I got hit!

I was dropping K off in St Ablans this morning (she has a contract there for a few days) and was waiting at a roundabout when I got clipped from behind. Worst of all the driver didn't even stop and I was pinned in traffic. Luckily there is no damage - in fact I cannot believe it, not even a scratch - major good points for the MINI. I am not sure if I should tell the police about this - technically it was a road incident with the other driver leaving the scene. However, with no damage is it realy worth the hassle... Anyway - if you see a light-blue Peugeot 206SE AJ53 WCG driving around beware!!!! I hope they scratched their front bumper :)

UPDATE: I reported it to the Police after advice. My worry would be if the other car sustained some damage and reported it and if I were then to not report it it may look bad on my behalf. I hope the other driver gets a kncok on the door from the law and has to explain!

More photos....

I am having great fun with me new EOS400D. I read the manual cover to cover and as such am starting to understand a bit more about apperture and how it relates to depth of field, etc. Am now waiting for a nice clear sky to do a 30s exposure to see if I can see the stars :)

Canon EOS 400D Digital-SLR

A came over on Fri night and bought his new SLR with him. K quite liked this - so much so that she marched me to the local camera shop to get one for ourselves. So, one new Canon EOS 400D later (and a long lens, 4GB CF card, bag and extended warranty) I am once again immersed in gadgets. I have spent all afternoon playing with the various settings and have come to the conclusion that I need classes or something. Awesome bit of kit though...

MCTS SQL2005

As of yesterday afternoon I am now a MCTS SQL 2005 (Microsoft Certified Technical Specialist). The exam took over 2 hours and was the hardest MS exam I have sat to date. Still, I passed with over 75% giving me a comfortable margin. I am now MCP MCSE MCDBA MCTS - nice! :)

MINI hits 30k miles

It actualy happened a few days back but I only just got the pics from K's phone. 30,000 miles in 14 months - I dirve a fair bit :) Interesting things to note - still on first set of tyres, car has not cost a penny yet, it's still as much fun as when it was new. I quite like this MINI :)

Xmas lights

K told me to take the xmas lights off the tv. She didn't say anything about where to put them. I found a good place for them :)

Neighbourhood Watch

One of the things I managed to catch up on during my recent week off was some neighbourhood watch work. Thanks to knebworth.org we now have a website - have a look http://knebworth.org/knw

New (new) MINI

J and I were invited to the new MINI launch - that's the *new* new MINI. We both got to drive the Cooper and CooperS back to back. The new S feels fantastic, the Cooper a little sluggish - although this could be due to the limited miles on the engine. Overall though we both fealt that the cost-cutting was a bit too evident. The cheap plastics down the centre consol and tacky switch gear spoil the whole car whilst little details like the seat not lowering as much and the mirrors being odd shaped should not have ben allowed to slip through. I am certainly in no rush to upgrade and might even try to hang out until the mid-cycle face lift in a few years.

New hair...

Not satisfied with the shaving of the beard I managed to pluck enough courage to get my hair cut also. Strayed from the usual military style and went, for the first time, with something a little more up to date... I like it!

Secret webcam discovered :(

It turns out that my 'secret' webcam appears to have been discovered...

Rick Stein

Went to one of Rick Stein's restaurants last night with Grandma (am in Padstow). Managed to get hold of a couple of bottles of his new beer (launched last week). It is actually very nice - tastes like 4% but is actually 6.8%!! Not only that but Rick himself was at a table at the other end of the room - looks just like he does on telly :)

I am an Uncle

I got a call last night from K (I am away on business) to let me know that I had become an Uncle. My brother-in-law and wife (M&C) had just had a boy. So - mega congratulations to them, as far as I know all went well and everyone is fine. This just leaves me to contemplate what the meaning of being an Uncle is (I am starting to feel old I think).

Spangly TV :)

K made the mistake of leaving me alone for 10 mins with xmas lights to hand....one decorated TV later :) - I like it!

No more beard...

I fancied a change so I shaved my beard off.... Of course, I went through the usual several stages of novelty beard looks en-route :)

Cambridge

K and I went to Cambridge today - hard to believe that we have lived so close for 4 years and never gone! We parked up in Park Street and walked around the pedestrianised parts. Lovely architecture - loads of nice shops and lots of places to eat. We also found two markets and several of the colleges. Nice day out.

UKC Alumni Forum

My University has launched an Alumni forum - http://www.kent.ac.uk/alumni/forums/