http://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/Just a reminder of what might have been exercising me at any given time. I reserve the absolute privilege to be right, wrong, misinformed, arbitrary, imbecilic and inarticulate. And anyone who chooses to read my blog has the right to tell me I am any or all of the above and I have the right not to give a fuck, but you never know, I just might?en-UKMokoFeed10http://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/http://data5.blog.de/design/preview/fd/f318796b23538be1e92bc6b4f3d342_160x200.jpghttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/11/11/dived-in-7352711/tag:wowbagger.blog.co.uk,2009-11-11:/2009/11/11/dived-in-7352711/Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:47:39 +0100 <p>Ordered Windows 7, 3 licence Family Pack Home Premium today from Staples, free next day delivery apparently, but will probably not get to do any installs before the weekend. A little concerned about the way some sites have been advertising Windows 7, whilst the price is the same, they advertise separate 32 & 64bit versions? It was my understanding that all versions were on each DVD and it was just a matter of which you chose to install, paying a fee to upgrade to Pro or Ultimate? Not too fussed, will go with 32bit if necessary, but was certainly planning on putting the 64bit version on the laptop, seeing if any problems cropped up and making a decision about the other two desktops once I had got it bedded in on the laptop. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/11/11/dived-in-7352711/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>techleisurewindows-7http://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/11/11/dived-in-7352711/#commentshttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/11/08/maplins-7330206/tag:wowbagger.blog.co.uk,2009-11-08:/2009/11/08/maplins-7330206/Sun, 08 Nov 2009 12:34:40 +0100 <p>I got to have my little shuftle around Maplins yesterday, it was interesting but not enthralling. Not a huge shop so may be others carry more stock or it's just there online presence that seems to have a huge number of product lines. It doesn't seem to be the 'go to source' for any particular category of gear, a little computer gear, a little home electronics and remote control stuff and a lot of odds and sods. The computer stuff was disappointing, just a couple of flat panel monitors out, both looked over priced, a bunch of own brand HDDs, again looking over priced, call me a snob but at their prices I'll stick to brand names. They did some external HDDs, brand names, at what I thought were reasonable prices. One thing I didn't was a reasonable price, but it's a long time since I bought one, was an air duster at £13??</p> <p>I did come away with a cheap weather monitor, temperature and humidity inside and out, max and min temperature and barometric pressure history for preceding 24 hours, not much better than sticking your head out the door, but a little. Whenever I have time I will have a browse there but I can't foresee any circumstance when I come up short of some tool or thing whilst in the middle of doing something and I suddenly think, 'I know, I'll pop into Cambridge and get it from Maplins'. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/11/08/maplins-7330206/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>leisuregadgetsmaplinshttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/11/08/maplins-7330206/#commentshttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/11/07/maplins-7324763/tag:wowbagger.blog.co.uk,2009-11-07:/2009/11/07/maplins-7324763/Sat, 07 Nov 2009 11:36:11 +0100 <p>It seems I may get chance to look at one of their shops finally. I get a regular email from them, each about 6 pages long, of, mostly, non-essential gadgetry though there looks to be some useful stuff in there as well and I've wondered for a while just how much stock they carry in their shops? Maybe I should leave the plastic at home?? </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/11/07/maplins-7324763/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>maplinsleisuretechhttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/11/07/maplins-7324763/#commentshttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/11/06/windows-7-anybody-hello-7321981/tag:wowbagger.blog.co.uk,2009-11-06:/2009/11/06/windows-7-anybody-hello-7321981/Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:13:47 +0100 <p>I've posted a few times about my dithering over whether to upgrade to Windows 7 and seem to have had quite a few page hits but I did ask last weekend if anyone had installed Windows 7 and if they would let me have any comments on how things went. But not heard a thing from anybody. I'm not looking for great technical treatises on Windows 7, just a couple of lines on how the install went, particularly if going from 32bit Vista to 64bit Windows 7?</p> <p>C'mon peeps, someone out there must have given in to the white hot maelstrom of MS hype, loving it, hating it, anything?? </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/11/06/windows-7-anybody-hello-7321981/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>computingtechwindows-7http://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/11/06/windows-7-anybody-hello-7321981/#commentshttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/31/so-that-s-it-then-7280522/tag:wowbagger.blog.co.uk,2009-10-31:/2009/10/31/so-that-s-it-then-7280522/Sat, 31 Oct 2009 13:43:37 +0100 <p>Watched the last episode of ReGenesis, season 4 last night. Sad and inexplicable to witness the demise of intelligent and entertaining programming, fuck knows there's little enough of it about. Maybe the writing demands were becoming a bit much as I don't feel season 4 was as good as the first two, can't say about season 3 as I missed the first few episode, and it seems I'm going to have to wait until this time next year to get it on DVD?!</p> <p>For what it's worth, I'd like to congratulate all concerned with the show, actors, writers, directors, production designers also it was an excellent idea to have a website running alongside which gave more detail of the scientific basis of each episode.</p> <p>So as the lights go out at NorBAC, will anyone aspire to the standards they set? </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/31/so-that-s-it-then-7280522/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>regenesistvleisurehttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/31/so-that-s-it-then-7280522/#commentshttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/31/autumn-days-7280347/tag:wowbagger.blog.co.uk,2009-10-31:/2009/10/31/autumn-days-7280347/Sat, 31 Oct 2009 13:01:41 +0100 <p>I never realised I was such an outdoor sort of person? I've got three things that I ought to be doing, washing vehicles, cutting wood and trimming the, never to be sufficiently damned, leylandii but it's raining and I can't do any of them for the second weekend in a row. I guess autumn must be here.</p> <p>On the brighter side I did find a guy locally who does bike bodywork, I found him when I did a delivery there through the new job, so I guess it has it's upside. I bought my bike as a Cat C write off and it has had a scuffed middle fairing and after pricing a new fairing and decals I decided I would live with it, but this guy is telling me he can get a set of decals for £25 so I might just put him to the test.</p> <p>So, at a bit of a loose end at the moment, might see if there is any poker to be played. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/31/autumn-days-7280347/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>lifeautumnhttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/31/autumn-days-7280347/#commentshttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/30/windows-7-installation-7277000/tag:wowbagger.blog.co.uk,2009-10-30:/2009/10/30/windows-7-installation-7277000/Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:41:47 +0100 <p>Not my installation, but a visitor, 'Zac' has kindly updated an earlier post with his experiences. If you are considering upgrading to Windows 7 please have a look at Zac's comments on my post here;</p> <p><a href="http://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/24/windows-7-upgrade-advisor-output-7235152/#comments">http://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/24/windows-7-upgrade-advisor-output-7235152/#comments</a></p> <p>If anyone else has installed Windows 7 I would be pleased to hear how things went. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/30/windows-7-installation-7277000/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>leisurewindows-7techcomputinghttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/30/windows-7-installation-7277000/#commentshttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/28/windows-7259818/tag:wowbagger.blog.co.uk,2009-10-28:/2009/10/28/windows-7259818/Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:26:12 +0100 <p>Beginning to wonder if I will manage to make a decision any time soon re Windows 7. I expected as much when I Googled 'Windows 7 installation problems', I got plenty of hits but on a quick look through some of them, didn't see a consistent pattern of problems, which I suppose is good but only if you are able to make an absolute assessment of what sort of percentage of those installing are having a problem, which, of course, I can't. I don't have any 'critical' data on my machine but I do have important data and already lost some of it when I formatted my main HDD about 6 months ago, I do have the capacity to back up my data but I've been caught out with that before as well.</p> <p>I did see an article here;</p> <p><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/27/AR2009102703278.html">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/27/AR2009102703278.html</a></p> <p>Which seemed to speak to my sort of level of competence, and if I could install to a new partition it would open up other possibilities; if Windows 7 installed to a new partition OK and I was happy with it, could I then try something else in the old Vista partition when I had finished with Vista? Could I install 64bit Windows 7 alongside 32bit Vista in a dual boot?</p> <p>Is this what they call analysis/paralysis?? </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/28/windows-7259818/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>windows-7techcomputingleisurelifehttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/28/windows-7259818/#commentshttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/25/airmiles-7239710/tag:wowbagger.blog.co.uk,2009-10-25:/2009/10/25/airmiles-7239710/Sun, 25 Oct 2009 12:03:05 +0100 <p>There's good news and, inevitably, bad news. The good news is that my Airmiles are safe for the time being as it would seem that the small purchase I made via Dabs about 2 months ago ahs finally made it's way through to the Airmiles people and it seems that single Airmile is enough to preserve the other 1800 I collected many years ago. I don't know how long this makes them good for now but I'll probably continue to collect more via Shell Drivers Club and see how quickly they go up, as I am putting a fair amount of diesel in the car at the moment.</p> <p>And of course the bad news is that I don't get to splurge all the Airmiles, before they expire, on thrashing the DB9 around Silverstone. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/25/airmiles-7239710/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>airmilesleisurehttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/25/airmiles-7239710/#commentshttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/24/windows-7-upgrade-advisor-output-7235152/tag:wowbagger.blog.co.uk,2009-10-24:/2009/10/24/windows-7-upgrade-advisor-output-7235152/Sat, 24 Oct 2009 13:37:28 +0200 <p>I said I would post the results from running the Upgrade Advisor, though they are all a bit of a jumble in text form but are far more readable in the HTML that the report was originally generated. The gist of it seems to be that the machine spec is fine but there are a few surprising, at least to me, items it has thrown up;</p> <p>It seems unhappy with my less than 18 month old Canon Printer and my less than 6 month old MS Mouse as it seems that Windows 7 will not support the version of Intellipoint currently installed.</p> <p>Photoshop Elements 4 won't be happy, but it wasn't happy with Vista either but still ran, I would need to uninstall iTunes and NovaBACKUP 10.3 before installing Windows 7, though I think Nova have already released a Windows 7 compatible version but I haven't checked to see if it's a free upgrade. Windows Mobile Device Centre which I use to connect my Dell Axim PDA would also have to go but, like the others, can be reinstalled after the upgrade.</p> <p>The advisor indicates that Outlook 2007 is OK but the Man from Aunty had problems and maybe ought to be added to the list of possible hiccups.</p> <p>I don't suppose any of these represents a strong enough reason to dismiss the thought of upgrading but it does look like it might add another couple of hours to what the BBC report suggests is already a lengthy process.</p> <p>Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor Report<br> Computer Name: GATEWAYGM5048B<br> Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium<br> Manufacturer: Gateway<br> Model: GM5048B<br> CPU: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4600+<br> Memory: 3.3 GB </p> <p>Information about upgrading to 32-bit Windows 7<br> System Details<br> Upgrade options available You can upgrade to 32-bit Windows 7 Home Premium or Ultimate.<br> Go online to get detailed instructions on how to upgrade<br> Windows Mail and Parental Controls (Web Filtering) These features are no longer included in Windows 7. You can get similar programs for Windows 7 from other software manufacturers.<br> Go to the Microsoft website to learn more<br> More info from Gateway Gateway has a website that might give you more information about getting Windows 7 running on your PC.<br> Visit the Gateway website<br> Windows Aero support Your graphics adapter supports the Windows Aero user interface.<br> Go online to learn more about Windows Aero<br> CPU speed: 1.8 GHz Your CPU meets the 1 GHz minimum requirement.<br> 3.3 GB of RAM Your PC meets the 1 GB minimum requirement.<br> 128.2 GB free space available on C: Your hard disk meets the minimum requirement of 16 GB free space for 32-bit Windows 7. </p> <p>Devices Status Details<br> Canon iP4300<br> Canon Unknown We don't have compatibility information about this device.<br> Broadcom 802.11g Network Adapter<br> Broadcom Compatible This device is compatible with Windows 7.<br> Canon iP4300<br> Canon Compatible This device is compatible with Windows 7.<br> Dell Axim USB Sync<br> Dell Check Windows Update Check Windows Update after installing Windows 7 to make sure you have the latest driver for this device, otherwise it may not work.<br> Hauppauge WinTV PVR PCI II (26xxx)<br> Hauppauge Check Windows Update Check Windows Update after installing Windows 7 to make sure you have the latest driver for this device, otherwise it may not work.<br> Live! Cam Optia<br> Creative Technology Ltd. Compatible This device is compatible with Windows 7.<br> nForce HyperTransport Bridge<br> NVIDIA Check Windows Update Check Windows Update after installing Windows 7 to make sure you have the latest driver for this device, otherwise it may not work.<br> nForce Memory Controller<br> NVIDIA Check Windows Update Check Windows Update after installing Windows 7 to make sure you have the latest driver for this device, otherwise it may not work.<br> NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GS<br> NVIDIA Compatible This device is compatible with Windows 7.<br> NVIDIA nForce Serial ATA Controller<br> NVIDIA Corporation Compatible This device is compatible with Windows 7.<br> NVIDIA nForce Serial ATA Controller<br> NVIDIA Corporation Compatible This device is compatible with Windows 7.<br> Realtek High Definition Audio<br> Realtek Compatible This device is compatible with Windows 7.<br> USB Mass Storage Device<br> Compatible USB storage device Compatible This device is compatible with Windows 7.<br> VIA OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller<br> VIA Compatible This device is compatible with Windows 7. </p> <p>Programs Status Details<br> Microsoft IntelliPoint 6.2<br> version 6.20.182.0<br> Microsoft Not compatible This version of the program will not work on Windows 7. Before upgrading, we recommend uninstalling this program.<br> Visit the publisher's website for a possible solution<br> Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0<br> version 4.0<br> Adobe Systems Inc. Known issues You may experience issues running this program on Windows 7. Before upgrading, we recommend uninstalling this program.<br> Canon UNINST<br> version 2.1.0.0<br> CANON INC. Known issues You may experience issues running this program on Windows 7. Before upgrading, we recommend uninstalling this program.<br> Visit the publisher's website for a possible solution<br> iTunes<br> version 9.0.1.8<br> Apple Inc. Reinstall after upgrade Before upgrading to Windows 7, we recommend uninstalling this program. It can be safely reinstalled after the upgrade.<br> NovaBACKUP<br> version 10.3.64065<br> NovaStor Update available We don't have compatibility information about this version of the program.<br> Get an update to a compatible version<br> The Sims 2 Known issues You may experience issues running this program on Windows 7. Before upgrading, we recommend uninstalling this program.<br> Windows Mobile Device Center<br> version 6.1.6965.0<br> Microsoft Corporation Reinstall after upgrade Before upgrading to Windows 7, we recommend uninstalling this program. It can be safely reinstalled after the upgrade.<br> Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007<br> version 12.0.6425.1000<br> Microsoft Corporation This program has earned Microsoft's Compatible with Windows 7 logo.<br> Learn more about the Compatible with Windows 7 logo<br> Microsoft Office Outlook 2007<br> version 12.0.6425.1000<br> Microsoft Corporation This program has earned Microsoft's Compatible with Windows 7 logo.<br> Learn more about the Compatible with Windows 7 logo<br> Microsoft Silverlight<br> version 3.0.40818.0<br> Microsoft Corporation This program has earned Microsoft's Compatible with Windows 7 logo.<br> Learn more about the Compatible with Windows 7 logo<br> Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable<br> version 8.0.56336<br> Microsoft Corporation This program has earned Microsoft's Compatible with Windows 7 logo.<br> Learn more about the Compatible with Windows 7 logo<br> NVIDIA Stereoscopic 3D Driver<br> version 7.16.11.9062<br> NVIDIA Corporation This program has earned Microsoft's Compatible with Windows 7 logo.<br> Learn more about the Compatible with Windows 7 logo<br> Skype™ 4.1<br> version 4.1.141<br> Skype Technologies S.A. This program has earned Microsoft's Compatible with Windows 7 logo.<br> Learn more about the Compatible with Windows 7 logo<br> Trend Micro Internet Security<br> version 17.50<br> Trend Micro Inc. This program has earned Microsoft's Compatible with Windows 7 logo.<br> Learn more about the Compatible with Windows 7 logo<br> Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor<br> version 2.0.3001.0<br> Microsoft Corporation This program has earned Microsoft's Compatible with Windows 7 logo.<br> Learn more about the Compatible with Windows 7 logo<br> Windows Live Essentials<br> version 14.0.8089.0726<br> Microsoft Corporation This program has earned Microsoft's Compatible with Windows 7 logo.<br> Learn more about the Compatible with Windows 7 logo<br> Adobe Reader 9.1.3<br> version 9.1.3<br> Adobe Systems Incorporated Compatible This program is compatible with Windows 7.<br> Microsoft Office Outlook Connector<br> version 12.0.6423.1000<br> Microsoft Corporation Compatible This program is compatible with Windows 7. </p> <p>Information about upgrading to 64-bit Windows 7<br> System Details<br> Custom installation required You'll need to perform a custom installation of 64-bit Windows 7 and then reinstall your programs. Make sure to back up your files before you begin.<br> Go online to get important information about custom installation<br> Windows Mail and Parental Controls (Web Filtering) These features are no longer included in Windows 7. You can get similar programs for Windows 7 from other software manufacturers.<br> Go to the Microsoft website to learn more<br> More info from Gateway Gateway has a website that might give you more information about getting Windows 7 running on your PC.<br> Visit the Gateway website<br> Windows Aero support Your graphics adapter supports the Windows Aero user interface.<br> Go online to learn more about Windows Aero<br> CPU speed: 1.8 GHz Your CPU meets the 1 GHz minimum requirement.<br> 3.3 GB of RAM Your PC meets the 2 GB minimum requirement.<br> 128.2 GB free space available on C: Your hard disk meets the minimum requirement of 20 GB free space for 64-bit Windows 7. </p> <p>Devices Status Details<br> Canon iP4300<br> Canon Unknown We don't have compatibility information about this device.<br> Hauppauge WinTV PVR PCI II (26xxx)<br> Hauppauge Unknown We don't have compatibility information about this device.<br> Broadcom 802.11g Network Adapter<br> Broadcom Compatible This device is compatible with Windows 7.<br> Canon iP4300<br> Canon Compatible This device is compatible with Windows 7.<br> Dell Axim USB Sync<br> Dell Check Windows Update Check Windows Update after installing Windows 7 to make sure you have the latest driver for this device, otherwise it may not work.<br> Live! Cam Optia<br> Creative Technology Ltd. Compatible This device is compatible with Windows 7.<br> nForce HyperTransport Bridge<br> NVIDIA Compatible This device is compatible with Windows 7.<br> nForce Memory Controller<br> NVIDIA Compatible This device is compatible with Windows 7.<br> NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GS<br> NVIDIA Compatible This device is compatible with Windows 7.<br> NVIDIA nForce Serial ATA Controller<br> NVIDIA Corporation Compatible This device is compatible with Windows 7.<br> NVIDIA nForce Serial ATA Controller<br> NVIDIA Corporation Compatible This device is compatible with Windows 7.<br> Realtek High Definition Audio<br> Realtek Compatible This device is compatible with Windows 7.<br> USB Mass Storage Device<br> Compatible USB storage device Compatible This device is compatible with Windows 7.<br> VIA OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller<br> VIA Compatible This device is compatible with Windows 7. </p> <p>Programs Status Details<br> Microsoft IntelliPoint 6.2<br> version 6.20.182.0<br> Microsoft Not compatible This version of the program will not work on Windows 7.<br> Visit the publisher's website for a possible solution<br> Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0<br> version 4.0<br> Adobe Systems Inc. Known issues You may experience issues running this program on Windows 7.<br> Canon UNINST<br> version 2.1.0.0<br> CANON INC. Known issues You may experience issues running this program on Windows 7.<br> Visit the publisher's website for a possible solution<br> NovaBACKUP<br> version 10.3.64065<br> NovaStor Update available We don't have compatibility information about this version of the program.<br> Get an update to a compatible version<br> The Sims 2 Known issues You may experience issues running this program on Windows 7.<br> Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007<br> version 12.0.6425.1000<br> Microsoft Corporation This program has earned Microsoft's Compatible with Windows 7 logo.<br> Learn more about the Compatible with Windows 7 logo<br> Microsoft Office Outlook 2007<br> version 12.0.6425.1000<br> Microsoft Corporation This program has earned Microsoft's Compatible with Windows 7 logo.<br> Learn more about the Compatible with Windows 7 logo<br> Microsoft Silverlight<br> version 3.0.40818.0<br> Microsoft Corporation This program has earned Microsoft's Compatible with Windows 7 logo.<br> Learn more about the Compatible with Windows 7 logo<br> Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable<br> version 8.0.56336<br> Microsoft Corporation This program has earned Microsoft's Compatible with Windows 7 logo.<br> Learn more about the Compatible with Windows 7 logo<br> NVIDIA Stereoscopic 3D Driver<br> version 7.16.11.9062<br> NVIDIA Corporation This program has earned Microsoft's Compatible with Windows 7 logo.<br> Learn more about the Compatible with Windows 7 logo<br> Skype™ 4.1<br> version 4.1.141<br> Skype Technologies S.A. This program has earned Microsoft's Compatible with Windows 7 logo.<br> Learn more about the Compatible with Windows 7 logo<br> Trend Micro Internet Security<br> version 17.50<br> Trend Micro Inc. This program has earned Microsoft's Compatible with Windows 7 logo.<br> Learn more about the Compatible with Windows 7 logo<br> Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor<br> version 2.0.3001.0<br> Microsoft Corporation This program has earned Microsoft's Compatible with Windows 7 logo.<br> Learn more about the Compatible with Windows 7 logo<br> Windows Live Essentials<br> version 14.0.8089.0726<br> Microsoft Corporation This program has earned Microsoft's Compatible with Windows 7 logo.<br> Learn more about the Compatible with Windows 7 logo<br> Adobe Reader 9.1.3<br> version 9.1.3<br> Adobe Systems Incorporated Compatible This program is compatible with Windows 7.<br> Microsoft Office Outlook Connector<br> version 12.0.6423.1000<br> Microsoft Corporation Compatible This program is compatible with Windows 7. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/24/windows-7-upgrade-advisor-output-7235152/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>computinglifewindows-7leisuretechhttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/24/windows-7-upgrade-advisor-output-7235152/#commentshttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/24/windows-7234983/tag:wowbagger.blog.co.uk,2009-10-24:/2009/10/24/windows-7234983/Sat, 24 Oct 2009 13:02:14 +0200 <p>Contemplating upgrading to Windows 7, though not quite yet, I'm sure there are a few wrinkles yet to be worked out. I hear some good things, stability and less resource hungry, and very few bad things though I'm not overjoyed at the prospect of having to shell out for what some people claim is little more than Vista with most of the kinks worked out. The BBC have a good, common sense article here on upgrading;</p> <p><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8317005.stm">http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8317005.stm</a></p> <p>I would probably go for the clean install option in view of the problems the Man from Aunty encountered though I will be watching for other developments over the coming weeks.</p> <p>And Amazon's offering of the Home Premium 3 licence Family Pack (I have two desktop machines and one laptop) at £130 looks like a sensible price point;</p> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Microsoft-Windows-Premium-Upgrade-Family/dp/B002MT21N6">http://www.amazon.co.uk/Microsoft-Windows-Premium-Upgrade-Family/dp/B002MT21N6</a></p> <p>I will probably give it a month or so before deciding, even if it means that Amazon have pulled the offer and I have to pay the full £150 for the Family pack. I'm running the Windows 7 Upgrade advisor now and will post the results later. The advisor can be downloaded here;</p> <p><a href="http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=1b544e90-7659-4bd9-9e51-2497c146af15">http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=1b544e90-7659-4bd9-9e51-2497c146af15</a> </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/24/windows-7234983/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>windows-7techcomputinglifeleisurehttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/24/windows-7234983/#commentshttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/23/a-better-week-7232250/tag:wowbagger.blog.co.uk,2009-10-23:/2009/10/23/a-better-week-7232250/Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:57:05 +0200 <p>At least it was until today, which wasn't too special. Volume of deliveries has gone up by about 20% and my income per drop has gone up by 10p per drop so overall my gross take is up nearly 30% without much increase in costs as I still have to visit the same locations but have more drops whilst I'm there. Not too clear what the increase was due to at the beginning of the week but the Post Office strike has had an effect the last couple of days, quite a number of Amazon drops have appeared and others as well I suspect. We were all tapped yesterday to see if we wanted to work over the weekend, one day's worth off drops to be delivered sometime over the weekend, at the same rate mind you, but there weren't enough takers so it was scrapped. Whatever is coming into the system tonight, which caused them such concern, isn't going to disappear over the weekend so I guess it will land on my doorstep Monday morning. With more strikes due next week, it's likely to be busy all week and after that we are into November and Christmas volume will probably keep things lively through to the end of the year.</p> <p>Things have got quicker and, discounting the admin at the beginning and end of the day, I managed 8 drops per hour yesterday but the rest of the week it was nearer 6-7. Not so reliant on the satnav but that can't be saving me an hour or more a day. But whatever it is I found time from somewhere, just hope that it doesn't disappear just as inexplicably next week. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/23/a-better-week-7232250/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>lifeunemploymenthttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/23/a-better-week-7232250/#commentshttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/21/executive-decision-7218059/tag:wowbagger.blog.co.uk,2009-10-21:/2009/10/21/executive-decision-7218059/Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:24:14 +0200 <p>The much debated decision has been made, the central heating is on. It's been raining just about all day and whilst it has not been as cold as the last couple of days, the damp seems to make it feel colder and so, the deed is done. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/21/executive-decision-7218059/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>lifehttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/21/executive-decision-7218059/#commentshttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/18/is-it-autumn-yet-7193118/tag:wowbagger.blog.co.uk,2009-10-18:/2009/10/18/is-it-autumn-yet-7193118/Sun, 18 Oct 2009 12:22:07 +0200 <p>I know what the calendar says but I'm still not sure. I was out working on the bike this morning, in shorts but wearing a woolly hat, I lit a fire last night but haven't put the central heating on yet, small, and not so small children, have not been around begging for high sugar products but there is a shit load of Christmas products in the shops? Clarification needed. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/18/is-it-autumn-yet-7193118/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>lifehttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/18/is-it-autumn-yet-7193118/#commentshttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/18/energy-monitoring-trial-data-7193051/tag:wowbagger.blog.co.uk,2009-10-18:/2009/10/18/energy-monitoring-trial-data-7193051/Sun, 18 Oct 2009 12:12:17 +0200 <p>Finally I have uploaded some data into the trial I signed up for in April this year and I have to say it's not all I expected. I have to assume that the people running the trial are going to be cutting the data a little more deeply than the basic graph that they make available via the website to the trial participants. I was also under the impression that the trial data would be made available, presumably in CSV or XLS format, for redownload so that the participants could use the data however they wanted and currently there is no option to do that. All that is available to me at the moment is a simple graph, no trend lines or moving average, which will only show a maximum of one month's data with the option to layer other months on top, whereas I would have expected to see a single continuous line for the whole period, maybe smoothed by weekly average, to give a clearer indication of how consumption was changing and only looking to layer data once annual data was available to account for seasonal variations.</p> <p>The device is undoubtedly useful, I can tell when one of my daughters has left hair straighteners/curling tongs or other mysterious high consumption hair management things switched on, or if one of the CRT devices is on, or the cooker and do something about it but it will take a long time to recover the cost of the unit if this is it's only use. I was hoping the uploaded data would show me a little more to justify the price of the unit but so far it hasn't. I'm sure there is useful data in there but the trial operators are just not showing it to me with the interface they are currently using. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/18/energy-monitoring-trial-data-7193051/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>energy-triallifehttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/18/energy-monitoring-trial-data-7193051/#commentshttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/17/straightforward-7188641/tag:wowbagger.blog.co.uk,2009-10-17:/2009/10/17/straightforward-7188641/Sat, 17 Oct 2009 16:57:40 +0200 <p>Got my side stand switch for the ZZR. It looked in good enough nick, certainly better than the one on mine, but, of course, it wasn't a straight replacement. If it came off a ZZR 600 then it didn't come off the E2 model, which mine is. The mounting is slightly different and the connector does not appear to be the original and would not fit with mine. Nevertheless the mounting points matched up and I got it in place, the plunger moves freely and the travel matches that of the nib on the side stand itself. The switch has one green wire and one black wire and my existing wiring has one green wire and one black wire, so now it's all wired up. And the engine will only run when the side stand is down!! So I will have to re-do the wiring, I put it on with Scotchlocks as I couldn't find anyone selling a push fit connector for the job, tried the local hardware shop, local bike shop and Halfords. Maybe it's just as well as I guess I would have had to crimp the connections and wouldn't be able to reuse it having fallen for the old matching the colours of the wires trick. Didn't want to use bullets or spades as the wiring is a little exposed to the weather, down by the front sprocket.</p> <p>The part came through quickly, was clean and, if not an exact match, should do the trick perfectly well once the wires are sorted, the price was good, £5, and the p & p not bad at £3. I would definitely use them again.</p> <p><a href="http://www.desperatebikes.com/">http://www.desperatebikes.com/</a></p> <p> <small> <a href="http://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/17/straightforward-7188641/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>leisurebikezzrhttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/17/straightforward-7188641/#commentshttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/17/airmiles-7187679/tag:wowbagger.blog.co.uk,2009-10-17:/2009/10/17/airmiles-7187679/Sat, 17 Oct 2009 14:10:47 +0200 <p>The people at Airmiles keep telling me that my Airmiles will fly out the window (groan here) on 1st December unless I collect more before then. It's very good of thme to give me some warning I suppose but after I got the first notification I've tried a couple of times to collect a few, bought something via Dabs and joined Shell Drivers Club and opted for Airmiles as the reward, neither has contributed towards my Airmiles total. Still the good news is that if they don't get added to my total before 1st December I will have to splurge with them and use them for a couple of hours thrashing an Aston Martin DB9 around Silverstone, Bruntingthorpe or Rockingham. Could be worse I suppose?! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/17/airmiles-7187679/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>leisureairmileshttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/17/airmiles-7187679/#commentshttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/17/it-did-get-better-7187095/tag:wowbagger.blog.co.uk,2009-10-17:/2009/10/17/it-did-get-better-7187095/Sat, 17 Oct 2009 12:32:00 +0200 <p>...but even by the end of the week it still sucked. I managed to get all my work done in the new job in about 4 1/2 hours yesterday, which is still rubbish for 24 drops, and we will see what Monday brings. The one thing that did not change, well not that much, was the mileage. I keep a spreadsheet with a tally of every drop that I've completed, and should therefore be paid for, and that tells me that I earned the princely sum of £101, for about 28 hours work, or put another way £3.60ph, this is skewed by Monday's shitfest but even my best day still only works out at £4.60ph. But the main worry is the mileage, I also keep track of the miles done to make the drops and out of the £101, I had to find £23 for fuel. I really don't want to calculate the effective hourly rate after this has been taken out of my income. I've asked my boss for some help with this, having sent a copy of my spreadsheet and I'm waiting to hear back. If you don't ask, you don't get. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/17/it-did-get-better-7187095/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>employmentlifehttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/17/it-did-get-better-7187095/#commentshttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/15/my-new-job-7171673/tag:wowbagger.blog.co.uk,2009-10-14:/2009/10/15/my-new-job-7171673/Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:00:37 +0200 <p>Sucks! It sucked today, though less than yesterday and yesterday, it sucked less than Monday. But boy did it suck on Monday! According to my calculations I earned £22 on Monday and took 9 hours to do so, before my expenses which were £5+ in fuel and other sundries. There were always going to be a few start up costs and boiling things down to find the best way of working was going to take time but I didn't expect to be earning a net £1.50 an hour under any circumstances. Today I earned about the same but it took just 5 1/2 hours, still got about £5 fuel to cover but getting up towards £4 an hour, so still got a long way to go.</p> <p>The support for doing the job has been a little lacking. I get an O2 XDA IIi PDA to do the job, the bar code scanner that logs activity with the parcels only works about 50% of the time, yesterday it packed in altogether and I have the feeling that using the paper may have been quicker? Didn't manage to send me a stock of labels or out cards until this morning, on the day when the PDA is u.s. the manifest was a complete crock of shit, every drop was duplicated, some I didn't have, some without addresses printed on the manifest, just on the parcel, some extras as well.</p> <p>I'm beginning to wonder where enough time can be picked up to make this a job that either doesn't take up a full day or offers a return of a reasonable hourly rate? I've put in my fair share of full day's work and been paid a full day's wage in the past but it's not just about the money, if I'm not earning a full day's wage then I need to be doing my bit around the house to keep things ticking over and at the moment I can neither make the money nor keep the house in a reasonable state as things stand at the moment. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/15/my-new-job-7171673/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>lifeemploymenthttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/15/my-new-job-7171673/#commentshttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/11/mcjob-7145640/tag:wowbagger.blog.co.uk,2009-10-11:/2009/10/11/mcjob-7145640/Sun, 11 Oct 2009 14:31:03 +0200 <p>Not too sure of the precise definition of a McJob but think I may just have acquired one? It's part time, at least I certainly hope it is, doing deliveries from home for a well known delivery company, who I won't specify as they are already failing to deliver (geddit? sorry!) on promises to provide me with info to do the job. It starts tomorrow and I have yet to be advised of my boss' contact details, and as I can't remember his name I can't ring the depot and ask for the details either, I don't have a contract number for my run, and as this is used as the login for the monitoring system I feel it may be fairly important? I have yet to hear when the delivery of the bulk will be made to me. All of these details were supposed to be with me by close of play on Friday.</p> <p>There is no help with car insurance, wear and tear or fuel and I'm a self employed sub contractor, with all the rigmarole that entails and lack of job security. The effective hourly rate is dependant on the number of deliveries made per hour as I'm paid a flat rate per item and after my costs I can't see it working out at much more than £6.50 - £7ph for, maybe, 3-4 hours per day assuming about 30 drops. Might be better than this leading up to Christmas, but what will the volume be like in January?</p> <p>Nevertheless, as the highest bidder (only bidder!) for my services I though I had better give it a shot. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/11/mcjob-7145640/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>lifeemploymenthttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/11/mcjob-7145640/#commentshttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/09/careful-7131330/tag:wowbagger.blog.co.uk,2009-10-09:/2009/10/09/careful-7131330/Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:54:45 +0200 <p>I did learn this lesson a little while ago but it bears repeating. It's always worth getting the price for the new part before going to breakers. Got another reply from a breaker this morning, wanting £25 + VAT + p&p for my side stand switch, making it more than the new part from Kawasaki.</p> <p>I've got one coming to me, from another breaker, after they confirmed that wiring, connector and plunger all in order, £5 + £3 p&p. The internals could still be shot but I'm prepared to take that chance for a fiver. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/09/careful-7131330/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>leisurezzrhttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/09/careful-7131330/#commentshttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/08/snip-snip-7127970/tag:wowbagger.blog.co.uk,2009-10-08:/2009/10/08/snip-snip-7127970/Thu, 08 Oct 2009 23:11:00 +0200 <p>After having a poke around with the junction box connectors without any joy, I cut the side stand switch leads and shorted the circuit so that I could take the bike out today. Did solve anything on the tricky fuel gauge either.</p> <p>I put the switch in a breaker's search engine and got seven hits back, I don't think the guy asking for £20, plus postage and maybe VAT is going to do much trade. but got a couple offering the switch at £5 + £3 p & p so asked if wiring and connectors present and confirmation that the plunger moves freely? If the wiring is gone then someone may well have done what I have and cut it because the internals of the switch are shot, still waiting to hear back but if the answers are positive, I'll take a punt for £5. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/08/snip-snip-7127970/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>zzrleisurehttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/08/snip-snip-7127970/#commentshttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/08/didn-t-work-out-too-well-7121703/tag:wowbagger.blog.co.uk,2009-10-07:/2009/10/08/didn-t-work-out-too-well-7121703/Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:40:16 +0200 <p>I should have known it was too easy. I took the side stand off the ZZR, mounting bolts came off without problem, wiring connector separated fine and even the screws that mount the switch on the back of the side stand came away, after plenty of WD40 it must be said, quite easily and the problem was quite obvious. At least, so it seemed. The plunger that is driven in when the side stand is down was seized. So after sorting that out with Birmingham screwdriver, pliers and Copaslip I put it all back together fully expecting it to be working like new, or at least like it should do. So start it up, click it in gear, let out the clutch and it still cuts the ignition. I really ought to know better after doing these sorts of jobs over many years; my achievements seem to be in inverse proportion to my expectations. If I'd taken it apart, found nothing apparently wrong with any of it and put it back together again, it would have worked fine.</p> <p>I priced up a new switch from Kawasaki, £30, or one from a breakers, £15, or cut the wiring and short the circuit, £0, and look like a twat the first time I ride off with the stand down and have it lift the back wheel at the first left hander. I'll have a look at the junction box, could be a connector there, it could be the cause of the fuel gauge problem as well, but if I want to trace back the wiring, guess what? The fuel tank will have to come off. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/08/didn-t-work-out-too-well-7121703/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>bikezzrleisurehttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/08/didn-t-work-out-too-well-7121703/#commentshttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/05/kangaroo-7106732/tag:wowbagger.blog.co.uk,2009-10-05:/2009/10/05/kangaroo-7106732/Mon, 05 Oct 2009 22:27:35 +0200 <p>The ZZR wasn't quite so mighty on the way to the job centre this morning, got about a mile down the road and the engine started cutting out. I gave it a bit of a wash before I went out and I think some water got into the side stand cut out switch and every bump I went over made the engine management system think that the side was down and it cut the spark to the cylinders. A bit of wire wiggling and it sorted itself, pretty much, but going to have to strip it down and see what the problem is. I suppose I'll have to try to track down the wiring fault with the fuel gauge whilst I'm at it, there is some intermittent problem that has it reading erratically all the time, the tank is full at the moment and one moment the gauge reflects that, the next moment is shows empty, or some random interval between the two extremes. The trouble with this is that the problem is likely to be under the fuel tank and I really don't want to be going to all that trouble just for a broken wire, maybe I should change the plugs whilst I'm in there or balance the carbs? Or, more likely, make do with a trick fuel gauge for a while. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/05/kangaroo-7106732/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>zzrleisurehttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/10/05/kangaroo-7106732/#commentshttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/09/30/small-claims-court-7068948/tag:wowbagger.blog.co.uk,2009-09-30:/2009/09/30/small-claims-court-7068948/Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:47:14 +0200 <p>I'm contemplating using the Small Claims Court to try to get back a payment made via a credit card. Has anyone used the Small Claims Court, in particular going up against a large corporate operation? Any experiences would be useful. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/09/30/small-claims-court-7068948/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>maneysmall-claims-courtlifehttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/09/30/small-claims-court-7068948/#commentshttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/09/27/mighty-zzr-7047902/tag:wowbagger.blog.co.uk,2009-09-27:/2009/09/27/mighty-zzr-7047902/Sun, 27 Sep 2009 10:51:31 +0200 <p>Yes, the mighty Zed is back on the road, after a long hiatus and still with a little work to do, but tax, MOT and insurance are all up to date and I'm busy reacquainting myself with the joy of riding again. There is a small fly in the ointment though, the back brale seems to be binding a little, my MOT man passed it after drenching it with carb cleaner and belting it, quite a few times with a club hammer(!) but it seems be back binding again so I may have to strip the calliper, which I've never done before and I just know the bleed nipple is going to be seized which is one problem before I even start. The oil also needs changing, which means getting at the filter in the front of the engine block, behind radiator and oil cooler and around the exhaust headers, which is never much fun. Did manage to get a bit of a bargain on the oil, though it was hard to track down. Hein Gericke are currently offering semi-synthetic oil at £10.99 for 4 litres, which seems like a good deal to me, and to a lot of others I guess as I had to wait for two weeks for more stock to come into the local store.</p> <p>I have to admit to getting a bit dischuffed with the bike after the last chain I put on got a tight link after only 12-15 months, it was an expensive X-ring chain and the latest of many that seem to develop this problem. I look after them pretty well but the bike spends winters outside, under a cover, and maybe there is something more than chain lube I could put on the chain to protect it over winter and reduce the possibility of this chain suffering the same fate? </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/09/27/mighty-zzr-7047902/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>zzrbikeleisurehttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/09/27/mighty-zzr-7047902/#commentshttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/09/04/liberating-6889204/tag:wowbagger.blog.co.uk,2009-09-04:/2009/09/04/liberating-6889204/Fri, 04 Sep 2009 11:13:14 +0200 <p>Well it certainly felt like it for a while, though it did nothing for the meagre bank balance. I went for my first job interview yesterday, for an operations job with a major high street retailer, not much more than a McJob, not much, but a little, above minimum wage but it was a job I could do quite nicely thank you, whilst waiting for a proper job to come along. The thing started downhill even before the interview started, a troglodyte rocks up and introduces himself as the guy who will conduct the interview, now, call me old fashioned but I expect a hand out at this point, I'm reasonably sure it would have been a clammy, dead fish sort of a handshake, but it would have been a handshake nevertheless, but nothing. He then hands me off to his second semi-assistant troglodyte (who was nice enough to be fair, though followed her bosses lead and didn't offer her hand either) to do a multiple choice, PC based, 'talent screening' questionnaire. Let the bullshit begin. 21 questions, three possible answers attracting 1,2 or 3 points as it turns out and a pass mark of 50 which means 10 2 pointers and 10 3 pointers approximately. It said at the outset that you should go with your first thought, didn't really work for me as there wasn't a 'what is all this bullshit' option to be found anywhere. So I had to try to work out from the answers if there was a consistent thread which might indicate what they were looking for and there seemed to be three, 1) mindless drone who refers anything even vaguely contentious to supervisor/manager/head office, 2) sales monkey who's only goal was to shift product or 3) someone eager to take responsibility to resolve any and all issues, disregard customer preferences and bluster their way through just about anything. My thought was that you needed elements of all these but many of the questions had answers which didn't seem appropriate coming from any of these three. So I waded through the first 12 or so questions and chose randomly for the last 9. It was marked and I scored 48. The troglodyte collective asked if I wanted to try it again, I was tempted to say no at this point as the questions were all about customer facing situations and I thought I was going for an ops job, but I said I would have another look. Now this is a big organisation, but the questionnaire was in a full Excel screen and looked like something I could knock out in half an hour where as I would have expected something like a locked web page over an intranet linked to a central database but I'm not complaining as the troglodytes had left the scoring template open behind the main answer window, so I simply fed in the A, B or C answer to the first few questions and recalculated my score, when I got it to 50 I stopped. I still have no further insight into who they are looking for though? So the collective returned and concluded, as I had, that my score was now 50 and went on to talk about the jobs available; customer assistant, these hours - er no, customer assistant, those hours -er no, I came for an ops job? 'Well we just have the one ops job', well that's all I'm looking for. That will be four hours on the tills and the rest doing ops, so would you like to go on to the role play now? Well, no. I came on the impression there was a full time ops job on offer, so thanks but no thanks. I would love to report that this resulted in cataplexy but I can't go that far, there was some degree of surprise registered though. Which gave me considerable, though probably unwarranted, satisfaction, seeing the folks who regard it as their virtually exclusive reserve to decide who will be employed and who won't, have this prerogative usurped. There is every possibility that, if I'm still unemployed in six months time, I may not feel quite so smug over this little event. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/09/04/liberating-6889204/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>employmentbullshitlifehttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/09/04/liberating-6889204/#commentshttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/08/30/favourite-tv-6853063/tag:wowbagger.blog.co.uk,2009-08-30:/2009/08/30/favourite-tv-6853063/Sun, 30 Aug 2009 12:33:45 +0200 <p>Found another program to add to my list of must see TV, though there were not that many clues out there that it is on at all. FX hide it away at 02.00 early Tuesday mornings and do not trail it at all, there is no obvious link on the main page of the FX UK website and the details are hidden away on page 2 of the links to the series they show.</p> <p>But I can reveal all; ladies and gentlemen, I give you Penn and Teller:Bullshit! (coyly referred to in EPG as Bulls^^t, why do they do that? Does anyone reading 'Bulls^^t'? sound it out other than 'Bullshit' in their heads, can anyone even pronounce 'Bulls^^t'? So why is it thought to be so offensive to write it 'Bullshit'?!).</p> <p>It's as if FX are embarrassed about having to show it at all, I know it's not mainstream programming, their presentation style is somewhat forthright and the content a little challenging, but FX couldn't bury it any more effectively and still actually show it! What can't understand is how they get these whack jobs to come on the program, one screwball recorded a piece to camera calling Penn Jillette fat; so just how bad do you want the verbal abuse to be.</p> <p>It's not to everyone's taste given the content and their style, they may well only get to preach to the converted but if you might be interested then this weeks subjects are exorcism and immigration. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/08/30/favourite-tv-6853063/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>penn-tellerfxtvhttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/08/30/favourite-tv-6853063/#commentshttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/08/29/clio-brakes-6850339/tag:wowbagger.blog.co.uk,2009-08-29:/2009/08/29/clio-brakes-6850339/Sat, 29 Aug 2009 22:07:12 +0200 <p>Finished the job on the brakes this afternoon. The n/s rotor and pad were scored in a similar fashion to the o/s, one ridge at the very inside of the diameter swept by the pad and the other about 6-7mm wide in the middle of the disc, both 1 - 1.5mm high, with matching profile in the pad where it no longer seems to touch the disc but must do in order to wear away the friction material. The discs and pads appear to be Renault OEM gear and I can't see why wear like this would occur? Anyway, job is now done and been for a little test drive, everything seems to work, no rattles or clunks, firm pedal, car stops and no bits left over! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/08/29/clio-brakes-6850339/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>cliolifecarshttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/08/29/clio-brakes-6850339/#commentshttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/08/29/brakes-international-6847813/tag:wowbagger.blog.co.uk,2009-08-29:/2009/08/29/brakes-international-6847813/Sat, 29 Aug 2009 13:46:25 +0200 <p><a href="http://www.brakesint.co.uk" title="logo_brakesinternational"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/351/3836351_efffcfb471_s.gif" alt="logo_brakesinternational"></a></p> <p>I would just like to thank Jason at Brakes International for all the effort he put in this morning to ensure I had the parts today that I need for the Clio. That I have the parts is in no way thanks to UPS I must emphasise, they will still, eventually, drag their arse over here on Tuesday at which time I will take great pleasure in refusing delivery. So, I made my judgement of UPS yesterday, and might well continue to restate that judgement for sometime yet, how did it go again, smug, lying, incompetent, unprofessional, grasping, careless, twats; have I missed anything? So what of Brakes International? It would have been easy, on a bank holiday weekend for them just to keep their heads down, make soft noises about having done all they could and how they use a reputable company for deliveries, very sorry but it is what it is, after all I'm not going to be placing even hundreds of pounds of business with them and that would have been OK. But that's not what happened. Jason phoned contacts local to me this morning to find someone stocking the parts I need and even tried to arrange delivery, couldn't quite manage that over a bank holiday weekend, but I had just a 30 mile round trip to pick the parts up and Brakes International will probably end up losing money on the deal, will certainly lose money if they don't get the charge back from UPS. So thanks again to Jason, I will certainly be using them again for any parts they can supply but will have to ask if they can ship them via anyone other than UPS.</p> <p>So if you are thinking of getting parts online, click on the logo at the top and give them a look. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/08/29/brakes-international-6847813/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>upsbrakes-internationallifecarshttp://wowbagger.blog.co.uk/2009/08/29/brakes-international-6847813/#comments