weasel is back - new PSU fitted, rocking and rolling. Didn't get the extra RAM for swamprat (new machine) because for some odd reason it was a lot more expensive in the PC World shop than on their website, will just web order it instead.

Come on 2.7.92, I'm ready to build ya...

New swamprat switchover and weasel repair will be done after a trip to PC World to buy a bit of extra RAM for the new swamprat, and a PSU for weasel, or failing that, I'll order one from their component website. Just in time for 2.8 RC1. A couple of releases have slipped (2.7.90 and 2.7.91), but it'll be good to get it built and uploaded at last. Also good that I've not missed out on a 2.7 release during weasel's downtime.

Now, non-geek stuff. We bought a house, and have a completed chain. All the solicitor stuff can now get in motion (as soon as the people we're buying from have one that is) and hopefully it won't take too long. The promised details of our sale are that we've sold to a cash buyer, who also happens to be a first-time buyer, so no lower chain, and no mortgage searches required. The searches for the person buying our house were going to be the single biggest delaying factor in the chain, as there's apparently a real backlog for these in Watford, so that's a bit of a result. Still going to have to move up without Amanda at first, and just use a room in college until we complete, but at least now that intervening time will be shorter all being well.

New swamprat is initially installed, online update in process.

Up to Nottingham tomorrow, our house fell through while we were down in Somerset, so we're looking at four more in the hope that one of them suits.

No joy getting a new PSU for weasel as yet. Maplin, and a small local component shop have none in, going to try PC World. Would be a 28 day turnaround from Maplin unless I wanted to drive to their Uxbridge branch. Did confirm that it is the PSU that's gone this morning though. Plugged the old PSU in (the one that cuts out randomly and frequently), and it powered up. Switched back, in case it was just not seated right, and it blew up. Sparks and smoke flew out of the PSU's exhaust fan. Pretty impressive, but a little bit scary too.

Home from Soul Survivor now, quite tired, but feeling good.

House sold while we were away, details to follow, and about to start setting up the machine that's going to be the new swamprat.homeunix.org, so downtime is more than likely for a while.

Update:Have decided to do the new swamprat install tomorrow, because Amanda's going out during the day. Only made this decision after having downed the current swamprat, losing my 111 day uptime in the process.

While I was away, seems Bush is trying to hijack the Olympics to aid his campaign ahead of the Republic congress. How low will that man stoop?

Four more years? No thanks...

I read this story in the Independent this morning. I almost wept.

Off down to Passion for Your Name today, blogging will be sporadic at best for the coming week or so, and I'll almost certainly not be reading email.

[Ref]
Welcome back Justin and Aimee, hope you had a great honeymoon, can't wait to see the photos.

Welcome to the fun fun fun of house-hunting and mortgage procurement.

Okay, so now I have to face up to the fact that I'm not going to get 2.7.90 built before I go to Passion For Your Name tomorrow night for two very good reasons - my build machine est morté, and it's not been released yet anyway. So this means that the plan of action for the site and eveything when I get back is now as follows:

• Get new PSU for weasel
• Make www.usr-local-bin.org a ServerAlias for www.rubberturnip.org.uk, with references to the APT repositories
• I now have direct control of the usr-local-bin APT repository (and there'll be a new one, suser-jogley coming soon of non-GNOME packages), so when I've got it built, upload 2.7.xx into it
• Close the ulb-announce mailing list

Amanda found out this afternoon she can transfer her job to the Nottingham office, which is a real result. Just need someone to buy our house now...

Had Caz round for a ruby tonight, had a delicious lamb balti, some good wine and a great chat as always. Also, England won against Ukraine in the footy, which is another real result.

Really starting to like Firefox, I've been a loooong time user of Galeon, but on the PII 233 laptop I'm having to use until I get a new PSU for weasel, Firefox seems a lot quicker. I've installed the Nuvola theme to fit my GNOME sensibilities, and added the AdBlock and Googlebar extensions, and it's just, well, what a browser should be. Nice.

In the office at 7:15 this morning to do more IPSO upgrades, so tired. Took the company Golf GTI last night so I could get in early enough this morning. Still unsure as to whether I like that car. Fun to drive, and plenty of poke, but the seats are very uncomfortable, and the clutch has virtually no give at all. Oh, and the shift into fifth is a little bit tough...

Today, I have done two remote IPSO upgrades, and tomorrow I shall be doing three more. I am so the man!

Watched Moulin Rouge! on Saturday with Jen. Loved it, funny and moving. Yes, I cried. Yes, I laughed. Yes, I sang along (especially when the songs were by David Bowie). I love a good musical, and Moulin Rouge is just that. Fantastic!

Amanda headed down to Somerset on Friday night, so I've been fending for myself over the weekend (and will continue to do so for the rest of this week). She's down for Soul Survivor C: Living Loud, which starts today. Went shoe shopping on Saturday, and bought a couple of very nice pairs. Thing is that having got home, I discovered that the power supply in weasel appears to have died. weasel is my desktop machine, and more importantly, my build machine for ULB GNOME, which I am determined to get one full build of done and out the door before I go to Nottingham. It had powered itself off (apparently), and I couldn't power it back up. Switched kettle lead in case it was just that the fuse had gone. No dice. And I'd just spent on shoes what I could have used to get a new PSU. What makes it worse is that it now (with the passage of a bit of time) seems to matter a lot less, because I got two good pairs of shoes - what is wrong with me?

As a side note, I've had weasel for about 2^1/2 years now, it's based around an AthlonXP 1700+, which I think is now the only original piece component in it. I've had no end of problems with it, and have actually already had to replace the PSU once because the previous one kept just cutting out randomly. I really want to replace it with this laptop for me to use as my desktop/build machine, and Amanda can then have weasel all to herself rather than having to wait for me to finish with it to check her email. (It'll also make life at college a hell of a lot easier)

It's certainly the last time I bother to self-build...

Interviewing for my job starts today, I've never been on the interviewer side of the desk before - exciting...

[Ref]
Michael Owen has been left on the bench, fuelling speculation Liverpool are prepared to sell the England international.

Bye bye Michael...

Steven Gerrard just put us in front on about 22 minutes, our first competitive goal under Benitez. First of many let's hope...

Update:
That's it, Baros appears injured, and Benitez is warming up not Owen, but Sinama-Pongolle. He'll go to Real, and I reckon we'll get Fernando Morientes and a dollop of cash in return.

Photos from the celebration in Trafalgar Square are now up in the gallery.

Trafalgar Square was incredible! The Police estimate (which is probably on the conservative side) is that there were 15,000 people there. The Square was full, we literally couldn't have got anyone else in I don't think. About 20-25 people made first-time commitments, which was simply the best birthday present I could have hoped for. Took a number of photos, which I'm hoping to deal with this evening, and upload the best of them. Amanda got me the second best present I could have hoped for, my two favorite movies of all time (When Harry Met Sally and Truly Madly Deeply) on DVD. Great night in the pub, where I utterly failed to use the camera once, how very amiss of me. Very tired today, but Saturday gave me a bit of a tan, which is almost unheard of...

Remember, buy my house, and apply for my job!

Trafalgar Square tomorrow afternoon, should be a fantastic time, celebrating our faith in the heart of the capital - bring it on!

Then, Southern Cross in the evening to celebrate me turning 28. It's all downhill from here, I'm officially in my late 20s. Found my first grey hair last Sunday!

Need someone to put an offer on our house soon, and I mean soooon.

GNOME 2.7 Update: Tarballs for 2.8.0 Beta 1 (2.7.90) were called for this week, 2.7.90 should be released any day now, that'll be the first 2.7 version I'll be aiming to upload. Amanda's away from the 13th, I join her on the 20th or 21st for Passion for Your Name, but during the week that she's away and I'm not I'll be building packages like crazy. It may also prove to be the only full release I do, but the src.rpms will be available, and remember 2.8 is in a sufficiently frozen state now that it should be easy to keep packages up to do date for personal use.

Someone buy me this laptop please!

Today I shall be downloading this in case I win this.

That's right, you've seen the exciting opportunity to buy my house, why not go all the way, take my whole life by applying for my job. It's a UNIX Sys Admin role, based in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire (just north of London), and you can see the job spec here (yes, I do all those things). If you're interested, click here to apply.

Luis: I was in a branch of Woolworths a couple of years ago wearing my copy of that t-shirt, and the girl serving me thought it was a Foo Fighters top!