Craig Dearden | Online

Queue Jumping Madness

Craig — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:02:06 +0000

I’ve just read this on PaddyPower’s website, thought it was brilliant!!

We’re Lovin It’
Like many others, we abhor people that skip the queue. For that brief moment we wish all sorts of evil on that person and call him/her every offensive name we can think of. However, dear rude folk, it’s probably unwise to skip the queue at a McDonald’s drive-through. A North Carolina woman who drove directly to the pick-up window and tried to order her meal became involved in a standoff with staff. Twenty minutes later Evangeline Lucca was shot with a stun gun which we can all agree she deserved.
—————————-

All joking aside, I totally agree with it! Karma hits you biatch!

Long time no blog

Craig — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:46:44 +0000

Highland Park Thor

Well well, what do we have here? A blog no less!

Thought it’s been a while, so thought I’d better get my finger out!

I’ve been working, working, working, pretty much all the time since the last post in September (Last year)….

We (I say we – I mean The Green Welly Stop), have some interesting bottles of whisky added to the site – the most recent one is the new Highland Park – THOR. Just stunning. For £120 though – it does cost a wee bitty much (for my budget anyhow)!

We’ve also got a nice Bowmore Horse Trials – the 2002 bottling, available at a penny short of £1000….!

What else have I been doing I hear you ask? Well – we’ve been bring up our Daughter… Carmen (as I’m sure you all know).. she’s actually just been given a certificate for a Poem recital – considering she’s only 5, and she’s learned (on her own I may add) a Scottish Poem – The Snawman by JK Annand. The first time we heard it was in a telephone call to her Granny, and we were kinda amazed to say the least. We’ve managed to upload a version of it to Youtube – so have a look for yourself!

What else… well – I’ve completed a couple of websites in the meantime.
A fantastic website for business services – Diverse Undertakings Ltd

Diverse Undertakings Ltd is a business advisory service – we not only investigate and analyse human factors in business, we also offer an implementation service so that what is recommended is also applied. Our fees are sensible and most often represent a small percentage of the business improvement that is possible through our reviews.

I’ve also been working on Glengarry House’s website – Tyndrum Accommodation on the West Highland Way, and I’m currently working on their self catering lodge website too.

Other than that, Christmas, New Year, and loads more…!

Have a great 2012 peeps!
Craig

Hurricane Katia arrives in Scotland

Craig — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 19:24:14 +0000

some ichle waves...

We always get the back end of what the Yanks get, a load of wind.
And rain.
I took Carmen to school this morning and I was like a drowned rat/cat/dog when I got back home… I also went to the Post Office to collect an inconveniently missed parcel, and I was already drowned then!!
Damned Hurricane..

However – I can understand certain places closing, Cheryl’s work closed at 12noon because of the wind – but that is 150ft high, and kinda understandable…
On the other side of the coin – Edinburgh Zoo closed… I just want to know if anyone was brave enough to visit in the first place!
Hillend ski slope closed – why on earth did they open..?! people don’t ski in this weather do they>??? really?

Carnage in the Garden

I had to then close our back garden for playing – it was horrendous – we had houses blown down, hammocks blowing away, trampline bouncing… wheelbarrow’s upside down… As for the furniture.. I can’t actually remember seeing that… eek..!
Not long after that it was time to go and get Carmen from School – and god knows why the teacher decides that she’s going to take the longest time ever to come out… just urry up.. and of course – Carmen’s at the back of the line!! Typical!
Bike with Carmen in the Trailer was a nightmare riding back – there was a gust at one point which just stopped me dead. eek!
Thankfully it wasn’t pishing down at that point, just blowy!…

Relaxation now…
)

School and Work

Craig — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 19:36:20 +0000

Well, that’s Carmen been at School for 18 Days – 8 of those were only half days, and the other 10, Full Days.
She seems to still be enjoying it – the first week she had an invitation for a birthday party! bloomin eck!
Then last week – another invitation – it’s Birthday Crazy!!!
There must be something with September babies.. hmm – 9 months after Christmas/New Year… no further comments required I guess!

Olivia's Party

So today was the first of those parties mentioned above.. even Carmen’s teacher – Mrs Macgregor was there too… however – she does have a child in the same primary 1 (albeit a different class), so I guess we can’t complain! lol.
£125 for a party, which includes a Circus Theme – with a bouncy castle and “fully trained” party co-ordinators.
The place is run by the local council, so I guess it wasn’t too bad!
We’ve got a £5 off voucher if we have Carmen’s party there!
They had parents up dancing too, (thankfully I moved the other way when Carmen came running), and the pic you see is of Cheryl and Carmen joining in the fun…
Carmen did have a wee moan, and decided she wasn’t going to play in the party games, which was a bit annoying, however – she ultimately doesn’t “really” know her friends yet… give it time.

Carmen’s birthday is thankfully a couple of months away yet, so (cough) plenty of time to organise!

Online Retailer of the Year Nominee

I’ve had mega work to do over the last week, with Google changing and updating requirements for their Google Shopping Feed, however (hopefully) most of the whisky side of things have been completed – it’s just the rest of the shops to go now…
PLUS i’ve got the boss asking when xy and z products are going to be online… hmm. we’ll see… !
On a HUGELY positive note, I totally didn’t know until I decided to open this month’s Whisky Magazine, that ~~my site,~~ The Green Welly Stop’s Whisky Galore was nominated for online retailer of the year! – wow how awesome is that – well chuffed to bits with that one!
Let’s hope the bosses are too… loverly.
Icons of Whisky winners for 2012 – next year???

Things to do before you pop it.

Craig — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 18:01:38 +0000

Well well…
I have to totally applaud the guy who drove his car up Snowdon, yes it might have been irresponsible, he might have had an accident, but he didn’t.. He drove HIS car up a hill.. there’s a railway up there FFS, it’s not as if it’s 20,000m up!
His excuse? It was on his list of things to do before he dies. Fair Play. He’ll probably get community service, good on ya dude.
Personally I think He was pissed as a fart.
Mind you – he would have had to walk down from there at whatever time in the morning he decided to do “it”.
AND it was a Frontera!

However – it all leads on to those things you want to do before you pop it.
Top of my list? (Not that I’ve had time to put a list together…)

Rio

But one place I’d like to go before I leave the planet is Rio De Janeiro.
Now there is a place that looks amazing. (to me anyways.)
The pyramids? hmm – not too sure… if I found some amazing treasure or something, that would be worth it.. so no – it doesn’t make my list.
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef? – I don’t think I could go swimming/snorkelling to view it, so it would be a long way to view it from a glass bottom boat, (or however it works).
Outer Space? That’s got to be up there too, not many people can lay claim to that piece of shenanigans,…
U2 in Dublin, done it, twice.
Hong Kong? hmm, now that would be pretty cool, as long as there’s no Tsunami ensuing….

Skydiving? Nope, scared of heights.

So there you have it – naff all much I’d like to do (as such…).
Just take me to Rio.
)

Another phone blog

Craig — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 21:34:26 +0000

Well decisions decisions decisions – to read or not to read – the alternative is to play drop7 or indeed play Words with Friends – it’s o e of those annoying decisions –

The book is “GAME OF THRONES” the book on which the fantastic TV series is based – however – what is really annoying – I know whats going to happen!!! I knew I should have read the books first (I probably would have – had I known they had been written!)

Drop7 is a really addictive little game – ONCE you realise (and work out) how to play it – I taught Fi it too – it’s addictive.

WWF as it is affectionately known is Words with Friends – much like scrabble – and absolutely better in every way – I have the ad free version on my phone – it is also available to play on Facebook – but there is no way to remove the ads – so it’s pish!!! iPhone version wins all the time!!!!

So – the blog seemed to have taken over my bedtime reading/playing – but I may fit a wee WWF and a Drop7 in before sleepy .

After all – i AM back to work tomorrow!!!
Wooohooooo

Ah well – Back to Work time again

Craig — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 16:26:28 +0000

Yup – It’s that time again – after 2 weeks off work, it’s back to the grindstone tomorrow…
I am however one of these sad people who love their work, it’s (at the end of the day) nigh on my dream job, so I really can’t complain.

The last couple of weeks I’ve been getting Carmen settled in to her School, she’s just started Primary 1, half days for the first week, and full days last week and from now on.
Of course – this means I’ve had the days to myself, Cheryl says she can’t wait for me to stop spending again, and get back to work..
I’ve bought a new Graphics Card, and also a new monitor, (I’ve also bought some more memory for the PC, but she doesn’t know that…. (yet..) ), So when I’m at home, yes, I’ve been dabbling in work as per usual, I can’t help myself, the Green Welly Website is ultimately my baby… and is difficult for me to leave it be.. as it’s difficult to delegate my tasks to people who (no offence intended) don’t have the “internet” as their first job, nor is it the first thing they do in the morning, yup folks, the first thing I do in the morning is check my email on my iPhone, it might be sad, but I love it. The second thing I do is go down the stairs and put my PC on, go and make a cuppa, (normally), then head to the washroom…

So yes – Tomorrow is back to work, and I have 3 monitors, up my productivity they say… hahaha – sorry – had to laugh, I try to cram 100 hours a week into 40 or so at the moment…
Google Documents, Out of Stocks, In Stocks, Google XML sheets (for 3 shops), XML sheets for whisky marketplace, XML sheets for Whisky finder, and Sitemaps for 3 sites, on top of Newsletters, Facebook, Twitter, Linkbuilding, Marketing, on top of Whisky Bottlings (Tyndrum Gold), on top of P&L sheets, Spreadsheets, figures, and I’m sure this list is not exhaustive..
Oh – and I’ve also taken on board the buying of our Rare Whiskies.. eek!

So yes, back to work..!
Wooohooo! lol
There’s not many people that can (or will) say that!

PS – if you’d like to Buy our Rare Tyndrum Gold Whisky – a Limited Edition of 600 bottles – Have a looky here, we’re expecting them in store very very soon!

Carmen came back from her Granny’s today, and I was coming in the door, and I asked her to go and turn on the PC, she switched the switches on, pushed the power on button, and she said
“Daddy – You’ve got THREE – Why do you need THREE???!!”

Well – for one – it looks flippin cool..
What inspired the love for multi-display setup..? – I blame Neo.

Three monitor setup – nearly

Craig — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 15:13:42 +0000

Scan Computers

Well, it’s been a few years on the wish list, but over the last few weeks, it’s finally becoming a reality..
Three Monitors..

The only thing I’m waiting on now is the graphics card – it’s been ordered – it was due to be released end August, however there’s been a delay! grr!
I got the third monitor from Scan – a (i have to say) brilliant website, the tracking is fantastic, 100% true tracking indeed, absolutely brilliant. Well Done Scan. They even emailed me (and text) to advise that the monitor would be delivered today between 10.59 and 11.59am (yes – it’s Saturday today). Awesome.

I sooo wish the graphics card was available on the Scan website, now that would have me up and running today!

3 Monitor Stand

Next on my wishlist is a 3 Monitor Stand, from XFX, at £300 it’s definitely a xmas pressie request! lol
The downside is that I’ll need to get a further monitor, as my 7 year old SONY monitor is 1. a wee bitty worse for wear, and 2. It doesn’t have VESA connection mounts for the stand (scunner)!

I also treated my computer to more memory too, so it’s now running at a full on 8GIG of ram, mega!!
(Don’t tell the Mrs…)
As usual – my memory came from Crucial – the Memory Experts.

As one of my friends on facebook said:
“Now that is gangster”
Loved that comment – Nice one Kim!

Another tv series cancelled

Craig — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 22:20:28 +0000

Chase (2010)

This is my first post from my iPhone – cool!

One of the most annoying things on TV is when a series you like is cancelled – this one is called Chase – I’m surprised it was picked up by Sky – it just started here in the UK last week. The characters were good, the stories were good – all in all a really good programme – why cancel???

Damned Yanks!
At least wait until UK audiences get their fill before cancelling!

What I do love though is downloading – eztv.it for All my TV fixes – from Chase mentioned above, to Bones, to Dr Who to Stargate….. Vuze is my client of choice – and EZTV and VTV and also FXG are my verified uploaders of choice!

I guess that’s it for now!

Carmen, School and MTBs

Craig — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 12:59:07 +0000

Yeah Yeah, It’s been ages since I posted on my blog….

However – time is right to start again.
What happened to the running… Well, I’m going to blame a cold, runny nose, summer cold, then a sore back and then a can’t be arsed attitude set in.
So there you go – running binned.

Carmen going to School - First Day

I said at the start of the Summer that I may well go back to my roots and get a MTB again… and it wasn’t until I mentioned it a month or so later to a certain “Lesley” that I decided to F**k it and actually get one… – in her words – “JUST GO AND GET ONE!!!”
So – after a few sales on ebay, I had enough money to go and get one…

Of course the Summer brought with it all manner of things – the biggest of all – the end of the Summer – Carmen goes to School..
and last week – yup – she started School – {scary icon here}
{oops – just looked at the clock – better go and get said child from School… and get dinner, and post etc etc etc}

1 hour later, we’re home, had last nights leftovers for lunch, collected a Steak Pie from George the local butcher who was ever so impressed with Carmen and her uniform!

Anyways, dropped Carmen off at School this morning – 8.55am – just made it – after miscalculating how slow Carmen would walk…
She lined up great, however there was a few screaming little ‘uns, bless….
(boys too – man up)!!!
Once again – there was no wave back – she just got on with it – well done gal. )

23-08-2011 bike ride

I came back and decided to go out on the MTB, so planned my route, replied to a few emails, generally faffed around until 10.30am, then decided to go..
Tracksuit bottoms on, trainers on, MTB jacket on, gloves on too…
mental note to self – get a water bottle holder (preferably one that fits a Contigo Travel Bottle)

Off I trot, down along the riverside pathway, past the damn/waterfall (this is normally as far as we go when it’s a family outing) I then continued on into Newmilns, then the ascent started… holy crap, I was soooo unfit… I was nearly half way around but decided to keep going – even though I’d never been that way, and didn’t have a clue how far it was back – and how many more climbs there were…. 1st gear is oh so good, but bloody hell oh so hard!! Not sure what the climb was overall, but I could clearly see Carmen’s school down in the village!
Then I got a break, downhill section through the forest no less – absolutely awesome – I so need to visit the Forest of Ae or somewhere that has MTB trails….!
It was then down onto the pathway again, and down to the entrance to the Lanfine Estate – there was a gate for pedestrians (that can JUST fit through (as it won’t open fully) so I had to lift my bike over the side fence! pfft!

After that is was just a wee cycle along the main road home..
shower and I’d love to say bed, but it was off out again to get Carmen (when I started the blog)

I’m now off to watch Thundercats with Carmen…
I may even try for a nap!
)