Pupdate

The weather has been pretty miserable, so long walks at the weekend have been into town rather than out on the fields, and coats have been needed for the latter weeks.

Milo’s chemo has continued with a few little hiccups caused by low neutrophils, so even more trips to the vets :( But he’s otherwise happy and energetic, which is great.

iPad 7 Mini – one month on

I’ve had my new iPad for a little over a month now. The main positive is 5G cellular connectivity, which seems to make a positive difference on train rides into London and back.

The main disappointment is battery life. I bought a new Mini because my Mini 5’s battery is a bit tired after 5y, and I’m not sure that the new one is actually much better :( It feels like Apple have made the wrong trade off in terms of performance versus endurance, and I’m quite tempted to get a new battery for my Mini 5 whilst they’re still available.

Having two iPad Minis around the house has made a difference though… The older one now has permanent residence in the lounge, so I have an iPad to hand more readily now, which is usually better than using my phone.

New router

I got a GL.iNet Flint2 to upgrade my home network, and that’s gone in alongside some other tweaks and refinements. I’m pretty happy with the improved performance and stability. More in my review post.

New glasses

After spending most of my adult life with a stable prescription I’ve hit that awkward stage where my distance vision is improving, but my near vision is getting worse. So each time I go for an eye test it’s a new prescription, and I need new glasses[1]. Since switching to varifocals it’s harder to notice the change, but it’s still happening.

This time around I couldn’t get the Kodak Easy2 lenses I chose last time, so I opted instead for the ‘Varifocal Supreme HD’. They’re taking some getting used to, but if anything they’re better for intermediate use than my last pair. My only complaint is some distortion when using my phone/tablet up close.

Solar Diary

November was pretty bleak :( Almost 20% down on last year.

Note

[1] I’d generally choose a re-glaze over buying new, but I’ve been finding that new glasses from Glasses Direct are (substantially) cheaper than getting a re-glaze :/ Also all roads in that industry seem to lead back to Luxottica, so it’s not like there’s much actual choice.