Injury to insult.

The thing about mountain biking is that no matter how much you ride, there are always difficult things still to accheive. I went to Clarach with Nick and Dave SB today and it was no easier than previously. What had changed however was the frequency of walkers. I left my bag at the top of the hill - which is usually out of the way enough. However upon returning after a couple of runs, I found it was missing. After a few hours searching the hill for pikeys to attack and canceling my debit card the police station phoned me to tell me that it had been handed in.

On the one hand, it is nice to know that there are more public-spirited people out there than pikeys. But on the other, if they had just left well alone then it would have saved me considerable hassle. I suppose they did well and that its my own stupid fault, but it is a little vexing.

To add injury to insult for the day I cut my leg open on flying slate going down consti giving me a nice claret-coloured leg. Combined with assorted other scratches, upon arrival at the police station I think the officer expected me to report a mugging rather than collect a lost bag.

What i'm listening to:

Craig Armstrong - Hanging
The Magic Numbers - Forever Lost
The Magic Numbers - This Love
Modest Mouse - The View

Ode to the eee.

For those of you who are not in the know about the eee PC, it is a subnotebook manufactured by ASUS, I own one, and its officially awesome. I'm serious. Its so good, I find it difficult to begin.

Well for a start it is small. About the size of a book rather than a laptop and of about the same weight. Secondly, it is cheap. Mine cost me under £200 about a year ago. This is largely due to the free softwear including the very accessible Xandros Linux operating system. Thirdly, it has pretty much all the functionality of a full size PC. It is quick to stream youtube videos, and surf the internet. Plus with open office (which is a triumph of computer engineering in itself) it is easy to write essays, create presentations and manage spreadhseets. Fourthy, the battery life is excellent. I follow some simple guidelines on Li-ion batteries and even after a year of moderate use it still lasts for over 3 hours. Fifithly, the features are excellent. It comes with a 1.3 mega-pixel webcam as standard as well as an excellent microphone. In fact, I frquently use it for skype calls. Finally, the unit is very upgradeable. I have changed the OS to an nLitend version of Windows XP Professional, upgraded toe RAM from 512MB to 2024MB (which is too much - you only need 1000MB) and added a bluetooth dongle.

Only a few issues present themselves. Firstly, open office is at times slightly frustrating for the hardend Microsoft Office user and requires internet access to solve a few issues as I did not install any help files to save hard disc space. This brings me to my second point. Hard disc space is limited, but this is actually not a problem as I simplly use an 8GB SDHC card for file storage and my nLite installation of Windows XP has not only solved the problems of HD space, but removes the tedious and heavy elements of the operating system. Thirdly, the 7" screan can make viewing difficult and F11 becomes your friend for web browsers as well as several other full-screen/zoom application short-cuts. You really need an application such as MoveMe to get around some difficult window manouvers sometimes. I do feel that most people fould be happier with the 9" screen rather than the 7" that mine features. (But I like it as it preserves the battery life.) The other disadvantage is with the Linux OS. Whilst it is very useable and can be customised to a 'desktop' format, it dosn't feel intuitive to a hardend Windows user. I also had problems with the Linux bluetooth functionality so it had to go.

Dispite these minor issues though, it is an excellent macheine and I find it amazingly handy for commuting, campus, and conversations. I would recomend one to anyone who likes to have their PC with them wherever they go.

What i'm listening to:

Aberfeldy - Slow me Down
Air - Alpha Beta Gaga
Bach - Air
Strokes - Reptilia

... listening to.

I have recently downloaded spotify. This has opened me back up to music I had forgotten about.

What i'm listening to:

* The Strokes - Trying Your Luck
* Interpol - Evil
* Muse - Citizen Erased
* Blondie - Sunday Girl
* Aberfeldy - Friend Like You
* Arcade Fire - Neighbourhood #2 (Laïka)
* Club 8 - Everlasting Love
* Finger Eleven - Paralyzer
* Craig Armstrong - Escape
* Daft Punk - Aerodynamic

........... etc ...

A home from home

The sea front in Aberystwyth must be one of the best places to live in the world. My study room is on the third floor of Alexandra halls overlooking Aberystwyth's North beach. When the sun comes out I can go and chill out on the sand outside, there are some fun trails all most literally on my doorstep, and there is always something to see from my window which I have taken to sitting in using a spread of pillows on my extended sill and staring for hours upon end. There is usually something to see from it too. The tide goes out and comes back with a reassuring predictability, and barbeque's from the shore give a beautiful smell on warm evenings. I even like looking out at the storms, but occasionally something new seems to spring up and please me too. For instance, on Friday morning I awoke early to finish an assignment and upon leaning out of my window for a breath of fresh air I spied a pair of dolphins in the bay piercing the waters surface with their distinctive profile. This evening as well I was procrastinating upon my sill and a light caught the upper part of my eye. Someone further down the beach had lit some fire-balloons and they were drifting steadily up the coast towards Borth with progressively increasing altitude.

I love living here! Despite the fact that my room is cramped for my many bicycles and work paraphernalia, I like the space too. The clutter forms a cosiness. I frequently think of the room it as a hidden storage cupboard that I secretly inhabit.

All this is wonderful and I will be sorry when I have to leave in a few weeks for a 1970's plastic block in the town. Were it not for my impending eviction and the lack of my closest friends from home, I am sure that I would never leave.

Easter Holidays

... they are allmost over. But its been a good one.

* Sold the caravan.
* Bottle kicking at hallaton.
* Market Harborough to Northampton in under 57 minutes by bicycle.
* Plenty of beer.
* ... and a nice ride round Lyveden New Build way today.

Not to make my way back to stupid reality!

The Melt

The snow has gone and the seasons are on the turn. There is a wiff of summer in the air. Its not quite there. Just hinting that its round the corner. I can't wait!

It's February. Time for my hair cut.

Well, the snow has finally hit Aber, but because its actually never that cold here in comparison with most of the country, there is now no evidence whatsoever. So tomorrow its time to head for the hills and play.

Today however, I went for a hair cut. Now i'm pretty sure that I have not had haircut in at least 12 months, and probabbly more like 18. So my barnett was looking a little ragged. Most of the time, my hair status is controlled by my mum and my girlfriend. However, these two agents differ in their opinions somewhat as mum likes my hair short, where as Liz likes it long. And as Liz is the girlfried, she gets power of veto over my mother. Most of the time, this dosn't bother me. I never see my hair. However, when it gets to a state where I struggle to put my helmet on or my vision becomes furry upon leaving the shower, the I knwo its getting a bit out of hand. So I had a hair cut.

The only problem is that the barber I went to has some sort of filter on his ears. No matter what you say to him all he hears is "short back and sides". No, infact it's "very short back and sides". So 20 minutes later and I was £8 and 8lbs lighter. So if you see me in the next day or so, be prepared for a shock.