Shock horror!

I've just seen my daughter in a nativity play at her school! And I was allowed to video it (I wasn't the only one neither).

Gavin & The Pumpkin

This year was the last ever Calke Abbey Bonfire. My mate Mark James's father was, until he retired this year, the Gatekeeper at Calke Abbey in Ticknall, Derbyshire. For quite a few years now, Mark, another mate Paul, and in later years Paul's dad and brother have been having quite spectacular bonfire parties, with food, and a Hallowe'en themed 'scary walk'.
As it was the last year, I decided to video it this time, pulling out all the stops. Or, at least, as many as I can with my two old Sony Digital8 camcorders. I also have Adobe Premiere Elements, which I will use to edit the stuff when I get a big enough hard drive for my laptop.
But I've been playing with PE, and used it to edit some footage I took on my N73 last year, involving my mate Gavin and his adventures with a pumpkin. Enjoy...

I've got a new Phone!

The contract on my N73 came up for renewal, and as the phone was beginning to get a bit tired - there were a few scratches, the lens cover was getting loose and causing the camera to switch off randomly and the volume down key was broken - I decided on an upgrade.
The main feature for an upgrade for me was built-in GPS. I've been using TomTom 6 on the N73 quite successfully, but the bluetooth GPS receiver with its separate charging lead and the cigarette lighter doubler required meant there was a fair bit of spaghetti round the dash - not good. I did look at the HTC Touch Diamond, but this would have cost me £60 to upgrade to. So I stuck with Nokia, and got myself a 6220 Classic in Plum (they had no black in stock). I also negotiated a drop in tarriff (from Dolphin 35 to Dolphin 25 - fewer minutes but still unlimited texts) and increased my data from evenings and weekends to all day. Bundle in the £7 a month buyback on my old phone (actually my stepson's old phone - he grabbed the N73), and I'm paying less than before. Bargain.
First impressions are extremely positive. The 6220 is slimmer and appreciably lighter than the N73. The screen seems brighter, if slightly smaller, and the keypad seems slightly larger. I've noticed the keys can move a bit if pushed in the wrong direction, so I'll have to watch that. A good thing for me is the deletion of the extra side key to top left instead of near the camera shutter key. This stops it being pressed when putting the phone in the car mount.
The phone seems much slicker in use too. The camera lens cover slide is much, much smaller, and looks more robust. The S60 operating system finally gets a built-in keylock, and the menu transitions look cool. Also cool is the ability to set the standby wallpaper to a slide show. Coolest of all is the message reader, which will read incoming text messages. The built-in Maps application works well, although the UK maps weren't already on the memory card as I expected them to be. Speaking of memory cards, it won't take the same size as the N73, but it comes with a 1GB card, which will do until I can afford an 8 or even 16GB one.
The 6220 also won't take the same hands-free lead as the N73, which means that until I can get a proper Bluetooth car kit in the Astra, I've had to buy wired lead. The 6220 comes with a stereo headset, which is no good in the car. But I have found a clever feature. The 6220 has a 2.5mm jack socket for the headset and TV-out lead, which will also take headphones, using the phone's built-in mic. So I've bought a 2.5-3.5mm jack plug adapter, which means I can use the tape adapter to route the phone's audio through the car stereo. Seems to work fine for Maps and mp3s, and for the odd phone call I take in the car. The camera seems fine, too.

Ein ganzes Jahr

So it's been a whole year since I posted. Sorry, just haven't been arsed. A quick recap:

• Passed AAT Foundation and Payroll (with an A!). Now on AAT Intermediate and Level 3 Payroll, which takes some juggling as two of the classes clash.
• I've been looking for a job since the summer, but with not much success. I have had a few interviews (where they said I interviewed well, but the job still went to someone with more experience), and I have had a four-week stint temping in an office, which was really good. I'm stuck in the no experience vicious cycle, which will take time and persistence to cure.
• Mrs MnG has started on her student nursing.
  
• The TR7 is moving s-l-o-w-l-y. I've mostly got the LH front floor in, and I have all the parts to do the LH rear floor. Trouble is, I've not much time to work in. I have got hold of a big gas cylinder, though.
• We bought a big family tent, a Vango Colorado 800DLX, and we used it at the TR Drivers Club national weekend in July, and the Suzuki Owners Club AGM in Ashbourne in August. We're not in the SOC, but my in-laws are, so they let us camp, and we took the little ones to a nearby agricultural show.

I've found out how I can send pics and posts to this blog from my phone (both by email and by MMS) so you might see more on here. I've also linked Facebook to the blog, so new postings go on as Facebook notes.