I changed jobs a month ago, and immediately crashed into shitstorm of upgrade-need. It's like moving from just-bang-the-rocks-together-guys to Star Trek. I have a (for broadcast) huge network to understand which includes systems integration with broadcast kit, and therefore is an horrific combination of IT infrastructure (underpinned by Cisco and Spanning Tree), Avid Unity ISIS, Avid Interplay, Capture, Command, IsoSync et al on the one hand, and broadcast network infrastructure HD-SDI routing using Probel Aurora, Snell & Wilcox Sirius 800, Axon Synapse and Cortex, and Miranda Kaleido on the other. To say this is brain-fry time would be understatement on the order of calling the Zombie Apocalypse a crimp in your day.

I needed a brain extension / expansion, and clearly we still haven't got the organic USB/SD ports that we were all hoping would be here by now, so I bought a tablet.

I've been saying for a few years now that they were a solution looking for a problem - but now I've found the problem which, for me at any rate, they solve.

I have about 800 diagrams and schedules to learn at least have more than a passing familiarity with. There are crates of manual DVDs, as well as actual paper manuals. It's all newly-built and been working for nine months, although the 'official' engineering handover isn't until this week, and we're still adapting/modifying it as we go. ::-)

So, what I can acutally do is:
Wander around doing my job carrying a pad no worse|bigger|heavier than an A4 or A5 notebook - which is what most of us have been doing up to now.
Upload diagrams to use with AutoCAD WS (there may be an argument about whether it's ok to pass this stuff through Autodesk's servers, but I'm not the only person to do this, and the company can provide no alternative method). New editions of diagrams simply overwrite the old ones.
Carry .pdf versions of all the manuals. I could have put these on my Kindle, but its handling of .pdf is limited, and the tablet a) has a larger screen to start with and b) manages the zoom much better.
Make notes of faults and solutions pretty much as quickly as I can with my notebook and pen, with the added benefit of the notes being keyword searchable after the fact.

All the usual useful stuff you get with a laptop or notebook pc (like copy and paste for searches or updating fault tracking software like Remedy*) is there, but it feels a damn sight more convenient than carrying a notebook, netbook or laptop around with me. Plus it's solid state, and so far seems to survive travelling by bike.

I have a feeling I'm a convert. However, in the interests of balance, I should perhaps point out that it's a Motorola Xoom, not an iPad.



*I know, I know, don't get me started.

My brother phoned. The phone says this was at 1914 on Saturday. We were still parked at the pub, watching people arriving for their evening out. ( Read more... )

We returned to Lymm using the reverse of my route to Knutsford, and the improved weather meant a quick stop to remove my more-or-less useless jacket. Not knowing the roads meant I didn't recognise, and thus missed the turning down Rectory Lane which would have avoided the descent right into Lymm centre, but the rise out of the village was managed, and aside from another quick diversion into Standish Lane, which more or less set the tone for the rest of the ride, we were back onto the CTC route again. Warburton Bridge leads to the A57, and a 300m reminder of why A-roads can be a bad idea sometimes. Left into Hollins Green and thence to Glazebrook took us back to the kind of roads which were more friendly towards us.
( Read more... )

Long day's journey into night

Cast:
Andy Gates, a solo rider making the journey from Land's End to John'o'Groats
Kim, an engineer with a tendency to fettle
Charlotte, cake hunter and eater of lemon tarts
redshift, a commuter with an angry streak and a flaky phone
Prologue
The story so far: A solo LEJoG rider, Andy Gates, is heading for the halfway stage on his epic once-in-a-lifetime journey. Braving hostile headwinds and combat-hardened tent-busting slugs, he is joined by Kim, and later Charlotte, for a couple of days in the strange world of The North West of England. From Crewe they take a scientific detour to visit Jodrell Bank.
Meanwhile, redshift and partner Nick are arranging for a stopover at a camp site near Preston, after which shifty will head South to meet the intrepid trio.

( Read more... )

Wing mirros. Next time some tit in a Mercedes slaps you with his wing mirror, rip the thing off and stick it down his throat.

Happened today, and I just went 'meh. Drivers.' Clearly I should have felt something other than apathy, but hey...

A friend of mine brought me an exploding guitar, and asked if I could do anything with it. It's a 30-year old Ibanez classical, and the bridge had finally given up the ghost. It appears that when the bridge was originally drilled for the strings, the drill went off line and caused a burr to lift the wood on the underside of the bridge. Thus when the bridge was glued, only half of it was actually attached to the soundboard. The first pic shows that only about half the bridge was glued - you can see that the wood fibres haven't adhered properly:



After a bit of fiddling about with hide glue and clamping cauls:



The bridge saddle was never found, so I had to make a new one from a bone blank - I've left it a tiny bit high and flat, so that Steve can play for a while and then decide just what action he wants, but here it is, finished:



I'm not a classical guitar afficionado, but it seems to play reasonably well.

I've signed on to do the Manchester to Blackpool ride in July - riding to raise money for The Christie Hospital, which is Manchester's specialist cancer hospital and research centre. Their charity site is here.

Dad had radiotherapy there last year, and after a relapse, he's been in there for just over a week now, and is recovering from major surgery - and when I say major I mean ten-hours-on-the-table major. They're good people, so I'm going to spend a little energy supporting them, in a 'thank-you' kind of way. Donations via my JustGiving page would be welcome.

ITV hosted the first ever live UK political party leaders' debate for this year's election. I was one of the studio engineers charged with getting the thing on air, in both standard and high definition systems. This involved an awful lot of wires. Click to link through to the photobucket shots.

Remember this ad?


( deadlines )

I've been learning a whole new skillset: How to stab yourself in both hands with an awl, how to puncture yourself with a blunt needle. It would seem that with most things I make, some form of blood sacrifice is necessary for me to finish the job. Still, I like it.



Click through to the album for more pictures.