Jason Thompson's Blog

Upgrading

I have recently been forced to upgrade some of my computer equipment. My computers are all Macintosh, and as such not that much goes wrong with them. But as I use them all the time and work them hard, and coupled with that never really switch them off, they have slowed down a bit and needed a little sprucing up.

I'm lucky in that my bestest friend, Andy Curtis, is a Mac Guru and has o Er the years been a constant support. Technically. He has taken my main development Mac and as I type this it is being massaged and lovingly preened and getting a nice new big hard drive too. When I get it back it will, I'm told, be so fast that it's operation with be borderline prescient.

As it happens, I qualified for a free phone upgrade this week too, and as I'm an O2 Platinum account holder (I am on a high tariff in other words) I selected a lovely White iPhone 4 to replace my lovely White iPhone 3Gs.

Upgrading is not without it's pain, and I am currently in the middle if the phase where I notice what needs to be tweaked and added to make my new phone match my last phone - still some passwords and settings to tweak. It's all supposed to come across seamlessly in iTunes, but my experience is that there are always some tweaks to manually perform.

Just about there, and enjoying the lovely solid feel of this phone, and it's speed and incredible screen. The retina display has to be seen to be believed. I may actually watch films on this phone for once.

So tomorrow morning I get my 24" iMac back and watch me fly. I'm really enjoying work again at the moment - after a longish period of creative block. Good, interesting work is coming in, and I'm loving the photography side of the business. I've also upgraded my accounts software to Quickbooks, so doing my tax returns and VAT should be a breeze!

Next I'd like to upgrade my car. The Beetle days are over for a short while I think - need a family car. So if you know anyone who would like a lovely 1972 VW Bug, get in touch.

That's all for now - life upgrade well underway - feeling good, loving stuff, enjoying friends and looking forward to what the rest of this year has to bring.

Stay positive, and smile in the face of adversity x

Bicycle Repair Man

Month Python had a sketch - may have been a whole episode now I think if it - about a superhero who fixed bicycles. It was funny, as you'd expect.

Today I had my bike repaired by a very different bicycle repair man, after one of the pedals fell off on my way to an appointment in Ashington.

I took my bike in to be sorted out, and they advised me to get a whole new front sprocket assembly fitted. So I did. They're they're experts. You'd think. The bike was ready to pick up this afternoon so my matey and business colleague Paul Slaughter dropped me off as I'd been working with him, and I collected the fixed bike.

On attempting to ride home, I found that I couldn't change gear on the front sprocket any more. The armature that eases the chain onto the larger gears wasn't moving far enough however hard I pushed my Shimano lever. So I went back to the shop and asked the rather miserable man who had fixed it to adjust the gears.

He clamped the bike into a thing that lifts it up, and started to huff and tut and grunt. After a little while if this I wandered over and asked him if what he was doing was difficult. He told me that since the sprocket was new and the chain was old and worn, I'd be better off replacing the whole chain and rear gear system too. I pointed out that this really shouldn't have anything to do with the problem, and all j needed was for the chain to get onto the largest gear at the front, as I rarely use the two smaller gears. He shook his head and huffed and puffed and said it wouldn't be easy.

After a while I broke the silence by suggesting that he try it.

He wasn't keen.

In the end I placed the chain on the largest gear sprocket myself and said that I had managed to do it. He said it probably wasn't safe. if the chain came off the larger front gear I could end up going over the handlebars and hurting myself and he'd be liable.

I assured him that I wouldn't hold him responsible for any cycling accident I may have on the way home, and he said he wasn't happy with the bike leaving the shop unless I signed something that absolved him of any blame should I die on the journey home. I said I'd be happy to sign such a document.

I wonder how often he requires people to sign such things. Anyway he scribbled something down on a receipt pad whilst the girl who does all the filing (her nails) watched with a confused expression. I signed it and left.

The bike behaved itself and I reached home without accident much to the chagrin of the bicycle repair man I have no doubt. You really have to beg some people to do their job. But I am happy with the bike and the moral of this story is eluding me. Goodbye.

The Queens message.

Halloooooo. My name is Gin Tylundsand. I met the queen today and she told me that it was hard running the country then she went down stairs. And I just want to say, the queen fell over today- she dead.

Guest Blogger

I do hope you have enjoyed the last couple of posts, kindly and carefully composed by a special guest. She will be back with more tales of Henry and friends. Oh yes.

I'm pleased that she's doing some blogging on my behalf as the urge to do it myself has left me for now.

My best friend

My best friend is called Henry the pig. I was in the swimming pool with him today and he did a dive into it, an amazing swan dive from three metres high. Oh how amazing it looked, even though the landing was terrible. You see I forgot to mention that it was only ankle deep, if that. Since he hurt him self I brought him to a place I heard my friend who couldn't pronounce s's at the start of sentences recommend called the laughter house. I brought the little chap there and he never came back. I guess he loved it so much he didn't want to go home. At least the kind man running it gave me a massive bag of bacon. And the moral of that story is elves are the devils best friend. Never trust an elf.