Bir'day 'You!

Our new email server finally arrived at school. Goodbye Pop3, hello IMAP!! We're still in test phase, so only a select few users are live and it's internal only for now. It run's on Linux and the front-end is SquirrelMail. Access is via a web browser so no client to configure :) ...begone outlook express!!

Initial impressions are good. We've still to iron out a few things to our liking, hopefully Powys C.C. (the supplier) will comply with our requests for improvements. SquirrelMail has shed loads of bolt-on components, we particularly like the look of shared calanders and file storage.

Heathers' birthday has been fun. We intend to do more over the long weekend [- are we alone in stretching our birthdays into birthweeks??] The kids and I made cards last night which was fun, and they enjoyed presenting them this morning. Tonight we had a special tea and had a cake with candles which the kids helped blow out. Ben even said to Heather "I like your birthday" which was praise indeed. He also really liked Heathers' present [Beddy Bear : a heatable teddy] 'coz he kept putting it back in the bag and saying it was his!

Thanks for the suggestions: Nikki-Ann & Graeme [heather liked your suggestion and wanted to change it to sending me & the kids to live on a farm for a week!!

dropper.hint.please :)

Heathers' birthday is on Friday and I don't know what to do. Anyone have any suggestions?

Just making some time seems a tall order at the moment, but it's be really nice to do something special. It's not a big one, but she really needs a lift from the slog that is motherhood.

Our [this] PC has a trojan virus at the moment. I'm sure it's had this one before: dropper.bridge.a . An internet search is fruitless, it almost seems like AVG made this name up. The executable resides in the hidden Sytem Volume Information folder in the root of drive C, which is inaccessable. When the PC boots the internet connection applet fires up and tries to connect to a casino site. Adaware and Spybot S&D have done thier worst so it's just this executable I have to deal with now. It all smells heavily of deja'vu. I'm sure something will come back into my mind soon. If you have any suggestions I'm all ears.

starstruck

Did my first ever [officially; paid(!)] consultancy yesterday. Gas for an hour and get paid ... cool! :)

...and I met a famous person ...Mavis Nicholson. I arrived at the small local newspapers' office and she was on front desk. I asked for the person I was there to see, whilst looking at her sideways, then embarrassingly said "You look familiar". She then said who she was and was really nice, putting her arms around me and taking me through the office and made me a cup of tea! [Mavis was a BBC presenter a few years ago, when I used to watch a lot of daytime TV. I really liked her style. I found her a sensitive interviewer.

Well now she's editor of the Chronicle based at Llanrayader: Powys.

Today we headed off to the coast. Our favourite spot is Ynyslas near Borth. It's a beachfront to a golf range. We like it anyway. Well the tide was in, so there wasn't much sand, and the wind was cold and coming in from the sea. It felt a little dissapointing at first, but we had a great time despite those things.

Thanks for leaving some words: Nikki-Ann, Graeme and Chloe-Lynn

REVIEW: The Passion of the Christ

Sorry, I seem to have gotten a bit carried away here. This is a spoiler so don't read this if you intend to see the film. Suffice to say, I didn't think it was very good.

We had the rare opportunity to go see a film at the cinema on holiday so I get a chance to do a review!.(Just like my blogging friends)

l didn't think a lot of it to be honest, maybe the cinema seats really were that uncomfortable, and it really wasn't a 'sore bottom film'!

l liked the film Elizabeth a while back, and remember it started with a burning at the stake which was pretty horrific, but which fitted well into the movies' plot. lt was also a bit of a wakeup call :).

Well it seemed like TPotC quickly built up to a gory climax and then continued in the same vein to the end. lt appeared to me that this was a modern interpretation, reminiscent as it was of current documenteries on that period in history..

The flogging scene ended with the liberal use ot the cat'o'nine tails, graphically demonstrated by one of the soldiers tearing wood from the administrators desk with it.. You can imagine the mess this made of the big mans' back, and just when you thought he'd used up six lives, they turn him over and start on his front. The upsetting thing was that his mother was in the crowd, watching all of this. Then followed the extremely tediously drawn out drag of the cross up the hill. Grossness hit a high when after nailing the left hand . J was obviously a small bloke as his other hand wouldn't stretch to the pre-made hole for it. no problem... one well placed boot in his armpit and ...'click - job done... l had to laugh at this point, it was just a step too far. ln an effort to make things more interesting, JC was cursed with flash back memories. l was amazed to discover that he had invented the dining room table that we use today. Fascinating stuff.

ln conclusion i'd say that this film would make an ideal x rated, young teen movie. lt's fashionably gross with no plot. nice one Mel. Don't give up the day job.

The Wild Wild West of Britain

I've seen too many times now kids just ignoring staff and walking off and pushing past staff when told to stop. This happened to me yesterday[kids pushing past me], and as I'm not usually dealing directly with kids, I wasn't prepared for a fight. In my normal state of mind I don't go around ready for a fight. These kids needed a serious talking to but I wasn't prepared or really willing to make a stand. I later then saw kids walk past a lunchtime supervisor, totally ignoring her instruction not to. Later still I heard another student had pushed over a female member of staff causing actual injury to her arm.

To the students these incidents are seen as heroic.

So that justifies discipline I think. You can't treat kids as though they were adults, because they think and then act in a way that screams out for adult correction.

[just working it out for myself!]

School's in :(

Hi! ... i'm off bloggin' holiday to be sure :) got back last Tuesday to be exact - just knukled down and got straight back into work - and the 3 servers I had planned to re-build. I was just too shattered/ drained to do anything else at all - honest!

The holiday went great. The kids are now of an age to really get the most out of it, even though it is only Heather working volunteering as an under fives leader, and me babysitting. In fact the kids experience was so rich we were worried about how flat life would seem on our return! I got some nice pis too ... took 150! - all that the memory cards we own would hold, so hopefully i'll post them up somewhere soon.

Surfing was expensive at £5 per hour at the cheapest rate, so I didn't manage a lot. It took me about 5 days to do my normal recovery from lack of sleep. For our next holiday i'm determined to try and have a light week beforehand so I don't waste so much holiday sleeping!

School is now back in full swing, and I really miss my quiet - uninterupted spell on my own. The job is totally different, being disturbed every 5 minutes to fix problems as they arise. I can't believe the inspection's less than 4 weeks away. I figure the small problems can wait - I NEED to get everything working perfectly! It's amazing how stuff is fine at any other time, just put a team of inspectors on site and everything suddenly has to be perfect.

I'm on Bloggin' Holiday!

I'm having a Bloggin' Holiday so don't expect too much activity for a while :(

Boy it feels pressured at work at the moment. Today was the last day of school for the kids. Tomorrow is the last training day the staff will have before the Inspection W/B May 10. [We had an inspection February last year which was unfavourable. It was decided to re-inspect 12 months~ish on.] The inspection last year was really stressful, and my first one ever. Everyone was quite worked up, and after the week [4 days] was done, I was completely exhausted. I was running around like an idiot trying to make sure everything was running perfectly [This time I have 60 more machines to look after].

Well this year it seems as though the inspection's started already. We have really been preparing all year. Trying to keep the buildings looking nice [against the kids [+one certain arsonists!] better efforts], and continual [it seems] assesment and appraisal of teaching.

I really do hope that things go well this time. For one thing I don't think we could all cope with another year like this one. Don't get me wrong, lots of good has been done and improvements made, but enough is enough.

There certainly seems to be a different attitude about the place. Discipline from the top down has become more effective, which has had a surprising effect on all levels of staff. The kids do seem to be raising hell at the moment. Some of this years new intake have started out badly, and select individuals seem to have been awakened [like sleeping dragons)!)] inspired by the new heads' regime [methinks].

I have to say that I really like the new head, and her style of genlteness over threat. Wether or not you agree with the approach, I think there's no other way to sensibly and intelligently work in our 'building confident kids' world. Some take it as a weakness but the opposite is true. Out temporary 'Super [Ted]Head' was a real strict stickler for rules. He made many enemies, myself included surprisingly [as he was mad keen on IT]. I think his appointment was strategic in that it was an iron fist making way for what followed. Well that's the way it turned out, so I will give the highly paid ones the benefit of the doubt{;)].

Well i've ranted long enough. Really hope everyone has a great Easter [see - i'm in a holiday mood already!]

...which just leaves me to say thanks to you brave souls that left a comment: graeme & chloe-lynn