Badger Gives THE LOOK

Technology my old friend

Gill visit complete, I picked up the continued saga of technology ailments.  In an attempt, to rule out problems, I moved the computer to the kitchen and hardwired it to the backup and managed to get the files downloaded - I think.

Meanwhile, the mini ipad headphone jack has stopped working and I could only listen to things through the external speakers. Also, I had lost all cell phone coverage at home - I assume the storm has knocked down a tower, but this is very difficult when you are often on call with a phone that doesn't work anywhere, but at work, where frankly you are fairly easy to contact.

The weather continued its wild display, and we had high winds and the most incredible waves - 30-40 foot that formed well off the foreshore creating this spectacular show and eating away at everything in its path.

Then the mini ipad started having troubles connecting to the wifi - like I had to constantly reset the network setting both on the ipad and through the router.  Stupid and inconvenient.

After a week, the cell phone tower was sorted and I researched that a hard reset of the ipad would fix the headphone jack; this also seems to have resolved the wifi issues - think maybe they sent the mini out too soon.

After using the computer in the kitchen for a week without issue, I moved it to the living room - also no issues.  I had the landlord come over and check the electrics in the office and everything checked out no problem.

So I move the beast back upstairs and everything has been okay.  But hedging my bets, I ordered a new computer.  I did lots of research, ran straw pools at work, and decided on a MacBook Air.  After ordering it through work to get my discount, I got an e-mail from Apple saying they have changed the pricing and revised my invoice.  I checked it with dread and saw...a $300 price reduction.  

Come on, how often does that happen?!?

With the big computer working, back up achieved, mini ipad restored, cell phone home texting and new computer sourced at a significant reduction - it is clear that those Groatie Buckies are amazing....

I swear we almost died

So we head off to the airport, me thinking I hope they have carrot cake.  The cafe in the Wick Airport has the best Carrot cake ever - sorry mom.  It is so moist, and the frosting is very cream cheesy, and they put the frosting on when it is still slightly warm, and this makes the whole thing very gooey.

We parked, and they did have carrot cake - yeehaw!

After scarfing down two pieces, we got on the plane and were a bit annoyed that we were not sitting together as the lady that checked us in said we would be.  The flight to Edinburgh is a little under an hour and everything involving take off was fairly normal.  As the flight progressed, the turbulence got worse and worse.  The pilot finally came on and said the turbulence was going to be bad - and I thought going to be?!?

As we made our approach to Edinburgh, it did get worse.  Pilot made a hard bank heading for the airport.  I looked out and saw the wing flapping up and down like a birds.  Gill looked out and thought - should that screw be missing.  I could hear the plane groaning at the strain.  After what seemed like too long a time, we landed - I felt poorly and was quite whiny about it.

Gill was very understanding.  I thought surely the next flight would be better as the plane would be bigger.  It was not better.

Arriving in Manchester, we took the train and a taxi to Gill's and had a really lovely Chinese.  In the morning, I headed off to my meeting.   I had to be there at 9, so I think we left the flat a bit before 7.  She dropped me off at the Chorley Station, and I bought a ticket that required one change and a taxi ride, which should easily get me to the meeting on time. 

The train was really crowded.  After about 40 minute and several stops, I heard an unintelligible announcement that involved, "I am very sorry for the inconvenience." and everyone got off the train.  Turns out we were at the train station I wasn't even planning on stopping at - so I went and asked what to do.  I was told I needed to take a bus to another train station.  I went off to wait for the bus - it didn't come.

So, I took a taxi to the station.  I get there, and it is real chaos - trains have been cancelled.  I hear an announcement that says the train I want is on platform 3, but to get on the cars closest to Deansgate as the train would be separating. 

Everyone is very upset.  I ask what cars are closest to Deansgate - a very harassed guy gestures in a direction, so I get on the train.  We eventually get going, and I don't even feel the train separate, but I do end up at the right station. 

After a long wait for a taxi, I arrive at my meeting only about 10 minutes late.  Meeting is fine, and we head off to the airport.  I have to admit I am dreading this.  After a long wait and a couple of pizzas, we get on the plane to Aberdeen.  It's bumpy, but tolerable.  

Another long wait, and we board for Wick.  It should be noted that the Aberdeen to Wick flight is notorious for being cancelled, and in fact, it had already happened to me once, which required a rental car and midnight drive through pea soup fog.

As we are going through pre-checks, the pilot announces that the weather conditions at Wick are extreme.  Huh, I think.  His voice seems a little tense or excited, but we proceed to take off anyway.  

The turbulence is bad, but not as bad as the day before or I am becoming desensitized.   He comes on again and says that last 2000 feet are going to be wild - he says this.  

I look out the window, and there is the most incredible big round yellow moon shining over the harbor. I see we are lined up over the runway, and we are coming in.  I close my eyes because I feel sick.  About 1000 feet from the ground, he starts to climb again.  When we are back at altitude and he's had some time to think, he announces that there isn't a plane made to withstand the conditions at Wick: 90+ mph crosswinds.

He says he'll check and see what we are going to do - we circle the airport - round and round that beautiful yellow moon.  The decision is made we will go to Inverness as the  winds although the same strength are at least with the runway.  

Thirty minutes later, we are on the ground - it was rough.  They have two mini vans waiting and on we go - I am traveling with 2 guys from work and decide to be very bossy that we are all going to travel together and not split up.  

We take off heading north.  Our driver struggles to keep it on the road.  The bridges are the worst, and we blow back and forth - the next night the bridges would be closed - unsafe to cross due to the wind.  

There is debris all over the roads.  At first our driver tries to avoid it, but then he just has to plow through everything.  

We make good time and arrive just before midnight.  I am taking one of the guys home and it take us 15 minutes to get to the car (200 feet away) simply because I really can't really walk forward in wind.

At home, I am really glad to see the furry faces, and they were glad to see me too.

Eating Cheese

So Gill came to see me.  We spent the weekend eating cheese and drinking gin.  These activities were a special requests, so I had filled the frig with an exceptionally large quantity of cheese, and I must admit that we managed to eat most of it.

Knowing Gill was coming, I had been purchasing special food stuffs for the last week.  Since I had to go back and forth to Inverness for the computer, I had hunted high and low for unusual cheese, gin and in this process I saw a tray of quail eggs.  I had never had quail eggs, and they were pretty, so I bought them.  We decided to have poached quail eggs for breakfast.  

They were really hard to crack.  The shell was soft, but the membrane inside was really tough - the winning method turned out to be a bread knife sawing the egg in half.  The eggs are mostly yolk, and we each had 5 perfectly poached yolks on toast.

After breakfast, we shuffled off to shell beach and collected Groatie Buckies for good luck.  A Groatie Buckie is just a tiny cowrie shell, and they are considered good luck, but you can't collect too many or they are bad luck.

It was one of those rare occasions when they were pretty easy to find.  As we were walking along the coast to shell beach, I saw this group coming toward us, and I thought that dog looks just like Oreo and sure enough it was Oreo.  The Casper's had been Groatie Buckie hunting too.

Groatie Buckie on Crocus

We went to Strathy Beach on Sunday and had planned to bring the dogs.  Unfortunately, I opened the door to the back seat to put in the leash, and Badger jumped in.  He immediately scooted to the far side and as I tried to remove him, he acted like a mule putting all his weight in his butt in an attempt to 'win.'  

Gill seemed rather surprised by this behavior, and I found this somewhat satisfying in that Badger always acts like a sweetie in front of people and here he was acting like a jckss. 

I finally removed him (worked up a sweat doing it), and the 3 girls headed off to the beach, which was beautiful, as usual, and a really wonderful way to start the day.  

We came home and had a cheesy leek off.  I had seen a program where a somewhat strange chef challenged the concept of using a roux to make cheese sauce saying there was a better way that prevented the stodgy texture.  I had discussed this with Gill, and she didn't even try to hide her disgust.  

So we each made cheesy leaks - hers with stodge and mine without stodge.  They were both really good, but I'd say the sauce without roux was maybe too rich for the leeks.

We took both of these over to Jason's and had Sunday lunch with the Caspers, Wiers, and Barkers - our latest addition to the clan.

Monday we got up and had a lazy morning before we caught the plane to Manchester.  I had a meeting there on Tuesday, so as luck would have it, we both had a travel companion and that turned out to be a very good thing indeed...

Technological Nightmare

Oh where has the time gone, it seems like just a month ago I was getting off the plane from Paris in Aberdeen - oh wait, that was a month ago.

I have had some bad technology mojo going on since that time, so I have used this as a sign to take a break.  You see the blog can be a bit of a pain in the neck - sometimes I do not have anything interesting to say and sometimes I just can't be bothered.  So although I have had some troubles - I just couldn't be bothered.

The first thing that happened was I left my ipad on the plane from Paris.  I noticed this right away - like the minute I got to the hotel.  I immediately called the airport because I knew the plane was still on the ground, but they would not help me and insisted I contact AirFrance.  

Aberdeen Airport Sucks!

So I immediately contacted AirFrance, and they said they could would not call the Aberdeen Airport, and I must submit a claim through e-mail or fax.  As I was talking to the guy, he really was implying that this was a pointless endeavor.  So I called him on this, and he was quite wishy-washy and admitted that there was really nothing they could would do.  So I submitted my claim 3 times and got a reply back almost immediately...in French.

AirFrance Sucks!

You see for the first time ever, I had downloaded - and erased from my cameras - all of my vacations pics.  I was really pleased with myself as I really hate the downloading and editing part at the end of a trip.  This was all great on the basic theory that you don't leave your ipad on the plane.

Have I mentioned that Aberdeen Airport and AirFrance Suck?

I have discussed this with many people and everyone has a theory.  My theory is that it is very unlikely that someone took my ipad home, and instead I imagine it sitting in a dank box, Radiers-of-the-Lost-Ark style in some warehouse.

After collecting my puppies, who seemed to have survived the kennel, I drove up the road - obsessing about my loss.  So I unpacked and went straight to my fabulous iMac and ordered a mini ipad.  This soothed my savaged heart for about the 15 minutes my iMac continued to run.  I watched it pop and fizz and disappeared into oblivion.

I don't mind telling you that this caused a bioreaction as I realized that ALL of my photographs were locked up in something that was essentially a desk brick.  

I found a guy in Aviemore that said he would work on the computer; so I took a day off work and drove down and met him at the Big Tesco.  I handed him my computer, which he strapped into the back seat and he drove away - I felt sick.

Meanwhile, I loaded my mini ipad with my previous itunes purchases, which made it more like my lost familiar friend. This was pretty easy and certainly took the edge off.

iTunes is does not suck!

After a couple of weeks, the guy in Aviemore said he'd fixed the computer and that it had been running for 3 days straight without incident.  He said it had overheated, and he modified the fan controls.  

We made a plan to exchange the computer in the Tesco carpark, and I was on my way.  I had stopped to buy an external hard drive to back-up the computer.  

I very happily set it up and read the instructions on the hard drive.  As I was trying to complete the set up, the computer died.  Hmmph, it was only 11 in the morning, but I went and had a drink - my poor liver.

I considered what I knew and did not know and decided to regroup after Gill's visit.  And that is exactly what I did...