Our new friend Bill

Not a terribly good picture... but on the left is our new friend, Bill. Eunson (think, as he explained, Johnstone.) New Zealander, MD and chairman of a small basically electrical engineering firm, Motech, in Crawley, W. Sussex. Very pleasant, gentle, thinking, man. Even if he was flying to Edinburgh on Saturday to watch "the Rugby" (I'm told NZ won.)

By pure chance and Google search he'd come across my boat-conversion blog and so decided I might be able to help with his plan to make "off the shelf" diesel-electric hybrid units for boats... and so came to visit last Friday to see how our boat goes.

It did, even through the Sheepwash channel that runs to the river from the canal, against just about the fastest river flow we've ever driven through.

Upshot is that his firm is going to pay me (not fabulously, but, I think, fairly) to act as consultant for their diesel-electric project. I have to write a report of what I think are essential features to include... tricky because there's all sorts of possibly trivial-sounding things are really quite important - especially if the new unit is to be used easily by a normal boater and not a freak like me fascinated to observe all sorts of readings and neurotically check what's happening.

I've never been head-hunted for a hobby before. Well, except that my first D.Phil. offer from the Oxford nuclear physics lab (I chose teaching instead) I reckon all turned on me luckily and rapidly spotting a soldering fault in a bank of electronics equipment during a vacation job... which was not really anything to do with my vast(?) knowledge (long gone) of theoretical physics and had far more to do with my part-time hobby of fiddling with electronic circuits.

So I have an official title again, sort-of. "Consultant to Motech Control Ltd." Perhaps I should run up some headed paper. Or just remember a pleasant half-day meeting Bill... and get on with writing the damn report he wants.

Another day, another shed

Jane and I eventually cleared away our shanty-town corner of our "wood shed" (that looked so fine when I built it, too many years ago for me to care to remember) and bought and fitted this smart little garden chest - I know, it needs some weathering (it'll happen!,) too bright by half at the moment. (One advantage of owning a building site is that we had a skip to dump the debris in.)

Clearing things was curious - one toad seemed to eye me as if to say "Have you finished messing around yet - is it safe to go back under that brick?" You think I am anthropomorphising? Hah! I saw it creep back under the moment I had replaced the brick having in between tried to chase it far enough away not to get caught as I heaved the fence back behind into place and fitted bits to hold the fence in place - the toad was back to my left even as I hammered in a peg I hoped I could then use to pull the middle of the warped fence back into semblance of line....

Which actually worked quite well. The plan was that screws through the peg would pull the fence panel very nearly straight again after years of being allowed to "bow". Look at the photo forensically - the panel is darn nearly linear again! And I'd guess the small toad is back under the brick on the left... and probably the large one back on the right - one wonders if it's the same toad was there when we built the previous wood shed... it could be, they live quite long.

Curious thing, this blogging and electronic world. Long ago Jane said I should write a blog about our boat conversion to diesel-electric drive to entertain myself and in case people might be interested... so I hammered out a fairly messy blog, not very organised - organised it slightly better recently....

Thanks to an article in Waterways World some people had a look, clearly mostly didn't really get much from it since they kept asking me questions were already answered in the blog...

I had my first comment ever on it the yesterday. (Other comments had all been via email referring to it.) Somebody found it interesting... would I care to email him? I've looked back, didn't really take in the clue.... I emailed, he emailed back, would I care to advise for their project about diesel-electric hybrid drives they were developing where the relationship will be commercial? Hang on, he is asking me to be a paid consultant! But it was supposed to be a joke I should set myself up as one.. ...

But because of the blog (and perhaps he read the article although he's not said-so, yet) he's asking me if I would agree to be one!

I've no idea what to charge but I've already said "Great." I still wonder if I shouldn't just sit and contemplate this shed.

Or read AB's far more amusing blogs. Hey ho.