Paint Prep Sucks!

Jonathan / May 19, 2012 / No comments

So I have just gotten back into the renovations after a number of months off after the arrival of Hunter. I think part of the reason I am also motivated is because of “The Block” being back on TV which seems to have given me the spark again.

But what sucks is the pain prep. There is nothing fun about it especially when the person who has painted before did suck a terrible job. I don’t think even at my worst I have done a bad a job as that person.

Last night I was sanding the windows for a couple of hours and then it was more sanding today. The question really came down to how far do I take it back?

I am working on the kitchen again and this will be the finishing touch and then I will move onto the main bedroom to paint that and get it finished off. We also had new blinds installed in the kitchen which made a huge difference.

We want to build again so the other question we really have is how far to do we go with the renovations? Do we replace the windows? Is it worth it? We are going to replace the roof which isn’t going to come at a small cost so will we really get our money back if we do replace the windows?

Also we have limited funds available so we have to pick and choose what to do.

So once again I am enjoying the renovations but one thing remains true, paint prep sucks!

Category: Renovating /

Remote Access

Jonathan / April 21, 2012 / No comments

So this week I have been down at the Academy on a course and I still have been doing some of my normal role. Problem is that the computers down at the Academy don’t have some of the programs I use. But I had a fix for that. My computer.

Now I wasn’t going to take my computer down there so the answer was going to be remote access to my home computer. By remoting in I was going to be able to acess all my programs just like I was sitting right in front of it.

But I don’t have a virtual private network setup or vnc but a program I have used quite a bit is Teamviewer. Teamviewer offers all of the features I need such as the ability to pass files with ease between the computers. I also have a back up which is Logmein but because I use the free version I can’t pass files. To get around that I have dropbox setup so I had options.

The week went well and Teamviewer never failed me. Teamviewer has become something I have setup on computers I build for people so that if I need toI can remote in and fix an issue for them. Even on my website there is a quick support Teamviewer button so if need be I can direct someone to this site and can help them.

So remote access isn’t just for businesses but can be used for personal as well.

Category: Computers, Information Technology, Jonathan /

Growing Up Quick

Jonathan / April 14, 2012 / No comments

It is hard to believe that the other day Hunter turned 5 months old which in turn makes Cohen nearly 2 years 5 months and wow how much he has changed.

Cohen now has a very good vocabulary and will often ask questions or tell you what to do. Quite often I get come on Dad, this way Dad and hurry up Dad. He certainly knows what he wants.

Hunter can now interact with us and things around and has been rolling for a couple of weeks but it did it the opposite way as most children learn to roll stomach to back and Hunter thought he would do back to stomach first. He has also rolled stomach to back but mostly does back to stomach.

Cohen still adores Hunter which is a good thing as that could have worn off and then who knows what would have happened.

But with the good comes the bad. Now that Cohen is growing up he is also throwing more tantrums and being naughty. So we have just started to read 1-2-3 Magic and we also got the the DVD to watch so that we could hopefully curb this behaviour.

Most of the time he is great but some days he is just painful to deal with which can be quite frustrating as he really is a fantastic kid but he just needs to be shown right from wrong.

I’m currently in Canberra for the weekend and upon my return will go on course at the Academy for 2 weeks before going back to work for a week and 2 days before we go on a short family holiday to Melbourne.

I think the family in Melbourne might get a shock at how much Cohen has grown and for some it will be the first time meeting Hunter.

That is all for now.

Jonathan

Category: Cohen, Hunter, Jonathan /

Old Kids Become The New Kids

Jonathan / April 8, 2012 / No comments

In the past week I completed a new website but this wasn’t any old website. It was a website for a new business which has just started up in Hobart called OpticIT.

OpticIT was created by one of my best friends Andrew Geard and his friend Greg Young. Both Andrew and Greg have worked for numerous years in the business IT sector in Hobart and are well know around the area. Between them they have over 20 years of IT experience in business.

They have experience in Citrix, Microsoft, CISCO, Linksys, MYOB, VOIP, HP and more.

I will be assisting with web design and IT support.

So checkout the OpticIT site out and if you know any businesses that need IT support then give OpticIT call as I know you won’t be disappointed!

 

Category: Computers, Information Technology / Tags: , , ,

Information Overload

Jonathan / March 14, 2012 / No comments

Recently I decided that it was time to improve on my IT skills and really everything I know is Windows related and for the home environment although I have come a long way Arch Linux and feel comfortable using Linux but it still took a bit.

Now I am about to really push the boundaries as I am going to start looking at more the corporate/business side of things which means learning things like Microsoft Server.

Tonight I have setup Microsoft Server 2008 in a virtual machine and I really hope that I can get a good grasp on this as so far I feel like my head is going to explode due to being in a foreign environment. I guess it comes down to the fact that I have never had to deal with this kind of stuff before.

Hopefully I will learn quickly with the help of Youtube. I just wouldn’t know where to start otherwise.

Time will tell I guess. Wish me luck……

 

Category: Information Technology, Jonathan /

My Thoughts On VTALK

Jonathan / February 17, 2012 / One comment

So recently I was asked too look at phone options for the church and then I was asked for options for Leap Health Physiotherapy who needed to add some more phones to their setup.

The church needed a new phone system after an arson attack destroyed the old commander system. A quote was provided for the church on a pbx system and I was then asked to look at possible alternatives. So I went to Whirlpool.net.au and came away with a few options. But the one that grabbed me was the vtalk system.

Now the vtalk offers a lot of options and I can say is very easy to use. The system allows for concurrent phone calls, transferring calls, reception hours, reception option, holiday hours, call groups and even more. Setting up the phones doesn’t come much easier.

I am using Yealink phones and they were picked up automatically by the vtalk so all I had to do was assign the phone to the extension by selecting the mac address of the phone that I wanted to be used on that extension. And then selecting what type of calls it could make.

Adding the voip provider was easy as well. It has an extensive list of voip providers in Australia and so I only had to put a few details in.

The vtalk allows you to setup reception hours so that when the system receives a phone call out of hours it will provide an out of hours message and gives the option to leave a message. You can even set where the message can go to. It can go to an email address or handset and it can go to multiple of these. You also have the option of setting up holiday hours which over ride the reception hours.

You can setup announcements, upload music for hold music and it will provide logs. The system does so much more than what the Church and Leap Health will use at this stage which is one of the reasons I went with it. In fact anything that is likely to be wanted in the future is already going to be in it.

The guys at vtalk are able to push out firmware updates to it and can even see logs of errors.

I had to ring vtalk a couple of times for support and it wasn’t due to their system but due to issues from the internet connections or in the case of the second setup because of setting up a Gigaset 580A which doesn’t automatically setup but Dan was great and nothing seemed to be hassle.

I highly recommend this system from anyone wanting a decent voip pbx solution for a business. I certainly am impressed by it and am confident that I have made the right decision.

Category: Information Technology / Tags:

On Track

Jonathan / February 11, 2012 / No comments

So Julie and I have been doing the 1 Million Kilo Challenge and so far we have been going quite well. The first week I lost 2.6kg and Julie lost around 3. Weight has dropped as quickly this week but I am currently on track for around 2kg which I will be more than happy with.

The aim for both of us is to reach out goal weight and then get to the point where we can maintain it and get rid of dieting every single year. We have found some food that we really enjoy on this diet which will be easy to keep up.

We choose 1 Million Kilo Challenge because it wasn’t about going on an unsustainable diet but one which got us eating health.

So far so good.

Category: General, Jonathan, Julie / Tags:

Time To Shed

Jonathan / January 28, 2012 / No comments

Well it seems every year I go on a diet and lose weight but then end up putting it back on again after a period of time. Well I am about to begin the weight lose journey again but this time I am going to make an effort to keep it off again.

I signed up to the 1 Million Kilo Challenge to help get me motivated but as I suspected there is some dishes on there that I don’t go much on so will have to come up with some alternatives to those.

Normally I have been attending the gym which has helped me to lose weight reasonably quickly but this time I am not going to be going to the gym as I don’t really have much spare time so will be doing it by riding and other activities not requiring a gym.

I also hope to take a before and after photo which I have never done before which might help to serve as motivation as well.

Julie will also be joining me on this journey as well so hopefully that will keep us both on track.

Category: Jonathan, Julie /

And Now There is 4

Jonathan / January 8, 2012 / No comments

Well here we are at the start of 2012 and our little family is complete with the arrival of Hunter Riley Morffew on the 10th of November 2011. Hunter arrived quickly just like is big brother and weighed in at 8lb 5oz. One thing that we were never going to be sure of was how Cohen would accept Hunter but we are really happy to report that he has really excepted Hunter and just adores him.

Cohen loves being involved with Hunter and gives him a kiss each night before he heads to bed and will also ask to hold him. Cohen likes having a bath with Hunter and even if we hadn’t planned on Hunter having one Cohen now expects it.

Cohen is growing into a real little character and makes us laugh with a lot of the things that he does such as taking all of the teddies to bed but that has recently changed to include other toys like his work bench, keys and a bulldozer. Cohen also is growing in his speech and has no trouble getting his point across to us. Cohen has a real love for the dogs and spends lots of time with them and is often heard calling them. Last night he even came and got them from their mats to join him out on the deck.

Category: Cohen, Hunter /

Getting Closer

Jonathan / October 15, 2011 / No comments

So Julie has just finished up work ready for the arrival of the new additional to our family. I finish work next week but have a couple of computer jobs on for the Monday and Tuesday of the first week of holidays. I will be having 8 weeks off which is going be a nice break. Hopefully I will get a chance to take Cohen to some parks before the baby arrives.

We are starting to get things organised for when the baby will come home. We are starting to re-organise the nursery as Cohen has moved into his big bedroom. Last week we got Cohen’s new blinds which are red. They go really well with the room. It would seem Cohen really loves his new room as he is happy to go in there from time to time.

Julie is over the pregnancy now which is earlier than when she had Cohen but when Julie was pregnant with Cohen she didn’t have a nearly 2 year old to chase after.

Today Dad and I painted the kitchen and dining room which has made a huge difference to the look of the kitchen. I still need to paint the skirting boards and architraves but plan on doing that during my leave. Then it will be time to order the blinds (well hopefully we can afford them sooner than later).

Category: Baby Bear, Cohen, General, Jonathan, Julie, Renovating /
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