Mutterings of a Madman

Nothing happening

2009-11-13T10:40:00.001Z

Nothing happening here at the moment. :-(

First for Fiat?

2009-06-17T17:02:00.000+01:00

I was intrigued to find out today, by chance, more about Fiat’s eco:Drive technology.

If you have one of the new Fiats and ordered the car with the Blue&Me port built into the car, you can now do some interesting things with your car. Using their eco:Drive technology, it is now possible to download telemetry data from your car to your PC via a memory stick. You can then use their eco:Drive software (downloaded from Fiat.co.uk) to analyse your driving and your car’s performance. It will help train/tune your driving style to get the best out of your Fiat and your fuel, while at the same time help you reduce your co2 emissions.

Right out of the F1 racing world by the looks of it I think and a brilliant way to lead the way in new technology regards motoring and the environment.

Ye canny beat a bottle o Ginger!

2009-06-16T16:37:00.003+01:00

Interesting recession related post about branding etc. :-
http://thinkhard.wordpress.com/2009/06/10/think-hard-in-the-news-two-days-running/
Think Hard is a business and marketing consultancy established in 2006 by Mark Gorman, and that’s his blog.

I found it through the blog of Colin Gilchrist from Edinburgh, at http://www.colingilchrist.com/ ,
who I found through http://www.cardboardspaceship.com/ by a Hamish Newlands, who’s blog I’ve been watching for some time and a very good ongoing comentary on the credit crunch, recession and matters in the financial world etc.

Roastin chestnuts!

2009-01-19T15:14:00.001Z

We finally took delivery of our wee wood burning stove last week. Had to take it apart to get it home because it was too heavy to lift and wouldn’t have anyone strong enough to help at the other end even if we got someone to help us with it into the car. Anyway, managed to take out most of its insides and get it to the car and home. Now waiting for our local sweep, who also specialises in fitting stoves and fireplaces to "fit" us in and get it installed… then we’re on the road to warmer evenings and less burning oil for heating… brilliant!
Apparently the Mrs has found a thing that allows us to roast chestnuts on top of the stove to that will be fun to try…………….

Happy New Year, I suppose!

2009-01-12T15:00:00.001Z

Not long after the last post to this blog we moved to a wee place about 5 miles North West of Montrose. A great small country cottage, with big garden and great outlook. We hadn’t even settled in when my mum we taken into hospital with complications while going through various therapies to fight breast cancer. We lost her the next week, so all in all it’s turned out to have been a bit of a roller coaster between moving in and now I’m sad to say. I’m not even sure if we’ve truly got back to normal yet.

Looking back, last year was a bit of an unpredictable year really, so we’re hoping this year will be better. Trouble is, with all the problems in the world at the moment, I’m not really sure where things will go yet. I’m beginning to think this year will be as much a blank canvas again, possibly even a "start again…" type thing really.

Not even sure if I’ve come to terms with the loss of mum yet. The office holiday sheets are out but I can’t really be arsed looking at where we want to go for holiday, not in the mood really. I’m finding I just want to stay at home and look at/do the garden, but having never had one of my own to think about I’m not where to start with that either. Don’t think I need a holiday t the moment, I need a change of life, not the best thing to think about in the current economic climate however…

Wonder if I should keep Bees? They need all the help they can get these days.

We’re Movin to the Country!

2008-09-26T16:43:00.000+01:00

Yup we’re a movin’ - or at least trying to, if we can get the firkin paperwork sorted. Going to a very nicely refurbished cottage south of here with a big garden and long commute, but hey, its newly finished, it’s a great size and its just what we need.

Chickens are a possibility too :-)

Strange things you sometimes see while travelling in the country!

2008-04-03T14:56:00.002+01:00

Episode 1, Date 02/04/2008

1. Chickens, by the side of the road, a mile north of Forfar on the A90 southbound.
2. Red Sheep, on the pyramids, M8 near Eurocentral turnoff.

:-}

Pander to a Panda!

2008-03-26T08:55:00.001Z

I was walking back to work from the flat the other day at lunchtime when I saw our old Pandacar driving past, someone’s bought it!

Kool!

Me Maw Me Maw Me Maw!

2008-01-30T15:16:00.000Z

The old panda car’s going away :-(
With a new Panda car replacing it… WooooOwo00oo00oo00…

I was watching a clip of Top Gear the other night and The Clarkson was racing a marathon runner round the London Marathon course in a Panda 4x4, just like mine. He finally got round to talking about the car and brilliantly described it as

".. Like a little Donkey, this is a great little car, cheap to buy, cheap to run, dependable, go anywhere…"

Not often The Clarkson speaks any sense, but I think I see his point for once. We’ve done 34,500 miles in the old Panda 4x4 since Sept 2005, with only one minor problem with it since new, the boot switch failing and needing replaced. Not bad going for a little Donkey / Panda made in Poland by Fiat for under 9 grand.
Best of luck old friend…

Calmac ferries are Cool!

2007-10-17T19:34:00.000+01:00

Been a lot of water under the bridge since the last blog entry here.

Been on holiday to Isla for a week, great and some not to bad pics, really getting into photograph more; we’ve both decided we need to move on from Aberdeen; and my mum’s got Breast cancer.

That’s the problem now, we need to move away, but something tells me we’d really better stay near by, so rather than the West Coast, can't really see any reason we should go any further than Aviemore or something around there. Making contact with anyone who can help with that where we can but its proving a chore. Anyway, I’ve told the boss that we are looking to move away without resigning just yet, to take the sting out of it all and give him less ammo to cause problems. I’m trying to make it look like I’m considering his position in it al as well, nevertheless, we’ll have to go sooner than later, so the ball’s rolling now.

The Inner Cat in me!

2007-07-06T17:51:00.000+01:00

I suspect I was a cat in a former life. Monday evening I was walking home, just got to the ground floor of the flats and found a small bird lying on the ground suffering greatly. Knowing the Herring gulls around and the like, plus all the drunken arses about in the evening from the pubs I decided to take it in and see if we could do anything to help it, rather than leave it at the mercy of being trodden on or eaten.
Turns out it was a female Green Finch, not a common bird in our part of the city I suspect. She was not well, not really willing to put up a fight being picked up and carried up the stairs, breathing very heavily and having trouble keeping her eyes open. We put her in a shoe box lined with a soft dish cloth, and a small towel partly covering the box top, to give her someplace quiet and soft to calm down in. We called the SSPCA, the only number we could find in the phone book. They came, and took her away, suspecting a head wound. Hope she’s OK, but I fear the had no option but to put her down, sorry little one.

To further amaze us, I was walking down to the bakers for a scone the next morning and I found a wee mouse, sitting like a quivering very small ball of fur next to a bin, small pool of blood next to it and one back leg not looking well. I came back later at lunchtime, and found it still there, cowering in shock, so I put it behind the bin gently and went back to the office for a box. I found a small box, lined it with tissue paper and went back to it, carefully put it in the box and took it back to the office and hid it for a while till I could get it home. I went home at 5pm and we went back up to the office by car via a pet shop for something to keep it in, brought it home in its cardboard box and transferred it to its new home (£12 travel house for rodents, with lining and food and water). It was much better by then than it was earlier, having had a snooze and managed to clean its leg as well, so was not in shock like it was earlier. We saw a cat near where I found it on the way back home, so I suspect the cat had had a go at it earlier. Anyway, by 8pm it was running around happy as Larry if a bit worried about where it was, so we decided it was OK to let out someplace, so back in the car we all went, down to the river Dee to a wooded area with plenty of overhanging bushes and long plants, sheds and derelict ground. We let it go and watched it find someplace to have a wash, then scurry away to find a new home through the undergrowth. We flung some of the mouse and rodent food into the bushes with it to give it something to get it going. Very small it was the wee mite, barely bigger than my thumb, so hope its doing OK.
I doubt it would have lasted long if I’d left it where it was, so I’m glad that worked OK for the little beastie. Good luck to you.

Thieving Ba$+450$!

2007-02-20T14:42:00.000Z

Our Fiat Panda 4x4, registration No. SV55RHU was stolen last night, between 10pm on the 19th Feb 2007 and 8:15am on the 20th Feb. 2007 from outside our home in Aberdeen.
It is a Vanilla Yellow Pamda 1.2 petrol 4x4, fitted with Fiat panda 4x4 Mud flaps fitted (an extra option). The colour is the same as Walls Vanilla Ice Cream.

Anyone see it, please let me know

Thanks

Gordon

A house a house, my kingdom for a house!

2007-02-15T15:37:00.000Z

We’ve been looking a at really nice old cottage and very large garden in a wee village south of Stonehaven recently, its on the market for offers over £165,000.
Problem is the markets silly up in the north east at the moment so we’ve been advised that its likely to go for about £200,000 well above what we can afford, or probably what its worth really. Flipping annoying.
Shame cause its really nice and there’s more character in it than many newer properties on the market at the moment for more money in the city. It would be a great get away place for a much more civilised lifestyle, and in the country too. Enough room for some chickens and possibly even a goat or two….

All I can say is AAGGHH!

Interesting web site of the week

2007-01-15T09:37:00.000Z

Interesting web site of the week
The British Army Rumour Service, at
http://www.arrse.co.uk/
or Join the Navy
http://www.rumration.co.uk/
or fly with the goats at
http://www.e-goat.co.uk/

2007 - a new year!!!

2007-01-02T11:20:00.000Z

Happy New Year and best of luck for 2007

Gordon

SleepyNightySnoozieSnooze

2006-09-15T14:48:00.000+01:00

I noticed on wikipidia.org that the previously designated 2003 UB313, initially nicknamed "Xena" by its discoverers is now officially designated 136199 Eris and is the largest known “dwarf planet” in the solar system. It is a trans-Neptunian object (TNO), orbiting the Sun in a region of space known as the Kuiper Belt, and accompanied by at least one moon, Dysnomia. Mike Brown, who led the Mount Palomar-based discovery team, announced in April 2006 that the Hubble Telescope has measured Eris' diameter to be 2400 km, slightly larger than Pluto.

More info can be found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/136199_Eris

There are three official dwarf planets so far, Ceres, Pluto, Eris
Question is, why Eris? Since it’s a Dwarf planet why not "Bashful", "Doc", "Dopey", "Grumpy", "Happy", "Sleepy" or "Sneezy"!

Hate Hate Hate…

2006-08-30T10:14:00.000+01:00

I hate this job. I’m working for a man whose company has now grown over the size where he can control everything as his own small private business, but where he still refuses to pass on responsibility and even limited financial control. Why am I’m expected to argue for stuff that I should be expected to purchase in other organisations, such as backup tapes, server capacity, network hardware and even one spare P Fucking C!

I have no budget; and I’m not allowed to spend any money without his say, while at the same time I’m expected to do anything that is required to give them a system that is 100 percent reliable all day 365 days a year. All without spare hardware to cope with occasional emergencies that WILL happen, no matter what safeguards you put in place.

On top off that, he’s the most unapproachable selfish arrogant wanker you’ll ever meet!

I’ve put up with this for to long now.

Pluto the ex Planet :-(

2006-08-28T12:24:00.000+01:00

Sad to hear that the experts have decided to relegate old Pluto to a lower league. What will we do with all those out of date text books?

Progress I suppose, but was it worth it I wonder, considering most of the people on this wet lump of rock have never stooped once to marvel at the complexity and beauty of the universe and what it all really means to be a person in this wondrous world we live in.

(World covering everything there really, not just the third rock from the Sun).

The very unusual marrying of Celtic and Doric folk music with a hint of Jazz!

2006-05-01T12:51:00.000+01:00

There was an interesting thing happening in the Prince of Wales pub in Aberdeen Last night. Normally on Sunday nights a group of folk musicians come together each weekend and have a long session playing and singing both local and other more wide spread folk tunes and the like. It’s the only time other than the weekly quiz night that any music will be heard in the pub.

Last night was particularly busy for a Sunday folk gathering with a lot of people watching and, from my normal casual observation, a few non-regular musicians involved the session.

One very unusual addition was a youngish Caribbean looking gentleman, with a trumpet and a metal cap that’s often seen in Jazz or Big Band circles where trumpets are used. He appeared to be an invited guest and was frequently adlibbing along to the music, adding an unusual accompaniment to the songs and tunes being performed. Now I may be wrong but I’d suspect the trumpet isn’t a common instrument in Folk Music, particularly the Celtic and Doric types the regular people on the POW usually play. This meant we had traditional Celtic and Doric folk music with a very interesting hot chilli jazz theme flavouring the atmosphere, something very interesting and possibly worth seeing again. It was different, but fresh, not spoiling the traditions still being kept alive by the regular folk players who come down to the Prince of Wales.

Brilliant entertainment and well worth waiting for if you are a tourist visiting the city and still around on a Sunday night.

Giddyup go-cart!

2006-04-10T16:58:00.000+01:00

Talk about a bizarre weekend! I won £11 squid on the ge-ge’s on the Grand National at the bookies, then doubled me £1 stake to two squid in the work sweep stake, not bad. I know, it’s cruel, but sometimes the world is like that. Think that will do for another year, no more. I think I’ll stick to lottery tickets instead.

We went indoor go-carting as well, Mrs P’s dad, me and the brother in law Kevin. Stan had a sore head though, so didn’t take part after all, but Kevin and me had a laugh, we were on the track with 5 others for the first 15 mins, the second time we were on our own though, just chasing each other. It was very good fun actually learning and pushing the limits of the carts re grip, acceleration and cornering, power slides and spins. The feedback from the wheels, the acceleration and breaking were all so positive I thought there was something wrong with my car later on when I went out in it.

Want another go I think. Brilliant!

Thundersnow!

2006-03-03T09:03:00.000Z

Wow, Thundersnow!
Up here in the old City of Aberdeen, north-east Scotland we’ve just had a small Thundersnow Storm (happened between 08:00am and 08:45am 3rd March 2006). A very unusual, very rare meteorological event going by what we've found on the Internet.

Paula found this on Wikipidia, if anyone's wondering what it is.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thundersnow

If I find anything more I’ll post it here as well.

Gordon

You can’t beat an old fashioned seaside holiday!

2006-02-21T14:21:00.000Z

I’m trying to get into the habit of blogging at least once a week, but not doing that well up to now. I so sometimes feel that I cant think of what to say, so I’m going to start doing a weekly what happened or is due to happen, nothing fancy, just a casual look on life as it passes me by I think.

I was down in Southport over the weekend, to Shunonda’s flat for a wee relaxing break with her. Its odd, but I’ve developed a little soft spot for the town, even in the quiet season. It’s got a wonderful old-fashioned seaside feel to it, but not like Blackpool’s now more tacky than ever “kiss me quick”/”get pissed Quick” feel. We have had a couple of good holidays in Southport over the last three or four years. I think its because its away from home, but has become familiar which is doing it for me this time. Sometimes I just have to get away, but without having the stress of someplace you haven’t been to before clouding the holiday. Thanks Nonda, for the company, it was worth it and I wish I could have stayed longer too, but with Paula as well. It might not be glitsy or glamorous or the high life, but its got a little bit of a calming feel about it. There’s nothing better than standing on the mile wide beach with nothing to care about but the strings of your Kite in your hands and a pleasant breeze to fly your kite with. Great!

Cheap and chearfull Internet!

2006-02-09T12:53:00.000Z

Never seem to get the time to do this, at all, must be some sort of lifestyle thing.

I noted an interesting article on Broadband on the news last night, specifically looking at the claims of one supplier in the UK that you could get 8 Mb download speeds, but being less than up front that very few customers would probably achieve the advertised speed. Not surprising really, the technology doesn’t really guarantee anything unless you’re wired directly into the phone exchange from next door. If there’s one thing about technology in this mad world I’ve picked up since I left Uni., its that you normally only get what you pay for, cheap line/hardware means cheap service to boot.

Oh well, never mind, back to the grind I suppose.

Beauty and the Beast!

2005-12-02T11:09:00.000Z

Found two books of photographs in a bookshop yesterday which gave a very poignant example of the differences in the world we live in, between the natural beauty of nature, and man’s inept arrogant desire to destroy it for its own ends.

In the first, there was a “year in the life of Glen Coe”, showing the really spectacular and beautiful images through the seasons of the glen, which was someplace we wandered through two weeks ago while on Honeymoon.

The other was a strangely fascinating but haunting album of photographs of atomic bombs being detonated by the US military during the 50’s and 60s, out in the Nevada desert and on remote pacific atolls.

Both were excellent examples of the art from of photography. But both were also powerful presentations on the wonder of the universe we live in considering its fragility, something which we, as wanderers on this little rock in the universe, appear to have through our own arrogance, greed, stupidity and selfishness, lost sight of to our loss.

Why?

Ah, the call of the Wild West, of er, Scotland!

2005-11-18T11:13:00.000Z

We were up the West Coast in Oban for two weeks while on Honeymoon and I think I'd want to live my life there. The weather is much wetter I admit, but on the whole, the pace of life was looking more relaxed. I suppose the problem would be finding something to do that pays the bills and puts some away till you retire, but we can dream I suppose.

It does look very attractive though, and judging by the comments of someone in a local pub there, it sounds like many others with money have had the same Idea. What hope then for us mere workers finding a new life there then, I ask?

I do wonder if the world has taken an unfortunate slant to the benefit of the rich. I want to get out of this consumerism lifestyle back to a more simple philosophy, but it increasingly looks from this side of the fence that you need money to buy you're way out, which is very ironic really. Wealthy incommers push the prices of property when looking for idyllic holiday/retirement homesteads and the locals are trapped having to look away for work that affords them the pleasure of owning a home where they started out in. Doesn't leave anyone outside the area any hope of moving in then unless they are selling up someplace else that's more expensive to live in, which largely rules out most places in Scotland. I wonder if unless you've made a killing in property from southern England or someplace stupidly pricey to live you don't have a hope of finding the "Good Life"

Fancy some cheese lad?

2005-10-13T10:20:00.000+01:00

Cracking Movie Mr Park. Best adventure the lads have had so far. Brilliant jokes and classic movie piss-take/rip off's.
Particularly liked the many Hammer Horror cribs and little hint of the Italian Job with the van.

Brilliant… and that's just the cheese!!!

The Good old days, what happened to them?

2005-10-12T16:50:00.000+01:00

About time I added some other stuff to the ol' blog I think. So much for starting it I never quite get the time or the inspiration to add anything to it since I started.

Somehow I never achieve my aim of simplifying my life and getting down to doing things I want to, or anything related to that, which has still really to be my ultimate goal. There's always something lurking, which puts a spanner in it. As a social observation, there's always pressure to make more money now, to buy more things and to do more with these things, because you're expected to conform to society, but are we really better off chasing our tails like this?

Something's changed in the western world, certainly in the UK at least. The rich seem to be getting richer and more protective of their lot, the poor consequently appear to be getting poorer and more desperate, because they can see the rich getting richer. Where does that leave anyone who wants to stay with a simpler life? You're stuck, because you can't achieve that simpler life unless you seem to have enough money to buy a place somewhere that provides a chance of the so-called idyllic simple life. But you can't achieve that unless you stick with the rat race till you're to far drawn to escape it, or just bloody lucky or born with it or something.

I keep thinking back to the seventies and eighties. OK admittedly, I was still at school then, but even my mum and dad seemed to have a much simpler lifestyle then. They were not rich by any standards, but comfortably placed, with good intentions to make the most of things both then and in the future and striving to improve their lot whenever they could, both for themselves and us kids. They always thought of the future whenever doing something important, and the older I get the more I'm starting to realise their true intentions. They were always trying to improve the lot of the family whenever they could, even if it meant doing without for a wee while to help secure a better future. I've never really done anything to recognise that and I feel I need to do something that acknowledges this, if only to show I'm finally starting to realise what its really all been about over the years. Its no wonder they don't appear to be as supportive as I sometimes think they should, they've probably gone through the experience themselves over the years and just see me doing the same wrong things.

I can't explain why I have this thought running through my head, but it's really something that I need to address sometime. I think I've worked hard since I left school, but I'm beginning to feel I've wasted so much as well. I dearly hope its not to late now even to make amends and try to pick up where I went wrong and to show that I can do the same, the right things at the right time etc.

If I could start again I may do things differently, though it's to late for that. Maybe its time to start sorting things rather than hide from them. Time to get a better way of doing thinks and to stop doing stupid mistakes that don't achieve anything.

I'm getting married to Paula on Saturday the 22nd of October. I should be looking forward to it, but I'm also dreading it, because I don't know if everyone really thinks we're ready for such a change in our life. It's not that I'm thinking it's the wrong thing to do, I'm not. It’s the biggest thing I've ever done and we really want to do it. I just wish someone would say it was the right thing, because I'm so scared some idiot will pop up afterwards and say we shouldn't have done it.

Oh well here goes nothing as they say.

Birds and pandas - wots all that about?

2005-09-19T12:50:00.000+01:00

New Monday, new week, here we go again.

Started reading a book again at the weekend, not something I've been in the mood for lately. Life's to complicated; sometimes there's real need to slow down and find some way to relax a bit more. I do also think some people are too inconsiderate of what they say and do and how it affects others around them, probably on of the reasons I'm just not relaxed recently, to busy trying to get my head round others and their manipulative way of getting things done. I think I need a change of scenery for a long wile to see if it helps.

Also Starting to get around a wee bit more in the new Panda we bought a week and a half ago. Its much better than the one we tried a year and a half ago. Mind you, that was a bottom of the range 1.1 petrol front wheel drive model, and the one we have is a 4x4 model, which has the middle of the range specs as well as being higher and 4x4 in nature.

The mpg is not up to full economy yet, but that will be because the car's not fully run in yet, still a little tight and much bedding down still to be done yet. I do recommend anyone thinking about a small car looks at them, they are just as well made as any other on the market at the moment. Much better than the previous Fiat small cars I suspect, not that that's to much of a problem since Fiat have always been much better at making small cheap cars than large ones over the years.

I feel all in all, it’s a better buy than the Disco was (1996 Land Rover Discovery XS V8I - big, comfortable relaxing, expensive, thirsty, bit of a stupid thing to buy I confess…). Its fun to drive the new Panda, but strangely also probably much more sensible than the Disco, and no where near as boring as the Toyota Yaris was by a long way. Not that there was anything wrong with the Yaris, it just didn’t do anything for me. As a self-confessed car nut, I prefer cars with history, novelty, mechanical oddity and intelligent engineering quality. Not boring, same as everything else - can't tell one make from another - styling. I still rank my old 2CV as probably the closest car ever so far to a true car for the normal man, not a pretentious fad for showing off how much money you have. I was really surprised how easy it is to get sucked into the one-upmanship of a big flash car. Must make a mental note to avoid that in the future.

OK, I admit there's a wee bit of showing off in the 4x4 Panda, but its also a unique car in the 4x4 market at the moment, because its worth less to buy than many big expensive 4x4 toys lose the minute they leave the dealer's showroom. And from what I've read its just as capable as many off the road to boot. There are also so few normal Pandas on the road at the moment that many people haven't even seen one, no matter a rare 4x4 version, which means its going to stand out more in the future as an unusual interesting wee car when we come to sell it on.

Paula's very happy with it too as far as I can make out. That makes it much more enjoyable to own, because she's not always as interested in cars as I am, which does cause some friction on occasion. I don't mind buying cars that she prefers, but all I ask is to get something enjoyable out of it myself, which is not easy in today's "same as everyone else" automotive design mentality. I bought a book on how to be a bad birdwatcher at the weekend for amusement. The first paragraph likened bad bird watching against Twitchers to the difference between a normal everyday motorist (who doesn't really share any passion to what he drives) betweeen that of a classic car nut, who constantly looks at other cars and knows everything to the minutest detail about what his car would look like when it was new or better etc, how it works and how to fix it.

Probably means I'm one of the latter, but no matter, what's wrong with that, I ask? Life would be much more boring without some sort of passion in something.

Mutterings of a Madman

2005-09-15T11:17:00.000+01:00

New day, new thoughts, new Wallace and Gromit movie on the way, woo hoo..

And they're Off

2005-09-14T15:25:00.000+01:00

Wey Hey, got a blogg, now what to say?

Hm....
Thinks....

E=mc squared... makes you think doesn't it!

Man was a genius if you ask me, and that was only signing the patent for Toblerone...
Not even touched on the astrophysics malarkey yet.
Must go and think about inspiring things,, like Peroni ....I do!

Bye for noo.