An OK day in work. Nothing major happened while I was off yesterday and my script that captured data about a storage pool in the backup system is working nicely.
DnD this evening. It was the continuation of a furious battle started last week, combined with some fairly average sniping amongst the group. My character is a bit of a wanker, and so is Rob's, and so things get a bit heated sometimes. It's quite entertaining.
The car had the exhaust fitted, which means it's a lot quieter, but I'll have to get them to look at it again since now there's a high pitched whistle when it revs above 3000 revs.
My left lower eyelid has been twitching all day, it's REALLY fucking annoying. No idea why. Also feeling a bit weird, can feel myself heading into a depressive mood again and I don't want to. Argh.
Tuesday 30 April 2013
Monday 29 April 2013
Chucking it all away
It's been a good weekend. I've had to look after the dog for most of it, so I took Friday as a working from home day, which was nice. Saturday was spent sorting out a load of shit to go to the tip in town. I took a load of old computers that were useless and a vast box of cables and power supplies that have accumulated over time. I had to leave the dog alone but he is OK left for short periods.
The Honda may be shit on fuel, but it does have an impressive amount of room inside with the seats down, and it's high enough off the ground and powerful enough to cope with being heavily loaded, so it might just earn it's keep.
Yesterday was the Wales Comic-Con, which was a great day. I had already arranged with a neighbour that he would mind the dog, and so it was off to Wrexham. The day started with breakfast at Frankie and Benny's and was the first time I've ever had Eggs Benedict, which was nice. There were a few of us there, me, Steve, Rob G, Rob and Em, Jane, Wes, baby Xander and Jake and Andy C from down south. We'd ordered early bird tickets, which was definitely worth it. When we got there, the main queue was completely bonkers, and we were able to bypass it and go in straight away.
The main hall was pretty good with loads of people there and the usual stalls of things. One stall had a rather impressive steampunk bass for £140, which looked really cool, but fortunately I was able to resist. There were plenty of interesting people there too, from various shows. One interesting one was Carolyn Seymour, who played a Romulan commander in TNG and was also the voice of the doctor in Mass Effect, which I hadn't realised. There were a great number of people from Game of Thrones, and the artists who did the old Transformers comics. Also the usual amount of people in great costumes, the absolute best of which was a guy dressed up as a Borg, which looked incredible. There was someone going around in an Alien costume, who Xander decided to hold hands with, to the delight of the room.
After that I came home to get the dog back and make a big batch of chilli, which came out very nicely.
Today has been another day of clearing out as I took the day as leave to continue looking after the dog. This time I loaded up the car with four old TVs and monitors and shedloads of old VHS tapes. They were rank - not been touched in years and they were covered in mouse shit and piss. Awful. The only ones I really cared about I've got on DVD anyway. Once again the Honda proved it's worth with the space. It's a good thing it's getting the exhaust sorted tomorrow though as it's getting louder by the day, to the point of embarrassment.
Two things I was going to chuck but couldn't bring myself to do it were a couple of vintage SGI and Sun Unix workstations that I picked up about ten years ago. The SGI is an Iris Indigo and is a beautifully designed machine, completely modular and with old full-height SCSI hard drives. I pulled the motherboard out and it had a graphic on it saying it was 'The Song and Dance Machine', with a list of the people who designed it, and of course it has the lovely indigo case. The Sun is a SparcStation IPX, not as pretty as the SGI, but is very cute with a small boxy case and little feet to stand on. I've also got an SGI Indy somewhere, which is quite a funky looking pizza box machine. SGI were making computers pretty way before it was cool. Throwing these into the tip seemed like sacrilege, so I'll see if I can put them on Ebay or donate them to a museum or something.
I was hoping to do circuits this evening as usual, but the TVs I was lugging around had made my arms achy and also I think I pulled a muscle in my upper back, so I decided to err on the side of caution, but I did take the dog for a walk instead. After that I ate some more chilli while watching Iron Maiden: Rock in Rio, which is amazing.
The Honda may be shit on fuel, but it does have an impressive amount of room inside with the seats down, and it's high enough off the ground and powerful enough to cope with being heavily loaded, so it might just earn it's keep.
Yesterday was the Wales Comic-Con, which was a great day. I had already arranged with a neighbour that he would mind the dog, and so it was off to Wrexham. The day started with breakfast at Frankie and Benny's and was the first time I've ever had Eggs Benedict, which was nice. There were a few of us there, me, Steve, Rob G, Rob and Em, Jane, Wes, baby Xander and Jake and Andy C from down south. We'd ordered early bird tickets, which was definitely worth it. When we got there, the main queue was completely bonkers, and we were able to bypass it and go in straight away.
The main hall was pretty good with loads of people there and the usual stalls of things. One stall had a rather impressive steampunk bass for £140, which looked really cool, but fortunately I was able to resist. There were plenty of interesting people there too, from various shows. One interesting one was Carolyn Seymour, who played a Romulan commander in TNG and was also the voice of the doctor in Mass Effect, which I hadn't realised. There were a great number of people from Game of Thrones, and the artists who did the old Transformers comics. Also the usual amount of people in great costumes, the absolute best of which was a guy dressed up as a Borg, which looked incredible. There was someone going around in an Alien costume, who Xander decided to hold hands with, to the delight of the room.
After that I came home to get the dog back and make a big batch of chilli, which came out very nicely.
Today has been another day of clearing out as I took the day as leave to continue looking after the dog. This time I loaded up the car with four old TVs and monitors and shedloads of old VHS tapes. They were rank - not been touched in years and they were covered in mouse shit and piss. Awful. The only ones I really cared about I've got on DVD anyway. Once again the Honda proved it's worth with the space. It's a good thing it's getting the exhaust sorted tomorrow though as it's getting louder by the day, to the point of embarrassment.
Two things I was going to chuck but couldn't bring myself to do it were a couple of vintage SGI and Sun Unix workstations that I picked up about ten years ago. The SGI is an Iris Indigo and is a beautifully designed machine, completely modular and with old full-height SCSI hard drives. I pulled the motherboard out and it had a graphic on it saying it was 'The Song and Dance Machine', with a list of the people who designed it, and of course it has the lovely indigo case. The Sun is a SparcStation IPX, not as pretty as the SGI, but is very cute with a small boxy case and little feet to stand on. I've also got an SGI Indy somewhere, which is quite a funky looking pizza box machine. SGI were making computers pretty way before it was cool. Throwing these into the tip seemed like sacrilege, so I'll see if I can put them on Ebay or donate them to a museum or something.
I was hoping to do circuits this evening as usual, but the TVs I was lugging around had made my arms achy and also I think I pulled a muscle in my upper back, so I decided to err on the side of caution, but I did take the dog for a walk instead. After that I ate some more chilli while watching Iron Maiden: Rock in Rio, which is amazing.
Friday 26 April 2013
IT Crowd
It's been a fairly ordinary week, but with more exercise than usual. After circuits on Monday it was DnD on Tuesday, then on Wednesday we all went to the gym, which was pretty good. I find it easier to not use the programme they supply and just get a machine for as long as I can handle it.
However no badminton on Thursday as I had to take my Mum to one of her writing things, which means I have to look after the dog over the weekend. I worked from home today which was nice, and then I'm on leave on Monday. Hoping to have a bit of a tidy up and take some crap away tomorrow and Monday, and it's the Wales Comic Con on Sunday, which should be great.
The Accord was looked at yesterday and was diagnosed as needing a new anti rollbar link and a flexible bit of exhaust - pretty much what I expected. Pleasingly the cost was somewhat less than I had anticipated so it's going in on Tuesday to get those sorted out. I wasn't going to spent any money on it but it'll make it easier to get rid of if it doesn't sound so farty.
Been playing around again with the Organiser IIs. I found a way to program the UDGs with random data, which is a way of making your own graphics on it, which led to some interesting screen effects. With it only being a 4x20 grid of 8x5 matrices it's a bit limited in terms of graphics though, and the older ones are even worse as they only have a 2x16 grid. It's still fun though. I just like the way you can pick it up and quickly write a program to do whatever. Something that modern computers lack. I know the Raspberry Pi is supposed to bring that old feeling back but it still seems a bit bloated and awkward. I've also been on a bit of an accumulation thing with the Psions....somehow I've ended up with eight of the things, but at least they are small.
I've been watching the IT Crowd after my brother introduced it to me. It passed me by a bit when it was on the TV and I grew to dislike it because I was on the helpdesk at the time, and people used to laugh at us about it, especially the turn it off and on thing. I've watched it twice now. The first time I wasn't impressed and didn't like it but after a repeat viewing it has grown on me, although I still think some of it is annoying. I still need to watch the fourth season though, since I didn't know there was one until today, doh.
However no badminton on Thursday as I had to take my Mum to one of her writing things, which means I have to look after the dog over the weekend. I worked from home today which was nice, and then I'm on leave on Monday. Hoping to have a bit of a tidy up and take some crap away tomorrow and Monday, and it's the Wales Comic Con on Sunday, which should be great.
The Accord was looked at yesterday and was diagnosed as needing a new anti rollbar link and a flexible bit of exhaust - pretty much what I expected. Pleasingly the cost was somewhat less than I had anticipated so it's going in on Tuesday to get those sorted out. I wasn't going to spent any money on it but it'll make it easier to get rid of if it doesn't sound so farty.
Been playing around again with the Organiser IIs. I found a way to program the UDGs with random data, which is a way of making your own graphics on it, which led to some interesting screen effects. With it only being a 4x20 grid of 8x5 matrices it's a bit limited in terms of graphics though, and the older ones are even worse as they only have a 2x16 grid. It's still fun though. I just like the way you can pick it up and quickly write a program to do whatever. Something that modern computers lack. I know the Raspberry Pi is supposed to bring that old feeling back but it still seems a bit bloated and awkward. I've also been on a bit of an accumulation thing with the Psions....somehow I've ended up with eight of the things, but at least they are small.
I've been watching the IT Crowd after my brother introduced it to me. It passed me by a bit when it was on the TV and I grew to dislike it because I was on the helpdesk at the time, and people used to laugh at us about it, especially the turn it off and on thing. I've watched it twice now. The first time I wasn't impressed and didn't like it but after a repeat viewing it has grown on me, although I still think some of it is annoying. I still need to watch the fourth season though, since I didn't know there was one until today, doh.
Monday 22 April 2013
Pain
I had quite a few ideas for Sunday but the only one I ended up doing was having a bit of a clearout and a bonfire. Oh well.
Work was OK and productive today. Managed to avoid the temptations of the evil vending machine and ended up eating bananas instead. Went to circuit training as usual, and it was much better this week than last week. I even managed to do the hideous running outside the building bit without too much trouble. Still feel knackered afterwards though and I'm sure I'll be achy tomorrow.
Did some work on my phone. It is going to be The Book for my Arthur Dent costume in May for Wes's birthday BBQ. I'm going to put it in a Don't Panic cover and put some videos of the book entries from the old TV series on it. It should be big enough to get the point across I hope.
Work was OK and productive today. Managed to avoid the temptations of the evil vending machine and ended up eating bananas instead. Went to circuit training as usual, and it was much better this week than last week. I even managed to do the hideous running outside the building bit without too much trouble. Still feel knackered afterwards though and I'm sure I'll be achy tomorrow.
Did some work on my phone. It is going to be The Book for my Arthur Dent costume in May for Wes's birthday BBQ. I'm going to put it in a Don't Panic cover and put some videos of the book entries from the old TV series on it. It should be big enough to get the point across I hope.
Saturday 20 April 2013
Feeling better
Yesterday was an OK day in work, and I started to feel more myself. In the evening it was off to Mold for a work curry. Four of us that weren't planning on staying out late went in the same car. The venue was the Saffron, which I've been to once before but appears to have been refurbished. The food was very good indeed and the company was good.
When we got back to Denbigh we found that a large part of the town had been cordoned off in relation to the home made bombs that some dickhead has been making. This meant that Robert couldn't get home and my car was trapped on his driveway. He kindly gave me a lift to the bottom of the track and I walked up. They evacuated a load of people in the area as they were searching a property in relation to the bombs, and I've just heard it is happening again! Apparently a 46 year old man has been arrested.
Much to my astonishment, the Astra had been sold when I got home - £165, and the buyer wanted to pick it up at 9am this morning. This led to some panic as I'd convinced myself it wasn't going to sell so hadn't emptied my crap out of it. I managed to get it done and the guy picked it up without any problems, although he was a bit late. It was a stunning morning, the sun was out and the sky was clear. A jet went over high up and it was so clear I could see the plane perfectly, which was awesome.
After that I got a lift into town to get the car back, and to meet Andy for a run. We went to St Asaph where there is a standard 400m running track and we did a few laps. I found it rather hard, not because I couldn't get my breath but my calves felt tight and painful, and I got a stitch at one point. It was OK other than that though, and definitely good exercise.
I came home and had a shower and then headed to Rhyl to order new glasses, but was foiled because the people in Boots Opticians couldn't read the handwriting on the prescription, so I need to get it checked and go back, ridiculously. It could be 8.00 or 8.50...argh. I was all set to get some of those nice frames that are all bendy and indestructible but they were expensive and I might get something a little more sensible, but I do insist on hinges that can bend back a bit.
Then came home again and sat down to watch Game of Thrones. I only meant to watch one episode but ended up watching all the way to the end of season 2. The episodes are long but they certainly fly by. I suppose the next step is to read the second book but I've just started the third Science of Discworld book.
Not sure why I felt so weird the last few days, just really down in the dumps. Everything seemed wrong somehow and I would wake up in the night and worry about the car and things. Now that the Astra has gone I feel better about it though. It goes OK and while it is thirsty, I can cope with it for a little while.
Planning on having a bit of a clearout tomorrow and take some things to the tip. The Honda might be thirsty but it is a big hatchback after all and has plenty of room in it with the seats down.
When we got back to Denbigh we found that a large part of the town had been cordoned off in relation to the home made bombs that some dickhead has been making. This meant that Robert couldn't get home and my car was trapped on his driveway. He kindly gave me a lift to the bottom of the track and I walked up. They evacuated a load of people in the area as they were searching a property in relation to the bombs, and I've just heard it is happening again! Apparently a 46 year old man has been arrested.
Much to my astonishment, the Astra had been sold when I got home - £165, and the buyer wanted to pick it up at 9am this morning. This led to some panic as I'd convinced myself it wasn't going to sell so hadn't emptied my crap out of it. I managed to get it done and the guy picked it up without any problems, although he was a bit late. It was a stunning morning, the sun was out and the sky was clear. A jet went over high up and it was so clear I could see the plane perfectly, which was awesome.
After that I got a lift into town to get the car back, and to meet Andy for a run. We went to St Asaph where there is a standard 400m running track and we did a few laps. I found it rather hard, not because I couldn't get my breath but my calves felt tight and painful, and I got a stitch at one point. It was OK other than that though, and definitely good exercise.
I came home and had a shower and then headed to Rhyl to order new glasses, but was foiled because the people in Boots Opticians couldn't read the handwriting on the prescription, so I need to get it checked and go back, ridiculously. It could be 8.00 or 8.50...argh. I was all set to get some of those nice frames that are all bendy and indestructible but they were expensive and I might get something a little more sensible, but I do insist on hinges that can bend back a bit.
Then came home again and sat down to watch Game of Thrones. I only meant to watch one episode but ended up watching all the way to the end of season 2. The episodes are long but they certainly fly by. I suppose the next step is to read the second book but I've just started the third Science of Discworld book.
Not sure why I felt so weird the last few days, just really down in the dumps. Everything seemed wrong somehow and I would wake up in the night and worry about the car and things. Now that the Astra has gone I feel better about it though. It goes OK and while it is thirsty, I can cope with it for a little while.
Planning on having a bit of a clearout tomorrow and take some things to the tip. The Honda might be thirsty but it is a big hatchback after all and has plenty of room in it with the seats down.
Thursday 18 April 2013
Out of sorts
The week has progressed OK. Work has been interesting. Part of the new role involves learning about the storage systems, so spent a couple of days doing things with that. Had to move all the data off one of the storage systems so the controllers could have new cache batteries fitted. Shut down one controller, take it out, put the battery in, and then swap them over.
Spent yesterday sneezing all day, which I think was one of my infrequent hayfever attacks and then today played terribly at badminton due to feeling like I couldn't quite catch my breath and my legs felt stiff. Not good. Also was full of awesome cottage pie that we had eaten at Rob and Em's with Andy, which was a nice change.
As I feared, the Accord is shit on fuel. According to my spreadsheet it only managed 27 mpg, so I think it's time with me will be limited. Bit of a shame because it's a nice car and everything on it works, even things like the cruise control. It even has good ground clearance. Another more economical Honda might be nice but they only started making diesels in 2005. Someone in work did suggest finding a turbo for the Astra and fixing it, but with the mileage being so high, I don't think it's the way to go as everything on it is going to be tired.
Not feeling right this evening, all out of sorts. Pissed off with cars, pissed off with living situation and generally feeling a bit lonely and miserable. Bah.
Spent yesterday sneezing all day, which I think was one of my infrequent hayfever attacks and then today played terribly at badminton due to feeling like I couldn't quite catch my breath and my legs felt stiff. Not good. Also was full of awesome cottage pie that we had eaten at Rob and Em's with Andy, which was a nice change.
As I feared, the Accord is shit on fuel. According to my spreadsheet it only managed 27 mpg, so I think it's time with me will be limited. Bit of a shame because it's a nice car and everything on it works, even things like the cruise control. It even has good ground clearance. Another more economical Honda might be nice but they only started making diesels in 2005. Someone in work did suggest finding a turbo for the Astra and fixing it, but with the mileage being so high, I don't think it's the way to go as everything on it is going to be tired.
Not feeling right this evening, all out of sorts. Pissed off with cars, pissed off with living situation and generally feeling a bit lonely and miserable. Bah.
Monday 15 April 2013
People are twats
Was just about to type a new entry when I saw the news that some evil cunts have bombed the end of the Boston Marathon. 2 dear and 23 injured so far, and the injuries seem pretty severe. Why?
The weekend was good. Friday evening I went to the gym for the first time in a while as I hadn't put my name down for the badminton end of season tournament. It was actually quite good though, I did quite a bit of exercise.
Saturday was spent at my Dad's for most of the day and then we all headed to Steve's for a movie night. Due to low attendance we put on Space Camp, which Steve, Andy and I had fond memories of. Fortunately, so long as you accept it isn't very realistic and is firmly rooted in the 80s, it held up reasonably well.
Sunday was spent watching six episodes of Game of Thrones season 2. I had no intention originally of watching that many, but it kind of sucked me in. All I will say is that there is one character who is the very definition of a backpfeifengesicht, a German word meaning a face badly in need of a fist and has entered our daily vocabulary.
Today was work, which was OK, and then circuit training tonight. I haven't been for quite some time so it was ghastly, very punishing, but felt better for doing it.
The Astra is on Ebay. Not sure how much attention it will get, being what it is. The Accord is going OK, the ABS light is currently off, and it is still guzzling fuel. I think it'll probably manage about 300 miles to a tank. Oh well.
The weekend was good. Friday evening I went to the gym for the first time in a while as I hadn't put my name down for the badminton end of season tournament. It was actually quite good though, I did quite a bit of exercise.
Saturday was spent at my Dad's for most of the day and then we all headed to Steve's for a movie night. Due to low attendance we put on Space Camp, which Steve, Andy and I had fond memories of. Fortunately, so long as you accept it isn't very realistic and is firmly rooted in the 80s, it held up reasonably well.
Sunday was spent watching six episodes of Game of Thrones season 2. I had no intention originally of watching that many, but it kind of sucked me in. All I will say is that there is one character who is the very definition of a backpfeifengesicht, a German word meaning a face badly in need of a fist and has entered our daily vocabulary.
Today was work, which was OK, and then circuit training tonight. I haven't been for quite some time so it was ghastly, very punishing, but felt better for doing it.
The Astra is on Ebay. Not sure how much attention it will get, being what it is. The Accord is going OK, the ABS light is currently off, and it is still guzzling fuel. I think it'll probably manage about 300 miles to a tank. Oh well.
Thursday 11 April 2013
Back to work again
Work was OK today, if rather full on with stuff and meetings. But hey. I had the contract details and things for the new job which I duly signed and took down to HR, so that's finally all official. Yay.
Badminton after work was good fun, had a nice meal at Steve's after we dropped the last two disks of Game of Thrones to Andy so he could carry on. I need to watch season 2 now, which will be uncharted territory as I haven't read the second book yet.
The Accord is going OK. It is going to be thirsty, no question. I was used to travelling around 70 miles before the fuel gauge would even move in the Astra. I'm thinking the Accord could probably use a service as I think it hasn't been used much in the last few months, and it has a blow in the front of the exhaust, which might be messing up a sensor somewhere and making it use more fuel like my old Vectra had a habit of doing. The Vectra also had a trick of the fuel gauge dropping really quickly to start with and then slowing down, so hopefully the Accord will be similar. I'm getting more used to the autobox. I quite like it now, apart from the tendency to hang onto gears on hills when I'd have shifted up ages ago. The tiptronic mode works quite nicely in situations like that though. Ideally I'd like a automatic diesel, but they aren't cheap. Vauxhall even made an auto version of the Astra 1.7dti, but only for about a year so they are very uncommon.
Badminton after work was good fun, had a nice meal at Steve's after we dropped the last two disks of Game of Thrones to Andy so he could carry on. I need to watch season 2 now, which will be uncharted territory as I haven't read the second book yet.
The Accord is going OK. It is going to be thirsty, no question. I was used to travelling around 70 miles before the fuel gauge would even move in the Astra. I'm thinking the Accord could probably use a service as I think it hasn't been used much in the last few months, and it has a blow in the front of the exhaust, which might be messing up a sensor somewhere and making it use more fuel like my old Vectra had a habit of doing. The Vectra also had a trick of the fuel gauge dropping really quickly to start with and then slowing down, so hopefully the Accord will be similar. I'm getting more used to the autobox. I quite like it now, apart from the tendency to hang onto gears on hills when I'd have shifted up ages ago. The tiptronic mode works quite nicely in situations like that though. Ideally I'd like a automatic diesel, but they aren't cheap. Vauxhall even made an auto version of the Astra 1.7dti, but only for about a year so they are very uncommon.
Wednesday 10 April 2013
Back home again
Got home last night at stupid o'clock. The flight left from Berlin at 21:35, so it was definitely a late one. It was even weirder than when I was going, feeling that I should be somewhere else. The hotel booted me out at 11am, so I went and put my bag into a storage locker in the station and went and did things.
It was a good trip overall, spent lots of time hanging out with my brother and seeing the sights. The fleamarkets were a highlight this time as they are always interesting, and it's the first time in a while I've been there over the weekend. I also managed to make it up to the top of the Seigesaule, which has just been renovated. It's a climb up a narrow spiral staircase of 285 steps, but once at the top the views are pretty good. One random thing that I found out was that the new klein-profil trains on the U2 allow you to see through a tinted window into the driver's compartment. Not much use in the tunnels but outside you can see everything.
My brother did well in the half marathon and beat his time again, as well as the two friends he was running with. We celebrated by going to a new Asian bar near where his girlfriend lives, which was pretty special. It had a nice mixture of all the traditional Asian dishes..
The journey home from the airport wasn't uneventful last night unfortunately. I was driving along quite happily on the nearly empty roads, and saw that the Astra was just about to hit 246,000 miles. A mile after it did so, I heard the turbo being noisy, and before I could react, it made a VERY loud noise. Then there was much less power, and the car was making huge clouds of smoke. I carried on home and it made it but it was reluctant to rev and had no power at all, and continued to smoke. This combined with the existing work on the brakes that it needs and things mean it simply isn't worth fixing.
So I ended up using my last day off to go car shopping. To be honest the choice around here is limited for cheap cars and so I ended up with a Honda Accord. It's a biggish hatchback and is a proper old man's car, even automatic. Judging by the glowing reviews these cars get, not only should it never break down, it should also be able to cure cancer and smallpox, but knowing my luck with cars, we'll see. I hope it will be OK, if only for a short while. My main concern is fuel consumption though. It must have cost the original owner a fair bit though. It has leather, climate control, cruise control, electric seats, a full Bose sound system, electric windows all round, etc. So far, all of it seems to work too.
Back to work tomorrow. Should be interesting.
It was a good trip overall, spent lots of time hanging out with my brother and seeing the sights. The fleamarkets were a highlight this time as they are always interesting, and it's the first time in a while I've been there over the weekend. I also managed to make it up to the top of the Seigesaule, which has just been renovated. It's a climb up a narrow spiral staircase of 285 steps, but once at the top the views are pretty good. One random thing that I found out was that the new klein-profil trains on the U2 allow you to see through a tinted window into the driver's compartment. Not much use in the tunnels but outside you can see everything.
My brother did well in the half marathon and beat his time again, as well as the two friends he was running with. We celebrated by going to a new Asian bar near where his girlfriend lives, which was pretty special. It had a nice mixture of all the traditional Asian dishes..
The journey home from the airport wasn't uneventful last night unfortunately. I was driving along quite happily on the nearly empty roads, and saw that the Astra was just about to hit 246,000 miles. A mile after it did so, I heard the turbo being noisy, and before I could react, it made a VERY loud noise. Then there was much less power, and the car was making huge clouds of smoke. I carried on home and it made it but it was reluctant to rev and had no power at all, and continued to smoke. This combined with the existing work on the brakes that it needs and things mean it simply isn't worth fixing.
So I ended up using my last day off to go car shopping. To be honest the choice around here is limited for cheap cars and so I ended up with a Honda Accord. It's a biggish hatchback and is a proper old man's car, even automatic. Judging by the glowing reviews these cars get, not only should it never break down, it should also be able to cure cancer and smallpox, but knowing my luck with cars, we'll see. I hope it will be OK, if only for a short while. My main concern is fuel consumption though. It must have cost the original owner a fair bit though. It has leather, climate control, cruise control, electric seats, a full Bose sound system, electric windows all round, etc. So far, all of it seems to work too.
Back to work tomorrow. Should be interesting.
Thursday 4 April 2013
Berlin, woo
Tuesday was the last day in work before the holiday I had booked. It was a busy day but I got everything done that I needed to do and was able to go with a clear conscience.
The flight to Berlin yesterday was much later than usual. It was a weird feeling to be sat around in the morning waiting. I packed everything and watched the last episode of Game of Thrones before going and then it was still too early. Very impressed with Game of Thrones though, it is a fantastic program. Having read the first book (twice), they have missed out quite a lot, but for once in a good way, just concentrating on the basics.
Anyway, I finally headed to the airport, which was one of the most pain free drives there I have ever had, since it was early afternoon. Spent the time there being bored and listening to music until finally the flight was called. Easyjet have changed it now so they have an allocated seat policy, and soon will only allow online checkin. Since the flight was so full, they asked for volunteers for people to drop their bags into the cargo hold in return for jumping to the front of the queue. I did this and it worked out quite well because the bags that go in this way are the first out onto the baggage conveyor. It was interesting coming down in the dark, seeing all the lights of the city below, although I didn't get a window seat so my view was limited.
Once landed, met up with my brother and we got the train into the city. Weather much the same as home really, although it seems quite sunny this morning. I realised on the way in that the only thing I forgot to bring was a rucksack, damn it. Staying with my brother until Friday when I go into a hotel, which works out nicely as the room in the apartment that I'm staying is only free until then.
The flight to Berlin yesterday was much later than usual. It was a weird feeling to be sat around in the morning waiting. I packed everything and watched the last episode of Game of Thrones before going and then it was still too early. Very impressed with Game of Thrones though, it is a fantastic program. Having read the first book (twice), they have missed out quite a lot, but for once in a good way, just concentrating on the basics.
Anyway, I finally headed to the airport, which was one of the most pain free drives there I have ever had, since it was early afternoon. Spent the time there being bored and listening to music until finally the flight was called. Easyjet have changed it now so they have an allocated seat policy, and soon will only allow online checkin. Since the flight was so full, they asked for volunteers for people to drop their bags into the cargo hold in return for jumping to the front of the queue. I did this and it worked out quite well because the bags that go in this way are the first out onto the baggage conveyor. It was interesting coming down in the dark, seeing all the lights of the city below, although I didn't get a window seat so my view was limited.
Once landed, met up with my brother and we got the train into the city. Weather much the same as home really, although it seems quite sunny this morning. I realised on the way in that the only thing I forgot to bring was a rucksack, damn it. Staying with my brother until Friday when I go into a hotel, which works out nicely as the room in the apartment that I'm staying is only free until then.
Tuesday 2 April 2013
One day
Went round to my Dad's on Sunday with my Mum in tow so we could have a shower, due to the water pump having broken during the cold weather. Spent much of the day chatting and watching cycling and the boat race on TV. I wish they wouldn't hype sports so much these days. There was at least an hour of ridiculous build up with animations, shots from previous races, profiles of all the rowers and then the race itself only lasts 15 minutes.
Also had a look at my Dad's new car, the new Skoda Rapid. Rather nice, and with the curious 1.2 turbo engine. It goes all right though and has a 6-speed gearbox.
Yesterday went out for a bike ride with Andy, which was a big loop that started out from St Asaph, took in the Waen, Rhuddlan, Meliden, Prestatyn, Rhyl, a loop around the Marine Lake, before heading back to Rhuddlan and then to St Asaph again. It worked out at about 19.4 miles, and wasn't completely flat, which made a change from the cycle path route.
I also managed to put the number plate light back in place on the car. Fortunately it just needed to be clipped back into place. The reversing lights weren't as easy though. The bulbs seem OK, and they share a fuse with the cigarette lighter, which works. That left only the switch that turns them on, but unfortunately rather than being somewhere obvious like the gear lever, the switch is actually mounted to the gearbox, and I didn't know where to start looking. Oh well.
In the evening went down to Rob and Em's to see Jane who was up. A nice evening of geeky chatter, Chinese food and Blackadder on DVD. Excellent.
Today is going to be a busy day. But it's the only day in work before Berlin tomorrow, yay.
Also had a look at my Dad's new car, the new Skoda Rapid. Rather nice, and with the curious 1.2 turbo engine. It goes all right though and has a 6-speed gearbox.
Yesterday went out for a bike ride with Andy, which was a big loop that started out from St Asaph, took in the Waen, Rhuddlan, Meliden, Prestatyn, Rhyl, a loop around the Marine Lake, before heading back to Rhuddlan and then to St Asaph again. It worked out at about 19.4 miles, and wasn't completely flat, which made a change from the cycle path route.
I also managed to put the number plate light back in place on the car. Fortunately it just needed to be clipped back into place. The reversing lights weren't as easy though. The bulbs seem OK, and they share a fuse with the cigarette lighter, which works. That left only the switch that turns them on, but unfortunately rather than being somewhere obvious like the gear lever, the switch is actually mounted to the gearbox, and I didn't know where to start looking. Oh well.
In the evening went down to Rob and Em's to see Jane who was up. A nice evening of geeky chatter, Chinese food and Blackadder on DVD. Excellent.
Today is going to be a busy day. But it's the only day in work before Berlin tomorrow, yay.
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