M7 median - car on its side

Just as we were travelling up the M7 for a spot of lunch, I spied in the median barrier a car on it's side, which must have been there for some hours. As we were going to Kildare anyway I drove to a nearby overbridge and took a couple of pics - they aren't in any way good photographs other than a record or illustration of what can happen on the roads... I don't know what happened or whether anybody was hurt (seriously or otherwise) and a google search brought up no results. Be careful out there.

Phenonenal video!

I used to think that some motorsports are crazy. Now they are merely mad. Below is a 5 minute video from youtube showing the Pike's Peak hillclimb in the US. Enjoy!

Suggestion....

Help stimulate the motor industry by allowing older cars (maybe back as far as 2000?) to benefit from the carbon-related tax rates...? Nah, I don't think that's a goer, because:

1. The used-car stock is the used-car stock, whereas on new vehicles, with the co2 incentive you can prevent the importation of higher polluting cars - but my suggestion wouldn't change the pool of 2nd hand cars at all.

2. Everyone would buy diesel and then the price of diesel would soar, not to mention the government would suffer from lower petrol duties - I think diesel duty is lower than petrol.

It would be nice, though, if the government didn't change their mind on whether a budget is needed, or how much money needs to be saved quite so often. 2 weeks ago An Tánaiste said a mini-budget wouldn't be necessary, now one is planned for April! 2 weeks ago, 2billion was what we needed to save this year, all of a sudden it's reported as something closer to 4.5 today?

Who's doing the sums?

Top Gear

Great to have you back! I can't help it, I love this programme. Smiling ear to ear for an hour - it's so entertaining. It turns out the best supercar for the current petrol prices is an Audi R8 - 5mpg. Don't buy the Ferrari - 1.7MPG isn't very good, is it?

And they proposed replacement cars for the police, instead of the ones they have at the moment. Budget of 1000 pounds, plus 500 for livery (painting and lights and whatnot) - some of this included wheel-mounted bars, like you see on Roman chariots....yeah, I can see that working. Though one of them used a rearward firing paint dispenser to confound the villain's vision - maybe use vinyl instead of emulsion though.....

All in all, an informative and intelligent automotive magazine programme. I commend it to the house. 2000 on a Sunday evening on the BBC2, or whenever you want if you've Skyplussed it.

Car Stuff

You're always glad to get back into your own car after it's been in the garage for a service, but this time it's such a relief. See, they lent me a Rover 45, and I'm afraid that the only positive thing I can say about the car, is that it has nice dials. That's it. Everything else about it is poor. Switches feel cheap, the "wooden trim" is horrible, the engine is gutless, and the ride and handling are just about bearable.

Now that we've established why one British car manufacturer is out of business, I can mention another British car I saw today that is possibly one of the best looking things I've ever seen. An Aston Martin Vanquish, '07, metallic black. Just phenomenally beautiful, sitting in the garage it looks sleek, powerful and muscular, like a panther ready to pounce on the road. Then, when I took it for a spin, I woke up.....! Anyway, €360 00 is just too much.

Ferrari

Nice. Coming home from Dublin on Saturday, I was privileged to be overtaken by a Ferrari. It makes a beautiful whine. I wonder can you buy a CD with Ferrari noises on it? Hmm......(gone to google....)

The Diesel Revolution?

I saw, on the way home this evening, fuel prices advertised at a fuel station of all prices. Interestingly, diesel was 4c per litre more expensive than petrol, at 116.9 and 112.9 cents/litre for diesel and petrol respectively. I expect this is a general trend which we will see over the coming months, as more and more of us choose diesel cars (thanks to improved performance, cleanliness and quietude).

Will it become less economically superior to drive a diesel? Let's see!

Interesting.

This is a nice Ferrari video I found.

Ferrari F1 (nice Video) - For more funny videos, click here

It's a shell ad, too, but the first 95% is just beautiful...

This year's insurance lesson

Apart from shop around, is keep shopping around!

I thought I'd gotten a good quote with a broker and a super-cool-occupational discount. Till I rang the underwriter this morning, who promptly chopped about 50 quid off. So, sometimes brokers work (like in 2006) and sometimes they don't (like in 2007. Is it really 2007 already?).

And the current best quote is more than half the worst. There is competition, but it's quite well spread out!

Anyway, to those of you looking for car insurance this year, good shopping. Don't rely on your broker, don't rely on your current insurer, don't rely on your group scheme. Rely on about 10 phone calls to save you hundreds. Good luck to ya.

A miscellany of reviews for your perusal

The first, in no particular order except this one, is a quick review of Ian Rankin's book, Hide and Seek. A continuation of the Rebus novels where a junkie death leads to yes, you guessed it, the dark underbelly of high flying Edinburgh society. Read and enjoy.

The second, being a review of the Eden Deli. You'll find this in Edenderry. A very tasty and indeed well-priced lunch (even if we timed it more like afternoon tea....) was enjoyed here on Saturday, but we barely had time to get there and back before M had to collect her sister and go on a road trip.

In third position, being another food type review. The Silken Thomas in Kildare was recently done up, and we made it there for grub on Sunday evening. We were going to go into their restaurant, Chapter 16, but decided bar food was the order of the evening and had a go at that menu instead. Well, I don't think I can tell you how much that was enjoyed. Great big tasty portions were served, from burgers, to mixed grills and cottage pie - every piled high plate was emptied greedily. Highly recommended for grub. (for 4 of us, starters, mains, 2 desserts, coffees, and a drink each - €100!!)

And in fourth, Zadie Smith's "On Beauty." Sometimes, you read a prize winning book and realise why it won. Other times, you win a prize-winning books shortlist competitor, and wonder what in the name of all things good in the world did the judges pick the winner for? I believe, and I may be wrong, that this book was a competitor of John Banville's "The Sea" in 2005 Booker prize. If so, why didn't it win? It's much more enjoyable, accessible, interesting, and engaging than "The Sea."

As the blurb says (and who am i to try to better blurb?) "Set in New England mainly and London partly, On Beauty concerns a pair of feuding families [...] and a clutch of doomed affairs. It puts low morals among high ideals and asks some searching questions about what life does to love...." It's well written and very engaging, and I recommend it above "The Sea" any day.

In other news, I brought the new (to me) car back to the dealer for NCTing today, and they gave me a loaner (not like some other dealers who charge for a replacement car). A 520i - armchair on wheels. Oh boy is it comfy!

Some observations. Well, 2 in fact.

Isn't it ironic when you're listening to your local radio station in the morning, on which taxi drivers announce the morning traffic jams and snarlups, and the taxi drivers tell everyone to "drive safely now"?

And isn't it a little bit, inhuman maybe, to think that a car overturned on the M50 yesterday morning, and in the news reports I've heard and read in regards to the horrific traffic that ensued, nobody mentioned whether somebody might have been hurt or not?

I've had no response. That's absolutely no response from our friends in Tullamore.

At least Eircom responded to my email. Not very constructively, and not since to my own response, but there you go.


Technorati Profile

7 days to go....

I am assured that Broad band services will be available and ready for me by the end of the month. I would appreciate, so long as it doesn't appreciate with your work, leisure or any other activity, if you would oblige by crossing any crossable appendages you may be in possession of. This will assist in the more regular update of this blog.

I am also assured that the NYC trip journal is now almost fully up to date and is almost ready for transcription to digital format. Hopefully I'll be able to do a bit more in that line shortly! In the meantime, please enjoy these short jokes:

What's brown and sticky? - A brown stick! :)
What do you call a fish with no eyes? - A fsh, of course.
Why are pirates called pirates? - Because they "yarr!"

Now that you have recovered from that hilarity, a short rant at the expense of Tullamore Town Council.

On visiting Tullamore, I went to park my vehicle. Rather than leave it in the middle of the road, I decided to park legally, at a designated zone. I found a space. Signage above the spaces alerted me to a maximum of 2 hours parking. Fine, says I to myself. Parked up. 2 euro (the advertised fee for 2 hours, being at a rate of 1 euro per hour) went into the machine. Green button was depressed in the standard fashion to allow printing of parking voucher...Out comes an hour's parking! A maximum parking period of 1 hour according to the machine!!!!! But my other euro (you remember, it's only a euro an hour) was not returned. Grrr.

I have prepared an email of complaint. Should I send it?

Answers on a comment please...

Another New York report

Nah, sorry, I lie. Forgot to bring the notebook with me today. Sorry folks. All those who are disappointed, you know where to write it! But sure, there's news nonetheless. We bought a suite of furniture on Saturday! And, my Focus is causing more woes! Had to get a coolant leak fixed last week. That's the 7th return to the garage since June 2005. You know where to vote...

I'm sorry about the notebook, it's rare enough I get a chance to post these days, so I'll have to make a special effort to do another day later this week. Catch you all later!

The Interweb, for the free exchange of ideas.

Though it's starting to become not so much free. I logged on to the ford focus owner's club in the UK where I'd been a member for about a year - since I bought my own one. I found that recently, this has become a subscription site, forum and all!!

Dismayed was I to find this, as the forum was an interesting place to read various things about the car, and owning one. But now a monetary payment is required - i.e. you have to join the club to get access to the forum. I suppose in principal that sounds fair, but I thought the Internet had become a tool for the free exchange of information and ideas? (Don't anyone say DARPA to me)

Anyhoo, this could be my last rant for a while, but don't count on it. No BB in the new house, and we're moving down there tonight. So, rant away to yourselves whilst I'm quiet! Hopefully I won't be away too long.....