Sweden

18 hours there, 16 hours back - what a drive! We are now converted Chunnel lovers (Sooooo much easier than the ferry). Had a great week with the family in the summer house - even managed to catch some sun. My Swedish needs work still... (more photos linked in title)

Logitech z506

My PC speakers stopped working this morning - not bad seeing as they are over 15 years old. Having real trouble finding suitable replacements though - have settled for some cheap Logitech ones until the perfect set finds me...

Sonisphere 2011

J, B and I just had a great weekend. We not only had full weekend tickets but managed to blag VIP tickets too allowing us to relax in a private tent with its own drinks, food and facilites. Highlights of the weekend incude Megadeth, Metallica, Paradise Lost and Bill Bailey :) Also got my yearly quota of crowd surfing out of the way - small nose injury this year :( More pics linked in title...

Bathroom nearly done...

After two weeks the bathroom is nearing completion. Main hardware is in and only the last bits of electrics and the grouting is outstanding. Then it's just left to me to programme the TV, bath and underfloor heating..oh, and paint the ceiling and remaining walls!

Bathroom TV Test

Here's the hardware test run. I've threaded cat5 and coax cable to the attic from the server room and have hooked up an AppleTV along with the Sky+ box. All seems good :) Sound quality much better than expected and Sky+ control is flawless. Can't wait to install it now...

Bathroom TV

Got talking to the builders last night about my TV dilemma and the hassle to fit it. They talked for a bit and then came up with a way to get it in the wall with less hassle than I expected - as such I'm going ahead with it and we'll have a nice little 19" telly in the bathroom ;) Made by Sonos, with sky digilink built in, floating waterproof remote and induction speakers!

Yorkshire MBK

A few of us headed oop north this weekend for some proper mountain biking. The weather held for the most part and we had some fantastic rides (including a 7km downhill!). Was happy to get out of the Landrover though after 4.5 hours in the back with all the bags!

Bathroom ordered...

After an expensive week we have now finally gotten all the various parts ordered for our new bathroom - work starts next week! We've gone for Aqualisa HiQu shower and Bath (with a computer controller for each), an IKEA double sink unit, grey tiling and underfloor heating - oh, and the coolest towel radiator we could find! The funky mosaic tiles to the left are going as a splash-back behind the sinks...

New Sofa

After 17 weeks of waiting our new sofa finally made it from China and was delivered. I was given a 7 hour delivery window and of course it came during the 30 minute period that I was on a conference call :( Anyway - it's here now and looks great... just need to keep the cats off it now!

J's 40th - in Cornwall

To celebrate J's 40th birthday, A and I went to Cornwall for the weekend. There was much celebration (once we left Newquay) and some near death experiences (for A) when we tried some land-kite-surf-boarding on a nearby beach. Despite the near death a good time was had by all and there was even some sun to enjoy our Rick Stein fish and chips with. More pics linked in title.

Merc - new brakes

Yay - it's been ages but I finally got round to pulling a car apart again. OK, no massive modification here - just a straightforward brake replacement - but nice to get my hands dirty anyway and saved ~£150 compared to having Merc do it for me!

Vibram Fivefingers KSO

Well, if there are good enough for Sergey from Google then they're good enough for me. Going to try these as my next set of trainers and see what they're like. Downside - needed new socks too!

Nick and Britta's Wedding

Just got back from a fantastic wedding. The rain held off (long enough) and we even managed a BBQ in the evening. N&B had a great time - photos linked in the title...

Walkera V120D02

Whilst my 4G6S is in repair I've ordered one of these - it is flybarless which means more simple to fix and more fun to fly. The best bit is that it shares most of its parts with the 4G6S and uses the same transmitter. Should be here later this week...

4G6S Rebuilt (again)

Another crash and another rebuilt later. This time I borrowed some parts from the V120D02 bin, which gives a nice red canopy and more importantly, a taller tail fin to stop those tail strikes. Ready for flying this weekend!

MBK

Went for a great late afternoon ride today - highlights include a 32mph 'both wheels fully locked' skid nearly missing a tree on a newly found patch of downhill, and a great mile long downhill path on the way home... made it up 'Impossible Hill' too :)

McCulloch M53-675 DWA

Having used M's petrol mower for the last few weeks I've decided it is time to buy my own. Found this nifty little 4-stroke with a load of cool features such as auto-mulch and self-priming easy start. Also has a plastic box (not fabric) so won't rot. Next question - can I modify the electronics of a Roomba to guide it autonomously...?

Barnes Rugby

Had a great Sat with Thomsons watching the Rugby at Barnes. The day got better as they won 43-12 automatically promoting them in the process. Lots more pics linked in the title...

Heli Flying...

Had a great day flying at the park. Starting to get the hang of it too. Had some amusing crashes though - hit a tree twice, and went through another set of blades and tail gears. Batteries charging ready for tomorrow... more pics linked in the title.

BBQ

It was hot. We had charcoal. There was cold beer. BBQ :)

Canon Pixma MG6150

My old HP ran out of ink again, which was the perfect time to get a new printer :) The MG6150 is faster to print, can do duplex printing and is totally wireless - plus it gets rid of all the HORRIBLE HP software from my computer!!!

4G6S Back in action!

After a late night rebuild my heli is back in working order. It took an hour to put everything back on, and another 15 mins to balance it all out. Am now looking forward to my next crash...urg, I mean flight!

Mini DV Camera

Check this out - 5cm tall, 19g weight and takes 480p footage direct to mini-sd card. Perfect to try and capture some of these crashes from on-board the helicopter... should also be useful filming my mountain-bike crashes... available for £13 now - link in title!

CRASH!

Oops - was getting a bit too brave and got disorientated - heli came down upside down fast and missed the grass, hitting the tarmac. I reacted badly by slamming the throttle wide open. The resulting crunch followed by a little 'funky chicken' was somewhat painful to witness. I've broken the tail boom, tail drive, main gears, lower chassis, canopy and a set of blades - total cost - £22 in P&P :(

E-Flite Blade 450

Am getting used to the smaller helicopter now - so time for something a little larger - and more capable in the wind. My decision was made just in time to pre-order the newest 450 size heli on the market - the E-Flite Blade 450 (link in title). It is about 2.5 times the size of the Walkera and a lot more powerful. Spares should be easier to find too. It should be shipped in a few weeks...