Quick update.

A bit absent due to being in extremely deep shit on the subject of the assignment I have to return to the Open university for the 31'st of January.

Anybody knowledgable in Java is welcome to my home, and will get free beer and stuff if I pass this assignment.

Feel miserable. Back soon.

Workin' 9 to 5, what a way to make a livin'....

Not that I know anybody who works those hours...



I am one of approximately 120 000 workers who cross the Luxembourgish border every day, from Monday to Friday. More precisely, I an one of the forty-odd thousand who cross from Belgium to Luxembourg and back, all to avoid the Belgian propensity of removing 50% of ones wage before it his the bank account. To put this into context, it's like the population of Norwich suddenly disappearing for eight hours (minimum) a day.

Apparently, 300 people go the other way to work... I haven't worked this out yet...

Now, Luxembourg has a small any very well maintained motorway network (unlike the rubbish the Belgian state seem to throw on the floor), which gets saturated every day of the working week with my fellow labourers, the thousands of wagons coming to fill up with cheap(er) diesel (fags and booze too...) and the pensioners who are probably paid by the state to drive in the second lane at 84 km/h and take two parking places on industrial sites with no shops. So as you can imagine it doesn’t always flow like the Danube after heavy rain.

I would like to point out at this point that I am probably the most boring driver ever. I stick to speed limits, use all the paraphernalia like indicators and lights, and generally render the passenger experience as soporific as hot cocoa and CNN on a wet Tuesday night.

Having lived in Leeds, West Yorkshire, and sitting in a major traffic jam, I know this is not a major issue, and largely replicated throughout Europe, but I was recently wondering if people’s behind-the-wheel behaviour is endemic, or if it is my notoriously bad memory painting pretty pictures.

So dear reader(s)… do you also experience:
1. Vehicles braking to overtake and then flooring it once they pull in?
2. BMW’s flashing their lights for you to get out of the way as you overtake a mile of wagons, while stuck behind half a mile of other cars?
3. “Exocet missiles” that go from slip road to outside lane, then outside lane to exit?
4. Ditherers, who pull out regardless of the vehicle beside them?
5. Brake testers, who’s only aim in life is to be in front of you, then slam on the brakes?

Please leave your own experiences, I’m curious :)

Sundays are supposed to be for chilling out...

A quiet weekend, where not much happened... well apart from a couple of friends at long last finding a house, and a night out near Rochefort with some particularly good wine.

The car is on stilts, as the wheels are being sandblasted and painted by someone who know wht they are doing (ergo, not me). I've also put the newly painted hood frame back on. I'll have to knock it off though as I have an Uni assignment to finish for the end of the month... shame, I prefer messing with the old rust bucket.

Oh yes, Dizzygood - for whom I muck around on the bass - will be playing a concert on the 19th of April in the Clausen area of Luxembourg... so if you're in the area...

Look, ma! No Plastic!

OK, it's a lie. All that black stuff is Polyvynil Chloride made flexible with Pthalates, but compare this with a modern car, and you'll know what I mean.

This is the result of my cutting up hardboard, inserting speaker, nearly stapling my hand to the table, and a quick sanding and revarnish of the capping.

Total cost 3€.

I like it.

Now I'm currently revamping the frame for the hood. I'm waiting for a delivery before the car stops looking like a skip, so that gives me plenty of time (OK, a month) to sand and paint the surprisingly rusty tubes that hold the flop-top up. The Vynil has been cleaned and will need cleaning again. Though the result so far is the same white I wish my teeth were, there's still a few blotches of ingrained filth.

But my Java course is a little bit more important, so piano piano...

Round and round we go...

I have had enough.

Honestly. I'm waiting for a major accident here. Never in my life have I seen so many people cluelessly using roundabouts. They are bloody dangerous. Over the last five years, I have nearly been knocked of my bike by women in Volvo's, been cut up by fat men in BMW's, seen young and old scream round the outside lanes of roundabouts with no regard for other road users. They drive like donkeys, and I get the impression they think they are in the right!
I assume therefore, nobody get's the basics taught to them during their driving lessons...

Well, Here is a little guide:


First, Turning right. Use the inside lane. Indicate in the direction you wish to turn. Give way to oncoming traffic.



Turning left or U-turn. Use the outside lane. Indicate in the direction you wish to turn. Give way to oncoming traffic.



Going straight ahead. Use either lane. Give way to oncoming traffic. DO NOT INDICATE until exiting the roundabout, where you indicate in the direction you will be taking.

To me it appears simple. Apparently this is not the case for everybody... Please forward this to everybody you know, especially if the are blonde with a Ford Fiesta...

Incidentally, for the alcoholics and hard of thinking, these roundabouts are mirrored in countries like Australia, The UK, Japan... where people drive on the left. Do not attempt to go anti-clockwise in these countries.

Radio killed the Video star?

Possibly not, but appalling references to Trevor Charles Horn aside, I've actually finished the speaker mounted door cards. After moocho web browsing and such like, I was hoping to get one of these radio mounts:



But they are (as the owner of this image stated) "as rare as hens teeth".
So I'll probably make my own cheap tacky, not-quite-right version.

In other news, I am not alone in this part of the world with one of these vehicles! A chap named Jean Claude has a slightly more recent Vitesse with a proper roof. He is also the organiser of the Luxembourgish Triumph scene, and will normally be bringing a nice package for me to finish my soft-top all the way from the midlands. :)

Musically, it's all very quiet (well, apart from in the Triumph). Hopefully something will happen before spring...