Poor Thom, my grandson, has been taken into hospital today suffering from suspected appendicitis. We won’t know for sure until the test results come back. At the moment he is on a drip and in some pain.

Our thoughts and best wishes are with you Thom.
Nan, Gramps and Jamie.
XOXOX

Jackie and Graham have been having trouble with their NTL broadband again. It’s been going on for months. The NTL engineers have been out several times, but it’s seems to be always working correctly when they call. Tonight I took my cable box (with built in cable modem) round to swap in order to determine if it was the cable box or their PC. We swapped the boxes… nothing. We swapped the smart cards… TV worked, but no broadband. Then I remembered that theirs was an old box and my require a crossover connector. But there wasn’t one. It turns out they had a crossover cable, so we found a crossover connecter and inserted that. So now they had a straight through cable. THis time it worked and fast! Back to the proper speed. I then swapped them back without rebooting the PC and the speed dropped again to sub dial-up speed 🙁
I hope they can get it sorted soon. I’ve told them to demand that and NTL engineer brings a new box and proves to them that the old box is the same speed.

I had a long, interesting conversation with Jan tonight about my lack of ability to visualize (amongst other things). It was quite enlightening (and somewhat frustrating). We also got on to some other related topics of conversation which was again an eye opener for is both. Particularly one subject in which we found we had quite opposite views 🙂
I feel that I want to develop an article about my memory recall ‘problem’. Something in which I am finding out more about my difference from everyone else I know. Soon (I hope).

I finally got the security light finished. It works pretty well: the PIR detects someone from a bout three feet outside the gate, and turns the light on for a couple of minutes. It’s got pretty good coverage, without creating any deep shadows. Plus it’s a model which reduces light pollution by not shining above the horizontal.

I’ve had a busy day today. First we had to clean and tidy the house. Then I installed some fairy lights Jamie got for Christmas above her bed. They look great. I then fitted another light under her bed (it’s a loft bed) so that we can see in the cupboards under there properly.
I also started fitting a security light outside the back door. But it was a pain to do. I started trying to lay the cabling behind the panelled wall in the utility. The panels are huge, the one I wanted to get behind covers most of one wall! I ended up removing most of the trim and door frame to get behind it. But then Jan told me I didn’t need to hide the cable as it was in the utility. SO, I put it all back and decided to run the cable along the opposite wall which was much more convenient. I’ve got most of it done, but it got too dark to actually fit the light to the outside wall. I’ll finish it tomorrow.

Jamie’s school friend Jessie is sleeping over tonight. Her mum dropped her off after lunch and they kept themselves occupied most of the day. Steve, Kim, and Megan came round too. So did Paula.

Paula came round to colour and cut Jan’s hair. I got her to trim my hair too, as did Steve. Kim got her highlights re-done.

In all a busy day and not much time on the ‘puter.

I managed to get the phones barred and the cards invalidated no problems. The insurance company were great! I phoned to make a claim, went through the form filling, and was told that apart from the camera and the excess, the money would be in my bank account within the hour. Which it was! I have to send in proof of ownership for the camera because of the value, but then they will send the money for that.
I’ve got my phone replaced and Jan’s is on its way by post. I replaced the broken catch on the window and have fitted an extra, more secure lock. I also got a PIR security light for the back of the house.
The other things we can replace this weekend if not sooner. It’s just the irreplaceable stuff with sentimental value, and the contents of Jan’s Filofax that we’ll really miss. Nor will we ever again feel quite so secure in our own home! 🙁

I feel that I want to rant about the youth of today, the state of the nation, or the way parents raise their children, but the fact is that people have been robbing houses for centuries. Most people are, like us, until today, lucky enough not to become victims. Today was our turn. It’s distressing, it’s a little frightening, but the loss was mainly material things. Thankfully my family are safe, no one was hurt, and no great damage was done.

I don’t believe it! We were burgled last night.
When I came down the stairs this morning it was to discover that we had been burgled in the night. Luckily (sort of) they were disturbed, probably by the dog, and ‘only’ got away with Jan’s bag (with her purse, driver’s license, and passport in it) two mobile phones, and the digital camera. They didn’t get the computer, microfiche reader, keys, my bag and wallet, CD’s or DVD’s all of which were in the same room. And they didn’t go in any other rooms.
The most distressing part is the personal items from Jan’s bag including photo’s, mementos, her Filofax and so on. The other stuff can be replaced.
The police came quite quickly and took all the details. The officer told me that another house down the road had also been burgled last night. The fingerprint guy came later but got nothing.