MyGTI

Been spending most of my time at my PC this week listening back over the fantastic drum & bass podcasts over at Hospital Records. Never bothered with this podcasting thing before, but once I found out one of my favourite labels had one I decided to jump in using Juice.

The format of the show is pretty much like a radio show with boss man Tony spinning whatever tunes he fancies and it works brilliantly. Even think they’ve won some awards for it. And deservedly.

Get on it.

I know us Brits are supposed to be obsessed with the weather, but lately I’ve realised just how much I’ve come to use MetCheck. I use it at the start of the week to decide whether I’m going to be walking into work in the dry, or driving in the rain. What the weather is going to be like on any long drives I am planning, and even to decide what clothes to take with me when I go away. You can quickly type in a town or postcode, and get access to a forecast for the following day, week, or even further ahead. And I think I’ve only scratched the surface so far.

Just a shame it doesn’t do Alpine forecasts for my snowboard trips abroad … or maybe it does. Off to check …

Volounteered my car to a quattro specialist called Quattronics this weekend so they could use it to measure up a new brake kit they are developing that uses monstrous Porsche 911 (996) GT3 calipers. Unfortunately some of the parts they’d had machined hadn’t quite been made to spec, so in exchange for allowing them to hang onto my S4 for the week, I’ve been given use of their own ‘95 S6 Avant.

Surprisingly, it’s not been heavily tweaked but it does benefit from H&R springs and a set of Koni dampers and suspension geometry set up to enhance turn in and front end grip. Combined with the very purposeful looking (and rare) 17″ S6+ 6-spoke wheels it really does transform the car. On bumpy, pot-holed roads it actually feels pretty awful with the sterring wheel pulling to one side and the other … but show it some smoother tarmac and pick up some speed and it turns it into a completely different animal. I could swear the car feels a couple of hundred kilos lights given the way it changes direction. And when cornering there is none of the front-end push present in the factory set-up, the modified car definitely tending towards oversteer. Perfect.

Anyways, not going to be putting too many miles on it this week (hey, it’s already got around 230,000 on it!) but it was still a fun way of getting back over the Snake Pass today.

Dunno if you’ve ever been camping, but one of the most annoying things about trying to pack light is the need to take stuff like plates, cups, bowls etc. While it’s easy to buy super light, it’s still awkwardly shaped and takes up that valuable space!

The BBC’s Dragon’s Den last night featured the inventor of this amazin’ flat-pack tableware called Orikaso. It’s a range of tableware that is constructed, origami-like, from flat pieces of pre-folded plastic sheeting. Within a matter of seconds you can turn one of these pieces of plastic into a fully functioning mug, another into a singing and dancing bowl. And when you’re done, fold ‘em back away again.

I really urge you to check it out. I’ve even founda UK online shop that stocks Orikaso. How good is that.

Having covered around 6000 miles now in my 1991 Audi 100 S4, its 28 MPG thirst for fuel has meant that I’ve visited a lot of petrol stations .. and also filled up with a variety of fuels.

Recently Shell has introduced its new V Power product into the UK market. It’s a 99-RON blend which basically means a modern engine control can run with more advanced ignition. Which means more power.

On top of that it’s supposed to be packed with cleaners, and with lubricants that actually reduce the internal friction of the engine (I’m presuming between the piston and the bore!).

The S4 seems to really like it. There is none of the slight backing-off feeling under accelation that I’d been getting when running with Shell’s previous 97 RON Optimax. It just pulls smoothly and powerfully right round to the redline.

I understand it can improve fuel economy too, but I wouldn’t know about that …

Just noticed that Audi have revealed the new Audi R8 at the Paris motor show. Looks stunning, and with a 420 PS evolution of the 4.2 litre V8 it should move quite well too. Just a shame that on paper it seems just as good as the much more expensive (and eventually more exclusive) Gallardo produced by that other Volkswagen AG brand, Lamborghini.

I don’t think I’ll be putting a deposit down just yet. Quite happy getting to grips with the S4 for the time being. Heh.

Shameless, I know, but might as well plug my bro’s newly renamed band, The Felons. Catch them before they get famous.

For the past few months I’ve been immersing myself in the new and scary world of PHP, mySQL and the fantastic osCommerce open source e-commerce system. Oh, and not to mention learning how to drive PhotoShop.

This is all ‘cos I volounteered myself to help out a friend who co-owns a snowboard shop in Sheffield. He was looking for someone to redesign his existing osCommerce website to give it more modern, and professional yet approachable feel that more reflected the personalities of the guys who work there.

So, like I said, after a few months of locking myself in a darkened room, and a final weekend’s push we have got the site live TODAY!

So here ya go …Slide Snowboard Store. The best darned snowboard shop in the world.

Lately I’ve been helping a friend out setting up an online shop. Part of that has involved looking for a web hosting company with whom to host the PHP & MySQL based site. We went with UK2 as they seemed to offer a good price on the domain, and a lot of good features.

However, since then I’ve discovered a company called 34sp, who not only offer fantastically priced hosting, but are also based in my home town of Manchester, UK. They offer full, personal MySQL & PHP hosting from £17.95 per month. And they also have a hot girl on the home page. A winning combo I think.