My Top 10 iPod tracks - 01/07/2007

1. (-) - I Am The Greatest - A House
2. (-) - Message Oblique Speech - The Associates
3. (-) - My Favourite Game - The Cardigans
4. (-) - Better In Hoboken - Franz Ferdinand
5. (-) - Easy Love - Gorky's Zygotic Mynci
6. (-) - The King Of Rock'n'Roll - Prefab Sprout
7. (-) - One My Love - Sly & Robbie
8. (-) - Blind Faith - A House
9. (-) - Victor - A House
10. (3) - Take It Easy On Me - A House

Regards,

djp

Ladies & gentlemen, please be upstanding for the great R. Stevie Moore...



Regards,


djp

While idly flicking around the channels this p.m., I came across a live "Sight & Sound" concert of A Flock of Seagulls on BBC4. I presume this dated from 1981-82.

Jesus, they were bloody awful. Absolutely no redeeming features whatsoever.

The past is definitely a different country. And then some...

Regards,


djp

We were on a short holiday in France last week, and while there, I hired out a Toyota Prius. What a wonderful car! Roomy enough inside, and quite zippy on the pickup. But the best news of all was the fuel economy - over a 750 mile gallivant, I averaged a little over 54 mpg. Now that included tootling around town and motorway driving at 130 km/h. Just to compare, the best economy I can get out of my wife's Toyota Yaris is 51.5 mpg.

The only caveat I have about the Prius is the boot size. It could have done with a sunken boot floor (a few cm would have made such a difference). But apart from that, I would have no hesitation in recommending the Prius.

Regards,


djp

My Top 10 iPod tracks - 01/06/2007

1. (-) - Broken - Belly
2. (-) - Blow Down Babylon - King Tubby
3. (-) - Take It Easy On Me - A House
4. (-) - Augustus Pablo At The End Of Dub - Augustus Pablo
5. (-) - 5 Years - Bjork
6. (-) - Cocoon - Bjork
7. (-) - So Here We Are - Bloc Party
8. (-) - Everybody's Happy Nowadays - Buzzcocks
9. (-) - Gogo Don't Go - The Chalets
10. (-) - Barn Yard Boogie - Delmore Brothers

Regards,

djp

A few weeks back, the wipers on my car, a 94 Lexus LS 400 (dere's posh fer ye, boy) broke down. They'd always been noisy, but over a period of a few days they got really noisy. Then something went snap and that was it - they were stuck in the middle of the windscreen.

I took the car to my local Toyota dealer ('cos we all know a Lexus is really a Toyota on steroids) and I asked them to have a look at the wiper system. Initially, they thought that the linkage had broken and that they could fix it, but this turned out not to be the case. That being so, it was necessary to check with the nearest Lexus dealer to see if a new linkage could be order.

Unfortunately (or perhaps, typically) it is not possible just to buy the linkage - one needs to buy an entire wiper system - motor and all. At a cost of around €700 plus VAT. It was looking like an overall bill of well over €1k to sort out my problem.

Luckily, I'd come across a guy in the UK who was breaking a Lexus of similar vintage to my own. On the off-chance, I contacted him to see if he still had the wiper system and was it working. Yes to both questions. We agreed a price and I got it delivered to the door for the princely sum of €75. Quelle difference, n'est pas? Allowing for labour, the cost of fitting the new wiper system will hopefully top out at no more than €200.

So the moral of the story is (insert suitable moral here).

Regards,


djp

I'm listening to a nice piece of Schubert as I type - Rondo in A Major, D. 951.

The phrase "a nice piece of Schubert" sounds as cosy and middle-class as "I'm eating a nice piece of sea-bass". Nice music, nice restaurant, nice sunny lunchtime. Nice G&T to start off proceedings and a nice Chardonnay for the follow-through.

And didn't Schubert compose a piece called "The Trout"?

Seems fishy to me...

Fin,


djp

A few months ago I bought a rather nice lefty s/h Rickenbacker 360/6 guitar in Jetglo finish (my favourite). I paid around €1.5k for it from the UK, which I thought was a good price (and still do).

Unfortunately, I made the mistake of setting up a search on Ebay for Rickenbacker guitars (just to keep an eye on values and such, don't you know - I had no interest in buying another Ric). Today, I have just come across a rather nice lefty s/h Rickenbacker 360/6 in Fireglo finish and with various upgrades. It's based in the US and there's a BIN price of around €1.1k. Now, I'm not a great fan of the Fireglo finish (it depends on whether they're photographed indoors or outdoors - outdoors they can look a bit insipid), but I don't dislike it by €400!

No, I'm not going to buy it (I've a 4003 bass on order and that's more than enough Ric for me, thank you) but it does show that I shouldn't have set up that search on Ebay. It's a bit like a newly-wed gentleman going out clubbing with his mates and eyeing up the talent. It's just not done...


Regards,


djp

I was up in Dublin last Monday for a meeting. Dunno how familiar you are with the geography of Dublin, but around lunchtime I was crossing from St. Andrew's Street to William Street (or whatever street is at the back of the Powerscourt). Anyway, it was at that junction between the afore-mentioned streets and Wicklow/Exchequer Street.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a guy in a nice 02 C-Class Merc driving through the junction parallel to me. I took little notice until I heard him beep his horn - some pedestrian had wandered across Merc Man's path, and Merc Man gave hm a little auditory reminder to wake the hell up.

Next thing I knew, the pedestrian made a run for the Merc as it was driving away from him and drew a kick at the driver's door. Merc Man obviously stopped the car, opened the door and caught sight of the pedestrian.

"Bloody jaywalker!" he shouted at the pedestrian.

"FUCK YOU!" was the civilised reply.

I'm just surprised that Merc Man didn't get out of the car and lay about the pedestrian's head with a Krook-lok. He closed the door and drove on. I didn't have the heart to point out to him that although his door wasn't dented (for it received a fairly fearsome dunt), there was a rather nasty scuff mark from the sole of the pedestrian's shoe that won't rub out in a hurry.

Dublin, eh? Tcheh...


djp

My Top 10 iPod tracks - 01/05/2007

1. Albatross - Public Image Ltd.
2. E-Musik - NEU!
3. Vidrar Vel Til Loftarasa - Sigúr Ros
4. Discs, Winds & Veiling Curtains - Jah Wobble
5. Elements - Lemon Jelly
6. Feel Too Good - The Move
7. Sheep - Pink Floyd
8. Fun House - Red House Painters
9. Fools Gold - The Stone Roses
10. Alone On Piano - Colin Newman

Regards,

djp

Today, I had to pass up an opportunity to go to Malta for three days in the beginning of June for work. We'll be on holiday in France that week and the arrangements are unbreakable. Malta in June would probably be too hot for me in any case.

Ah, me...


djp

Just what is it about the words "I've just varnished that door. Please don't touch it!" that women don't understand? Must be all the multi-tasking...:-)

Regards,


djp

Today, for the first time ever, I replaced the siphon in a WC cistern. Not entirely successfully, unfortunately. The toilet flushes OK, but everytime there's a flush, a small leak springs from under the cistern. Obviously a joint is not tight enough or a seal is not...er...sealed enough. I think I've done what I can for now. I may need to call in the professionals in time.

Flushed with failure (part deux),


djp

This evening, for the first time in probably 25 years, I cooked meself some scrambled eggs. I used a Delia Smith recipe. Ah, Delia Smith. Infamous director of Norwich City F.C. "Where are yer? Let's be 'avin yer!"

Indeed,


djp

My Top 10 iPod tracks - 1 April, 2007

1. Albatross - Public Image Ltd.
2. She Goes Off At Night - Guided By Voices
3. Feel Too Good - The Move
4. Sheep - Pink Floyd
5. Alone On Piano - Colin Newman
6. Strange Kind Of Woman - Deep Purple
7. Discs, Winds & Veiling Curtains - Jah Wobble
8. Invaders Of The Heart - Decadent Disco Mix - Jah Wobble
9. Neon Lights - Kraftwerk
10. Elements - Lemon Jelly

Regards,

djp

Li'l Momma arrived back this afternoon totally unexpectedly. We reckon she must have got trapped in someone's garden shed over the week and only escaped today. She seems to be perfectly OK, although she seems to have lost a bit of weight. Not that she had much weight to lose in the first place.

Much relieved...


djp

One of our three cats has been missing for a few days. If any of you find L'il Momma, please send her home...:-(


Regards,


djp

I'm not usually one to moan, but I'm currently enduring my second headcold of the year. Right now, I'm going through the "internal balaclava/half-deaf/head full of mucus" phase. I can't think straight and have little enthusiasm for anything other than crawling under a rock and dying. If someone could invent a little vacuum device that would suck all the snot out of my nose, I think I'd gladly pay any amount of money to use it for the day. Barring that, I'm just going to have to suffer on for another wee while...

...oh, and Happy Mother's Day...:-)

Snot funny,


djp

If anyone thinks that the infrastructure in Ireland has improved out of all measure as a result of our recent booming economy, one should try to do what I had to do last night - drive from Nenagh to Mount Bellew over backroads. At night. What a nightmare! I would've been quicker driving to Dublin. And my blood pressure would've been much lower.

Seriously...


djp

There was supposed to be a performance of "Carmina Burana" in Dublin last night, but it was carl'd orff...

I'll get me coat...:-)

Regards,


djp