Strange Bike Names

I can't spell to save my life. I always keep a dictionary to hand now I’m blogging on a regular basis. I know that the “Create Post” window on Blogspot has a spell checker, but it just doesn’t work for me. Everytime I use it my formatting gets messed up.

Tonight I was looking through the V’s for a word which I still can’t spell, when I made a strange discovery. The entry reads as follows,

Virago n (pl Viragos) a noisy, bad-tempered woman.

This tickled me as Yamaha make a bike called Virago.
Therefore, you too could ride a Yamaha Noisy Bad-Tempted Woman this weekend.

Catchy don't you think?

Regards



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The Bestest Blog of All-Time

I often use the "Next Blog" button at the top of the Blogspot pages to find random blogs that may be interesting. However, most of the time I end up visiting some sort of sales page or a blog which isn't in English. I've got nothing against languages other than English, but with the except of ordering a beer in Germen, I hopeless lost as to what it's all about.

It has often occured to me that Blogger could do with adding a few filter controls to this search button. "English Only" would be my first suggestion.

Today to button came up trumps and found this,

The Bestest Blog of All-Time

Which seems to offer the answer I've been after. The blogger (name as yet unknown) has written some javascript tucked away behind a button, which searches for blogs that are only in English and claims to have not sales pages listed.

Better than that, He/She also offers a 'Link Exchange' scheme, where I post their link on my blog and He/She does the same. Result - More hits and comments. At least that's the plan. Anyway, I'm signed up. I'll have to wait to see what happens next.

Regards



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Day of the Flying Ants - In Croydon At Least

That could almost be the title of a 1960’s ‘B’ movie, but as far as I know it isn’t.

Today seems to be that annual day, in Croydon at least, that the Female ants leave the safety of their nests in order to set up their own colonies. They are everywhere today, including inside my visor.

I first noticed them when I set out for my customary lunchtime stroll. When I saw the wingless ants wandering around the pavements, I thought to myself, "They look strangely large for British ants". It wasn’t until I walked into a swam of winged ones that I realised that they were of course the female of the species looking for new accommodation.

There must have been millions of them flying about the place and they seemed to be everywhere. How on Earth do they all know that today is the day? What happens if some of them have set their clocks wrong and don’t go until tomorrow? Perhaps all the best new homes will have been snapped up by then. Who knows? I certainly don’t.

When I got home tonight there was no sign of the little blitters. Except one which had taken up residance on the front of my visor, but she was an immigrent from Croydon and not a local you understand. We will have to make do with our usual swam of Bumble Bees engulfing the Lavender bush. Perhaps it's not yet our turn to be attacked by those busy little ants. That joy is obviously yet to come.

Regards



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I Now Have A Photoblog Of My Own

At last I've managed to find a suitible (read free) Photoblog.

It's on a website called 'fotix.net' . I've only had the account for a couple of days, but so far I'm very impressed.

You can view my photoblog by clicking here or using the link in the 'Links' side bar of this blog.

I look forward to your comments. Hint, hint!

Regards



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A Tykes Progress

A Tykes Progress

This is another very interesting blog which I regularly follow.

St. Jude (as she calls herself) has some very interesting observations to share with the world. Her occupation is top secret due to issues of National Security and seems to involve lots of strange people laying on the floor and threatening staff with weapons. Sound like lots of fun to me, if that's your sort of thing?

Me, I'll stick with engineering if it's all the same.

Definatly worth I a read. You won't regret it.

Regards



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Who Turned Off All The Lights? - Update

Preivous Post - Who Turned Off All The Lights?

I decided that I needed a second oppinion of my idea, so I contacted both 'Friends of the Earth' and 'Green Peace'.

I also posted a comment with my ideas on the BBC's Forum Website, but they didn't publish it. Perhaps I am wasting my breath after all!

To find out what happens, if anything, watch this space.

Regards



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Who Turned Off All The Lights?

We are told by the powers that be that we are heading towards certain doom and darkness unless replacement electricity generating solutions can be found PDQ. A significant number of our power stations are nearing the end of their useful lives and plans for their replacements must be drawn up as soon as possible.

The Government Westminster Muppet Show has announced plans to build six new Nuclear Power stations around the country. This, we are told, is the only viable solution to our envisaged future power requirements. The projected costs are,

• £2bn to setup each nuclear power station.


• £300,000 to clean-up each sight once life expired.


• The environmental cost is incalculable.

To me the clean-up figure seems very low, but that’s what we are lead to believe!

This means, at today’s prices, that the total ‘cradle to grave’ cost for all Six power station will be at least,

• £12bn or £12,000,001,800,000

If you look at this another way, it works out at £214,285 for every Man, Woman and Child in the UK!!

That figure even surprised me. Surely I’ve got my figures wrong somewhere. It can’t possibly be that much each, can it?

Anyway, I believe there’s a viable and much cheaper alternative. Why not fit solar panels & small wind turbines to every house in the country? I suspect that it would be a fraction of the cost and far less damaging to the environment.

Perhaps I should mention this idea to Friends of the Earth or Greenpeace.

If someone would like to check my figures I’d be grateful.

Regards



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The Football World Cup 2006 Has Finished

As I'm sure you all know by now, Italy won by beating France in a penalty shootout.

I only have one comment to make about the game. What was the French player Zinedine Zidane thinking off when he head butted the chest of one of the Italians? It was a moment of complete madness to end the career of a brilliant player. Silly man. I bet he will regret that out-burst for a very long time.

I've always felt that penalty shootouts are a grossly unfair way to decide who the winner is. They have little to do with sporting skill and everything to do with luck.

How could this situation be avoided in the first place? I considered that perhaps the teams could play chess to decide the outcome. However, I doubt that many footballers could even spell Chess, let alone play such a game of mental skill. I hardly think that David Beckham and Wayne Rooney would give Gary Kasparov any sleepness nights, do you?

How about totting up all the red & yellow cards that the team members have accrued during the competition or maybe even a Keepy-Uppy contest?

If you have any better ideas, please let me know.

Regards



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Always the Bridesmaid, Never the Bride

It can’t have escaped your attention that England are out of the Football World Cup on Penalties AGAIN!!

What is it about England teams and penalty shootouts? We just can’t win them. Hopeless at them we are.

Oh well, in fours years time we will get yet another chance to lose again!

I'll be washing my flags tomorrow in readiness to store them away 8-(

Regards



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First week review of my new job

It has been a good week for me, despite the need to use the train during some of this year’s best biking weather.

My transition to the new / old company has been mostly very smooth and I now have more work than I can shake a stick at. The work is a good thing as I’ve spent most of this year in my previous job naval gazing, which is not me. I need to be creating things, whether they are documents, drawings, reports or pieces of equipment. I don’t really care as long as I’m allowed to be creative I’m help.

After work on Friday it was time for my leaving do. A little late I agree, but I’d timed it to coincide with three other staff who were leaving this Friday. We started off at the pub and moved onto an Italian restaurant for the rest of the evening. As is usual at such get togethers, I drank and ate far to much and didn’t feel at my best once I finally found my way home. In fact I still felt quite bloated this morning. Luckily I have quite a low alcohol threshold so there were no little men with hammers present today.

In the great scheme of things I’m an alcohol light weight and rarely drink other than at Christmas. Up until yesterday I’d only had four beers since last Christmas. I do enjoy real ales, but I can’t manage more than a couple at a sitting so don’t often bother. There was a time that I could drink Redbull & Vodka until it came out of my ears (and a few other orifices to boot) and then dance all night. Those nights were usually closely followed by extended calls to God on the big white telephone. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your point of view) I can no long do that. Maybe it’s a sign of growing up, perish the thought. A nice cup of tea and a good DVD is more me these days.

I do believe I’m turning into a Grumpy Old Man.

Someone pass me my slippers. I’d get them myself, but my back aches too much.

Regards



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