tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47033529255762115872024-02-21T13:21:12.880+00:00Jack of All HobbiesJack of Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16237821810417515219noreply@blogger.comBlogger58125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703352925576211587.post-25427733596189930052012-01-06T20:01:00.002+00:002012-01-06T20:04:50.819+00:00World's Weirdest Knock Offs...I just realised today how long it has been since I added anything to this blog, I guess things had gotten away from me for a while there! :-)<br />
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Still, while I try and come up with a better idea, here are some classic pieces of knock off merchandise, available at a table top sale somewhere near you (if you are really unlucky).<br />
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Still, I reckon there is a place for things like this... After all, who wouldn't want to be a kid again just to have feel the joy of running down the stairs on Christmas morning and opening your very own 'Spaderman' or 'Robert Cop'?<br />
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I don't know which I am more drawn to the SQNY Playstation, or the PCP Station... I've just got a boring old Sony :-(<br />
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Anyway, as usual feel free to add your comments, and I'll try and do better next time!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBL9LJ3r4H_scWBypJQc3nWjxm5hjG_amyvu84BCuTYIWt_RqmajLCcFFcn5bzgb6jsJh5XJCLQBMtV2jc3Fq0NYLlUM4FIE5ixLnVrgnYNhS40P9EJj1jJgF_OYrU83wrCH14-WylstPd/s1600/ToyZorroFail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBL9LJ3r4H_scWBypJQc3nWjxm5hjG_amyvu84BCuTYIWt_RqmajLCcFFcn5bzgb6jsJh5XJCLQBMtV2jc3Fq0NYLlUM4FIE5ixLnVrgnYNhS40P9EJj1jJgF_OYrU83wrCH14-WylstPd/s320/ToyZorroFail.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Jack of Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16237821810417515219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703352925576211587.post-83443721248576197442011-07-05T00:28:00.000+01:002011-07-05T00:28:52.458+01:00So.... Why do I want a Les Paul?Ok, here I am, killing time as usual, surfing through the world wide web, and what do I find but a new line of limited edition Gibson Les Paul Studio guitars.<br />
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For the longest time, like the fox in the Aesop's fable who couldn't reach the berries at the top of the tree, I had decided that Gibson Les Pauls were all played by people with more money than sense, people who would pay all that money just to have the mother of pearl 'Gibson' logo emblazoned across the top of their headstock... Whether they could play the damn thing or not wouldn't matter, as long as they had the same guitar Slash had. (Insert here any of the following: Jimmy Page, Gary Moore, Slash, Pete Townsend, Zac Wilde, The Edge, Etc Etc)<br />
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See, I always thought that Gibson Les Pauls were good, just not £1,800 good. Mind you, £1,800 is entry level for a Les Paul, at least if you want one with any shine to it. If you want one of the fancy ones, budget £2,800 - £5,000 for it, and that's just the new ones.<br />
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If you'd prefer something with a bit of history to it, you could look out for the Holy Grail of electric guitars, a 1959 Les Paul Standard sunburst. Considered the pinnacle of collectable guitars, if you can find one for less than around £200,000 you'll be lucky. Think about that for a moment. If you're young and starting out, That guitar is probably worth more than your car, your house and your girlfriend... Combined.<br />
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So, it's easy to sit back and consider Les Paul players some kind of snobbish elite. They've got one, and you don't. You aren't worthy to join the club yet. (some people collect them, search the forums... You'll find guitarists boasting about how many Les Pauls they have in their collection. Only the Gibsons mind, if it doesn't say Gibson on the headstock, it isn't really a Les Paul now, is it?) So, yes, it's easy to dismiss this all as show for shows sake, but that is to ignore one little problem.<br />
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Gibson do make a damn good guitar.<br />
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Ok, they have had their moments when the quality control hasn't lived up to their customer's expectations. What company which has been churning out products for sixty years hasn't had a blip or two along the way? The truth is, that sell the blasted things because everyone loves them. There is just something about seeing a cherry sunburst Les Paul swinging around Slash's knees which makes you think rock n' roll. The shape of the Les Paul just seems to scream rock, and that's before you plug the thing in. When you plug it in, it takes a moment to re align your thoughts to the sound that you are hearing. See, you've been judging guitars against all the wrong criteria. Until you hear a Les Paul played by someone who knows what they are doing, you didn't even know what the criteria was. But now you do. Whatever you have been playing, well... It should sound like this. This is rock n' roll. This is the thunder and the pulse, the chug and the squeal... This is the sound an electric guitar should make, and everything you have been doing up till now sounds worthless compared to the noise coming out of that amp's speaker.<br />
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All of this is a long winded way of me getting round to say that I have fallen in love. With a Les Paul. Yes, a Gibson Les Paul. I need it with every fibre of my being. My friends think I'm crazy, and they are probably right. This is a real Romeo and Juliet moment, after all I have spent years avoiding Gibsons in favour of Patrick Eggle guitars.<br />
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For those of you who haven't heard the name before, Patrick Eggle was a fantastically talented guitar designer and Luthier (that's guitar builder, people) who churned out hand finished boutique guitars from a small factory in Coventry. Unfortunately, his talents didn't seem to run to the business side of things, or he trusted the wrong people... Whichever way, he not only lost the business, but managed to lose the right to use his name. Yes, Patrick Eggle could no longer make Patrick Eggle guitars.<br />
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When the dust settled, someone else bought the company and started making guitars with the Patrick Eggle name on them, but they weren't the same. Patrick, well he went off and started to build some of the most amazing acoustic guitars you can buy, if you have enough money, having cleverly worked out that, while he couldn't make any Patrick Eggle guitars, there was nothing stopping him from making Patrick James Eggle guitars. Lawyers get rich, we all get poorer and life goes on.<br />
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I have played a Cherry sunburst 93 Patrick Eggle Berlin Deluxe for a long time now, and before that a honey burst Berlin Pro. I have sworn by these guitars for a long time, and to be honest, even when I couldn't afford one, this was still the guitar I lusted after. Sure, it's been gigged, it's got chips, dents and parts are so worn the bare wood is showing through, but it's mine and I have always treasured it.<br />
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So why do I want to throw it to the back of the cupboard and start again with a Gibson? You know what? I don't know.<br />
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No, really... That isn't some clever writers ruse, I really don't know.<br />
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I guess for years I felt like the Les Paul was all show and no go. Sure it made a good noise, but that good? I didn't think so. Then, in 2010, a strange thing happened. It's called the Studio Tribute.<br />
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See, for between £620 - £800 depending on how good you are with Google, you can now buy a Gibson Les Paul. No flashy binding or mother of pearl, but a Gibson. The same wood, the same pick ups, the same factory. You can even choose from five finishes. What's more, if your Googling skills take you to a certain German on-line music shop, you can choose to have humbuckers instead of the standard p90 pick ups. See, it was easy to sit on my high horse when entry to the Gibson club relied on how much money you had, but now... Well, everything has changed.<br />
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Yes, you can still choose to spend £5,000 on some historically accurate replica of a 59 Paul. Hell, if you want to, you can spend £200,000 on the real thing. Now though, you can get the same tone and feel for £600. With 'Made in the USA' stamped on the back of the headstock. I am tempted.<br />
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Only time will tell if I cave to the pressure or I stand my ground and stick with my little Eggle, but maybe a change is as good as a rest, as they say.<br />
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Sorry for the long post, but let me say this. If any Eggle Berlin fans stumble across my little blog here, or any Les Paul fans. PLEASE PLEASE leave your thoughts in the comments... I really need help here! Do I buy a new guitar, or do I believe in by choices up till now?<br />
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You decide :-) Jack of Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16237821810417515219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703352925576211587.post-72790840585668807582011-05-24T13:14:00.002+01:002011-05-24T20:02:58.345+01:00Jeremy Clarkson's Best Quotes?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNxALS6udy0yThCn8yazZxOrJkvVfqstOtm8Yd1TNV0Y8MTUcLhBIyRtmclM7ZOnD_xEsNSUrIatmRKgFKBU-KWMXA1mEViJ-0ORDcfwDr6T26M0RzxBWCEKTAOpDNJuQoivD7h8KGH3JR/s1600/jeremy-clarkson-quot_460x0w.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNxALS6udy0yThCn8yazZxOrJkvVfqstOtm8Yd1TNV0Y8MTUcLhBIyRtmclM7ZOnD_xEsNSUrIatmRKgFKBU-KWMXA1mEViJ-0ORDcfwDr6T26M0RzxBWCEKTAOpDNJuQoivD7h8KGH3JR/s1600/jeremy-clarkson-quot_460x0w.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 0pt; padding-right: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><br />
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<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 0pt; padding-right: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">This via email so I don’t know the source, but Top Gear fans will enjoy them.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 0pt; padding-right: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">“I’m sorry, but having a DB9 on the drive and not driving it is a bit like having Keira Knightley in your bed and sleeping on the couch.”</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 0pt; padding-right: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">“… the last time someone was as wrong as you, was when a politician stepped off an aeroplane in 1939 waving a piece of paper in the air saying there will be no war with Germany ”</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 0pt; padding-right: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">Illustrating the lack of power of a Boxster: “It couldn’t pull a greased</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">stick out of a pig’s bottom”</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 0pt; padding-right: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">On the Vauxhall Vectra VXR: “there is a word to describe this car: it begins with ‘s’ and ends with ‘t’ and it isn’t soot</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 0pt; padding-right: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">“The Suzuki Wagon R should be avoided like unprotected sex with an Ethiopian transvestite”</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 0pt; padding-right: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">“The air conditioning in a Lambos used to be an asthmatic sitting in the dashboard blowing at you through a straw.”</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 0pt; padding-right: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">“Koenigsegg are saying that the CCX is more comfortable. More comfortable than what… BEING STABBED?”</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 0pt; padding-right: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">“This is the Renault Espace, probably the best of the people carriers. Not that that’s much to shout about. That’s like saying ‘Ooh good I’ve got syphilis, the BEST of the sexually transmitted diseases.’”</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 0pt; padding-right: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">“I don’t understand bus lanes. Why do poor people have to get to places quicker than I do?”</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 0pt; padding-right: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">Clarkson’s highway code on cyclists: “Trespassers in the motorcars domain, they do not pay road tax and therefore have no right to be on the road, some of them even believe they are going fast enough to not be an obstruction. Run them down to prove them wrong.”</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 0pt; padding-right: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">“Britain’s nuclear submarines have been deemed unsafe…probably because they don’t have wheel-chair access.”</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 0pt; padding-right: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">On Mandela’s claim that Cuba is a good advert for democracy: “Well Mr Mandela why don’t you go and ask one of the 12 year old Cuban prostitutes which way her parents voted?”</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 0pt; padding-right: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">“Now we get quite a lot of complaints that we don’t feature enough affordable cars on the show……so we’ll kick off tonight with the cheapest Ferrari of them all!”</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 0pt; padding-right: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">On the Lotus Elise: “This car is more fun than the entire French air force crashing into a firework factory.”</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 0pt; padding-right: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">“Sure it’s quiet, for a diesel. But that’s like being well-behaved… for a murderer.”</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 0pt; padding-right: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">“I don’t often agree with the RSPCA as I believe it is an animal’s duty to be on my plate at supper time.”</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 0pt; padding-right: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">“There are footballers wives that would be happy with this quality of stitching… on their face.”</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 0pt; padding-right: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">“Much more of a hoot to drive than you might imagine. Think of it if you like, as a librarian with a G-string under her tweed pants. I do, and it helps.”</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 0pt; padding-right: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">“You cannot have this car with a diesel. Its like saying, I won’t go to Stringfellows tonight, I’ll get my mum to give me a lapdance, she’s a woman!”</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 0pt; padding-right: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">“Tonight, the new Viper, which is the American equivalent of a sportscar… in the same way, I guess, that George Bush is the equivalent of a President.”</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 0pt; padding-right: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">On the Porsche Cayenne: “Honestly, I have seen more attractive gangrenous wounds than this. It has the sex appeal of a camel with gingivitis.”</span></div>Jack of Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16237821810417515219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703352925576211587.post-12453053444687989722011-05-24T09:15:00.000+01:002011-05-24T09:15:30.051+01:00Who Is The Stig?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ-qVuPBnGMrRFEFJ-kQL0xWsdv1gZhMxdEEsM85yUNGVqqWQq9Z_HY5eRaM1V_AM5Xlz7gjsisGwAPgLwzFlmDYiss5IYdTOzu38UfY82GB3gfDQQZXjSMyA5vgbqcxMXv0QZ405drCCb/s1600/mainImage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ-qVuPBnGMrRFEFJ-kQL0xWsdv1gZhMxdEEsM85yUNGVqqWQq9Z_HY5eRaM1V_AM5Xlz7gjsisGwAPgLwzFlmDYiss5IYdTOzu38UfY82GB3gfDQQZXjSMyA5vgbqcxMXv0QZ405drCCb/s400/mainImage.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hey girls... Wanna go for a ride?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I am a little late to the party on this one. Mainly because I have known that The Stig was Ben Collins for about four years now, as does anyone who took the time to do a bit of internet research when they got a bit bored. If the news yesterday and today (the super injunction of a high profile sporting star being widely ignored, even in the house of commons) proves anything, secrets are much harder to keep in the computer age, especially if you are in the public eye for eight years and sell T-shirts with the logo 'Who is The Stig?'<br />
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I finally got around to reading Ben Collins autobiography 'The Man in the White Suit' the other day. I enjoyed it, as I am sure any petrol head would, but it did start me trawling the internet looking for quotes and articles around the time of his 'coming out'. I found it hard to believe that the BBC would spend so much trying to silence Ben, after all Top Gear really did benefit from having four presenters, even if the fourth one was anonymous. I was surprised to find that around half of the comments I found on blogs, boards and newspaper sites considered him some sort of traitor for biting the hand that fed him. Jeremy Clarkson described him as greedy.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbAWCg9sd6154OdDAGg54FFrJ4JM-3E-IN2q6zFk0kGOY_hm09KORE7DmYlmgnwY1XhqHqUD0mcPaxHcIvm1htE6Xpz5yp9tp8vCTmI4gfnJLHA-cKNkNvNzAk_Q1KTcV4srLEdq8cxNzQ/s1600/bencollins_1241512c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbAWCg9sd6154OdDAGg54FFrJ4JM-3E-IN2q6zFk0kGOY_hm09KORE7DmYlmgnwY1XhqHqUD0mcPaxHcIvm1htE6Xpz5yp9tp8vCTmI4gfnJLHA-cKNkNvNzAk_Q1KTcV4srLEdq8cxNzQ/s400/bencollins_1241512c.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ben Collins - The Stig</td></tr>
</tbody></table>So, is Ben Collins just a greedy little oink who cashed in and betrayed his bosses, or is he the underdog? The guy who deserved more and was held back by the white suit and tinted visor? I'm afraid it's not that simple... Let me present three views:<br />
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If you are a Top Gear fan of lower income, you probably think he is an idiot. After all, he got paid for ragging around a track in some of the hottest cars known to man, became the icon of a decade (even if no one knew it was him) and had the anonymity to go shopping at Tesco on the corner without being mobbed. It sounds like your ideal job, right? After all, accounts seem to show that Ben was earning in the region of £70,000 - £100,000 a year depending on who you believe.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiGW9WCe6RsaRQfJyGcJ4gEEroLLS0kfXfQoO0ZL3iSm88NX_zwZoptQD4npsN1Ztt5g2SObcAFpNhxg33Czno8oJ2RgEj0dZUFhfVSw_efQ7FE-pUfdWZPB28lS3O1T1gZVXm38hP2JC_/s1600/jeremy-clarkson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiGW9WCe6RsaRQfJyGcJ4gEEroLLS0kfXfQoO0ZL3iSm88NX_zwZoptQD4npsN1Ztt5g2SObcAFpNhxg33Czno8oJ2RgEj0dZUFhfVSw_efQ7FE-pUfdWZPB28lS3O1T1gZVXm38hP2JC_/s400/jeremy-clarkson.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jeremy Clarkson... Counting the millions</td></tr>
</tbody></table>If you are a Top Gear fan of higher income, you might look into those figures a bit further. After all, rumour has it that Clarkson is on around £1,000,000 or more a year for Top Gear alone. On top of that, Top Gear has made him a household name in a large portion of the world... A fact which allows him to shift shed loads of books, DVDs and other merchandise every Christmas, making him even more money. As he owns part of the production company, he also gets an income from anything with the Top Gear name or Logo on it. Ironically, this includes all that Stig merchandise you see in your local supermarket at holiday time.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv8g9vkUNqIjDqEHuBE9Igoogc8y_5-MeE2LBmODhtBWiJzdBBUMXxgAUy8yB_lVVUfmgFz85BAON3Mg1jC3CsyW-SoBZtt_x7FukMKLNr8yqpwuIIJS6qKWTbsZ2XgnH-09sr3APKrEq3/s1600/stig-soap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv8g9vkUNqIjDqEHuBE9Igoogc8y_5-MeE2LBmODhtBWiJzdBBUMXxgAUy8yB_lVVUfmgFz85BAON3Mg1jC3CsyW-SoBZtt_x7FukMKLNr8yqpwuIIJS6qKWTbsZ2XgnH-09sr3APKrEq3/s320/stig-soap.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soap on a Rope?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Richard Hammond and James May, while they might not share the pot in the same way that Jeremy Clarkson does, have been able to use Top Gear as a springboard to launch themselves into countless other presenting roles, book deals, guest appearances etc. Their Top Gear salaries of £300,000 - £400,000 per year are only the beginning.<br />
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So...Eight years trussed up in a white Alpine Star race suit while wearing a visor so no one knew who you were. You are one of the stars of the show, in fact you are arguably the most recognisable figure ON the show. You get paid a fraction of the other presenters salaries, you don't even get a portion of your own merchandising. You have no increased prospects after the show, because the BBC have you so tightly sewn into confidentiality clauses you probably can't even put Top Gear on your resume. In fact, anyone who might want to employ you will have do deal with the assumption you have been sitting on your arse for eight years.<br />
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Finally (and possibly most importantly) if you are a racing driver, you can have no other view, Ben Collins is only doing what any sensible driver would do. Racing drivers are used to large sums of money (even if it is their sponsors money) and the irregularity of an income which is up one month and down the next. They are not motivated by money as many of us are, more by success. Offer a GP2 driver a choice between a million pounds and a winning car, see which one he chooses. Money is only a means to an end to a racing driver. The Stig wasn't greedy, but he does have to provide for his family while doing that one thing which defines him... Drive.<br />
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A few years ago, Ben was a hairs breadth away from a seat in NASCAR. Along with that seat would have come cash in the millions and security for his family. If the deal had materialized, would he have been a traitor for abandoning the BBC to to and race tin tops in the good old US of A? Of course not. Still, if we were in his position, wouldn't we want any potential race team we may drive for to know (even in a whisper) that we were The Stig? That we had lapped even a made up test track faster that Formula 1 drivers? Wouldn't we want a bit of financial security while we were out looking for our next drive?<br />
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Racing drivers will do whatever they need to do to get into a winning car or, failing that, any car...<br />
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As a final thought, as far as Ben was concerned, he was on his way out. The speculation on the internet and newspapers that linked his name with The Stig was getting more and more widespread. The Top Gear production team started to put other people in the white suit when he wasn't available... In the past they would work around him. All good things must come to an end eventually, and Ben knew that one day soon, he would be replaced. So he started to write a book. When the day came, he could at least be recognised for his input to the biggest car show in the world.<br />
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For anyone who thinks I am biased, read the book. Read it, then go back to the internet and read the comments made by Clarkson and May. Think on the irony of Jeremy Clarkson calling Ben Collins 'Greedy'.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqSCmraebu-vlflRsgZsCJ31e9b_00OelWHhGkTD8JwY_XXa1aclJDiu3kDBQo53NJaEzpohtExioug7aIpPMBgxjeuh2yhCpO-iIMeP7CIWTLrzVyCiZGoALo3VZmymIS-fZ-SfhRn1c7/s1600/top-gear-stig-memory-stick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqSCmraebu-vlflRsgZsCJ31e9b_00OelWHhGkTD8JwY_XXa1aclJDiu3kDBQo53NJaEzpohtExioug7aIpPMBgxjeuh2yhCpO-iIMeP7CIWTLrzVyCiZGoALo3VZmymIS-fZ-SfhRn1c7/s400/top-gear-stig-memory-stick.jpg" width="302" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For the Stig lover who has everything...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Although Ben will never again wear the white suit (all the rights belong to Top Gear) I hope he will still have something to offer as a presenter on another show (Fifth Gear). As a matter of fact, I might even start to watch it!Jack of Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16237821810417515219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703352925576211587.post-25680437380475882252011-03-24T21:23:00.000+00:002011-03-24T21:23:27.378+00:00Personal Stereo Recorder - Zoom H1?Ok, so here's the thing... I've started singing exercises to try and fill the gaps in my range and generally improve my voice. Problem is, I can't listen to myself... I need a recorder.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3IHIIwPdfygYXgz_-nPM1B_7XjABEzr7y1awQHqn5UlShZFOXsDqdrdSlTdPLJY4JCvle4KDfLhIAZ_FqNVWXBQtg6GBvEs4CiYJitOJAfSFi8bWexMJiiEu1_VfLdFKz5DohX5FFyvQz/s1600/h1_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3IHIIwPdfygYXgz_-nPM1B_7XjABEzr7y1awQHqn5UlShZFOXsDqdrdSlTdPLJY4JCvle4KDfLhIAZ_FqNVWXBQtg6GBvEs4CiYJitOJAfSFi8bWexMJiiEu1_VfLdFKz5DohX5FFyvQz/s400/h1_01.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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I've played in bands for quite a while now, and have built up a lot of equipment, but when it comes to recording, everything I have is pretty much studio based. It's all good stuff, but what I really need is a portable stereo recorder which I can carry in the car and record vocals, then play back immediately to see what I'm doing wrong.<br />
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So far, I'm honestly baffled by all of the options, from stereo dictaphones to four track digital recorders which fit in a pocket. Prices ranging from £50 up to £300 and more. More options and controls than I ever knew I needed.<br />
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Anyway, this is my way of asking for help. So far, I reckon the Zoom H1 is going to be the best bet. Available for around £80 on Ebay, I love the fact it's simple... Every setting or control has it's own switch or button, no menus to fiddle with. After all, the main use is going to be a personal voice recorder.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbJ4yQTOefttMZwEXgSDBGpw7M-Q5oFotMefI1QbdgXqLrDk4_daPG3KAmuDrNqbBw8wlRNg0DOFoxkYhai8NN8gfS3iW_lK1GyhkdHqHwZ4ykEmnOZBGgomV5fVUTtVrbRZeYNoHxrITB/s1600/h1_12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbJ4yQTOefttMZwEXgSDBGpw7M-Q5oFotMefI1QbdgXqLrDk4_daPG3KAmuDrNqbBw8wlRNg0DOFoxkYhai8NN8gfS3iW_lK1GyhkdHqHwZ4ykEmnOZBGgomV5fVUTtVrbRZeYNoHxrITB/s400/h1_12.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
For recording demos and ideas, mounting this on a stand and playing guitar or piano straight in would be very quick, and as it has a manual record level option, it could also be used to record full band gigs.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ij2F25qkE7Px1ce-C9j3MYh6SIu5n9fDUP1Rb7QooalPta5zU6shJaINNwOfOPwsGtzCh628NNtIRJ9Yu6yRLcnTfonjfTuZ9OeYfMTtjtDeBsGXoQ7oBSMaJDXsH1fdq23kyPFHkZFd/s1600/h1_03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ij2F25qkE7Px1ce-C9j3MYh6SIu5n9fDUP1Rb7QooalPta5zU6shJaINNwOfOPwsGtzCh628NNtIRJ9Yu6yRLcnTfonjfTuZ9OeYfMTtjtDeBsGXoQ7oBSMaJDXsH1fdq23kyPFHkZFd/s400/h1_03.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Truth is, I'm finding it hard to see any down sides for my usage, so I want you to give me some. Have you got one of these? Or have you got another machine which you think does these things better? Post a comment, add your views. I really need to know if this is the right thing to buy, cause I'm struggling to know.Jack of Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16237821810417515219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703352925576211587.post-39545737513549891472011-02-24T23:30:00.001+00:002011-02-24T23:31:44.771+00:00SkyRim is Coming! Elder Scrolls 5<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://jackofallhobbies.blogspot.com/2011/02/skyrim-is-coming-elder-scrolls-5.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVXPUp7PbC94ckWh1r2dfWO9WIJ1ogdsn8FNt37cuALcEGCJl1BfaGGw-XMIdBGQHs7T5a8lY61o8rvBFGCgCGnS-y6mMATL-wBKHiG1opB3Ul9PIOKsH7eLqg6ebKgypFBRibP4IpdOWr/s400/Picture-31-586x317.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Click read more for the new video trailer, this time including gameplay footage!<br />
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Due for release on November 11th this year (11-11-11 for those of you who hadn't yet worked that out) Bethesda have developed a completely new game engine for the fifth instalment of the Elder Scrolls franchise.<br />
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I must admit to buying another copy of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and looking forward to playing it to death yet again. I know I have lost any number of hours playing through Oblivion, but I can't wait to start all over again with Skyrim.<br />
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Have a look at the gameplay shots in the following video, and see if you are looking forward to November 11th as much as I am :-)<br />
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<object height="349" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/g9J2juo2mdE?fs=1&hl=en_GB"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/g9J2juo2mdE?fs=1&hl=en_GB" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="349"></embed></object>Jack of Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16237821810417515219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703352925576211587.post-32822400175288095082011-02-21T09:14:00.001+00:002011-02-21T09:15:42.106+00:00Beefeater Tower of London Tour - This Guy is Great!A friend of mine pointed me at these You Tube videos and I'm really glad he did. In a world full of political correctness it's good to see someone who has the balls to pick on everyone... After all, it can't be discrimination if you piss off everyone equally, can it?<br />
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Click 'Read more' for the videos, and please post your thoughts in the comments section :-)<br />
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Part One:<br />
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Part Two:<br />
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<object height="349" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jWFq-v7TKdQ?fs=1&hl=en_GB"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jWFq-v7TKdQ?fs=1&hl=en_GB" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="349"></embed></object><br />
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Part Three:<br />
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Part Four:<br />
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<object height="349" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wTNfdPxtfek?fs=1&hl=en_GB"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wTNfdPxtfek?fs=1&hl=en_GB" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="349"></embed></object>Jack of Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16237821810417515219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703352925576211587.post-28641317436497018122011-02-16T18:00:00.003+00:002011-02-16T18:00:49.762+00:00Rules of the Air<div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">Last weekend was a big one for me, I finally earned my full gliders licence. I can now officially go anywhere in the world and make clubs nervous about me bringing their aircraft back. To celebrate this milestone, I thought I would post some of the sage advice I have collected from wiser pilots than me. (Click 'Read More' for the Rules of the Air)</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"></div><a name='more'></a><br />
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</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">The strength of the turbulence is directly proportional to the temperature of your coffee.--- Gunter's Second Law of Air Travel</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">The three worst things to hear in the cockpit:</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">The second officer says, "Damn it!" The first officer says, "I have an idea!" The captain say, "Hey, watch this!"</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">Lady, you want me to answer you if this old airplane is safe to fly? Just how in the world do you think it got to be this old?</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">"Both optimists and pessimists contribute to the society. The optimist invents the aeroplane, the pessimist the parachute."--- George Bernard Shaw</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">When asked why he was referred to as 'Ace': "Because during World War Two, I was responsible for the destruction of six aircraft, fortunately three were enemy." - Captain Ray Lancaster, USAAF.</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">If helicopters are so safe, how come there are no vintage/classic helicopter fly-ins- Anonymous</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">Death is just nature's way of telling you to watch your airspeed. - Anonymous</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">"When it comes to testing new aircraft or determining maximum performance, pilots like to talk about "pushing the envelope." They're talking about a two dimensional model: the bottom is zero altitude, the ground; the left is zero speed; the top is max altitude; and the right, maximum velocity, of course. So, the pilots are pushing that upper-right-hand corner of the envelope. What everybody tries not to dwell on is that that's where the postage gets canceled, too."--- Admiral Rick Hunter, U.S. Navy.</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">"It only takes five years to go from rumor to standard operating procedure." - Dick Markgraf</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">"Real planes use only a single stick to fly. This is why bulldozers & helicopters -- in that order -- need two." --- Paul Slattery</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">"I've flown every seat on this airplane, can someone tell me why the other two are always occupied by idiots?" --- Don Taylor</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">The only three things a wingman should ever say are: 1. Two's up. 2. You're on fire. 3. I'll take the ugly one.</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">There are only three things the copilot should ever say: 1. Nice landing, Sir. 2. I'll buy the first round. 3. I'll take the ugly one.</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">As a new copilot on a bomber I was told to say these three things and to otherwise keep my mouth shut and not touch anything: 1. Clear on the right. 2. Outer (marker) on the double (indicator) 3. I'll eat the chicken. (Crew meals consisted of one steak and one chicken to avoid possible food poisoning of the cockpit crew).</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">As an aviator in flight you can do anything you want... As long as it's right... And we'll let you know if it's right after you get down.</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">You can't fly forever without getting killed.</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">As a pilot only two bad things can happen to you and one of them will.</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">a. One day you will walk out to the aircraft knowing that it is your last flight in an airplane..<br />
b. One day you will walk out to the airplane not knowing that it is your last flight in an airplane..</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">Any flight over water in a single engine airplane will absolutely guarantee abnormal engine noises and vibrations.</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">There are Rules and there are Laws. The rules are made by men who think that they know better how to fly your airplane than you. Laws (of Physics) were made by the Great One. You can, and sometimes should, suspend the Rules but you can never suspend the Laws. </div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">More about Rules: a. The rules are a good place to hide if you don't have a better idea and the talent to execute it. b. If you deviate from a rule, it must be a flawless performance. (e.g., If you fly under a bridge, don't hit the bridge.)</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">The ideal pilot is the perfect blend of discipline and aggressiveness.</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">About check rides: a. The only real objective of a check ride is to complete it and get the bastard out of your airplane. b. It has never occurred to any flight examiner that the examinee couldn't care less what the examiner's opinion of his flying ability really is.</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">The medical profession is the natural enemy of the aviation profession.</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">Ever notice that the only experts who decree that the age of the pilot is over are people who have never flown anything? Also, in spite of the intensity of their feelings that the pilot's day is over I know of no expert who has volunteered to be a passenger in a non-piloted aircraft.</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">It is absolutely imperative that the pilot be unpredictable. Rebelliousness is very predictable. In the end, conforming almost all the time is the best way to be unpredictable.</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">He who demands everything that his aircraft can give him is a pilot; he that demands one iota more is a fool.</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">If you're gonna fly low, do not fly slow! Anti Submarine Warfare pilots know this only too well.</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">It is solely the pilot's responsibility to never let any other thing touch his aircraft.</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">If you can learn how to fly as a 2nd Lt and not forget how to fly by the time you're a Maj. you will have lived a happy life.</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">Night flying:<br />
a. Remember that the airplane doesn't know that it's dark.<br />
b. On a clear, moonless night, never fly between the tanker's lights.<br />
c. There are certain aircraft sounds that can only be heard at night.<br />
d. If you're going to night fly, it might as well be in the weather so you can double count your exposure to both hazards.<br />
e. Night formation is really an endless series of near misses in equilibrium with each other.<br />
f. You would have to pay a lot of money at a lot of amusement parks and perhaps add a few drugs, to get the same blend of psychedelic sensations as a single engine night weather flight.</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">One of the most important skills that a pilot must develop is the skill to ignore those things that were designed by non-pilots to get the pilot's attention.</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">At the end of the day, the controllers, ops supervisors, maintenance guys, weather guessers, and birds; they're all trying to kill you and your job is to not let them!</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">Remember that the radio is only an electronic suggestion box for the pilot. Sometimes the only way to clear up a problem is to turn it off.</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">It is a tacit, yet profound admission of the preeminence of flying in the hierarchy of the human spirit, that those who seek to control aviators via threats always threaten to take one's wings and not one's life.</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">Remember when flying low and inverted that the rudder still works the same old way but hopefully your instructor never taught you "pull stick back, plane go up".</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">A tactic done twice is a procedure. (Refer to unpredictability discussion above)</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">The aircraft G-limits are only there in case there is another flight by that particular airplane. If subsequent flights do not appear likely, there are no G-limits.</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">One of the beautiful things about a single piloted aircraft is the quality of the social experience.</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">If a mother has the slightest suspicion that her infant might grow up to be a pilot, she had better teach him to put things back where he got them.</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">The ultimate responsibility of the pilot is to fulfill the dreams of the countless millions of earthbound ancestors who could only stare skyward...and wish.</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">There are bold pilots, and there are old pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots.</div>Jack of Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16237821810417515219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703352925576211587.post-59114677205023977002011-02-09T11:46:00.000+00:002011-02-09T11:46:16.253+00:00The Real Silent Hill - Centralia, PAI came across the name Centralia in a list of strange natural events while stumbling through the internet, and my curiosity was piqued.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0p4i4YJXTl8PGKv-wQZ9OT9226bExxEbRoo0KA4o-KoP-_VHuJn7dBneFopNYeOvNcUGVKKd_UA0geatGqksNBykKaUtF-AkwTbWawbCicp6KS8pLZx08yrt3vQg8hS1MZt-NruS8jFDN/s1600/centraliaPA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0p4i4YJXTl8PGKv-wQZ9OT9226bExxEbRoo0KA4o-KoP-_VHuJn7dBneFopNYeOvNcUGVKKd_UA0geatGqksNBykKaUtF-AkwTbWawbCicp6KS8pLZx08yrt3vQg8hS1MZt-NruS8jFDN/s400/centraliaPA.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aerial View</td></tr>
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If you have never played the video game or seen the film, Silent Hill involves a town shrouded in mist and fog, road blocks closing it off from the rest of the world. The protagonist and his/her child (depending on whether we are talking about the movie or the game) have a car accident near one of the road blocks. When the parent wakes up, the child is gone. With no other option, they are drawn further into a world of monsters, madness and pretty much everything you can imagine in 'Hell on Earth'.<br />
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</div><div>But enough of the fictional Silent Hill. Above is a Google aerial view of Centralia, Pennsylvania. Even from this high up, you can see that something looks wrong. A traditional grid system of roads, but no buildings. </div><div><br />
</div><div>In 1962, a load of rubbish was piled in a landfill and burned. Nothing wrong with that, after all we still incinerate all sorts of waste today. Just one problem though, the hole in the ground chosen for the bonfire was an abandoned strip mine. See, coal mining was big in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, no one put two and two together and guessed that it might not be a good idea to risk setting fire to millions of tons of coal running under their town.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Well, the fire department showed up and doused it with water and they thought that was that, but a few days later the pit had erupted in flames again. This time they poured water on it for hours but it was too late, the underground seam had ignited.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFn6pVgyGF4RieTAwXNRZtjimIcOxtxv7uuf_3tptKnq3C0MDo8ZxhO8kHJJcjZfMtzVQRUH7rgF_ZcfIRO-90uou1q4YKQn1GxF3u3P1y7i5K4lN9gTTGmahRHQM6z8g6alYbZiEchgZF/s1600/steam-rising-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFn6pVgyGF4RieTAwXNRZtjimIcOxtxv7uuf_3tptKnq3C0MDo8ZxhO8kHJJcjZfMtzVQRUH7rgF_ZcfIRO-90uou1q4YKQn1GxF3u3P1y7i5K4lN9gTTGmahRHQM6z8g6alYbZiEchgZF/s400/steam-rising-4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
</div><div>Over the next twenty years, fire fighters threw everything they could at the problem. They poured water and ash on it, dug out burning material, dug trenches and backfilled and drilled thousands of holes to monitor the spread of the underground fire. Nothing worked.</div><div><br />
</div><div>In the 70s, the local gas station owner started to worry about the underground heat and dipped his storage tanks with a thermometer. The petrol stored underground was 180 degrees fahrenheit. </div><div><br />
</div><div>By the early 80s, the fire covered an area of 200 acres and carbon monoxide levels had risen to dangerous levels. Homes had to be abandoned. A study concluded in 1983 that the fire could burn for another 100 to 250 years (some studies quote 'up to 1,000 years) and might spread to an area of 3,700 acres. The US government started to buy up the now unsafe houses and buildings and relocating residents, although several die hard Centralians refuse to leave.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcD1DJ0TD4kTBOxlaGhzfWRMmx3t5697cLf09nIl9znbpqFw_2hseb7W-TTCKHTQOqnYnaS9ueUFGcOHFV3EHTCPPDxB4_0wtRIGtxEkHNBv8bwFJZhbBlE-GnKwO8YQHGIOvARlSgOrmp/s1600/A6-background-image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcD1DJ0TD4kTBOxlaGhzfWRMmx3t5697cLf09nIl9znbpqFw_2hseb7W-TTCKHTQOqnYnaS9ueUFGcOHFV3EHTCPPDxB4_0wtRIGtxEkHNBv8bwFJZhbBlE-GnKwO8YQHGIOvARlSgOrmp/s400/A6-background-image.jpg" width="267" /></a></div><br />
</div><div>In 1980, the population of Centralia was over one thousand, in 2010 it was seven.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNr7zKOFKKknwITVj3qhmQLLWNcbBOgunhW-oIXUOCseakJCq5JYQVZW__1ajaLqOmrOmoueECcUZSh_xHngJybahOHApFURcGiJYXz1hrpta1C-Bi_rooVC_ByEuSZDGvm59RvX_sSObE/s1600/centralia001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNr7zKOFKKknwITVj3qhmQLLWNcbBOgunhW-oIXUOCseakJCq5JYQVZW__1ajaLqOmrOmoueECcUZSh_xHngJybahOHApFURcGiJYXz1hrpta1C-Bi_rooVC_ByEuSZDGvm59RvX_sSObE/s400/centralia001.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
If ever we needed a reminder of the damage we are capable of inflicting on our planet, here it is. There are concerns that, if the fire keeps spreading, it will one day affect the neighbouring towns in the same way. </div>Jack of Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16237821810417515219noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703352925576211587.post-44033176304832584872011-02-07T10:30:00.002+00:002011-02-07T10:31:29.347+00:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://jackofallhobbies.blogspot.com/2011/02/robert-kubica-lead-driver-for-renault.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw9XYomKHtBZe5kCKhvW-8iizmFbI3fw23_N9cNbS5TlFw4PhG8kSuLMPpv634zn_LBmibnP5oxIC8BGuEMGSNu7OEYiZljdd70Vd8J0PgPVnSQ-JyiKAvdb_edCRdwwI23UYdX1gIS61X/s400/ap-190204610d974ac4a16fe610bda1b620.jpg" width="288" /></a></div><br />
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Robert Kubica (Lead driver for Renault in Formula 1) has been involved in a rally accident in Italy yesterday morning. After an airlift and seven hours of surgery to re-attach his partially severed hand, doctors say it is too early to tell if he will regain full use. He also suffered arm and leg fractures.<br />
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While driving a Skoda Fabia in the Ronde di Andora rally on Sunday morning, his car crashed. It is understood that a crash barrier penetrated the footwell. Reports also say that Robert was trapped in the car for an hour while specialist cutting equipment was brough to the scene.<br />
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Once freed from the wreckage Robert was airlifted to a hospital near Genoa where he underwent a seven hour operation to re attach his partially severed hand. Initial reports suggested he would lose the hand, but those fears were later played down. Professor Mario Igor Rossello, one of the specialist surgeons involved in the operation, said it was too early to assess the long term implications of his injuries. Although doctors were 'Moderately satisfied' with the operation to rebuild the hand, it would be several days before they could determine whether the hand would be 'Able to return to full function'.<br />
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When asked what the best prognosis for recovery would be, Rossello replied 'One year. One year is the best provision'.<br />
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I am sure that everyone involved in the sport as well as fans all over the world will be wishing Robert well and hoping for a speedy recovery. We may not see him back in a Formula 1 car this year, but we won't forget the fire and determination he brought with him to every race. Whoever your favourite driver is right now in Formula 1, you have to admit that Kubica adds to the show, with his ability to out perform the car he is in.<br />
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Hurry up and recover Robert, Formula 1 needs you.Jack of Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16237821810417515219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703352925576211587.post-7809121435302671282011-02-04T23:54:00.004+00:002011-02-05T00:40:20.192+00:00McLaren Unveil their 2011 Formula 1 ChallengerI've posted a lot recently, but I really couldn't hold this one back. I am not only a huge Formula 1 fan, but have grown increasingly fond of our silver cars from Woking. Watching the scraps between Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button let alone the rest of the field makes Sunday afternoon Grand Prix unmissable for me.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://jackofallhobbies.blogspot.com/2011/02/mclaren-unveil-their-2011-formula-1_04.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgt78_ic-6VuexfBsa-npZ7Kt4XMYCx-azXY7Rdk5tyVlzhFnNqbM-tzXH5polFgNByHDA-WeqKEj17nvTj0qutb4WaKb-Dd8304PdP0wd9YC2GX0wStYIoVo7ZIiPne5w0PpiVazFFOc7/s400/2231_MP4-26_Side.jpg" width="550" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The McLaren MP4-26 - Click for more pictures!</td></tr>
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<a name='more'></a>Anyway, if you have been following the pre-season testing news, you will already know that, while most teams have unveiled their 2011 cars at the first test of the year at Valencia, McLaren took along last years car. All week we have been waiting with baited breath to see what McLaren have come up with... Now we know.<br />
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I'm not an engineer, but if this thing goes half as fast as it looks, god help the opposition. I know, I know... All Formula 1 cars look fast, but check out the rest of the pictures to see what I mean.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ggGlbeHW-VTRjN7R1g9IE78JBB8qDk8HOjz2flI8maGTDvCzbczwriqw05t1wYkO9lURv55zlUe4v-smRyqVr-xt5I5SxDDfN3WzKuRrPqoG5rvAQTnk1OBDEFs7E_Yj0aeyXSMR1Kv5/s1600/8625.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="343" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ggGlbeHW-VTRjN7R1g9IE78JBB8qDk8HOjz2flI8maGTDvCzbczwriqw05t1wYkO9lURv55zlUe4v-smRyqVr-xt5I5SxDDfN3WzKuRrPqoG5rvAQTnk1OBDEFs7E_Yj0aeyXSMR1Kv5/s400/8625.jpg" width="550" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These 'L' shaped side pods look fantastic, like something out of the Thunderbirds! They do have a practical basis, allowing more airflow through to the rear wing. Speaking of wings, check out the front wing design... I think this is the most elaborate combination of elements I have ever seen on a racing car.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLenri0XtkHotVwUXopBh0hUEgGtlAhMV25P6hIw3aNAJgGV2J8wmBZ8nf7CCAGqwRT2FJUquCWVPO1ihaU5hFKFd1vkN0hfVom88U28uUyEjZcbWxLT9VkctYTK1Ohrzuitd-POxkqkKR/s1600/8626.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLenri0XtkHotVwUXopBh0hUEgGtlAhMV25P6hIw3aNAJgGV2J8wmBZ8nf7CCAGqwRT2FJUquCWVPO1ihaU5hFKFd1vkN0hfVom88U28uUyEjZcbWxLT9VkctYTK1Ohrzuitd-POxkqkKR/s320/8626.jpg" width="550" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More detail of that amazing front wing</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ_FUtgWfs0afRXImc-sXyd1fiBsGXdZgj5QOtJWEmXNCuZ7dw5QnY_Y_XxssWTqgSHBW6FGGYojuJYgr-2MOFGehyphenhyphenkaepPCOFtBEaOHC1rzEo_Hqgt7oXN-7aH923H8tG_tIppv3UF1M3/s1600/dcd1104fe25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="343" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ_FUtgWfs0afRXImc-sXyd1fiBsGXdZgj5QOtJWEmXNCuZ7dw5QnY_Y_XxssWTqgSHBW6FGGYojuJYgr-2MOFGehyphenhyphenkaepPCOFtBEaOHC1rzEo_Hqgt7oXN-7aH923H8tG_tIppv3UF1M3/s400/dcd1104fe25.jpg" width="550" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking through the rear wing, you can see how the air will be channelled between the central engine cover and the side pods. Below you can see the 2011 spec diffuser. Regulations have been tightened up here, so no double decker designs like last year.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij9mASlAzyJaHUMNMR9wk3owkHXmkFML39nXrgvJ6Ih-f51kqaRwX5JAp4FzrNXMZ4G3gdn37a2gKp8xclUiD6uQ6gaIvoaI6eGxabw1uaKkOiSuSqye7O4vNzI8P9ogCAPw5cLaAq-Z6o/s1600/mcl26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij9mASlAzyJaHUMNMR9wk3owkHXmkFML39nXrgvJ6Ih-f51kqaRwX5JAp4FzrNXMZ4G3gdn37a2gKp8xclUiD6uQ6gaIvoaI6eGxabw1uaKkOiSuSqye7O4vNzI8P9ogCAPw5cLaAq-Z6o/s400/mcl26.jpg" width="550" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reporters at the launch have said that Lewis and Jenson couldn't keep the smiles off their faces... Looks like they couldn't keep their hands off their new toy either!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguS9NOZXSeWd3iw9ni0cSWNEGuXXkDQ3aCOF2HqDv-uzbzXz29ml4ZJkMD5o4v9eJAbLhC8cZ7u6-wQ3iPLB7BciiYvbffDY1fh_zI6iEPWC7SMvKwPcemNFpSc2HdenHN1hUUI7lHJkW1/s1600/mcl26_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguS9NOZXSeWd3iw9ni0cSWNEGuXXkDQ3aCOF2HqDv-uzbzXz29ml4ZJkMD5o4v9eJAbLhC8cZ7u6-wQ3iPLB7BciiYvbffDY1fh_zI6iEPWC7SMvKwPcemNFpSc2HdenHN1hUUI7lHJkW1/s400/mcl26_2.jpg" width="550" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All together now, 'You can't get better than a Quick Fit Fitter...'</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZQF08xNuWBgqJwiCSO_5U5iRkfppnvl7vnrg5ApKABytB3xG1_dom_Gd8daYK-BDuH0QjCtZH2LXhQodLeLFvF7ptBSevNq6riIacITeMoDMYrkJoiYlJeWMufLjv0R9WysrWSeEPECID/s1600/mcl26_4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZQF08xNuWBgqJwiCSO_5U5iRkfppnvl7vnrg5ApKABytB3xG1_dom_Gd8daYK-BDuH0QjCtZH2LXhQodLeLFvF7ptBSevNq6riIacITeMoDMYrkJoiYlJeWMufLjv0R9WysrWSeEPECID/s400/mcl26_4.jpg" width="550" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another view of those striking side pods. </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhubPqA1emxG1iyV_HA8LB01MqEh8R8P5ixhtpVM9h7hTB1mV9F6M8McuGnkGTHFIBEOJyOJDAt5eBGH8klJSzYhgwzZoi_vYcBO-9K75g_hXRRBQSu_G34ovy8zXtcuSUX8xsTDo3vgB21/s1600/mcl26_5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhubPqA1emxG1iyV_HA8LB01MqEh8R8P5ixhtpVM9h7hTB1mV9F6M8McuGnkGTHFIBEOJyOJDAt5eBGH8klJSzYhgwzZoi_vYcBO-9K75g_hXRRBQSu_G34ovy8zXtcuSUX8xsTDo3vgB21/s400/mcl26_5.jpg" width="550" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It may not have six wheels or a giant fan attached to the back, but this is about as radical as the rules allow these days. Somehow, I feel that this design encapsulates the pioneering spirit of Formula 1 in the 70's. We all like to see a designer who isn't afraid to take a different direction and try something new.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfaUxHPo9J_7rymAzObG6fESGWgLlK40VQ1u_gBsIPVBAbO7AR0l4uzndjTtcm6xz7nQH3x5_o2zvqe7eKugJLPLZLwMVOJu8ilyyBbupW06o1aJiexow7cgck24Cpg4mokOwzrboUzMR0/s1600/mcl26_6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfaUxHPo9J_7rymAzObG6fESGWgLlK40VQ1u_gBsIPVBAbO7AR0l4uzndjTtcm6xz7nQH3x5_o2zvqe7eKugJLPLZLwMVOJu8ilyyBbupW06o1aJiexow7cgck24Cpg4mokOwzrboUzMR0/s400/mcl26_6.jpg" width="550" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another striking design, the air box features a double intake. Space under the engine cover is so tight due to the innovative design that extra cooling is needed.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixCsprBEpn4LEfm_VPJGSiwNGWQRTfnodHkMSd-4NZexwXUSwe0cV1l4sBy_EGwEXNgXtOeyf3CEnL43F9rA4WvjxQIEnHrcGW2YZtIPo50gGbtwP-pPkzrtpwRG3lSo9WhpIRwyvla9_P/s1600/mcl26_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixCsprBEpn4LEfm_VPJGSiwNGWQRTfnodHkMSd-4NZexwXUSwe0cV1l4sBy_EGwEXNgXtOeyf3CEnL43F9rA4WvjxQIEnHrcGW2YZtIPo50gGbtwP-pPkzrtpwRG3lSo9WhpIRwyvla9_P/s400/mcl26_10.jpg" width="338" /></a></div><br />
Often, I have a little moan about the tightness of the regulation in Formula 1 these days. Just for once, I would like to see someone really take a risk and design something radical, new and different. I wish we still had people like Ken Tyrell and Colin Chapman... Men who thought outside the box. Looking at the new McLaren, I now know I was asking for the wrong thing. Those men are still there, and they are still thinking outside the box. Let's hope the 2011 McLaren really is as fast as it looks.Jack of Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16237821810417515219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703352925576211587.post-44097438287850228832011-02-03T20:46:00.001+00:002011-02-03T20:47:40.280+00:00Plane Funny....When I look back over the past couple of months, I see that my <a href="http://jackofallhobbies.blogspot.com/2010/11/aviation-again-some-ooops-moments.html">Aviation Oops Moments</a> post has been the most popular... So here are some more! Click on the picture or 'Read more' for the rest...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://jackofallhobbies.blogspot.com/2011/02/plane-funny.html#more" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXFUwQFJAgHOBnXCBFDFi7iKM3i99LyNofCAY51u5D-nTimu-ZVJbfm9b8eHlZ-irhH8CdpqVCeItM_Cmxc9-0i6nKhr7l9hHFeElWGqaFccPXGGC87BitHT-JtVi2-rOsDKMwSNZs83Et/s400/airplane-warning-sign.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Sign of Things to Come?</td></tr>
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<a name='more'></a><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdaLK62TwvxJ7NTndYIA_zHkwqxBr21omnMOKXiqeLZd4ZJezeEBYurYDed8Oy1wCVtPI7ZDonjrrL1VJYMt0F41jDRtX8RcO2JecqF3fhq2vhSLEev-Jm6jV7Eu7RDyZTUgcZxPFC-HJO/s1600/accident-plane.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdaLK62TwvxJ7NTndYIA_zHkwqxBr21omnMOKXiqeLZd4ZJezeEBYurYDed8Oy1wCVtPI7ZDonjrrL1VJYMt0F41jDRtX8RcO2JecqF3fhq2vhSLEev-Jm6jV7Eu7RDyZTUgcZxPFC-HJO/s400/accident-plane.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Room for a little one? </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfw0C9jQle9s6eSo2_smz9N1Q3mSwevLzYe9PGO3hwENmsHt5TbSXFXVFZ-J6nP1_vKTL4KC0qBiDLpZRsHe6gq-fcNGiQOK6WPD1hLfppcTj_qy4XM0PqEymBEm0HaXoIGrkgpxW8lKwi/s1600/Airplane-Accidents-Eva-Air.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfw0C9jQle9s6eSo2_smz9N1Q3mSwevLzYe9PGO3hwENmsHt5TbSXFXVFZ-J6nP1_vKTL4KC0qBiDLpZRsHe6gq-fcNGiQOK6WPD1hLfppcTj_qy4XM0PqEymBEm0HaXoIGrkgpxW8lKwi/s400/Airplane-Accidents-Eva-Air.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Who ate all the pies? I think the captain...</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmVsLyehbj7I7Ww55JXAwqurHC05BZS6HnKvixFwaak6QoAGnzjQ6pKsfpzalfNCg0SUa8cyby9NoiHZMJ6DgHZvsFt5WxDr9BMBo7bhGCacd0LZVSyRem7uth4ZGGJfS0LPk5bsq-j08m/s1600/Airplane-Accidents-hit-Truc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmVsLyehbj7I7Ww55JXAwqurHC05BZS6HnKvixFwaak6QoAGnzjQ6pKsfpzalfNCg0SUa8cyby9NoiHZMJ6DgHZvsFt5WxDr9BMBo7bhGCacd0LZVSyRem7uth4ZGGJfS0LPk5bsq-j08m/s400/Airplane-Accidents-hit-Truc.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spot the very intelligent (and fast) truck driver...</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZFYBGTspG0fI-J6SSCXtFPdBq5Ndas2paSWcMG0i4H3560YotW6caAGOazUqRuzeE1x_GoLHETaNrJmt7hZKkoxGV47uk7IRiXzLSZ185OHu3CFeP02CFDSG_szzJVmoNPaopUPIr0KqK/s1600/cars-hiit-by-plane-accident.09-01-2009-023536.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZFYBGTspG0fI-J6SSCXtFPdBq5Ndas2paSWcMG0i4H3560YotW6caAGOazUqRuzeE1x_GoLHETaNrJmt7hZKkoxGV47uk7IRiXzLSZ185OHu3CFeP02CFDSG_szzJVmoNPaopUPIr0KqK/s400/cars-hiit-by-plane-accident.09-01-2009-023536.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2DTMIbXTkq-uejoGEIt1KY8dxhaBuqiNJq0nKBIu_cDGsnGCP77LHCxhXpGKo7GiFLxVIccvqFI8KM6iio1v2J_c_vWXw849CJVVsrsHh-pD2YKoU4vdywpsAQ5piW2aAmQ6INgU-8fJ6/s1600/Airplane-Accidents-Plane.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2DTMIbXTkq-uejoGEIt1KY8dxhaBuqiNJq0nKBIu_cDGsnGCP77LHCxhXpGKo7GiFLxVIccvqFI8KM6iio1v2J_c_vWXw849CJVVsrsHh-pD2YKoU4vdywpsAQ5piW2aAmQ6INgU-8fJ6/s400/Airplane-Accidents-Plane.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Like those machines for slicing salami at the supermarket!</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtvEBJJ7HNTQa6XjSNPw0chZH392Nq0ZovN0Xgm_bWQK13Xwg9ysUWTKO71kwTJI3cKKwoN1-e0kBcWGz30gI96u2g9e-lWbEXR3l6QnZxIy0iHLnLBNOXMJykS8gy13hcBsTjuPRANXQH/s1600/Bus_Accident_With_Plane.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtvEBJJ7HNTQa6XjSNPw0chZH392Nq0ZovN0Xgm_bWQK13Xwg9ysUWTKO71kwTJI3cKKwoN1-e0kBcWGz30gI96u2g9e-lWbEXR3l6QnZxIy0iHLnLBNOXMJykS8gy13hcBsTjuPRANXQH/s400/Bus_Accident_With_Plane.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sometimes, 'I didn't see you there' just shouldn't be a valid excuse...</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiigFr7yAiky2SJUb-PPj8N-7s7wd0DipuuOBDeWEx84zSCElDbNekboAgL1MxILZEwUKQ1Ly7NrXavEh7Hb5-xtSJ8TpJS0beajSiiBw5XX4wbgUfZs7r7NY_D2PT_b9HJcGTrWy5PLo1Q/s1600/fail-plane.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiigFr7yAiky2SJUb-PPj8N-7s7wd0DipuuOBDeWEx84zSCElDbNekboAgL1MxILZEwUKQ1Ly7NrXavEh7Hb5-xtSJ8TpJS0beajSiiBw5XX4wbgUfZs7r7NY_D2PT_b9HJcGTrWy5PLo1Q/s400/fail-plane.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm not going to speculate... Your guess is as good as mine!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiviN9tHdD2L5Rm0nSDpxtsAkhinoot8Lr62BJh9OnfVnE9cFfWhPDAiM3k_wCDHG_KUb9VY02iB_NHQtVJ4dDJ4CBVt1kOboNdmGM-8opxtiDX5eljNgjY9z5a4VsFG5bO_ClVWxkNXzyf/s1600/fc5eb39b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiviN9tHdD2L5Rm0nSDpxtsAkhinoot8Lr62BJh9OnfVnE9cFfWhPDAiM3k_wCDHG_KUb9VY02iB_NHQtVJ4dDJ4CBVt1kOboNdmGM-8opxtiDX5eljNgjY9z5a4VsFG5bO_ClVWxkNXzyf/s320/fc5eb39b.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm guessing some Saudi prince liked Concorde's drooped nose and decided to remodel... </td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj12-ynzKg9VPn1gB6WYx6QhIAdqau56CwYdM_1NdXwCMoIEPgaKqrvyMtkVgODKjz62YhKzNvkv06k0r1ouIkvbjS_gIYSRpDEs07VNOXsr8GACsk3vpRhEBS3HTxI-1PhC6xJflZR2O6l/s1600/fc5eb3a8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj12-ynzKg9VPn1gB6WYx6QhIAdqau56CwYdM_1NdXwCMoIEPgaKqrvyMtkVgODKjz62YhKzNvkv06k0r1ouIkvbjS_gIYSRpDEs07VNOXsr8GACsk3vpRhEBS3HTxI-1PhC6xJflZR2O6l/s400/fc5eb3a8.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ouch. Just... Ouch.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYm34kn4uiGRzgkhcJrSXkYKPDKyaOsAXP_XP0-gmfHWNCqdpmONH_dcMp2PMzARTas9RLBZf_UbKjRDMkQ3W5PFuKaSWUvp8cRsIwwM_DDSZtsHMDff5c3H9kGXVxrniZeilS4qlZ72zT/s1600/fc5eb3b3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYm34kn4uiGRzgkhcJrSXkYKPDKyaOsAXP_XP0-gmfHWNCqdpmONH_dcMp2PMzARTas9RLBZf_UbKjRDMkQ3W5PFuKaSWUvp8cRsIwwM_DDSZtsHMDff5c3H9kGXVxrniZeilS4qlZ72zT/s400/fc5eb3b3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bit worrying this one... Looks like the wing just dropped off???</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_V46Tlqrg6usbztcviUH1s0FNmvAcR3kf3WsXImEDjkQNQOZ2HouUw8NjxRiv7EaEzwLnFeddLh-cswZbeU4j-W3mLgFSqWAtNRYmSqbGajAgqqfVW6frTqJxboBqRKMWaIM3r77hqJYs/s1600/fc5eb3be.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_V46Tlqrg6usbztcviUH1s0FNmvAcR3kf3WsXImEDjkQNQOZ2HouUw8NjxRiv7EaEzwLnFeddLh-cswZbeU4j-W3mLgFSqWAtNRYmSqbGajAgqqfVW6frTqJxboBqRKMWaIM3r77hqJYs/s400/fc5eb3be.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That has got to be coming out of the captains pay check!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjScFIRQcPlTlH6p6k0siPWoWeyFZlAwAOQa8vhrYUjKNXvKhJ6GlP1dBC5jmvc9lBnJtc0XOHyPyqvsoJKoAkCYOJfv2ixtILt7OJ3efQgC5GovuuOBUEsjeh4HJutMNXrlsziDYLZJwPC/s1600/fc5eb3c7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjScFIRQcPlTlH6p6k0siPWoWeyFZlAwAOQa8vhrYUjKNXvKhJ6GlP1dBC5jmvc9lBnJtc0XOHyPyqvsoJKoAkCYOJfv2ixtILt7OJ3efQgC5GovuuOBUEsjeh4HJutMNXrlsziDYLZJwPC/s400/fc5eb3c7.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bit of a loading problem here... </td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjNhAooQ-IKSwlWXq9clQccMsFv63zkRPV_GbcdHvFpbONwzL3BVESIQb6oqtmP7RC1ckGIZ8jdfb5mcM7CxXyUzGWuSMMD_luhGz_0FkaN1UqfTpgbysHnEylZgFk-f1UHU7qGN5qEM8t/s1600/fc5eb3cc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjNhAooQ-IKSwlWXq9clQccMsFv63zkRPV_GbcdHvFpbONwzL3BVESIQb6oqtmP7RC1ckGIZ8jdfb5mcM7CxXyUzGWuSMMD_luhGz_0FkaN1UqfTpgbysHnEylZgFk-f1UHU7qGN5qEM8t/s400/fc5eb3cc.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another view from one of the original Oops moments...</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgipI_DE2wx6yWXRla1yggC-YPm1byqslF-bEEb3ycmXxaneuiUdgRIq19gByXu5G0mLm2VHYCOqT99BJ2ssS00GzsErP7wRN7htytnQx5qf1m7Ig9Xf1R2RR_MK4zKoxSV_vUtoB2MNSch/s1600/funny-plane-crash.05-29-2009-070917.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgipI_DE2wx6yWXRla1yggC-YPm1byqslF-bEEb3ycmXxaneuiUdgRIq19gByXu5G0mLm2VHYCOqT99BJ2ssS00GzsErP7wRN7htytnQx5qf1m7Ig9Xf1R2RR_MK4zKoxSV_vUtoB2MNSch/s400/funny-plane-crash.05-29-2009-070917.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ahhh the beach. Sun, sand, surf and wrecked planes. Wait... What???</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif32saxkTQR4gnGM4HFEVpihpfbf1B-x0cm8kUppX7pbX2biZwkIUU140Cy7-66qPgf-FgEn4gn1nVevtk1z1k0OfJFS4qaFzumL5EmWf8Lh7G2zld_anwgy_P3htxO1RJe0jtsxt1Fo3p/s1600/funny-stealth-fighter-plane.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif32saxkTQR4gnGM4HFEVpihpfbf1B-x0cm8kUppX7pbX2biZwkIUU140Cy7-66qPgf-FgEn4gn1nVevtk1z1k0OfJFS4qaFzumL5EmWf8Lh7G2zld_anwgy_P3htxO1RJe0jtsxt1Fo3p/s400/funny-stealth-fighter-plane.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lockheed's newest stealth fighter</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB276QPhweL3toEjGI1rPMVCMpTp5A8WA3AF05CIS3_yABI9yYn87DHQlHIONt7eQyaqTSxrNQK_NYSpFmvrzxsnx9nmcWegEK8-7NqA_0SaIvf-lB3uC3olNgMDeiRwj4sM-uBMkrlDU9/s1600/thumbs_plane2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB276QPhweL3toEjGI1rPMVCMpTp5A8WA3AF05CIS3_yABI9yYn87DHQlHIONt7eQyaqTSxrNQK_NYSpFmvrzxsnx9nmcWegEK8-7NqA_0SaIvf-lB3uC3olNgMDeiRwj4sM-uBMkrlDU9/s400/thumbs_plane2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Once again, I didn't see you there... Really???</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf6YpkOyCyeR_ezBijFvj8Kn6zvvZa1i4qB0UjsdqFweUANFNS3S-m5mxRCQoFnJPhYuhFZfBl4snyOuKNxaCk2N0w3BRYFIA1agYFGzH8DgULue05RZt04fA6rKOMK13U-TcJxR5s_cYb/s1600/weird_plane_accident-003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf6YpkOyCyeR_ezBijFvj8Kn6zvvZa1i4qB0UjsdqFweUANFNS3S-m5mxRCQoFnJPhYuhFZfBl4snyOuKNxaCk2N0w3BRYFIA1agYFGzH8DgULue05RZt04fA6rKOMK13U-TcJxR5s_cYb/s400/weird_plane_accident-003.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look, fuel is cheaper here... </td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpfJCzSpgWwbfInS08oNSb753ML00UtEY4ZiAyhhBeGXVD7Ot0839CQLQvy8trNMv1mIbUN-TQp9jxp0hVtX-mM7_M_R3axm7gZEHxWgP_jBSzdglYJiibVpIA4nfL4ZcojD_6iNhH0EkD/s1600/weird_plane_accident-005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpfJCzSpgWwbfInS08oNSb753ML00UtEY4ZiAyhhBeGXVD7Ot0839CQLQvy8trNMv1mIbUN-TQp9jxp0hVtX-mM7_M_R3axm7gZEHxWgP_jBSzdglYJiibVpIA4nfL4ZcojD_6iNhH0EkD/s400/weird_plane_accident-005.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This one is an old favourite, still... Must have been fun to climb out of!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUrfpR5rrcJotVdzbLd8s902yhKVO83ge7rfxoefFC9TtlacEfjElSP3xwhrUpe-4ChPIPcYyViKUnwGzA8GtAnr9QeEwQotbW1hPDZp88XEY2k5lWiGnioiwpAgk4ewVfs6w5ECHi4XZc/s1600/weird_plane_accident-006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUrfpR5rrcJotVdzbLd8s902yhKVO83ge7rfxoefFC9TtlacEfjElSP3xwhrUpe-4ChPIPcYyViKUnwGzA8GtAnr9QeEwQotbW1hPDZp88XEY2k5lWiGnioiwpAgk4ewVfs6w5ECHi4XZc/s400/weird_plane_accident-006.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Place your bets... Did the plane hit the truck? Or did the truck hit the plane? Either way, this is going to be expensive!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtup-zBzYo17BQuwt7zcDZhheU5ClJIsmGaK2Oa_Diiv9p2Okk6sdqv6sjBCfiwsRBpc00ST7xQvavo-pOKMOCUmR7OVaCf6XreQBmyspkh2hhtOARbhkat0ESasEIMpo_axNlIv7aeVFE/s1600/weird_plane_accident-008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtup-zBzYo17BQuwt7zcDZhheU5ClJIsmGaK2Oa_Diiv9p2Okk6sdqv6sjBCfiwsRBpc00ST7xQvavo-pOKMOCUmR7OVaCf6XreQBmyspkh2hhtOARbhkat0ESasEIMpo_axNlIv7aeVFE/s400/weird_plane_accident-008.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just keep paddling! We're almost there!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin-jqy8WJfOeDjH_0b7Uw1hzcVlqQ-xXEM2hb7dHoB_Z9TgYeGFWE4cWMJSCqXcnjlE104kbPOUgFdcaLLZkEAKtHdOgAijLGkLmtrCu9VIOjtwU5aamCiAy-zviRaqfeJv4WKTCBKOtWU/s1600/weird_plane_accident-009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin-jqy8WJfOeDjH_0b7Uw1hzcVlqQ-xXEM2hb7dHoB_Z9TgYeGFWE4cWMJSCqXcnjlE104kbPOUgFdcaLLZkEAKtHdOgAijLGkLmtrCu9VIOjtwU5aamCiAy-zviRaqfeJv4WKTCBKOtWU/s400/weird_plane_accident-009.jpg" width="378" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hide and seek for passenger jets</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Jack of Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16237821810417515219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703352925576211587.post-27980351310379135562011-02-03T18:58:00.001+00:002011-02-24T23:33:27.237+00:00Videos from Video BashTime to throw up some random funny stuff, taken from <a href="http://www.videobash.com/">Video Bash</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.videobash.com/video_show/microsoft-office-car-clarm-prank-4949">Microsoft office car clarm prank</a> brought to you by <a href="http://www.videobash.com/">Funny</a><br />
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Click Read More for more videos<br />
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<a href="http://www.videobash.com/video_show/surprised-kitty-550">Surprised Kitty</a> brought to you by <a href="http://www.videobash.com/">Funny</a><br />
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<object data="http://cdn1.static.videobash.com/flash/player.swf" height="432" id="player" style="visibility: visible;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="550"><param name="movie" value="http://cdn1.static.videobash.com/flash/player.swf" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="flashvars" value="autoplay=false&image_url=http://cdn1.pics.videobash.com/thumbs/000/001/900/large2.jpg&autoreplay=false&video_url=http://media1.ord.videobash.com/mp4/000/001/900/480_1900.mp4&options=http://www.videobash.com/&related_url=http://www.videobash.com/video/player_related?id=1900&link_url=http://www.videobash.com/video_show/break-dance-kids-1900&video_title=break+dance+kids" /></object><br />
<a href="http://www.videobash.com/video_show/craziest-pilot-ever-692">Craziest Pilot Ever</a> brought to you by <a href="http://www.videobash.com/">Videobash</a><br />
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<object data="http://cdn1.static.videobash.com/flash/player.swf" height="432" id="player" style="visibility: visible;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="550"><param name="movie" value="http://cdn1.static.videobash.com/flash/player.swf" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="flashvars" value="autoplay=false&image_url=http://cdn1.pics.videobash.com/thumbs/000/001/900/large2.jpg&autoreplay=false&video_url=http://media1.ord.videobash.com/mp4/000/001/900/480_1900.mp4&options=http://www.videobash.com/&related_url=http://www.videobash.com/video/player_related?id=1900&link_url=http://www.videobash.com/video_show/break-dance-kids-1900&video_title=break+dance+kids" /></object><br />
<a href="http://www.videobash.com/video_show/break-dance-kids-1900">break dance kids</a> brought to you by <a href="http://www.videobash.com/">Funny Tube</a>Jack of Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16237821810417515219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703352925576211587.post-15617893107550396372011-02-03T15:41:00.002+00:002011-02-03T15:41:36.960+00:00Great Video... Los Angeles at Night, Pilots ViewNot sure what more to say about this one, just watch and enjoy :-)<br />
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<object height="340" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0ac0bXkxM3E?fs=1&hl=en_GB"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0ac0bXkxM3E?fs=1&hl=en_GB" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>Jack of Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16237821810417515219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703352925576211587.post-72598631008419436322011-01-19T10:30:00.001+00:002011-01-19T10:32:06.752+00:00More fun and little known aircraftStumbling through the internet as I often do, I came across this little gem of a crossover aircraft, the Alatus Ultralight Sailplane.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://jackofallhobbies.blogspot.com/2011/01/more-fun-and-little-known-aircraft.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBphpkpHVLUaN19jqYMXlubyQNeISp6K4d3YFJPp7CZrVIw4fALoPhqhrGDmptDgTxW1GqDgiCvaeAZXkjcXKVYfv-zrOm3k9X7NV5IlvJ4v5_vZHQybEL8vSGnOLP9SI0zR1g8EbK7XnH/s400/alatus2+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Alatus Glider</td></tr>
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The Alatus is also available as a SLMG (self launching motor glider), the Alatus-M.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCJFeihPH5AQL2h_qRUKW1rBja_1yA4Lq7h1Oi4WcucGFh7yFg6d-sn3ruQ9HKwykaGpl7zBaiGrHnGoDBW8pS7jsYwcZRw_ZlgaKihEcc_DrWm-J4VKQBxjK5fjMGpGAfVwI-GMXbI9Tv/s1600/Alatus2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCJFeihPH5AQL2h_qRUKW1rBja_1yA4Lq7h1Oi4WcucGFh7yFg6d-sn3ruQ9HKwykaGpl7zBaiGrHnGoDBW8pS7jsYwcZRw_ZlgaKihEcc_DrWm-J4VKQBxjK5fjMGpGAfVwI-GMXbI9Tv/s400/Alatus2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Alatus-M</td></tr>
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As a weekend flyer, I know that running costs for any aircraft can be very expensive. Gliders tend to be cheaper, but even with a glider one must set aside cash for hangar charges, insurance, annual inspections and C of A (certificate of airworthiness), not to mention all the little repairs which can add up. The Alatus is an interesting prospect, as it combines some of the benefits of both hang-glider and sailplane.<br />
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Lets start with the glider option. The Alatus only weighs between 80-90kg depending on fitment. That's less than a lot of people weigh. Not only does this low weight make the glider easy to move on the ground, it means you don't need a trailer. When stripped down the Alatus fits on the roof of your car. Not only is it easy to transport, it's easy to store... Flylight.co.uk say it will fit (de-rigged) into your average garage.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOXnhb9yJ91dmSlv5-vxtlocB1x5Bd4JAYLzPIh0ZgOHrr4hfGzTW49GtqxIUy7kP5Vm89-xWXbm_WyBuz9Ujin8CowqVUs3FijB599xwx6w3965XlJnyWSp0-mqo3ZwoHVjpclEUZK8tr/s1600/alatus-composants.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOXnhb9yJ91dmSlv5-vxtlocB1x5Bd4JAYLzPIh0ZgOHrr4hfGzTW49GtqxIUy7kP5Vm89-xWXbm_WyBuz9Ujin8CowqVUs3FijB599xwx6w3965XlJnyWSp0-mqo3ZwoHVjpclEUZK8tr/s400/alatus-composants.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bagged ready for transport</td></tr>
</tbody></table> Believe it or not, an even lighter version of the glider is available. Weighing in at less than 80kg, this aircraft falls under the weight limit imposed by EASA, meaning there is no requirement for an annual C of A if you pay a little extra.<br />
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So, like a hang-glider, you can store this in your garage, strap it to the roof of your car and drive it to your club. Rigging takes an hour or less, and at the end of the day de-rigging takes about the same. Storage bags are included in the price. If you buy the lighter version, you save hangar rent, annual C of A costs, messing about with trailers, the list goes on and on.<br />
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Like a glider, the Alatus has an enclosed cockpit. Full three axis controls and flaps mirror gliding controls, and all gliders are fitted with a combined aerotow/winch hook. Despite the light weight and slightly smaller wingspan (the Alatus has a wingspan of 13.3m, most single place gliders are either 15m or 18m), I suspect that the experience of flying an Alatus would be much closer to a glider than any other ultralight I have seen.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTa8NQD0KhIy-fg81qbfKF3h1JMg-jcYgQdB5-K8CGf6YM26wK8-o0f44LustNO9Cdbms6FhVd1cpC7GW9_vf2iomWJ0ImtpuKzQ3VpEsc0MAWeOTEiw4tFg2vQSp8wD3PlYDEpS01xQUc/s1600/alatus8+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTa8NQD0KhIy-fg81qbfKF3h1JMg-jcYgQdB5-K8CGf6YM26wK8-o0f44LustNO9Cdbms6FhVd1cpC7GW9_vf2iomWJ0ImtpuKzQ3VpEsc0MAWeOTEiw4tFg2vQSp8wD3PlYDEpS01xQUc/s400/alatus8+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Transport and rigging</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I suspect that the motor glider version might draw more attention. Fitted with a 2-stroke Corsair engine, the Alatus-M has the power to launch itself and sustain a climb of around 300ft per minute. Not ballistic but hey, if you are into gliders, you're probably not in a hurry! An electric start means the prop can be deployed and started in the air, should your ambition exceed the lift. The fuel tank only holds around 4-5 litres, but will power an hour of climbing. For most people, that's a lot of soaring!<br />
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</div><div>Flylight Airsports point out that the motor unit can be removed if required, turning the aircraft back into a pure glider. </div><div><br />
</div><div>To be balanced, there are some issues, and there will certainly be things that the Alatus won't be capable of. With a VNE of around 75kts and a best glide ratio of 27:1, it's not going to win any cross country competitions. Mind you, a stall speed of 18-22kts and flaps which are effective to around 70 degrees (reducing the glide to 8:1) does make for very short field landings if needed.</div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiM18F8qtGpnk2o34FgzezNDiB_BZ-xA3dU0A5VgVjNLy_O1JIJYTNOBVZL-OvTplKMipRcZzjsBHhoENUvtPjqmggsO4p36T_d032xO7n_XHpPXlXgK0qpJDWTaruwzaE8Ytt6kNlbKym/s1600/0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiM18F8qtGpnk2o34FgzezNDiB_BZ-xA3dU0A5VgVjNLy_O1JIJYTNOBVZL-OvTplKMipRcZzjsBHhoENUvtPjqmggsO4p36T_d032xO7n_XHpPXlXgK0qpJDWTaruwzaE8Ytt6kNlbKym/s400/0.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div>So, would I buy one? Well, I have to say the prices on offer are pretty reasonable. An Alatus-M with all the listed options including a ballistic parachute system is coming out at just under £26,000, while the pure glider in it's most basic usable form costs just under £18,600.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggzePQxSeEgYs_RnbfFUuFzQJkAgtGhQYwb7SQ93-ntXyUTYA75cjlF3NatvaSjJIppk0cut6483r3SSc3o0zqh7YEOovcQYCog5Nc9moJHOcevQ4ImvFb6VJiGtI-9d7vyPvYnOGsMQAp/s1600/Alatus8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggzePQxSeEgYs_RnbfFUuFzQJkAgtGhQYwb7SQ93-ntXyUTYA75cjlF3NatvaSjJIppk0cut6483r3SSc3o0zqh7YEOovcQYCog5Nc9moJHOcevQ4ImvFb6VJiGtI-9d7vyPvYnOGsMQAp/s400/Alatus8.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Yeah, sure you could buy a second hand Astir for less than £10,000 and the eight grand you save would pay for a lot of hangar rent, maintenance and inspections, but that is missing the point. This aircraft says 'freedom'. Not just freedom in the air, but freedom from legislation and red tape. Freedom to take your glider on holiday with you... Just strap it on the car. Freedom to choose where you want to fly, whenever you want to fly.<br />
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I may not be ready to turn my back on more traditional gliders, but I can see the attraction... </div>Jack of Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16237821810417515219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703352925576211587.post-78596324053263092462011-01-12T08:32:00.000+00:002011-01-12T08:32:44.958+00:00<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Segoe UI', 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"></span><br />
<div style="margin-top: 0px;"><b>A magazine recently ran a 'Dilbert Quotes' contest. They were looking for people to submit quotes from their real-life Dilbert-type managers. These were voted the top ten quotes in corporate America :</b></div><div style="margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/blogfiles/architectsrule/WindowsLiveWriter/ReallifeDilbertmanagerquotes_7C00/clip_image001_2.jpg" style="color: #0066dd; cursor: pointer; font-weight: normal; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="clip_image001" border="0" height="154" src="http://blogs.msdn.com/blogfiles/architectsrule/WindowsLiveWriter/ReallifeDilbertmanagerquotes_7C00/clip_image001_thumb.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; height: auto !important; max-width: 100%; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;" width="140" /></a><b>'As of tomorrow, employees will only be able to access the building using individual security cards. Pictures will be taken next Wednesday, and employees will receive their cards in two weeks.' </b><br />
<b><i>(This was the winning quote from Fred Dales, Microsoft Corp. in Redmond WA )</i></b><br />
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<b><i>Click 'Read More' for the runners up!</i></b><br />
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<a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/blogfiles/architectsrule/WindowsLiveWriter/ReallifeDilbertmanagerquotes_7C00/clip_image002_2.jpg" style="color: #0066dd; cursor: pointer; font-weight: normal; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="clip_image002" border="0" height="145" src="http://blogs.msdn.com/blogfiles/architectsrule/WindowsLiveWriter/ReallifeDilbertmanagerquotes_7C00/clip_image002_thumb.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; height: auto !important; max-width: 100%; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;" width="130" /></a></div><div style="margin-top: 0px;"><b>'What I need is an exact list of specific unknown problems we might encounter.'</b><br />
<b><i>(Lykes Lines Shipping)</i></b></div><div style="margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/blogfiles/architectsrule/WindowsLiveWriter/ReallifeDilbertmanagerquotes_7C00/clip_image003_2.gif" style="color: #0066dd; cursor: pointer; font-weight: normal; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="clip_image003" border="0" height="120" src="http://blogs.msdn.com/blogfiles/architectsrule/WindowsLiveWriter/ReallifeDilbertmanagerquotes_7C00/clip_image003_thumb.gif" style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; height: auto !important; max-width: 100%; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;" width="96" /></a><br />
<b>'E-mail is not to be used to pass on information or data. It should be used only for company business.'</b><br />
<b><i>(Accounting manager, Electric Boat Company)</i></b></div><div style="margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/blogfiles/architectsrule/WindowsLiveWriter/ReallifeDilbertmanagerquotes_7C00/clip_image004_2.jpg" style="color: #0066dd; cursor: pointer; font-weight: normal; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="clip_image004" border="0" height="154" src="http://blogs.msdn.com/blogfiles/architectsrule/WindowsLiveWriter/ReallifeDilbertmanagerquotes_7C00/clip_image004_thumb.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; height: auto !important; max-width: 100%; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;" width="115" /></a><br />
<b>'This project is so important we can't let things that are more important interfere with it.' </b><br />
<b><i>(Advertising/ Marketing manager, United Parcel Service)</i></b></div><div style="margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/blogfiles/architectsrule/WindowsLiveWriter/ReallifeDilbertmanagerquotes_7C00/clip_image005_2.jpg" style="color: #0066dd; cursor: pointer; font-weight: normal; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="clip_image005" border="0" height="138" src="http://blogs.msdn.com/blogfiles/architectsrule/WindowsLiveWriter/ReallifeDilbertmanagerquotes_7C00/clip_image005_thumb.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; height: auto !important; max-width: 100%; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;" width="220" /></a><b>'Doing it right is no excuse for not meeting the schedule.'<i> (Plant Manager, Delco Corporation)</i></b></div><div style="margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/blogfiles/architectsrule/WindowsLiveWriter/ReallifeDilbertmanagerquotes_7C00/clip_image006_2.jpg" style="color: #0066dd; cursor: pointer; font-weight: normal; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="clip_image006" border="0" height="115" src="http://blogs.msdn.com/blogfiles/architectsrule/WindowsLiveWriter/ReallifeDilbertmanagerquotes_7C00/clip_image006_thumb.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; height: auto !important; max-width: 100%; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;" width="196" /></a><b>'No one will believe you solved this problem in one day! We've been working on it for months. Now go act busy for a few weeks and I'll let you know when it's time to tell them.' <i>(R&D supervisor, Minnesota Mining and Manufactur ing/ 3M Corp.)</i></b></div><div style="margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/blogfiles/architectsrule/WindowsLiveWriter/ReallifeDilbertmanagerquotes_7C00/clip_image007_2.jpg" style="color: #0066dd; cursor: pointer; font-weight: normal; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="clip_image007" border="0" height="121" src="http://blogs.msdn.com/blogfiles/architectsrule/WindowsLiveWriter/ReallifeDilbertmanagerquotes_7C00/clip_image007_thumb.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; height: auto !important; max-width: 100%; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;" width="160" /></a><b>Quote from the Boss: 'Teamwork is a lot of people doing what I say.' </b><br />
<b><i>(Marketing executive, Citrix Corporation)</i></b></div><div style="margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/blogfiles/architectsrule/WindowsLiveWriter/ReallifeDilbertmanagerquotes_7C00/clip_image008_2.gif" style="color: #0066dd; cursor: pointer; font-weight: normal; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="clip_image008" border="0" height="179" src="http://blogs.msdn.com/blogfiles/architectsrule/WindowsLiveWriter/ReallifeDilbertmanagerquotes_7C00/clip_image008_thumb.gif" style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; height: auto !important; max-width: 100%; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;" width="204" /></a><br />
<b>My sister passed away and her funeral was scheduled for Monday. When I told my Boss, he said she died on purpose so that I would have to miss work on the busiest day of the year. He then asked if we could change her burial to Friday. He said, <i>'That would be better for me.'</i> <i><br />
(Shipping executive, FTD Florists)</i></b></div><div style="margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/blogfiles/architectsrule/WindowsLiveWriter/ReallifeDilbertmanagerquotes_7C00/clip_image009_2.gif" style="color: #0066dd; cursor: pointer; font-weight: normal; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="clip_image009" border="0" height="109" src="http://blogs.msdn.com/blogfiles/architectsrule/WindowsLiveWriter/ReallifeDilbertmanagerquotes_7C00/clip_image009_thumb.gif" style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; height: auto !important; max-width: 100%; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;" width="148" /></a><br />
<b>'We know that communication is a problem, but the company is not going to discuss it with the employees.'</b></div><div style="margin-top: 0px;"><b><i>(Switching supervisor, AT&T Long Lines Division)</i></b> <a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/blogfiles/architectsrule/WindowsLiveWriter/ReallifeDilbertmanagerquotes_7C00/clip_image010_2.gif" style="color: #0066dd; cursor: pointer; font-weight: normal; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="clip_image010" border="0" height="207" src="http://blogs.msdn.com/blogfiles/architectsrule/WindowsLiveWriter/ReallifeDilbertmanagerquotes_7C00/clip_image010_thumb.gif" style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; height: auto !important; max-width: 100%; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;" width="207" /></a></div>Jack of Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16237821810417515219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703352925576211587.post-62509822635231663992011-01-10T11:01:00.001+00:002011-01-10T11:02:05.931+00:00Some more Bocian PicsI'be already written a little bit about our Bocian's first flight after far too long hidden in the back of the hangar here: <a href="http://jackofallhobbies.blogspot.com/2010/11/our-bocian-is-finally-flying.html">Our Bocian is Finally Flying</a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://jackofallhobbies.blogspot.com/2011/01/some-more-bocian-pics.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyls_R9lo_82Vohy0Bg7THaIIoFcdUn2KsedJntFPgnI91h1phwS1UCx-iKzkNStPT0d7K5rPZZUORhO5CLe-o38Zg5sQkqHIIL-DBTy9MXDWib1lRYUyC9CtRqrWl7kctX08vycJL-eqQ/s400/DSCN0317.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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Now we have collected all the pictures taken on the day, I thought I'd post some of the best ones.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>We had bought the Bocian in February, with ideas and plans to be flying by May at the latest. We had put so much time, emotion and effort into getting the old girl flying that we had thought of giving up. We made jokes about bonfires, but as the months rolled on, the jokes took on a slightly more serious edge... Most weeks, at least one of us was ready to throw in the towel.<br />
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Somehow, we kept going. The weeks rolled into months, the months threatened to roll into years, and yet we carried on. A gliding club in the Isle of Wight had both its Blaniks grounded and wrote us a letter asking if we would sell CKN to them, and we were tempted. Really tempted. Still, we kept going.<br />
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Finally, here we were. The 21st November 2010, and we are ready to go. Ross has always been lined up for P1 on the first flight. Being both a member of the other Bocian syndicate at our airfield and also in charge of its maintenance, who else could have flown the shakedown? Anyway, after all the work and time he has put in on CKN, he deserved it. P2 was always going to be decided on the day, I was just lucky enough to be there are available!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDuyXGJSST4tETPx0MxqdbnAojyFrJnQOUI3Ihr8uNakcH9CPXY-EyqRqWEVsmaudb3kRrOutEQxrhxVwfPvsgqc8h3vcyLsE_tTjAXnMKIydMS0Q1NmM_FX4VcZjjs9he8GpzmhQW8SdB/s1600/IMG_0728.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDuyXGJSST4tETPx0MxqdbnAojyFrJnQOUI3Ihr8uNakcH9CPXY-EyqRqWEVsmaudb3kRrOutEQxrhxVwfPvsgqc8h3vcyLsE_tTjAXnMKIydMS0Q1NmM_FX4VcZjjs9he8GpzmhQW8SdB/s400/IMG_0728.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I don't look nervous at all, do I?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We towed CKN to the 03 launch point. The wind wasn't too strong, but it was coming from North-Northwest... This gave us about 5-10 knots crosswind. The wind wasn't any sort of issue compared to the cloud cover, as we would later find out. As we strapped ourselves in, there was broken cloud at 1,200ft, a clear gap, then more broken cloud at about 3,000ft. We weren't too worried, the lower layer was full of holes... More than enough for us to see where we were and where we were going.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjemBnkZrxmNiN1Yftv1zMvweWUT7zfKA4pfHgVMIg1jhE7elC3-kE6tLd5LzM38ckg1x0uOjXbKAWTt0DiuOzSWe06H09GKOt5r4DEwQeyhfIdlIXEl3TPZfPgdx6StIoo84TzPo8wizgi/s1600/IMG_0730.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjemBnkZrxmNiN1Yftv1zMvweWUT7zfKA4pfHgVMIg1jhE7elC3-kE6tLd5LzM38ckg1x0uOjXbKAWTt0DiuOzSWe06H09GKOt5r4DEwQeyhfIdlIXEl3TPZfPgdx6StIoo84TzPo8wizgi/s400/IMG_0730.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ross doesn't look nervous either...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>There is always that moment when the tug takes up the slack and the glider starts to move... It doesn't seem to matter how many times I do it, it's always special.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4mhZu6A3jCYa9vYl73syZu5UeDYFiDziyw_noc2jnSINTeChymerTP4EILM97JCQwPk3GeE8TDVXI1W1pBELSURMSnBEFlTOPtsEPo7QihaOdgvbQxKhUF5BeCHiLT3RHzVYoMa17Wd0x/s1600/IMG_0731.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4mhZu6A3jCYa9vYl73syZu5UeDYFiDziyw_noc2jnSINTeChymerTP4EILM97JCQwPk3GeE8TDVXI1W1pBELSURMSnBEFlTOPtsEPo7QihaOdgvbQxKhUF5BeCHiLT3RHzVYoMa17Wd0x/s400/IMG_0731.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Too late now</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The Bocian has a large wingspan and can be a bit ponderous on the ground, it takes a bit of a ground run to get flying speed up. Until you have good speed, the control inputs needed to keep the wings level are quite large. This was the moment I realized how little room there is between the control stick and the side of the cockpit at full right/left deflection... I'll have to learn to keep my knees out of the way!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZSGzDl1b94YIVv9GtXZOapOlEdkuXBnIrNDgG04Tf0fd9OQFJDz4yNcVucb385JSKdysbRe6IqtX1NquZGhDldVWmqGiNeA6mOzlpYRLQLS-ybQUp-XmmbbTct5lumyHZ0z7HTTHZHkFv/s1600/IMG_0738.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZSGzDl1b94YIVv9GtXZOapOlEdkuXBnIrNDgG04Tf0fd9OQFJDz4yNcVucb385JSKdysbRe6IqtX1NquZGhDldVWmqGiNeA6mOzlpYRLQLS-ybQUp-XmmbbTct5lumyHZ0z7HTTHZHkFv/s400/IMG_0738.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And we're away</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The tow was pretty uneventful, just a chance to breathe a sigh of relief and let it sink in.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA4WNrHQ9Ff3idiOGOiaaLktPYeP61b9-210eMZjnVG4ZzL2_NPapIIb89R_Tpo_aWCppfij_EHtU0cnMzRLp9jaOPu2a6GMPyLCR2hxXsBOHcRsO0-Ot5LXzBkHUwxdxsdIKTqJaeyStU/s1600/IMG_0746.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA4WNrHQ9Ff3idiOGOiaaLktPYeP61b9-210eMZjnVG4ZzL2_NPapIIb89R_Tpo_aWCppfij_EHtU0cnMzRLp9jaOPu2a6GMPyLCR2hxXsBOHcRsO0-Ot5LXzBkHUwxdxsdIKTqJaeyStU/s400/IMG_0746.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There were patchy low clouds that day</td></tr>
</tbody></table>For some reason, you can sit in a glider on the ground, close the canopy and have a look round, but you can't really tell what visibility issues you are going to have in the air. That's my excuse for having a dirty canopy on our first flight, and I'm sticking to it!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKym6k3vaIUS1ZOoPjTBbGxWVHf58pZ5OvNEqogytfv0CQlgPWy9sSCuSaVG903d4z5cjOuPLL_KTfhHVZFzo8BtFxSGa5PBMaLQ2VCtJvWFOIgTnroDhyphenhyphenHiNMp8zVhdOLg0VyNJNjrQnl/s1600/IMG_0766.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKym6k3vaIUS1ZOoPjTBbGxWVHf58pZ5OvNEqogytfv0CQlgPWy9sSCuSaVG903d4z5cjOuPLL_KTfhHVZFzo8BtFxSGa5PBMaLQ2VCtJvWFOIgTnroDhyphenhyphenHiNMp8zVhdOLg0VyNJNjrQnl/s400/IMG_0766.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the tug and rope from the back seat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Another special moment of every flight, when you pull that yellow handle and watch the rope drop away. Watching the tug peel away (at our club, the tug dives right) and knowing that you are on your own. The first flight back we took a tow to 3,000ft, we needed a bit of height so that Ross could test her out with some tight turns, stalls, dives, etc. The only issue we discovered was a trim tab that needed adjusting. Nothing major, but a bit unsettling when fully back trims out around 75 knots!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo0rD7v1qsnE5HNqFj9njFsi1pOBtq0aR3AUCviGsnP4_a6v0GXbRZPllfV2S7qrlRSsCFfktrHsy0SaKwb6gum_2xwURqTvXxymEBJaMcSU2zcjHGX9WKiDEPimMamsegqgdXwwNYe0M3/s1600/IMG_0778.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo0rD7v1qsnE5HNqFj9njFsi1pOBtq0aR3AUCviGsnP4_a6v0GXbRZPllfV2S7qrlRSsCFfktrHsy0SaKwb6gum_2xwURqTvXxymEBJaMcSU2zcjHGX9WKiDEPimMamsegqgdXwwNYe0M3/s400/IMG_0778.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The tug peels off, and we're free</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The second flight of the day, my turn to do the flying! We had adjusted the trim tab between flights, and the Bocian now trims out to a more usable 45-50 knots. By the time we launched again, the clouds were really closing in, the holes were still there but shrinking fast. We took a tow thinking we'd go as high as we were comfortable, but by the time we'd reached 2,500ft the cloud was looking pretty thick... That would have to do.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvHUI219xw3BZrCjARXxcCnkrZy5-w4csCsPkXqoApfoOn3mLH0NId2PMQ9rSO-mgMy0g0RtiGv8nIpgnxHCRY84bD3CL9fpq9HU2MiTU7rTe9JC6b1KVNMvczQDXX0aRvwzMLmQolvxbD/s1600/IMG_0781.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvHUI219xw3BZrCjARXxcCnkrZy5-w4csCsPkXqoApfoOn3mLH0NId2PMQ9rSO-mgMy0g0RtiGv8nIpgnxHCRY84bD3CL9fpq9HU2MiTU7rTe9JC6b1KVNMvczQDXX0aRvwzMLmQolvxbD/s400/IMG_0781.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Time for a quick pose</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I managed to spend a little time getting familiar with the Bocian, the nose down attitude of the aircraft makes for an interesting view! A bit like a helicopter, you always feel tilted forward. The rudder pedals are quite light as well, and I think it will take some time to grow fully accustomed to them. Ross in the back seat took his camera with him this time, and snapped some good in flight pics.<br />
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Heading back to the airfield from the south, it became apparent that the clouds were closing in quickly. Ahead of us was a wall of cloud with a base at around 1,100ft. We had to get the nose down and get under it if we wanted to see where we were going! I put on 80kts and aimed under the clouds, heading for high key. Ross did manage to get this picture of the airfield.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIEMjUQ7w_obl4sQF10PPRZVb6lCIEajtaGVHGKuQ3Y4OqY8FDzbK_a0gOuYdl3Dj5EE9s6ccP4Fg6FO5XB0gsxlurY0vqNuyFAXgcra5g5AzSubl60QJshz4ynhSCs5D2pL9XZpsv0QoS/s1600/IMG_0783.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIEMjUQ7w_obl4sQF10PPRZVb6lCIEajtaGVHGKuQ3Y4OqY8FDzbK_a0gOuYdl3Dj5EE9s6ccP4Fg6FO5XB0gsxlurY0vqNuyFAXgcra5g5AzSubl60QJshz4ynhSCs5D2pL9XZpsv0QoS/s400/IMG_0783.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crowland airfield from above, the strip running from the top of the picture to the bottom is 03, the one we are using today</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Under the clouds now and heading for home. We might have shaved a few minutes off our flight time getting clear of cloud, but November in the UK isn't a time for thermals anyway, today was always going to be sled rides all the way (get towed to the top of the hill, slide to the bottom... Repeat). Landing is very relaxed, the Bocian 1E has a sprung undercarriage so even our field gets smoothed out!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiDkcRQ9RQCNs-BHx-H5nZOMmWoQV-OyiHi3F20WAvyYIq9y3oChNLX19twcB1TXU34uwTbKoLlKdpLXPnT7tpu0Ako5YtKPgXiIZfgTzM6nhxZmGntaPVfduspJxl3iDpiOf3bqFoPWAW/s1600/IMG_0785.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiDkcRQ9RQCNs-BHx-H5nZOMmWoQV-OyiHi3F20WAvyYIq9y3oChNLX19twcB1TXU34uwTbKoLlKdpLXPnT7tpu0Ako5YtKPgXiIZfgTzM6nhxZmGntaPVfduspJxl3iDpiOf3bqFoPWAW/s400/IMG_0785.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Checking the reference point and joining the circuit</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">What the day did leave me with was a sense of anticipation. The Bocian is going to be ideal for hour building and soaring, all we need now is the spring to arrive and the weather in 2011 to be better than last year...</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitCk3q6cg0TJUl0CWcsRYW4Gk0h-AP68A0lcyfgzXhw5SAabtyMqqqCu3ZNQMCuh2OUR3x5J65bYKxjjk_XjUa4Qao15r9laXgsp1VrQ9AIJXxNqTFx8wVrC-4rrrTWDgiE26zBuQQ5q0C/s1600/DSCN0300.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitCk3q6cg0TJUl0CWcsRYW4Gk0h-AP68A0lcyfgzXhw5SAabtyMqqqCu3ZNQMCuh2OUR3x5J65bYKxjjk_XjUa4Qao15r9laXgsp1VrQ9AIJXxNqTFx8wVrC-4rrrTWDgiE26zBuQQ5q0C/s400/DSCN0300.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two weeks later, and the other two syndicate members, Howard and Trevor get to fly</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Two weeks later, my partners on the syndicate took CKN for their first flights in her. They both reported back that, (like me) while it would take a while to get used to the rudder, the spring should bring some good flights.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNOn8TgbO__gKEQle2aSRCTV0o2i_8qVHj3pM4dYAK86pBQ0p7L9CI8AdruqSxGs_D1Bmp5-GrxZvtTcuZwJ6wRXZxqaF0v8oS9OdGLb0OW7fcHy4Uxm-CiTzCG47fRRKpfUgThbl595Pk/s1600/DSCN0301.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNOn8TgbO__gKEQle2aSRCTV0o2i_8qVHj3pM4dYAK86pBQ0p7L9CI8AdruqSxGs_D1Bmp5-GrxZvtTcuZwJ6wRXZxqaF0v8oS9OdGLb0OW7fcHy4Uxm-CiTzCG47fRRKpfUgThbl595Pk/s400/DSCN0301.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The start of a new chapter in CKN's history</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It has been a long road, but we finally arrived. Thanks to Peterborough and Spalding Gliding Club having room in the tug hangar, our Bocian won't need to be de-rigged every weekend, she is going to have a permanent home under cover. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Thanks to everyone who helped us get here, directly or indirectly, you know who you are :-) </div>Jack of Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16237821810417515219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703352925576211587.post-41744191640773833102011-01-09T17:14:00.001+00:002011-01-09T17:15:49.347+00:00Amazing Home Built PVC Instrument<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://jackofallhobbies.blogspot.com/2011/01/amazing-home-built-pvc-instrument.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil5upMvdllCcfWfwt4gd9QA9VltPxyrqPb5B3aspiH50DmMaAejkONqUw4cL3irUuXwSDV67pDpQmdWQSqXJ6bEciaOHY8NlnVq3e1YNRiB_oDLqwApF3oWM-LjvEurQ2_imfKtJLtB4tT/s400/PVC+Inst.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Talent show time! Not only did this Loyola Marymount student build an instrument from scratch, he then plays everything from The Office theme to Madonna to Mozart on it. The instrument he made. From scratch. It's amazing. Click 'Read More' for the video!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><object height="340" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0D2o8F2MOuI?fs=1&hl=en_GB&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0D2o8F2MOuI?fs=1&hl=en_GB&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object></div><br />
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This video gives more information on how he did it :-)<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><object height="340" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/EjyKvDcDHR8?fs=1&hl=en_GB&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/EjyKvDcDHR8?fs=1&hl=en_GB&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object></div>Jack of Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16237821810417515219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703352925576211587.post-34782127077765221182011-01-08T13:08:00.001+00:002011-01-08T13:09:17.586+00:00Top 10 Rip Off Video Game ConsolesI stumbled across these, each one made me chuckle...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://jackofallhobbies.blogspot.com/2011/01/top-10-rip-off-video-game-consoles.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhugxspwiXCjT_AjwcatwplE2r0lIkPdOOaP1INSowALOlEKaH4QckESopXzHwkWGuQMTjCF9S_vIumKG1SL90bs2Yjm25ODTzNi0Wg9B3aQRfVMQoMHVZhVDjpRRMCH-XA7FmKpVxndmjO/s400/knockoffgameboy1449379.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Who would want a Gameboy if they could have one of these???</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE8izprfWDVMIdjIhSmtX_RpuSmS3uP9K7W_tTeaJ0qpANr33bPwRfrezOmmRMv8jsDasU6jer5fMP2Gw3E8WumqCyA4Zn7TgrHDYNq8IcPsiid7ojOJueMB_KiRSwVz_hyphenhyphengPZRN7c9Z-F/s1600/knockoffnintendods14438.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE8izprfWDVMIdjIhSmtX_RpuSmS3uP9K7W_tTeaJ0qpANr33bPwRfrezOmmRMv8jsDasU6jer5fMP2Gw3E8WumqCyA4Zn7TgrHDYNq8IcPsiid7ojOJueMB_KiRSwVz_hyphenhyphengPZRN7c9Z-F/s400/knockoffnintendods14438.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The new DG. I don't know who will sue... Nintendo or Dolce & Gabbana!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvyAmoT9sZreA2YJpzPjhxusIDQx3f6yVrY0JDeWvQJSetNBXEiWm6MAZ3nmMGapHwZBba-BjXNQelecszPTfju60Rr_5EXWTpql3IiTm8QPOQk05fAuclfdL8i7t6gYls1UV6B5wPd1Bd/s1600/knockoffnintendowii1438.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvyAmoT9sZreA2YJpzPjhxusIDQx3f6yVrY0JDeWvQJSetNBXEiWm6MAZ3nmMGapHwZBba-BjXNQelecszPTfju60Rr_5EXWTpql3IiTm8QPOQk05fAuclfdL8i7t6gYls1UV6B5wPd1Bd/s400/knockoffnintendowii1438.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hmmm.... Anyone for a No.1 console?</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkRpZYLiDjH-OOhrpGylob29iCsmJE4mYhzI4hb5oN3qTor5pilpHnXKikhIRy_iyUFjRxNgR3q-E39tHYywFUKLwWKnkeymK49t45JZAeckHIlOJEYLG2YxWUEH3-BT5_9Wg5nUO6Cgh-/s1600/knockoffpsp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkRpZYLiDjH-OOhrpGylob29iCsmJE4mYhzI4hb5oN3qTor5pilpHnXKikhIRy_iyUFjRxNgR3q-E39tHYywFUKLwWKnkeymK49t45JZAeckHIlOJEYLG2YxWUEH3-BT5_9Wg5nUO6Cgh-/s400/knockoffpsp.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Do we really want our kids to associate PCP with fun?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQVvyu16rOiZNu-_ByIuMulZn3Qfxu_0p-KmIl9sue6ys-moxPDr-gORkTmYxvM-ncrq9p0h-nJsaaB2CybAFqjuhY8754cI1hkB-bmtG7PqXjJjwOS7QWp1OHIb3DrAOoKOMDFRclYqV8/s1600/knockoffsegadreamcast14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQVvyu16rOiZNu-_ByIuMulZn3Qfxu_0p-KmIl9sue6ys-moxPDr-gORkTmYxvM-ncrq9p0h-nJsaaB2CybAFqjuhY8754cI1hkB-bmtG7PqXjJjwOS7QWp1OHIb3DrAOoKOMDFRclYqV8/s400/knockoffsegadreamcast14.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm not sure this one makes any sense at all?!?</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzaIaqrbSLYLQgrI9qPT5rv0s7nAbmKZ98vvVEC35PvHUSpRcZ3FkBm1PQ9CpCTFKhf7TcuSg-Q1ZisczjhJtDp_sWnogW2rfBD1spifsFqKJmEuaJaz1S_17fkoeW4b7av19zpNXnZICK/s1600/knockoffsonyplaystation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzaIaqrbSLYLQgrI9qPT5rv0s7nAbmKZ98vvVEC35PvHUSpRcZ3FkBm1PQ9CpCTFKhf7TcuSg-Q1ZisczjhJtDp_sWnogW2rfBD1spifsFqKJmEuaJaz1S_17fkoeW4b7av19zpNXnZICK/s400/knockoffsonyplaystation.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another take on Sony's pocket system. Wonder what the 'O' stands for</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOfPMNEP7XNDCd6kmtAAqpK3hFFnttNkZVKdOLXomo4-fIZfWNhLo8oUbnYfuI_Rpf0j4P4BifeUOKu7vFdGVUD7TEaNRWIXDsziEjMZkKCLNOP6jvExPkK4SBhOEzeWvg0WcbIJ-mFQ-u/s1600/knockoffwii1417567.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOfPMNEP7XNDCd6kmtAAqpK3hFFnttNkZVKdOLXomo4-fIZfWNhLo8oUbnYfuI_Rpf0j4P4BifeUOKu7vFdGVUD7TEaNRWIXDsziEjMZkKCLNOP6jvExPkK4SBhOEzeWvg0WcbIJ-mFQ-u/s400/knockoffwii1417567.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Wii is obviously a good subject for a rip off. </td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh8dZBk3tfSIktWVvpCSRJGQyxLCUJJBOw1SRk4F3R8BRlIdaoJfeyEd7vxxbeI_JKsZPbstMDWrVZBxfmBRsfjJDq2aMJE5De9-8BejesHxhGVoicPyO9kZiGAUx9Oe2MHgHVBcP0MSks/s1600/knockoffwii21413397.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh8dZBk3tfSIktWVvpCSRJGQyxLCUJJBOw1SRk4F3R8BRlIdaoJfeyEd7vxxbeI_JKsZPbstMDWrVZBxfmBRsfjJDq2aMJE5De9-8BejesHxhGVoicPyO9kZiGAUx9Oe2MHgHVBcP0MSks/s400/knockoffwii21413397.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As shown by the new Wi Wi! Once again, I feel the need to relieve myself</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD3qfdtL7znYq_hT9A_Vjdmyfhz7k1WhOy6__8Z5PLNJYHXkcV8Tzu5sStL5F_YAHTW7g5CR18H0L2-TZZ84U6FSAhRtTFppp3lq3_3IYKrxT8SMpcv1AeXZl19A_KmePXyuw3yDHKFQR3/s1600/knockoffxbox1456182.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD3qfdtL7znYq_hT9A_Vjdmyfhz7k1WhOy6__8Z5PLNJYHXkcV8Tzu5sStL5F_YAHTW7g5CR18H0L2-TZZ84U6FSAhRtTFppp3lq3_3IYKrxT8SMpcv1AeXZl19A_KmePXyuw3yDHKFQR3/s400/knockoffxbox1456182.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">10 out of 10 for branding, 2 out of 10 for the look of the thing</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihEB8UmFmtVMZkBimSu6RDK8L-P6X_yQTdVDgM7crU3wyEBIVFgdFZpJN-EjKzwh0EGi1-xnWYV9_lDEEFCR9I6lsQ3rlV9jZ2ZF2YrjwocwIpUIVr0S77W8CMoxpuoyn0EVmpUJLGOhat/s1600/knockoffsupernintendo14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihEB8UmFmtVMZkBimSu6RDK8L-P6X_yQTdVDgM7crU3wyEBIVFgdFZpJN-EjKzwh0EGi1-xnWYV9_lDEEFCR9I6lsQ3rlV9jZ2ZF2YrjwocwIpUIVr0S77W8CMoxpuoyn0EVmpUJLGOhat/s400/knockoffsupernintendo14.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Is the Super Megason the console, or the boy playing it???</td></tr>
</tbody></table>HONOURABLE MENTIONS:<br />
<br />
Playstation deals you might want to avoid...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQE4OFY5l2SaqrlixtXNVCusuQ6WGWb8Bjhyphenhyphen_2RgDFIGN3UqN65fHxZI0R0ay5ancDwQU3OsvF9UmRN-dODjgZ5PuZVgCx1VWDW0Se_VF1eBojpcj_ngxKp0MbddFbLLzksKT4aaSitnT0/s1600/polystation_open_Console_clones_and_rip_offs-s397x401-2949-580.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQE4OFY5l2SaqrlixtXNVCusuQ6WGWb8Bjhyphenhyphen_2RgDFIGN3UqN65fHxZI0R0ay5ancDwQU3OsvF9UmRN-dODjgZ5PuZVgCx1VWDW0Se_VF1eBojpcj_ngxKp0MbddFbLLzksKT4aaSitnT0/s400/polystation_open_Console_clones_and_rip_offs-s397x401-2949-580.jpg" width="395" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love the complete rip off... Except for the CD drive!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Rzy7S71JfJ_Y3s93A0olha5a9G1lpWqwPACxveWs4To6F7WK8e4g6zmP76yNVtB220CVex1rNveoonKXVahs6bhk3BjTKr3CfB7aBpK4BDx0TmGES4RMAD-gsm-yAanyya1DVV3zdE3a/s1600/0+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Rzy7S71JfJ_Y3s93A0olha5a9G1lpWqwPACxveWs4To6F7WK8e4g6zmP76yNVtB220CVex1rNveoonKXVahs6bhk3BjTKr3CfB7aBpK4BDx0TmGES4RMAD-gsm-yAanyya1DVV3zdE3a/s400/0+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Check out the box logo</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDgbFIHr3XSM6cYOr_abNCtL-MGXuUo4-Znk_DWDrdCjJRg_FDJABxBHcKs5UmUvstcZpZC1vL6UxAhyUZGmjKqJgYfMt9BjXKjqmHBDxPmUoIp3tGxlM99JyM6C4ylXScSHIuvJ94nTP7/s1600/polystation2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDgbFIHr3XSM6cYOr_abNCtL-MGXuUo4-Znk_DWDrdCjJRg_FDJABxBHcKs5UmUvstcZpZC1vL6UxAhyUZGmjKqJgYfMt9BjXKjqmHBDxPmUoIp3tGxlM99JyM6C4ylXScSHIuvJ94nTP7/s400/polystation2.jpg" width="286" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When it worked with the PS One, why change for the PS2?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9U2duGj-8TzBcTObBa-l_DnEcjxKzwXnhEl_1JhsCMt7x3Vpth4tLy5a8ZIMAL6eUKnoLz2JUZ2RWbg1-1nlGzDVnnIXuzPmEhHhrcaWm7NmCqHqicxwsyITyqMIgoB0b3soFUTG4Lv0x/s1600/polystation_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="357" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9U2duGj-8TzBcTObBa-l_DnEcjxKzwXnhEl_1JhsCMt7x3Vpth4tLy5a8ZIMAL6eUKnoLz2JUZ2RWbg1-1nlGzDVnnIXuzPmEhHhrcaWm7NmCqHqicxwsyITyqMIgoB0b3soFUTG4Lv0x/s400/polystation_3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How about this? A rip off which has something the original doesn't!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH9yfzVmXdeeiT2a8VdOGgGi3xTGui__pIq1qvbNnIYRj0sjKkS0EpK1SQhcNf6gq12XRUHUp83nvaAiq-xDQK9_pgPSLbmSdus9R0Cs02BC7srm2iclaywC4e7B2MLMrF-lHA7Nk0Upro/s1600/0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH9yfzVmXdeeiT2a8VdOGgGi3xTGui__pIq1qvbNnIYRj0sjKkS0EpK1SQhcNf6gq12XRUHUp83nvaAiq-xDQK9_pgPSLbmSdus9R0Cs02BC7srm2iclaywC4e7B2MLMrF-lHA7Nk0Upro/s400/0.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ok, I reckon they had the pictures to work with... But not the measurements? </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlkPEnyz2Z9DArUysGY3wcEUFztSHnJU0YB8hklo_RHhgxbc_sPVCoVFyNNac6nAIXjtcNw3swzMf5bYoicoT4Bfu7ixKf6eiV05ikk9VEqtfcwOong5boJPd92VZu8uY4eIoJO-SjX6ax/s1600/1-polystation-portable-psp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlkPEnyz2Z9DArUysGY3wcEUFztSHnJU0YB8hklo_RHhgxbc_sPVCoVFyNNac6nAIXjtcNw3swzMf5bYoicoT4Bfu7ixKf6eiV05ikk9VEqtfcwOong5boJPd92VZu8uY4eIoJO-SjX6ax/s320/1-polystation-portable-psp.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Love the cartridge slot! I almost want this just to play Dungeon Master again</td></tr>
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</div>Jack of Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16237821810417515219noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703352925576211587.post-39349864050419582822011-01-05T22:46:00.002+00:002011-01-05T22:49:23.869+00:00More Tomb Raider News<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Ok, I admit it.... I'm a Tomb Raider fan. Each episode has kept me occupied for far too long, negotiating my way through ever bigger levels. I guess the pinnacle for me was Tomb Raider Anniversary, combining all the advances in graphics and gameplay with the original Tomb Raider story.<br />
<br />
This latest news does have me fired up though, even though we might be waiting until Christmas 2011 for this to hit the shelves of your local game store. A month ago I posted the first official news of the new Tomb Raider reboot, now I bring you the latest news from Crystal Dynamics... Real screenshots!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://jackofallhobbies.blogspot.com/2011/01/more-tomb-raider-news.html"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjwa9ykBp-Wwcj-ywmkWiDpN9qbvarCl1nrXmVrkOALrKDLR71lBbX6SKwFj275sboV_gA_oS9YpfOf88UXCcQcd7qhyphenhyphenuKp18NmopfkFv_emb0lNJrKYdfqn6U_WV0HXkFat_LLwDyJFGn/s400/New-Tomb-Raider-Screenshots.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://jackofallhobbies.blogspot.com/2011/01/more-tomb-raider-news.html">Click for the rest of the pictures</a></td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLvc15gB1KVrBsAbwQb0hiXosoeEI7T4zvFlKwCSRb77hT1D-9IDbJoZSg42qMX-zGPv1BEaSO1fch1W76DUuMRZpCCgUzHSA9rXc9fjGhLA5A3A9ETJRFvOZrgwLVl9VD36zKTdB6o-VY/s1600/New-Tomb-Raider-Screenshot-8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLvc15gB1KVrBsAbwQb0hiXosoeEI7T4zvFlKwCSRb77hT1D-9IDbJoZSg42qMX-zGPv1BEaSO1fch1W76DUuMRZpCCgUzHSA9rXc9fjGhLA5A3A9ETJRFvOZrgwLVl9VD36zKTdB6o-VY/s320/New-Tomb-Raider-Screenshot-8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Jack of Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16237821810417515219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703352925576211587.post-81366179910190476182011-01-05T12:55:00.001+00:002011-01-05T22:51:11.134+00:00Internet Service Providers - Good, Cheap, Fast?Ages ago, I stumbled across this picture on the internet and had a quick chuckle...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://jackofallhobbies.blogspot.com/2011/01/internet-service-providers-good-cheap.html#more" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBkKzWS4z-n13MHKhuWT9z88ToW3PKkU-rRRpE4qcrXUY0iJNOL1eHKhHS7LEUMw5F9OPdowwvzMl5dXQaePcsIj9mIHCxtKXDLWv9Vl_Q50zLJh2u_0NbX4PsGUuxKxgV8Ye_HQ20h96x/s400/good-cheap-fast-service.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a name='more'></a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Over the past week I have been researching Internet Service Providers (looking for a replacement for o2, which has gotten worse and worse over the year I have been with them). Suddenly the sign above really makes sense.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Fast Cheap service won't be Good - The big internet suppliers offer low prices and make big promises, but when you really try and use the service you pay for, you find that their system can't cope with so many people and everything grinds to a halt.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Good Cheap service won't be Fast - If you shop around, there are a number of really good business broadband suppliers out there with fantastic phone support, great reliability, </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Good Fast service won't be Cheap - There is only one way to provide a really good service to all of your customers if you are an ISP. Keep customer numbers down. Simple. You can't fit a quart in a pint pot, and you can't fit thousands of customers internet traffic down a line only built for half that. This does cause a problem, unless you are happy to pay double for your service.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I got to thinking about value for money and paying for what we use. Over the last few years, we have gotten used to being offered unlimited benefits at a low cost. Now that the internet is being used for streaming TV, radio, telephone calls, movie rentals, etc, the big networks are starting to creak under the weight. If want to continue paying £10.00 - £20.00 per month, we are going to have to accept restrictions. If we don't want restrictions, we are going to have to pay more for our connection.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Anyway, if you find that your connection isn't keeping up with you, speak to <a href="http://www.xilo.net/adsl_broadband/">Xilo Communications</a>. Their home package prices are reasonable when you consider that there is no throttling, no traffic shaping, and no overselling their connections. They even have free use off peak so you can download large files overnight (or at the weekends) without eating up your data allowance.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Jack of Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16237821810417515219noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703352925576211587.post-79520864512087099412011-01-03T23:24:00.001+00:002011-01-05T22:52:06.672+00:00A Story from Brian Shul, Retired SR-71 Pilot... One of my Favourites<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"What was the slowest you ever flew the Blackbird?"</span></span><br />
<pre style="white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Brian Shul, Retired SR-71 Pilot, via Plane and Pilot Magazine</span></pre><pre style="white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"></pre><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://jackofallhobbies.blogspot.com/2011/01/story-from-brian-shul-retired-sr-71.html#more" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYYwryvg8YU5wtEiGpb53Z6IrXqQS-U84Z97NIa1732WtK54rOzxbs0ZqVuovDAHl5v7NPUhF_q3cBvVey98VN5LGfTh8fhOr4boEyX5TiRWiJDfKfmW9jmO_XRKnTPyNBl8uNE2VgNW_n/s400/SR-71.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Full Story after the jump... Click Read More!</span></div><pre style="word-wrap: break-word;"><a name='more'></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The following was printed in Plane and Pilot Magazine. There are a few good SR-71 stories out there in interweb land, I particularly like this one. I'll maybe post a few more over coming weeks :-) </span>
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; white-space: normal;"><pre style="white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">"What was the slowest you ever flew the Blackbird?"
Brian Shul, Retired SR-71 Pilot, via Plane and Pilot Magazine
As a former SR-71 pilot, and a professional keynote speaker, the question I'm most often asked is "How fast would that SR-71 fly?" I can be assured of hearing that question several times at any event I attend. It's an interesting question, given the aircraft's proclivity for speed, but there really isn't one number to give, as the jet would always give you a little more speed if you wanted it to. It was common to see 35 miles a minute. Because we flew a programmed Mach number on most missions, and never wanted to harm the plane in any way, we never let it run out to any limits of temperature or speed. Thus, each SR-71 pilot had his own individual high speed that he saw at some point on some mission. I saw mine over Libya when Khadafy fired two missiles my way, and max power was in order. Let's just say that the plane truly loved speed, and effortlessly took us to Mach numbers we hadn't previously seen.
So it was with great surprise, when, at the end of one of my presentations, someone asked: What was the slowest you ever flew the Blackbird? This was a first. After giving it some thought, I was reminded of a story I had never shared before, and relayed the following:
I was flying the SR-71 out of RAF Mildenhall, England, with my back-seater, Walt Watson; we were returning from a mission over Europe and the Iron Curtain, when we received a radio transmission from home base. As we scooted across Denmark in three minutes, we learned that a small RAF base in the English countryside had requested an SR-71 fly-past. The air cadet commander there was a former Blackbird pilot, and thought it would be a motivating moment for the young lads to see the mighty SR-71 perform a low approach. No problem; we were happy to do it. After a quick aerial refueling over the North Sea, we proceeded to find the small airfield.
Walter had a myriad of sophisticated navigation equipment in the back seat, and began to vector me toward the field. Descending to subsonic speeds, we found ourselves over a densely wooded area in a slight haze. Like most former WWII British airfields, the one we were looking for had a small tower and little surrounding infrastructure. Walter told me we were close, and that I should be able to see the field, but I saw nothing. Nothing but trees as far as I could see in the haze. We got a little lower, and I pulled the throttles back from the 325 knots we were at. With the gear up, anything under 275 was just uncomfortable. Walt said we were practically over the field, yet there was nothing in my windscreen. I banked the jet and started a gentle circling maneuver in hopes of picking up anything that looked like a field. Meanwhile, below, the cadet commander had taken the cadets up on the catwalk of the tower, in order to get a prime view of the fly-past. It was a quiet, still day, with no wind and partial gray overcast. Walter continued to give me indications that the field should be below us, but, in the overcast and haze, I couldn't see it. The longer we continued to peer out the window and circle, the slower we got. With our power back, the awaiting cadets heard nothing.</pre><pre style="white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"></pre><pre style="white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">I must have had good instructors in my flying career, as something told me I better cross-check the gauges. As I noticed the airspeed indicator slide below 160 knots, my heart stopped, and my adrenalin filled left hand pushed two throttles full forward. At this point, we weren't really flying, but were falling in a slight bank. Just at the moment, both afterburners lit with a thunderous roar of flame (and what a joyous feeling that was), and the aircraft fell into full view of the shocked observers on the tower. Shattering the still quiet of that morning, they now had 107 feet of fire breathing titanium in their face, as the plane leveled and accelerated, in full burner, on the tower side of the infield, closer than expected, maintaining what could only be described as some sort of ultimate knife-edge pass. </pre><pre style="white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">Quickly reaching the field boundary, we proceeded back to Mildenhall without incident. We didn't say a word for those next 14 minutes. After landing, our commander greeted us, and we were both certain he was reaching for our wings. Instead, he heartily shook our hands and said the commander had told him it was the greatest SR-71 fly-past he had ever seen, especially how we had surprised them with such a precise maneuver that could only be described as breathtaking. He said that some of the cadets' hats were blown off, and the sight of the plan form of the plane in full afterburner, dropping right in front of them, was unbelievable. Walt and I both understood the concept of breathtaking very well, that morning, and sheepishly replied that they were just excited to see our low approach.
As we retired to the equipment room to change from space suits to flight suits, we just sat there: We hadn't spoken a word since the pass. Finally, Walter looked at me and said, "One hundred fifty-six knots. What did you see?" Trying to find my voice, I stammered, "One hundred fifty-two." We sat in silence for a moment. Then Walt said, "Don't ever do that to me again!" And I never did.
A year later, Walter and I were having lunch in the Mildenhall Officers' club, and overheard an officer talking to some cadets about an SR-71 fly-past that he had seen, one day. Of course, by now the story included kids falling off the tower, and screaming as the heat of the jet singed their eyebrows. Noticing our Habu patches, as we stood there with lunch trays in our hands, he asked us to verify to the cadets that such a thing had occurred. Walt just shook his head and said, "It was probably just a routine low approach; they're pretty impressive in that plane". Impressive indeed.
Little did I realize, after relaying this experience to my audience that day, that it would become one of the most popular and most requested stories. It's ironic that people are interested in how slow the world's fastest jet can fly. Regardless of your speed, however, it's always a good idea to keep that cross check up -- and keep your Mach up, too.</pre></span></pre>Jack of Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16237821810417515219noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703352925576211587.post-38174748475671350772010-12-21T14:00:00.000+00:002010-12-21T14:00:24.624+00:00A Few of Examples of Dangerous DrivingThe internet is full of video clips and a fair few of them seem to be car related. These are just some favourites of mine :-)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipMfMoKsb4Hu5lRT9shpLjt3qkw6QUkllOCHW0kQl57ozPmtIxdO6ls3IFexdVU6pS49ifmNXAg9zjghNIuvlcX_9YTemg8s3YUgSh9EjD0qgfIbBsnduVwEvFk91qLqaSXSaP2p4HZDhR/s1600/Dangerous+Driving.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipMfMoKsb4Hu5lRT9shpLjt3qkw6QUkllOCHW0kQl57ozPmtIxdO6ls3IFexdVU6pS49ifmNXAg9zjghNIuvlcX_9YTemg8s3YUgSh9EjD0qgfIbBsnduVwEvFk91qLqaSXSaP2p4HZDhR/s400/Dangerous+Driving.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Click 'Read More' for the Videos!</div><br />
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Driving while Multitasking?<br />
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Well, he is in the fast lane... (I reckon 250mph might be a bit high, but who knows?) And seeing as the guy holding the camera phone is driving at the same time, I guess he's not a lot better...<br />
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Sometimes, no matter how careful you are, it's the unseen other guy who is the problem. But what about when you have a whole junction full of nutters???<br />
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The problem is, sometimes the nutters get lucky... When they get lucky too often, this kind of thing seems normal I guess...<br />
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Ok, it's one thing to be an idiot behind the wheel. I guess none of us are perfect... We all sometimes do (or don't do) something we later feel lucky to get away with.<br />
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At least the star of the next video had the decency to be a crazy senile idiot ON HER DRIVING TEST! No, really... It was good of her to give the examiner such an accurate demonstration of her driving standard. At least she won't be out on the roads any more (which is more than can be said for many of the drivers who appear here).<br />
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Personally, I love to watch people who are in such a hurry they end up taking twice as long to accomplish something... Combine with a little non-permanent injury (to reinforce the lesson) and you get some sweet moments.<br />
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Like this one! I guess putting the Handbrake on would have held him up far too much, busy man like him :-) <br />
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<object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/t0vfGtt_yqQ?fs=1&hl=en_GB&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/t0vfGtt_yqQ?fs=1&hl=en_GB&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>Jack of Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16237821810417515219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703352925576211587.post-3394890178875543792010-12-19T16:36:00.001+00:002010-12-19T16:53:00.517+00:00What Fighter Jocks Get Up to When the Snow Falls!So this is why a neutral country needs an air force...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD8rI5-hAHnd-wBypGtJuuos933ogoWKjL_WIJrdum5OAhxax80XVDeZMjMgBOo93obJ_A5jzsmy8OMDa_lkpqW3RVFX6LpfVT8YAe7YTh1FrykWdxKGWrH4kE4OYJT7KkSl5aBsH0fDgY/s1600/Fighter+Sledding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD8rI5-hAHnd-wBypGtJuuos933ogoWKjL_WIJrdum5OAhxax80XVDeZMjMgBOo93obJ_A5jzsmy8OMDa_lkpqW3RVFX6LpfVT8YAe7YTh1FrykWdxKGWrH4kE4OYJT7KkSl5aBsH0fDgY/s320/Fighter+Sledding.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Click Read More for the Video!</div><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><object data="http://www.collegehumor.com/moogaloop/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1944801&fullscreen=1" height="360" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"/><param name="wmode" value="transparent"/><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/><param name="movie" quality="best" value="http://www.collegehumor.com/moogaloop/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1944801&fullscreen=1"/><embed src="http://www.collegehumor.com/moogaloop/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1944801&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="480" height="360" allowScriptAccess="always"></embed></object></div><div style="padding: 5px 0; text-align: center; width: 480px;">See more <a href="http://www.collegehumor.com/videos">funny videos</a> and <a href="http://www.collegehumor.com/pictures">funny pictures</a> at <a href="http://www.collegehumor.com/">CollegeHumor</a>.</div>Jack of Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16237821810417515219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703352925576211587.post-22301832473272163852010-12-16T10:50:00.000+00:002010-12-16T10:50:17.845+00:00Top Ten Flash MobsMy nomination for most intersting, fun and crazy Flash Mobs... Click read more for the videos!<br />
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10 . ABBA Flash Mob - Seattle, Washington, USA, June 2010<br />
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You've gotta love this, cause the medical centre is Swedish and... It's ABBA! Ok, maybe an obvious pun can make this a bit more fun, but the looks on the faces of the non-involved are priceless.<br />
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9. Hammer Time Flash Mob - Los Angeles, California, USA, 2009<br />
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Funny to watch, but if I worked at that shop and suddenly a large group of shirtless men wearing gold foil hammer pants came running through the entrance, I'm not sure what I'd do... Run in the other direction??? Seriously, I'm amazed some shop lifter didn't seize the opportunity to clear the place out!<br />
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Harry Potter Flash Mob - University of San Diego, California, USA, December 2010<br />
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You really can see how the students here took their inspiration from the room. There are a number of Harry Potter themed flash mob videos out there, but this one rises to the top. <br />
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100 Girls Dance in Picadilly - London, UK, <br />
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I'd like to talk about artistic merit, about the skills and difficulties of getting this performance together, but truth is I'm just enjoying 100 attractive women wearing nothing but leotards and high heels dancing for our entertainment... As a matter of fact, here is another view of the proceedings, just so I can enjoy it again :-)<br />
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Eurovision 2010 Flash Mob - All Over, May 2010<br />
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The Eurovision people used social networking sites to attempt the biggest flash mob ever. During the halftime break of the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest, people started dancing in the stadium, followed by every country the contest was being broadcast in. I'm not sure if there are any rules for flash mob record breaking, I don't think it should count if the crowds aren't in the same place... But that's just me!<br />
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Food Court Musical - Los Angeles, California, USA, March 2008(?)<br />
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Not sure if this fully counts as a flash mob, sixteen is a bit small to be called a mob... But it's entertaining, so it makes the list. Fans of 'Whos Line is it Anyway?' will recognise the style of improv humour, which is no bad thing.<br />
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Best Buy Flash Mob - New York, NY, USA, May 2006<br />
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This is a simple one, but funny to think about the implications... For those of you outside the US, best buy staff wear a uniform of blue polo shirt and tan trousers. A simple, effective and understated way to ensure customers know who the sales people are. Well, right up until everyone who walks through the door is wearing... Blue polo shirts and tan trousers???<br />
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Supermarket Flash Mob - Manchester, UK, 14 March 2007<br />
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Around 50 people pre arranged this flash mob in Manchester, creating a mass freeze frame for four minutes. I've got to be honest, if I was shopping there I would have been freaked out... How long would it have taken you to realize everyone had frozen?<br />
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Glee Flash Mob - Rome, Italy, 21 December 2009<br />
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I figured this one had to go in, if for no other reason than to prove that English speaking countries aren't the only places people will do crazy things just because the internet tells them to! <br />
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Christmas 2010 Flash Mob - Food Court Hallelujah<br />
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It's almost Christmas again, and we all probably need a reminder of what Christmas is all about. Ahhh, yes that's it, Christmas is a time to stand up in your local mall and sing The Hallelujah Chorus! How could I forget?<br />
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Honourable Mention:<br />
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Star Wars Subway Car<br />
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I don't think that five people constitute a mob, even in very small countries. In New York City, five people doesn't even count as a conversation! Still, I had to throw this one in for entertainment value alone. <br />
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Many of these videos (you will have noticed) come from <a href="http://improveverywhere.com/">http://improveverywhere.com/</a> If you want to see more, or create your own top ten, click on the link and go see them... They are a friendly bunch!Jack of Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16237821810417515219noreply@blogger.com0