Yep, we had some boat time

How can it be I'm more busy now with more projects than ever when I worked ! We had last weekend in the diary for a boat stay and due to work either side of the weekend for Rachel we could only manage a one night stop over. 

I'd not been to Percy for a while but I guess that is the one benefit of a marian mooring  - relative safety and no gardening. Apart from some muck sprayed up the gunnels when the contractors cleaned the pontoons Percy was waiting patiently with 100% on the Smartgauge and an empty bilge. 

While I hooked up the electric  - what a treat to have 24/7 12v power without the pressure on the batteries, Rachel set to cleaning. I then started work on the engine opening up the crankcase door to clean out the sump. On these old engines they don't have a oil filter as such, they use oil that drops the particulates into the sump and the engine 'manual' says open up and clean out every so often.

I am pacing myself as I'm an old git or feel like one sometimes so around 5 ish I packed up and drove around to the warm and clean shower block and cleaned myself ! Very nice. We then settled in to an evening on a clean boat with loads of power food and the Rugby.

I always sleep well on Percy, we've a good mattress and topper and maybe the fact the boat moves ever so slightly aids sleep.

Next day we took Leia for a walk  - such a shame this marina will eventually be blighted by HS2 with a massive bridge running right by the marina over the canal over the Trent off towards Stafford. 

Needless to say we won't be in the marina when they start the construction of that !

We took a nice walk down to fancy bridge and came back through the village.

I still prefer our old linier moorings(s) at Fradley and Shebdon but have to accept this is the new mooring location for the foreseeable future. How we use the boat now and going forward is more suited to a marina mooring.

The day after we got back the mooring invoice came via email ! 

Blue mood

I'm the last to have reason to be down in the dumps but I guess like most every now and again the 'black dog' as Winston Churchill called it comes a calling. I suspect it's in part withdrawal from the tablets I've been on for many years, nearly there on my titration off them but I can't pretend its been or is now easy. I am doing it for the long term of course and there is always paracetamol ! 

I have a range of strategies that help my mood, fresh air and exercise is a key. Setting small targets (achievable) each day. Some long term ambitions in planning stages help. Good loving family and friends, plus feeling useful  -see my Blood Bikes post here 

I need to crack on with Percy's engine and get my canal mojo back asap.... more on that in my next post..... but I've said that a few times already, shows my boat commitment sadly.  

For now  - today (1st March) I've been walking my lanes, then finishing a couple of cold frames I've built from spare wood and old window frames from the cottage saved from when we had the double glazing done last year. I've also done some bricklaying and built painted and installed a shed to be the little potting shed, anything right now to keep my mind active - its hard.  

The blog is a big random at the moment as I'm not overly inclined to maintain it but as and when I'll get some important family catch ups on the blog for reflection down whatever line we head. 

37 years together

We celebrated our 37th wedding anniversary on the 14th February. Our youngest son Callum and his fiance  Emma treated us to a stay in the Crescent hotel in Buxton. A place I know well having been part of the team that converted the Dome in Buxton ( 24 million pounds) from a derilict hospital to a modern teaching facility. Charles visited to open it and he stopped off at the Crescent to se that well before its excellent refurb. 

We tied in a visit to the Opera house to see Jasper Carrot and Alistair McGowan, both good Jasper being on very good form, nice to have a good old belly laugh. We even tried the spa out swimming in the rain in the outside pool and other pools that were like baths they were so warm - good for the old joints.

Also had a Vodka Martini - shaken not stirred of course.... the most expensive single drink I've ever consumed but it was nice. 

Leai attended, she was given a warm welcome treats her own towel and bed. All in all a good couple of days.

Blood bikes

Wow another month of my life spent doing seemingly not a lot. I've developed an addiction to YouTube -specifically computer repair videos. I find them very relaxing and therapeutic to watch - sad act me. 

Anyhow my major achievement was to complete my final induction for a long held ambition ( retirement ) to ride for the Blood Bike charity - specifically SSCBB Click me That was a long day in 2-4c temperature and wet roads, 180 miles all in, down to Birmingham from Crewe and Stoke back via Stafford. A nice feeling to know you've helped someone less fortunate than yourself. 

Thursday sees me on my own for my first solo shift on a BMW800 blood bike out of Sandyford fire station  - I have a pass ! I've already got a job, blood samples from the Royal Stoke hospital cancer ward to Birmingham. I understand the samples will be  from a patient who is undergoing Chemotherapy, they assess the impact the drugs are having and adjust the dose - then we take more samples to be checked again.... 

Other stuff to blog about but for now I wanted to start March with a blog post and to hopefully improve on my tardy February performance. 

Drugs ...Mmmm !

While I'm waiting for the better (warmer) weather to arrive to sort Percy out and while in the mood for giving out advice ... drugs. The ones just short of the street supplied stuff, the drugs we are evolved onto pushed and gratefully received by a population keen on the easy fix. 

Now a disclaimer - my advice is worth nothing other than reflection for me and entertainment of sorts for you. We all know and some like to ignore the fact your body is like most bits of machinery, it works if well looked after. It needs fuel ( food and critically water  - the better food the better performance ) and regular use - that dirty word called exercise to some - I love exercise and I also like fruit and veg so I'm on a smoother path straight away. I don't have sugar if I can help it and we try and do that crazy thing called making food rather than buying processed foods. 

Anyhow I'll step off my soapbox now and get on message - drugs. As part of my 'on my arse with a chest infection forced rest' I reflected on what drugs I was taking and decided to ask the doc's on my next preorder of my 'script' to see if I could have a review as I don't like being reliant on them. One in particular  - Gabapentin (controlled drug I understand) is addictive in that if I miss my morning 300mg by lunch time I'm feeling flu like and my mood drops - many many times I start thinking why am I feeling $hit then I realise I've not taken my meds ! 

Anyhow I was told it's not good to be on them long term by the people giving them to me each month  - been over 15 years and I was the one asking for a medication review ! Anyhow in consultation with the docs we decided to try and titrate myself off both drugs I take... so I'm going the other way to the explanation below !

Titration is a way to limit potential side effects by taking time to see how your body will react to a drug. In titration, the medication is started at a low dose. Every couple of weeks, the dose is raised (“up-titrated”) until the maximum effective dose (“target dose”) has been achieved or side effects occur

I was advised by my own medical advisor  - Rachel who is a prescribing nurse, to do one at a time which being a bloke I ignored so I am on a mission to 'titrate' off my meds. So far so good, small side affects but manageable and I'll discuss with my doctor next 'script' renewal.

So don't just swallow and repeat, have a think and a chat with your doctor, both essential and the right approach. If nothing else it'll save you a few more quid and hopefully if done right will give you control back.

Obviously I'm not being flippant here, I know some people are kept alive with their meds and we have to respect medicine. But I know enough to know that modern petrochemical pharmaceuticals stole/evolved most of their information and ideas from the people they then labelled 'dangerous' to stop them peddling their potions and remedies  based on many many years of using nature to heal. 

So have a think, don't act without consultation of a professional and maybe you can get a little more control back as well as saving on those prescriptions ! 

Some simple financial advice

Owning a boat is expensive, if you have one you know that, if you've owned one you know that and if you are thinking of getting one you have no idea ! 

To own a boat you need copious amounts of  ££££'s and you can either earn it or save for it, or both.

So the best financial advice is don't be complacent. Complacency is the friend of the corporations and marketeers. 

There is a real push towards drip drip spending, the baddy fella in Superman had it sorted when he creamed off the bits of penny's to make his fortune, no one noticed until he was very rich. And there's the issue, you'll not notice until you are getting poorer... Netflix, dishwasher insurance, Microsoft 365, Apple Icloud, Britbox, Amazon Prime, TV license, Anti virus .....all SUBSCRIPTIONS that drip out of your bank in diddy amounts making millions for the corporations and making all us gullible marketing victims that much poorer and ever more the slave to work. 

Being ill has some benefits, it puts you on your arse in the house with time to think and time to do those 'put off' jobs and so it was I started to trawl my bank statements looking for the hands in my bank account tickling little dribbles of money out - or worse still those accounts like phone and domain suppliers relying on my distractions to not check on renewal dates or changes to T&C's. My recent man flu enforced house arrest saved me so far just over £400 a year .... the icing on the cake bring a Britbox subscription we signed up for last January during one of the 'lock downs'. As part of my economy drive I checked but the annual subscription had gone out 2 days before - arse. However happy days as part of another drive to be more efficient I have rationalised bank accounts and credit cards ( we pay them off each month so get the buyers protection but no interest - best use of credit cards) and the BritBox subscription was on a cancelled credit card so they are asking me for new card details to continue my subscription .... ha ha ha nope ! 

So make time to be on top of your finances especially those little  (that add up) subscriptions. Don't let the corporations win, make them work for their or your money ! 

Gotta love an Apple ..... but

It's a funny thing back in the day.... late 80's ( Sinclair ZX81 and Spectrum ) and early 90's I was a computer nerd  - still am but less so now  - see later for why. I worked for the University of Derby - then Derbyshire College of Higher Education and I was employed to set up and run an 'Inplant Print Unit' which I did with the support and help of a top fella Mr David Bush, lots of stories to tell for another day but Dave was the graphic designer  - a very good talented one and I was the fella who put the ink on the paper etc.

Anyhow computers were in the workplace then - just, all PC's 286's 386's 486's nothing like what we use today but they were DOS based then windows 3 (1990) a real learning curve with floppy disks no cd's no internet ! Dave being a graphic designer and the graphic design teaching school down the corridor were picking up some of the very early Macintosh computers  - eye bleedingly expensive with diddy screens but a revelation to the graphic designers of the day - and in my estimation even then the early start of the demise of the craft of lithographic printing of which I had completed a four year apprenticeship ! 

Anyhow the story is about our friendly rivalry of me being a PC fanboy and Dave being a Mac fanboy. There was very much a competition between the two systems as the PC was just into WIMP ( Windows Icons Menu's and pointers) from the old command line operating systems that were the old DOS ( Disk Operating Systems ) of the fledgling PC world. We had many friendly arguments about which would triumph  and which would not - as we know there is space for both and both doing well. The PC was a fiddlers delight always something to add in and set or adjust.... the Mac turned on and worked. So in my estimation I learned more from the operation of the PC but Dave learned more of his craft from the delivery of the Mac.

So why the post, well I've been watching a Youtuber for many years now Carey Holzman who is entertaining and educational on building and troubleshooting PC's (I did say I was a computer nerd). One of his recent vlogs was decommissioning some old early PC's that brought back memories for me of what I used to build and fettle. Click here for the video So taken have I been I've dusted off my old Windows PC in the loft and got it fired up ( did not start straight away only giving me 3 beeps on the POST  - diagnosed as a graphics card issue.) Taking out the graphics card and reseating it sorted it and we got it booted, then overnight for the windows updates ! Not sure what to do with it as I've a Mac Mini that boots into windows as well as Mac - might remove the hard drive and offer it to the community hopefully some youngster will find a use for it.

I got keen then and focussed on my Apple devices. I love Apple stuff - it just works so well. I've recently upgraded the M.2 drive in my lovely and still very relevant Macbook Pro 15 inch laptop. I also recently upgraded the ram and the M.2 drive in my Windows gaming laptop  - the old 120gb drive - who puts such a small drive in a laptop.... got put into a USB caddy so I have a decent very fast spare 120gb drive very portable. The M.2 drive I removed from my 15 inch macbook is properiatory and can only go into another similar model Macbook so as it's  a decent drive size I may clear it and offer it for sale.

Now I got adventurous  - just before christmas I was charging my Macbook up and there was a pop from the charger  as the cable into the transformer was broken and it was arcing. I have a spare so this one went into a draw. Today I was looking at buying another but on my economy drive - see later post for info on that, I decided to see if it was repairable. Now here comes the 'Gotta Love Apple... but' .... the transformer was sealed so seemingly unrepairable  - bad stuff Apple but all too common with some  ( not all) of their stuff. I've replaced the screen ( warranty) battery and hard drive  - latter two myself on my Macbook. My Mac mini has more ram and a larger HD. I've repaired Rachels Iphone but not my Ipad(s) I've also had a new screen on my Iphone. However the power supply seemed unrepairable. But Youtube came good and there were a couple of vlogs about cracking open the case using bull nose pliers that worked a treat. Some soldering heat shrinking super glue clamps and hot glue and I have a repaired working 60w power supply. Money still in my pocket, one less item to landfill and one less item off the new product inventory - result.

Not the prettiest but effective 

So Apple great kit, some easy to upgrade but some designed obsolescence. All in all I still would take Apple stuff over windows and IOS over Android. So Dave ultimately was right. I should catch up with Mr Bush ...... 

Postscript - I've just realised Apple have updated their Mac OS to Monterey. All very nice apart from the fact my I7 15 Inch Macbook is now 'too old' to be part of their ongoing OS roll outs so the clock is ticking a bit louder  on its demise. I've engaged myself this evening upgrading a 2009 Macbook that belonged to Callum to take Monterey... so it's doable when needed. Just a shame the ongoing technology march takes such decent kit out of the race far too early.