The Da-Vinci Code

I have recently completed "The Da-Vinci Code" by Dan Brown, WOW! It's one of the best novels I have read in years!! I have no idea where the facts end and the fiction starts, but it all blends so seamlessly and it is a real page turner.

It seems that Ron Howard has the task of turning this book into a film, I hope he does a good job of it, I fear for the results of a "Hollywood" treatment on such a complex story line!

I have now started to read "Digital Fortress" by the same author, the story has already captivated me, but I do have a few issues with the repeated confusion between a 64BIT key and a 64 CHARACTER key, a small point, but enough to reduce the credability of the story.

The INK has finally been re-scheduled

The new date is Monday December 6th - 10:00 AM

Happy Birthday Amanda

Today is Amanda's 38th birthday... Congratulations sweetheart

She has just opened her cards and presents, and we are going into Birmingham as soon as we are all washed and dressed. The annual German market is currently on, she has £40 in birthday money to spend and we all fancy a cooked breakfast!

Hayley Westenra in Concert

[Listening to: River of Dreams - Hayley Westenra - Pure (04:20)]

Last night I took Amy to Symphony Hall in Birmingham to see Hayley Westenra in concert.

It was a really good evening, the girl has got the voice of an angel!!

She walked onto stage at 7:30 pm sharp, and started singing "Amazing Grace" whilst the small orchestra looked on silently, slowly joining in to wards the halfway stage. I was almost in tears, what a fantastic voice! she sang 4 songs and then introduced her "guest" a greek tenor Mario who perfored two songs - then an interval : after 35 minutes!!

The concert resumed after 20 minutes with two solo violin performances, before Hayley returned in a changed outfit. The same "a few from her, followed by a few from him" with another change of frock... Finally the obligatory encore which include a haunting version of "Pokarekare Ana" (another slightly moist eye moment) and "Hine e Hine" which finished as a duet with Mario.

There were numerous plugs for a "Special Edition" of Pure, on sale for a mere £15 - Rather a lot of money for an assorted collection of 7 additional tracks, when you already have the original album! The program was £6, again a little expensive given the size of it

Overall verdict - Excellent performances - just a little on the short side, not really very good value for money

The "INK" has been delayed

It was originally going to be 2nd week in October - but Dado was on holiday... there was then a period were Steve wasn't available due to work commitments, but finally we booked Thursday 4th November - the day after tommorow!!

Unfortunately, that has had to be cancelled, there has been a death in the family, and the shop will be shut for a few days. Steve is going to arrange another appointment for sometime soon....

Toys have been delivered

[Listening to: Episode 1 - The End - - (30:02)]

Tonight I have been over to the Parcelline depot to collect Amy's phone, and yesterday the XBOX was delivered. The phone is on charge, and the XBOX is well hidden - It's to be a "Family" xmas present. Still waiting for the games... The post office left a card today with two packages that could not be delivered - it may be the games, or simply the Paper and ink I ordered for the printer! I can't collect those till 45 hours, yes you read right 45 hours have elapsed from the failed delivery!!!

The Family is getting a new toy

[Listening to: Comfortably Numb - Scissor Sisters - Scissor Sisters (04:26)]

Did I ever mention that our Video Recorder is broken? NO! Oh... Well about 12 months ago there was a power cut on the estate, and when power was resumed, the clock on the VCR was 'stuck' at 06:00... Nevermind, we don't record on it (Sky +), in fact we hardly ever use it at all!! Then a few months ago, we had another power failure, this time when service was restored the VCR was completely fried! As I said - it's not a big deal, I have hardly any Video tapes, and we use Sky+ for recording - so I may as well scrap the box...

Trouble with that is a large space under the TV, so I have just ordered a new toy to fill the space : A Crystal XBox !!!

I am getting the Console, a SCART cable, and two games : "Shark Tale" for the kids, "Burnout 3: Takedown" for me

Amy is getting a new cellphone

[Listening to: Lifted - Lighthouse Family - Ocean Drive (04:34)]

It was such a shame, Amy loves having her mobile "pay as you go" phone, she saves up pocket money for top-ups and is never without it - But every few weeks she gets a £3.00 Ring Tone text message with no obvious source that completely wipes out her credits.

I have spoken to Orange, and unfortunately unless we can find out who is sending them, we cannot stop them - but there is no "from" number!

So, I have agreed that she can have an early xmas present, she is getting a "Samsung E700" on contract next week. Orange are currently offering that phone for FREE, with 120 minutes talktime (any network, any time) and 30 text messages per month for £15. That should be arriving on Tuesday.

As this one is a 'flip' phone, it should also stop her making "accidental" calls - she kept forgetting to lock the keypad on the Nokia!

I have warned her NOT to let anyone else play with this phone! She used to pass the 8310 around her friends as if it was some sort of game machine!!

School Choices Made

On Tuesday night, after much deliberation Amy decide that she wanted Earls, Hillcrest, Leasows as her three school choices. The LEA form was filled in and posted off.

Now we need to wait till April to see which school she gets offered.

Just to spice things up a bit, last night there was a suspected arson attack at Earls School, and most of the 1st Floor was destroyed!

The SV is back...

[Listening to: Aerozone - Jean Michel Jarre - Aero (04:57)]

I picked my SV100 back up from the shop last night - Joy!! Sorry I just do not like the Hornet, way to "Revvy", lacking in low end power - I spent most of my time on the bike going up and down the gearbox... If you enjoy winding on the revs (6000 to 11000) you would probably enjoy it. The other problem was the size : ITS TINY!!!

I was wrong about the cost : The final bill was about £280 - But what the hell, it looks really cool and feels great!

As soon as we get a nice sunny day, I will post a picture.

Secondary School : Part TWO The Earls

[Listening to: Last Rendez-Vous - Jean Michel Jarre - Aero (05:08)]

Last night was the turn of "The Earls" school in Halesowen to host prospective year 6 pupils and parents. Like Hillcrest, the school buildings and facilities were well presented and a good case was made in an excellent speech by the headmaster, unlike Hillcrest - this is a mixed school.

Music and Drama facilities were good, they are a "Performing Arts College" teaching Drama and Dance up to A Level, computers were generally quite good spec and well networked, they even offer the option of taking MSCA alongside GCSE's in Computing!!

It's now up to Amy to decide which of these two schools she would prefer to go to, the 3rd option being Leasows school. This is the nearest school, but the condition of the facilities are a disgrace, the pupils seemed surley and uninterested on the tour and the exam results are, quite frankly, poor.

New helmet

I have just treated myself to a new helmet, I have been wearing a shoei XR900 for almost 3 years now, and have take a real fancy to the new XR1000. It is so light (1.3 KG!), and fits so well...

My favourite is the Kagayama paint scheme...

SV1000 - Making it my own

I have been riding the SV1000 for a few weeks now, and love it to bits... There were just two minor issues, 1) the lack of a screen made motorway riding less fun than it should have done, and 2) the riding position, although upright was still just a little too far forwards for confort after 30 minutes...

So, on Friday I fitted a "Bug Screen" - £40, it's not big, but it just gives that little bit of protection at 70 MPH, and today the bike is in the workshop at Streetbike to have the handlebars changed to a set of "medium" Renthal bars. This is rapidly turning out to be quiet expensive! The bars are only £25, the fitting - about 2 hours in total - £100, but it also ment the frontbrake hose and the clutch hose needed changing (too short!), that's about another £120 (Blue Stainless steel braided), so I am not expecting much change from £250!!

Add to that, they only found the clutch hose wouldn't reach once they fitted the new bars - so the hose won't be in stock till tommorow.... and I am going to be riding a Hornet 600 courtesy bike for the next day or two!

Secondary School : Part ONE Hillcrest

We spent a couple of hours around Hillcrest school for girls a couple of nights ago. We were generally very impressed with the facilities, the range of extra corricular activities, the disciplin and the attitude of the girls we saw.

They have a Drama and Dance department, they are also a "Microsoft Partner School" with excellent (for a school!) computing facilities.

We have another couple of schools to see over the next two weeks, and then we need to work out what is going to be the best for Amy.... Is it too late to change my mind about having kids?

Finally Getting Some Ink Done...

[Listening to: 17-Notes.../Twisted Every Way... - Andrew Lloyd Webber - The Phantom of the Opera (09:40)]

Well after some 15 months of thinking about it, I finally decided I was going to get a tattoo, I drew up the design over 12 months ago - it is an Armband based on the headband worn by Elrond in the Lord of the Rings Films, the sword is "Sting" Bilbo/Frodo's trusty side arm.



When I discussed it with Amanda, she agreed to pay for it as my birthday present. The design has been given to the tattooist, and a provisional date of 2nd week in October has been agreed for the work to be done. Stevie K - No stranger to a tattoo studio, has agreed to go along with me for moral support.

SV 1000 - What a machine

[Listening to: All I Ask Of You - Andrew Lloyd Webber - The Phantom of the Opera (04:14)]

I have had the new bike about a week now, and managed about 100 miles. All I can say is WOW!

It really is a nice ride, It feels much more stable in a straight line, sits nicely on the road in corners, and accelerates like S*!t off a shovel!

My only criticism would be that after about 40 minutes, my back was starting to ache a little, I may have to change the handlebars to raise them a little, and I definitely want a "Fly Screen" to just take some of the pressure off speeds above 50.

Problems with w.bloggar since upgrade to Media Player 10

[Listening to: Mouses Big Day - - (09:38)]

As you may have realised, I have no been listening to the same track for the last half-a-dozen posts... There is a MediaPlayer plugin which w.bloggar can use to allowit to determine the currently playing track, and add it to the top of every post.

Since upgraing to Media Player 10 - this plugin does not seem to be returning the correct information.... Oh Hum!

Moto Guzzi Breva 750 - The Saga Finally Ends

[Listening to: Mouses Big Day - - (09:38)]

Today, I took delivery of a six month old Suzuki SV1000, the Breva has gone... Its fate is to sit in the warehouse of the dealers till MotoGuzzi can be actually bothered to send an exhaust and disk to the UK, when it will be sold for whatever they can get for it.

The SV is a Very different beast to the Breva - the throttle is very lively, the riding position is less "Sit up and beg", and it feels very tall when riding. I think it will take a few days to get used to this one....

Amy has a new bedroom

[Listening to: Mouses Big Day - - (09:38)]

I put the finishing touches on Amy's bedroom this weekend. No not me taking forever to decorate a room again, we were waiting for the new curtains to be made...!

New cutain rail was fitted, and the curtains hung... She has now gone from a "Barbie Palace" to a sophisticated room suitable for a young lady.

Latest on the ongoing "Broken Breva" situation

[Listening to: Mouses Big Day - - (09:38)]

It's now been over 4 months since the warranty claim went in for the exhaust and disk on the bike, and I am still no close to getting it fixed.

I phoned Speedaway today, and told them I want rid of it, and I have e-mailed "Trading Standards" asking for clarification on my legal position. I am now waiting for the sales manager to call me back with an offer on the bike, hopefully involving a trade with a 2nd hand 2004 Suzuki SV1000 that they have in stock.