Where was I?

Almost a month since my last post here, time for a summary. Learn (Moodle) 2.4 is getting ready to go live in the first week of July. We're doing our best to let people know, but it doesn't always get to the audience. I've learned that "Nobody told me" is code for "I haven't read any of your emails".

We used to have two people in the critical Moodle admin positions, but with a sinking lid hiring regime, and changes in jobs, there's now one developer and one administrator (me) for the e-learning system serving 2000+ courses. We're back to where we were in 2006, in terms of staffing. These are risky times; a resignation or illness will guarantee a crisis, as there is no backup at all for what we do.

We get a week in Melbourne in late June, for the Australian Moodle Moot. That will be great, comparing ideas and tips with our peers from around Australasia and wider. Mr Moodle, Martin Dougiamas, will be there as well, so we'll get the dinkum oil, cobber. I'll also get to meet the teacher of an online course I've been doing - Dr Charles Severance, aka Dr_Chuck, is a keynote speaker on the last day of the Moot.

We've booked for a 3 week holiday in Queensland in September-October, mostly at beaches - more on that later.

I've inherited a set of Volkl GS race skis, courtesy of Robin Judkins. Robin sold the Coast to Coast event recently, and he's simplifying his life before starting to rebuild his house on Clifton Hill in Sumner - so out went several pairs of skis. They're a bit more high-energy than I was thinking of for my next pair of skis, but I'll just have to put a bit of work in and enjoy the ride, even if I do knock off at 2pm because I'm exhausted!

That's the current state of play - I'm biking to UC about half the time, Heather is swimming regularly and getting the garden ready for winter, and we're thinking more seriously about retirement - but not quite yet!

Landmark reached

Alternating periods of boredom and worry have culminated in a Learn 2 system (Moodle 2.4, actually) with over 800 courses up and running. Check out the message near the bottom of this screenshot.

Next week there will be another 100 or so, but they'll be a bit harder to identify, so we'll be adding them in small batches as we work through the lists. That's the royal "we", as Jess has been seconded to be head of the Learning Technologies Support (ex AV) unit; their manager has had to return to the US for personal reasons. So really it's just me. Anyway, it's a major step in being ready to go live in July.

Still here

There's too much happening at present; we're planning for the migration of 800 courses to the Moodle 2 system next week, tomorrow I won't have a PC because the Windows 7 upgrades are happening, and I've got the OK to attend this year's Australian Moodle Moot. A week in Melbourne in late June will be a nice break - but it takes a lot of organising to get fares and accommodation sorted out.

Add to that another Australian trip, for a 4 week break in Queensland in September-October; a week in Port Douglas, two weeks in the Mackay area visiting Heather's niece Trudy and family, plus a side trip for a few days yachting in the Whitsundays, then on to Noosa and Brisbane for another week. And this Thursday Heather and I visit a financial adviser to set up something better than bank term deposits for our savings. Never a dull moment...

Yachting is pretty much over, though I hope we'll get another day or two before we pack the boat away for the winter. With the end of daylight saving, cycling has gone into winter mode; I've put fresh batteries in my bike lights, and fitted little flashing lights to the tyre valves, so people approaching me at right angles will see flashing circles of light. (I hope!)

So there are some reasons why this blog isn't getting updated very often.

Here comes autumn

We've finally had a break in the series of huge high pressure systems that have sat over the South Island for several months. We've had two days of cooler southerlies and a little rain - and the trees all changed colour in 24 hours! The UC campus is covered in fallen leaves, cars are covered in leaves and chestnut shells each afternoon, and suddenly it's autumn.

We probably only have a few more sailing days this season, before I put the boat to bed for the winter. We'll lower the mast, and rig up a new tarpaulin to cover the hull for the winter. Anything that might get damp has to come home, so winter condensation won't grow mildew on life jackets and spare clothing, etc.

Then I suppose we'll start to think about skiing.

Where was I?

I haven't been posting here - it takes time and thought, and who needs those when you have Twitter? Actually, I haven't used that very much either - the usual start of semester blast has been on us, but we're through the worst.

As always, most of our problems come from people (a) forgetting advice they were given a month ago, (b) not even reading the email they were sent a month ago, or (c) not reading the message on the login screen, just where they type their use code and password. Humans - gotta love'm! Still, it's a living.

I'll say something for our present management, they have the knack of turning happy functioning work teams to debris, and they can kill morale with a single thoughtless edict. I'll watch their progress with interest, in the spirit of Jules Pfeiffer, the great cartoonist.

Week by week

A quick update - work is extremely busy, as UC classes started on Monday 18th, and we have to sort out lots of last minute panics with online courses. It's less frantic than previous years, though, which is a good thing.

There's still time for the Sunday sail, though, and we had a beauty yesterday - 10-12 knots of breeze, sunshine, and lots of other boats out - we counted 34 sailing boats on Lyttelton Harbour at about 2pm. I seem to be a bit reluctant to bike to work the next day, preferring to give my creaks and groans a day of rest.

Next week we're going to Kaikoura for more fun on the water; we have booked a sea kayak trip on Saturday afternoon. It will be nice to have look around the area, too - it's been ages since we spent any time there.

Roll on

I just realised it's been a week since my last post - so it goes. Anyway, we're both back at work, and flat out. At UC we're about to go into the Mad Month, where we get invited to lots of last minute crises. Heather had her silly season last month, but it's pretty similar - teachers who come back late then panic.

In the time since my last post, we've been doing more garden stuff, sailing, going here and there, and generally being busy. So it goes.