The British too wants to probe the moon

A few weeks back I wrote that 'India plans to probe the moon'. Today I read that the British too are planning to send an astronaut to space and probably send probes to the Moon as well. These were some of the proposals in the The British National Space Centre (BNSC) document, "The UK Civil Space Strategy: 2008 - 2012 and beyond".

This means that the Thatcher Government's decision in 1986, to stop space exploration will be reviewed.


Helen Sharman (from the BBC site)

I initially assumed that Britain was the only developed nation that doesn't have an astronaut. However, I was wrong and later found out that Helen Sharman was the first Brit in space. She was part of Project Juno, which was funded by the Soviet Union and a few British companies.

I won an award

I recently received an award from Emila but totally forgot about it. It's called the "I Love You This Much Award!"



In her words:

I think it’s a good idea to spread some love and to remind us that love is all around!

It's quite an honour to receive this award from someone as creative as Emila. Thanks.

Overpriced rentals in Coventry

Last Saturday, I went to pick up my wife from her friend's house in Nottingham. They live in a 4 bedroom terrace house. It even has a basement. I was so shocked when I learnt that they paid the same monthly rental like us - only£400/ pcm. It's a great location - just opposite a play ground and walking distance from a school and shops.

For the same amount, our friends Mozard and Nana's were able to rent a much bigger house in Birmingham.

Our house is a 3 bedroom house, but now after we have converted one of the small rooms into a walk-in closet and another into a study/ guest room, so in the end, we technically only have one bedroom we use. Yes! The kids sleep with us. I guess the only plus point of our house is the huge backyard at the back - the biggest among all our friends.

Our backyard last Winter.

Of course house rentals depends on the furnishings, presence of garden, parking facilities and of course the location. The thing is that here in Coventry, our house rent is considered cheap. The average for a 3 bedroom fully furnished house is £500 upwards depending on location. All our colleagues tell us that we got ours cheap. However, I should point out that most of them live either in Leamington Spa where rental for a single room is around £300.

I simply can't understand why house rentals are so high here in Coventry. Logically, it should be lower than in Birmingham, which is the 2nd largest city in the UK. Nottingham, even though Coventry has a slightly higher population, is far more prosperous. Probably the population has something to do with it. Going back to basic economics principle of demand and supply and their relation to price.

Of course there are exceptions and some guys did get lucky, like one of our friends who was able to get a 3 bedroom, newly renovated fully furnished house in Foleshill for only £380/ pcm.

Anyone here from Coventry who thinks that house rentals are overpriced?

Happy New Year of the Rat

Gong Xi Fa Chai

Updated : 10, Feb, 2008

Wishing everyone a very happy Chinese New Year. It began on Thursday, February 7, 2008.

According to the Chinese Zodiac, this year is the 'Year of the Rat'.

Unlike the West where this rodent is seen as a dirty pest, in the East it is a respected animal and symbolic of wit and wealth.

Home alone with the kids

My wife is in Nottingham attending a course. I drove her to the bed and breakfast where she is staying, yesterday evening. It took me around an hour to reach there from our house in Coventry. So it was me and the two kids. My daughter was a bit upset but the boy didn't seem to notice his mum's absence. She's coming back tomorrow evening. They are not going to their kindergarten tomorrow and I will have the whole day with them.

It kind of feels odd without her in the house though we have had experience working at different places miles apart in the past. We miss you.

I am an Uncle

Say a big Hi! to my first niece Jade Océané. Congrats to Fred and my little sis Jules. Really happy for you guys. She's a cutie.








The mum


Proud dad

Katy has always something to write about

It's been quite sometime since I last visited 'I’m Blogging That' blog. It was on my old blogs "to review" list but ..... (excuses, excuses). Anyway, blogger Katy Castro is a work at home Mom who currently resides in Las Vegas. She blogs on a number of topics but mostly related to the blogosphere and on Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), something that I am keen on as well.

One of her latest posts gives tips on ways to "make your free theme unique". It's a post that all new bloggers should read. I totally agree with her. Come to think of it, I know of several long time bloggers who are still using the generic Blogger templates. Talking about themes, I really like the new blog design. It's a bit "girly " with the pink colours but why not.

One new rumour I just learnt from her blog is that Google might start offering sponsored reviews in the near future. That's great news and I am really looking forward to signing up if it does go ahead.

There are loads of interesting posts on her blog. I am really looking forward to her series on ways to improving your page rank. As the tag line of Katy's blog goes "Because there is always something to write about."

Vote for Katy on the 2008 Blogger Choice Awards.