ZooStorm Desktop PC - Problem Resolved

Folks, on June 22nd I posted a blog entry about this product that I'd just bought. http://www.ebuyer.com/product/161642. Well since then I have had an intermittent problem with the computer powering off randomly. I started running a tech support incident with ZooStorm to try and get to the bottom of it. They recommended running the "Memory Diagnostic Tool" in Extended mode to see if I had bad or failing memory. Each time I tried this the computer powered off after about 15% of the test. They then advised me to open up the unit and re-seat the memory DIMMs. I opened up the computer to do this and went ahead with the task. However I also noticed that the CPU cooling fan was not plugged in to the motherboard. Now this was surely not good. Had they simply forgotten to plug it in? Did it snag the first time the fan spun up and unplugged itself? or did I accidentally unplug it whilst re-seating the memory. I favour option 1. They forgot to plug it in. When I reviewed all of the evidence it certainly looked like a thermal shutdown problem. Anyway it's been a week since I plugged in the fan and I've not had a single problem since doing this. I had been getting 3 or 4 power off's every day before this so I'm sure it was always an overheating problem. If anyone else has strange power off problems open up your computer and check the power cable for the CPU fan. I really like this computer. It looks good and when working correctly performs really well. It's fast which considering it's running Vista is saying something. I have no real reason to upgrade to Windows 7 as apart from a few cosmetic improvements none of the other innovations seem to be of significant benefit to me (well not in my capacity as a home user anyway).

Parrot MKi9200 Car Kit

Hi there good people of the Internet. I have great news to share with you all. For some time now I have been getting along very nicely with a VW iPod kit in my VW Passat to use with my good old trusty 4th Gen iPod. However since Spotify came out for the iPhone and I signed up for Spotify Premium I have been wanting to play my Spotify music in the car. But how? What would be the best way? As soon as you plug a dock connector into your iPhone it only wants to use the native "iPod" app. I needed another way. A method that used no cables. And then I discovered the Parrot MKi9200. What a beauty!!  Let me tell you what it can do for me. First of all it's a wonderful bluetooth car kit that sync's my iPhone contacts list so that I can call people easily and receive calls. Nothing that clever there really but I've never had a car kit before so I find it exciting. Anyway I can also use voice tags to call, reject incoming calls or hang up. My iPhone 3G does not have this function. Then I can do bluetooth media streaming so I can choose to use the iPod app or the Spotify app from my iPhone. Both work great. Additionally I could put music on an SD card and insert that into the display screen. The device also has a cable in the glove box with 3 adapters on it. One is an iPhone connector so that when I'm using the iPod app I have full control over its features from the MKi9200. Album artwork, picking the music I want, track skipping, volume etc. Or I could use the standard headphone jack adapter to plug in any MP3 player that is not clever enough to have bluetooth or I could use the USB adapter and plug a USB memory stick in that happens to have a bunch of music on it. So any music listening option is possible really. The device also has themes and other customisations to personalise it. I'm well suited. It's perfect. I bought mine from Halfords which whilst far from the cheapest place to buy it was very convenient and they fitted the device for free. If, like me, you love to have your music in the car and want a device that makes that very simple whilst providing a great range of methods for listening you can't go wrong with the MKi9200. Buy one today!! Treat yourself for Christmas. That's what I did.

Google Wave

Well I've got me a Google Wave account courtesy of my old work colleague and friend,  Matt Fitchett. Thanks Matt if you're reading this. It looks like it could be a lot of fun and very powerful but not until you have a worthwhile set of contacts, which frankly I don't. Don't get me wrong, me and Matt have lots to talk about :o) but it'd be good to share the fun around with a wider set of people. Matt seems to get invites that he can send out from time to time, so if I get the same I shall surely pass them on to my friends and family. I've not worked out too much of the good stuff as yet but I like the idea of a single wave between friends rather than sending an email to loads of people and trying to keep track of all the "Reply to Alls" that clutter up your Inbox. The collaborative nature of a Wave seems really sensible. I'm interested to see what happens with this product as more and more people get connected to it. I feel that the power is in the ability to have a wide network of contacts to collaborate with. Anyone else got a Google Wave account?

Meeting Newton Faulkner

Well what can I say? I met Newton Faulkner today. He came to our office to play a few tunes. He's a really nice bloke. Very friendly. Very talented. His guitar playing is just astounding. He played a beautiful version of Teardrop, a great version of Dream Catch Me and a few tunes off his new album. He signed my album and as you can see he posed for a photo with me. What a good lad!

4.5 mile fast run

I went for a 4.5 mile run at lunch time today with my work mate James. I normally do 6 miles but decided that if we were only going to do 4.5 miles that I would try and go a bit faster. It took me about 33:30. This was an average of 7:26 mins\mile. Not too bad at all for me. My fastest over that distance so far. However I now have a nasty chest pain. It feels like a muscle strain, but in my chest? How would that have happened? Weird.

Forthcoming Gigs

Off to see "The Unthanks" on wednesday night at the Junction in Cambridge with my lovely wife. It'll be quite a low key affair. It's in Junction 2 which is a really small all-seater venue. Very intimate. Well suited to a band such as the Unthanks with their lovely lilting folky voices. Not exactly a rock gig by any stretch. Anyway on friday night (Oct 23rd) I'm off to the Cambridge Corn Exchange. Once again with my lovely wife and this time to see Newton Faulkner. We saw him last year (or thereabouts) and it was a fantastic gig. Great atmosphere and Newton was fully engaging the crowd in his banter. Hopefully this year the gig will be equally fantastic. I'm not that familiar with his new album as yet but the wonderful Spotify App is helping me out there (see my previous post for more details!). From first listen there seems to be less genius guitar work and guitar body slapping cleverness. I'll report back after the gig to confirm that.

Spotify Premium

I've done it. I took the plunge and paid my £9.99 for my first month of Spotify Premium. Yes the adverts have all gone and yes I have a little more choice of music plus early availability of new releases. But that's minor compared to the wonderful iPhone App. I have set up 15 or 20 "offline" albums on my iPhone bringing me loads of great new material all legal and proper. The quality is great, the application is great and well....frankly...the price is great too. For about the cost of 1 CD album per month I can listen to more or less whatever I choose on my iPhone and it's all legal. I also plug my iPhone into its "Dock" and connect it to my stereo at home so that I get great quality music pumping from my big speakers. Also been for a few runs recently using my iPhone as an iPod and enjoying the great music of Spotify. Everyone should invest as it's a great way to listen to legal music advert free and portable.

My Daughter's Amazing Poem

I have to post this as I'm just blown away by how good it is. My daughter wrote this poem inspired by a small sheltered cove\beach we went to on holiday in Devon. If you saw the place you would see how much this poem brings it to life. She had no help with this. Frankly I lack the talent to come up with anything half as good as this anyway. Here it is....

The Empty Beach
Far away, as if in my dreams,
there is a secret place I know
A mysterious place, a secret place
a sandy beach by a rocky face

A little cove, so far away,
that I visited on a sunny day
The sand was shiny with coloured stones
The boats so tiny on the sea's blue tones

The little cove, a happy beach
Where magic seems to be in reach
And when you have to leave it soon
It's night, stars light up and so does the moon


Did I say that she's only 10? It literally chokes me up when I read it. Such powerful emotions well up inside me. I'm a very proud Dad!

Neglecting the Blog

I guess after initial enthusiasm I have started neglecting my blog. It's partly cos I'm so very busy at work at the moment pushing hard to deliver a project, but also I never wanted to just post any old nonsense just for the sake of it. Maybe I've been too hard on myself of late in terms of what I constitute as worthy news that I have failed to post anything. I'm gonna try and get back into posting things, even if they're just brief comments about what is going on or what I'm into at present. Watch this space....

Great North Run 2009 - It's over!

The race is done. Wow!! How hard was that? The day started badly for me. I woke up with such a sore lower back that I could hardly walk and couldn't bend properly. Many pain killers later and following a small amount of breakfast (forced down!) I still couldn't walk properly and was almost crying with the pain in my back. I had to hobble to the start just hoping that the sunshine and the painkillers would help my back to loosen up. I was clearly tense and nervous. I tried to do some stretches when Mr Motivator was warming the runners up prior to race start. That didn't work too well. Then I spotted my shoe lace was untied and struggled like crazy to bend down to re-tie it. Anyway as the race started I was so far back and in such a big crowd that I didn't move for a few mins. We then started a slow walk which became a faster walk, then a very slow jog and finally we reached the *start* line. Yes the START line!!. Then I was off and running properly and amazed to find that my back pain was not hurting half as much as I expected it to. As my blood started pumping and my body temperature rose the back pain eased more and more. I started to feel good and think things were going well........then I tripped over a kerb edge and fell quite hard onto my upper back. Suffice to say it is very scratched and bruised as was my hip, my elbow and my ankle. Oh dear!!. Amazingly this kick started my adrenalin and I bounded back onto my feet and started running far too fast. I realised my pace was too fast as I was wearing my sports GPS watch, so I slowed down. The next few miles were not too noteworthy except to say that the course was like one big uphill stretch. The heat was intense and the mass of runners made finding an even pace\rhythm very difficult. After 10 miles I was spent. My body was struggling to keep going. By 11 miles we reached a big hill and every ounce of me wanted to stop and walk but that wasn't part of the plan. Instead I resigned myself to not setting the time I had hoped for and just kept shuffling along in a slow run. We crested the hill and saw the sea. It felt like the end was in sight. A difficult run down a steep hill to the sea front at South Shields followed. My calves threatened to cramp up but somehow didn't. The last 1000M was really tiring but the crowd was massive and the cheering really lifted my spirits. I managed to grind out the last stretch and came home in 2 hrs and 4 mins. Not bad but I so wanted to do 1 hr 55 mins or less. My worst case scenario was that I would just scrape under 2 hours but alas I missed that goal. Maybe next year!!. Straight after the race if you'd asked me "Will you do it again?" I would have said no way!! But within an hour or two I was already planning next years race and thinking about my training plan to ensure I smash my time from this year. But as for my marathon aspirations they are well and truly shelved for now at least. 26 miles seems like a step too far. I run for pleasure and relaxation not for sado-masochistic reasons. I think stepping up my training to plan for a mammoth 26 miler would take the fun out of something I really enjoy. I'd never say never!!

Another Run, Another Bike Ride

I went for a run at lunch time today to see how the groin strain is holding up. I managed a 4.5 mile circuit at 7 mins 54 secs per mile pace. Not too bad. My leg feels a bit sore though. Hopefully they will be ok by tomorrow. Also went for a vigorous 22 mile bike ride yesterday. It started well. For the first 20 mins I was doing 25 mph flying down the A10 feeling great. It was only later I realised that I had benefited from a good tail wind. After a few more miles I got to the bad news. I had a 6.5 mile slog into a ridiculously strong head wind across the fens with absolutely no protection from hedges or whatever. Nightmare!!. I felt like I was actually moving backwards. Anyway by the end of the ride I had averaged 18.8mph over the 22 miles. I'll take that for now but I'd like to be able to sustain a 20+ mph average in the future. It's all good fun and good exercise. Counting the days to the Great North Run now. 19 days to go.....GULP!!!

Spotify on the iPhone

The iTunes App Store has finally approved the Spotify App for the iPhone so anytime soon it should be downloadable from the UK iTunes store. The app will be free but you will need a Premium Spotify account to access the music. £9.99 per month. Now that sounds expensive until you consider that it's really only the cost of 1 music CD per month and for that you get to listen to bucketloads of music of your own choosing. If that was the end of the story that still wouldn't sound too great but this talk of an "offline" mode so that you can download tracks to your Spotify App and play them without a network connection of any sort (not 3G, not Wi-Fi etc) suddenly sounds much more appealing. It sounds like you can listen to whatever you want, whenever you want from your iPhone. It's now sounding just like a portable MP3 player. Am I right? Have I missed something? Is this the future of paying for music? Pay a 'once a month' fee and download whatever you like? If so I like it! Please discuss......

Cycling into a strong headwind

So I cycled to work today, ladies and gentlemen, in my lovely new cycling bib shorts, my US Postal Team cycling Jersey and my lovely clip in racing shoes feeling very much the true professional. However after about 0.5 mile I became very aware that the wind was very strongly blowing back in my face (this seemed to persist for more or less the whole journey) and, perhaps not suprisingly, this makes the task of cycling very much harder. Suffice to say I was knackered in no time and could not sustain a very good average speed. It was embarrassing to be wearing all of the flash gear and yet cycling at the speed of an old woman out for a gentle mooch on her push bike on a Sunday morning. Let's hope the journey home has a wonderful tail wind so that I can feel like Lance Armstrong instead. Here's hoping!!

The Great North Run is nearly here

You may recall my blog posting from back in June where I tried to encourage you, the good people of the Internet, to sponsor me for the Great North Run. Just to recap the link you need is http://www.runningsponsorme.org/davidjenkinson. Anyway in just over 3 weeks I'll be lining up on the starting line with 50,000 fellow runners but I need more sponsorship to reach my target. Please help. Any amount would be great. It's all for Cancer Research. An admirable charity if ever there was one.

Holidays in Devon

Well I've nearly been back at work for a week now since returning from a 2 week break in Devon with my family. We had a great time. I love Devon. It's very beautiful and I enjoy the rolling hills. Living in Cambridge (as I do!) the landscape is very flat and bland. Fen land as far as the eye can see. But Devon with its hills, rivers, coastal scenes and so forth is a joy. My kids absolutely loved the place and want us to move down there permanently. It's not going to happen. I can't see myself as a farmer, boatman, fisherman or the like and what else do you do for work in Devon? But the clean sea air and wonderful walks, runs, cycle rides are amazing. Hmmmm!! .......... What did we do? ....thanks for asking!! We did quite a bit of crabbing and caught loads of the little critters. We enjoyed Dartmouth castle, Greenway (the former home of Agatha Christie), beautiful villages like Dittisham and Stoke Gabriel, a lovely day at Coleton Fishacre, boat trips on the Dart, Lynton & Lynmouth Cliff Railway (powered by water) and so much more. Actually I think they were the main highlights but anyway I throughly enjoyed myself and came back very well rested and relaxed.

A New Blog Template

Decided to try out a new template for my blog. Was getting bored of the black theme. Not sure if this is better. Comments please?

20 is Plenty

So I got caught speeding. I was doing 37mph in a 30 zone. Why? Because I was reprimanding my son for mucking about with his new Bionicle set in the car after I'd told him not to, instead of watching my speed. Nearly 20 years of motoring and I've never had a speeding offence before. Arrgh!! Anyway as it was deemed to be a minor offence I was offered a DriveTech Safety Awareness Course instead of getting 3 points. The course cost 60 quid which was the same as the fine would have been. I decided it was preferable to take the 4 hour course and be told about driving safely and the dangers of excessive speed rather than taking the points and watching my insurance premiums increase. I've now done the course. I went straight from work on tuesday 5pm til 9pm. And what did I learn, you may be asking? Well I learnt that:
1) 20 is plenty - catchy huh?
2) Drive in 3rd gear when in 30 zones rather than 4th or higher. The car's desire to go over 30mph is hugely curtailed in this gear.
3) If you see street lamps and no other speed zone signs then it's 30mph.
4) If you don't see any street lamps or speed zone signs and you're not on a dual carriageway or motorway, it's 60mph.
5) A dual carriageway may only have 1 lane in each direction. It is defined by having a central reservation. Without one it is a single lane carriageway even if it has more than one lane in each direction.
6) If in doubt as to whether it's a dual or single lane carriageway consider the ball test. Could you roll a ball from kerb to kerb without hitting anything? If so it's a single. If not it's a double.
7) "Only a fool breaks the 2 second rule". Remember this people. Say it to yourself to ensure you keep a safe distance behind the car in front.
8) 40mph and 50mph zones didn't exist until relatively recently (can't remember the exact date but we were told). Anyway this means that no zone would be a 40 or a 50 unless there are clear speed signs as you enter these zones. If you happened to turn from a side road into a 40 or 50 zone you would spot the repeater signs along the route confirming the speed limit.
9) If at 30mph you slammed on the brakes and stopped just short of hitting an object then at 32mph you would hit that object at 11mph. At 35mph you would hit it at 18mph and at 40mph you would hit it at 26mph and probably if that was a person they would die. Makes you think doesn't it. Even small speed increases can make a massive difference.

So I have found myself sticking religiously to the speed limit since the course. In that sense it was very worthwhile. Will I sustain it? ... I honestly don't know. Does it sometimes feel embarrassing when you can tell from your mirrors that the car behind is hating you for being such a stickler for the speed limit? Yes it can do, but what's worse? feeling obliged to speed up and then potentially hitting and killing someone that would have lived if you'd been at or under the speed limit? You decide!!

London to Cambridge Cycle Ride

On Sunday July 26th I took part in the London to Cambridge Cycle ride. Just under 60 miles of cycling all for Breakthrough Breast Cancer. A fine cause. I had to cycle 5 miles to get to the transport to take me and my bike to London. I then did the cycle ride and finally cycled home after the event. All told I did 68.5 miles in a little over 4 hours. That included 3 stops to put my chain back on. Aarrggh!! I was having gear changing issues. Anyway a great day. I've never cycled anything like that distance before but it was really enjoyable and I was pleased that my legs held up really well. I guess the difference between running and cycling is that you have spells on the bike where you can freewheel down hills and get your heart rate back under control ready for the next hill climb. I'm definitely up for doing it again next year and will also look out for other charity bike rides before then. I entered the race as part of a group of people from my work (although the event had nothing to do with my employment or my employer) and between us we raised just shy of £700.

Michael McIntyre Gig

My wife and I went to see the very funny comedian Michael McIntyre on monday July 20th. It was excellent. He always makes great observations that manage to be very funny without having to vindictively poke fun at anyone. It's great feel good comedy with no malice. I love it! Bizarrely despite his huge rise to popularity I still find some people saying "Michael McIntyre?.....who's he?......what does he look like?" hence the inclusion of the picture.

Growing up Too Fast

Blimey there I was sitting having my breakfast this morning when my 10 year old daughter asked me if she could have a mobile phone as her friends all had them and it was embarrassing for her to admit to them that she didn't have one. Evidently they can be purchased from as little as £10 for a PAYG phone. She has been saving her money and said she would buy her own phone provided I said it was ok. Well put like that how could I refuse? So as we were going to town anyway we popped into Phones 4 U and picked up a nice little Nokia 1661 on Orange for £15. I added £10 credit for her. Hey I'm all heart! I was quite amazed at how good the phone is for so little money and my daughter is delighted with it. So I suppose all is well in the world. I just can't believe that my little 10 year old now has a mobile phone. It all seems so grown up to me and strangely makes me feel old. Oh well, as long as she's happy.