Helitech

Every two years the world's biggest helicopter exhibition comes to the UK.  J and I went to Helitech at Duxford today and saw some very nice (expensive) machines.  Best bit was a short display by an Army Apache.  After the exhibition we wondered around the museum which was free of charge.

Insomnia Bedgebury

We did it - 12 hours of night trace around Bedgebury's single tracks.  It was exhausting.  The team covered around 180miles (YES!) between the four of us.  I did around 50 and stayed up the entire 12 hours to do so.  Most of Sunday was pain :)

Highlights include A having to get his chain and rear gears replaced half way through (thankfully the on-site bike shop was open 24hrs), J falling off so may times I lost count, K in the way she turned her tent into an extension of our house (double duvets, pillows, inflatable mattress, etc etc) and the staff running the coffee-shop (also open 24hrs) who we caught sleeping around 04:30.

In the end we raised over £1,000 for charity at http://original.justgiving.com/knebworthnights.
More photos linked in title.

Bike - rear shock bearings...

The bike was back in the shop today for one last operation before the night race tomorrow.  This time it was full on open-heart surgery to replace worn shock bearings at the centre of the rear suspension setup.  It took somewhat longer than expected (1 hr vs 5 mins) due to the tightness of the shock in the frame.  Nevertheless, the guys at Marshalls got it all done and it feels all the better for it.  Fingers crossed this is the last set of bearings I'll need to replace for the near future - in 3 weeks I've had the bottom bracket, rear hub and rear suspension go :(

MRP XCG Bashguard

Went out yesterday for a ride to get J's new Trek setup.  My new maxle is working well - but there was another noise.  The bike shop confirmed it is the bottom bracket bearings :(  So, it is booked in getting those replaced before the weekend.  Whilst they are there I've also ordered a MRP XCG Triple Bashguard.  This simple, yet effective device hangs just below the large ring, keeping it safe from trees/rocks.

50MB/s

Virgin installed their 50MB/s service today - equally nice was the 1.5MB/s uplink :)

Only problem now is getting my Axis 207W to talk to the new Netgear WNR2000 using WPA2...

Marin Maxle Conversion

I've just dropped the bike at the store to have this fitted - a maxle conversion kit to stiffen up the rear.  The forged dropouts look awesome, so much so I had to get the matching lock-on grip kit :)
Hopefully I'll get it back Fri.
UPDATE: Had to get a Hope conversion kit for the rear hub too, should be here today....

Peacefest

Had a great weekend - we went to S&S's on Sat night for their first (hopefully now annual) 'Peacefest'.  They have a two-part back garden.  The lower field is perfect for camping (about 8 of us set up tents) and the main garden ideal for a stage area, using their walled patio.  We set up a PA, several guitars, keyboards and mics.  Spent the evening entertaining and being entertained.  Bringing guitar-hero and the XBox proved a wise move :)

White Kitchen

We finished painting the doors and cupboards white this weekend - makes a nice change from the blue they used to be :)

Extension - Building Regs

We got the building reg plans through from out architect.  Seems like all is in order - now we have to submit them, pay some money and wait for approval.  At least we can start shopping around for quotes now.

Guitars Re-Strung

I restrung my guitars this weekend, also took the oppertunity to de-funk them and lemon-wax the fret-boards.  New strings play sooo nicely - I always wonder why I leave it so long each time.  I also played around a lot with the Kelly's action to get it lower.

50MB Broadband

There have been some price cuts on the top end Broadband services today. As such I've upgraded to the 50MB/s tier. It actually saved me £3 as I pay £5 a month for cloud storage which is included free with this top-end service. Install date is next Thu :)

Jackson King V Demmelition Signature Model

Ever since Sonisphere, when I got to jam on the Jackson stage, there has been something missing in my life. Well, now I might be able to fill that gap. I found a local store who can get me one of these to look at this weekend. It is a signature series from Machine Head's Phil Demmel - comes with some astounding hardware and a flight case. It's a neck-through model (like my Kelly KE2) and has all the usual: shark inlays,Floyd Rose, ebony fret board and EMG active pickups. Will see how it plays tomorrow...

UPDATE: Hmmm, had a play but was not as impressed as I remember. Turns out this one was a very early model, and did not even have the hard case. Am thinking about it...

Win7 x64 BSOD - aswTdi.SYS

Oh dear - out of the blue (excuse the pun) I got this - seems some sort of Avast AV issue. Let's hope this is nto a sign of things to come and that they fix the issue quickly. To be fair though, this is the first and only one I have seen.

Dissertation Finished :)

I couldn't sleep, so instead of watching rubbish TV in bed I decided to work on my dissertation. Ended up completing it - WOOHOO! It is 123 pages (including appendices) and the official word count (excluding the bumf) is 15,158, which is pretty close to the 15k guideline. All I have to do now is print two copies and bind them and then submit them along with one electronic copy. I have to say - I am SO glad it is over, but I don't feel I can celebrate until it is handed in.

Kitchen Goes White

In preparation for the extension we wanted to overhaul the kitchen. First thing was to change the colour of the doors and woodwork. It was blue - and is now in the process of turning white. This turns out to be a lot of work! We spray-painted the doors and have been brush painting the rest of it. This would be a lot easier if the gloss paint did not require 16 hours to dry after each coat.... that's my lunch-break for the next few days sorted then!

Padstow Weekend

K and I made a impulse decision and drove to Padstow this weekend to see Grandma. We had a great time - drank champagne, walked around the town, visited an art show, listened to a Jazz concert and even managed a pint in the Red Lion and some of Mr. Stein's fish n' chips (we even managed to find room to eat-in this time). Only problem was having to leave...

Dell E6400

My new laptop came yesterday and today has been spent installing all the various bits and pieces needed on it for work. You forget quite how much you have until you have to set it all up again!

Braun 7 790

I finally got fed up of wet shaving when I am away on business - carrying everything through security at airports is a nightmare. So, I finally bought an electric shaver - the Braun 7 790. It comes with a stand that is also a cleaner and a travel pouch. Will see if it is as good as a wet shave when it arrives later this week. Update - it is good, but not as good as a wet shave.

Garden Swing/Parasol

We went to a garden centre this weekend to buy some bamboo cane. We came back with one of these :) A bit of an impulse buy but we got a fantastic deal for the last one in the store.

I'm trying to figure out how to get heating to it...

Quad Core

In an attempt to speed up video transcoding (I'm putting many of my DVDs on iTunes) I bought a new processor for my main machine today. I am upgrading from a Core 2 Duo 2.4 to a Core 2 Quad 2.88 (Q9550). Should be here early next week...

UPDATE: It's here - it's fast!

Windows 7

...it's here - downloading Ultimate x64 (and x86 in case) from MSDN as we speak...

Planning

It's official - our planning application for our kitchen extension is on - today our neighbours received their forms and we had this attached outside the property. It's slated for the Parish meeting next week - all seems well so far...

More details here: North Herts Planning Site

Sonisphere

Had a great weekend at Sonisphere (Knebworth's Rock Festival). Heard Metallica, Linkin Park, NIN, Paradsie lost - just to name a few. Only annoyance was that my phone was pinched on the last night :( Photos linked in title and vids on my youtube page.

HTC TD2 IMEI 356158020116907 SN HT94BL100586

Dell E6400

The lovely chaps at Dell are replacing my Latitude D620 with a brand new E6400 as the old one keeps crashing due to heat. They say it will be with me very soon, am hoping it comes on or before next Thu so that it coincides with Win7 being released on MSDN.

Front Garden Change

Our white picket fence finally rotted through and we made our minds up on what to replace it with. We've opted for a privet hedge this time - a softer, more natural look than the fence - plus it never needs painting!!