Rum & Dal

Battery operated screwdrivers have been around for over 15 years.  Since their debut they have come a long way, reduction in size and weight, variable torque settings, ergonomics and more importantly battery life.

Whilst browsing in Bunnings, the equivalent to B&Q; I came across the Bosch IXO cordless screwdriver.  It was the packaging that drew attention towards the quaint stylish driver.  The driver and its accessories are packaged in a tin box (18 x 18 x 14cm) however this is not why purchased the item.

The driver weighs approximately 300g and fits like a glove.  The soft rubber grip allows the user to be comfortable and confident when using the driver with his/hers left or right hand.  For additional support you can easily hold the driver with both hands.  With the aid of arrows that light up the user is always aware which way the driver is rotating.  When the trigger is half and fully pressed an LED will come on at the front of the driver to illuminate the fastener.  Nice idea when you working inside a cupboard.

The main reason I purchased this driver was because of the attachments that accompanied the driver.  The driver can be used as it is or with the adjustable torque setting attachment or with the angle driver head.  The heads are easily attached by removing the plastic cap and clipping the attachment, they can be removed with a simple twist and pull action.  Torque settings are necessary when using small diameter screws; if you’re not careful you will thread or damage the screw head.

The set includes 10 fastener heads: 1 x flat, 2 x hex, 2 x torx, 2 x cross and 2 x which are all housed in a plastic clip that can be removed from the docking station.  The docking station which is also the charger can sit on the work bench or mounted on a wall.

This is a nice piece of kit that should be a part of everyone’s toolbox, a must for those enthusiastic IKEA future lovers.  It is clear that this driver has been designed with some thought, comfortable for men, woman and children to use; from the amateur DIY person to the professional tradesperson.  The only compliant I have is that Bosch should have included an extension piece for the fastener heads.  I paid $79 for this, ten dollars less and think it would have been a bargain.

Every year Melbourne has a bicycle marathon to raise money for the Multiple Sclerosis Charity.  It’s 40km which works out to be just shy of 25 miles, what have I let myself in for?  The last time I was on bike, was about 5 years ago with the chaps from Polymer Laboratories.  I had fallen so far behind that I got lost and took the wrong turn, ended up in a field full of cows and so exhausted that when I drank my water it all came rushing back out.  OK so I’m no fitter now than I was back then, but I will do this

I have until the 22nd February to get in shape.  I’m not that worried because it is a family event for all ages so I think we have about 5 hours to complete the course.  Accompanying me on this trek will be Asar who will have is work cut out for him motivating me.  Hopefully we can make some time and get some training session together.

If anyone would like to sponsor me and help the MS society follow is this link and click DONATE

Larger image of Cinder Cone Mountain Bike

Here we are again. New home no internet.  We have no link to the outside world via the super internet highway.  Technologic advancements which we have become so dependent on are now a necessity to have in your home, broadband is the fourth utility along with water, electricity and gas.

We had a telephone line connected with Telstra (BT equivalent) just so we could have ADSL broadband but Telstra said the infrastructure has not been installed in Craigieburn just yet and they do not know how long it will take.  So not having the option of ADSL we decided to go to the latest method of data transferring.  G3 network, this enables you to access the internet via a SIM card which connects to your computer with the use of a modem (usually the size of a USB flash drive) again we do not get coverage from Vodafone or Optus.

We’ve built a beautiful home here in Craigieburn but I think we might as well have dug a hole and lived in a cave!  Telstra have a huge monopoly here and they have the government over a barrel.  They are taking their time with building new data infrastructure and updating existing lines.  Australia really is about 10 years behind the UK when it comes to broadband.  Until we catch up we have to be prepared to pay many hundreds of dollars for a slow connection speed and limited bandwidth.

Luckily, Dal and I will have access to the web at work to quickly check our mail whilst looking over our shoulders to see if the boss is watching ? So you won’t hear from us until we do get a connection at home and there won’t be much happening on the blog.  Sorry guys but we are officially disconnected from the planet.

We did it!  Would you adam and eve it?  Took us 3 seasons, we took it to the finals and won 6-4 against the Orange Meanies.  Well done to the regular team – Richard (captain), Jamie, Erwin, Luke, Wilson and Dal.  Thanks also to Rum, Rathan, Andrea, Amanda, Ben and Zach who pitched in when we needed you.  It was an excellent season, with a great finale, nail biting and action packed!

We went into the second half with a 3-0 lead and one injury to Andrea (not including Dal who was already injured).  Orange Meanies came levelling it to 3-3! Rathan and Andrea pulled of some beautiful goals and when the final whistle blew it was 6-4.  The last 4 mintues were the longest ever, standing on the side line! Goal and player of the match goes to Andrea.  Well done Troubled Strangers… lets get it on for next season.

Our Player Manager Jade could not be with us this season but she kept a watch with her MSN team talk   It was much appreciated! This ones for you Jade. “They think its all over.  It is now!”

The waiting is over.  Dal is now the proud owner of Guitar Hero World Tour.  What have I let myself in for?

It’s been18 months now since Dal has been strumming on her guitar playing GH2 & GH3.  Since then Rock Band has come and gone, Rock Band was never released in Australia but then it was always going to be second best compared to the original Guitar Hero brand.

Costing $278 (£120) yeah believe it or not is actually cheaper here than the UK.  Its not a bad investment.  The package contains the game, a shiny new wireless guitar with more features than the original, microphone (all we need is a wanna be Bon Jovi) and an electronic drum kit.

This game is selling like hot cakes, I phoned around 12 different vendors this afternoon, they were all out of stock and didn’t know when the new stock would be in.  Perserverance paid off and I found GH World Tour at my local BigW.  We had to get this ready for chrismas holidays so we can play in our cinema room and pump some tunes through our new system.  Forget summer concerts at Hyde Park, not when you got the Nahals at Craigieburn.  Enjoy Dal, the smile on her face said it all.  Looks like i’ll be doing the cooking over the next few weeks

A big Happy Birthday to Pal and Surj

Today Pal is celebrating his 25th Birthday with his whiskey bottle and Little Surj, who is barely off the starting line, is celebrating his 3rd with no doubt his own favourite bottle.  Cheers to you both have a good one, wishing we were there for the fun.