test please delete

[covbob]

Well, here I sit "W"FH. So far the work seems to consist of more sifting through spreadsheets to uncover the details that the client's permies can't find, and asking the right people for information.

It's easy enough but I've been doing this and looking at these four walls since October last year. There's another 9 months lined up. I'm not complaining too much but it does get depressing, and tbqh I feel like I'm becoming deskilled at the technical networks stuff. The job I'm doing now is the one which seems to pay well but lacks the bits of the jobs which first got me interested in networks and how they work. I might be called a network architect but spreadsheet searching monkey and general detective seems closer to the mark.

How do the rest of you cope with a. being deskilled and b. WFH long term?

[covbob]

This morning's main entertainment was a trip to the hospital to be fitted with a CPAP machine. With any luck this will help me get some decent sleep.

The test results showed that I average 33 apnoeas per hour, which is in severe OSA territory and might explain why I've been feeling shattered and tulipty for the last year or more.

[SimonMac]

This morning's main entertainment was a trip to the hospital to be fitted with a CPAP machine. With any luck this will help me get some decent sleep.

The test results showed that I average 33 apnoeas per hour, which is in severe OSA territory and might explain why I've been feeling shattered and tulipty for the last year or more.

MrsMac keeps telling me I need to see the Dr about my sleep, can you give a 30 second summary of the process so far

[DoctorStrangelove]

How do the rest of you cope with a. being deskilled and b. WFH long term?

Having been completely and utterly deskilled by Ye Sloughe of Desponde, I retired.

HTH.

[covbob]

MrsMac keeps telling me I need to see the Dr about my sleep, can you give a 30 second summary of the process so far

Have a glance at Home - Sleep Apnoea Trust

For me the process was...

Mrs CB moans about my snoring, and I've been shattered for the past year despite getting decent amounts of sleep - to the point of not being able to get up before 9 whereas once I'd be bouncing out of bed at 6 ready for work.
Recorded myself on my iPhone sleep app for a couple of nights - heard snores ending in gasping.
Go to see GP, describe symptoms. Confirmed that I've overweight, which is a risk factor. GP advised me not to drive due to the excessive tiredness. We went through the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (Google it) which came out as "excessive" - which meant she had to advise me not to drive.
Had bloods taken to rule out thyroid or other problems.
Referred to the sleep clinic at the local hospital - initially seen within three weeks.
Spent one night wearing an oxomiter on my finger and returned it to the hospital next day.
Results were analysed and showed 33 apnoeas - rated as severe.
I now have a CPAP machine which should keep my airways open during the night and mean I sleep better.
I have a follow up appointment next month to see a consultant.

[NickFitz]

Chicken and barley soup for lunch, with both wholemeal and white toast (there being only one crust of brown bread left). Very nice, it was

[DoctorStrangelove]

Sunny now, very Simpsonsesque.

Warm enough to break into a sweat whilst doing a bit of gardening.

The Old Farts lunchtime coffee meeting went quite well.

3 of us went at the end of May, another one went 2 years ago, and the other chap left about 4 years ago.

This last chap had a mole removed, was informed there was nothing sinister, next he was informed it was basal cell carcinoma, two days after that at about 16:30 on a Friday afternoon, was informed it was a melanoma.

Which seems like an interesting experience.

In other other news, had an email from Regressive about a nice £50/hr contract down in Devon.

Sadly I don't have any of the skills they want.

Aside from that, a perfect match.

There's a contract/temp thing going somewhere in Mid Glam.

The contract rate is £35/hr, the temp rate is £15 to £23/hr.

Tea/dinner this evening is the remains of Sunday's roast beef with onions & carrots.

This is a nice change from the more usual roast beef with carrots & onions.

It was very nice.

Lunch was Heinz(tm) baked beans on Morrisons Ancient Grain toast.

It was nice enough.

I had a Welshcake with the coffee at lunch time.

Now watching an ancient ep of "Castle".

[NickFitz]

Sunny now, very Simpsonsesque.

Turned quite sunny here too now

Today's main achievement has been that I decided the lid of the deep fat fryer was still excessively grungy, and set about cleaning it properly. I ended up disassembling it (i.e. undoing four small screws) which allowed me to work on its components with a scraper and then a scouring pad, removing all caked-on (fried-on?) residue and even making the window see-through again. It's not quite as good as new, but it's a damn sight better than when I started. And it should be, for I spent about an hour on it

[DoctorStrangelove]

Stone me, my left elbow is unpleasantly painful.

But then again, that's been true for months.

I may have to consult the doctor.

In other news, the brave little soldier next door managed to mow both his lawns, which is almost a record.

Did a crap job, mind you, but it's better than a fecking hayfield.

[NickFitz]

In other news, the brave little soldier next door managed to mow both his lawns, which is almost a record.

Did a crap job, mind you, but it's better than a fecking hayfield.

Shame for the bees if the clover was still flowering, though. They like that, it seems. Still, there's probably plenty of other places for them to go

A small but significant patch of the living room has been… well, I don't know if "tidied up" is correct, but most of the stuff that was there has been redistributed to other parts of the living room.

This allowed for a couple of immediate improvements. Firstly, I used the small set of steps to put some bulky files that were piled there on top of the bookcases; the shelves are too high to reach otherwise, and there wasn't previously any space to put the steps in.

Secondly, I rescued the exercise bike that's been trapped there for ages, and moved it to a spot where I can actually use it.

But most importantly, I can now rearrange the two desks that make up my work area further away from the bookcases and nearer to the wall by the fire. This means I can work more comfortably, not having the shelves so close behind, nor having to squeeze through a small gap to get behind the desks. I can also then construct an Ikea storage unit that's still in its box after about two years, generally getting in the way, and put it against the wall between the end of the bookcases and the door. I can then store other things that currently clutter the place in it, which is good if I avoid the temptation to fill it with crap.

And once that's done, I can put the printer and Internet stuff on it, and take down the small shelving unit in the corner near the bay window on which they currently live, which is now behind the TV among a load of boxes and thus very hard to reach. And with that sorted out, I can then move the remainder of the stuff from the space I'm currently addressing over to there, thus having all the crap isolated in that area waiting for me to go through it, while the rest of the room will be more liveable in than it has been for many a long year