Wow!  Friday already and I’ve been back at work for two whole weeks.  Even if I weren’t counting I would know its Friday because my work practise; papers, to do lists, emails etc, are everywhere!  It’s time to tidy up!

  • I need to review my to-do list (I’m a bit lost, it must be Friday)
  • I need to file my emails (what? I have enough emails that I’m losing them – what a good problem to have!)
  • I need to backup my computer (what? I’ve done enough work lately that it would be a complete pain to lose stuff – what a good problem…)
  • I need to upgrade my wordpress installation to the latest one (shhh, don’t tell the hackers)
  • I need to sort out/do my business development (pushed to the backburner a bit, while I get some paid work done – what a good problem…)

I’ve installed a lot of new software onto my new laptop this week.  It’s interesting to do, because I’m doing it as cheaply as possible and I’m having to work out how to do things I would normally do as easily as falling off a log – convert pdf’s to jpg, insert pages into a pdf, measure other people’s drawings, draw up shading etc.  Here’s what I’ve installed;

  • Gimp (processing pdf’s into formats I can use and modify)
  • Foxit (reading pdf’s and measuring too)
  • Sketchup (the free one, when I really need it I’ll download the pro version with 8 hours free use, and then I’ll probably pay for it)
  • Autodesk Trueview (transition software until all of my drawings are in sketchup)
  • I’ve also had a good time with solar tools.  (Good enough that I will probably make a contribution.)

I guess it’s in keeping with my philosophy about power tools;  The first of a type of tool I buy will be the cheapest I can get – if it breaks I’ve obviously used it enough to justify spending on a good one.

Hey!  No-one’s gotten back to me about that fabulous opportunity I talked about last week.  Maybe this week?