All Posts

Karting, Motorsport

Karting catchup

by Colin BowenLeave a Comment on Karting catchup
Karting catchup

Thought I’d post my time-sheets from my most recent three karting sessions. Prior to this I had been going to Lakeside Karting about once a year for many years. Since it was getting a bit cold, I decided to try the indoor track at Rayleigh Karting Stadium. I had been there before many, many years ago, but the track layout has changed except for two corners, so no point comparing previous lap times. Essentially it’s a new track for me.

All sessions are 10 minutes.

Edit: I can’t figure out how to make the results sheets open full-size in a new window. If you want a copy, contact me and I will email you a link.

Autumn 2015.

2015-1x-Autumn RayleighI don’t remember much about the session now, but here are the highlights I wrote down at the time.

Session 1. 10 drivers, started 4th, finished 3rd, won fastest lap.

Session 2. 9 drivers, started 5th, finished 1st, won fastest lap.

Session 3. 10 drivers, started 11th, finished 4th. Very dirty racing from some drivers. Every time I overtook one car he would hit me and take me off on the next corner.

Session 4. 3 drivers, started 1st, finished 2nd. The other drivers, Jon and Tim, had been about ten times so far that year. Tom’s car was difficult to drive, to be fair. Jon weighed about 13lb (6kg) less than I did at the time.

Session 5. 3 drivers, started 3rd, finished 3rd. Worked on my technique for the bridge and first corner.

My fastest lap of the day 28.45.

 

Dec 2015.

2015-12-xx #1 Rayleigh

Session 1.

Sessions 1 and 2. I was the only driver.

Session 3. 2 drivers, finished 1st, fastest lap.

Session 4. 6 drivers, finished 1st, fastest lap.

Session 5. 6 drivers, finished 1st, fastest lap.

 

 

 

2015-12-xx #2 RayleighSession 6. 6 Drivers, finished 3rd, fastest lap. There was one driver who was very quick but not as fast as I was. Every time I pulled out to pass him he would drive me into and along the barrier to stop me from passing. I got fed up with this, and next time he moved right to force me into the barrier, I moved left and spun him out. Both of us got penalised one lap. I spoke to the marshal afterwards about it, and he wasn’t sympathetic. I didn’t pursue it; their track, their rules.

Session 7. 6 drivers, finished 1st, fastest lap.

Session 8. Just me. Good job too, I was pretty tired by now.

 

My fastest lap of the day, 28.99.

 

14th Jan 2016.

2016-01-14 #1 Rayleigh Session 1. Just me.

Session 2. 4 drivers, started 4th, leading after the first corner, finished 1st, fastest lap.

Session 3. 4 drivers, can’t remember where I started, finished 1st, fastest lap.

Session 4. 4 drivers, finished 1st, fastest lap.

Session 5. Just me.

 

 

2016-01-14 #2 Rayleigh

Sessions 6, and 7, just me.

My fastest lap of the day, 29.28. This got me to 30th fastest lap of the (short) year so far.

All IT, IT Tips

Projects in Google Keep and Google Drive

by Colin BowenLeave a Comment on Projects in Google Keep and Google Drive

I use Google Keep to keep track of thoughts, tasks and to-do lists, and reminders. If, like me, your Google Keep is becoming hard to manage then I have some ideas that you might like to try to keep more organised and efficient.

To give this some context, let me explain that I have adapted some methods from the Getting Things Done (GTD) productivity system to suit my needs. In GTD there is a concept of Projects and Next Actions. A Project is the thing you want to achieve (like “organise Emma’s birthday party”) and the “Next Action”, or “NA”, is the very next thing that can be done towards the project. There may be lots of things to be done on the project, like “send out invitations”, but the only thing that should be on your to-do list is the very next thing you need to do, such as “Call the play centre to check availability of dates”.

So, generally there are two types of projects, big projects and small projects. If you keep all these projects in Google Keep, you will find that you have a mass of Notes which are hard to organise and go through even if you’re using colours and labels. We need to keep Keep clean. So, here is my suggestion…

If a project has only a few steps then use a List with check-boxes and keep everything for that project in that list. Use colours and labels to organise as you would normally, but keep everything about that project in one Keep note.

Drive docKeeping a big or complicated project in Google Keep makes it hard to manage, especially if there is more than one thing that you could describe as a Next Action like “Call the play centre to check availability of dates” and “draw up a list of attendees”. Use a Google Docs (word processing) document in Google Drive to organise your project with notes and lists of things to do (use bullet-points). When you know what your Next Actions are, put each Next Action in its own Note in Google Keep and refer to the main project, such as “Draw up a list of attendees – see Google Drive ‘Birthday’ project”. And here’s the best bit…

You can add a link in the Google Keep note which will take you to the Google Drive Project. When you open the Google Keep note, you can click the link within it and it will open up the related project document in Google Drive, allowing you to note down your progress, review the project, or set a new Next Action. This link works on computers, tablets and phones; wherever you’re signed in to your Google Account.

Drive linkTo insert the link, go to the Google Drive document, highlight the entire URL link (the website address) and select Copy. Then open up the Google Keep note, and Paste the link into it.

It sounds more complicated than it is in practice. Once you’ve done it a few times it will seem easy. Your Google Keep will be less cluttered and you will be more efficient.

If you need any help with Google services, with computers and IT generally, or even entire organisational systems, please contact me using “Contact” at the top-right of this page or phone me on the numbers just below “Contact”.

All IT, IT Tips

How to backup Google Keep notes

by Colin Bowen7 Comments on How to backup Google Keep notes

UPDATE 2/5/2017: The method below doesn’t backup notes in Archive. In addition to the main notes section as described below, you have to also backup the Archive notes by going to the Archive section (at the bottom of the left slide-out menu), then follow the same process as below for the regular notes section.

Update 20/9/17: This is my site’s most popular page. If you find it helpful, please consider a small donation (see below) to encourage me to keep updating. Thanks.

I use Google Keep a lot. Notes are stored on Google’s servers. No doubt Google has backups, but what if something happens or I just permanently delete a note by mistake? It’s not easy to ask Google to recover it for me. Here’s a quick and simple way to backup all your Google Keep notes.

  1. On your PC, to to Google Keep and Select All notes by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl-A
  2. In the grey bar above the notes, click the three dots
  3. Select “Copy to Google Doc” and all the notes will be copied to a Google Drive/Docs file.

If you want to download a copy to keep locally (which I recommend), open the Google Doc, click File, Download As, and select your format of choice.

If you find any of my posts useful, please Like them or make a comment, link to them on social media, or make a donation below. Thanks for the support.


Donate Button with Credit Cards

All IT, Recent Jobs

Today at Colin Bowen IT Services

by Colin BowenLeave a Comment on Today at Colin Bowen IT Services

Working in the office today. Already been for my walk and coffee, so here’s the plan:

  • Replace the failing hard disk in Dell hard disk failurethis PC, and transfer all the data and software over to the new super-fast solid state hard disk. It will look exactly the same to the client, but boot around three times faster and be much faster generally, and have more storage space
  • Logging in to a computer (at a client’s house) to upgrade it to Windows 10
  • More remote support to fix Windows Updates which are stuck at some failed updates
  • Logging in to a business client to set up an email account in Outlook 365 on a new user account
  • With the remaining time, I’ll be working on other “work in progress” and returning calls to other people who need tech support

If you need tech support, (computer, tablet, and phone help), please contact me and I’ll be pleased to help.

All IT, Financial, IT News, Personal

26th Anniversary of self employment. Financial Services and IT Services.

by Colin BowenLeave a Comment on 26th Anniversary of self employment. Financial Services and IT Services.

family-222128_640Today is the 26th Anniversary of me becoming self employed. on 15th January 1990 I stopped working at a bank and became a self employed financial adviser. I had previously worked in pubs and clubs, and for the local education authority in the “computer lab” at the school where I was still a student. I kept up to date on computers and other IT and continued to support family, friends and colleagues.

mobile-971480_640Around ten years ago I started Colin Bowen IT Services, mainly as a way to fix more computers than I had access to at the time, and to generate a little extra income in my spare time (I didn’t have kids then, so I had spare time). I never intended it to become my main business, but over the years the IT services business has grown quite steadily, and I’m now at a point where I don’t have time to spend on both businesses and spend time with my family.

I’m giving up my financial adviser licences in April to develop my IT and computer services business. People can still come to me for financial services, and I will pass them on to other financial services companies that I have dealt with for years, and those companies will provide the advice.

So, I’d like to thank all my existing clients from both businesses. I hope you will continue to come to me for your IT services and financial services needs, and I’ll help you personally or point you towards trusted third parties who can help you. Of course, I also welcome new customers, so please tell people about me, and get in touch if you need help.

All IT, IT News, IT Tips

Quick Tip – get all my new posts delivered straight to your inbox

by Colin BowenLeave a Comment on Quick Tip – get all my new posts delivered straight to your inbox

Follow me to get get posts sent to your inbox If you can’t bear the thought of missing any of my extremely interesting posts, then you can easily subscribe to email updates. Just click on the Follow button at the bottom right of any page and input your email address. One confirmation email later, and you’ll get an email every time I post the this website.

All IT, IT Tips

Quick tip to make copied text match the format of the rest of the text

by Colin BowenLeave a Comment on Quick tip to make copied text match the format of the rest of the text

Do you ever copy and paste text from one place to another and find the formatting doesn’t match? Here’s a quick keyboard shortcut to make the copied text match the format of the rest of the document.

Highlight the text with the incorrect format, hit Ctrl-space. Done! Your copied text should now match the formatting of the rest of the document.

It works in email, word processing, websites, and almost all other software and applications.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

For other tips, click the IT Tips on the menu bar at the top of this page. For all IT posts, click All IT on the menu bar. To view the services I offer, click Services on the menu bar. Contact me if you you need IT support or services.

 

All IT, Recent Jobs

Advice on new monitor, new webcam, and new home phone on Canvey Island

by Colin BowenLeave a Comment on Advice on new monitor, new webcam, and new home phone on Canvey Island

New Webcam A new client called asking for advice on improving their computer setup at home. Their webcam microphone was faulty, their monitor was a little small for their impaired eyesight, and their home phones weren’t loud enough for their impaired hearing.

The new webcam was easy to recommend. I have been researching new monitors for myself, so I measured up their space and showed them how big various sizes of new monitor would be and we agreed which one to get, bearing in mind a high resolution could actually make the icons and text smaller.

I still have to research the home phone so I can get one that has the features they need and good consumer reviews from people with similar needs. Then I’ll phone them with my recommendation and agree how to proceed; either logging in to their computer to assist them with the online order, or ordering it myself. On delivery I will attend their home to set up the new equipment, test it, and show them how to use it.

If you need advice on hardware or equipment for your home or office, please get in touch.

This post is part of a series of “Recent Jobs” that can all be accessed using the “Recent Jobs” link in the menu above or by clicking here (opens in a new tab).

All IT, Recent Jobs

Email remote support

by Colin BowenLeave a Comment on Email remote support

icons-842848_640Happy New Year!

It was a hectic first day back in the office with a boiler service (let me know if you need someone good) and fridge/freezer delivery, but I did manage to help a couple of clients with email problems via remote support.

A small business client texted me because he hadn’t had email for a week. He has hosted business email from Fastshosts (meaning a paid-for email service, not free email like those provided by Gmail or his internet service provider), and used Incredimail software to access his emails. I’m no fan of Incredimail but he has used it for a number of years.

He suspected that the problem was with the Indredimail software that he has used for years to access his email (not my recommendation) so he uninstalled it. H couldn’t figure out how to access his Fasthosts email using Microsoft Mail on his PC. I logged in remotely and figured out the correct settings, then did some tests sending and receiving email to make sure it was all working.

The other client was a home user who had managed to lose his email icon after a Windows update. I didn’t know which software he was using to access his email, so I logged in to his computer to figure it out with him. He had been using BT Mail and accessing it with Internet Explorer, so I added a new shortcut to his desktop to make it easy to access his email again.

If you have problems with your email, or would like suggestions on a better email service, or advice on how to handle email more effectively, please get in touch. You can phone me on the numbers above-right of the page, comment below (it will be private if it contains personal information, or use the Contact menu item top-right of the page.

 

IT Tips

Tip for fast account switching in Chrome now the user icons gone (again)

by Colin Bowen1 Comment on Tip for fast account switching in Chrome now the user icons gone (again)

Old User IconI wrote in January 2015 here about Google removing the user avatar icons from the top-left of Chrome which allowed fast switching between Google (Gmail) accounts (and having multiple accounts open at once). Included in my post was a way to switch back to the old icons. Unfortunately, I’ve just noticed that Google has changed it again and I can’t figure out a way to change it back. However, I have a tip to make it easier to switch between the accounts.

New User TabLook for the new user tab at the top right of Chrome, right-click it, and then select the account you want to open. This should open a new instance of Chrome signed in with the other user.

If you have come here looking for a way to be signed in to two or more Google accounts at once, please let me know and I will reply with a tutorial to set it up (if I get round to it). Alternatively, if you’re in a rush, contact me and we can set up a remote support session and I can do it for you.