Linde Forklifts.

So where I work, we have a large fleet of around 80 MHE from Jungheinrich. Of which about 50 are Fork lift trucks. The contract is up for renewal soon, and the fleet of FLT's is about 5 years old, with about 16k hours on them.

Linde brought in their demonstrators for us to peruse.

It is safe to say that no one is impressed. Not one person who has tried these trucks likes them.
Yes, they have a very comfortable seat, and the cab suspension is very good. And yes, they are quieter. But all these do not make up for the massive issues this truck has.

They are:

1. The cab is tiny. Not small, but tiny. My left arm touches the door all the time, and when you turn around to look out the rear window there is no where to put your arm. Which leads me to the second major issue:
2. Rear view. A photo may help here:

Yes ladies and gentlemen, your rear view is of the air filter.
30% of my working day is spent going backwards. 30% of my day I will be able to check the air filter. This is a pretty major issue when the bloke at the company I work for specifies low level exhausts to eliminate blind spots. Seriously, how did this get through?
3. Blind spots. They are everywhere. The a pillars, the roof, the stupid bracing at the back, I would estimate there is about 20% less visibility than on the Jungheinrich.

Also the brace across the windscreen obscures the view of stacking a third cage on a stack. Which is a very common thing we do.

4. The steering wheel does not come up high enough and is too upright.

5. There is no where to put your left foot when you have balls as big as mine.

Another point to notice is when I pointed out to the salesman about the rear view, he told me I was turning the wrong way. I was turning over my left shoulder when I should be turning over my right. I pointed out to him that to turn to the right, I would have to rip the control arm out so my legs had somewhere to go.
A very short co-worker of mine also pointed out that when he rotates to the right, he can no longer reach the pedals. Hence he always turns to the left. Infact, we could only find two people that turn to the right when going backwards,


But like most companies that buy stuff, they don't ask the people that use it their opinion, they go with the company that's the cheapest.

But by christ, I hope we don't end up with this crap.

Jeremy Clarkson.

Yes, I dared to mention his name.
I am becoming slightly pissed off with people wanting to ban/punish/kill/boil/barbecue him.
He is only guilty of having an opinion. The one thing the rest of us are to scared to have in case it offends someone. He is the last proper Brit on telly. If the BBC ban him or Top Gear, then it isn't just a loss for entertainment TV, but a loss for what we are. This man should not be removed from TV, he should be made prime minister. His attitude is the attitude we want MP's to have. We want people in the commons to grow bollocks and tell other country's, immigrants, and the bloody do-gooders to fuck off.
Find the petition, sign it.

Must be time to vote. . . . .

So voting must be upon us. I have been getting numerous emails from Cameron and his peers. All claiming that the other parties are suggesting something shit, donate £xxx to help us object to it.
Seriously guys? How stupid are you?
Labour wants me to donate £25 so they can say 'we want to do idea x'
Conservatives want me to donate £25 so they can tell Labour that 'idea x is shit'
The other party that no one can remember the name of (Conservatives Junior?), but have been up the conservatives arses for the past few years want me to donate £25 so they can stand behind the conservatives, looking over Cameron's shoulder, shaking his fist at Labour shouting 'Yeah, or else'
The green party want me to donate £25 so they can hide in the bogs, smoking weed and hugging each other.
And UKip want me to donate £25 so they can stand behind the speaker of the commons, with ripped shirts, bandannas, flicking the bird at everyone screaming 'FUCK YOU ALL!!!!'

And these are the choices we have?
And people wonder why I don't vote.

Vivitar DVR 892HD review.

So I have been after an action/pocket camera for quite some time. Looking around I found the Vivitar DVR 892HD for a reasonable price. It came with an SD card, and software, etc..

After arriving, it wasn't until a few days later I decided to try it out.
It wouldn't work.
It would turn on and nothing would happen. So I was going to send it back.
The next day, I needed an SD card for a quick file transfer, and seeing the camera I decided to take the card out and use it. I put it in my computer, and the computer said it was locked. Took it out and checked it. Slider in unlocked position. Tried again. Card locked.
So wondering if this was the problem with the camera, I put another SD card in it. Lo and behold, it worked.
So I took a couple of films to try it out. Took card out and put it in computer, card locked. Checked tab. It said unlocked. Put it back in computer, and it said it was locked. Put card in camera and camera stopped working.
I tried a third card, with the same results. Worked fine. Went in camera. Recorded. Card in computer. Locked. Back in camera, and camera stopped working.

Now before people suggest my card reader is at fault, I would like to point out several things.
1. The first card went into camera first.
2. Second card was erased by computer before going into camera.
3. Third card came straight from my stack of formatted cards into camera.
4. Since then, I have used the card reader successfully to read and save onto other cards.
5. Tried cards in card reader on another computer.

So I can only surmise that somehow this camera damages cards to incapacitate then to some extent. How? I have no idea.
And to be honest, the Video quality isn't that great either.

One final issue with the camera, when plugging it into the PC, the PC cannot detect it. So you cant just fit a card and leave it in there either.

The camera came with an 8gb card, and also destroyed a 16gig card and a 4gig card.

So if you are coming across this blog wile researching this camera, do not buy it.

This is what is wrong with this world. . .

I am not going to rant about this, but this is one of the many reasons we should not be in Europe.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23230419

So Europe has decided the life sentences of three killers goes against their human rights?
/sigh.

My Volvo V40

Well, I have owned this car for a little over 2 weeks now and so far?

It's nice.

It's nice to look at, it's nice to drive, it's nice to be in, it's nice and comfortable, it's nice and relaxing, it's nice and fuss free, it's gear change is nice, it's handling is nice, economy is nice, the heated leather seats are nice, and hold you in a nice way, the visibility is nice, the heater is nice.

I can't say anything bad really.

Except one thing.

It's nice.

Don't get me wrong, I like the car. It is hard not to. But I like it in the same way I like not having the clap.

It is a lot of car. It has enough toys to keep anyone happy. It has nice features like the light you home headlamps, and the little plastic clip on the windscreen for holding parking tickets.
I can get in it knowing that it will work. It's a Volvo for christ sake. As long as it has an engine and 4 wheels, it will work. It is not an unpleasant car.

But, it isn't fun.
The Vitara I had was fun. No matter where I drove, I did so with a smile on my face. The Vitara was fun to drive, fun to be in, fun to look at, fun knowing that despite having a foot of snow on the roof, it will still start and go. I got in it with a smile on my face, and I got out with a smile on my face. I put that car through hell and back, and it just laughed back with that look of 'Let's do it again' about it. The exhaust got ripped off in blaenau ffestiniog, and it charged down the M5 sounding like a WW2 fighter bomber. I had ear defenders on my head, and I still had a smile on my face.

I don't get that fun factor in the Volvo, but to be fair, a Volvo isn't meant to be fun. It's meant to be,
Well....


Nice.

Lady goes to market?

"Lady goes to Market, Prim prim prim.
Gentleman goes to market, Trott, trott, trott.
But the farmer goes to market, Jigga jigga jigga jigga jigga jigga jig."

These words were often recited to me while I was growing up. Mostly by my Grandmother on the Smith side of the family. All my infanthood, I heard this. As younger cousins grew up, I heard these words, As the children of my elder cousins grew, they were subjected to these words.
So it is only natural that I recite these words to my children as they grow.

I thought this was a common rhyme. Said when jigging the child upon your knee. But while recently visiting my youngest child, his mother told me off for saying it, because it is 'made up shit'.

So in a lull from my usual internet activities, I decide to google this rhyme.
1 result.
Yep, just one result.
A very brief mention of the rhyme, on emma's diary.
That is it.
So is this rhyme rare, or is the lack of info about it on the net a sign that rhymes are dying?
Maybe, it is a Black Country rhyme. As my grandmother was from there.
Who knows. But because of the lack of mentions of it, I decided to give it one.

Lady goes to Market, Prim prim prim.
Gentleman goes to market, Trott, trott, trott.
But the farmer goes to market, Jigga jigga jigga jigga jigga jigga jig.