Category Archives: work

meet the bear

02 Thursday Dec 2010

Posted by in gadgets, photos, work

≈ 4 Comments

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“Kodiak”… geddit?

So it turned out that the sexy Toshiba camcorder I temporarily bought as a back-up camera while Niko is in hospital takes totally crap photos (though quite nice videos). Obviously not a good choice for a back-up camera, temporary or otherwise, I took it back yesterday after this baby arrived via Amazon. You see, a couple of weeks ago I met Graham (click on link – that’s him in the middle) at the EBE10 blogging conference, and when he wasn’t busy showing off his iPad he was telling me how great his Kodak zi8 was. According to Graham, it not only takes great videos (and has that really cool built-in USB thingy) but it also takes fab photos. But the day I was in the store looking for a temporary substitute for Niko I couldn’t find this camera – later Graham told me it was only available on Amazon – so I thought I’d try the Toshiba instead. Well, the one thing the Toshiba experience convinced me of was that having a proper videocam is actually a necessary work tool for me. And so, credit card a-tremble, I ordered the Bear.

Can’t wait to start filming and editing…

depressed

30 Tuesday Nov 2010

Posted by in cancer, home, life stuff, work

≈ 23 Comments

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I do sometimes wonder if it’s just a matter of time before I snap. Or maybe that’s what the cancer was all about, and now it’s about to come back. But the bottom line is that it’s just too much. After almost two years of ops and chemo and being off work I was finally getting to where I might start making enough money again to live on, and then I lose the roof over my head. And while I keep getting up every day and doing what I can, I really am not doing very well. I lie awake at night hugging cats and feeling like it’s all falling apart, that I’m slipping into the abyss and there is no way out anymore. It scares me. It bloody well scares the hell out of me.

cooking up a storm

28 Sunday Nov 2010

Posted by in food & drink, home, work

≈ 6 Comments

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Some might say I’m just avoiding WORK for the final SimonSeeks deadline tomorrow, but I prefer to think of it as… well okay, you got me. Of course the other deciding factor here is that Peter & I went to do some supermarket shopping yesterday and found out there was a special offer going on – for every 10 euros we spent we’d get a voucher for 10 euros (redeemable for every 30 euros spent between now and the end of January). So what the hell. We did actually need to stock up and even if we only use half the vouchers, that’s still 30% off every supermarket purchase for the next two months.

Hence, we ended up with ALL THIS FOOD that needed to be cooked and then frozen (the majority of these dishes will end up being Peter’s frozen lunch options). So we made up a spinach, bacon & mushroom risotto yesterday, and today a meaty bolognese and those fabby lentils & sausages. Tomorrow there’s a pork & veg stew to do as well.

But now that everything is nicely simmering away it’s time to bite the bullet and get the last of my SimonSeeks articles up. I mean, they’re all mostly done, so why is it so hard to finish them?? Wish me luck!

racing against the clock…

26 Friday Nov 2010

Posted by in internet, sevilla, spain, travel, work

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Final deadline for my SimonSeeks job (the first one was in October) was today, but I got an extension until Monday. So it’s going to be busy, busy, busy all weekend. Most of the writing is done, but there are still some photos missing and a bit of polishing and fact-finding needs to be done over the next three days. Have a look and let me know how you think I’m doing (not all the headings are showing yet)…

SimonSeeks Seville Expert

I know, I know…

23 Tuesday Nov 2010

Posted by in gadgets, video, work

≈ 13 Comments

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… but it wasn’t my fault, it was Loki’s!

And as usual, it’s a bit of a long story. Well, you remember when I got Niko back in May because my old Casio was starting to malfunction and I didn’t want to be suddenly left stranded without a camera if it suddenly died? Well, I found myself in an even worse situation yesterday when Niko’s lens froze and the usual rebooting trick of removing and replacing the battery didn’t work (have had this problemita with Niko almost since the beginning) – instead the screen read “lens error” before switching off. Now, I really can’t say if this is a direct result of Loki gravity testing Niko the other night, but it meant that I had to return to the shop this morning to try and find a solution, because I have a wine tasting tonight and another event tomorrow and I really need to be able to take photos…

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