KwAcKy's Konfessional |
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Nothing of interest; just mindless links to bikes Birmingham City Football Club and useless junk  
  
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30 March 2003
Silverstone race report From Valmoto website The Triumph factory's first race for 30 years proved to be a successful one when both of its brand new Supersport machines picked up valuable points in a competition that was eventually won by pre-season favourite Karl Harris. Triumph ValMoto's young rider Craig Jones acquitted himself admirably and collected seven points for his ninth place finish, while his team-mate Jim Moodie rode hard and passed the chequered flag in 13th place. Both Triumph ValMoto riders made a cautious start but soon began moving through the field. However their steady progress was halted prematurely when debris on the track from Mark Heckles' crashed Honda brought out the red flags on lap 16. Jones had been clocking consistently fast times throughout the race - often lapping at the same pace as the leaders. "Ninth place on the Triumph ValMoto Daytona 600's first time out is a good result," said Jones. "The bike was really strong through the first section and I was catching Laverty and Andrews towards the end but I made a mistake going into the chicane and was trying to claw back the time when the race got stopped. There was a lot more to come and if the race had gone the full distance the result would have been even better." Moodie was a little disappointed not to have made more of an impact on proceedings but was at the same time fully aware of the giant strides that the team has made to produce a fully-fledged Supersport race bike in an incredibly short space of time. "The harder I tried, the less progress I seemed to make," said the eight-time TT winner. "I ran off the track at one point and that was when I made up my mind to stop thinking about the race and started concentrating on how the bike felt. I had to remind myself that it is still early days for the Triumph ValMoto Daytona 600 and a few minor issues were bound to surface under race conditions. None of them were anything that can't be fixed and with the information we now have, Snetterton can't come quick enough for me." Triumph ValMoto Team Manager Jack Valentine declared himself pleased with the outcome of round one. "Of course it would be nice to be on the podium straight away but developing a championship winning bike is not an overnight task. Craig's top ten finish is a marvellous achievement and Jim has worked really hard on identifying areas for improvement. It's good to get the first race under our belts and to have both riders score points is a real bonus. There's a lot more to come from Triumph ValMoto and what we've learned this weekend will pay dividends for round two." Race result: 1. K. Harris (Honda) 22:54.507 2. J. Crockford (Honda) +0.288 3. S. Easton (Ducati) +0.681 4. L. Haslam (Ducati) +1.504 5. A. Coates (Honda) +3.452 6. T. Sykes (Yamaha) +6.118 7. S. Andrews (Yamaha) +7.316 8. M. Laverty (Honda) 11.061 9. C. Jones (Triumph ValMoto) +13.968 10. K. Murphy (Kawasaki) +14.666 13. J. Moodie (Triumph ValMoto) +27.850 Points after round one: 1. Harris 25 2. Crockford 20 3. Easton 16 4. Haslam 13 5. Coates 11 6. Sykes 10 7. Andrews 9 8. Laverty 8 9. Jones 7 10. Murphy 6 13. Moodie 3 29 March 2003
The Bluesy Five 1) Have you ever met anyone famous? If yes, who? Yep, loads. I've known some very interesting people who have been involved in film, television and music. I've spent many a Friday night in the green room at LWT, ITV and Sky. Loads of my mates have worked in music for years, so I get backstage passes or I used to when I was younger and went to gigs, I dont any more. I've had a few VIP passes for big music festivals so I've been able to hobnob with the artists. I'm not going to name names and I certainly don't kiss and tell. (Well, not on my own website I won't) ;-) 2) Have you ever appeared on stage in anything? I played a posh camel when I was at Infant School. A couple of roles in school plays at secondary. Nothing since then. 3) Ever thought about applying to be a contestant on a tv programme - or actually BEEN on one? Which one(s)? Nope, can't say that I have. 4) Can you play a musical instrument? I was decent on the violin until I was about 11, then I got the sack from my teacher for not doing enough practice. I was very good at sight reading so I felt I didn't have to! 5) Can you speak more than one language? Which? Yammer. :-) I picked up Spanish very quickly when I lived out there but I can't remember much now, just the basics, like asking for more beer and the bill! A good report from the BBC about the morale of the US troops in Iraq and a short tribute to Barry Sheene Sorry for the short posts, I've got tendonitis in my right shoulder :-( 28 March 2003
Some fun A quick quiz. Guess which one of the following was made by a hormonal teenager from the States? True Love Saddam gets Hip :-) 
Time Travel Is Here! Ok, so I'm lying or am I......? Someone has been caught dabbling on Wall Street. He made a little money. Nowt strange about that is there? Yes. Or there is when you turn $800 into $350million. The man from the future reckons he'll tell us where OBL is and how to cure aids if they let him go. Someone pass the salt. 27 March 2003
It looks like I'm not he only one who has noticed the lack of Al-jazeera on the web. The Register digs deeper. We all know that propoganda goes on, but how many people take notice the lack of consistency of the information we're spoon fed? Last night we were told that 70 tanks had broken out of Bassra. That figure increased to 120 later on. This monring, it dropped to 14 and "other military vehicles". CNN gives the impression that Iraqis are being killed by western love, the BBC is doing a decent job and appears to be balanced, but you soon notice the "information/figures/pictures supplied by" followed by an approved source or government. It's also slow to update. Reuters frequently updates but how much can be trusted? What is a boy to do? On a lighter note, the cot has been erected and Jenny the Giraffe is sat smiling at me as I type. The fat cat we call "Pudding" thinks it's great, we've made a new playground just for her. Less than 5 weeks to d-day. Apologies to Nick P btw for nicking his Blog template - cheers Nick! I'll put some links up next week. I promise. 26 March 2003
Bike Stuff A Daytona being put through its paces And some nice new clothing from Triumph Pre-season testing for the ValMoto Triumph Supersport team was continued at Donnington (home to the infamous Kwacky crash) Moodie finished in 7th and his team mate in 10th. Not bad going for a brand new bike. The first race is just days away - fingers crossed. Has Bush gone too far? I know he wants to shut down the Iraqi TV and radio to stem the tide of propoganda, but would he go as far as to shut down a website? I've tried to access the http://www.al-jazeera.com/ and http://www.aljazeera.net/ websites but without success. I'll keep trying and let you know how I get on. 24 March 2003
It's a bit old but what the heck? 
I've seen the footage of the dead American soldiers. Now I know that neither side are angels and that there will always be death and injury in war, that's inevitable. However, it is clear to me that some of those servicemen were shot in the face at point blank range. It's impossible to say whether they were shot during an engagement or when they had been captured but at least two of them have a bullet wound in the centre of the forehead. A couple of the victims had been shot several times and the bodies partially stripped. The guy in the morgue grinned as he dragged the bodies about. I just hope this comes to an end and soon. I was in the garden most of Sunday and I couldn't help but think "how many men and women would prefer to be in their gardens today rather than out there fighting a political war?" 23 March 2003
Blues 1 WBA 0 In true Blues style we left it to the last minute. Of injury time. The 4th minute of injury time. 10 seconds left on the clock to be precise. It was a dire game to be honest. Albion had 5 or 6 at the back for most of the game and they did a good job of breaking down most attacks. Blues seemed to lack any incision up front with Dugarry and Morrision still not forming the partnership Bruce hoped would bring goals. DJ played left in place of Stan which meant we had little in the way of decent crosses into the box. The first half saw little action with both Blues and Albion blazing over. Hoult did make a coupel fo decent saves but we never looked like pulling their defence apart. In the second half Morriosn was stretchered off after what appeared to me to be an injury to his shoulder. Bruce changed the formation of the team with Dugarry dropping back to what appeared to be a more productive position in midfield, with Stern John and Geoff Horsfield up front. As the game progressed Albion tired and Bruce's fitness regime paid off, allowing Blues to press forward. The goal was a scrappy affair but 3 points is always welcome. Bruce reckons we need 38 points but the way West Ham and Bolton are going, I'm not going to feel secure untl we have 40. There again, Leeds and Villa are getting draged into the mire, so this season's final game at home could be very interesting. 21 March 2003
Some interesting facts Since the American Civil War, the good old US has been involved in a conflict or invasion overseas EVERY year but one USA has 7% of the world's population - 50% of the worlds wealth The Bush family made it's money during the 30's by investing banks, banks that did their investment in Nazi Germany 16 million americans are unemployed 1 million americans are "employed homeless" It would cost the UK £670 million to convert all power sources to natural and/or renewable sources, which would see the end of nuclear, coal and oil burning power stations, which is less than the amount given by the UK government to BP to build a new oil pipeline in the middle east At the same time the US proposed an invasion of Afghanistan to liberate its people, Chevron was struggling to build a new oil pipeline in the north of the country. Since the "liberation", Chevron has been able to commence works and they are almost complete. America has today agreed to provide $10 billion to Israel to help it out of its recession. The recession has been caused by the current uprising by the people of Palestine. Makes you proud to be on the winning team, doesn't it? 14 March 2003
THE BT 5 1) Describe something that happened to you on Monday that was annoying Dunno. I didn't go to work, I didn't leave the house. So I guess having to watch daytime TV 2) Describe the tastiest morsel you had to eat on Tuesday. Erm, can't remember! 3) Describe your mood on Wednesday. Pathetic. I was very ill on Wednesday. I had a headache that felt like a sword had gone through my head and I felt sick all day. 4) Describe something that made you happy on Thursday. Easy! Dad's Lane haddock and chips! 5) Describe what you would REALLY like to be doing on Friday In the day, riding my motorbike. Maybe doing a track day or just taking a nice run out on some empty country lanes. Nice bottle of wine and a good smoke on the night, which is what I'm doing now! 12 March 2003
Long time no post and all that. I went to not so sunny Amsterdam with a few of the lads from SHA and I'm still recovering :-D so I'll jut throw in a load of links and let you get on with it. Teach yourself how to become a Pimp, with this free on-line game. Nice little piece on voice recognition software from the same on-line newpaper that tells this heartbreaking tale of a young lad's dying wish and a failed actor's plea for peace. Sorry, the page you are looking for cannot be found (this is one for fans of Hitchhiker's guide). I'm sure Southy won't mind me nicking his piccie 
Barry Sheene lost his fight with cancer this week. There were times when I got really pissed off with his "I did this" and "I invented that" style of self promotion, but there's no doubting that the guy had skill and style both on and off a motorbike. You can keep up to date on the Triumph Valmoto team on their website. The first race is the end of this month. 04 March 2003
Aston Villa 0 Birmingham City 2 We did the double. First time in 25 years I think and the first time we've done the double wihout a single goal in reply. It was never going to be the prettiest of games, local derbies never are, but tackles aimed above the knee with both feet, spitting, headbutts and heated words made the headlines. Duggary had an well struck shot superbly saved by Enkelman. That was it, the only strike on target. The game was bogged down in midfield. Then Savage did what Savage does best, he drew in a player for a foul. He had the ball and he saw Dublin out of the corner of his eye. Savage waited until Dublin was committed to his tackle, then he passed the ball, just before he got clattered. It was enough to prompt the ref to run over, just in time to see Savage and Dublin go toe to toe. Dublin gets goaded and over-reacts.  .
Instant red card. Reports said racist remarks were made, but this has since been refuted and Dublin has apologised. That not enough for you? A second Villa player got sent off for his second yellow. Gudjonsson was red-carded for a two-footed tackle on Matthew Upson nine minutes from time but that meant little as Blues were already 2 up with goals from Stan Lazaridis (no, honest, and it was a header!) and Geoff Horsfield once again making Enkelman wish he had left his boots at home. Once again, Bluenose Ron pens a crisp write up of a match The BBC Sport mentions the pitch invasion but I don't want to dwell on that. It was a night for goading. The tide is turning and it's got a blue tint to it. The down side is the injury to Nico. Late in the game he appeared to land awkwardly on ihs right leg and he had to be carried off the pitch. Damaged crucial ligaments could mean he is out until the start of next season. We had used all of our subs so Horsfield nicked Benno's shirt and stood between the sticks. No need. Villa didn't have a single shot on target all night. |
