turned out to know me, or rather know of me, and it turned into a
jovial and talkative evening. As it was supposed to be a fancy dress party,
although you wouldn't know to look at it (because none of the guests had
bothered), they said "at least I had come as a dalek," referring to my safety
lights.

There was free food and free drink, most of which was untouched as although
they were unbothered by police all the way out there, they were also
unbothered by guests, and the dog was wearing clothes. On the back on the dog
was a message: "Please don't feed me. Thanks, Gemma. xxx"

Some time later, my stalkers re-emerged, and drained me of vodka and my phone
of credit. Then the taxi arrived, the driver of which one of my stalkers had
slept with. And this was our transport home.


Tuesday 22nd June 2010

Now that Agent X has enforced a stricter rental payment schedule, my finances
are looking rather unhealthy again. Curses: A bug.

Managed to scrape together an extra fifty quid to make him happy.


Thursday 24th June 2010

Met Anna again!

This time a longer chance to talk, but still semi-introductory. Quite
relaxed though (both of us). Handed over pressie & card.

The present cost about £12 five years ago, and was wrapped in a complex
story-telling composite, the card cost around £2. I note this here to
emphasise the difference between this and the gun party.

'Spent some time before this pacing around, and stroking various people's
pets to calm down. Talked to one of her passing neighbours, and he calmed me
down too, enough to actually knock, and then it went really well from there.


Friday 25th June 2010

Collected application form for data entry clerk from a medical centre on the
outskirts of 'Nam. Job description requires extreme drop-everything
flexibility with my time, and I need that the other way around; much of my
schedule and freedom of temporal movement is not my own. Also says on-job
training for two years for very simplistic role, and I'll only be available
for 3-4 months.

Clearly, this is not going to work. I will return their form, and look for PT
work in the town centre instead.


Googled back my special friend, and (eventually) found her new project,
and personal facebook page from there.


Monday 28th June 2010 (Silly O'Clock)

... And it is only at Silly O'Clock that the temperature is sensible these
days. First too cold to work, and now too hot. At least being too hot doesn't
hurt. When I say too hot, I mean lying on the floor panting for breath too
hot, not "let's nip down the Pub" too hot.

Maddingly, it turned out to be pleasantly cool outside; it was just nuts
inside my house, where I had gone to escape possible crazy temperate extremes
in the office, where, much of the time they turned out not to have happened.

This is all very annoying. But at least, with my work interrupted like this,
it won't be interrupted again, if you see what I mean.

Tuesday 6th July 2010

Passed by Charlotte's house to discover the door wide open and the place
stripped. Builders vans outside. They confirmed this was a move rather than a
renovation. Called her mobile, only to find it's been disconnected.

Quite shocking, really. I last called five weeks ago, and there was no
indication of any of this.


Wednesday 7th July 2010

facebook appeal about Charlotte found contacts I could access rapidly also
surprised by the move; intended to check with her neighbours later in the
evening, but too tired after two days with no sleep, and dozed off during
"nap".


Friday 9th July 2010

Met Anna again, but had to duck out quickly again, this time due to heart
rate shooting up to 180bpm. Reader's Digest say 120bpm is the danger level,
and NHS Direct say get out of that stressful situation immediately, and if
your pulse is still at that rate in half an hour, call an ambulance.

Aside from my heart nearly exploding, it was a very warm and friendly
meeting, on a very pleasant hot summer evening/night, and Anna expressed her
gratitude that my previously-emailed technical fix had worked.

If I called an ambulance, I'd have to get a taxi back home, and I can't
afford that.

Took heart rate down in the Pub (Crown Hotel, because it was quieter than
The Angel), and met some friends from 'Nam, plus a selection of cats.


Had some tightness of chest and shortness of breath a few weeks earlier -
will make appointment with 'doctor for next week, to get checked out - too
many warning signs stacking up!


Monday 12th July 2010

Made an appointment for a heart checkup.


Tuesday 13th July 2010

Drew the benefit money out, but was unable to find anyone at
the office to pay it as rent to.


Wednesday 14th July 2010

Saw a doctor about my heart symptoms. She tested various things,
and concluded that while there was no immediate cause for concern,
the high heart rate was near the maximum physically possible, and
she booked me in for more detailed tests.

Thursday 15th July 2010

This day's entry has been rather crudely edited together from parts I have
delayed publishing until my fury at what the police just did has calmed down
(which took exactly a month as it turned out).

Over the last few weeks, quietly met up with and exchanged pleasantries with
an old friend. Everything going quite well, then interrupted by a sudden
medical condition on my part and an offer of help to her, which was
gratefully accepted.

Then something odd happened with some equipment, which I later found out
somebody had blamed me for, I helped her fix the odd problem, which she was
very grateful indeed for.

After several emailings, I asked her to stop contacting me by that method,
because I didn't really feel comfortable with it, and what with the heart
trouble and everything we decided to break communication for a bit.

Just after this time she mentioned another odd problem, which someone was
also blaming me for, but I just assumed she'd repeat the last fix and all
would be well - doing otherwise would mean unbreaking communication, which
would be messy.

At a future time I will re-establish communication, properly, without all
these technical help distractions and interrupted conversations.


So that was it - something odd, a mutual agreement to cease contact for the
time being, I have lots to get on with anyway, and during the time of
contact, happy mutual consensual cooperation. It's not absolutely ideal, but
what is?

Then I put an appeal on facebook for people who knew me not to do anything
shocking to me until I had had my ECG tests and other follow-ups, such as
by phone, surprise, car-accosting (with particular reference to my most
prolific stalker), arrest (meaning police attack of some sort), a few
other things, or by someone leaping out at me with a gun.


So, a little while ago I suggested less contact to a friend, who agreed,
emailing me back first asking for a website, then changing her mind.

A matter of mere hours later, the police were at my door claiming she was
prosecuting me for unwanted contact. A likely story.

I noticed earlier that her website had gone down again, at roughly the time I
replied to her emails, and the police mentioned something about me
interfering with her website... Tenuous link (on the police's part).


A few days ago, I had discussed some ongoing police action against a
non-existent case with officers from other constabularies, and they thought
that not even the most extreme fascist state apparatus would consider going to
such lengths about me, and that I was being very paranoid even suggesting it.

... So when the police turned up (including a sergeant) (or possibly figments
of my imagination resembling police officers) and announced that they had
been tracking my movements etc (and serviced a notice), I thanked them for
informing me, and informed them that I don't seriously believe in them. They
said they were only doing their job, and departed. (That's what the muggers
say too.)

I shall inform the other police about this, and see what they say. I think
it's also went past due time to ratchet up the pressure on the local police to
discourage them from further misbehaviour. For reasons too annoying to go
into, that means me having to do a spot of (literal-)gardening.


I was quite annoyed that they wouldn't let me examine or have a copy of the
statement they brought with them either. Well, why did you bring it with you,
then, I asked. Because it's part of their evidence file, they said.

Wilts police's statements are very annoying. They won't let you edit them
went you make them, they're someone-else's opinion of a conversation you have
with them, and a badly-remembered handwritten scribble of it, at that.

Ones of mine that I've read back don't make much sense, which could explain
why previous ones discussing me don't make any sense either... which is
probably why they wouldn't let me read it.

I think maybe that statement-making process needs a general review.


On the evening the police came round to my house and attacked me, they were
accusing me of harassment as in unwanted contact and some kind of technical
web-based attack, although the means that they described is not actually
possible, at least not with current technology.

After politely introducing themselves and asking if I knew what they wanted,
the police screamed at me that they would decide who I saw, what I did, and
where I went, and if I did other things or saw other people, they would
arrest and imprison me. They also attempted to use a very nasty form of
psychological torture.

Who the hell do they think they are?

So I threatened them back.

They threatened me about threatening them about threatening me, I threatened
them about that, they responded with threats... This went on for some time.

Eventually they left, with only one excuse left, that they were only doing
their job. Well, I doubt that. It's not their job to go around attacking
people. "Only doing their job" is what the nazis said, and look what happened
to them.


It's not a victory, only at best a stalemate. I'll have to get them about
that. It's time to ratchet up the pressure on the police again.

A little while later I went down to the office.


On the way I checked to see if another very close friend (Charlotte) was
okay, partly because she had disappeared, partly because the police had told
me not to attempt to contact her, and I didn't think very much of that.

To my slight surprise her lodger/partner/slave answered her neighbours' door,
and said they were having some difficulties, he couldn't talk about it for
the time being, and that it wasn't my fault. I wished him good luck, and
departed.


Down at the office, I related my story to The Others, who immediately sided
with the police. "Establishment rebels" are probably not the best crowd to
discuss personal issues like these with, although I do highly recommend them
if you need to rent cheap-but-well-equipped commercial property.

They offered some legal advice, which wasn't much use to me, and said if the
police followed up with unprovoked attacks while I was "complying" with
their instructions (personally I was of the opinion that the police could
take their harassment and shove it), they would fully support me and help me
stop it. (Particularly as I had just paid them and promised further payment
the following week.)

Complying might as well happen anyway due to the agreed "social pause".

The Others also mentioned that it was just as well I used names like that to
describe them, in a Novel-type data protection sense. In typing this, I've
just realised I do use real names in some instances, but people like Anna and
indeed Charlotte just have no substitute in other names and that's all there
is to it.

Went down the Pub instead, after a while.

By the end of the day, the only heart-dangerous shock that hadn't happened
was the gun situation.


Monday 19th July 2010

Got the simplified login wrapper working well, quite quickly.
-Need to practise with that, for feedback to hunch applications.
The police have banned me from working on this or even thinking about it,
because they believe magic fairies will use it to attack websites from places
where there is no internet connection.

It can't even be used to crash websites from where there is an
internet connection, infact, it's one of the tools that stops
websites from crashing!

-So they can foxtrot oscar.


Later on in the evening, at home, my Short Tax return arrived!


Tuesday 20th July 2010

Had an idea for getting back at the police, or rather 4+ ideas with the first
two merged into one. Abuse without consequences, eh? I'll give them
consequences...


Wednesday 21st July 2010

Found that most of my snazzy Parker pens are knackered. The refills don't
line up in the barrels, the button-actuators are worn out, and the
thread-receivers have come unglued. Found a half-metal, half-plastic Parker
in WHS at half price for £4. Brought that and swapped its components with my
other pens. Now I have three functioning all-metal pens and one half-plastic
one with entirely defective parts.


Login wrapper going very well. Got a basic content file editors going, links
and FORMs, and a simplified design. Now a better ToDo list, and next to
expand the menu system into a skeleton of it's final purpose. Also next to
have a selectable "which file to edit" dropdown list or similar.


Some difficulty concentrating due to the bastards nextdoor starting up with
their sound system. 'Found one in the adjoining office and tried blasting
them back. It gets rid of bats, afterall.

Arrrgh... My ears are burning.

And I don't think the neighbours noticed. Passers-by have probably figured it
out by now, though.


Went outside to see how it is out there, and discovered (a) the sound of my
system outside is completely blocked by my own insulation, and (b) the
neighbours are friendly after-all and only too happy to SHADDUP! Thank god.


Thursday 22nd July 2010 (very early morning)

Starting to flag a bit... time to go home, methinks.


Saturday 24th July 2010

Acapolco have cut their grass, and our grass! But they've also sliced a chunk
out of the fresh paintwork, and severed the chain fence!


Monday 26th July 2010

For some time now, I have been using a batchfile to simplify intercafe'
usage: I bring a ZIPped file of stuff along on a USB stick to the connection
point, create my own working directory, work away, ZIP up the results, and
back to to stick it goes'.

Time being money, I wrote the batchfile to speed up the first part of this.
It creates and open's a working directory, then copies the ZIPfile(s) across
to it, when run from the stick. All that is then required is to unZIP the
file(s) and close spurious windows.

I call it setup.bat:

mkdir "C:\aa Yourname"
%SystemRoot%\explorer.exe "C:\aa Yourname"
copy /Y /B *.zip "C:\aa Yourname"

Maybe this will be of use to someone else.


Tuesday 27th July 2010 (Silly O'Clock)

Being driven slightly dotty waiting for the PC to finish simple-but-big
backup/archival-related tasks. It's ZIPping merrily away at half a gig a
second, but with hundreds of gigabytes to go, it's clearly gonna take its
time.

And then there's the defrag sessions, the alternative media catalogues, and
and then then (sinc.) the restarts when files are left open and can't be
deleted that session, because the OS think's they're "being used by somebody
else".


Thursday 29th July 2010

Paid off commercial rent debt. Filling in tax return. Hmmmmmmm.....

Agent X says there are only two paragraphs in it that need concern me, and
that I may include all my start-up expenses within the expenses for the first
year, ie also the capital equipment/R&D investment costs before my official
start of trading.


Sunday 1st August 2010

Rearranged RPC backdrop/pinboard, moving to an aside area all the items that
were urgent at some point and are now either ancient or attended to.

Not much for the PC to do inbetween bursts of work; so set it to work
repeatedly defragmenting.

Advancement of my future business plan, with clearer setting-out of tasks,
simplification of concept (starter bit separately), and now, estimating of
timescale and costs for each stage.