Traffic lights everywhere.

I thought London had bad traffic, but New York definitely tops London in this department. We were recently in New York and the one thing that is blatantly obvious along every avenue or street are the amount of traffic lights present. Take 5th Avenue for example (see above). I counted 9 traffic lights in a row and they were not synchronised, which means a lot of red (mainly by the drivers) and a lot of traffic backing up.

Below is an awesome view of the Empire State Building, with historic Little Italy in the foreground, but look at all the traffic! This photo wasn’t even taken in a main road and I could see six traffic lights in a row. No wonder there is so much traffic.

Historic Little Italy – but look at all the traffic!

There are so many one way roads as well, which I would imagine add all sorts of complications, especially when one wants to change lanes or take a left or right turn. All this made worse by the big American cars.

I picked up a puncture this past week. My rear right tyre got screwed (literally). A lonely 18mm screw decided to lodge itself deep into my tyre.   There is a joke in here somewhere if I put a little more thought into this post.

Fortunately I was able to drive on the tyre without much air escaping, but had decided to take it into Kwik-fit and have them look at it.  Our local Kwik-Fit is in London Road (next to Brent School), Stone DA2 6AS,  but here is a short breakdown of events this morning.

• 8:45am – Called Kwik-Fit and explained to Matt the problem. Matt was very helpful and mentioned the tyre might be able to be repaired, but I should bring it in for a check and peace of mind. He also told me the price for a repair and new tyre. He told me I could bring in my car now.  I told him I would be there in 15 minutes.
• 9:00am -  Drove my car onto the ramp.
• 9:01am – 9:14am – Matt removed the screw from the inner wall,  unfortunately it could not be repaired, so a new tyre was put on (the same as all my other 3 month old tyres. Sad but true, we only just replaced them).
• 9:15am – Paid and drove home.
• 9:20am – Home.

I couldn’t ask for a better service. We have always had our tyres replaced by Kwik-Fit and it is for this reason alone they are the best in the business.

I logged into PKR after a 6 month hiatus from online poker and I see they have a new version 2.09, which allows one to eat and drink at the table. There is nothing like tucking into a hot dog or sipping an ice cold beer when it is your turn to play to create that little extra tension at the table. The actions are so life like and the annoyance of the other players, well priceless. There are also new chip tricks and a whole bunch of new clothes.

Check out the video showing off the new features.

Richie Sambora has a new album out called “Aftermath of the lowdown“. It was released in September 2012 so has been out  for a few months and I got it today and have been listening to it a lot.  This is his third solo album, his last album was 14 years ago so it has been a good long wait. Of course he has been busy with Bon Jovi.

Here are the lyrics to a great track, which I hope to hear on the new Bon Jovi album out in 2013. I think Jon Bon Jovi along with Richie Sambora could make this song even more awesome than it is.

I’ll Always Walk Beside You

Sometimes I’m leaving inside the madness
Where had to make it through the silence
But words lessen of curse

It’s gonna take a little practise
You gotta keep on keep madness
Living learn can let us crashing burn

When you feel alone, I’ll sing you home
I’ll be there to help you, make it through
Then your tears are gone, then we will go on
I swear there’s nothing I would do
I’ll always walk beside you

Sometimes It’s nothing to believe in
Ended up searching for a reason for live
Just believe in me
Let it rolling through the darkness
Feeling hopeless, feeling heartless
Reach out, I’ll give you all you need

When you feel alone, I’ll sing you home
I’ll be there to help you, make it through
Then your tears are gone, then we will go on
I swear there’s nothing I would do
I’ll always walk beside you

I, I’ll never get ahead of us
I, I will never leave you behind
I’ll always walk, always walk beside you

Lyrics by Richie Sambora

You should because the man talks a lot of sense.

Only a handful of people know that I prefer talk radio over a normal radio station. It is quite a strange thing to admit but there you have it. Don’t get me wrong, I love all music stations (except RNB, Jazz, soul), but there is something special about listening to others speak and LBC 97.3FM is one of London’s gems.

I particularly like the James Whale show at 4pm. James tells you how it is. He says what I think (LOL), which is incredible.

I am reading his book at the moment and it’s absolutely brilliant.

Source: LBC 97.3FM James Whale

Check out this cat. What incredible trust?

You got to love the takkies without socks, so traditional.:-)

No one seems to know either, which of the nine wives this one is?

What a brilliant match. I stayed up until 2am and it was worth it. Wow, what a match?

Source: http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/tennis/andy-murray-wins-us-open-fred-1319307