First Aid Training with British Red Cross
For a new work role, I’m on a First Aid Training course this week to get a certificate for First Aid at Work. It’s been quite a while since I’ve been on a first aid course, but its starting to come back to me.
It’s a 4 day course, but in 2 days I’ve already done CPR, the recovery position and many bandages several times over. Sure, the idea is to ingrain the concepts deeply in our minds, but its getting rather tiresome to doing CPR so often.
With the high degree of practical content, and oodles of time to practice, I imagine that everyone will pass the assessment at the end of the week. Although there are a couple of nervous people in the class who might struggle a bit. It is interesting though, and its a great alternative to the day job!
Update: I passed!
Running a PC 24/7 without wasting energy
Running a PC 24 hours a day is a very useful thing to have, particularly with running daily backups, using it for recording TV programs as a PVR, security and more. However, most PCs guzzle energy, and I’m trying to find a low energy (and therefore cost efficient) solution.
I currently have a Mini-ITX based on the Jetway motherboard, which is meant to be a low power solution. I want to measure its actual power usage with a mains energy monitor. If the power usage is less than 30 Watts when idle, that’s pretty good. However, adding a TV card when I convert it to a full PVR will increase the power usage a bit, particularly when actually recording.
I’ve explored other possibilities, such as a Tranquil PC, but they’re not much use as PVRs. Only really for desktop use. The VeryPC Green PCs are a step in the right direction, but are quite costly. It’s really a surprise at how few energy-saving PCs exist at the moment, but at least some companies are making a start.
My motivation is doing a bit for the environment and cost cutting on bills. But if the PCs themselves were cheaper, that would motivate a lot more people.
New Firefox and IE7 Search Engine for CheckPageRank.net
I’ve created a new Firefox 2 and IE7 Search Engine that allows you to check Google Page Rank and Search Engine backlinks via CheckPageRank.net. I found myself using it very frequently, and so decided to release an Add-on for it. If you have any issues with it, or you want me to write more search engines on a similar theme, do let me know.
You can find it in the Downloads Area, in the Firefox 2 and IE7 Search Engine Add-Ons section.
One website sold, another purchased
So I’ve now sold another one of my directories (itrcc.net), which was based on a fairly highly ranked domain, but was terrible in terms of being a brandable name. I bought the domain about a year ago, before I had learnt anything about Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).
However, I did earn some money from it from link sales and from the sale of the site, so it was far from a being a failure. I still have 4 web directories left in my portfolio, and my ideal situation would be to reduce that to just 2. However, .co.uk domains are a pain to sell, since you need to complete a load of documentation and pay a transfer fee to Nominet. This hassle tends to put off buyers too. That said, it does protect domain owners. I’ll probably sell the directories in 1Q2008 though.
I’ve also purchased a new domain and I’m developing a new blog PeepAtLife.com for the purpose of selling paid blog posts. It will take me about 3 weeks to get it to a standard high enough that will derive a profit.
Home DIY - Decorating - 2 rooms now done!
I’ve now completely decorated the bedroom and study area in my flat, so I no longer have pink or purple walls. It’s taken me a long time to decorate that room, but I’ve finally done it. It’s surprising how long it takes to decorate a room, since it took me 5 days working all day. Admittedly, I did absolutely everything that was needed, including patching up the holes, painting the woodwork (which includes 3 doors), painting the ceiling twice, painting the new coving 3 times, and painting the walls twice. This is in addition to varnishing new and existing shelves!
All I have left is a pair of shelves to varnish, and I need to fit a new blind in the study. I’ve fitted everything else now. It looks really nice now that I’ve finished, but it was a painful journey. I hate decorating! But now I’ve got to start on the other rooms, as I plan to get the whole flat done by Christmas. The rest of the flat will not be any easier than the bedroom, except that I have no shelves to varnish. I’ll have to do it in my diminishing spare time too, so that’s why I’ve given myself about 3.5 months to do it!