Monday 26th July - Day 35 (Week 7)

On the scales this morning: 12 stone 13 and a quarter pounds. Delta from last week: 2 pounds. Total weight loss to date: 22 pounds.

This week was a good week. I hit 12 st 11.25 lb before the weekend, then had some friends over and age a huge amount of non allowed foods. Chips, pizza, full breakfast, chocolate pudding. Damage: 2 pounds.

I'm happy that a few days on pure protein can undo that damage and get me back on my way.

However, even if things stayed as they were, I'm supposed to lose 2 to 3 pounds a week, and I did.

It's almost time to buy some new trousers!

Monday 19th July - Day 28 (Week 6)

On the scales this morning: 13 stone 1 and a quarter pounds. Delta from last week: 2 pounds. Total weight loss to date: 20 pounds.

The diet continues well. I actually hit 13st 0.25lb this week, but that was probably slight dehydration. I'm happy with this mornings weight. Seems right. And after last weeks 4 pound drop, 2 pounds seems much more reasonable.

I'm hoping to hit 12 stone something soon, on my way to the 2 stone mark at 12 8.25.

Meals have been good this week. Lots of soups and healthy options. I have had enough of prawns though. A lunchtime and protein day staple, I have eaten too many. Thankfully, chicken is still "appealing".

The one issue this week was yesterday. We went to a christening (which was a lovely day) with a meal afterwards. The meal was decidedly anti-dukan. Butter on everything, high salt content, added sugar. It was, however, just one meal. So far the damage seems limited.

So, to this week. Protein day today, along with a trip to the gym. We have friends coming this weekend, and I've already decided that the rules are loosened. Saturday is a protein and veg day so that shouldn't add too many challenges, but I will be having the odd glass of wine. See what a bit of alcohol does to the scales next weekend...

Monday 12th July - Day 21 (Week 4)

On the scales this morning: 13 st 3 and a quarter pounds. Delta from last week: 4 and a half pounds. Total weight loss to date: 18 pounds.

The diet continues without halt nor hindrance. The protein days are beginning to drag. There are only so many prawns and cooked chicken breasts you can eat. The veg days, on the other hand, are looked forward to and enjoyed.

A new dish has been added to our cooking repertoire; onion and chicken stock cooked until soft, a bed of tomato and pepper, mild Chilli, black pepper, and garlic to season. Chicken breast dived and placed on top. Simmer for an hour. After 30 mins, add some sliced mushroom. Very nice.

There'll be a follow up post on the problems of the diet as experienced by my wife. Basically, the diet doesn't work for everyone.

However, it's working for me. Things continue, and hopefully I'll see 12 stone something soon.

A response to "The Dukan Diet(And how it could kill you)"

Over the weekend an article appeared in my twitter stream titled "The Dukan Diet(And how it could kill you)". I read it with a sense of growing despair over the mis-informed rubbish being spouted. The author of the piece had done no research outside of another blog (an individuals blog, like mine, not one advocating the diet, nor trying to sell something), and had concluded that the diet was incredibly unhealthy and that going vegan would solve all the problems the dieter was trying to resolve.

My wife also read the blog post, and responded on twitter with:

@Dukanette Um, eating tuna salad (lettuce, spinach, cucumber, toms, raw peppers); unable to reconcile my meal w @sakakikala 's descriptionless than a minute ago via Twitter for iPhonelauranixon
lauranixon

@Dukanette But when hubby launched into Attack phase for 5 days & I knew no better I admit to initially having same concerns as @sakakikalaless than a minute ago via Twitter for iPhonelauranixon
lauranixon

@Dukanette Now hubby eats far more veges on Dukan diet than he did b4 (whereas I struggled 5 days w'out being big veg-lover) @sakakikalaless than a minute ago via Twitter for iPhonelauranixon
lauranixon

A few hours later the response came back:

@lauranixon Okay, I never spoke to you, and I DID do some research on the dukan diet and in fact, its VERY similar to the Atkins diet...less than a minute ago via webGrace McCarter
sakakikala

@lauranixon which Pretty much any doctor will NOT recommend anymore because of the health risks. I never asked you to read my blog,less than a minute ago via webGrace McCarter
sakakikala

@lauranixon But I MUST ask, how many veggies did he used to eat? Because everything I've read says it SLOWLY introduces veggies. D:less than a minute ago via webGrace McCarter
sakakikala

So, let's take some of these points, and the original blog, and see what we can make of them.

(It is worth noting that the blog has been updated since it's original post to say:

No, I did NOT go outside the person’s blog to research this, but based on what they were saying, I’m FREAKING CONCERNED. Is that such a bad thing? I am not mocking the person whom originally blogged about this, merely stating my concerns with their diet!

ALSO it sounds a LOT like the Atkins diet, which my own father was on. And not to mention MANY doctors are saying that the Atkins diet is TERRIBLE for your health in the long run! In fact, here’s a link to WebMD’s article on both the Atkins Diet, the Dukan Diet, AND Veganism in case you want to compare. Also, here’s a PDF on veganism from the American Dietetic Association

That’s not to say no matter what will you be healthy if you follow a vegan diet, you have to follow a BALANCED vegan diet. Skinny Bitch is a book I do NOT recommend checking out to help you go vegan! Here’s a link by webMD as to why(My dad, doesn’t trust ANYTHING from The Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine but DOES trust WebMD as to overall it’s pretty darned unbiased, and while PCRM has a ton of GREAT stuff pertaining to veganism, web MD is a great general source for info)

So, judging by what I read on that person’s blog, they gave a fairly decent description of the diet, and it appears I did a pretty decent analysis of it from what I read. So go ahead and mock me if you will. At least I won’t have muscle loss, constipation, bad breath, fatigue, nutrient deficiencies, and/or kidney problems!

This update contradicts one of the responses to my wife, but we won't nitpick. Clearly the author has done 0 proper research before posting an article on something she has no knowledge.

And so to the points:

1. The Dukan diet is similar to the Atkins diet.

The Atkins diet allows you (in fact it practically insists) large amounts of fat. I've seen people on the Atkins diet, and the strive to eat as much bacon and fatty lamb as they can cram down is enough to put you off the diet for life. It also avoids carbs and veg for a long period of the diet depriving you of basic fibre and nutrients whilst filling your body with protein AND FAT.

The Dukan diet has an INITIAL attack period of between 2 and 7 days (NO LONGER) where you eat nothing but protein. It should be stressed at this point, that this is not just meat. Yes, there are no vegetables allowed during this period, but it only a maximum of one week. Also, this protein must be lean. There is very little cholesterol. After this period you can eat as much veg as you like from a list that excludes potatoes, restricts carrots, but allows pretty much everything else. And you can eat this veg every other day. The rest of the time you are eating protein. Not meat. Protein. This includes low fat fromage frais, low fat yogurt, eggs, tofu and processed soya.

After this "Cruise" phase where you lose your weight the diet re-introduces occasional starchy meals, cheese, bread, grains etc. It does this slowly, and in moderation, giving you the basis of a balanced diet with no chance of immediate weight "bounce".

The final phase "stabilisation" allows you free range on food bar a day of protein per week. However, after a prolonged period on this diet the hope is that you will have established a good eating pattern and won't need to fall back on fatty, carb filled treats.

The other factor that differentiates the Dukan diet from the Atkins diet is Oat Bran. Throughout EVERY stage you are prescribed increasing amounts of Oat Bran every day. This starts out at a tablespoon and a half, and climbs to 3 tablespoons at the end of the diet (for the rest of your life). This oat bran provides essential fibre and nutrients to keep things "moving". As someone who has been on this diet for over 2 weeks now I can confirm that things in that area are not a problem.

2. The Dukan diet makes you tired

On the contrary, a diet of carbs and sugar makes you tired. Since starting the Dukan diet I have never felt better. I need less sleep, I feel more energised, and I haven't had a problem going to the gym 3 times a week.

3. The Dukan diet causes muscle loss

Actually, as muscles (and skin) are made up of protein, the diet has no effect on muscle loss. In fact skin tone and muscle growth are enhanced by the diet. Other parts of the body may not be catered for during that first week, but muscles are not one of those areas.

4. The Dukan diet causes bad breath

Fair enough, on day 3 I did have some bad breath. The ketonic cells being broken down in my gut have that effect. It lasted a morning. I do chew gum but that is for the flavour and the need to keep my jaws busy. Bad breath is not a problem, and in all cases can be countered by upping your water consumption.

5. Green tea is not allowed

Actually green tea is allowed after the first week. Lemon (also mentioned) as allowed throughout as a food additive, but not to drink as it contains too much sugar.

There are many other things I could pick out of the post, but to do so would descend into nit picking!

The final point the author sent to my life was to ask how much veg I ate previously. The answer would be not much. They were always supplementary, never the main dish. I would never eat them without plenty of sauce and a good chunk of meat on the front of the fork. Since starting this diet I have eaten meat free salad; soup with multiple spoon fulls of just veg; mushroom, tomato and onion (cooked with chicken, but eaten both with and without the meat). In the past, once the meat was gone, the meal was over. Now, the plates are cleaned, the meat content has gone down, it's all good!

As for the author's preferred diet of choice, veganism, can there be a diet more against our very nature, and our own bodies' desires? Human's are omnivores, they eat meat, veg, and fruit. For a long period of our evolution, the meat was the primary part of our diet supplemented with in season gatherings. Even as we enter the last 2000 years we have relied on whatever can be grown to supplement hunted (or farmed) meat. It is only as we enter the latter stages of the 20th century that vegetarianism then veganism come to be possible, never mind choosable, as diets. Mass produced fruit and veg imported over large distances, cultivated using chemicals and artificial means are required for a such a diet to exist. Artificial minerals and vitamins in pill form are required to supplement the lack of nutrition you aren't getting from eating meat (even worse in the case of vegans where you aren't even getting omega from fish, nor any calcium from dairy). Before pushing your vegan agenda on others, stop to consider how long you would survive without your supplements, living only on local produce in season.

Veganism (plus supplements) works for the author, and that's fine; the Dukan diet is currently working for me. In 15 days I have lost 14.5 pounds. The weight loss is now controlled and gradual, and my diet is healthy and (reasonably) balanced.

Monday 5th July - Day 15 (Week 3)

On the scales this morning: 13 stones 7 and three quarter pounds. Delta from last week: 2.5 pounds. Total weight loss to date: 14.5 pounds. Last week was a week of small moves and static pauses. On the first day of veg and protein I put on 2.25 pounds, and then promptly lost it the following day! You can track the rest here.

The diet itself is going well enough. The addition of veg days certainly helps add some variation. I made myself a chicken, tomato and mushroom dish which was very tasty, and have had two lots of home made chicken soup with lots of cabbage, carrot and pepper.

The problem day this week was Wednesday; we were visited at work by a couple of sales people for a product we were interested in, and after the demo they took us out for lunch. I ordered a chicken and mushroom dish with a side salad, and I asked them to leave the sauce off. They didn't! I scraped as much of it off as possible, and got away with it, but it certainly highlights the problems of eating out on this diet.

I have now hit my first goal (self imposed) of 13 st 8, so my next goal is to see a 12! Today is a protein day, so chicken for lunch again (just for a change!)

A question for bio-physicists

As water weighs about 1kg per litre, how much does my weight increase if I drink 3 litres a day?

If I expel about 750ml, how much does my weight go down?

If, over the last 3 days, I've drunk 9 litres of water and expelled 3; why has my weight dropped by over a kilo?

Is simple perspiration the answer? Seems like a lot of sweat!

Cheers.

Monday 28th June - Day 8 (Week 2): Cruise phase begins

On the scales this morning: 13 stone 10 and a quarter pounds. Delta from yesterday: -0.5 pounds. Total weight loss to date: 12 pounds.
I'm not sure I got yesterday's weight right. On reflection I think I was a little low in my recollection. However, the record is what it is. If I was right then the weight gain is due to being out, eating pre-roasted chicken (which probably had added sugar), and the phenomenal amount of water I drank in the heat yesterday.

However, 12 pounds in a week is perfectly fine by me, and plenty to go with heading into the cruise phase.

For those that don't know the Dukan diet, the philosophy is based around protein, and for the initial attack phase consists of nothing else (apart from the obligatory oat bran that is now with me for ever). This phase lasts up to a week, and the transitions to cruise.

In the cruise phase I carry on eating the same protein rich diet, but 50% of the time I can supplement that diet with selected vegetables. The veg should be raw if possible, excludes potatoes, and is easy on carrots and beetroot.

What this does is open the menu up some, and allow for a bit of variation.

I stick with this until all the weight I want to lose is gone. I expect this to take 4 to 5 months. Weight loss is slower in cruise, with an expectation of around 3 pounds a week initially, decreasing to 2 pounds a week as you get lighter.

With the re-introduction of veg, I will be restarting my sessions at the gym too. This should help with fat loss, and obviously help with muscle definition and overall well-being.

As I said last week, update like this would get pretty boring if I kept them frequently, so the next report will be next Monday.

Sunday 27th June - Day 7

On the scales this morning: 13 Stone 9 and three quarter pounds. Delta from yesterday: 3 pounds. Total weight loss to date: 11 and a half pounds.

Short one today as we're busy getting ready to go out. Today the diet faces it's toughest test, 2 meals away from control! I take heart from the yesterday, I was asked to hold and look after a cupcake for an extended period of time yesterday and I didn't want to eat it!

Also, I haven't had a drink of coke for over 2 weeks now. Water really is an acceptable substitute!

Saturday 26th June - Day 6

On the scales this morning: 13 stone 13 and three quarter pounds. Delta from yesterday: 1 and a half pounds. Total weight loss to date: 8 and a half pounds.

I've broken 14 stone. Also, at some point I've gone from obese to just overweight. Next stop, perfect weight!

Friday 25th June - Day 5

On the scales this morning: 14 Stone 1 and a quarter pounds. Delta from yesterday: 0 pounds. Total weight loss to date: 7 pounds.

I've stagnated! No idea why. I shall stick to it and plow on regardless. I suppose all the waste water in my system has been flushed and fat loss didn't do much yesterday.

Without being too graphic about it, there was no waste removal yesterday so that may have had an effect. Onwards, ever onwards. Oat bran, egg, and cold chicken await...

Thursday 24th June - Day 4

On the scales this morning: 14 Stones 1 and a quarter pounds. Delta from yesterday: 1.5 pounds. Total weight loss to date: 7 pounds.

That's half a stone! In 3 days! Woo, and indeed, Hoo!

For some reason my first goal is 13 stone 8. I have no idea why, it's just in my head. Be there soon.

Yesterday wasn't too bad. I had fish sticks and chicken for lunch instead of prawns. Big mistake! Fish sticks are evil. They will not be consumed again.

I had the journey from hell home last night. Absolutely crammed train. You couldn't have got another person on. And it was hot. Especially when the train stopped. Which it did. A lot. However, at the end of it I didn't crave anything other than a cold drink. Water sufficed.

What I did want was something hot to eat. I hadn't had a hot meal since Sunday as I'd pre-cooked all my food, so I popped into the supermarket on the way home and got some ultra lean burgers. They were very nice (as ultra lean burgers go), and certainly helped on the hot food front.

I've decided that once the "attack phase" is over (this weekend) I'll cut these reports down to a once a week recap. Looking at my blog hits I can see that interest is waning, so I'll limit the annoyance.

Working from home today (tube issues), so the food situation should be simple. In fact I think I'll go and get that hideous oat bran out the way early...

Wednesday 23rd June - Day 3

On the scales this morning: 14 stone 2 and three quarter pounds. Delta from yesterday: 2 and a half pounds. Total weight loss to date: 5 and a half pounds.

Another fine day, and I managed to make oat bran edible by adding it to creme fraiche and no fat vanilla yogurt. Edible, not nice!

It was hot yesterday, and by the time I got home I was craving a nice cold drink. Water really didn't cut it! Sugar free chewing gum helped a bit, but it was still there.

My daughter didn't go up to bed very well, so her bedtime treat (a couple of sweets before teeth cleaning) was cancelled. My wife brought some up anyway (soft touch :-) ), but I stood firm and said no. So my wife passed me 2 gummy bears to take back downstairs. That was hard. By the time I left them in the kitchen and walked out, I was shaking. I want gummy!

Onwards to today. As this moves on I hope the weight loss offsets the boredom of samey foods and water. No problems yet, but I'm on this for about 4 months!

Tuesday 22nd June - Day 2

This morning, on the scales: 14 stone 5 and a quarter pounds. Delta from yesterday: 3 pounds. Total change to date: 3 pounds.

Yesterday was fairly easy; I had a hard boiled egg and some cooked chicken that I took to work along with some prawns I bought from the supermarket. In the evening I had oat bran with fromage frais, some more prawns; and later, a fat free yogurt (which tasted horrible! Why did I buy 8 of the things!?)

The one shock was how thirsty I was. The diet requires 1.5 to 2 litres a day, I had about 3.5 and was still a little thirsty.

Today may be tough. Unrelated to the diet I was awake for 2 hours in the night (aren't daughters great!), so my need for caffeinated beverages is quite high. Water is an acceptable substitute right? Thankfully I haven't had any fizzy drinks or sugar filled chocolate bars for over a week and a half, so the cravings should be controllable.

Apparently the first three days are the hardest. So I'll be two thirds of the way through that by the end of today.

Monday 21st June - Day 1: The Diet Begins!

Hi, I'm Steve, and I'm fat. However, rather than sit around in a self help group complaining about my need for chocolate, my "big bones", and the only flesh creating virus ever discovered; I'm going on a diet.

The diet I'm following is the Dukan diet. We can talk about the validity of the diet, and any possible health concerns later.

The diet is in four phases, based around protein. The first phase is the attack phase, and lasts 5 to 7 days. During this phase I can eat no carbohydrates, and no fat. Only protein. So today I'm eating hard boiled eggs, chicken, and prawns. This will be the pattern for the next week or so.

After this phase comes the cruise phase which adds 28 vegetables, and lasts until I've lost all the weight I want to lose.

Next is a consolidation phase adding more foods, and lasting 5 days for every pound lost.

Finally, are some basic rules for the rest of my life (!) including "protein Thursday"

So, how fat am I? Well, the scales said 14 stone 8 and a quarter this morning. Where do I want to be? Somewhere around 10 stone 6!

Expect regular reports!

Social media, real time trending, and it's effect on today's world

This has been an interesting week for the world of social media in the UK (and the rest of the world). Two high profile events have been moved by the overwhelming volume of vocal protest on Twitter, Facebook, and traditional blogs.

It doesn't really matter what these events were this week. Next week there will be others. However, a quick look at them will serve as a good starting point.

The first of these was the seemingly crazy move by the solicitors Carter-Ruck to put a gagging order on the Guardian newspaper. The news, for me, was broken by the Guy Falkes' blog of parliamentary plots, rumours and conspiracy in this entry. Not only does the post list the question that's being suppressed, it links directly to the report that they are trying to suppress held on the wikileaks site.

Have these people not heard of the Steisand effect?

By morning the twitter stream was swamped with the outrage of this event. The documents on wikileaks were being freely linked to, many online blogs were writing about the injustice and the removal of the freedom of speech. The company behind this, Trafigura, became the highest trending topic on Twitter, and could be tracked around the globe on trendsmap. By mid-afternoon, before there was even an appeal hearing on the event, Carter-Ruck had backed down, the injunction was lifted, and the story was front page news.

----

Today Jan Moir made a mistake. Apart from writing for the Daily Mail that is.

She wrote an article headlined "Why there was nothing 'natural' about Stephen Gately's death." (since renamed as you'll see if you click on the link. The problems with the article are satirised here, here and here, and dealt with brilliantly by the fantastic Charlton Brooker here.

More is covered in those links than I need to go into here. However, all of that information, plus links to the Press Complaints Commission (and to a dedicated site they had to setup because of overwhelming volume!) came from Twitter.

----

In the last month I've learnt about excellent TV programs, environmental movements, campaigns against the abuse of science, the list goes on, all because of Twitter. Being plugged into this new social network allows an immediacy of information, and a vocal condemnation of injustices far quicker than at any other time in history.

However, is it all good. Taking the example of today; Jan Moir's article was clearly crap of the worst order, and highlighting that, complaining about it, and, hopefully, getting her reprimanded for writing it (and an editor somewhere for publishing it) is right. At some point today, all the advertising around the article was pulled. M&S and BT who were there initially are no longer there. That's going to hit the Daily Mail where it counts. However, at the same time, people were attacking Jan Moir herself. Name calling and personality attacks as bad as anything she had written. Her home address was also, allegedly, published, but wasn't actively re-tweeted. This is wrong! It was jested, partly seriously, that Twitter's icon should be replaced with a pitchfork illuminated by torchlight.

Where is all this taking us?

It was famously quoted that "A lie can run around the world before the truth can get it's boots on." Today the truth has some pretty fast boots!

Tweets that are incorrect, or downright malicious, can get posted and forwarded in just the same way as the good ones, but they are just as quickly stopped, refuted, and removed by the same mechanism. Twitter is at least as fast, and sometimes faster, than the "wire" that newspapers get their stories from. The problem with this is that, as with the wire, the stories are part formed, speculation, rumour, lacking in detail and fact. Yes, all that comes later, but in the early stages, the wrong information can be more dangerous than no information. Are we getting to the point where our own network could be used to instill fear and panic? Could it be used against us for disinformation? At the moment the network cleans itself. More sources appear, the story is ratified, details emerge. But, what if the story was too big, co-ordinated, the real sources may not get the truth out before there is lasting damage. Could the very networks that empower us, also lead to our destruction?

OK, that's probably going a little far! At present, the network is not all encompassing enough. Most people today will have passed the day in blissful ignorance to the Jan Moir story as they do to most events. They'll read a version of events tomorrow in their morning paper, or hear a cut down TV version on the evening news, but they're not aware of the events as the unfold. The network is fantastic, but inertia pulling on the old form of information is too strong foremost people at the moment. Give it 5 or 10 years, a lot more smartphones, and a slightly younger mindset coming of age and there may be something to talk about. Until then, a few of us can stay ahead of the pack, and make sure that the small (or large) injustices in the world don't go unnoticed.

The haunting of Footstool cottage, Fulbrook

A family trip was planned; a long weekend in the Cotswolds. Research was done, a cottage picked. They decided to stay in a pretty little cottage down Meadow lane in Fulbrook near Burford. As the time approached clothes and food were collected together and packed. Bedding and toys were left to the last minute. Come departure day, the car was packed and they were off.

Travelling took a little over an hour, however there was a long stop for lunch. At around 14:30 they arrived without incident. Five minutes of hunting up and down the lane revealed the cottage, the name hidden under climbing roses. A further search and the key was found; under a stone, not the plantpot as described. They let themselves in.

The cottage was lovely. A nice living space, light bedrooms, a clean range cooker. The bathroom looked like it had seen some wear, but it was clean and tidy. Unpacking started in earnest. Cases headed upstairs. The daughter would take the back bedroom, and the travel cot was setup to ensure there would be no delay later. They would take the front room, and, presently, the clothes were unpacked, the food transferred to fridge and freezer, and the toys were all over the lounge floor. Having settled in they now had to head out.

The husband's parents were staying in a caravan 30 minutes up the road, and they had phoned to say that they were having trouble putting the awning up. Grandad (as we'll call him) had hurt his back and couldn't bend, so Nanny had called the husband for help. Putting up the awning was easy enough, but the husband still couldn't see the point of caravanning.

The two families caught up. The daughter had a good time on the site swings. Plans for the coming days were made. With late afternoon approaching, it was time to head back.

The daughter had had a long day, and started to drift off to sleep in the car on the way home. On arrival they all went into the cottage and started the evening routine. PJs, teeth clean, cuddles, and bed. The daughter snuggled straight in and looked like she would fall fast asleep. There wasn't a peep out of her for the rest of the evening.

A lack of oil to cook with sent the husband scouting for fish and chips. None in Burford, but some helpful teens pointed him to the next town. Fish and chips retrieved from 20 yards outside RAF Brize Norton, the husband returned home. The fish and chips weren't very good. And lacked ketchup. A small amount of TV was watched, then the couple went to bed.

At 01:30 they were woken to the sound of laughter. The daughter was in her cot periodically laughing, giggling, and otherwise having a good time. The husband dragged himself out of bed and went to see what the fuss was. The daughter was lying on her back, holding teddy, laughing. He reminded her that it was sleepy time, tucked her in, made sure she was settled, and went back to bed.

Patchy sleep for the next hour or so was broken with more laughing. Eventually the daughter was fetched and brought into the front room. The idea of sleep was offered and rejected. The next hour was spent struggling to calm the daughter, drifting off, violent movement, restless playing, more calming.

Eventually the husband went to the back room to make more room in the bed, and the wife fetched some food. The husband drifted in and out of sleep whilst the wife fed and calmed the daughter. By 06:30 they were all asleep, and the next few hours passed uneventfully.

Friday was a tired affair. The family went to Burford before heading to the grandparents for lunch and a trip to Broadway for shopping and ice creams. The daughter was tired but active. The husband and wife were tired.  On the way home the daughter didn't succumb to sleep until the last mile, and was woken at the cottage. Some shopping was needed, so, after the routine and the daughter was settled, the husband set off to the nearby co-op.

Whilst shopping (not an easy task when the shopping list is fairly random and the shop layout is unfamiliar) the husband got a text to say that the giggling was back. It had been tired, almost unwilling giggling at first; almost like she was being kept awake against her will. However, it had soon become fully awake laughing. When he got home, all was quiet, but the wife had been up to settle the daughter and had a chat. Apparently the daughter had a friend, and they were friendly. And funny. The wife was spooked, the husband sceptical. They decided to sleep in the back room. So, after tea and TV, that's what they did. The night was uncomfortable, but uneventful for the most part. The daughter did awaken early in the morning, and after some placating, was brought into bed and the wife sent to the front room. The husband and the daughter spent the rest of the night in the bed. The daughter periodically kicking him in the back whilst she slept.

The next day was a write off. Everyone was too tired, and a trip to the Cotswold wildlife park was met with tantrums, sullenness, and even a rejection of ice cream! After a dejected trip on the little train, and a lack of enthusiasm to even wave to the camels for Daddy (who was left at the station with the pushchair and bags), they went home.

A request was made. Daddy went into the back bedroom and carefully explained that the family was suffering from lack of sleep. He went on to ask if the child could be left alone tonight so they could all catch up.

The night went well. For the child at least. Mummy and Daddy don't sleep well in strange beds, and Daddy ended the night in the back room. He was woken by his daughter standing in the cot wishing him a "Good morning Daddy"

Tired as everyone still was they had a better day. A trip to a National trust property with Nanny and Grandad was followed by some packing and another quiet night.

On Monday morning they all went home. Calling in on the grand parents on the way to celebrate Grandad's birthday. In the end they were all glad to be home.

Before bed on that Monday, Mummy made some enquiries. The "friend" in the room was a boy. Bigger than the daughter, but not old like Nanny or Mummy / Daddy. He was friendly, had come shopping with us one day (!) Hadn't come home with us. And would be missed.

"He" was never discussed again.

For my bro (and anyone else who has an android phone)

So, my bro has finally got himself and Android phone (the Samsung Galaxy no less). So I thought I'd list out the Android apps I use the most.

I know I've done something similar before, but that was to list everything on the phone, and whilst that list has changed since the post this is more a list of useful stuff. The rest he can find out by experimentation like the rest of us.

Primary app to get is ChompSMS which, when combined with SMS Popup gives a far superior experience to SMS messages (remember to disable the phone apps notifications)

Once you have that sorted, Newsrob is free, and by far the best RSS reader. Full offline support, background syncing of feeds (automatically, not manual like most of them) and it syncs with google reader, so changes there are reflected on the phone and vice-versa.

Notification wise I like Battery Status and WeatherBug. Strangely they do exactly what you think they'll do!

Social media wise, twidroid (or Twidroid pro) for twitter and Bloo for facebook

Media has to be tunewiki (enable last.fm and twitter support) and the official last.fm app is great for streaming music.

If you're in London then the iTubeStatus app is still the easiest to use, but I also have London City installed for the map and the journey planner

HulloMail is a must have for visual voicemail and to allow you to keep voicemails in your mail as mp3s.

AK Notepad is still the best app I've found for jotting down notes. Import and export from/to text files allows transfer of notes easily.

Night Clock is great when you're away, but it does make the screen a little brighter than I'd like.

Video Player is a small, must have app for simply playing vids (supports the same format is iphone videos, just without the DRM)

And that's it really. Those are the apps that get used regularly. Shazam, Pkt Auctions for eBay, etc all have their uses, but not regularly. Games you're on your own, you know what you like.

I will pass on this site: http://www.cyrket.com/ It makes browsing the market much easier.

I also follow the feed from http://www.androidtapp.com/ which has brought up a few interesting apps in the past.

Questions / comments? You know where to put them!

Ticking on by

Still here. More or less.

Running more at the mo. 5 times a week. Not huge distances, but something is better than nothing. I hit exactly 14st on the scales the other night. I'm hopeful to crack that first milestone off this week and get into the 13s. Long way to go yet, but the changes I've made don't seem to be taking any toll. I'll just keep up the exercise and keep watching what I eat, and see what happens.

Thinking about it the other night (jogging gives plenty of opportunity for that), I realised that my running playlist hasn't changed since that first half marathon in Chester. My running tunes are older than my daughter, my marriage, even my relationship! They were put together before I got my first contract job in Newcastle. I've used the same tunes in Chester, Newcastle, Wimbledon, and Wokingham. All that work I did years ago measuring bpm, checking tone and subject matter all seems to have paid off. If I get the iPod and the phone together I'll post the list.

Cleared out the garage at the weekend. For the first time since we moved in you can move around freely, and actually find what you're looking for! Next stop the shed. One day, maybe, the loft. That just leaves a couple of cupboards that need a sort.

Out at the cinema last night to see "Inglorious barsterds". It was a good, fun movie with the trademark Tarentinoisms (music, slow shots of detail, etc). However, I'm not convinced it's historically accurate!

Currently watching "True Blood" series 2, and looking forward to catching up on "Californication" series 2 before season 3 comes out next month. Also anticipating "Dexter" season 4, also out soon.

Enjoying listening to the soundtrack from "True Blood". For some reason the US and UK versions are different, but combining the two on random seems to work. This morning, however, I'm listening to Chickenfoot; the 'supergroup' with Joe Satriani on guitar. A couple of really good tracks, but mainly just some hard rock filler. I never saw the appeal of Van Halen (the band) and with Sammy Hagar doing the vocals (and lyrics) a lot of this falls into the sort of music. Mediocre Van Halen with Joe Satriani on guitar. Maybe I'm just getting old.

Right, work arrives, time to go.

On Twitter

As I mentioned in the previous post, I tweet. I don't tweet a lot, but I certainly tweet more than I post here. I also use it more than my immediate group of friends.

I have 104 followers. People who hang on my every word (except they don't.) And I follow between 110 and 120 people at any one time. That, for me, is manageable. I read pretty much every tweet on my stream; I may not read them as they happen, but I do read them. It doesn't take too long either.

A while ago I started an experiment to follow more people to see what the limits were. Turns out that when you do that something exponential happens. More and more people follow you, and the cycle continues. Forever growing. Well, not forever. I've seen these types of account, and they hit a limit around 3500. There are 3500 idiots you all follow each other. And most of them are self-declared SEO experts. What this means is that every post has some pointless triviality and a link to their eBook.

The upshot of the experiment was that I found that above 150 people I couldn't follow the stream anymore. My phone client refreshes every 3 minutes, my web every 2. On both with 110 people I can often go 20 minutes without a single tweet. At 150 I was getting around 3 a refresh. Too much data (and far too much noise).

Some people may be able to follow more, but I came up with 2 rules off the back of that:
1. Anyone following more than 300 people has got filters and won't read anything you post.
2. I'll only follow those who interest me. If you follow me, fine. Don't expect it in return unless you have something worthwhile to add to my stream.

A final backup rule. Anyone following more than 300 people must have something very worthwhile to add as they're probably a twat. (Thanks Dave, we won't forget)

Right, enough twittering, it's time to get back to tweeting.

Alive and kicking. (Hot and sweaty edition)

Here I am in a slow moving tube, slowly heating up, listening to "Rumours" by Fleetwood Mac.

Why isn't music as good as this today? A whole album of class. No filler, no vocal effects, no silly electronic gimmicks. Just classic rock.

I'm definitely getting old. Music released in the year I was born is "better" than today. Aye, and all this were fields once. Kids today don't know how good they've got it. I had to go to school, uphill both ways, after a full shift down the pit. Etc etc etc.

You may have noticed the lack of posts recently. Actually you probably haven't seen as there haven't been any real views on the blog for a long time. I have made well over 700 posts on twitter (see that side bar over there on the left), but that's not quite the same. Strangely 140 characters is easier to come up with than a blog post. There's so much going on at the minute, most of it bad, frustrating, or just plain exhausting that I don't want to write about it. Things have to come to a head soon though. The status quo cannot continue, and I'm mentally working through my options. Maybe, just maybe I'll get back to posting when all this is worked through. Those three draft posts may yet see light of day!

In the mean time, sporadic posts of waffle, and irregular twittering is the best you're going to get.

But as you're not reading anyway, who cares?!