Well yesterday I delivered the server and apart from having to start it again straight away (as the mouse and keyboard had to be detected) everything went pretty well.. Even got the tape drive working (yey)..

Did a couple of other jobs too and finally got to close one more down, today I even had a job to do and have to quote a remote tape drive (which is going to be expensive so I might go the embedded Linux server route and add a SATA Tape drive to it ).

ho hum…

Listening to Slayradio and wishing I hadn’t drunk so much alcohol today as my nose is running like a tap

Well.. A big break again.. What has happened?

To recap.. Went to Norway after spending a week driving about the UK and looking at big anchors.

Was promoted in Norway and spent a week on-board a boat feeling Ill (caught Flu on the plane over), arguing with Angel and generally feeling sorry for myself, finally got into UK (sailed with boat, yo ho etc) and did a lot of work on the vessel, which was problematic (that’s me being polite).

Had enough when it became apparent things were being withheld and I was being played for a mug.. Announced I really wasn’t happy and asked to be demoted back down.. Got told by everyone that I would be demoted (in pay) and still do the same job.. Sacked someone and then came home (on average I would say worst trip ever).

Came home and still had calls for a week and felt like crap ..

Phoned on Friday and said I would go back as the “promoted” after finding out everything else that had gone wrong.. Oh my..

Finally managed to get the Server from months ago migrated to the new hardware, still Windows 2000 SBS but at least its now on the new hardware!!

Going to stress test this for another month and then go for the upgrade to Win 2003 SBS Premium, keep your fingers and toes crossed.

Been feeling generally very down in the dumps for the last couple of months, not done any fishing etc.. Read a few more Dray Prescot books (very good by the way) and well.. got by..

Well the Windows VM was finally upgraded!!

After a painful couple of hours struggling to get to grips with the OS it finally fell to my hacking skills and allowed me to update it to 2003 SBS Prem.

I’m just waiting on a clean up of the exchange database which is failing to mount at the moment (boo). So I should be arriving with the new machine on site tomorrow morning (yey!).

Been doing ROV surveys all night as ran out of equipment and parts for the next couple of cables (last two until we load some more), so in the downtime I managed to sort out 3 PC’s and fiddle with some more stuff, tried to chat to Angel for a bit but was so tired I ended up going to bed again without any food (not good).. Sorted out the TV for the lads in the Coffee shop and then sorted out some more cabling issues… My back to back arrived and surprised us all as we thought he wasn’t turning up for another couple of days. So I’m a man down on Nights and they’re a man up on Days.. Well fair is fair I guess… Still will mean more work for me and as I’m just cat napping still I’m going to find it hard me thinks

Ahh well..

WOW! managed a massive 3 hours in one run of sleep … not great and didn’t help we have been standing by a lot the last couple of days so meant I was nodding off while trying to do some paperwork on the computer.. blurry computer screens don’t help too much to be honest.. well blurry because so knackered..

Not really talked to Angel either as so tired I’m nearly asleep on my feet right now

Come to the conclusion that I hate this job.. The only thing that makes it workable is the people on here.. If it wasn’t for them I would *NEVER* do this.. They may all be work colleagues but by hell everyone gets on well with everyone else.. Hardly any moaning and no back stabbing.. Still this couple change in a couple of months lol..

Going to try and get some proper sleep tonight (day).. Then up early for some Guitar practice, looks like nearly finished the cable here too so in to get some more soon.

So still waiting on stuff arriving and heard today that one of our deliveries has turned up on another vessel! Opps there goes that little lot then!

No word on a lot of other stuff that has been ordered and with the new OM arriving tomorrow looks unlikely to appear before we sail again on Saturday

And *still* not gone ashore.. Determined to stay away from Harwich (sorry but it is a place for the devil and his supporters).

You know what I said yesterday about the meetings? Well scrap that as now we have to have another meeting today about *technical matters* which is bascially an excuse for us to fill out yet more paperwork and databases.. ARGHHH!!!

Anyway been spending time getting cables re-run about deck and arranged so they don’t get in anyone’s way (meaning the ships).

And I have still not set foot on the shore as well Harwich is never going to rate as a place I want to plant my feet again.

work strangely., hehe normally you would expect the end of that to be about meetings wouldn’t you lol.. well for a change it is not.

Nope we are going to do this and that and the main reason for the meetings is to check that everyone is happy with what is going on and make sure that we are all one the same page when we go off and actually get down to it

Seems most of the paperwork has now become a sort of database of sorts and we should be able to use the same one for pretty much everything else that we need to. this as you can imagine is a damn good thing as pretty pissed off with the amount of databases and documents I have been doing of late. All the paperwork has started to get me down but at last it seems that we may have turned a corner and be on our way towards a more prepared and informed running vessel

Seems my back to back is due to arrive next week and work with me for a week getting to know the ropes (which is frankly strange as errr a week to do and hand over seems an awful long time to do that to me, normally only takes an hour or two at most).