Gurkha Kukri Knife

July 2nd, 2009 admin

The Gurkhas are a British Army regiment, orignially from Nepal, they are still recruited from Nepal and its considered an honour to serve the Queen, most Gurkhas end up as career soliders, and there are several regiments of Gurkhas, including:
* 1st Battalion, The Royal Gurkha Rifles (1RGR)
* 2nd Battalion, The Royal Gurkha Rifles (2RGR)
* Queen’s Gurkha Signals which includes:
250 Gurkha Signal Squadron
246 Gurkha Signal Squadron
248 Gurkha Signal Squadron
* Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistics Regiment
* Queen’s Gurkha Engineers which includes:
69th Gurkha Field Squadron
70th Gurkha Field Squadron
these form the Brigade of Gurkhas.

Despite their loyalty to the queen there’s been a lot of politics relating to their right of abode in the UK, despite offering their lives on a plate fighting on behalf of the crown it wasn’t until recently that Gurkhas had the right to settle in the UK.

One of the most distinct elements of the Gurkha is their infamous Knife, the Kukri.
The Kukri is a beautiful ornamental and functional knife/machete, its used both as a weapon and a tool and is so distinct in its appearence you can find it on the brigades cap badge.

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H.M. Armed Forces Figures

June 8th, 2009 admin

Serious Serious geekage here, these are the H.M. Armed Forces action figures, basically these figures are hyper realistic action figures at 1/6th scale, basically super real actionmen, the difference in H.M. Armed Forces Figures is that these are backed by the british military, H.M. Armed Forces Figures were very contraversial as there was a massive question about if these H.M. Armed Forces Figures were actually endorsing the military and encouraging young children to take on a military future…erm, watched any TV lately? perhaps you’ve had a look at your sons toy gun collection? better they are inspired by these H.M. Armed Forces Figures and the military than gang bangers, drive-by shootings and the latest ghetto rapper rapping about their illegal weapon and gang assasination.

Personally i think its a good thing, being ex-military, the army did great things for me, i made great friends, expierenced new adventures and ultimately learnt leadership, management, discapline and above all self -discapline. surely these can’t be bad.

No back to these H.M. Armed Forces Figures they rock, they are full of great details, such as the British DPM camoulage, the webbing and assault vest, the Lowa boots, and SA80 A2 and minimi weapons, even the kevlar helmet Mark 6 helmet.

As detailed as these are, I have to point out these 1/6 scale figures are actually not new, the only difference is these H.M. Armed Forces Figures are authentic to the british military.

regardless, they are coolness. enuf said, go buy one.

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StarWars StormTrooper costume

June 4th, 2009 admin

I remember watching Star Wars as a kid, and I remember it having a real lasting effect on me, I suppose this was the root of where my fascination with being a soldier really came from. It was the storm troopers that really did it for me, totally expressionless but with those really cool white outfits it was a real epic, and if you haven’t seen the original three starwars, shame on you, these are classics, not like the new three which are a little…mediocre. (heres the link to the starwars site)

As it turns out, I’m not the only one who was inspired by the star wars stormtroopers, and they take stormtroopering really seriously, and there is actually an entire sub-culture of storm trooper fans out there,from making their own costumes, to the sheer variety of stormtroopers there are, right down to the literal militaristic clubs, these starwars fans are the real deal.

Apparently there are regular gatherings and members of the starwar stormtrooper fan clubs are actually organized in platoons and battalions like a real army, now that is dedication to the cause, and definitely cooler than being a star trek fan that’s for sure.

You have to admire the design and aesthetic of the stormtrooper costume, it does look really cool, and make an excellent halloween costume, not that these die hard starwars stormtrooper fans really care!

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Terrazzo Gel Fuel Fireplaces

June 3rd, 2009 admin

There’s something quite marvelous about a naked flame, its enchanting and on a cold winter afternoon, there’s simply nothing better than sitting by the fire with a good book, or in my case a laptop, and a hot cup of chocolate. This is all great and all, except not everyone has access to a chimney or fireplace, and thats even less likely if you live in a flat or apartment, so this is where Terrazzo Gel Fuel Fireplaces come in, the idea behind Terrazzo Gel Fuel Fireplaces is simple, they are made from Terrazzo with a fuel well made of metal. In this fuel well, flammable gel is poured in, it is then set alight and you have a smokeless fire, its a fantastic idea and the fact that the Terrazzo Gel Fuel Fireplaces don’t need to be built in to furniture, but can actually be objects in their own right, means you can set up a fireplace where every you want, the center of a table for instance. Terrazzo Gel Fuel Fireplaces are very affordable, not more than £100, and come in a variety of colours, shapes and sizes. The gel is also very affordable, and lasts a decent amount of time.

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Sony Vaio P-series P11Z notebook laptops

June 3rd, 2009 admin

As a keen blogger the one item of hardware i can’t live without is a laptop, and believe me, I go through these like a cat goes through tuna, or in Garfield case through lasagna. Anyways, it seems these days, computer hardware changes every three months, and the prices keep getting knocked down, its really confusing.

I’ve got pretty clear needs when it comes to a laptop computer, first it needs to be highly portable, I tend to work on the go and travel quite a lot,so portable means small, light and usable.any Laptop I use also needs to be durable, being the boffin that I am, i have a bad habit of perching laptops where either the cat knocks them over or where they fall. I also need a laptop that has got decent memory so it can run things like Google Adcenter, adobe photoshop, excel (Microsoft), Firefox and ideally SimCity 4 (one of the best games ever), for this, i need tons of RAM at least 2GB and loads of memory preferably at least 60GB if I’m using an external hard drive.Next up, the all important wireless connection…picture this you’re in the airport waiting lounge trying to get a few snippets of stuff blogged…imagine searching for a cable port..definately not fun. Lastly, a decent sized keyboard and screen, I work for long hours, put it this way i’m writing this article at 3.22am so comfort is critical to performance. Lastly, as you can probably see from this blog I’m a bit of a style lover so looks are important and play a factor as well.

This leads me to the  Sony Vaio P-series P11Z notebook laptops, Vaio Laptops by Sony are essentially the top drawer laptops for the electronics giant and in terms of looks and style, the closest any computer company has come to matching Apple. Now heres the thing Apple don’t currently have plans to produce an ultra-portable laptop (which is a bit of a shame as i’m a bit of an Apple fan) so in the ultra-portable laptop catagory the Sony Vaio P-series P11Z notebook laptops take the gold.

So why all the fuss about the Sony Vaio P-series P11Z notebook laptops?

First lets look at styling:

you can get the Sony Vaio P-series P11Z notebook laptops in three colours, White, Red, Black and Green, these are appended with a unique number:

P11Z/W - white

P11Z/R - Red

P11Z/Q - Black (i don’t know why)

P11Z/G - Green

These colours on the P11Z determin the lid colour our the P11Z, the lid being the part that covers the screen and is the top of the lap top when it shut. The finish on this is supurb, its plastic, but somehow it doesn’t come off cheap, its also glossy. When you open up the P11Z you find a screen along with a Built-in ‘Motion Eye’ Digital Camera, meaning you can in theory (i’ll get to this later) use Skype with the P11Z without any problem. The keyboard is also a unique feature, it is near full size, don’t forget the P11Z is only 8 inches of fun, remember it’s not the size that counts, well it is but you get my drift. The Keys type easily and are very responsive making it a pleasure to type on, even with stubby fingers.

The Screen is a 1600×768 resolution, 8” LCD display which boasts excellent detail and usability despite its small size further enhanced by Sony’s X-black LCD with LED technology. As a result the P11Z is also quite an adept multimedia power house, you can download films to the P11Z and play them without a hitch, the perfect portable TV.

Next comes the obvious Size and weight, the P11Z is About the size of a passport holder and could fit easily into the back pocket of a pair of jeans or a larger suit jacket pocket, the P11Z is light too! its only 638 grams and that’s including the battery (which lasts for 165 minutes). This is really the unique point of the P11Z the power and comfort of a normal sized laptop boxed into a pocket rocket you can’t argue that Sony got it right on the money with the P11Z.

When it comes to portability, under the bonnet, the P11Z boasts embedded 3G WWAN VAIO “everywair” technology, and blue tooth, and lets not for get GPS. Its worth lingering a little on the P11Z’s “everywair” technology, essentially this means you can use 3G wireless broadband, where ever there is an mobile phone signal for your mobile carrier, in the uk the partnership is with T-mobile. Basically you buy the sim, stick it into the slot on the P11Z, activate it and off you go, perfect for the mobile worker and no need to worry about wifi.

Next up, under the bonnet, the P11Z, despite its diminutive size boasts 2 GB RAM, that enough for work based appications and some games as well as for playing films and powering that crappy OS windows Vista, and here’s where I’m going to jump in with the reservations i have about the P11Z - it’s not even the fault of the P11Z, but windows vista is THE worst OS i’ve ever used and it hogs memory like nothing I’ve ever seen, this alone puts me off buying a PC laptop. So, when I get a P11Z I’m downgrading to XP for sure, and getting norton antivirus PCs are rubbish are internet protection. Nextup, there is 60GB of harddrive, thats decent enough for most office documents but you might  need more if you want to cart around your whole movie and music collection, this is easily solved by using a portable hard drive, and the P11Z has 2 USB slots, a Memory Sick slot, and an SD card slot, so you’re not going to be short or alternative memory solutions there. If you wanted to read or burn CDs or DVDs you can easily do that with an external drive as well, though in this day and age thats outdated anyways.My last gripe about the P11Z is the mouse button, i’m a track pad kind of guy, i like fingering the pad as it gives me far more contro, the mouse buttom is nothing short of an annoying tit in the center of the keyboard, and I’d replace it with a portable mouse the moment i pickup my P11Z.

Overall this is one powerhouse of a netbook/laptop and since writing this article, I’m convinced its the laptop for me, whilst the price tag means its not a cheap asus eeepc, what you’re getting for your money is a stylish workhorse, that is a hybrid between a netbook and a full on laptop. without a doubt the P11Z has set a benchmark that even Apple are scratching their heads about.

Pro’s -

Small and portable

great design

mobile internet via everywair

Con’s -

that darn mouse nipple

windows Vista (rubbish)

Specs:

• Intel Atom Z520 processor.
• 1.3GHz processor speed.
• 2GB DDR2 RAM.

• 8in screen size.
• Resolution 1600 x 768 pixels.

• 60GB Ultra ATA/100 hard drive.

• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 500.

• 3 in 1 media card reader.
• 2 USB ports.
• 1 Ethernet port.

• Bluetooth.
• 0.3MP webcam.
• 802.11a/b/g/Draft n wireless enabled.

• Windows Vista Home Premium operating system installed.

• Size (H)1.98, (W)24.5, (D)12cm.
• Weight 638kg.

• Includes: built in Everywair Wireless WAN 7.2Mbps HSDPA, G sensore HDD shock protection, VGA Port included on adapter.

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Ullapool

June 1st, 2009 admin

I’m an internet fanatic, my eye sight and lack of any skin pigmentation proves it, not only do i work online, but my hobbies, including this blog and a very online games are…online. But here’s the thing, living in London is hectic, its also alienating, and totally devoid of fresh air (at least in central London). Then there’s the property prices, which, lets face it, mean that even on a decent salary would barely buy you a card board box.

This got me thinking about quality of life, afterall, why work hard and not enjoy the fruits of your labour, in fact, why work hard at all, better to work smart. and working smart, for me, means, working from wherever I want whenever I want. leaving the rest of my time to enjoy the lifestyle i want to live with the kind of money i want to have.

Whilst i don’t have direct control over how much i earn (at least right now), i do have control over where i work and how much i work…

Which leads ne to Ullapool I found out avout Ullapool as a result of a BBC article on broadband internet. Ullapool as it turns out have been campaigning for broadband and what got me excited about Ullapool was that as a blogger and professional internet dude, assuming that internet speeds were able to live up to the demands of my 80 or so blogs and websites, I could get a house out in Ullapool, and a decent sized one (2 bedrooms+) for around  £150,000, not bad!

I could run an online business from out there, wear my kilt all day and eat haggis, and in my spare time, theres Skiing,climbing, internet gaming and lots of culture and food. As far as shopping goes, so long as there’s a post office, there’s internet shopping. If I ever needed extra cash i could always take to chopping christmas trees or driving a minicab out there, both of which don’t require a real commitment to work hours and both which can work around my internet activity. Its perfect, no- really, its perfect.

OK, so this might be a pipe dream, but what it boils down to is the game plan, one day, i’d love to break free of the shakles of the 9 to 5, live somewhere quiet and free, enjoy working the hours i want to work, and ultimately not worry about money whilst being able to afford the things i want that give me the quality of life i want, such as this, and Ullapool basically seems as scenic, affordable and cultural a place to live.

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House MD

May 31st, 2009 admin

House MD is amazing, whilst it might not be what its actually like to be a doctor or work in diagnostics, you still can’t fault the top class character development by Hugh Laurie, an English actor born in Oxford and who was educated at Eton, and Cambridge, who came into the lime light along with Stephen Fry as a comedian. Gregory House plays the maverick Head of diagnostic medicine, in every episode the elite diagnostic team are confronted with obscure and difficult cases, often fighting against the clock to save the patient.  Interestingly, if you’re like me, and a massive fan, you’ll have noticed in every episode, the team will always mention either sarchoidosis or lupus.

Hugh Laurie is superb in his portrayal of Gregory House, and the performance has won him two Golden Globe Awards for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, three Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and two Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series. Even more impressive is the stark contrast to they type of character he was previous know for. as show in the following video.

Aside from the amazing character of House, whats also great is the relationship between the characters which gets more sophisticated and intimate with each of the 5 series. If you haven’t watched house you have have have to watch it, even just once, if only for the fantastic dry and witty cynical one liners delivered by House. with such gems as: “There is not a thin line between love and hate, there is however a great wall of china with armed sentries posted every twenty feet between love and hate.”; “No, if you talk to god you are religious. If god talks to you, your psychotic.”; “Slutty party girl is fun until she pukes on her shoes — then she’s just a pain in the ass.”; “Another life saved by girl-on-girl action.” you get the idea… Here’s the official site. If you’d like to watch house, check out Lovefilm where you can rent house,If you’d like to buy House on DVD then you really can beat Amazon as they seem more up to date.

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Coco Lezzone Restaurant Florence

May 28th, 2009 admin

I first visited the Coco Lezzone Restaurant in Florence, Italy when I was still a kid, I fondly remember the homely simple decor that was classically and locally Italian. There’s definitely no glamor and fine dining to be found at Coco Lezzone, Coco Lezzone is all about familiar rustic Tuscan home cuisine. Just upon entering the restaurant you feel as if you are stepping into your grandmothers kitchen, the waiting staff are all homely and friendly, speaking in warm broken english, and this is really the rux of the charm, even before we get to the food, the ambiance and feel of Coco Lezzone is inviting and distinctly Italian, Italian not is a plastic David statue kind of way, but Italian in a rustic, fine decantered wine, kind of way, one that is warm, inviting, lively and bursting with genuine authenticity.

As far as the food goes, Coco Lezzone doesn’t dissappoint, in fact far from it, Coco Lezzone’s food is insperational, succulent perfectly done Bisteca, soft and tender and served with a dusting of pepper, and red rare, just as it should be. Equally as wonderful, the world famous Tuscan dish, white bean soup, with little chunks of pasta cut into squares, with a sprinkle of olive oil.

I haven’t revisited Florence for 18 years, and i finally made it back to Florence this year, like a starve pilgrim, I revisited Coco Lezzone, longing for the familar surroundings and top quality food…and I tell you what, after 18 years away, it was like visiting Grandma.

Coco Lezzone, don’t miss it.

Via del Parioncino 26/r

Florence

39-055/287-178

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Bear Grylls Paracord Bracelet

May 27th, 2009 admin

Paracord is a wonderful material. It is essentially a type of rope, made from nylon kernmantle originally made for use with military parachutes. As a result of its military roots, paracord evolved in to a general all purpose rope. It is remarkably strong despite is thin shape and light weight, partly due to the interwoven threads and outer sheath, which also give paracord a little elasticity.  Paracord has a variety of uses, from tying down tents and securing personal items to your cloathing, through to in one instance, the use of paracord by astronauts during STS-82, the second Space Shuttle mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.

From a survival aspect, Paracord is invaluable, as spare shoelaces, creating marker lines, and the finer strands can be used for sewing and fishing lines. Paracord is also know as 55o cord and many US military members fashion Paracord as bracelets to signifying a deployment typically to countries in the Middle East. It is fashioned by using three equal lengths of cord and weaving them together to make a bracelet that is then secured with a looped end and a button from the Desert Camouflage Uniform. The bracelet is common to see while serving in the middle east.

More recently, Survival Straps has launched a range of products based on these deployment Paracord Braclets Products include bracelets, belts, rifle straps and anklets even dog collars and watch straps. Aside from the obvious survival aspects to owning one of these Paracord bracelets, you have to admit the design of the weave actually makes them really cool, and fantastically durable. check out Survival straps Paracord bracelets here.

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Kilts

May 25th, 2009 admin

Ever since i was a kid watching the black watch marching in Hong Kong, i had a little bit of an obsession with kilts, i just think they look really cool, and if anything look really masculine, despite being effectively mens skirts. However, if you’ve ever been to scotland you’ll note that kilts are very macho, after all, who doesn’t like the feeling of a fresh breeze airing their twig and giggle berries? Watching the highland games, you’ll not doubt that kilts are distinctly male.

The thing about kilts though is that anywhere else other than Scotlan, and no one wears them as everyday wear, even in scotland kilts are kind of dying out, but thats a real shame, as kilts are reall comfortable, its like wondering around with a towel wrapped round your waist. And they actully look really good, not to mention there are obvious cultural significance as well. Plus, kilts are cool.

I spent quite a while researching Kilts, mainly as i had a wedding to attend and needed an excuse to actually get a kilt. it turns out there’s lots to a kilt, for one there is actually a Chinese tartan (shown Below) the interesting thing here is that there is already an unofficial chinese tartan (also show below) call red-white-blue and often found on cheap nylon bags that are used for everything in Hong Kong culture.

(chinese tartan pattern from bbc; red-white blue hong kong nylon bag tartan)

Also there is a  registry of tartans, where you can get your own tartan recognized. In case you don’t know what a tartan is, its the pattern on the kilt, and has significance to clans, get caught wearing another clans tartan and you could be in a real mess, tartans are like badges of honour and surnames and there are literally hundreds of different tartans.

I eventually got a plain grey kilt, with no real tartan, after all, you wouldn’t want to mess with an angry scot! And this leads to another point, you can actually design your own tartan and even use an existing pattern such as camoufladge (DPM to you squaddies, shown below) and custom make a kilt.

If you opt to make your own tartan, you’ll want to make sure you go to a reputable kilt makers, its easy for someone untrained in making kilts to product a kilt with the an A-line more common in girls skirts and kilts, this causes the kilt to fan out, which you don’t want, mainly because it makes you look like a catholic school girl. What you want to aim for is a kilt that drops straight, like in the photos above.

I went to a really personalized kilt makers to get mine, and I thoroughly recommend them, despite being a rather small outfit with no real significant store, the service is unparalleled and the quality was unbeatable, a real case of don’t judge a book by its cover, you can check out London Kilt makers here.Speak to John.

If you don’t have the budget, and kilts do cost a real bomb (£300+) you might find these retailers useful:

Harrods - yes thats Harrods in knightsbridge

Mossbro. Hire - you can hire kilts here

 Kilts Direct

Highland Store

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