Monday
Working from Home
I’m working from home again this week and had a nice day today ploughing through a load of little issues that have needed to be done for ages. Mostly with Operations Manager and Domain replication mangement.
Free Food Parcel
We went to the front door today and there was a free food parcel from the government. Just sat there at the front door with a letter from the government saying that as I am classed as extremely vulnerable, here’s some free stuff!
It included bread, apples. oranges, spuds, milk, rice bolognese sauce, toilet roll, soap and some other essentials.
Lynx Helicopter
A Lynx helicopter went over our house today probably towards Barton Airport. Over the last few weeks there has been a massive amount of military aircraft flying around the Manchester area. Maybe they know something we don’t?!
VMWare
I built a new VMWare Hypervisor host today using the new version 7.0 that has just been released. The plan is to get a nice little lab working at home so I can carry out some testing on things like SCCM and MBAM.
So far I have installed Windows 10 on one VM and that’s it. Realistically, I don’t think the home lab will ever get fully built!
Lego Technic
My new Lego Technic turned up today, part number 42095 which is the all-terrain remote control buggy. Going to get started on it tomorrow evening.
Starlink Sats
We went out and watched Elok Musks Starlink satellites go over our house in space. Got to see quite a few go over as it was a nice clear night. Tried to get some photos but they all just come out black.
There is a good video here on YouTube on what SpaceX are trying to do with these satellites:
Tuesday
Working from Home
Continued to work from home today and had quite the productive day doing the usual project work with some bits of day to day support.
Princess Anna Walkaround
We had a visit from Princess Anna from Frozen today. Just happily walking around the estate.
Lego Technic
I thought I would start my new Lego Technic tonight and ended up stopping up late to get it completely finished. It’s pretty quick and does wheelies and seems to work on loads of different terrain.
Lego-Technic-42095 
Lego-Technic-42095 
Lego-Technic-42095
Wednesday
Working from home
Another productive working from home day today. Got a lot done, including decommissioning the wireless system at our Dutch site.
The Hair Cut
The wife decided that today was the day that the four-year-old should have his hair cut. He was starting to look a bit like a mop head so I grabbed my clippers and scissors like a seasoned hairdresser pro and started chopping away.
It was all going very well and looked ok, until the very end when he moved and I took a number one chunk out of the top of his head!
Oh dear, the only solution now is to shave his head, number one, all over – so I did.
It looks ok, but it’s a good job he is not in school at the moment and there is time for it to grow back!
The Wish Laptop
The news you have all been waiting for, an update on the Wish laptop.
Well, we finally got an answer as to whether the Wish laptop was worth ordering or not. The answer is a big fat NO!
Basically they are saying that “it has been removed from their inventory” at the moment so I can’t have it. But they did not mind keeping my £70 for a month and have now said it will take two weeks to refund me! What is the interest rate for £70 over two weeks?
So I will no longer be getting a high spec laptop for next to nothing. But it’s not all bad news as the refund will go into my new car saving pot.
Thursday
Working from Home
Had a fairly quiet day at work today, just got on with what needed to be done. Looks like people are all clued up now on how to work from home so we are mostly on project work.
Manifest
We have been watching Manifest on Sky and we have managed to binge-watch the whole of the new season two in three days. I still have no idea what is going on.
Emergency Shielding Team
The emergency shielding team contacted me today about my food parcel. I said that I had received it but I no longer require it as we now have priority delivery slots with almost all the supermarkets now.
So I won’t be receiving any more free food parcels but it does mean that someone else in a much more needy position than me will get on. So that’s my good deed for the day.
Disinfectant Cure
The US President, Donald Trump – the most powerful man in the world, today told a press conference that people should inject disinfectant to cure them of CoronaVirus! Wow.
Don’t be like Donald people, I don’t think disinfecting your bloodstream with Cillit Bang is going to do you much good.
Friday
Working from Home
Another fairly quiet day working from home today. Plodding along with the day to day tasks and project work. Really can get so much more work done from home though. I am looking forward to getting back into the office though, I miss seeing and speaking to other humans!
Breakfast
Nice bit of toast, beans and eggs with a brew to start the day today – this is definitely the better side to isolation!
Rumours
The rumours are spreading about the internet that three magnificent things could be happening soon. The schools going back in June, McDonald’s reopening in mid-May and the Premier League back in a few weeks!
After Life
After Life season two has been released on Netflix today which finally gives me someone else to watch. The first season was brilliant, really dark humour but if you like that sort of thing, you should give it a watch.
Saudi Plane
Not sure that this Swiss registered, Saudi Arabian chatered plane was doing around our area today, but looks like they were trying to make radiators in the sky in the North West of England!
Fifa 20
I finally got around to having a game on Fifa 20 on my Xbox this evening after my four-year-old has pretty much taken full ownership of it at the moment playing Forza. I’m still brilliant so ready for a return to work at any time to continue dinnertime Fifa club.
Private Number Plate
As you may be aware, I’m having an early midlife crisis and saving for a fast(ish) car. I know what I want and I’ve virtually got the cash in the bank to go and buy it now, but because I’m “shielding” at the moment from CoronaVirus, I cannot leave the house to even go and start viewing what I’m after.
So to try and control the boredom, I’ve started looking at private number plates. I’m quite surprised by how cheap they are and how easy they are to purchase and get registered. As I have a company car as my primary vehicle, I won’t be buying a private plate for that, but I think when I get the Audi purchase all sorted out, I’ll be treating it to a private plate as well.
Lack of Sleep
For a while now I’ve had a real problem with getting to sleep. I’m typing this sentence out right now and its 03:24 and i’m absolutely wide awake.
Is anyone else having trouble sleeping during this lockdown? Leave me some hope that I’m not the only one in the comments below.
Saturday
Gardening
Decided to get some fresh air and went out and mowed the back garden. Also got rid of some ivy coming back over our back fence and started to dig out the bottom as we plan to put sleepers in place. Due to my heart condition, I was absolutely knackered so went inside for a rest and not been back out there since!
I’m sure eventually the garden will get finished.
Movie Night
Watched Blood Diamond and Yesterday which were my choices, Blood Diamond is brilliant and I’ve seen it loads of times before, but was a bit disappointed with Yesterday. I was hoping for a Beatles megafest, but it was more of a boring love story. Loved the bit at the end with John Lennon though, if only he was still with us today.
Cat Collars
Our two cats have got new pink collars and I’ve spent all week trying to catch them to put them on. I finally managed to entice the vicious one with cat treats and changed hers but the more timid one won’t come any where near me!
Sunday
Rest
Had a nice rest day today and pretty much done nothing whatsoever. Managed to get a bit of a lay in especially as the little one is happy in front of his bedroom TV in the morning now and doesn’t come waking us up at 6am any more.
Chicken Dinner
Nice chicken dinner today which loads of gravy, mint sauce (yeah with chicken) and red wine. The wife seems to be getting better at cooking on Sunday’s now, maybe the wife training course isn’t needed after all!
I’ve neglecticed my Instagram for ages now, but I’ll try and get a load of images uploaded soon to catch up and I’ll try to keep it up to date a bit better then.
You can follow me at ToneTravels Instagram here.
CoronaVirus Stats
The stats for the ongoing CoronaVirus outbreak are a bit strange this week. One day they are dropping, the next they are high again.
In the UK there are now 152,840 infections with 20,732 deaths. However, this number continues to not even close to being correct as these are just the records from hospitals. It does not include those that have died in care homes or at home. Some estimates say it is double the official government figures.
Globally, the USA is now far out in front as being the worst affected country with 983,229 cases and 55,335 deaths.
Total worldwide infections are at 2,954,106 cases and 205,398 deaths.
| Country | Confirmed | Deaths | Recovered |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 983,229 | 55,335 | 108,871 |
| Spain | 219,764 | 23,190 | 98,732 |
| Italy | 197,675 | 26,644 | 64,928 |
| Germany | 157,495 | 5,944 | 103,023 |
| United Kingdom | 152,840 | 20,732 | 1,918 |
| France | 124,575 | 22,856 | 44,903 |
That’s all for this week, stay safe.
