Thump.....Thump.....Thump.....Thump.....Thump.....

New houses being built in the field bordering my back garden require pile driving for their foundations. Every morning all I hear is Thump..... Thump..... Thump..... Thump..... Thump..... get another one ready, Thump..... Thump..... Thump..... Thump..... Thump....., then I go to work, come home, and am greeted with Thump..... Thump..... Thump..... Thump..... Thump..... get another one ready, Thump..... Thump..... Thump..... Thump..... Thump..... Just as well I'm not doing any recording at home at the moment, or I'd have to write music that had a coincident beat pattern or something. The delay unit called the house across the road provides a nice 1/2 sec delay to the thumps, depending on where in the house you stand. I hope the builders all get piles too. Maybe I should find out where THEY live, and hammer some stakes into the ground outside their houses at 8 in the morning. Mind you, they wouldn't be there, too busy making noise back at my house...

A nice surprise...

Last year I planted bulbs all over my garden, miniature daffodils, crocuses (crocii ?), snowdrops and so on, and then completely forgot about them. As I looked out the kitchen window this week, what did I see but little bursts of colour erupting all over the garden! At first I was thinking "what the hell...", but this quickly switched to "of course, the bulbs!". If I'd known they'd all start growing by 14 February I would probably have sown them in a heart shape or something, and then asked my wife to look out the window on Valentines Day! Now THAT would earn major brownie points! Then I could sow later-flowering flowers to spell out "and I'd like a Ferrari as well"...

Greatest invention ever!

Perhaps there may be some element of exaggeration here, but I recently ordered a pair of Altura cycling overshoes from a website in the UK, and they arrived just in time for Ireland's latest onslaught of airborne H2O. Up until now, my breathable jacket and overtrousers have kept me completely dry from all the rain, but any puddle or passing scumbag in a car is liable to create a water flow that disregards gravity, being either projected upwards from a splash, or directed forwards from the spinning rear tyre as the Coanda effect, combined with water tension, finally becomes overcome by centrifugal force. The resultant non-gravitational water flow cleverly circumvents normal waterproof apparel and pours litres of water over my feet and into my shoes. This hitherto unavoidable occurance, leading to extreme irritation at total dryness APART from soggy feet (so near yet so far, etc.), has now been completely eradicated! The overshoes come up above the ankle, are made of neoprene, have sole cutouts for use with SPD pedal clips, are completely waterproof, and, as a bonus extra, keep my feet lovely and warm as well! Lots of reflective scotchlite completes the picture.

If you cycle in the rain, anywhere, GET A PAIR !

http://www.allterraincycles.co.uk/p.php?products=Clothing&header=Overshoes