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 /

Ubiquiti Unifi Review

Jonathan / January 24, 2012 / No comments

So recently I started using Ubiquiti wireless gear which was recommended to me by the guys at Principal Computers Hobart. For a number of years now I have mainly used TP-Link equipment but I wanted something with a bit more wireless range so I got a Ubiquiti Powerap-n which claimed it could cover up to 100 metres the problem is that this is meant to be in perfect conditions. One of the things I did was change the stock antennas on it to some 8dbi ones which allowed nearly full bar coverage.

Problem is that the Powerap-n has now been discontinued by Ubiquiti so the problem was what was going to be a good alternative for it. Well yesterday I went into Principal Computers and spoke to Andrew who asked if I was interested in comparing the Ubiquiti Powerap-n and the Unifi. Andrew had recently given me a Ubiquiti AirRouter to test and thought I might be interested in testing this one as well.

So below are my thoughts on the Unifi.

The Setup

Well the setup of this is very easy. Plugged in the Unifi to my router and then installed the software which then opened up the Unifi manager which automatically detected the Unifi. Then it was a matter of setting the wireless settings that I wanted. This access point allows you to have 2 SSIDS. 1 being your main one and the other one being a Guest SSID which allows you to setup restrictions for the guests. You can even upload a plan of your house and drag the Unifi onto the plan so you can see the coverage.

You can even redirect the guest SSID to a portal just like they do in hotels.

The Unifi even picks up if there is an update to be do be done and once you click yes for it to update then it is all automatic.

The web browser lets you see how many people are connected and how many devices that have been connected before are not currently connected as well as any devices you may have blocked. It also shows you which SSID they are connected to. You can see a graph of the traffic that has been through the access point.

Wireless Coverage

Now I get pretty decent coverage on my Powerap-n so it was always going to be interesting on how this compares to that as it claims to get up to 200 metres. So the Unifi was placed in the same spot as the Powerap-n so that it was a fair test. I then connected up my phone and laptop to the Unifi and found that I got one less bar in the lounge room compared to what I get with the Powerap-n. But remember that I have stronger antennas on that where as you can’t change the antennas in the Unifi.

Coverage was very good throughout the house and was very similar to what I was getting with the Powerap-n. It was maybe a bar below what the Powerap-n was in some places.

I then went for a walk down the street to see how far I could stay connected. With the Powerap-n I can get to the corner of the street and am still connected just. I found that I dropped out about 30 metres before I do with the Powerap-n but according to Google Earth I am getting around 158 metres with the Powerap-n. So this still wasn’t bad and was quite a distance away from the house.

The difference between the Unifi and Powerap-n is that I would be able to place the Unifi in a better location than the Powerap-n which would probably  allow for better coverage in some rooms. The Powerap-n can really only go in the one place due to network cabling that is already in place.

Conclusion

Well now that the Powerap-n is no longer available I can say that I would be really happy to buy this access point as an alternative. It isn’t an router like the Powerap-n but when I bought that I didn’t really need it to be a router just an access point. If I wanted a high performance access point then this is what I would go for without an issue.

I would like to compare this to something running Gargoyle firmware as it seems this already offers a few of the features that Gargoyle does.

A big thanks to Andrew, James and the rest of the guys at Principal Computers for allowing me the opportunity to review this item.

 

 

Category: Computers / Tags: , , ,

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 /

Looking Back At The Renovations So Far

Jonathan / September 11, 2011 / No comments

So we have been living in this house for 18 months now. This comes after spending around 2 1/2 years in the house that we built so everything was brand new. I know some people thought we were crazy selling a new house and moving to a house we had to renovate but we were happy with the decision.

Are we still happy with the decision? You better believe it.

On the day we moved in we knocked out the wall between the kitchen and dining room and started gutting the kitchen. We finished gutting it the next day. We moved in on the Friday and on the Monday the new kitchen started being installed. That was completed the next day.

During this time we also took the chimney off and took out the remainder of the fireplace in the lounge room.  Then we framed up where the fireplace was and plastered it. Once this was done it was time for us to paint the lounge room. We also ordered some blinds for the lounge room as they were really badly needed. Had a few dramas with the place and needless to say we will never use them again.

We then plastered the lintel that we had to put where the old wall was between the kitchen and dining room. And to put a splash back in place. We choose a red tile for this.

We then arranged for lounge room to be carpeted as it only had floor boards and we found that the draft coming up from underneath the lounge made it quite cool. We had enough left over to have the hallway done at the same time so that was done as well as eventually we will get the rest of the house re carpeted.

Then came the time for me to rip out the old wardrobe in our bedroom as it was quite restrictive where it was. I had drawn up plans and taken them to one of the joiners to see about getting the cabinets made up that we needed.

The old wardrobe had quite a bit of timber in it and took a bit to get it out. But with the help of Cohen :-) we got there.

We have then taken out one of the sliding doors and framed up over the doorway and sheeted it over as Cohen will be moving into the adjoining bedroom and we didn’t feel that he needed two exits from his room.

We were still waiting on the cabinets for the bedroom so the skirting board and architrave has been replaced in the kitchen and dining hall. A few issues along the way but all done.

Finally the cabinets were ready for the new wardrobe so they were collected and then installed onto the opposite wall. Made quite a difference actually. Just now need to workout what doors we want to complete it.

This weekend just gone has been the painting of Cohen’s new bedroom. Very happy so far with how it has come up. Just need to order some stickers for it and we will nearly be there. Have ordered some red blinds for the bedroom. I am sure this will make the room look good.

Next on the list is to prep the dining room and kitchen and then paint it.

Obviously if we had more funds we would be doing things quicker but that is the way it goes I guess.

Some of the things still on the list to be done are going to be expensive such as re-roofing, new windows (double glazed), proper insulation in the roof (at the moment it has blown in stuff), carpet and full bathroom renovation.

Category: Cohen, General, Renovating / Tags: , , ,

The Joys of Renovating

Jonathan / August 12, 2011 / No comments

So the past few weeks I have been putting some hours into getting more renovations done at home. Due to having another baby on the way it is getting time to move Cohen to his new room and it had a second door way in it which lead into the second shower/toilet area.

We didn’t feel that Cohen needed two ways in or out of his room so I removed the sliding door and framed it up and have now plastered it (sheets any way. Getting someone to do the finishing).

At the same time I got some skirting board to do the kitchen and dining skirting along with the architraves but the issue is that it won’t fit one of the doors so I now have to fix that up before I can do all the skirting boards.

They always say that renovating throws up obstacles well I am certainly finding that. But I wouldn’t change it for the world.

Category: Cohen, Renovating /

Cohen into a Bed

Jonathan / August 1, 2011 / No comments

Over the past few weeks Julie and I had been looking for a bed for Cohen and we finally located one that we really liked so we put it on layby and then what do you know we see another company offering it for $100 less than what we paid. We knew that we would lose the deposit if we cancelled the laybe so Julie managed to get them to give us store credit instead.

We then bought a matteress from the original company and went and got the bed from the other company. We actually ended up getting a bunk bed but have only setup the normal single part of the bed.

Well Cohen was impressed with it and was jumping all over it but when it came time to bed he didn’t want to be in it but wanted to be in his cot. So we put him into his cot but later got upset with the cot and I think it had to do with his cot not being in it’s normal spot so Julie lay down on the bed with Cohen and he went to sleep.

The next night we had no issues putting Cohen into it and he only came out the once which was good as we expected more visits. But the next night he came out a number of occasions and we had to keep putting him back and so it was again last night.

But we are sure he will get the point soon enough. And man does he look small in that bed.

Category: Cohen /

Getting Back Into It

Jonathan / July 31, 2011 / No comments

So this week I am planning on getting back into the renovations. It is time to get some things done that have been waiting along with some new things.

I need to make my own skirting boards for the kitchen & dining room as I can’t get the same size of the rack so I have to buy some timber and then get the router on to them and route the correct angle.

I have also started to remove one of the sliding doors to the second toilet and bath room area as this is where Cohen’s room is going to be and he doesn’t need the door.

The issue is that I needed to get hold of a power tool to complete the job. The tool I need is a reciprocating saw as it will make my life easier.  It is not the first time I have been considering getting one so I am finally going to get it as I could have used it numerous times before.

Then I need to get the studs up and plaster over it.

So a bit going on but I would really like to get things going. I would like to get a lot of things done in the next few months but it all comes down to one thing. Money.

I will be happy to take donations.

Category: General, Jonathan /

Things Sure Do Change

Jonathan / June 16, 2011 / No comments

So I’ve decided to get a new bike (bicycle not motorbike) so that I can ride to work. I use to ride heaps when I was growing up. In Fact I rode nearly everywhere but then I got my licence so I just ended up driving everywhere. But now I am hoping to get back into riding for a number of reasons;

  • to get fit
  • save some money on petrol
  • so I can ride with Cohen later on

Previously I’ve only had a mountain bikes or bmx before that. Now I really enjoyed my mountain bike when I was growing up but I don’t think I will be able to spend the time doing what I use to do so my requirements for a bike have changed. But when I started looking into bikes I found there where so many more options than there use to be. Now there are;

  • Road Bikes
  • Mountan Bikes
  • Flat Bar Road Bikes
  • Hybrids
  • Cruiser Bikes

So really it was a straight forward choice any more. I don’t think I will end up with a road bike but more likely a Hybrid or a Flat Bar Road bike. I am going to test ride some tomorrow.

Stay tuned….

Category: General, Jonathan / Tags:

New Site

Jonathan / June 14, 2011 / One comment

Well I am afraid to say that the old site got hacked so I decided to kill it and relaunch the site. A bit disappointing as I will have lost posts but hopefully I will get this site up with lots of content soon.

Hopefully you like the new look.

Category: General /