After five and a half years and over 85,000 miles (plus the 22,000 miles the car had on it when I bought it), I’ve decided that it’s finally time to trade it in for a newer model. I’ve been extremely impressed with the car (a Vauxhall Astra), it’s still solid and reliable, although it’s now starting to show signs of age. There’s an intermittent squak from the wheels, and the ride isn’t as good as it used to be. These things could be fixed, but it’s probably better to change the car before I have to spend lots of money keeping it going, rather than after! When I bought the car I said I was going to keep it until it had done 100,000 miles, and it’s done that admirably. Part of me will be sorry to see it go!

So, what to get as a replacement? I know car dealers are getting a bit desperate to shife stock at the moment and there are some stonking deals to be had on a brand new car, but most of them are still out of my price range. I visited a few dealers, picked up a few brochures, and had a test drive in a Toyota IQ. This is a really nifty little car, perfect for town driving, it’s tiny on the outside but more than big enough on the inside for a driver and passenger. It felt like a bigger car when I drove it as well, I didn’t feel that it was going to tip over on the corners or anything like that. But (there has to be a but, doesn’t there?) I don’t think it would be suitable for the relatively high mileage I do, and it was also quite expensive. The car has only just been launched, so there aren’t any second-hand ones available on the market yet.

Another car I was tempted to look at was the new Ford Fiesta. This car has had excellent reviews, and I read in What Car magazine about a chap who’s bought one who does about 200 miles a day, so at least he’s pinning his hopes on it being solid and reliable! Again, it’s a brand new car and there aren’t any used ones available yet, as a result I discounted this car on the basis of price.

I found an internet broker (www.buyacar.co.uk) and had a look at their prices for different makes and models, and happened to look at their prices for Fiat Puntos. Wow, very impressive, might be worth a look, this one! Off I went to the local dealer, picked up a brochure, and booked a test drive for the next day. I’d decided I wanted a diesel car this time round, the sort of driving I do would make a diesel cheaper in the long run, even after the higher initial price and higher cost of fuel. The test drive I had in the car was very short, the dealership was short-staffed that day, but they asked me to come back the following weekend and I’d be able to take the car out on my own for an hour.

I wasn’t initially too impressed with the car, the gear change took a little getting used to, and I stalled it once or twice, but that was probably because I wasn’t used to driving a diesel, or maybe the pedal in the Fiat was a little stiffer then the one I was used to in the Astra. I was willing to give the car another shot, though.

The next weekend I went back and as promised, was given the keys to a car and asked to bring it back in about an hour. I took it on the route I use to go to and from work every day, which is a route that provided a mixture of motorway driving, country roads, and start/stop town driving. I worked out how to use the trip computer, and used to tell me the average fuel consumption for the trip. When I returned the car to the dealer it was reading 59.8 miles per gallon.

By now my mind was pretty much made up. The car was nice to drive, it had all the bells and whistles on it that I wanted (specifically somewhere I could plug my iPod into!) so the only thing left was to work out a deal. I didn’t need to haggle with the guy, he gave me a decent trade-in on my car, and offered me a price I was prepared to pay on a car with the level of trim that I wanted. Actually, it was the car I’d driven on the short test drive the previous weekend. First registered 11 months ago, the car had stood on the dealer’s forecourt and only been used for short test drives in all that time. It’s only got 77 miles on the clock! He’s giving me the full three-year warranty and will make sure the car has been checked over and is in tip-top condition before I pick it up, which should be next Monday if the finances go through without a hitch.

Even though the car was registered last June, I’m still treating it as a brand new car, because even if you buy one that’s only got delivery miles on it, it could have been sitting out in the elements for several months anyway.

Roll on next week!

Following on from this post, I can tell you that I have since bought myself… er, my son (cough, cough) one of these Mindstorms sets. Actually, I ended up buying two from eBay, as both auctions ended about the same time. Haven’t sold the other one yet, it’s sitting on top of my bookcase at home. I can’t believe it’s been five years since I made that original post though!

Following up from an earlier post, I actually did something about this last year. My flatmate wanted to learn how to ride a bike, and she rekindled my interest in the subject. Fuel prices were astronomical back then, and the thought of getting 100mpg out of my chosen mode of transport was very appealing indeed!

To cut a long story short, she passed her CBT last September and bought a Honda CG125. She went out on it a few times, but unfortunately she felt very exposed on the bike and not at all safe. I tried to reassure her, telling her that she just needed more practice, more experience on being out on the road. She hadn’t passed her driving test at this point, so she wasn’t all that used to being out in traffic.

After she passed her CBT I booked myself in for one. A couple of attempts later, and I managed to get my certificate in October. Just a case of saving up for a bike now!

Her bike sat in the shed all winter. She took it out once every few weeks to turn the engine over, but never rode it. When I got round to sorting out my finances she offered to sell me the bike, saying that she was gutted about how she felt when out on the road, and that she’d been looking forward to it so much, but she was just terrified of having an accident while out and about.

I bought the bike off her in February, and absolutely love it. I never thought I’d enjoy it as much as I do, and I go out on it as much as I can. Which, given the weather we have, isn’t very often really… once or twice a week if I’m lucky!

My flatmate still hasn’t passed her driving test, so I’m stuck giving her a lift to and from work each day, which means I can’t use the bike for commuting just yet. I do, however, ride it for fun, and take my camera with me whereever I go. Getting out onto the hills and taking photographs of the landscapes is now my reason for getting out of bed at the weekends!

The famous UK Hurricane, October 15 1987. I was a student at the time, working my year out in Croydon, Surrey. I was living in a bedsit, and remember being woken up in the middle of the night by the high winds. As is often my wont, I worried a little about what it might be like if the roof got blown off the building, or a tree came through the window. Then I decided if something like that happened then there’s not a lot I’d be able to do about it, so no point sitting up all night worrying.

I remember I overslept, because the storm had cut the power and my clock radio alarm didn’t go off. I woke in a panic, and rushed to get to work. I travelled to work on the bus at the time, and when I got to the main street, I found trees on the road, shop signs sprawled all over the place, roof tiles on the road and so on. Of course the buses wouldn’t be running, so I found a phone box and called in to the office (remember, no mobile phones in those days!)

I was told that there wasn’t a lot going on, but to come in anyway if I could. Work was only a few miles from where I was living (maybe three, three and a half), so I walked in. I got there about 11am, only to discover that although they had power, the current was fluctuating and they didn’t want to risk switching the servers on. So my colleagues and I had a relaxing day at the office and spent a couple of hours in the pub at lunchtime. Actually this wasn’t unusual as we worked flexitime we took short lunch breaks during the week and had a two-hour blowout on a Friday!

I can’t remember too much about the following few days, presumably it took a little while to clear away all the debris and for everything to get back to normal, I think by the following Monday I was able to get to work as normal on the bus…

And now that I’ve written all that, it doesn’t sound all that impressive! We had some high winds, some trees got blown down, I walked to work and spent two hours in the pub… h’mmmm…..

So… a weekend without internet access at home, what the hell did I do to fill my time? I didn’t see my son last weekend, so I had 48 hours to try and fill! I spent some time fiddling about with computers, I have an old PC lying around I’m trying to set up to use as a server, of course it took me the best part of Saturday morning to get it to boot up in the first place….
I found that I spent longer browsing shops. I went into town on Sunday to do some shopping and ended up just browsing book shops, browsing computer game shops (I did have this idea that I’d get a playstation 2 to help me pass the time, after all I can’t be having a social life every waking moment I’m not in work), and browsing aisles in the supermarket I never even knew existed.
I decided against getting a PS2 in the end. Not because I couldn’t afford it (I can’t) but because I didn’t actually fancy playing any of the games. They all look so alike, they’re either car driving games, or fighting games. And I can’t be bothered with games that are so similar. I remember when my nephew got a PS2 for his birthday last year or the year before, he went out with his birthday money and bought four car racing games. It took us a long time to persuade him to take at least one of them back and get a different type of game in its place.
I watched a lot of television. There’s actually quite a bit on, if you only bother to look for it. I can’t stand soap operas, but comedies, quizzes and documentaries are all worth seeking out. Although ask me now what I watched and I’ll be hard-pressed to tell you! Oh yes, the new snooker season started this weekend, and there was the Japanese grand prix. I taped a very silly movie on Friday night called 51st State and watched it on Sunday evening (god this must be sooo interesting to read!)
And I spent a fair amount of time wth my cousin, and while at her house I took a gander at the web site for the social club I was a member of before I met my wife (I’m sure that sentence isn’t grammatically correct but I can’t be bothered to try and fix it now). The site is at www.spicemcr.com and it has the current diary on it. There are lots and lots of events to choose from, and I’d love to do more than I can actually afford to do! I’m going to join up anyway and get out and about doing something, though. I quite fancy the “taking more confident steps” and “what to say after hello” seminars – sounds like they’re just what I’m looking for.

I’ve had a bit of a life-changing experience this week. I’m not going to go into detail about what it is, but I’m going to use it as a kick up the backside to try and change my lifestyle. And the first thing I’m going to change is the amount of time I’m spending on the internet. I’m treating my internet usage like an addiction, and I’m going to treat that addiction by hoing cold turkey. I have cancelled my internet account at home, and am going to be blogging from work (outside of office hours, of course) from now on. I’ll probably be writing entries at home and then posting them from work, or from a friend’s PC. So you may not see as many entries from me in the future, and I may not be reading and commenting on other people’s blogs as much as I have been.
I have realised that I am spending far too much time on the internet, and far too much time staring at a computer screen. I stare at a screen all day at work, and then I’ve been coming home in the evenings and staring at another screen, often until the early hours of the morning. Enough is enough. I’m going to try and turn my life around, get out and about, develop some sort of social life, so that when I do make a post, I’ll have something to talk about!
I still have internet access at work, and I use it as part of my work, but it should remain basically a work tool. My social life has suffered a lot over the last few years, because I have felt that I don’t earn enough money to be able to pay the bills and live a life at the same time. That’s no way to live, I’m merely existing and not getting anywhere or doing anything. Stuff the bank balance, I’d rather be a little bit in debt and happier as a person than debt free and miserable.
I’ve made various posts in the past about how I should be turning my life around, I keep saying I’m going to do this and I’m going to do that, and in the end I don’t end up doing any of it because I spend all my time in front of the damn computer. Enough is enough. The money I save on internet access can go towards a social life! There was a time when I didn’t have a computer at home, there was a time when I didn’t have internet access, so what did I do back then to fill my time? That’s right, I had friends and did things with them.
I spend an inordinate amount of time in chat rooms, because I enjoy the level of social interaction it gave me. But it’s not proper social interaction. It’s kind of like eating microwave food instead of hunting, killing and cooking a rabbit. I’m sure you’d enjoy the taste of that rabbit a lot more when you know it’s real, rather than some pre-processed artificial rubbish. Chatting with people online is no substitute for talking to someone face to face, just like microwave food is no substitute for the real thing. So to avoid filling my life with artificial microwave food and just pretending it’s the real thing, I’m going to throw away the microwave oven and buy myself a hunting knife.
Bye bye internet, hello social life.

You think about some strange things in the car on the way home from work. This evening I was listening to the radio when the Rolling Stones came on, and I started thinking about the lives the men in that band must have led. Take Keith Richards for example. Here’s a guy who’s done exactly what he wanted to do for his entire life, he’s done it all, tried it all, been everywhere and come out the other side. And he’s still here, still rocking, and still the same man he’s always been. On top of all that, he’s brought pleasure and enjoyment to millions of people and helped create a multi-million pound industry (and I’m not talking about rock music here, I’m just talking about the Rolling Stones).
As I sit in my car, wearing my suit and going home to my little house after spending the day in a fairly typical office job, I can’t help but be envious of those people I’d consider to have led a…. not so much privileged, or charmed, life… but a more fruitful life than mine has been so far. People who travel the world, people who bring joy and hope into other people’s lives, people who make a difference to somebody. I sometimes get the impression I don’t make much of a difference to anyone, really.
When I start writing my posts for this blog, I have no idea where they are going to go. Sometimes they come full circle and I actually make a point about something, and sometimes they just amble on in whatever direction they seem to take until I decide it’s time to hit the “post” button. I sit at the PC with a vague idea in my head about what I’m going to write about, and it took me a bit by surprise when I wrote the sentence at the end of the previous paragraph. I don’t think I really meant to say that – of course I make a difference to someone’s life.
I guess the point of this post is that I really admire and look up to people who I think have achieved something significant in their lives. My idea of “significant” may differ from other people’s, and I think that most of us don’t really do anything significant – we grow up, get a job, get married, buy a house and have kids – and that’s perfectly good enough for most people. But some people want to live outside the mould a little bit. They’re the ones that become rock stars, explorers, artists, visionaries and so on. The rest of us become IT Administrators and office workers.
So far in my life I’ve fathered a wonderful little boy who brings joy into the hearts of everyone who meets him. He’s cheeky, mischievous, clever, sneaky, happy, imaginative, domineering and sometimes a bit of a bully (if I’m honest). I was thinking at the weekend that the ideal career for him would be as a movie director. He’s just the sort of person to take an idea from someone else and flesh it out, decide how it’s all going to work and tell everyone what they need to do to make his vision become reality. I’d consider him to be my greatest achievement so far, heheh.
Let’s see, what else have i done? In my career as “programmer-for-hire” I like to think that some of the things I’ve been able to get the computers at work to do has made someone else’s job a bit easier. No-one ever phones me up to say “that last tweak you did has really made a difference to me, thank you!” (well, almost no-one, I have been thanked once or twice in the past fifteen years or so). The secret of working in IT is to make yourself invisible – if it’s all working perfectly no-one notices the IT department. You only come to the fore when it all goes wrong, hehehe. IT also has a reputation for costing money rather than bringing it in. Colleagues who work in sales have been known to get big annual bonuses, but my job is just as valid as theirs (as indeed are the jobs of those who work in wages and accounts and every other department not directly connected with sales). But we don’t get the bonuses, because we aren’t seen as “making a difference” to the company.
Of course I have to think that what I do for a living makes a difference, otherwise there’s no point in getting out of bed in the morning. Like most people I want to do something really, really, significant with my life, something I will be remembered for in years to come. But until I get a chance to make a difference I have to carry on working for a living, because after all I have bills to pay. Work is getting in the way of me being able to live my life!! Maybe I wouldn’t mind so much if I thought I was appreciated a bit more.
Perhaps I should get someone to clap and cheer me as I leave the office at the end of the day. “Ladies and gentlemen, Daniel has left the building.”