It's been a while... So here's a big blog!

lo peeps.
as the title says, it'sa been a while.
Been busy driving around Wales and up north!

I'm back home with parents now. It's good to be back I think, but i would've prefered to stay a bit longer in swansea because i'm the first person to leave the house.

I don't like saying good byes, Mark, Russ and Dicky have got their degree's, and are outta here. No worries, i've still got Rach, Tom and Bracchi to graduate next year with :)

Lets work backwards, wot haz i been up to?

Well, was packing as much as possible into my car, leaving stuff that doesn't need to be taken home.

Went to Pembrey Country Park for a BBQ with Russ, Mark, Bracchi, Dicky and Eels. Played a bit of footy too. Drove Bracchi's car abit too, 'tis a supercar in my eyes. :)
Played Golf, and Crazy Golf.
Here's some shots from the day:
Note: Mouse over the pix to give a small comment.









Went to Oakwood - sadly no photos were taken, twas all documented on video.
Oh, nope, i was wrong, there's this photo:


Drove Bracchi for 4 hours to someplace up North near Preston so he could go inspect a good deal on a car. A Peugeot 306 GTi-6 in metallic Diablo Red. Good deal, £3025 for the R-Reg. My god, it goes like sh*t off a shovel. Faster than my dads 3.2 V6. Bracchi's now aquired something quite evil. and i don't think anyone should mess. I had a hard time keeping up with him on the return leg, average speed was above 80mph. I hit 105mph, He hit 130mph but ran out of road and people to chase.

Went to Rhossili with Mark and some of last years friends.





Also went to the National Caves with them too.



Later that day, I took the long road back and went the black mountains road. Such a nice road, the views on the road were breath taking

The road to Guildford...

It was a nice day on the A303


An hour and a bit later, still on the A303... bugh


A few hours down the line, to my left.... I see Stone Henge


Threaded down thro Aldershot, then appeared outside sisters house in the bustling city(?) of Guildford.

Sis was still at work, so me and dad started work out in the garden. digging holes, and filling them with 'nutritious' plant material (stinky squid and prawn shells), then topping it off with planting soil.

As a result, I got a blister on my right hand.

I amused myself when I saw a super soaker lying around in the kitchen, I just had to have a play on that :D Sprayed mum, she wasn't amused I must say.

Occupied myself and tried to figure out what was wrong with my sisters PC, it just gave random blue screen errors. I few uninstalls and updates later, it appeared to be working, so I left it at that.

Sis eventually came back, then we all proceeded to go out for dinner, (originally planned to eat in, but sis didn't have anything in her fridge).

Went to Wagamama (can't remember how to speel it!) Japanese noodles place. Had Chilli Beef Ramen (spicy beef noodles). Lovely. Parents didn't think much of it, typical.

Anyway, the evening came, it was time to go home. We said our good byes.

Reached the M3 motorway, then stopped for fuel at service station. After filling up, dad handed me the keys to the Benz. w00t :D Parents took a nap, whilst I drove the rest of the way home. Mostly uneventful. Used cruise control for most of the way home, (dad hates cruise control, and doesn't want me using it. I used it anyway.) 70mph most of the way home, then 80 when we got to the A30.
Having 218bhp under your right foot is nice :) Some arse in a Ford Focus was tailgating me at the contraflow section on the A30, he got closer then flashed his full beams at me, I briefly flashed my hazards then planted my foot to full kickdown, car dropped 2 gears, then from 70-80-90-105 wooooah!!! In those 4 seconds I was outta there, and he was nowhere to be seen in my rear view :D
Don't mess with meh 3.2litre V6. >:)
Dad woke up, "what happened?", "nothing dad 8)", he went back to sleep.

I drove about 160miles of the leg back home, twas time for dad to wake up and take over from Okehampton onwards. I've had my fun.
Average 32mpg 64mph for entire journey back. due to using cruise control. Dads speed fluctuates a lot. and makes it a slightly uneconomical ride. His average was 28mpg. average speed 54mph.


If I were to compare the Mercedes C320 to my Peugeot 307... 3.2 v6 Auto Saloon vs. 1.4 HDi Manual Hatchback. I would stick with my hatchback, but would like the bigger engine with a manual gearbox.
The sensitive steering on the Benz doesn't give much feedback whilst driving. The auto box is good for comfort, but not for more 'active' driving. I expect it'll be more active if you turned off the traction control and put it into sport mode. But dad won't allow it. Have to do it when he's not in the car :D

Is it over yet? doesn't feel like it.

Friday..... look at system spec notes*, play half life 2, look at system spec notes*, nap, look at system spec notes*, make food, look at system spec notes*, walk around house, listen to some music, look at system spec notes*, nap, go grab a takeaway, play half life 2, look at system spec notes*, Call it a day.....

*=System spec notes still in plastic cover, untouched.

That was how i felt about the system spec exam. there was no hope in hell that i could learn maude in one day.

The exam came, then it went.... we all sat outside Fulton house. only one hour had passed since the exam started at 9:30am. I answered 6 sub questions, max of 6 marks each. pray to god that my last nights cram could actually get me a pass in the module. but i didn't feel like i could give a damn.

Spectated a game of pool in JC's then realised that only had 2 hours to get back home, pack suitcase and catch a 1:30pm train.

The train journey home, is it me or is Saturday 5th June a trainspotters day? every train stop had a whole bunch of peeps with notepad and pens.
Changeover at Bristol Parkway, the announcment over the tannoy, "We are sorry but the 1530 train is delayed by 1 hour". CRAP!!!! Suddenly, a Virgin Train arrive, due for Paignton..... hmm.... don't trains going to Paignton stop at Exeter too?. So I asked and the man in the Virgin Trains uniform confirmed it for me. Bonus, i got onto a delayed train which will save me catching the actual train i was supposed to catch an hour later.

Arrived in Exeter, I was still surrounded by the brilliant blue sky. Over an hour remained till my bus could take me home, so stopped at the Lemon Tree for a cheese burger and an earful of a little shit that can't sit still or shut up. Bought a Top Gear mag.... mmm.... new Porsche 911..... na, didn't look that nice. prefered the previous one.
OOh.... new Mercedes SLK.... at first, I didn't like the previous SLK, but this one looks very like the Mercedes SLR.... hubba hubba hubba... up against it was the Nissan 350Z, Audi TT, and a few other small sporty coupés.

Just as i was getting into my top gear mag, my bus arrives, blimeh.
Here's a tip, never sit at the back of a Coach, it's not a pleasant experience getting bounced about. and it didn't help that the driver had a bit of a lead foot.

Finally got home in one piece. Showered, ate, drank, went to bed. End of story.


Next day came. sunny, nice.
Took my cobweb covered car (DAD! WHY DIDN'T YOU WASH TERRI WHILST I WAS GONE?!!?!?) and the parents to Exeter to do some shopping.
Had dinner at the Seven Stars restaurant, yum.
Zoomed back home, (parents don't comment on my driving anymore, they know that i'm a better driver than Dad ;D)
Unpacked shopping, then went to go give Terri a thorough wash in preparation for going back to Swansea.

A wash, a wax, a chamois dry, and a bucket load of sweat later, we have a 95% New looking China Blue Peugeot 307. The way my baby should always look :D

Later, I was presented with this.

Me likes water melon. water melon is good ja.

Anyway, sigining off after this long blog of last 3 days. Going to visit sister in Guildford 2morra.

Big Apology to Mako.

As the title suggests, I would like to apologise to Mako for that misunderstanding of mine.
It's all be sorted out now. He was just in a big rush, and didn't have time to have a chat or cuppa tea.
Also, he preferred paper notes and not reading stuff off screen.

Oh, and about the comments about his room. Yes, it's a very tidy room, but its HIM; he is nowhere near my standards when it comes to cleaniness of stuff like cups and cutlery. That's all I'm going to say.

Last exam 2morrow, have less than 24 hours to learn Maude for system spec.
After the exam, I'm jetting off home to get away for a couple of days.
When I return, it'll be with ma Pug. It'll be certainly good to drive again.
Just hope that the damn Peugeot garage in Launceston has got the part to fix my car after it got recalled.... :(

Yay!, I've finally completed my 1000th SETI@Home Work Unit.

Here are my SETI@Home Stats for those that are interested.

Staying on the subject of Space related things. If you like satellite spotting, check this out. *Requires Java* NASA Skywatch Calculator. Just enter your location where ever you are on the planet, then it'll calculate the dates, times, and which direction to look for satellites flying across the sky.

Oh, if you are at a loss and don't know your long and lat co-ordinates, go.... here and search for your town/city, then you'll be presented with your long, lat and altitude.

:| oh my god....

ThinkGeek :: PC HabiCase�

Err... how do you open the cd tray? and how damn annoying would it be to upgrade.

4 down, 2 left!

Yay!, finished my 4th exam. Database systems,
It was certainly the easiest exam I've done so far.

Spent all of yesterday seeking help from Mako for this exam.

Bought 3 cans of Red Bull in preparation for the days mental revision.

I'm quite worried about Mako's hygiene. His lack of thorough cleanliness is quite disturbing.
I pick up a fork from his cutlery draw, and i find that there is congeeled food in the gaps. sick.
There are many other things, but i dare not list them. Don't want to make Mako a more unpopular person.
Also, take a look at this thread he started, see how much 'rage' he sparked up. Men vs. Women on Pay
He was ranting on about this all day after viewing the front page of a paper in the newsagent.

Anyway, i spent about 5 minutes cleaning it (the fork) with a metal scrubber and hot boiling water.

We also philosophised about the meaning of life. whether we believe in god or not. and other random stuff.

3 cans of red bull, a chow mein pot noodle and at least 6 visits to the toilet later. i seemed to have gained plenty of knowledge of databases.

Twas getting late, and i had to go home to rest. Got home, then got phonecall from an unhappy Mako, it seems that i've 'stolen' his notes. and he wants them back. so, i scan them in, my patience got the best of me, and i decided to use my digital camera to take photos of the notes. after i sent the first photo for inspection to see if quality was acceptable, i proceeded to send the rest of the notes.
Mako wasn't happy at all with the quality (admittedly, 640x480 shots of his poor handwriting were almost impossible to read), so stormed off out his house to mine to take them off me himself without telling me.
he could've waited 20 minutes for me to scan all the notes at higher quality. he lost it.

By doing this, i kinda got insulted and took it very personally, because it was only around 11pm. and it wasn't like he can't stay up till 2am for the early compilers exam which in my opinion is significantly more difficult.


Anyway, stayed away from him today. (if you're reading this Mako, i'd like to point out that you caused offence for me for the unreasonable action you did yesterday just because I accidently managed to slip your notes into my bag amongst my notes. furthermore, you didn't accept my appology.). So, I lost out on OS revision with him today. But, went to Gimbo's revision lecture that lasted for 2 hours. way to go Gimbo! Battery of my tablet died during the note taking session. so i just sat and stared and came close to snoozing. ;)

This evening, one shall be revising for OS. Everyone else will probably be at cinema.... bitches :'(

Most Excellent!

Dude! Mark and I watched Bill and Ted's Excellent adventure. Quality film. Brings back memories.

Bank holiday weekend is over, must push revision up to another level if I am to catch up with what i've been missing out on over the last few days.

Databases has been doing my frickin head in, I've underestimated it. It isn't as easy as people said it was. Hope to see Mako later for guidance.

Turkey goujons and spag for dinner. can't say much for mark though, he was a bit of a foo because hot stuff comes from the microwave, and hot stuff normally hurts when it comes into contact with skin.... so the floor ate it instead of him. he was too damn lazy to make any food, so he went to bed with an 'empty' stomach.
I did warn him on friday to go out to Tesco to get food, did he listen? nope. why? "because i don't think that far ahead when it comes to food + can't be arsed". pffff.... some people.