In this blog I want to very briefly discuss what fate is, what it means and to question your belief in it. This blog is a summary of a very long essay I once wrote on the subject of fate but that went on for over 5,000 words (boy can I waffle).

What is fate?

To me fate means the belief that a future event is certain to happen regardless of any actions or decisions a person makes now or made in the past.

Whilst we may be free to make our own decisions, the end result will always be the same and therefore our decisions are reached not because of free-will but because they lead us to the end result and thus we could not have made an alternative decision unless the alternative results in the same event occuring.

What about God? No. You can’t believe in fate and God – assuming your own definition of God is along the lines of omnipresent all-powerful being that basically controls everything. Nothing can oppose God’s will and nothing can influence fate. If fate can be influenced then it can’t be set and that breaks the above “rule”.

Do you believe in Fate?

No, I doubt you do. Let me ask you this: Would you be willing to throw yourself in front of a train or perofrm any other action that would normally result in instant death? No, you wouldn’t. Of course you wouldn’t. But why not? After all, if you believe in Fate then you believe that your moment of death is a fixed point in time that can’t be changed regardless of any action you take. In other words, if it is your time to die then you will die at that time whether you throw yourself under a train or not. At least it would be quick. If you don’t do it then your death might be a horrible, painful one! NB. Please do not try any of this. I am NOT telling you that you should go and throw yourself under a train or in other way try and do something that might result in death or injury. This is merely a point I am making.

Do I believe in fate?

Of course I don’t. What kind of f**ktard do you take me for.

What should you do now?

Well if you still believe in fate then fine but you HAVE to accept what that means. You are not in control of your own life. But on the up side, you don’t need to work, you don’t need to do the lottery, you don’t need to look where you’re going; in fact, you need not do another thing for the rest of your miserable life because fate will be there making all the things that need to happen, happen. Well done you. How-ever, if you don’t believe in fate then congratulations. The world is your oyster and you are free to do what-ever you like for no other reason that you want to do it but remember, this means you have no one to blame but yourself.

I would relish the chance to hear other people’s thoughts on this matter so comments are open and I will try and respond to all of them.

Now that you can download satellite navigation (sat nav) applications to phones such as the T-Mobile G2 (aka HTC Hero), the makers of in-car satnav products need to come up with something new and better to ensure that we keep forking out the £100’s on their products.

By a huge margin, TomTom are probably the best known manufacturer of in-car sat nav systems and although other big name brands include Garmin, it’s TomTom that are leading the way in innovation.

A few quick statistics for you: During a typical morning rush hour on roads in the UK you can expect to find nearly 2,000 miles of traffic jams with over a 1,200 reported traffic “incidents”, 900 of which happen on major roads. For those that are part of the ever increasing traffic, crawling its way along our congested, pot-holed roads, this probably comes as no real suprise but fear not, help is at hand.

If you have recently purchased a new TomTom unit you may already be aware of a bit of technology that TomTom call “HD Traffic” but for those that have never heard of it, let me tell you now that it’s impressive. The idea of the HD Traffic system is that it sends a users journey times back to TomTom headquarters where the information is quickly analysed. The information is then instantly fed back into the system as part of the sat nav’s Live subscription service which provides real-time (live) traffic updates to other users. Furthermore, armed with this information, your TomTom can then re-route you if a faster alternative route is available.

So now, where-as before all you could do was tune into the radio in the hope that a traffic report is going to offer some glimmer of hope, albeit too late, you now have an all-in-one sat nav system that can provide “on-the-fly” traffic updates with the ability to re-route your journey to avoid the traffic jam(s) up ahead. All you then need to worry about is why the route around the traffic involves going the wrong way up a newly created one-way system and whether or not the apparent fields involved are still swamp like.

Of course, all this still isn’t going to help you if you breakdown whilst sat in traffic, but the same GPS technology is now being used by motoring organisations to more effectively locate stranded customers (it’s not just taxi drivers that have fastened TomToms to their windscreen). Taking that one step further, companies such as startrescue.co.uk have recently released an iPhone application that with just a few clicks will contact the roadside breakdown company including exact location of the vehicle.

Of course, after all that, we all know that I won’t be purchasing either a TomTom or an iPhone any time soon…

Pamela Willis, Pammy, Freckles.

On Monday 22nd February, 2010 the world lost its sparkle.

Pam used to annoy the crap out of me. The expressions she uses – notibly “how about no” – and ending sentances with the word “so”; her stubborness clashed with mine which whilst we never had proper rows, it did result in a good few ‘exchanges of words’ shall we say. At their peak there may have been an expletive or two thrown at each other. And oh my god that laugh, that witches cackle of a laugh that could be heard for miles made worse by the fact that it took so little to make Pam laugh. Nothing was too shameful or too cringworthy for Pam.

Picture the scene: You’re in the cinema, the lights have gone down, we’ve had the main set of trailers and adverts so this is the second curtain opening before the film starts so people have quietened down ready for the film but there’s just a couple more adverts left to show. The worst one at the moment has to be the Orange (mobile network) adverts with the witch. There’s a few people opening sweet and crisp packets, the odd conversation being completed in hushed tones and on the screen the witch gets some leaves thrown in her face and her hands spark. Suddenly the near quietness is shattered by a short sharp cackle and you sink lower in your seat. No, it’s not the witch inthe advert, it’s the now jiggling, giggling, pointing bint sat next to you. There’s no point nudging her and you’re not going to draw more attention by saying something. You really can’t take her anywhere. Absolutely no shame whats-so-ever.

But, seconds later later and you’re smiling too. It’s the effect she has you, on everyone (well, maybe not the other cinema go-ers) and it’s one of the things that we love about our Pammy. It’s also why it’s virtually impossible to stay angry at her. I once went about 3 days not talking to her but it took more effort than it was really worth.

I first met Pam in January 2009 (seems so much longer) and we got on from the first moment. We were instantly friends and our friendship grew every day as it alsoo did with sandra, my wife. Pam is so easy to like, in fact it’s harder, if not impossible, to dis-like her. She always has a smile for you and I know it’s cliche but she lit up the room. Infectious is a good word to describe Pam, but in the good way that made even the dreariest days seem bright. You just couldn’t feel down when Pam was around about.

If you’ve ever gone out with Pam, shopping during the day, something to eat at lunchtime (we spent a good deal of time at Baroosh in Chelmsford where Pam used to work part-time as a second job) or to a club for the evening you’ll have been oustounded by just how many people Pam knew. Sometimes it seemed that every other person you pass she has to stop and say “hi” to often meaning that for the next 5 minutes she’s forgotten you exist. But again, that’s just because Pam focuses so much of her attention on other people, making them feel that for that moment at least, you’re the most important person in Pam’s world. And it always felt wonderful.

They say you can judge a person by their friends and it was never so true as it was for Pam. Her nature being what it was, she had more friends than I thought it was possible to have outside of F**ebook. Yes, sometimes it meant you had to wait in line if you wanted to meet up with her; and yes, her sometimes dizzy head would arrange to meet several people all the same day but we didn’t mind. You just learnt to accept these things about our Pammy.

Pamela Willis was the best friend anyone could ever wish for and was taken from us a lifetime before her time.

Our lives will now always have a hole in it that can never be filled. Pam was truely unique.

I miss you so much Pam. I’ll never forget you.

Rest in peace beautiful.

XXX

P.S. … bumface!

Sandra’s words: http://www.sandramarriott.com/2010/02/rip-pamela-willis-a-great-friend/
Media Coverage:

• BBC News
• Evening Start
• Essex Police
• This Is Total Essex

Web User is a popular publication for people looking for help and advice with all things web related however, over the years I have been increasingly disturbed by the number of articles that seem -to me at least- to contain misleading information.

Today, I came across an article titled “Protect Your Passwords”, a follow on piece about how the number of internet users that use poor passwords or even reuse the same ones over and over for every website thast requires them. I was expecting this article to offer useful information about how we can all benefit from using stonger, unique passwords along with tips on how to manage them all.

Credit where it’s due, the piece did offer some important but basic advice. What it also managed to do though was mislead the readers about the security benefits of using the Firefox browser.

Here’s what web user had to say:
"Set a master password in Firefox
To stop anyone viewing passwords stored in Firefox, you’ll need to set a master password."
It goes on to detail how this can be done.

Now my grievance with this is the hideous implication that users of firefox are at risk form haviing their passwords accessed and that Firefox is the only browser that this is an issue for.

Allow me to correct this:
ALL browsers allow you to view the passwords that you have asked for them to store. However, Firefox is one of the few that make it possible to protect them. As far as I’m aware, it is not possible with Internet Explorer. So far I’ve also failed to see how to do this in Chrome although Opera does make it possible.

It annoyed the hell out of me that a publication like web user allows such misleading information to be published. Instead of praising Firefox for having such a great tool, for allowing people to easily manage strong, unique passwords for such things as ebay, paypal, their bank website etc. they choose instead to try and make out that Firefox is the security sieve of browsers.

Of course I commented but we’ll have to wait to see if they’re willing to publish it. Watch this space.

Read the full article: http://www.webuser.co.uk/help-and-advice/security/387026/protect-your-passwords

It’s been a long time coming but finally, here’s my blog about Linux and my experience over the past few years with Ubuntu.

Now I know to most of you that was all gibberish. To a lot of you though that are used to my ramblings it probably doesn’t come as a shock but for the rest of you, I’ll start with a brief (?) intro into Linux and Ubuntu.

Oh, something I should get out the way now is how to pronounce “Linux”. It’s “lin” as in “linen” or “link” with out the “gk” sound at the end” “ux” as in “ucks” like “ducks” or “Uxbridge”. It’s because the name of the guy that created Linux is called Linus Torvolds and he’s Finnish so his name is NOT pronounced like the name of the kid with the blanket and piano in Peanuts (the cartoon with Snoopy and Charlie Brown) but as “Lin-us” not “Line-us” and because the software that Linus wrote is based on Unix we get Linux. There’s a YouTube video somewhere of an interview with Linus Torvalds explaining this if you want to hear it from the horse’s mouth.

What is Open Source software?

In short it’s software that you can get for free (as in free beer). The people that create it or own the rights to it give it away free of charge. Examples include Mozilla’s Firefox browser, Thunderbird email program, 100’s of Linux based operating systems and Open Office – a free suit of office programs similar to Microsoft’s Office suit (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint etc.).

What is Linux?

Linux is the basis for alternative operating systems that can replace Microsoft’s Windows XP / Vista and Apple’s Mac OS X. It can be installed either as a complete replacement or as a second operating system, a popular choice for people new to Linux making the transition much easier. This “dual boot” option allows you to choose what operating system you want to load when you start your PC.

What is Ubuntu?

Ubuntu is one of a very large number of pre-configured Linux based operating system. Other popular options include Fedora, Debian and Red Hat (Red Hat is not free though). There is a Linux operating system called openSuse but I’m not discussing that because Microsoft has got it’s hands on it so it’s tainted but is obviously a popular choice for the more hardened Microsoft fan boy *spit*.

Why do I use it?

Over the last few years I had become more and more annoyed and frustrated by Micro$oft and their products. The more I use them and the more they update them the more faults I discover and the worse they perform – slow downs often and crashes almost weekly*. Then one day, a friend asked me what OS I use (which was windows at the time) and explained to me that there was an alternative (other than buying a Mac).

* No, there is nothing wrong with my PC. I built my PC using componants I chose. It was checked frequently almost to point of being anal. I love my Antec Sonata and all the goodies contained there-in.

It’s also a very political decision as I have a loathing and venomous disagreement with how Microsoft treats the computer industry and it’s customers. The then recent destruction of several hard-drives helped somewhat with the decision as well.

Ubuntu was recommended to me and was the first Linux OS I used. I’ve tried a few others including Zenwalk, openSuse and Fedora but always go back to Ubuntu. It’s not the prettiest or the best at integrating with my hardware but with minor tweaking it does work brilliantly and the community is fantastic.

Why did I choose Ubuntu?

Because it was the first one I ever tried and after playing around with Debian, Fedora, Suse and the other *bunutu distro, Ubuntu, I just felt that Ubuntu was the best for me. It’s not necessarily the flashiest distro but a combination of the ease of use and the friendliness of the Ubuntu community convinced me.

What’s so special about Linux / Ubuntu?

For a start it’s not Windows. It works. It’s safe. Viruses do exist for Linux but they’re nothing to actually concern yourself with. It’s practically unheard of to have a Linux anti-virus program; it’s just not required for the average user. Ubuntu is free. It’s free to download, it’s free to modify and I can, if I so wish, even give my copy away whether I’ve modified it or not. It’s free as in freedom. I can do what ever I like, when-ever I like, however I see fit (…ish).

Sounds perfect, any catches?

Yeah, actually, there’s a few. You have to bear in mind that Ubuntu (as are most Linux Distros) was originally written by individuals as a solution to their particular needs at that time. It has since been refined but it’s not guaranteed to install and run perfectly on every machine. This is because there are hundred’s of different computers and laptops made with a selection from thousands of different components. Not all are compatible. The Linux community try to keep lists of what is and what isn’t compatible but it’s not easy, there are just too many different variations. The Linux community also try very hard to write all the necessary drivers required to allow a piece of hardware to work with the operating system but again, this is a mammoth task. Recently however some manufacturers are doing their part. HP (Hewlett Packard) and ASUS go to great lengths to ensure their products are compatible out of the box. If you’ve got a PC that’s less than 5 years old, chances are you’ll have no problems but if you do, it’ll be relatively simple to fix. If it is 5-10 years old or you’ve got a laptop, some initial fettling will often be required but like I said earlier, the support community is second to none. More often than not it will work but will just have a few bugs. Screen resolution issues are probably the most common followed by wireless internet. Having said that, with every release of Ubuntu (the open source community release a new version of the distro (operating systems) every six months) things just get better and better (read “easier”).

Now, I could have saved you all the effort of having to read my ramblings by pointing you earlier to the following link: Linux is NOT windows. I highly recommend you read it if you have so much as a passing interest in Linux and want to know more about the transition from Windows.

I think that’s far too much already for a first blog on this subject to I’ll finish this one here but one day I’ll write a follow up that will hopefully be constructed as an attempt to convince you. The bottom line at this point is that it’s free and you can try it safely without getting rid of Windows. Try it but do give it a chance. It is new to you and it IS different. There’s a learning curve but once you “get” it, you’ll never go back.

Microsoft recently announced that it will continue to support IE6 (internet explorer version 6) until 2014 despite the fact it has now been superseded twice (current version is IE8) and once again web developers and designers (like me) across the world let out yet another defeated groan.
Microsoft’s reasons for extending support for this old, non-compliant browser include allowing them to continue to send out patches for security flaws!

As you may know, I am not a Microsoft fan and I have a special loathing of Internet Explorer so I forgive you for thinking that I’m going to be biased here but try and see through it, I promise the points I make here are valid and apply to everyone.

So what’s the problem? Internet Explorer of any version is not, in general, considered a particularly secure browser neither is it the best at rendering websites as the designers and developers intended. Granted, it is getting better but is it really good enough that M$ have to issue security patches on an almost weekly basis?
Now I know some of you won’t take my word for it but you have to take Eric Lawrence’s word for it! Why? Because Eric Lawrence is Microsoft’s IE Security Manager, that’s why.

Here’s what Eric has to say on the matter (taken from a response as to why Microsoft are extending support for IE6):
“Putting customers at risk isn’t an option,” Lawrence said on the IEInternals blog. “Having said that, we work hard at evangelizing new browser releases and getting folks to upgrade. While we still support IE6, there’s no question that users on IE8 will have a more secure, reliable, and performant [sic] experience.”

What get’s my goat about this is that surely it would be in the customer’s best interest to upgrade to IE7 rather than keep patching IE6? Unfortunately, unlike IE7, IE6 doesn’t seem to have an auto update notification where-as IE7 users got prompted in a very unsubtle way to upgrade to IE8. This is just so typical of the Microsoft mentality.

Regarding the rendering of websites, I do hear a lot of people saying that it’s other browsers that have a problem such as Firefox and Google’s chrome but I assure you, it’s IE. Microsoft themselves have said that their browser doesn’t conform to web standards compliance. IE7 was a massive leap forward from IE6 but is still along way behind the others. The problem is not helped by companies that designed websites specifically for IE(6) because statistically it is the most used (please don’t keep saying “popular”) browser.

Big question then is: “Why should I upgrade”? The number one reason I would give is security. Internet Explorer, especially IE6 is just too insecure. It is prone to attacks by harmful websites and viruses. The risk that someone could attack you pc and obtain passwords or even images of your kids is just far too great. Microsoft are trying their “best” to keep on top of this but they will ALWAYS be several steps behind the attackers. After all, they won’t know there’s a security flaw (9 times out 10) until someone else finds it first. The second reason is for user experience on the internet. For those that say they’re happy with the website experience I have one final question: Do you have a colour TV? Black and white TV’s still allow you to view tv shows but people still choose the more expensive colour TV’s? Why? Because they’re better…

One final point: If you have a really, really old PC and have to upgrade the operating system to XP and perhaps add some memory, the most this will cost you is about £70. Bet your colour tv cost a lot more than that over the B&W equivilent and your TV doesn’t give out your bank details to every passing stranger!!

Cantankerous:  Difficult or irritating to deal with <a cantankerous mule> (Merriam-Webster). Stubborn, cranky, surly, ill-humored, irritable (Wiktionary). Ill-tempered and quarrelsome; disagreeable (Answers.com)

It’s such a fantastic word. Lots of syllables. An old word that’s seldom used today. Perhaps that’s a sign that people are much nicer now than they used to be. Much more likely, a sign that education, particularly English language isn’t as great as it used to be. I assure you, in fact, I know you don’t need me to point it out, people are most definitely not as nice as they used to be.
Hold on though, have I got it wrong? Is it about how nice people are now? It’s a word that often described old people, normally men, who are of a certain age that affords them the time to sit around and judge all they see. Perhaps then it’s just that as that generation fades away, the newer grumpy old men aren’t as judgmentle?

You decide, that’s not what this blog’s about. This blog, like most, is about me. I can see you’re already there aren’t you? A blog about me titled Cantankerous Old Bastard. I see you all nodding away. Cheeky sods. But so right.

Not normally a label one would choose for themselves but I like it and those that know me well enough will appreciate the funny side of it.

Let’s have a look at some of the words / phrases listed at the beginning:
Difficult or irritating to deal with: Some people would say so but only because I will speak my mind and some don’t like that. Because I am not afraid to express my opinion or to offer a different view point, some people see that as confrontational. The more educated don’t.
Stubborn: Yes but always with an open mind.
Cranky: first thing in the morning before I’ve had a cup of tea, maybe.
Surly: No, this I’m not.
Ill-humoured: Again, no. Often dark and very dry but not ill-humoured.
Irritable: I find a great many things in this would irritate me but most of them I ignore and don’t allow them more than a seconds thought.
Ill-tempered and quarrelsome; disagreeable: See &quot;Difficult and irritating to deal with&quot;

I like it because when I mention it to people they laugh and agree and that amuses me.

I like it because it’s a great word that’s not used enough. It has such great meaning.

My facebook username is COB100. C.O.B. being short for Cantankerous Old bastard and 100 just because it needed to be longer and it has a nice ring to it. This got many remarks.

Just you wait till I’m 80!!

I came across this on MySpace and thought it was so good that I’m going to quote it here. Written by (or at least, posted by) someone called Billie Williams and it makes me cry every time I read it.

"I saw you, but you didn’t see me.

I saw you hug your purse closer to you in the grocery store line. But you didn’t see me put an extra $10 in the collection plate last Sunday.

I saw you pull your child closer when we passed each other on the sidewalk. But you didn’t see me playing Santa at the local Mall.

I saw you change your mind about going into the restaurant when you saw my bike parked out front. But you didn’t see me attending a meeting to raise more money for the hurricane relief.

I saw you roll up your window and shake your head when I rode by. But you didn’t see me riding behind you when you flicked your cigarette butt out the car window.

I saw you frown at me when I smiled at your children. But you didn’t see me, when I took time off from work to run toys to the homeless.

I saw you stare at my long hair. But you didn’t see me and my friends cut ten inches off for Locks of Love.

I saw you roll your eyes at our leather jackets and gloves. But you didn’t see me and my brothers donate our old ones to those that had none.

I saw you look in fright at my tattoos But you didn’t see me cry as my children were born or have their name written over and in my heart.

I saw you change lanes while rushing off to go somewhere. But you didn’t see me going home to be with my family.

I saw you, complain about how loud and noisy our bikes can be. But you didn’t see me when you were changing the CD and drifted into my lane.

I saw you yelling at your kids in the car. But you didn’t see me pat my child’s hands knowing she was safe behind me.

I saw you reading the newspaper or map as you drove down the road. But you didn’t see me squeeze my wife’s leg when she told me to take the next turn.

I saw you race down the road in the rain. But you didn’t see me get soaked to the skin so my son could have the car to go on his date.

I saw you run the yellow light just to save a few minutes of time. But you didn’t see me trying to turn right.

I saw you cut me off because you needed to be in the lane I was in. But you didn’t see me leave the road.

I saw you, waiting impatiently for my friends to pass. But you didn’t see me. I wasn’t there.

I saw you go home to your family. But you didn’t see me. Because I died that day you cut me off. I was just a biker. A person with friends and a family. But you didn’t see me."

Links:
Possibly the author on MySpace

Honda make what I consider to be the finest piece of motorcycle technology ever created, the CBR1000RR Fireblade. This bike started out back in about 92 as the CBR900RR. The bike that finally stole the number 1 spot away from my beloved Yamaha FZR1000.
Since that time we have seen manufacturers developing machines that are just sublime. From Kawasaki we have the ZX-10R Ninja (was ZX-9R), Yamaha gave us the current favourite R1 and Suzuki (*spit*) barged in with their animal of a bike, the GSXR.

I’ve been fortunate enough to ride some of those bikes listed above, namely the Honda Fireblade and the Yamaha R1. I’ve only been pillion on the Ninja and I stay away from Gixers. Here follows a brief summary of those experiences:

Honda Fireblade: I wanted to ride this bike ever since it first arrived in 1992. I was *ahem* a teenager running around on an old Honda CB125T and easily impressed except my love affairs were more Harris Magnum’s, CB900F’s, evil looking Z1’s and Katana’s but that all changed with the Fireblade. It was stunning. It was tiny (relatively). It had holes in the fairing. It was fast. And it was gorgeous. I wanted one and I wanted one bad.
They say you should never meet your hero as they’ll more often than not disappoint. The Fireblade I got to ride was the exception. I loved this thing already but I didn’t dare imagine it would be this good. When I got on the bike and rode off I did so with a grin that stretched from ear to ear. By the time I got back from the ride and stepped off the bike, that grin was in danger of removing the top half of my head. The only words I could get out were “that… is… a… fuckin… good… bike”. It took weeks to stop grinning and longer still to stop telling everyone about it. I wanted one.

Yamaha R1: Up until this point I had a bit of a love hate thing with Yamaha. My FZR (florafumi) was the first Yamaha I’d ever ridden and the first Yamaha to make me think “actually, these are bleedin’ good, these are”. I just couldn’t (and still can’t) forgive them for the V-Max. When the R1 first came out I was angry and annoyed immediately. People were already shouting about how it was going to knock the Fireblade off it’s perch. People were crashing them instantly. I hated it.
But when offered a ride on one I thought it rude to say no. But this was really only because this particular R1 belonged to the above Fireblade owner and he was waxing on about it. I had to find out why.
The short version is that I got off the bike with an equally stupid grin but this time my words were “Now that was a fuckin good ride”. It’s true. The Fireblade will always be the bike my heart desires. It will always be the best piece of motorcycle engineering. But I’d buy an R1. Bastid.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing could be better than this.
Wait, I can hear you all screaming “Ducati” but I don’t care. No, I’ve not ridden one. I have my own reasons for not wanting one and I’m keeping them to myself, for the moment.
I repeat, NOTHING could be better than the ‘Blade and R1.

…

Then, one day, along comes an Aprilia RSV1000 Factory. Gold frame. Ohlins front and back. Angles to make the new spy planes look rounded. And sweet Jesus did it shout and spit at a deafening roar. I was hysterical just looking and listening to it.
The English language doesn’t contain the right words to describe how much I loved riding this bike. The way it… the way it did everything.
I wasn’t grinning when I got off. My senses were on overload. Imagine believing in God and actually meeting him/her/them/it. I just can’t explain it.
Oh and the noise. The bike I got to ride was fitted with some very special Akrapovic titanium “intelligent” pipes that made the greatest sound ever. And LOUD. It was the first time in all my motorcycling years that traffic got out of my way. Seriously, it was like Moses parting the sea. Proof that a nice fruity exhaust note (read: ear splitting) is a safety feature.

It used to really annoy me when people said things like “…I had to get rid or I’ll lose either my life or license”. A bike will only go as fast as you twist the throttle but whilst that is still true, when you’re used to the feeling of speed on an in-line four, nothing prepares you for the power and grunt of the Aprilia v-twin. It takes every ounce of self control and will and concentration to keep within usual dual carriageway speeds. “Effortless” is an understatement.

I’ll finish by saying: “The Fireblade, the R1 the what ever; You can stick ‘em. Mere pretenders. I’m having an Aprilia RSV1000 Factory”.

I really really don’t like Facebook. I don’t like how difficult it is to control privacy. I don’t like all the stupid application.

I like MySpace more. It’s the original. It’s not so annoying. I still don’t really use it though. It’s just another medium to advertise me.

I managed to ignore Twitter for a long time. Years. I didn’t get it. I still don’t get how people get quite so excited about it but I do actually get it now. And I Twitter often. Once or twice a day. It does appeal to me. But different people use it for different reasons. Me? I just use it to post random thoughts that would have otherwise been lost forever. If people find them interesting then great but I don’t care. I don’t care how many people follow me. I’m not big into following other people. I don’t like people that much. I have an interest in SEO so I follow a few SEO gurus and of course, Stephen Fry.

Some people get all upset and angry because someone they are following hasn’t returned the interest. Please. Get over yourselves.

I do also  like Twitter as a method of basic communication. It appeals to my preferred method of speaking to people. A quick drive-by style shout at people. It’s easy, I can do so from my G1 or from my desk. For me it’s almost sociable.

Yeah, I like Twitter.

twitter.com/mr_jmm