Planet Sillicon

Dealing with intimate health matters

By admin on Feb. 14, 2013.

It’s not easy to seek help for an incontinence problem. After all, it’s not really the sort of thing you like admitting to… anyone really.

I know. I was reluctant to speak to anyone. That’s why I ended up looking online for advice.

Of course, when you go online, you have to be careful what advice you follow – there’s more chaff than wheat, usually. But there are some good resources out there, and the NHS provides some useful material.

I can pass on the tips I’ve found, as well, of course! For starters, you’ve probably heard of Kegels. If you think it’s a breakfast cereal, then you’re very much mistaken. Kegels, or Kegel exercises, involve working the pelvic floor muscles. In other words, contracting your muscles as you would to stop a wee mid-flow.

You can do these anywhere – no one will know! – and after a while they strengthen your pelvic floor like any other muscle, making incontinence less likely.

Diet can also help. Try to avoid alcohol, or too much of it, if you can, as it can actually interfere between your brain and bladder messaging system, and hence bladder control. Caffeine is also a bad drink to have, and a diuretic (it makes you pee), so try to cut those coffees down, if you can’t cut them out.

I’ve found after reducing the amount of tea I drink, and cutting out work night glasses of wine, my bladder control has improved – along with all that Kegel work! Hopefully you might benefit similarly.

There are also a number of incontinence products out there to help you feel safe, clean, and comfortable, no matter where you are.

Altogether, a horrible condition, but one I’m learning to live with.

Now working for The Injury Lawyers

By admin on Sep. 27, 2012.

It’s been a long relaxing summer since I finished my law degree, but I started applying to a range of solicitors in August.

I got a number of applications sent out and had four interviews, which was definitely encouraging considering the recession we’re in. In the end I choose a company called The Injury Lawyers.

Anyway, I start work on Monday (27th Oct), so am looking forward to it.

The Injury Lawyers, as the name suggests, specialises in injury claims: at home, at work, and almost any kind of accident you can think of.

Main areas include:

• Whiplash claims
• Car accident claims
• Accidents at work
• Injury claims

They also have a second website that specialises in the Whiplash Claims side of the business, and provide general information on whiplash compensation and whiplash settlement amounts.

This is not least because whiplash injuries are very common, even in low speed traffic accidents. However, business has to stay very much above board as there have been a lot of changes in the whiplash and injury claims industry, not least greater scrutiny from Parliament and the suggestion that further regulatory reforms may be required to the industry as a whole.

Either way, TIL seems to be a very reputable company, and I’m obviously joining at an exciting time.

Nifty thrifty

By admin on Aug. 22, 2012.

So, I’ve been looking at ways I can save money.

I figure if I make lots of little adjustments to my life, each might only save a few pennies and pounds here and there – but add all those up over the course of a whole year, and you could be in for some considerable financial gain.

So I started with some little things. I found a cheap Xbox Live subscription renewal on Amazon, which saved me quite a bit compared to buying it on Live itself.

I sold some old games at my local Blockbusters (no, not great money for them compared to eBay, probably, but so much less hassle).

I’ve started looking for the deals in supermarkets – you know, buying packets of mince, three for £10, that sort of thing. It’s amazing how quickly those sort of offers can add up to a fair bit in the way of savings.

Another good idea I had was setting my monitor to go into sleep mode after just five minutes instead of fifteen. I quite often leave the computer and forget about it, you see.

I’ve also bought some lower wattage light bulbs for the bedrooms in my house, as you don’t really need bright lights in there.

Most importantly on the power saving front, though, I checked out energy deals, and used an online comparison website to get a better tariff. That made more than a few pennies worth of savings, too… to say the least.

All in all, I’m pretty happy. I can put some of this money away towards our planned winter holiday, probably in Turkey, which will be a respite from the cold which may (or may not) grip the country come December.

Hanging on the telephone

By admin on Aug. 11, 2012.

As you know if you’re a regular reader here, I’m a fan of modern technology. I have an Xbox, I have a PS3, I have a Wii (gathering dust) and a 3DS (I try not to play it too long, though, as after a couple of hours it can make me feel a little ill – luckily the battery has generally run out by then).

I like modern things, but I also like retro things. They remind us of where we’ve come from. Even if that place welcomed flared trousers…

I still have an original Pong console from the turn of the eighties. The first home console, and simplest game ever, it involved turning little dials on a paddle to move blocks around, batting a ball back and forth on the screen like a game of tennis. But without a net.

Fiendishly simple, and fiendishly tricky at the same time – the idea and controls being the simplicity, but actually catching that ball when it moves at speed certainly being difficult. Pinging it off the edge of your bat gave it speed, and that was the tactic to use to try and catch your opponent out.

Anyway, gaming aside, I’ve been looking for a new phone recently. No, not an iPhone or Android handset, I mean a real phone. One that connects to your landline (plus I also wanted a proper, full-featured answering machine).

But I didn’t want some rubbishy cheap piece of plastic from the far east with lots of flashing lights and little else. I wanted a phone with some character – like the old telephones used to have.

So, after some hunting around on the Internet, I ordered one with a proper rotary dial from a firm called PMC. Yes, it takes longer to call someone, but it’s quite a talking piece when folks come round. And I just love the look of it.

As for the answering machine, that’s not so retro, so I hid that underneath the small table that my phone sits on. Less of a talking piece – more of a listening piece…

A game of excellence

By admin on Aug. 9, 2012.

So it’s been quite some time since I updated this blog… two years, in fact. Two years? Really? Did two years just go past? I thought I heard a “whooshing” noise…

I’ve been pretty busy with work the last couple of years, and moving house – just down the road, but it was still stressful. And playing games, of course… everything seems to have squeezed out the time I previously spent blogging.

But no more! I’m going to make a mid-year’s resolution, and that’s to put fingers to keyboard more often going forward, and let you all know my thoughts on the tech and gaming world, as well as anything else that takes my fancy.

Anyway, in the past two years a lot has happened. Android has become the top mobile operating system. Symbian has disappeared down the plughole, threatening to take Nokia with it.

Apple is flogging tons of tablets. Microsoft wants to flog tons of tablets, but risks alienating desktop users with the “touchy” subject of Windows 8. Is the desktop PC a dying breed, and are the laptop’s days numbered thanks to slates and hybrid slate/notebooks such as Microsoft’s upcoming surface?

Maybe…

But never mind all that – here’s what I really want to talk about in this first post in a long while – Game of Thrones!

We’ve now seen two series of the TV version of George R R Martin’s world, and to say it has been brilliant is an understatement.

The shocks and gritty storyline, the acting and characters, the fact that it dabbles enough in the diplomatic intrigue, without going overboard like the books (yes, I can hear the gnashing of purist’s teeth from here). It’s just simply superb. If you managed to miss it, somehow, go buy or rent the DVD of season one now.

I can’t wait for season three. And the same with The Walking Dead, too, although I’m less sure that the zombie apocalypse can hold my interest in the longer term, as opposed to the swords and sorcery.

At any rate, it’s going to be fun watching and finding out on both counts…

Almost the entire cast

By blog on Jul. 18, 2010.

George R R Martin has announced nearly all of the cast roles for A Game of Thrones!

We had quite a few cast members already, but now that the show has the green light and HBO has committed to filming the entire season, more characters needed to be cast. I thought many of the actors were very well suited, but some stood out as not being suited at all, though I hope to be surprised when I actually get to see the show!

Now that the show is actually going ahead, quite a few more roles have had to be filled, and some characters were being recast to find a better fit. George has put up an entire list of the cast so far and there are few that I don’t think are right on the money for the roles. I’ll include the list below so anyone feeling like it can Google them, but I’ll also include a link to George’s Not a Blog as there are pictures on there as well.

I’m honestly quite excited to see this come together, though still trepidatious as with any novel to screen cross-over. My boss read my post a while back on recycling my old mobile phone by selling it and now he wants some help doing the same thing – read, he wants me to do all that for him and I can’t say no as I’m an employee – with his collection of old phones. He said he’s got seven that need to go off, as they’re taking up an entire draw in his office desk…

Now for the cast!

SERIES REGULARS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER:

Mark Addy as King Robert Baratheon
Alfie Allen as Theon Greyjoy
Sean Bean as Eddard “Ned” Stark
Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Ser Jamie Lannister
Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister
Michelle Fairley as Catelyn Stark
Aidan Gillen as Littlefinger
Jack Gleeson as Joffrey Baratheon
Iain Glen as Ser Jorah Mormont
Kit Harington as Jon Snow
Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister
Isaac Hempstead-Wright as Bran Stark
Harry Lloyd as Viserys Targaryen
Richard Madden as Rob Stark
Rory McCann as Sandor Clegane (Hound)
Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark
Maisie Williams as Arya Stark

FEATURED CAST IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER:

John Bradley as Samwell Tarly
Ron Donachie as Ser Rodrik Cassel
Jerome Flynn as Bronn
Conleth Hill as Varys
Jason Momoa as Khal Drogo
Donald Sumpter as Maester Luwin

GUEST CAST IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER:

Josef Altin as Pyp
Gethin Anthony as Renly Baratheon
Ciaran Bermingham as Mord
Esme Bianco as Ros
Susan Brown as Septa Mordane
Dominic Carter as Janos Slynt
Antonia Christophers as Mhaegen
Kate Dickie as Lysa Arryn
Roy Dotrice as Grand Maester Pycelle
Emun Elliott as Marillion
Lino Facioli as Robin Arryn
Jefferson Hall as Ser Hugh of the Vale
Derek Halligan as Alliser Thorne
Rhodri Hosking as Mycah
Margaret John as Old Nan
Finn Jones as Ser Loras Tyrell
Dermot Keaney as Gared
Francis Magee as Yoren
Joseph Mawle as Benjen Stark
Brendan McCormack as Ser Vardis Egan
Ian McElhinney as Ser Barristan Selmy
Luke McEwan as Rast
Kristian Nairn as Hodor
Rob Ostlere as Ser Waymar Royce
Eugene Simon as Lancel Lannister
Jamie Sives as Jory Cassel
John Standing as Jon Arryn
Conan Stevens as Gregor “The Mountain” Clegane
Peter Vaughan as Maester Aemon Targaryen
Miltos Yeromelou as Syrio Forel

Work

By blog on Jul. 18, 2010.

Whether you love it or hate it, it’s there waiting for you after a vacation.

I’ve had two weeks vacation, which has been absolutely great. I’ve gone away with my SO, gamed a great deal, blogged a little, relaxed and generally had a very good holiday.

But now I must get back to it. Thankfully my work isn’t too taxing. I work hard at what I do to create the best websites I can, within the guidelines set out by the client, but the toll it takes on me isn’t too bad. Sure I’ve got some RSI going from typing, and my shoulders are ruined from constantly sitting at a computer, but all in all I’m not too bad off.

For the last… well it’s been more than a few months now, I’ve been able to work from home. That’s pretty much the icing on the cake of my working life, really. I much, much prefer working from home. My only issue is that I’m not exactly the neatest person, and scribble many a note to myself whilst I’m working. This leads to piles of notes, and other general mess, too.

I’m not so lazy as to get an office cleaner to clean up my work space, but it’s a close call. Looking at my computer, it could also use a clean. The dust this thing can collect is incredible, especially around the intake fans. You can clean it pretty well with a regular vacuum, but when you notice you’re core-temp is running a few degrees higher all the time, it’s time to break out the can of compressed air, open the case, and clean out all the dust on the inside of the damn thing. The air cans are really good for cleaning out keyboards, too.

I don’t like to do all the time consuming detailed cleaning, or scrubbing, but thankfully my SO does actually enjoy that sort of thing. But she hates to tidy. She doesn’t mind scrubbing down the bathroom, but clearing up the counter and putting everything away irks her. I actually enjoy the tidying aspect, so we’re very well suited in that way.

Worms 2 Battle Pack

By blog on Jul. 17, 2010.

So far it’s pretty neat.

I bought the game on my first XBOX 360, but decided to re-download it onto my Elite and now of course I have to go through all the crap that is consolidating licences, but I can still play the game properly if I’m hooked up to XBOX Live, but when I unhook it – as the cable actually usually goes to my SO computer, yes, I’ll get another one soon – I can’t play the full title, only the trial. Anyway, back to the game.

Worms 2: Armageddon is great fun. Quintessential worms gaming. You’ve got a little team of worms – if you don’t know this then you must have lived in a cave for the past decade – with funny voices and hats, and you blow the crap out of one another. Simple, yet oh so engrossing!

My SO and I like to play. I win more often than not, but it’s still a good fight. We’d had heaps of fun playing this game in the past, and after reading that the Battle Pack was out recently, we decided to buy the Battle Pack, re-download the game, and play away!

It has been a lot of fun, and there’s a lot of new content in the Battle Pack. I quite like the new Superforts and all the new terrain types are incredibly welcome! There aren’t that many new voice packs, but what is there is up to snuff with the rest of the game. My SO would like to see a few more female sounding voice sets, however, which I agree with as the male sets far outweigh the female.

I’ve not had a chance to go through all of the new content, but the ferrets are pretty awesome. Termites not so much, but those ferrets I bet will be scary. There’s so much gaming going on in this house at the moment, so I’m off back to it!

Puzzling…

By blog on Jul. 17, 2010.

Puzzle Quest 2 is a very enjoyable game!

I had the trial to Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords and whilst I was waiting for something to download from XBOX Live I decided to give it a go. After a few minutes I had to have the full game, and looking it up on the Arcade. I found that it already had a sequel, which had substantially better graphics, so I bought that one instead.

That was about twenty-four hours ago and I think I’ve been playing this game for about twelve of those hours. Basically it’s a nice little RPG game with Bejewelled as the battle mechanic. Sounds odd at first, but it’s thoroughly engrossing. Bejewelled itself isn’t a title that can keep my attention for very long. It gets boring quickly because you feel like you’re getting little back for all your jewel switching. But with this game you actually get past the foe and get rewards from it, too.

It’s not an overly complex game, but it’s got enough depth to be quite satisfying, and you’ll find yourself coming back to it over and over should you give it a try. It’s also quite a lengthy title, from what I’ve read, so you can expect to really get your money’s worth out of it!

I really enjoy the puzzles for looting, disarming traps, and bashing down doors, too. Especially the loot puzzle mini game. It’s such a simple mechanic, as is the case in many aspects of the game, but the straightforward simplicity serves to heighten the enjoyment, as you can pretty much pick up and play at any point and you’ll do fine.

One aspect of the game that really, really works, is what occurs if you lose a fight. You get the XP from the fight, but the foe is still standing there. You can then just have another go at the creature, and another if that’s what it takes, until you get it. Sometimes a bit of luck can make all the difference, and not having to go back to save points or lose XP is a wonderful thing to not have to go through if your luck runs bad for a little while.

It’s a very enjoyable game which I strongly recommend to any 360 owner.

Don’t like the Mothership

By blog on Jul. 17, 2010.

I’m stuck there… Ugh.

Okay so it’s been a good while since I last wrote, but I’ve been rather busy in that time. Went on a small vacation with my SO, which was great, and then spent a few days at home together, gaming and generally having fun. Of course, I only just realised that my last blog post didn’t go live when I hit ‘Publish’ instead saving itself as a draft. Good show… Anyway back on topic.

I’ve still been playing Fallout 3, but not as much. The reason? The Mothership Zeta add on. Wow. I hate the bloody place! It just goes on and on and I’ve still a heap to do in there. I’ve got to blow up two more power generators and do a bunch of other crap. It’s just very lengthy and boring compared to other parts of the game. Being enclosed in the one area when I’ve had the entire wastes to run around in really stinks.

The whole thing feels so claustrophobic, so tingly squished in, and blowing away alien after alien does not make up for this fact! Seriously, though, I want those little bastards to suffer. There’s quite a few people and mutants that they’ve picked up, some going right back to feudal Japan. Yeah, they’ve been cryogenically freezing people for later. Don’t know why, yet. Being the paragon that I am, I’m not killing the Samurai for his armour, even though there’s no bad karma for doing it, but it doesn’t seem right to me.

I’ve found this area really off putting, and I’ve not been playing for the last few days because I just can’t stand this place. The indoor maps aren’t very good in Fallout, which usually doesn’t bother me, but in this case, when I just want to get through to the destination area because there’s very little actual content, and just more aliens to kill, makes these maps very annoying.

I hate that I’m stuck in this area until the quest in complete. With nearly all other parts of the game, you can leave at any point and come back. Here, nope. You’re stuck. For many, many hours, in a linear corridor filled with annoying aliens. Ugh.