Humans are so much better than Segway's....and here is the proof!

.

If you think that Segway's are a pretty smart idea, take a look at this video and feel the smug satisfaction that humans are (due to millions of years of evolution probably!) still a great deal more advanced when it comes to doing balancing tricks...well some are...not me :-)

NAUCC 2010 from Max Schulze on Vimeo.

How good is this bloke ?

The Frozen Ark Project.

.

This project is an attempt to prevent the total loss due to extinction of hundreds of species of animals and plants by storing their DNA for future generations.

On the face of it,it appears to be a very ambitious and noble idea...but sadly it is only necessary because of the destruction to the planet being caused by Humankind......a very disturbing thing to consider don't you think?

For details click HERE.

.

Sony Ericsson Playstation Portable PSP Phone (Zeus) ready for Christmas launch.....Maybe!

.

Rumours that a Sony Ericsson PSP (Playstation Portable) Phone are waiting in the wings took another turn this week as new pictures appeared to show the device that many have awaited for quite some time now.

Looking similar in size and design to the latest PSP it is rumoured to have 512MB Ram, 1GB Rom and a micro SD slot.

For more details click HERE.

Please support my Cousin in his BUPA charity run this Sunday

.

My cousin Darren Ward is taking part in the BUPA Great South Run on Sunday this week. Please make a donation to his JustGiving page. He lost both his grand parents to Cancer and is raising money for Cancer Research.

To donate follow this Link by clicking HERE

Thanks :-)

.

UK Defence cuts are an insult to our troops !

.

I mean, what the hell does Cameron and his band of idiots think they are doing by yet again reducing the strength of our fighting force whilst unbelievably still expecting them to be actively engaged in 2 major operations in the Middle east?

When I joined the RAF in 1983 I remember during my basic training at RAF Swinderby, that the RAF manpower level during that year was something around 85'000 personnel...by the time I left the RAF 12 years later it was at around 49'000....now Whitehall want more scalps.

The news that the government are also planning to decommission one of our aircraft carriers (Ark Royal) and leave the other without aircraft for several years is beyond belief.
When I was a young lad during the early eighties I remember watching the war for the Falklands unfold before my very eyes, probably the first time that such up to date info about a conflict had been broadcast to the British public. I especially remember the role that was played by the Sea Harrier force that was deployed to the South Atlantic and the magnificent job that they did in helping us to defeat the invading Argentines even though they were outnumbered by a huge margin. Obviously Cameron and his bunch of axe wielding farts have a very short memory, and as such they seriously think that they would be able to carry out an operation such as the Falkands repatriation with NO AIR SUPPORT? ...what a bunch of first class dick heads!

Only a few months ago we heard that Oil and gas fields with potentially huge reserves had been found in waters around the Falklands. Obviously the Argentines took the news badly. Now we announce that we are scrapping one aircraft carrier and will have bugger all aircraft deployed on the other, if you were the leader of Argentina wouldn't you fancy your chances in any future conflict?

I have heard it said that there was a possibility that France could "lend" us a carrier if we needed one....well they were such a help in the last Falklands gig selling the Argentinians those lovely Exocet missiles that proved so effective!

Hey, Mr Cameron, why don't you complete the nightmare and sell the surplus carrier to the Argentines? That would really prove what a top knob you are..as if we need any more proof.

.

McDonald's to test new ECO drive through system.

.

It is rumored that McDonald's are set to pilot a new ECO drive through system at 2 restaurants here in the UK.

The new system, nicknamed "Glide thru", is an ingenious attempt to counter the polluting emissions that are generated as customers queue at the Drive Through area of McDonalds outlets, and it employs a rather novel way of achieving this.


The system works by implementing an electrical "conveyor" that attaches to the underside of the customers vehicle and,after the car is put out of gear,it then pulls their vehicle around a track, along to the order and collection windows and then off into the "undocking" area where the conveyor then disengages and moves along the remaining track until it is positioned to engage the next vehicle, rather like the system used in theme parks to move ride carriages.


Testing is due to begin at Sleaford (Lincolnshire) and Mansfield (Nottinghamshire) restaurants in early December once the conveyor tracks have been installed.

.

Chilean Miners ordeal was a hoax!......well so it said on the internet!

.

Only hours after the 33 Chilean Miners were rescued from their "tomb" several hundred feet below a desert in Chile, whispers of hoax's,conspiracy theory's and high level deception have already started.

Some of the comments have been along the lines of "How come they looked so well fed after 69 days underground!" and "How was it that several appeared to have had a haircut and make overs?" and "Why did most appear to be free of any dust deposits after travelling in a narrow "open" (not sealed) rescue capsule along hundreds of metres of bored,dusty, tunnel?".

I suppose, as with the conspiracy theories about the NASA moon landings, some people just can't believe that in the end 33 miners were rescued from what had appeared, at the outset, to be a situation threatening certain death. But for once, the ending was a good one!.

Have a nice day :-)

.

New CLL Tracking Website now live.

.

If you are living with CLL why not check out this website which aims to collect data from patients. It doesn't matter if you are still watch and wait (like me) or if you have already had several bouts of treatment, they want to hear about your experiences.

To participate click HERE to visit their online questionnaire.

.

Today was the day that some of the 33 miners from Chile got to see the sun again....and other newspapers of course!

.

Yes, today some of the 33 miners trapped in a collapsed mine in Chile for over 68 days got to breath fresh air and feel the sun on their faces. Gos knows how they managed to cope with the confinements of being trapped in such a small space for over 2 months, but I can guess that it cannot have been easy for any of them.

Interesting to note how the advertising people have managed to turn even a risky rescue mission into a publicity vehicle. Sun glasses manufacturers donating designer shades for them to wear after their months in the dim light of the mine,talk of a Hollywood film being made and of course an agent is already cashing in on potential rights to their story.

So far I have not seen any of them emerge from the "Fenix 2" (what happened to Fenix 1?) capsule sporting a Nike T-Shirt, but then again there are still almost 20 more of these guys to bring up, so perhaps the company could still get their name on global TV....."Nike...just Dig it!".

Good luck to all of them anyway, and with any luck they will all be safe above ground within the next 24 hours.

Hey, just thought about the coincidence with todays date!....

13/10/10 = 13+10+10 = 33....33 miners began to be saved on this day :-)

.

.

Dear £113,019,926 Euro Lottery Winner......

.

..............If, after the shock has passed, you find yourself looking for constructive and worthwhile causes to share your cash with, may I point out that I am always in need of new sponsors for my projects.

I mean hey,forget Scirocco 2 Morocco, with the cash you have won we could do "Scirocco 2 the moon...and back!", and you could come along for the ride even!

Anyway, pipe dreams over.If you are still not aware that you have won, and you happen to have picked numbers 9, 30, 35, 39, 46, with lucky stars 6 and 8 then you are going to be amazingly rich pretty damn soon....hope you enjoy it...i know I would :-)

.

Is 10/10/10 Binary Day ? Or is it the answer to the ultimate question perhaps ?

.

Because if you convert the binary code 101010 into decimal you get the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything....42!

In recognition of this revelation I have decided to call today "Douglas Adams Day" in tribute to the author who for years has given me much to smile about whilst reading his books, namely "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy", "The Restaurant at the end of the Universe" and the wholly confusing but very amusing "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency" which Douglas published in 1987. Sadly "Douglas Adam's Day" will only occur once, and that is today, so have a good one!

And Remember....Don't Panic!

.

An Explorer's View of Life: New beginnings....... the last post here.

An Explorer's View of Life: New beginnings....... the last post here.

This Gentleman left a comment on one of my "other" blogs a while ago regarding a passage that I wrote which I read at my Grandmothers funeral. Sadly I did not read his comment until recently and sadly it appears that Barry has now passed on himself.

I just wanted, for the record to acknowledge Barry's kind words, and to in turn pass on my condolences to his family.

I never met or spoke to Barry, yet I know he was a good man :-)

Yeah Ha. Welding job completed and Scarlett's back on the road again !

.

Today saw the completion of the welding job that Barry Iszatt started yesterday afternoon. I went down to his place this morning and assisted him in the final fixing of the steel plates and the welding up of the cracks in the bulkhead area (To be fair Barry did all the good stuff and I just helped!).

By 11:00 am the welding was finished and I then began to put the car clutch cable assembly back together again, refit the air cleaner and the vacuum reservoir and put the drivers seat back in that I removed yesterday to allow more access into the cabin whilst welding the bulkhead from the inside of the car.

To contact Barry follow this LINK

Can I just say a very big thank you to Barry who not only did a top job on the welding, but then declined to accept payment for his hard work. It is people like Barry, John at Pitstop, John at Wheelcraft and Biff at Pawprints that make my plans a lot easier to achieve, and who's combined help has allowed my to keep the car on the road during the last 3 years.

Thanks guys :-)

.

"Mutations of Mortality". A Fabulous Blog by Dr Terry Hamblin,Professor of Immunohaematology .

.

Now this is the sort of blog that I would aspire to be able to keep. Well written, full of interesting facts and figures and more valid points than you can shake a stick at!.

Dr Terry Hamblin is something of a legend within the CLL community, and I for one have a great deal of respect for this chap who many look to as being the oracle of all knowledge regarding Chronic Leukaemia.

So if you like a good read have a look at Terry's Blog Website by clicking HERE.

.

Oh no,Scarlett has Clutch Trouble.And this time it's serious stuff :-(

After experiencing a clutch cable failure whilst travelling back from Newark Hospital last week I thought my troubles were over after I fitted a new one later the same day.

Sadly it appears that the clutch cable failure was just "the tip of the iceberg" and after driving to work the other day I decided to take a closer look as to why the clutch seemed to be excessively heavy to operate...this is what I found!.....(those of a nervous disposition look away NOW!)

As you can see there is something of a cracking problem in play here, and (if you look at the video) the bulkhead moves back over 1" when the clutch is operated.....nasty !.

At 7:30 I have a chap coming over to the house to give me an estimate of a weld repair.....I will let you know how we get on.

.

350'000 BMW's to be recalled due to brake problems.

.

.

My, how strange it is that every time a modern car is designed the manufacturers feel compelled to re design the wheel !

Let me explain. BMW has announced the recall of over 350'000 vehicles due to what they term " A loss of vehicle power braking". What they mean is that the servo assistance to the cars braking is not working correctly and so the driver may well have to revert to "mechanical braking".

Servo's have been fitted to most makes of car for several decades, yet a system which simply involves a chamber with a vacuum present acting upon a piston which multiplies the force applied to the brakes when the driver applies them, has been found to be faulty. Surely this simple mechanism which works fine on every car i have ever owned during the last 23 years (23 vehicles in all) seems to have been "tweaked" by BMW to probably claim yet another innovation for the company!.

There is an old engineer's saying which goes "If it ain't broken, don't try to fix it". BMW and all other modern car manufacturers should take note of this mantra!.

P.S I have owned several Mk1 and Mk2 VW Polo's...they never even had servo's, and it didn't cause me any problems with driving them :-)

Quote of the day......

.

I heard this comment during a report on the BBC News this morning. The Comment was made by a

Physical fitness instructor who is helping the 33 miners stuck underground in Chile for almost 2 months keep fit:

"Apparently they (the miners) would like someone better looking to do the classes. I have been told that they would like a woman to do the fitness classes. Apparently this would be nicer for the miners down under"

I bet it would :-) Lol

.