About - Rich Pyke

Blog.

Wow, it's been a long time!.. Sun, 15 Jan 2012 21:00:00 +0000
Just realised I haven't updated my blog for ages. Last time was my Best Man Speech...

I don't have time to do it now but I will have to try and do an update soon. Hopefully I'll have some good news to share soon too but we will see, it's taking a long time to sort it out but good things come to those who wait and I am sure this time the juice is worth the squeeze.

Peace out!

The Best Man Speech Thu, 21 Jul 2011 21:14:00 +0000

Missed off my bucketlist… so now #101!.. Sun, 15 May 2011 12:53:00 +0000

New bucket list item #101 – Build a piece of furniture…

I really should blog more often… I tend to forget the shit I say I am going to do… It might be 5 months and 15 days since new year but this is where I make my rsolutions, May 15th Resolutions are so much better than those new year ones…

Anyway, point is, I’ve decided to make my own garden picnic bench type table thingy-ma-bob… Should be easy enough although will probably cost more than the £30 they sell them for at Argos…

Will update with it’s progress. But knowing me, I’ll have to spend time designing it the right way, cadding up the plans and all that so probably will end up as a summer job, which is probably the right time to be building furniture in the garden…

Update – Plans all drawn up so now I can make a start on it…

PDF Plans

Grow Your Own - #90 on the bucket list Sun, 01 May 2011 15:39:00 +0000
VegetableSeeds.net - VegetableSeeds.net offers fantastic value for the highest quality vegetable seeds in the UK. Over 300 varieties with next day shipping.

Just a quick link so I can get some free seeds to try out first.

Now, on to the veg that are just about to be planted. Got some Chilli seeds to try out yesterday so we will see how they get on. I'll be updating as and when with progress on how they are coming along.

Whoops Mon, 21 Feb 2011 00:55:00 +0000
I just realized that I haven't updated since I bought my house... Some 3 months!! Forgot to do the 2010 highlights and all that.

But as it's almost 1am I'm going to have to leave it until tomorrow.

So until then and never stop rockin!

Bucket List Item 16 Thu, 28 Oct 2010 20:06:00 +0000

In less than 24 hours it seems item 16 on my bucket list will be complete! Yes, that is buying a house.

They say buying a house is the most stressful thing you can ever do. They are wrong! I guess it could be stressful if you don’t have everything in place and aren’t ready but who in their right mind starts something without being ready for it?

The only problems that come up during the whole buying process were to do with everything else and not the actual house buying. Mainly the PPI refund on the loan which was needed for part of the deposit and to clear all debts, however with some gentle persuasion to the CEO of Royal Bank of Scotland the refund went through in plenty of time and the debt cleared weeks before exchange.

The only other slight hiccup was down to the fact the house was being sold by a building contractor who had taken it in part exchange on a new home. This meant it was not lived in by the sellers for at least 6 months prior to sale which is a sub-sale (see my other entry on sub sales for that). But all was fine, it just delayed exchange until the day before completion (i.e. today)

So it looks like 29th October 2010 is the day that item 16 is crossed off the list. Just in time to ignore the trick or treaters and to set off some fire works :-)

Sub-Sales? I’d rather have a sub-way! Tue, 19 Oct 2010 23:34:00 +0000

Seriously, is my solicitors phone broken? After a month of this going through they didn't bother to tell me that the house I am buying is a "sub-sale" and Halifax have strict criteria on purchasing sub-sales... i.e. they don't let you!

If the seller hadn't phoned me asking to see if I can pay my deposit sooner so the sale goes through smoothly I wouldn't have ever phoned the solicitor. But when I did, and asked if I could pay the deposit (I must be the only person ever to want to give someone £13,000!) they simply told me that its not ready yet due to a query with Halifax... they didn't even give up what that query was until I asked!!

Panic strikes. I've paid out money, spent a lot of time and turned down a lot of work and missed out on the other house which would have done so I can get this sorted out. Then I'm told that Halifax don't allow sub-sales. Great! Just what I need to sort out when I have 2 weeks work to do in a week and a half.

Anyway, a bit of searching and up comes Halifax's Intermediaries website which lists the criteria Halifax fail to give to those applying for a mortgage... scroll down to "Sub-sales and Back to Back transactions" and it says this...

Sub-sales and back-to-back transactions are not acceptable.

A sub-sale occurs when a property is bought and then sold on within six months, i.e. the borrower is buying the property from someone who has themselves bought the property less than six months before. The date of registration at the Land Registry is how we determine the length of ownership.

This means that the current vendor must have owned the property for at least six months before we can accept an application to purchase that property.

Brilliant, it's not acceptable. But surely the solicitor appointed by Halifax would have known this, as would the mortgage advisor from Halifax? There must be something!

5 hours later (which included an hour break for food and watching a bit of Friends) I eventually notice this little bit hidden after the "back to back" criteria (same section, if only I had read it all to start with!)

The following cases are exceptions where it is acceptable for the property to be sold on within six months of acquisition by the seller.

Where sales are by:

a personal representative of the registered proprietor; or

an institutional mortgagee exercising its power of sale; or

a receiver, trustee-in-bankruptcy or liquidator; or

a developer or builder selling a property acquired under a part-exchange scheme.

So, hopefully Halifax will get back to the solicitor very soon and say yes. If not, someone is looking at getting one hell of a shouting at and possibly something so that I can get back the money I've paid out for everything so far, plus the loss of earnings, plus the inconvenience caused...

So anyway, let that be a lesson to all. Halifax are fucking shit. And always ask about "sub-sales" and "back to back sales" if buying a house which has not been lived in for at least 6 months by the seller.

Yes this really is the most "exciting" thing that's happened to me for the past few weeks... I really need to get out more!

Oh, and the criteria they don't tell you is at http://www.halifax-intermediaries.co.uk/criteria/default.aspx

Latest Qualifications… Wed, 15 Sep 2010 23:04:00 +0000

As mentioned, I have recently gained qualifications. Here are my nice certificates just to prove it to all…

IOSH Managing Safelt

WHT Legionella Awareness

Not sure what’s next on the list. Possibly go after my NEBOSH but then I struggled with the IOSH so that may not be the best plan of action…

Update time… Fri, 10 Sep 2010 18:19:00 +0000

OK, I have a little spare time now while I watch Kick Ass for the second time in 3 days… so time for a little update on everything.

Houses… Well, I put in an offer on the bungalow I looked at, a cheeky offer however with the amount of work it needed, the location, the size and the current prices it wasn’t really that cheeky. £93,000 for something worth around £95,000 in my opinion. It was rejected. I increased it to £98,500 in the end but that too was rejected as the seller is under the misconception that it’s worth closer to £120,000… So scrap that idea. I will not use that estate agent again either as he undermined my offers before putting them in and pretty much demanded I increased it before he put it in. A slimey little fucker too so time to say goodbye to them!

Looked at a load more houses since, two really stand out. Both are identical except are on opposite sides of the road and one is a mirrored layout of the other. To decide which to go for will ultimately be decided on the price however the favoured one is the last one I saw as it has decoration more to my liking and comes with cooker (and ceramic hob which I have always wanted!). With some luck it will also have a south/south-west facing roof so I can go for some solar energy to cut my costs (£12,000 of free photo-electrics or pay for 50/50 electric & hot water… undecided yet) but I am yet to look on google earth to see which way it points.

Offer will be going in Monday I would imagine, unless I feel impuslive tomorrow at my mortgage meeting…

Mortgage meeting, all set up for tomorrow at 11. Should hopefully find me a great mortgage deal at 90% LTV and a good fixed rate. I have a mortgage in principal with Halifax which seems like a good deal and has FTB incentives too including £500 cash back.

I’m also happy to say that I now can be called Rich Pyke IOSH… I passed my IOSH Health & Safety which I was really worrying about. It was done just after Gramp died and while Gale’s dad was ill and died so my head was just not with it. It didn’t help that I was still a little drunk on one of the days either. But I somehow managed to pass it.

Love life is still a non starter really. While I gave up chasing Gale a while ago after realising it was game over, I haven’t really been looking since. There are a few on Plenty of Fish that I have been messaging, well, two… and a few I sent messages to recently but have not yet read or replied to them. But I have bigger fish to fry no pun intended).

Work wise, I am back on to 40 hour weeks at B&B now. Which means less time for Rich Pyke Computer Services stuff, but since Holland’s have still not paid the last moths invoices I have put a hold on their work for now. Ecovision on the other hand are the most awesome client I have.

What else, I have my awesomeness back again. Life is generally going well so I am happy. I was exceedingly happy on my way home from work and I have no idea why. Let’s hope I stay this way :-)

I’m sure there was something else but nevermind, I’ll thing of it later…

In other news… Sun, 22 Aug 2010 00:07:00 +0000

The bucket list is all well and good but let’s take a quick break from it and catch up on events since 13th June (the last proper entry).

A couple of days after that entry something great happened. I met up with a girl from the internet dating site I started using. Although the first date went really badly as I was incredibly shy her friend convinced her to give me a second chance. And I am so glad he did! While it has ended up as just friends and not the romantic relationship I had hoped for, I have made an amazing friend, Gale.

i wont lie, I liked her as more than a friend and for the first 6 or so weeks I was crushing on her like mad and had developed some feelings for her. Unfortunately for me those feelings were not reciprocated and so we have ended up as just good friends. That is better than nothing at all so I am happy with it.

However, with good news, comes bad new. I guess it balances out the universe. Unfortunately in late June I lost my grandfather. He had been ill for a long time so I guess it wasn’t really all bad, and at least I went to visit him only days before he went to hospital. I chose to escape from it and ignore it all until his funeral, I was out drinking and just away from home for most of the time between his death and his funeral (thank you Gale for helping me escape). I didn’t really start to grieve until after his funeral, on the Thursday and Friday, and then escaped it again on the Saturday.

This is when further bad news happened and Gale’s dad fell ill and eventually died a few days later. As Gale was my rock throughout Gramps death and after it this was quite a blow to me and this is when the grieving really started. Not only did I have no where to escape to, but my rock was upset, I was upset and everything was very emotional. I wouldn’t be surprised if I had ended up getting on Gale’s nerves by asking how she was daily and constantly offering to help her. However I had a hidden agenda… I needed to get away from everything, although did genuinely want to help her as she helped me.

Due to these two deaths I have drastically re-evaluated my life, hence my bucket list and actively attempting the goals on it. It has also had a huge effect on my work, so much so that my own work has suffered and jobs which should have been done are still not done, invoices have been delayed by a month and I still, to this day, lack the enthusiasm and desire to do it. However, I hope that soon I will get back on to it but it will not be as often as it was. I now have a life I need to take care of, friends to see and activities to do.

Work, as in the full time job at B&B, has been quiet. So much so that I have been dropped to a three day week. It has been mentioned that they are thinking of getting me to do other jobs around the office to get me back to five day weeks and I hope this happens soon as I will need the money if I am to buy a house and pay a mortgage.

I have started to drink again. I had 5 years of no drinking but the time has come for me to fall off the wagon and enjoy alcoholic beverages once again. While alcohol may not be that good for me it does mean I need to walk for 40 minutes, at least, every time I go to the pub, so it does get me some exercise.

And that’s about that… new friend, lost family but gained more family in the process and a new outlook on life to sum it up in a few words.

Buy A House [Bucket List Goal #16] Sat, 21 Aug 2010 23:47:00 +0000

The time has come to put some serious time and effort in to this goal. House prices are going down a bit, the PPI refund on my loan should be going through soon and should pay off the remaining balance at least, and I have close to £12,000 in savings to use as a deposit (which means my 10% deposit can be on a house worth £120,000).

I found a few recently which would do. One being a 1 bed flat but it’s not really big enough for me to live in and work in, plus I think it was literally directly below Gale’s flat and that would just be too weird and stalker like so it’s been ruled out.

I did find another which was basically an extension to another house, about half the size of a house, width wise. Again small for everything and while tempting, I didn’t like it that much.

But, I have found a cool 1 bed bungalow, 5 minutes from mum & dad (free dinner, washing, ironing etc.) which would be perfect provided the loft space can be used to chuck my PC in for working. It’s within my budget at £120,000, and in a great location except for the railway which may be quite close, and possibly overhead power cables which, if it is under them, it will rule it out.

So now, I need to have a word with Howard at the Halifax, plus a few other people at a few other banks and building societies. Maybe have a viewing of the bungalow, just for the hell of it if nothing else. And then see where it leads.

My only problem is it could have an impact on my trip to America which I have planned and am determined to do. Chances are I will have to cancel plans for the 5 week coast to coast trek and change it to a 4 day, 7 day, 10 day or something trek around a smaller part (more on this in another post once things are figured out, as this is goal #1 on the bucket list).

Swimming [Bucket List Goal #2] Sat, 21 Aug 2010 23:37:00 +0000

As the bucket list has just been put on here (although written about a month ago after Gramp died and I decided I’ve sat around too long and not enjoyed life like I should be) it’s probably a good time to post a bit of an update on some of the items on it. Or in this case one of the items on it… item 2, swimming.

Today was the first day of tacklung this goal again in about 8 years, if not longer. I can’t remember if Kirsty ever attempted to teach me or get me to swim, if not then it was probably Tony when we were on holiday so over 10 years ago.

Gale had kindly offered to teach me to swim so today we went down to the swimming pool and attempted it. Not as easy as it looks!! But I do think we made a lot of progress, I have certainly never swam at least a meter from the edge of the pool to the edge of the pool without my feet touching the bottom before. But today I did :-)

I struggle kicking and moving the arms in a breast stroke at the same time, and am a bit worried about not being able to breath, about going under and all that. But I will get there. Practice makes perfect and all that.

I do feel knackered now but also somewhat better for it. Kind of paradoxical as how can one be both knackered and feeling good?

Now to arrange the next lesson and try some more :-) Well that is if my panicking frog impression didn’t put Gale off being seen with me in public again.

The Bucket List Sat, 21 Aug 2010 23:22:00 +0000

1. [ ] Visit America

2. [ ] Learn to swim

3. [ ] Learn to cook

4. [ ] Drive from Land's End to John O'Grotes

5. [ ] Get over my fear of spiders

6. [ ] Earn £1,000,000

7. [ ] Build my own house

8. [ ] Ride a horse

9. [ ] Ride a camel

10. [ ] See KISS in MSG, New York

11. [X] Save someone's life

12. [ ] Go on an aeroplane

13. [ ] Have children (maybe)

14. [ ] Own an Aston Martin

15. [ ] Be a healthy weight

16. [ ] Buy a house

17. [ ] Get a doggy

18. [ ] Go to a casino

19. [ ] Go to Vegas

20. [ ] See the Great Pyramid of Giza

21. [ ] See Latin America

22. [ ] See the grand canyon

23. [ ] Visit Australia

24. [ ] Visit New Zealand

25. [ ] Learn self defence

26. [ ] Stay in a 5 star hotel

27. [ ] See Hollywood

28. [ ] Meet Gene Simmons

29. [ ] Meet KISS

30. [X] See a KISS concert

31. [ ] Learn to play the guitar

32. [X] Fall in love

33. [X] Have sex

34. [X] Get very drunk

35. [ ] Perform a miracle

36. [ ] Ride a mechanical bull

37. [ ] Be fluent in another language

38. [X] Get a tattoo

39. [ ] Fire a gun

40. [X] Build a computer

41. [X] Shoot a bow & arrow

42. [ ] Get letters after my name

43. [X] Own an MR2

44. [X] Grow my hair long

45. [X] Be popular

46. [ ] Make a difference in someone's life

47. [ ] Make my parents proud

48. [ ] Visit a strip club just for the sake of it

49. [ ] Go to the cinema at Cineworld (never been, it was the odeon last time I went!)

50. [ ] Get struck by lightning and live to tell the tale

51. [X] Go a year without drinking alcohol

52. [ ] Do a kind deed for 5 people (i.e. help an old lady across the road etc)

53. [ ] Get a butler named Geoffrey

54. [X] Dance like nobody is watching

55. [X] Sing like nobody is listening

56. [ ] Have a session with a psychologist (I'm sure there are things wrong with me lol)

57. [ ] Have the guts to get my moles checked out and removed if necessary

58. [ ] Break a world record

59. [ ] Get fit

60. [X] Start my own business

61. [ ] Freerun

62. [X] Climb a tree

63. [ ] Climb a mountain

64. [ ] Climb up the outside of a building and enter through a window like spiderman

65. [X] Take a shit at work

66. [ ] Visit Chichen Itza

67. [ ] Visit the Colosseum in Rome

68. [ ] Walk the Great Wall of China

69. [ ] Watch the Northern Lights

70. [ ] Stand at the top of the Statue of Liberty

71. [ ] Learn to dance

72. [X] Learn to moonwalk

73. [X] Witness a solar eclipse

74. [X] Solve a Rubik's Cube

75. [X] Solve Rubik's Clock

76. [ ] Donate blood

77. [ ] Sell something I drew/painted/photgraphed to a stranger

78. [ ] Breathe Fire

79. [X] Ride a roller coaster

80. [ ] See the Empire State Building

81. [ ] Discover my life's purpose

82. [ ] Learn to say no without feeling guilty

83. [ ] Own my own island (I shall name it Richtopia)

84. [X] Create a web site

85. [X] Have a video on you tube have over 1,000 hits

86. [ ] Milk a cow

87. [X] Race my car on a race track

88. [X] Be on TV

89. [ ] Become famous or a recognised person in my field

90. [ ] Grow my own veg

91. [ ] Sell something on ebay for more than I paid for it

92. [ ] Invent something

93. [ ] 100% complete Green Grass & High Tides on Expert Guitar on Rock Band

94. [X] Buy a car and pay with cash I own (i.e. no loans)

95. [ ] Car surf

96. [ ] Hand-glide

97. [X] Donate to charity

98. [ ] Run a marathon

99. [ ] Eat something exotic (crocodile, ostrich, kangaroo or something)

100. [ ] Complete my bucket list

Time for an update? Sun, 13 Jun 2010 18:41:00 +0000

OK, so a fair amount of time has passed since I last blogged. I think the last real blog was when I booked my KISS tickets (not including the video of KISS I took).

Well, I’ve seen KISS live now. It was awesome, the best thing I have seen ever. I need to see them again now though, the plan is to see then in New York at MSG. No plans for a concert there yet though so will have to wait and see.

Also, joined the KISS Army now, so I am officially a member and have a number and everything which kicks ass!

Work is slow, we the 9-5 is. My work is hectic and rarely have chance for a break. Work has been piling up and been taking me 3 weeks to get on to! And I also need to cut down on that so it’s probably only going to get worse but I have little time for myself.

Car passed it’s MOT once 2 new tires were fitted. It’s only the roof which needs fixing on it now but for the £400-500 it’ll cost to be fixed I will put up with having to give it a little bit of a hand.

Life, well, on a few websites now to see if there are any fishies out there for me. A few who look interesting but nothing yet solid so we’ll see. (Feel free to tell me if you are interested by the way!)

Now certified in Water Hygiene. So that’s nice I suppose. And have an IOSH Health & Safety course coming up next month. So more strings to my ever growing bow which is looking more like a harp every day.

Other than that, it’s been quiet.

KISS - Firehouse - LG Arena Birmingham 05/05/2010 Thu, 06 May 2010 08:02:00 +0000

You wanted the best, you got the best… Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:01:00 +0000
Finally, after what feels like forever, KISS have decided to do an arena tour of the UK. This means I will get the chance to go and see them live in either Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham or London.
Pre-orders started today and I completely forgot I had O2 Priority which means I could have used that… it took until 11:00 to realise which meant that I missed out on the best seats but still got some great ones.
Yes, if it wasn’t obvious from the previous sentence, I have tickets!! The LG Arena, Birmingham will be host to Kiss, the Kiss Army and ME on 5th May 2010! I can’t wait.
And if you thought I was excited you should have seen my Mum when I asked her if she wanted to see Kiss, then told her it’s a good thing I got two tickets then!
It should be great. My first Kiss concert and, from what I hear, these things are like sex, you always remember the first time…
Rock and roll all nite and party every day!! If you are going to the LG too on the 11th May feel free to comment and let me know… especially if you are in Block 16, Row YA, Seat 498 or 501 as I have 499 – 500!
Looking at the seating plan from LG it seems I will be right up close to the stage on Gene’s side. Wow! If only Tommy went on that side to do his solo… I guess he could well be firing those rockets right at me.
Still not decided on going to Wembley on the 13th too. VIP treatment plus seating in roughly the same area as I have for the LG for £169. This includes a before and after party, cloakrooms, the works. But, I will be going alone and if alone I would prefer standing up front somewhere – I can’t do this at the LG as my Mum wouldn’t survive a mosh pit!!
Woo, so excited and it’s given me something to look forward to. So I never made the goal of seeing Kiss before I reach 30 but it’s only a few months off and I paid for the tickets before I hit 30 so I think it’ll count.
Now for 4 hours sleep so I can wake up at 4am and watch the live stream of Kiss on facebook (who’s idea was it to have it at 8:30PST?!)

Who says there’s a recession?! Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:28:00 +0000

I think I must be one of the only people to be complaining about being too busy at the moment… if you saw my current workload you would not think we are still in a recession, or if you heard me complaining about it. But I guess it’s better to have too much work than none at all at the moment. Rich Pyke Computer Services is going strong (and earning me loads of money!)

Just picked up another new client too which is good. Found me on the internet but couldn’t find my number – I guess I better fix that! But they seemed fine with the standard rates and 14 day terms (for the first 3 months at least).

Other crap, well Microsoft have decided to go on another ban wave for Xbox live against all those with modified consoles, play early etc. So far I have been lucky (at the time I write this) and haven’t been caught this year… that said I have bought a new console just in case. Argos had a good deal and it finished today so thought what the hell… if nothing else I now have yet another Xbox 360 to add to the ever growing collection (currently 6) and it’s one closer to getting that multi screen Forza setup going.

Speaking of Forza, the latest one is now out and I have been playing it like it’s going out of fashion. Now you can make and sell vinyl groups and my KISS logos, number plates, mushroom from Mario, Goomba and Pudsey bears are selling pretty well. Also have a nice charity car up too, each one downloaded will add another 1p to my Children In Need donation – currently at about 19p… I think I need to up that 1p to £1 at this rate but hey, I haven’t exactly promoted it.

But what is it with electricity companies? More to the point, what is it with power cuts? In this day and age you would have thought that they would have sorted it out so that if something goes down it doesn’t take out half of the town… but no!! Two power cuts in 3 three days, both when it’s been dark and cold… not good!

Anyway, got a new episode of two and a half men nearly ready to watch in bed so I will have to bid you good bye… for now.

Let it ra1n Fri, 16 Oct 2009 01:02:00 +0000

At last, well about 2 weeks after getting it, some nice guy has managed to hack the iPhone firmware, which is great as now i can finally change my message tone to the start of Michael Jackson’s Dirty Diana!

It also means I can use unsigned code and hacked apps!

Now to pimp my phone…

p.s. happy birthday Robert, 4 today! I will see you in 8 hours and play with your present ;)

iPhun Sat, 03 Oct 2009 21:35:00 +0000

Well, after o2 decided to mess me around with the iPhone delivery they eventually sent it yesterday. So I'm now playing with it, adding apps etc and writing this using it. So far it's pretty damn impressive! Now to figure out how to hack 3.1 firmware out of the box...

Computer on the blink again Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:23:00 +0000

Well that’s what you get if you don’t bother replacing the hard drive after around 5 years of constant read/writes… it start to make funny noises and wont boot!

So, just ordered a new 500Gb SataII Western Digital one from eBuyer, should be here tomorrow. I only hope ghost or some other backup imaging tool can read the hdd well enough to do a backup to save me days of setting it all up again.

Fingers crossed! Just booting up with my custom “Rich Pyke Computer Services” ultimate boot disk which contains a whole load of useful tools for situations like this, along with my Rich Pyke Computer Services custom made Hyrens Boot Disk with even more tools on it. Hopefully between them it’ll be up and running again in no time at all.

On the plus side, the card reader in the HTPC decided it would start working again tonight, however I have a feeling it will stop working as soon as it hits 60 degrees – which is around about now (I really should move it from being above the TV but sandwiched between the old AV selector and the cable box!)

Blogging made easier Sat, 26 Sep 2009 01:09:00 +0000

As if it wasn’t easy enough to set up a free blogging account with the many different suppliers and write everything you want to with ease Microsoft have made it much easier for you, and have been for some time (but I never got around to using it).

Part of the Live Essentials free download (Windows Live Messenger co.) is windows Live Writer which is basically a WYSIWYG HTML editor which can take your blog details and automatically post for you.

It’s got some great tools and features and makes a complex blog full of pictures and videos ever so easy. I recommend it to all (I’m writing this with it!).

Media Live HTPC Report Sat, 26 Sep 2009 00:57:00 +0000

As mentioned last time, the report for the HTPC is here… it’s not 100% yet as the card reader needs connecting up and the cooling of it needs a little attention but that is all simple to do and, for the purposes of this report, it matters not. Below is the Summary, more reports to come later.

EVEREST Ultimate Edition

Version
EVEREST v5.02.1810 Beta

Benchmark Module
2.4.258.0

Homepage
http://www.lavalys.com/

Report Type
Summary

Computer
MEDIALIVE

Generator
Rich

Operating System
Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 6.1.7600

Date
2009-09-23

Time
17:07

Summary

Computer:

Computer Type
ACPI x86-based PC

Chassis
MSI Media Live Silver

Power Supply
200w

Operating System
Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate

OS Service Pack
-

Internet Explorer
8.0.7600.16385

DirectX
DirectX 11.0

Computer Name
MEDIALIVE

User Name
Rich

Logon Domain
MediaLive

Date / Time
2009-09-23 / 17:07

Motherboard:

CPU Type
DualCore AMD Athlon 64 X2, 2900 MHz (14.5 x 200) 5600+

CPU Cooler
Bubble LP

Motherboard Name
MSI Media Live (MS-7329) (1 PCI, 4 DDR2 DIMM, Audio, Video, Gigabit LAN, IEEE-1394)

Motherboard Chipset
nVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE, AMD Hammer

System Memory
3200 MB (DDR2-800 DDR2 SDRAM)

DIMM1: Nanya M2Y1GH64TU8HD6B-AC
1 GB DDR2-800 DDR2 SDRAM (5-5-5-18 @ 400 MHz) (4-4-4-12 @ 266 MHz) (3-3-3-9 @ 200 MHz)

DIMM2: Nanya M2Y1GH64TU8HD6B-AC
1 GB DDR2-800 DDR2 SDRAM (5-5-5-18 @ 400 MHz) (4-4-4-12 @ 266 MHz) (3-3-3-9 @ 200 MHz)

DIMM3: Crucial RM12864AA800.8FE
1 GB DDR2-800 DDR2 SDRAM (6-6-6-18 @ 400 MHz) (5-5-5-15 @ 333 MHz) (4-4-4-12 @ 266 MHz)

DIMM4: Crucial RM12864AA800.8FE
1 GB DDR2-800 DDR2 SDRAM (6-6-6-18 @ 400 MHz) (5-5-5-15 @ 333 MHz) (4-4-4-12 @ 266 MHz)

BIOS Type
AMI (08/20/08)

Display:

Video Adapter
NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE (128 MB)

3D Accelerator
nVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE

Monitor
Generic PnP Monitor [NoDB] (181116843009)

Multimedia:

Audio Adapter
nVIDIA nForce 430 (MCP51) - High Definition Audio Controller

Storage:

IDE Controller
Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller

Storage Controller
NVIDIA nForce Serial ATA Controller

Disk Drive
WDC WD32 00AAJS-00L7A SCSI Disk Device (298 GB)
WDC WD75 00AAKS-00RBA SCSI Disk Device (698 GB)

Optical Drive
PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-K06RS ATA Device (DVD+R9:4x, DVD-R9:4x, DVD+RW:8x/8x, DVD-RW:8x/6x, DVD-RAM:5x, DVD-ROM:8x, CD:24x/24x/24x DVD+RW/DVD-RW/DVD-RAM)

SMART Hard Disks Status
OK

Partitions:

C: (NTFS)
298.0 GB (279.0 GB free)

D: (NTFS)
698.6 GB (26.9 GB free)

Total Size
996.6 GB (305.8 GB free)

Input:

Keyboard
HID Keyboard Device

Keyboard
Microsoft eHome MCIR 109 Keyboard

Keyboard
Microsoft eHome MCIR Keyboard

Keyboard
Microsoft eHome Remote Control Keyboard keys

Mouse
HID-compliant mouse

Network:

Primary IP Address
XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX

Primary MAC Address
XX-XX-XX-XX-XX-XX

Network Adapter
802.11g MiniUSB 2.0 Wireless Bluetooth Combo (XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX)

Network Adapter
Bluetooth Device (Personal Area Network)

Network Adapter
Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport Adapter

Network Adapter
NVIDIA nForce 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet

Peripherals:

Printer
HP Officejet 6300 series

FireWire Controller
VIA VT6306/6307 Fire II IEEE1394 Host Controller (PHY: VIA VT6307)

Infrared Controller
eHome Infrared Receiver (USBCIR)

Infrared Controller
Microsoft eHome Infrared Transceiver

USB1 Controller
nVIDIA nForce 430 (MCP51) - OHCI USB 1.1 Controller

USB2 Controller
nVIDIA nForce 430 (MCP51) - EHCI USB 2.0 Controller

USB Device
802.11g MiniUSB 2.0 Wireless Bluetooth Combo

USB Device
eHome Infrared Receiver (USBCIR)

USB Device
Generic Bluetooth Adapter

USB Device
Generic USB Hub

USB Device
USB Composite Device

USB Device
USB Input Device

DMI:

DMI BIOS Vendor
American Megatrends Inc.

DMI BIOS Version
080013

DMI System Manufacturer
MSI

DMI System Product
MS-7329

DMI System Version
2.0

DMI System UUID
00020003-00040005-00060007-00080009

DMI Motherboard Manufacturer
MSI

DMI Motherboard Product
MS-7329

DMI Motherboard Version
2.0

DMI Total / Free Memory Sockets
4 / 0

Sonic Boom! Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:02:00 +0000
Hell yeah, the wait was worth it and the new songs more than make up for the lame ass album title.

Kiss - Sonic Boom is what I am on about! And it is just how it should be... it is Kiss at their finest and I would just like to say a big screw you to all who complain about Tommy & Eric... this proves they belong in KISS!!

Kiss forever! Go buy Sonic Boom when it's released!! Go preorder it now!!

Desktop build complete Tue, 22 Sep 2009 23:34:00 +0000
Finally, the desktop build is completed and everything is running fine... or almost everything.

Windows 7 seems to want to play silly beggers with the network and connect one LAN connection to two networks, my Home network and an "undifined" network but this is easily sorted, every time it boots up, by disabling and re-enabeling the network... not ideal but hey, it's Windows 7, it's new (it's not even out yet!)

Still some software to install, such as setpoint for the logitech keyboard/mouse but it isn't required and they don't have a version for Windows 7 yet so I will wait rather than install the Vista version run in compatibility mode.

Benchmarking the system and it comes up close to the top of the list, it's actually in the top 5 for some things, and this is against builds which have processors which are three or four times the cost of the one installed! Both reports can be found here and here for those interested.

Reports for the HTPC will be coming shortly however that one is still having some problems which is to be expected due to the complexity of the machine and it's purpose. I'll blog about that another time.

Update on the car Tue, 15 Sep 2009 08:13:00 +0000
At long last, I got the car back in to Dave Loudoun's for it's repairs... it only took the best part of 11 weeks to get it in!! But, it's now back and I *think* everything except for the climate control panel is fixed (I agreed I would sort the climate control as they couldn't get hold of one but I can get it refurbished for £35).

There was a fair bit wrong with the car once I picked it up - hardly any of it showed up on the test drive but all of it had to be done free of charge. The list included;
CD Changer didn't read discs.
SRS light on dash constantly on (occupancy sensor, seat belt tensioner).
Passenger airbag de-activated.
Roof and roof cover clashed on operation of roof (tension straps).
Car wouldn't start on occasions (bad earth).
Gear knob come off in hand.
Windscreen wipers didn't work.
Climate Control panel intermittent fault (bad capacitor).

But, so far so good... I haven't come across any other major problems. The only ones I need to sort out myself are the climate control panel as mentioned, a few interior lamps have died (ash trays, lighter) and replace the rear windscreen or attempt to clean it up.

I also have the number plate holders to fit now too, but need to strategically position the fake number plate bolts on the plates to alter the 9 to make it look more like a y.

I'm tempted to get the front end resprayed or touched up due to the stone chips, I also need the alarm settings changed as it auto arms after about 5 seconds which is a right pain in the ass!

But, nearly 3 months after buying it, it is almost how it should be. However, watch this be the end of summer - we have the best days when I don't have the car, sod's law and all that...