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In public news...
Some random thoughts...
I've not found anywhere I like the look of, in terms of European beach resorts, so it's going to be a staycation, in that we'll stay at home and just go on daily visits somewhere. Not such a bad idea, as I'm less wealthy than I thought, after some refined accounting. Other than Marwell Zoo though I'm struggling to think of somewhere to go. Perhaps a British beach, if the weather is remotely good. Sandbanks is an option, but I'm wondering if there's somewhere else remotely close in terms of a lovely sandy beach.
In terms of refined accounting and lack of wealth, I'm still angsting over getting an AR.Drone. In fact I would have bought one if the HMV high street shops stocked it. Curiously they don't though, and it just seems to be at their webshite. I know it will be a 5 minute wonder, but what a 5 minutes!
I'm also still keen to get a really good quality lens in the higher range. Debating whether to get something flexible but non-super telephoto, or a prime that's super telephoto. And that's still more than I'm really prepared to pay for a lens. The former, as mentioned, has at least some flexibility, but will be of no use generally. The quality will probably be good enough that nature shots can be cropped. The latter has zero flexibility, and I could only use it for nature shots (or air shows etc.). In some respects it's a little too high zoom, although I don't think Canon do an f2.8 (or similar) 300mm prime.
It's a minor miracle I haven't bought any of the above. Am I becoming sensible with money? It seems unlikely.
I'm still waiting for my Canon f2.8 28mm lens to arrive from eBay. Annoyingly it cites a 6 business day delivery from eBay, with the 6th business day being today. Where the fark is it?
I'm thinking of taking the Merc for servicing with these guys. I need to book a week in advance, but they can do the "A" service and MoT for £220. They also provide a loan car, so we can spend the day, or some of, in Southampton. Service is still due in a 1,000 miles, but I've got to have the car by early October, so I suspect the latter will come first and I'll get the lot done at once. Hopefully they're not con artists.
I've been awful at reading books the last few years, although I don't see that as a failing per sé. But I spotted The Stainless Steel Rat Returns came out a month or so ago. I also spotted it's on iTunes as a (thankfully unabridged) audiobook, but was wary of buying it in that format. Even so I bought it, and it's really good (for a Stainless Steel Rat fan). Takes me back to the times I read all the previous books repeatedly in my teens.
I wonder if audiobooks might help with the boring commutes, as I typically run out of podcasts halfway through the week. Any recommendations?
I keep meaning to do a revisit review of Royksopp's Junior. I was harsh in my previous review, and the album has grown on me massively since then. I wanted to couple that with a review of Royksopp's Senior, and Underworld's Barking. All will require proper listens before I can review, and I just don't get sufficient alone time. Perhaps it will have to wait until November when Lu is off to Brazil again.
And a brief Amélie update...
She's got bigger, even noticeably to me. She's rather fat, to say the least, and I have some slight concerns on what impact this might have on her later life. Wasn't there some research that showed fat cells gained at a young age stay with you forever? (Hypocrisy fail for those with long memories) Equally though, I'm not sure there's a lot we can do, albeit breastfeeding is perhaps pacification some of the time with Amélie.
She still isn't crawling, but is clearly on the verge of it, whether it be tomorrow or next year.
She's loving her food, and weaning has begun in earnest. She opens her mouth really wide and reaches out with her arms when she's really hungry. The parallel with a nest of baby birds is uncanny.
She has around 5-10 small patches of what seem to be eczema. I had eczema very badly as a baby, supposedly caused by cow's milk (formula wasn't available in Cyprus, and I wasn't breastfed). So far it's not serious though, and we're using some baby-safe moisturising cream.
She has been a bit cranky of late, but her teeth are supposedly coming through. I say supposedly because I've not had a good opportunity to see them, but Lu and Mum purportedly have.
Her constipation continues. Trying to get 10ml of Lactulose into her, 5ml morning and evening, is a tedious affair. We have to use a syringe, and then use various methods to get her to open her mouth. I don't feel great about it.
Her vocalisations change fairly frequently, and she tends to focus on a few at a time. Her latest are (1) a bizarre cough laugh (which isn't a great replacement for her cute baby giggles) (2) a very short explosive raspberry (3) huffing and puffing like she's really annoyed and (4) this weird rasping noise she makes while both breathing in and out. I mimic these back to her, which she finds very amusing.
She's a complete joy to be around, and I miss her during the day. Lu and I joke about waking her up once she's gone to bed, because we both miss her late evenings. Saddos, I know. I'm sure it won't last ;-)
Lu has been on the hunt for nurseries, and we think we've found one that's a good compromise.
And that's about it.
Some random thoughts...
I've not found anywhere I like the look of, in terms of European beach resorts, so it's going to be a staycation, in that we'll stay at home and just go on daily visits somewhere. Not such a bad idea, as I'm less wealthy than I thought, after some refined accounting. Other than Marwell Zoo though I'm struggling to think of somewhere to go. Perhaps a British beach, if the weather is remotely good. Sandbanks is an option, but I'm wondering if there's somewhere else remotely close in terms of a lovely sandy beach.
In terms of refined accounting and lack of wealth, I'm still angsting over getting an AR.Drone. In fact I would have bought one if the HMV high street shops stocked it. Curiously they don't though, and it just seems to be at their webshite. I know it will be a 5 minute wonder, but what a 5 minutes!
I'm also still keen to get a really good quality lens in the higher range. Debating whether to get something flexible but non-super telephoto, or a prime that's super telephoto. And that's still more than I'm really prepared to pay for a lens. The former, as mentioned, has at least some flexibility, but will be of no use generally. The quality will probably be good enough that nature shots can be cropped. The latter has zero flexibility, and I could only use it for nature shots (or air shows etc.). In some respects it's a little too high zoom, although I don't think Canon do an f2.8 (or similar) 300mm prime.
It's a minor miracle I haven't bought any of the above. Am I becoming sensible with money? It seems unlikely.
I'm still waiting for my Canon f2.8 28mm lens to arrive from eBay. Annoyingly it cites a 6 business day delivery from eBay, with the 6th business day being today. Where the fark is it?
I'm thinking of taking the Merc for servicing with these guys. I need to book a week in advance, but they can do the "A" service and MoT for £220. They also provide a loan car, so we can spend the day, or some of, in Southampton. Service is still due in a 1,000 miles, but I've got to have the car by early October, so I suspect the latter will come first and I'll get the lot done at once. Hopefully they're not con artists.
I've been awful at reading books the last few years, although I don't see that as a failing per sé. But I spotted The Stainless Steel Rat Returns came out a month or so ago. I also spotted it's on iTunes as a (thankfully unabridged) audiobook, but was wary of buying it in that format. Even so I bought it, and it's really good (for a Stainless Steel Rat fan). Takes me back to the times I read all the previous books repeatedly in my teens.
I wonder if audiobooks might help with the boring commutes, as I typically run out of podcasts halfway through the week. Any recommendations?
I keep meaning to do a revisit review of Royksopp's Junior. I was harsh in my previous review, and the album has grown on me massively since then. I wanted to couple that with a review of Royksopp's Senior, and Underworld's Barking. All will require proper listens before I can review, and I just don't get sufficient alone time. Perhaps it will have to wait until November when Lu is off to Brazil again.
And a brief Amélie update...
She's got bigger, even noticeably to me. She's rather fat, to say the least, and I have some slight concerns on what impact this might have on her later life. Wasn't there some research that showed fat cells gained at a young age stay with you forever? (Hypocrisy fail for those with long memories) Equally though, I'm not sure there's a lot we can do, albeit breastfeeding is perhaps pacification some of the time with Amélie.
She still isn't crawling, but is clearly on the verge of it, whether it be tomorrow or next year.
She's loving her food, and weaning has begun in earnest. She opens her mouth really wide and reaches out with her arms when she's really hungry. The parallel with a nest of baby birds is uncanny.
She has around 5-10 small patches of what seem to be eczema. I had eczema very badly as a baby, supposedly caused by cow's milk (formula wasn't available in Cyprus, and I wasn't breastfed). So far it's not serious though, and we're using some baby-safe moisturising cream.
She has been a bit cranky of late, but her teeth are supposedly coming through. I say supposedly because I've not had a good opportunity to see them, but Lu and Mum purportedly have.
Her constipation continues. Trying to get 10ml of Lactulose into her, 5ml morning and evening, is a tedious affair. We have to use a syringe, and then use various methods to get her to open her mouth. I don't feel great about it.
Her vocalisations change fairly frequently, and she tends to focus on a few at a time. Her latest are (1) a bizarre cough laugh (which isn't a great replacement for her cute baby giggles) (2) a very short explosive raspberry (3) huffing and puffing like she's really annoyed and (4) this weird rasping noise she makes while both breathing in and out. I mimic these back to her, which she finds very amusing.
She's a complete joy to be around, and I miss her during the day. Lu and I joke about waking her up once she's gone to bed, because we both miss her late evenings. Saddos, I know. I'm sure it won't last ;-)
Lu has been on the hunt for nurseries, and we think we've found one that's a good compromise.
And that's about it.