John Large .co.uk

Quick update on current Projects

5th May 20105th May 2010 John Large Leave a comment

Just a really quick post to let you know what I’m working on at the moment. Koolbadges is a full time development project. Now that we are so busy on the site I’m constantly tweaking the site, running queries, optimizing queries and tables and generally trying to make the site as fast as possible. With around 6000 unique visitors every day it really has become a full time occupation, however I have a few other projects int he pipeline.

iPrint Images is a Photography prints website selling photography prints online. It’s our next major project, and whilst the site is live & online, we are still developing the site and adding loads of Vicki’s prints to it. Nice to have something different to work on so excpect big changes in the coming months. Read More....

Time for Something New

19th October 200919th October 2009 John Large Leave a comment

Well it has been a crazy month of new things. Firstly the month has seen me in and out of the doctors with headaches, which we have concluded is down to stress, and a weak right eye which is being irritated by using a screen all day. So I now have two pairs of posh designer glasses to wear which has already made a big difference, meaning I can see my iPhone & netbook and all other screens alot more clearly.

To go with the new eyewear, I finally invested in a North Face hardcore waterproof with zip out fleece which cost me so much money it makes my eyes water thinking about it, but I’ve wanted the jacket and the fleece for so long, and I got a good deal on the pair so I now have them. Read More....

Tomtom app for iphone – first impressions

26th August 200926th August 2009 John Large Leave a comment

Yesterday I grabbed a copy of the tomtom gps app fron the iTunes store to test with my iPhone. I’ve been a long time tomtom gps user and currently have a tomtom go in the car. The promise of similar functionality on the iPhone coupled with the inteligent route functionality to find the shortest & fastest route made this app a must for my iPhone.

First impressions of the app Are mixed. The gps signal isn’t great on the iPhone, and the app isn’t as responsive or fast when compared with the tontom go. However the functionality is complete and the app has much more functionality than the recently updated tomtom go software. Read More....

Samsung n110 Netbook – 2 months in.

16th August 20094th January 2017 John Large 1 Comment

Well I’m now in the second month of ownership and I still love the Samsung N110. This machine has completely changed the way I browse then Internet, and the fact that most of the things I do online are web based such as Twitter, Gmail, iPlayer and reading news and blogs, the Netbook is an ideal partner.

I was sceptical from the start with regards to quoted battery life, but I’ve got to admit, even with normal usage on battery with brightness adjusted to my lining and iTunes either playing music or downloading podcasts in the background, I still manage in excess of 8 hours battery life from a single charge. I now find that If I charge the netbook overnight, I can do all my computing on it the following day without the need for a power outlet. The powe consumption and battery life is amazing, and although the system may be limited from a processor power point of view, it is more than sufficient for editing photos in Picassa or Photoshop, and writing php in Dreamweaver. Read More....

A Year Without Spending – Day 54 – Still not bought anything

2nd March 200918th July 2017 John Large Leave a comment

As anyone who follows the blog will have realised, I haven’t been posting much on the blog. This isnt because I have forgotten about it, its just that when you spend every day not spending money, you do very little that’s worth discussing in a public forum. Sure we go on a daily walk in the countryside, and we keep the business ticking over, but now I’ve made all the cutbacks in spending I can, and tend not to buy anything, even food most of the time, there is very little to talk about. I’m glad I’m still carrying out the experiemnt, but with the exception of the odd free daytrip I’ve been like a hermit, working alot from home and saving money to pay off my numerous student debts. Read More....

A Year Without Spending – Day 31-41 – Ten Days off from the blog, much to report.

17th February 200918th July 2017 John Large Leave a comment

Well like I say, it’s been 10 whole days since my last post on here. I’ve had loads of stuff to do over the past few weeks which has included saving heavily for our Landrover (we got rid of our spanking new car at the beginning of the year in favour of getting a quality used car). This was for two reasons, firstly the new car thing just wasn’t us, whilst we had no trouble with it, and it was great to drive, it just didn’t suit us, and the depreciation was becoming sickening. Secondly, we are planning on travelling around Scotland this summer, and we need something a little more rugged than a VW, so the Land Rover it is. The not spending has allowed us to put a lot of money aside for the Land Rover and it will be great to buy it eventually (note at the start of this thing I Stated that we would buy a car this year, and it was exempt from the experiment). Read More....

A Year Without Spending – Day 28-30 – Liverpool trip & Podcasts

7th February 200918th July 2017 John Large Leave a comment

Thursday saw us taking a train to Liverpool to see some ‘capital of culture’ culture. When we lived in St Helens when I was younger and more handsome we would take the train to Liverpool all the time, but since moving to Scotland & Manchester for the better part of 7 years Liverpool fell out of favour with our more ‘Cosmopolitan’ tastes in cities. Vicki & I both remarked on the train that it must be 6 years since we took the train to liverpool, which is a long time for someone who used to spend every day in the city. Read More....

A Year Without Spending – Day 25-27 – Free Activities to keep me occupied

4th February 200918th July 2017 John Large Leave a comment

Well I’m as good as a month into the project and it’s already getting a little tough. I need new socks badly, which I should have bought before starting the project. I’ve read most of the books I had backlogged so it’s a library job for them. We are also getting a little bored not spending money. Vicki by default isn’t spending, probably in sympathy, but as a result we have become like hermits, only leaving the house to go for a walk or to grab groceries. There is our daily journey to the post office to post out orders from Koolbadges but apart from that we do nothing. We where going to start going swimming as we live oposite a huge park with a leisure centre in the middle, however they have a problem with the filters int he pool and refuse to fix it so that is out of the question. Read More....

A Year Without Spending – Day 21-24 – Old Friends & No Spending on anything but food

1st February 200918th July 2017 John Large Leave a comment

Now that I'm 100% healthy again, the spending on medicine has stopped, and fingers crossed I'll stay healthy for the rest of the year as I'm rarely ill. This leaves my only expenses as food & drink, Housing costs and utility bills. These things alone seem to cost a fortune, but the not spending (which has rubbed off on Vicki, although not to the extent I'm cutting back) seems to be having a positive effect on my outlook on life, my stress levels and ultimately my bank balance! I'm managing to pay a lot extra off my Credit Cards which is great, and I hope to have the wretched things paid off by the summer.

A Year Without Spending – Day 20 – Free Magazines thanks to a good friend!

28th January 200918th July 2017 John Large Leave a comment

Mini Magazine & Mini World - Kindly Donated by a friend

Today’s entry is a thank you to my friend Steven Almond as much as an update on the no spending front. Ste had been trying to sell these Mini magazine online, and when the buyer didn’t pay for the items he kindly drove them to my house and donated them to me. This has been a real life saver, as there are around 40 magazines of varying age from the Mini Magazine & Mini World varieties. I love Mini’s and always have. I’ve owned three of them, a 1275GT Clubman that competed in Lombard rallies, and 850cc Mini auto which was really cute, and a de-seamed & modified Mini 1000. The reading material donated will satisfy my Magazine lust for at least the next year if I limit myself to a new magazine from the pile each week. Read More....

A Year Without Spending – Day 17/18/19 – Still not spending & trying to entertain

27th January 200918th July 2017 John Large Leave a comment

Well today brings much of the same, got quite a lot of things to get done. Unfortunately we both rediscovered Twitter and have since become addicted. I use the twitterific app on the iPhone and Vicki normally has her laptop glued to her in the evening. I'm following some of my favourite people including Robert Llewellyn, Jonathan Ross & Rik Mayall. Russell brand also started following me last night so there goes the neighbourhood 🙂

A Year Without Spending – Day 16 – God Damn Consumer Electronics

24th January 200918th July 2017 John Large Leave a comment

Well today it happened. The crap consumer stuff I buy finally decided it was time I owned a new DVD player for the office. This really is the most stupid device I’ve ever come across. It was a cheap £10 DVD player from Asda that I bought a few years ago for the sole use of watching DVD’s in the office. It has been used for around 30 DVD’s in that time, as I often watch movies on the big HDTV in the living room. So today I come to watch the last few episodes of Red Dwarf series 6, and god damn, the remote control has died. Read More....

A Year Without Spending – Day 14/15 – Feeling Better & Still not spending

23rd January 200918th July 2017 John Large Leave a comment

I'd love to say the not spending is getting to me, and making me angry and full of angst but it really isnt. the only thing I do miss is popping into town for a browse, but staying away from the town is the best way of avoiding temptation. I'm still trying to source a camera to do the year without spending podcast for the site, but it's prooving harder than I thought. I need a minidv camera on loan from anyone, if anyone has one they don't use please do let me know.

A Year Without Spending – Day 13 – Almost Human

21st January 200918th July 2017 John Large Leave a comment

Epson Recycling stuff arrived in the post

Finally back to writing the blog, after what feels like a lifetime of sneezing and moaning and groaning. Things got so bad yesterday with the fever & temperature that I found myself in hospital (well the walk in centre) for an emergency appointment to find out what was kicking my ass. Apparently, after a pee test and various temperature measurements, it was decided that I’m suffering from a viral infection which cannot be treated directly. The order of the day is to stop myself overheating by keeping the layers of clothing off, and to take piles of paracetamol and ibuprofen to try and control the fever and aches. I must admit I feel a lot better than I did 24 hours ago. Read More....