The single thing which causes most problems for the WordPress users I know is uploading and positioning images in their posts. Hopefully I have found a solution which will make things quite a bit easier – it’s called “Freebie Images” and is a WP plugin – you can get it here.

I just installed it and it shows up nicely as a panel in the WP “Add New Post” dashboard. From there it’s just a case of:

• Searching for a suitable picture from the included stock library
• Dragging its thumbnail from the panel into the post
• Finetuning the result

Up at the top of this post is a pic chosen after searching for “F1″ and dragging my choice into position.

So far it looks a very useful tool – I’ll report back after a few more tests….

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The incident mentioned was fatal for 2 local teenagers and others have been injured. This is not the first time there has been a serious crash along Beaper Chute (between Brading and Ryde – more specifically, between the Harding Chute junction and North to the Tesco junction the Blue pin on the map shows the approx. location), but I drive along there almost daily and cannot see what the cause could be. The road has recently been resurfaced but we had incidents there before that; it was very cold and perhaps a bit icy but again that’s not uncommon; there is a bend in the road but it’s nothing serious.

What is the cause of these accidents?

]]> http://www.briancurd.com/archives/451/feed 2 http://www.briancurd.com/archives/423 http://www.briancurd.com/archives/423#comments Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:26:49 +0000 Brian http://www.briancurd.com/?p=423

Driving at this time of year, particularly in the dark, is not always easy.

Back in about 1935, a gentleman named Percy Shaw (later OBE) invented and started manufacturing the first “Cat’s Eyes” which have saved many lives on the roads – but did you know that you can do your bit to make the Cat’s Eye even more useful by cleaning them while you are driving?

It’s easy, just drive over them from time to time! Built in to the base is a resevoir designed to hold a small amount of rainwater which washes the Eye every time it is depressed. (This only really applies to the original design pictured above)

Obviously, you should only stray to the middle of the road when it is safe to do so, but please give it a try and see the results the next time you drive along the same stretch of road – a few bumps won’t hurt you or your car!.

The garden house is now completed, I just need to connect the electricity up. That of course means finishing the rewire in the garage and pulling a shiny new armoured cable the length of the garden. Fortunately there is a duct left by the previous occupant, this is a bit small but I’m hoping to use the old 2.5mm cable to pull through the armoured replacement. I may even put a network cable in there too, just in case we ever decide to connect the building to the outside world fully.

My earlier post regarding the Toyota was perhaps a little premature as it has developed a horrible grumbling noise from the front nearside when under load. Today’s diagnosis is a failed/failing CV joint so that needs replacing soon… in fact it’s booked for Thursday.

Along the same lines; I had a rather eventful game of golf on Saturday and not at all for the right reasons! I use a rather old set of Ping Eye2, Beryllium Copper (BeCu) irons, these have served me very well for 4 or 5 years since I bought them and had new, extended shafts and grips fitted. It seems those new parts are wearing out, all at the same time! On Saturday the shaft of both my 4 iron and then the 5 broke off at the hozzle leaving me to play almost half the round with nothing more than a 6 iron (I don’t carry any woods). Surprisingly, while I didn’t score very well, the lack of clubs had very little impact. The worst part is that I really won’t be happy using the clubs until they are reshafted and gripped; it’s far to dangerous to carry on with them as they are. Unfortunately BeCu irons can’t be worked on by just anyone as Beryllium is now considered to be a dangerous material if it is filed etc. The dust produced is apparently harmful to human health. Oh well, off they go to Ping for a service…

Thanks to an understanding pro at the club, I’ll be able to borrow a set until mine are repaired, thanks Peter!

Back in December 2002, I bought a 1994 (M) Toyota Carina E GLi automatic estate car for £1750.

It was a real bargain at the time, as apart from fairly high mileage (132,000), it was in great condition and all those miles, pretty much, were “up to temperature” motorway miles.

Since then I have serviced it myself – simply changing the oil, filters and from time to time the spark plugs and it’s now done 168,500 odd miles. At first there were a few problems, not with the car itself but with a cheap set of tyres fitted by the previous owner – after two explosive punctures I replaced the lot with a better known make.

So, since I bought the car, the only things that have gone wrong, excluding consumables, are:

1. Water pump failure
2. Front shock absorbers worn out
3. Cracked front number plate
4. One rear electric window mechanism broken
5. Two CV joint boots split
6. Sunroof leak

I reckon the total repair cost has been just over £1000 which equates to about £200 per annum! and today, apart from a CV boot (and that’s being fixed tomorrow) it passed it’s MOT again for the 6th time!

The Carina E GLi, whilst not the most exciting, is certainly the best car I have ever owned, thank you Toyota!