Password Tip

To blog or not to blog - that is the question I am now faced with.

I am just not motivated to blog any more if the truth be told. Though some are pressuring me to blog.

There was a time where I felt it would be good to share my life with friends and relatives - but when nothing much is going on - things get a little dry. We will see.

I do however have a great password tip.
If you change your password on a regular basis - like you should - why not use a word that you have trouble spelling? Once a month or so passes - you will have learned how to spell it. Then move to the next word.
Have a list of words you always seem to spell wrong and work through it.

You are not supposed to use dictionary words in a password - so switch out numbers for some letters.
For an S you could use a symbol like $ or a number like 5.  You could use capital letters here and there.

An original Lance Lifehack

Shoot my Canon

I have been waiting for the Canon 70D camera to be released, but the rumors are now saying it could be next year. In the mean time I want to take decent pictures with a Digital SLR. 

So - I went to the canon website and noticed that they had deals on refurbished items. 
I got a sweet deal on a T31 Rebel with an 18mm to 55mm lens. 

So I am back taking photos again!

I also got hold of a trial version of Lightroom 4.4  (5 is coming soon...). 

I like coffee, so I thought I would experiment with some different effects...

 Here is a more 'French' vintage feel:

Put this phrase in Google translator and see what you get...

Garden 2013

It's almost half way through 2013 and I have not posted a blog entry, so I thought I would start with my garden. 

Here you can see that the Kiwi Plants are really taking off this year. These little buds are likely to be flowers. Either that or Kiwis but I bet they will be flowers first, then Kiwis. 

These plants should be self pollinating. Probably still need bees though. Maybe I can pollinate the plants using a hairy brush?

 Peas. Getting tall! I planted these back in February. Should be getting some peas soon!
Those other plants are bush beans. I am not really going to plant much this year since I will be traveling a lot and cannot look after things well. 

 Strawberries. Lots of them. They have taken over one of the square foot gardens now. I can only hope they produce well this year. 

Tomatos. Growing 4x better boy plants this year. Compost is down, so I hope to see these grow well. 

That Pagan Holiday Feeling... again...

I saw a car sticker today that said: "Keep Christ in Christmas"
This is a Roman Catholic initiative. They sell these stickers by the box load.
I go to their website and see "He is the reason for the season"

Then I thought - this is wrong.
The Roman Catholic church are the reason for the season as they were the first ones to come up with it.
There is no record of the disciples or the early church fathers observing such a thing.

So here is my new sticker design:

 

Here is a tongue in cheek conversation:

Christian: I am fed up with Christmas. It seems like the most unholy time of year. Suicide rates go up and the last thing people have on their mind is Christ.

Man: Yep, that is how they like it.

Christian: Why can't we celebrate Christmas with no drinking, no materialism, and no distracting TV. No pagan tree and decorations, no fantasy idol characters like Santa and remove the catholic mass from the name. 

Man: Whoa now, that would only leave Christ!

Christian: Yes - give him the glory. 

Man: The Christian's would never go for that!

While the wife is away... Part 10

No central heating on for weeks!  Yeah! - British style!

That is correct - as cold as it has been I have not used central heating for about two weeks.
I have used a electric oil-filled radiator to keep my knees warm while in study.
If I get really cold - then I exercise to keep warm. No problem.

I will also use this hot water bottle tonight for a bit of warmth...

While the wife is away... Part 9

I prepared the 16ft beam. Holes drilled. Groves cut. Eye bolts added. 

Grading the earth flat. I had planks of wood and a spirit level. It was a nightmare.

This took almost a whole day of hard work:

Thankfully David T came around and helped get it up. 

 Much work still to be done - but at least it looks good right now. Need to anchor the posts. Finish the wood edging. Get loads of mulch to fill in the 'pit'.

While the wife is away... Part 8

Inventing stuff:

The iBlock:

This is such a cool invention. It holds my iPhone while I watch Netflix eating breakfast, washing up, ironing and so on. With the right materials I may be able to get it to stick to the dashboard and use it as a GPS Sat Navigation holder (on the iPhone). 

The black rubber thing is lose and can be used to prop up the iPhone at different angles. 

It can accommodate landscape or portrait viewing. 

The shower foot washing holding plate:

For a while we have had this foot washing contraption - but the thing is pretty useless as it has suckers and most showers and baths have an anti-slip texture on the floor - which will not allow the suckers to work. 

Idea: get a smooth piece of plexiglass - get the foot cleaner to suck to it and put that in the shower floor. I can then use one foot to hold the plexiglass and one can be washed.