Recently in Root Category

One of my childhood heroes died last week.

I'll always remember how he taught me to ski, lessons so memorable I remember them over 20 years later.
I'll always remember how he was the one who picked me up and carried me over 100m down the ski slope when I fell and broke my wrist as a 10 year old (I still have the scar where the bone came through)
I'll always remember how he could keep us, we children, entertained with games and tricks using nothing more than a tin tray with a little water, or simpler still just our fingers. I still play those games with my children.
I'll always remember the barbeque with chicory wood chippings smoking the meat.
I'll always remember an impromptu game of rounders in the park behind his house.

At his funeral, I found he wasn't just my hero.

Over 200 people crammed in to celebrate his life and share how Bob had influenced their lives. There were a dozen readings, every one filled with how he'd inspired that person, and often their friends, to achieve a myriad of different things.
I never knew he'd introduced a city teenager to canoeing, who later canoed for England
I never knew he'd inspired so many in Skiing, working at a national level to develop the sport when I only knew him as the instructor at my local dry slope.
I never knew he'd inspired not only the children at the local rugby club, but the parents too.
I never knew... so many more things that I learnt about Bob yesterday.

Does podcast start with a capital P? It's not something I've though of before, the whole podcast thing passing by me until today - when I stared in one!*

Podcast's are like radio shows that you listen to offline. If you have the right software, the show will download when you are on the Internet and copy itself to your music player. Then you can listen to it when you are out and about. Although I am a fan of audio (be it music, documentaries, comedies and so on) as much as the next person, I've never got round to playing with podcasts and finding ones I want to listen to regularly.

The biggest reason for that is the difference between iTunes and Windows Media. Having just played with the iTunes podcast setup instructions as directed on this page, I had the system setup in less than a minute so I should automatically receive the future shows as they are released. Unfortunately, I don't use iTunes for all my music. My new phone syncronises through Windows "ActiveSync" which talks to Windows Media Player. I dare say I could change that to sync with iTunes, or figure out how to make podcasts work with Windows Media player but I simply haven't spent any time to figure that out. I used iTunes when I won an iPod Shuffle, but I don't use the device that often. I've been using my new phone to listen to music (it synchronises with Windows Media Player) but that too may be a passing fad.

Now, that's my excuse for not listening to podcasts out the way, what made me start listening today I hear you ask.

Well, my experiences with taking a spammer to court have garnered a little media interest, to which point I was interviewed at the beginning of the week by "Out-law" magazine. They are a magazine that focuses on legal issues of technology. I've been reading it myself for a few years too. They have a weekly podcast but I've never listened to it. I have read the transcripts though, just never downloaded to listen. The interview with me has been included in this weeks podcast. The whole show is 10 minutes long and if you've ever wondered what I sound like now is your time to find out. (If you don't figure it out during listening the spam story is in the last half and the harmonious Scot's accent isn't me, it's the journalist).

Happy listening folks.

*star is probably a bit strong, featured may be a more accurate word.

I love my boots. I know, they're not a lot to look at but they are the most comfortable boots I've ever owned. I almost fear the day I need to replace them. What are they? a 1994 Vintage "Brasher Hillmaster Classic". The date is stamped inside the soft leather ankle area and I remember buying them in 1995. I was doing the thing you never do, buy boots just before an expedition. As a 19 year old I had not a lot of money and had bought a cheap pair (perhaps £20) of walking boots. They didn't last the breaking in period, the cheap lace hooks cut through the laces within two days. Time to push the boat out and spend some serious money, more than half a weeks wages at the time, a staggering £100 - a huge amount of money to a 19 year old Steve

I still remember two parts of the sales pitch. Firstly, the sole. Not only big chunky grips but the deliberate shape that keeps the toe's high. As you put your heal down and roll forward the shoe literally helps you keep going, rolling the next part of each step. At least that's the theory, in practice I certainly have no complaints. They're gorgeous when you get into a stride and so much more 'walkable' than any other shoe or boot I've ever owned. Secondly, the tag line: "Travel light, travel far, travel in comfort". I know, now days I ignore tag lines for the marketing hype they are.... well, I pretend to ignore them. Every time I strap these boots on I get excited by the thought that I'm going somewhere and remember that phrase, even if it's just across the local fields with the children.

The only thing I ever do to them is smother them liberally in Grangers G-Wax before any major walk (my, this really seems like I'm getting carried away with the brands... perhaps I should be BBC like and add 'other brands are available').

They're first trip out was an epic, trekking for 3 weeks across Nepal. I was fortunate enough to be growing up within the youth group culture. We were organised by our leaders to fund raise enough to pay for a trek into the Himalayas, around £1800 which could also be described as far-too-much-of-my-annual-salary-for-me-to-cover-it-myself. The boots were an essential purchase as until then I'd survived in a pair of "High Leg DMS" army boots (very appropriate for ATC running around in wood things but I wanted something more appropriate for general walking). The trip was an experience of a lifetime, things I learnt on that expedition still benefit my life today.

This week I had to visit Sweden to check out a potential new supplier. It may sound like fun but the web-cam for the town showed snow on the ground, the forecast said snow, the UK Agent that was meeting me there said 'dress warm, it's very cold this time of year'. "Travel Light, Travel Far, Travel in Comfort".... I immediately decided to grab my Brasher's and my prized 30L Karrimor daysack (enough space to take as cabin baggage yet still carry 3 books, a change of clothes, a packed lunch and a "small clear plastic bag with not more than 100ml of any liquid" to meet the new stringent security requirements of air travel). My kit was light, Sweden is far, and I flew with Ryanair. OK, that may not sound like comfort and it sure isn't luxury but it was more than comfortable enough for my needs. I've not flown with Ryanair before and I'll have to write about it, some very interesting business principles well applied there.

Enough of my diversification though, you too can own the current incarnation of this boot by buying a pair of "Brasher Hillmaster Classic GTX", including the modern improvements of things like a Gore Tex Lining, for an under the rate of inflation price of £100. Yes, 14 years, 0% inflation and technically a much better pair of boots. Shall I treat myself to some new ones? No, my current pair are still perfect and besides, I don't have £100 to spare.

Wednesday night was hospitality night for me. First, I went to Ashford to see my friend Annie Browne's opening of her new training centre. Apple juice, nibbles, some words from the mayor and meeting people I haven't seen in a while. All good fun! It's a smart training setup in more ways than one; it's a nice new professional training area, it's also the first time I've seen a smartboard in use in business.

Smartboards are like great big computer screens that you can draw on. Gone are the days of looking for a piece of chalk, you can write things using just your finger. You can write things in different colours, save your notes and email them to people later. You can use it to show a PowerPoint presentation, watch a move or surf the Internet.

This may be new to me in business, but my 10 year old daughter would know exactly how to operate a smartboard. Her school started installing them 5 years ago and now every classroom has one. My 5 year old son arrives in class to move his name tag into whether he is pack lunch or school dinners. It used to be a set of cards in pockets on the wall, now he drags his named hot air balloon image on the smartboard from the ground into the cloud that equates to pack lunch or dinners. As someone who remembers the transition from chalk board to white board at school I can't help but be impressed at the speed technology is moving on.

In my recent course at Canterbury Christchurch University, almost all the tutors used projectors and PowerPoint presentations. Smartboards haven't quite reached them yet. Wednesday night was also the award ceremony where I and many of the others collected our certificates. More apple juice, more nibbles, some words from the Vice Chancellor and meeting people I haven't seen in a while. More good fun! So here you have it, a photo of my "Certificate in Business", a whole 40 credits at level 1. I confess, I'm vain enough to want a degree just to prove I could do it. In reality, I don't need one (it wont help my career prospects!). That said, I love learning new things. The trouble is knowing what I need to learn. This course did nothing for my business knowledge but lots for my French. Perhaps I should do a course on how to operate a smart board...

One of the good things about starting the business studies/French course at the local university is that it's only 5 miles from home. It's easy to get someone to drop me off there so that I can run home at the end each lesson.

I've been relatively good at running home since the course started (that is I've made the effort and run) and I've already noticed my times improving along with my French. However, for the rest of the course I'll be being driven. Running home on Wednesday night 'je suis tombe', that's french for "I fell". I thought I'd sprained my ankle and decided it would be best to call Rhonda and get picked up. 6 hours later the pain hadn't diminished so I went to hospital. A few x-rays and some prodding by the doctor confirmed I have broken a bone within my foot.

I guess I won't be running for a while...maybe using the crutches will improve my upper body strength though :-)

Mercredi soir, j'attendais Canterbury Christchurch University pour apprends français. Depuis douze ans depuis j'apprends français a l'école. A l'école j'étudie le "A/S", peut être un 'demi baccalauréat'.

Pour moi, la grammar est difficile en anglais et en plus difficile en français! Masculine/feminine, "tu ton tes" (je pense?). Maintenant je connais en plus de nouveau mot français après seulement une semaine.

A l'école, j'achète un livre "Jochim a des enuis" (peut être "jochim es les enfant?") - un livre pour les enfant je pense, mais pour moi c'était très difficile. Peut être après mon étude (en douze semaine) je peux lire un autre livre français.

J'espère cet est lisible pour tout person français! Utilise la "comments" sil vous plaît! (En français aussi, pour aidez mon étudie).

********
Addition!
Je trouve "Joachim a des ennuis" a amazon!

Addition deux!
Merci pour google "spellcheck"! Je voudrais le google "grammarcheck" aussi!

I've given blood 10 times. I'm not exactly a record breaking donor. I started giving blood when I was around 18 when the National Blood Service used to collect blood in the canteen. When I started the business it was always hard making the time. The last few years have seen me going more consistently.

The blood service also have a really useful web site. It allows you to book appointments and find out how your blood is used. The thing I find most interesting is the "Blood Stocks" page, which gives you up to date information on how much blood is in stock by number of units and more usefully how many days they think that stock will last. As I write this, there are 39,854 units of blood available in the country but only 0.6% (258 units) are in my blood group. Before I go and wrap my self in bublewrap and cotton wool, this will last about 5 days. They don't have to have your blood group, some groups can take blood from other groups and all of this is explained on their web site.

I encourage you all to go and give blood at your local donor session.

Giving blood costs nothing and one day it may help someone you know. It may even help you. If you are nervous about giving blood feel free to give me a call and if I can I'll go with you.

First lesson over! That was fun. Just like starting sixth form in so many ways. Meeting all the new people but with easier opening lines like "so, where are you from?". Thinking of which, I should put this in the Root Memory category as I remember starting my Business Studies A levels and meeting my friend Wendy...

Nice group, good sense of humour. There were 8 of us tonight, should be 10 next week. This was just a familiarisation night to check the software worked for all of us. We came from all over the world, or to be precise USA, Canada, Holland, Romania and me from the UK. The instructor is a chap called Ben Ramsey. We can hear him but we can only speak when he 'passes the mic' - students that can't answer back? It must be teacher heaven! He speaks clearly and I'm sure he knows his stuff.

I'm guessing, but I think he's the Ben Ramsey at http://benramsey.com/, in which case, he really does know his stuff!

I think I'm going to enjoy this course.

My return to education begins in just 2 hours. I say return but of course I've never stopped learning. However, I've signed up to a formal training course and paid a fair amount of money for the privilege.

The course is "Zend PHP Essentials". PHP is a programming language commonly used on web servers. It's core functionality is about generating web pages. It allows a programmer to generate those pages from a database, as well as many other things like create PDF files. As with many languages, you can use it to start other programs that aren't really related to PHP or web pages. It's one of the most popular programming languages for web site because
a) It's free (well, it 'open source' which means you can use the software for free but there are other obligations - like you can't alter it and then sell it)
b) It's now very popular (which means its on almost every server set up going and if you get stuck the chances are someone you know can help you fix it).

I have dabbled in PHP from time to time but I am a self taught programmer. I had a problem, I knew a computer could help me solve it, so I learnt what I needed to solve it and moved on. I have a big project coming up at work as I continue to improve our business systems to meet our growing needs. One of those is to move our MS Access based system that runs our invoicing onto a web based system. MS Access is fine in small groups, but we are pushing it's capacity to it's limit. I had considered Adobe/Macromedia Coldfusion but in order to use that in our office I would have to buy another licence (we already have one for our web server, the www.rootskitchens.co.uk site uses coldfusion). The licence isn't too expensive at around £900 but if ever I want to have a second server running (second site for Roots perhaps, or I create a website for another interest and need to host it on another server) then I would have to spend another £900. Instead, I chose to spend that money on a proper Instructor led course on PHP.

What did I mean by "...in a distant sort of way"? Well, I really wanted an instructor led course. I tried the local colleges and universities. I emailed some people mentioned on their web sites too, but there are no PHP specific courses they are running or plan to run. To be taught by an instructor I would have to go to London for a week. I thought fine, I'll find someone and pay them directly to teach me. Alas, I still didn't find anyone. Then I found the Zend course. It's instructor led but the instructor is California. Now that's what I call distant learning!

They have a web based (of course!) interface which I will be logging into to talk with the instructor and other students. I can see what he writes, the slides he shows, hear what he says, put my virtual hand up to ask a question, type a message and even interrupt him (using a microphone he can hear me too).

The downside? Well, I can't throw pen lids at my friends in class (sorry Fiona!).

The time zones worked well for me too. The lessons start at 6pm BST so it's just like Adult Education would have been. This type of online instructor led training could be a good thing - I'll let you know how it goes.

When I think of my Granddad, one thing has always sprung to mind. It's a song with the lyrics "you won't get me I'm a part of the union, you won't get me I'm a part of the Union...". (Text really doesn't mean much when you think of songs, so If I ever get round to it I'll see if I can put an extract here too.)

My Granddad was a Union Man. I remember growing up and him talking about political things and I'm sure he must have mentioned the unions several times. I can't remember anything specific that he said about the unions, but I have always associated that song with him. The song "PART OF THE UNION" was released by The Strawbs in 1973 - 3 years before I was born.

Fast forward a couple and a half decades. In 2003 I finally got round to having some guitar lessons. The teacher, Dave Lambert, used to teach my dad many years ago. Dave is an exceptionally good teacher. I also knew he'd had some songs in the charts many years before, including one called "Lay Down". Now, I've never been very good remembering names, so I didn't know that the band that recorded "Lay Down" were "The Strawbs". Dave Lambert was (and is) a Strawb.

For several months I had no idea that I was being taught to play guitar by one of the musicians who recorded the song I associate with my Granddad.

Decided to add a new category for the bundle of posts half written that I haven't published yet. This section covers:

My Theories (on life, the universe, and anything else).
My Memories (We are the sum of our experience, and these are things from my past that pop into my mind from time to time).
My Observations (Those little things that I notice during my everyday life - now I've got somewhere to note them down)