After the nasty recession has hit, I decided to go out and spend some of my hard earned cash on some new toys. After purchasing some new Wharfedales, NAD L53 and cables, the next purchases on the cards were to upgrade my PC and laptop.
After a visit to Offtek and play.com, I've now received a nice new Maxtor 500g One Touch external hard drive and 2gb of ram for my laptop. Sorted!! All my files have been transferred, leaving a nice (fairly) empty hard drive on my desktop and the new RAM on the laptop has speeded it up a bit, well after deleting some files off of it at least!
As for the pondering side, I'm not too sure. After a night out in the Noble Vine with Gary (or Barry as he has now been christened), some chatting about the finer points of life (broken motorcycles, the film Convoy and Thelma and Louise), I get home and try to cheer up bella. I think it worked, but now I'm sitting here pondering about bella... Hmmmmmmm
I think I just miss her, actually I don't think, I know I miss her!
I think I'll take my pondering head up the steps to bed! Good plan.
Thursday 23 October 2008
Tuesday 14 October 2008
Let the work commence
This is it. The nights are drawing in quick! It was dark before 6pm tonight up here in cloud towers! This calls for desperate measures. Well the last week has been rather intersting. The old Alfa trying my patience, until now. I've decided the GTV is going to be sold, and replaced by a nice MX-5 or some description. The Monster, well Her Holyness was nearly next on the list to go, but after an evening of trawling through the internet and finding some places to do the work, it's looking like 'Winter Project 2' is going to be underway this weekend.
First job will be to strip out the clutch pressure plate (start nice and easy) and the clutch slave cylinder. Whilst doing that, I'll be having a glance round to see if there are any other jobs to keep me occupied, well I know one, sorting out the rev counter!
Then during the next three to four months, the work will start. The '93 original Monster will be stripped down, cleaned, fettled, cleaned, lubed and put back together, hopefully pass it's MOT and back on the road intime for the 'summer'. I'll keep the world (well my little world anyway) upto date with the progress of this project, but bearing in mind Project Number 1 is still sitting in my garage and untouched for the past 3 years!
Maybe I could two at once......
First job will be to strip out the clutch pressure plate (start nice and easy) and the clutch slave cylinder. Whilst doing that, I'll be having a glance round to see if there are any other jobs to keep me occupied, well I know one, sorting out the rev counter!
Then during the next three to four months, the work will start. The '93 original Monster will be stripped down, cleaned, fettled, cleaned, lubed and put back together, hopefully pass it's MOT and back on the road intime for the 'summer'. I'll keep the world (well my little world anyway) upto date with the progress of this project, but bearing in mind Project Number 1 is still sitting in my garage and untouched for the past 3 years!
Maybe I could two at once......
Thursday 9 October 2008
Views from my desk....
Not much in the way of excitment today. Two trailers sent off to Gibraltar with lots of goodies on. The heater in my car packed up again, but a swift bit of brute force via a 19mm spanner and the heater switch was all that was required to get it working again! A nice drive home tonight, as I decided to miss out the boring queue of traffic waiting to get across the Bridge of Doom! A dart round the back roads and onto some twisty roads before getting back to the queue at the Bridge of Doom!
Todays view from my desk, well there are a couple today!
A new office manager, with a new hair cut! Better not make her angry!
Todays view from my desk, well there are a couple today!
A new office manager, with a new hair cut! Better not make her angry!
Wednesday 8 October 2008
Not a very good day......
After a nice nights sleep up in the clouds, everything went wrong when waking up! Grabbed all my stuff, disappeared into the car park, started the old Alfa up and no heater... Ok, all the windows have dew on them, they are misting up and I have no rear screen heater or fan heater.. Nice! I jump out of the car, and notice a nice big puddle of water disappearing off into the drain. That'll be the radiator leaking again then! Added some (more) Radweld and played about with the wires for the heater, only to notice two of the wires are not where they should be. Great the plug has gone mad! After my work colleague buggers off to work, probably seeing my boots sticking out from under the door of my car (they are not that hard to miss), I get stressed!
Off to my little workshop of doom, and holding my breath as the windows had cleared enough to see. Which would happen first, would I get to my garage or would I pass out?? Luckily the latter. Time to move the Monster, get the electrickery kit out, notice a big puddle of clutch fluid underneath the Monster (well that a story for later). Time to pull the drivers side footwell apart. Screws out, carpet and plastic trim thrown into the back of the car, now I'm lying along the drivers seat, head first into the footwell, looking up at the wiring. Three plugs have broken, crimpers out, chop the old plugs off, new plugs put on (without much swearing this time), all plugged back together and still no heater! ARSE!!! As it is now 9:30am, I decided to drive the car to work as Her Holyness (the Monster) has a broken clutch slave cylinder (a nice big hole straight through it!), and hope the water stays in the radiator, the windows stay clear and the sun stays out!
Well I got two out of three! I pulled onto the forecourt of my local Tescos petrol station and the water escapes! Time for damage limitation! £10 of petrol put in, my water bottles filled up, dart across the to the car park, water topped up and time to start praying to the God of Milan that this little Alfa will make it to work, or at least die trying to get there! The second option nearly happened twice as two idiots just pulled out infront of me!
Finally the car makes it to work. No water loss, the heater didn't invite the pixies round to fix it and the rear screen was, well, sort of clear (but thats what the door mirrors are for!). After another two hours of going through the workshop manual, swearing, and finally thinking of something, as well as striping out both sides footwell trims, I double checked the wiring, and suddenly, the pixies were there! Setting number 4 comes to life on the heater.. Sod the other 3, I have number 4! YES!!!!!! Marvelous!! WOOHOO!!
It's still working now, I'm happy, the music is back on loud.. Yippee!!
And todays picture can be my little boots, relaxing at work!
Off to my little workshop of doom, and holding my breath as the windows had cleared enough to see. Which would happen first, would I get to my garage or would I pass out?? Luckily the latter. Time to move the Monster, get the electrickery kit out, notice a big puddle of clutch fluid underneath the Monster (well that a story for later). Time to pull the drivers side footwell apart. Screws out, carpet and plastic trim thrown into the back of the car, now I'm lying along the drivers seat, head first into the footwell, looking up at the wiring. Three plugs have broken, crimpers out, chop the old plugs off, new plugs put on (without much swearing this time), all plugged back together and still no heater! ARSE!!! As it is now 9:30am, I decided to drive the car to work as Her Holyness (the Monster) has a broken clutch slave cylinder (a nice big hole straight through it!), and hope the water stays in the radiator, the windows stay clear and the sun stays out!
Well I got two out of three! I pulled onto the forecourt of my local Tescos petrol station and the water escapes! Time for damage limitation! £10 of petrol put in, my water bottles filled up, dart across the to the car park, water topped up and time to start praying to the God of Milan that this little Alfa will make it to work, or at least die trying to get there! The second option nearly happened twice as two idiots just pulled out infront of me!
Finally the car makes it to work. No water loss, the heater didn't invite the pixies round to fix it and the rear screen was, well, sort of clear (but thats what the door mirrors are for!). After another two hours of going through the workshop manual, swearing, and finally thinking of something, as well as striping out both sides footwell trims, I double checked the wiring, and suddenly, the pixies were there! Setting number 4 comes to life on the heater.. Sod the other 3, I have number 4! YES!!!!!! Marvelous!! WOOHOO!!
It's still working now, I'm happy, the music is back on loud.. Yippee!!
And todays picture can be my little boots, relaxing at work!
Tuesday 7 October 2008
A good day (so far)
This mornings commute was enjoyable! Yes, shocking I know! A commute to work which is enjoyable. Walton Bridge was its usual arsed self. Traffic backed up through Walton, but after a little dive down the back roads, I was across the bridge in 10 minutes (rather than sit in the queue and do nothing for 30 minutes!!). After listening to the lovely music coming from the GTV ICE unit, oh the joy, and singing my little head off, it was time for my morning wander around Tescos. Just before getting into the car park, a blue GTV was parked in the kerb, I decided to be a friendly brother in arms and tooted lots down the road. A wave from the driver of the other GTV, marvelous, what can go wrong today!
Tescos done, off to work. A little blat up the A30 and round the peri track then time to settle down to do some work. Work done and sorted by lunch time, two visits from Bob (who has now called himself Ikea Man), and a few attacks from the mad puppy and a dustpan brush (maybe she wants to clear up the mess downstairs).
A nice relaxing day at work, some Hi-Fi shopping completed, and a wander round Richer Sounds and Weybridge Hi-Fi arranged for Saturday. I know I'm going to spend too much money!
Tescos done, off to work. A little blat up the A30 and round the peri track then time to settle down to do some work. Work done and sorted by lunch time, two visits from Bob (who has now called himself Ikea Man), and a few attacks from the mad puppy and a dustpan brush (maybe she wants to clear up the mess downstairs).
A nice relaxing day at work, some Hi-Fi shopping completed, and a wander round Richer Sounds and Weybridge Hi-Fi arranged for Saturday. I know I'm going to spend too much money!
Monday 6 October 2008
Uselessness
Why oh why oh why are idiots allowed to be out and about in the world with pieces of paper (or plastic, or both) that allow them to drive???
My Monday morning commute and me time (it's the only time I can really enjoy my music loud!), whilst driving towards the bridge of doom, listening to The Blues Brothers was rudely interupted by some f**kwit in a Peugeot trying to cut me up in a Keep Clear box! Interupting my music is bad, cutting me up in a place you shouldn't be blocking (I think the words Keep and Clear printed on the road give it away), blocking the inside lane of traffic because you are a numpty, is not very clever, and not much cleverer (a word I haven't used for a while) when I put my little 916 back across your bonnet!!!
After the Peugeot incident (now if Mr F**kwit had said sorry, I need to go right I would've been happy), I'm back in my groove. Music on loud again, singing away in my little Italian dark grey leather paradise, and heading across the Peri track at Heathrow. To be greeted by one of my all time pet hates... TFL taxis!! A police van is sitting on the inside lane to turn left, when he puts on the blues and twos and wants to go right, nothing infront of the taxi, and the van gets into the outside lane, a couple of cars are stuck infront of the police van, and a clear lane in the middle to go straight over and up Harlington High Street, does the taxi move?? No... He sits there, green light showing, me tooting, car driver behind me starts tooting, police van stuck, I'm shouting at the numpty! Time for BTCC driving rules, headlights on, more tooting, and finally the idiot moves straight across!! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
I hate numpties!!
But at least I had seven minutes of Radar Love to calm me down.
My Monday morning commute and me time (it's the only time I can really enjoy my music loud!), whilst driving towards the bridge of doom, listening to The Blues Brothers was rudely interupted by some f**kwit in a Peugeot trying to cut me up in a Keep Clear box! Interupting my music is bad, cutting me up in a place you shouldn't be blocking (I think the words Keep and Clear printed on the road give it away), blocking the inside lane of traffic because you are a numpty, is not very clever, and not much cleverer (a word I haven't used for a while) when I put my little 916 back across your bonnet!!!
After the Peugeot incident (now if Mr F**kwit had said sorry, I need to go right I would've been happy), I'm back in my groove. Music on loud again, singing away in my little Italian dark grey leather paradise, and heading across the Peri track at Heathrow. To be greeted by one of my all time pet hates... TFL taxis!! A police van is sitting on the inside lane to turn left, when he puts on the blues and twos and wants to go right, nothing infront of the taxi, and the van gets into the outside lane, a couple of cars are stuck infront of the police van, and a clear lane in the middle to go straight over and up Harlington High Street, does the taxi move?? No... He sits there, green light showing, me tooting, car driver behind me starts tooting, police van stuck, I'm shouting at the numpty! Time for BTCC driving rules, headlights on, more tooting, and finally the idiot moves straight across!! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
I hate numpties!!
But at least I had seven minutes of Radar Love to calm me down.
Sunday 5 October 2008
It's done.....
Finally, the building of flat packed furniture is finished for a while. My bed has been assembled, my sofa bought and many thanks to my mate Bob for his mad singing, whacky outlook on life and general lunacy, oh and the use of the van for getting my stuff from Ikea back to my box in the sky.
I'm happy, I like the new sanctuary in the sky!
Next purchases on the horizon, well possibly an angle grinder to get rid of 6 inches off of my bed, so I don't hit my head as much when getting into it! A new amp and speakers, that'll be nice. Well especially speakers as I've killed my present ones lots of times. Maybe a couple of shelves from my collection of bikes and an LCD television. I think that's the lot, but this shopping list can't be completed until my next quest is done. The fixing of the car and bike quest...... It's going to be a toughy, but it's winter time and that's as good a time to do it than any other.
That's my iPod sorted for my daily commute to work and now it's time to climb the ladder to the sky... Nearly...
I'm happy, I like the new sanctuary in the sky!
Next purchases on the horizon, well possibly an angle grinder to get rid of 6 inches off of my bed, so I don't hit my head as much when getting into it! A new amp and speakers, that'll be nice. Well especially speakers as I've killed my present ones lots of times. Maybe a couple of shelves from my collection of bikes and an LCD television. I think that's the lot, but this shopping list can't be completed until my next quest is done. The fixing of the car and bike quest...... It's going to be a toughy, but it's winter time and that's as good a time to do it than any other.
That's my iPod sorted for my daily commute to work and now it's time to climb the ladder to the sky... Nearly...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)