Engine Punk

I've been welding up my van in the workshop recently so the book publishing activities have taken a bit of a back seat. This is awkward right now because at this point I should be doing all sorts of promo stuff about my publishing activities. The website needs updating and I want to make more videos with the new software I've got. But my old van needs me and I quite enjoy forming new panels. I'd much rather it didn't rust at all and have various plans to make sure that it doesn't. You'll be able to read more about those on my Engine Punk blog in due course. I'd much prefer to be getting on with more creative stuff in steel. And in print. I enjoy bringing stuff back from the dead, though, and I'd feel lost without a van. It's so useful and a great facilitator. The back of this van will be the back of the van from which I'll be selling my books and when I'm rich and famous it'll be worth a fortune. So, you see, it's really all part ...

There hasn't been much mention musical content on this blog recently but this is for a very good reason. True to the do-it-yourself anti-establishment philosophy that underpins (some would say undermines) the Engine Punk ethos, I'm having a go at making music myself. I haven't mentioned this before because - whisper it - I'm not actually very good at it yet but I have played in public to a bunch of very supportive friends. Somehow, at Newquay Tretherras School, they gave us music lessons without actually teaching us any music. I never learned to read music or understood musical structure. Music has played a big part in my life for many, many years and I particularly appreciate live music and still like to dance whenever I get the chance, even though at times it seems socially unacceptable to do so now that I am 45 years old. As the years went by, the feeling grew that I lacked something with regard to music. I knew what I liked and often heard tunes in my head, espe...

I first heard of Terry Pratchett when his first Discworld novel The Colour of Magic was read out as the book of the week on Woman's Hour. This must have been in 1984. What struck me then was his beathtaking imagination. Could magic ever have a colour? If only wizzards (note deliberate mis-spelling) can see the octarine glow of magic, or taste its tinny smell in their mouths, does this make them the supreme synesthetes? Since then, Pratchett has added regularly to the Discworld series and he's also found time to create the Digger series, known as the Bromeliad Trilogy . One of the great attractions of Terry Pratchett's work were the covers designed by Josh Kirby . Right from the start, the Discworld books had a distinct identity that could be spotted from across a busy bookshop. Kirby's illustrations became synonymous with Pratchett's stories and I think this great partnership had a lot to do with the success of the series. Whoever set up this partnership rea...

Sad that this very rare car got so far down the restoration path but then progress faltered. At least it got moved on to someone who might get it together properly. I spotted this on eBay yesterday -- it sold today for £300. The Austin Allegro Equipe is the rarest of all Austin Allegro production variants and earned notoriety as being the Allegro that had "Vroom!" As far as I know they were all in the silver and featured a rather fetching go faster stripe in orange and red. All Allegro Equipes had the 1750 cc engine and five-speed box. Those alloy wheels you see were also unique to the car. I have no idea how many Allegro Equipes were made but there can't be many survivors and I really hope this one has found a good home. If ever an Allegro was to become collectable, the Equipe is the most likely. The Vanden Plas 1750 may be posh but it doesn't have "Vroom!" Forget about folding down picnic tables and a burr walnut dashboard that really is as good as th...

I've had answer from my scrap buddy Rob about flattie power outputs. Here's what he had to say. Hi Ginger! The 3.6 21 stud developed 80 bhp and the 3.9 mercury 24 stud 95 bhp. I guess with Offy heads and twin carbs you should be up to about 150 bhp. Doesnt sound a lot but its all torque....... Hope this helps.... Toodle pip! Binky I should explain that both our given names are Robert but when we were riding Rob's Triumph sidecar in the Land's End Trial it became too confusing in the middle of the night and by morning we were Binky and Ginger. And don't forget - torque is never cheap.

My trusty old laptop is no longer so trusty. After switching on and the appearance of all the menus, neither the wireless mouse and touch pad work. It doesn't respond to any of the keys on the keyboard, eitehr. I think it's something to do with the McAfee Security system. There is a limited period of time when the mouse does work erratically and I can click on some of the icons but as soon as the McAfee symbol appears everything grinds to a halt. This Acer laptop is coming up to 3 years old but, as you can see, I have used it so much in that time that I've worn away the silver finish on the leading edge. I added numerous pieces of software to read to allow me to build my own website and create my own videos. I also added a PCMCIA card and a wireless mouse and keyboard. But about this time last year it was apparent that I had found the limits of what this machine could do so I replaced it with my desktop. It was still useful to have the laptop around that, in addition to...

 I know that I keep going on about it but I'm still very excited about the look of The Wormton Lamb. A large batch from the printer has arrived here at Anarchadia Publishing and soon I can start sending them out. Although two boxes full may not sound much, when I look at them I can't help but think about what it must be like to have a whole garage full. That would have been the result if I'd had a conventional print run. This is the first batch of pre-publication copies of The Wormton Lamb and I'm going to have to think very carefully about to whom I send them. Several obvious recipients are the national libraries for England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Every book that has an ISBN must by law have a copy lodged with each of these national libraries. It seems like an expensive business at the time that is a consequence of having an ISBN. Personally, I think the benefits of having an ISBN outweigh the costs of sending out library copies but I know some ...