The DJ's have gone digital....

Get rid of those Technics SL1200 turntables, even get rid of those CD turntables - look at this a mixing desk for dual iPod's.

Better still, let's get rid of the DJ completely. Just program in a set (I believe thats what they call it) & plug in the iPod leaving the clubbers to dance the night away - not that Bryan Ferry gets played much nowadays!?

Never been into DJing myself, but thought this looked pretty clever kit.

Sold out... Again!

A few years ago, my ability to predict Stock Market risers was pretty good, with a bit of research, a few punts worked out pretty well. Of late, my talent has deserted me, I backed Railtrack, Friends Provident & Marconi.

Friend Provident haven't been swallowed up by a larger insurer as I predicted, and are still way below the £2.10+ price I got when floated.

Railtrack have in my humble opinion been "fucked up the arse" so to speak by Trade & Industry Secretary Stephen Byers. Leaving shareholders with the sum total of 18% of their original investment!

And today we hear that Marconi are selling off their prized asset - their telco business - to Ericsson! A couple of years ago Marconi had £3bn of assets, after a corporate shopping spree, the banks forced them to restructure their now debts of £5bn(!) in a share swap where the banks held all of the asset stock, the general shareholders being left with minority shares worth less than the paper they were printed on.

Let's hope the remaining interests I have in the likes of Vodafone don't go the same way.

My role model makes it as man of the decade....

Yahoo! News reports that a panel of experts from Mens Health Magazine for the 10th Anniversary issue has come up with a Top 10 list of famous men of the decade.

Homer has been nominated as Greatest Philosopher!

Other minors in the list include Sportsman: Lance Armstrong (Tour de France God), Visionary: Jonathan Ive (creator of the iPod), Designer: Sir Paul Smith, Manager: Sven Goran Eriksson (Famous Swedish shag monster), Activist: Bob Geldof (Irish Soap Dodger - allegedly), Writer: Ian McEwan, Musician: Damon Albarn, Chef: Jamie Oliver & Scientist: Craig Venter (Geneticist).

Morgan Rees, Editor of Men's Health said, "These are people of real substance and solid achievement rather than temporary fame"

"We were particularly pleased to see Homer Simpson on the list. He has taught a whole generation how to take on the challenge of modern fatherhood and win - although not always with honour."

I say, they all pale into insignificance in comparison to Homer Simpson.

Two of my favourite films, combined into one....

Whilst surfing around trying to find an unusual Christmas present for my Brother, I found this at Firebox.com. It combines characters from two of my favourite films into one - Darth Vader from Stars Wars & Mr Potato Head from Toy Story.

Named Darth Tater & Spud Trooper, at £9.95 each I think they are great fun.

I'm pretty sure my brother doesn't read this blog, so here is what he has for his combined Birthday (Dec 22nd)\Christmas present - a Darth Vader Force FX Lightsaber complete with glowing blade & with sound effects, such as power up, swing, idle hum & power down. It looks so good, I bought one for myself as well!


It's well worth scrolling to the bottom of the page, then clicking the links & watching the video clips people have taken of themselves re-enacting the Stars Wars battles (mostly in their bedrooms!?) I will of course not be using the Light Saber for such daft, pointless & childish re-enactments, well not on video anyway.

UPDATE : Woolworths are selling the Force FX Lightsabers with 10% off this weekend (Friday 4th & Saturday 5th November), although they only appear to have the Luke Skywalker green in stock on the website at the moment, which is odd as every other stockist have everything EXCEPT the green?

From Royal Crown Derby to..... The Prodigy...

In this diverse world, let me take you from comments on my Royal Crown Derby collection to a band called The Prodigy.....

Buy it, download it from iTunes, borrow it (don't steal it), play it very loud through your speakers, piss your neighbours off (turn up the bass!).

Maybe play it on iTunes with the Visualizer turned on to full screen & projecting onto the trees in your garden? I did, the neighbours loved it!!

If you have a Prodigy album already, you will think (like I do) that this is a brilliant album. If you don't have a Prodigy album but have liked some of the singles before, then go & buy this & make it your first Prodigy album.

RCD will have to explain to my Bank Manager....

I collect some Royal Crown Derby porcelain, paperweights only, in the following forms - birds, elephants, fish & bulls. (Don't ask why, I don't even know myself!)

Every year I look at the latest additions & see whether they have added any to the range that fit my habit of collecting, some years they add a quite a few maybe 5 or so, others they add just one or two. I'm caught between the general hope that they won't include too many in one go as it tends to get a bit pricey & the desire to see more in my collection.

Imagine my horror when I found out that they have just added lots more, in the last month alone they have added the following birds - a Derby Peacock, Bunting, Lorikeet and a Mountain Bluebird. Add to that a new Guppy in the fishy section and three new elephants (see picture) - that makes 8, yes EIGHT! Earlier in the year they added a Citron Cockatoo, an Amazon Green Parrot, Great Tit, Kedlestone Kingfisher, Emperor Penguin, Snowy Owl & White Pelican, plus a Scottish leaping Salmon. So in total Royal Crown Derby have added 16 new paperweights to my collection this year, well actually I have, they merely made temptation too great to resist.

Sorry Mr Bank Manager, the minus number in the account is all the fault of those people in Derby!!

For the girl that has everything.....

With Christmas coming soon, I have been searching for gifts. Gifts that will impress. Well if this doesn't do it, I don't know what will. A diamond ring that measures 10.5cm x 7.5cm x 6cm - it's HUGE!!!

Yes, you guessed - it's not real (no shit Sherlock). At £12.50 + P&P it was never going to be. It's a glass & metal paperweight, I took delivery today & it does look very good.

As a stocking filler it tickled my sense of humour, let's just hope someone else sees the funny side!

You can buy it here

Christmas is coming.....

I fear to mention Christmas so early, I apologise now.

I have seen what I want...............

a new Aston Martin V8 Vantage as previewed at the IAA Frankfurt Motor Show last month. Now in production & first deliveries are iminent. With a 4.3 litre V8, 380bhp, 0-60 in 4.9 seconds and a top end of 175mph. I'll have mine in either Mendip Blue with parchment hide or Silver metallic with red hide please.

.....now I just have to figure a way of getting one.

It's happened again..... musical deja vous

Whilst doing various chores earlier this evening in my garage I listened to the top 40 chart for the first time in quite a while. 25 years ago, I was glued to the radio on a Sunday evening, listening out for the latest news of what was Number 1 - 25 years ago it was "Don't Stand So Close To Me" by The Police.

Tonight, I heard Rachel Stevens latest effort "I Said Never Again (But Here We Are)" (which is actually acceptable to the ear of this 38 year old & she looks OK to me as well) & thought - I've hear that riff before somewhere......

It's only a couple of bars (as is usual with Status Quo at least), but it is the same, 25 years apart! Take the old Quo riff from "What You're Proposing" & put it through a modern day sampler with the "Adam & The Ants" button turned up 100% & here you go.....

Rachel Stevens - I Said Never Again (But Here We Are)

Status Quo - What You're Proposing

No pictures, as I'm sure that some management company would complain.

Apple suckered me again....

I'm a gadget freak, you know that from this Blog, I know it & so do many vendors it appears - including Apple.

Recently Apple have released the iPod Nano, the latest & smallest incarnation of their MP3 player. Size wise its tiny, very light, and has the functionality of its bigger relatives, including a colour screen (unlike the iPod Mini which is LCD & the iPod Shuffle which is devoid of any screen!)

John Lewis in West Quay, Southampton this morning had them in stock, lots of them, delivered overnight to satisfy the retail junkies that frequent there on a Saturday (which includes me occasionally). 2Gb, 4Gb and black or white, the choice was yours. Impulse got the better of me & I had to have one whilst stocks lasted!

I have to say, its is by far the best iPod yet (I have 2 already so should know by now!), it makes the iPod Mini look about 10 years old & the standard size iPod looks large & clumsy next to it.

So the iPod Mini may be cast as a backup device for me now - I can't really sell it as I had the free laser engraving on it - Doh! The iPod standard will be used with the Bose Sounddock in the house with the entire music library on it.

I have asked Apple not to release any more nice gadgets for a while, sadly Sony declined & have released this......

The Sony NAS-CZ1 Audio Network System does what the D-Link DSM-320 Wireless Media Player claims to do & what others do for more money (the Elgato EyeHome Wireless Edition, the Roku Soundbridge M2000 Network Music Player & the Sonos as well) - wireless access to your iTunes music. See earlier posts for information on the D-Link DSM-320 Wireless Media Player it is sooo bad, I didn't even bother to review 100% as promised - it's crap). The Sony is much better looking & has built in speakers. It's also from a mainstream vendor so should be bullet proof. All for £199, it's probably next on my list of gadget shopping. Anyone wanna buy a D-Link DSM-320 Wireless Media Player?

Death of a genius....

"Norman Stanley Fletcher, you have pleaded guilty to the charges brought by this court, and it is now my duty to pass sentence. You are a habitual criminal, who accepts arrest as an occupational hazard, and presumably accepts imprisonment in the same casual manner. We therefore feel constrained to commit you to the maximum term allowed for these offences - you will go to prison for 5 years."

As others have said elsewhere, I grew up with TV series like The Two Ronnies, Porridge & Open All Hours - there is one clear common theme, great comedy performed by Ronnie Barker.

Clearly the writing of Porridge by Dick Clements & Ian La Frenais' was excellent, but match it with the intelligence & comedic timing delivered by Ronnie Barker & perfect comedy was made - albeit for a short period of only 5 years (1 pilot episode, 3 series & 2 Christmas Specials followed by a spin off called "Going Straight" & a film in 1978).

In my mind & many others, he is remembered as he wanted to be - the funiest man on television. The generation of 30 somethings were lucky to have grown up with him on the screen, and it felt like we knew him, if only as the characters he portrayed.

The irony & wit of Porridge makes it my favourite of all. Whilst some of the plots may have been a bit thin, the simple interaction between the father & son characters of Fletch & Godber were effectively real & the "don't let the bastards get you down" approach of Fletcher towards the screws, particularly Mr Mackay, was genius.

"I'm only in prison because of my beliefs.
I believed the night watchman was asleep."
Norman Stanley Fletcher - April 1973

Just to add insult to injury....

Hampshire Police are being filmed for the new TV series of "Traffic Cops", so over the next 6 or so weeks they will be patrolling in both marked & unmarked cars on the M3 & M27. So watch out on the M3 section between J2 > J8 for an unmarked Skoda saloon in dark blue or black, plus the usual marked Volvo estates & X5's.

Not sure what they will be using elsewhere, I've already seen the Skoda stop a couple of people over the last 2 weeks.

I know a few of you are saying "if you don't speed, you won't get stopped", in reality the flow of traffic through the 50 zones in the roadworks is travelling at 60-70mph most of the time. When the normal 70mph limit is in force outside of the roadworks, the speeds are nearer 80-85mph.

If you don't want to appear on BBC1 getting nicked by Mr Plod - don't speed! I'm sure they will be picking up quite a few people over the next couple of weeks just with the roadwork limits being enforced, but with the added incentive of being on telly and a need to impress that nice little researcher in the back seat with them, they will be out for as many tickets as possible.

Roadworks on the M3, lots of them!

After a week away from work, my first journey into Bracknell was blighted by the arrival of not one, but two new sets of roadworks on the M3!! This to add to the already boring 50mph stretch over the railway line bridge between J5 & Fleet Services. The wazzocks at the Highways Agency have added a long stretch from J3 to J4, cameras for traffic flow fully installed, so it looks long term. The white lines for temporary speed cameras are already painted as well. They have also added a mini bit between J6 & J7 Southbound as well!

Here's looking forward to a couple of months of shitty journeys then!

Complete, total & utter network hardware refresh [maybe]

I haven't been impressed with the new D-Link stuff so far, so it's last chance is going to be a bit of help from one of these. A D-Link DWL G-710 Wireless Range Extender, it just plugs into the mains for power & repeats the wireless signal a bit further (so they say). Fingers crossed it might help push the boundaries of the 802.11x signal that is a little weak at present in one or two places.

Update : it appears to work very well, and really easy to setup. Just plug in power & connect with ethernet cable, configure, unplug ethernet & place some distance from the wireless router & hey presto the WiFi signal in the house goes off the scale! I will have a play with the other bits of kit at the weekend.

As a parallel test, I have also ordered the same suite of kit from Linksys. A Linksys WRT54GS Wireless Router & the Linksys WRE54G Wireless Range Expander\Repeater. Whichever works best will stay, the worst performer will be donated\sold to my brother.

After reading all the blurb from manufacturers & reviews from cyber geeks, it looks like the repeater technology doesn't cross manufacturer borders. They appear to do something proprietry, (yes, I know it's an astonishing claim!) that makes using a repeater from one manufacturer with a router from another a little difficult, if not impossible.

I have also been tempted by the Devolo MicroLink dLan kit which plugs into the house power supply & transfers data using the electrical wiring of the house.

So an update posted here soon with the results, my prediction is that D-Link will be finding a new home!

It's been bugging me for a week.....

Last week I watched a re-run of the Frank Skinner chat show, Graham Coxon was guest - ex of Blur, he spoke about his time with Blur & meeting up with the band members & it feeling a bit like meeting 3 ex wives!? Now, I quite like Blur & watched with interest this geeky (just look at the picture) looking bloke who is clearly a very fine songwriter & was interested to hear his solo single "Freakin' Out", two things became instantly apparent.....

1. Mr Coxon was the musical force behind Blur & as such I would probably like what I was about to hear.

2. I had heard the intro before somewhere.

Having searched through my fairly large CD collection, along with iTunes, I have now found what I think is the similar intro.... "Into The Valley" by The Skids, the links take you to iTunes. I can recommend "Freakin' Out" - have a go at comparing them, it's not a sample, just a bit similar & it reminded me of a record from my youth.

Anything Apple can do.....

Microsoft & Yahoo! do as well, I'm talking Widgets. Those little (mostly useless) apps that sit on your desktop.

I was first introduced to these when I upgraded my iMac to OS/X. Some of them are really clever & neat & interesting (clocks, stock market quotes, reminders, WiFi signal strength, CPU usage, weather reports & newsfeeds etc.), but others are just complete shite - a hexidecimal clock is merely one inane example!

Have a look here for Windows Widgets..... http://www.konfabulator.com/

Modem Update

A few weeks ago I bought the D-Link DSL-G604T Wireless ADSL Router, the problem is in the product description - ADSL.

My ISP is ntl: & they provide a Cable Modem Service not ADSL, so the cable is terminated not with a standard telco ADSL cable, but a screw thread connection. Doh!

I haven't returned the useless (to me) bit of kit, as I am considering a switch to BT ADSL. (I am waiting to see what ntl: are going to do in terms of pricing as they just announced their intention of getting their entire network capable of 10Mbps!)

I have since purchased a D-Link DI-624+ Wireless Router to replace my Belkin one which was a bit long in the tooth. The D-Link also allows me to use a high gain antenna & hopefully boost the signal, I can also now use 802.11g everywhere giving better connection speeds.

The end of the world is nigh.... in Croatia

From Yahoo! News...

Lone priest defends Manson ahead of Croatia gig

ZAGREB (Reuters) - Religious groups in Croatia are up in arms over the imminent arrival of shock-rocker Marilyn Manson for a concert.

But rallying to the banner of free speech and perhaps a little shock-value of his own, Manson has found one unlikely defender -- a Catholic priest.

"How could Manson turn young people into satanists and drug-addicts in the two hours of his act," daily newspaper Vjesnik quoted priest Anton Bobas as saying.

Bobas, who leads a heavy-metal band of his own called Glasnici Nade (Messengers of Hope), says most of Manson's critics have never heard his songs or seen him perform.

The lone priest finds himself fighting a rearguard action against Christian groups from the Istrian peninsula ahead of the concert on August 22 in the northern Adriatic town of Pula.

Protestant organisation Oaza wants the concert banned, while seven Catholic priests offered to pay damages to the organisers if the concert was cancelled, arguing the band's lyrics and image promote satanism, drug-use and violence.

Bobas said the best concert he ever attended was seeing Manson live in Hamburg, Germany, three years ago.

But even Bobas tempers his support.

Despite the music, Manson was a rather dark persona and he would not recommend anyone -- especially young people -- to attend the concert, he said.

Jammy Aussie's, piss poor England

After a few days of such expectation, a f**king draw!?

It's all very well celebrating getting Gilchrist out Mr Flintoff, but what about bowling out the last few Aussie's rather than complaining that you're turning your ankle on a bit of dodgy wicket?

A bowler of your calibre should be able to get shot of Shane Warne pretty quickly, was it Shane Warne or John Daly filling in for him whilst he was down at the local pub? Sorry, it wouldn't happen like that, Daly would be at the pub as well. Shit! there must be another Warne\Daly lookalike around????

I'm on holiday (again!)

Yes, it's time to take another couple of weeks away from work, they pay me to do it, so I must obey!

No plans, loads of chores to catch up on & I'm having a wall repaired, so am sure I'll end up being the labourer.

Everything is going OK, didn't win the £77m EuroMillions, but I'm over it now. I do have to ask myself, what would I do with all that money anyway!? Feck, I'll bloody spend it like that!!!! Aston Martin, Rolex, Taittinger et al would all benefit from my outlandish spending, oh and I would also build a hospital as well (honest!)

Review of D-Link DSM-320 Wireless Media Player

Recent purchase of this Digital Media Player from eXpansys has prompted this review by me.....

I wanted a system that would enable me to play my iTunes collection and maybe some video in another room in the house, my PC has an amplifier & Bose speakers in my study & I have the Bose Sounddock in another room, so the idea of buying another Sounddock for another room didn't appeal - however, see my suggestion later....

Not the most expensive on the market, but not cheap either coming in at £155.95, other choices are the Elgato EyeHome Wireless Edition (£209.00 from AppleStore UK) or the Roku Soundbridge M2000 Network Music Player (£330 from Roku Direct) or the wonderful, but truely amazingly priced Sonos (£949 from Sonos Direct - it does make music available in 2 rooms for this price, but one room is where your PC is located) see links in July 15th post.

The D-Link was easy to install & setup, the signal range isn't brilliant, but you can buy a high gain aerial that helps, I hope that my new D-Link DSL-G604T with additional antenna helps as well - I will review the D-Link DSL-G604T next week.

The menu systems are easy to navigate, they are however not very quick.

My biggest problem is having to nominate every single folder on your PC that you want to make available to the Media Player. You should be able to identify just the folder - such as iTunes Music & every sub folder should (in my opinion) be read & made available automatically, but it doesn't. If you have as many folder as I do in my iTunes directory you will give up very quickly - I did.

My suggestion - if you're only after a means to play your iTunes collection in a number of rooms - buy a Bose Sounddock for every room & take your iPod with you from room to room. They are small, neat and have brilliant sound built in with no need for additional speakers. It might sound like an expensive solution, but compare prices with the Elgato, Roku or Sonos & it isn't.

If you have a specialist Hi-Fi setup & want to use that, then on their own review alone go buy the Roku. I might yet still go & get a Roku M2000 & hook it up to my Cinema Surround Sound on the TV & use my D-Link somewhere else, if the range is OK, maybe the Summer House TV could be hooked up.....

Some recipes for you.....

I have for a while now been researching (honest!) recipes for the best Margarita. Having recently taken to cooking Mexican food, this is the perfect liquid accompaniment....

Juice of 2 Limes
3 Measures Tequila (White, not that Gold shit that addles your brain faster than anything!)
1 Measure Cointreau or Triple Sec
2 Teaspoons castor sugar
Pint of ice cubes

Place everything into a blender & blitz for about a minute. Pour into suitable Margarita glasses (yes, plural as it does serve 2!!!) I don't bother with the salt round the rim of the glass crap.

Update : Whilst chatting the other day to my good friend & fellow alcohol connoisseur Aled Roberts, he commented that you can also add a shot of Midori Melon Liqueur to this recipe to make it a "Midori Margarita" - well done Aled, have a banana & make it a taste of a different fruit.

I have also taken the glut of cheap English strawberries & made several of these wonderful Strawberry Daiquiri's....

1 Punnet of Strawberries (I put mine through a juicer to get rid of the seeds, but if you don't have one pass them through a fine sieve)
Juice of 1/2 Lime
2 teaspoons Castor Sugar
3 Measures Bacardi White Rum
Dash of Strawberry Liqueur (if you have some, if not use Cointreau)
Pint of Ice Cubes

Yet again, place everything into a blender & blitz for about a minute. It serves 2 again.

Enjoy (in moderation is best, as one too many can hurt later!)

A truely amazing human feat....

To win the Tour de France once requires supreme commitment, physical capacity, mental strength & a little bit of luck.

To be a multiple winner makes history, to win the event 7 times in a row is history that I think will never be repeated.

Lance Armstrong has overcome all the normal things that would get in the way of the dedication required to win this race, he has also overcome an illness that most people sadly succumb to.

I rarely (in fact never before) have used the term "inspirational" about anyone - but this man is a true inspiration. Whenever I have seen him being interviewed he is always respectful, thoughtful & comes across as genuine & humble guy.

Read more here http://www.lancearmstrong.com/ if you want to make a donation to his charity, have a look here http://www.livestrong.org

Just when you recommend someone...

They let you down.

I may have to re-do my Hall of Fame\Hall of Shame, just when I had held the bright light of Fame to eXpansys, they fail to deliver.

I ordered a truck load of techno-goodies last week, nearly all the items were in stock, only 2 were out of stock with an estimated delivery to them of 2 days. I opted that they wait for all items to be in stock before shipping. So, I thought they would reserve my items & ship when all were ready & available, probably 2 or so days later.

No! They wait & wait, now only 2 items are in stock & the iPod I ordered is expected in 8 days time!!!!! A phone beating awaits them Monday AM.

Update : Monday AM phone beating resulted in them suddenly finding stock of 7 of my 9 ordered items, a part shipment for free (they waived the £2 surcharge).

Update Update : Part shipment arrived yesterday (Tuesday), now the TechFest of installing everything can commence! Should I read the manuals or not?????

Slight modification to template...

I have added a counter to the main page so that I can see how many people visit here. What I thought would be a painful process, is actually very easy. See http://www.bravenet.com/ for details.

Do you get speed that you pay for?

I have had several issues with my ISP (ntl:) over the years, from billing to outage to dodgy modems.

When things got a bit too much (I was seriously pissed off that they had lost a payment & tried to charge me interest!) I threatened to cancel all of my services with ntl: & go buy Sky for my TV & get BT to provide me with broadband.

In the end I accepted their apologies & a free upgrade to the 2Mbps Broadband service for a year.

Since then I have been wondering whether they had ever remembered, they hadn't changed my billing, so had they reverted my service back down a notch?

I went in search of means to test the speed of my connection & came up with this. A simple, yet useful way of measuring your service level against what you pay for from ADSLGuide.org.uk, I know that there are other such tools out there that do the same thing & choddo.com has written his own app. But, I like the fact that this one will also feed your results & responses back to your ISP.

The results are in - Downstream 1816Kbps, well within the 10% expectation of 1920Kbps (2Mbps). Upstream a lousy 186Kbps, again, as expected.

ntl: now offer a 3Mbps service, but it's a bit more expensive. Another argument with them I think about competitive providers may be on the cards as a means to get another free upgrade?

Upgrade for ADSL Modem\Router

ntl: supply me with a broadband connection, at the outset they supplied a Terayon ADSL Modem to which I added a Belkin Wireless Router. Of late one or both have been playing up, meaning a quick unplug & re-connection to reset is required, not a great hardship, but still very annoying.

I have been thinking of upgrading to a one unit solution, the D-Link DSL-G604T Wireless ADSL Router. I think from reading the blurb that this will do the job of both my current pieces of kit (any comments\knowledge or instruction gratefully received).

I know that some of you out there have recently gone for the D-Link DGL-4300, but that doesn't do the modem stuff(?), I'm not a gamer & don't host anything here.

I've also just seen the D-Link DSM-320 Wireless Media Player. It looks interesting, but doesn't claim native iTunes support as the Roku SoundBridge M2000 Network Music Player does. Anyone know about these things? Might this be a cheaper alternative to the Sonos mentioned in earlier posts.

Update : Looks like Apple are reselling the Elgato EyeHome Wireless Edition, which will work with the iMac I have, but if the iMac has shared access to my PC with all the iTunes on that it might be worth a look as well? I have contacted Elgato Technical Support to find out what it will & won't do. Mini Update : Elgato Technical Support say "yes". A sub-directory of iTunes shared from my PC to my iMac will be available to their device - cool! Have just ordered the D-Link DSM-320, might go for the Roku & the Elgato as well as they all look pretty nice & I will use them in different rooms in the house.

Update Update : with no comment from anyone here (thanks!). Today I have ordered the D-Link DSL-G604T Wireless ADSL Router from eXpansys along with a few other goodies, including a D-Link ANT24-0700 7dBi High Gain Omni-Directional external antenna that will hopefully boost signal to all areas of my abode, the Rice estate.

Two responses to the terrorists....

Two other blogs have pointed me in the direction of these responses to the terrorists that attacked London last week.

Choddo found this on the Mayor of London website.

Tony Cocks found this on the The London News Review website.


I have to say I think the London News Review is better, but I'm sure that given free reign Ken Livingstone would have been equally direct.

Mr Livingstone has come a long way in my eyes. As I have said before, I am a Conservative middle Englishman - I vote Tory, always have, always will. [Bring back Mrs Thatcher or her incarnate is my view - everyone is entitled to a view!] Even with differing viewpoints, I agree with the Congestion charge Mr Livingstone introduced, he has clearly worked very hard to get the 2012 Olympics in London, his transport plan for London including extension of the Underground to support the East End & South East parts of London are designed to re-energise these areas.

He does have a chequered past from his spats with the Labour Party, but he is doing a good job now, his enthusiasm & passion in trying to make London the greatest capital city in the world deserves praise - even from a Tory!

Don't let the bastards get you down....

I have spoken on this blog on a few occasions about my trips to London. I have in the past thought for a long time about the jobs I have turned down in the USA & how it might have been me in the Twin Towers, or me in Central London on the tube or in a cab. I have seen first hand the havoc that terrorism can have as I have been in a couple of bomb alerts in Belfast, clearly my experience is tame compared to those who suffered yesterday.

The resiliance of the British is strong. For me, a conservative middle Englishman to have to the feelings I have now about the animals that have done what they have done in my capital city should speak volumes to anyone. I would tear the head from another so called human being for what they have done.

Extremism breeds extremism.

News from down under...

My brother left who lives in Manchester left on Saturday night on a trip to Australia to validate his residency visa, he will only be there for a week. He will then return home & sort out what he wants to do & maybe move to Sydney on a permanent basis. With this is mind I have been watching the press in Australia for a while now to get up to speed on Australia news, I found this that sort of links with a previous post....

"Rolex and crime seem to go together like Red Bull and vodka. This evening, via the Courier Mail, we learn of two Australian teenage boys who inadvertently aroused suspicion by casually counting out 6,000 $5 bills at a Denver jewelry store to pay for a $30,000 Rolex. Sensing that something might be amiss, the sales assistant asked the boys to leave, and told them she was calling the police. After later confessing to robbing a nearby bank with air pistols and photographing themselves in a McDonald's with the $170,000 they stole, the boys explained that they were attempting to convert the cash into jewelry in order to avoid suspicion."

Another Homer moment - Doh!

Sorry Mr Ports, a story of a smoker getting away with it.....

It seems hard to believe, but Italians are taking the new no-smoking law seriously, so seriously that a jeweller is down £23,000 on a Rolex watch.

A man strolled into a store in Milan's famous shopping street, Via Montenapoleone, and asked to see a few Rolexes. As he perused the glittering merchandise, he told the shop owner he only had foreign currency, but he was definitely interested.

Then, according to La Repubblica newspaper, he reached for his lighter. If it was a calculated hit, it was an exercise in minimalism.

The shop owner, conscious of the Jan. 10 smoking ban in public places, invited him to go out of the shop."Please, enjoy your cigarette outside," the newspaper reported the 53-year-old owner saying.

It was a bad call: the jeweller, at worst, could have been fined a maximum of 2,000 euro. That is, if the five police officers in Milan assigned to the anti-cigarette patrol had happened by the shop at lunchtime. The owner preferred not to take his chances with the fine and as he phoned the bank to ask about the foreign currency, the would-be customer went outside to have his smoke -- making a clean get away with the precious watch.

As Homer says "Doh!, Doh!, Doh!, Doh!, Doh!, Doh!, Doh!, Doh!"

Live 8...

My idea for the Album title - "Probably the best concert... ever!"

I really can't wait for iTunes to have all the tracks available.

Opener from McCartney & Bono was excellent, Madonna was good, Annie Lennox alone on piano was moving, The Killers were exciting, Robbie Williams was about the best, The Who were great (I really like watching Pete Townshend, bit like seeing Oliver Reed with a guitar - you just don't know what the man will do!), and as Jonathan Ross said on air, it was a privilege to see Pink Floyd playing live after so long.

Just one thing missing - Queen. It brought back memories of Live Aid 20 years ago when Freddie Mercury just stole the show. No show stealers this time round, but if Freddie were still around - I'd put my money on him.

I just hope that it helps to achieve what Geldof is trying to make happen, making poverty history is one thing. Making Africa a self sustaining continent is another. Good luck to him - I hope it works.

I've had an idea....

Some clever little bastard is probably being paid to dream this shit up, but I've had a couple of what I think are brilliant ideas.

What about a Bluetooth enabled iPod (built in rather than the bolt on from NaviPlay) & a Bluetooth enabled car head unit? (Stereo radio to the plebs of the world)

You could enable the head unit to act as your hands free unit for mobile phone & the iPod could hook up to the head unit as a player?

Sony, get your arse into gear & get talking to those nice people at Apple, you would take the world by storm!

You might have already noticed....

With the advent of the advanced Blogger with Blogger Images, its really easy to put pictures into your (sometimes) daily Blog. It wasn't actually that difficult in the past as I just hosted my images on pBase, but Blogger Images does make it very, very easy & they host for you.

Having done years of presenting to Corporate customers & Business Partners, I agree 100% that "a picture tells a thousand words" & as I'm not brilliant at typing, pictures it is.

I shall endeavour to put a picture into every post I make to enable clearer understanding of what the hell I am ranting about. Clearly my Blog is read all over the world (having been slagged off by a Persian in previous posts!), so as not all viewers are native English speakers, maybe pictures would help.

Now comes the sticky problem of what picture I could put into this comment.....


I shall make this my comment on F1 - it is clearly full of not very nice tits, mostly those who run the sport!

iMac Memory Upgrade....

It pays to read the small print doesn't it!

Having merrily followed the logic on the Apple Store pages, I purchased 2 x 512Mb SO-DIMM upgrades for my iMac G4. Why? Because the website says it has two memory expansion slots, & the total memory configurable in this model is 1Gb.

However, tucked away on the Apple Support website I found the following.....

"There are two RAM slots in the iMac (Flat Panel) computers. They are:

A user-accessible 144-pin SO-DIMM slot.
An internal (factory-installed) 168-pin DIMM slot

Warning: While you may add or change memory in the SO-DIMM slot, do not attempt to access the factory-only memory slot. Special seals and tooling are required to access and reseal the computer successfully. If the computer is incorrectly resealed, damage to the computer will result and this damage would not be covered under warranty. "

So they're not even the same bloody spec! And, you can't upgrade the 168-pin DIMM yourself!

Luckily Apple managed to cock up & only packed 1 of the modules, so have advised them to credit me for the one I dont need as it wasn't shipped.

The memory upgrade to 640Mb (128Mb + new 512Mb) allows for the OS X v10.4 Tiger update (when it arrives in post), that will allow for iTunes 4.9 update, which in turn will allow music sharing with PC's & other devices, then a D-Link DBT-120 USB Bluetooth Adapter to be added which in turn will allow for wireless keyboard & mouse (also requires OS X v10.3+. Keep up, it's quite easy really!)

Then I will go down the path of either Sonos (see previous posts) or Apple AirTunes to pipe music around house & maybe even garden - Bose do some neat outdoor weatherproof speakers!

Update : Apple have admitted to a picking\packing error & agreed that they didn't ship me both SO-DIMM's, so are refunding me for one of them. Unfortunately, my iMac (early model) only has a CD drive, not a DVD drive, so the OS X Tiger upgrade will have to wait until they send me the CD media! Then at last I can install the OS X software that will allow the wireless keyboard & mouse & iTunes sharing etc etc that started this whole episode.

iPod frenzy...

I have for a while been thinking about getting some form of MP3 player, reading press reviews & other Blogs such as Darren Adams & Ben's Blog I have finally decided on.... an Apple iPod Mini - to start with! I can't decide 100% what is best, I really like the idea of the Sonos System & I might go down that path later, but in the short term the iPod Mini will suffice. I have also bought the Bose Soundock, I have a couple of Bose systems at home & the sound quality is amazing, hopefully this won't disappoint. This has also required an OS upgrade on the iMac (bought more for its asthetic appeal than computing capability - no comments please, it's only a computer device, not a religion!) to allow me to share the music on my PC, which has also required a memory upgrade for the iMac as well.

I have to confess that now I've ordered it, I might have made mistake & am looking at the 20Gb iPod - colour screen! Doh!

Maybe the Sonos would have been cheaper!?

Update : The Bose Sounddock is fantastic, the sound quality is as good as my Bose Wave Radio\CD. The iPod mini is full already, so the previous comment about going for the 20Gb colour iPod could be reality soon!

More rain please, I'm saving water....

Over the summer months I have a number of hanging baskets & mangers full of plants to make a splash of colour on my red brick house. Watering these with a watering can or hose is a pain, so a few years ago I installed a watering system from Hozelock. Its very neat & saves me a huge amount of time & it also saves on water compared to watering with a hose. With the clear danger of a hosepipe ban in the UK this summer, I have invested in a rainwater saving tank & pump to run the watering system from. With the recent rainfall, its 700 litre capacity should be filling up nicely from the downpipes from my house roof.

Electrical storms

Have just witnessed the most fantastic electrical storm, only lasted 20 minutes or so, but it was stunning. The fork lightning was beautiful, the 2 inches of rain that fell in an hour washed the air clean & it smells fresh & clear again.

Reminded me of a brilliant storm I saw a few years back whilst on a plane back from Sydney to London, we skirted around it at dusk.

Not everyones cup of tea, but I like them. One day I'll work out how to photograph them & post some images.

Another day in the big smoke....

Occasionally I have to make a grand journey to London, normally for some meeting or other. In earlier days I spent a lot of time in London for both work & socialising & enjoyed every minute, but now I don't really like going too much. Its a normal, busy, smelly, violent, hustle & bustle capital city.

Today I had to go to Threadneedle Street, to the office of a competitor to my customer for a team meeting they were hosting (yes, they got to pitch to us all - yawn). Not a good way of selling the meeting to me, but no choice really. Looked at the map, not really one for the tube, but thought, lets take the tube for a change, London Waterloo, one stop on Waterloo & City Line & hey presto. Beats standing in the queue for a taxi for 20 minutes or walking for 35+ minutes in the drizzle. London Transport claimed on their website it would be a quick 4 minute hop?

I have to take my hat off to South Western Train & London Underground, it was clean, good value, on time, safe and not over crowded.

Have they changed their ways or something?

Maybe its something to do with the Olympic bid for 2012?

Lucky bar-steward tastes nectar.....

One lucky bar-steward at the very nice Pennyhill Park Hotel in Bagshot has sold a most beautiful bottle of Whisky. He also got to taste it, as the purchaser offered him a dram - probably worth around £1,000!

Anyone that knows me knows that I like a drink, I normally have expensive tastes when it comes to Wine, Whisky & Cognac, but am not averse to cheaper wine & beer either.

I am lucky enough to taste gems from my collection of Macallan (30 yo is lovely), Highland Park (25 yo is smooth as silk), Glenfiddich (21 yo Havana Reserve goes with coffee & Davidoff Grand Cru no.2 very well), Ch. Lynch Bages (first ever good Bordeaux I tasted - a 1962!), Ch. Pichon Longueville, Taittinger (favourite NV) & Krug to name but a few on a regular basis, but rarely have I experienced anything quite fantastic as I imagine this would be.

However, I did once have a Remy Martin Louis XIII Cognac at a hotel in the Cotswolds, I even managed to get it on my expense account - it appeared as dinner for two!

BBC News Website report

Whisky bottle bought for £32,000

A hotel in England could have sold one of the world's most expensive bottles of whisky.

A businessman paid £32,000 for a rare Dalmore 62 Single Highland Malt Scotch Whisky, at the Pennyhill Park Hotel, Bagshot, Surrey, on 24 May.

Only 12 of the bottles were ever produced in 1943, and one was sold at auction in 2002 for just under £26,000.

The Surrey hotel said the man bought the whisky and drank almost all of it in one night with some friends.

General manager David Broadhead would not reveal the identity of the middle-aged buyer - thought to be from Berkshire - saying only that he was a regular hotel guest and a private collector of fine spirits.

"He's not a famous person, you wouldn't know him if you bumped into him in the street," said Mr Broadhead.

The Dalmore 62 is described as "a masterpiece forged from the Highlands of Scotland".

It was derived from four casks of single malt dating from 1868, 1876, 1926 and 1939.

The 12 bottles have their own hand-printed labels and bear unique names.

The one bought in Surrey was called Matheson, named after Alexander Matheson who was the owner of the Dalmore Estate.

One bottle has been kept by spirits company Whyte and Mackay while ten others are in private collections.

A spokeswoman for Whyte and Mackay said she believed the Matheson was the first Dalmore 62 to have been opened and tasted by its owner.

Pennyhill Park acquired it from The Whisky Exchange for £31,000, meaning its sale made the hotel a net profit of £700.

Mr Broadhead said it was bought to add to the hotel's range of fine spirits and he had never expected it to be sold.

The sale happened late in the evening in the hotel's Ascot Bar and the businessman was with around five friends.

"He's got the bottle and he's got the presentation case of course, so at least it's on his shelf as a memento," said Mr Broadhead.

The bar manager - who negotiated the £32,000 price tag - was lucky enough to be offered a glass and told Mr Broadhead it was the "most beautiful thing" he had ever tasted.

Richard Paterson, master blender at the Dalmore Distillery in Ross-shire, Scotland, said he was glad somebody else had experienced the taste of the 62. Paterson said the Dalmore 62 should be enjoyed with Rwandan, Nicaraguan or Colombian coffee, 86% cocoa-fat chocolate and a particular brand of cigar.

He would encourage the other owners to sip and savour theirs as well.

Link to BBC article

Attention all Bloggers, have you registered?

Extract from BBC News report.....

Chinese bloggers posting their thoughts via Microsoft's net service face restrictions on what they can write.

Weblog entries on some parts of Microsoft's MSN site in China using words such as "freedom", "democracy" and "demonstration" are being blocked.

China recently introduced stringent regulations that require all blog owners to register their web journal with the state by 30 June.

The regulations require the writer of a blog to identify themselves to the authorities.

According to Reporters Without Borders, China is using a system called Night Crawler to patrol web journals and make sure that only registered blogs are published. Unregistered blogs will be shut down.

All I can say is thank f*ck that I don't don't use such words on my website!

I appear to be an emotional fuck wit....

I have been subjected to many slurs & bad mouthing over the years, but a recent comment here about my inability to comment on my "feelings" has struck a chord.

I appear to be an emotional fuck wit!

I have confessed to being so on may an occasion over the years, mainly to get away from various commitments with females, but to have it inferred to me on a blog is a first.

Never mind, I think they confuse me with someone that gives a shit, at least I am a happy emotional fuck wit!

Another gadget!

I have over the last few years had an interest in that very British subject - the weather. See earlier post Feb 21st 2005.

I have several Oregon Scientific Weather monitors, but have today gone for the Full Monty version - the Oregon Scientific Professional Weather Station with wind meter, barometer, hygrometer, rain measure, thermometer to name but a few.

All sorts of data can be shared via the software that comes with it, see the Wellesbourne Airfield website for an example.

See here for full details from Oregon Scientific.

Update : all installed & running, wind meter is set on top of flagpole (yes, I have a flagpole!), the whole thing will link to PC via RS232 cable & I will try to make Andover weather reports available to the world via my website! I know how to spoil my readers & viewers!

Updated update : the flagpole wasn't good enough, the wind swirled & generally gave insufficient reading for the device. So tommorrow an Aerial & Antenna contractor is visiting to put the anemometer (wind meter to you and me) on the pole to which my TV Aerial is fitted, on my chimney stack, about 20 metres up(hence the contractor, I'm not going 20 metres up a ladder!) I have made the necessary brackets, so should be a quick visit. Solar power & wireless technology means it should be up there for a while without any maintenance - fingers crossed.

Another long weekend....

Made longer by a few things.... Saturday during the day I start to jet wash the patio, big patio, long job, so decide to do it over a couple of days, then Saturday late PM the drains (luckily the kitchen sink & garden hose drain, nothing worse!) block up! So on a Bank Holiday weekend should I call out Dyno-Rod & get charged £400? No, on Sunday AM I go out & buy my own set of shiney drain rods, then go back & buy another set because the first set wouldn't reach the blockage, all sorted in 4 hours on Sunday morning - ah what fun.

Sunday PM & Monday continue to jet wash the patio & teak oil the garden furniture, all finished by 7:00pm, time to have dinner & retire to bed for a short working week. Most people appear to be on leave this week, so will try to have a quiet one.

An enormous sense of dread....

Why is it that some days you can't sleep because of an enormous sense that something is going to go so very badly wrong? Work or personal life, not sure. It rarely happens to me (ever the optimist!?) but last night I could barely settle into my comfortable bed to sleep (as normally happens without any issue). Nothing bad happened today at all, infact it was quite a productive normal day without any issue that I couldn't deal with with - which is the norm.

Will have to wait & see what tommorrow brings. Weird.

Update: Well, I'm still here a few days after my sense of foreboding. Don't know what that was all about.

Been away.... time to catch up

I have been on a week of leave from work & thought it better to reflect rather than get over excited like my earlier post entitled "Wahoooooooo - its Friday, and I'm now on holiday...."

Had a good week off, went to France, had some lovely food, brought back a load of food, wine, beer & booze that I'll cook & enjoy over the next couple of weeks or so (longer for the alcohol - honest). Asparagus, Prawns, Mussels, Champagne to name but a few. Had the mussels last night - lovely!! Tommorrow I will cook an Asparagus & Cheese tart that I saw in The Sunday Times Magazine a few weeks ago.

Am off to Salisbury tommorrow to have a go at contact lenses at the best opticians in the world (see earlier post) & take a recent addition to my collection of Browning shotguns to Greenfields gunsmiths for a few modifications. A 16 bore Browning 325 Grade 6 that kicks like a mule as its too short in the stock for me, so am having a Kick-Eeze pad put on that will take it to 15" & having the horrible polyurethane stock taken back down & oiled properly. Am going to Greenfields first as my normal Gunsmith fell through his roof two weeks ago & will be out of action for a few months. When Greenfields have done I will take it to him to get the stock reshaped & re-chequered & a silver insert put in the stock to match my others.

Had some news that a friend of mine has just lost his entire hard disk drive - nothing backed up at all. I created a database for him 7 years ago & he has lost the lot - I am inclined to say what a twat, but am feeling charitable. Anyone know any good data recovery services near Birmingham?

People analysis....

At my customer today I met a guy, well actually he is a shrink. He is flown all over the world at great expense by his employer (my customer) to meet & analyse the senior management of the businesses. He reports back & holds sessions where the management are gathered together to discuss each others failings & bad points - how therapeutic!?

He was introduced to me as he had a question about my car parked outside (he has a BMW 7 Series & is looking to change it for an Audi A8 - apparently!?). I did think for a nanosecond about going down the path that I have such a large car because it's really just an extension of my penis etc etc, but thought better of it. So I just answered normally & gave my opinion on what a nice car it is. It still feels like I was being analysed & measured by him though, I really wonder sometimes & I don't understand some people when they just don't stop work mode.

Where in the world....

Carl Tylers blog had this link, it replicates a map of the world on my study wall with little dots all over it to represent places I have been. Strangely it comes out at 40 countries or 17%, the same as Carl & clearly still loads to see then!



Give it a try create your own visited country map

It's my birthday & I'll garden if I want to....

Yes, it's my birthday today (38 honest!), it's that one day in the year when you can do as you please as its the anniversary of your birth. So what did I do? Got up at 7:30 took a load of stuff to the tip, got a paper, had some breakfast & spent the day working in the garden! Not my idea of a day to remember, but at least the gardens look 100% now.

The best eye test, ever!

I had today the best experience of a process that I usually hate, an eye test. I dislike it because it probably means great expense & investment in new glasses, sunglasses, shooting\squash glasses which adds up to a pretty penny. You are also subjected to a bloke pushing his face around yours with a small bright torch beaming away in your eyes!

All of that happened, but the prescription hadn't changed so no new glasses required.

I did however ask that my current glasses be adjusted and that the pads be replaced. I was passed on to the sexiest Opticians Assistant ever who had the most fantastic cleavage on public show. After she had replaced the parts, then pushed & pulled the frames & placed them on me she asked me to follow her hand around with my eyes to see if she had adjusted the glasses correctly, where do you look!? She didn't seem to mind & made light of it, brilliant.

If Heineken were Opticians, they would come 2nd place to these. Memory Opticians

A good day & a bad day in IBM

I went to the IBM Business Partner Community Conference today in sunny Bedfont, an excellent event with hundreds of IBM Business Partners attending. Bumped into loads of people that I work with & know of old from my years at Lotus\IBM. An excellent networking day with loads of information shared, sadly the email suffered & I have come back to 65 to get through!

The end of the day was a tad uncomfortable with the public announcement that IBM is to make 13,000 staff redundant in Europe, with probably quite a few in the UK and Paris EMEA HQ.

Why do people do it?

I travelled to central London yesterday, I took the train. Once in a while is bad enough, but 5 days a week!? How\why do people suffer the cattle in a lorry conditions & rip off prices for the pleasure? I know the answer to my question is probably "because they have to".

I had a 2pm meeting, so took the 12:04 from Andover, it was OK, not too many people, got a seat with a table & did an hour of work on my laptop. Journey back was the 18:20, managed to get a seat in the door lobby area, it was smelly & baking hot, packed full of rude & dumb people, they all got off at Woking & Basingstoke! Mega headache upon return meant early to bed.

Mayday means fete!

The Mayday fete at Hurstbourne Priors has been a fixture in my diary for a few years now, not for the fete itself, but for the Clay Pidgeon Shoot in the next field held to raise money for something or other.

It's only a small venue, it is quite good fun watching the locals have a go, mixing with the "ringers" who travel around winning the cash pool every year. Then there is the even more interesting sight watching a cross section of society from Gamekeepers to Gentry, Professional to Thug, Window Fitter to Plumber, Bankrobbers & others (I see myself in the "others" section by the way!) shoot with varying degrees of ability & I have to say it - safety. Some of the gun handling skills were terrible, CPSA safety course & CPSA membership for insurance should be mandatory for anyone wanting to shoot in a competition - only my opinion.

I only shot one round, with a 20 bore, I scored 31 ex 40, so not bad, but no prize. The winner shot 4 rounds & scored 39 ex 40.

Customer service....

No, not a gripe or tale of woe. A true story of good customer service, no - two of them!!!!

Saturday - went shopping in the retail mecca that is Salisbury (on my own) I had a lad thing to pick up that I had ordered from Greenfields (Gunsmiths) & wanted to go to MotaMan for some Autoglym (they stock the entire range of commercial stuff). I wandered into the Vodafone Store with a general enquiry about getting a 2nd SIM for my car. Something I had been told by other Vodafone stores as being a bit difficult & not something they really recommended. The Sales Assistant in Salisbury just got on & did it, no bitching, no fussing, no moaning or groaning when he was hanging on the phone to Vodafone HQ trying to sort it out - he just did what I knew was possible. He didn't even charge me, quite the contrary, he found a better tarrif for me whilst I was there!

Friday\Monday - with new car purchase I had to change insurance for it, with the added complication of transferring my cherished plate I needed dual cover for a couple of days whilst the Audi dealership did its stuff. Jason at A-Plan Insurance brokers in Alton (who I have never met, but have spoken to on a few occasions) again, just sorted it. No fuss, no charge, just happy to help & clearly wants to retain my business.

Check out the Hall of Fame for more.

Once again....

I find myself posting a comment about not posting comments enough! [Not that I think anyone reads this crap]

I have been subjected to a couple of reviews at work of late, numbers, numbers & numbers again, then review plans to get the numbers! Seems my numbers don't match their numbers, so the number I have must be wrong. Hence the lack of posts here - sorry, whoever you are.

Time for a new car....

I have over the last couple of weeks had a few issues with my car.

It's a nice car, I like it a lot, but two weeks ago it needed 2 new tyres coming in at £560 in total, last week it cost £550 to get serviced & they also told me it needed new brake discs & pads all round, coming to a projected cost of £720!!

I set my man at Audi Basingstoke a challenge on colour, mileage, price, finance & interior spec etc. He came through meeting all of my criteria without even a blink or "we can't possibly do it for that price" crap that all previous salesmen have come up with, so I signed on the dotted line today for one of these......



An Audi A8 4.2 Quattro Tiptronic in Silver with black leather, less expensive tyres on it and it even comes with a service contract thrown in, so no servicing costs for 3 years! Should be with me by end of the month.

I have been looking at updating it for a while, but these costs have spurred me onto doing it sooner rather than later. I told the service dept not to book me in for the brakes to be done, their sales team will be picking up the cost, not me!

Time for a new passport....

My passport expired a few days ago, I let it run its full course as I wanted to get out of going to my employers Worldwide kickoff, you need to have a passport with 6 months or more left on it to travel to the US.

I can't be doing with that sort of travelling anymore, I have done a lot of travelling in the last 20 years which I have enjoyed, but as I have got older & wiser I feel that my 6'4" frame doesn't like being squashed into a seat made for standard 5'8" person & now I hate it so much I don't do cattle class if I can get away with it, I'll happily pay for Club myself & travel less frequently. Even if I volunteered to pay the extra for Club Class my employer wouldn't let me - so bollocks to it, I ain't going.

I found the online pages of the UK Passport Service & have applied, paid my fee & the paperwork that needs to be filled in by my countersignatory arrived by post the very next day - easy as an easy thing.

UK Passport Service

As expected Blair calls for vote in May....

Mr Blair has called for a General Election on Thursday May 5, as we all expected after his office probably gave details to the press a few weeks ago & they have predicted it in their publications for the last month or so.

Blair says "It's a big choice and there's a lot at stake"

Michael Howard said people could either reward Mr Blair for eight years of broken promises, or vote for his party "which is taking a stand and has promised action on the issues that matter".

Charles Kennedy promised a campaign which would be "positive and ambitious". He said: "I'm not going to spend these precious few weeks doing this country down."

Monster Raving Looney Party says "We will issue a 99p coin to save on change"

You have to vote Looney - anyone with their registered address being a pub has to be a winner! - The Dog & Partridge, 105 Reading Road, Yateley, Hampshire GU46 7LR.

No posts for nearly a week...

I had a plan to post here every 2 or 3 days with details of my rich and varied life (not!), but as last week was quarter end for my business, I failed miserably. It was very busy & completely painful, but I live safe in the knowledge that it will all happen again in 13 weeks time.

Well done Jamie Oliver....

Yahoo! News Reports

Celebrity TV chef Jamie Oliver has delivered a petition to Downing Street calling for better food standards in schools. His Feed Me Better internet petition has been signed by 271,677 people. It comes as Education Secretary Ruth Kelly prepares to unveil a £280 million funding package to improve the quality of school meals.

But the Government says the timing is a pure co-incidence.

Before he handed in the petition, Oliver told reporters he wanted to see the amount spent on primary school dinners increased from 37p to 50p.

To provide secondary school children with a proper nutritional meal, the amount needed was 60p, he said.

Ms Kelly has promised to meet both these demands.

Being the cynic I am, I would like to comment "co-incidence" my arse! Government just trying again to jump on a pre election good news band wagon, originally created by Jamie using his own status in the public eye to expose a seriously under-funded school meals system that feeds kids worse than convicts!

I watch most of Mr Oliver's programmes on the TV, when he took on the task of training 15 underprivileged kids to work in the new restaurant, it brought back lots of memories for me. I undertook the City & Guilds Catering course for 2 years at Cricklade College. Most of the kids on that course were from the lower end of the educational & social spectrum & had been offered a place on the course as a last resort & a last chance of further education. All of the things Jamie's kids got up to, most of my peers at college were doing 20 years earlier. I genuinely was one of the few that actually applied to do the course because I really wanted to - much to my parents dissmay!

All stop, financial diversion on it's way....

Hold everything, the investment in a Canon EOS 20D will have to wait a while (I know I don't NEED the bloody thing anyway, just a gadget\technology trip) and in reality, I probably won't wait, I'll just go get one next week instead!

I have today found the near mecca for Royal Crown Derby collecters up for sale, it may seem like a load of old tosh to the general population, but I've been searching a while for these....

A Bakewell Duck - limited edition of 500 produced by Royal Crown Derby for Sinclairs of Bakewell in 1995.

and a Mullberry Hall large Elephant limited edition of 500 again, produced by Royal Crown Derby for Mulberry Hall, York in 1997.



All I have to do now is negotiate a price!

Update : Couldn't agree price for both, so the Elephant it is. I'm not sure about the Bakewell Duck anyway, its a lot of money for something that really isn't that exciting apart from its rarity. Who knows, if I win the Lotto tonite I might buy it.

the next digital Camera....

With Spring upon us, the idea of getting out & taking a few photo's of the general scenery or the new influx of helicopters that always accompanies the break in the weather seems like a good way of getting out & about.

I have over the last 20 years or so bought & sold many SLR camera's, from my first purchase with some money my Grandfather left me in his will, an Olympus OM30 bought from Dixon's (I soon realised what a heap of crap this was & bought an OM2SP), I then sacrificed my investment in Olympus kit & moved to the brilliant Canon EOS SLR system with a couple of EOS 5's (why two? - see below). My first venture into digital photography was a Canon EOS D30 (not as bad as my OM30, but still quickly overtaken technology - I get better shots from a digital Canon Ixus 3!) there is a theme here, anything photography related with "30" in it - avoid!

I have superceded the D30 with a Canon EOS 10D which is much better, faster & the images are crisper. I say "superceded" because I haven't actually sold the D30, it's on loan to a friend in the hope that they love it & buy it from me (please Mr Dunbar, go on! You know your lenses fit it!). Given that the trade in value of this is so bad, I might even give it to a local college or school or somewhere that might get some good use from it.

I normally run 2 SLR's side-by-side & always have done since missing out on loads of shots at the Epsom Derby one year. So I am on the lookout for my next model, I can't bring myself to spend any more than £1500 on a camera, so the high end Canon digital stuff (EOS 1D & EOS 1DS etc) are not even going to be considered, my only real choice is the EOS 20D.

Having looked at the latest EF-S range of lenses that Canon are producing specifically for the digital cameras (they claim "they are optically optimized for digital SLRs" but in reality the image receptor [CCD] magnifies the image by anything from 10% to 60%, so they have made an EF-S 10-22mm that converts to effective focal length of 16-35mm in 35mm format), it seems that the current crop of Canon Digital SLR's (20D, 300D & 350D) and onwards are the only cameras that will work with the new lenses. No backward compatibility with the 10D?

The price varies wherever you look, the best I've found so far is £965 for the body only, or £1,110 for body & the very good Canon BG-E2 battery grip from Park Cameras in Burgess Hill.

Modifications....

A new template, with some minor changes by me. Added some links to what might be useful websites (if you share the same interests as me - unlikey!?) and some links to Blogs by people I know. Not sure about the colours, might be another change on the way, when I can work out how to do it.

Mobile phones (plural) in cars....

I have an Audi S8 car, very very nice, with a built in Nokia cradle (from Cullman - if anyone knows anything about Cullman please let me know how I can get hold of them. I want to see if they do cradles for other Nokia's) for the rep's standard Nokia 6310i mobile phone. Works very well, integrated with the Bose\Audi TV\Nav\Radio\CD system etc.

I have 2 mobile phones, one for work, one for personal use, I have in the past run two 6310i's, but last year I upgraded to Nokia 6230 free of charge with my personal contract as Nokia ceased production of the 6310i (why!?, they are now selling reconditioned 6310i's for £244 & they are selling because they are good workhorses). The upgrade to the 6230 wasn't very useful given the I didnt want to have a 2nd car kit installed to accomodate my 6230 - so I continued to swap 6310i's as I merrily drove along. Leaving the 6230 in a draw at home.

I have today purchased an Icon Bluetooth Handsfree kit (also marketed by Expansys as the AiroBlue Bluetooth handsfree kit for £10 more than Argos have it for?). I don't understand why prices differ so much - a Nokia HDB-5 Boom headset from Expansys is £7.62 + vat of £1.33 which equals £8.95, add P&P of £2.80, that makes a grand total of £11.75, my local mobile phone shop (complete with spotty Assistant) wants to charge me £24.99 saying that its usually £29.99, but they are "doing me a deal". Yeah, bloody right, you're taking the piss & trying to rip me off!!!!! Hall of shame beckons I think.



Having had a little bit of time fiddling with it tonight (no Mr Jackson jokes please!) it appears to be OK, only trying it in the car will tell if I will be as happy with it when on the M3 travelling at 70mph(ish).

Update : All seems to work OK. Can be moved from car to car (as long as you have a cradle to put the phone into to keep Mr Plod happy [£15.99 from Halfords]) can even be used as a speaker phone in the office to save frying your brain with a mobile up to your ear.

Conference calls & how to survive them....

I seem to spend an incredible amount of time on conference calls, some I host & take an active part it, others I am merely one of many bored participants listening to some Europrat or Yank going on about the 1 product they manage for the whole of EMEA or Worldwide business (oh how challenging that must be!?) try managing multiple businesses in just one country!

Clearly different people have different approaches to how they utilise their time on these calls that don't really inspire or excite - yes, its a good time to catch up on emails, or others simply sit there & throw waste paper into the bin from a distance.

Now comes the virtual waste paper basket challenge - it saves picking up all the bits of paper that you will no doubt have surrounding the waste paper basket after 30 minutes or so.

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/papertoss.html

Anything they can do.....

Over the last couple of months my next door neighbours have had the builders in to convert their loft space into 2 additional bedrooms with another bathroom. Not an easy path to tread as like most building "professionals" they have employed these guys are completely useless at estimating how long a job they have done many times before will actually take - initial estimates were 8 weeks, we are now in week 9 & have probably another 2 to go. They also plonked a flippin Portaloo on the driveway within hours of arriving - tasteful (not!) The neighbours are withholding payment installments & moonlighting plumber (brother of main contractor) is having a nervous breakdown. Needless to say, these "professionals" are not top of my list as prime candidates for working on my house, but I will utilise the experience of my neighbours to try & make my experience slightly easier.

I have to say that the idea of taking the smallest bedroom in the house & converting into an additional landing\stairwell area & gaining another bathroom & 2 double bedrooms does appeal, if only from the aspect of increasing property value & easy access storage space.

So I am going to put pen to paper & start squiggling some plans (I would like a different layout to next door) & jot down some ideas that accomodate my ideas of how best to utilise existing services & where to put stairs & bathroom etc. whilst still gaining 2 double bedrooms.

Photo's & sketches to follow....

Another collection on its way.....

I have over the last couple of years built a collection of Royal Crown Derby Paperweights, (I did think about this path for a while, as I'm sure that the Imari Pattern is a favourite of the local Gypo clans) I specifically only collect one type - birds.

I have however always liked the RCD Fish paperweights, they weren't very popular and were only in production for a couple of years. This year Royal Doulton commissioned a Pacific Angelfish, this spurred me onto collecting all of the fish paperweights as well. I'm sure that Royal Doulton may well ask Crown Derby to make one or two more in the coming years as well.

To this end, I have now bought 5 of the collection & the other 3 are reserved with a dealer for puchase next month.

Back at work two days, and its OK....

Back to work for a couple of days now after a week away from it all, re-energised & refreshed, not exactly, but I am finding it easier to get to grips with a few of the issuettes that get fired my way every day.

Having said that, I am still only half way through the 407 emails that greeted me upon my return - how can anyone keep up with 400+ emails a week & do all the shit that everyday work throws up at you? Answer - you can't. I'll just keep plodding along & what gets done gets done & what misses out is just tough.

How can they get it so wrong?

The inquest into the crash that killed 3 men I knew has in my opinion come up with the wrong conclusion. Even the AAIB have stated that they think the accident was caused by the wrong coating being applied to part of the gearbox. At least they did state that none of the men on board were to blame in any way for the accident - something the general aviation community already knew. I wish every success to the families if they do take up civil action against the German manufacturer - it will never bring back their loved ones, but it will at least give closure to the families affected by this terrible accident that took away 3 highly experienced men, an accident that could have been avoided.

From ThisisHampshire.net
"A defect with a helicopter's combination gearbox led to the aircraft crashing in north Hampshire killing a Romsey man and two others.

North east Hampshire coroner, Andrew Bradley, recorded a verdict of misadventure at the inquest into the deaths of Neville Moger, 45, of Hogarth Close at Woodley and the pilot Captain Ian Shoobridge and engineer James Gordon Stables - both from Wiltshire.

All three died instantly when their Twin Squirrel helicopter came down in a field and burst into flames at Hurstbourne Tarrant, near Andover, in December, 2003. The helicopter had taken off from Thruxton airfield where it was based, shortly before the tragedy. The families of the dead men were hoping for an unlawful killing verdict.

The Air Accident Investigation Board acknowledged father-of-three Mr Moger, Mr Shoobridge and Mr Gordon-Stables were all highly experienced and they were not to blame in any way for the crash that claimed their lives.

Accident investigators are continuing inquiries into the crash and a full report into the tragedy will be published in due course.

It has been suggested the wrong coating on components within the aircraft's mechanisms may have led to the accident but the German manufacture has disputed the claims.

This week's three-day inquest at Basingstoke heard that the aircraft's had been taken on a test flight after undergoing major engineering works on its two gearboxes.

Air Accident investigators told the inquest one of the helicopter's gearboxes was detached at the site where it crashed.

Stephen Moss from the Air Accident Investigation Branch said the craft's freewheel drive had moved and this had allowed the engine to over-speed. As a result the freewheel re-engaged, leading to a sudden reapplication of power. This caused a structural failure to the tail boom and ended with catastrophic results.

Mr Moss, an inspector with the AAIB, said the authority believed the rollers in the freewheel mechanism had slipped because they were coated in error with the wrong product manufactured by the German component company FAG Kugelfischer."

Therapy (of sorts)....

As I said last week, retail therapy was on the cards for this week. Salisbury yesterday threw up a couple of thousand shotgun cartridges & a potential new shotgun for the ever expanding collection - a Beretta AL391 Urika in 20 bore!



Collection on Saturday seems likely after Greenfields have found all component parts such as chokes & ABS case etc....

Basingstoke today uncovered a couple of new belts, some replacement wine glasses and another pestle & mortar for the collection gracing my kitchen, I'm sure at some point in the future I will post photo's of said pestle & mortar collection here or on PBase - don't get too excited!

Who knows what tommorrow will hold, maybe a quick trip to yet another shopping mecca?

How things get put into perspective....

In December 2003 three people I knew were killed whilst flight testing a helicopter from Thruxton Airfield, near Andover.

Ian Shoobrodge was the pilot, Neville Moger & James Gordon-Stables were engineers that had been working on the drivetrain of G-XCEL, a Eurocopter AS.355F1 Twin Squirrel.

I didn't know any of the men very well, although I did go to school with James & had spent a fair amount of time with Neville when visiting Aeromaritime. Ian had been a more recent acquaintance but was more than happy to spend time chatting to me about something we both loved - helicopters. Albeit our interest was from different angles - he was an experienced pilot with thousands of hours & I was merely an enthusiast. All too often I have been ignored by pilots, engineers & the like who look down on such enthusiasts, Ian, Neville & James didn't & they all took time to chat to me & share knowledge & experiences, something I will never forget & really wish I had the chance to say "thankyou" for.

An inquest is being held this week into the events & circumstances of the accident. Makes you understand how lucky you are when you really do think about it.