As some of you may know, I’m in the middle of recording the first Rooted album, and I have now reached the stage where I’m needing to record the drums.  This has prompted me to do some research into the best way to connect everything up so that everyone can hear everything they need to.  This, then, is me putting it all in writing so that I can properly understand it all – if anyone more knowledgeable than me notices any flaws in the plan then do let me know!  The idea is to create a proper studio recording setup using the Behringer MX1604A mixer I have on loan from my mate AndyC, coupled with my Mac computer, which will be doing the recording on Logic Express.

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After a morning of being stuck in front of a computer screen (again), I spent this afternoon being very productive indeed.  I started on some cleaning around the house, and then my friend Andy came round to help me with the brakes on my Mini, which we’d not been able to finish the previous weekend.  The initial problem was a leaking brake cylinder, but in the process of fitting the new one we discovered that the thread had gone on part of the pipework, so I went off and order yet more bits and pieces.  This week it all arrived – braided brake hoses for the rear brakes, another brake cylinder and a set of brake shoes.

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This week I lowered myself to the level of ordinary mankind, abandoned my sense of dignity and individuality, and signed myself up to Facebook.  Only to discover that all my friends were already there; it was just me that had been left behind.  I soon began to see what all the fuss was about, however, as I began systematically trawling through lists of names, finding people I knew and making them my friends, stealing from other people’s lists and prying into their personal lives in the process.  I shall turn this Facebook on itself, and with it take over the world.  Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha….

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This afternoon, taking advantage of the glorious sunshine we’ve been having, I spent a few hours outside tinkering with my Mini.  I couldn’t do anything about the brakes, since I still need to order a new brake hose, but I decided I would finally get round to fitting the chrome door escutcheons I bought ages ago.  Nothing too complicated, just involved taking all the door furniture off (door handle, window winder, etc), removing the door card and unscrewing the exterior door handle from the inside.  In fact, only one end of the handle needed to be unscrewed, as that left enough room to squeeze the escutcheon in.

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Following the discovery of a shot brake cylinder on Neddy’s driver side rear wheel, Andy from Colchester Mini Club came round this morning to help me fit a new one.  I had ordered a replacement cylinder from Mini Spares, which still hasn’t arrived (they’re normally very good, must be having an off week), but Andy brought a spare he had lying around, for which I’ll refund him when mine arrives.  Removing the old cylinder wasn’t too difficult, but that didn’t mean we didn’t struggle with other things – the thread had gone on the brake hose, which meant that we couldn’t get the new pipe on, and it turns out that the brake shoes I had in the garage aren’t for a Mini after all but for a car with significantly bigger wheels.

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This afternoon, to make the most of the sunshine, I got Neddy out on the drive to have a look at the brakes.  For some time now the handbrake had not been holding very well, and although I had not really noticed any instability in braking I had a feeling something was up with the driver’s side rear wheel – with the handbrake on the wheel still turned easily!  I wasn’t sure if that would be the case when using the footbrake, but I figured it was serious enough that I ought to look into it fairly soon, and having borrowed a brake adjusting spanner from my Dad (the brake adjuster has a square head rather than a hexagonal one so normal spanners won’t work) I thought I’d be daring and try to suss it out myself.

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After our Good Friday service this morning several of us went back to the home of Kathryn and Jonathan for hot cross buns.  Like the typical Brits we are, we spent the time sitting in a stuffy conservatory rather than in the garden, despite the glorious sunshine, opened all the windows, complained about how hot it was, drank hot cups of tea, and didn’t even think to remove our jumpers.

Our conversations were mostly centred around some fairly deep theological issues, which I found very interesting to listen to – it was like being back in my first year fusion group all over again!  One of the issues mentioned was regarding Christ’s victory on the cross, and whether the battle was won on Good Friday or Easter Sunday.  It was an interesting conundrum, especially given how little we know about the intervening period; someone asked the question of where Jesus was on Easter Saturday, to which no one really gave an answer.

Nevertheless, I thought I would try to write something on this subject, on the understanding that even if I don’t have exactly the right answer I will at least have thought it through and hopefully inspired others of you to think about it too, even if you don’t agree with me.

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While adding some links to the Chelmsford Diocese web site I stumbled across an online quiz that assesses your theological stance and categorises you based on your answers. Now, I’m not normally one to participate in such quizes, simply because more often than not they are a load of rubbish, totally wrong, or require you to pay to get your results. This, however, came recommended from a church minister, so I figured I’d be really daring and trust him!

Some of the questions I didn’t know the answers to, not necessarily through the use of long words but through reference to various apparently important events in the history of the church that I am not familiar with. Nevertheless I answered all the questions, and the quiz kindly told me what sort of Evangelical I am.

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This evening I did some more on my latest 3D project – an office.  Doesn’t sound all that ambitious, but it’s a useful and interesting location to model due to the range of items you can put into it.  The room is essentially square, the walls are flat, the desk is desk-shaped, and the windows are transparent.  Nothing unusual there.  But there have already been a few interesting challenges, such as modelling various lighting conditions (day time and night), a sofa that looks convincing enough that you’d want to sit on it, and even my first potted plant.  The plant was quite fun to do actually, if a little simplistic.  All in all it’s coming together nicely.

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Today over lunch I happened to watch a couple of documentaries by Sir David Attenborough on climate change, what is causing it and how we can help to stop it.  What was presented was quite disturbing, especially given how simple some of the remedies are.  I was stunned to hear that apparently up to 10% of the average home’s electricity bill goes to electrical items on standby.  That’s horrific.  And of course turning the central heating down by 1 degree saves money and equates to about a ton of carbon that doesn’t go into the atmosphere as a result. (more…)