I went to the bar at Pine Lake to night and at about 9.30pm there was a power cut. No power anywhere onsite. Fortunately between the emergency lights and candles the bar stayed open, they did not need electricity to serve to beer and they improvised a till.
I headed back to my lodge at about 11pm in darkness, one enterprising “camper” had parked his car outside the patio window of their unit and was using the headlights to light the room. When I got back, used the led light on my key ring to light my way to my backpack where I had my Petzl headlamp – I also unpacked my led hand light from my possibles pouch and I have that clipped to the uplighter in the living room with a small caribiner.
the next thing was a hot drink – there is a steel tray in the kitchhen so I turned that upside down and put that on one of my tea towels to provide protection for the work top and used my meths stove and crusader mug and lid to brew some fresh coffee.
There is also something wrong with the water pressure so I filled all three of my water bottles and the kettle just in case,
Another problem was I had spent the evening editing the address book on my iPhone and a few minutes ago I got the 10% power warning so I am now charging/powering the phone from the emergency power pack.
I went to the reception this morning to ask what was going to happen. To be fair the receptionist did not know, I didn’t think she would, but I needed her to pass my problem on. Helpfully she said she would pass my problem on to her manager, unhelpfully she informed me that Pine Lake could not authorise a refund!
So after a day walking along the coast – see photo below taken from the promenade at Morecambe – I went back to reception where there was some news. The site maintenance could not fix the issue, neither can Swisscom, so no Internet. I did however get my money back.
Moral – I am sure the high speed internet works here, but think twice before buying it could use up some of your holiday sorting it out.
It is a shame I did not pack one of my engineers and his laptop, spares and toolbox – I just have the feeling we could have sorted at least a patch to get the customer online.
I went for a walk in the outlying limestone area south of the Lake District today. The outcrop of limestone the path followed was an impressive bit of geology, worth seeing.
I came across a hollow just off the path which was a good place to stop for lunch – the stepped rock made for somewhere to put my sitmat.
Although it was a grey day it is interesting country to walk though – when I get back I will try and upload my Memory-map route.
Darren from Absolute Electrical Group (http://www.absoluteelectricalgroup.co.uk) recommended to me a free satnav app for the iPhone. Free – it cannot be very good – can it?
Navfree for UK and ROI takes a while to download and install as it includes the maps so you can use it when offline. When you first run the program you need to go to the Navmii Store, (the shop icon is built into the app), to download the free postcode database. Also available is a safety camera database – this you have to purchase, but it is a bargain,
I tried the software out this morning on the drive from Aviemore to Carnforth and it did as good a job as my Toyota built in satnav – with some additions.
It’s portable so I can also use it in my wife’s car.
One of the navigation options is UK postcodes (something that the Toyota satnav lacks).
Another navigation option is that you can use Google to search for your destination – this needs a data connection.
Using the software is very intuitive and it only took moments to load my destination and set it to navigate. The verbal instructions were very accurate and there are a choice of voices. The map display was clear and easy to understand with only a glance. There is a choice of 2d or 3G and day or night illumination.
The tracking to roads of the car icon seemed accurate as far as I could tell, not being able to stare at screen whilst driving. The vehicle speed is displayed and this too was reasonably accurate – as was the ETA displayed on the navigation screen.
It was also very easy to add destinations to the Favourites list.
Even after such a short test of the software I would recommend anyone with an iPhone to give Navfree a try. It got mebto Carnforth!
Once upon a time I didn’t worry how much weight I carried when out in the hills, now every gram counts. However I also enjoy a stop and a fresh hot drink and may be some hot food when walking and so I bought a Crusader brew kit – an excellent bit of kit, but heavy and lacking a proper lid (you cannot count the plastic drinking lid as it cannot reliably be used for cooking). A friend of mine who runs an engineering and maintenance company (The Little Frog Group) made me an aluminium lid for the Crusader mug. Two things the lid helps with, it shortens boiling times and it stops debris falling into the pot – a hazard when trying to shelter the mug and stove from the wind.
This got me thinking to make an even lighter brew kit. I have a Titanium stove and an MSR titanium mug which could be used as cooking pot. So once again The Little Frog Group made another lid, this time for the Ti mug.
One of the great things about the Vargo Triad XE Titanium Stove i that it can be used with meths or solid fuel tablets – but the problem with the solid fuel is that it leaves a residue on the outside of the pot. So if I used my mug as the kettle with solid fuel then it is probable that the smoke would taint the mug making it unpleasant to drink from. In my camp kit I had a beaker with a lid which fits nearly exactly into the mug and makes a reasonable cup for this brew kit.
Add to this my brew kit pouch (an mp3 case from a pound shop contains tea bags, milk powder etc), a small Light My Fire spork, a couple of 2 in 1 coffees, a lighter, four solid fuel tablets inside the stove, 2 50ml bottles of meths and some paper towels all in a “Brew Kit” stuff sack (bought many years ago from Footloose magazine) and I have a pocket sized (it has to be a big pocket) brewkit.
I dropped this kit into a WWII gas mask case – I have had since I was at school when it was not collectable but surplus, so mine is worn and stained – with a 600ml Sigg bottle of water, some biscuits and tinned fish. I have a 40cm by 60cm sheet of heavy duty plastic sheet, folds up small and gives me somewhere dry to sit. I also pack a very lightweight emergency kit which went in the haversack. Memory-Map on my iPhone, in an Aquapac took care of the navigation (an it is my camera) and an 8GB 3rd generation iPod Nano, full of podcasts and audio books, completes a very light walking kit.
Had a very good walk along the Speyside Way on Sunday, headed north out of Aviemore, did about 12 miles and had hot tea with my luch and more tea later in the day as the light was fading. It was windy and the foil wind shield was essential and raining – you can see the rain on the sit mat and on the bag.
Although I forward my business calls and refuse to do my email, the moment it appears on my Blackberry, whilst I am on holiday, there are times when a small problem at the office dealt with now stops it being a big problem when I get back. So I do need some computing device with me.
Now my wife brings both of her laptops with her and a bag full of paperwork she plans to catch up on. Meanwhile I like something a bit more portable – my Dell X51v PDA, with six gigs of storage in it and six gigs in the PDAs belt pouch, and a portable bluetooth folding keyboard,
Dell X51v PDA
So what can I do on the PDA
I synchronised it to my Vista laptop before leaving so I have the most up to date copies of my Contacts, Calendar and Notes from my Outlook, and the last two weeks email including the attachments. I also synchronise a folder of my most important work and personal documents (including a list of thing we want to do on holiday). This gives me access to both personal and business information I may need whilst away – in my pocket.
I have used ereader.com for many since I was first introduced to it when I had a Palm handheld – and I use my PDA to read book all the time. I purchased half a dozen books for the holiday – and I have about twenty other books stored on the SD card. I have used eReaderPro for many years as my book reader of choice. For large text files I need to read (help files for programs etc) I use ELFView.
I have some software that converts DVDs to a format that I can use on my PDA – so I loaded Series 5 of Star Trek “The Next Generation”, three movies and a documentary about the “Coast to Coast” Walk onto one of the compact flash cards.
I have several hours of Big Finish Dr Who stories and other various audio books and podcasts.
Lots of music stored on CF card.
I use TCPMP for watching and listening to things on my PDA – I have a very good set of in ear headphones in my PDA pouch.
Whilst away I have gone online, at various hotspots, and have downloaded a number of new podcasts to listen to – I use BeyondPod for this and as my RSS reader.
I have SoftMaker Office loaded for Word and Excel – and have been putting the final touches to my “Coast to Coast Experience” document.
I have XnView Pocket installed this allows me to review my digital photos on a larger screen.
Memory-Map is one of my essential applications add to that a bluetooth GPS receiver and a waterproof bag and it is a great navigation tool. The Memory-Map database contains walks I want to do, places we want to go t and notes about places we have been to in past – our favourite cafes, campsites and attractions.
Bluetooth GPS Unit and AquaPac
I have not got an FTP program loaded on my Asus EEE Linux laptop – so I used Total Commander on the PDA to ftp the photos for my blog up to the internet.
For fun I have a Star Trek web site (don’t look for it on the web it is stored on my PC at home) and I keep a synchronised copy of it on my PDA CF Card – I use PocketHTML to add to it and tweak it.
My son uses it to play Space Trader and I have Vexed installed.
The PDA has wifi so I can get online with it, browse the web and check my email, use Skype, RSS, get weather reports etc.
As this is such an important tool both for business and personal use the night before we left I used Sprite Backup to make two copies of the device which I put on two different SD cards just in case. In the past I have had my PDA crash when away and the Sprite Backup has allowed me to rebuild the PDA.
Life Venture PDA Case with accessories – headphones with pouch, spare PDA battery and cover, PDA charge plug and adaptor leads, spare stylus, memory cards, Swiss Card and a Victorinox pencil
Security
I have a password set on the unit and it locks itself after a very short period of inactivity. The backups are password protected and no sensitive information is stored on the CF or SD cards. If the PDA is lost and then hard reset to clear the password protection then all the sensitive data is lost. If the unit is synchronised to a new computer the password is again required.
A Real Job
I had a call from one of our major clients – and unfortunately I could not get anyone in Lincoln to cover it as they were all committed. So we found a McDonalds – free internet for 24 minutes for the price of a coffee and a bap. I used the Remote Desktop application that came pre-installed on the PDA to access their server. A call to the staff member with the problem, I changed some passwords and provided the help needed.
Now one small disadvantage is the size of the Dell X51v screen – it is a bit small so server screens are displayed with very small fonts (of course let’s remember the size is also its strength, I always have the device with me). I have a folding magnifying glass in my work kit so I can use that to see the server screens, as they are displayed on the PDA, better.
This is a small media case given away free in Amateur Photographer a few years back. I use it to carry some essential accessories for work – but they are equally useful when away.
Power
I have two spare batteries for the PDA, a standard and a high capacity (I have a high capacity battery in the Dell all the time). I carry the spare standard battery in the belt pouch.
High Capacity Battery – Dell X51v
To charge the Dell as I travel I have a mains charger and two battery back-up chargers. For the camping part of the trip I also have an in car charger – I use a USB plug and a Dell synchronisation cable for this.
AA Cell Emergency Charger
More About Charging
I have a bluetooth GPS receiver, an iPod Nano and a Blackberry all of which I charge using the same mains unit with a USB socket – I just need the right lead – and in the car I use a plug with a USB socket and the same leads.
Accessories, cables and chargers
The flat rectangle in the bottom right hand corner is a 2Ah rechargeable battery I got from Maplins – which I can use to recharge my devices.
Other Stuff
The Life Venture pouch I use is great for carrying the essentials (including, money, bank cards, business cards and a pencil) and protects the PDA. It has a very secure belt clip and a shoulder strap can be added if required. It is not waterproof so when I am walking I put it in a zip lock plastic bag to protect it.
The downside of the bluetooth keyboard is it uses batteries reasonably quickly so I carry several sets of AAA cells. The usefulness of having a full sized keyboard when I need to write or input a lot of data out weighs the battery use.
Other Backups
I have an eight gig memory stick with me which has copies of the installation CDs of company and personal software. I have my Outlook PST file stored on a CF card (it is password protected) and my collection of 50k Memory-Maps is backed up onto a DVD.
I also have my PortableApps memory stick on my key ring – I can use it on my wife’s laptop if needed.
Asus EEE
Since the beginning of the year I have been been using one of these laptops for support work – it is a lightweight and capable machine. I have the 4 gig model with an eight gig HCSD card for extra storage. I wasn’t planning to bring it with me but at the last minute I packed it – and now we have wifi in the timeshare house I am glad I brought it. I have uploaded photographs to Flickr and watched several things on iPlayer – things that I cannot do on my PDA.
If there is one problem with the small laptop is the small keyboard, for long documents it is hard work – but that’s why I have the full size keyboard for my PDA.
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