Author: Ianforrester

Senior firestarter at BBC R&D, emergent technology expert and serial social geek event organiser. Can be found at cubicgarden@mas.to, cubicgarden@twit.social and cubicgarden@blacktwitter.io

Google tv redefining TV? Not quite…

I totally missed Google TV and Google IO while I was in Hospital. It was one of the first things I asked for when I woke up, sad but true.

So my manager gave me a cut out about the Google IO event, which seemed to focus on Google TV and the next Android (still exploring). So generally if I was boxee I would be alarmed but not too concerned. They could really take advantage of the standards google’s using to power the remote for example. But lets not forget Google have a massive influence and moving into there area has to be worrysome. Now lets get this all in perspective.

This isn’t about Apple vs Google, its about the open internet vs the closed world of the TV. TV has been tightly controlled for years by the TV producers, etc. Now that wall is falling down.

Other people have written about the hardware and software so I won’t do that, instead I’ll look at the concept.

For a while now the BBC and its content producer partners have been working on spec for the next generation of Television viewing aka Project Canvas. When I first saw this I was surprised because it really lacked the internet and openness. I walked away thinking this is what a broadcast company would put out thinking about the notion of convergence of the web and tv. However this really did my head in because all the clever internet ideas of what Canvas could have been have been picked up Google and the google TV. Which is a shame for the BBC.

However, the weird thing is that although Canvas is what a broadcast company would do. GoogleTV is what a internet company would do if they wanted to converge the TV with the internet. However just thinking about the UK market for now, freeview has a major following and I can’t really see Google TV make much of a dent in that right now. I might be wrong but Google TV is very much a American thing and google haven’t really thought about the other markets as of yet.

So back to Google TV, there partners include Intel, logitech, Sony, bestbuy, dish network, Adobe, plus others. Note none of these are actually Content creaters/producers except of course Sony. The Sony side there talking to seem to be the engineering side rather than the content producing side. There was no deals or even talk about the content side of Sony. There will be a massive push in the states from Best Buy but details about the rest of the world is almost non exist.

Generally GoogleTV is once again interesting (and comes up open trumps here) because it can browse any website instead of the Canvas/XBMC/AppleTV model which is apps or scripts which allow you to access certain sites. There is a real opportunity to make TV aware sites like Youtube TV which was also announced at Google IO 2010. I’m actually very surprised no one has yet wrote a XBMC or Boxee script to take advantage of the new Youtube TV format. Generally this means your site can be viewed by millions and millions of people on there TV while they watch something else. But I wonder with no content producers on board will the likes of Hulu block GoogleTV or provide a crippled experience? In a ideal world I guess Google would suggest that everyone should use YouTube to deliver there content to the world, like channel 4 now do. And thats the killer thing, for everyone who uses youtube and other video sharing sites to distribute there media. Google are tackling the TV problem from both directions. Hardware, software and altering the code of the web.

Its opens the door to all the user generated media out there. TV producers must be somewhat rocking in there seats with a little bit of fear. Google have opened the door to the open web and have the might to keep it open. The problem is the price.

No one knows the price yet but the hardware is going to cost at least £50 or $50 which means its not going to get the penetration it requires. Its mainly going to be a glorified Tivo unless they can get the price down. Those who can afford the box have already got something like a Apple TV, XBMC or Boxee running. It won’t take much for them to adopt the open standards and emulate exactly what a google tv box does.

Theres also a problem when it comes to the social aspect of (or identity of the people watching) TV. Google TV already picks up the bluetooth of the phones of the people watching the TV (in the same room) but is that what you really want? Interestingly in the Google TV primer theres some hints of the problem.

Here are a few tips for those who haven’t designed for TV before. In a television environment, you must:

  • Understand that content is king.
  • Get users to the content as quickly and easily as possible.
  • Don’t interrupt when users are watching TV. Instead, make the viewing experience better.
  • Respect the living room context.
  • Think about what users will and won’t want to do when viewing TV with their family and friends.
  • Remember that TV is social.
  • Consider how groups might use your website or application.

Offer ways for individuals to use your site or apps in social settings.

  • Learn the pros and cons of TV screens and audio.
  • TV screens are wider and colors look different.
  • Text must be readable from a distance.
  • Sound is now a viable interface element.
  • Make it easy.
  • Offer simple choices and make actions obvious and easy to select.
  • Provide navigation that is simple enough for a remote control.

Thats only the start of the problem. Its great what Google has done but I can’t imagine what developed applications made for a phone will be like on a TV. Its goes back a little bit to what I said about the Apple TV.

The Living room is a funny place filled with different people and different exceptions. Google really needs to reach out to the content creation community and listen to what they say. Right now Google TV looks like something a Internet company who don’t fully get the dynamics of the TV/living room would build. Fantastic they have taken the standards route and pushed openness as far as it can go into the living room but now its time to consider the content and the experience. Or at least get some partners who do understand the content and experience. If they don’t I can see the Hulu problem growing and it may cause even more paywalls like the current newspaper situation.

Microsoft’s forward vision

I don’t get it.

Ubuntu can be a server or a user system but its certainly not a home server. I have no idea what happened to the ubuntu homeserver project but Microsoft have got the upper hand when it comes to servers in the home.

There is a large enough difference between a server in a home and server in a data centre. Microsoft understood this when they launched Windows Home Sever. They could have just re-bundled Windows Server but no they brought out a different cut of Windows Server focused on the home market. Its also different enough from a NAS (network attached storage device) due to its great range of Apps or Add-ons.

I’m not the only one to say this either.

“95% of the would-be “nixers” are completely stunned, at that point when the Ubuntu Server installation states that it has finished and all that’s offered to the user is a black screen and a prompt line. Users … basically scrap the whole thing, install Windows and use … solutions which lack raw power but come with an comprehensive interface”

Like all the others I’m pleased to see that you decided to continue this project. I’m a new NAS end user: i first bought a Synology DS410j, but i realized quickly that the processor was far too limited for me. So I made a 4 bay NAS by myself, counting on freenas. My problem is that i use linux a lot (I have a Mythtv server), but i don’t know FreeBSD at all. So the promise of a linux based NAS is a very good news. You can’t blame people to defend their chapel. Don’t listen to them, walk and see ! I assure you that i’ll be among the first switchers and the first donators because your work is useful, there’s no doubt about that.

The closes thing to Windows Home server on Ubuntu is maybe Freenas (which requires you to format all your drives into UFS for the best use, oh and its BSd based. Theres also Amahi which takes over too much of your system (it likes to control the dns, which is a pain if you got a good router).

So what makes a home server?

  • Low Minimum System Requirements
  • Simple Storage Space Management
  • Scalable Architecture
  • Cross-Platform Client Support
  • File/Data Server.
  • Backup/Restore
  • Printer Server
  • Network Functions
  • Remote Access from the Internet

Windows home server does all this really well, Ubuntu Server edition falls very short.

What else is out there? Because to be honest I’m very close to installing Windows Hone server on my home server.

Open Media Vault looks pretty good but its not quite mature enough yet.

Canonical really need to get moving with this stuff… Microsoft had the vision to kick this off, now its time for Linux to lead this area. Just like how Android is now stiring up the mobile world.

Why people don’t dance any more?

I can’t be the only one to notice that people don’t have a clue how to dance anymore.

Its just a thing I’ve noticed.

When I was growing up we had expressive arts which was a bit of crap subject but at least you learned how to dance if you couldn’t already dance. I remember learning how to moonwalk in a lesson and how to do forward flip over the course of about 1 month.

I’m not saying we should bring back expressive arts in school but I am saying when I go out clubbing (rarely) I’m shocked at the dancing I’m seeing.

I don’t know whats to blame. My flatmate thinks the music may be to blame. Some tunes are just un-dancable but I’m not so sure thats true.

When I was growing up there was a lot of stimulate for dancing such as House Party 1-3, Normski’s dance energy show on BBC2, Fresh Prince of Bellair, electric boogaloo, breakdance, etc. Now I think the only stimulation comes from So you think you dance and those cinemantic dance films such as step up. So it can’t be the stimulatus because there is plenty of that, no matter what you think of them.

So what is it? Maybe people don’t get to practice enough or something like that? Maybe they don’t get a chance to practice in front of friends and family so they only get the chance to impress there friends with there so called dancing.

I admit theres plenty of different types of music with there own types of dance but I’m talking about what use to be disco dancing, the type of thing you hear and dance to in a nightclub. There use to be a rash of latin dance clubs and recently a lot of them have shut down, not that I’m saying thats to blame but its just interesting.

So whos to blame? I honestly don’t know… Maybe I’m mistaken and its just about the places I’m going which has bad dancers?

Ebay unfair to those in a Coma?

While I was in Hospital in a Coma, I dropped the ball on quite a few things including a couple of Ebay things I was selling. So I find out that the person I was selling a computer too didn’t get the computer, actually it was still in my room. But I had already cashed the Paypal transfer a while ago. So I had not sent the computer but I was going to, I bought a box for it and everything to go in the post, but had not gone through with the actual post part. Then that weekend the bleed on the brain happened and I was in hospital for 4 weeks.

This wouldn’t be a problem if the didn’t tarnish my perfect 100% reputation with a negative comment for something I had no control over. I’m not saying he was in the wrong, as far as he was concerned I had bagged the money and not answered any of my emails since. I guess I seemed like a scammer and he did the right thing asking ebay to return his money.

The problem I have is since returning to the real world, its not possible to appeal against the decision. Even with all the best intentions, nothing. I’ve tried contacting the buyer and now I’m looking for the ebay email address to appeal the decision. If I could just get through to someone, I could show them the caring bridge site which would also prove what I’m saying is the truth, Heck I even have a sick note if it goes that far.

Its not so much about the money, I’m happy to give the guy back his money, its about my reputation, 100% to 85.7%.

Here’s how it went from there end.

  • 05 Jun, 2010 at 14:48 eBay Customer Support has refunded the buyer and the case is closed. You must now reimburse eBay for this refund.
  • 05 Jun, 2010 at 14:45 The buyer has escalated the case to eBay Customer Support.
  • 04 Jun, 2010 at 06:18 You should have responded to the buyer.
  • 25 May, 2010 at 06:18 The buyer opened a case: Item not received

I finally found a email to contact ebay to contest the case.

The best phone I’ve ever owned so far…

HTC desire

So I finally got my HTC desire from Orange.  It took a bit longer that expected due to Orange changing the upgrade process but I finally laid my hands on this sweet handset.

I was comparing it to my old HTC Touch Hd 1 which also now runs Android thanks to the amazing job the guys at Xda developers have done. Although they have sorted out the scrolling issue and started to get the bluetooth working it good to finally have a real android phone. And you can’t go wrong with the snapdragon 1ghz processor, it really makes things go along super smoothly. Some more memory would not go a miss but generally its fine.

I can honestly say this is the best phone I’ve ever had. Its so good move away from the windows mobile camp and I thought I might have to give up some of the features like the usb tethering option but its still there thankful. Theres also a ton of tethering apps which I can use if it wasn’t included. I’m so glad I switched over as this operating system is something else.  My next step is to root the phone because I want to mess with the inners of the phone a little bit. So hopefully that will be a simple task….

I know the iphone4 was out at the same time but honestly I couldn’t buy one even if it had a better resolution than any other phone on the market. I did consider other phones but to be honest there was little else on the market to consider except the sonyericsson’s and samsung’s. The iphone4 may have the better screen but to be honest its a nightmare for a user like myself. The whole iTunes integration means the phone has no chance with my current operating system (Ubuntu) and why would I lower myself to that type of integration when theres a better way? I really did put my Apple hate to the back of my mind and reviewed the iphone4 on practical grounds and it was certainly not for me.

My own grumble about the desire is the USB connection which is micro USB instead of mini USB, which means I got loads of USB mini cables which are now pretty useless. I should get a few adapter because I got so many of them and only one Micro cable. Very tiny grumble but one never a less, at least its correct with the EU regulation now.

I’m looking to hopefully sell my old Hd1 but to be honest if the price is right I’ll sell it to CEX, although the idea of selling it as a android compatible device is a little far fetched for now. Give me a shout if your interested in buying it.

A letter to the hospital

My ex-wife rewrote my rant about the Hospital into something official sounding. I think you will agree its much better that my efforts. It sounds kind of weird my ex-wife helping me out like this but shes been excellent the last few weeks helping out where ever she can. So we’ve really made up and who knows we may actually be friends following this. Its a shame it took this to get us to talk but its a positive which has come out of this whole experience. I even met her little son the other day which is slighly scary because I didn’t know quite what to expect.

Anyway, here’s the letter we’re using for the complaint to the hospital (I’ve been told not to put the name of the hospital, just in case they are checking the internet for complaints or something) If you’ve been paying attention, you will know which hospital it is…

Following my verbal complaint at my discharge on 17 June 2010, I am putting my concerns in writing so as to be clear about the matters I believe need attention and/or investigation.

1. Lack of information to family members in ICU

My family was unhappy with the amount of communication during my stay in ICU. Some nurses would come along and do things but not tell my family what they were doing or why. My parents received next to no information about what had happened to me or what my prognosis was. In one instance, my mother was treated to an inappropriate lecture about hospital pay instead of getting an update on my condition. They were not encouraged to ask questions and generally felt uncomfortable approaching some of the staff. The consultant was never available and my family ended up having to book time with him several days in advance just to be able to speak to him. They (and I) feel more should have been done to make sure they understood what was happening.

2. Problems with ward management

After I left ICU, I was moved twice within two days which was very unsettling. It seems that no one knew quite where to put me, so the first ward I went to proved to be unsuitable, and in the ANU I was with people who were pre-surgery while I was recovering. Maybe there isn’t really a suitable ward for my situation, but I would have thought it made more sense for me to be with other people who are recovering from surgery (oppose to a medical ward). I also did not receive any sort of ward orientation and was not advised until several days into my stay that I was permitted to leave the ward.

One particular problem with my ward was another patient who needed constant care and attention and didn’t receive it from the staff. As a patient, I should not have to look after other patients, but I felt obligated to help as the patient next to me was constantly trying to get out of bed (risking a fall), trying to pull his tubes out, and asking me ‘when are we going?’ On most days, I had to call the nurse to deal with him several times, sometimes every five minutes, to stop him from hurting himself. I found this very stressful and certainly not what I needed with my already high blood pressure.

3. Missing medication

The most serious complaint I have about my time at the hospital is that I was not given my medication, though it was signed off in the chart that I’d received it. On 16th June the chart was signed in the morning, but I am certain I did not have the pills. There was one pill that was very bitter, and I have to be awake to take it, so I am absolutely positive it was not given that day. I am also certain that there were other days I did not get my pills. On the afternoon of 16th June, I told a nurse I hadn’t had my medication. She looked at my chart, saw that it had been initialled, and dismissed my allegation with no further investigation. The ward sister was told, seemed unconcerned, and did nothing. When the night nurse came on shift, I also told him I hadn’t received my medication, and fortunately he believed me. He opened the medication box and found that my blood pressure medication pill packet was empty. This begs the question, how many doses did I miss? Why did the morning nurse sign that I had my medication when I didn’t? Why didn’t the person who used the last pill arrange for more to be sent from the pharmacy? Why didn’t the afternoon nurse and ward manager investigate my allegation immediately? If they dismissed my allegation because they thought I was having memory problems (which I wasn’t), why didn’t they do something to prove to me that I was wrong (which, as it turns out, I wasn’t)? Without those tablets, I was at serious risk of a relapse. I am thoroughly disgusted that whilst I was at a vulnerable point in my recovery, the hospital’s medication management procedures allowed me to go for days without essential medication. This is serious medical negligence and I will expect to be informed of the disciplinary proceedings that surely will arise from this matter.

4. Lack of care/attention to special patient needs

I have a serious needle phobia which I made everyone aware of. When I’ve had hospital treatment for other conditions (including an operation needing anaesthetic), they were very accommodating as far as helping with alternatives to injections (i.e. using gas to put me to sleep before any IV was started). It was written in my chart that I am terrified of needles and should be approached with care. Until I was well enough to protest, I was given heparin injections in my stomach. I was told this was very important to prevent blood clots, but when I said I didn’t want injections this was taken as though I’d said I didn’t want treatment. I was willing to take alternative treatments, but as discussed below, my doctor was never available to ask about possible alternatives.

5. Lack of communication and attention by the doctor in charge of my case

After leaving ICU on 07/06/2010, I only saw my doctor once. The other patients on my ward saw their doctors on a daily basis and were told what was happening with their care. On the one occasion a doctor did see me, I still wasn’t told what was happening. After social services assessed me as fit to go home, I had to wait for 3 days to be discharged, ultimately by a different doctor because mine was never available. When I complained about this after my discharge, my doctor who we (me and my mum) had never seen admitted he hadn’t even realised I was still in hospital; he said he thought I’d self-discharged. Then he stated he had been ‘following’ my case, but had no answer when I asked how that was possible when he didn’t even know where I was. Basically, for three days I was taking up a bed that someone else could have used because my doctor didn’t know where I was and the ward staff didn’t seem to be able to communicate this to him, despite the fact that he was in the same building. I had been left in the ward to hopefully get better.

6. Lack of respect for patients and their visitors

Visiting hours on my ward were restricted to 2.5 hours per day, and that time is very precious for patients and their visitors. On one occasion whilst my mother was visiting, a nurse interrupted us and insisted that I put on a nebuliser mask. The nebuliser mask makes it impossible to speak to your loved ones, and there was no particular reason it had to be done at that exact time. It was very rude, and for the sake of an hour this nurse could have waited until visiting hours were over.

Additionally, I felt ignored most of the time I spent on the ward. The nurses were friendly to the other patients and addressed all of them by name, but for some reason I was left out. Perhaps it was the fact that no one seemed to know why I was there or what was supposed to be happening with my care due to my doctor forgetting about me. I was quite surprised when I was told by one nurse that she didn’t even know what had happened to me. I thought that was essential bit of information when a nurse is going to be caring for a patient.

In summary, the time I spent at the hospital was very disappointing for me and my family. The overall lack of communication meant I stayed in hospital much longer than I should have and that caused a lot of distress. With all the people that were supposedly contacting the doctor on my behalf (PALS, the ward manager, nursing staff), I do not understand how my doctor could ‘forget’ his patient is languishing on a ward. I have huge concerns over how medications are managed and I am appalled that when I brought the matter of my missing medication to the nurse’s and ward manager’s attention, I was not taken seriously. For a more non-communicative patient, mistakes like that could be a matter of life or death. I certainly feel safer out of that ward where I know that my medication is my responsibility and I do not have to depend on negligent medical professionals to get what I need.

I do expect a thorough investigation of these issues, particularly with regard to the missing medication and my doctor’s neglect of my case. I look forward to hearing what steps you will be taking to ensure my experiences are not repeated with other patients.

Its open season at the forresters

Islington Wharf

I’m now at home if you want to come around for a visit, but if possible please wait till I move if possible because I’ll have more space. Yes to add to my stress (as such) I was going through with a move to the new flats at New Islington. My sister was smart enough to call my estate agent (billie) and put the whole move on hold while I was lying in a hospital bed. Luckly I was able to pick everything back up again which means I’ll be moving in the next few month. I just got accepted for the Mortgage which I got at a very good rate.

So of course, come around but call me first on my mobile or house phone so I can direct you to the right building and right flat.

don’t expect too much of me because I get tired quickly and can’t go a far distance, but I am clearly Ian :).

I plan to take the full amount of time out so will be getting myself on the xbox a lot, which means getting a xbox live gold account and maybe learning how to use the control pad to play games like Halo. I expect to be buying a few games which I’ve missed such as Portal, gears of war, etc. If anyone (@si_lumb) wants to lend me some games that would save me a load of money. Will I buy a Playstation 3? I don’t know, I’m considering it.

So I guess if your on Xbox Live look out for (Cubicgarden) because thats me. Otherwise I’ll be shopping for my new Pad or going to the cinema. I’ll be online but not that much because I want to stay away from work stuff. Adrian says everything is taken care of, so I believe him.

Once again, thanks to everyone and I hope to see or touch base at some point over the next few months.

Thank you part 2

Thank you to the whole of the ICU ward including Nicole, Sarah and Shelly who looked after me while I was in ICU (say my parents because I was obviously sleeping) They explained to my parents exactly what was going on and with such compassion plus they sympathize with there position unlike nurses later on the stroke ward. I was out of it but you made a dent in my parents memory that they remember you all. But I would be wrong to just rule out all the nurses on the stroke ward, there were some good apples mixed in with the bad ones. Ginger was great, there was also a bunch of male nurses which were excellent and ever so witty. I will never forget the male nurse who ran half way to somewhere to get my pills for the last night. He was totally out of breath by the time he returned. Oh and how could I forget the dinner ladies, good fun and always got a hi from them.

Thanks to everyone who wrote to me on Facebook, you all know how much I hate facebook but these were worthy of a mention and a thanks.

Claire Phillips (sorry for the scare, hope it didn’t ruin your holiday in vegas), Waheed Rehman (we need to go to a real imax soon, no better place that manchester), Matt Pass (sorry for not being in touch, my parents moved from Fishponds to whirl near weston), Tim Cowlishaw, Jennifer O’Grady (I don’t think I’ll be going for a drink anytime soon sorry), Louise Ferguson, Frank Wales, Imran Ali (Not quite marked all as read and delete but almost), Tasha Fear (thanks!), Gia Milinovich, the mythical dot (good to hear from you), Marissa Mulvena (newcastle will have to wait sorry), Tim Cowlishaw, Anders Lewis, Vikki Leaney, Ivan Pope, Kate Norman, Tom Leitch, Sarah Khan-Wuttka (you have two children now?), deena denaro-bickerstaffe, eileen jones, sheila farrell, ryan alexander, Ashley Angail,, Tim dobson (again), dave crossland, deborah cawkwell, Joanna Rodriguez, Herb Kim, and Stephanie Kit Kat Lease, Maz Hardey (yes theres more that lost but lost was extremely good TV, better that the average american stuff), Roberto Beto, Ann Michael,
Of course I forgot to look at my private twitter messages, so thanks to @Fidothe, @leeky, @imran (didn’t know you did a shout out to me at ignite, thanks! would have preferred to have been there), @kidhelios, @mike_lott, @vickyjo (thanks for the hugs) @sheiliaellen (again and thanks for visiting me). Those on Identica also get a mention too. @rajmarshall, @methoddan.
Thanks to everyone who sent me a card incluing Amy, Claire,  Paul & Ann, Birch and Suzie (all the way from the states) Paul Chessbrough and the telegraph dev team, Chris Tasha and family, Antie Melrose, Antie Kathleen, Uncle danny, Cousin Patrick. My old Neighbours in Lodge Causeway, Kellie Hancock, Waheed, Most of Worldservice new media, Suw and Kevin, Herm B + Tom (thanks for the magazine), the rest of World service new new media, Interaction 05 (the last class I taught before leaving Ravensbourne), everyone at Clearleft, dave crossland with the biggest card of them all, Jo and family, david marks (thanks for the pages), Bryan and Michaela (not seen you guys in ages hope your well), Rain, Beryl + Lockley + debbie + tony + amanda + lewis, Social media cafe manchester, deslyn and mike. Suw & Kevin,  Waheed, Kelly hancock, my old neighbours from lodge causeway, Antie Melrose + Patrick + Uncle danny + antie Kathleen, Paul + Ann Ross’s parents, Birch + Suzie (all the way from america believe it or not), Chris + Tasha, + family, Waheed
And I came home today to find even more cards that my parents kept for me because it would have caused a problem having so many cards at the hospital.
Carl (germany), Sarah + Steve, lucy briges, Emily, Anty Halline + family, melrose + patick,, megan + billy (home made card from the kids awwwww), bert + joen, harry + tiffany (thanks for the snippits of news, really helped in ICU), Adam + Helen, dj adams (@qmacro), Rachael Neagle + Neil, Oli (@cdddimate) (nice to hear you bashing out some trance), Marissa + @herbkim, rachel, Samantha, the project north team at work, tim + funmi + andre, + Otis (Otis? Really another little one?). Andrew + Kerry from geekup, Glyn + Sheila from London, BBC r&d, Nicky Smyth + Sal (work mates), Adia & Amari (cousin), Ross + Carley + Megan + Billy (how many more times shall I thank them).
Most of the people I know at BBC Manchester including derek, andras, Toni, Bruce, Binh, Kev, Nik, Paul, Matt, Andy, Leanne, Alice, Angus, Tony, Minesy, Heather, Paul (and more), Alphonsa, Andras.  Laura, Jon Paul and Geeks of the world! (can’t work out who this one came from but its a touching end to the long list).
Told you my memory isn’t so great, I almost forgot the caring bridge site,  which my ex-wife sarah helped setup with help from my sister and mother (the mystery blogger, wasn’t she good?)
Trish Veale (Hanrahan), Rachael Neagle, Mike Lott (Singapore), Kellie Thatcher, Mo McRoberts, Pauline Randall, carl rauth (germany), Maz Hardey, Funmi Alexander (how many kids do you have now), Antie Millicent (thank the lord, Jamaica), Waheed Rehman, Samantha Chadwick (nice story about thick and easy), Bruce Weir (lost was good and you know it), Vanessa Westwood, Rachael Neagle (facebook still sucks), Jason Legget, Glen Ford, Steve J, Sheila Thomson (thanks for visiting me again), Jay Caines-Gooby (a what plot?), John Dodds, Bahi P (yep I really put my personally in those posts), Lucas Gramajo (Toronto), Trish Veale (Hanrahan), Deena DeNaro-Bickerstaffe, Carley & Ross (again), Stephen Knights (6k gosh really!), Kellie Thatcher, Herb Kim, Andy Goodwin, Brian Butterworth, Dave Brooks, Kat Pattison (still hope to make that box), Melinda & Cristiano (my newsreader certainly kept me busy for a while), Hayley Showering, Sarah blow & Steve, Rick Curran, Ben Metcalfe, Sarah Wuttke (baby zac?), Peter Mills, Deena DeNaro-Bickerstaffe, Peter Schübel, Chilon Forrester (new york), Cristiano & Melinda, Dan Lynch, vanessa westwood, Sandra Haines (antie), Kellie Thatcher, Brendan Quinn, Nigel Crawley, Mark Tanner, Vikki Leaney (you got married), Simon Alexander, Justin Souter, Lisa Connolly (would you have come to manchester?), Dave Brooks (New Haven, CT, USA), Lola White (Jamaica),  Melrose forrester (antie), Harry Lo (Pepsi is better, Hong Kong SAR China), Dan Oliver (.net magazine), Jack Murray (enjoyed media 2020), Sabina Bhugun, Rachael Neagle (more cryptic status to come), Dave Mee, Chi-chi Ekweozor, Nisha Ray, richard Tank (sorry to hear about your dad), carl rauth (Switzerland), Hemmy Cho, Ross Michael, Ant Miller, Philip Trippenbach, Matt Locke, Bruce Weir, Rowan de Pomerai (the iphone put me in hospital), Marc Price, Sarah Blow, Samantha Chadwick, Julian Tait, Pukul Rana, Rachael Turner, Pauline Randall, Delia Stearnes, Bahi P, Herb Kim, Thelma Jones (racine, USA, sarahs mum), Jon Jacob, Farooq Ansari, David Marks, Harold Cattron, and Sheila Farrell.
If I missed you in either thank you’s, I’m very sorry I only checked a few places and couldn’t put down all the text messages, emails and voicemails I got over the last few weeks. The cards were slightly special because the nurses and my parents was able to read them out to me when I was sleeping.
I want everyone to know this is a very serious condition but I’m doing alright now. I do have memory lost which is really ignoying but I honestly its not that bad (only forget the rarest things like ex-girlfriends names – whoops!). It could have been a hell of a lot worst.
People have been asking me could it happen again? No honestly it can’t. Why do I know? It was all down to the amount of work and the fact that I have High Blood Pressure but never did anything about it. Hence the bleed in the brain which was the brain releasing some pressure. However this manfest its self with a bleed on the brain which is deeply worrying. So as I said I could have been a veggie with a ventilator for company but I got away lightly with some memory lost and a slightly weak body. The body will get stronger and my brain will fill in the things I can’t remember. Generally I think I got away with murder. People still can’t believe the time to recovery from waking up to being ready to leave (about a week or so) I was in hospital for about 3 weeks before that. A very short period of time going by what the nurses was saying to my parents.
So I’m one of the lucky ones and I know it. Thanks to everyone and I really mean it… I might not have been here if it wasn’t for the great thinking of a few people and the contuning support of people around me like the ones mentioned above and in part 1.
People always ask me what I remember, so here’s what I remember
The only thing I really remember about that time was waking up on Saturday when the cleaner was banging on the door trying to get in on Saturday morning to clean the flat. I woke up and thought Tim will wake up and let her in because I got a headache and couldn’t be frankly be bothered to get up and let her in. That was the last thing I remember, I don’t remember anything else till I woke up in hospital with my parents and sister standing over me. My mums voice willing me to open my eyes. I don’t remember going for a meal or anything like what happened in my bathroom let alone my bedroom. I don’t remember going for a meal or eating hob nobs or anything, the whole time from the UK elections to a week ago is blank. I’m surprised the iphone 4 came out today, before this all happened gizmodo just landed a scoop of the year finding a iphone4 in a bar
Thank you to you all…from the very bottom of my heart….

Thank you part 1

Thanks to everyone

I want to thank from the very bottom of my heart everyone that was involved in my recovery. It was a very scary time for everyone involved and the bleed in my head has left me with a little memory lost and a little weak but I’m mainly ok. It could have been a lot worst, I could have ended up not remembering anything or even a vegetable from the bleed in my head.

In my time in hospital I had a lot of time to think about things and what I had done with my life up till now. I’d not done too bad specially after looking at the support I was getting from cards, visits, twitter, etc. I’m proud to have touched so many of your lifes, and you all remember.

So although I will thank everyone theres a few people I owe my life to, and thats not me being over dramatic its the truth almost no matter how you look at it.

First my mum for her strength of character never giving up on me no matter what happened or what I did. She travelled up from Bristol to Manchester a lot and stayed in hotels and a strange flat with my flat mate. She was amazing and did everything in her power to aid my recovery. Travelling up and down has made her even more independent and I love her for it. Theres nothing like waking up in hospital with your mum hovering above you calling your name. She was excellent at the hospital when complaining and when trying to find out what’s happening.

My dad wasn’t up as much but was there in spirit. He cried a lot for me and wished for my health unfortunately he had to deal with sale of the family house and moving everything pretty much himself. So although not always by my bed he was keeping everything on track in the background. This meant my mum could focus on me while my dad kept things ticking along in the background.

My Sister for lending my mum the money to make the trips up to Manchester but also making multiple trips to be by my and my mum side. Its a long trip from South London and she was up and down like a yoyo. I know we haven’t been that close in the past but we will be in the future. I remember her smiley face standing over me when I finally woke up. And I’m sorry for slagging off her little system for communicating with people when you can’t talk. I only slag it off because you can never hope to capture all the unique things about a language. Which makes it hard to communicate still.

Sarah (my ex-wife) for looking out for my mum in her moment of need. Not only was she the brains behind the caringbridge site but also she printed stuff out and took my verbal blog posts when I couldn’t blog. She also brought me lost and flash forward which was great. No certainly out did herself and made me proud to have married her all that time ago. I’m glad shes now found someone who will make her truly happy but this experience has certaitly brought us closer together after a very nasty diviroce over a year ago. She is now a close friend that I hold in high regard.

Ross and Carley, What more could I ask of friends? You both certaily stepped up to the plate and made me feel a lot more at home. I remember laughing for the first time with Ross and how much it hurt with the venterlator still inside. However I couldn’t help but laugh because it was great having them at my bedside. Hopefully the trip and funky hotels you had to stay in was worth the hassle. If anything ever was to happen to the kids I’d be there like a shot, of course hoping nothing ever does.

@tdobson thanks for looking out for me, I know it took a while to get me out of the house and to the hospital. I know its odd because I’m the older and should be looking out for you and all that but you did roughly the right thing. You may have saved my life.

@adew for taking me to hospital in the end. He cleverly dropped in hints about going to hospital and not being very well but still slight off my usual form, I let him drive me to hospital where they thought I had meningitis! To be fair they weren’t to know I had a bleed on the brain which was slowly affecting my judgement, balance and general function. Like wise you may have saved my life.

Thanks for all the twitters

@surial, @kevglobal, @billt, @tomcoates, @mario, @girlygeekdom (sorry I couldn’t see you when you were up, it just wasn’t the right time)‎, @rainycat (and thanks for the cd, which I enjoyed), @billt, @loudmouthman, @Cordobo, @ssethi, @tommorris, @nicferrier (I’ll loved to be in techgrumps, could moan about apple all day), @psd, @thinkingdigital, @jas (yeah excellent to see my email in @wireduk even if it was edited down. @anniemole, @freecloud, @thinkingdigital, @anniemole, @freecloud, @ssethi, @libbymiller, @smc_mcr (thanks again for the Yamaha Tenori-O I used it a bit but not much), @rachelclarke, @stevieflow, @herbkim (thanks for the very moving tribute, when they told me I was seriously shocked, I also haven’t forgotten the offer of the meal, but maybe when I’m a little better), @jeniT, @philhawksworth (lost out of order not the best idea agreed), @anniemole, @richquick (werewolf lose on the island really?) @imran (now you’re like me, nice!) @jonthebeef, @sicross, @adactio (and thanks again for the message from An event apart in Boston, amazing to see and hear), @tomscott, @freecloud interesting study., @matlock, @dotdean, @cbgreenwood, @stevecla, @kevinprice, @nevali, @reyes, @nickycast, @paolability, @tonychurnside, @si_lumb (see you on xbox live soon), @rajm, @ruby_gem, @rnalexander, @franticuk, @davemee, @nickycast, @defnetmedia, @meeware (thanks for coming up and seeing me in hospital and seeing me in weston as well as taking over the backstage blog/mailinglist while I am away), @defnetmedia, @nevali, @coralgrainger, @insidethem60, @oonagh_j, @adew (thanks for everything again, I won’t be in work for some time as you can imagine), @souterconsults, @sheilaellen (thanks for visiting me and showing me i can leave the ward without telling anyone, still got your money), @davecoveney, @methodan, @richardhudson, @suw (sorry to drop the ball in the middle of the project, but I got a good excuse), @brianamc, @realfreshtv, @jemimakiss (thanks for the words on twitter), @mamk, @matthewcashmore, @mamk, @davelynch, @mamk, @_richardg, @cbetta (I wasn’t in a coma) , @davelynch, @mario, @kevglobal, @davecoveney, @methoddan, @richardhudson, @methoddan, @davecovenery, @souterc, @oonagh_j, @coralgrainger, @defnetmedia, @tdobson (and thanks for everything as mentioned before), @gezd, @vivdora, @ocenician (series of spanish art?), @mmetcalfe (i didn’t expect you to be watching lost), @tbush, @sofia, @doctoe (hope you are well), @billt (not much I can do about being in London in September sorry. @foodiesarah, @meeware, @mamk, @soullastylianou, @ignesco, @sdn_photography, @ignesco, @rarepleasures, @fcw, @matt512, @stephenknights, @markng (thanks for the sweet words), @jot, @jaggeree, @_richardg, @cordobo, @Sdn_Photography, @rajmarshall. And to everyone else who wrote in sent me a card (I will write a special thank you post just for the cards when I get back to Manchester). If your name isn’t in the list above fear not, its simply because I didn’t see your post on twitter for what ever reason. This could be because twitter doesn’t go that far back in history or because it simply was missed by me and google’s cache. I know a lot of people also wrote to me personally via email as they didn’t want to write something public, thank you to all of them.

Thanks to everyone