The NI Motorcycle Festival returns this weekend (8th – 10th February 2019) to the Eikon Centre, Lisburn. In it’s fourth year at the Eikon it is touting itself as Northern Irelands’ Biggest Motorcycle Show and it promises a weekend full of action and bikes.
So what has changed from last year and does it deliver on these promises?
Truth be told, very little has changed. It is still like a big showroom, with a load of stalls in the back.
As you can see in my previous 2018 review I tried my best to find the positives in the show and to be honest I really hate being negative about such things – especially things that involve bikes, a show – and Northern Ireland trying to bring itself on par with events and exhibitions, but sometimes – when there is negativity it just shines through in the truth.
I am not going to paint this one through rose tinted glasses – I hoped things would have improved but alas here it is – the NI Motorcycle Festival 2019 Review.
As a huge fan of Transformers when the trailer dropped for an origin movie for Bumblebee it would be fair to say I was excited.
The movie was released and off I zipped to the cinema.
Movie Synopsis :
“On the run in the year 1987, Bumblebee finds refuge in a junkyard in a small Californian beach town. Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld), on the cusp of turning 18 and trying to find her place in the world, discovers Bumblebee, battle-scarred and broken. When Charlie revives him, she quickly learns this is no ordinary, yellow VW bug.”
I don’t like to read too much about movies before I see them, but one preview I did read stated this :
2018 marks the 35th anniversary of Casio G-Shock and one of the final releases of a year full to bursting of collaborations – is the G-Shock Gorillaz Collab.
Consisting of 4 watches, (one of each member of the virtual group) we are brought 3 DW5600 variants and one GX56 ‘KING’. This Collab was highly advertised on social media for many months prior to its release and the result was a set of watches in huge demand that was highly limited in numbers.
The official press releases consistently refer to only ‘1000 pieces’ but there is some confusion as to whether this is 1000 pieces of each watch, or 250 of each giving a total number of pieces to 1000. I remember the Casio website referenceing 250 of each variant, but the pages have since been removed in relation to the individual models.
I have reached out to Casio for clarification but as yet their Support people have not answered my rather simple question…
@casioUKsupport can you confirm please if the #Gorillaz#GShock release is 1000 of each watch or if 1000 is the total number of pieces for the entire series. Thanks.
With so much publicity and so few pieces the result was, basically chaos.
The Casio website was brought to its knees almost instantly. The lucky few got their orders placed and confirmed – the release was done in two parts 15/11/2018 for the Murdoc and 2-D variants and 15/12/2018 for the Noodle and Russel Hobbs and preorders were initially available on 15/11/2018 for phase 2.
Casio G-Shock X Gorillaz
Then Armageddon – the website collapsed and no more orders / preorders were accepted. Casio promised an online option for phase 2, this never materialised and the only option for the Noodle and Russel Hobbs variants in the UK were in store in London. Only London.
I was one of the lucky few managing to secure both releases online, and both have now been delivered.
Forgetting about the absolute carnage that was the release, everything else is positive. The quality is good, the printing on the bands seems long lasting and hard wearing. The rear plates of the watch are beautifully engraved with the silhouettes of the band members and the watch faces themselves are discreet enough without being understanded and not gaudy enough to be ‘in your face.’ A genuinely good design that when initially revealed seemed a bit ‘meh’ – like ‘is that it? Surely you could have done more?’ The designs work well and do need to be seen in the flesh to be truly appreciated.
Overall – a really nice collaboration, that was so well marketed it is easily one of the most sought after collections I have seen in a number of years. It did break the Casio website after all! IF you are lucky enough to have the set – well done you, if not act fast as I reckon it will only get more desirable!
So a year later and I got my third Mous Limitless 2.0 case this time deciding to go for the real wood (Walnut) finish. So a year and three cases later then surely Mous must be doing something right, right? Right!
Have you ever thought that you fancy trying something other than the usual Sunday run out on the bike, along the same route, with your head down and bum up?
If so have you ever considered long distance motorcycling?
That is what the Iron Butt Association is all about. Safe, enjoyable long distance motorcycle riding that gets you out and about to places you probably haven’t seen before, or take routes or challenges that you probably had never even thought of before.
“The 60,000+ members of the Iron Butt Association are dedicated to safe, long-distance motorcycle riding. Although based in the United States, we have thousands of enthusiastic members throughout the globe! One of our more popular slogans is, “The World Is Our Playground.”
Having been a member of the Iron Butt Association for a few years now I thought I would give their 2018 Photo Rally a go.
The info on their site sums it up pretty well :
Iron Butt Association Ireland Photo Rally 2018
The locations are spread all over the island of Ireland and the route between them amounts to many thousands of miles.
I’m sure you could plan a route and tackle every location across a few days (reducing the mileage), but personally I used my free time over the summer months and probably took about 5 or 6 individual day trips to gather up all the checkpoints.
Some of those days trips were very long. For example my final trip took in the far west and south west of Ireland coming from Northern Ireland that specific trip, which took in 4 bridges started at 7.00am and finished at 1.30am and consumed about 780 miles.
But long mileage is all part of the Iron Butt Challenge, so if you enjoy full days in the saddle, seeing parts of the country (world even) that you probably didn’t even know about Photo Rallies are a good way to go about it and there are plenty of them about. Most motorcycle clubs, and the bigger Internet forums all offer Photo Rallies, so now that winter is here have a good look about and see what may take your fancy for the next year.
As a user of a Fisher Space Pen since about 1996 (and still having my original Fisher Space [Bullet] Pen) I was really intrigued when I read about the AirPress TomBow Pen.
Then as I read the reviews I noticed some pretty big claims were being made, the main one catching my interest being that the AirPress TomBow was a…
“Fisher Space Pen Killer.”
Personally I use a full size Fisher Space Pen every day. I also carry a Titanium Bullet Space Pen in my wallet so I always have a pen with me, and it is always a Fisher Space Pen.
Now they are not cheap. My full size pen was about £35 (they start at about £15 for a ‘Cap-o-matic’) and go into hundreds of pounds for Limited and Special Editions. My Titanium Bullet Pen came in at about £40, but in saying that in over 20 years of daily use I have never had a Space Pen let me down.
So how would a £6.50 alternative compare – would it actually be a Space Pen Killer?
Sony have announced the 20 games that will be preloaded on the upcoming PlayStation Classic (which some outlets are referring to as the PlayStation Mini).
A few points to note :
– The PlayStation Classic will release on 3rd December 2018 – the 24th anniversary of the original PlayStation.
– The PlayStation Classic will not work with controllers not supplied with the unit – so your DualShock 4 isn’t going to work. The unit will ship with two controllers that should work and feel like the originals – but that is your only control option.
– The PlayStation Classic will not be getting more games in the future – so no downloads, no addons, no Minis – what you get on the machine is your lot.
“There are no plans to bring new content to PlayStation Classic post-launch.” – Sony
– The PlayStation Classic has a built in ‘virtual’ memory card – so you will be able to save your games.
– The PlayStation Classic will connect to your TV via HDMI.
The games listing has brought some controversy, personally I think it looks OK, there are plenty of Classic games in there. Unfortunately there are some questionable releases as well. I could make a list of dozens of games under the ‘What About…’ title but that’s futile, the list is out and the debate over what is more deserving is an absolute matter of opinion, of which we are all entitled.
We have got what we have got. The biggest question then is – ‘Do you feel this is worth eight of your hard earned pound coins?’
So here we go – here is the long awaited list of games coming to the PlayStation Classic :
As the owner of a MacBook Pro (which is an amazing bit of kit) I fall victim to the same downfall as most owners – the small internal SSD. My MBP holds a mere 128Gb of internal built in storage.
MacBook Pro Early 2015 Specs
Now that 128Gb storage is almost instant access – being a quick SSD. When paired up with 8Gb of RAM and the 2.7GHz i5 machine it really is a very capable bit of kit – in fact most of this blog, associated photos and media all stem from this very machine.
But let’s be honest 128Gb is not enough.
But let’s be even more honest. It isn’t a huge deal either. With portable options now readily available, you can easily get 4TB in your pocket, 400Gb SD Cards are becoming more affordable £ / $ per Gb and you can even get super fast tiny and portable SSD drives which are amazing for rending video and other demanding tasks.
SanDisk 200Gb Micro SD Card
Personally I have always opted for a connected portable hard drive. My drive of choice at the moment being a USB 3.0 2TB Seagate drive. It is quick (as you will soon see), it is small, and it is plug and play. I have the majority of my apps on it, all my games and store images on it that I won’t be using immediately.
I keep it pretty clutter free and it means my storage issues – aren’t issues.
As far as SD cards go I always (from habit more than anything else) use a USB 3.0 card reader. (The one I use is from Anker). It means I can just pop the card out of my camera / GoPro / drone… whatever and have the media transferred quickly and hassle free on my terms. I don’t like plugging in a device and having it tell me what image importer to use, or what editor, so with the Card Reader I import and use as I please.
If I am editing photos / video on the go I import them onto the Mac’s SSD, do what I need to do, then upload them or store them on the portable drive. It is no doubt easier and quicker to run on the SSD, and it means if I am mobile I don’t need to worry about the portable drive and where to set it. But then you reach the limiting factor of the maximum available space.
Following on from the analog G-Shock GBA-800 Casio have released a digital variant, the GBD-800, of their fitness tracking, step counting, bluetooth tough watch.
Press Release :
The following press release is taken from GShock.com :
Casio G-Shock GBD-800 US Colour Way Options
DOVER, NEW JERSEY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2018 – Today, Casio G-SHOCK unveils the latest additions to the Men’s Power Trainer Series with the release of the GBD800. Available in two color ways of black with red accents (GBD800-1) and black with neon green accents (GBD800-8), the models are compatible with the G-SHOCK Connected app and include new technical features such as a re-designed full digital display and phone finder function through Bluetooth Mobile Link.
The models come on the heels of the analog-digital GBA800, which was released earlier this year in partnership with U.S. Olympian and G-SHOCK brand ambassador Louie Vito. Geared towards athletes and active individuals, the GBD800 features a step tracker function that breaks down daily steps taken in five metabolic equivalent levels (MET) – all of which are displayed in a graph via the G-SHOCK Connected app.
The watch also boasts a work-out timer with up to five intervals and an updated digital display of three different rows to easily track fitness progress. Toggling between modes, the top display showcases a step graph and lap number, while the mid display showcases time and the bottom display showcases the total number of laps and steps.
Other key features include a built-in stopwatch with 200-record memory, an auto super illuminator LED light, target alarm and auto time update capabilities. Each model also comes equipped with standard G-SHOCK technology such as:
200M water resistance and shock resistance
5 daily alarms
1/100th stopwatch and countdown timer
Dual Time
Round timer
The GBD800-1 and GBD800-8 will retail at $99 and will be available for purchase beginning in October 2018 at G-SHOCK retailers including Macy’s, the G-SHOCK Soho Store, and
Europeans are even more lucky – the basics of the press release remains the same but we get much broader colour ways with some pretty awesome options in there over the US’ black and green and black and red.
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