I've done out 120 return trips to Kilwinning (30 miles) since the new year, almost all of them in my Classic Mini.

 

This morning I made the journey  in my "new" 1999 Ford Puma.  I wasn't quite sure I'd done the right thing, but I am now.  It was superb.  What a brilliant wee car.  Very very smooth quiet responsive engine.  Very quiet.  Very easy to do 90 without trying.  Comfy seat.  Great handling.  Good stereo... i genuinely felt better when I got to work.  On top of all that, I think it looks completely awesome.  The 'cat' face is genius.

 

The car needs some work though to get it ship-shape so tomorrow its in for a mega service at a Ford garage, its first for a while I think.  I think it also needs a full set of shock amd rear tyres so i will see how it feels when i get it back.

I bought a new (to me) car yesterday!  Its a Ford Puma.  A car that had largely passed me by to be honest, but suddenly i realised that it was exactly what i was looking for.

 

Now that I've got it, i'm absolutely gobsmacked.  What a fabulous wee car.  Its based on a Fiesta (cheap parts!) but you honestly wouldn't know it.  The driving position and view out is radically different to anything i've ever driven before - very laid back.  The engine is a peach - smooth and revvy and quiet when you want it to be quiet. great handling (although i think it needs new shocks) and the boot/back seat are both bigger than the ones I had in my 2001 & 2004 MINIs.

 

The question now is.... what am I going to do with Alfie, my 1994 Classic Mini...

 

 

 

 

 

 

What a completely brilliant movie. 

 

One of those films that takes you back in time and puts you in a place and makes you feel like you're part of it all.

 

It should really have been called The Ambassador - after the world's most famous hotel.  (I cannot believe that they've now demolished it!!!!).  A film about Bobby Kennedy that doesnt actually show him towards the end.  A film about the late 60s.

 

I just want to sit back and watch it again to be honest.  It was £12 in Sainsbury's with my groceries and worth every penny!

I bought a new Creative ZEN MP3 player recently.  Its superb, and in most aspects superior to the equivalent iPod - various reviews testify to this.

 

I came home, plugged it into my Windows Vista PC, and it simply synchronised with the Windows Media Player software that comes with Windows... no hassles at all and as easy or easier than using an iTunes and iPod combo.

 

But here's the snag.  Here's the bit that will trip your average punter up.  It came with a CD full of already obsolete software, written by Creative, which really isnt very good - AND ISNT NECESSARY!  THe instructions demanded that I insert the CD before doing anything BUT THERE IS NO NEED!  The same thing happens when you buy a new digital camera.  There is NO NEED to insert the CD, just plug the thing in!  But the instructions demand that you do, and it comes with a CD, so thats what people do.

 

The end result is that their PC ends up with piles of software on it, from all sorts of sources, and eventually has so much that either the user or the PCitself can no longer cope.

 

This, more than anything, is why Microsoft's attempts to make things simple are always thwarted.  (the second biggest culprit is PC manufacturers filling the PCs with crap before they get to the user).

Great article:-

 

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/060807F.shtml