Technology - HW CA come to town

Today was so exciting to me.  I have given much time over the last few months to the use and promotion of Trekker and Maestro within my job at Humanware.  For the next 3 days my colleague and friend Andre Dubois is in the UK over from Humanware Canada in Longueuil, with the product manager Lucia Gomez.  It was a good opportunity for me to find out the future direction of the two above products.  I would love to tell all, but no can do.  What I can let slip though is the upcoming releases of both Trekker and Maestro will change many facets of the way visually impaired individuals travel and work.  I just find GPS technology so amazing and empowering.  Ok, so it won’t tell you about the step in front of you or that fat person blocking the pavement, but it really gives useful information about one’s surroundings.  This will only improve in time and  Trekker will be taking advantage of new map and receiver information and technology as it becomes available.

I enjoy meeting up with André as do we all in the UK office.  He is the kind of guy who like   myself really is enthusiastic about the merits and possibilities of GPS and other technologies to improve the lives’ of people.  Lucia is also lovely and open to the vision of adding many inventive ideas and enhancements to the product.  she so really wants the best result possible as do we all in the company. She is as friendly off the Trekker mailing lists as when corresponding with clients and potential users.    Interesting things are afoot for Trekker this year.  You will get the latest info from this little blog.  Be sure of that!!

General - Up at last

I should have posted this last night but fell asleep instead after a lovely steak and a few beers.  I did have a good day at work and am now travelling between Gilford and Epsom.  Looking forward to Clare coming this evening and a nice quiet weekend.


I’ve had a hectic few days mostly spent in the North.  It was lovely catching up with everyone in Yorkshire and then spending some time with friends in Preston.  Most of my work over the last while has been either GPS or training, so tomorrows Braille promotion in a Bristol school will be a most welcome change.  I love talking to teachers and persuading them about the benefits of Braille and of course the cracking range of Humanware Braille products.  I know how important it is, after-all I have been through the education system so can talk from experience.

We are staying near the historic city of Bath tonight in a lovely hotel with free WIFI and a receptionist who sounds like Katie Melua when she is talking, not singing! The drive over went well with my colleague, actually most of the journey for me at least in a state of slumber; and we are about to try the Inn at the bottom of the extensive hotel grounds which has Butcombe beer on tap.  The small village is called Limply Stoke.

I went on a DVD buying spree last weekend and purchased lots of documentary and comedy titles, so Clare and I will have a lot to get through this weekend in particular Marian and Jeff has fantastic reviews so I anticipate this greatly after watching one 10 minute episode fuelled up on Laphroaig Cask Strength and Highland Park with Dave W.   BTW, the Highland Park 12 year appears to be back on form after a dip over the last 18 months.  The bottle only lasted us two days anyhow.

Music - Alabama 3

What had I been doing for the last few years?  Well I’m not too sure to be honest.  The last one and a half I’ve achieved an astonishing amount considering the dearth of nothingness before, but it all pails in to insignificants really until a few months ago when I drunkenly played Exile On Coldharbour  Lane  by the funcked up whisky sodden mashed around and genius group the  Alabama 3.  Maybe you could accuse me of overplaying this a tad, Everything just made sense for a little while, just a short time with the techno, blues, rock acoustic and frankly amazing collage of f*cked up socialism and humour floating around..  Was it the beer? Possibly the whisky? Maybe just the music and the moment? I’ll never know, but it was spot on.  From Brixton they are, but so unlike London, well a little bit like London.  You know the way that small villages in the Yorkshire Dales are like London?  Well, I’ve just gone out or should I say on to play.com and purchased the said Exile On Coldharbour Lane CD.  Damn wireless internet and long journeys!!

“Whisky flows like the crystal streams they say flow in heaven… ... so they say.  You’ll understand if you join the (1st Presbyterian Church of St Elvis the Divine) and experience peace in the valley.

Check out the A3 WebPages and find out what I’m on about.

General - Moving onward

I’ve been in Hull and East Yorkshire today, the demos went well and I’m travelling on a  transpennine express train to Manchester to catch the linking service to Preston.  Work takes me to Liverpool for the rest of this week which is good as Dave and I can catch up.

The last two weeks have been rather full of work related stuff, mostly in London and the south so in some ways it’s nice to be back on the rails.  I have an extensive travel programme worked out for next week also so a quiet weekend at home should do me good.

I went up to Clare’s last weekend and just relaxed with her.  We setup a wireless router which is so first-rate as work will be easier when in Suffolk without the constraint of cabling.


I saw baby Ewan for the first time last night and he’s nice and healthy.  Thomas is also coming on a treat.  I should explain that these two young fellows are my nephews.  Seann’s promised me pictures to post on the blog maybe I will get them sometime this year if we’re lucky!    Seann and I took the opportunity for a few drinks at the local, it would have been bad form not to I guess.

I’d also like to say just how good Keysoft 7 has shaped up to be.  It’s really pushed the BrailleNote forward as a product and will give the category a boost, this is just the start for the BN in 2006 so watch out for more on that front.
                         

Whisky tasting – Jura Superstition 43%

Nose: musty old clothes, rather soft smoke and ginger toffees.  

Pallet:  silky herbal and leaves.  More of the smoke and crunchy malt on an all enveloping sweet bed.

Finnish:  a quick byte but softness comes back lingering beautifully with peat and burned fudge, heather.

Comments:  not a bad drop.  13 and 21 year old whiskeys vatted with young peated spirit from this otherwise gentle distillery.  This used to be at 45%, maybe they’ve dumbed it down with the packaging redesign?

Score 78%

Whisky - Bunnahabhain 26yo 1978/2005 (54.6%, Signatory

Nose: icing sugar   sweetness.  Macaroon bar with a strange sherry note.

Palette:  mouth coating intense almost sticky  a lush woodiness with lots of cherry and some smoke.  Biting in to a cherry tree!!  

Finnish:  Long on those cherries, bitter and lip smacking.

Notes:  Matured in a sherry cask. this is rather an intense whisky.  I like it but have to be in the mood to drink the bugger.  Rather a nice one and slightly addictive flavour.

Score:  87%

Whisky - English distillery looks like starting up soon

I for one am glad this is going ahead. will have to take a sqauint around when it's up and running!

'Councillors at Breckland's develop-ment control committee meeting voted unanimously
in favour of the scheme and spoke out in its support.
Roy Rudling said: “I have been involved in recreation and tourism and believe this
is something we definitely want in our area. This looks like it will be a lovely
building and will bring in tourists who will, in turn, spend money in nearby towns.”
And, referring to the fact that the application had originally been recommended for
refusal, Nigel Wilkin added: “I can't believe there was anything negative to say'

Technology - Top A T stories of 2005 from the Ranger Station

This looks to be a good blog if you’re in to assistive technology. I like his slant on 2005 also. I’ll keep an eye on this.

Technology - Becta reviews UK schools for Microsoft 'lock-in' | The Register

One to watch in the future I think.

'Becta chief executive Owen Lynch said: "Becta has always recognised the importance
of ensuring schools and colleges have access to a range of products and services
which represent good value for money.
"In areas where a single supplier is dominant particular vigilance is necessary to
guarantee that this happens and that schools do not find themselves inadvertently
'locked in' to a particular supplier via for example a licensing mechanism. Thus
we have initiated a review."
The interim report is expected to be published in June 2006.'

General - Happy new year!!!

I haven’t blogged for a while, but I have really had a busy and fun few days.  new-year was excellent with Dave and Clare.  We spent new years eve in the Rising Sun with my Epsom friends and enjoyed Dave Roberts’s goat curry, it went down a treat along with all the other Caribbean style foods at the party.

Clare went home yesterday, so I’m getting back to normal now.  In fact the last mince pie has just met it’s own personal hell on the way through my digestive system followed by a swift pint of tea.

I’m going to cut down on the beer over the next few months in order to drop a kilo or two.  I will have a few pints, but just not so much.  I’ll also stop the junk…..  just have to get the freezer cleared out first.

I’m back at work now and will be travelling up to the office tomorrow for a meeting.

More later