Steve Richards: Family

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Thu, 26 Aug 2004 18:56:34 GMT

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Study tips

Fri, 13 Aug 2004 15:56:03 GMT

I came across this site in the OneNote forum, it has some nice concise tips for studying and note taking

http://www.westshore.edu/webs/ltc/study_skills_resources.htm

of particular note is the Cornell Note Taking Method, which although not fancy does provide some insight into the fact that learning does not stop when you finish taking notes!

Inspired by interest in my humble office ...

Tue, 10 Aug 2004 18:50:51 GMT

There are two discussion threads active on the GTD forum on Offices. The first is asking people about their home offices and I have replied to this with some links to my blog. Inspired by the interest people seem to have I have updated some of the pictures and added a couple of new ones. Of particular note is my new baby spider phone, (brand new and 2/3 off retail price off eBay!):

Then Eric Mack got into the act with this "not so tidy" desk post, and another post that links to his blog:

I cope with this by having a designated untidy area:

My wife and kids also have a desk each, and share this one in my office, which helps keep them away from mine:

Secret Society of Happy People

Tue, 10 Aug 2004 10:02:02 GMT

Check out this web site if you are interested in encouraging a positive world

http://www.sohp.com/

I particularly liked the 31 Types of happiness

I also subscribed to the email newsletters, no RSS feeds I am afraid!

Jenny and I go to the Cinema

Sun, 08 Aug 2004 22:04:32 GMT

I had promised Jenny a "1 to 1" trip to the cinema which is always really difficult to organise as the other kids always want to come along as well. So I chose a movie that I thought would only appeal to Jen, "13 going on 30", I was not really looking forward to the film, but was really looking forward to the time with Jen. As it turned out we both really enjoyed the film, and not for different reasons. The film synopsis follows:

Jennifer Garner (Daredevil, TV's "Alias") and Mark Ruffalo (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) star in this hilarious flash-forward romance about a pre-teen girl who goes from geek to glamorous. With the help of some magic wishing dust, 13 year-old Jenna Rink (Garner) becomes 30 and gorgeous overnight, with everything she ever wanted, except for her best friend Matt (Ruffalo). Now, this grown woman must create some magic of her own to help the little girl inside find the true love she left behind.

Whilist its true that there was a romantic theme to the film, I think what Jen and I liked most was that the girl re-invented the woman, sort of as follows:

12 year old girl knows her own mind but is starting to be seduced by the need to be popular
On her 13th Birthday she is desperate to get the "6 chicks" to her party, they end up letting her down in a big way
Just after her let down, she wishes herself 17 years forward to herself at 30, and finds that she has achieved all her ambitions, she becomes a member, in fact the leader of the, "6 chicks", becomes editor of her favourite, (when she was 13), magazine, get the hunky boyfriend etc
However her 13 year old self, starts to dislike her 30 year old life, she no longer takes calls from her parents, misses family christmas, is rude and ignorant, betrays her magazine to further her success etc.
The 13 year old re-invents herself by re-branding the magazine. More on that later
She tracks down her best friend from when she was 13, who she was very cruel to, he falls for her all over again but in then end stays with his existing girlfriend because he says, "he made decisions he has to live with" ...
She goes back to being 13 again and decides to live her life, rather than chasing an empty dream
She marries her best friend

Ok, slightly different from the official version, one of the cutest bits of the film is how she re-brand the magazine. This is a teen magazine, it goes something like this:

Clothes
Shoes
Makeup
Boys
All fashion models

She realises that this is the rubbish she pushes at kids every month, its the stuff that got her hooked on the empty life she ended up with at 30. She talks to kids, she get her old best friend, (who is mad on photography), to help out, she re-images the magazine, to focus more on:

Real people that kids can relate to and admire
Team spirit
Family
Success in meaningful areas, sort, music etc
....

She says to kids its all right to be normal, to enjoy simple things, to have friends and family, to help each other, to not have enough money and to make do, to work hard etc. Thats what I took away from the film.

Spy Kids

Sat, 07 Aug 2004 17:47:20 GMT

On our walk today we were playing Spy's. The kids used my Pocket PC to get instructions from Spy Central, and the camera to spot losts kids, (who glowed green), and other enermy spys, (who glowed red). There were several model planes flying on the beach and they 'radioed' the owners to get them to take out the spies and rescure the kids. They spent the rest of the day playing spys up in the twins bedroom, we are just off to go scooting on the promenade on their 'hover scooters'.

Beach Walk

Sat, 07 Aug 2004 15:46:28 GMT

Tessa, Anna, Jenny and me went on a long walk today. The weather was glorious so we trekked to Fairhaven Lake, the kids had an Ice Cream, (I am on a dairy free diet), and then we walked back along the beach. I bought a very cheap low resolution camera last week and the kids clicked away with it as we walked. Most of the pictures were rubbish, bit I liked a couple of them. One was one of my favourite cafes, right on the beach:

The other was the library at the end of the road.

Drama School - Richard III

Tue, 03 Aug 2004 22:52:23 GMT

Stephie was at drama school last week. They did Richard III. I thought it might be a bit dry, (not being big Shakespeare fan), especially after Blood Brothers the week before, but it was great. The adaptation was loosely based around James Bond and Gold Finger. They used the movie music and some of the songs and lots of great comic touches for anyone who knows the films. But they also spent a lot of time in workshops understanding the play and the language, so it was not just a trendy adaptation.

Everyone loved it, and Stephie did great, a marked improvement over last year. The group she is in is really starting to bond now, and it should get better next year as she moves into the senior group. Even better she is also going to help out with the Junior class which should build responsibility and confidence still further. Drama is such a gift for kids, I was totally turned off by school drama where 70% of the kids just mucked around. I wish I had had the chance to get over my shyness in such a supportive environment!

If you ever visit Blackpool ...

Tue, 03 Aug 2004 18:17:39 GMT

We live 5 miles down the road from Blackpool, which is not one of my favourite places. However on a quiet day its not a bad location for shopping, its got a great beach and the promendae walk is excellent. On a busy day, (never go on a Bank Holiday!), its full of drunken louts and is best avoided. That said it has some great entertainment my favoutrite of which are the yearly shows, and the best of these is eclipse, a combination of Music, Dance and Acrobatic circus. It really is worth a visit.

Here is the marketting buzz:

Eclipse is the first and only circus musical created in the UK. This unique show is pure theatre. From booking your seats your journey through the elements and a fantasy of our world class performers will leave you truly amazed as they perform elegant and death-defying feats before your very eyes.

With the ultimate in choreography we dare you to see the whole show in one visit. All the special effects in this show have been created especially for you - so you will have a dream come true and a memory forever.

ECLIPSE - A SHOW YOU DREAM OF SEEING!

"BEAUTIFULLY STAGED" - OK! Magazine

"STUNNING" - The Daily Telegraph

"MUST SEE" - OK! Magazine

We all went to see it again today, I have seen it twice, Debbie' Jenny and Stephie 3 times and Tessa and Anna and one of their friends saw it for the first time. Tessa and Anna are six and they sat mesmerised through the whole thing!

Check out the web site if you are interested

Drama School - Blood Brothers

Mon, 26 Jul 2004 19:08:43 GMT

Jenny, my second eldest, just completed her first week at Drama Summer School. She was part of a great performance of Blood Brothers one of my favourite musicals. Jenny had quite a few small parts and did very well although she did get rather over-heated as she was wearing two outfits for the whole performance. The cast overall were great and there is some real talent in the little group.

We get to see probably 4 performances a year by this youth group and we are really getting to know the actors quite well now, its a special plus looking forward to seeing the best of them develop and trying to spot some of the talent that we are going to enjoy in the years to come. I was also lucky enough to get to see the individual talent show last Thursday, some of the group shows were very funny, and one of the singers was amazing, she certainly had no problems with projection!

Stephie my eldest is at the school this week, doing the rather more academic Richard III, which she is enjoying, she has spent 3 weeks researching it on the web and creating a project folder so she is well prepared. She is busy making a coffin in the back garden at the moment!

Some memories of Hospital

Thu, 15 Jul 2004 15:04:31 GMT

The operation went very well and the girls recovered very fast and got very bored even faster. I continue to be somewhat amazed at the lack of organisation in Hospitals, a few examples follow:

The welcome letter says to ring the ward before you leave home to check a bed is available, the letter says you need to arrive at the ward by 7:30, but in fact they don’t staff the ward until about 7:30. Not many people live that close to the hospital!
When we arrived at the ward the notice above the WHITE phone said use the RED phone to request entry
We arrived at 7:25, bearing in mind the fact that the letter said arrive by 7:30. However the ward did not open until 7:30
The ward was only half full
In the end they decided to close it and moved us downstairs into another ward
The hospital have out-sourced the TV’s, Phones and Parking. Most of my interactions with the staff revolved around resolving issues with TV’s, Phones and Parking, and also private medical insurance refunds.
Probably ½ of all nurse and doctor time was spent gathering and/or checking previously gathered information, or in taking trivial observations that required no training to take, (just to interpret).
Only two drink brands were available for the children, orange and blackcurrant cordial. Do these people have kids! Given the importance of getting the kids to drink plenty following operations, a few of the more popular brands might have been a good idea. Mine flatly refused to drink the brands available so I had to leave two poorly kids, an hour after their operation to get Ribena from the hospital shop. Choice was similarly limited to 3 varieties of cereal and one flavour of Jam!
Ear plugs were not provided, (I took some though - I have been to hospital too many times to forget the essentials)
Headphones for the bed-side TV’s and Radios were not available in one ward at all, but were available for every bed on another. Supply of head-phones was out-sourced! Not surprisingly the noise level on the ward without headphones was intolerable unless you had a TV in front of your face all day with the volume up!

Tonsillectomy and Open Source

Thu, 15 Jul 2004 15:02:52 GMT

My youngest daughters, twins, and I have been in hospital for the last two days for their Tonsillectomy and I have taken the opportunity to re-read the Cathedral and the Bazaar, and to start reviewing my past experiences with Open Source with the model it describes. I have also started to review its progress against Eric Raymond’s predictions and some of the challenges it faces. As a result I now have an Open Source category in my blog and two daughters without Tonsils.

The experience trap

Thu, 01 Jul 2004 11:15:56 GMT

David Chappell, a professional speaker, who often works for Microsoft has written a very interesting little article on the subject of the experience trap. In essence, as you get more experienced, especially in IT, that experience can cause you problems as well as give you an advantage. He recalls discussions with computer science professors who are debating which programming language a person should be taught. Here is an extract in his own words:

The difficulties faced by teachers of computer science provide one example of the problems experience can cause. But the challenge certainly isn’t limited to professors—we’re all in danger. And since the experience trap isn’t much of a problem at the beginning of a career, it can sneak up on you. When you’re twenty five, you don’t rely much on experience because you don’t have any. When you’re forty five, however, it’s tempting to rely too much on experience. The truth is that experience is useful only if the future is like the past. In software, what will be important next year is often very, very different from what was important last year. Realizing that a significant part of our hard-won knowledge becomes valueless every year is a necessary part of moving forward.

He concludes with an interesting remark:

After teaching for a decade or more, I’m sure some of the computer science professors I spoke with wished they’d chosen to teach history instead. History professors don’t have wholly new topic areas suddenly appear, nor do they need to readdress basic pedagogical issues every few years. But my conversations with these people reminded me of how important it is for all of us—professors and practitioners—to sometimes ignore our own history. Avoiding the experience trap is an essential part of making real progress.

I found this fairly interesting from two perspectives:

I have just turned 40 and after years of feeling like the new kid on the block with lots of bright ideas, I have started to feel like the experienced old hand. learning new things has become more difficult through a combination of age and lack of time and the volume of new stuff to learn and the online resources available to help have exploded.
The second reason is that I recently recalled a series of psychological tests that I udertook a few years ago, and part of the feedback was that I was likely to be resistant to change. At the time I ignored this feedback as I was taking my company through some of the most radical change it had ever seen in IT and it was a very challenging time for me as well as well. However in the light of point number 1, recent posts on how I like things that are familliar to me, and how too much choice, (loosely linked to change), affects happiness I think it needs revisting.

Bottom line is that as I get older I need to be ever more focussed on following process rather than instinct. Following the right process should help make sure that I do not rely too much on experience and do not resist appropriate change. Instinct probably drives me in the opposite direction!

If you want to read the whole article have a look here. David is an interesting person to listen to and read, but watch out for the fact that he makes his living evangalising Microsoft technologies and that some of his talks are sponsored by Microsoft, although he does generally make that clear.

Goodbye to the Tablet

Fri, 25 Jun 2004 22:01:59 GMT

There is a flurry of debate in the blogs because Peter says, I Still like the tablet. But I am all out of love, well I have a story to tell about Tablet love as well.

I got my first Tablet, a HP TC1100, in January and it was love at first sight, I just took to the slate format and at the time forgave the terrible keyboard, (although it didn’t take me long to remember my old IBM keyboard with increasing longing). I wrote all about my early experiences in my tablet blog. Well my circumstances changed and I found myself working mostly from home so the mobility benefits I was getting from the tablet reduced and I started to look at the platform more objectively. These are some of the conclusions that I came to, but I think it’s a pretty personal view so don’t expect any conclusions that I draw to apply to you.

The Tablet didn’t work for me when I was mainly deskbound:

I love screen real estate, before I had a Tablet I had a 1400*1050 resolution ThinkPad A20p, it had a great keyboard to, (I love IBM keyboards).
At home now my desktop drives a 19” 1280*1024 LCD and a 19” 1600*1280 Flat screen LCD and I still have my ThinkPad A20p as a management console for my home lab. So for me the 1024*768 screen on the TC1100 was just not up to the job.
With a screen that size the Tablet is a huge improvement over a PDA, but it’s a lot bigger, I have just settled on an IPAQ 4150 so you can see that size, or lack of it in true portable device is pretty key for me.
As an auxiliary display things improved considerably but the docking station was a bit ‘strange’ and I still found myself struggling to use the small screen for anything really useful, when I had a glorious 19” LCD as my secondary. I tried using it to monitor my email but I found I could do that just as easily on my IPAQ, which had a brighter screen as well.
I found it slightly under powered compared to my desktop, but I could have lived with this, it had 1GB of memory and this seemed to make up for the slower processor and hard drive.

The true mobile experience I was hoping for never happened:

When I first got my Tablet one of the real benefits I was looking forward to was being able to take anywhere and use it inside and outside. However all too often I found that the lighting was not right. Outside it’s practically unusable and this was a real disappointment.
I also never came across a really good case that I could use at work and home that was small enough to always take with me everywhere
Battery life however was never a problem for me as I had two batteries and I managed 6-8 hours.
The end result I ended up leaving it behind and wishing I had a Pocket PC so that I could take something everywhere. In the end I bought a Pocket PC!

I still needed a keyboard:

I was impressed by the handwriting recognition when I got the Tablet and blown away when I started testing XP SP2, but I still needed a keyboard for so much of the work I did when I was mobile, even when I was just sitting watching TV, answering a few emails or reading blogs I missed the keyboard. This was a real shock to me as I just love the slate format, its just that the slate format is only really useful when you are making very short notes, browsing/reading or making hand written notes or drawings. If you are doing any serious writing or PowerPoint for example you really need mouse and keyboard with today’s applications. Strangely enough PDA’s seem much easier to use in slate mode, they are lighter, the applications are better optimised and my expectations about being able to write are much lower.
I have found since switching back to a laptop when mobile, a IBM ThinkPad T40, that I use it much more sitting in the lounge or in the garden than I used my tablet. Quite the opposite of what I was expecting when I let the Tablet go.

So what did I like about the Tablet:

I loved the slate format
I thought the HP hardware design was fantastic, apart from the keyboard, they should have recognised how important the keyboard was still going to be
I thought the handwriting recognition was first class, especially in SP2 and was vastly improved over that on my IPAQ, however it should be put in its place, a useful complement to the keyboard, or a bonus when you just have the slate with you
I loved the natural interaction model, and the more applications that are developed to take account of it the better
I loved OneNote, but still think it could be optimised slightly more for the pen interface, look at a product like Pocket Informant for some clues
I loved some of the concepts, but not the reality, for example the voice recording and recognition just did not meet my expectations

What needs to be done to get me back in love:

I need a first class keyboard
I need a much higher resolution screen, one I can read an A4 page on, 1400*1050 would be just fine!
I still want to be able to use it in slate mode, keyboard detached, to minimise weight and maximise portability
I want some innovation put into cases, or protection so that I can bung it into my rucksack and take it wherever I would take a pad of paper
I need to be able to read the screen outside
The price point needs to be right
It needs to be light enough without the keyboard to hold in one hand

Interestingly all of these improvements are hardware, there have been a lot of criticisms of the platform, but I personally liked it well enough, sure improvements would be welcome but these are unlikely to win me back on their own. At the end of the day today’s hardware does not allow for the radical new way of working that the operating system and applications already support.

For another personal perspective, I looked at the needs of one of my daughter’s who suffers from Raynauds and Scleroderma. I think a Tablet would be just perfect for her, I wrote that up here.

Tablet PC for Jennifer

Fri, 25 Jun 2004 21:57:09 GMT

This is a short article that I wrote for the occupational therapist who works with one of my daughters who has Raynauds and Scleroderma.

There are a variety of different types of technology assistance that would benefit Jennifer in an educational setting. My perception is that a range of techniques will be required that reflect the unpredictable nature of her symptoms and the variety of different tasks that she needs to perform. There is no magic bullet solution that meets all of her needs.

Writing

When Jennifer has to write for extended periods there are a number of issues that need to be considered:

1. Her ability to dictate in a fluent fashion is limited at this age

2. Her hands get cold

3. Her hands get tired

4. Sometimes the movement/dexterity of her hands is limited

What solution options are available in addition to traditional pen and paper?

1. Voice recognition

2. Hand writing recognition

3. Simple gesture recognition

4. Different types of keyboard

5. text substitution

Each option is considered in brief below:

Voice recognition

Voice recognition is still not a mature and easy to use technology. Some of the important characteristics are described below:

1. The software, (SW), requires training and this process requires some dedication and can be very frustrating

2. The SW works best when the person dictating has mastery of fluent speaking

3. The SW works best in a quiet environment, although some people have reported success in a normal office environment with a high quality noise cancelling microphone

4. Considerable skill is required to use the SW for anything other than raw text input. In addition keyboard less editing of text input can be complex and very frustrating.

All of these characteristics are indicators that Voice Recognition will not be a magic bullet for Jennifer.

My view is that one should expect to use the SW as a complement to other techniques, where it is appropriate, and almost always alongside a keyboard and mouse or a stylus.

Hand writing recognition

Hand writing recognition has improved dramatically in accuracy and is now approaching 99%+ accuracy in SW that will be available in the mainstream operating systems by mid 2004.

Hand writing recognition may seem a strange option for someone who struggles with spelling, and traditional pen and paper however there are some significant advantages:

1. The SW works for people with fairly bad handwriting. Jennifer’s writing is neat by comparison

2. The SW allows the person to write large letters, much larger than would be appropriate for pen and paper

3. The SW recognises words by comparing against a dictionary, so for a poor speller accuracy can be increased significantly

4. The SW does not require significant training

5. Correction of words that have been incorrectly recognised is a fairly natural process and presents likely words from the dictionary improving spelling

6. If the digitiser used for entering the text is a Tablet format PC, the screen is warm and will keep Jennifer’s writing hand warm.

7. Using the same Tablet PC interface it is possible to transition between voice input and handwriting input seamlessly. This is useful for example if the stylus is used for correction and voice for bulk text entry. Or the stylus used for difficult words or for maths and voice used for descriptions.

8. Maths SW is also available to automatically calculate the answers of maths problems

9. Handwriting can be captured without conversion to text. Or can be converted to text later if required

Voice recording

As a complement to the two techniques above, rather than convert voice to text, it is also possible to record voice directly. There are some significant advantages to this as a complementary technique:

1. If Jennifer is getting behind she can just record her voice and she or her SSA can translate to text later if needed

2. Notes and annotations can be saved as voice

3. Note taking SW is available that merges the voice and text streams so that it is possible to hear the person’s voice at the same point in time that a note was being written.

Simple gesture recognition

There are alternatives to hand writing recognition that involve significantly less hand movement and much simpler gestures. This software can be used as a complement to the other techniques. It has the following important characteristics:

1. A stylus is used, so it has some of the benefits of handwriting recognition when used on a tablet, i.e. the writing surface is warm

2. The stylus movements are much simpler, generally just straight lines and L shapes

3. The movements can be small or large

4. A game is available to aid in learning

Different types of keyboard

There are a wide variety of specialist keyboards available that allow single handed typing. Gel keyboards for low impact etc. Although the mobility of a device with these keyboards is limited and they are only likely to be of benefit for extended text input.

Text substitution

Used in conjunction with most of the above, this allows short words to automatically be expanded to long ones, or difficult things to type to be substituted with easy things. It has the disadvantage of making people lazy, but it would help Jennifer. For example if you type:

1. dt, then the date and time can be substituted like this: 03/11/2004 @ 02:48 PM

2. dont can be automatically converted to don’t

3. address can be substituted to

Road

Town

County

Postcode

Note taking

A lot of school work is about note taking, research and idea assembly for projects etc. A variety of powerful techniques are available including, some of which have already been mentioned:

1. Ability to record teachers words, make text notes and listen to the teachers words later to reinforce the text note or to clarify the note

2. Ability to take notes using a keyboard, voice recording, handwriting and handwriting conversion to text. Or a mixture of these

3. Ability to annotate scanned in workbooks, text books and handouts, annotations can take any of the above forms

4. Ability to aggregate information from lots of sources, scanned, web, and personal input into a project

All of these mechanisms are integrated in products like:

1. Microsoft One note

2. Microsoft Journal

3. Agilix GoBinder™ For Students

Annotating

Annotating is key for students. In Jennifer’s case especially so as she is likely to focus on annotation of existing material and notes, rather than note taking. The primary technologies available are:

1. Freehand drawing using a digitiser, ideally integrated into the tablet PC format

2. Freehand writing

3. Handwriting converted to text, likely to be used for project work and other formal submissions

4. Voice annotation, (see comments above)

5. Voice to text, (see comments above)

Compilation/Project work

Project work is ever increasingly important. Project work involves:

1. Research

2. Assembly of material

3. Integration of information from diverse sources

4. Annotation of this information

5. Original input

All of these activities are served by Note taking solutions like Microsoft Onenote described previously.

Diagrams and Art

If any activity suited itself to the tablet, stylus driven input model it’s diagramming and art. Software is available that:

1. Converts freehand gestures to lines, circles, flow charts etc

2. Software is available that allows the production or graphs, and other diagrams using mouse or stylus

3. Voice or text annotation or freehand writing annotations can be added to these diagrams

4. They allow a person with reduced dexterity to produce neat well organised work

5. They provide powerful ways to correct mistakes, especially useful for people with low dexterity.

Other considerations

1. It would be great if Jen did not have to carry lots of books, notes etc around with her. A tablet format device with scanned notes and books or eBooks would be ideal.

2. Preparation for the future. The skills learnt in using technology to support the learning process would be invaluable in later life

3. Self sufficiency. The tools described would potentially reduce the level of SSA input, but make Jen more self sufficient and equip her better for later life.

Recommendations

1. Jennifer should continue to spend a significant amount of time reading out loud at school and home, as this will improve her fluency and prepare the ground for voice recognition SW later

2. Jennifer should undertake a trial of a tablet PC, recommended to be Tablet PC version 2004, (available mid year), for approximately 2 weeks for handwriting recognition. Potentially small changes made now in her style could significantly improve successful use later

3. Jennifer should begin to play with voice recognition SW at home, (equipment is available), so that it comes easily and naturally to her when she has to learn it for real

4. Jennifer should begin to play with Microsoft OneNote to keep her personal diary, so that she becomes familiar with navigation, and use, (voice annotation, voice recording etc)

5. Consideration should be given to equipping her with a Tablet PC and handheld scanner during her first year at high school. Access to ebooks and scanned books should be explored through the school and school book suppliers

Writing the living web

Thu, 24 Jun 2004 15:23:56 GMT

I just read a very nicely crafted article describing 10 tips for writing the Living Web. Essentially its about writing blogs. As I progressed I wondered increasingly who could have put together such an article and what motivated them to put in the effort. When I got to then end I found it was Mark Bernstein who is chief scientist at Eastgate Systems, publishers of Tinderbox, a personal content management assistant. I went straight there to have a look, (so its good advertising Mark!), but unfortunarely its for the Mac only, but they are working on a Windows version.

Staying close

Sun, 13 Jun 2004 16:15:13 GMT

Today we spent most of the time on the camp site and walking on the cliffs and small beaches. Stephie decided she was going to write an illustrated book, so on one of the long walks we took 50 or so photo’s with the other girls all acting out parts.

file:///H:DebbieDebbie's%20PicturesWales%20-%20WestStephies%20Book

Its was really cute as Stephie described each child’s character in the book and they all practiced as we walked along so they could all look “realistic”. For a small break we all went to a slate works where we got a look at how slate is mined and machined. We all got the chance to chisel out a design on a small slate block. Debbie’s was the best of course, a 36 for Brian and Elena’s house.

Snowden

Sun, 13 Jun 2004 16:13:08 GMT

We had a fantastic day today in the Snowdonia national park. We saw Snowden, but the highlight for me was a walk through one of the Forests in the national park with Stephie and Jen. We walked for about 2 hours and it was a very rough track but the kids were fine, they even managed to cope well when we got lost and we had a lot of laughs, (we really did!), trying to find our way back onto the tracks. We also went to one of the electricity pumped storage generators, it was impressive but nothing compared to the natural beauty of the region. When we got back to the camp Stephie and I went out for a long walk along the sea cliffs. The cliffs are only 15 minutes walk from the Caravan, and amazingly picturesque, with lots of small rocky coves that are fairly easy to reach and lots of safe cliff top play areas for the girls as well. Yesterday the beaches were covered with Jelly fish, but these have all cleared now and the little beaches are pristine.

Portmeirion

Sun, 13 Jun 2004 16:11:55 GMT

Portmeirion was created by an architect who wanted to demonstrate that it was possible to enhance a beautiful natural landscape though careful development rather than detract form it. He created a fantasy village which is sustained by tourism and for my money he proves his point. We walked for a couple of hours in the wild gardens and spent a while photographing the village. The kids took turns with the camera so we should have some interesting results. We arrived back at the Caravan at about 14:30 and had a snack and a bit of reading time and then went swimming. The adventure pool was the best we have been to but it was VERY noisy! Debbie and the kids have just dashed off to a rabbit farm leaving me to do the washing up. There are loads of rabbits on the site as well. Stephie is keeping count but they are up to about 90 so far.

Great Site!

Sun, 13 Jun 2004 16:08:46 GMT

We arrived in North West Wales today at about 14:30 . The campsite is huge but very well maintained. The caravan is excellent. While Debbie unpacked I took the kids round the site and down to the beach which was small but very rocky and interesting. The beach was covered with tiny Jellyfish but we still managed to have a good explore and paddle in the sea. The kids loved it. After tea Debbie took Anna, Jen and Stephie back to the beach and they found a dead Dog Fish which made their night Tessa decided she wanted to stay at the caravan with me but soon decided she wanted to go out for a walk. Eventually she managed to drag me to a bouncy slide and £1.50 poorer I read “10 secrets of abundant happiness” whilst I watched her, as if proof were needed of how easy it is to be happy with the simple things in life.

We all arrived back at the Caravan at the same time and for supper, the kids had Apple and After Eight mints! We got the Twins showered and off to bed and then the big girls Debbie and I settled own to watch “Maid in Manhattan” on the tablet. This went pretty well. All this written freehand with the new TIP, very impressive once you get the hang of it.

Getting ready is an event in itself!!

Sun, 13 Jun 2004 16:06:57 GMT

The kids went away with their Grand Parents last week and so arrived home with a mountain of washing. Everything needed to be unpacked washed and repacked with lots of extra stuff added as well. The house also needed to be tidied and tidied again and then cleaned before we went. Poor old Debbie seems to have done nothing but prepare for the holiday for days while I have tried to keep the kids out of the way I think that’s why a couple of holidays a year is enough for me! Its probably also why I love living in a holiday resort all year around. We can be on holiday after a 5 minute walk to the sea front!

Blood Brothers - the Musical

Wed, 02 Jun 2004 17:51:08 GMT

Debbie and I went to see Blood Brothers this afternoon. It was a fabulous musical, easily the best I have seen so far. The lyrics and singing were great and it had loads of clever twists and acting tricks. One of the best was the transition of the teacher from Public School or Back Street school. The kids growing up were just great, they must have had fun! Overall a very enjoyable way to spend an afternoon.

Text blogging to the kids ends today

Wed, 02 Jun 2004 07:44:48 GMT

Both kids with phones forgot to take their chargers on holiday with them, so their batteries have now run out. I only gave them new chargers on Friday!

Relaxing day

Tue, 01 Jun 2004 20:05:22 GMT

Debbie and I had a quiet day today. We went out for breakfast, pottered around the house for an hour finishing the washing etc. Then headed into Preston to do a bit of shopping. I got a couple of magazines for my next project, Linux, and some pumps so that I can use the trampoline when its wet or cold. I just love that trampoline, its a 10' one and seems to really help with my AOSD.

Blackberry blog to the select few!

Tue, 01 Jun 2004 20:02:43 GMT

I have been using by Blackberry to send the kids frequent "text message" updates on what we are up to. I even got a couple back! Its sort of like writing my blog, but via text with a very limited/select audiance. I hope they appreciate it, I found it quite fun and I guess they enjoyed the updates and it gave them something to talk about!

Kids off to Southport

Tue, 01 Jun 2004 20:00:38 GMT

All of the girls went to Southport yesterday to spend 4 days on holiday with Debbie's Mum and Dad. I hope they know what they are letting themselves in for. Great though our kids are, all 4 together in a small space can result in some tensions! The girls were very excited about going though and Debbie and I have been looking forward to our longest time alone for 11 years!

Who are we?

Tue, 01 Jun 2004 19:58:20 GMT

I am Steve, married to Debbie with 4 great kids, Stephie, Jenny and our twins Anna and Tessa

Where I live continued ...

Sat, 29 May 2004 17:24:16 GMT

The web site for the Time and Tide exhibition is now available. Its full of fab images of Victorian Seaside Towns and their Piers, like St Annes on Sea, my home town. I took a few photo's myself which are in my My Images folder.