My Daily Banana

Photo of the Day:



 Caterpillar mullein moth, Cucullia verbasci

Such a beautiful caterpillar that will emerge into an ugly moth

Event of the Day:

01st August 1981

MTV begins broadcasting in the United States

 

The first video shown was Video Killed the Radio Star by the Buggles

Birthday of the Day:

1st August 1942

Jerry Garcia

 

Lead guitarist and founding member of the Grateful Dead

I saw the group 1970 at the Hollywood Festival, Newcastle under Lyme, but I can't remember them playing. It couldn't have been too mind blasting, because I do have many memories of other groups that played there, like: Free, Mungo Jerry, Family, Jose Feliciano

Died on this Day:

1st August 2013

Mike Hinton

 

Guitarist from San Francisco who played with Jerry Garcia and numerous other Rock Greats. He died of cancer and heart disorder at 57.

Thoughts:

 

Today I picked my wedding ring up from the jeweler's, it was getting thin at places and needed a new ring and the lug needed soldering. Eh? Wedding ring and the lug needed soldering?

Back in 1980, when Heike and I married I was still working as a roof-tiler and there was no way I could be wearing a ring at work. So, Heike (bright little thing) took my ring to the jeweler's and had it melted down and molded into a pendant; that way I could wear it around my neck.

For the first couple of years that was good, but because I had it on a gold chain the lug wore through; I changed the chain for a leather band and now it has taken twenty years to wear through again. The repair cost me EUR 26.00, something like one Euro a year; well worth its price.

In the photos you can see what I used my pendant for, I had the names of Heike and the children inscribed on it; the birthdates of the first two children also, there wasn't enough room for Lynda's birthdate. She came as a surprise parcel in 1986 xxx.

Sloe Prunus spinosa

Snowberry Symphoricarpos

Creeping Buttercup Ranunculus repens

Common Daisy Bellis perennis

The sky over Lidl is getting dark

A couple of weeks ago I took a photo from the same position,
it was dazzling,
now the weather is changing

 

 

That's it folks

See you tomorrow

 

My Daily Banana

Photo of the Day:

The wind has changed from east to west and it's bringing the clouds and with them rain

Event of the Day:

31st July 1970

Black Tot Day
 

The last day on which the Royal Navy sailors becomes its rum ration.

The rum ration named Rum Tot goes back to the eighteenth century when the sailors had a ration of a gallon of beer daily; this was too bulky to store on board so the ration was changed to half a pint of rum a day. Over the years the rum ration was slowly reduced until 1970 when the British parliament ruled, that the ration be stopped

Birthday of the Day:

 

31st July 1932

 

Ted Cassidy
 

 

I'll bet no one knows him by his name, but everyone knows him as an actor in the part of Lurch in "The Addams Family"

31st July 1965

 

J. K. Rowling
 

 

The novelist who brought reading to many children and grown-ups with her Harry Potter series of books

I haven't read one, but they must be good judging by the amount of books that were sold. The fantasy books I read were the Tolkien books which I devoured back in the seventies, before the hype that came with the trilogy filming of Lord of the Rings.

 

 

Died on this Day:

31st July 1964

 

Jim Reeves
 

 

American country singer/songwriter died while piloting his own airplane at the age of forty. Here he is singing his most popular song I Love You Because

Thoughts:

At last, a day that seems to be going my way. I've had such a down the last days, when I'm in a mood like that nothing goes right either; so my programing was destined to fail. Today, with help from my colleague I found the fault and could revise it. The help was necessary because when I get into a rut I keep looking at the missing link without seeing it, the help looks at the work from a different angle and lucky me he saw it,.

Another hour and I'm off, Heike is going to Leck to meet our little daughter Lynda. I haven't seen her for weeks so I'll be heading on to Leck myself. .

Heike and Lynda basking in the sun

Come a little closer

Tucking into cappuccino and cake

 

Main drag Leck

A bakery in Leck
I like the windows with the stucco

Acorns are growing

The Brambles also
 

Bye, see you all tomorrow

My Daily Banana

Photo of the Day:

XXX

Giant Rhubarb (Gunnera manicata):

Event of the Day:

30th July 1932

Premier of the Walt Disney cartoon Flowers and Trees

The first animated film using Technicolor

Birthday of the Day:

30th July 1947

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Mr Universe and the Terminator

30th July 1958

Kate Bush

Nutty redhead with a good voice: Running Up That Hill also very good Wuthering Heights

 

Died on this Day:

 

30th July 1977

 

Jürgen Ponto

 

German banker was murdered by the Rote Armee Fraktion (RAF)

Thoughts:
 

I've been programing two days solid, my Visual Basic program works perfectly on my machines, at work and at home. I'm so thrilled, at last (I've been working on the program, on and off, for the past two months), then I test the program on two other machines from work colleagues and it doesn't work!-((( Why not? We all have the same operating system, we all use the same Office package, but it still doesn't work. As an error message I'm told, that the program is incompatible. Why?
I've found the fault:-)) I asked a colleague today and he got me on the right road; I hadn't declared all the characters, it took a short hour and everything is fine.
If I was in a pup I would be getting the rounds in.

My Daily Banana

 

Event of the Day:

29th July 1966

Bob Dylan has a motorcycle accident in which he clams to have seriously injured himself; by the looks of things he faked the seriousness because he wanted out of a contract and needed rest after a long strenuous tour.

 

Birthday of the Day:

29th July 1981

Fernando Alonso

 

the Spanish Ferrari pilot and niggle head

Died on this Day:

29th July 1890

Vincent van Gogh

 

 

My Daily Banana

Photo of the Day:



Having money doesn't automatically mean having taste

Event of the Day:

28th July 1586

Sir Thomas Harriot introduces potatoes to England and Europe

 

Hail to Thomas!

Without him we wouldn't have any chips or crisps. Thousands of chippies would be out of work, Walkers Chips wouldn't exist; Sylvia, Frazer, Kerry and Lee would have nowhere to work. Oh dear, how many existences were built on the simple earth fruit that Thomas brought to England from the new world?

Also on this day in 1900:

Mr Louis Lassing from Connecticut, United States created the Hamburger

and created millions of jobs in fast restaurants all over the world.

Hail to Louis!

Birthday of the Day:

28th July 1907

Earl S Tupper
 

The inventor of Tupperware. What would the world be like without his plastic utensils? I wonder if his plastic beakers and bread boxes from 1907 also have a life long guarantee?

Hail to Earl!

All those evenings giving "Tupper-Parties", giving us hubbies time to follow our favourite hobbies (like having a pint at the pub); I personally want to thank you for your services.

Died on this Day:

28th July 1750

Johann Sebastian Bach
 

Classical rocker of the Baroque period

Thoughts:

My mind is blank!

I just read a post from a blog that I have been following for quite a while and the post, written by Susanne was the reflection of my dilemma, read it yourself on loving the bike.com

This is what I wrote as a reply to Suzanne's post:

I’m stuck, I want to complete my blog “My Daily Banana”, but for the life of me I can’t get my thoughts together. “Thoughts” that’s the part that is crippling my mind, it’s a part of my blog where I write about what I’m up to, been to, going to, want to. I should try your method, but then reading about your blockage has picked me up already.
Thanks Suzanne

The first handful waiting to be devoured
They tasted good



A big muddy puddle which is our natural bathing pond

 

I hope I lose the sawdust in my head till tomorrow,
writing a blog when the mind has gone blank sucks.
See you'll tomorrow
 

My Daily Banana

Photo of the Day:

 

Novenber 2004,
our holiday on Lanzatote

Event of the Day:

27th July 1586

Sir Walter Raleigh brings the first tobacco into England from Virginia

They should have burned him at the stake on a pile of tobacco, but then it wasn't until the industrialization that cigarettes became available in masses to everyone. 

The industry didn't stop at that; they put substances into the tobacco to make it burn evenly, to prevent the cigarette from extinguishing, to make them taste cool (i.e. menthol, whiskey and such rubbish), to make them milder. They put filters into the cigarettes and told their customers, that the dangerous tar and nicotine would be filtered out; in the advertisements they suggested, that smoking was cool and grown up. 

Let's say, the industry did everything to make more people smoke more cigarettes. 

There should be a law that makes the tobacco industry pay for all the medicinal costs caused by smoking, and not only for the active but also for the passive smokers.

Birthday of the Day:

27th July 1944

Bobbie Gentry

Country singer from the United States. 

I remember in the sixties she had a TV series, a music program in which she sang. Friday evenings I watched it and dreamt of America the land of the music. Hard to imagine really; I was a hard rock fan and the songs she sang were country and western. Her most famous recording was "Ode to Billie Joe" from 1967.

Died on this Day:

27th July 2003

Bob Hope

The British born American comedian died at 100 years.

Thoughts:

My car may be small, but I don't need more. It takes me where I want, I can keep my Akubra on my head so the inside room is enough.
Last year we went on holiday to Berlin and the Isle of Usedom; there were two pushbikes on the back and luggage for two weeks  plus us in the car; so you can't say the cars too small.
Mostly, I'd say 99% of the time I'm sat alone in the car so why pay for more seating? It only means driving more weight and air through the country side. 

It wasn't cheap, it cost me just over 20K, but what did I get for my money a bodywork that won't rust (plastic), automatic transmission, headlights and wipers, it has a/c, convertible top and does 54 miles to the gallon. Beat that Fraser!

I drive 90 kilometers a day to and from work, that's 56 miles; that means at a price of EUR 1,50/litre petrol I have a weekly cost of around EUR 35 plus another five to ten for private use. On top of that there's EUR 400 to 500 a year inspection and tire costs. When I think of it; a car is expensive: on top of my list there is the loss in value to think about and in the first four years it's at least two-thirds of the new price, so in my case too much!!!:-((

Another four or five years and I'll get rid of it; I just need the car for commuting to work and when that episode in my live is over the car will be dispensable. Then I'll get a Vespa for us!

That was funny; I went from praising my vehicle to damning it in one paragraph. That's what happens when analyzing something too intensely.

My last bike,
I bought it in 2004 and sold it shortly after to equipt my firm

This is the bike I sold to buy the 2004 model Yamaha R1
It had quite a bit of power too; 150 hp
I once chased a BMW on the autobahn and passed it doing 270 km.p.h.
Speed was my passion, not the high speed on the autobahn, but corner speed (I've got a few scars to show it to)

 Now I settle for the Smart Car with its 84 hp. I drive an average speed of around 80 on the country roads; that's quick enough for me.