But I put some images into a zine - see here for an online version.
The print run is very limited - just 10 copies - partly because it's expensive, partly because I'm not sure about the quality yet. If this works well then there may be more zines plus a reprint. A coupe of months back I took part in a 'show' of local produce, showing my pictures on a computer screen, but with no product to put in someones hand and sell. This would change that in a positive, affordable way.
Ben finally had surgery on his arm yesterday after several visits & rounds of X-rays. I collected him from the JR in Oxford yesterday evening, then stayed overnight with him in Oxford as a precaution (required) because he'd had a general anaesthetic. Managed to forget the toiletries bag & a change of clothes, so eventually got home, baked a cake & brushed teeth/showered. :p
At least he seems to have come through it well.
I mentioned the keyboard on this new Lenovo laptop - it has a number pad that requires an offset & smaller keys, and that sucks for typing. Now feeling slightly tired after a night in a different bed & a busy morning. Hello Easter time.....
The primary disconnection has come from needing to replace my current laptop - a Dell XPS15 bought in 2014 as a work machine and replacement for a 5YO Macbook. It was better than the Mac in almost every way except the trackpad, and apart from having a slightly slow processor by the needs of current demands (4th gen mobile i7) it's still a really nicely made machine. Unfortunately the keyboard is now failing, battery life <1 hour & there's a windows driver issue that causes the processor to max for a few seconds every 10min.
The replacement is a Lenovo Flex 5 16" & despite the larger screen it's slightly smaller than the dell, around the same weight and thickness. Performance with a midrange Ryzen 5 series processor and NVME drive is overall much faster, but the build quality is a lot lower than the XPS and some things like the SD card socket are disappointingly poor. The screen is OK at 100% sRGB and it's nice to have a pen included that works with the touch screen. Wish I could have justified another XPS, but I've a main system upstairs for picture editing and other work-related stuff.
Why disconnection?
To an extent the lappie is my connection to others across the world.
Despite so many negative comments about windows updates, when I first got the machine there were just 2 rounds of updates to do taking a couple of hours. After swapping the stock SSD for a 2TB drive I used a 'restore' memory stick created from the first drive to re-install on the new SSD and it only required a single round to update. However after theat there's the stripping of bundled junk from Lenovo & microsoft, then turning off the stupid defaults that are always included in any new build (like snapping windows). Next software installation and moving files across, which isn't complete even now, having to hunt down activation codes, installers etc. I also need to do screen calibration and then finish off copying data over - nearly 2 TB on the old machine, I'm going to be leaving a lot of the older images off. Also need to get files moved to outlook so I can restart sending emails (sorry V - you're not forgotten).
Any thing else?
My regular email address that I've used for well over a decade has started getting bounced by various platforms including gmail. If you have a gmail address and haven't heard from me recently, this is likely why, along with the above issues. It may be possible to get whitelisted, but that's another battle for another day.
Last weekend we were away with friends who moved a year ago. It is taking a long time to recover from the cold back in Feb, and I was really struggling with energy the whole weekend, plus that made it difficult this week. Darn not being young, getting sick etc. And it could be so much worse as some of my friends know so well.
Struggling still with the need to learn French. When ever it feels like I'm making progress something comes along to remind me how little I really know.
Played my first gig since getting sick last night just, over an hour away in Birmingham. Didn't manage to get any food before & although I felt wobbly for the first few songs, it steadied up & wasn't too bad.
Around 9.45 I noticed that our son had tried to call me. Turns out he'd fallen while training on a climbing wall & broken his arm, and was at the JR in Oxford. Chris went to be with him while I came home, ate & then we changed places - she was teaching a card workshop today. Eventually Ben I got got back at 4am, getting up at 6.30 to clear up in the house he was looking after & then get him back to the hospital again - he may have surgery, but it's undecided.
Honestly, staying up 'till 4am is so much more fun watching videos on Amazon than sitting in A&E in Oxford. :-p
Hoping life will get back to normal. Soon.
*edit* got Outlook up & running, emails coming in now, also calibrated the screen and it looks cleaner, which is pleasing.