Fat and Fit?

I’ve posted a new blog entry on fitness and weight loss HERE – at www.twa2lb.co.uk

BOGOF Yourself

This rant is FREE OF CHARGE!!!!

1 EXTRA FREE IN THIS PACK!!!
BUY ONE! GET ONE FREE!!!

Yeah, I get fed up of offers like this because it feels like manufacturers are taking me for a mug. Do they think we’re all idiots?

Nothing is free okay?

The so called free things are absorbed into the huge price mark up already on the product. We’re still paying for them – maybe not so much, but I guarantee the companies are still raking in profits.

Telling me it’s free just says:

“We mark our products up sooo much & take sooo much of your money, that we can afford to REDUCE THE MARK UP and tell you that you are getting “free” stuff, but we’re still make huge profits, whilst you think you’re getting a great deal… you IDIOT! mwaaa haaaa haaaa! WE HAVE YOUR MONEY!!!!”

If it’s free, then it should cost nothing. Not reduced, not manufacturing cost price, but NOTHING.

Think about it:-
Gillette (eg) sells 4 cartridges & gives 4 extra away “free”…… You can bet they still make a profit… and that means they are charging WAY MORE than 100% of the price it cost to make the things in the first place.

What they are trying to say is:

We always mug you for your money… but we’re not mugging you quite so hard this time….

Stop with these sham deals and just REDUCE THE PRICE ONCE AND FOR ALL!

That goes to ALL manufactures, shops and products that use these deals – not just razors.

FACEBOOK GROUP AGAINST HIGH RAZOR COSTS

Uncanny…

So regulars will know I am looking into taking my Nordic Walking to the next level.

Nordic skiing on snow in the UK is a bit tricky, mainly due to the general lack of snow, but you can buy roller-ski’s that emulate the same characteristics of the various types of skiing.

Now, before I go off and buy a set I want to make sure I can get on with roller ski’s, so I contacted a UK based Nordic/Cross Country ski organisation: Rollerski, where I spoke to Iain Ballentine, who in turn pointed me to the London Region Nordic Ski Club and a chap called Paddy Fields (the Chairman).

It turns that Paddy Fields lives in the next toen to me, they practice weekly in my town, and they used to practice around the lake where I do my Nordic walking, so he knows exactly the terrain I’ll be skiing on.

Funny how these things work out.

I’ll be meeting up with him soon to give roller skiing a go, and then seeing where that leads (to more skiing I hope… or hospital!).

Splitter

TWA2LB.CO.UK is back – and this time it’s all about the health and fitness baby!

Yup, for those who follow me for the action, health and fitness things I do (ha!) I will be splitting off certain blog entries and putting them on TWA2LB without all the other stuff I talk about.

It’ll ALL still be here, but TWA2LB will just focus certain aspects.

Is there a demand…. well, I wouldn’t do it if there wasn’t.

Improving on perfect

BMW, Audi, Jaguar, Mercedes… they all make superb saloon cars. They are well made, refined, smooth and drive well.

So when these top marques then bring out a sport model (be it an AMG, S, M etc), then they improve on the already great basic saloon car model.

They improve the handling, they tighten up the feedback, driver involvement, road holding. They tweak the chassis, engine and suspension. They end up with the same saloon car… but different – better – each part honed to a higher level.

What they don’t do is stick on some gaudy graphics, a big exhaust pipe and a huge spoiler and then try to palm it off as a sports car…

Where is this leading then?

For the past 2 weeks I have had the pleasure of test driving an aluminium bodied (hand finished in the UK no less), tweaked and more responsive version of an engineering marvel that I have blogged about before.

Will King (King of Shaves) hasn’t sat on his backside and let the already great award winning Azor (and Azor S – Sensitive) blow away the competition, oh no, he’s been working on improving perfection.

Well, that’s a bit strong. Azor had it’s bad points for some users, and a few quirks that first time users weren’t ready for… so maybe not improving on perfection, but most definitely improving on the Azor, the best multiblade shaving hardware since the Gillette Mach 3.

The trouble some people had with the Azor is they expected it to be the same as any previous razor – but it isn’t. For one it is sharper and more responsive.

Like all things different you need to get used to it – so a couple of shaves really won’t give you the real benefit of the Azors great shave. Try it, stick with it for a month and then see how you feel. You wouldn’t expect to get into a new car and have everything be in just the right place straight away, as each driver adjusts and gets used to their new car – so you should adjust and get used to the Azor.

So anyway today, the official launch of the Azor M…. I wasn’t expecting a great improvement leap, as the first Azor was already a benchmark product.

The NEW King of Shaves AZOR M

For the two weeks prior to today’s launch I have been a tester using the Azor M and the new slimline blade cartridge. The M stands for metal – an aluminium body hand finished in the UK. The slimline cartridge is an improved version of the original, already incredible Azor blade.

The heft is good – this is down to the extra weight of the metal over the previous Azor models. It feels more controlled & has a certain quality feel about it  (Azor 1 & S have great quality & design, but to some people a light razor is seen as cheap & tatty). Azor M nicely addresses that & more.

The 3 colour look… it sounds a bit dicey, but when I saw it I was immediately impressed. No tarty chrome look like Gillette use. A subtle, almost Audi-ish brushed Aluminium that wasn’t pretending to be anything else, because it is what it is. Very stylish.

The shave… Okay, I was surprised at how different it was. Doing my head really showed the improvements. That weight made for more control & a smoother glide.

Better still – and this shocked me….the blade life is longer! I thought the first Azor blade was good, but this is still as blisteringly sharp now after two weeks of full head and beard shaves as when I first used it. This surely is the KoS standard now – Cheaper, longer lasting and far, far sharper blades.

Azor M - Perfection squared

The new cartridge design seems to be more than meets the eye. The trimmed & squared off lube section made for a more accurate trim around my goatee. Now there is a definitive squared end across the head of the cartridge that is parallel to the blades, which actually gave more confidence around the beard and that just worked better – I didn’t need to think about it so much as I knew exactly where I was shaving.

I managed to shave several areas around my ears that the previous cartridge wouldn’t touch due to the old larger cartridge – so a marked improvement there.

The reduced top end section also appeared to pull/tighten my skin slightly more than the Azor S (not in a bad way). It felt taut & controlled – referring back to my car analogy I’d say the Azor M is the sports saloon of the range – tweaked to give a firmer, more accurate & closer ride. It’s all a bit more “together”, which is amazing, seeing as the previous Azor danced over the competition without bothering to even take it’s shoes off!

The distinct but minimal packaging of the Azor

Even though Azor has one of the narrower side walls on the cartridge than other brands, I personally would like to see even thinner side walls with the blades as close to the edge as possible – but that’s a wish list thing & no complaint against any Azor.

I don’t know how many of the above improvements were intentional or just a by product of the new M design, but I can say that King of Shaves have improved on something that was near perfect anyway, and improved it more than I could imagine!

As for Gillette and the Fusion range…. remember the comment about sticking on a big spoiler (more blades) a big exhaust (shove a battery in it) and gaudy graphics (oranges, blues, greens, and chrome)……Well… there’s an old saying…

You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig

Gillette were great in the Mach 3 days, in the same way the old 1980’s BMW M3 series was great… but times have moved on and things have improved.

Look at the modern designs we are seeing in cars, mobile phones, computers etc…. it’s all smooth, simple, no fuss, functional and thought out (much like the early days or race cars, aircraft etc… smooth and flowing).

Gone are the days of angular brash and loud designs that were definitely more show than go… It’s easy to see which of the two camps the Azor and the Mach 3 belong to.

Gillette Fusion yesterday

The King of Shaves press release for Azor M is HERE.

Enough already

Okay, a while back Chris brought me a free fall parachute jump experience as a birthday present.

I didn’t ever want to bungee jump – I see no point.. sure it’s a rush, but you don’t do anything yourself… You jump, bungy stops you. With a free fall parachute jump you jump, you free fall, you pull the cord, you fly the chute. With bungee jumping you just jump… that thrills me as much as a roller coaster… too tame, too controlled. If you’re going to do something, do it properly.

It was one of those life affirming things… at 15 odd thousand feet you look down and it’s all down to you to step out of that doorway… and you do it… one of the most phenomenal experiences ever, and one I shall never forget.

I felt so alive – and yes, it was in controlled conditions, but things can (and did) go wrong.

Well, since I have been hit with this lung problem I am determined to not take the hit – I want to go and do something amazing. I want it to be something I could share later with Alex – I want it to be an experience and a lesson.

I’ve always been pretty good when situations get ropey. When people lose their heads in dire situations I tend to cement into a calmer person. Odd that – situations I would think I’d panic in and I actually become very focused.

So, I’m taking the step and will be booking on on a survival week. I’m looking at some course run by ex-SAS instructors. After all, the two Para’s who instructed my freefall learnt all they knew as a matter of life and death – and the same with the SAS guys. If anyone can put on a good course, it’ll be those that have had to survive in extreme conditions themselves.

These are good skills to learn, and something I can pass down to Alex.

I see 2 and 3 day courses available, but I want to go as long as I can in one go. No point in just messing about, so I’m going to go for a weeks survival – Instructor, a small tobacco tin box of essentials and me… something like that anyway.

Once I’ve done this course (hopefully mid 2010… maybe even do it as a fund raiser), there are other course available as you become more experienced. The one I am aiming for after the woodland survival week, is the Arctic Survival course. Yup… off to the Arctic to rough it…. build your own shelter, make fire, find food… no gas stoves or tents… proper survival.

It’s my way of kicking back at the set backs that my health has caused me… I get knocked down and I’ll fight back twice as hard.

I’m not one for holidays. Sure they are relaxing, but at the end of it, you’ve just been away, la de da… I’d rather go and do something – have an adventure… learn a skill and see things few other people have seen.

Who’s up for joining me? Next time it snows we’ll just point and laugh at the people who think it’s “really cold…..”

.

2010 – Snow Joke

Okay… boiler is dying. Downstairs radiators have given up the ghost.

Some dope cracked my Audi headlamp by wheel spinning in gritted snow.

I’ve been off work for the past week with a bad case of flu, topped off with a chest infection – I’ve been boiling, freezing, shaking, sweating, creaking… blah blah…. fed up of the whole thing, and now finding it very hard to breathe, A bit like having a weight on my chest and trying to breathe through a folded up towel… probably (I’ve not tried).

Then stroking our big black cat I find a lump between his shoulder blades… so a trip to the vet is due….

2010 is being a git.

Anyway, it wasn’t a totally bad start – We had snow, and Alex loved it.

Before I became ill I had a good week of snow fun with Alex. It was tainted by idiot chav types knocking the snowman’s head off – but I fixed it with a metal pole in the end. I had to use the pole because the snow had turned to ice crystals and wasn’t sticking together!

Eventually the chav idiots twisted the head around – but a bit more snow and warmer weather meant he could be rebuilt again…

Eventually the weather turned even warmer… and the snowman took his last gasp….

So… for a bit of fun, rather than focusing on the current bad hand 2010 has dealt us, here are some pictures of the snowman… as he morphed through attacks by chavs and weather…

BOB

Was beheaded.

BILL

Beheaded… then re-headed with a pole… then head twisted around

Mr. Iced T

Too tough for the Chavs…

Things got too warm though….

Don’t Bloody start on me 2010

Remember THIS? which came from THIS….

Yup…. good…

Guess what has just died…. two day before servicing….

Go on.

Guess….

The end of a decade…

Happy New Year…. New Decade EVERYONE!

This last one was like a shower with a mixer tap that just can’t make its mind up if it is hot or cold.

The worst of times, the best of times – all in the last ten years. I haven’t had a ten year stretch that has had such extremes.

Ryan – who was nearer a brother to me than a friend, died. – I got married.  – My Dad passed away.  – Alex was born.  – We lost house deal after house deal, money hand over fist, before we finally settled. – We gained 3 cats but lost one. -  I had to leave a job due to medical conditions (now cleared up).  – Met new friends, great friends -  Left another job after a works injury was shrugged off and left us on the edge of losing the house….and then landed in the great job I am in now. – I started shooting and got the highest awarded proficiency the NSRA give, won a few competitons… then had to quit shooting due to the works injury.  – I lost the last family member from my Dad’s family tree that had grown up with him and who had all the missing answers.  – Boilers failed leaving the house below freezing, water tanks ruptured flooding the loft!  – The family car was written off… Too much other stuff went down and up and up and down to mention – but it was a roller coaster.

Things I wouldn’t change for the world – and things I would do anything to change…

Hot. Cold. Hot. Cold. Hot. Cold.

Things have settled down – One day at a time.

Here’s hoping the plumbing is sorted for the next ten years – it would be good to have a bit of middle ground for once.

Fairytale of New York

Okay, X-Factor was knocked to the number 2 UK chart position for the Christmas number 1 single… beaten by a social networking pushed project – Rage Against The Machine took the number 1 spot as people stood up to the Cowell lead X-Factor machine.

The thing is it needed to be done – but no-one will argue that RATM’s song isn’t exactly “Christmassy”….

As such, just before Christmas I decided to push for a Christmas number 1 that is Christmassy…. and what could be better than “Fairytale of New York”….

FAIRYTALE OF NEW YORK XMAS No.1 2010 and @FairytaleNY2010

Fairytale of New York has never been number 1 in the UK, yet is often voted as the best Christmas song out – so I figured it was about time we got it to number 1…

Added to this, it is the 10th anniversary of the sad and tragic death of Kirtsy MacColl, when she was hit by a speed boat in dive restricted waters whilst on holiday. This tragedy has never been properly resolved – and after 9 years of fighting for justice the case has finally run out of anywhere to go as the authorities have closed the door on it.

The day people will need to buy Fairytale of New York to make it count for a Christmas chart release is the day after the 10th anniversary of this untimely passing of Kirsty – so getting Fairytale of New York to number 1 will be a tribute, a return to a Christmassy song for Christmas, and another kick in the teeth to those that set up TV shows to force a manufactured number one.

Fairytale of New York is not a manufactured number one – Sure we will be pushing to get it there, but for over a decade it has been in the Christmas charts and it is a well loved song. It hasn’t just been made up to grab money for Simon Cowell…

This project is still in the initial stages, but much like RATM, we will be making sure Fairytale of New York does good. As such there will be a charity donation system set up. This will all be sorted as the project progresses.

I have contacted various people within The Pogues camp, and also to Kirsty MacColl’s mother. I would like them to be involved as this would be very important to the project.

There is a Facebook page set up : FAIRYTALE OF NEW YORK XMAS No.1 2010

I won’t be able to do this on my own, so FTONY isn’t an “I” thing… it is a “WE” project – and I am currently being ably assisted by Phil Karn (met thanks to Twitter). There may be more people called in to help – and we’ll be grateful for any help!

I have started this group early as I want to build up the numbers of followers throughout the year. For most of the year the group will be a little quiet – just general chat and news – I don’t want people to burn out too soon!

As the time to buy draws near come November/December 2010 I shall then kick the group into action with group emails to ramp up the drive to get that number one spot.

You can also follow via Twitter with @FairytaleNY2010

If you want to get involved, you can email me at fairytale@sometimespace.com

Please spread the word!

Let’s get a Christmas song to Christmas number one – a song that has not been there before… and we can all remember Kirsty MacColl at the same time!

Thank you!