Tired today. Alex decided to get up at 6:15 and go downstairs to watched his recorded Thomas the Tank Engine shows (recorded on our Freeview hard disk recorder from Channel 5). This seems to be code for "I've decided that today is not a school day". The end result was a row as he refused to get dressed - ending up with him biting Deb.

Didn't help that I then sniped at Deb for suggesting that he might get dressed downstairs. Sometimes I can react to changing a routine just as badly as Alex.

So I left for work with him still calming down. I hope Deb managed to get him off to school without too much difficulty.

I've not managed to post this as yet, so it's still currently sitting on my Palm. It was Tuesday when Alex was particularly difficult, and now it's Friday.

Deb's new ipod has now arrived. It's a green new generation 4 gig Nano. She was persuaded after playing around with mine for a bit. We have both begun feeling a bit deprived of music recently. Where we both used to listen to CD's or the radio regularly, the house is usually now silent as Alex won't tolerate music playing in the background.

Right, well blogging with my Palm is working again (I'm writing this in work now!). I now have a choice of blogging applications - Plogit which I've been using for a while, and Vagablog (which was recommended by Blogger's help site). For both, to make them work, I just had to change the server they accessed from www.blogger.com to www2.blogger.com. Strangely enough that made things 'just work'. So now I have a choice of apps for blogging from my Palm.

Been getting involved in another computer game. This one's called OpenTTD and is clone of Transport Tycoon Deluxe. It's a strategy game where you have to build a transport empire. Alex loves it because you can build train and road networks delivering passengers and freight. He thinks it's marvellous. Problem is, it's been taking quite a while to play, and Alex (and me if I'm honest) have been getting a bit obsessed with it. I think it's narking Deb off (understandably). I've got it working on Ubuntu Linux with sound, and FreeBSD without sound (I think it's a problem with playing midi files, but to be honest I'm not that bothered).

Not much done over the weekend. Removed most of a small Eucalyptus tree in the garden which was getting a bit over sized - and found that it has probably damaged the garden wall to the point where it's only the ivy which is holding it up. Ordered a new ipod for Deb, she's been very impressed with my 4gig 2nd generation Nano, so I'm treating her to one to fill with all her 80's rubbish :-). Cooked a nice fish noodle soup on Saturday from the Wagamama cookbook (cod - supposed to be 'sea bass' - marinated in mirin, fish sauce, and soy).

I'm pondering getting more involved in a local autism charity, Merseyside Autistic Children's Society or MACS which, despite the name, is largely Wirral based. Thinking I could some electronic communications stuff with them - run maybe a website and email newsletter etc. This could give reality to my long dormant 'website project'.

And I don't have any particular thougts on the Virginia Tech shootings - other than being amazed that a US pundit thought the problem was that the students hadn't been armed - and that if they had been the problem could have been averted (ie. They would have shot the killer before he killed anyone). To quote a film "Thank you for that fascinating insight into our cultural differences".

Very interesting episode of House the other night. This is a programme Deb and I like quite a bit - Hugh Laurie draws a magnificent character, full of flaws and complexity.

Last night's episode revolved around a child with autism who (it evenually turned out) had acquired a parasite which caused all sorts of symptoms, but very hard to diagnose because they couldn't communicate with the child.

To cut a long story short, it was really encouraging to see a portrayal of life with autism on mainstream tv - without the 'Rain Man' style spin (when I tell people about Alex, I still regularly get asked 'what does he do?). It was just an ordinary life for people coping with autism - rigid schedules, PECS, worry, frustration (one particular scene involved the parents pinning the screaming child down so some tests could be done, which rang a few bells). The unrealistic sudden willingness of the child to attempt to communicate with House only spoiled it a little bit.

Another interesting attempt was the effort to try and portray the world through the eyes of the child - how the world is perceived, with all the over stimulation making it impossible to focus on what someone is asking you to focus on.

All in all, a great effort. Not perfect maybe, but still good to see a (reasonably) realistic portrayal of life with autism.

Grrr...narked off now, because the change to Blogger's API has prevented my old Palm application for blogging from working. I'll have to search around to find one that will work with the new API now...

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More news in work. My role is becoming a little clearer. It will revolve around finance and budgets. So I will have staff responsible for managing various finance related tasks - mostly to do with making payments. I'll hold responsibility for monitoring the budget, and forecasting against staffing. I'd rather have had the other side of my team - which is more to do with monitoring work performance - but I'm sure I can make a go of it. Watch this space. I'm not unhappy, as it allows me to keep my hand in at staff management, whilst also having some analysis work to do. I'll also still be within spitting distance of the local project staff, so we shall see what happens.

Planning a trip to Derby for Easter. Not sure entirely what's there, but hoping we might make it into the Peak District for some walking - assuming the weather's reasonable.

The problem we've been having with the landline has now finally been fixed by BT - so it's possible to call us and make yourself understood without being deafened by the noise on the line. It doesn't knock the broadband connection out either. It's only taken about 4 months to get it sorted, but at least it's done now.

Well, I think that's about it for now. Judo this evening for Jessica - she passed her grading las weekend and is now an Orange belt, so tonight will be her first chance to go wearing her new colour. Alex will probably go shopping with Deb, and I get to cook the tea!

NASA - Cassini Images Bizarre Hexagon on Saturn





Good lord! This is, to say the least, fairly gobsmacking. Take a look, and see what you think...

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So it's been a while since my last entry. I've had some problems with my blogging software since blogger changed their API. The software on my Palm continued to work, but neither Performancing nor Deepest Sender (they're addons for the Firefox web browser) would work. Luckily, Performancing has been reinvented as Scriptfire, so I back in business.

The big news is that I started my new job on Monday, on promotion. It's based in central Liverpool, and therefore involves a little more travelling - although it's basically just a couple of extra stops on the bus. It's a completely different organisation, so I've spent the first few days just trying to learn a little about what they do and how they're set up.

I'd expected the job to include bits of project and implementation work, but I've spoken to my new boss now. From what she says, it's going to be more planning and forecasting. That's a bit of a disappointment - especially since it seems I've basically taken on the job she's just left, and she seems to be a little protective of what she left behind. This could make things interesting later. I guess we just need to get to know each other.

It's also taking a little while for me to find out exactly what I'm responsible for. Maybe it's me, I'm finding it difficult to settle in and find out what I'm actually responsible for. At the moment, I feel a little bored and listless. I want to be proactive and start taking things on, but I don't feel like I'm in a position to.

Oh well, I'm sure things will get better. And at least if the job isn't going so well, then it isn't going well on HEO money etc..

Well that's all a bit gloomy I'm afraid. Must make sure I post again soon when I'm sure things will be looking up.

Guardian Unlimited | Comment is free | That 2p off income tax is a one-day wonder that comes at a high price



Crikey, this just about sums up my feelings about the budget. I was amazed to read this (sitting in Starbucks in Liverpool before going to work - but that's another story), but it's a hell of a piece of political analysis.

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Amazon.co.uk: The Making of the English Working Class: Books: E.P. Thompson

Current reading matter. I know it's a classic text for students, but I saw it in the local library and fancied reading something different. It's very interesting stuff. Though provoking, and certainly not dogmatically left wing - although left wing for all that. I'm planning to move onto some Hobsbawm probably after this.

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Guardian Unlimited | Comment is free | People like us:

Another interesting article from today's Guardian. This one touches themes  from the book I'm reading  (Making of the English Working Class, E P Thompson) about life before the Industrial Revolution. The illusion of constant progress is something that belongs to the world of the capitalist - and it is indeed an illusion. To paraphrase Marx, the freedom offered by capitalism is for many simply the freedom to starve.