Indexing

Posted on by
Reply

18C, Sun+ 1 shower, Sth wind, RA:60 miles

Summer bike: I used to regard this as my ‘best’ bike, it’s more difficult now while the gears persist in playing up. They still don’t index properly across the middle of the 8 cogs. It’s the middle three that give all the trouble, changing gear is fine at first, but after a few hundred yards the chain jumps onto the smaller cog. There could be a number of reasons for this:

  • Worn cogs
  • dropout alignment
  • snagging inside the (new) cables
  • dragging cable sheath underneath the handlebar tape

I remain baffled and slightly irritated by this. It’s going to take yet more time & money to fix. Oh well, next weekend I’ll ride the fixed-wheel.

I have a pond

Posted on by
Reply

20C, cloudy, but more torrents are a coming.

Filled it up this afternoon. The rim is not exactly level, so I will have to hide the edges with plants. It needs to stand for a few weeks now before introducing water-plants. That gives enough time to tinker with the edges of the waterproof liner. It’s probably too late for the spawning season.

Blood Diamond

Posted on by
1

Heavy rains & light suns

Film: the story of a diamond smuggler in Africa. At times compelling, at others cringe-some, clichéd and often peppered with an enormous body count. The scenery was stunning and Djimon Hounsoue’s acting was unflinching. Di Caprio was given the corniest lines which threw me in towards the end. Overall I would not recommend this film.

electrical skies

Posted on by
Reply

21°C, close & warm, storms brewing.

Nearly two months of dry, now the lightening.
It has been a bad day for amphibians. He was only crossing to get to a stream, I tried to help. On the ride to work, he was flopping in the other lane. I grasped the brakes and put the bike down, turned and waited for the traffic to clear. the first few straddled him, then I looked left to check it was clear & looked back. Now he was lying on his back, all limp & lifeless. Damn, bad start to the day. I grieved quietly for him all day. I really wanted to save him.

Large globe raindrops now tap on glass and crackle in growing puddles. I shall go and listen.

Alternative Voting system has been rejected by voters tonight. Why, was it too complex? Did so few do the maths? I’ve waited 20 years to see some semblance of democracy appear in British politics: it seems that this nation will get the politicians it deserves. Don’t forget that Britain’s favourite newspaper is the Daily Mail.

Obama-1/Osama-1

Posted on by
3

15°C, clear.

Am I the only one uncomfortable with this story? An unarmed suspect is shot by USA forces on a raid in a foreign country that wasn’t aware of it happening. The press is full of gleeful relatives of the Twin towers atrocity victims, jubilant American citizens and pretty much, everyone else. Will the White house release the video footage shot at the time so we can all see what happened in the Coliseum? The guy has not admitted his supposed role in the events he is attributed with, he was never charged, all that was skipped out. Forget any trial,  straight to the execution.
Obama is a christian, right? What happened to “thou shall not kill”? Does he get excommunicated now?
I sit uncomfortably with all this.

There’s going to be a Royal wedding.

Posted on by
Reply

Bit chilly at 8°C this morning. Later 16°C

I know this because: a/ we have no work on Friday, b/ the media are ramming it down our throats like fois gras. At a cyclists’ cafe today: some of the old boys recalled a royal wedding back in the 1980s. Apparently “you didn’t see any females all day last time”. That means women I assume, you could find female cattle in fields and brown blackbird foraging for food, bet they were talking about humans. By implication, they (the women) were all watching the television.

Chernobyl day

Posted on by
Reply

16°C,  cloudy & easterly breeze. K:29½ miles.

Last day: end of holiday, but we’re only back for 2 days before the next one. Friday is some celebrity wedding that gives us all a day off- thanks, you have some use then. We’ve just had been the best Easter holiday for years, absolutely years. Fine weather, good camping, and best of all- a long holiday. Oh, and the lodger leaves next weekend.

Has it really been 25 years since the Chernobyl plant blew up? There is lots to look at on GoogleEarth. There is something unique about that event: perhaps an omen that foretells man’s decline in the world. At the same time there is so much dis-information, especially on the web. I’m no authority, but the widespread contradictions testify to that. There is politics, mythology and scaremongering in the story. The story has manifest itself in song, documentaries, books and, bizarrely for some, a small number of computer games.