t1.org.uk

This new laptop is costing me a fortune !

Now I need a wireless access point in London for Lai’s place !

So off to Maplins it was (needed it in a hurry) and got a “deal” a linksys WAG354G with laptop card all for 50 notes, have linksys in Cheltenham and V happy with it. Now I know that this is a ADSL router but I am just using the Wireless access point (it was cheaper this way) and this is V easy to set up switch off DHCP and connect LAN to LAN all done V quickly and surfing wirelessly sat next to the router.

So off upstairs with laptop and boom NOTHING not a peep of signal strength, even sat in the kitchen, 6 meters and 1 wall away and 1/2 signal already, internal antenna unit what a load of rubbish.

Back off to Maplin to see what they have to say, and they say sitecom mimo-XR, and what a beast it is 3 big antennas well at least 20 cms each well worth the 10 note upgrade fee alone, and back to set up again, once again as easy as the linksys specially as everything was fresh in my mind, and once again full signal strength sat on top of the router. Then the acid test the bedroom, well all I can say is that I am writing this from there and all in hunky dory overr 1/2 signal strength and in the kitchen as much signal strength as is possible.

Bonus is that I have not yet found the unit cheaper online, that is not a challenge, so Maplins have a keen price for this unit as well : )

Would recommend this unit to anyone on signal strength alone.

After sinking my last go everywhere camera in a glass of red wine, drying it out and continuing to use, then for the CCD to fail and a trip back to Sony they have finally said no more, it is dead 🙁

So for a new one, model decided another Sony this time the DSC-T9, and off to Jessops to buy it, they “beat internet prices” well so they do, but only english ones (amazon, empire direct …) and only with the exact model printed on a piece of paper ! 5 attempts it took me, but on the 5th I had everything correct and I had my new black T9 in me mits 🙂

So now to playing, I have to say this camera is great, its tiny ! and an optical zoom without the extending lens great !

My latest set of pictures using the macro lens if you fancy a gander are here on photos.t1.org.uk

Well tonight was a works do, thank you Sesame.

A race night and V good it was, first and probably only gambling event that I came away from up on the evening (by a whole six english pounds) and won a bottle of wine :o)

Shame that the beer had to get in the way at the end with V close to a fight, blood involved and an upset landlord :o( (he was in a grump from the start of the evening it has to be said)

Food I have to say was fantastic, we did not notice that there were a few missing it all went.

Photos of the evening up : http://www.photos.t1.org.uk/thumbnails.php?album=29

Enjoy

: )

The problem started 3 weeks ago on the Tue night ride, luckily (for me) at the top of the hill my hydraulic front brake developed a hole in the cable, result oil everywhere and no front brake !Tell you what my rear disk was hot at the bottom of the hill !

New this was going to be expensive, its a cannondale and never standard !

Leisure lakes was a 3 week wait and Cheltenham Cycles was 1 so CS it was, then the dreaded phone call, its all gone pete tong, and its not our fault ! Well they said it was Leisure Lakes fault, so wheel it in there I did.

LL policy for “broken” bits whilst fixing stuff is cost price parts and fitting for free, seems reasonable to me. So now I have some shimano deore calipers and levers fitted for not a lot more than refurbishing the old magura units (still more than some brake blocks and some cable) and set out on a ride I did.

Well having being told that they needed a couple of rides to bed in I was surprised as they were as good as the maguras from the off, but by the end of the ride they were sooo much better ! If this carries on into the next ride I will be over the top I can tell you !

Hi there

Another week and another ride, don’t you just love the long evenings ! This one was not without its incidents, once again my chain snapped ! I am getting V good at fixing it (or maybe not !) and we had a crash ! Wonder who thought it sensible to have a white aluminum triangular gate right across the path at the bottom of a fast downhill section, well whoever it was need a talking to ! I managed to nearly stop, surface damage to the front of the Dale, but Neil did not manage to and piled straight into me. Anyways nothing broken and the ride continued. The road section at the end caught a few out, Tims (not me) comment of a mile road back to the car turned into 2 1/2 miles ! and we had a couple of riders flagging, all good fun though and we will do it all again next week. There are some photos of this one up @

http://www.photos.t1.org.uk/thumbnails.php?album=28

Enjoy

Tim

: )