Cooo eeeeee
Am back, had a wonderful 2 weeks with Bina, 1 here and 1 in the UK during Breda's Carnivale but was really nice to be part of a couple again like that.
Some major issues with my Step Daughter did bring a few storm clouds to the week. Like most teens she's going through a lot of changes and emotions run high a lot of the time. I won't bore anyone with the details, she hurts me more and more each time I see her and I worry more and more that she's going to get lost in her attempts to defy any attempts to keep her safe from harm.
Kids....wasn't like this in my day....was it?
(warning mum...this is tech...look away)
Work is slipping badly though, we've had huge problems with our SVN server and have not been able to integrate our code for well over a week. Dino's out of the country at the moment with limited/no Internet, so I'm going to have to work alone for the weekend to try to put everything I've done the last week or so together into a co-hesive demo. Not helped at all by the fact that my 1st attempts to update once SVN came back on line resulted in errors about clashes and conflicts making it unable to do the updates from my laptop.
Why does technology let you down like this...99% of the time it sits there doing exactly what you need it to do, then when things get a bit manic and urgent the damn stuff breaks down and costs you lots of time and makes you look like a total plonker to customers.
I think I will just have to dump a new local copy to my PC then copy my laptop stuff over to that to restore the functionality...failing that....ermmm I dunno...lets hope it does not come to anything else? I'm sure just replacing the files its complaining about with new files from my laptop will resolve it.
Going to take several hours to dump an new local though....going to set it up then go do some shopping!
Ahthankyew
Saturday, 28 February 2009
Tuesday, 24 February 2009
Senior moments?
After getting up of a morning I generally need a good hit of coffee to get the old ticker going. This morning was of course no different.
But this afternoon when I went to make dinner and opened the fridge, I was a little surprised to find a jar of coffee in the fridge door.
Sure enough there was a pint of milk in the cupboard.....I'm far too young to be having senior moments like this surely?
Now...where did I put the sugar?
Ahthankyew
But this afternoon when I went to make dinner and opened the fridge, I was a little surprised to find a jar of coffee in the fridge door.
Sure enough there was a pint of milk in the cupboard.....I'm far too young to be having senior moments like this surely?
Now...where did I put the sugar?
Ahthankyew
Monday, 23 February 2009
A crack of light in the storm clouds?
Develop just posted an interesting article here. A Senior Nintendo bod Tom Prata, has said he wants to encourage more independent developers to jump on the DSi and Wii ware bandwagon.
Now as I've pointed out in the past,CLICK HERE MUM there are already hundreds of experienced independent developers out there champing at the bit to make Nintendo games. But Nintendo don't allow them to..
Why...becuase they work from home.
So if Mr Prata really wants to see more independent developers take up the challenge, the solution is very simple. Drop the no home office rule.
I've sent an email to the developer relations manager at Nintendo asking if I can have direct contact with Mr Prata, I hope we can talk, it'll be an interesting conversation. I doubt very much I'll be given any great insight into their plans but if there's even the remotest possibility I can plant a seed of sense I have to give it a go.
Others are of the same mind
edit
hah, got nowhere. Why am I not surprised.
Ahthankyew
Now as I've pointed out in the past,CLICK HERE MUM there are already hundreds of experienced independent developers out there champing at the bit to make Nintendo games. But Nintendo don't allow them to..
Why...becuase they work from home.
So if Mr Prata really wants to see more independent developers take up the challenge, the solution is very simple. Drop the no home office rule.
I've sent an email to the developer relations manager at Nintendo asking if I can have direct contact with Mr Prata, I hope we can talk, it'll be an interesting conversation. I doubt very much I'll be given any great insight into their plans but if there's even the remotest possibility I can plant a seed of sense I have to give it a go.
Others are of the same mind
edit
hah, got nowhere. Why am I not surprised.
Ahthankyew
Saturday, 21 February 2009
Hi Nils
Welcome to a new reader :D Nils from work wanted to know my blog address, so here we go.
Been a very busy week, Bina was over and cleaned the life out of what I considered a fairly tidy flat. But more important she had a job interview at NHTV. We're hoping she gets tha job as it would really make things much easier for us if she was working for the same company. but either way she's coming over to the Netherlands and we are going to be a family again....Fantastic, scary, exciting, worrying, amazing, stressful all at the same time but can't wait for us all to be together again.
Though of course...the luuurve shack won't be quite big enoug for 3 of us. So we'll have to make use of it as a stepping stone while we find a bigger place to live.
We also have to consider schools, Jodie is nearly 14 so we can't just put her in a standard Dutch speaking school so we have to find a suitable international school. We looked at 2 this week and were fairly impressed but we'll let Jodie get involved in that choice.
Also had my medical follow up following my hospital stay, nothing to report I got a clean bill of health and some new pain killers.
I'm back in the UK for a week, got lots of project work to do and also need to finish up my marking so its not really that much of a spring break.
Missing Carnival in Breda, but saw lots of Pirates, several popes quite a few lions and more than a few nuns...with beards... Everyone was heading off to parties and no one seemed to bat an eyelid at the strange costumes. We'll get the benefit of it next year.
Ahthankyew
Been a very busy week, Bina was over and cleaned the life out of what I considered a fairly tidy flat. But more important she had a job interview at NHTV. We're hoping she gets tha job as it would really make things much easier for us if she was working for the same company. but either way she's coming over to the Netherlands and we are going to be a family again....Fantastic, scary, exciting, worrying, amazing, stressful all at the same time but can't wait for us all to be together again.
Though of course...the luuurve shack won't be quite big enoug for 3 of us. So we'll have to make use of it as a stepping stone while we find a bigger place to live.
We also have to consider schools, Jodie is nearly 14 so we can't just put her in a standard Dutch speaking school so we have to find a suitable international school. We looked at 2 this week and were fairly impressed but we'll let Jodie get involved in that choice.
Also had my medical follow up following my hospital stay, nothing to report I got a clean bill of health and some new pain killers.
I'm back in the UK for a week, got lots of project work to do and also need to finish up my marking so its not really that much of a spring break.
Missing Carnival in Breda, but saw lots of Pirates, several popes quite a few lions and more than a few nuns...with beards... Everyone was heading off to parties and no one seemed to bat an eyelid at the strange costumes. We'll get the benefit of it next year.
Ahthankyew
Friday, 13 February 2009
good week
Well aside from living in absolute dread and fear of sneezing its been a really great week. Everyone at work was very happy to see me back, even the students, and it was really funny and touching to watch them all look on in sympathy whenever a sneeze did occur.
"Ohh are you ok?"
"Does it still hurt?"
etc
Were common and really sweet comments.
I had to stop taking my painkillers though, as I was basically stoned the whole week after coming out of hospital...not sure if that was the pills themselves or the large quantities of alcohol I took after discovering the dramatic increase in pain killing properties this combination had :)
But this has meant I've fallen dreadfully behind with my marking and lecture preparation so gotta get my shit in gear and catch up.
Ahthankyew
"Ohh are you ok?"
"Does it still hurt?"
etc
Were common and really sweet comments.
I had to stop taking my painkillers though, as I was basically stoned the whole week after coming out of hospital...not sure if that was the pills themselves or the large quantities of alcohol I took after discovering the dramatic increase in pain killing properties this combination had :)
But this has meant I've fallen dreadfully behind with my marking and lecture preparation so gotta get my shit in gear and catch up.
Ahthankyew
Sunday, 8 February 2009
Hate to brag
But finally I have received some well deserved recognition, I had to keep it quiet for a while but anyway...
click here
Ahthankyew
click here
Ahthankyew
Saturday, 7 February 2009
mobile again
Not too much to report but keeping up to date for mums sake :)
Feeling a lot better today, much more mobile and able to sit up for longer. The last few days I've spent as much time as I could in bed, laying flat and still and its finally starting to pay off.
Still hurts if I don't position myself just right and control my coughs, but so far I've managed to put off 2 of the dreaded sneezes.
I'm using my new found mobility to have a bit of a tidy up as the flats got a bit manky the last few weeks due to illness and lack of interest.
Then going to settle down for a nice bit of DS coding :)
Ahthankyew
Feeling a lot better today, much more mobile and able to sit up for longer. The last few days I've spent as much time as I could in bed, laying flat and still and its finally starting to pay off.
Still hurts if I don't position myself just right and control my coughs, but so far I've managed to put off 2 of the dreaded sneezes.
I'm using my new found mobility to have a bit of a tidy up as the flats got a bit manky the last few weeks due to illness and lack of interest.
Then going to settle down for a nice bit of DS coding :)
Ahthankyew
Friday, 6 February 2009
Things to avoid when you are in pain
I just sneezed for the 1st time since the "incident" on Monday
I NEVER WANT TO DO THAT AGAIN
Ahthankyew
I NEVER WANT TO DO THAT AGAIN
Ahthankyew
Wednesday, 4 February 2009
Dutch Hospitals...not all fun
Yes sadly I had cause to find out for myself what the Dutch medical system is like (actually very good with one or 2 minor issues). On Monday night I ermmm...how do I put this.I...sneezed...yeah that was all. I sneezed again.
And like last month something popped/gaveway/snapped/ call it what you will. But the resulting pain...oh boy!. Frankly I can't describe it here. It was incredible, wave upon wave of pain that no matter what I did I could not get any relief. So eventually I had to call an ambulance to come take me to hospital.
Given the situation. Extreme pain in back behind lower ribs, they of course diagnosed kidney stones....even though I did make the point I had triggered this with a sneeze. And after several hours of waiting for tests to come back they discovered....I didn't have kidney stones..um er yeah well.
In the meantime, I'm lay on a hospital trolly, screaming in agony every 15-30secs or so as another wave of agony swept over me, much to the amusment/discomfort of my collegues from work who'd decended on the ER to make sure I was ok.
Finally though I got a jab that started to have an impact on the pain, though it didn't completly mask it, and they decided to admit me for obs. Still checking out the kidney thing of course, but then deciding to focus on lungs.
Now one thing that did worry me, was on the 1st night, I had a drip in and was snoozing away under the fuzzy wuzzy influence of the painkiller jab in my leg. When I was woken up to ask why I'd not filled the bottle...they like to keep track of how much goes in and out y'see.
Now...is it just me, or is that rather a silly question...I've not filled the bottle because I've been sleeping I replied. I managed to get out of the habit of urinating when I sleep some years ago.
So I politely declined her request to fill the bottle there and then as I had some important drug induced sleeping to do and really didn't feel the need to pee into a plastic bottle.
Ah no, y'see, bad move, never stand between a nurse and her desire to collect urine. She was worried that I might be retaining fluid and if I didn't pee I might need a cathater.
Now..like most men, the idea of having a tube, lubricated or not, shoved down my knob, by a nurse/doctor, pretty or not, while still awake and aware of said tube being inserted, is not a pleasent one (for those who do find it pleasent, I think there's somewhere in Amsterdam that will cater to this). So I decided maybe I should have a go at filling the bottle.
But my efforts, good as I thought they were, were apparently not enough, and some ultrasound machine was wheeled to my bed to measure how much I still had in my bladder. Quite a lot apparently and she was hell bent on sorting out this cathater.....indeed her desire to have this thing inserted was matched only by my desire not to have it inserted. There was nothing at all wrong with my bladder control and I didn't plan on staying there any longer than I had to, which the cathater would have meant at least 24 hours. Besides, walking around with a wee bag hanging from a drip stand is not a good look for me, not with boxers.
She got a doctor to come and convince me that it should be done, and it was hospital policy if you had more than 500ml in your bladder (since I was peeing that much that seemed a bit borderline to me) she also was told, politely, thanks but no, I'll be fine an will happily continue to fill the bottle when I'd done with my important sleeping. She gave me an hour to produce the urine or else....hmmmm
Fortunately within the hour I did need to go, and also there was a change of nursing staff. This one did not haver a urine fetish I'm happy to say and concluded that the 300ml or so in my bladder was well within acceptable limits,
I just wonder how many people there are getting cathaters fitted for no reason other than its standard policy if you have 500ml or mor of urine in your bladder....
Anyway 2 nights later, and many more jabs and fuzzy wuzzy sleeping and the spasms eased and I was allowed to go home.
The final diagnosis, I've ruptured a muscle in the intercostle rib area. Sounds pretty minor when all said and done but the degree of pain I was in needed treatment so I guess I did the right thing.
Taking a few days off work to relax though.
Ahthankyew
And like last month something popped/gaveway/snapped/ call it what you will. But the resulting pain...oh boy!. Frankly I can't describe it here. It was incredible, wave upon wave of pain that no matter what I did I could not get any relief. So eventually I had to call an ambulance to come take me to hospital.
Given the situation. Extreme pain in back behind lower ribs, they of course diagnosed kidney stones....even though I did make the point I had triggered this with a sneeze. And after several hours of waiting for tests to come back they discovered....I didn't have kidney stones..um er yeah well.
In the meantime, I'm lay on a hospital trolly, screaming in agony every 15-30secs or so as another wave of agony swept over me, much to the amusment/discomfort of my collegues from work who'd decended on the ER to make sure I was ok.
Finally though I got a jab that started to have an impact on the pain, though it didn't completly mask it, and they decided to admit me for obs. Still checking out the kidney thing of course, but then deciding to focus on lungs.
Now one thing that did worry me, was on the 1st night, I had a drip in and was snoozing away under the fuzzy wuzzy influence of the painkiller jab in my leg. When I was woken up to ask why I'd not filled the bottle...they like to keep track of how much goes in and out y'see.
Now...is it just me, or is that rather a silly question...I've not filled the bottle because I've been sleeping I replied. I managed to get out of the habit of urinating when I sleep some years ago.
So I politely declined her request to fill the bottle there and then as I had some important drug induced sleeping to do and really didn't feel the need to pee into a plastic bottle.
Ah no, y'see, bad move, never stand between a nurse and her desire to collect urine. She was worried that I might be retaining fluid and if I didn't pee I might need a cathater.
Now..like most men, the idea of having a tube, lubricated or not, shoved down my knob, by a nurse/doctor, pretty or not, while still awake and aware of said tube being inserted, is not a pleasent one (for those who do find it pleasent, I think there's somewhere in Amsterdam that will cater to this). So I decided maybe I should have a go at filling the bottle.
But my efforts, good as I thought they were, were apparently not enough, and some ultrasound machine was wheeled to my bed to measure how much I still had in my bladder. Quite a lot apparently and she was hell bent on sorting out this cathater.....indeed her desire to have this thing inserted was matched only by my desire not to have it inserted. There was nothing at all wrong with my bladder control and I didn't plan on staying there any longer than I had to, which the cathater would have meant at least 24 hours. Besides, walking around with a wee bag hanging from a drip stand is not a good look for me, not with boxers.
She got a doctor to come and convince me that it should be done, and it was hospital policy if you had more than 500ml in your bladder (since I was peeing that much that seemed a bit borderline to me) she also was told, politely, thanks but no, I'll be fine an will happily continue to fill the bottle when I'd done with my important sleeping. She gave me an hour to produce the urine or else....hmmmm
Fortunately within the hour I did need to go, and also there was a change of nursing staff. This one did not haver a urine fetish I'm happy to say and concluded that the 300ml or so in my bladder was well within acceptable limits,
I just wonder how many people there are getting cathaters fitted for no reason other than its standard policy if you have 500ml or mor of urine in your bladder....
Anyway 2 nights later, and many more jabs and fuzzy wuzzy sleeping and the spasms eased and I was allowed to go home.
The final diagnosis, I've ruptured a muscle in the intercostle rib area. Sounds pretty minor when all said and done but the degree of pain I was in needed treatment so I guess I did the right thing.
Taking a few days off work to relax though.
Ahthankyew
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