Qaulity Device 10060

I’ve been planning on getting a new mobile phone for a while now – mainly because my old one has almost had it, but partly because I love new technology. The problem is which one to buy?

The options so far are the HTC Desire HD, iPhone or one of the new Blackberry. I haven’t really looked into the new Blackberry yet because I’ve mainly concentrated on the iPhone and HTC, but I’ve heard good things about it.

I had a previous version of the iPhone, and while I liked it I don’t like being able to set things like a custom background. It’s my phone, why can’t I change that? On the other hand, the apps in the app store are amazing – I think that could be where we see the next generation of games being developed. Another issue with the iPhone is that you always know a new one is going to be released soon, so do you wait or buy now?

The HTC Desire HD just takes the original Desire and improves it a bit I think. Considering how good the original was – this is definitely not a bad thing. It is expensive though, and it’s hard to find good offers, although HTC Contracts seem to have a few good ones. I really wanted to get a deal with a free gift which would have been great.

Blackberrys are great because of the email functions, but I think other brands are beginning to catch up now. There isn’t much doubt in my mind that the Desire HD is probably a better all round phone – especially with the Android app store getting better and better – but a good Blackberry still takes some beating!

I’ll let you know what I (eventually) decide. It might be a while though…….

If you’re a runner, then you’ve probably bought into the whole “get a high quality pair of running shoes” advice – I know I have. Do you ever wonder whether they really make a difference , or whether they are just a big waste of money? To me it’s pretty clear that they are an essential part of any runner’s wardrobe. Obviously, I’d be kicking myself if I bought a cheap pair or *gasp* regular trainers and got an injury, but £100 every few months is a lot to pay for a new pair of Asics.

There’s no doubt that a good pair of running shoes can provide extra support for your feet, and are especially important if you have flat feet. The problem is that most people don’t get them professionally fitted. Each shoe is suitable for a particular type of runner, so there’s no point just getting a pair that looks good. You need to get advice about whether you’re an over pronator, how much support you need and whether you need motion control shoes.

This is a bit of a rambling post, but what I’m trying to say is that if you’re going to spend a lot of money on running shoes, at least make sure they fit correctly. Go to a specialist running shop and ask them to get the shoes fitted correctly. Ask them to check how you run, some of them may even put you on a treadmill to check the shoes are aligning your lower body correctly. This is ESSENTIAL if you want to buy good running shoes that provide the correct support. Don’t think that just spending a lot of money on a new pair of shoes is going to protect you from injury – it won’t.

Above all, remember your shoes have a finite life time. If you use the shoes on a daily basis, their lifetime will be greatly reduced. Every step you take will wear away the cushioning a little bit more, so buy a cheap pair for your everyday things and a pair of running shoes just for running.

I was mooching around on youtube again and saw some suggested video about WWII excavations. I was quite intrigued to see what that was about so watched it. I had, from the title, expected an “excavation” in the archiological sense, but it turned out to be some rather less careful russian guys digging “artifacts” out of some pretty big holes they had dug. Most of these artifacts seemed to be live munitians. When things like that are found in Western Europe, the entire neibourhood is ecacuated. With some of these guys, they just toss the things on the heap with all the live ordnance they pulled out ot the ground!

There is a load of this stuff on youTube if you keep digging (no pun intended), but here are a couple of clips I found interesting.

The first is an abandoned island, left pretty much as the German army left it:

The next is a T34 being pulled out of a bog, it has German markings on it, supposedy captured by th Germans and re-used against the Russians before being dumped in a pond. There are a load of live shells in this thing which they start pulling out. Some of the commentary says they were able to get the engine of this tank runnign within a few hours!

A German tank being hauled out of the ground:

Some guys digging up bunkers by hand:

And the clip of some guy who has been on the sauce strugging to get back out of the pit!

I find it pretty fascinating just how much of this stuff is out there still to be recovered. I guess some of these things have quite a high value with collectors. I think its nice to see the effort being made to recover this stuff, as long as no one gets blown up in the process!

Since I was a kid I have loved RC models. Where I lived there were not many places you could take aricraft and they were very expensive, so I always stuck to cars, but my dream was always to have an RC plane.

I dont think I will ever get one, but I like to dream and have seen some real classics on YouTube.

Whilst looking at model RC planes on youTube I came across some pretty crazy stuff on model Jet Turbines. These are real jet engines, not the electric “jets” which are more popular.

I learned that the “real” jets are often flown out in the desert (most are from USA) due to the safety issues around them.

After watching a couple of these videos, it is easy to see why they take their planes out to remote spots. As this RC plane crashing and exploding illustrates!

And another one…

And another…

I guess the owner of these planes were pretty sick to see all that hard work, money and such beautiful models go up in smoke. These videos are good fun to watch, as long as you are not the owner.

But, the most fun of all are not the RC planes, but the jet bicycles!

and another…

Crazy stuff, I have yet to find a clip of a jet powered bicycle crashing and burnign though… thankfully!

We will be back very soon with a pretty new theme and some other goodies… please be patient!

If any of you “regulars” have something you want to ask, feel free to drop me a line, I think you all have my details now anywa…

See you soon!