Nine Feet Underground

Freed from the self-imposed shackles of daily posting, I can let my mind do its thing and roam far and wide. What things have been occupying my mind these past few days? I'll start with a random list and see what I want to write about.  Here's the list: England vs. Australia (Women's world cup); Software Defined Radio (SDR); Barcelona; future finances; work plans for August into September; son #1's uni assignments; a certain black cat; Karda Estra (band);  why do I keep putting on weight;  another serious conversation with E is due again; digital landline conversion; planning for E whilst I'm in Barca; and, loads of other shit I can't be bothered to list. SDR is both fascinating and has a steep learning curve if you're used to physical scanners.  SDR does require a hardware receiver (it's not magic!) such as the Airspy R2 or it's smaller, slower, mate the Airspy Mini and, as I have discovered, almost certainly there's a need for a low-noise RF a...

My plan for today is to get the final Christmas things I need to do done and then chill. We're planning to have a takeaway tonight and watch a film - I've chosen 'Pixie', which is not as seasonal as it may sound! The passed in a blur of present-wrapping, card-writing and washing - there's always washing to do! - but it is the last of the washing sons 1 and 3 brought back from uni. Sadly I also ended up entering a supermarket as the carers informed me that my wife was almost out of baby wipes plus the dudes needed more cereal, so son #3 and I braved it again, much to the amusement of one of the carers who said I'd never get through the day without going to the shops for something I'd forgotten. I've also found time for conversations with a friend - I can always find time for that - and also a brief Signal catch-up with another friend in Berlin. The chosen takeaway was some spicy Asian food from Big B's Wok (B for bollocks? Bastard? Barry?  Baldy? Who ...