July 2011
3 posts
Formatting a disk larger than 32gb to FAT32 →
This little app just saved my external HDD. I decided to reformat it, and towards the end of the format in DOS of Windows 7 it said the disk was too big for FAT32.
This great application allows you to format a large drive as FAT32.
Samsung LE40F86D/XEU switching on an off by...
We’ve had this TV for just over 3 years and last week it started turning on / off by itself.
Turns out that this is a known problem and happens because the capacitors on the power supply have blown. Samsung are aware of this issue and arranged for our TV to be fixed for free.
The service agent replaced the old capacitors with some new, higher rated ones.
Steve’s Blog · Say No to Segoe (and ClearType) on... →
February 2011
1 post
Sky Plus HD. Upgrades and information →
Just a reminder about my Sky TV pages, lots of useful info about all aspects of Sky.
January 2011
1 post
TheCatsNostril now on Twitter!
Taking my nonsense to the greater web!
http://twitter.com/thecatsnostril#
@thecatsnostril
July 2010
1 post
The Pinnacle Climbing Centre - Northampton →
Its what I have been waiting for - a climbing wall in Northampton!
February 2009
1 post
Body Shop at Home forum →
November 2008
4 posts
Buy Wii Fit and Balance Board and Shaun White... →
Just ordered this - am sooo excited!!
This is the exact bundle I was after, JL had no stock yesterday or earlier this morning and a chance visit to the site showed they now had stock!
Yaaay!
Mazda MPS forum →
New DAB Radio forum →
Back to running
I’ve not written about running for quite some time, and shamefully didn’t run for the whole of September - but it was too hot, that’s my excuse anyway.
Currently I am enjoying my renewed enthusiasm for running and have decided to take an alternative approach to setting goals. I’m going back to the ‘old days’ of running for time, rather than distance.
My target...
August 2008
2 posts
Long Run
I’ve been doing odd 5k runs for a while now, my next goal is to be able to do 10k. To help me get there I am following a 4 week plan, generated through Smart Coach.
Tonight was ‘long run’ night with the suggested distance of 6 miles (erm isn’t that 10k), at double my usual distance I had my doubts.
Still, I tried my hardest and eventually conked out at 4.3 miles, which...
Surprise after a break
I’ve not been running for over 2 weeks due to feeling crappy and having various leg-pains. Good news is that I managed to get out last night, but worried that I would be fairly useless.
Amazingly it was one of the easiest runs I have ever done and I even managed a new PB of 40:16 for a 5k run.
July 2008
3 posts
4 miles
My first 4 miler tonight, in an attempt to be ready for the 5m race on the 3rd Aug.
The first 2 miles felt awful and as I approached mile 3 I felt “warmed up”, after mile 3 things just seemed to get difficult and the leaden legs feeling started.
I did complete the 4 miles, in 57:23, a disappointing 14 minute/mile speed.
Extra half a mile
Since starting my new job at the beginning of July I’ve not had a lot of time to go out and run. Last Weds was the first time I’d been out this month and did a poor 5k in 44+ minutes.
Last night I managed to get out again, but after considering the race opted to do an extra mile, so I did 3.66 miles in 48:20. Not brilliant by any standard but it’s a step (or several) in the...
Maybe a race?
I’m considering entering a race, just to see what it’s like. The nearest one to me is the Wellingborough 5m, at the moment I am only running 3.1 miles, so not sure how I would get on.
About the race - http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/events/viewevent.asp?sp=&v=2&EN=42266
http://www.wdac.org.uk/Wellingborough%205.htm
Oh and I set a new PB of 41:21 for the 5k a couple of weeks...
June 2008
4 posts
New PB for 5k
Did 5k in 42:15 last night, a slight improvement but I would like to be doing it in under 40 mins.
No more run/walk?
5k was sooo close tonight. I decided to ditch the run/walk and just go for it.
I did well until the penultamate hill, when my HR went too high and I couldn’t get it to go down, even by running really slowly, felt rather weird and had to stop - grrr!
Anyway I did manage to run for 30 mins continuously and covered 2.37 miles, so I’m pretty chuffed with that as my last run was 3 lots...
11 mins
A bit time pressured today so opted to do my run at 6am *choke*. Was really pleased to manage 3 x 11mins.
May 2008
2 posts
More running
It seems a long time ago that I could only run for odd minutes… I am proud to announce that I can now run for 10 minutes! I’m still trying to follow the Bupa 5k plan, but I’m sticking with 3 lots of running with 2 min walk intervals inbetween. Today was my first attempt at run 10 / walk 2 x 3 and I did it, hurrah!
ThinkGeek :: T-Shirts :: Generic Geek →
April 2008
1 post
Add 'ability or 'ality
Seems that the way to speak ‘business’ these days is to pre-pend ‘ability or ‘ality to the end of words. The classic one is functionality, surely if something has functions defined with in it, we don’t need to refer to the ‘functionality’ A good one today was Alignability™, and why they saw fit to trade mark it I don’t know… Others in my...
March 2008
3 posts
If cats only eat meat and no carbs, does that mean they are on the Catkins diet?
Measured Mile
Today is the first measured mile as part of the Bupa 5km training plan. Time was 15:06 (minutes, not hours!).
Beginner's 5km fun run: 8-week training programme →
I’ve always wanted to try running and the Bupa plan seems sensible. Whats amazing is that within a fortnight I have gone only being able to run for 40sec, to being able to run for 2 minutes. 3 minutes is the next target.
February 2008
1 post
The Sarah Connor Chronicles →
January 2008
2 posts
The UK Hyundai Coupe Site
Last year, around September, I spent a lot of time optimising the UK Hyundai Coupe Site for seach engines (SEO). Although at the time it did make a little different, I am now very proud to see that the site is number two on Google for the search phrase “Hyundai Coupe” - how good is that?!
Suzuki Swift Sport →
September 2007
1 post
Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition
If you buy one game for the Wii - this is the one! The main game is approximately 20 hours after which you get the Extras unlocked, which are like mini-games. The 2 Ada episodes are OK, at the moment I am trying to do ‘Mercenaries’ but some inconsiderate weirdo seems to like decapitating me with his chain saw. Initially it was weird using the Wii-mote, after years of mouse &...
August 2007
1 post
Marvellous T-shirts! →
Oh yeah, I have to get one of these, or maybe two. Ah nostalgia :-)
July 2007
7 posts
Spiderman 3 on the Wii
Spiderman 3 sounded like a great game for the Wii, squirting out webs and swinging around the city. Oh, what a disappointment! First of all you start with the training, which is a must otherwise you wouldn’t have the foggiest idea what controls do what, and even after the training I wasn’t so sure. Combat moves are difficult and you need to move the wii-mote side to side for this,...
I had to have a Wii
Yes, I have succumbed, it was quite exciting too, getting my first console after years of being a hardened PC gamer. Set up was fairly straightforward, however the internet connection was a bit confusing. I even read the instructions (oh, the shame!) and got the impression that I needed an extra USB wifi connector and some software on the PC. After a bit of internet research I found out that this...
They are out there
There are heaps of Withnalls on facebook and there is even withnall.com, I’m sure we must all be related somehow. Also, can people please stop mentioning “Withnail and I” *sigh*
The Adventure Game
Of all the things the BBC could repeat, why not The Adventure Game? Surely this is a classic of the 80’s? gronda gronda people.
From Eclipse to Sky Broadband
I have been with Eclipse since December 2004 and I have been very happy with their service until now. Although I am achieving nearly 8mbps they service has been patchy and pop has been up and down more than Zebedee. Yesterday I order Sky Broadband Max which should provide 8-16mbps, plus they have their own LLU, in addition they also provide you with a Netgear DG834GT and microfilters, all for £10...
Alan Johnston released
Nice to have some good news. Congratulations to Alan on his release.
Queen needs £1M to repair homes
Quite simply, as Charlie is getting £15M a year, can’t he just loan some to his Mum?
June 2007
10 posts
Arai Viper GT - Silver Freedom
Another new bike related purchase. I wouldn’t normally go for such a ‘pretty’ lid, but I wanted something that would stand out and anything would be better than my current black one. This Arai is perfect for a glasses wearer as there is a groove between the two lots of padding at the side, which is idea for the arms to slide down. I do feel a little miffed as I discovered the...
“The government killed Bernard Manning as a sign to the rest of us, not to be...”
– Xorro
Alpinestars GP plus gloves
I’ve always wanted some summer gloves but have never found any I really like. However on a recent trip to GirlsBike2 I found these nice Alpinestars, a bit dear for my pocket at £90. However, on my first wear of them today they are definitely worth the money. The gloves even have the pinky finger attached to the next one, so it doesn’t try some fleshy origami in an off. On another...
Facebook →
How much web-presence does a person need? I already have several websites and now I have linkedin and Facebook! I also have Windows Live and possibly myspace, but what is a person supposed to do with them all?
“The more I travel, the more I like being at home.”
– Xorro
Mankei Neko
You know the gold plastic waving cat you see in chinese takeaways and restaurants, well I’ve often wondered what this really meant, I assumed it was some kind of good luck charm, waving away bad spirits.It is a good luck charm, however the cat is actually beckoning, even the front of the paw is showing and not the back as you would expect. More info here
BMI Baby flight
Yay, cheap flights. But you really do get what you pay for. A quick flight from EMA to Glasgow was delayed 30 mins going up, then delayed by an hour coming back the next day. Very little info was given to the people waiting at the departure gate, and when questioned, a BMI worked replied “I don’t know what time you will be boarding, we are waiting for the plane to land” - yeh,...
“If you are what you eat, why don’t McDonalds french fries make you thin?”
– Xorro
“Functionality is not a word - or at least it shouldn’t be.”
– Xorro
American TV
Do they have gardening programmes in the US. What gets exported over here mainly seems to car chases or something to do with criminals. If they do have gardening programmes I think they might be called - “Extreme Gardening!” or “When gardening goes bad!” or “When gardeners attack!”
May 2007
11 posts
Kawasaki ER5 C1 - Pearl Mystic Black →
Another ER5 in the family.
Where NOT to eat
Pizzeria Venezia, Rushden. The slowest service I have ever experienced and having already been set up with a bottle of house white we couldn’t escape, plus we later discover that the wine was £12.95 My fellow diner ordered some Italian sausages in pepper and tomato sauce to start. What actually came was a couple of porkies akin to a Tesco value banger, with some passata blobbed on the top,...