The Musings of the Kat

Posted by Kat Crichton Fri, 02 Nov 2007 14:15:00 GMT

The weather is stunning. It's November and we've been sitting outside the local pub in tee-shirts, enjoying the autumn colours. There's nothing quite like a nice Friday lunchtime with work colleagues and some good food and drink.

The conversation flitted over T3's DIY efforts (We have many Tims), including a partial loft convertion. Very impressive. We're thinking of converting our loft and it'll cost at least 20 grand. T3 seems to have achieved the same in just over a thousand quid! Food for thought, although we are planning to get a full staircase put in, which will be the majority of the cost.

Other reasons for jollity include the fact that we have achieved our commitment for this iteration and that we included an afternoon of ''Innovation'' for exploring non-purchase-order based ideas. It's all a bit Google and I can only hope that it continues along similar lines in the future.

Posted by Kat Crichton Mon, 14 Aug 2006 18:27:00 GMT

Son of a bitch! Gave him an 800 quid deposit (doh!) for a shed and he disappears without a trace. Apparently moved out of his house with no forwarding address. He sold his workshop and pickup truck to Dave of Wooden Buildings, who has quoted twice as much to do the same job.

If I had any idea where to serve notice, I'd small-claims his ass, but frankly for the sake of £800, it's hardly worth the effort as he'd probably just go bankrupt anyway.

You may infer from the above that this is not the first time I've been Royalled. However, previously it was my employer (Ian Powely) who did the dirty deed. Not before getting me to design the new corporate logo for the pheonixlike company that arose from the ashes.

I blame the parents - and the government - and anyone else who gets in the way!

Posted by Kat Crichton Thu, 22 Jun 2006 15:17:00 GMT

My attempt at making a brick barbecue may not look too neat - I was using old bricks and breezeblocks from the back of the garden, but it's pretty solid.

I'm about half way through, as I grossly underestimated the ammount of mortar it takes to stick a bunch of bricks together. I've popped to B&Q today for the next load of sand. It's surprisingly satisfying to actually make something big and solid like that.

Posted by Kat Crichton Fri, 18 Nov 2005 12:40:00 GMT

I managed to give myself a mild case of trigger finger at the weekend. It's caused by a swollen tendon catching on it's sheath and shows up as a jerking movement between extended and curled.

I didn't get it by going on a shooting spree or by playing too many video games. It seems to have been caused by using the secateurs too much in the garden.

Posted by Kat Crichton Mon, 17 Oct 2005 07:07:00 GMT

It was inevitable really. Having climbed the large cherry tree and cut off five or six large branches with a hand saw, some chopping and cutting would ensue.

The first tool I chose for the job - the Black & Decker Scorpion electric saw - endured two branches of defoliating before falling to bits.

So, off to the the DIY store I went, planning to buy a replacement Scorpion. Then I noticed the garden tools section and within about two minutes went from looking at 50 quid electric toys to this...

McCulloch Mac 438 petrol driven 14 inch chainsaw.

I had no idea how much fun these things could be. It's like an extreme sport, dangerous and adrenalin pumping. Obviously real-man, phallic-symbol stuff, but all stereotypes have their basis in reality.

From the moment you open the packaging and fill up the petrol tank, you know you're dealing with a proper grown-up tool.

I wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone with a lust for life - and who can read and follow the frightening instruction book.

Posted by Kat Crichton Sun, 02 Oct 2005 07:27:00 GMT

Well, the start of October seems like the right time to start a proper blog. A bit late for the term-start, but it's been a fair few years since I had a decent length summer holiday anyway.

I've had a news/diary section on klaws.org for a while, but I just never quite got around to updating it. Hopefully being able to edit on line will help.

What's this all going to be about then? Current projects include...

• Ruby-on-rails (web framework behind this site)
• MythTV (Linux based PVR)
• Extreme Programming
• Sorting out home bandwidth contention with a Linux firewall
• Getting my loft converted
• Writing and recording some music

So, glad you could make the grand opening. Hang around for a while, and help yourself to a cocktail and some canapés.

God bless this blog and all who sail in her!