I’ve finally got the Smart Car back on the road!
In the end it turned out to be the battery that was the problem, I’m told that a battery can have a life of between 2 and 10 years. So I guess 7 isn’t so bad. Anyway, the very friendly people at Biltema (Sweden’s answer to Halfords I suppose) found a Varta replacement for my Bulldog and the car is now running sweetly. Which is so bloody great as the last week or so of walking everywhere was really getting to me.
Vista is re-installed on Lucifer and seems to be ‘OK’ at the moment, although a possible issue with my RAM has surfaced. Luckily the motherboard will take another 2 gig, so I’ll probably get around to that soon.
The site has had a few tweaks over the last couple of days, some visible - some not so. You’ll see an AddThis button at the bottom of each post - this will let you bookmark the post entry to your favourite feed/bookmark/blog site. This may not be permanent, I’ll watch the stats and see how it goes.
Anyone that was at Glastonbury, or saw the BBC coverage, will know that the set by The Verve was not just a welcome back - but a glorious injection of awesomeness that has been long overdue in the arm of the English music scene. Forth, due out this coming Monday, is a culmination of eleven years of Vervelessness that begs the question: Why did they stop recording together when this stuff is bloody good?
There are, of course, plenty of leaked bootlegs floating about the internet at the moment, the best of which is apparently a rip of the vinyl that was sent to … the BBC!!
The high points of the album are ‘Valium Skies’, ‘Judas’, ‘Sit and Wonder’ and the spectacular hybrid of dance and guitar that is ‘Love is Noise’.
If you only buy one album this year, make sure this is it.
The Verve - Forth
Well, I took the plunge. At about 3 a.m. this morning, after what I can only describe as being visited by a ‘heavy’ ghost, I got out of bed and, with all the lights on, started the arduous process of backing up Lucifer.
By 8 a.m. I’m convinced that all the necessary data is secure and I place the Vista disk in the drive and format the HD. At nearly 8 p.m. I’m still neck deep in updates and install procedures that are not just hard work, but a lesson in tedium.
I will endeavour to finish the task tomorrow when my eyes have uncrossed themselves and I can feel my fingertips. Until then, email isn’t quite right so texts and messages via the site please …
If there’’s something I’ve learned over my recently reclusive existence, it’s that when a snag comes, it usually comes along with a gaggle of other snags that want to join the party. Case in point: my Smart Car. It looks as though either the battery, alternator or starter motor is shot, I can’t tell which - I’m a dumbass when it comes to cars, at least water cooled ones anyway. Put me in front of a VW Beetle engine and I’m quite happy…
Anyway,
- Snag 1: I can’t start the car. This means that I can’t get the car to Benz.
- Snag 2: I don’t know anyone in this bloody city. This means I can’t get a tow.
- Snag 3: Benz will probably pick up the car. This means I’ll have to pay for the tow… the part… the labour…
- Snag 4: I’m broke.
This is the first time in years that I’ve been without transport, and I can tell you - it ain’t pleasant. This walking lark is for the birds. However, it has forced me to get out, which is, I suppose, a good thing. But yesterday’s trip out to the supermarket came with a price… it poured with rain as I was on my way home, 35 minute walk, t-shirt…
What with one thing or another, and I’m sure you’ve noticed (!), I haven’t been updating the blog recently. I won’t go into the whole story but part of it involves a knackered Smart Car. Anyway, I should be having some work done on it over the next week or so by Benz, which I’m not very happy about but I haven’t really got much choice, so that’s one problem that should be solved… soon… I hope…
So anyway, let’s catch up!
I’ve been busy with re-writes… yes! Re-writes!
“You mean you’ve actually been working Lo?”
Yes, yes I have and don’t be so effing facetious.
After hitting what I can only describe as a bloody great big wall (a wall that stopped me writing, you get that right?), I found that the narrative of the whole book was wrong. So, there you go, years of work has been used as a building block for something much better (!) and should read a lot better. The first chapter is available to those who want a look or fancy doing some proof reading, just drop me a line.
Vista is still being a bastard. I think that a complete reinstall is on the cards …
The weather here is shit.
Enough catching up? No? Well bloody call me then you lazy sod…
