General « NullMind’s Lair

New wheels

Monday, March 12th, 2012

As I am moving my family back to the Azores, and i’ll be living in London by myself, I decided to get a new car, but since it’s just for me, a small two seater would do.

So after looking around, I had decided on a Smart fortwo car, and the more I looked, the more I became in love with the Brabus edition of it.

So after looking far and wide for the right deal (err .. for about 3 days), I finally bought one, I just picked it up a few days back, it’s a beauty !!

It sounds mental with it’s dual exhaust and race engine, it has a nice solid racing suspension and it’s quick, sounds like a muscle car and it’s nimble like nothing I ever driven before .. very happy !!

12.03.2012 General No Comments

Old Pool

Sunday, January 16th, 2011

When I was a kid, growing up in Ponta Delgada, Azores, one of the main source of entertainment was the sea.

When you grow up on an island with just over 120k people (140k now I believe), measuring around 30 miles across, by less that 10 miles wide, the sea is all around you, plus with a moderate temperature year round, you can basically swim 365 days a year.

The reason for this trip t the past was that I found a picture of the old “Sao Pedro” pool, this is where I learned how to swim, and probably spent all my free time from the age of 6 to 12.

On the bottom right you can see somebody carrying one of the numbered hangers they would give you to put your clothes and shoes, you would then be handed a bracelet with the matching number to pick it up later.

The pool was demolished about 20 years ago to make wave for the expansion of the main avenue, on it’s place a newer, bigger, more modern pool was built, but for those people of my age and older, it will always lack the nostalgia of this old small pool

16.01.2011 General, Trips / Places No Comments

Downlights

Sunday, March 14th, 2010

We are replacing the Kitchen, Living and Dining rooms at our house, the kitchen was ordered and the bespoke (massive 3.3 x 2.7 meters) couch as well, but while I am waiting I started on the small jobs, like earlier today I replaced the down-lights on the kitchen with these antique brass “Austin” ones .. looks spectacular.

14.03.2010 General No Comments

Data Hoarding

Thursday, December 31st, 2009

I have been watching the show “Hoarders” on iTunes for the past few nights, and was struck with amazement at how people can live like that, piles and piles of junk and other worthless (for me at least) memorabilia piling up in their houses.

I then saw my wife deleting all her facebook comments of the last year and erasing all texts from her iPhone, I asked “why ?” she said she wanted to get rid of all the clutter from her digital media, like a end-of-year cleaning ..

It then daunted on me, I am a “Data Hoarder”, while I have no problem in hiring a skip every year and emptying the garage of all the clutter, I am unable to delete a single file from my Hard Drive, I have a couple of years worth of texts on my iPhone and e-mails from 2 decades ago (well, 2 decades from tomorrow).

My wife looks at my laptop the same way I look at those hoarders houses, a conglomerate of junk and (for her) worthless heaps of data, but for me, they priceless.

Well, at least my hoarding does not smell

31.12.2009 Computers / Internet, General No Comments

Chrome McLaren

Monday, November 9th, 2009

Today outside the Canary Wharf apartment was this beast !

A Chrome Mercedes McLaren !!

I never though a chrome car would look good, but this one sure did, one word .. Sweet

09.11.2009 General No Comments

Piggy Bank

Wednesday, April 15th, 2009

I hate to carry coins, so every night I tend to empty my pockets of any coins I accumulated during the day, so as such, I noticed I was starting to gather quite a few handfuls of coins all around the apartment, it was time for a Piggy bank

And this is it, over 2 feet tall, probably will hold quite a few hundred quid when full, if I timed it correctly, should be read to empty just around XMAS .. the girls will like that

15.04.2009 General No Comments

New Video Cam: Sanyo Xacti HD2000

Monday, March 9th, 2009

Today I received the new HD camera I bought on Friday, I was quite surprised, as I bought it from Honk Kong .. 3 days (weekend) to get here, and not customs charge … nice.

Since we are off on holiday to Paris next month, I wanted a new video camera to use there, when I read this one also took 8MP photos, I was hooked, plus the pistol grip style and small format, it was a winning combination.

But I had to wait 2 months for it, as it was announced on january, but just released a week or so ago

Preliminary tests show the quality is amazing, I was a bit afraid of the lack of Optical Stabilization, but the digital stabilizer seems to do a good job, so I will stop worrying about it and just enjoy the camera.

Also saved 150 quid over the UK price (not that you can buy it in the UK yet)

09.03.2009 General, Photography No Comments

Liver & Bacon

Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009

There is a small eatery next to the office that does the best L&B ever.. Dirt cheap too, me and Everaldo have lunch there almost daily.

03.03.2009 General No Comments

Back to London

Sunday, February 22nd, 2009

I’m in the train going back to London for another week of work.

I can’t believe a week has passes already since I last posted on tweeter the same thing.

Time sure flies, I take solisse in the knowing I have Brazilian feijoada waiting for me in London … Yummy !!!

22.02.2009 General, Trips / Places No Comments

London Snow

Monday, February 2nd, 2009

Last night must have fallen about a foot of snow in London, and unfortunately, on a country not used to such levels, it meant everything grinded to a halt.

I had to walk about 2 miles to work since the DLR broke down, on a normal day it would have been ok, but on ice and mushy slippery snow, it was murder .. dont they have snow plows in London ?

02.02.2009 General No Comments

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