Loft Insulation

With the recent cold (very cold) weather we've been looking at how to make the house more efficient.  Have applied for a cavity wall survey (should be able to get a Government 50% grant) and also ordered more loft insulation via an offer from nPower: http://www.npower.com/web/diyloftinsulation/index.htm

Bathroom Designing

Starting to get the hang of this - here's a first draft of the bathroom.  Can't get it to look exactly as I want it - but gives me an idea of layout.  What you can't see is the moisture proof TV, in-ceiling audio, underfloor heating and auto LED mirrors :)

Kitchen Designing

K and I have been trying to design a new kitchen for the house.  It's an awkward space but this seems to work...  Features include servo drawers, a quooker, fridge that does ice for cocktails and eye level ovens :)

London

I've been training on the 27th floor of Portland House (Victoria). It has a great view over the City (when there is no fog). Took my camera in for a few snaps...

Pioneer VSX-920-K

I wasn't particularly looking for a new amp - but an ad in WIRED caught my eye - controllable with an iPhone app!  Currently I have the TV, AppleTV and Sky+ being controllable from the iPhone/iPad/iPod but the amp is missing and therefore needs a RF-repeater (which sticks out of the wall and violates K's minimalist pricipals).

I found a store nearby to work (HiFi Confidential) with one in stock that would price match and ended up carrying it back on the Tube (14KG box in rush hour!).

The amp is good - key features are auto-speaker setup with an included mic, the iPhone app and built in internet radio (we can get Swedish stations).  However, I cannot figure out the best way to use the HDMI Control and the HDMI switching is quite slow.  Sounds great though - more warm than my old Sony kit.

Coventry

K and I went to Cov this weekend to see M. Whilst there we went to a charity gig at a hotel in Birmingham. The hotel was....well....a little Fawlty Towers. I managed to knock a pint over my 7D (thank god it is weather sealed). Fantastic Sunday lunch today though...

HiSpek Electronics - LowSpek Customer Service!

I am in the market for a new AV amplifier - and have my eye on the Pioneer VSX-920-K (more later in this blog).  In my usual way I went about researching on the internet to find the best price and was suprised/delighted to find a store very near me in St Albans with 'internet' prices - HiSpek Electronics.  I called first thing in the morning to check they had one in stock that I could look at and was told they did :)

So, K and I drove to HiSpek - cash in pocket - ready to return home with the amp.

At this point it all went wrong from a customer service point of view...

Firstly the chap seeing me told me that actually I could not have a demo. When asked why he said it would take an hour to swap the cables over. AN HOUR! I enquired why so long for 6 speaker cables and an HDMI – something I could surely do in under 5 minutes. He then changed tack and told me that it was due to the complex wiring situation. YOU DEMO WIRING IS SO BAD IT TAKES AN HOUR TO SWAP AN AMP! He then hit home with the fact that his manager would not let him change an amp on the weekends. I looked around at a mostly empty shop – maybe 6 or 7 customers including us and we were the only people in the demo room looking at AV equipment. I explained that I work in London during the week and therefore could not attend at the weekend. He refused to budge.
At this point I left HiSpek, furious and vowing to buy elsewhere as a matter of principle.


I sent them a note the following day expressing my frustration in the hope that they might at least acknowledge the problem - but no, not even the smallest of apologies.
 
So - be warned - trying to buy locally might not always be the best solution... back to the internet!

Exposure Joystick Mk5

Finally I've joined the 'joystick' club - this light is awesome and with the helmet mount will give superb visibility when night riding. The Mk5 is 30% brighter but burns just as long as the previous models.

It comes with a nice padded case too - more pics linked in title...

Halloween

Bwahahahahahahaha!

Canon EOS 7D

I bought a small birthday present for myself today - an upgrade from my 40D to the much more sophisticated 7D.  Key improvements are a new AF system, better high ISO performance and lens micro adjustment.

Kindle 3rd Generation

K got me a Kindle 3rd gen for my birthday.  Somewhat smaller than the last generation and with wifi and 3g connectivity.  The contrast also appears higher.  This will be the perfect commuting toy!

Birthday Gnomes

My much loved (and until now secret) garden Gnome collection has just been announced to the world.  The shame....

Thanks MW :)

S&A's Wedding

Straight back from Malaysia and immediately we drove to Castle Coombe (didn't even go home first). We made it with enough time to get changed ready to see S&A's wedding. They had a traditional church marriage and then a fantastic reception at the Manor House hotel - the food was excellent! Congrats S-B :)

More photos linked in title...

Batu Caves

On the way back to KL airport we stopped at Batu to visit the famous caves - there are two great things here - this massive golden statue and the monkeys :)

Link to more photos in the title...

Pangkor Island Beach Resort

To wind down after the wedding we spent a few days at the Pangkor Island Beach Resort. It was nice to sit on the beach, drink beer and sleep.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rakh1/sets/72157625182399794/

K&M's Malysia Wedding

We've just come back from 12 days in Malaysia to celebrate K&M's wedding. It was a loud, colourful and brilliant event lasting several days. What an experience!

More photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rakh1/sets/72157625182401214/

Insomnia 2010 - Bedgebury

J and I completed the BHF Insomnia event for the second year running.  We made 5 laps of the 9.5mile circuit in the 12 hours from 20:00 to 08:00.  All but the last lap were in absolute darkness!  Our best time was 1:08 and our worst nearer 1:30.  Total elevation per lap 1,266ft!!!

Needless to say we were both exhausted but had great fun!

UKC Venue Re-Opens

I was invited to the re-opening of my old Uni's nightclub - The Venue - due to being an ex-President.  So, what better than to invite all the Uni girls too (ok, easier than it sounds - am married to one of them!).  It is certainly a lot 'snazzier' than when we were there - but at the same time some of the character has gone.  More pics linked in title...

MBK Ayots

J and I went for a last training run today before the big race at Bedgebury next weekend.  We covered around 16 miles in about 90 minutes.  I feel less prepared for the endurance race this year - but still think I'll be ok.  Must remember to test and charge my lights!

Max - Recovery - Week Two

Max has made a remarkable recovery. He went for a check up at the Vet's on Friday and was told that he can now come out of the cage and roam the house as normal. He walks well, although still looks a little drunk. However, he managed to navigate the stairs in both directions which is very good. He is expected to make further improvements over the coming weeks/months but in all he is in very much better shape :)

Max - Recovery - Week One

Max has been home since Sunday and is already starting to show signs of improvement. X-rays showed that nothing was broken but the vet tells us that he must have suffered a blunt force trauma - which might tie in with the graze he has on the right shoulder.

He is still massively weak on his right side but for the first time today is starting to move his damaged legs. This footage was taken this morning and left K and I in tears of joy. It appears that he still has some use of his damaged legs and we can only massively hope that this rate of recovery continues.

Max hit by car...

Max
Originally uploaded by rakh1

K got home last night to find Max in distress. She rushed him to the vets where they confirmed he has likely been hit by a car. He's been admitted overnight for observation with x-rays tomorrow to determine the extent of the damage. Fingers crossed it is just bruising...

Cannot Start Outlook

Got this message recently when trying to start outlook (Office 7, Win7 x64)..

"Cannot start Microsoft Office Outlook.  Cannot open the Outlook Window"

Fixed it with start -> run -> Outlook.exe /resetnavpane

WHS Backup Error

I've been having some problems this week with my Home Server - every time I try to back up one of my machines it returns an error saying that a file is in use.  I tracked this back to server error logs complaining of an IO error.  Chkdsk returned nothing - but when trying to open the names file I got errors.  So, it seems like a corrupted DAT file - problem is that these particular files are not mirrored or backed up.  In the end I worked around it by removing the backup config for that machine, and then reinstalling the home connector software.  A bit of a worry though if an old backup corrupts - there is no way I can see to recover it.

Sonisphere - EXCELLENT!

Sonisphere was excellent - Iron Maiden were just brilliant and worth waiting all weekend for.  Rammstein were a complete surprise - what a wall of noise!  Had a great time every day and no injuries this year too despite venturing to the mosh pit, pit circles and even a spot of crowd surfing :)