Mazda 6 2.2 Diesel Sport Demonstrator

I am currently in the market to choose a new company car, which is an important decision, as I have to keep it for 2 years and pay car tax on it. So my current list of potentials are as follows

• Mazda 6 2.2 Sport
• VW Passat (Saloon or Estate)
• Seat Exeo ST
• Skoda Octavia vRS
• Audi A3 S Line Convertible

The first of the cars available for demonstration was the Mazda 6. First impressions is very good from the outside, but on the inside it is not a technologically advanced as my ‘08 Titanium X Mondeo.

It was delivered to Reading, and I drove it home to Bristol! The ride was excellent, firm and comfortable and the power from the 180 bhp engine was noticeable over my Mondeo.

Pairing the phone/iPod with bluetooth on the other hand was less succesful! You have to bloody stop the car to achieve it, so we pulled up in Reading services to pair the HTC HD2 (running Android) and my iPod 2G Touch…. alas the bloody iPod wouldn’t connect so we were left on the HTC… I only had 5 songs on mine Luckily my M4 compatriot had his HTC with loads of songs on it! We were wire”less” for Sound!

To be fair the BOSE sound system installed was a let down…. and I’d left my cable in my Mondeo to connect the  iPod using the AUX socket!

One thing worth mentioning was the blind spot system installed in the Mazda, if a car is either side of you, for example on the motorway and going faster than you then it warns you with a very visible light on each sides wing mirror on the inside, if you then try and indicate it beeps like crazy. This is to stop cars who are  undertaking/overtaking you being missed, and it works really well when crawling along the M4 on a Friday afternoon.

So above we have the not so high tech centre console with audio system, personally this is where I believe the car is lacking.

Look at the orange LCD type display, there’s just not enough info on it! I have a 6” colour touch screen in my Mondeo!

The drivers dials are quite smart, again lacking the HMI type of display missing, just simple orange bits again.

The temperature controls are massive, but its easy to adjust so no points deducted for this size. You can see the enormous heated seats switches below the 3 control knobs.

A close up of the very bland stereo system and just as dull panel display.

The front interior lights are massive, but theres no sunglasses compartment like in my Mondeo.

The Start Stop button

Switches to disable parking sensors/rear view monitoring sensors.

The front door panel, sporting the BOSE speaker

The remainder of the pictures are from the outside, and shows the car off. Still can’t believe I was sent a new car to test drive that has a number plate that looks like VOLVO!

Will do a summary of the car’s loan on Monday when it is returned.

Safe driving!

PS3 Operation Updates

Ok, so since the last post things have moved on in PS3 world!

You now no longer need to LV2 patch, instead a sys patch is included in MultiMan v1.14.00

So now all you need to do is install MultiMan and it will patch on demand

Goto psgroove.com and get the PS3 Game Update downloader application from there, it only works with the external USB hard drive though!

It will scan your disk and then check for any game updates, which it will automatically download in a separate folder for you.

Once this is complete move the .pkg files into the root of your USB device and away you go… install via XMB…

Simples?

Going For It! Moving From PS3 OFW v3.41 to CFW KMEAW’S v3.55

Ok, its been a long time coming on my PS3…. but tonight I am going to bite the bullet and dive into the world of Custom Firmware on the PS3!

I have my existing PS3 slim 120gb at version 3.41 of the official Sony firmware, this is to allow me to deliver the homebrew payload via my USB programmable dongle.

I currently programme the latest payload onto the dongle via Windows 7 and USB (the old girl is shown below!)

Then with the power fully disconnected, I the plugin the PS3 and press the Power button followed immediately by the Eject button.

This causes the PS3 to freak out and then allows the payload to be delivered via USB!

Once delivered you can run homebrew apps…..

Anyway, that was then! This is now!

The need for the dongle is gone, the need for v3.41 is gone (as Sony fixed the vulnerability in v3.50 onwards).

Now we have custom firmware! This is all due to a bunch of super clever hackers including Geohotz, failoverfl0w to name just a couple.

So tonight I will update my PS3 firmware with v3.55, but it will end up being custom firmware!

The steps I have taken (not my own) are all available on the www.ps3hax.net website, I suggest you do some reading first

• Download and install the official Sony v3.55 firmware (regardless if you are running v3.41 or any patched firmware)
• Remember the Sony firmware needs to be in a folder called PS3\UPDATE on the memory stick for it to be seen! Nice on Sony!
• Once the update has loaded (it will take a while to do so) you need to generate the PS3 Custom Firmware
• Again all the files you need are on the website already mentioned, but if you like you can download a pre-patched file from the internet. Just make sure your MD5 checksums are as follows

Original v3.55 FW PUP md5 before patching: ca595ad9f3af8f1491d9c9b6921a8c61
Patched v3.55 PUP md5 after patching:      2be5e87a22bf1e7f48e98fcabd38977b

• Delete the PS3UPDAT.PUP file off the memory stick
• Rename the patched file from PS3CFW.PUP to PS3UPDAT.PUP
• Place in the same PS3\UPDATE folder
• Go to System Update under Settings again and select”Update via Storage Media”
• You should get the following screen

• Install the firmware! Or should I say “custom firmware”!

• Off it goes and installs the package again… much the same as the v3.55 official update
• Once this is complete and rebooted, verify firmware version
• Install the latest Lv2 payload package, again this can be found on the ps3hax website
• Install your favourite backup manager
• Depending on the backup manager you may need to run the LV2 package after every boot, you may not, as it depends on the BM or homebrew app you are running.

All went well for me…. very pleased at the results for the moment.

Todays Random Photos

Here’s a selection of photos taken today whilst out and about at Bristol Zoo…

This spider was huge! It was walking across the wall on the outside of the Twilight World, I had to take a picture!

It might be a meal, but it’s no bloody deal that’s for sure! £20 for two frozen shitty pizzas and coleslaw (with 4 drinks!)… rip off, absolute rip off!

They charged £1.80 for a bottle of Diet Pepsi in the zoo (500ml), that 200% + on the price in the supermarket, daylight fucking robbery!

Here is some bird I got a shot of, it was quite happy to let me get quite close to it.

A little Robin came and sat on the bench whilst I was there, I tried my best to get my camera out and take a shot without upsetting it, I just about got away with it.

9.5 Months Between Coats :-) I Think Its Dry Now!

Ok, the 3rd bedroom….

Now I started painting the skirting board in March 2010, undercoat and primer, followed by 1st coat of Dulux gloss.

Then I decided to let the paint dry properly before the next coat, trouble it is was a little longer than expected. In fact to be honest it was today!

So that’s 9.5 months nearly, and during that time I have discovered the magic of Dulux Once Gloss, its amazing, no need for a second coat! Well certainly not for me as I had already painted it with Dulux Professional Gloss once (in March!).

So I hooked my iPod up to a 2.1 speaker system and rocked whilst painting! God knows what next door thought when I was signing Chas ‘n’ Dave at full voice amongst many other rock tracks and classic songs.

1st picture - Check out that shine off the repainted skirting

2nd and 3rd picture – Head board from new double bed for any guests we may get!

4th picture – There she is, the all signing all dancing Dulux Once One Coat Gloss!! Thank you Dulux!!

 

Dave Gets Off To a Flying Start!

So with 2011 here, we decided to goto Severn Beach for a bit of a quick session. It was freezing, and I mean freezing cold!

There was no wind which was bizarre, but all my gear formed a thick frost on it, something I’d never seen before in fishing trips!

Anyway, as usual me and Neil blanked magnificently, but Dave managed a nice solid 3 for the evening to get ahead in the league!

Oh and checkout the fishing suit!! Nice one Dave, now we can all keep warm and safe on those dark nights!

All Hail The New KinG……… Dave Thurlow Fishing Champion 2010

A big round of applause to Dave for officially winning the league of most fish caught during 2010!
He takes the crown from Neil, who won the 2009 season!
He caught 25 fish for the year, so well done mate….
We move forward into 2011 and let’s see who can take Dave’s crown from him…

I got the largest catch of the year, although I didn’t get to weigh it as the bloody thing wriggled its way off the line onto the beach and then back into the water! It was a dirty great eel! Probably 3lb in weight!