BBC Top Gear - (SOS) Save Our Show
There's been a lot of publicity about Top Gear since it was brought back to our TV screens back in 2002, especially the environmentalists and saddos stating it glorified speed, dangerous driving and promotes irresponsible driving,

This all seems ridiculous, the driving shown on the program mainly takes place on the track when required for speed, yes the presenters also do ridiculous timed races against sky divers, cyclists and even fellow presenters, I've no doubt the driving tha takes place on the public roads is completely legal.

Yes, Richard Hammond had an accident while driving a jet powered car at 300 mph on a private road, but accidents do happen, whether at 25 mph or 700 mph, does this mean we should ban the program he was filming it for. How stupid, secondly all safety checks were in place and nothing was left to chance Jeremy Clarkson has written an article about it here.

While we're at it, lets ban motor racing for the speed the drivers drive at, movies for promoting violence, horror, death etc, house music for drugs, rap music for guns, and don't forget to ban Fifth Gear on Channel 5 and Pulling Power on ITV as they are car shows that sometimes show interesting fast cars, we actually need to ban all cars that can do more than 70 mph, anything that can go above this speed is obviously promoting excess speed.

(Then again, why not just ban Fifth Gear and Pulling Power for being crap Top Gear wannabees anyway, Sorry Quentin and Tiff).

There are 350 million Top Gear viewers worldwide, they don't all want to drive their Mondeos Vectras, and MPVs as fast and stupid as possible, they just enjoy the show, and watching what The tall one, the hamster and the posh one do.

Sign the petition and tell the Anti Top Gear people what you think. Top Gear should be back on 8 October, we'll see.

1 Year of Blogging...... (and Here's an Iron)Happy Birthday to Me... (Blog)
Happy Birthday to Me... (Blog)
Happy Birthday Dear DamianLByrnedotBlogspotdotCom
Happy Birthday to Me (Blog)

A year ago today I started blogging about bugger all, what do I have to show for it, the same - Bugger all , no new gadgets, no flash car, no big TV, nothing new..... (I think I can hear them violins).

I guess I should think myself lucky however as I do have lots of lovely things despite not being new, my lovely car (not new), my our new house (soon/new) , my fiancee (new), my our TV 2 (soon/new), my pisshead friends (new every so often), my forever growing family, my new drink.

Oh and I bought an iron yesterday.

Fit The Best....

I've just been watching Inside Out on BBC, (The East Midlands regional version) and a blast from the past appeared on the screen...
Ted Moult - while racking my brains trying to remember where I knew the name and more recognisably, the voice, it suddenly came to me, Everest Windows. He's the man that said

"Fit the Best, Everest"

What shocked me however, is that he is a Derbian (i.e. from Derby), not only a voice everyone remembers, but a local legend too, he even has an entry at IMDb. I wondered if there is any other famous people born in my wonderful town.

Simon Groom (Blue Peter)
Kevin Lloyd (The Bill)
Terry Lloyd (ITN News Reporter)
Keli Young (Liberty X Singer)
Judith Hann (Tomorrows World Presenter & The sister of my home economics Teacher at School).

Derby - What a place, what history, with all these Derby links, its a wonder we're not overcrowded with tourists. Home of the first Public park in England, home of the one time largest housing estates in Europe, Home of Rolls Royce since 1908, birthplace of the Hot Dog, home of Richard Arkwright, Sir Frank Whittle and The Rams, (Well we can't be 100%)

So Come on Birmingham, Milton Keynes, Nottingham. What have you got.... Apart from more than one football team?

Wikipedia - Natives of Derby, Derby Photos

If It Ain't Broke, Dont Try to Fix it - If It Is Send it Back

Read a great idea over at Lifehacker.
Rather than throw all your old damaged crap out of warranty broken items, why not send it back for a new one. Although I'm sure this is highly unlikely, trying it should only cost a couple of quid,

"Rather than just sending your broken stuff to a landfill, pack it up and ship it back to the manufacturer with a letter asking for a new one. You will be amazed by the results. There are no guarantees with this method, but you definitely won't get a replacement if you throw the product away. This method gets rid of the product just as much as throwing it away does, but it gives a human being at a real company a chance to demonstrate just how much they stand behind their products. You'd be surprised how many will. A squeaky wheel gets oiled. It works, and the trick is all in the letter."

You could try this with your broken ipod nano screens, PDAs, Mobile phones. Slim chance of getting a new ipod from Apple I'm sure.I'm going to have to try this, just to see.

Full Story @ Lifehacker

* Doesnt work with broken hearts,

New Home

Just over 4 weeks to go before we move in together, I have resisted in buying anything for both my house and our house, Im leaving SWMBO to buy the plates, bed linen, towels, cutlery, bathroom stuff. As long as I dont have a pink bedroom I'm not that fussed.


When it comes to the Electrical equipment, that's a different matter, while trying to explain the requirements of the LCD HD TV (37", 3 HDMI inputs (SKY HD, HD DVD Player and PS3), as well as a DVI just in case and 1080p ready). SWMBO gave me the blah blah blah look, Wimmen !!!

As I have already picked the TV that does all of the above, when SWMBO agrees to make the purchase, Ill go and get it and show her how to work it (The TV that is), after all, she is fully SKY+ savvy, HD should be a doddle once we do upgrade, at the moment there aren't that many HD channels to justify the extra £10.00 (10 channels of which 2 are Sky Box Office) and I'm sure SWMBO isn't too bothered about neighbours being in standard def.

Richard Hammond - Wishing you a speedy recovery

Richard 'Hamster' Hammond, The presenter of 2 of my favourite TV shows (Top Gear & Brainiac) was involved in a car crash while filming for Top Gear today.

From BBC News

The presenter is being treated at Leeds General Infirmary
Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond is in a critical condition in hospital after a crash in a jet-powered car while filming for the programme.

The presenter, 36, was taken by air ambulance to Leeds General Infirmary which has a special neurological unit.

A North Yorkshire Ambulance Service spokesman said he was unconscious when they got to the scene and a hospital spokesman described him as "critical".

The BBC confirmed the presenter had been injured during a Top Gear shoot.

Inspector Mike Thompson, of North Yorkshire Police, said officers were dealing with the incident at Elvington airfield, a former RAF base, in North Yorkshire.

He said: "At 5.45pm this evening we received a report via the fire service of a male person trapped in what was described as an overturned jet car which had been driven on the airfield.

"The male occupant has received serious injuries and has been airlifted to hospital at Leeds."

The presenter was born in Birmingham, educated in Yorkshire and lives near Cheltenham.

In addition to presenting Top Gear for the BBC, he also fronted Brainiac on Sky One until recently.

Here's to a speedy recovery

Remembering 9/11

- Sold -

And who said this house selling was hard work.

3 days on the market and my wonderful Bloke palace has been sold, thats the good news

The better news is the house we were desperate to buy is ours (Well "Subject to Contract" anyway).

Its all running scarily smoothly, even the solicitors seem to be working efficiently, I keep thinking there's something I'm obviously doing wrong, so far without a hitch, I did my usual Interweb search to see how to make my life easier when moving house, having a new mortgage, getting house insurance, there are some seriously helpful sites out there to help with the hardest of tasks when moving house

Help I Am Moving gives a guide to moving, printable checklist, moving quotes for removal firms.
I am Moving lets you add your current address, new address and helps with the address changing stuff for utility companies, credit card companies, councils etc, I have only added my details as I haven't got the moving date yet, but so far so good.

The following sites are the ones which have the potential to save a great deal of money, not just when moving house.

Money Supermaket and Money Saving Expert have the ultimate guides in to mortgages, home insurance etc. Personally saving approx. £200 a month on a mortgage and halving my home insurance all in less than an hour.

Officially Olde

Not content with selling up bachelor pad and buying a house with SWMBO, I have have had further reminders that I am getting old. During my Friday night in alone, flicking through my 200 channels of crap Sky. Channel Five were doing a typical "50 worst things nobody really gives a shit about". aka ""

This one was "Now That's Embarrassing: The 80s: Eighties". I confess to watching 2 minutes and then had to watch the rest of it to see just how sad I really was (I remember the eighties you know).

Some Highlights...

Dallas/Dynasty (Watched it)
Shootings, shoulder pads, oil barons balls and the longest dream ever

The Krankies (Didn't watch it)
So right but Oh so wrong, A Man and a boy that was actually a man and his (short) wife...... (Nuff said)

Sam Fox with her song "Touch me" (Bought it)
I bought that on a 7" (For younger people, a 7" is a vinyl record, before the days of Cee Dees), seems to have been remixed

The Wide Awake Club, (Wacaday) (Watched it - all the time)
Malletts Mallett (Its a word association game, musn't pause, mustn't hesitate or you get a bash on the head) (Alcohol version of Malletts Mallet)

Number 2 - The Shellsuit (Had one)
Cheap, bright coloured crap looking crepe paper styled tracksuits. That when accidently set alight !!!! burnt "quite well"Damn - I had one of these, mine was a Nike Michael Jordan Black and White - 80's Chavwear

and Number 1... (remember watching it)
That Weather report from Michael Fish"Phone call woman rang the bbc and said there was a hurricane on the waym if youre watching dont wrry there isnt"followed by the worst hurricanes in 300 years ,winds of over 110mph, flooding. Poor Michael....

Not sure if I missed it, but surely the rubik's cube must be somewhere, (DOWNLOAD)

Therefore...I am bloody old....