I can fix... my Chromebook

Wednesday 28th May 2014. 23:49

Today, I received delivery of the replacement screen for my chromebook that I ordered of ebay. That's rather swift delivery, bearing in mind I only ordered it Monday (I think).

So, £29.03, free postage and a 'how to' film on youtube and I now have a fully functional Chromebook again.

I did try installing Ubuntu onto it, so that I could get Celtx to work with it, and be able to use it when I don't have an internet connection (Celtx provide an in browser service call Celtx Edge, but of course this doesn't work when you don't have an internet connection).

I managed to install Ubuntu fine enough, it was just that I couldn't seem to get Celtx to install and load. I gave up in the end.

It may be that the Celtx isn't compatible with the version of Celtx I downloaded and installed (after following another 'how to' video on youtube), or it may be that there's something else I was doing wrong. Either way, I abandoned that idea. It's not like I'm away from an internet connection that often.

Celtx, the awesome script and novel writing tool.

I'm just creating other procrastinations, reasons to not write.

During my messing around, I did discover that the Novel writing part of Celtx now works on Celtx Edge. I don't think it did before.

Anyway. Helen came up last night. She was originally due to come up during the day, and we were going to meet in Cosham and have some food at a pub. Helen works from home as a travel agent, and this means that sometimes she can get delayed dealing with a client's booking.

Not like I'm in a position to criticise anyone else for working odd hours, or staying later than they have to.
UKIP at the local council and European elections, and how the other parties are fairing. What we both like, dislike and are frightened by in the recent turn of events.

When we weren't saying how worried we are by the fact that a lot of people seem to have voted for a party that they know nothing about, or have any understanding of their policies, and how this has historical links that do not bode well for society.

This got us making a jokey comparison about the whole in Europe / out of Europe debate, and how there is a stark irony about the Scottish Independence vote (due September this year), - wanting to leave one union in order to agree to rejoin another. In our normal way, we couldn't stay too serious too long.

We started to explore the idea of what would happen if Portsmouth decided to have a referendum on independence, on leaving the United Kingdom.

We ended up thrashing out some plot points, and a whole manifesto of policies of the party that would supposedly push for this.

The scarily funny thing seemed to be how plausible despite being completely ridiculous the whole concept and the policies were. Perhaps there'll be more on that later.

I'm sure I'll also want to put my two pence worth in about the rise of UKIP. Suffice to say so far, that I decided that I would do something about representing the kind of Britain I believe in by joining a political party. This is the first time I've ever done this, but do feel that I am naturally drawn to the common sense sort of policies of the Liberal Democrats. As is typical of me, I want the best of both worlds, left and right, because I do feel that we can't have a fair society if we do not have a strong economy, but that there is no point having a strong economy if our society isn't fair.

I do believe in people's strong responsibilities for the wider community and themselves, and society as a whole, and how they are the best at deciding and designing their life and their destiny. Personal freedom, and responsibility, duty go hand in hand. I also feel that unless we design our society to include and engage people, they won't be involved in politics.

Help those that need help, make decisions based on fact rather than with idealogical motivation. A society of tolerance, and freedoms - where there are more roads to travel than walls to keep people in - that's what I want.

That was the weekend that was

... and now I'm on holiday for a whole week ! Yipeee !

Should I show such gladness being off work for a week ? It's just nice to have a break in the exercise of pushing water uphill with a fork. So nice in fact, that despite a relatively late night while I try to sort something out with Celtx I am up with the lark. When I say lark, I'm up with the alarm clock/radio and the WAKE UP ! set on my Blackberry.

I even left the window open in my bedroom last night. How cool is that ? When I say cool, I don't mean that I was cold, just that the idea of fresh air, and the soothing, but distant sound of the M27 (the motorway, not my drama company).

What's this thing that you've been trying to sort our with Celtx, I hear you say ? Surely Celtx is so easy to install it doesn't take a late night session to get it to work.

Well, no, it doesn't. What I was trying to do, was see if I could get Celtx to run out of Dropbox (service that shares across all your installed computer the contents of that folder - an introduction to cloud computing). Does it work ? No.

The Amaz(ing)-on Kindle 3

 

Amaz(ing)-on Kindle (3rd Generation), 3 Nov 2010

By	Fallible_fella - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kindle Wireless Reading Device, Wi-Fi, 6" Display, Graphite - Latest Generation (Electronics)

I've now had my Kindle for about three weeks, and I can't imagine life without it. I'd understood that there were delays with the delivering of the units, so was entirely surprised when I went to the post office (as I'd not been in when they'd tried to deliver it) to collect what I thought was the less exciting case... but was in fact the Kindle itself. The guy behind the counter in the post office must have thought I was a right weirdo, as the moment I saw the box that is the subject of so many youtube unboxing reviews, my face was beaming. I was excited and eager.

Click on people's faces in the photo to tag them.

I was due to catch the bus for work in 20 minutes time.... the clock was ticking...

I got home, quickly put a camcorder up to record the opening, as it was a one time event, just in case I felt the need to video a review later on. I've just never gotten round to it.

Just how indispensable I've found the device is demonstrated by what a panic I got into yesterday, when I thought I had lost it at work. Thankfully someone had handed it in. My beloved Kindle was safe and sound.

I have to say, the product is fantastic. In all of about 2 minutes I'd opened the box, turned the Kindle on, connected to my wifi network, downloaded all my books, and was ready to go ! The screen is so easy on the eye, reads well, even in sunlight. I've made great use of being able to email the PDF files of scripts that I'm working on, so that I can read them much easier without having to kill a couple of hundred trees every time.

even without playing with zoom or orientation, PDFs look great

I was also impressed with the 'experimental' browsing experience. Come on guys, don't be shy, there's nothing experimental about it. It works like a charm, does the job for reading text based sites. I also like how pictures that I've emailed to the kindle look on the screen, I've sent a few over just to test the technology out, and I have to say they look better in black and white.



I have yet to actually connect my kindle to a pc. All the books, PDFs and pictures that are now on my device, are there because I emailed them to my 'xxxxxxxxx@free.kindle.com' address. What a brilliant and simple idea,  a wonderfully easy to use way to get anything (that's supported) onto your device. It certainly doesn't need someone tech savy to set that up !

In a world where I am used to charging so many devices every day if I expect to get anything near a usable experience out of them, to have one that I have only needed to charge once since purchasing is brilliant.

One of these pictures is from the 'dead tree' version....

...the other is from the Kindle's screen...

I've shown it to people at work, and there is a gathering of drooling book reading people who just get that it's not an Ipad wanna be, it's an ereader. A very capable ereader that just works, looks and feels great and has a brilliant price point. I've taken two pictures, one of the same part of text in a book, the other, on the kindle itself. I think my rush to take the picture so I can catch that bus doesn't quite do it justice. Hopefully you can see that the Kindle screen is a brilliant reading display. There are no prizes for guessing what book this is. I don't know, to be honest why it would make sense to spend an extra £40 on the 3G version when there are so many free wifi spots around. I also cannot believe that the branded cases offered by Amazon represent that much value for money. (I got mine off Ebay for half the price - I just wasn't convinced that a case that hooks on by those ... hooks is really going to work in the long term, or that the device won't end up damaged if it gets knocked.


What do I love about it ?

• It fits in my coat pocket. 
• Its light. Easy to hold. Easy to carry
• It feels 'right'. The page forward/page back controls are just right.
• The price point. If it drops below £100 you really don't a reason not to get one.
• For reading, the screen is so much better on your eyes. No strain. 
• Battery lasts, like 'forever' (results may vary - I'm speaking figuratively)
• Document portability. The email files to thing is a master stroke of genius.
• Wifi connectivity. You're not tied to a PC.
• 'Experimental' Browser. Understated-ly brilliant for viewing text based web content.

If you read books or scripts, I have one simple piece of advise. GET THE KINDLE. YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT.

Weekend without TV

Bank holiday weekend, and I've been working away at the old word processor, well, to to be more precise.. Celtx.

Yes. Celtx. Not heard of it ?  Well if you've ever fancied writing anything, a stage play, a book, a comic, a screen or radio play... then this fantastic piece of FREE, did I mention FREE software makes everything so much easier.

And it's free. My favourite price.

Anyhoo, religious fervor aside, it's really helpful, quick and easy to use. I was using it to help me complete the script that is way way way overdue for The Ninth Man. A new series for the amateur video group that I'm a member of (Beacon).

I've had some motivational issues lately, in trying to find the time, energy and desire to complete the script, that I started what seems like so many months ago, writing in partnership with one of the other key members. Sadly he'd had to go off to Europe to work doing things that involved him working in Europe.. (I'm vague, because I don't really know).

Having finally completed the elements of the plotline into a script at the weekend, I've spent a bit of time 'dabbling' and 'tweaking' the odd bit here and there. I'm not happy with it. Not ready to 'release' it yet. I've had to resort to printing hard copies (I know, dead trees !), as sometimes when I'm stalling infront of a computer, it's easier to review it away from the machine. Review with a great big red pen. I don't have a red pen, but I do have an unforgiving and totally critical blue fountain pen.

While I was in the middle of attacking some of my work, I also needed to submit a review of an episode of The Adventures Of Stephen Brown, the flagship series for Beacon. I had to review 'Dice With Death', which was ironically, another script that I had written for Beacon. This task was made infinitely more hassle than was needed by the lack of oooomph in my netbook, and trouble getting the youtube videos to play seamlessly on my 'old' laptop. Got there in the end.

What was so bloody amazing, was that I had decided that working into the night doesn't really work for me these days, and that actually, I am at my creative best when I attack the computer first thing in the morning. So, at 7am, Bank Holiday Monday, my alarm went off, telling me it was time to get up and go the 'office'.

Me @ the office. 7:30am. Bank holiday Monday. Mad, inspired, or both ?

This decision would have been astounding enough, what made it even more so, was the fact that I actually did it too ! I did get out of bed 7am on Bank Holiday Monday, and after a quick detour that involved a cup of tea... I headed all of two doors down the hallway to the 'office' (the spare room), where I had left my netbook, looking terribly lonely and dwarfed by the size of the computer desk it was sat on. 

And so, the write was on. Now with the various technical issues... solutions were elaborate, and involved.. 

1) Refreshing the screen.

2) Reloading the browser

3) Another computer. (luckily I dug out my old laptop)

4) Try original computer, with cable rather than wireless connection

5) Rebooting my router.

6) Turn it off.. and turn it back on again...

7) Try and view the video on my Blackberry.. discover I can't... 

Add a caption

Me @ the office. 7:30am. Bank holiday Monday. Mad, inspired, or both ?

Anyway, in the end, I managed to get to see both episodes.. (although, perhaps there were times when I wished I hadn't).

So after submitting, a less than scathing review, and feeling satisfied that I had completed another writing assignment (task just sounds way too boring).. I sat down with, by now the fifth cup of tea and waited for the death threats to start.

Then... well, then Helen turned up, for us to do some more work on The Fatcat & The Grafter. - the play that we have decided to write, having done so well last week. After some hours... and it amazes me how those pass by... you start off at 3pm, and before you know it, the clock tells you it's 6pm.

Anyway, much progress. First scene in the bag, or on the computer at least. The more we write, the more we get to know the characters ourselves, the more this is shaping out to be just as mad, chaotic and hopefully funny as our other efforts.

I'd like to attach some work in progress to the blog, but can't figure out how to do that, yet... but when I do, you absolutely must promise not to tell anyone, okay ? Spoilers and all that. 

So well, were things going last night, that despite saying 'we must wrap up around 10', Helen didn't actually leave till just gone midnight, when I pretty much kicked her out the door and told her to get a taxi back to chav-ville. (I didn't. I was joking !). I was expecting some sort of suffering for being up so darn early until so late.. but no. There was a short, but dispirited fight with the alarm clock(s) this morning, but I was up, in reasonable time, and awake enough to navigate my Blackberry for some magical solution that would allow me to get from Cosham to Havant without having to get a taxi the whole way, or being late. 

An early start means an early finish.. well it's meant to. It doesn't always for me. End of the month there are administrative tasks to preform, that are pretty much like all end of month administrative tasks the world over. Anyway, for the first time ever, I'd actually completed all mine last Saturday. This removed any need for me to stay late after the shift today, and meant that once I had walked in the glorious sunshine to the train station, and gotten back home I decided to make the most of what must be a dwindling number of sunny days, let alone evenings, and went over the park with a book. A book I said. A book. 

It's actually really, really good, it's one of those that I picked up whilst taking advantage of the 'buy two get third free' offer in Waterstones whilst purchasing a birthday present for my mum the other month. On reflection, I think Waterstones took advantage of me and my quivering debit card. It's called 'The Earth Hums In B-Flat' by Mari Strachan. 

It's such an interesting writing style, it makes it utterly engaging and compelling. I'd started reading it on holiday. One of the great things about holiday is that it makes it really easy to find time to do things I love, like reading. This gets so much harder once reality arrives, and I have to go back to work. 

This book makes me want to find the time to read it, and this afternoon, that's what I did. I went and sat in the park over the road for two hours, which with the rich and colourfull descriptions of Welsh hillsides seems the perfect place to read it. 

Other, lesser books haven't captivated my imagination and interest enough to demand that hard fought time in my life. On that note.. I'm off to go read some more.