Success!!

I have won a small but important battle with the machines. I did the right thing and was punished: I bought an external hard drive to do nightly backups of my computer. Plugged it in – no problems. However, the next morning it wasn’t recognized by the desktop and became an “unknown device”. Turned it off and on, and it was found again. Except, next morning it was again disowned by the desktop.
After much research and struggle I downloaded all the latest drivers, uninstalled all the existing usb drivers, reinstalled the usb drivers (which seemed to just be the old ones anyway), did a diskcheck of the external drive and this morning my external drive was still recognized. Of course, I doubt it will last, but this small victory is sweet nonetheless.

Tags: usb external drive; microsoft monster; success

In press…

The journal paper has been accepted after two revisions, one major and one minor.
Relieved and pleased. My publication list does run to 4 pages (in 10 point!) but I haven’t published many journal papers. This paper should make a bit of an impact since I am pointing out that many people have been using faulty methods for a very long time. Hopefully there won’t be too many court cases…

Revised manuscript submitted!

I have been writing and thinking and rewriting, and rewriting, and rewriting, and – you get the idea. Finally, for my sanity, I called it quits and have submitted the revision. It is a much better paper than the the first draft. However, it is up to the editor now. They may go back to a reviewer or two for further comment. More revisions may be needed – lol – I still have a bit of hair.

Christmas has been survived here. School holidays are being enjoyed by my children, and me, to some extent. Golf tomorrow! Playing on the world famous Paraparaumu links. I have very fond memories of following Tiger Woods, Michael Campbell, Bob Charles, and others around on one day of the NZ Open (several years ago).

I hope that you all are having some fun at the moment. I know many of you are suffering rather colder weather than us. Stay warm and hugs to all.

Perfect weather

Wellington finally had a perfect summers day, and it was a Wednesday. Those who know me well don’t need to be told what I did today. To a “very hot place” with the work I said; don’t try to stop me; I will PLAY GOLF TODAY. And, I did.

I played some beautiful shots, all the more pleasing since I haven’t played for ages. Of course, the round as a whole was less than pleasing, but consistency is the privilege of those who play at least twice a week – not me anymore – lol.

Tomorrow it is back to work. Lots on – too much really, but I will do what I can and thank the gods that I do have plenty of work. Oh, and my paper was accepted subject to suitable revision – not too much to do and the editor does seem to like me, so 99% chance it will be published eventually.

And the lawn is growing….

Carbon neutral lawn?

I am sure that many of you have woken up at night screaming after nightmares that your carbon footprint had obliterated most of a large continent. I have a partial solution, which is a simple rationalization of my approach to mowing lawns. The problem with mowing often is all those greenhouse gases that are produced (hand-mower I hear you say- but that hardly suits my lifestyle). The solution is elegant in its simplicity: you reduce the frequency of mowing to match the carbon intake of the grass to the output of the mower. That is, you don’t mow it very often.
I normally take my signal, that it is time to mow, from the sound of a neighbour or two beating the long grass in my backyard and calling for pets that they haven’t seen for a few days. However, this year, my wake-up call (literally) was from the local zoo wondering if they could graze the giraffes.
After waiting for a couple of days of good weather (to dry off the lawn) I went to the basement and dusted off the cobwebs from the mower, filled it with petrol, and prayed that it would start when I eventually hauled it up the steps to the back lawn. Of course, special preparations are needed before mowing. First a crop circle must be created so that there is a flat patch of lawn where the mower can be started (you just can’t do it in 1-2 feet of growth). Second, and very importantly, you must check for the neighbours pets and children (and make sure that the giraffes have finished).
Once the mower is started, special techniques are required to actually mow. The initial movements require getting the mower off the ground. You have to cut “down” on the grass, rather than trying to push through it. Strong wrists and forearms, with good leverage, are needed to get the front of the mower in the air so as to bring the cutting blades down on the grass. When you need a bit of a rest, you can adopt an alternative technique. Just mow in the normal fashion, but only attempt to cut a strip about 2 inches wide.
Before and after photos below. Note, the animal track that had started to form from the passage of neighbourhood pets.

Almost home

Some of you – Wolfie anyway – may have noticed my “Live Spaces status” recently. I was in the hotel room in St Petersburg when I suddenly had the overwhelming desire to be home. The meeting was over, but I was so far from home and had to wait until the next day to fly out.
I have made it to Sydney airport – not long to go now until I see my family again.
I do have some photos of St Pete. to share with you, after the jet-lag fades. And some interesting experiences as well.
I had my fourth random check for explosives today. Just the 3 times on the flights over, and now 1 more time for fun. What is it? Why do I now suddenly look like a terrorist? Or do I look compliant, like I won’t make a fuss, or do I look like a “good frisk”? Hmmm – it can’t be that, not after 24 hours travel without a shower or a shave.
Oh, before I forget. A good quote from a character on an episode of House: “If this world doesn’t have a greater purpose, then I don’t want to live in this world”. I am betting that somebody famous said that a few hundred years ago – but House is the latest source for me. It is a “good” quote, but I am not sure of its wisdom just yet.

Florida?

I am in a hotel. It could be anywhere – it is a Hilton – they look the same all over the world.
The trip here was eventful but not unusual. My bags were short-checked and I had to fix that up part way through my journey. I also needed to collect a couple of boarding passes part way through as well. My last connection was cancelled – sort of. They changed the plane, the flight number, and the gate. But it was still leaving at the same time and going to the same place. I think they just did it to cause me a moment of panic.
Someone also arranged for two screaming babies to be very close to me on my last two flights. Just the 5 hours of screaming. No screaming on the 13 hour flight, where I actually managed to sleep for 2-3 hours.
All in all I was traveling for about 30 hours. I had 2 hours sleep before the alarm woke me at 3am to get ready for the taxi to the airport for the 6.40am flight. I managed 2-3 hours sleep on the long flight and nothing on the rest – just the neck-hurting waking up after sleeping for a few seconds. When I finally got to the hotel, I just managed to get room service at 10.55pm before they shut at 11pm. Had some food and then slept for 13 hours. Woken up by housekeeping.
I should say something profound, but I am too tired. Night all…

Tags: hotel, sleep, travel