Monday January 31, 2005

Heidfeld gets his 'beemer'

Good news that Heidfeld gets the second Williams drive. I think he deserves the break. I suspect it will only be a one year deal while the team wait to see if BAR keep Button ( if BAR do well in 2005 they will ) and I think Heidfeld will match Webber in pace. Sadly of course Webber has had time to build up his reputation and knowledge of the team but William's do not play silly driver games as other teams do. Frank wants the contructors cup more than the drivers crown so both drivers will be urged to do well.

First time buyers

At a time when buying a house seems to be getting more out of reach of first time buyers I thought it might be of interest to document my own first house purchase.

It was in the 1980's when house prices were just going crazy. I worked in a village outside Cambridge and most houses suitable for first time buyers were in the city itself. My only capital was the value of a car two years old. The area I picked was a small estate built off Mill road. The houses looked like a two up, two down terrace house but were cut down the middle so you basically got two rooms and a small bathroom. As you walked in the house you entered the living room and if I sat on the floor I could almost touch the other end of the room. The kitchen had a 'breakfast 'bar' and just about enough room for a sink, washing machine and fridge. Upstairs a single bedroom with a ceiling that followed the slope of the roof giving an airy feel to the place. The bathroom was in the corner of this room.

I reckon I paid about 32,000 GBP for that place and sold my car as a deposit. I got a three and three quarters times my salary mortgage ( only one firm offered that). The way I got the place as gazumping was rife then was to put a note through everyones door in the estate telling them I was interested and they could save estate agent fees by selling to me. I got a couple of responses. The folks I bought off were broke and were moving into council housing.

I remember cycling into Cambridge the day we completed the deal and picking up a key ( only one door) and going to see the place. Quite a special day it was. For the next year I cycled to work in the rain, cold and heat like Chris does now but only five miles each way.

The house number by the way ? Number 1 Kerridge Close.

Time for a Harry Potter film test.

After events on Saturday morning I think it is time I went for a Harry Potter film test for the next film. However I also need to ask the author J K Rowling to write a new book first with Harry as a similar age to me if I am going to have any chance. However my selling point is a red mark on my forhead that is not dissimilar to the one Harry Potter has ( red zig zag) . The film producers will have to get a move on as I fear my red mark is not permanent.

Unlike Harry who was born with his red mark I got mine asI walked out of Twyford railway station Saturday morning and as I looked away from the direction I was travelling managed to have a disagreement with the automatic doors that lead into the station. The noise was a loud crack and I feared the worst for my nose. I managed to get home and after an hour a large golfball lump had appeared on my forehead. By the time we left the house to go away for the weekend the lump was starting to go down. Hence my suggestion I should go for the film test.

The rest of the weekend was less painful and we went away for my birthday. We stayed at the Griffin in Fletching, Sussex for Saturday night. On the way we managed a nice walk before the heavens opened. The pub itself was old fashioned with nice log fires. I had a game terrine to start with and a cumberland sausage and mash to follow. Breakfast was available until a decent 10am in the morning.

On the way home we did another walk around Peaslake where the local stores were doing a good trade with the cyclists having a break in the village. The area is known as little Switzerland as it has the highest hills in Surrey. There are some excellent trails for both walkers and cyclists. The walk to us to the summit of Pitch hill where you get a wonderful panoramic view. On a clear day it would be spectacular. The walk back to the village took us through a valley under trees.

Friday January 28, 2005

F1 gone crazy..

Now in the politically savvy ( usually ) world of F1 it is strange that all but Ferrari have signed up to a limit on testing. This means Ferrari will this year be able to do loads more development on the aero, tyres, engines etc than their rivals and give them a hefty advantage this year. The teams who can field three cars on the Friday practice session will not be so bad off however.

But also interesting is their willingness to put the scarlet ink mark on the new concorde agreement ( the old man ferrari wrote in scarlet ink) while the other teams hold off doing so. It seems that Honda and Toyota are now behind the rival series. The main problem the series will have is tracks. Bernie has all the 'good ones' tied up with multi year deals with himself of course.

After a bit more digging I see a statement from Nick Fry BAR's new boss. He is now saying if Ferrari do not sign up to the testing limit the whole deal falls through. Sorry Nick you will not pressure Ferrari into agreeing to it that way.

Product of the week the humble leek

My product of the week is the humble leek . Thought to have been brought over to the UK by the Romans in fact they were here before then

I grow about twelve rows on my allotment that sounds a lot but we have many recipes that call for leeks. A Spanish omelette with leeks, sausages and of course eggs. A cottage or shepherds pie with a potato topping with mixed in sauted leeks. Or a chicken broth with pasta, carrots and leeks. Finally the favourite must be leek and potato soup. I trust most people know how to make this but please make it nice and thick, I do hate watery soup.

People also add all sorts of unusual things into this soup making it complicated. All you need to do is take three leeks, one onion, slice them up and 'sweat' in some butter. Add a potato ( two or more makes the soup thicker) then add some stock, say a pint. Add some milk and simmer until the vegetables are soft. Season to your liking and then blitz until it is how you like your soup - I like mine with a few 'lumps' left in it.

Leeks are easy to grow, start them off in a seed tray in February and plant out in May. You need a dibbler to make a deep vertical hole, drop one leek into the hole and fill with water. By the winter if you have kept the ground weed free you will have some lovely leeks to enjoy. It really is as simple as that.

New technology ( for me) to help us in the lab

While doing a bit of Dynamic reconfiguration work for Chris on xmas eve and after dropping my mobile several times he suggested I look into a bluetooth device. Someone at work had one and has lent it to me all this week.

I have used it in the lab and the office area with my mobile tucked away in my pocket. I had set up for me 'auto-answering' so when the mobile rings I can speak into the bluetooth device without pressing any buttons. In the lab the other party can hear the lab's background noise especially when I do not speak but I can hear them ok and I come over pretty well too. It means someone can ring us and talk us through a lab operation without us dropping our phone or getting tangled up with wires when using a hands free headset.

My only issue with it is its battery needs recharging often so I will leave it on charge on my desk and hope I remember to take it down with me everytime I go to the lab. Also I have been told I look a bit of a plonker or dipstick as Del Boy would say so I need to remember to take it off before I walk back upstairs again.

I know some of you have been using these devices for ages but I am now convinced of their use - except in cars. I will be getting these for the other lab guys soon.

Thursday January 27, 2005

Left hand drive lorries on our roads

I appreciate the reasoning why continental lorries end up on our roads and since the Channel Tunnel opened more are seen especially on major roads. On my way home I drive through Bracknell which for its sins is a convenient link between the motorways M3/M4. So it has a lot of lorries picking their way through its centre that includes roundabouts. The problem is the left hand drive lorry is at a disadvantage on a roundabout in terms of seeing if it is clear. So very often as I drive round one particular roundabout I come across a continental lorry who has just entered the roundabout having not seen my bright red car.

I wonder if there is a better way, perhaps we should insist on reciprocal arrangements between UK and continental lorry companies so the trailer just goes over or under the channel to continue on its way pulled by a local lorry with the driver positioned on the 'right' side of the cab.

Or perhaps we should change the side of the road we drive on. The Swedish did it in 1967 . Someone persuaded my wife that this was done in two stages, cars one day lorries the next....

About our lab - Part-1 What is in our lab ?

Over the next few weeks and months I am going to describe one of the labs I look after. Although I will describe the one where I spend most of my time the others I have are similar except of course their geographical location and the amount and type of hardware they contain. But all are involved in supporting you, Sun's customers.

I am going to describe what is in the lab today. One of my previous managers likened a lab to an insurance policy. You have to have the policy to protect you and others in case something bad happens and you hope you never need to invoke it. So the policy you have has to cover most of the likely incident possiblities and our lab has to have the hardware to cover most if not all customer problems we are ever likely to have to fix.

We have everything Sun has sold over the last few years and keep it until the product is no longer supported. We called that End Of Service Life. That date goes beyond the last shipment date of course. So we have hardware from the entry level platforms all the way up to the top of range E25K . The number of these systems matches demand. We always start with at least one and add more as demand grows.We get the hardware before Sun sends the first unit out to a customer. Sometime we get 'beta' units used for early product training.

A lot of these systems are used for generic product support, that is the engineer is just investigating a problem with Solaris and does not really care if it is a Ultra2 or a Sunblade2500. We also have all the storage from disk packs up to the latest Storage 9990 . Everything is booked in a single database for all our labs worldwide. The name of the hardware is its product name and goes like this:

v4u-2500a-XXXX

Where the v means volatile - its a crash and burn machine, 4u is the kernel architecture, 2500 the model number on its front, a is the first of its type, b would be the second and XXX is the building it is in. All Sun buildings have a building code. This helps engineers find the hardware they need.

In case people need to find the hardware in the lab all hardware has a location field eg ROW1 RACK5. Each machine has the name of it on its front and back. We tend to keep all the same type of hardware together in the same part of the lab. All sit on sturdy racking built by Symbiote or are housed in proper Sunracks or standard 19" racks with shelves.

In future articles I will explain more about our capabilities how engineers interact with the lab, its hardware and my staff. If there is anything else that you want to know about or if you have a question add a comment to this article.

Did I have a good birthday ?

Yes I did thank you all.

It all started in the morning with two emails. The first from my lab folks in Singapore who sent me birthday greetings and also a picture of all three of them standing in a row holding three pieces of paper that read "Happy Birthday Paul". I am looking forward to seeing them next month. Next from lab staff in the US and their manager a video of them outside the Sun campus there in the California sun wishing me happy birthday. Thanks guys but I think you released it too late to be considered for an oscar.

At work the celebrations continued with Scott McNealy having bought everyone at Sun donuts as described by Chris here to celebrate my birthday. Thanks Scott !

The UK lab guys then did their bit by giving me a birthday card, two bottles of excellent wine and a chocolate cake. Most kind.

At home I got some nice presents, books etc and we went out for a nice meal at my local pub The Royal Oak. . I had a nice pint of London Pride, and we shared a bottle of French Merlot and I ate mussles, and duck with noodles.

It just shows you, you are never too old to celebrate your birthday.

In fact it gets better. This afternoon I have had a card from my lab friend and his wife in San Diego who has also sent me the dental floss he knows I like. He also sent me another surprise I can't tell you about - but its not illegal...

Wednesday January 26, 2005

Snowdrops in the garden

It is snowdrop time in the UK. The delicate little flowers are one of the first bulbs to show themselves in the new year. Certain properties ( large) open their gates as they have large swathes of snowdrops in their gardens. Here is an example go google to find your local snowdrop spot !

As regards growing these in your garden a few rules. Never buy dormant bulbs. Unlike other bulbs like daffodils, tulips etc snowdrops should be planted "in the green". You can get them sent to you in the post and they have usually just flowered when they are lifted. Even better if they have soil around their roots. Please do not dig them up from the countryside - this is a selfish thing to do.

Snowdrops do not appreciate being disturbed and the relatively shallow depth you set them means if you plant them in a regular border the activities of you weeding etc will mean they loose heart and will not survive. So under a tree or a shrub is good with grass covering the area is perfect. I have some in the garden in my grass but the number of flowers is not increasing which is not a good sign. If you are lucky and they do multiply you should dig them up every so often and divide the clumps.

Don't you Happy Xmas me with petrol 7/6 a gallon !l

While filling up with petrol the other day I mused over the fact this will be one of the last times I fill this car up with a petrol card. Once I get my own car the company car and fuel card goes back and I end up paying for the fuel I use directly. At the moment I am paying more for the fuel by way of the tax on the fuel card.

This reminded me of a cartoon I saw years ago. I cannot remember if it was a Giles or a cartoon or from the Punch magazine . Whichever it featured a man having his car filled up by an attendent ( no self serve in those days) who is clearly not looking what he is doing as the tank is full and petrol is now pouring out of the tank. The attendent also has a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. The quote from the car owner is "Don't you Happy Xmas me with petrol 7/6 a gallon !".

I told Chris about this the other day and he and his peers said they felt young as they do not remember petrol at that price. I am sure I do not either but if anyone wants to prove petrol was 7/6 ( seven shillings andsix pence ) since 1960 when I was born I am happy to admit I also remember it at that price after all. But you also have to prove I was old enough at the time to remember the fact. .

Tuesday January 25, 2005

BAR's 007 car...

Well BAR have officially launched their 007 car for the 2005 season. It has had some good comments from the plaudits and apart from an engine failure has had a good initial shakedown test. Like Williams last year it features a radical front wing but prettier than the walrus effort and the whole car will have a lot to prove from what I expect from the revitalised Williams and Mclaren teams.

I think BAR will also loose out after the good DR has left them. I think he is smiling though. If they do badly he can privately say "oh well they clearly miss me" and if they do well he can say "I set things up for a natural successor" and the success that brings...

It has to be said though until the first race no one can predict how things will shake out. No team has really had long runs yet on the one race lasting tye rubber but maybe Brigestone have let Ferrari have a secret test - who knows.... I think Ferrari are also being clever not using their definitive car for 2005 until they have had some races under their belt. It means if they learn anything that means radical changes they can change the 2005 car far easier than their rivals who will already be using theirs...

The thing we do know is it will be a major compromise effort with downforce reduced, engines to last two races and the long life rubber. I am sure a lot of drivers will be seen falling off the track.

Six weeks to Melbourne !

Dad's Army a timeless comedy show Dads Army which is still shown on TV is a firm favourite of mine. The shows in the middle of its run are the best I think and it has plenty of big characters who all get a chance to play major parts in the episodes.

I think the show actually mirrored reality in some town somewhere in war torn Britain where the home guard were the final barrier to stopping Hitlers invasion. The early shows have the recruitment, the initial group of elderly men with wooden guns as no real ones were available is what really happened. The idea of using Jones van (he was a butcher) to ferry them around is inspired. In fact some of the actors were old enough to be involved in the real events surrounding the home guard. The rivalry between the platoon and the air warden boss played by Bill Pertwee is also very funny.

All the characters deserve a mention but to keep this short; Captain Mainwaring's who is played by Arthur Lowe the pompous bank manager with ideas above his place in society, his second in command Wilson played by John Le Mesurier is wonderfully vague and vain. The rest of the cast are listed at the bottom of this page

My favourite show must be the "The Deadly Attachment" where the platoon have to baby sit a U boat crew waiting to be sent to a POW camp. Overnight the tension between the commander of the boat and Mainwaring builds and any transgression his platoon does against the U boat crew is noted in his little book. The ordering of fish and chips is hilarious ( " no soggy chips !"). Even better when Pike sings a little song ending in "Hitler is a twerp" the commander asks his name (to be entered in the little book) Mainwaring shouts out " don't tell him your name Pike!"

Other must see episodes are "Round and Round Went the Great Big Wheel" where a top secret war weapon goes disastrously wrong and threatens the safety of Walmington on Sea. . "Things that Go Bump in the Night" is where the platoon seek refuge in a mysterious house when their transport breaks down. The next day there is an excellent chase scene with the platoon being followed by hounds across the fields. Finally "Don't forget the Diver" where Captain Mainwaring's platoon are on a big home gaurd training exercise and have to infiltrate an enemy HQ in a windmill and plant a bomb so they send in Jones disguised as a tree.

Monday January 24, 2005

Manure when to, how to and how much...

Over the weekend I got two more load sof manure and spent some time digging it into the allotment.

This is the perfect time of the year to feed your vegetable patch with manure. If you can find someone to deliver it so much the better. Else you need to get some very strong bags (not too big) and fork up the stuff from a friendly farmer or stables. A wheelbarrow will ease the burden of manhandling the bags and you should always bend your knees!

When you deliver it to site put it in piles on the ground where you need it to save moving it again as you dig it in. Don't manure a plot and dig out perenial weeds at the same time. Get rid of the weeds first. Also do not put manure of your garden unless it has just shrubs. If it has perenial herbacous plants the heightened ground level may end up rotting the plants, so wait till spring, the best time to mulch a flower garden with well rotted manure. It is ok to dig in fresh manure straight from the animals rear end into the ground. Never spread new manure around any plants the heat will scorch them.

Two walks in the winter sun.

Two nice walks this weekend nothing spectacular just pleasant to be in the winter sun.

First was at Barkham not far from where we live. A short walk along bridleways, unadopted roads and a quick stroll in a wood. When we started we passed a riding school for disabled folks and someone was there with what I thought was a fluffy sheep. It came after us in a friendly sort of way and followed us for 1/2 mile. The owner called for its return "Dandylion , Dandylion" to no avail. I had asked him if this animal was a sheep or a goat. Dandylion is a goat and unlike its peers who look thin, have horns and have short coats, he ( or she) had long hair almost in ringlets, was quite plump and had no horns. Barkham's claim to fame is the Bearwood estate the home of the Walter family who founded The Times in the late 18th century. There is a 40 acre lake in the grounds where the fourth John Walter died trying to rescue his brother.

Our second walk took us Streatley and Goring known to the locals as and discreetly and boring which are separated by the river Thames. The walk went up steeply at the start as both villages are in a valley and this then gave us good views of the villages and the surrounding countryside. We also walked across a golf course where a bell was provided to alert the golfers of walkers on the fairway. On our return to the village of Streatley we went into the Bull for a coffee which is an old pub where in 1440 a nun and a monk were excecuted for 'misconduct'. An ancient yew in the garden marks their burial spot.