Emperor Ming

You can watch it on the Sky poker channel . I think you can do the interactive bit with your TV if you have it even if you don't play. I played in/organised a tourney fro Mrs Ming's birthday on Sunday and we had 44 players. £25 buy in and the option of one £25 re buy produced a pot of £1925. We paid to 6 and I came 9th. A great night though and loads of laughs. Could have played tonight but am on line instead. Playing in a league on Thursday though!! Guess you could call me a Poker addict. Oh and we travel to Las Vegas in just under 5 weeks time!!!!! Ming the obsessed Poker isn't life or death .... its more important than that!!

To all you poker afficionado's out there here's something that may make you smile a little. On Saturday the 5th of April 2008 I will be appearing on Sky Pokers Saturday night competition as one of the guests in the studio. Should be a good giggle and if you are logged onto Sky poker you can play along or just log on and take the PI**. I am looking forward to it and hope I play a decent game and get a bit of a break in the luck stakes. I will update you guys afterwards. Ming the poker Mad

Hello mate and welcome from good old Barnsley. Ming the Local lad

Thanks Trev You are right it has been a worrisome week to say the least. There was not a lot of sleep until I got the news. Ming the relieved

What the hell did you do to him to put him in hospital for a week Even a broken nose is an in and out job There was quite a lot of repair work. fortunately it was not more serious than broken bones. Ming the relieved

Hi guys and Gals Looking for a sat nav to install in the flip up compartment i had one for my birthday in september but goosed it following halford advice LOL If it works, has the mount and in car charger and might fit in the box area let me know. I am not after anything fancy so long as it works and is not steam driven. Any offers?? Ta Ming the hopeful

Quick update. He went home from hospital today. Very sore and having had surgery but well on the mend. You can't imagine how relieved I am that he is going to be OK. Its been a VERY long week waiting for that news i can tell you. ming the happy.

Thanks guys. My Sensei said the same as Zedrush. 10 years ago I would have been told to calm it down a bit AGAINST THE NEXT BLOKE and told to fight on. Everyone is too worried about insurance and claims to allow Karate to be the art it is! I understand what Chris is saying but in the heat of a fight it is extremely difficult to control a kick. Made much more so when your opponent does not take proper defensive action as would be expected of someone of their grade. On a more sobering note the other guy is going for an operation tomorrow. Ming the Concerned

I might have kept my arms up though. I know what you mean and I tell you for nowt he is going to be VERY sore over the next few days! Ming the Concerned

Well guys its over. Everything started off great. Techniques were spot on, Combinations were 100% and I got every kata as you would expect of a 2nd Dan. I was flying. Then we started to spar (fight) I need to explain here that together with us wado Ryu guys there was another club grading who teach sport Karate (It is basically fighting and the techniques specific to competition fighting) Two of their guys going for their first dan joined in with us and we looked forward to ten 2 minute fights. Fifth fight I am up against one of them when I got hit by a flurry of punches which was met buy solid defence and a good mawashi geri (A round kick) aimed at his back/shoulder. I will be honest here and admit it was probably a little hard but these guys are fighters and it was aimed at his shoulder/back. As the kick went up his head dropped and I hit him smack on the side of his face. He went down like a sack of spuds, an ambulance was called and he was taken to hospital and my grading was over. Failed due to lack of control and excessive contact. I had 10 minutes left of a 4 hr grading. My instructor - the senior instructor on the panel - saw the kick and told the panel it was only 50% my fault and as such he was going to pass me but the others failed me!! Failing the grading does not overly bother me - there will always be other chances to grade - and I accept the panels decision 100%, but hurting someone does not sit well with me. We all accept that when we pull on our Gi there is a risk and folk keep telling me that 'these things happen' but it does not seem to make me feel any better! If I am honest it shook me up more than I thought it would. Ming the concerned

Well guys today is the day. I know its Mothers Day but it is not that I am on about. At 12:00 I stand on the line with 4 other hardy souls and start my Second Dan black belt grading. Three years of training are on the line and for four hours we will be scrutinised prodded and generally tested to see if we make the grade. Although not in the league of Zedrush and his mad mates I can guarantee that its gonna hurt. Someone is going to end up with a bloody nose and there will be bent fingers and toes a'plenty. I am the oldest guy there by several years (49 and a bit) so i feel I have a point to prove!! When you are sitting down with mum and having a large Sunday dinner just give me a thought. Ming the ready - and nervous[/b]

It sounds like a dry cam follower?? With the engine running use a long bladed screw driver and place the metal end on various parts of the engine and at the same time place your ear on the end of the handle. This will amplify the noise and allow you to find out exactly where it is coming from. By moving the blade of the screw driver slowly over the top of the engine it is possible to even pin point which cam follower it is - if it is one!! Be careful not to catch a belt with the screw driver though!!!!!!!! Tell us EXACTLY where it was loudest and we may be able to pin point your problem before you start paying garage fee's Let us know the result Ming the old fashioned

My rev counteris 6600 and bounces there or there abouts. The only way past it would be to change down at silly rpm but why would you want to? If you are really pushing it change up near the limiter, but you can make really good progress without the need for total RPM! Ming the busy

I have pressure washed most of my car engines. As long as you are careful - the cling film idea is a good one - there should not be a problem. A degreasant followed by elbow grease, a good drying and lots of scrubbing will make a great difference My eldest lads first car This became this in an afternoon. The car was free, the effort was paid for with beer. Ming the Blinger

+1 http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v96/EmperorMing Just added some neon street light ones Ming the muddled i cant see any zed pics there mate ?? nice gto's tho Click on 350Z on the left. doh ! +1 The GTO - The Mistress - was my project car!! Ming the Reminiscence

+1 http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v96/EmperorMing Just added some neon street light ones Ming the muddled

Any GTO / 3000GT at that price is going to cost you £3000 in the first year of ownership Take it from a man who knows. These cars need to be top dollar models with plenty of history to prevent expensive repairs. My book says 200sx or BMW3 series. Even a 5 series 535 could be got with plenty of mileage left. Not the fastest but loads of fun If you didn't stipulate rwd I would also suggest an FTO with the 2 litre V6 engine. Lotsa revs and plenty of fun. Good reputation for strength too. Celica's are great. Mrs Ming had a pop up head light model 5 1/2 years and it only needed routine stuff. Took some real abuse and she has the new shape one as a replacement. (You will not get this model for that price though you might get the in between model with double head lights.) I always get excited when I go car shopping even if it is for a banger. A 'new' car is always an adventure. Good luck and happy hunting. Ming the envious

I believe these boxes are not sealed for life so follow the OEM's recommendations which is probably 36000/3 years. If the car is tracked or modded (more power through transmission) then consider shorter changes. Cheers Simon Hi Simon I have crept over 30,000 and as it is an import there is always the chance the import figures had been doctored to make the car look more attractive so it is going to get done as soon as the weather turns. I will be contacting you for the best oil for the job. Cheers Ming the Keen

Thanks mate As soon as the better weather is here it will get done. Did it feel any better after the change? What sort of mileage did you have at the change? Cheers Ming the Interested

Just checked the service manual and the box has both drain and filler bolts so it is obviously an item that does at some stage need doing. Looks like a reasonably easy job so its going to get done. Ming the Thoughtful

I had an XK8 Jag and the auto gearbox on that was supposed to be a sealed for life disposable unit but when it played up I got it service and the oil changed - damn expensive oil too - It made a monstrous difference to the boxes performance. I work along the lines that it cannot HURT to change the oil so long as the right oil is used. I think I will do it anyway when the dryer warmer weather arrives. I will photo it and do a write up. Ming the considered

If you are really interested buy a doner bike and build it yourself. I bought a bog standard GPz1100 and turned it into this in my study. I even completely re wired it myself and after 6 months it started first time Ming the Mechanical

An interesting article even if the science bit did lose me a little. The last bit about changing the oil interested me though. Little short journeys were always said to be bad for an engines oil as it picks up moisture. does the same go for gearbox oils? How often would you recommend changing oil on a normally used Zeds gearbox? Is there any benefit in changing it anyway? I am tempted to do mine on the next service. Your opinions would be appreciated Thanks Ming the considered

For that price I would expect his wife AND Daughter in the package!! Ming the gobsmacked

Its a doddle mate. Had mine off and the new one on in a couple of hours and i did the plugs as well. As soon as it is off put some clean rag on the inlet then dropping stuff is not an issue. As for torque settings. I loosely fitted all the bolts and then slowly nipped down opposing bolts until it was nicely seated. Checked them a few days later and tightened them slightly. Re used the gasket no probs at all!! Ming the Meddler