Bad Cars, Monster Bugs & Colour me Good!

Shopping in Camberley over the weekend….Two parts – The Travesty of the Chevy Aveo and the Awesome VW Baja Bug… (you may wish to skip to the VW Baja bug part…)

As I had to go shopping & visit the bank at the weekend, and Chris has some trips to take during the week, I hired a cheap car.

It’s a Chevrolet Aveo, and it’s all wrong!

Not bad looking… terrible personality though

Not too bad here either… just don’t touch!

It looks okay inside and out (once you ignore the huge cheap plastic Chevrolet badge), but once you get tactile, the thing proves to be very cheap and flimsy. Thin plastic dashboard, body panels that pop in and out – but to look at, it’s not bad….

Once the engine starts and you pull away…. eventually…. you gain some speed…. then you’ll have to steer….

It wallows and rolls from the lowest speeds and gets worse as you get faster. The steering is super light and the slightest turn of the wheel has the car turning as though it’s one of those bikes from Disney’s “Tron“! Trouble is, it feels like it’s about to fall over at any moment! It is actually scary!

It’s a bit like a speed boat… It drives as though it is about to flip over and the steering is far too light! It’s so light the car needs constant adjusting to stay straight – Not great on a motorway!

Worse still is the suspension! For all of that wallowing and threats to roll the car over at walking pace, you end up breaking your back if you hit pebbles or slight bumps in the road! How can the ride be so harsh when the handling is so soft and pathetic?!

Fuel economy is great though…. So it looks alright, economy is great… ride is terrible and handling is more vague than a cornered politician.

BUT…. once it was parked in the Camberley car park things picked up! Well…. that’s because we had parked next to the most awesome of VW Beetles!

Wicked Bug!

Alex thought it was brilliant – A big Herbie! Big Racing Herbie!!! – and I think he was spot on! It was brilliant! I’m not a great VW Bug fan, but this one looked fantastic! Thumbs up to the VW Baja Bug!

I took the opportunity to use my iPhone photo adjustment applications. Due to the car park environment the Beetle didn’t really stand out – but some new software on the iPhone (ColorSplash and Photogene) produced some great shots!

The before shot….

…and after…

These two applications are great on the iPhone. I have had lots of success (well, I think I have!) adjusting various pictures I have taken… Here are a few more… or follow THIS LINK to see my Flickr page.

E-Type Jaguar at Goodwood Breakfast Club Event

The 1lb burger from my America Trip

Bowler Wildcat from 2006 Goodwood Festival of Speed

Assume nothing ~ Change it up

There are not many people who have had a great influence on me (besides teachers and instructors of course!), on how I am and the way I view things – as a person in myself and my career. The few that have had a fundamental influence are worth mentioning (especially in these troubled times).

Firstly, my Dad. He was a Scientist, Engineer and before retiring to run a private consultancy, he was Head of the Royal Aircraft Establishments Accident Section. Not only did I look up to him as my father, but as a role model and engineer. I was lucky enough that he was my Dad and Hero all in one.

He had a motto that has stuck with me:

ASSUME NOTHING – JUST BE CERTAIN

Although he used this in his wreckage analysis role, it is also worth thinking about in other situations – e.g: World financial crisis/radiation leaks from Japan’s tsunami aftermath/continued wars – people are getting worried (as am I), but mostly they are worried about “What ifs“.

Yes, things might get better or worse BUT there is no point worrying about these things, or pinning hopes on things that haven’t materialised yet – that would be irrational, as no-one knows the future. You can’t assume the worse or best case, you can only be as prepared as you can be.

Why fret over things that have not happened? You are suffering fear of nothing!

DUNE

There is a litany to fear written by Frank Herbert (Dune 1965):

I must not fear.

Fear is the mind-killer.

Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.

I will face my fear.

I will permit it to pass over me and through me.

And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.

Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.

Only I will remain.

Fear feeds on itself and starts to play with your mind and perception, which is why you should ASSUME NOTHING – JUST BE CERTAIN. Although I like this litany, I would change the last two lines. I believe that if you are going through difficulties – or just strolling through life, then you should leave gained knowledge and wisdom in your path. You need to learn from your actions, not just blindly go through life. As such, Herbert’s litany would be changed to the following for me:

I must not fear.

Fear is the mind-killer.

Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.

I will face my fear.

I will permit it to pass over me and through me.

And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.

Where the fear has gone there will be wisdom.

And I will be stronger.

Okay – so that tells me “Why worry?” – Find out the facts first, get tangible information, then you have something to deal with – but what should you do to get the facts? How do you find out where you are?

Henry Rollins holds the answer. I had an email conversation with him several years back, and then a brief chat in the flesh after a gig. I had just lost a friend – a guy who was more like a brother to me than just a friend (I am still very close to his family – I see them as an extension of my family in a way). My friend passed away in his early 20’s – just days after saying he’s be my best man. I was beside myself and had no idea what to do. I knew Rollins had lost a best friend when he was young, so I sent him an email – I didn’t think he’d reply, but I had written done some of my thoughts and questions, and that was a therapy in itself.

Rollins did reply – and his response was both one of compassion and in true Rollins spirit, a big dose of “Suck it up”.

His response was very similar to the Billy Connolly statement:

“The cemetery is full of people who would love your problems“

Rollins basically said that I still have my life, so I should live it, as I was still able to – sure I should remember my friend, but don’t get sucked down and dwell on the bad stuff.

Wise words indeed -and later whilst listening to his song “Change It Up” I picked out another fine view to live by…

You say your job is a pain
It’s pulling you down the drain
I think you’d rather complain
Than quit it

Now the words in this verse are about a job, but they work in all situations. People would rather complain about things dragging them down, or how unlucky they are and how shitty life is… but what are they doing about it? I say you only have a right to complain IF you are bothering to do something about your situation.

Don’t whine about your job, and then go in day after day and do nothing about it. If you are looking to get a new job, if you are really trying to better your situation, then sure, you have the right vent now and then. It’s the same with anything in life – If you aren’t trying to progress the situation, then don’t moan about it.

This old phrase comes to mind:

“If you aren’t part of the solution, then you are part of the problem”

Got a problem, then shut up or sort it out.

Okay… that’s the main ingredients building up for a way to approach these tricky times, Hell, in any times…

Assume nothing, just be certain: Don’t get wound up if you don’t know all the facts.

If you know all the facts, still don’t get wound up – there are many people who would love to swap their problems with yours.

Don’t moan and complain once you have the facts – just get out there and do something about the situation. Get reactive – get proactive – just get active.

If you find yourself neither going backwards or forwards, then you fall into another category all together. The phrase my late, great friend Ryan Brown used to use was this:

“If you ain’t making waves ~ you ain’t kicking hard enough…”