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Around 20th December: I'd been getting nagging emails from Synology about a security update that needed to be applied to the NAS. Except that it turned out the OS version I was running wasn't affected, but I applied the feature update instead. One of the "features" included removal of support for AAC encoding, which is the default format used by iTunes (or at least it was, when I ripped my CD collection about 15 years ago.) Rolls eyes. Installs Plex, which is the suggested workaround. Plex has various idiosyncrasies, mostly around OS permissions but also, more fundamentally, including that it doesn't see the WiiM mini. It turns out the WiiM's own app can see the NAS and play the files, but to be playable via all playes and on all devices, some further work will still be required.
The journey up: I make a good start and the traffic keeps moving. The slowest part is through Birmingham, where the M42 is slow and the HS2-related roadworks haven't been shut down, but overall it's one of the smoother journeys I've had. I did consider using the train for this journey, for the first time since the pandemic, but I didn't fancy putting all my trust in Avanti to get me there. At some point in Cheshire, I bump over a piece of road that is missing its top surface, and warning lights come on in the car. Hypothesising that the icon refers to tyre pressure, I keep going more modestly until the next services, where I confirm this in the manual, check the pressure, reckon it is OK although perhaps a little low, attempt to recalibrate, and keep going. The recalibration doesn't work and the warning comes on again after about 20 minutes, but I'm reasonably confident there's nothing serious.
Leaks: Dad is fine, but admits that there has been a water leak in the downstairs loo. He has had this fixed, but it has damaged skirting/flooring, and he hasn't had that fixed yet. I hope it looks worse than it is, but when I ask if he's treated it with anything, he looks blank, so black mould killer is added to the shopping list, because I'm not convinced it is just staining.
The War Games in colour: I enjoyed this. Like The Daleks in colour, as the story progressed, I found the newly added incidental music more intrusive, but I wonder if it is used partly to paper over the joins. Originally, The War Games was a very long story, and the editing down seems to make sense. Although I enjoy the additional material, and in particular the dial that can't make up its mind between 1970 and 1980, the purist in me disapproves of the insertion of newer figures as Patrick Troughton refuses to make a selection on his regeneration.
Christmas Day: Although Dad has got a bigger and more awkward turkey crown than in previous years, the dinner still comes off well, as usual. The weather is dull but more or less dry, so we get to take a constitutional. Later, we watch Joy to the World. I'm never all that enthusiastic about the Christmas specials, but note the name of Steve Moffat appears, so I'm more hopeful, and it's a good story, although you have to be paying attention throughout for it to make sense. I was pleased to see Anita offered a job at the Time Hotel (although is that a good thing?). Later, we watch Yes, Minister: Party Games, recorded from the previous evening. It's still as good as ever.
Boxing Day: Mostly a rinse-and-repeat of Christmas Day, although without Doctor Who and instead watching Hercule Poirot's Christmas, which is about as ludicrous as it gets, but with David Suchet and the rest, it's so well done.
The journey home: I am on call, and the phone rings at about 01:45, so I get a lousy night and a later start than I would have liked. We have reinflated the tyres and I recalibrate again, so I need to keep to 60mph or below for the first half hour. Unfortunately, this is the only stretch of clear motorway for most of the journey. As I get my lunch to eat later, the signs warn of a 10 minute delay around the M62; by the time I rejoin the motorway, this has been updated to 30 minutes, and in practice it's rather longer than that. It has been dull and is getting more foggy; eventually, I stop for lunch. The M6 Toll is clear, and around Birmingham, the M42 is slow, but not terrible. But the M40 is also slow, and by now it's getting dark. Shortly before the Oxford junction, an HGV parked on the hard shoulder with its hazard lights flashing, suddenly decides to rejoin the carriageway, as if I wasn't there. The driver either hasn't seen me or doesn't care, and I stop when it becomes clear that if I don't, he will crash into me sideways, but I am furious. Of course, the A34 is pretty solid all the way to Abingdon, and even the M4 is busy. It could have been worse - I think there were at least three points where I noticed the empty carriageway in the opposite direction, finally terminated by emergency lights and a long tail of stationary traffic - but it is by far the worst journey I have had for many years. Perhaps by next year the trains will be more reliable.
The journey up: I make a good start and the traffic keeps moving. The slowest part is through Birmingham, where the M42 is slow and the HS2-related roadworks haven't been shut down, but overall it's one of the smoother journeys I've had. I did consider using the train for this journey, for the first time since the pandemic, but I didn't fancy putting all my trust in Avanti to get me there. At some point in Cheshire, I bump over a piece of road that is missing its top surface, and warning lights come on in the car. Hypothesising that the icon refers to tyre pressure, I keep going more modestly until the next services, where I confirm this in the manual, check the pressure, reckon it is OK although perhaps a little low, attempt to recalibrate, and keep going. The recalibration doesn't work and the warning comes on again after about 20 minutes, but I'm reasonably confident there's nothing serious.
Leaks: Dad is fine, but admits that there has been a water leak in the downstairs loo. He has had this fixed, but it has damaged skirting/flooring, and he hasn't had that fixed yet. I hope it looks worse than it is, but when I ask if he's treated it with anything, he looks blank, so black mould killer is added to the shopping list, because I'm not convinced it is just staining.
The War Games in colour: I enjoyed this. Like The Daleks in colour, as the story progressed, I found the newly added incidental music more intrusive, but I wonder if it is used partly to paper over the joins. Originally, The War Games was a very long story, and the editing down seems to make sense. Although I enjoy the additional material, and in particular the dial that can't make up its mind between 1970 and 1980, the purist in me disapproves of the insertion of newer figures as Patrick Troughton refuses to make a selection on his regeneration.
Christmas Day: Although Dad has got a bigger and more awkward turkey crown than in previous years, the dinner still comes off well, as usual. The weather is dull but more or less dry, so we get to take a constitutional. Later, we watch Joy to the World. I'm never all that enthusiastic about the Christmas specials, but note the name of Steve Moffat appears, so I'm more hopeful, and it's a good story, although you have to be paying attention throughout for it to make sense. I was pleased to see Anita offered a job at the Time Hotel (although is that a good thing?). Later, we watch Yes, Minister: Party Games, recorded from the previous evening. It's still as good as ever.
Boxing Day: Mostly a rinse-and-repeat of Christmas Day, although without Doctor Who and instead watching Hercule Poirot's Christmas, which is about as ludicrous as it gets, but with David Suchet and the rest, it's so well done.
The journey home: I am on call, and the phone rings at about 01:45, so I get a lousy night and a later start than I would have liked. We have reinflated the tyres and I recalibrate again, so I need to keep to 60mph or below for the first half hour. Unfortunately, this is the only stretch of clear motorway for most of the journey. As I get my lunch to eat later, the signs warn of a 10 minute delay around the M62; by the time I rejoin the motorway, this has been updated to 30 minutes, and in practice it's rather longer than that. It has been dull and is getting more foggy; eventually, I stop for lunch. The M6 Toll is clear, and around Birmingham, the M42 is slow, but not terrible. But the M40 is also slow, and by now it's getting dark. Shortly before the Oxford junction, an HGV parked on the hard shoulder with its hazard lights flashing, suddenly decides to rejoin the carriageway, as if I wasn't there. The driver either hasn't seen me or doesn't care, and I stop when it becomes clear that if I don't, he will crash into me sideways, but I am furious. Of course, the A34 is pretty solid all the way to Abingdon, and even the M4 is busy. It could have been worse - I think there were at least three points where I noticed the empty carriageway in the opposite direction, finally terminated by emergency lights and a long tail of stationary traffic - but it is by far the worst journey I have had for many years. Perhaps by next year the trains will be more reliable.