Busy Lunchtime

Had a manic lunchtime today, acomplished the following: jabs for holiday booked, medical travel questionaire picked up, passport/visa photos taken, passport renewal form picked up, visa forms downloaded. I have to get my passport renewed before I can send off for the Egypt visa, we have plenty of time but better to get this all done earlier than later! We also had the holiday docs and the travel guide and DVDs about Egypt delivered this morning. Busy busy busy...

New Car Decision - Mercedes

So, I made my mind up for my next car. I went for the Mercedes (a close contender last time actually). The new new MINI was good but just not as exciting as the last. The Merc is obviously quite different but the major benefits are how quiet it is on the motorway and how comfortable it is over long distances. In fact one of the main reasons for this decision is that the Merc has a place for your right foot when you are on the motorway with cruise on. The MINI had none so your foot was hooked uneder the clutch/break pedals. This meant you sat with a twist - not nice to your right knee in the long term.

As standard the car comes with fogs, ABS/ESP, Hill-Start, selective damping suspension, one-touch direction indicators, multi-function steering wheel, parametric steering, trip computer, lots of airbags and a tyre pressure loss warning system. The new 2009 MY that I am getting also comes with a stop-start engine management with regenerative breaking to cut down emissions.

Here's the car I have chosen: Mercedes Benz A-Class A150 3-door

Classic SE in Night Black with Black Interior
Exterior Sight and Light Pack (auto mirror/lights/wipers)
Seat Comfort Pack
Speedtronic Cruise Control and Limiter
Leather Steering Wheel, Gearknob and Handbreak
Central Arm Rest with Storage
Luxury Dual-Zone Climate Control
Parktronic (front/rear audio/visual parking sensors)
Steering Column Adjustable for Reach
Speaker System Upgrade with Centre Speaker and Bass
iPod Integration

I know, I know - the Sat-Nav is missing but I am going to get a TomTom 930T this time round. I also had to forego heated seats - to be fair I hardly use them on the MINI. The car will be delivered September 1st (first day of new 58 registration plates) - can't wait!

Dentist

I had to go to the dentist this morning to get an old filling replaced. Those of you that know me will know that I am a little bit of a big girl's blouse when it comes to dentists. I have been dreading it! However, I explained my worries to the dentist (the fact that usually the numbing injections hardly work) and she took it into account (or used a horse tranquiliser). I felt nothing! It was brilliant! Downside - the whole right side of my face is now so numb I can hardly talk :)

Egypt

It is all very exciting - K and I have booked a holiday in Egypt. We will cruise along the nile, spend days visiting pyramids and tombs and relax on the beaches of the Red Sea. We will visit Luxor, Aswan, Ciaro, Sharm El Sheik and a few other places in between. I think the camera is gonna be on overtime!

Award Winning

I was presented with an award today by the Chief Superintendent of the Eastern Area Police. I was given the award for being the Neighbourhood Watch Coordinator of the year. Very nice! Presented at a local hotel and I believe pictures going into the press - could I be in the paper twice in one month???

Sweden Elk Safari

K an I went to Sweden last weekend for a surprise. Turned out the surprise was an ELK SAFARI! How awesome! We spent the weekend travelling the length of south-west Sweden and stayed in a hotel/spa overnight. Check out my flickr for photos (link in title). Caught up with K's folks on Sun night for a meal before jetting back home. Unfortunately we then spent the next 3 days being VERY ill (hence this post being so late). Think we got a bug at the airport.

I'm Famous!

After litterally years of trying (well, ok, not that hard) I made it into a newspaper. I am featured in the local Comet (link in title) as part of my Neighbourhood Watch activities. I think you'll agree I look suitably cheesy in the photo :)

Haircut

FINALLY I managed to go and get a haircut - it was somewhat overdue! K will now be happy :) Here is before and after - ooOOOoo, don't I look nice!

Pink Floyd Covers Band

Huzzah - just booked tickets for a Pink Floyd covers band playing in Stevenage on the 25th April. J is coming with seeing as K cannot stand them. Link in title...

40D new firmware

Canon released a new firmware for the 40D today. It fixes some problems with IS lenses, an issue with the image preview and some language issues. Get it from the Canon website.

More Snow

Well, it is early April and of course - it is snowing! Rasmus has been a little more brave this time and has ventured out to see what this white thing is all about - although he looks a little guilty in this shot?! Forecast is for more later - if I get my work done in time I might even be able to go out and play :)

Time Capsule

A new toy arrived yesterday - an Apple Time Capsule (500GB). Before OS X 10.5.2 I was happily using a network share and with a small hack to get Time Machine to work on K's laptop. I figure Apple got wise to this and the 10.5.2 update killed it. So, I took the plunge and ordered this. It is about the size of the Apple TV but a LOT louder when in full swing (there is a fan inside). It took nearly 4 hours to create the initial snapshot from K's Mac but it seems to be working just fine. Only annoyance is that (for an unknown reason) my Axis 207W IP-Cam cannot see the radio on it??? Very strange - am all over the forums at the moment trying to figure it out. Currently have two wifi routers in the network to get everything to work - K's is called VIKING and mine SAXON :)

Canon G9

I got a new toy today - the Canon G9. I am going to use it when it is not convenient to take my main DSLR along. It is very rugged, compact and packed full of features. Battery is charging ready for first use as we speak...

MINI Update and 0 miles :)

MINI released a new firmware update for their sat-nav just the other day.  Now version 10.  Took all of 3 minutes to load.  It is meant to be faster and more stable.  However, I have not noticed any real differences other than it tried to take me a different way home the other night... 

Whilst on the subject of my MINI - I managed to finally get the fuel counter to report 0 miles left :)  Luckily (and rather by coincidence) this happened whilst pulling into a petrol station - I know, hard to believe but K was there and she'll vouch for me.

Coursework

I feel I am going to be a little busy this month. I have 4 lots of coursework (2 group and 2 individual) that need to be in in 1, 2, 4 and 4 weeks. This would not usually be a problem - however, 2 of my 4 weekends have gone. I am off to Sweden for one and Prague for the other. Gulp - guess my evenings are going to be fairly busy for the next month!

Good Weekend

What a great weekend. It was actually sunny on Sunday. K and I took the top off her car and drove to the Robin Hood for lunch with some friends - very nice indeed. Only regret was that it was too cold for a BBQ in the evening :) On a side note - just picked up the new Amy MacDonald albumn (This is the Life) - check it out - it's pretty good.

UKC (aka Kent)

K, L and I went back to Uni yesterday. It is most odd driving and walking around the places you used to know so well. We spent far too much in the campus shop buying Kent Uni (yes, UKC has been re-branded to Kent Uni) tops (and pants in K's case!). We then ate in town before heading back home to watch the latest Terry Pratchet on tv. Fun day - more pics in link in title.

Snow

Woke up on Sun morning and there was a white Xmas outside! It had been snowing on and off all weekend but until now had not settled. Unfortunately it only lasted for a few hours and was quite wet so not that fun. Rasmus - who has never seen snow before - was not quite sure about it but was still outside investigating.

I'm ill :(

Thanks M - I caught his cold whilst working the weekend and I am now feeling very miserable. Eyes and throat dry, nose blocked and head pounding... And I am going to be feeling even more sorry for myself when K gets it just in time for the long weekend. huff...

MINI?

There is, of course, the easy option for replacing my car - buy another MINI. This time a new new MINI rather than my current old new MINI. Only problem is that the base spec has gone up by over £1,000 making option choices a little tricky.

Mercedes?

With the new new MINI being a lot more expensive than the old new MINI I am having to look elsewhere for my next company car. One that seems to have potential (well, more than the Fiat 500's) is the Mercedes A class. I can get it with nearly everything other than SatNav for my budget and it looks quite nice in black. Best of all it is very quiet on the motorways.

Anoki

Went for a fantastic Indian last night. The staff were all dressed up, there were Bollywood films being screened in the background and the food was simply excellent. If you are ever in Derby I'd reccomend it!

Fiat 500

So, I test drove the Fiat 500 today. I got my hands on a 1.4 (100bhp) Sport in Red with the 16" wheels. It is a fun car for sure but there are a couple of problems with it. Firstly the steering wheel does not adjust for reach so I end up sitting far too close to the pedals as usual. Secondly there is noticable lag on the throttle - even with the sport mode on. Other than that it handled the motorway just fine and was fun to chuck around the back roads. I liked the styling, it certinaly does not feel as Fiat as I remember Fiats feeling (in a good way) and the controls were weighted nicely. I was not so keen on the lack of lack of arm rest, cruise control and sat-nav. Think I need to go drive the new MINI again soon...

House off the market

Well, we tried. The house we were after did not work out and to be frank there is and has been nothing else on the market that has even come close to being what we would like. So, withouth futher adoo we have taken our house off the market...guess we'll be here a little longer :)

STEMNET Duxford

I went to Duxford yesterday to help S out.  I was a science/tech ambassador - which meant I had to chat to teachers about what I do and how their science classes might relate to it.  Nice lunch, great views and a home DNA kit as a thank you present :)