If you won two free plane tickets, where would you go?
Back to the sunny welcoming arms of the good people of Southern Cyprus.
There is simply no where else I’d rather go.
Peace.
Southern Cyprus…every time
That’s my name
What’s the story behind your nickname?
Well, it’s there for the world (or the one or two people who occasionally pop by) to see at the foot of every post I create on this site.
It’s a rework of my surname and I’ve been called it for donkeys years. Everyone at work, even my boss uses it. I guess my first name, Dave is quite popular and there are a lot of us about, so the use of the nickname is highly individual and singles you out in particular.
I even have it on the football shirts I wear along with the number 65.
It’s me.
Hi, I’m Balders. Nice to meet you 👌
Do whatever you fancy
What strategies do you use to maintain your health and well-being?
Strategy? What a load of old tosh. if you have a strategy for your health and well being than you need to give your head a wobble as you’re over thinking it.
This is what the dictionary states:
Dictionary
Definitions from Oxford Languages ·
noun
noun: strategy; plural noun: strategies
- 1. a plan of action designed to achieve a long-term or overall aim.”time to develop a coherent economic strategy”Similar:master plan grand design game plan plan of action plan policy proposed action scheme blueprint programme procedure approach schedule tactics set of tactics
- 2. the art of planning and directing overall military operations and movements in a war or battle.”he was a genius when it came to military strategy”Similar:the art of war military science military tactics generalship
- a plan for directing overall military operations and movements.”non-provocative defence strategies”
Here’s what I do though:
- I eat what I want
- I drink plenty of water
- I sleep when my body tells me to
- I get drunk occasionally
- I do what I want, when I want
- I don’t suffer fools
- Don’t do social media
- Don’t follow MSM
- Enjoy life
Not much of a list to follow but basically do what you want and don’t follow the advise of a fool such as me, or some other numpty on social media who claims to know the answers to life. ( A dimfluencer )
However I’m still here after almost six decades, so I must be doing something right.
Happy days all….
Bambino kick the goal football game
What the listing stated:
We have tried a few batteries but the unit does not power up so beig sold for spares.
EBay
I obtained this for a very reasonable price considering the amounts being charged these days for similar battery operated 1970’s items.
This unit was assembled in 1979. From initial pictures a few things are pleasing. It looks fairly tidy, the battery cover is supplied, there appears to be no corrosion and the labels appear intact. However actual delivery and when it appears in my own hands may prove otherwise so I’ll await its arrival to give a final judgement.
Well the item has arrived and considering it’s 45 years old it appears to have had a good life. A few small knocks and scars, no more than what you would expect….lets get some batteries in and see what occurs.
Inside is amazing, no LED screen just a tube that looks like an old Cathode Ray tube that you’d have on a TV. (Actually known as a Vacuum fluorescent display) Thank god this isn’t damaged as it would be game over. Wiggling a few contacts and I can hear the speaker crackling, closer inspection shows some cold solder joints so I quickly reflow these and it all springs into life. Excellent.
I’ve decided to take it all apart and give the parts a good deep wash in some soapy water.
I’ve cleaned the two switches with a contact cleaner, I’ve cleaned the screen membrane and all buttons and their attached membranes as well.
The whole shell has also been cleaned in all the nooks and crannies, and it looks superb.
Now assembled it is in full working order, everything works as it should and the display is bright. The batteries are a tight fit but that’s not so much of an issue. Once you get into the game it’s quite addictive as single player mode is a right challenge as the computer is a great goal keeper 😂
Again it’s been quite a simple fix but an enjoyable one. It’s always good to see something that is about to be disposed of brought back to life and saved from the landfill. I paid a total price of £12.71GBP for this unit, and items of a far worse condition are currently selling in excess of £40GBP on EBay. However this is going into our games box in the garden pub for use by the family, especially the kids who I hope will appreciate the height of technology we had in the 70s.
MB – Computer Battleship
Here’s what the listing stated:
VINTAGE COMPUTER BATTLESHIP MB ELECTRONICS GAME FOR SPARES / REPAIRS
APPEARS TO BE COMPLETE BUT THE GAME IS NOT WORKING WHEN TESTED WITH BATTERIES HENCE BEING SOLD FOR SPARES / REPAIRSEbay
And here’s some info around it:
In 1977, Milton Bradley released a computerized Electronic Battleship, a pioneering microprocessor-based toy, capable of generating various sounds. Electronic Battleship was designed by Dennis Wyman and Bing McCoy.
Wikipedia
Now this is another toy from my childhood that I had envy over. This game is the one that coined the phrase, “ You sank my Battleship” as seen on many TV ads towards the end of the 70s. This time my nephew was brought one of these games for his birthday back in the late 70s when I was about 12 years old. I’ll be able to give a more accurate date of the unit when I get to see the main board inside. I suspect I’m looking at something around the 1979 timeline. Man this toy was the bees knees, again early computer technology at its finest. Here I am approaching the sixth decade of my life and I’m having another menopausal moment just as I did in this post a few months back: Big Trak CE3962 restoration
This is going to go in the games box in our garden pub / Man cave. I’m confident I’m going to get it working. I’m not too bothered if there are any small parts missing as there seems to be plenty of spare parts available online.
Let’s have a look at what has turned up.
Well I’m impressed. This game is in its original box with original packaging and is in pristine condition. It comes with the original instruction manual and all parts listed in the contents section are there. In fact there are more of the red and white pegs than required so to be honest it looks as if I have bagged a bargain here.
I’ve paid a grand total of £19:96 GBP for this game and that includes the postage, by far the best price that was on offer for any similar advertised games that I could see at the moment of purchase. Considering this game is now somewhere between 45-47 years old, a bargain you might say, if I can get it working.
I’m thinking that all the capacitors on this board as a matter of good practice should be removed and replaced. Let’s face it they are almost the same age as me, could fail at anytime (if they haven’t already) and are as cheap as chips so what’s the point of just replacing a singular one when there are only two of them on the board. I think I will do this, test them all and report back.
I know that this unit is a 70s creation but it is interesting to get some facts on capacitors and problems that they have caused over the years, especially during the 90s and early 2000s. See this old post on capacitor plague: Capacitor plague
I have removed the board and there seems to have been some pre work done where all the wires are relayed through a connector block. This was a dangerous situation as the work that had been done diverted both negative and positive leads through this dodgy connector to the negative side of the board, causing a short that caused the batteries to heat up to a point where I thought they were going to explode as they were so hot. You may as well of just connected the two batteries together…childish mistake. I was testing for voltages and was suspicious that I was getting no readings, just as well I went straight to the battery when I did. Lesson learned for me.
I have checked the speaker is working, this is a 32ohm speaker and it was indicating 31ohm so there were no issues there. I have removed the two capacitors and checked them and they are both within tolerance, hence I will leave these in place.
The batteries are separately wired on this board. The two negative wires go to the negative side and the positive wires go to the positive side, straight forward wiring, I don’t know why the previous clown wired it as he did. These four wires now soldered in place with new leads and connections allow me to attach the batteries and check voltages, all is good and reading as it should.
I clean all the switches with contact cleaner, I clean the board with IPA and clean all the contacts. A good suction and polish of the frame and all is good.
I can confirm the board indicates that this unit is week 24 of 1979 as per the writing on the main board. That puts this particular unit at 45 years old. Will it work.
Hell yeah it does!
Main switch into the on position and the annoying sonar sound kicks in, my dog leaves the room as it’s annoying him, to me I have just been transported back to my childhood. It’s brilliant.
I collar the wife into a game, I have to teach her how to program it and it works perfectly. Every sound is there, it’s noisy repetitive and computer programming at its absolute most basic level. And it’s mine.
It’s going down our garden pub to be used by the youngsters and adults alike. I think the kids will love it due to its primitive technology. They’ll learn from it.
Another piece of my past saved from landfill, and it will be put to good use. Just don’t trust any mods or fixes done by others, don’t inherit a fire risk. Check check check.
And enjoy.
A little break away part three
Our last day today was a hot one. Here in sunny Broadstairs it hit a balmy 28 degrees so I suspect summer has now officially been and gone.
We have a family wedding up north in about seven weeks and I’ve been hanging around in getting a new suit, as the only one I seem to have that fits now is the one used for funerals. Probably not good to turn up at a celebration wearing that I guess. No I’ve been good and got myself a nice new three piece one that should do the job, I’m very happy with it and the wife has also given her seal of approval so I suspect for once, the boys done good!
Whilst we were shopping we came across this strange sign. I know Apple have brought out the iPhone, iPad, iWatch etc I’m just curious to know what this is:
I’m wondering, does it tell the time or stream the internet? The mind boggles. Do I need one or shall I stick with what I have….oooerrr missus.
That aside we’ve had a lovely day just walking around the seafront people watching. Tonight we have been out to celebrate a 50th Birthday at Sittingborne dog track, otherwise known as Central Park stadium.
12 races, a lovely dinner and some alcohol free drinks as yours truly was driving. Spent a little, lost a little, didn’t come out any better off. Gambling is a mugs game, thank god I don’t do it that often. I don’t really know what I’m doing, maybe that’s the problem. Anyway it was fun and good to meet up with distant family.
So I sit here perusing the past week and what a fantastic time we’ve had. The driving is by far the worst part and by tomorrow afternoon I will have racked up almost 800 miles, and on Uk roads that isn’t fun. However we’ve made memories, spent time with the family and seen friends we have not seen in a while. So the inconvenience of driving pales into insignificance considering what we have done.
I’m looking forward to the next get together in about 7 weeks from now. I’m just not looking forward to the last leg of driving from Kent to the East Midlands tomorrow.
But I’m sure it will all be worth it.
A little break away Part two..
We’ve finished our small break away in the Devon countryside and taken a long and protracted drive across the south of England to the garden of England. Kent.
We are here to attend a surprise 50th birthday celebration, and thank god we are not doing anything tonight as I’m absolutely cream crackered (Slang for Knackered). Britains highways are crumbling away and to be honest they are not fit for purpose. An allegedly “fast route” of 250 miles should have taken 4hrs and 55 mins, so we finally arrived at our destination 7hrs and 30 mins later. Awful, and a bloody embarrassment to this island as are all forms of transport we operate in this country. It really is a pathetic state of affairs.
Anyway that aside the last couple of days in Devon were beautiful. I saved a baby rabbit from the attention of a wild cat, our beautiful best friend (our dog Alf) even though extremely ill loved the time with his mate Herbie, they played together and brought smiles to our faces, tears to our eyes and love to our hearts, as anyone who knows Alf, knows this is not expected with his illness, it was lovely to see the old Alf. if only temporarily. He’s a beautiful soul, not an angry bone in his body. Just a gorgeous little dog.
We’ve headed off to Kent now whilst Alf has headed back to the East Midlands in the company of my Brother and Sister in law who know how to look after him and how to treat his illness. We will be back with him in a couple of days.
Now in Kent we’ve booked in at our hotel that is a lot less luxurious than the farmhouse in Devon, but comfortable all the same. A quick visit to my Sisters for a Coffee and whilst sitting in her back garden we get dive bombed by a juvenile Seagull on its first flight. But he seems unable to get airborne so his parents start to dive bomb us in the garden, protecting their young I suspect.
So what with all the chaos that has prevailed, with all the noise and aerial activity we have decided to retreat indoors to leave them to it. Hopefully they’ll be able to get junior airborne once again.
Back to the hotel as tiredness has silenced me and I need some rest. Tomorrow we are off to the dog racing in Sittingbourne for a meal and some light entertainment. Hopefully there will be no further animal shenanigans.
Peace to you all.
Baked beans on toast.
What foods would you like to make?
In my eyes best meal on the planet. Quick, easy and even us blokes can make it. A meal in 5 mins.
Sorted
Enjoy your day
A little break away
Not been answering the standard sometimes mind numbing questions that WP throws out on a daily basis as I’m currently enjoying some time away in and around the coast of Devon. Family time, good food and drink and company and a few nice little walks away from it all on my own some.
I’ve been swimming and taken loads of photos, here are a selection below.
We’ve brought our dog Alf with us as it’s probably the last holiday he’ll have with us due to his illness. He’s thoroughly enjoying it and tiring him self out constantly. It’s lovely and we are all enjoying our time with him. Time is precious.
I’ll return to normal operation when we get back if I can be arsed. Having too much of a good time.
Have a pleasant day everyone.
That’s all folks
List 10 things you know to be absolutely certain.
- You will be born
- You will live a life
- You will be taxed for everything
- You will make good choices
- You will make bad decisions
- You will experience deep joy
- You will experience excruciating pain
- You will grieve
- You will love
- You will die
You choose your direction in life. Make it good.
Peace to all.
Foxes Den 
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