I have come to realise that having a CD and DVD boxset is quite a cool thing. When you play it on your computer it doesn’t pixalate or need weird codecs to work. Oh, and its not normally illegal to own a CD or DVD.

Some (read much) of my music collection was not strictly mine – it had been collated over the years from genuine friends, and some not quite so genuine ‘friends’ on file sharing networks, most notably DC++ whilst on campus at university.

So the time had come for me to delete all the music that was not mine. The issue was forced when I needed to formatting my desktop hard drive, and not being bothered to fill 25 DVD’s with my collection that I never listened to or watched.

It pained me to do it. All those simpsons episodes and films, all that music, but I guess it was the right thing to do. My hard drive is much ligher for it, as is my concience – But now I must start to buy some of the stuff I liked.

I have added a music and video section to my wishlist to try to list the stuff that I want, but If you have any ideas of music that I should buy & try, please tell me!

Today we had the deadline for our project plans. I thought my was fairly good in the end – short and sweet, but it had everything it needed in it. In order for the accreditation of the degrees to work properly, me and John need to have distinct projects, or at least well defined roles within a joint project.

Therefore it has been decided for us to work separately up until our final design – then we will bring our ideas back together and build one design, hopefully encompassing good aspects of each design.

Today was also the deadline for the risk assessments for the project to be submitted. I submitted three: vdu safety, workshop hazards and prototype testing issues.

When I was much younger, I really wanted a trumpet. I saved up my hard-earned cash for a while until I could afford a basic trumpet and eventually bought a lump of correctly twisted brass.

Over the next year or so I had lessons through school, but was never disciplined enough to keep up the practice I should have done at home. The teacher soon disappeared, and I was left with a lack of motivation to play and noone to point me in the right direction.

Occasionally I would get my trumpet from its case, oil its valves and have a blow. I didn’t understand sheet music, and all the peices I played in my lessons had the notes pencilled in below them. However, I do have some basic sense of tune and so could work out the sequence of notes in songs that I was familiar with – mainly Christian worship songs. I would write the notes down on scraps of paper and leave them in my trumpet case.

Over time and occasional playing, my sense of tune became better, and I began to be able to play tunes I was familar with without having to write them down. Just thinking about the next note enabled me to start to ‘play by ear”: Is it higher or lower than the current one? is it a lot different? does it sound like a natural note in the current key?

I have by no means cracked playing by ear, but I am often able to run through a song that I am familar with and get the basic tune, so that anyone guessing would be able to tell what the song is.

When I first came to uni I decided that I wanted a keyboard. They looked easy to play – there is no blowing involved, its just like typing on a computer keyboard, right? My sister in law had just got a new one, and so I inherited an old Yamaha.

Like on the trumpet, I became familiar with the notes and could play melodies to lots of songs which would at least be recognisable, and then didn’t bother looking into it any further. Numerous times I have attemted to understand chords on the keyboard, but my left hand often doesn’t do as its told, and even if it did my brain would not know what to tell it to do.

After my trumpet has sat there for so long doing nothing, I have decided it is time for action – I have joined the beginners brass band at uni. Over the next few weeks hopefully I will remember how to blow through the mouthpeice and have some vauge recollection of the fingering.

Me and John sat down and discussed many of the ideas about bikes that we thought were interesting, some that were less interesting and some that were pretty wacky. Here I have explained a few of them.

Improved Lights
We discussed making bike lights bigger, brighter, lighter in weight, an integral part of the bike, difficult to steal and easy to charge up. The legality of flashing lights was discussed, as was having two front and rear lights. Experiments could possibly be carried out to see what flashing pattern is most noticeable.

Integral Lock
These already exist in continental Europe as a bar that locks through the spokes, although we were thinking of a retractable cable.

Front wind shield/Exoskeleton
This could be tapered to improve aerodynamics, while providing protection from the wind and rain. This lends itself to being part of an exoskeleton. Colin Oram showed us drawings of a low, recumbent bike that was surrounded by an external “shell” and said this could be possible. The riding position could be fully or semi-recumbent which would provide more comfort and also aerodynamic benefits, although issues such as transmission and pedal location would need to be addressed. An exoskeleton would cushion the impact in a fall, and would prevent the rider from hitting the road at 20mph, causing skin damage. It could also provide protection from rain and spray. Front and back panniers could also be designed to take most of the initial impact in the event of the bike hitting the road, again protecting the rider.

Folding Handlebars/Moveable Bull Bars
These would make the bike thinner when transporting or storing it, while the moveable bull bars would enable a range of aerodynamic positions to be held. An experiment was carried out a few years ago on performance by a student who used a stationary bike on a turbo trainer, and fans to blow air at it.

Folding Pedals
Again these would help to make a bike thinner when transporting it, but they could also be a safety feature in that if a cyclist is leaning over when going round a corner and the pedal hits the ground, it could “fold up”, thereby lessening the chance of the pedal digging into the ground and causing an accident.

Motor Assisted Bike
A motor could be mounted on the bike to provide power when cycling into a strong wind or up a hill.

Alternative to Chain and Derailleur
Gears within the hub could provide benefits to the rider, alternatively a continuously variable transmission could be designed.

Solid Tyres
This would put an end to punctures, while still offering a comfortable ride, as foam technology is now very advanced.

Bike Covers
Easy-to-use bike covers would keep the bike (or more specifically, the saddle and handlebars) dry so that the rider would not get wet when getting on his or her bike.

Self-Balancing Bike
A bike that balanced itself without the need to put your foot down while stopped, for example at traffic lights, could be an excellent development, especially for a recumbent bike. Retractable stabilisers could be used for this, and they could help with pulling away as well, because balancing on a bike is most difficult at low speed.

Hydration Systems
A bottle with a drinks tube that was attached in position close to the rider’s mouth would make drinking on a bike much easier.

Folding Bike for Easy Transport or Storage
This would help to make it easier to get a bike on and off a train, for example. The handlebars and pedals could fold flat, making the bike very narrow, alternatively, the whole frame could be made to fold up.

Anti-Lock Brakes
On a wet road with wet tyres, or even on a dry day with sharp brakes, particularly with thin tyres, it is very easy to lock wheels and skid, which could be dangerous when approaching a junction. Anti-lock brakes would avoid this problem and enhance safety.

As part of my third year engineering degree at Warwick Unversity I am completing a project to design a “Safe bicycle for British roads”. This will most probably take the form of a recumbent bicycle with an exoskeleton, but at the moment I do not want to rule anything out.

I am working on this with John Lenehan, who is also studying mechanical engineering at the University of Warwick, and at the moment we are unsure how the project will split nicely into two sections. I am sure as the project develops we will work this one out!
This section of my blog is meant to track my progress as I move through the different stages of this project, and provide an easily maintained platform for links to other sites, photos that I have taken and allow other people to voice their opinion by replying to posts.