In the past I have had problems with getting wireless working on Linux laptops. I thought this had been fixed with more recent distributions, but in some rare circumstances there can be problems.

In this case I have an old laptop that I have set-up for my son to use. It’s ancient compared with current hardware, but is still able to run a less demanding distribution such as Xubuntu. It installed OK with and older version of Xubuntu, but with 11.10 it said “Requires Firmware”.

Checking it’s a Broadcom mini-wireless card

The first step is to identify what wireless chipset is installed. In my case a Dell mini-pci wireless card, which uses the Broadcom chipset. To check this run the lspci command from a terminal:

$lspci | grep Network
02:03.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4306 802.11b/g Wireless LAN Controller (rev 03)


Note you still use lspci for a pcmcia card.

Assuming this says Broadcom BCM43??? we can proceed, if not then you may have to look at configuring the card manually using ndiswrapper and the Windows drivers, but that’s beyond the scope of this.

Install the drivers

To install the drivers run the following from a terminal. You need to be connected to the Internet when this is run using the onboard Ethernet card and a cable direct to your router.

sudo apt-get install firmware-b43-installer

This will download the firmware from the Internet and install the appropriate driver. You should then be able to select the appropriate wireless network from the normal network list.

Conflicts with other wireless packages

If you have the broadcom-sta-common package installed it blacklists the b43 driver which is required for wireless.

To fix – edit the file /etc/modprobe.d/broadcom-sta-common.conf
delete (or comment out with a #) the line. If this file does not exist then move on to the next step.

blacklist b43

Then to force the module to load during boot edit /etc/modules
add a line with


b43


It should now still work after a reboot.

• Reviews of Linux friendly hardware

My 6 year old daughter is learning about electricity at school, so I thought it was a great opportunity to show her some electronics whilst she was interested.

We decided to create a low light sensor, as the circuit is quite simple, but it is still something that looks quite good when she shows it off to friends and family.

This is the finished product:

Whilst most of the wiring is just a case of plugging directly into the breadboard, it did involve some soldering which I let my daughter have a go at. It did involve some hand-holding (literally) as both the soldering iron and heat gun (used for heat shrink insulator) get very hot!

More details, including a circuit diagram are available from PenguinTutor electronics / Low-light-sensor page

I have already written a review of an earlier model of the Devolo Ethernet over power adapters.

These devices provide an ethernet network connection by passing the signal over the mains electricity cables within the house. These are useful for devices that don’t have built-in wireless support (eg. blu-ray players, Internet enabled TVs and games consoles). The reason that I use these is because they are not susceptable to wireless interference which causes problems with my miniPC which is located at the opposite side of the house to the wireless router.

My earlier adapters had a maximum bandwidth of 15Mbps, whereas these newer ones are designed for up to 200Mbps. Devolo also make ones that can work at up to 500Mbps but as I it is being used to connect between switches designed for 100Mbps there is no benefit in having a faster connection.

The devices under review are the basic models which consists of a plug-in module with a RJ45 ethernet port and a setup button. There are also version with pass through sockets (so as not to block the socket from other use) or with a built-in wireless access point, which are more expensive.

The devices are avaiable in a starter pack with a pair of modules, or individually.

The configuration of the powerline devices is much easier than the earlier version. Instead of having to connect to the devices to pair them, it is now a case of pressing the configuration button on each device. It is still possible to configure using the supplied software, but that is now optional.

There is still a supplied software CD which includes the software for Linux. It needs to be compiled but it’s a simple process if you have the development packages installed.

In use the connection seams to be reliable. I have not got any accurate benchmarks but it does feel noticeably faster than previously.

These are a good solution to provide network connections without needing to run cables around your house and avoiding problems with wireless signal drops or interference.

Ever since I first started my blog back in 2005 I have created a Christmas message and made a donation to a worthwhile cause. A reminder that whilst it’s great to receive at Christmas it’s also a time to give; not just to give to those from whom you expect a present in return, but to give a gift to make someone else’s life a little better.

So in keeping with that tradition I’ve chosen Barnardo’s as the charity this year. Barnardo’s do a lot of great work helping vulnerable children; the one thing that made me chose it this year is the support that they give to young carers. These are children (average age of 12 years old) who miss out on many of the things that children take for granted as they are caring for another member of the family. Just a small donation can help make a difference, perhaps giving a child a day or even just a few hours in which they can be a child again. Find out more about Barnardo’s work with Young Carers.

I have only given a modest donation, but if everyone else made a small donation to a charity of their choice that could make a large difference to peoples lives. Donate to Barnardo’s here.

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

• Christmas message 2010
• Christmas message 2009
• Christmas message 2008
• Christmas message 2007
• Christmas message 2006
• Christmas message 2005

This years Christmas craft picture is a large Christmas Tree and Snowman.

This giant craft picture is the first we’ve made since I mounted a dedicated craft board to the wall. The board is a piece of MDF that I got had the local B&Q to cut to size. The board is much better than mounting direct to the wall as I did before. As well as providing a defined area to shape the picture into it is far easier to staple to than straight into wall and doesn’t leave holes in the plasterboard when the picture is removed.

Most of the things in the picture I’ve already explained in earlier posts about my giant craft pictures with the children.

The new thing that I tried this time was to include pictures of our family on baubles hanging from the tree. These were created using free open source software Libre Office and GIMP.

Create your own family photo baubles

Download the following Libre Office Draw file:

• Libre Office template – Christmas Baubles

Open your photo using GIMP (or another photo editor) and create a circle around the photo using the Elipse select tool. Using the shift key will create a circle rather than an oval.

Use crop image to selection and save as a .png file. You may also want to turn some feather on to give it a smooth edge.

Insert the file into Libre Office.

Shrink to the correct file to fit inside the bauble.

In this case I stapled these direct to the wall, but you could instead create baubles for a Christmas tree by gluing two baubles together back to back.

I created the baubles on a linux computer, but all the software I used is also available for free on Windows as well. Download from Libre Office website and GIMP website.

We had visited Midlands Railway Centre at Butterley once before. This wasn’t our first choice for the Santa special, but that was due to the distance from home rather than having anything against the railway as we had certainly had a good day out previously. We booked on the earliest train of the day which departed at 11.00 am.

We had booked on-line and exchanged our printed coupons for the tickets at the booking office. We were provided with an envelope with our coach allocation on the ticket. Whilst this specified the coach we were able to choose our own seats within that coach. The train was fully booked, but they hadn’t tried to squeeze too many people in and we were able to have 2 tables (8 seats) between the 6 of us.

The train was being pulled by a steam locomotive and had 4 passenger coaches. When we got on the train it was very cold. I suspect this was due to it being the first train as the heating came on when we were under way and by the end of the journey the train was quite warm. Most of the toilets on the train were out of order, but there was at least one that was operational.

The train ride lasts for about an hour. During this time the adults were served with a miniature alcoholic drink (Baileys, Brandy or Whiskey) and a mince pie. There was also a buffet car on the train selling hot and cold drinks, sandwiches and snacks.

During the journey the children would go and visit Santa who was in a Grotto at the front (or back depending upon which part of the journey) of the train. As the trips to Santa were done a family at a time there was no queue to see Santa other than waiting for the previous person to come out, which is much better than having to queue.

The present from Santa was not of particularly good quality. In the case of the boy toy he received two very cheap toys, which would have been better as one, but the girl toy was a little better. You don’t necessarily expect the gifts to be particularly good, but I don’t think these will even last until Christmas before they end up in the bin. The tickets for the train were I believe about 4 or 5 pounds more than the normal day rover ticket. Whilst there is a risk of charging too much putting people off I think it would be better to charge a little more and provide a better gift.

Whilst the train still stopped at Swanwick Junction there wasn’t really an opportunity to get off as the tickets were only for that train (rather than a day rover which they are on the regular days). If you did get off you would have missed the last 10 minutes of the train journey and would need to make your own way back to Butterley station. Also in our case we were in the last carriage and hadn’t yet been to see Santa.

After arriving back at Butterley station there was a puppet show included in the ticket. There was also a train fairground ride for a small additional fee.

The indoor and outdoor model railways were also running, although the outdoor garden railway only had one train going around when we were there.

The cafe was open and there was a burger van selling food. Last time we visited the Midlands Railway we ate at the Cafe on the station in Butterley. The menu in the cafe was mainly snacks and light bites, and we wanted a more substantial meal on this visit. We tried to drive to Swanwick Junction, but it does not appear to have public vehicle access (the road to the area is marked “Private road no access to Butterley station”). I believe we could have walked to the station, but didn’t realise that until afterwards and I’m not sure where the path goes.

Instead we ate at the Ripley Butterley Park Table Table Restaurant situated behind Sainsbury’s. The food was excellent.

Summary

We had a good time on the Santa Special Train at Midlands Railway, although we had a better day out when we visited when the normal train service was running as there was lots to visit at Swanick Junction as well then.

The train journey was pleasant and it was good not having to queue to see Santa, but I was a little disappointed by the presents for the children. Worth considering if looking to combine a visit to a steam railway with a visit to Santa.

• Midland Railway Centre

Make your own 3D snowflake using only plain paper, sellotape and staples. This is inspired by the Wiki How guide to making a 3D snowflake. My first attempt didn’t work out too well as the cuts were not uniform between the different points of the snow flake. So I created a template to make it easier. There are only minimal markings on the paper used for the snowflake so that they don’t show on the finished snowflake, but step by step instructions are provided on the superfluous paper.

• Template for a paper 3D snowflake (pdf)

Here is a recipe for easy home-made mince pies. It’s a slight variation on the traditional pies recipe with a sweeter pastry.

This recipe is great for cooking with kids.

You can make your own mincemeat, but it’s easier using a standard jar of good quality mincemeat.

Makes 12 mince pies

Ingredients

Pastry

• 225g plain flour
• 25g caster sugar
• 125g unsalted butter / stork (chilled)
• 2 medium eggs (yoke)
• 2 tbsp hot water

Filling

• 300g jar mincemeat (approx 3/4 of a jar)

Pastry topping

• 2 tbsp milk
• 1 tbsp caster sugar

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 190°C Gas 6.
Grease a bun tray (12 hole)
Sieve the flour into a bowl and mix in the sugar.
Rub the diced butter into the flour mixture.
Add the egg and water and mix to form a dough.
Knead the dough until smooth.
Leave the dough in the fridge for 10 minutes.
Roll the dough until it’s 2mm to 4mm deep.
Cut 12 discs using a large round cutter.
Place the pastry discs in the bun tray.
Place a generous teaspoon of mincemeat into each pie.
Cut 12 discs using a medium round cutter.
Optionally mark the top of the disc using a star shape (I used the shaped top to distinguish between traditional and deluxe mincemeat filling.
Put the pie lid on top, glaze with milk and sprinkle with caster sugar.
Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes until golden.

The Magical Winter Wonderland at Twinlakes Theme Park provides all the usual Theme Park attractions with an visit from Santa and some added Christmas special features.

This is the second time we have visited Twinlakes. Our previous visit was during spring (previous visit to Twinlakes Theme Park) which we enjoyed.

Whilst some of the theme parks with Santa special events required pre-booking at Twinlakes we just turned up and paid at the gate. We could have saved a little by purchasing the tickets online beforehand, but there were no problems with queues to buy tickets. It does mean that we didn’t have a reserved time to visit Santa, but meant that we had the flexibility to visit the grotto when it suited us. The admission price to the park was a little less than it usually is, but there was then an additional charge to visit Santa and receive a present.

Visiting Santa

We arrived just before 11am, about an hour after the park opened on a Sunday in December two weeks before Christmas. We anticipated that Santa would be popular so went to see him first. There was a queue which was indoors and took about 15 minutes before we were able to see Santa. This wasn’t too bad a wait and at least it was dry. The queuing area had been Christmas themed which helped stopped the children becoming too bored. I overhead people later complaining about the wait time, but I don’t know if the queue got any worse later in the day. This was the only queue we had during our entire day out at Twinlakes!

The presents from Santa were very good, and were worth more than we had paid for the visit to Santa. We had a 3 year old boy and a 6 year old girl. The boy present was particularly good.

Skiing and Sledging

The kart track had been re-branded as a ski-hire cabin where you could try roller-skis. Both my kids wanted to have a go. I was walking along helping them. My first thought was that it was going to be hard work, but my daughter soon got the hang of it and was able to ski around with minimal help, leaving me to help my son go around. This certainly added something a bit different and helped with the Christmas theme.

The other Christmas type outdoor ride is the sledging. This is something that is a permanent feature. It is like a dry slope ski run, but with channels to keep the rubber-ring sledges into their own tracks. Great fun for the kids.

Other outdoor rides

We had some dry weather and we went on some of the outdoor rides. I was pleasantly surprised to find that almost all of the outdoor rides were running. Whilst I expected the roller-coasters to be running I didn’t really expect the bumper boats and log flume to be running, the weather was fairly mild (for December) so the log flume wasn’t too bad in the cold. We didn’t go look whether they Pedalo boats were running but I guessed they wouldn’t be.

The one ride that we didn’t get to go on, was the Iron Moose Express train. I knew from our previous visit that there were only limited times that the train was running, but didn’t really know what those times were. We went and looked at one station during the afternoon, but it was showing next ride as 1pm so I guess we missed the last ride. This is one thing that was a little disappointing as we would have liked to have gone on that and it’s a ride that the whole family can go on.

Indoor rides and play areas

One of the great things about Twinlakes is that there are a good number of rides that are indoors. In most cases these are the smaller rides (for obvious reasons), but it included plenty of rides for our children. This worked quite well as the rain started to fall during the afternoon when we’d gone inside. There are also some great play areas indoors including the Gladiators Colosseum Play Area (with lots of slides rope bridges and soft play), Master Blaster (fire sponge balls at targets or each other) and a special Snowman ball play area.

These are great fun and not just for the kids. I enjoyed climbing over the rope bridges and taking my son down the slides. It’s a fun way to get active and easily equivalent to a good work out at the gym (just remember to take a child along with you).

Eating

One good thing about Twinlakes is that as well as being able to buy food to eat inside they also provide indoor picnic areas to eat your own food.

On this occasion we ate at the fast food outlet in one of the main buildings. As well as having the usual fast-food they also had some more healthy options (eg. Jacket Potatoes) at the same place which is better than having to go to different places to eat. The chilli in the jacket potato appeared to be home-made and I do recommend that one.

We ate quite early (just before 12 noon) and didn’t have any problems finding a table, but later the tables were all full. This was mainly because people were using them as a base whilst children were off playing on the rides rather than people eating.

Party time

There were a couple of party times, based around a disco setup in on of the buildings. From what I could tell this appeared to be just one game of musical chairs to Christmas music.

Christmas theme and decorations

There were lots of Christmas decorations around the site. These were not up to the same standard as Centre Parcs at Christmas or at Disneyland Paris that we have visited over the last couple of years, but they were enough for my young children who were happy that this was suitably decorated for Christmas. Considering the budget that Twinlakes must have compared with those it was as you would expect.

Of course if I’m going to compare it with Disneyland Paris then you have to factor in the very long queues (some of which were 1 hour+) compared to the non-existent queues for the rides at Twinlakes.

Alternatives

I did consider some alternatives before visiting. Thomas Land is a favourite with my kids, but is much more expensive and is something we have done before: Video review – Christmas at Thomas Land in Drayton Manor. We also looked at Gulliver’s Kingdom, which is a little more expensive, but includes more in the package (a variety of packages available, including meals etc.). The down sides of Gullivers is that it needs to be booked in advance and I was concerned about bad weather spoiling a visit there, whereas I knew that there would still be plenty to do at Twinlakes in bad weather.

Summary

As a Winter day out on a budget Twinlakes is a real winner. The kids had a great time and I felt that we’d had excellent value for money. There may be some places that are a bit better, but they cost much more and are not necessarily as good during the bad weather that we had. The lack of queues was great and meant that we got great value for money due to the number of rides we were able to go on.

I’d definitely recommend a visit to Twinlakes. A good selection of rides for children and the indoor play areas are the best I’ve seen in any theme park. My only complaint would be that the train finishes too soon and we didn’t get chance to have a ride.

The Christmas decorations are fairly good and the visit to Santa was great value.

If we lived a bit closer I would have got season tickets for next year, but it’s a bit too far for us to visit regularly.

• See more photos in the Twinlakes Magical Winter Wonderland photo gallery

Wooden train sets have been a popular toy with children for many years and doesn’t seam to be losing popularity. Many parents will have experienced that time when trying to get on with their shopping whilst your toddler wants to play with the wooden train set on display in a toy shop.

The main advantage of the wooden train sets over many of the die-cast or electronic play sets is that they are suitable for young children who can pick them up and play with them, but looking at the packaging that doesn’t seam to be the case any-more.

In the past some sets used to have younger recommended ages, but these days almost all have a minimum recommended age of 3+. I’m not sure whether this is due to toy regulations getting more strict, due to manufacturers trying to “cover their back” or if this is a reduction in build quality.

There certainly seam to be a problem with the cheap inferior train sets; which I don’t think are suitable to giving to toddlers that may be tempted to put things into their mouth. We had one of these cheap wooden train sets which was given as a gift. The Acorn Play table and Train Set, we were given, broke during the first day of use when one of the wooden pegs separated from the track. Fortunately our children were not likely to put those into their mouths, but that could have been a significant choking hazard for toddlers.

I believe that some of the better brands are much better. They is now a wide range of different trains, tracks and accessories (including of course Thomas the Tank Engine), which do appear to be of good build quality. Even with the better quality sets you will need to be careful if a train breaks or with some accessories that may be small enough to be a choking hazard.

There are still train sets available that are suitable for younger children such as Tomy My 1st Train Set, but these are very basic and a 2 year old my find them a little boring.

For a 3 year old child then the wooden train set would have to compete with the more realistic looking die-cast train sets (such as Thomas Take-N-Play), or battery operated trains (such as Thomas Trackmaster or Tomy sets), both of which also have a minimum recommended age of 3.

Toddlers will certainly still enjoy playing with them, but the minimum age on the box suggests that you need to take safety into consideration.

I do NOT recommend giving toys to a child when they are under the recommended age, but if you are going to give a wooden train set to a young child then stick to the better quality makes and make sure that the toy is in good condition with no lose parts and that they are under constant supervision.