tumblr

tumblr

So, got a tumblr blog also. http://tumblr.sirjohn.co.uk/

Just experimenting. It’s just posts here that are pinged to tumblr for a wider audience or whatnot.

Will it replace WordPress for me? Not sure. tumblr is more of a microblog, though I don’t “blog” with WordPress much these days anyway. Most my snippets of uninteresting stuff are on twitter or Google+ mostly. Also having a bit of a social dabble on pinterest.

Still, if interested, you can cross post WordPress to tumblr with plugins like Tumblr Crosspostr (source is published on GitHub: https://github.com/meitar/tumblr-crosspostr)

Also like that it’s easy to point a domain to tumblr, so presently I’m running tumblr as a subdomain with WordPress being the default for the root/www of the domain.

Sky HD audio drop out issues

Sky HD box A quick post for owners of Sky HD boxes, specifically Amstrad ones.

Have you been noticing the audio drop out at times on recordings, catch up shows or paused live TV?

If so, don’t go calling Sky tech support and have them charge £65 to send an engineer out. The problem is with the latest firmware Sky rolled out, the R010 firmware.

I’ve had audio drop out issues since this update (the one that adds the ‘recommended’ feature to the Guide), and spent ages trying to work out what was causing it, thinking it’s my AV amp, my HDMI cables, or a compatibility issue with the TV. I’d updated the AV amp and TV firmware not that long ago also, and had played about with the cable routing amongst my spaghetti at the back.

Finding the problem still occurs with Sky HD plugged direct into the TV and using the TV speakers, I searched on the net. Seems audio issues are long standing with Sky, so wasn’t sure, but a pile of recent threads on Sky’s community forum is leading to the conclusion that it’s a problem with the R010 firmware, and more specifically with Amstrad boxes, and also possibly just on BBC HD channels and related catch up downloads.

Sky are “looking into it” now, though if you call them they may be unaware of any issue, or try to get you to pay for an engineer. Okay this may solve it if the engineer decides to replace the box with a non Amstrad model though if out of warranty that’ll cost you even more, but it’s unnecessary. Sky just need to either roll back the firmware so people can force and update back to the old version, or roll out a fix.

The threads on the Sky forum keep being closed, but the latest as of writing is here… sound problems with playback

Jedi trip and update

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Old post really. I just realised I never posted this on my blog (that I rarely update anyway).

Couple years back I went for a visit to Jedi’s place (aka Tony Doyle of UK Bike Skills). This was his write up of an excellent day…

http://ukbikeskills.co.uk/helping-tims-mental-skill-set/

Big eye opener for me and he got me doing things I never expected to do and boosting my confidence. It was a 1 to 1 session covering core skills, jumps and drops. I think the big things I took away from it were the singletrack and cornering skills. That’s helped me a lot and I’m finding my flow on the trails, able to ride with more confidence and efficiency. I like to think it’s allowed me to tackle greater challenges local and beyond, even in the Alps as the last two years have had high points of successful and fun blasts around Morzine and Portes du Soleil region with good confidence and understanding what I’m up for and what I’m not.

There’s more to work on and Tony’s course was just the start, but it’s pushed me on the way. I feel a further session may be in order, especially dealing with other things I have hang ups on.