Nick B.

Dinner Time

2011-07-16T17:48:00.005+01:00

Early start at the salt mines today following a late finish yesterday.

Felt too tired to cook but as I bought a large piece of chicken on Friday I felt obliged to do something with it. I threw it in the casserole dish along with spring onions (didn't have any regular onions ), carrots, mushrooms, courgette, broccoli and a pint and a bit of chicken stock.

Fell asleep on the sofa for an hour then met by the gorgeous smell wafting into the conservatory after my wake-up phone call. I shall now go and prep some microwave rice and dine!

Electrical Storm - near Botkins, Ohio

2011-06-11T04:37:00.002+01:00

I don't normally do YouTube stuff but I managed to record this electrical storm using the video camera on my Blackberry. I sat in the car as the storm passed over an hour earlier with torrential rain hammering down, then watched the fireworks as it moved out eastwards.

We don't get thunderstorms this intense back home in the UK.

Published Work

2011-04-27T20:18:00.008+01:00

18^th March - I was pleasantly surprised to get an email from a major publishing company (hereinafter referred to as MPC) asking for permission to use one of the many photos I've uploaded to Flickr. They want to use it for an elementary school science publication. The picture is of the Armstrong Air And Space Museum, in Wapakoneta, Ohio, taken back in 2009, and in recent times they have been struggling for funding.

The email requested a prompt response, tight deadline, can we send you a form for licensing, etc. etc. and I sent back a positive reply to see what the deal was. I received a form back to sign the image rights over for complimentary use. Hmm. Well I'm not planning on trying to get rich as a photographer and this place is struggling. Let's ask MPC to send a donation of $100 to the museum in return for me licensing the photo then? But before that let's have a quick look at their corporate website and see. Some useful pointers there about corporate responsibility and responsible business practices. So here's my response:

Thanks for the form. I note that this is for "Complimentary Use" of my work.

MPC are a company listed on the NY stock exchange. Part of your corporate responsibility statement says

"Our company's mission is to provide essential information and insight that help individuals, markets and societies perform to their potential. In support of that mission, we are committed to responsible business practices that enhance the economic, social and environmental well-being of the communities where we work and live." (link to relevant page on website)

So in the circumstances I feel obliged to ask that if you wish to license the image that you give me an undertaking that MPC will make a donation of the sum of $100 (in my name) to the Armstrong Air and Space museum. The museum is currently in dire financial straits and is an important part of the nation's historical heritage and a valuable educational resource.

If you are not empowered to make this decision then please could you forward this email to somebody in your organization who is.

Best Regards,

Nick

A second email followed, this time with a pro-forma for paid usage. I still wasn't happy as the researcher suggested once I've received payment then I can send it on to the museum. As I'm in the UK, this is going to be rather a protracted process. They're in Columbus, OH, 90 miles away from the museum. Why can't they just send them the $$$?

So I followed this up with a phone call to their Corporate Contributions Manager HQ in New York, and... Oh I can't seem to get past the voice mail. So I left a message - and she did return my call and was very positive about the issue. Later that afternoon, a third email from the researcher in Columbus with the solution and an undertaking that if I sign the complimentary use form then they will send payment to the museum (although the museum have to sign the paid-usage pro-forma).

I think I'm winning here. On 4^th April I received confirmation from the lady at MPC that they had received the signed form from the museum and that they would be sending them the $100 donation. MPC expect to sell 100,000 copies of the book, so that's one-tenth of a cent per book!

As for me - I asked for a complimentary copy of the book. Printed, of course. I shall pass this on to grand-daughter #1.

Hello. Hello. I'm at a place called Vertigo...

2011-04-03T21:37:00.004+01:00

Actually something I thought I'd overcome a long time ago but for some reason it came back to haunt me again today. Out for a drive to LLangollen in North Wales, I stopped to take a look at the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. This structure carries the canal over the River Dee valley and had recently been granted World Heritage Site status. You can either walk along a narrow footpath that runs alongside the canal trough or you can take the trip in a narrowboat. I fancied option 1.

Although it is a mere 125ft high but enough for me to make like a statue. I managed less than a quarter of the way before turning 180º and return to the starting point with hand gripped firmly on the rail and not daring to look down. Whether the movement I could feel was actually from the structure or after-effects from last night's beer consumption I'm not sure. What I am sure of is that I will have to go back and have another go as I'm determined not to let it beat me. I did manage a few photographs on the short walk to try and keep myself preoccupied but that didn't work.

I'm fine with tall buildings if I'm inside. Outdoors, tall structures, rooftops - No thanks!

Birthday Girls

2011-02-04T12:12:00.001Z

Grand-daughters are growing up fast! Kady was 6 on Monday and Olivia is 2 today... We all went out for a meal on Wednesday.

Posted via email from Nick B. ®

Happy Birthday Olivia

2011-02-04T12:00:00.001Z

2 years old today...

Download now or listen on posterous

im_vn_68b083ea.amr (5 KB)

Posted via email from Nick B. ®

The Ghost of Christmas Past

2010-12-24T12:59:00.003Z

I went to fill the car with diesel this morning to ensure I've got enough to get me to Manchester Airport on Sunday. As I was driving there they were playing the Ronnettes version of Frosty The Snowman on the radio. This took me back to 1986 when I bought a Commodore C=64, my first computer. The Christmas demo that you loaded from cassette tape (eventually...) has a neat animation of Frosty!

I managed to find a video of this on YouTube. Frosty is there at 3 minutes in. Merry Christmas!

Beerocracy

2010-07-18T17:21:00.004+01:00

Yesterday I went to visit the Wapakoneta 2010 Moonfest. Wapakoneta's claim to fame is that it is the birth place of Neil Armstrong, Apollo 11 astronaut and first man to set foot on the moon.
One of the attractions at the beer van was the commemorative Moon Light Lager.

To actually buy a glass of beer was a rather drawn-out process. I had to:

Go the information desk and get an ID wristband.
Then to to another counter and buy some beer tokens.
Finally take my beer tokens to the bar counter and order my beer.

Now the beer didn't seem to be served out of a barrel as I'd expect but from a tap on the side of a specially adapted Beer Van. Two glasses for $3, obviously not selling well so they were having to discount it!

Granddaughters

2010-07-16T09:05:00.006+01:00

Took me out for a meal on Wednesday Evening, however I ended up paying because neither of them is old enough to order at the bar yet. Mum did help to carry the food though and Dad tested the beer for quality.

#1 is in full time school now and apparently had a glowing report this term, doing well with numeracy, she could tell me all the numbers on the table in the restaurant. Not shy of trying new tastes in the food department - despite the limited children's menu she was keen try my carrot & coriander soup and my Lincolnshire sausage. Still cleared her plate too. She eats American Style with the fork in her right hand.

#2 is quite a conversationalist although I don't know all the words yet. She eats well and plays well but is currently resisting all attempts to get her to eat food with cutlery. She no longer bursts into tears when granddad appears which is a relief for me!

I Ate Korean

2010-07-02T11:05:00.008+01:00

Had to make a quick business trip to Bournemouth with an overnight stop on Monday. I'll not mention that it was a fairly hot day and the car rental company managed to supply me with a vehicle with broken air conditioning.

After checking in at my hotel I decided I'd go for a stroll around the thriving metropolis of Bournemouth - fairly busy for a Monday evening. I couldn't decide what I wanted to eat, I'd contemplated the standard seaside fish and chips, but after walking down the Old Christchurch Road and seeing the amazing selection of international cuisine available I thought I'd be more adventurous. I made a mental short-list and top of the list was an interesting-sounding Korean Grill. Quite a small venue and there only appeared to be one table with diners. A board outside was showing a promotional "Five courses for £15" so I wandered in.

I was shown to a table by a very friendly waitress. Explained that I'd not eaten Korean before so she took time to go through the menu and explain what the dishes were. I ordered a beer (Korean of course!) which tasted rather good, reminded me of other eastern beers I've tasted from Thailand and India. I went for the five course option, the starter was grilled cod slices in a kind of batter served with side dishes of bean sprouts and cabbage. The highlight was the main course, thin slices of pork in a marinade which was cooked in front of me on a grill built into the table. Once cooked, this was scooped into a large lettuce leaf, sauce and vegetable added, then wrapped and eaten rather like a burrito. Next came a rice dish with fish eggs a and a bit more salad, served in a hot cast iron bowl. Finally dessert was green tea.

Apart from the rice, I managed to eat all of this with a pair of chopsticks, a first for me too. Excellent food and service, probably one of the best meals I've had in the UK for quite a while!

[click on the picture above if you'd like to see more of the food, or take a look at their web site.]

Midsummer's Day

2010-06-23T00:29:00.003+01:00

I love midsummer's day, especially when the sun shines.

In a previous existence we used to go to a holiday resort in the far north of Scotland. It was still light at midnight and I wanted to ensure I was getting the maximum amount of daylight for my money. Yesterday I'd got a day free due to my daughter cancelling at the last moment so I decided on a drive down to the Lincolnshire coast again for a stroll around the nature reserves, followed by fish & chips at Skegness. I don't understand how some folk can last a whole week at SkegVegas, two hours is just sufficient for me. There are some hidden gems along other parts of the cost but I'm not going to tell you where they are. I don't want hordes of folks turning up spoiling my day of relaxation.

So I packed up a salad and other goodies into the cool box for lunch and set off at 11.30.

Whilst on the way down there, I took my usual Grantham avoiding route which consists of a short southbound track down the A1 followed by a sharp left-hander off at Great Poynton (where it's signposted for Boothby Pagnall), up though the village, under a railway bridge then left onto the B6403 onto a north-north-easterly track which eventually brings me back onto the A52, having avoided the tedium that is Grantham town centre. Now I've not been along here for a few months so I was astounded at what they have done to the traffic island - It appears to be a mini-Stonehenge and being Midsummer's day caused me (and no doubt countless other motorists) to do a double-take. Further down the A52 in the Boston direction they have installed a multiple average-speed camera system, similar to the ones they have around Nottingham. Could the revenue from this be used to finance GranHenge I'm wondering?

On the return trip I managed to find somewhere off the B1176 exit to park up and grab a few pictures. Late evening, sun going down. Probably should have been there at sun rise?

Somewhat Neglected

2010-06-05T18:26:00.005+01:00

OK I've been spending far too much time on FarceBook. As I have it locked down to all but my friends it means I've been unable to keep the blogsphere updated with my anecdotes and antics.

I tried a few experiments with blogging elsewhere but it looks as if I'm going to pick up again on this site. You might also have seen the odd tweet if you were watching.

Talking of tweets, I spotted this colourful pair of Goldfinches in the back garden a few mornings ago. Maybe they were thrown off-course by the fog.

New Bike

2009-09-11T11:14:00.005+01:00

Back in June I bought another bike (some self-assembly required).
This one is more suited to road riding as it has smooth, Kevlar-lined tyres (bullet-proof?). The one thing it lacks that I miss from the other bike is the front suspension - when I do the Rushcliffe Park run there are some rough parts on the tracks that are made up of old building rubble, bricks & stones and the vibrations get transmitted through the front of the bike, along the handlebars and up my arms before finally being felt at the top of the spine. I still have my daughter's bike in roadworthy condition so I'm tempted to do the rougher runs on this, or maybe I should get another mountain bike type?

Whatever I do, I need to motivate myself to ride it more.

On the plus side it is excellent on the roads. Disk brakes seem to be very effective and the frame is lightweight aluminium alloy which means I can carry it over 50 Steps Bridge quite comfortably. Did I mention it's also quite fast with the smooth tyres? I probably ought to invest in a speedo to ensure I don't get any speeding tickets.

A Blogger's Dilemma

2009-08-30T21:52:00.003+01:00

I have to admit neglect of this blog for month or so... Been lurking in other dark corners of the internet (did somebody say FarceBook?). So my dilemma is this - do I play catch-up and try and remember everything that happened since May, or do I just draw a line under it and start afresh?

The highlight of the past few months has to be Corina's visit for the whole month of July. In between leaving her to explore the locality whilst I was working, we had an amazing week travelling around Scotland - Skye and the Highlands. We also had a few scary moments courtesy of a dodgy hotel in North Berwick. We took almost a thousand photos between us and I'm still doing my best to sort them out and upload them to Flickr. Watch out for An American in NG11.

The Granddaughters are growing up fast. Olivia now smiles and laughs at me (but still bursts out crying a lot!) and Kady starts proper school next week!

9 States & Back

2009-05-20T20:08:00.008+01:00

Well we made it to Rapid City, SD and back to Dayton, OH, a distance of just over 3000 miles.
We travelled through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska and Missouri.

Missed the storms and tornadoes, One hit Kirksville, MO, the day before we crossed Missouri and another band followed on the day afterwards.

I was amazed by the wide open spaces we crossed. We chose to avoid the main interstate routes for the majority of the trip and roads were just deserted, such as this one, probably US20, somewhere in Iowa.

Visited several tourist attractions - Bandlands National Park, Wall Drug, Mouth Rushmore, Crazy Horse Monument, Devil's Tower, Deadwood. Out of these, Crazy Horse was probably the most impressive, being a work in progress to turn a mountain into a statue of one of the Native America leaders.

But most of the time it was just plain old hick town USA. Middle America at it's best. Petrol at around $2.20 a gal(US). Coffee at Pilot Truck Stops. Cold vegetables.

Lounging Around

2009-05-06T09:19:00.004+01:00

Here I am in the departure lounge in Terminal 2, Manchester Airport. Unfortunately the place is still in the middle of a refurbishment but after heading down a few blind alleys I eventually got coffee, a croissant and a seat. The place is quite busy. Boarding for Philadelphia in just under an hour.

Just a thought on post 9-11 airport security. Very thorough at Manch, got asked the usual questions:

Is this your bag?
Did you pack it yourself
Where has it been since you packed it?
Any electrical items?
Did anybody else give you anything to pack?

etc.

A Contrast at Dayton though.

Are you carrying any firearms?

No.

" OK Put your bag on the belt sir!"

Midwest Road Trip

2009-04-26T13:38:00.009+01:00

South Dakota or bust...

Next month I'm doing a Midwest Road Trip.

Starting from Ohio, my co-driver and myself will be heading out to Rapid City, South Dakota. On the outbound leg that takes us across the states of Ohio, Illinois, Iowa and South Dakota (1200 miles approx). After spending a few days around Rapid City to see such sights as Mount Rushmore, we will be returning to Ohio via Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri and Illinois (1400 miles approx). I've allowed 400-500 miles a day. so that's 3 days on the outbound and 4 on the return trip.
To put that into a UK perspective, the distance from Land's End to John o'Groats is 874 miles.

Am I nervous? you bet! Apart from the prospect of seeing some amazing scenery, there is the opportunity to see (or avoid!) some extreme weather as this part of the US is known as Tornado Alley. Maybe there's a little bit of a reckless streak in me? I'll be monitoring NOAA Weather Radio very closely, as well as the various weather site on the internet. We will have at least two cameras between us, I'm anticipating plenty of photos and maybe even some video. Oh, and I nearly forgot the bears...

MOT

2009-04-20T17:03:00.005+01:00

For my overseas readers, the MOT test is a road-worthiness test that all UK cars over three years old are required to pass.

I took mine for it's test today and got a pass slip for another 12 months. The test took place at the dealers where I bought the car, where I happened to bump into the salesman that sold me the car four years ago. Unfortunately he has rather a good memory and as I was browsing around their forecourt he was trying hard with the soft-sell to sell me another one. Despite what everybody saying about "car prices being cheap", they are still trying to maintain their big profit margins. That means they don't want to give me what I consider to be a realistic trade-in price for mine.

Run it into the ground? Maybe, maybe not...

Colour Test

2009-04-14T12:54:00.002+01:00

Just a quick look to see what kind of colours the garden produces. Very little input required from me...

Gibraltar Point

2009-04-12T01:00:00.000+01:00

Continuing my East Coast Easter Tour, I left Skegness and headed down to Gibraltar Point. Only a short journey but a contrast to the thriving centre of Skeggy, down past the golf links then arriving at the visitors centre car park. Parking here is £2 for two hours. Gibraltar Point Visitors Centre is run by the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, very similar to the local one at Attenborough, with an exhibition and cafe.

Rain has now stopped so spent an enjoyable hour-and-a-half exploring the nature reserve and salt marsh via the pathways provided. There is an observation hut (Lil's Hut) on the edge of the marshes where you can enjoy amazing views across The Wash (on a clear day...), this was once a WWII gun emplacement but now has large windows and information boards inside.

Some technical pursuits on the walk round too... I'm trying to find a reliable way to upload photos from my phone to the web - I'm currently using Twitpic via Twitter, see the Twitter panel somewhere down the right of this page.

Back to the car. Time for tea. Brought my own supplies with me, but will check out the cafe here on a future trip. Parking time almost expired so time to head for home, unfortunaltey the only way back is through the centre of Skegness. I spot all the traffic in Skeg but manage to detour down the side streets then back onto the A52 for the drive home. Not all A52 this time but detour down some of the narrow fen roads, passing though New York before joining a B-road which emerges on the A52 at Boston. Stop for coffee and sandwiches (ramainder of own supplies) somewhere along the A52 between Boston and Grantham. Ignore road signage conspiracy in Grantham by following old route through town centre, and then the final leg of the A52 back to Nottingham...

So an enjoyable if somewhat quiet day with a sense of self-satisfaction that I managed to beat the weather and the traffic jams on this occasion.

The East Coast

2009-04-11T23:00:00.000+01:00

Easter weekend is one I'm usually glad to work and avoid all the traffic jams on the roads. This year I ended up with Easter Friday and Saturday free. Friday turned out to be another damp squid and Saturday (usually the quiet day in the middle) was supposed to be better. I thought I'd have a drive to The East Coast - a local description that refers to the Lincolnshire holiday resorts of Skegness, Mablethorpe and everything in between. Apparently this stretch of coastline boasts the largest concentration of static caravans in the UK.

The trip to the east coast from here is a torturous one. I've tried all permutations of routes over the last 20-odd years. This time I decided I'd stick with the A52 via Grantham and Boston.

Grantham is always a bottleneck. The A52 route used to run right through the town centre but they have now created some awful relief road system that takes twice as long. I crawled though this on the outbound leg but ignored it and went through the town centre on the return (much quicker!).

On the outskirts of Boston I hit a traffic tailback and crawled along for a bit. Lots of blue lights where police had closed off part of the town centre and several fire appliances spotted. Parked at McD's for Coffee and a chocolate brownie, then re-located to town centre for 30 minutes exploring around the narrow side streets and market place. Back in the car after my 30 mins free parking, the traffic was still moving slowly so I continued to amuse myself looking at some of the interesting shops.

Eventually got out of Boston then continued to follow the winding A52 until I reached Costa Del Skeg. Now I'm always reluctant to pay the extortionate parking fees there, especially when they are charging more than the price of the fish & chips, but I did manage to find some unrestricted on-street parking within easy walking distance of the sea front. Not prepared to divulge my top-secret parking location in the blog though. I had a walk down to the front and the beach and decided to get some (fresh cooked) fish, chips & mushy peas at the Boating Lake Diner. Icelandic Haddock - probably bankrupt stock - I guess that's how they managed to keep the price down to £3.75. Followed that with a further walk along the beach, amazed at the offshore wind farm that has sprung up since I was last here ten years ago. Not sure how much the donkey rides cost now but I'm sure I'll be treating the granddaughters to a ride or two in the near future. Then I'll just need to get them past the wall of ice cream.

Finally it started to rain (inevitable - Easter holiday weather!) so time to walk back to the car, inspect damage inflicted by seagulls, then continue the trip down to Gibraltar Point.

Southerly Heading

2009-04-08T20:49:00.004+01:00

This week I paid a flying visit to Bournemouth, one of the 3 B's where they hold political and trade union conferences - the other two are Brighton and Blackpool.
The primary purpose of the trip was for work but I did manage a quick look around in the evenings despite thick fog the first night and rain the second.
The drive back through the New Forest National Park was very scenic and introduced me to yet another part of the deep south of England that I haven't seen before. I need to make another trip down towards the end of this month so I shall have to plan in a few detours.

Carless

2009-04-04T13:22:00.007+01:00

Well I managed to scrape the car all by myself so to save the embarrassment (and subsequent future expense) of making a claim through the insurance I decided I'd foot the bill myself.
That meant I'd forgo the luxury of a rental car whilst it was in the body shop for a whole three days!

Luckily the weather was OK so the options were:

Walk
Cycle
Take a bus
Blag a lift off a friend

Walking is OK for local stuff as there are plenty of shops within easy reach, so I made a few journeys out for essential supplies and to pick up/return CDs to the library.

Cycling is quicker (and more fun) than walking but the bike isn't equipped for load carrying so that rules out shopping. Work have recently launched a Cycle Scheme initiative where I can buy a new bike on lease purchase over 12 months and save almost 50% of the cost due to tax breaks! The only downside of this is that I may actually have to ride it to work one or two days a year.

Bus is OK for longer distances such as the city centre. The main problem with NCT buses is that they are exact fare only and I never seem to have the correct change. They finally caught up with the idea to launch a smart card for us occasional users, so I picked up one of these on the way back from dropping the car off and loaded it with 10 days worth of travel. Then headed off to meet a friend for a pint in the Gatehouse followed by another in The Bell. Nottingham Brewery's finest doesn't taste very nice when you have a bad could though...

I was going to make the trip to my dentist on the bus, but at the last moment I decided to go on the bike instead. Quite pleased with the result as I arrived at Trent Bridge a few minutes before the number 2 bus I would have caught! Still needed to use the bus later in the day though, but I only used one day of bus travel on the card, and that was the trip to go and collect the car.

Had some time to kill whilst on the way to collect the car, put it to good use looking in a couple of cycle shops. I've decided that I'll get hybrid bike rather than a mountain bike, that will give me faster gears and suitable wheels for road use, but still be OK for occasional off-roading.

On the way back from Philly

2009-03-16T01:50:00.004Z

Return trip via Philadelphia International Airport. Just under three hours here so not really enough to go exploring downtown when I have to allow plenty of time for terminal transfer and international check-in.

At first I was quite impressed with the airport. Not as big as Chicago O'Hare but certainly more friendly than Newark Liberty. Signs everywhere advertising AT&T WiFi. "Free at weekends". Tried in vain to get connected in terminal A-west without any luck. Then asked the guy at the information desk who tells me that it is only available in terminals B and C. So PHL, I'm marking you down on that one. Misleading posters! Fortunately I've got my Twitter thing working with my AT&T phone which means at least I could make the odd spontaneous comment or two.

Boarded flight 735 and almost comfortable. Well, at least as comfortable as it gets in cattle class. Got my own headphones for the iPod that also plug into the on-board entertainment (US Airways charge you $5 for headphones), but couldn't get any sound out of them despite working perfectly on the iPod and on the outward trip. Speak to flight attendant #1 who says she will go and "reset the system". Still no joy so I mention this to flight attendant #2 as she is passing. "Then you'll need to buy our headset" she replies curtly. I explain that I'm happy my heaset works and before she can reply, FA #1 (more senior) steps in and says she will bring one of their headsets to try. She does. It doesn't work. Result - I'm re-seated.

Watch a documentary about not being able to sleep, which is now rather ironic beacause that is one reason I'm up at this hour blogging. Must get my sleep back in sync.

Then get into a conversation with the guy sat next to me. Turns out he is from Boston, MA, a 24 year-old student and he's on his second trip to the UK to visit Manchester as he's a big fan of the music scene and Manchester United. Then he's going on to Edinburgh and finally down to London to return to Philadelphia via Gatwick. I give him a few pointers on the best way to get to Edinburgh and back to London. We both agree that we've played Viva La Vida to death (and all his friends...) and discuss other musical interests. He tells me that his parents have no idea he's skipped over to the UK to further increase his student debt and that they think he's in Buffalo, NY. He's hoping they don't look at his MySpace page as there is a picture of him outside the Manchester United Stadium at Old Trafford. So Christopher, hope you enjoyed the UK!

American Diners

2009-03-11T21:32:00.006Z

On my travels again. This time via Philadelphia - the airport there and the immigration guys seem a lot more friendly than the ones at Newark. Service on US Airways is pretty good but the cabin crew noticeably older than other airlines. That's not meant to sound ageist but rather acknowledging the stuff in the media recently about them having problems with their pension fund. Thursday morning did breakfast at the Truck Stop in Wapakoneta - excellent omelettes. Friday ate out at Texas Roadhouse in Lima then went to see Slumdog at the Cinema.

Saturday visited a British Pub in Columbus, at least the American interpretation of what a British pub should be like. An excellent pint of Boddingtons bitter even if it was $5 a pint.

Today finally looked inside a CVS Pharmacy in Wapakoneta. It reminds me of an up-market version of Superdrug.

Out for lunch today I missed several photo opportunities as I forgot the camera. We stopped at this amazing 50's style diner. Proper crinkle-cut fries. It has a small motor museum attached, one of the cars is a pink Cadillac that briefly belonged to Elvis, on loan from the Graceland collection. Apparently he traded it in when he discovered it didn't have air conditioning - wonder why it took him so long?

Just to balance things out I've also been trying to cook British stew using American ingredients. Mostly OK apart from not being able to get dumpling mix - they have something similar called biscuit. Not our British biscuit, they call those cookies...

Shooting myself in the foot

2009-02-23T23:39:00.003Z

My daughter's microwave oven broke.

Rather then give her the money to buy one, I gave her mine (clean, underused, has a grill etc. etc.) Today I went to buy a new one. Ended up with more features than I'm ever likely to need and cost me more than if I'd just given her the money in the first place.

You win some, you lose some...

Back On The Bike

2009-02-21T17:29:00.009Z

Today I decided I'd go out on the bike. First run of the year!

Looking back, I've had it 12 months now and I'm beginning to get worried that my daughter may want it back now she is no longer pregnant. I did have a look around the bike shops in Nottingham last week and I've identified a suitable replacement that is suitable for off-roading and has luxury items fitted such as hydraulic disc brakes. Nevertheless I still called into Wilko's today to pick up a set of brake pads and a front mudguard. I spent half an hour outside in the warm February sunshine cleaning and adjusting brakes, then fitted the mudguard.

Then off out for a ride. Quickly discovered that the gears or something else in the drive chain needs adjusting as the chain is slipping occasionally on the back gear sprocket. Problem seemed to clear once I got to Rushcliffe Park. A short ride around the park. They are running trains from the Heritage Centre again today. I did visit there last weekend and treated myself to a ride on the train, maybe I'll put that in a retrospective post later...

So around the park and back again via Asher Lane and the path that runs alongside the railway line up to 50 Steps Bridge. This is a footbridge over the railway line that connects Ruddington to a footpath that leads up to Pasture Lane. I carried the bike up the steps on one side, said hello to a young couple sat down at the top of the bridge, then down the steps on the other side. Mounted the bike again, ready for the trek through the muddy, overgrown pathway that leads through to Pasture Lane. Surprise. Looks like they have been busy down here recently and have done a marvellous job of levelling the path, covering it with stone chippings and cutting down the overgrown vegetation. Quite impressed with how it all looks now so thought I'd better grab a few photos on the way back.

Once on Pasture Lane it's all roads back home. Uphill on Clifton Lane until I get to the bend at the top, then all downhill, mostly OK apart from a close overtaking manoeuvre by a passing white van man.

Legs now feel like jelly so sat down with cup of Earl Grey, uploaded photos from K800i then wrote this blog. Now off to peel potatoes and cook dinner. Reminder to self: need more exercise.

Friday the 13th.

2009-02-13T23:12:00.009Z

After the recent miracle of flight 1549 ditching in the Hudson, to hear today's news of a Continental Commuter crash with loss of all on board in Buffalo, NY was a real heart-stopper. We stopped to get petrol in Buffalo on our road trip to Niagra last September (in a Ford Mustang with petrol at $4 a gallon) and stayed overnight in nearby Tonawanda.

I was travelling back from Nottingham on the number 2 bus - not the normal double-decker 48 but the small one that stops just around the corner and has no suspension. I was talking to my OH in OH on the phone and she was relaying me the information from the TV newsreels. Understandably now, she says she feels if she is sitting in pins & needles with me clocking up the air miles. I say that statistically, air travel is still safer than driving.

I guess the supersitious folk out there will have their opinions on this one. I'll leave the press to speculate and await the facts of the NTSB investigation In the meantime I'll be thinking of the tragic loss of life.

New Arrival

2009-02-05T23:25:00.005Z

Here's me with my second grand-daughter at eight hours old. According to her mum she's doing very well which probably means feeding, filling nappies and sleeping (not always in that order).

Claire was certain that she wouldn't be arriving until Feb 11^th so it was nice of Olivia to put in an appearance a week early on the 4^th, in between the snowfalls! She's rather small, weighing in at ~~6lb 10oz.~~ 6lb 1 oz. but quite healthy.

I'm thrilled to bits with her and so is her big sister... I'm just extremely nervous about holding such a delicate little person!

(Edit 13^th Feb. - Weight corrected. Even smaller!)

Snow

2009-02-02T18:46:00.002Z

B777 still taxiing
Originally uploaded by nickbeee

Today we had snow. Not as much here as the south-east of the UK (London was closed!) but still a significant amount. Apparently we haven't had this much since 1991, I can still remember all the chaos caused then after an ice storm took out lots of power and telephone lines.

We're due to get more overnight and tomorrow. Then it will probably warm up, rain and melt. Just as well, as we just don't seem to cope with it here. Our snow also feels noticeably wetter than the stuff I experienced in the US last month.

Daughter is doing OK. No sign of the new arrival yet but worried about getting to hospital with this sudden wintry spell.

Granddaughter

2009-01-27T21:57:00.004Z

How time flies. Granddaughter is 4 years old this month. Seems to be getting the hang of womens' activities such as shopping. Today we were in Next and she correctly identifies all the age 4 labels on the clothes hangers. Unfortunately she under-prices everything so if I gave her a £10 budget she'd spend £20...
Soon she'll be joined by a brother or sister. I'm getting extremely nervous about driving a very pregnant daughter around in the car in case of any sudden early arrivals. I've also pointed out to my daughter that ultrasound scans can sometimes miss a foetus or two and that twins run on both sides of the family. Nor will they guarantee what sex the baby is. Personally either will be fine as long as it's a healthy one.

And I'd just like to quash any rumours that I will be buying a larger car!

Flight 1549

2009-01-18T20:10:00.009Z

Just in case anyone missed it, for the past few days the news has been full of the story of US Airways flight 1549, where an airliner carrying 150 people made an emergency landing (ditched) in the Hudson River, NY, with no loss of life.

I stumbled on the live news coverage purely by chance. I've been exploring the use of Twitter and was just looking at the public timeline page when I saw tweets flashing up reporting the incident. One had a link to the live newsreel from broadcast from MSNBC so within a mouse click or two I was watching live newsreel footage of the event unfolding. Simultaneously I logged onto the forums at PPrune (probably the best place to find out what's going on in the world of aviation) and followed a rapidly updating discussion thread. I cross-posted a few newsreel links from the thread back to Twitter as I watched it unfold, and managed to grab a copy of the flight track from FlightAware. I've put this data onto a Google Map.

I spent two hours following before finally giving in to the need for sleep.

Just goes to prove how in such events and situations, we can rapidly distribute information . More so, apart from the newsreel coverage, a lot of pictures and updates where sent from peoples' mobile phones. That makes a lot of information for the investigators to put together.

Here are some random thoughts:

If you are an airline passenger, always pay attention to the safety briefing!
The Airbus A320 has a ditch button.
What the press don't know they will speculate or make up. It helps to boost viewing/listening/reading figures. Oh and I forgot spin.
The factual information will be published in the official NTSB report once the investigation is completed. This will not contain speculation or spin.
Anybody can edit a page on Wikipedia.
Use a newsreader to keep up with RSS feeds.
The outcome could have been different.

I've got flights booked with US Airways later this year too... But not through NY.

Chicago

2009-01-11T18:00:00.000Z

Wells St. Bridge
Originally uploaded by nickbeee

Due to flight cancellations and re-scheduling, I had a 10 hour stopover at Chicago O'Hare. So I paid my $2.25 (each way) to Chicago CTA for a ride downtown on their wonderful metro system.

As it was Sunday, most places seemed to be closed. I had an enjoyable but cold walk around in the snow with the temperature a tropical 6 below zero. Ate breakfast at Ronny's - jumbo omelette and ham, then walked around and took a few pictures.

Don't think I dare complain about the UK winters being cold again!

Nottingham from Afar

2009-01-08T19:42:00.007Z

I'm currently in the US, over here celebrating New Years, enjoying some snow and temperatures as low as -9°C (or 16°F if you prefer).

When I mention I'm from Nottingham, the most common question I'm asked (after "Does the Queen live at Buckingham Palace?") is "Do you know Robin Hood?". I usually go on to explain that Sherwood Forest still exists and that Robin Hood would have lived around the 1200's. Apparently the local tourist attraction in the city dedicated to the folklore is currently closed and proved to be a disappointment to a number of it's visitors. Nottingham Castle also exists but is nothing more than an elaborate mansion.

I also mention the Sheriff of Nottingham is still a civic dignitary position, however our City Council don't make it immediately obvious on their website which elected councillors hold either this position or the office of Lord Mayor. I had to do some digging to find this information, but then perhaps our elected politicians are masters of the art of smoke and mirrors?

So imagine my surprise when I visited Jungle Jim's, an international food store near Cincinnati. They have a small English section, two or three aisles at most, but they have a fantastic life-size, talking Robin Hood exhibit better than anything I've ever seen in Nottingham. I was so impressed I bought Cheddar cheese and PG Tips tea bags...

We might not be able to own a handgun in the UK but at least we can still practice archery!

Christmas in NG11

2008-12-24T13:46:00.002Z

Clifton Christmas Tree
Originally uploaded by nickbeee

Wishing you all the best for Christmas and the New Year.

I decided to walk to the shops today rather than taking the car. Smart move as it's busy up there. Bought two boxes of mince pies so the Christmas shopping is now officially complete. As I have to work tomorrow I'm doing a dinner for my daughter, family and myself.

Granddaughter will have to wait till tomorrow so see what Santa has brought her though!

Snowhere to be seen!

2008-12-02T17:45:00.006Z

Didn't see much snow whilst I was on my last trip to the US. Apart from experiencing an ice shower which turned into a blizzard one day when walking back from Wal-Mart. The flight back over was quite uneventful apart from a late arrival at Newark which meant no trip to the duty-free.

We did get a brief flurry at the salt mines this morning giving me a chance to see how the 4 wheel drive performs on a Toyota pickup. Then it melted. Spent the rest of the morning chasing snow-related software bugs...

The weather forecasting folk at the UK Met Office have promised us some more white stuff over the next few days! As a think-geek public service announcement I'll put a copy of the feed somewhere down the right-hand side of the page.

It looks as if I might have to go and sort myself out some snow chains. Maybe I should walk to Wilkos to get the bits.

Nottingham, IN.

2008-11-19T21:47:00.004Z

Looking at Google Maps for a possible quick target for a drive-by, I was drawn to a place called Nottingham. So after heading west on Route 33 (yes I know, it's half of route 66...) and a few other minor roads in a westerly direction I stopped for a coffee and a snack at a petrol station at Bear Creek Crossing. Continuing on my drive west, I turned right at Fiat. After a mile north on Indiana state route 1 I arrived there.

It's a small settlement in eastern Indiana with one street, a church and a small cemetery. Quite a contrast. Had I blinked I would probably have missed it. I've put a few photos up on my Flickr pages.

As far as name choices go, the next place north on Indiana state route 1 is called Petroleum!

Mile High Blog

2008-11-17T19:54:00.010Z

Here I am at 36,000ft, somewhere over the north Atlantic, en-route to Newark, NJ. Continental Airlines flight 21, a Boeing 757. Sun streaming in through the window over my left shoulder. An improvement over the misty, murky departure from runway 25L at Manchester.

My laptop battery has seen better days so I'd better make the most of my remaining 1 hour. I'm sat in row 23, seat A (the window seat). Luckily I was allocated 23C (the aisle seat) but it turns out I have the whole row to myself. Even better, a sign on the seat back on the middle seat says Power Outlet This Row – excellent, I can run the laptop for the most of the trip. Unfortunately it's too good to be true as I can't figure how to fit my 2-prong US mains adaptor into the universal looking socket. Just to add insult to injury I packed my UK mains cord and travel adaptor in my hold baggage. If I lose power I'll pick up where I left off at Newark Liberty. I've got Evanescence playing on iTunes and I also have the iPod.

I'm impressed with the seat-back screens. I can watch a selection of films and short programs. Play games or listen to music. Creature Comforts USA looks like it might be fun, I'll go for that after the battery runs out on here, followed by a few episodes of CSI.

Not a lot of legroom or laptop room though. If the seat occupier in front decides to recline I'm buggered, although I could shuffle around to another of my three seats. A 15 inch MacBook is probably better up front in business, not stuck with me in the cattle compartment.

Being a geek, and absent minded to boot, I just remembered I've got a backup computer. Got one of these 10-inch MSI Wind clone NetBooks. Small screen and ideally suited to these confined conditions. I'll get this blog onto memory stick so I can resume operations when power dies. HELP... guy in front has just reclined! Is he still fidgeting or is that turbulence?

Weather in Ohio has turned wintery. Should make for interesting driving as I have booked a hire car for a few days from downtown Lima. US Petrol now at $1.85 a gallon, much cheaper than my last trip, maybe that will compensate for the fact that Sterling seems to have gone into free-fall against other world currencies. It's now 25% more expensive than my last trips.

I got the power cord into that outlet under the middle seat. The computer charging light came on briefly but now it's gone out again so maybe there are some compatibility issues here.

Took a few more photos. Last bit of the journey into Newark quite bumpy but impressive mountain and forest scenery to the north-west of New York. On final approach treated to a view on the New York skyline featuring the Empire State Building and Statue of Liberty.

So now I'm on the ground at Newark. Arrived via terminal C, cleared immigration after a few questions as to why this was my third trip to the US this year. Got myself seated in terminal A awaiting flight to Dayton. Macbook is charging again (happy!), but only after me discovering half the power outlets at the mobile charging station are fused.

Weather a marked contrast to my previous warm trips in July and September. Well it is autumn I suppose.

I'll update once I get to Ohio!

Round Tuit

2008-10-19T17:57:00.002+01:00

So much stuff happening this month. So little time to blog about it. Thanks to one of my readers for giving a me a very subtle nudge...

Just finished the 6-day shift at the salt mines, now have 3 days off to catch up with domestic trivia and get some fresh air. Methinks I'd better check the weather forecast and go get some lights for the bike now the evenings are drawing in.

Dried Up

2008-10-11T22:44:00.001+01:00

For a few reasons I missed the Nottingham Beer Festival this year. Would have gone on the Friday but it clashed with the Queen & Paul Rodgers gig. Plus they changed the venue.

Up early Saturday morning helping at a radio & electronics sale. Time to play catch-up with the domestic trivia at home followed by a visit to Asda soon ate into the evening. A quiet night in.

Zzzzz.

The Cosmos Rocks

2008-10-10T23:30:00.000+01:00

Many months ago I was lucky enough to get a ticket for the Queen & Paul Rodgers gig at Nottingham Arena. Big thank-you to J@@ls for getting through the booking system for that one.

So off we went to the Arena. Standing ticket. Full house. A stunning two hour performance and almost 30 minutes encore... If you asked me which bits stood out it would have to be Brian's solo of '39 and Roger playing an electronic double bass with drumsticks. Paul Rodgers is an amazing performer in his own right (Free, Bad Company) and mixed in some of his oldies very effectively.

Fortunately I got the K800i and managed to grab a few photos and a couple of videos.

I've been a Queen fan since the mid 1970's, even before they released their Night at the Opera album, and I'll have to rate seeing them perform live as one of my lifetime achievements. Yes, agreed it would have been better if it was the original line-up with Freddie Mercury and John Deacon present, but still one hell of a performance. No material earlier than Night at the Opera though, I would have loved a live version of Brighton Rock.

A few minutes to reflect that if Mal had still been around she would have loved to have seen this too.

Goose Fair Beer

2008-10-05T12:30:00.002+01:00

This weekend is Nottingham's famous Goose Fair.

I'm not a great fan of it these days but thinking next year maybe I shall take my grand-daughter as I've not been since my daughter was young.

So instead of the fair I decided to meet my friend Joe in town for a beer or 6 last night. Really busy in The Bell and all the guest ales selling out rapidly. Had one whilst waiting for Joe to turn up then several more after he arrived, debating where to move on to. Up the Toll Bar next, very quiet in there but disappointed that the Rock Bitter had a taste like burnt toast. Pity it took me 2 pints to decide this. Finally we walked down to The Bank and a list pint of something nondescript before I finally caught the 11:20 bus home. Couldn't help but notice that Greggs have now started late-night opening although the shelves were bare! Had to make do with tea and toast when I arrived home and a chat on the phone with my other half across the water.

Awoke this morning with the mother of all hangovers! Must have been a bad pint in there somewhere but not sure which one. Several glasses of water helped purge the stomach of any contaminants, followed by another hours sleep. I'm cured now, all ready for work at 2pm!

Dentist

2008-10-02T11:00:00.000+01:00

I was quite happy to visit the dentist until last year when I got an abscess under one of my wisdom teeth. It had to come out. Never had a tooth extracted, apart from trying to accelerate removal of milk teeth (to profit from tooth fairy). I was quite nervous but after substantial amounts of Novocaine, a rather nice female dentist and two dental nurses holding me down, it all came out.

This appointment was a routine check-up but again, she put a watch on one of the remaining wisdom teeth. Maybe next time it will have to go...

On the brighter side? I still have all my hair though despite being a tooth down.

Net News

2008-09-27T23:59:00.004+01:00

Hello! Back again after another trip over to the US. Pictures in due course, after repairs are completed to daughter's PC. It's not the reinstall that takes time it's the data recovery... "Can you get all my pictures back Dad?"

Amazed to discover that Nottingham is in the news again for all the wrong reasons. Another tragic loss of life. The internet can be a wonderful tool for meeting friends and forming new relationships but in this case it appears to have gone tragically wrong (allegedly, m'lud.). I see mention of Facebook, online gaming and the Orange Tree (formerly the Clinton Arms).

Oh, and I do believe the Co-Op has finally closed. I missed that one while I was overseas. Disappointed they didn't make it last until September 19th. That would have been too ironic I guess.

Plums 2008

2008-08-28T13:32:00.005+01:00

I'm not much of a gardener. My garden produces stuff in spite of my efforts.

The highlight of the year is the plum tree. This year, thanks to the wet weather it has produced a bumper crop. The plums shown here are the third (and final) picking. Plenty have been eaten here, given away to neighbours, work colleagues etc.. I'm saving the final ones for the family tomorrow.

If I was slightly more adventurous I would be making plum wine. A few years ago I did give a large quantity to someone to make wine, but unfortunately they drank it all and forgot to save me a taster. The next-door neighbours had some and presented me with a jar of plum jam so I always make sure they get plenty!

Big Country

2008-08-27T23:56:00.006+01:00

It's five weeks since I got back from the USA. Long time no post!

After clearing immigration at Chicago O'Hare airport, then flying onward to Cincinnati...

I had a roller coater of a time during the ten days I spent over there, for a whole load of reasons. Despite some reservations and pre-conceived ideas about the Americans, most turned out to be very courteous, hospitable and ordinary people. A bit like me really. Still, there were some culture shocks, but this was real middle America, not the tourist spots or the bits you see in the films.

The cost of living seems cheaper than in the UK, but that's relative to earnings. Beer is plentiful and quite palatable. You can even buy Newcastle Brown, a bargain at $2.50 a bottle.

Driving was an adventure. Not only do they drive on the right, but they have all these mandatory stop signs everywhere. Note to self: DO NOT treat as give-way junctions. I quickly got the hang of things though. Petrol is cheap compared with what we are paying in the UK, roughly half the price. Petrol stations serve excellent coffee.

I got to meet up with some of my family in Indiana. My aunt who moved over there 60 years ago (and still has a British accent so they tell her), my cousins and their kids. Some have moved further out west to Arizona.

I left my heart in ~~San Francisco~~ Ohio. So I'm off over there again next month, lots more to see, lots more to do. It's reassuring to know I'll have company when I get there.

Trans Atlantic

2008-07-13T08:54:00.004+01:00

Isn't it typical of the British weather?

Here I am sat in terminal 3 at Manchester airport, waiting to fly to Chicago and it's blazing sunshine. I'll probably miss the heatwave this year.

I'll be in the USA for 10 days, avoiding the tourist traps and seeing the real people. It's the first time I've been out of the UK for 15 years so I'm wary of all kinds of things, particularly driving on the right hand side and Wal-Mart stores that sell guns. I'll be in Ohio, Indiana and maybe further afield. It's a slightly bigger country than the UK.

If I can't manage the odd blog or two when I'm over there then I'll have to write up my trip when I get back. I have a pen and paper. Oh, and a camera or two ;)

Embo Sunrise

2008-07-04T19:57:00.003+01:00

My priority for this week was to enjoy the time with my granddaughter. I have.

One thing I planned to do this week was to get myself a sunrise picture to complement the sunset picture I took a few years ago.

I made two attempts to get up at 4am, 3rd July was the best one. This morning was a total no-go with sea mist and visibility down to less than 1 mile. Apart from these I've managed to take plenty of snaps, I can spend next week sorting them out.

Another was to visit a distillery where they make Scotch Whisky. I came very close to the Glen Morangie distillery in Tain, however they have opened a branch of Lidl close by and a visit there resulted in the purchase of some fine (English) beers.

There will always be another occasion!

Up North

2008-06-30T22:46:00.002+01:00

A short break with my daughter & family up in the northern highlands of Scotland.
Internet access limited to the K800i and I've found a few more tricks it can do.
Failing that I may have to resort to blogging by morse code or smoke signals.

--
Sent with SE K800i

Gill Bates

2008-06-22T22:03:00.004+01:00

I never seem to watch TV much these days but I being a geek I was drawn to watch The Money Program on BBC2 which featured Fiona Bruce (intelligent eye candy) interviewing Bill Gates.

On the whole, quite a fascinating insight into Bill, his rise to fame, and his business practices. As well as a competent programmer, it demonstrated what a shrewd business man he is and the tricks he went to to achieve market domination. To get Windows whatever and office software on everything. Maybe the program was dumbed down a bit for the non-nerdy though, it did have a financial bias.

Then came the rise of the internet. Maybe they were a bit late getting on that band wagon but nevertheless they had to be a part of it. Maybe not as big as Google in that sphere. Cloud Computing. Web 2.0. That's where it's going. Now if I want to write a document that's word compatible, or a spreadsheet that's Excel compatible, I don't need to buy a computer with Windows installed and MS Office. I can just go to Google Docs with my (non Microsoft) web browser and do it all online. I can use a web-based email service. My calendar gets synced with Google Calendar and shared so I don't need Outlook. I've already mentioned del.icio.us.

Assuming, of course, I have internet connectivity. If I had to do this blog longhand you'd all be lost because it would be illegible!

Del.icio.us

2008-06-21T13:37:00.002+01:00

I like to save bookmarks there. I'm surprised to find I'm the only one using the NG11 tag!

Tried most of the other social bookmarking sites such as Digg, StumbleUpon, Farcebook etc., but del.icio.us works because:

It's simple.
I can get at my bookmarks anywhere there is an internet connection.
It has a nice Firefox plug-in.

42

2008-06-15T13:05:00.010+01:00

This number has a lot of significance.

Thanks to Douglas Adams, the meaning of life, the universe and everything.
Chris Martin decided to write a song about it.
Jeremy Clarkson reminds me that it's the period the the government wants to extend the detention period for terrorism suspects without trial.
It's Bean's age. Until November.

Brighton

2008-06-09T17:18:00.010+01:00

Room with a view
Originally uploaded by nickbeee

I could write loads on my short trip to Brighton, but I'm not going to. It was my first trip there and I was most impressed.

If I could pick one highlight it would be finding a copy of The Very Best of Mountain CD in Borderline. The Royal Pavilion was well worth the visit too. I'll try and make it a full weekend visit next time.

There are some photos on my Flickr stream. None inside the pavilion though as photography not permitted in there.

Train Travel

2008-06-08T18:47:00.011+01:00

St. Pancras - Ironworks
Originally uploaded by Nick B.

It's been at least five years since I went to London on the train. As I'd got to get to to Brighton for a function and alcohol consumption was anticipated, it seemed like a no-brainer to even think about driving. Plus I get the ticket on expenses.

Caught the 48 into town and arrived at the station in time to catch the 12:30pm London train, a quick one with only one stop on the way.

Grabbed a coffee from the small cafe on the platform before boarding the train.

No problems getting a seat even though I forgot to reserve one when I bought my tickets the previous evening. I chose a seat with a table and sat opposite a young lady who was knitting a grey hat, but kept pausing every so often so she could put her thumb into her mouth as she went into deep thoughts. First impression of the train: Clean and comfortable. They even provide a mains electric socket so passengers can charger their laptops, mobile phones etc. Well done East Midlands Trains.

On the journey I'm impressed that the mobile phone network coverage allows me to use my internet connection in most places. I've now got the K800i loaded with Google Mail and Opera Mini, this allows me to email and surf whilst wearing out my thumbs. Google Maps for mobile also tells me my position. Impressive. Who needs Blackberry or Windows Mobile?

Stopped at Leicester. Arrived at London St. Pancras on schedule. On alighting the train I'm totally in awe at the refurbished St. Pancras station. A world apart from the grotty hole I remember from five years ago. They have done an amazing job here. Made time to grab a few photos with the K800i.

Now the next amazing bit. I can catch the Brighton train from St. Pancras. In the old days this would have meant descending several escalators into the black hole of the underground, taking a tube train to Victoria, then catching another train. So all I have to do is descend two escalators through the well lit concourse and I find myself underground at the ThamesLink platform. Just enough time to make a quick call to a friend then the Brighton train arrives. The seating accommodation is rather more basic on this train, provided by Capital Connect.
This train takes an interesting route I haven't travelled before, going though the City of London, before crossing the Thames at Blackfriars Bridge. In contrast to the underground, a lot of London landmarks, such as Tower Bridge are visible from the train. This circuitous route seems rather slow and noise and I'm rewarded with a second glimpse of Tower Bridge from a different angle before we stop at London Bridge Station. Again, this is a limited stop service and it makes only two or three more stops, one of which includes Gatwick Airport, before finally arriving at Brighton.

Total rail journey time? Just over three hours. Excellent. By road this would be 186 miles, but via some of the worst bits of the UK motorway network.

Iron Man

2008-06-03T01:22:00.005+01:00

Great Film! Saw this at Cineworld on Saturday. Just need to remember in future that screen 11 is up in the gods at the far extremes of the Corner House. Beware of the signage in that place. Thought I'd gone in the gents but alarm bells rang when I noticed an absence of urinals. Make a hasty exit before I get accused of perving.

Quite a few adventures this past weekend, but so busy I need time and sleep so I can blog them in an organized manner. In the meantime I'll just do a disorganized bullet point summary thingy.

The Bell is closed for refurbishment. A temporary setback as it's my regular meeting up place.
Thursday beer and entertainment at the Approach Bar with The Establishment playing. Quiet.
Friday. Bike ride cures all hangovers. Chinese lunch at the Cornerhouse. Getting to know a new friend.
Saturday. Drive my mate's MGB-GT in afternoon, then the pics as mentioned. Followed by, yup, a beer in The Approach.

Coming up, we have an all expenses paid visit to Brighton. Looking forward to.

It's June already? Where did the last few months go? Time machine must be on the blink.

A Place to Bury Strangers

2008-05-21T16:01:00.005+01:00

A Place to Bury Strangers
Originally uploaded by nickbeee

Appearing last night at the Bodega Social. Another Sonic Cathedral production. These guys were very loud, thoroughly enjoyed myself. Preceding them, was Mint Ive, another local band. At least these guys turned up, unlike Westlife who wimped out of their performance at the Arena on Monday. My daughter was gutted.

Just a couple of questions from my forty-something perspective:-

Why is it these modern bands don't do an encore? Is that the accepted thing these days? Or do they just want to make sure I don't miss the 11:20pm bus?
Why don't the young 'uns seem to want to dance?

And no. I certainly ain't the oldest person at these gigs!

Forward Planning

2008-05-18T23:00:00.004+01:00

One of my friends said to me I was acting a bit dazed and confused over a recent event. I reflected on this a bit and decided that she might be right as my forward planning skills were worse than they normally are. Now I know I'm back to my normal self as I already have a few things planned for this week.

A night out at the Bodega Social for starters. An interesting sounding band called A Place to Bury Strangers. This time I'm going to get my ticket in advance from Selectadisc, rather than paying an extra £2 on the door (the price of a drink!).

Also looking forward to the visit of my daughter & family so I can test the cooking skills again (and the washing up, cleaning the kitchen skills...). I may even fit in a drive in another friend's MGB-GT.

So J@@ls - note the forward planning. Not the report after the event. I've even scheduled this post to appear 90 minutes in the future!

Be Meself

2008-05-11T16:31:00.004+01:00

Just noticed how long it's been since I last posted. Was away last weekend and is amazing just how much I need to catch up on at home since I've been back. Also need to fit in the day job. We had good fun down at Dover, we proved that Marconi was right with all his experiments.

So in between doing that It gave me a chance to reflect on a few things, particularly people and how I interact with them. I might come across very self-confident on this interweb thingy, however in real life I tend to be naturally shy. Over that past few months I've met several new friends on-line and the general rule seems to be that all the good people are the furthest away. I've also got to the point where I've realised that If people aren't happy with me as I am then I'm not going to re-invent myself.

I've not talked to anybody in my neighbourhood. I wonder where they all hang out? Down at the Bingo I guess. I'll wave as I ride by on the bike.

Please Remain Seated

2008-04-24T21:44:00.002+01:00

Q: How many branches of Wickes DIY do you have to visit to get a toilet seat?

A: Three.

One to buy the seat from (Bulwell. Bulwell Bogs. Geddit?).
Two to return the seat when you find it's broken (Riverside).
Three to get another seat because 2 didn't have stock for replacement (Chilwell).

A successful conclusion to the job. Then I prepared and cooked a roast chicken dinner for my daughter & family. Must remember not to put the Yorkshire puddings so near the top of the oven next time as they tend to rise and stick to the roof!

Sonic Cathedral

2008-04-22T23:55:00.002+01:00

Model Morning
Originally uploaded by nickbeee

Another night at the Bodega Social. The Sonic Cathedral tour promised three bands, or rather two bands and one solo artist.

First on were Model Morning, a local band.
In the middle were Airiel, from Chicago.
Finally, Ulrich Schnauss. Some very intersting electronic/ambient music, sequenced on a MacBook Pro. You could really feel this stuff, my whole body was resonating.

None of the bands did an encore though. When I grow up I'm going to be a music critic and tell them.

Work Life Balance

2008-04-20T23:45:00.002+01:00

I've been doing the great juggling act this weekend - trying to fit a social life around work (or is it the other way around?). Saturday - finish a late shift then go to a colleague's leaving bash at one of the local village watering holes. Not much beer consumed due to the fact I was my turn on-call. Sometimes you never quite know who you're going to bump into so it ended up being a rather late night...

Back in work on Sunday morning. Some time for an afternoon siesta back home before out again on Sunday evening to see a local band called the Pesky Alligators. Have heard rave reviews of this pair from friends so I made the trip to the Test Match to see them. They played a variety of covers as well as their own stuff and the one that made the night for me was their version of Pink Floyd's Brain Damage.

Go see them if you get the chance!

Twiddly Bits

2008-04-16T22:24:00.007+01:00

I was having a look at the opposition and noticed they have a cool feature that pops up a thumbnail of a website when you hover over a link. It's called Snap Shots.

I looked a bit closer and found it was available to install here so I've added it. Added feature or annoyance? you tell me!

I've also added a mashup I made with Yahoo! Pipes to the bottom of the page. Enjoy the slideshow, just move your mouse over the picture for comments.

The Nizlopi Gig

2008-04-16T00:48:00.007+01:00

A real last minute result.

Mon/Tues/Wed is my weekend this week so I'm up for some entertainment, especially if there is live music and beer involved.

Yes I know my time management skills are carp and I leave everything to the last minute. So at 5pm I decided I'd have a look on the gig guide to see what was happening in town. One of the contenders was Nizlopi, a 2-piece band who had recently had a chart topper with their JCB Song. 12 quid on the door. Got to be worth a visit.

Off I go and catch the 48 to town. Sit upstairs for a short while until the local ASBOs decide they are going to light up some wacky baccy. By the time we've got to Queen's Drive I'm feeling remarkably light headed maaan, so decide to retire to the lower deck.

Arrive in town, slightly early so decide to check out the venue. The Bodega Social, formerly the Bodega pub was a place I last visited in my student days in the early 1980s. back then it was a posing pub with mirrors all the way around the walls. Well there was a queue outside so I walked on further and popped in at Bunker's Hill. They are serving the legendary Rock Bitter so a pint is ordered and consumed here fairly quickly. Then back up to the Bodega.

Pay my 12 quid to the man on the door and get the back of my hand stamped for the privilege (so I can get a pass out if I need one). Up the stairs to the gig and I find the support act, Joe Driscoll, is on stage. Some interesting acoustic stuff which included sneaking in some bits of Led Zeppelin's Kashmir on the guitar. Get myself a bottle of Peroni beer, not my usual but quite adequate for the venue. Chatted briefly to a young lady who was collecting names/email addresses/mobile phone numbers for marketing information. I got a free badge for this (wow!) so maybe I'll get something useful in my Yahoo! spam box next week.

Nizlopi turn up on time at 9.30. They do an interesting set by starting in teh middle of the audience for the first song, then up onto the stage for a few more. Also joined on stage by another guy (Bradley) who does the drums. Later they bring back Joe Driscoll and his side-kick Beat Box to round off the set. Somewhere in all they come back down on the dance floor for another song in the audience. Off just before 11. (Strict curfew) then for the encore they do their chart topping JCB Song.

So I go to check out the downstairs bar with another Peroni. The place is a big improvement on what it used to be back in 1982... Down the Peroni then back for the 48 home.

Verdict: A great gig. I can see I need to check out their CDs to see if they are as good as their live performance.
And you can see my You Tube video here.

The ASDA Experience

2008-04-14T21:07:00.011+01:00

This is a post about shopping. OK, shopping is a woman's thing, but as I live on my own, if I didn't go food shopping, I'd starve.

Today I decided to to ASDA (or ASDA Wal-Mart). I though I might as well have a browse through the clothing department followed by the music CDs. Then I could get down to the serious business of buying food. I'd had a busy day and decided I'd go around 6pm, after the evening rush hour had died down.

So for starters I'll have a look in George, the clothing department (upstairs). Picked up some T-shirts. Hmm, do I need large or medium these days? large is starting to look a bit baggy on me now... Into the fitting rooms. Yup! Medium fits! and I don't have man boobs. I must be shrinking.

After trying on T-shirts I decided my jeans are looking a bit baggy. Back to the trousers, they have some nice combats in black or brown. Shall I try a 32 waist? Well they don't have the style I like in back in 32 but they do in brown. Back to the fitting rooms. I'm amazed, I can now get into a size 32 waist, for the first time since 1983! Maybe all the cycling, walking and other exercise I'm doing is paying off.

Downstairs to have a look around the entertainment section. No Music CDs of any interest, however the iPod accessories caught my eye and I grabbed a cheap FM transmitter so I can use the iPod (and cassette player) in the car now.

Now onto the main business of food shopping. Looked around the produce section and they have all but sold out of decent salad stuff. No tomatoes. No watercress. Nothing. So I mutter to my self a bit and look around elsewhere. Decent mens' toiletries? No chance. Got butter OK. Got bread OK, nice multigrain loaf and the helpful girl in the bakery section happy to slice it for me. Onto the freezers, choose and buy pizza, at least they have that in stock. An amusing moment on the in-store radio as they start playing Don't Marry Her by Beautiful South. Now as anybody who is is familiar with this song knows, there are two versions so I'm holding my breath to see id they will make a faux-pas and play the album version. F*^k me, they don't. They play the radio version. As I exhale, a young lady comes by whistling the tune. I'm wondering which version is playing in her head... Then I choose a pizza and head for the checkout.
First one I get to is broke, so I move to the next. This one has a sign on the belt and it is closing. Onto the next one and third time lucky! Well I did try and make a joke about the lack of produce with the girl buhind the checkout but it seems she has suffered a sense of humour bypass (Wal-Mart requirement?).

So it looks as if I have to go on another food hunt tomorrow. As ASDA sell everything except food then it will have to be M&S and Morrisons.

Finally. Come home. Cook and eat pizza with meagre salad. Catch up on Saturday's Dr. Who. Drink beer. Blog the experience.

Meme

2008-04-10T23:57:00.006+01:00

I got tagged by Janet for this.

ALL are invited to join in The Links Meme fun!

PLEASE follow the rules!

Just copy paste THIS and everything below up until my Five links:

I thought it would be cool to have a meme where we post links. We can post up to five. Then we tell five more people to share their links. If we all share who tagged us, our links are sure to be seen!

They can be business links, favourite sites, affiliate links, whatever you want…

There are some rules, as usual:

1. MUST be clean. No R rated sites.

2. Only FIVE links.

3. MUST tell 5 people.

4. A link back to the person who tagged you

Here’s mine:

Del.icio.us - I can just surf anywhere and add bookmarks here. You can share them with me.
Flickr - Love this. Save all my photos here. Had to pay for pro membership but well worth it.
Google - they are big and I use lots of their Web2.0 stuff - mail, documents, calendars, maps and blogger. The favourite one has to be their RSS Reader which I use to keep up with all your blogs and the news sites.
StumbleUpon - When I've done orderly searching and surfing via Google (and my brain has turned to mush), then this gives me the complete opposite - total randomness. Give it a try. You'll meet some nice people here too.
Meebo - If you use instant messaging then this is a Web2.0 version that you can use to connect to all the services. Unfortunately my work figured that out before I did so it's on their NSFW list!

Now I need to tag some of you, so if you've been tagged already then ~~tough~~ I apologise.

I''ll give you all a day to prepare to be tagged ;-)

Meme under Construction.

2008-04-04T17:38:00.002+01:00

Janet sent me a Meme. Now I've done my reseach to find out what one is, I'll go away and do one.

Might take me a day or two though.

Farewell Mal

2008-03-25T02:00:00.004Z

A good friend of mine for 25 years. Thanks for all the good times (and the bad ones too).
We will give you a good send-off on Tuesday. You will be sorely missed.

The Plumber

2008-03-11T23:34:00.011Z

As mentioned in a previous post, I needed the services of a plumber. The toilet was refusing to flush - I pull the handle and instead of a torrent of water going down the pan all I got was a cough and a trickle. I investigated the flushing mechanism but discovered it was near on impossible to get it apart from the cistern as the bolts that hold the cistern to the pan have rusted up (it's a close-coupled suite). Also the suite is the wrong colour , so as far as I'm concerned I'd rather have it replaced with a white one.

As mentioned previously, the plumber turns up at the arranged time. He looks at the cistern and shakes his head - tells me it's an 11 inch siphon which he doesn't carry. After a discussion of repair costs we agree a price to replace the suite with a white one and he arranges to come back a week later (4^th March). In the meantime I can get the flush to work by pumping the handle vigorously.

So he turns up again on the 4^th. Proceeds to remove old suite then gives me the good news he can't fit the new one as there is a hole in the floor where the old one came out, and it's the wrong size/shape. He can't fill that! As you can imagine, with having only the one toilet in the house I'm most insistent that the toilet must be fitted today. He then suggests I get some plywood so that the suite can sit on the floor until the hole can be filled. Me? what am I paying this guy for? Off I go to B&Q and return with plywood, cut to appropriate size. He then fits the suite on the plywood. During the process he spends a lot of time moaning that there are parts missing from the suite, (not my problem, he's supplied it!) but he has enough in his stock to assemble everything. He fits the water inlet and waste outlet using flexible couplers so that the suite can be moved. Finally it's functional, but it looks a mess. So I pay him and he tells me he will come back and re-locate it when the floor has been repaired. I think not!

Next day I'm speaking to Pete, a friend of mine. Turns out he's fitted a few bathrooms and WCs so he offers to come over and put things right with my help on Monday 11^th. I go to B&Q to procure some more supplies that we will need for the job.

Monday morning 11^th. I'm now two weeks on from the original plumber visit and I make an early start before Pete arrives. I've got the suite disconnected and removed. I clean out the remainder of the rubble from the hole in the floor. Pete arrives and gives me lots of stick about the general state of the place, then produces a bag of quick setting concrete of the type used for setting fence posts. We mix this up, he then pours and sets it down. After an hour or so it is dry and we re-locate the suite. Pete connects it up and everything is working. During the process he makes several observations and generally tells me what he thinks of the plumber's standard of workmanship (or rather, the lack of it!), and likens him to the female genitalia ("he's a useless ...."). He also notes that the remainder of the floor will require re-concreting at some point in the future.

So finally we're done. Moral of this? If you get a plumber in, expect a rough job. If you want it doing properly, do it yourself, or at least find a friend who's competent at it.

Footnote: The flyer opposite came though the door the day before the plumber's first visit. Don't you think someone was trying to tell me something?

Welfare Check

2008-03-11T21:53:00.004Z

Thanks for asking after me. I survived the quake.

I've been rather busy trying to fit in a working weekend combined with two nights of entertainment. I've had blogger's block, probably due to lack of . I did manage a good session on the bike on Sunday morning, checking out the cycle route between here and NG8. It's mostly downhill on the way back.

Monday taken up with remedial work after the plumber the previous Monday. Pete - I owe you one mate.

We have had some stormy weather over the last couple of days. Rain and high winds. It's forecast to hit 75mph overnight and tomorrow morning, might be an idea to keep off the bike until it calms down. Last night we had a power cut across the road and one householder's burglar alarm (one of those daft 110dB wailing banshee things) was constantly shrieking away then re-setting. Just as I started to nod off it would kick off again so I re-located to the silence of the back bedroom. This morning the electricity company turned up, complete with a mini-digger (sub-contractor, of course). They blocked most of the road then dug up in front of the house where the suspect cable fault was located. On my way out to collect my daughter and granddaughter, I noticed them stood around making off an armoured cable, so that looks like progress.

They were kind enough to leave me just enough room to get my car on and off the drive. I might award them a considerate contractor point for this. Didn't have the instamatic camera to hand at the time though.

However, the banshee is still wailing this evening.

There is also the story of the plumber to come. It's an epic. I'm working on that one.

Quake Update

2008-02-28T06:20:00.002Z

Well it looks as if I got away without any damage here, apart from minor sleep loss =:o

I've spoken to friends, several mentioned hearing rumbling and things moving around in their houses. I've looked very carefully and can't see anything here.

My main concern was the kitchen. It's taken two days to re-fit all the doors to the cupboards. I spent Tuesday evening carefully lining them up so they looked square, no gaps, don't rub etc. Yesterday I checked and there has been no movement!

I see the conspiracy theorists are making something of this already. I've just read this article and I'm off to the local surplus outlet to get my NBC suit.

Rude Awakening

2008-02-27T06:34:00.005Z

I was woken up at 1.00 this morning by sensation that the bed was shaking. Couldn't be sure whether I had dreamt this or whether it was for real. I eventually got up and had a wander around the house. Nothing unusual. Back to bed until I was woken by the radio-alarm at 5.30.

BBC News reporting an earthquake centered on Market Raisen. So it was for real!

More information on Earthquakes in the UK can be found here.

A report on this one at USGS.

More Bike

2008-02-24T10:52:00.004Z

I was wondering if I'd manage to keep up with the cycling.

The short answer is yes. This morning I rode the Ruddington route that I did on the 12^th. This time I managed it quicker and didn't need a rest period half-way, despite a strong breeze.

Plumbers

2008-02-23T11:55:00.000Z

I wish I'd trained to be a plumber. They are a rarer breed than electricians.

I need some work doing here that is beyond my DIY capability so I call some. One from Yellow pages, another recommended by my neighbours. The first two can't even be bothered to return my call after 24 hours so I call another one from YP. He answers as the call is diverted to his mobile. He promises to call me back Friday evening. He does. Arranges to come Monday morning and gives a me a rough estimate for the job when I tell him what the problem is.

Watch this space.

Out of Sync

2008-02-18T15:10:00.003Z

I'm out of sync with a lot of other people, particularly those that work Mon-Fri 9-5 and think there are seven days in a week.

I have a 9-day week. Work six days, then get three days off. That is usually three late shifts followed by three early shifts. Unfortunately my body clock and my social life still haven't realized this, even after twenty years. Still, there are benefits. I get at least one weekday to myself.

That Electronic Footprint again...

2008-02-17T22:00:00.004Z

Do you use Facebook or any of the other social networking sites? Yes, that includes blogging!

I've been reading some very interesting articles published by The Independent newspaper. Although I am very aware that employers and other people might be very interested in what people publish online, it appears that a lot of people are not...

Firstly, one on how Facebook can ruin your life.
Secondly, if you thought you had deleted your Facebook account, read this article!

Finally, don't forget to read the one on Safety Online that's in my useful links list.

On Yer Bike

2008-02-12T22:00:00.006Z

I've got my daughter's bike for storage as she isn't using it at present. I'd been trying to convince myself I ought to buy one and take up cycling again to try and get myself almost fit... I do plenty of walking but always missed having a bike after after having my last one stolen in 1981.

The bike came in kit form, having been in storage in C's attic. After re-assembly, a trip to Wilko's required to buy a pump. Hopefully it won't have any punctures... Sure enough the tyres stay hard so I mount up and give it a quick run up and down the side roads whilst it is quiet. Yes! I can still ride one without falling off so I decide its s^%t or bust and decide I'll have a ride down to Rushcliffe Country Park at Ruddington.

The strangest thing I have to come to terms with is suddenly I'm not a car driver! There are no rear-view mirrors, I need to hand signal, but at least I can ride between the speed bumps on the estate. There is no cycle path to Ruddington so I just follow the main road down there.
A lot of experimenting with gears (all 21 of them!) until I find the optimum settings for uphill-flat-downhill. I'm working leg muscles that don't get worked that often and I've already decided I need a larger frame as I can't get my legs to full stretch.

Got to Rushcliffe Park surprisingly quickly. It takes 20 minutes to walk from home, well under 10 on the bike. There are plenty of trails there to ride around, being careful to avoid the pedestrians and the dog walkers.

Rode home, more confident on the road this time. A second trip to Wilko's (on foot!) to buy a tyre pressure gauge (they felt a bit soft) and a rear mudguard!

Now hopefully I can stick with this plan as I quite enjoyed it today. I'm temped to rush out and buy a bike that is the correct size tomorrow, but I think the sensible option is to stick with this one a bit longer and research what I really need and how much £££ I have to spend on it!

I also need to get a helmet (we never had these back in 1981)
Edit: 13^th - I've got one!

The Zoo

2008-02-11T19:30:00.000Z

Monkey
Originally uploaded by nickbeee

My Granddaughter has now reached the age of 3 so my daughter and I decided it would be nice to take her to the zoo again (she can do most of the animal impressions).

As it was a warm sunny day, we set off for Twycross Zoo. Not realising it was schools half-term holiday week until we got there and discovered long queues! We had a walk round and visited most of the residents (twice, I might add!).

Perhaps I was expecting K. to be very excited but that didn't appear to be the case, she was very shy of all of the animals, apart from a small pond with several Koi carp inside one of the buldings. I think she wanted to take this one home with her, but in the end she had to make to with a furry soft toy replica of the chap in the picture.

She soon showed how she plans to be a mistress of deception though - when we arrived home she couldn't stop talking about what and exciting day she'd had.

Result!

Weekends

2008-02-10T22:00:00.000Z

VIew from Hambleton
Originally uploaded by nickbeee

Weekends are valuable as I don't get as many free ones as I'd like due to work commitments. So this weekend, the weather was kind and I managed to cram in as much as possible...

Friday night in town to see Light Night and have a few beers with my friend J.
Saturday daytime we had a look at Hambleton and a walk down to Rutland Water. Stopped off for a quick look in Melton Mowbray on the return journey.
Saturday night - musical entertainment in Beeston courtesy of Mars Bonfire. They do some excellent Led Zep covers as well as stuff of their own.
Sunday - recovery day. Time for a walk around the Lake at Nottingham University, they were busy setting up for the Chinese New Year celebrations.

So an enjoyable one. Back at the salt mines next weekend though.

P.I.T.D.

2008-02-08T17:28:00.000Z

I thought it might be a good idea to have a Played It To Death section.

I use that term to refer to any piece of music that gets put on the CD player in the car until either

The CD wears out.
I get sick to death of it.

I did Scouting For Girls last month, so this time it's the turn of the Foo Fighters and their Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace album. In particular the track Long Road to Ruin. Thanks to someone (I forget who) for posting a link to the video of this this on a forum that I visit from time to time.

On The Bus

2008-02-06T19:52:00.001Z

48 at Holy Trinity
Originally uploaded by nickbeee

A nice sunny February day so I decided I'd take the bus into the big city. As we have an excellent bus service from here, it's a complete no-brainer to take the car unless I have something bulky to collect.

Unfortunately, our regular bus service isn't very friendly to infrequent users like me. I don't have any kind of travel card, so I have to pay on the bus and it is exact fare only, i.e. they don't give you any change. So... I walk out of the front door and check out the shrapnel in my trouser pocket only to find I don't quite have the required £2.70 for a city rider ticket. No problem, I'll walk up as far as the shopping precinct and call in at the bank. They'll change my tenner for me. Not so simple though. A queue in the bank and one of the cashiers has decided he wants to ask everybody for their life story. Fortunately I get served by his female colleague, which is lucky for him as I had already decided by this point I was going to make it a "no comment" transaction and just offer him the url for this blog to allow him to read it during his lunch break. She is quick and polite and I am on my way to the bus stop.

Bus arrives almost immediately. When I get on, pay and find a seat upstairs. I then realise I've left my headphones at home so I'm unable to listen to music on my entertainment centre. So I spend the remainder of the journey reading a blog or two with Mini Opera, before finally alighting in slab square and gazing in awe at the Nottingham Eye.

A Dutch Shop

2008-02-06T19:34:00.000Z

Thanks to the wonders of my RSS reader and El Reg, my attention was drawn to this Dutch online shop. I'm still smiling at it and reloading it.

I'll call it the mousetrap concept. If you remember the original Mousetrap game (I had one as a kid) then you'll know where I'm coming from...

Enjoy :)

That Time Machine again

2008-02-05T21:42:00.000Z

A few of you asked about my time travel so I thought I'd reflect on it (with the help of a beer or two).

I think I've already experienced it. Recently I've firmly convinced myself I've lived my life in the wrong order. I did 25 years ago what I should be doing now. Now I'm doing what I should have done 25 years ago. Given the chance, I'd rather have been 20 in the early 70's rather than the early 80's. The music was better for a start.

When did I realise this? When I saw Life on Mars.

OK. You cynics will just say I'm having a mid-life crisis. I'd say H.G. Wells was right.

Back to the Future

2008-02-04T16:19:00.001Z

Clifton Village and Church
Originally uploaded by nickbeee

At some point I re-set the time on my camera. Or did I?

Decided to take a walk through Clifton village down to the river this morning and grab a few shots as the weather was sunny. When I arrived back and uploaded them to iPhoto I discovered that I had actualy taken them tomorrow.

Must be a time portal along this road somewhere...

Cromford Canal

2008-02-03T15:16:00.001Z

Ducks on Ice
Originally uploaded by nickbeee

Yesterday, my friend J. and I decided we would go in search of some of the elusive snow. We had already planned to do a short walk along the Cromford Canal in Derbyshire.

After a drive up via Matlock we parked at Cromford Mill and had a brisk walk along the towpath towards Whatstandwell.

Conditions were muddy and slushy underfoot (must suggest to J. that she gets some decent walking footwear as trainers just don't cut it on these paths!). A map might have been handy as well. Plenty of things to look at on the walk including Leawood Pumphouse and High Peak Junction. A few photos taken here with the K800i instamatic.

We completely missed our intended destination, the Derwent Hotel. I think this must have been at the point where we walked through Gregory Tunnel, all 76 yards long, so we where almost in Ambergate by the time we decided to turn around and head back. For some reason the return journey seemed quicker, maybe because it was downhill, or maybe (as J. suggested) I'd just got a thirst on.

On arrival back at Cromford, I grabbed a few more photos (ducks on ice, etc.) then we headed for Wheatcroft's Wharf Cafe. Excellent food and drink served here, I had the soup and roll (yup!).

So, I wonder if we will see any more snow this winter. Time will tell. We are planning to repeat this walk.

A Grand Daughter

2008-01-31T22:05:00.000Z

My granddaugher is three today.

That should make me feel old but in fact it has the opposite effect. I feel 21 years younger and It's like re-living my daughter's childhood again.

Thanks C & K, I enjoyed it. Especially the re-run with the candles.

West Bromwich

2008-01-30T15:53:00.001Z

A non-title really as not much to report there. Found the venue for the meeting, went through the business with other delegates and got myself co-opted to attend a further conference in June. After some confusion and amending of expenses forms to remove the lunch payment we were presented with a fairly average buffet lunch.

On the return trip, slowed it down to admire the views from spaghetti junction. Then decided I needed at stop at Tamworth services on the M42 as they have M&S Simply Food there. I grabbed a cereal bar and an Orange & Raspberry Smoothie (antidote to lunch). I'm really addicted to these smoothie things, they are a refreshing way to get one of your five-a-day.

Finally, made a call at Tesco's in Ashby-de-la-zouch (where the biscuit factory is). It's my granddaughter's third birthday tomorrow and I had volunteered to get the cake. :)~ maybe there will be a picture or two in the album before it gets devoured...

A Blogroll or two

2008-01-30T00:43:00.000Z

Off to West Bromwich in the morning. never been there in my life and don't expect to have to go again, who knows...

I started reading just the one blog of local interest, then followed links from it to another written by a guy who must live on my doorstep (well not that close as his neighbours don't keep me awake). In between their posts, I followed links from their blogrolls and picked up a few more. London and Ohio to name a few places.

It's a fascinating insight into other people's lives.

Now thanks to the wonders of RSS and Google Reader I am able to subscribe to all these and have them appear by magic all on the one web page. That only leaves me with one problem - do I stay with Blogger or do I jump ship and move over to WordPress?

Enough for now - it's bed time.

Landing Lights

2008-01-27T23:54:00.000Z

Somebody....

Has a blacker sense of humour than I do.
Is better with GIF animations than I am.
Can fly a Boeing 777 in MS Flight Sim.

Thanks Ernest.
(With apologies to CAP637)

Scouting for Girls

2008-01-24T20:44:00.000Z

...Are brilliant.

I've got their debut album, strangely enough it's called Scouting for Girls.

There are some profound lyrics in there. You know you want to listen to it.

Again and again.

DC8

2008-01-23T17:15:00.001Z

A very old one at EMA en-route to Tripoli.

I'm not a spotter anorak, I just love these noisy old birds. In fact I love all kinds of noisy old birds.

Breck's Plantation

2008-01-20T21:12:00.001Z

Breck's Plantation
Originally uploaded by nickbeee

Out and about. Not. OK I have to say the weather at the moment is somewhat wet so I'm taking time to reflect on some of the nicer places we have locally.

Who would have thought that you could find a nature reserve in the middle of a 1950's housing development? Well sure enough, there are not one, but two of these. Firstly, Breck's Plantation and secondly, Fairham Brook. Both of these are maintained by Nottinghamshire Wildlife trust.

It's a pity to find they sometimes get mistreated.

Slightly further away we have Rushcliffe Country Park.

A Brisk Walk

2008-01-06T22:00:00.000Z

In need of fresh air to blow away that hangover from Saturday.

We went for a very enjoyable walk around Attenborough Nature Reserve. It's a few years since I visited and they have built an amazing visitor centre there. If you haven't been there it's well worth the trip.

Happy New Year

2008-01-02T15:16:00.000Z

Out with the old, in with the new as they say.
Saw in 2008 almost sober (good thing if you are driving the next day!). Bad luck if you were expecting me to send you a TXT MSG or even ring you as the mobile networks went t*ts up at midnight showing themselves totally incapable of coping with the demand. To those who sang me a happy new year greeting and left it on my voicemail at 20:45 (you know who you are!) in anticipation of this, thanks! Had you been on the pop?

Got up in time to visit the Peak District with a friend and spent an enjoyable afternoon walking around Castleton and Hope. Weather was rather misty though so the Kodak Instamatic never saw any action.

Life just gets better. :)

Bulwel Revisited

2007-12-31T19:05:00.001Z

bulwell 3
Originally uploaded by geek4

Just when I thought I was the sole surrealist photographer visiting Bulwell, my mate decides to put one over me and spot some even more interesting signs :^)

Neon Nights

2007-12-20T22:50:00.001Z

Neon Nights
Originally uploaded by nickbeee

Back from the days when my offspring used to drag me to the pictures regularly. This is the Odeon at Mansfield, the seating here was far better than the Showcase!

Bingo played here...but not for much longer.

2007-12-15T21:44:00.001Z

Bingo played here
Originally uploaded by nickbeee

According to a a local blog, the Sun Valley bingo hall is to be re-developed as a supermarket. This no doubt explains the happiness of all the staff in Co-Op, they are just biding their time before they can jump ship.

Drive Off

2007-12-15T21:37:00.001Z

quayside_y.jpg
Originally uploaded by nickbeee

Digging out some of the old photos now. This is a favourite, taken at Embo many years ago.

Flickr

2007-12-15T21:29:00.001Z

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.