Main Journal

Robert's guide dog training diary

Sun, 02 Aug 2009 11:42:00 -0000

In August 2007 I joined what would turn out to be one of the longest waiting lists I have probably ever been on - the list for getting a guide dog. Now, in summer 2009 I am about to embark on what could be, if all goes well, a quite life-changing experience. Over four or five weeks from the 10th August onwards I will be training with my first ever guide dog, Vance - and I want to share the experience with you.

I therefore plan to post both written and audio diary entries on this website as often as I am able to, charting my progress form complete beginner to ... well, not-so-complete beginner. To see the special Guide Dog Training page please visit:
http://www.rjnet.co.uk/journal/guidedog.php

High Speed 1

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 00:25:00 -0000

Robert takes a ride on the Southeastern High Speec preview service from St Pancras to Ebbsfleet and back.

Eighteen months after High Speed 1 and St Pancras International opened to fare-paying passengers, a "preview service" has begun on part of the planned domestic route, using using new Hitatchi "Shinkansen-style" trains, has begun operation.

With a free day last week, and not much else to do, I decided to take a ride on this new service, to beat the crowds and get a sneak preview of what to expect when a full service enters operation in December this year. The trains are certainly quite struking, particularly when waiting in the otherwise uncluttered eastern side of the St Pancras complex. The off-peak services from there to Ebbsfleet are certainly not oversubscribed, with a very high staff-passenger ratio, however I'm given to understand the the morning and evening peak services - to, and from, Ashford international respectively - are regularly packed out.

The journey in either direction is pretty uneventful in terms of scenery - the vast majority of it being spent in a series of tunnels, either under East London or the Thames. Being my first time on the part of High Speed 1 which used to be called CTRL 2 (ie: petween St Pancras and Ebbsfleet), Both the new station at Stratford International and the section close to theQEII bridge at Thurrock pass in a flash, and before one knows it Ebbsfleet arrives.

It'll be interesting to see the full service when December comes around, and training begin running from Folkestone, Ramsgate and the Medway towns. In the meantime, for the fastest ride you'll get anywhere else on the British domestic rail system, I thoroughly recommend a trip to Ebbsfleet. Off-Peak tickets costs about £12 return, and can - with a little explanation - be bought from the FCC ticket office at St Pancras (ask for an off-peak return to Ebbsfleet International via High Speed One).

Developing Robert Johnson Online

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:39:00 -0000

A couple of months after the new version of Robert Johnson Online went live, Robert looks at some challenges overcome, and some more still to come.Tending to my website is fast becoming a luxury of time and effort that is difficult to afford. It has never ceased to amaze me how, on many many occasions, having sat down to correct an error in my site's menu, or to upload some photographs, I find that half a day has passed by. So it is today - I started this morning, reasonably early, trying to automate the posting of journal articles with the integration of "Pivot" into Robert Johnson Online", only to find hurdles after hurdles placed in my way. First it was the FTP program that wouldn't transfer, then another prgram which refused to show the contents of folders. Finally it is the complete refusal of some pages to show in the correct format. I certainly can't claim to be an expert in these things, and generally make up much of the HTML, CSS and the like as I go along, however I did naively think that this task might be capable of being accomplished in a little less time than has already elapsed - and I still have a way to go.

Over eighteen months ago I finally decided to make a concerted effort at renewing my rather faded website. After several years of paying for web hosting, and not doing a vast amount with it, I thought that it was time to create a place for my photographs and other odds-and-ends of news. The original design process went fairly well, but then the pressures of work, and sailing - not to mention the need to sleep every now and again - got the better of me, and progress stalled. Issues with the menu, with the display of stories on the front page, and the CSS formatting of the main body of text took much longer to resolve than I expected, and, quite frankly, I found better things yto do.

In early 2009 however, I thought it was high time to, regardless of the half-finished state of the new site, giving it an airing, whilst finally once and for all, banishing the old pages. This process went relatively well, and now I have a website which I can be relatively proud of - notwithstanding the teething issues, including a clunky process for adding photograph pages, and the problems I am experiencing with the journal.

So, the point of posting this article? Well, it's two-fold really. Firstly, as a matter of practicality, it is easier to refine the templates for the journal when there is already content in the pages. And secondly, I just wanted to show that, whilst several areas of the site still appear unfinished, I really am getting there! ... fingers crossed.

Robert

New Journal

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 14:55:00 -0000

A new journal feature is being added to Robert Johnson Online, using the "Pivot" interface. During this period some teething problems may occure. I apologise for these, and suggest that until they are fixed you continue to use the other pages on Robert Johnson Online.