Billy Young's Blog, page 8
November 1, 2014
1st November 2014
I never got the DIY work done last week. Calum was out on Saturday until the small hours as they said in my day. That meant that he spent most of Sunday recovering in his bed. Maybe we may get his guitars onto his wall this week.
My garden is slowly becoming leaf strewn as they fall from my fruit trees. And the rhubarb has died back for the year. Sadly it is still to early to prune my trees. I'll need to leave that till the right cold weather comes in. Hopefully I will get a not so cold day over a weekend. I do have one thing in my favour, time. Yes as long as the pruning is done before next spring everything should be alright. One thing that will need done is to clear some of the leaves as they are covering the strawberries that grow around the base of my trees.
Beta 3 of Elite came out this week. I played it for the first time last night after it updated to 3.03. I should have expected it would need some quick updates but I didn't expect three within days. Just goes to show how complex and large the game is. With new feature being add I suppose it was inevitable that conflicts would arise within the code. These would in turn lead to unforeseeable consequences in game. With it also being a PC game everyone is experiencing differing problems as these bugs run on their unique systems. It does make it even harder for the developers to figure out where they need to look to repair the code. I don't envy them but I suppose that is why they get a better wage than me.
My garden is slowly becoming leaf strewn as they fall from my fruit trees. And the rhubarb has died back for the year. Sadly it is still to early to prune my trees. I'll need to leave that till the right cold weather comes in. Hopefully I will get a not so cold day over a weekend. I do have one thing in my favour, time. Yes as long as the pruning is done before next spring everything should be alright. One thing that will need done is to clear some of the leaves as they are covering the strawberries that grow around the base of my trees.
Beta 3 of Elite came out this week. I played it for the first time last night after it updated to 3.03. I should have expected it would need some quick updates but I didn't expect three within days. Just goes to show how complex and large the game is. With new feature being add I suppose it was inevitable that conflicts would arise within the code. These would in turn lead to unforeseeable consequences in game. With it also being a PC game everyone is experiencing differing problems as these bugs run on their unique systems. It does make it even harder for the developers to figure out where they need to look to repair the code. I don't envy them but I suppose that is why they get a better wage than me.
October 25, 2014
25th October 2014
The week has passed quickly, almost in a blur. Work has filled the days while at night I have lost to Elite. I still haven't really explored a fraction of the game as it is so vast that. It shall take a long time to even explore one percent of the whole game as it stands at the moment. That shows how large it will be if it is ever finished. As you can tell |I still have my doubts to that. Well at least to it being finished this year as the company behind it claims. I just feel that there is still too much to be fixed as well as new content to be added. Some of that new content does come in the coming week in the form of Beta 3 release. That will add the ability to mine asteroids which will give us all another avenue of revenue. That is if you can find a descent asteroid belt that no-one else has claimed.
Tomorrow I have some DIY to do. It isn't a great deal just some guitar brackets to put up for my son. I did start last Sunday but the drill bit I had decided to break. Yeah I should have spares but I didn't. Actually I rarely have more than a one or two bit left over from another job. This time Calum decided he had enough and ordered a full set so as we won't be short again. Good idea which I did try a few times over the years. Unfortunately it only last while the set is new as rarely does the bits within get replaced as the wear out. Another problem is when others borrow your tools. When you get them back seldom do those borrowing ever replace the bits that have worn out. It isn't out of malice or anything like that just simply human thoughtlessness which we all suffer from. How often did I sharpen the pencils I loaned at school, all those years ago, not often if ever. Human nature something we all suffer from.
Tomorrow I have some DIY to do. It isn't a great deal just some guitar brackets to put up for my son. I did start last Sunday but the drill bit I had decided to break. Yeah I should have spares but I didn't. Actually I rarely have more than a one or two bit left over from another job. This time Calum decided he had enough and ordered a full set so as we won't be short again. Good idea which I did try a few times over the years. Unfortunately it only last while the set is new as rarely does the bits within get replaced as the wear out. Another problem is when others borrow your tools. When you get them back seldom do those borrowing ever replace the bits that have worn out. It isn't out of malice or anything like that just simply human thoughtlessness which we all suffer from. How often did I sharpen the pencils I loaned at school, all those years ago, not often if ever. Human nature something we all suffer from.
October 18, 2014
18th October 2014
The cold I have had is still not full gone though I ain't suffering as much as I was earlier in the week. Yes the first half of the week saw me grumpy as I dealt with the choked up feeling that goes around as the cooler months close in. It didn't stop me from seeing to the grass but I still have some things to do out in the garden. Yeah I did use the cold as a bit of an excuse to not do everything I had been planning. I think we all do that from time to time.
Elite Dangerous has had a very steep learning curve. I did the first of the tutorials but found that they were very good a teaching you. They would be greatly improved with a voice over telling you which buttons you need to press and when. Yeah more of a walkthrough than they are at the moment. Of course that may come as time goes by as we are still in the beta phase of the game with a long way to go before we reach the polished game that will be the release model. Anyways it took me until Wednesday to get to grips with the game. I think the hardest aspect was Super Cruise mode, it allows you quickly to fly through a solar system, or rather exiting it. Of course my son wasn't pleased with all the moaning I did as I vented my frustration of the games mechanics. I so wish it had auto-pilot it would have been so simpler. I think that is another thing that will come later in the development but I did miss it when I started playing. Saying that though I am no enjoying the game much more now though there are one or two small niggles. One of them is finding your docking bay on some stations is not as easy as I would like. Especially if it is a station where the landing pads are on the exterior of the station. The first time I tried landing on one of these I ended up in a panic as my time counted down, you have ten minutes to land, and I couldn't find the pad. Yeah why panic I hear you say. Well it does draw you in, well it does to me. Another niggle is that I have been fine twice as I entered a station. I slow right down so I can get my bearing to the landing pad I have been assigned. Sadly the game see this as me loitering at the entrance sometimes and fines me. Luckily they are too large so easily paid. In general I am enjoying the game and look forward to more content later this month. That will come in the form of being able to mine asteroids just as I remember in Frontier. Until then I still have some exploring to do in my Eagle.
Elite Dangerous has had a very steep learning curve. I did the first of the tutorials but found that they were very good a teaching you. They would be greatly improved with a voice over telling you which buttons you need to press and when. Yeah more of a walkthrough than they are at the moment. Of course that may come as time goes by as we are still in the beta phase of the game with a long way to go before we reach the polished game that will be the release model. Anyways it took me until Wednesday to get to grips with the game. I think the hardest aspect was Super Cruise mode, it allows you quickly to fly through a solar system, or rather exiting it. Of course my son wasn't pleased with all the moaning I did as I vented my frustration of the games mechanics. I so wish it had auto-pilot it would have been so simpler. I think that is another thing that will come later in the development but I did miss it when I started playing. Saying that though I am no enjoying the game much more now though there are one or two small niggles. One of them is finding your docking bay on some stations is not as easy as I would like. Especially if it is a station where the landing pads are on the exterior of the station. The first time I tried landing on one of these I ended up in a panic as my time counted down, you have ten minutes to land, and I couldn't find the pad. Yeah why panic I hear you say. Well it does draw you in, well it does to me. Another niggle is that I have been fine twice as I entered a station. I slow right down so I can get my bearing to the landing pad I have been assigned. Sadly the game see this as me loitering at the entrance sometimes and fines me. Luckily they are too large so easily paid. In general I am enjoying the game and look forward to more content later this month. That will come in the form of being able to mine asteroids just as I remember in Frontier. Until then I still have some exploring to do in my Eagle.
October 11, 2014
11th October 2014
For the past few days I have been suffering the effects of the cold. Tammy my daughter lovingly shared her cold with me. Not that I really wanted to struggle through work while trying to shake myself free of illness. I suppose though that I would have gotten it from some one else if it hadn't been Tammy. It is after all that time of year when colds and flu's to proliferate which bring many runny noses. As well as heads that feel like they are filled with treacle. At least I have the next week off to fully recover.
Yes I am on holiday for the next week which will give me time to play my new game. My son, Calum, bought me the beta of Elite Dangerous which I have been watching on the web for some time. I played Elite Frontier on the Amiga 1200 many years ago and wasted many hours. Hopefully I will enjoy the new game as much as I did back then.
Sometime in the next week I will need to find time, weather permitting, to cut the grass and tidy up the garden. Recent blustery conditions has fed the greenery well allowing it to grow out of control. Tomorrow is supposedly to be better than it has been so I will get out then with the mower. Luckily my hedges are fine just now so no need to worry about them.
Well I'm away to do the tutorials to my new game. It is always good to give them a run through so you can get to grips with the controls. It does save you a lot of frustration.
Yes I am on holiday for the next week which will give me time to play my new game. My son, Calum, bought me the beta of Elite Dangerous which I have been watching on the web for some time. I played Elite Frontier on the Amiga 1200 many years ago and wasted many hours. Hopefully I will enjoy the new game as much as I did back then.
Sometime in the next week I will need to find time, weather permitting, to cut the grass and tidy up the garden. Recent blustery conditions has fed the greenery well allowing it to grow out of control. Tomorrow is supposedly to be better than it has been so I will get out then with the mower. Luckily my hedges are fine just now so no need to worry about them.
Well I'm away to do the tutorials to my new game. It is always good to give them a run through so you can get to grips with the controls. It does save you a lot of frustration.
October 4, 2014
4th October 2014
Tammy and Magz made the muffins I hoped for last week. I had some in my lunch box during the week. A few extra calories of deliciousness is just the thing to get you through the week. Sadly there are only a very small number of the tiniest berries left on my bush now. I think the birds had themselves a small snack during the week because I was sure there were more left last week. Of course I could just as easily be wrong. You know how the mind works over even a short time like a week. I do still have some parsnips and carrots to pull up but mostly the garden is starting to head into winter mode. Once the leaves have fallen I will still have one important job to do which is to prune my apple tree. The cooking apple one that is as it has taken over the whole area of my fruit trees. It doesn't help that the other trees have been suffering from their own problems. Next year I'll need to try harder to deal with them and hopefully encourage them to a more fruitful future. Well it would be good to get some cherries. Maybe next year. After all I was close to it this year. I really did think we might get some sadly only to fail at the last. I think it was the sudden spike in the temperature that did it this year. Ironic really as usually it is the cold that has cost me my crop of cherries. Well it has been a warm year.
September 27, 2014
27th September 2014
I was out picking my eating apples today. Though they don't look great being covered in scabs, though not all of them, they aren't to bad. I got about a dozen apples in total. Not a lot I know but I do love apples. I have an apple every day at work so these should save Magz buying them for a couple of weeks which is a good thing considering the cost of everything these days. I unfortunately lost the pumpkin that was growing. I noticed that is was rotting on top when checking on it today. I'm beginning to think growing pumpkins isn't a great idea if you are doing it in tubs. I will need to think of some other way to grow them. Maybe a grow bag as I have for the tomatoes. Speaking of which I am now getting a nice little crop from them now. They have taken their time to give us much and though we aren't getting as many as previous years it is still a nice number. There are more blueberries to be picked tomorrow as well. Magz has already made two crumbles with apples chunks and blueberries. They went brilliantly with custard and I'm now hoping she makes muffins with some of the berries that are left. That will also leave enough for a nice pie to go with more custard. I do love cake and custard, yummy.
Things are slowly dying down after the referendum. I am still get the mick taken out of me by Ross at work. He voted no and thinks reminding me of how we are better together as he knows I was for the yes camp. It is all in good fun though which does help us all get over the passions that was raised during the long campaign, especially towards the end when things began to become more heated. The disappointment that I feel is slowly being replaced with the acceptance of the situation. We as a nation just aren't ready to be a member of the grown up world of nations. We would rather blame Westminster for all our troubles than take the responsibility for it ourselves. Or at least that is how I imagine the world see us now. Then again I am biased in my thinking and maybe that isn't so much how the world sees us but rather how I see Scotland now.
Things are slowly dying down after the referendum. I am still get the mick taken out of me by Ross at work. He voted no and thinks reminding me of how we are better together as he knows I was for the yes camp. It is all in good fun though which does help us all get over the passions that was raised during the long campaign, especially towards the end when things began to become more heated. The disappointment that I feel is slowly being replaced with the acceptance of the situation. We as a nation just aren't ready to be a member of the grown up world of nations. We would rather blame Westminster for all our troubles than take the responsibility for it ourselves. Or at least that is how I imagine the world see us now. Then again I am biased in my thinking and maybe that isn't so much how the world sees us but rather how I see Scotland now.
September 20, 2014
20th September 2014
Scotland has, as you will already know, voted to stay as part of the UK. I am hugely disappointed to say the least but also disgusted by the actions of a few of the No camp supporters. Last night the internet was full of images of union jack clad thugs attacks people who had supported independence. The were also see giving, what appeared to be Nazi salutes though this was later claimed to be the Red Hand of Ulster salute which I am not to sure of from the clips I saw. I am hoping for the media in this nation to condemn this behaviour but so far this has not been the case. If this had happen in any other part of the UK other than Scotland it would have made the new quickly and been monitored as the evening went on. Not last night. As news spread over the internet with links to clips of what was going on the BBC and other stations remained silent. When final it did get on to the TV after most of the trouble had been controlled by the police it was the Yes campaigners that were blame for the trouble. This afternoon the BBC changed this to saying it was both sides that caused the disturbances on Glasgow's streets. Yet from the footage I have seen this is totally untrue and I watch some footage that must have been taken from the side of the British supporters. All of the clips that I have seen show the yes campaigners under attack or receiving verbal abuse for their political belief. Today I am shamed by these louts that call themselves Brits/Scots. They should just drop the pretense of being Scottish for last night they looked more like Hitler's fascist brown shirts in the way they acted. Let us hope there is no repeat of this but I fear that this may get worse. I pray I am wrong as we have a great reputation around the globe for our friendly nature.
September 13, 2014
13th Septamber 2014
Just in from picking more blueberries this week. It has been a really bumper year for them. Magz is planning to make crumble with some of tem tomorrow, hope she has custard, while my daughter wants muffins. Luckily there are enough for both and still loads more to be pick provided the wildlife doesn't raid them. I also picked carrots and parsnips. The parsnips were a little disappointing but the carrots are another tale. I left some of the root veggies that weren't really worth picking. the extra room will hopefully give them a chance to grow more. I also saw a small developing pumpkin as I tended to the garden. I am hopeful that it should develop into something worthy of Halloween, lets hope.
We are now into the final week of campaigning on my nations future direction. Should we be an independent nation? As you know I'm all for freeing ourselves from the shackles of Westminster. Mine is only one voice but as this week has unfolded I have been surrounded with similar voices to mine. The only time I have heard the voice of the no camp has been on TV. The news from the all the news outlet, TV, newspaper and radio, has been very much behind the Camp Fear as the no voter have become known. Yeah you have it they have been running a very depressing campaign warning how if we vote for or freedom the world will come to an end. On currencies they have been trying to tell people that if we vote yes our money will disappear overnight and we will all be broke. It is almost embarrassing. If I were a no voter I would be ashamed of these tactics as it makes them look like children having a temper tantrum in them middle of a supermarket. Oh and no we will all have to pay more for the food we buy. The list of negativity grows by the day I hope my nation and its people can see through the rubbish. That they can see the better future that could be ours by breaking away from the old tired regime that has not served the best interest of the people of Scotland. Rather It has squandered our wealth to further the prosperity of the elite in London while leaving us poorer. this is our time to show our Bravehearts to the world and vote Yes on Thursday.
We are now into the final week of campaigning on my nations future direction. Should we be an independent nation? As you know I'm all for freeing ourselves from the shackles of Westminster. Mine is only one voice but as this week has unfolded I have been surrounded with similar voices to mine. The only time I have heard the voice of the no camp has been on TV. The news from the all the news outlet, TV, newspaper and radio, has been very much behind the Camp Fear as the no voter have become known. Yeah you have it they have been running a very depressing campaign warning how if we vote for or freedom the world will come to an end. On currencies they have been trying to tell people that if we vote yes our money will disappear overnight and we will all be broke. It is almost embarrassing. If I were a no voter I would be ashamed of these tactics as it makes them look like children having a temper tantrum in them middle of a supermarket. Oh and no we will all have to pay more for the food we buy. The list of negativity grows by the day I hope my nation and its people can see through the rubbish. That they can see the better future that could be ours by breaking away from the old tired regime that has not served the best interest of the people of Scotland. Rather It has squandered our wealth to further the prosperity of the elite in London while leaving us poorer. this is our time to show our Bravehearts to the world and vote Yes on Thursday.
September 6, 2014
6th September 2014
I was out picking some tomatoes today. We didn't get many this year plus those we did are on the very small side. This year has not been the greatest harvest from the garden though some crops have done well. Those being the blueberries and cooking apples. Strawberries, peas, potatoes and onions have all been not to bad but they could have been better. Really I shouldn't complain as at least we did manage to get a good crop from some things and though the growing season is coming to a close I still have some things to keep an eye on. The strawberries have begun sending out their runners which means weeding tomorrow. The parsnips are beginning to die back which means I will soon find out how well they have done this year. And I still have some more carrots still to pull. The last lot were delicious.
More scare stories are being put round by both side in the referendum debate. The yes side are claiming that the Scottish NHS may be under threat from cuts if there is a no vote. When you hear both side argue over this it makes you wonder as this is already a devolved issue. Yet at the same time the Westminster government has said their will be further cuts to the Scottish block grant. This in turn would lead to cuts but I am not sure that these would be made to the NHS. So what would we lose? Well earlier in the year Scottish labour did give a hint to what they would cut. Student fees would be introduced, free prescription done away with and the freeze on council tax abolished. At least that was what the leader of Scottish Labour claimed at the beginning of the year. These policies would hurt me very much in the pocket and Magz needs a lot of medicines as you know. Then both of my children are now going to college now. Plus the council tax is a struggle to pay as it is without a rise which the SNP have protected us from.
Of course a yes result in the referendum doesn't mean these things are any safer from Labour. And if it was left to the far right then we would be paying just to see the doctor as it was in the bad old days. I'd hate to see those days return.
Of course the no camp would have us all believe the world will stop spinning if we vote yes. That Westminster will demand all Scotland's money leaving us skint and then they will rebuild Hadrian's wall. The list of things we would not be able to do is laughable at best and embarrassing for them. If they had won the argument over money maybe I would have been more inclined to listen but they didn't because they believe we should be afraid of the future without the Westminster government to stand at our backs. I think I'm more afraid of the thought of them being at my back than them not. After all for most of my life I have seen the damage that has been brought to bare on society by their policies. Poll Tax, the closing of Ravenscraig, and more recently the bedroom tax. Westminster is out of touch with us north of the border ands much of the rest of the UK. Will a Yes to independence change that? Will bring a full government to Scotland with full powers make it more in touch with our need? Will it make us better off? I don't know but I think it is better than what the other side is offering, more of the same.
More scare stories are being put round by both side in the referendum debate. The yes side are claiming that the Scottish NHS may be under threat from cuts if there is a no vote. When you hear both side argue over this it makes you wonder as this is already a devolved issue. Yet at the same time the Westminster government has said their will be further cuts to the Scottish block grant. This in turn would lead to cuts but I am not sure that these would be made to the NHS. So what would we lose? Well earlier in the year Scottish labour did give a hint to what they would cut. Student fees would be introduced, free prescription done away with and the freeze on council tax abolished. At least that was what the leader of Scottish Labour claimed at the beginning of the year. These policies would hurt me very much in the pocket and Magz needs a lot of medicines as you know. Then both of my children are now going to college now. Plus the council tax is a struggle to pay as it is without a rise which the SNP have protected us from.
Of course a yes result in the referendum doesn't mean these things are any safer from Labour. And if it was left to the far right then we would be paying just to see the doctor as it was in the bad old days. I'd hate to see those days return.
Of course the no camp would have us all believe the world will stop spinning if we vote yes. That Westminster will demand all Scotland's money leaving us skint and then they will rebuild Hadrian's wall. The list of things we would not be able to do is laughable at best and embarrassing for them. If they had won the argument over money maybe I would have been more inclined to listen but they didn't because they believe we should be afraid of the future without the Westminster government to stand at our backs. I think I'm more afraid of the thought of them being at my back than them not. After all for most of my life I have seen the damage that has been brought to bare on society by their policies. Poll Tax, the closing of Ravenscraig, and more recently the bedroom tax. Westminster is out of touch with us north of the border ands much of the rest of the UK. Will a Yes to independence change that? Will bring a full government to Scotland with full powers make it more in touch with our need? Will it make us better off? I don't know but I think it is better than what the other side is offering, more of the same.
August 30, 2014
30th August 2014
I've just been out picking blueberries and apples. I still have loads of berries still to pick but that is all the cooking apples off of the tree. I will need to think about pruning the tree as it is really getting very top heavy. I wish I could say the same for the eating apple tree. The apples on it are small under sized and scabby looking. I will need to try hard with spraying it next year to see if it will improve its growth. If that doesn't work I will need cut it down and replace it in. Though I may have to leave replacing it for a couple of years so the infection doesn't carry over to the new tree. I think I will need to do more research and hope I can save the tree I have.
Another debate between the leaders of both side in the referendum happened this week. This time it was a much better performance by Alex Salmond. Not only did he win the arguments but totally defeated Alistair Darling. I thought by the end of it that Darling was going to burst out crying. Of course he didn't but it did look like he was about to. Since the Yes campaign victory in the debate the No voters have been in full denial. They still demand a plan B on currency which Mr Salmond gave them three alternatives to a sterling zone as he wishes: Using the pound without an agreement as Panama uses the Dollar: Pegging a Scottish pound to Sterling as the Channel Islands do: Or having our own floating currency just like the Pound is at the moment. Three choices open to us if Westminster deny us Sterling. Of course by stopping us from having the pound then The UK government is liable to all of the debt that they have accrued on that monetary system. We as a new nation will not be liable as it won't be our money officially. Sadly most of the press are on the side of the union as they are English papers. This has led to many here listening to the smoke and mirrors of the No camp. Fear has been their biggest weapon but they don't like it when the Yes side has recently used similar. I think in the next few weeks it could become more heated than it has already. I hope not. I would love to see us all accept whatever the out come is on the 18th Sept and respect the decision by the people of our wonderful nation. Whatever that might be.
Another debate between the leaders of both side in the referendum happened this week. This time it was a much better performance by Alex Salmond. Not only did he win the arguments but totally defeated Alistair Darling. I thought by the end of it that Darling was going to burst out crying. Of course he didn't but it did look like he was about to. Since the Yes campaign victory in the debate the No voters have been in full denial. They still demand a plan B on currency which Mr Salmond gave them three alternatives to a sterling zone as he wishes: Using the pound without an agreement as Panama uses the Dollar: Pegging a Scottish pound to Sterling as the Channel Islands do: Or having our own floating currency just like the Pound is at the moment. Three choices open to us if Westminster deny us Sterling. Of course by stopping us from having the pound then The UK government is liable to all of the debt that they have accrued on that monetary system. We as a new nation will not be liable as it won't be our money officially. Sadly most of the press are on the side of the union as they are English papers. This has led to many here listening to the smoke and mirrors of the No camp. Fear has been their biggest weapon but they don't like it when the Yes side has recently used similar. I think in the next few weeks it could become more heated than it has already. I hope not. I would love to see us all accept whatever the out come is on the 18th Sept and respect the decision by the people of our wonderful nation. Whatever that might be.
