Well it’s railway time and I’m finding that my plans are far more elaborate than ever before so I need a way of planning the layout so I can test various turnouts and track combinations before I have to start cutting track etc. No bother when there is great software out there to help you and XTrkCad is just such a great (and open source) … Continue reading Compiling XTrkCad from source on Mac OSX
Being a member of the OO Live Steam Club was bound to rub off eventually and it seems that it has, manifesting itself in a brand new “Silver Link” A4 Live Steam engine. This really is a magnificent beast and is a fine addition to my collection. I steamed it up for the first time today and was surprised at how well it ran. The … Continue reading A shiny new live steam engine
Hi there guys – so I heard that the latest OSX / MacBook Pro was causing issues for people wanting to dual boot with the latest Ubuntu release so I decided to have a go. OK so I’m not going to pretend it was easy but you should be able to get it running if you just follow this simple set of steps. I have … Continue reading Ubuntu 11.10 and OSX Lion dual boot on MacBook Pro 8,2 even with FileVault2!
OK this might be a spoiler so put your fingers in your ears if you have not completed Portal 1 yet! Following from the fantastic first game which, whilst short, was perfectly formed and one of the best thought out games of it’s year we are taken on a new journey with GlaDoS. You remember her right? The manic AI which hated you, tricked you … Continue reading Portal 2 amazes!
I decided that I wanted to create a simple set of shelves to air my clothes in the boiler cupboard. Suitably polished wood of the right size size is surprisingly expensive so I decided to take the IKEA Hacker route and bash a flatpack into my designs. Here’s how: 1) Purchase 1 Oleby pack for each shelf you wish to create 2) Open 1 pack … Continue reading Oleby Airing that for you…
So I unpacked the boxes and assembled the equipment to steam up my new Flying Scotsman for the first time. Oil and water added, switched on and the steam began to build. So many funny noises that we all stood back at first. Once it was up to pressure a reassuringly familiar steam valve sounded and the room started to fill with the nostalgic aroma … Continue reading Flying Scotsman all steamed up!
The next step in model railways – Live Steam! Yes, a real steam powered engine in OO gauge – incredible engineering from Hornby. Unfortunately the line has been discontinued and the stock was all sold a little while ago. However the great guys at 2ktechnologies received a little extra stock that was found in the factory and offered a great price on these last chance … Continue reading Hornby Live Steam
Wow, what a week – puzzles abound and an office move too! After fitting everyone into the new office space the greater puzzle was left – how can we compile custom functions into sqlite within an Android app? Well we finally pieced it together and I was able to hook in my custom functions! If anyone is wondering how to go about this a) avoid … Continue reading Conquering custom SQLite on Android
Well it’s that time – the iPad is about to be launched in 9 countries outside the USA and the question on everyones lips is “should I care?”. Whether or not you have an opinion you can be sure that it will be coming up in many conversations. Though I have followed the announcements with interest and have played with the devices in person my … Continue reading International iPad Launch
OK so not exactly newsworthy but for those that had not noticed it is a whole new year and (for those who celebrated the new millenium at 01/01/00) a new decade also. I’m not really one for new year resolutions but I do think it is a good chance to start new projects and to start afresh on old ones that have dropped by the … Continue reading Happy New Decade!
Andy.xyz 