Yesterday was the third "Brickhill golf" game. The first was back on FA Cup Final day when 6 of the "Brickhill dads" turned out to play 18 holes at Mowsbury organized by Derek.
Actually - Derek, Andy & I played 18 whilst Len, Alan and Boz skived off after 9 on that occasion.
In the game that went all the way, Derek beat me by about 3 shots or 2 holes despite a rearguard effort by myself.
On the second occasion, which I arranged, everyone but Derek and I dropped out before tee-off ! Derek had been taking lessons and they obviously worked, as he crushed me.
This time, I intended to do better but my poor matchplay skills were to the fore. Derek played a solid opening three holes - easily going two up before I halved in 5 at the 3rd. He then played a poor 4th hole and I (just) managed to win one back. I parred the 5th to square the match.
Now Derek handed me a golden opportunity - he scored 8-7-10 on holes 6 through 8 and I managed to win only one of those !
When Derek parred the 9th, he took a 1 hole lead into the back 9 where it was actually very close in a matchplay situation but a poor 13th hole from me saw me fall 2 behind with 5 to play.
Derek finally wrapped the mach up with a 5 on the 16th for victory 3&2.
It was now fairly dark (we had teed off at 3:15 at the twilight rate). Derek had left his glasses at home so was playing in prescription sunglasses, so he had only the dimmest view of what now happened at the dead-rubber 17th.
It's a downhill 162 Yard par3 and Derek opted for an optimistic 9-iron which went slightly left and well short.
I looked at the card and the flag and the dramatic drop to the green and my first thought as usual is "no way is that 160 yards, looks like a sandwedge to me" but I know from experience that usually the numbers don't lie and that my efforts to get there with the lofted club often result in a half-way landing.
With a big green and no particular danger behind, I opted for a 7-iron. I assume I can hit a 7-iron 145 yards which seemed in theory the right distance with the flag at the front.
It would not be unfair to say my tee-hitting was poor on the day. Perhaps the pressure was off, or the knowledge that I had plenty of club allowed me to swing more comfortably. In any case, it was a beautiful strike - it sounded great, it was dead straight, and it soared up beautifully in the way it's supposed to. It looked like it would go for miles.
"Back of the green" declared Derek (whose ball-spotting skills are not the greatest !)
I followed the ball as it descended almost vertically and seemed to make landfall just at the very front edge and in the gloom rolled out of sight but apparently in great shape. Clear birdie shout.
"Hole in one" I countered.
We made our way down and as we passed Derek's ball 20yards short of the front-edge, there was still no sign of my ball on the green.
Now, how many times have you thought "I can't see it, it must be in the hole".
I asked Derek to accompany me to the flag. Even now I couldn't tell you whether I really thought it was in but - yes - unbelievably there it was.
Hole 17, Mowsbury Golf Course at 18:45 on 28th September 2008. Won in One.
I held up the ball for the imaginary crowds to cheer.
After that, it didn't seem worth playing the 18th. Doubtful whether it's ever worth playing again !
Monday, 29 September 2008
Monday, 22 September 2008
Facing Up
I have 100 friends on facebook as of today ! Since this is plainly considerably more than my number of real friends, what is going on ?
Well, unlike some people on facebook, I can say that I know all 100 of these people (and they know me) but I don't send them all Christmas cards !
I started out with one friend when someone invited me to be their friend. I then invited a handful of people. Then the whole facebook effect kicked in when friends of friends who knew me invited me to be their friends too. I had a much lower "hurdle" for accepting a friend request than initiating one.
Eventually, as the numbers grew, I too started inviting people as friends who were more like acquaintances with common interests.
So it goes on, and here we are. There are 100 Million facebook users, so I guess there is still some room for my list to grow !
Well, unlike some people on facebook, I can say that I know all 100 of these people (and they know me) but I don't send them all Christmas cards !
I started out with one friend when someone invited me to be their friend. I then invited a handful of people. Then the whole facebook effect kicked in when friends of friends who knew me invited me to be their friends too. I had a much lower "hurdle" for accepting a friend request than initiating one.
Eventually, as the numbers grew, I too started inviting people as friends who were more like acquaintances with common interests.
So it goes on, and here we are. There are 100 Million facebook users, so I guess there is still some room for my list to grow !
Friday, 5 September 2008
Statistically Speaking
So, the anecdotal eveidence that we are the only people in Britain who bought a new car has been confirmed by official reports of the latest car sales figures.
The news announced these as catastophic. I read more about it with interest in The Times today.
However, I discovered that (as all too often today) the stats are presented in a misleading and ultimately uninformative way.
I read that the sales of several marques are down 50 - 70% - they're listed out. But, those turn out to be the changes from July to August. With September (and new reg) just around the corner, obviously August will lag July.
Are these drop-offs much worse than usual ? Undoubtedly, but we have no idea by how much.
What we need are Year-on-Year figures, clearly, but these are not given anywhere.
We are told that the August figures compare in a shockingly bad way with August (so same month) figures from way back into the 1960s. That is certainly striking, but of course in the past, August was a bumper month as new registrations began on 1st August - it was the peak month. Now, presumably, it is routinely the lowest month as it is the month PRIOR to the new registration AND in the summer lull.
So, the comparison would have to be taken with great circumspection.
It's a shame that the real story - which most likely is bleak enough in plain fact - is so obscured by a clearly faulty presentation.
What I find even more frustrating is when journalists use completely false statistical or logical inference because they don't comprehend what is going on (whereas in this case, I am sure it was done for sensationalism which is at least understandable even if not necessarily desirable).
I think this may have overtaken my previous top irritation - reporting of news and especially of announcements before it has actually happened.
The news announced these as catastophic. I read more about it with interest in The Times today.
However, I discovered that (as all too often today) the stats are presented in a misleading and ultimately uninformative way.
I read that the sales of several marques are down 50 - 70% - they're listed out. But, those turn out to be the changes from July to August. With September (and new reg) just around the corner, obviously August will lag July.
Are these drop-offs much worse than usual ? Undoubtedly, but we have no idea by how much.
What we need are Year-on-Year figures, clearly, but these are not given anywhere.
We are told that the August figures compare in a shockingly bad way with August (so same month) figures from way back into the 1960s. That is certainly striking, but of course in the past, August was a bumper month as new registrations began on 1st August - it was the peak month. Now, presumably, it is routinely the lowest month as it is the month PRIOR to the new registration AND in the summer lull.
So, the comparison would have to be taken with great circumspection.
It's a shame that the real story - which most likely is bleak enough in plain fact - is so obscured by a clearly faulty presentation.
What I find even more frustrating is when journalists use completely false statistical or logical inference because they don't comprehend what is going on (whereas in this case, I am sure it was done for sensationalism which is at least understandable even if not necessarily desirable).
I think this may have overtaken my previous top irritation - reporting of news and especially of announcements before it has actually happened.
Going to Lapland
My desktop PC recently went into a sudden, deep and seemingly irrecoverable downwards spiral. With 4 PCS, 3 laptops, 2 internet-enabled XBOXs, 2 network printers as well as the occasional PSP etc. on our home network, I am used to trying to bring things back to life.
Generally the process involves a good deal of trial and error and, despite the incredible change in power and sophistication of the machinery, a lot of the techniques I use date back to the pre-microsoft days or even earlier.
Almost always a machine can eventually be recovered or repaired but in this case, the thing seems to be in quite a state. It won't even run properly in windows safe mode. It appears to be software-linked though, not a true hardware fault. My suspicions centre on Norton Internet Security as having triggered the decline.
I have chosen to give up and decided instead to install my laptop as the main computing centre. This has one big advantage of course in that there is no copying from one to the other.
So, after a few hours of feng shui, I have my laptop on my desk in place of one of the screens and it's wired up in all directions. Just add mouse, keyboard, screen,printer, power lead and speakers !
It seems to be working well.
I have also discovered the joys of internet radio. I am listening to Radio 4 streamed live on the iPlayer - very convenient.
Generally the process involves a good deal of trial and error and, despite the incredible change in power and sophistication of the machinery, a lot of the techniques I use date back to the pre-microsoft days or even earlier.
Almost always a machine can eventually be recovered or repaired but in this case, the thing seems to be in quite a state. It won't even run properly in windows safe mode. It appears to be software-linked though, not a true hardware fault. My suspicions centre on Norton Internet Security as having triggered the decline.
I have chosen to give up and decided instead to install my laptop as the main computing centre. This has one big advantage of course in that there is no copying from one to the other.
So, after a few hours of feng shui, I have my laptop on my desk in place of one of the screens and it's wired up in all directions. Just add mouse, keyboard, screen,printer, power lead and speakers !
It seems to be working well.
I have also discovered the joys of internet radio. I am listening to Radio 4 streamed live on the iPlayer - very convenient.
Wednesday, 3 September 2008
Highway Robbery
We have our new cars. After quite a long wait when we heard nothing at all from Ford (the salesperson left the company and there was apparently some mix up in communication) they seemed to arrive quite suddenly.
Meanwhile, selling the BMW was not quite as straightforward as I imagined, with no dealers really wanting to buy it. Each time that I managed to actually speak with a trade buyer, they were increasingly bearish about the market to the point that my expectations were rock botom.
I was close to selling it even at their depressed bid level when a genuine private buyer showed up on the scene. He obviously could spot a bargain when he saw one, so although he paid more than the dealers were offering, there is little doubt who got the better deal.
Meanwhile, selling the BMW was not quite as straightforward as I imagined, with no dealers really wanting to buy it. Each time that I managed to actually speak with a trade buyer, they were increasingly bearish about the market to the point that my expectations were rock botom.
I was close to selling it even at their depressed bid level when a genuine private buyer showed up on the scene. He obviously could spot a bargain when he saw one, so although he paid more than the dealers were offering, there is little doubt who got the better deal.
Monday, 1 September 2008
Getting It
As a recent user of facebook, I must say I am remain impressed and am probably hooked on it. Seeing first hand how my own community of friends has rapidly evolved in the space of a few days, it is so easy to see how the network grew exponentially. In fact, I see today that they just passed 100 Milion members.
As well as the rapid growth in my own network, I can actually see how my “friends” are linking up with each other so there is a huge multiplier effect going on as well.
Facebook is one of those applications that you have to use to “get it”. It’s been around for a while and it’s not like I haven’t heard of it before. I just did not understand why it would be interesting. And, remember, I am not exactly a technophobe and I am already an active user of SMS, IM and indeed online forums. But, still, it was only when I actually got started that I saw the attraction.
It’s a bit like eBay in that way. When eBay came into existence (at around the same time as Yahoo and Amazon) I thought it was the least plausible of all of them. Online carboot sale ? Who cares ? Once we tried it out, we were converts!
My friends list has grown from 1 to 55 (and still rising) in 5 days. I have been fairly strict about adding Friends. Obviously I realise that the test for what constitutes a “friend” is not as strong as in the real world although I certainly know all my “friends” personally and I haven’t invited anyone as a friend whom I don’t know reasonably well. I suppose my test is something like whether I would actively accost them in a crowded room to say hello and catch up (even if superficially). It’s not as strong as would I invite them to a party.
It’s clear, though, that most people must use a still weaker test – something approximately equivalent to a passing acquaintance or “friend of a friend”. I have been more willing to accept a request FROM someone than to initiate the request. I would not be at all surprised if I migrate towards the common standard over time. If I did so, I can easily see how I would have 200+
As well as the rapid growth in my own network, I can actually see how my “friends” are linking up with each other so there is a huge multiplier effect going on as well.
Facebook is one of those applications that you have to use to “get it”. It’s been around for a while and it’s not like I haven’t heard of it before. I just did not understand why it would be interesting. And, remember, I am not exactly a technophobe and I am already an active user of SMS, IM and indeed online forums. But, still, it was only when I actually got started that I saw the attraction.
It’s a bit like eBay in that way. When eBay came into existence (at around the same time as Yahoo and Amazon) I thought it was the least plausible of all of them. Online carboot sale ? Who cares ? Once we tried it out, we were converts!
My friends list has grown from 1 to 55 (and still rising) in 5 days. I have been fairly strict about adding Friends. Obviously I realise that the test for what constitutes a “friend” is not as strong as in the real world although I certainly know all my “friends” personally and I haven’t invited anyone as a friend whom I don’t know reasonably well. I suppose my test is something like whether I would actively accost them in a crowded room to say hello and catch up (even if superficially). It’s not as strong as would I invite them to a party.
It’s clear, though, that most people must use a still weaker test – something approximately equivalent to a passing acquaintance or “friend of a friend”. I have been more willing to accept a request FROM someone than to initiate the request. I would not be at all surprised if I migrate towards the common standard over time. If I did so, I can easily see how I would have 200+
Sunday, 31 August 2008
And The Winner Is ...
What is the most annoying thing ? I think on the whole I am quite easy going and accepting of the status quo. As a counterbalance, when I find something annoying, I usually find it doubly so (or more).
Recent contenders have been TomTom’s online service, or the difficulty of finding anything to actually buy with Airline frequent flyer miles, or crashing PCs.
But at the moment it has to be franchised car dealerships.
We need to sell my BMW as our Fords are arriving shortly. One of the merits of a BMW is supposed to be strong residual values. In my case, I purchased it new from the local main dealer, had it serviced and repaired there throughout and been their “valued customer” apparently.
I’m not necessarily looking to squeeze the last ounce of value out of the car, so I’d be happy enough to see them earn their bid-offer spread. So, I call them.
They won’t even entertain buying it.
In fact, the switchboard won’t even put me through to the buyer. It makes me furious. How meaningless is “strong residuals” if they won’t buy it at any price ?
It’s enough to make me say “I’d never buy a BMW again” and to mentally pen a strong letter of indignation to their managing director.
I probably will fire off a “furious of Bedford” but the reality is that they’re all as bad as each other. Mercedes, I find, are just as hard of hearing when it comes to the S-word on an S-class and after I rang every BMW dealer within 40 miles of Bedford, I found that Elms were actually not alone in being sellers only.
I find it somewhat ironic that when I was in the business of selling complex financial products, we would not have dreamt of leaving buyers without a buyback price, but such an everyday item as a BMW is apparently unsellable to a dealer in, um, BMWs.
Recent contenders have been TomTom’s online service, or the difficulty of finding anything to actually buy with Airline frequent flyer miles, or crashing PCs.
But at the moment it has to be franchised car dealerships.
We need to sell my BMW as our Fords are arriving shortly. One of the merits of a BMW is supposed to be strong residual values. In my case, I purchased it new from the local main dealer, had it serviced and repaired there throughout and been their “valued customer” apparently.
I’m not necessarily looking to squeeze the last ounce of value out of the car, so I’d be happy enough to see them earn their bid-offer spread. So, I call them.
They won’t even entertain buying it.
In fact, the switchboard won’t even put me through to the buyer. It makes me furious. How meaningless is “strong residuals” if they won’t buy it at any price ?
It’s enough to make me say “I’d never buy a BMW again” and to mentally pen a strong letter of indignation to their managing director.
I probably will fire off a “furious of Bedford” but the reality is that they’re all as bad as each other. Mercedes, I find, are just as hard of hearing when it comes to the S-word on an S-class and after I rang every BMW dealer within 40 miles of Bedford, I found that Elms were actually not alone in being sellers only.
I find it somewhat ironic that when I was in the business of selling complex financial products, we would not have dreamt of leaving buyers without a buyback price, but such an everyday item as a BMW is apparently unsellable to a dealer in, um, BMWs.
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