https://strugglers.net/w/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=Matt&feedformat=atomStrugglers - User contributions [en]2024-03-28T19:35:07ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.23.5https://strugglers.net/wiki/The_Great_Strugglers_Boat_Trip_2007The Great Strugglers Boat Trip 20072007-11-10T12:18:28Z<p>Matt: /* Photo links */ links to Alan and Andy's photos</p>
<hr />
<div>Yes!<br />
<br />
It is back by popular demand, the annual (hopefully) narrowboat trip around the many and varied waterways of Britain.<br />
<br />
This year a group of geeks, and one [[neogeek]], will attempt to navigate the Llangollen canal in a week.<br />
<br />
== Who? ==<br />
<br />
* [http://popey.com/ Alan]<br />
* [[User:Andy|Andy]]<br />
* [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
* [[User:Phil|Phil]]<br />
* Tim (No point linking this to anything as Tim is now so neogeek that he has no internet presence, with the possible exclusion of some of the more fashionable social networking sites)<br />
<br />
== Where ? ==<br />
<br />
===Address and contact details of the boatyard===<br />
<br />
* Middlewich Narrowboats<br>Canal Terrace<br>Middlewich<br>Cheshire<br>CW10 9BD<br>[http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=CW10+9BD&ie=UTF8&z=16&iwloc=addr&om=1 Map]<br />
* Telephone: 01606 832460<br />
* Email: [mailto:info@middlewichboats.co.uk info@middlewichboats.co.uk]<br />
* Web: http://www.middlewichboats.co.uk<br />
<br />
== When? ==<br />
<br />
Friday 14th September &rarr; Friday 21st September.<br />
<br />
Approximate sunrise and sunset times are as follows:<br />
<br />
== Logistics ==<br />
<br />
We will call at a supermarket near to the boat yard to pick up initial provisions.<br />
The nearest major supermarket seems to be an Asda at Winsford:<br />
<br />
The Drumber<br><br />
Winsford<br><br />
CW7 1BD<br />
<br />
Facilities include disabled parking, baby change and a fish counter.<br />
<br />
[http://www.multimap.com/clients/browse.cgi?client=asda_sf&f_id=249&origE=-2.51969999159269&origN=53.1942993048124&place=&db=&id=249&count=5&srec=0&icon=X&f_type=&filter=pc%20!&rt=browse2&scale=10000 Map & Info]<br />
<br />
==How much?==<br />
<br />
£220 each. Please send to Matt ASAP, details provided via email.<br />
<br />
We will again operate a communal kitty in order to pay for:<br />
<br />
* groceries.<br />
* pub lunches<br />
* evening meals (where relevant)<br />
* general supplies of drink (alcoholic or otherwise) for the boat.<br />
* "random stuff" that may be required, example batteries for walkie-talkies.<br />
* disposable BBQ kit for a suitable evening.<br />
<br />
Initial amount into kitty?<br />
<br />
Last year we each (4 of us) put £50 into the kitty initially, but this turned<br />
out to be not enough to cover even the initial shopping bill at the supermarket<br />
before we set off, let alone leaving anything in the kitty. So I suggest we<br />
actually put £100 each in the kitty, which seems a lot, but half of that will<br />
go on the shopping and we will easily spend the rest over the following few<br />
days going on past experience. --[[User:Matt|Matt]] 08:30, 5 July 2007 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Boat information ==<br />
<br />
This year's boat will be [http://www.waterwaysholidays.com/detail/midwichash.htm Poplar]<br />
provided by [http://www.middlewichboats.co.uk Middlewich Narrowboats]. There are 12 berths <br />
(we believe that the single beds at the back of the boat are actually bunk-beds) so there<br />
should be plenty of room for storage on the extra beds. 1 shower and 2 toilets are provided.<br />
Do we need to schedule a pump-out stop?<br />
<br />
== What to bring ==<br />
<br />
Space on the boat, and probably more importantly in the cars, will be limited, so try not to over pack. A large holdall for clothes and a small backpack for other bits and pieces seems reasonable.<br />
<br />
Note that all bed linen is provided so you don't need to bring any of that. You will need to bring your own towel however. All cooking utensils and crockery etc. is also provided.<br />
<br />
* Waterproof clothing - we'll probably end up having to pilot the boat and do locks in the pouring rain.<br />
* Gloves - some locks are real bastards.<br />
* Torch - if you have one; we may run out of power some nights, plus for walking to pub, etc.<br />
* A Tea Towel - there will probably be at least one on the boat, but would be good if everyone could bring one so that we have enough.<br />
* Sunscreen or hat, & sunglasses - just in case it happens to be sunny.<br />
* [http://www.cafepress.com/converter.5498827 A CafePress Mug] - for dropping into the canal causing much hilarity.<br />
* [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.patrick/bragaze.html Weak lemon drink] - for drinking down furiously in one gulp in celebration of your hobby success.<br />
<br />
=== Clothing considerations ===<br />
<br />
Casual clothing that you don't mind getting dirty/worn is best. Jeans are fine, though if it rains can get waterlogged. Due to the possible weather conditions do bring a few sets of clothing as you may end up stuck outdoors in the rain for several hours after which you'll definitely want a change of clothes.<br />
<br />
Footwear with decent grip is essential. Trainers are good most of the time, though if it's raining a pair of boots won't go a miss. You'll probably want to have more than one set of footwear in case one set gets soaked and needs to be dried.<br />
<br />
There will be drying facilities to some extent on the boat, though obviously drying space is limited. There will be some radiators and an airing cupboard. <br />
<br />
=== Comms ===<br />
<br />
Matt will provide a 2-way radio for each person with one charged battery pack. Extra<br />
battery packs will probably not be able to be provided this year, and given that we<br />
have had no real success charging the radios on the boat previously, it is suggested<br />
that everyone brings at least one set of batteries (4xAAA) to replace the battery<br />
pack when dead.<br />
<br />
==Entertainment Etc==<br />
<br />
===Poker===<br />
Despite poker turning into a bit of a farce last year, I (Matt) still would be up for<br />
having another attempt this year... perhaps we could sandwich in Tim to prevent him <br />
from leaving the table and make sure that his phone is at the other end of the boat :)<br />
<br />
===Cigars===<br />
Anyone interested in some cigars again this year? I (Matt) suggest that anyone who <br />
wishes to partake in a cigar or two should state roughly how many they would like<br />
here, and then we can pick out a suitable box to suit and split the cost appropriately? <br />
Last year we had a box of 10x<br />
[http://www.tomtom.co.uk/catalogue/cigars/openproduct.asp?id=149 Montecristo No.4]<br />
which personally I thought were fine in terms of cost (approx £8)/strength etc for the <br />
cigar noob<br />
like myself. If someone has a preference for something else though then I'm happy<br />
to let someone else pick...<br />
<br />
* Matt: 3<br />
* Andy: put me down for 2 or 3...<br />
* Tim: <probably not allowed><br />
<br />
Note: no point buying these until a couple of weeks before we go as they will just<br />
dry out if not stored correctly.<br />
<br />
== Planned route and schedule for the week ==<br />
<br />
=== Overall statistics of the route itself ===<br />
<br />
=== Some guesses as to where we would like to start / end each day ===<br />
<br />
====Fri 14th Sep====<br />
* Middlewich -> Church Minshull<br />
* 5 miles<br />
* 3 hours<br />
* 2 locks<br />
<br />
====Sat 15th Sep====<br />
* Church Minshull -> Grindley Brook<br />
* 16 miles<br />
* 8 hours<br />
* 15 locks, 3 movable bridges<br />
<br />
====Sun 16th Sep====<br />
* Grindley Brook -> Hindford<br />
* 15 miles<br />
* 8.5 hours<br />
* 6 locks, 5 movable bridges, 1 tunnel<br />
<br />
====Mon 17th Sep====<br />
* Hindford -> Langollen<br />
* 13 miles<br />
* 7 hours<br />
* 2 locks, 2 movable bridges, 2 tunnels, 3 aqueducts<br />
<br />
====Tue 18th Sep====<br />
* Llangollen -> Ellesmere<br />
* 18 miles<br />
* 9 hours<br />
* 2 locks, 2 movable bridges, 2 tunnels, 3 aqueducts<br />
<br />
====Wed 19th Sep====<br />
* Ellesmere -> Wrenbury<br />
* 19 miles<br />
* 9.5 hours<br />
* 10 locks, 7 movable bridges, 1 tunnel<br />
<br />
====Thu 20th Sep====<br />
* Wrenbury -> Middlewich<br />
* 16 miles<br />
* 8 hours<br />
* 12 locks, 1 movable bridge<br />
<br />
====Fri 21st Sep====<br />
* Middlewich -> Boat Yard<br />
* 0.5 miles<br />
* 1 hour<br />
* 1 lock<br />
<br />
===Stoppages===<br />
<br />
No current serious stoppages on our route (as of 2007-08-13).<br />
<br />
* [http://www.waterscape.com/boating/stoppages/?page=1&waterways%5B%5D=46&waterways%5B%5D=87&waterways%5B%5D=98&today=1&startDay=13&startMonth=08&startYear=2007&endPeriod=specific&endDay=31&endMonth=09&endYear=2007&show_one_page=1&submit=+Find+Stoppages+ Latest Stoppage Info]<br />
<br />
== Photo links ==<br />
<br />
* [http://gallery.popey.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=19 Alan's Photos]<br />
* [http://gallery.strugglers.net/v/Narrowboat/2007/ Andy's Photos]</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/The_Great_Strugglers_Boat_Trip_2007The Great Strugglers Boat Trip 20072007-08-18T12:15:42Z<p>Matt: /* Logistics */ add Asda map & info link</p>
<hr />
<div>Yes!<br />
<br />
It is back by popular demand, the annual (hopefully) narrowboat trip around the many and varied waterways of Britain.<br />
<br />
This year a group of geeks, and one [[neogeek]], will attempt to navigate the Llangollen canal in a week.<br />
<br />
== Who? ==<br />
<br />
* [http://popey.com/ Alan]<br />
* [[User:Andy|Andy]]<br />
* [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
* [[User:Phil|Phil]]<br />
* Tim (No point linking this to anything as Tim is now so neogeek that he has no internet presence, with the possible exclusion of some of the more fashionable social networking sites)<br />
<br />
== Where ? ==<br />
<br />
===Address and contact details of the boatyard===<br />
<br />
* Middlewich Narrowboats<br>Canal Terrace<br>Middlewich<br>Cheshire<br>CW10 9BD<br>[http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=CW10+9BD&ie=UTF8&z=16&iwloc=addr&om=1 Map]<br />
* Telephone: 01606 832460<br />
* Email: [mailto:info@middlewichboats.co.uk info@middlewichboats.co.uk]<br />
* Web: http://www.middlewichboats.co.uk<br />
<br />
== When? ==<br />
<br />
Friday 14th September &rarr; Friday 21st September.<br />
<br />
Approximate sunrise and sunset times are as follows:<br />
<br />
== Logistics ==<br />
<br />
We will call at a supermarket near to the boat yard to pick up initial provisions.<br />
The nearest major supermarket seems to be an Asda at Winsford:<br />
<br />
The Drumber<br><br />
Winsford<br><br />
CW7 1BD<br />
<br />
Facilities include disabled parking, baby change and a fish counter.<br />
<br />
[http://www.multimap.com/clients/browse.cgi?client=asda_sf&f_id=249&origE=-2.51969999159269&origN=53.1942993048124&place=&db=&id=249&count=5&srec=0&icon=X&f_type=&filter=pc%20!&rt=browse2&scale=10000 Map & Info]<br />
<br />
==How much?==<br />
<br />
£220 each. Please send to Matt ASAP, details provided via email.<br />
<br />
We will again operate a communal kitty in order to pay for:<br />
<br />
* groceries.<br />
* pub lunches<br />
* evening meals (where relevant)<br />
* general supplies of drink (alcoholic or otherwise) for the boat.<br />
* "random stuff" that may be required, example batteries for walkie-talkies.<br />
* disposable BBQ kit for a suitable evening.<br />
<br />
Initial amount into kitty?<br />
<br />
Last year we each (4 of us) put £50 into the kitty initially, but this turned<br />
out to be not enough to cover even the initial shopping bill at the supermarket<br />
before we set off, let alone leaving anything in the kitty. So I suggest we<br />
actually put £100 each in the kitty, which seems a lot, but half of that will<br />
go on the shopping and we will easily spend the rest over the following few<br />
days going on past experience. --[[User:Matt|Matt]] 08:30, 5 July 2007 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Boat information ==<br />
<br />
This year's boat will be [http://www.waterwaysholidays.com/detail/midwichash.htm Poplar]<br />
provided by [http://www.middlewichboats.co.uk Middlewich Narrowboats]. There are 12 berths <br />
(we believe that the single beds at the back of the boat are actually bunk-beds) so there<br />
should be plenty of room for storage on the extra beds. 1 shower and 2 toilets are provided.<br />
Do we need to schedule a pump-out stop?<br />
<br />
== What to bring ==<br />
<br />
Space on the boat, and probably more importantly in the cars, will be limited, so try not to over pack. A large holdall for clothes and a small backpack for other bits and pieces seems reasonable.<br />
<br />
Note that all bed linen is provided so you don't need to bring any of that. You will need to bring your own towel however. All cooking utensils and crockery etc. is also provided.<br />
<br />
* Waterproof clothing - we'll probably end up having to pilot the boat and do locks in the pouring rain.<br />
* Gloves - some locks are real bastards.<br />
* Torch - if you have one; we may run out of power some nights, plus for walking to pub, etc.<br />
* A Tea Towel - there will probably be at least one on the boat, but would be good if everyone could bring one so that we have enough.<br />
* Sunscreen or hat, & sunglasses - just in case it happens to be sunny.<br />
* [http://www.cafepress.com/converter.5498827 A CafePress Mug] - for dropping into the canal causing much hilarity.<br />
* [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.patrick/bragaze.html Weak lemon drink] - for drinking down furiously in one gulp in celebration of your hobby success.<br />
<br />
=== Clothing considerations ===<br />
<br />
Casual clothing that you don't mind getting dirty/worn is best. Jeans are fine, though if it rains can get waterlogged. Due to the possible weather conditions do bring a few sets of clothing as you may end up stuck outdoors in the rain for several hours after which you'll definitely want a change of clothes.<br />
<br />
Footwear with decent grip is essential. Trainers are good most of the time, though if it's raining a pair of boots won't go a miss. You'll probably want to have more than one set of footwear in case one set gets soaked and needs to be dried.<br />
<br />
There will be drying facilities to some extent on the boat, though obviously drying space is limited. There will be some radiators and an airing cupboard. <br />
<br />
=== Comms ===<br />
<br />
Matt will provide a 2-way radio for each person with one charged battery pack. Extra<br />
battery packs will probably not be able to be provided this year, and given that we<br />
have had no real success charging the radios on the boat previously, it is suggested<br />
that everyone brings at least one set of batteries (4xAAA) to replace the battery<br />
pack when dead.<br />
<br />
==Entertainment Etc==<br />
<br />
===Poker===<br />
Despite poker turning into a bit of a farce last year, I (Matt) still would be up for<br />
having another attempt this year... perhaps we could sandwich in Tim to prevent him <br />
from leaving the table and make sure that his phone is at the other end of the boat :)<br />
<br />
===Cigars===<br />
Anyone interested in some cigars again this year? I (Matt) suggest that anyone who <br />
wishes to partake in a cigar or two should state roughly how many they would like<br />
here, and then we can pick out a suitable box to suit and split the cost appropriately? <br />
Last year we had a box of 10x<br />
[http://www.tomtom.co.uk/catalogue/cigars/openproduct.asp?id=149 Montecristo No.4]<br />
which personally I thought were fine in terms of cost (approx £8)/strength etc for the <br />
cigar noob<br />
like myself. If someone has a preference for something else though then I'm happy<br />
to let someone else pick...<br />
<br />
* Matt: 3<br />
* Andy: put me down for 2 or 3...<br />
* Tim: <probably not allowed><br />
<br />
Note: no point buying these until a couple of weeks before we go as they will just<br />
dry out if not stored correctly.<br />
<br />
== Planned route and schedule for the week ==<br />
<br />
=== Overall statistics of the route itself ===<br />
<br />
=== Some guesses as to where we would like to start / end each day ===<br />
<br />
====Fri 14th Sep====<br />
* Middlewich -> Church Minshull<br />
* 5 miles<br />
* 3 hours<br />
* 2 locks<br />
<br />
====Sat 15th Sep====<br />
* Church Minshull -> Grindley Brook<br />
* 16 miles<br />
* 8 hours<br />
* 15 locks, 3 movable bridges<br />
<br />
====Sun 16th Sep====<br />
* Grindley Brook -> Hindford<br />
* 15 miles<br />
* 8.5 hours<br />
* 6 locks, 5 movable bridges, 1 tunnel<br />
<br />
====Mon 17th Sep====<br />
* Hindford -> Langollen<br />
* 13 miles<br />
* 7 hours<br />
* 2 locks, 2 movable bridges, 2 tunnels, 3 aqueducts<br />
<br />
====Tue 18th Sep====<br />
* Llangollen -> Ellesmere<br />
* 18 miles<br />
* 9 hours<br />
* 2 locks, 2 movable bridges, 2 tunnels, 3 aqueducts<br />
<br />
====Wed 19th Sep====<br />
* Ellesmere -> Wrenbury<br />
* 19 miles<br />
* 9.5 hours<br />
* 10 locks, 7 movable bridges, 1 tunnel<br />
<br />
====Thu 20th Sep====<br />
* Wrenbury -> Middlewich<br />
* 16 miles<br />
* 8 hours<br />
* 12 locks, 1 movable bridge<br />
<br />
====Fri 21st Sep====<br />
* Middlewich -> Boat Yard<br />
* 0.5 miles<br />
* 1 hour<br />
* 1 lock<br />
<br />
===Stoppages===<br />
<br />
No current serious stoppages on our route (as of 2007-08-13).<br />
<br />
* [http://www.waterscape.com/boating/stoppages/?page=1&waterways%5B%5D=46&waterways%5B%5D=87&waterways%5B%5D=98&today=1&startDay=13&startMonth=08&startYear=2007&endPeriod=specific&endDay=31&endMonth=09&endYear=2007&show_one_page=1&submit=+Find+Stoppages+ Latest Stoppage Info]<br />
<br />
== Photo links ==</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/The_Great_Strugglers_Boat_Trip_2007The Great Strugglers Boat Trip 20072007-08-13T09:34:07Z<p>Matt: /* Fri 21st Sep */ add mileage</p>
<hr />
<div>Yes!<br />
<br />
It is back by popular demand, the annual (hopefully) narrowboat trip around the many and varied waterways of Britain.<br />
<br />
This year a group of geeks, and one [[neogeek]], will attempt to navigate the Llangollen canal in a week.<br />
<br />
== Who? ==<br />
<br />
* [http://popey.com/ Alan]<br />
* [[User:Andy|Andy]]<br />
* [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
* [[User:Phil|Phil]]<br />
* Tim (No point linking this to anything as Tim is now so neogeek that he has no internet presence, with the possible exclusion of some of the more fashionable social networking sites)<br />
<br />
== Where ? ==<br />
<br />
===Address and contact details of the boatyard===<br />
<br />
* Middlewich Narrowboats<br>Canal Terrace<br>Middlewich<br>Cheshire<br>CW10 9BD<br>[http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=CW10+9BD&ie=UTF8&z=16&iwloc=addr&om=1 Map]<br />
* Telephone: 01606 832460<br />
* Email: [mailto:info@middlewichboats.co.uk info@middlewichboats.co.uk]<br />
* Web: http://www.middlewichboats.co.uk<br />
<br />
== When? ==<br />
<br />
Friday 14th September &rarr; Friday 21st September.<br />
<br />
Approximate sunrise and sunset times are as follows:<br />
<br />
== Logistics ==<br />
<br />
We will call at a supermarket near to the boat yard to pick up initial provisions.<br />
The nearest major supermarket seems to be an Asda at Winsford:<br />
<br />
The Drumber<br><br />
Winsford<br><br />
CW7 1BD<br />
<br />
Facilities include disabled parking, baby change and a fish counter.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
==How much?==<br />
<br />
£220 each. Please send to Matt ASAP, details provided via email.<br />
<br />
We will again operate a communal kitty in order to pay for:<br />
<br />
* groceries.<br />
* pub lunches<br />
* evening meals (where relevant)<br />
* general supplies of drink (alcoholic or otherwise) for the boat.<br />
* "random stuff" that may be required, example batteries for walkie-talkies.<br />
* disposable BBQ kit for a suitable evening.<br />
<br />
Initial amount into kitty?<br />
<br />
Last year we each (4 of us) put £50 into the kitty initially, but this turned<br />
out to be not enough to cover even the initial shopping bill at the supermarket<br />
before we set off, let alone leaving anything in the kitty. So I suggest we<br />
actually put £100 each in the kitty, which seems a lot, but half of that will<br />
go on the shopping and we will easily spend the rest over the following few<br />
days going on past experience. --[[User:Matt|Matt]] 08:30, 5 July 2007 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Boat information ==<br />
<br />
This year's boat will be [http://www.waterwaysholidays.com/detail/midwichash.htm Poplar]<br />
provided by [http://www.middlewichboats.co.uk Middlewich Narrowboats]. There are 12 berths <br />
(we believe that the single beds at the back of the boat are actually bunk-beds) so there<br />
should be plenty of room for storage on the extra beds. 1 shower and 2 toilets are provided.<br />
Do we need to schedule a pump-out stop?<br />
<br />
== What to bring ==<br />
<br />
Space on the boat, and probably more importantly in the cars, will be limited, so try not to over pack. A large holdall for clothes and a small backpack for other bits and pieces seems reasonable.<br />
<br />
Note that all bed linen is provided so you don't need to bring any of that. You will need to bring your own towel however. All cooking utensils and crockery etc. is also provided.<br />
<br />
* Waterproof clothing - we'll probably end up having to pilot the boat and do locks in the pouring rain.<br />
* Gloves - some locks are real bastards.<br />
* Torch - if you have one; we may run out of power some nights, plus for walking to pub, etc.<br />
* A Tea Towel - there will probably be at least one on the boat, but would be good if everyone could bring one so that we have enough.<br />
* Sunscreen or hat, & sunglasses - just in case it happens to be sunny.<br />
* [http://www.cafepress.com/converter.5498827 A CafePress Mug] - for dropping into the canal causing much hilarity.<br />
* [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.patrick/bragaze.html Weak lemon drink] - for drinking down furiously in one gulp in celebration of your hobby success.<br />
<br />
=== Clothing considerations ===<br />
<br />
Casual clothing that you don't mind getting dirty/worn is best. Jeans are fine, though if it rains can get waterlogged. Due to the possible weather conditions do bring a few sets of clothing as you may end up stuck outdoors in the rain for several hours after which you'll definitely want a change of clothes.<br />
<br />
Footwear with decent grip is essential. Trainers are good most of the time, though if it's raining a pair of boots won't go a miss. You'll probably want to have more than one set of footwear in case one set gets soaked and needs to be dried.<br />
<br />
There will be drying facilities to some extent on the boat, though obviously drying space is limited. There will be some radiators and an airing cupboard. <br />
<br />
=== Comms ===<br />
<br />
Matt will provide a 2-way radio for each person with one charged battery pack. Extra<br />
battery packs will probably not be able to be provided this year, and given that we<br />
have had no real success charging the radios on the boat previously, it is suggested<br />
that everyone brings at least one set of batteries (4xAAA) to replace the battery<br />
pack when dead.<br />
<br />
==Entertainment Etc==<br />
<br />
===Poker===<br />
Despite poker turning into a bit of a farce last year, I (Matt) still would be up for<br />
having another attempt this year... perhaps we could sandwich in Tim to prevent him <br />
from leaving the table and make sure that his phone is at the other end of the boat :)<br />
<br />
===Cigars===<br />
Anyone interested in some cigars again this year? I (Matt) suggest that anyone who <br />
wishes to partake in a cigar or two should state roughly how many they would like<br />
here, and then we can pick out a suitable box to suit and split the cost appropriately? <br />
Last year we had a box of 10x<br />
[http://www.tomtom.co.uk/catalogue/cigars/openproduct.asp?id=149 Montecristo No.4]<br />
which personally I thought were fine in terms of cost (approx £8)/strength etc for the <br />
cigar noob<br />
like myself. If someone has a preference for something else though then I'm happy<br />
to let someone else pick...<br />
<br />
* Matt: 3<br />
* Andy: put me down for 2 or 3...<br />
* Tim: <probably not allowed><br />
<br />
Note: no point buying these until a couple of weeks before we go as they will just<br />
dry out if not stored correctly.<br />
<br />
== Planned route and schedule for the week ==<br />
<br />
=== Overall statistics of the route itself ===<br />
<br />
=== Some guesses as to where we would like to start / end each day ===<br />
<br />
====Fri 14th Sep====<br />
* Middlewich -> Church Minshull<br />
* 5 miles<br />
* 3 hours<br />
* 2 locks<br />
<br />
====Sat 15th Sep====<br />
* Church Minshull -> Grindley Brook<br />
* 16 miles<br />
* 8 hours<br />
* 15 locks, 3 movable bridges<br />
<br />
====Sun 16th Sep====<br />
* Grindley Brook -> Hindford<br />
* 15 miles<br />
* 8.5 hours<br />
* 6 locks, 5 movable bridges, 1 tunnel<br />
<br />
====Mon 17th Sep====<br />
* Hindford -> Langollen<br />
* 13 miles<br />
* 7 hours<br />
* 2 locks, 2 movable bridges, 2 tunnels, 3 aqueducts<br />
<br />
====Tue 18th Sep====<br />
* Llangollen -> Ellesmere<br />
* 18 miles<br />
* 9 hours<br />
* 2 locks, 2 movable bridges, 2 tunnels, 3 aqueducts<br />
<br />
====Wed 19th Sep====<br />
* Ellesmere -> Wrenbury<br />
* 19 miles<br />
* 9.5 hours<br />
* 10 locks, 7 movable bridges, 1 tunnel<br />
<br />
====Thu 20th Sep====<br />
* Wrenbury -> Middlewich<br />
* 16 miles<br />
* 8 hours<br />
* 12 locks, 1 movable bridge<br />
<br />
====Fri 21st Sep====<br />
* Middlewich -> Boat Yard<br />
* 0.5 miles<br />
* 1 hour<br />
* 1 lock<br />
<br />
===Stoppages===<br />
<br />
No current serious stoppages on our route (as of 2007-08-13).<br />
<br />
* [http://www.waterscape.com/boating/stoppages/?page=1&waterways%5B%5D=46&waterways%5B%5D=87&waterways%5B%5D=98&today=1&startDay=13&startMonth=08&startYear=2007&endPeriod=specific&endDay=31&endMonth=09&endYear=2007&show_one_page=1&submit=+Find+Stoppages+ Latest Stoppage Info]<br />
<br />
== Photo links ==</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/The_Great_Strugglers_Boat_Trip_2007The Great Strugglers Boat Trip 20072007-08-13T09:33:47Z<p>Matt: /* Thu 20th Sep */ add mileage</p>
<hr />
<div>Yes!<br />
<br />
It is back by popular demand, the annual (hopefully) narrowboat trip around the many and varied waterways of Britain.<br />
<br />
This year a group of geeks, and one [[neogeek]], will attempt to navigate the Llangollen canal in a week.<br />
<br />
== Who? ==<br />
<br />
* [http://popey.com/ Alan]<br />
* [[User:Andy|Andy]]<br />
* [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
* [[User:Phil|Phil]]<br />
* Tim (No point linking this to anything as Tim is now so neogeek that he has no internet presence, with the possible exclusion of some of the more fashionable social networking sites)<br />
<br />
== Where ? ==<br />
<br />
===Address and contact details of the boatyard===<br />
<br />
* Middlewich Narrowboats<br>Canal Terrace<br>Middlewich<br>Cheshire<br>CW10 9BD<br>[http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=CW10+9BD&ie=UTF8&z=16&iwloc=addr&om=1 Map]<br />
* Telephone: 01606 832460<br />
* Email: [mailto:info@middlewichboats.co.uk info@middlewichboats.co.uk]<br />
* Web: http://www.middlewichboats.co.uk<br />
<br />
== When? ==<br />
<br />
Friday 14th September &rarr; Friday 21st September.<br />
<br />
Approximate sunrise and sunset times are as follows:<br />
<br />
== Logistics ==<br />
<br />
We will call at a supermarket near to the boat yard to pick up initial provisions.<br />
The nearest major supermarket seems to be an Asda at Winsford:<br />
<br />
The Drumber<br><br />
Winsford<br><br />
CW7 1BD<br />
<br />
Facilities include disabled parking, baby change and a fish counter.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
==How much?==<br />
<br />
£220 each. Please send to Matt ASAP, details provided via email.<br />
<br />
We will again operate a communal kitty in order to pay for:<br />
<br />
* groceries.<br />
* pub lunches<br />
* evening meals (where relevant)<br />
* general supplies of drink (alcoholic or otherwise) for the boat.<br />
* "random stuff" that may be required, example batteries for walkie-talkies.<br />
* disposable BBQ kit for a suitable evening.<br />
<br />
Initial amount into kitty?<br />
<br />
Last year we each (4 of us) put £50 into the kitty initially, but this turned<br />
out to be not enough to cover even the initial shopping bill at the supermarket<br />
before we set off, let alone leaving anything in the kitty. So I suggest we<br />
actually put £100 each in the kitty, which seems a lot, but half of that will<br />
go on the shopping and we will easily spend the rest over the following few<br />
days going on past experience. --[[User:Matt|Matt]] 08:30, 5 July 2007 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Boat information ==<br />
<br />
This year's boat will be [http://www.waterwaysholidays.com/detail/midwichash.htm Poplar]<br />
provided by [http://www.middlewichboats.co.uk Middlewich Narrowboats]. There are 12 berths <br />
(we believe that the single beds at the back of the boat are actually bunk-beds) so there<br />
should be plenty of room for storage on the extra beds. 1 shower and 2 toilets are provided.<br />
Do we need to schedule a pump-out stop?<br />
<br />
== What to bring ==<br />
<br />
Space on the boat, and probably more importantly in the cars, will be limited, so try not to over pack. A large holdall for clothes and a small backpack for other bits and pieces seems reasonable.<br />
<br />
Note that all bed linen is provided so you don't need to bring any of that. You will need to bring your own towel however. All cooking utensils and crockery etc. is also provided.<br />
<br />
* Waterproof clothing - we'll probably end up having to pilot the boat and do locks in the pouring rain.<br />
* Gloves - some locks are real bastards.<br />
* Torch - if you have one; we may run out of power some nights, plus for walking to pub, etc.<br />
* A Tea Towel - there will probably be at least one on the boat, but would be good if everyone could bring one so that we have enough.<br />
* Sunscreen or hat, & sunglasses - just in case it happens to be sunny.<br />
* [http://www.cafepress.com/converter.5498827 A CafePress Mug] - for dropping into the canal causing much hilarity.<br />
* [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.patrick/bragaze.html Weak lemon drink] - for drinking down furiously in one gulp in celebration of your hobby success.<br />
<br />
=== Clothing considerations ===<br />
<br />
Casual clothing that you don't mind getting dirty/worn is best. Jeans are fine, though if it rains can get waterlogged. Due to the possible weather conditions do bring a few sets of clothing as you may end up stuck outdoors in the rain for several hours after which you'll definitely want a change of clothes.<br />
<br />
Footwear with decent grip is essential. Trainers are good most of the time, though if it's raining a pair of boots won't go a miss. You'll probably want to have more than one set of footwear in case one set gets soaked and needs to be dried.<br />
<br />
There will be drying facilities to some extent on the boat, though obviously drying space is limited. There will be some radiators and an airing cupboard. <br />
<br />
=== Comms ===<br />
<br />
Matt will provide a 2-way radio for each person with one charged battery pack. Extra<br />
battery packs will probably not be able to be provided this year, and given that we<br />
have had no real success charging the radios on the boat previously, it is suggested<br />
that everyone brings at least one set of batteries (4xAAA) to replace the battery<br />
pack when dead.<br />
<br />
==Entertainment Etc==<br />
<br />
===Poker===<br />
Despite poker turning into a bit of a farce last year, I (Matt) still would be up for<br />
having another attempt this year... perhaps we could sandwich in Tim to prevent him <br />
from leaving the table and make sure that his phone is at the other end of the boat :)<br />
<br />
===Cigars===<br />
Anyone interested in some cigars again this year? I (Matt) suggest that anyone who <br />
wishes to partake in a cigar or two should state roughly how many they would like<br />
here, and then we can pick out a suitable box to suit and split the cost appropriately? <br />
Last year we had a box of 10x<br />
[http://www.tomtom.co.uk/catalogue/cigars/openproduct.asp?id=149 Montecristo No.4]<br />
which personally I thought were fine in terms of cost (approx £8)/strength etc for the <br />
cigar noob<br />
like myself. If someone has a preference for something else though then I'm happy<br />
to let someone else pick...<br />
<br />
* Matt: 3<br />
* Andy: put me down for 2 or 3...<br />
* Tim: <probably not allowed><br />
<br />
Note: no point buying these until a couple of weeks before we go as they will just<br />
dry out if not stored correctly.<br />
<br />
== Planned route and schedule for the week ==<br />
<br />
=== Overall statistics of the route itself ===<br />
<br />
=== Some guesses as to where we would like to start / end each day ===<br />
<br />
====Fri 14th Sep====<br />
* Middlewich -> Church Minshull<br />
* 5 miles<br />
* 3 hours<br />
* 2 locks<br />
<br />
====Sat 15th Sep====<br />
* Church Minshull -> Grindley Brook<br />
* 16 miles<br />
* 8 hours<br />
* 15 locks, 3 movable bridges<br />
<br />
====Sun 16th Sep====<br />
* Grindley Brook -> Hindford<br />
* 15 miles<br />
* 8.5 hours<br />
* 6 locks, 5 movable bridges, 1 tunnel<br />
<br />
====Mon 17th Sep====<br />
* Hindford -> Langollen<br />
* 13 miles<br />
* 7 hours<br />
* 2 locks, 2 movable bridges, 2 tunnels, 3 aqueducts<br />
<br />
====Tue 18th Sep====<br />
* Llangollen -> Ellesmere<br />
* 18 miles<br />
* 9 hours<br />
* 2 locks, 2 movable bridges, 2 tunnels, 3 aqueducts<br />
<br />
====Wed 19th Sep====<br />
* Ellesmere -> Wrenbury<br />
* 19 miles<br />
* 9.5 hours<br />
* 10 locks, 7 movable bridges, 1 tunnel<br />
<br />
====Thu 20th Sep====<br />
* Wrenbury -> Middlewich<br />
* 16 miles<br />
* 8 hours<br />
* 12 locks, 1 movable bridge<br />
<br />
====Fri 21st Sep====<br />
* Middlewich -> Boat Yard<br />
* 1 hour<br />
* 1 lock<br />
<br />
===Stoppages===<br />
<br />
No current serious stoppages on our route (as of 2007-08-13).<br />
<br />
* [http://www.waterscape.com/boating/stoppages/?page=1&waterways%5B%5D=46&waterways%5B%5D=87&waterways%5B%5D=98&today=1&startDay=13&startMonth=08&startYear=2007&endPeriod=specific&endDay=31&endMonth=09&endYear=2007&show_one_page=1&submit=+Find+Stoppages+ Latest Stoppage Info]<br />
<br />
== Photo links ==</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/The_Great_Strugglers_Boat_Trip_2007The Great Strugglers Boat Trip 20072007-08-13T09:31:30Z<p>Matt: /* Wed 19th Sep */ add mileage</p>
<hr />
<div>Yes!<br />
<br />
It is back by popular demand, the annual (hopefully) narrowboat trip around the many and varied waterways of Britain.<br />
<br />
This year a group of geeks, and one [[neogeek]], will attempt to navigate the Llangollen canal in a week.<br />
<br />
== Who? ==<br />
<br />
* [http://popey.com/ Alan]<br />
* [[User:Andy|Andy]]<br />
* [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
* [[User:Phil|Phil]]<br />
* Tim (No point linking this to anything as Tim is now so neogeek that he has no internet presence, with the possible exclusion of some of the more fashionable social networking sites)<br />
<br />
== Where ? ==<br />
<br />
===Address and contact details of the boatyard===<br />
<br />
* Middlewich Narrowboats<br>Canal Terrace<br>Middlewich<br>Cheshire<br>CW10 9BD<br>[http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=CW10+9BD&ie=UTF8&z=16&iwloc=addr&om=1 Map]<br />
* Telephone: 01606 832460<br />
* Email: [mailto:info@middlewichboats.co.uk info@middlewichboats.co.uk]<br />
* Web: http://www.middlewichboats.co.uk<br />
<br />
== When? ==<br />
<br />
Friday 14th September &rarr; Friday 21st September.<br />
<br />
Approximate sunrise and sunset times are as follows:<br />
<br />
== Logistics ==<br />
<br />
We will call at a supermarket near to the boat yard to pick up initial provisions.<br />
The nearest major supermarket seems to be an Asda at Winsford:<br />
<br />
The Drumber<br><br />
Winsford<br><br />
CW7 1BD<br />
<br />
Facilities include disabled parking, baby change and a fish counter.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
==How much?==<br />
<br />
£220 each. Please send to Matt ASAP, details provided via email.<br />
<br />
We will again operate a communal kitty in order to pay for:<br />
<br />
* groceries.<br />
* pub lunches<br />
* evening meals (where relevant)<br />
* general supplies of drink (alcoholic or otherwise) for the boat.<br />
* "random stuff" that may be required, example batteries for walkie-talkies.<br />
* disposable BBQ kit for a suitable evening.<br />
<br />
Initial amount into kitty?<br />
<br />
Last year we each (4 of us) put £50 into the kitty initially, but this turned<br />
out to be not enough to cover even the initial shopping bill at the supermarket<br />
before we set off, let alone leaving anything in the kitty. So I suggest we<br />
actually put £100 each in the kitty, which seems a lot, but half of that will<br />
go on the shopping and we will easily spend the rest over the following few<br />
days going on past experience. --[[User:Matt|Matt]] 08:30, 5 July 2007 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Boat information ==<br />
<br />
This year's boat will be [http://www.waterwaysholidays.com/detail/midwichash.htm Poplar]<br />
provided by [http://www.middlewichboats.co.uk Middlewich Narrowboats]. There are 12 berths <br />
(we believe that the single beds at the back of the boat are actually bunk-beds) so there<br />
should be plenty of room for storage on the extra beds. 1 shower and 2 toilets are provided.<br />
Do we need to schedule a pump-out stop?<br />
<br />
== What to bring ==<br />
<br />
Space on the boat, and probably more importantly in the cars, will be limited, so try not to over pack. A large holdall for clothes and a small backpack for other bits and pieces seems reasonable.<br />
<br />
Note that all bed linen is provided so you don't need to bring any of that. You will need to bring your own towel however. All cooking utensils and crockery etc. is also provided.<br />
<br />
* Waterproof clothing - we'll probably end up having to pilot the boat and do locks in the pouring rain.<br />
* Gloves - some locks are real bastards.<br />
* Torch - if you have one; we may run out of power some nights, plus for walking to pub, etc.<br />
* A Tea Towel - there will probably be at least one on the boat, but would be good if everyone could bring one so that we have enough.<br />
* Sunscreen or hat, & sunglasses - just in case it happens to be sunny.<br />
* [http://www.cafepress.com/converter.5498827 A CafePress Mug] - for dropping into the canal causing much hilarity.<br />
* [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.patrick/bragaze.html Weak lemon drink] - for drinking down furiously in one gulp in celebration of your hobby success.<br />
<br />
=== Clothing considerations ===<br />
<br />
Casual clothing that you don't mind getting dirty/worn is best. Jeans are fine, though if it rains can get waterlogged. Due to the possible weather conditions do bring a few sets of clothing as you may end up stuck outdoors in the rain for several hours after which you'll definitely want a change of clothes.<br />
<br />
Footwear with decent grip is essential. Trainers are good most of the time, though if it's raining a pair of boots won't go a miss. You'll probably want to have more than one set of footwear in case one set gets soaked and needs to be dried.<br />
<br />
There will be drying facilities to some extent on the boat, though obviously drying space is limited. There will be some radiators and an airing cupboard. <br />
<br />
=== Comms ===<br />
<br />
Matt will provide a 2-way radio for each person with one charged battery pack. Extra<br />
battery packs will probably not be able to be provided this year, and given that we<br />
have had no real success charging the radios on the boat previously, it is suggested<br />
that everyone brings at least one set of batteries (4xAAA) to replace the battery<br />
pack when dead.<br />
<br />
==Entertainment Etc==<br />
<br />
===Poker===<br />
Despite poker turning into a bit of a farce last year, I (Matt) still would be up for<br />
having another attempt this year... perhaps we could sandwich in Tim to prevent him <br />
from leaving the table and make sure that his phone is at the other end of the boat :)<br />
<br />
===Cigars===<br />
Anyone interested in some cigars again this year? I (Matt) suggest that anyone who <br />
wishes to partake in a cigar or two should state roughly how many they would like<br />
here, and then we can pick out a suitable box to suit and split the cost appropriately? <br />
Last year we had a box of 10x<br />
[http://www.tomtom.co.uk/catalogue/cigars/openproduct.asp?id=149 Montecristo No.4]<br />
which personally I thought were fine in terms of cost (approx £8)/strength etc for the <br />
cigar noob<br />
like myself. If someone has a preference for something else though then I'm happy<br />
to let someone else pick...<br />
<br />
* Matt: 3<br />
* Andy: put me down for 2 or 3...<br />
* Tim: <probably not allowed><br />
<br />
Note: no point buying these until a couple of weeks before we go as they will just<br />
dry out if not stored correctly.<br />
<br />
== Planned route and schedule for the week ==<br />
<br />
=== Overall statistics of the route itself ===<br />
<br />
=== Some guesses as to where we would like to start / end each day ===<br />
<br />
====Fri 14th Sep====<br />
* Middlewich -> Church Minshull<br />
* 5 miles<br />
* 3 hours<br />
* 2 locks<br />
<br />
====Sat 15th Sep====<br />
* Church Minshull -> Grindley Brook<br />
* 16 miles<br />
* 8 hours<br />
* 15 locks, 3 movable bridges<br />
<br />
====Sun 16th Sep====<br />
* Grindley Brook -> Hindford<br />
* 15 miles<br />
* 8.5 hours<br />
* 6 locks, 5 movable bridges, 1 tunnel<br />
<br />
====Mon 17th Sep====<br />
* Hindford -> Langollen<br />
* 13 miles<br />
* 7 hours<br />
* 2 locks, 2 movable bridges, 2 tunnels, 3 aqueducts<br />
<br />
====Tue 18th Sep====<br />
* Llangollen -> Ellesmere<br />
* 18 miles<br />
* 9 hours<br />
* 2 locks, 2 movable bridges, 2 tunnels, 3 aqueducts<br />
<br />
====Wed 19th Sep====<br />
* Ellesmere -> Wrenbury<br />
* 19 miles<br />
* 9.5 hours<br />
* 10 locks, 7 movable bridges, 1 tunnel<br />
<br />
====Thu 20th Sep====<br />
* Wrenbury -> Middlewich<br />
* 8 hours<br />
* 12 locks, 1 movable bridge<br />
<br />
====Fri 21st Sep====<br />
* Middlewich -> Boat Yard<br />
* 1 hour<br />
* 1 lock<br />
<br />
===Stoppages===<br />
<br />
No current serious stoppages on our route (as of 2007-08-13).<br />
<br />
* [http://www.waterscape.com/boating/stoppages/?page=1&waterways%5B%5D=46&waterways%5B%5D=87&waterways%5B%5D=98&today=1&startDay=13&startMonth=08&startYear=2007&endPeriod=specific&endDay=31&endMonth=09&endYear=2007&show_one_page=1&submit=+Find+Stoppages+ Latest Stoppage Info]<br />
<br />
== Photo links ==</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/The_Great_Strugglers_Boat_Trip_2007The Great Strugglers Boat Trip 20072007-08-13T09:29:35Z<p>Matt: /* Planned route and schedule for the week */ add Stoppages section</p>
<hr />
<div>Yes!<br />
<br />
It is back by popular demand, the annual (hopefully) narrowboat trip around the many and varied waterways of Britain.<br />
<br />
This year a group of geeks, and one [[neogeek]], will attempt to navigate the Llangollen canal in a week.<br />
<br />
== Who? ==<br />
<br />
* [http://popey.com/ Alan]<br />
* [[User:Andy|Andy]]<br />
* [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
* [[User:Phil|Phil]]<br />
* Tim (No point linking this to anything as Tim is now so neogeek that he has no internet presence, with the possible exclusion of some of the more fashionable social networking sites)<br />
<br />
== Where ? ==<br />
<br />
===Address and contact details of the boatyard===<br />
<br />
* Middlewich Narrowboats<br>Canal Terrace<br>Middlewich<br>Cheshire<br>CW10 9BD<br>[http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=CW10+9BD&ie=UTF8&z=16&iwloc=addr&om=1 Map]<br />
* Telephone: 01606 832460<br />
* Email: [mailto:info@middlewichboats.co.uk info@middlewichboats.co.uk]<br />
* Web: http://www.middlewichboats.co.uk<br />
<br />
== When? ==<br />
<br />
Friday 14th September &rarr; Friday 21st September.<br />
<br />
Approximate sunrise and sunset times are as follows:<br />
<br />
== Logistics ==<br />
<br />
We will call at a supermarket near to the boat yard to pick up initial provisions.<br />
The nearest major supermarket seems to be an Asda at Winsford:<br />
<br />
The Drumber<br><br />
Winsford<br><br />
CW7 1BD<br />
<br />
Facilities include disabled parking, baby change and a fish counter.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
==How much?==<br />
<br />
£220 each. Please send to Matt ASAP, details provided via email.<br />
<br />
We will again operate a communal kitty in order to pay for:<br />
<br />
* groceries.<br />
* pub lunches<br />
* evening meals (where relevant)<br />
* general supplies of drink (alcoholic or otherwise) for the boat.<br />
* "random stuff" that may be required, example batteries for walkie-talkies.<br />
* disposable BBQ kit for a suitable evening.<br />
<br />
Initial amount into kitty?<br />
<br />
Last year we each (4 of us) put £50 into the kitty initially, but this turned<br />
out to be not enough to cover even the initial shopping bill at the supermarket<br />
before we set off, let alone leaving anything in the kitty. So I suggest we<br />
actually put £100 each in the kitty, which seems a lot, but half of that will<br />
go on the shopping and we will easily spend the rest over the following few<br />
days going on past experience. --[[User:Matt|Matt]] 08:30, 5 July 2007 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Boat information ==<br />
<br />
This year's boat will be [http://www.waterwaysholidays.com/detail/midwichash.htm Poplar]<br />
provided by [http://www.middlewichboats.co.uk Middlewich Narrowboats]. There are 12 berths <br />
(we believe that the single beds at the back of the boat are actually bunk-beds) so there<br />
should be plenty of room for storage on the extra beds. 1 shower and 2 toilets are provided.<br />
Do we need to schedule a pump-out stop?<br />
<br />
== What to bring ==<br />
<br />
Space on the boat, and probably more importantly in the cars, will be limited, so try not to over pack. A large holdall for clothes and a small backpack for other bits and pieces seems reasonable.<br />
<br />
Note that all bed linen is provided so you don't need to bring any of that. You will need to bring your own towel however. All cooking utensils and crockery etc. is also provided.<br />
<br />
* Waterproof clothing - we'll probably end up having to pilot the boat and do locks in the pouring rain.<br />
* Gloves - some locks are real bastards.<br />
* Torch - if you have one; we may run out of power some nights, plus for walking to pub, etc.<br />
* A Tea Towel - there will probably be at least one on the boat, but would be good if everyone could bring one so that we have enough.<br />
* Sunscreen or hat, & sunglasses - just in case it happens to be sunny.<br />
* [http://www.cafepress.com/converter.5498827 A CafePress Mug] - for dropping into the canal causing much hilarity.<br />
* [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.patrick/bragaze.html Weak lemon drink] - for drinking down furiously in one gulp in celebration of your hobby success.<br />
<br />
=== Clothing considerations ===<br />
<br />
Casual clothing that you don't mind getting dirty/worn is best. Jeans are fine, though if it rains can get waterlogged. Due to the possible weather conditions do bring a few sets of clothing as you may end up stuck outdoors in the rain for several hours after which you'll definitely want a change of clothes.<br />
<br />
Footwear with decent grip is essential. Trainers are good most of the time, though if it's raining a pair of boots won't go a miss. You'll probably want to have more than one set of footwear in case one set gets soaked and needs to be dried.<br />
<br />
There will be drying facilities to some extent on the boat, though obviously drying space is limited. There will be some radiators and an airing cupboard. <br />
<br />
=== Comms ===<br />
<br />
Matt will provide a 2-way radio for each person with one charged battery pack. Extra<br />
battery packs will probably not be able to be provided this year, and given that we<br />
have had no real success charging the radios on the boat previously, it is suggested<br />
that everyone brings at least one set of batteries (4xAAA) to replace the battery<br />
pack when dead.<br />
<br />
==Entertainment Etc==<br />
<br />
===Poker===<br />
Despite poker turning into a bit of a farce last year, I (Matt) still would be up for<br />
having another attempt this year... perhaps we could sandwich in Tim to prevent him <br />
from leaving the table and make sure that his phone is at the other end of the boat :)<br />
<br />
===Cigars===<br />
Anyone interested in some cigars again this year? I (Matt) suggest that anyone who <br />
wishes to partake in a cigar or two should state roughly how many they would like<br />
here, and then we can pick out a suitable box to suit and split the cost appropriately? <br />
Last year we had a box of 10x<br />
[http://www.tomtom.co.uk/catalogue/cigars/openproduct.asp?id=149 Montecristo No.4]<br />
which personally I thought were fine in terms of cost (approx £8)/strength etc for the <br />
cigar noob<br />
like myself. If someone has a preference for something else though then I'm happy<br />
to let someone else pick...<br />
<br />
* Matt: 3<br />
* Andy: put me down for 2 or 3...<br />
* Tim: <probably not allowed><br />
<br />
Note: no point buying these until a couple of weeks before we go as they will just<br />
dry out if not stored correctly.<br />
<br />
== Planned route and schedule for the week ==<br />
<br />
=== Overall statistics of the route itself ===<br />
<br />
=== Some guesses as to where we would like to start / end each day ===<br />
<br />
====Fri 14th Sep====<br />
* Middlewich -> Church Minshull<br />
* 5 miles<br />
* 3 hours<br />
* 2 locks<br />
<br />
====Sat 15th Sep====<br />
* Church Minshull -> Grindley Brook<br />
* 16 miles<br />
* 8 hours<br />
* 15 locks, 3 movable bridges<br />
<br />
====Sun 16th Sep====<br />
* Grindley Brook -> Hindford<br />
* 15 miles<br />
* 8.5 hours<br />
* 6 locks, 5 movable bridges, 1 tunnel<br />
<br />
====Mon 17th Sep====<br />
* Hindford -> Langollen<br />
* 13 miles<br />
* 7 hours<br />
* 2 locks, 2 movable bridges, 2 tunnels, 3 aqueducts<br />
<br />
====Tue 18th Sep====<br />
* Llangollen -> Ellesmere<br />
* 18 miles<br />
* 9 hours<br />
* 2 locks, 2 movable bridges, 2 tunnels, 3 aqueducts<br />
<br />
====Wed 19th Sep====<br />
* Ellesmere -> Wrenbury<br />
* 9.5 hours<br />
* 10 locks, 7 movable bridges, 1 tunnel<br />
<br />
====Thu 20th Sep====<br />
* Wrenbury -> Middlewich<br />
* 8 hours<br />
* 12 locks, 1 movable bridge<br />
<br />
====Fri 21st Sep====<br />
* Middlewich -> Boat Yard<br />
* 1 hour<br />
* 1 lock<br />
<br />
===Stoppages===<br />
<br />
No current serious stoppages on our route (as of 2007-08-13).<br />
<br />
* [http://www.waterscape.com/boating/stoppages/?page=1&waterways%5B%5D=46&waterways%5B%5D=87&waterways%5B%5D=98&today=1&startDay=13&startMonth=08&startYear=2007&endPeriod=specific&endDay=31&endMonth=09&endYear=2007&show_one_page=1&submit=+Find+Stoppages+ Latest Stoppage Info]<br />
<br />
== Photo links ==</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/The_Great_Strugglers_Boat_Trip_2007The Great Strugglers Boat Trip 20072007-08-13T09:15:58Z<p>Matt: /* Tue 18th Sep */ add mileage</p>
<hr />
<div>Yes!<br />
<br />
It is back by popular demand, the annual (hopefully) narrowboat trip around the many and varied waterways of Britain.<br />
<br />
This year a group of geeks, and one [[neogeek]], will attempt to navigate the Llangollen canal in a week.<br />
<br />
== Who? ==<br />
<br />
* [http://popey.com/ Alan]<br />
* [[User:Andy|Andy]]<br />
* [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
* [[User:Phil|Phil]]<br />
* Tim (No point linking this to anything as Tim is now so neogeek that he has no internet presence, with the possible exclusion of some of the more fashionable social networking sites)<br />
<br />
== Where ? ==<br />
<br />
===Address and contact details of the boatyard===<br />
<br />
* Middlewich Narrowboats<br>Canal Terrace<br>Middlewich<br>Cheshire<br>CW10 9BD<br>[http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=CW10+9BD&ie=UTF8&z=16&iwloc=addr&om=1 Map]<br />
* Telephone: 01606 832460<br />
* Email: [mailto:info@middlewichboats.co.uk info@middlewichboats.co.uk]<br />
* Web: http://www.middlewichboats.co.uk<br />
<br />
== When? ==<br />
<br />
Friday 14th September &rarr; Friday 21st September.<br />
<br />
Approximate sunrise and sunset times are as follows:<br />
<br />
== Logistics ==<br />
<br />
We will call at a supermarket near to the boat yard to pick up initial provisions.<br />
The nearest major supermarket seems to be an Asda at Winsford:<br />
<br />
The Drumber<br><br />
Winsford<br><br />
CW7 1BD<br />
<br />
Facilities include disabled parking, baby change and a fish counter.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
==How much?==<br />
<br />
£220 each. Please send to Matt ASAP, details provided via email.<br />
<br />
We will again operate a communal kitty in order to pay for:<br />
<br />
* groceries.<br />
* pub lunches<br />
* evening meals (where relevant)<br />
* general supplies of drink (alcoholic or otherwise) for the boat.<br />
* "random stuff" that may be required, example batteries for walkie-talkies.<br />
* disposable BBQ kit for a suitable evening.<br />
<br />
Initial amount into kitty?<br />
<br />
Last year we each (4 of us) put £50 into the kitty initially, but this turned<br />
out to be not enough to cover even the initial shopping bill at the supermarket<br />
before we set off, let alone leaving anything in the kitty. So I suggest we<br />
actually put £100 each in the kitty, which seems a lot, but half of that will<br />
go on the shopping and we will easily spend the rest over the following few<br />
days going on past experience. --[[User:Matt|Matt]] 08:30, 5 July 2007 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Boat information ==<br />
<br />
This year's boat will be [http://www.waterwaysholidays.com/detail/midwichash.htm Poplar]<br />
provided by [http://www.middlewichboats.co.uk Middlewich Narrowboats]. There are 12 berths <br />
(we believe that the single beds at the back of the boat are actually bunk-beds) so there<br />
should be plenty of room for storage on the extra beds. 1 shower and 2 toilets are provided.<br />
Do we need to schedule a pump-out stop?<br />
<br />
== What to bring ==<br />
<br />
Space on the boat, and probably more importantly in the cars, will be limited, so try not to over pack. A large holdall for clothes and a small backpack for other bits and pieces seems reasonable.<br />
<br />
Note that all bed linen is provided so you don't need to bring any of that. You will need to bring your own towel however. All cooking utensils and crockery etc. is also provided.<br />
<br />
* Waterproof clothing - we'll probably end up having to pilot the boat and do locks in the pouring rain.<br />
* Gloves - some locks are real bastards.<br />
* Torch - if you have one; we may run out of power some nights, plus for walking to pub, etc.<br />
* A Tea Towel - there will probably be at least one on the boat, but would be good if everyone could bring one so that we have enough.<br />
* Sunscreen or hat, & sunglasses - just in case it happens to be sunny.<br />
* [http://www.cafepress.com/converter.5498827 A CafePress Mug] - for dropping into the canal causing much hilarity.<br />
* [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.patrick/bragaze.html Weak lemon drink] - for drinking down furiously in one gulp in celebration of your hobby success.<br />
<br />
=== Clothing considerations ===<br />
<br />
Casual clothing that you don't mind getting dirty/worn is best. Jeans are fine, though if it rains can get waterlogged. Due to the possible weather conditions do bring a few sets of clothing as you may end up stuck outdoors in the rain for several hours after which you'll definitely want a change of clothes.<br />
<br />
Footwear with decent grip is essential. Trainers are good most of the time, though if it's raining a pair of boots won't go a miss. You'll probably want to have more than one set of footwear in case one set gets soaked and needs to be dried.<br />
<br />
There will be drying facilities to some extent on the boat, though obviously drying space is limited. There will be some radiators and an airing cupboard. <br />
<br />
=== Comms ===<br />
<br />
Matt will provide a 2-way radio for each person with one charged battery pack. Extra<br />
battery packs will probably not be able to be provided this year, and given that we<br />
have had no real success charging the radios on the boat previously, it is suggested<br />
that everyone brings at least one set of batteries (4xAAA) to replace the battery<br />
pack when dead.<br />
<br />
==Entertainment Etc==<br />
<br />
===Poker===<br />
Despite poker turning into a bit of a farce last year, I (Matt) still would be up for<br />
having another attempt this year... perhaps we could sandwich in Tim to prevent him <br />
from leaving the table and make sure that his phone is at the other end of the boat :)<br />
<br />
===Cigars===<br />
Anyone interested in some cigars again this year? I (Matt) suggest that anyone who <br />
wishes to partake in a cigar or two should state roughly how many they would like<br />
here, and then we can pick out a suitable box to suit and split the cost appropriately? <br />
Last year we had a box of 10x<br />
[http://www.tomtom.co.uk/catalogue/cigars/openproduct.asp?id=149 Montecristo No.4]<br />
which personally I thought were fine in terms of cost (approx £8)/strength etc for the <br />
cigar noob<br />
like myself. If someone has a preference for something else though then I'm happy<br />
to let someone else pick...<br />
<br />
* Matt: 3<br />
* Andy: put me down for 2 or 3...<br />
* Tim: <probably not allowed><br />
<br />
Note: no point buying these until a couple of weeks before we go as they will just<br />
dry out if not stored correctly.<br />
<br />
== Planned route and schedule for the week ==<br />
<br />
=== Overall statistics of the route itself ===<br />
<br />
=== Some guesses as to where we would like to start / end each day ===<br />
<br />
====Fri 14th Sep====<br />
* Middlewich -> Church Minshull<br />
* 5 miles<br />
* 3 hours<br />
* 2 locks<br />
<br />
====Sat 15th Sep====<br />
* Church Minshull -> Grindley Brook<br />
* 16 miles<br />
* 8 hours<br />
* 15 locks, 3 movable bridges<br />
<br />
====Sun 16th Sep====<br />
* Grindley Brook -> Hindford<br />
* 15 miles<br />
* 8.5 hours<br />
* 6 locks, 5 movable bridges, 1 tunnel<br />
<br />
====Mon 17th Sep====<br />
* Hindford -> Langollen<br />
* 13 miles<br />
* 7 hours<br />
* 2 locks, 2 movable bridges, 2 tunnels, 3 aqueducts<br />
<br />
====Tue 18th Sep====<br />
* Llangollen -> Ellesmere<br />
* 18 miles<br />
* 9 hours<br />
* 2 locks, 2 movable bridges, 2 tunnels, 3 aqueducts<br />
<br />
====Wed 19th Sep====<br />
* Ellesmere -> Wrenbury<br />
* 9.5 hours<br />
* 10 locks, 7 movable bridges, 1 tunnel<br />
<br />
====Thu 20th Sep====<br />
* Wrenbury -> Middlewich<br />
* 8 hours<br />
* 12 locks, 1 movable bridge<br />
<br />
====Fri 21st Sep====<br />
* Middlewich -> Boat Yard<br />
* 1 hour<br />
* 1 lock<br />
<br />
== Photo links ==</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/The_Great_Strugglers_Boat_Trip_2007The Great Strugglers Boat Trip 20072007-08-13T09:15:04Z<p>Matt: /* Mon 17th Sep */ add mileage</p>
<hr />
<div>Yes!<br />
<br />
It is back by popular demand, the annual (hopefully) narrowboat trip around the many and varied waterways of Britain.<br />
<br />
This year a group of geeks, and one [[neogeek]], will attempt to navigate the Llangollen canal in a week.<br />
<br />
== Who? ==<br />
<br />
* [http://popey.com/ Alan]<br />
* [[User:Andy|Andy]]<br />
* [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
* [[User:Phil|Phil]]<br />
* Tim (No point linking this to anything as Tim is now so neogeek that he has no internet presence, with the possible exclusion of some of the more fashionable social networking sites)<br />
<br />
== Where ? ==<br />
<br />
===Address and contact details of the boatyard===<br />
<br />
* Middlewich Narrowboats<br>Canal Terrace<br>Middlewich<br>Cheshire<br>CW10 9BD<br>[http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=CW10+9BD&ie=UTF8&z=16&iwloc=addr&om=1 Map]<br />
* Telephone: 01606 832460<br />
* Email: [mailto:info@middlewichboats.co.uk info@middlewichboats.co.uk]<br />
* Web: http://www.middlewichboats.co.uk<br />
<br />
== When? ==<br />
<br />
Friday 14th September &rarr; Friday 21st September.<br />
<br />
Approximate sunrise and sunset times are as follows:<br />
<br />
== Logistics ==<br />
<br />
We will call at a supermarket near to the boat yard to pick up initial provisions.<br />
The nearest major supermarket seems to be an Asda at Winsford:<br />
<br />
The Drumber<br><br />
Winsford<br><br />
CW7 1BD<br />
<br />
Facilities include disabled parking, baby change and a fish counter.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
==How much?==<br />
<br />
£220 each. Please send to Matt ASAP, details provided via email.<br />
<br />
We will again operate a communal kitty in order to pay for:<br />
<br />
* groceries.<br />
* pub lunches<br />
* evening meals (where relevant)<br />
* general supplies of drink (alcoholic or otherwise) for the boat.<br />
* "random stuff" that may be required, example batteries for walkie-talkies.<br />
* disposable BBQ kit for a suitable evening.<br />
<br />
Initial amount into kitty?<br />
<br />
Last year we each (4 of us) put £50 into the kitty initially, but this turned<br />
out to be not enough to cover even the initial shopping bill at the supermarket<br />
before we set off, let alone leaving anything in the kitty. So I suggest we<br />
actually put £100 each in the kitty, which seems a lot, but half of that will<br />
go on the shopping and we will easily spend the rest over the following few<br />
days going on past experience. --[[User:Matt|Matt]] 08:30, 5 July 2007 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Boat information ==<br />
<br />
This year's boat will be [http://www.waterwaysholidays.com/detail/midwichash.htm Poplar]<br />
provided by [http://www.middlewichboats.co.uk Middlewich Narrowboats]. There are 12 berths <br />
(we believe that the single beds at the back of the boat are actually bunk-beds) so there<br />
should be plenty of room for storage on the extra beds. 1 shower and 2 toilets are provided.<br />
Do we need to schedule a pump-out stop?<br />
<br />
== What to bring ==<br />
<br />
Space on the boat, and probably more importantly in the cars, will be limited, so try not to over pack. A large holdall for clothes and a small backpack for other bits and pieces seems reasonable.<br />
<br />
Note that all bed linen is provided so you don't need to bring any of that. You will need to bring your own towel however. All cooking utensils and crockery etc. is also provided.<br />
<br />
* Waterproof clothing - we'll probably end up having to pilot the boat and do locks in the pouring rain.<br />
* Gloves - some locks are real bastards.<br />
* Torch - if you have one; we may run out of power some nights, plus for walking to pub, etc.<br />
* A Tea Towel - there will probably be at least one on the boat, but would be good if everyone could bring one so that we have enough.<br />
* Sunscreen or hat, & sunglasses - just in case it happens to be sunny.<br />
* [http://www.cafepress.com/converter.5498827 A CafePress Mug] - for dropping into the canal causing much hilarity.<br />
* [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.patrick/bragaze.html Weak lemon drink] - for drinking down furiously in one gulp in celebration of your hobby success.<br />
<br />
=== Clothing considerations ===<br />
<br />
Casual clothing that you don't mind getting dirty/worn is best. Jeans are fine, though if it rains can get waterlogged. Due to the possible weather conditions do bring a few sets of clothing as you may end up stuck outdoors in the rain for several hours after which you'll definitely want a change of clothes.<br />
<br />
Footwear with decent grip is essential. Trainers are good most of the time, though if it's raining a pair of boots won't go a miss. You'll probably want to have more than one set of footwear in case one set gets soaked and needs to be dried.<br />
<br />
There will be drying facilities to some extent on the boat, though obviously drying space is limited. There will be some radiators and an airing cupboard. <br />
<br />
=== Comms ===<br />
<br />
Matt will provide a 2-way radio for each person with one charged battery pack. Extra<br />
battery packs will probably not be able to be provided this year, and given that we<br />
have had no real success charging the radios on the boat previously, it is suggested<br />
that everyone brings at least one set of batteries (4xAAA) to replace the battery<br />
pack when dead.<br />
<br />
==Entertainment Etc==<br />
<br />
===Poker===<br />
Despite poker turning into a bit of a farce last year, I (Matt) still would be up for<br />
having another attempt this year... perhaps we could sandwich in Tim to prevent him <br />
from leaving the table and make sure that his phone is at the other end of the boat :)<br />
<br />
===Cigars===<br />
Anyone interested in some cigars again this year? I (Matt) suggest that anyone who <br />
wishes to partake in a cigar or two should state roughly how many they would like<br />
here, and then we can pick out a suitable box to suit and split the cost appropriately? <br />
Last year we had a box of 10x<br />
[http://www.tomtom.co.uk/catalogue/cigars/openproduct.asp?id=149 Montecristo No.4]<br />
which personally I thought were fine in terms of cost (approx £8)/strength etc for the <br />
cigar noob<br />
like myself. If someone has a preference for something else though then I'm happy<br />
to let someone else pick...<br />
<br />
* Matt: 3<br />
* Andy: put me down for 2 or 3...<br />
* Tim: <probably not allowed><br />
<br />
Note: no point buying these until a couple of weeks before we go as they will just<br />
dry out if not stored correctly.<br />
<br />
== Planned route and schedule for the week ==<br />
<br />
=== Overall statistics of the route itself ===<br />
<br />
=== Some guesses as to where we would like to start / end each day ===<br />
<br />
====Fri 14th Sep====<br />
* Middlewich -> Church Minshull<br />
* 5 miles<br />
* 3 hours<br />
* 2 locks<br />
<br />
====Sat 15th Sep====<br />
* Church Minshull -> Grindley Brook<br />
* 16 miles<br />
* 8 hours<br />
* 15 locks, 3 movable bridges<br />
<br />
====Sun 16th Sep====<br />
* Grindley Brook -> Hindford<br />
* 15 miles<br />
* 8.5 hours<br />
* 6 locks, 5 movable bridges, 1 tunnel<br />
<br />
====Mon 17th Sep====<br />
* Hindford -> Langollen<br />
* 13 miles<br />
* 7 hours<br />
* 2 locks, 2 movable bridges, 2 tunnels, 3 aqueducts<br />
<br />
====Tue 18th Sep====<br />
* Llangollen -> Ellesmere<br />
* 9 hours<br />
* 2 locks, 2 movable bridges, 2 tunnels, 3 aqueducts<br />
<br />
====Wed 19th Sep====<br />
* Ellesmere -> Wrenbury<br />
* 9.5 hours<br />
* 10 locks, 7 movable bridges, 1 tunnel<br />
<br />
====Thu 20th Sep====<br />
* Wrenbury -> Middlewich<br />
* 8 hours<br />
* 12 locks, 1 movable bridge<br />
<br />
====Fri 21st Sep====<br />
* Middlewich -> Boat Yard<br />
* 1 hour<br />
* 1 lock<br />
<br />
== Photo links ==</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/The_Great_Strugglers_Boat_Trip_2007The Great Strugglers Boat Trip 20072007-07-06T16:54:10Z<p>Matt: Logistics - supermarket</p>
<hr />
<div>Yes!<br />
<br />
It is back by popular demand, the annual (hopefully) narrowboat trip around the many and varied waterways of Britain.<br />
<br />
This year a group of geeks, and one [[neogeek]], will attempt to navigate the Llangollen canal in a week.<br />
<br />
== Who? ==<br />
<br />
* [http://popey.com/ Alan]<br />
* [[User:Andy|Andy]]<br />
* [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
* [[User:Phil|Phil]]<br />
* Tim (No point linking this to anything as Tim is now so neogeek that he has no internet presence, with the possible exclusion of some of the more fashionable social networking sites)<br />
<br />
== Where ? ==<br />
<br />
===Address and contact details of the boatyard===<br />
<br />
* Middlewich Narrowboats<br>Canal Terrace<br>Middlewich<br>Cheshire<br>CW10 9BD<br>[http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=CW10+9BD&ie=UTF8&z=16&iwloc=addr&om=1 Map]<br />
* Telephone: 01606 832460<br />
* Email: [mailto:info@middlewichboats.co.uk info@middlewichboats.co.uk]<br />
* Web: http://www.middlewichboats.co.uk<br />
<br />
== When? ==<br />
<br />
Friday 14th September &rarr; Friday 21st September.<br />
<br />
Approximate sunrise and sunset times are as follows:<br />
<br />
== Logistics ==<br />
<br />
We will call at a supermarket near to the boat yard to pick up initial provisions.<br />
The nearest major supermarket seems to be an Asda at Winsford:<br />
<br />
The Drumber<br><br />
Winsford<br><br />
CW7 1BD<br />
<br />
Facilities include disabled parking, baby change and a fish counter.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
==How much?==<br />
<br />
£220 each. Please send to Matt ASAP, details provided via email.<br />
<br />
We will again operate a communal kitty in order to pay for:<br />
<br />
* groceries.<br />
* pub lunches<br />
* evening meals (where relevant)<br />
* general supplies of drink (alcoholic or otherwise) for the boat.<br />
* "random stuff" that may be required, example batteries for walkie-talkies.<br />
* disposable BBQ kit for a suitable evening.<br />
<br />
Initial amount into kitty?<br />
<br />
Last year we each (4 of us) put £50 into the kitty initially, but this turned<br />
out to be not enough to cover even the initial shopping bill at the supermarket<br />
before we set off, let alone leaving anything in the kitty. So I suggest we<br />
actually put £100 each in the kitty, which seems a lot, but half of that will<br />
go on the shopping and we will easily spend the rest over the following few<br />
days going on past experience. --[[User:Matt|Matt]] 08:30, 5 July 2007 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Boat information ==<br />
<br />
This year's boat will be [http://www.waterwaysholidays.com/detail/midwichash.htm Poplar]<br />
provided by [http://www.middlewichboats.co.uk Middlewich Narrowboats]. There are 12 berths <br />
(we believe that the single beds at the back of the boat are actually bunk-beds) so there<br />
should be plenty of room for storage on the extra beds. 1 shower and 2 toilets are provided.<br />
Do we need to schedule a pump-out stop?<br />
<br />
== What to bring ==<br />
<br />
Space on the boat, and probably more importantly in the cars, will be limited, so try not to over pack. A large holdall for clothes and a small backpack for other bits and pieces seems reasonable.<br />
<br />
Note that all bed linen is provided so you don't need to bring any of that. You will need to bring your own towel however. All cooking utensils and crockery etc. is also provided.<br />
<br />
* Waterproof clothing - we'll probably end up having to pilot the boat and do locks in the pouring rain.<br />
* Gloves - some locks are real bastards.<br />
* Torch - if you have one; we may run out of power some nights, plus for walking to pub, etc.<br />
* A Tea Towel - there will probably be at least one on the boat, but would be good if everyone could bring one so that we have enough.<br />
* Sunscreen or hat, & sunglasses - just in case it happens to be sunny.<br />
* [http://www.cafepress.com/converter.5498827 A CafePress Mug] - for dropping into the canal causing much hilarity.<br />
* [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.patrick/bragaze.html Weak lemon drink] - for drinking down furiously in one gulp in celebration of your hobby success.<br />
<br />
=== Clothing considerations ===<br />
<br />
Casual clothing that you don't mind getting dirty/worn is best. Jeans are fine, though if it rains can get waterlogged. Due to the possible weather conditions do bring a few sets of clothing as you may end up stuck outdoors in the rain for several hours after which you'll definitely want a change of clothes.<br />
<br />
Footwear with decent grip is essential. Trainers are good most of the time, though if it's raining a pair of boots won't go a miss. You'll probably want to have more than one set of footwear in case one set gets soaked and needs to be dried.<br />
<br />
There will be drying facilities to some extent on the boat, though obviously drying space is limited. There will be some radiators and an airing cupboard. <br />
<br />
=== Comms ===<br />
<br />
Matt will provide a 2-way radio for each person with one charged battery pack. Extra<br />
battery packs will probably not be able to be provided this year, and given that we<br />
have had no real success charging the radios on the boat previously, it is suggested<br />
that everyone brings at least one set of batteries (4xAAA) to replace the battery<br />
pack when dead.<br />
<br />
==Entertainment Etc==<br />
<br />
===Poker===<br />
Despite poker turning into a bit of a farce last year, I (Matt) still would be up for<br />
having another attempt this year... perhaps we could sandwich in Tim to prevent him <br />
from leaving the table and make sure that his phone is at the other end of the boat :)<br />
<br />
===Cigars===<br />
Anyone interested in some cigars again this year? I (Matt) suggest that anyone who <br />
wishes to partake in a cigar or two should state roughly how many they would like<br />
here, and then we can pick out a suitable box to suit and split the cost appropriately? <br />
Last year we had a box of 10x<br />
[http://www.tomtom.co.uk/catalogue/cigars/openproduct.asp?id=149 Montecristo No.4]<br />
which personally I thought were fine in terms of cost (approx £8)/strength etc for the <br />
cigar noob<br />
like myself. If someone has a preference for something else though then I'm happy<br />
to let someone else pick...<br />
<br />
* Matt: 3<br />
* Andy: put me down for 2 or 3...<br />
* Tim: <probably not allowed><br />
<br />
Note: no point buying these until a couple of weeks before we go as they will just<br />
dry out if not stored correctly.<br />
<br />
== Planned route and schedule for the week ==<br />
<br />
=== Overall statistics of the route itself ===<br />
<br />
=== Some guesses as to where we would like to start / end each day ===<br />
<br />
====Fri 14th Sep====<br />
* Middlewich -> Church Minshull<br />
* 5 miles<br />
* 3 hours<br />
* 2 locks<br />
<br />
====Sat 15th Sep====<br />
* Church Minshull -> Grindley Brook<br />
* 16 miles<br />
* 8 hours<br />
* 15 locks, 3 movable bridges<br />
<br />
====Sun 16th Sep====<br />
* Grindley Brook -> Hindford<br />
* 15 miles<br />
* 8.5 hours<br />
* 6 locks, 5 movable bridges, 1 tunnel<br />
<br />
====Mon 17th Sep====<br />
* Hindford -> Langollen<br />
* 7 hours<br />
* 2 locks, 2 movable bridges, 2 tunnels, 3 aqueducts<br />
<br />
====Tue 18th Sep====<br />
* Llangollen -> Ellesmere<br />
* 9 hours<br />
* 2 locks, 2 movable bridges, 2 tunnels, 3 aqueducts<br />
<br />
====Wed 19th Sep====<br />
* Ellesmere -> Wrenbury<br />
* 9.5 hours<br />
* 10 locks, 7 movable bridges, 1 tunnel<br />
<br />
====Thu 20th Sep====<br />
* Wrenbury -> Middlewich<br />
* 8 hours<br />
* 12 locks, 1 movable bridge<br />
<br />
====Fri 21st Sep====<br />
* Middlewich -> Boat Yard<br />
* 1 hour<br />
* 1 lock<br />
<br />
== Photo links ==</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/The_Great_Strugglers_Boat_Trip_2007The Great Strugglers Boat Trip 20072007-07-05T19:34:51Z<p>Matt: /* Sun 16th Sep */ add mileage</p>
<hr />
<div>Yes!<br />
<br />
It is back by popular demand, the annual (hopefully) narrowboat trip around the many and varied waterways of Britain.<br />
<br />
This year a group of geeks, and one [[neogeek]], will attempt to navigate the Llangollen canal in a week.<br />
<br />
== Who? ==<br />
<br />
* [http://popey.com/ Alan]<br />
* [[User:Andy|Andy]]<br />
* [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
* [[User:Phil|Phil]]<br />
* Tim (No point linking this to anything as Tim is now so neogeek that he has no internet presence, with the possible exclusion of some of the more fashionable social networking sites)<br />
<br />
== Where ? ==<br />
<br />
===Address and contact details of the boatyard===<br />
<br />
* Middlewich Narrowboats<br>Canal Terrace<br>Middlewich<br>Cheshire<br>CW10 9BD<br>[http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=CW10+9BD&ie=UTF8&z=16&iwloc=addr&om=1 Map]<br />
* Telephone: 01606 832460<br />
* Email: [mailto:info@middlewichboats.co.uk info@middlewichboats.co.uk]<br />
* Web: http://www.middlewichboats.co.uk<br />
<br />
== When? ==<br />
<br />
Friday 14th September &rarr; Friday 21st September.<br />
<br />
Approximate sunrise and sunset times are as follows:<br />
<br />
<br />
==How much?==<br />
<br />
£220 each. Please send to Matt ASAP, details provided via email.<br />
<br />
We will again operate a communal kitty in order to pay for:<br />
<br />
* groceries.<br />
* pub lunches<br />
* evening meals (where relevant)<br />
* general supplies of drink (alcoholic or otherwise) for the boat.<br />
* "random stuff" that may be required, example batteries for walkie-talkies.<br />
* disposable BBQ kit for a suitable evening.<br />
<br />
Initial amount into kitty?<br />
<br />
Last year we each (4 of us) put £50 into the kitty initially, but this turned<br />
out to be not enough to cover even the initial shopping bill at the supermarket<br />
before we set off, let alone leaving anything in the kitty. So I suggest we<br />
actually put £100 each in the kitty, which seems a lot, but half of that will<br />
go on the shopping and we will easily spend the rest over the following few<br />
days going on past experience. --[[User:Matt|Matt]] 08:30, 5 July 2007 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Boat information ==<br />
<br />
This year's boat will be [http://www.waterwaysholidays.com/detail/midwichash.htm Poplar]<br />
provided by [http://www.middlewichboats.co.uk Middlewich Narrowboats]. There are 12 berths <br />
(we believe that the single beds at the back of the boat are actually bunk-beds) so there<br />
should be plenty of room for storage on the extra beds. 1 shower and 2 toilets are provided.<br />
Do we need to schedule a pump-out stop?<br />
<br />
== What to bring ==<br />
<br />
Space on the boat, and probably more importantly in the cars, will be limited, so try not to over pack. A large holdall for clothes and a small backpack for other bits and pieces seems reasonable.<br />
<br />
Note that all bed linen is provided so you don't need to bring any of that. You will need to bring your own towel however. All cooking utensils and crockery etc. is also provided.<br />
<br />
* Waterproof clothing - we'll probably end up having to pilot the boat and do locks in the pouring rain.<br />
* Gloves - some locks are real bastards.<br />
* Torch - if you have one; we may run out of power some nights, plus for walking to pub, etc.<br />
* A Tea Towel - there will probably be at least one on the boat, but would be good if everyone could bring one so that we have enough.<br />
* Sunscreen or hat, & sunglasses - just in case it happens to be sunny.<br />
* [http://www.cafepress.com/converter.5498827 A CafePress Mug] - for dropping into the canal causing much hilarity.<br />
* [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.patrick/bragaze.html Weak lemon drink] - for drinking down furiously in one gulp in celebration of your hobby success.<br />
<br />
=== Clothing considerations ===<br />
<br />
Casual clothing that you don't mind getting dirty/worn is best. Jeans are fine, though if it rains can get waterlogged. Due to the possible weather conditions do bring a few sets of clothing as you may end up stuck outdoors in the rain for several hours after which you'll definitely want a change of clothes.<br />
<br />
Footwear with decent grip is essential. Trainers are good most of the time, though if it's raining a pair of boots won't go a miss. You'll probably want to have more than one set of footwear in case one set gets soaked and needs to be dried.<br />
<br />
There will be drying facilities to some extent on the boat, though obviously drying space is limited. There will be some radiators and an airing cupboard. <br />
<br />
=== Comms ===<br />
<br />
Matt will provide a 2-way radio for each person with one charged battery pack. Extra<br />
battery packs will probably not be able to be provided this year, and given that we<br />
have had no real success charging the radios on the boat previously, it is suggested<br />
that everyone brings at least one set of batteries (4xAAA) to replace the battery<br />
pack when dead.<br />
<br />
==Entertainment Etc==<br />
<br />
===Poker===<br />
Despite poker turning into a bit of a farce last year, I (Matt) still would be up for<br />
having another attempt this year... perhaps we could sandwich in Tim to prevent him <br />
from leaving the table and make sure that his phone is at the other end of the boat :)<br />
<br />
===Cigars===<br />
Anyone interested in some cigars again this year? I (Matt) suggest that anyone who <br />
wishes to partake in a cigar or two should state roughly how many they would like<br />
here, and then we can pick out a suitable box to suit and split the cost appropriately? <br />
Last year we had a box of 10x<br />
[http://www.tomtom.co.uk/catalogue/cigars/openproduct.asp?id=149 Montecristo No.4]<br />
which personally I thought were fine in terms of cost (approx £8)/strength etc for the <br />
cigar noob<br />
like myself. If someone has a preference for something else though then I'm happy<br />
to let someone else pick...<br />
<br />
* Matt: 3<br />
* Andy: put me down for 2 or 3...<br />
* Tim: <probably not allowed><br />
<br />
Note: no point buying these until a couple of weeks before we go as they will just<br />
dry out if not stored correctly.<br />
<br />
== Planned route and schedule for the week ==<br />
<br />
=== Overall statistics of the route itself ===<br />
<br />
=== Some guesses as to where we would like to start / end each day ===<br />
<br />
====Fri 14th Sep====<br />
* Middlewich -> Church Minshull<br />
* 5 miles<br />
* 3 hours<br />
* 2 locks<br />
<br />
====Sat 15th Sep====<br />
* Church Minshull -> Grindley Brook<br />
* 16 miles<br />
* 8 hours<br />
* 15 locks, 3 movable bridges<br />
<br />
====Sun 16th Sep====<br />
* Grindley Brook -> Hindford<br />
* 15 miles<br />
* 8.5 hours<br />
* 6 locks, 5 movable bridges, 1 tunnel<br />
<br />
====Mon 17th Sep====<br />
* Hindford -> Langollen<br />
* 7 hours<br />
* 2 locks, 2 movable bridges, 2 tunnels, 3 aqueducts<br />
<br />
====Tue 18th Sep====<br />
* Llangollen -> Ellesmere<br />
* 9 hours<br />
* 2 locks, 2 movable bridges, 2 tunnels, 3 aqueducts<br />
<br />
====Wed 19th Sep====<br />
* Ellesmere -> Wrenbury<br />
* 9.5 hours<br />
* 10 locks, 7 movable bridges, 1 tunnel<br />
<br />
====Thu 20th Sep====<br />
* Wrenbury -> Middlewich<br />
* 8 hours<br />
* 12 locks, 1 movable bridge<br />
<br />
====Fri 21st Sep====<br />
* Middlewich -> Boat Yard<br />
* 1 hour<br />
* 1 lock<br />
<br />
== Photo links ==</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/The_Great_Strugglers_Boat_Trip_2007The Great Strugglers Boat Trip 20072007-07-05T19:30:34Z<p>Matt: /* Sat 15th Sep */ add mileage</p>
<hr />
<div>Yes!<br />
<br />
It is back by popular demand, the annual (hopefully) narrowboat trip around the many and varied waterways of Britain.<br />
<br />
This year a group of geeks, and one [[neogeek]], will attempt to navigate the Llangollen canal in a week.<br />
<br />
== Who? ==<br />
<br />
* [http://popey.com/ Alan]<br />
* [[User:Andy|Andy]]<br />
* [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
* [[User:Phil|Phil]]<br />
* Tim (No point linking this to anything as Tim is now so neogeek that he has no internet presence, with the possible exclusion of some of the more fashionable social networking sites)<br />
<br />
== Where ? ==<br />
<br />
===Address and contact details of the boatyard===<br />
<br />
* Middlewich Narrowboats<br>Canal Terrace<br>Middlewich<br>Cheshire<br>CW10 9BD<br>[http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=CW10+9BD&ie=UTF8&z=16&iwloc=addr&om=1 Map]<br />
* Telephone: 01606 832460<br />
* Email: [mailto:info@middlewichboats.co.uk info@middlewichboats.co.uk]<br />
* Web: http://www.middlewichboats.co.uk<br />
<br />
== When? ==<br />
<br />
Friday 14th September &rarr; Friday 21st September.<br />
<br />
Approximate sunrise and sunset times are as follows:<br />
<br />
<br />
==How much?==<br />
<br />
£220 each. Please send to Matt ASAP, details provided via email.<br />
<br />
We will again operate a communal kitty in order to pay for:<br />
<br />
* groceries.<br />
* pub lunches<br />
* evening meals (where relevant)<br />
* general supplies of drink (alcoholic or otherwise) for the boat.<br />
* "random stuff" that may be required, example batteries for walkie-talkies.<br />
* disposable BBQ kit for a suitable evening.<br />
<br />
Initial amount into kitty?<br />
<br />
Last year we each (4 of us) put £50 into the kitty initially, but this turned<br />
out to be not enough to cover even the initial shopping bill at the supermarket<br />
before we set off, let alone leaving anything in the kitty. So I suggest we<br />
actually put £100 each in the kitty, which seems a lot, but half of that will<br />
go on the shopping and we will easily spend the rest over the following few<br />
days going on past experience. --[[User:Matt|Matt]] 08:30, 5 July 2007 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Boat information ==<br />
<br />
This year's boat will be [http://www.waterwaysholidays.com/detail/midwichash.htm Poplar]<br />
provided by [http://www.middlewichboats.co.uk Middlewich Narrowboats]. There are 12 berths <br />
(we believe that the single beds at the back of the boat are actually bunk-beds) so there<br />
should be plenty of room for storage on the extra beds. 1 shower and 2 toilets are provided.<br />
Do we need to schedule a pump-out stop?<br />
<br />
== What to bring ==<br />
<br />
Space on the boat, and probably more importantly in the cars, will be limited, so try not to over pack. A large holdall for clothes and a small backpack for other bits and pieces seems reasonable.<br />
<br />
Note that all bed linen is provided so you don't need to bring any of that. You will need to bring your own towel however. All cooking utensils and crockery etc. is also provided.<br />
<br />
* Waterproof clothing - we'll probably end up having to pilot the boat and do locks in the pouring rain.<br />
* Gloves - some locks are real bastards.<br />
* Torch - if you have one; we may run out of power some nights, plus for walking to pub, etc.<br />
* A Tea Towel - there will probably be at least one on the boat, but would be good if everyone could bring one so that we have enough.<br />
* Sunscreen or hat, & sunglasses - just in case it happens to be sunny.<br />
* [http://www.cafepress.com/converter.5498827 A CafePress Mug] - for dropping into the canal causing much hilarity.<br />
* [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.patrick/bragaze.html Weak lemon drink] - for drinking down furiously in one gulp in celebration of your hobby success.<br />
<br />
=== Clothing considerations ===<br />
<br />
Casual clothing that you don't mind getting dirty/worn is best. Jeans are fine, though if it rains can get waterlogged. Due to the possible weather conditions do bring a few sets of clothing as you may end up stuck outdoors in the rain for several hours after which you'll definitely want a change of clothes.<br />
<br />
Footwear with decent grip is essential. Trainers are good most of the time, though if it's raining a pair of boots won't go a miss. You'll probably want to have more than one set of footwear in case one set gets soaked and needs to be dried.<br />
<br />
There will be drying facilities to some extent on the boat, though obviously drying space is limited. There will be some radiators and an airing cupboard. <br />
<br />
=== Comms ===<br />
<br />
Matt will provide a 2-way radio for each person with one charged battery pack. Extra<br />
battery packs will probably not be able to be provided this year, and given that we<br />
have had no real success charging the radios on the boat previously, it is suggested<br />
that everyone brings at least one set of batteries (4xAAA) to replace the battery<br />
pack when dead.<br />
<br />
==Entertainment Etc==<br />
<br />
===Poker===<br />
Despite poker turning into a bit of a farce last year, I (Matt) still would be up for<br />
having another attempt this year... perhaps we could sandwich in Tim to prevent him <br />
from leaving the table and make sure that his phone is at the other end of the boat :)<br />
<br />
===Cigars===<br />
Anyone interested in some cigars again this year? I (Matt) suggest that anyone who <br />
wishes to partake in a cigar or two should state roughly how many they would like<br />
here, and then we can pick out a suitable box to suit and split the cost appropriately? <br />
Last year we had a box of 10x<br />
[http://www.tomtom.co.uk/catalogue/cigars/openproduct.asp?id=149 Montecristo No.4]<br />
which personally I thought were fine in terms of cost (approx £8)/strength etc for the <br />
cigar noob<br />
like myself. If someone has a preference for something else though then I'm happy<br />
to let someone else pick...<br />
<br />
* Matt: 3<br />
* Andy: put me down for 2 or 3...<br />
* Tim: <probably not allowed><br />
<br />
Note: no point buying these until a couple of weeks before we go as they will just<br />
dry out if not stored correctly.<br />
<br />
== Planned route and schedule for the week ==<br />
<br />
=== Overall statistics of the route itself ===<br />
<br />
=== Some guesses as to where we would like to start / end each day ===<br />
<br />
====Fri 14th Sep====<br />
* Middlewich -> Church Minshull<br />
* 5 miles<br />
* 3 hours<br />
* 2 locks<br />
<br />
====Sat 15th Sep====<br />
* Church Minshull -> Grindley Brook<br />
* 16 miles<br />
* 8 hours<br />
* 15 locks, 3 movable bridges<br />
<br />
====Sun 16th Sep====<br />
* Grindley Brook -> Hindford<br />
* 8.5 hours<br />
* 6 locks, 5 movable bridges, 1 tunnel<br />
<br />
====Mon 17th Sep====<br />
* Hindford -> Langollen<br />
* 7 hours<br />
* 2 locks, 2 movable bridges, 2 tunnels, 3 aqueducts<br />
<br />
====Tue 18th Sep====<br />
* Llangollen -> Ellesmere<br />
* 9 hours<br />
* 2 locks, 2 movable bridges, 2 tunnels, 3 aqueducts<br />
<br />
====Wed 19th Sep====<br />
* Ellesmere -> Wrenbury<br />
* 9.5 hours<br />
* 10 locks, 7 movable bridges, 1 tunnel<br />
<br />
====Thu 20th Sep====<br />
* Wrenbury -> Middlewich<br />
* 8 hours<br />
* 12 locks, 1 movable bridge<br />
<br />
====Fri 21st Sep====<br />
* Middlewich -> Boat Yard<br />
* 1 hour<br />
* 1 lock<br />
<br />
== Photo links ==</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/The_Great_Strugglers_Boat_Trip_2007The Great Strugglers Boat Trip 20072007-07-05T19:28:42Z<p>Matt: /* Fri 14th Sep */ correction</p>
<hr />
<div>Yes!<br />
<br />
It is back by popular demand, the annual (hopefully) narrowboat trip around the many and varied waterways of Britain.<br />
<br />
This year a group of geeks, and one [[neogeek]], will attempt to navigate the Llangollen canal in a week.<br />
<br />
== Who? ==<br />
<br />
* [http://popey.com/ Alan]<br />
* [[User:Andy|Andy]]<br />
* [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
* [[User:Phil|Phil]]<br />
* Tim (No point linking this to anything as Tim is now so neogeek that he has no internet presence, with the possible exclusion of some of the more fashionable social networking sites)<br />
<br />
== Where ? ==<br />
<br />
===Address and contact details of the boatyard===<br />
<br />
* Middlewich Narrowboats<br>Canal Terrace<br>Middlewich<br>Cheshire<br>CW10 9BD<br>[http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=CW10+9BD&ie=UTF8&z=16&iwloc=addr&om=1 Map]<br />
* Telephone: 01606 832460<br />
* Email: [mailto:info@middlewichboats.co.uk info@middlewichboats.co.uk]<br />
* Web: http://www.middlewichboats.co.uk<br />
<br />
== When? ==<br />
<br />
Friday 14th September &rarr; Friday 21st September.<br />
<br />
Approximate sunrise and sunset times are as follows:<br />
<br />
<br />
==How much?==<br />
<br />
£220 each. Please send to Matt ASAP, details provided via email.<br />
<br />
We will again operate a communal kitty in order to pay for:<br />
<br />
* groceries.<br />
* pub lunches<br />
* evening meals (where relevant)<br />
* general supplies of drink (alcoholic or otherwise) for the boat.<br />
* "random stuff" that may be required, example batteries for walkie-talkies.<br />
* disposable BBQ kit for a suitable evening.<br />
<br />
Initial amount into kitty?<br />
<br />
Last year we each (4 of us) put £50 into the kitty initially, but this turned<br />
out to be not enough to cover even the initial shopping bill at the supermarket<br />
before we set off, let alone leaving anything in the kitty. So I suggest we<br />
actually put £100 each in the kitty, which seems a lot, but half of that will<br />
go on the shopping and we will easily spend the rest over the following few<br />
days going on past experience. --[[User:Matt|Matt]] 08:30, 5 July 2007 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Boat information ==<br />
<br />
This year's boat will be [http://www.waterwaysholidays.com/detail/midwichash.htm Poplar]<br />
provided by [http://www.middlewichboats.co.uk Middlewich Narrowboats]. There are 12 berths <br />
(we believe that the single beds at the back of the boat are actually bunk-beds) so there<br />
should be plenty of room for storage on the extra beds. 1 shower and 2 toilets are provided.<br />
Do we need to schedule a pump-out stop?<br />
<br />
== What to bring ==<br />
<br />
Space on the boat, and probably more importantly in the cars, will be limited, so try not to over pack. A large holdall for clothes and a small backpack for other bits and pieces seems reasonable.<br />
<br />
Note that all bed linen is provided so you don't need to bring any of that. You will need to bring your own towel however. All cooking utensils and crockery etc. is also provided.<br />
<br />
* Waterproof clothing - we'll probably end up having to pilot the boat and do locks in the pouring rain.<br />
* Gloves - some locks are real bastards.<br />
* Torch - if you have one; we may run out of power some nights, plus for walking to pub, etc.<br />
* A Tea Towel - there will probably be at least one on the boat, but would be good if everyone could bring one so that we have enough.<br />
* Sunscreen or hat, & sunglasses - just in case it happens to be sunny.<br />
* [http://www.cafepress.com/converter.5498827 A CafePress Mug] - for dropping into the canal causing much hilarity.<br />
* [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.patrick/bragaze.html Weak lemon drink] - for drinking down furiously in one gulp in celebration of your hobby success.<br />
<br />
=== Clothing considerations ===<br />
<br />
Casual clothing that you don't mind getting dirty/worn is best. Jeans are fine, though if it rains can get waterlogged. Due to the possible weather conditions do bring a few sets of clothing as you may end up stuck outdoors in the rain for several hours after which you'll definitely want a change of clothes.<br />
<br />
Footwear with decent grip is essential. Trainers are good most of the time, though if it's raining a pair of boots won't go a miss. You'll probably want to have more than one set of footwear in case one set gets soaked and needs to be dried.<br />
<br />
There will be drying facilities to some extent on the boat, though obviously drying space is limited. There will be some radiators and an airing cupboard. <br />
<br />
=== Comms ===<br />
<br />
Matt will provide a 2-way radio for each person with one charged battery pack. Extra<br />
battery packs will probably not be able to be provided this year, and given that we<br />
have had no real success charging the radios on the boat previously, it is suggested<br />
that everyone brings at least one set of batteries (4xAAA) to replace the battery<br />
pack when dead.<br />
<br />
==Entertainment Etc==<br />
<br />
===Poker===<br />
Despite poker turning into a bit of a farce last year, I (Matt) still would be up for<br />
having another attempt this year... perhaps we could sandwich in Tim to prevent him <br />
from leaving the table and make sure that his phone is at the other end of the boat :)<br />
<br />
===Cigars===<br />
Anyone interested in some cigars again this year? I (Matt) suggest that anyone who <br />
wishes to partake in a cigar or two should state roughly how many they would like<br />
here, and then we can pick out a suitable box to suit and split the cost appropriately? <br />
Last year we had a box of 10x<br />
[http://www.tomtom.co.uk/catalogue/cigars/openproduct.asp?id=149 Montecristo No.4]<br />
which personally I thought were fine in terms of cost (approx £8)/strength etc for the <br />
cigar noob<br />
like myself. If someone has a preference for something else though then I'm happy<br />
to let someone else pick...<br />
<br />
* Matt: 3<br />
* Andy: put me down for 2 or 3...<br />
* Tim: <probably not allowed><br />
<br />
Note: no point buying these until a couple of weeks before we go as they will just<br />
dry out if not stored correctly.<br />
<br />
== Planned route and schedule for the week ==<br />
<br />
=== Overall statistics of the route itself ===<br />
<br />
=== Some guesses as to where we would like to start / end each day ===<br />
<br />
====Fri 14th Sep====<br />
* Middlewich -> Church Minshull<br />
* 5 miles<br />
* 3 hours<br />
* 2 locks<br />
<br />
====Sat 15th Sep====<br />
* Church Minshull -> Grindley Brook<br />
* 8 hours<br />
* 15 locks, 3 movable bridges<br />
<br />
====Sun 16th Sep====<br />
* Grindley Brook -> Hindford<br />
* 8.5 hours<br />
* 6 locks, 5 movable bridges, 1 tunnel<br />
<br />
====Mon 17th Sep====<br />
* Hindford -> Langollen<br />
* 7 hours<br />
* 2 locks, 2 movable bridges, 2 tunnels, 3 aqueducts<br />
<br />
====Tue 18th Sep====<br />
* Llangollen -> Ellesmere<br />
* 9 hours<br />
* 2 locks, 2 movable bridges, 2 tunnels, 3 aqueducts<br />
<br />
====Wed 19th Sep====<br />
* Ellesmere -> Wrenbury<br />
* 9.5 hours<br />
* 10 locks, 7 movable bridges, 1 tunnel<br />
<br />
====Thu 20th Sep====<br />
* Wrenbury -> Middlewich<br />
* 8 hours<br />
* 12 locks, 1 movable bridge<br />
<br />
====Fri 21st Sep====<br />
* Middlewich -> Boat Yard<br />
* 1 hour<br />
* 1 lock<br />
<br />
== Photo links ==</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/The_Great_Strugglers_Boat_Trip_2007The Great Strugglers Boat Trip 20072007-07-05T19:27:46Z<p>Matt: /* Fri 14th Sep */ add mileage</p>
<hr />
<div>Yes!<br />
<br />
It is back by popular demand, the annual (hopefully) narrowboat trip around the many and varied waterways of Britain.<br />
<br />
This year a group of geeks, and one [[neogeek]], will attempt to navigate the Llangollen canal in a week.<br />
<br />
== Who? ==<br />
<br />
* [http://popey.com/ Alan]<br />
* [[User:Andy|Andy]]<br />
* [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
* [[User:Phil|Phil]]<br />
* Tim (No point linking this to anything as Tim is now so neogeek that he has no internet presence, with the possible exclusion of some of the more fashionable social networking sites)<br />
<br />
== Where ? ==<br />
<br />
===Address and contact details of the boatyard===<br />
<br />
* Middlewich Narrowboats<br>Canal Terrace<br>Middlewich<br>Cheshire<br>CW10 9BD<br>[http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=CW10+9BD&ie=UTF8&z=16&iwloc=addr&om=1 Map]<br />
* Telephone: 01606 832460<br />
* Email: [mailto:info@middlewichboats.co.uk info@middlewichboats.co.uk]<br />
* Web: http://www.middlewichboats.co.uk<br />
<br />
== When? ==<br />
<br />
Friday 14th September &rarr; Friday 21st September.<br />
<br />
Approximate sunrise and sunset times are as follows:<br />
<br />
<br />
==How much?==<br />
<br />
£220 each. Please send to Matt ASAP, details provided via email.<br />
<br />
We will again operate a communal kitty in order to pay for:<br />
<br />
* groceries.<br />
* pub lunches<br />
* evening meals (where relevant)<br />
* general supplies of drink (alcoholic or otherwise) for the boat.<br />
* "random stuff" that may be required, example batteries for walkie-talkies.<br />
* disposable BBQ kit for a suitable evening.<br />
<br />
Initial amount into kitty?<br />
<br />
Last year we each (4 of us) put £50 into the kitty initially, but this turned<br />
out to be not enough to cover even the initial shopping bill at the supermarket<br />
before we set off, let alone leaving anything in the kitty. So I suggest we<br />
actually put £100 each in the kitty, which seems a lot, but half of that will<br />
go on the shopping and we will easily spend the rest over the following few<br />
days going on past experience. --[[User:Matt|Matt]] 08:30, 5 July 2007 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Boat information ==<br />
<br />
This year's boat will be [http://www.waterwaysholidays.com/detail/midwichash.htm Poplar]<br />
provided by [http://www.middlewichboats.co.uk Middlewich Narrowboats]. There are 12 berths <br />
(we believe that the single beds at the back of the boat are actually bunk-beds) so there<br />
should be plenty of room for storage on the extra beds. 1 shower and 2 toilets are provided.<br />
Do we need to schedule a pump-out stop?<br />
<br />
== What to bring ==<br />
<br />
Space on the boat, and probably more importantly in the cars, will be limited, so try not to over pack. A large holdall for clothes and a small backpack for other bits and pieces seems reasonable.<br />
<br />
Note that all bed linen is provided so you don't need to bring any of that. You will need to bring your own towel however. All cooking utensils and crockery etc. is also provided.<br />
<br />
* Waterproof clothing - we'll probably end up having to pilot the boat and do locks in the pouring rain.<br />
* Gloves - some locks are real bastards.<br />
* Torch - if you have one; we may run out of power some nights, plus for walking to pub, etc.<br />
* A Tea Towel - there will probably be at least one on the boat, but would be good if everyone could bring one so that we have enough.<br />
* Sunscreen or hat, & sunglasses - just in case it happens to be sunny.<br />
* [http://www.cafepress.com/converter.5498827 A CafePress Mug] - for dropping into the canal causing much hilarity.<br />
* [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.patrick/bragaze.html Weak lemon drink] - for drinking down furiously in one gulp in celebration of your hobby success.<br />
<br />
=== Clothing considerations ===<br />
<br />
Casual clothing that you don't mind getting dirty/worn is best. Jeans are fine, though if it rains can get waterlogged. Due to the possible weather conditions do bring a few sets of clothing as you may end up stuck outdoors in the rain for several hours after which you'll definitely want a change of clothes.<br />
<br />
Footwear with decent grip is essential. Trainers are good most of the time, though if it's raining a pair of boots won't go a miss. You'll probably want to have more than one set of footwear in case one set gets soaked and needs to be dried.<br />
<br />
There will be drying facilities to some extent on the boat, though obviously drying space is limited. There will be some radiators and an airing cupboard. <br />
<br />
=== Comms ===<br />
<br />
Matt will provide a 2-way radio for each person with one charged battery pack. Extra<br />
battery packs will probably not be able to be provided this year, and given that we<br />
have had no real success charging the radios on the boat previously, it is suggested<br />
that everyone brings at least one set of batteries (4xAAA) to replace the battery<br />
pack when dead.<br />
<br />
==Entertainment Etc==<br />
<br />
===Poker===<br />
Despite poker turning into a bit of a farce last year, I (Matt) still would be up for<br />
having another attempt this year... perhaps we could sandwich in Tim to prevent him <br />
from leaving the table and make sure that his phone is at the other end of the boat :)<br />
<br />
===Cigars===<br />
Anyone interested in some cigars again this year? I (Matt) suggest that anyone who <br />
wishes to partake in a cigar or two should state roughly how many they would like<br />
here, and then we can pick out a suitable box to suit and split the cost appropriately? <br />
Last year we had a box of 10x<br />
[http://www.tomtom.co.uk/catalogue/cigars/openproduct.asp?id=149 Montecristo No.4]<br />
which personally I thought were fine in terms of cost (approx £8)/strength etc for the <br />
cigar noob<br />
like myself. If someone has a preference for something else though then I'm happy<br />
to let someone else pick...<br />
<br />
* Matt: 3<br />
* Andy: put me down for 2 or 3...<br />
* Tim: <probably not allowed><br />
<br />
Note: no point buying these until a couple of weeks before we go as they will just<br />
dry out if not stored correctly.<br />
<br />
== Planned route and schedule for the week ==<br />
<br />
=== Overall statistics of the route itself ===<br />
<br />
=== Some guesses as to where we would like to start / end each day ===<br />
<br />
====Fri 14th Sep====<br />
* Middlewich -> Church Minshull<br />
* 4 miles<br />
* 3 hours<br />
* 2 locks<br />
<br />
====Sat 15th Sep====<br />
* Church Minshull -> Grindley Brook<br />
* 8 hours<br />
* 15 locks, 3 movable bridges<br />
<br />
====Sun 16th Sep====<br />
* Grindley Brook -> Hindford<br />
* 8.5 hours<br />
* 6 locks, 5 movable bridges, 1 tunnel<br />
<br />
====Mon 17th Sep====<br />
* Hindford -> Langollen<br />
* 7 hours<br />
* 2 locks, 2 movable bridges, 2 tunnels, 3 aqueducts<br />
<br />
====Tue 18th Sep====<br />
* Llangollen -> Ellesmere<br />
* 9 hours<br />
* 2 locks, 2 movable bridges, 2 tunnels, 3 aqueducts<br />
<br />
====Wed 19th Sep====<br />
* Ellesmere -> Wrenbury<br />
* 9.5 hours<br />
* 10 locks, 7 movable bridges, 1 tunnel<br />
<br />
====Thu 20th Sep====<br />
* Wrenbury -> Middlewich<br />
* 8 hours<br />
* 12 locks, 1 movable bridge<br />
<br />
====Fri 21st Sep====<br />
* Middlewich -> Boat Yard<br />
* 1 hour<br />
* 1 lock<br />
<br />
== Photo links ==</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/The_Great_Strugglers_Boat_Trip_2007The Great Strugglers Boat Trip 20072007-07-05T19:17:14Z<p>Matt: /* Address and contact details of the boatyard */ boatyard details</p>
<hr />
<div>Yes!<br />
<br />
It is back by popular demand, the annual (hopefully) narrowboat trip around the many and varied waterways of Britain.<br />
<br />
This year a group of geeks, and one [[neogeek]], will attempt to navigate the Llangollen canal in a week.<br />
<br />
== Who? ==<br />
<br />
* [http://popey.com/ Alan]<br />
* [[User:Andy|Andy]]<br />
* [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
* [[User:Phil|Phil]]<br />
* Tim (No point linking this to anything as Tim is now so neogeek that he has no internet presence, with the possible exclusion of some of the more fashionable social networking sites)<br />
<br />
== Where ? ==<br />
<br />
===Address and contact details of the boatyard===<br />
<br />
* Middlewich Narrowboats<br>Canal Terrace<br>Middlewich<br>Cheshire<br>CW10 9BD<br>[http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=CW10+9BD&ie=UTF8&z=16&iwloc=addr&om=1 Map]<br />
* Telephone: 01606 832460<br />
* Email: [mailto:info@middlewichboats.co.uk info@middlewichboats.co.uk]<br />
* Web: http://www.middlewichboats.co.uk<br />
<br />
== When? ==<br />
<br />
Friday 14th September &rarr; Friday 21st September.<br />
<br />
Approximate sunrise and sunset times are as follows:<br />
<br />
<br />
==How much?==<br />
<br />
£220 each. Please send to Matt ASAP, details provided via email.<br />
<br />
We will again operate a communal kitty in order to pay for:<br />
<br />
* groceries.<br />
* pub lunches<br />
* evening meals (where relevant)<br />
* general supplies of drink (alcoholic or otherwise) for the boat.<br />
* "random stuff" that may be required, example batteries for walkie-talkies.<br />
* disposable BBQ kit for a suitable evening.<br />
<br />
Initial amount into kitty?<br />
<br />
Last year we each (4 of us) put £50 into the kitty initially, but this turned<br />
out to be not enough to cover even the initial shopping bill at the supermarket<br />
before we set off, let alone leaving anything in the kitty. So I suggest we<br />
actually put £100 each in the kitty, which seems a lot, but half of that will<br />
go on the shopping and we will easily spend the rest over the following few<br />
days going on past experience. --[[User:Matt|Matt]] 08:30, 5 July 2007 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Boat information ==<br />
<br />
This year's boat will be [http://www.waterwaysholidays.com/detail/midwichash.htm Poplar]<br />
provided by [http://www.middlewichboats.co.uk Middlewich Narrowboats]. There are 12 berths <br />
(we believe that the single beds at the back of the boat are actually bunk-beds) so there<br />
should be plenty of room for storage on the extra beds. 1 shower and 2 toilets are provided.<br />
Do we need to schedule a pump-out stop?<br />
<br />
== What to bring ==<br />
<br />
Space on the boat, and probably more importantly in the cars, will be limited, so try not to over pack. A large holdall for clothes and a small backpack for other bits and pieces seems reasonable.<br />
<br />
Note that all bed linen is provided so you don't need to bring any of that. You will need to bring your own towel however. All cooking utensils and crockery etc. is also provided.<br />
<br />
* Waterproof clothing - we'll probably end up having to pilot the boat and do locks in the pouring rain.<br />
* Gloves - some locks are real bastards.<br />
* Torch - if you have one; we may run out of power some nights, plus for walking to pub, etc.<br />
* A Tea Towel - there will probably be at least one on the boat, but would be good if everyone could bring one so that we have enough.<br />
* Sunscreen or hat, & sunglasses - just in case it happens to be sunny.<br />
* [http://www.cafepress.com/converter.5498827 A CafePress Mug] - for dropping into the canal causing much hilarity.<br />
* [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.patrick/bragaze.html Weak lemon drink] - for drinking down furiously in one gulp in celebration of your hobby success.<br />
<br />
=== Clothing considerations ===<br />
<br />
Casual clothing that you don't mind getting dirty/worn is best. Jeans are fine, though if it rains can get waterlogged. Due to the possible weather conditions do bring a few sets of clothing as you may end up stuck outdoors in the rain for several hours after which you'll definitely want a change of clothes.<br />
<br />
Footwear with decent grip is essential. Trainers are good most of the time, though if it's raining a pair of boots won't go a miss. You'll probably want to have more than one set of footwear in case one set gets soaked and needs to be dried.<br />
<br />
There will be drying facilities to some extent on the boat, though obviously drying space is limited. There will be some radiators and an airing cupboard. <br />
<br />
=== Comms ===<br />
<br />
Matt will provide a 2-way radio for each person with one charged battery pack. Extra<br />
battery packs will probably not be able to be provided this year, and given that we<br />
have had no real success charging the radios on the boat previously, it is suggested<br />
that everyone brings at least one set of batteries (4xAAA) to replace the battery<br />
pack when dead.<br />
<br />
==Entertainment Etc==<br />
<br />
===Poker===<br />
Despite poker turning into a bit of a farce last year, I (Matt) still would be up for<br />
having another attempt this year... perhaps we could sandwich in Tim to prevent him <br />
from leaving the table and make sure that his phone is at the other end of the boat :)<br />
<br />
===Cigars===<br />
Anyone interested in some cigars again this year? I (Matt) suggest that anyone who <br />
wishes to partake in a cigar or two should state roughly how many they would like<br />
here, and then we can pick out a suitable box to suit and split the cost appropriately? <br />
Last year we had a box of 10x<br />
[http://www.tomtom.co.uk/catalogue/cigars/openproduct.asp?id=149 Montecristo No.4]<br />
which personally I thought were fine in terms of cost (approx £8)/strength etc for the <br />
cigar noob<br />
like myself. If someone has a preference for something else though then I'm happy<br />
to let someone else pick...<br />
<br />
* Matt: 3<br />
* Andy: put me down for 2 or 3...<br />
* Tim: <probably not allowed><br />
<br />
Note: no point buying these until a couple of weeks before we go as they will just<br />
dry out if not stored correctly.<br />
<br />
== Planned route and schedule for the week ==<br />
<br />
=== Overall statistics of the route itself ===<br />
<br />
=== Some guesses as to where we would like to start / end each day ===<br />
<br />
====Fri 14th Sep====<br />
* Middlewich -> Church Minshull<br />
* 3 hours<br />
* 2 locks<br />
<br />
====Sat 15th Sep====<br />
* Church Minshull -> Grindley Brook<br />
* 8 hours<br />
* 15 locks, 3 movable bridges<br />
<br />
====Sun 16th Sep====<br />
* Grindley Brook -> Hindford<br />
* 8.5 hours<br />
* 6 locks, 5 movable bridges, 1 tunnel<br />
<br />
====Mon 17th Sep====<br />
* Hindford -> Langollen<br />
* 7 hours<br />
* 2 locks, 2 movable bridges, 2 tunnels, 3 aqueducts<br />
<br />
====Tue 18th Sep====<br />
* Llangollen -> Ellesmere<br />
* 9 hours<br />
* 2 locks, 2 movable bridges, 2 tunnels, 3 aqueducts<br />
<br />
====Wed 19th Sep====<br />
* Ellesmere -> Wrenbury<br />
* 9.5 hours<br />
* 10 locks, 7 movable bridges, 1 tunnel<br />
<br />
====Thu 20th Sep====<br />
* Wrenbury -> Middlewich<br />
* 8 hours<br />
* 12 locks, 1 movable bridge<br />
<br />
====Fri 21st Sep====<br />
* Middlewich -> Boat Yard<br />
* 1 hour<br />
* 1 lock<br />
<br />
== Photo links ==</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/The_Great_Strugglers_Boat_Trip_2007The Great Strugglers Boat Trip 20072007-07-05T15:31:36Z<p>Matt: /* Some guesses as to where we would like to start / end each day */ initial suggestion</p>
<hr />
<div>Yes!<br />
<br />
It is back by popular demand, the annual (hopefully) narrowboat trip around the many and varied waterways of Britain.<br />
<br />
This year a group of geeks, and one [[neogeek]], will attempt to navigate the Llangollen canal in a week.<br />
<br />
== Who? ==<br />
<br />
* [http://popey.com/ Alan]<br />
* [[User:Andy|Andy]]<br />
* [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
* [[User:Phil|Phil]]<br />
* Tim (No point linking this to anything as Tim is now so neogeek that he has no internet presence, with the possible exclusion of some of the more fashionable social networking sites)<br />
<br />
== Where ? ==<br />
<br />
===Address and contact details of the boatyard===<br />
<br />
== When? ==<br />
<br />
Friday 14th September &rarr; Friday 21st September.<br />
<br />
Approximate sunrise and sunset times are as follows:<br />
<br />
<br />
==How much?==<br />
<br />
£220 each. Please send to Matt ASAP, details provided via email.<br />
<br />
We will again operate a communal kitty in order to pay for:<br />
<br />
* groceries.<br />
* pub lunches<br />
* evening meals (where relevant)<br />
* general supplies of drink (alcoholic or otherwise) for the boat.<br />
* "random stuff" that may be required, example batteries for walkie-talkies.<br />
* disposable BBQ kit for a suitable evening.<br />
<br />
Initial amount into kitty?<br />
<br />
Last year we each (4 of us) put £50 into the kitty initially, but this turned<br />
out to be not enough to cover even the initial shopping bill at the supermarket<br />
before we set off, let alone leaving anything in the kitty. So I suggest we<br />
actually put £100 each in the kitty, which seems a lot, but half of that will<br />
go on the shopping and we will easily spend the rest over the following few<br />
days going on past experience. --[[User:Matt|Matt]] 08:30, 5 July 2007 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Boat information ==<br />
<br />
This year's boat will be [http://www.waterwaysholidays.com/detail/midwichash.htm Poplar]<br />
provided by [http://www.middlewichboats.co.uk Middlewich Narrowboats]. There are 12 berths <br />
(we believe that the single beds at the back of the boat are actually bunk-beds) so there<br />
should be plenty of room for storage on the extra beds. 1 shower and 2 toilets are provided.<br />
Do we need to schedule a pump-out stop?<br />
<br />
== What to bring ==<br />
<br />
Space on the boat, and probably more importantly in the cars, will be limited, so try not to over pack. A large holdall for clothes and a small backpack for other bits and pieces seems reasonable.<br />
<br />
Note that all bed linen is provided so you don't need to bring any of that. You will need to bring your own towel however. All cooking utensils and crockery etc. is also provided.<br />
<br />
* Waterproof clothing - we'll probably end up having to pilot the boat and do locks in the pouring rain.<br />
* Gloves - some locks are real bastards.<br />
* Torch - if you have one; we may run out of power some nights, plus for walking to pub, etc.<br />
* A Tea Towel - there will probably be at least one on the boat, but would be good if everyone could bring one so that we have enough.<br />
* Sunscreen or hat, & sunglasses - just in case it happens to be sunny.<br />
* [http://www.cafepress.com/converter.5498827 A CafePress Mug] - for dropping into the canal causing much hilarity.<br />
* [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.patrick/bragaze.html Weak lemon drink] - for drinking down furiously in one gulp in celebration of your hobby success.<br />
<br />
=== Clothing considerations ===<br />
<br />
Casual clothing that you don't mind getting dirty/worn is best. Jeans are fine, though if it rains can get waterlogged. Due to the possible weather conditions do bring a few sets of clothing as you may end up stuck outdoors in the rain for several hours after which you'll definitely want a change of clothes.<br />
<br />
Footwear with decent grip is essential. Trainers are good most of the time, though if it's raining a pair of boots won't go a miss. You'll probably want to have more than one set of footwear in case one set gets soaked and needs to be dried.<br />
<br />
There will be drying facilities to some extent on the boat, though obviously drying space is limited. There will be some radiators and an airing cupboard. <br />
<br />
=== Comms ===<br />
<br />
Matt will provide a 2-way radio for each person with one charged battery pack. Extra<br />
battery packs will probably not be able to be provided this year, and given that we<br />
have had no real success charging the radios on the boat previously, it is suggested<br />
that everyone brings at least one set of batteries (4xAAA) to replace the battery<br />
pack when dead.<br />
<br />
==Entertainment Etc==<br />
<br />
===Poker===<br />
Despite poker turning into a bit of a farce last year, I (Matt) still would be up for<br />
having another attempt this year... perhaps we could sandwich in Tim to prevent him <br />
from leaving the table and make sure that his phone is at the other end of the boat :)<br />
<br />
===Cigars===<br />
Anyone interested in some cigars again this year? I (Matt) suggest that anyone who <br />
wishes to partake in a cigar or two should state roughly how many they would like<br />
here, and then we can pick out a suitable box to suit and split the cost appropriately? <br />
Last year we had a box of 10x<br />
[http://www.tomtom.co.uk/catalogue/cigars/openproduct.asp?id=149 Montecristo No.4]<br />
which personally I thought were fine in terms of cost (approx £8)/strength etc for the <br />
cigar noob<br />
like myself. If someone has a preference for something else though then I'm happy<br />
to let someone else pick...<br />
<br />
* Matt: 3<br />
* Andy: put me down for 2 or 3...<br />
* Tim: <probably not allowed><br />
<br />
Note: no point buying these until a couple of weeks before we go as they will just<br />
dry out if not stored correctly.<br />
<br />
== Planned route and schedule for the week ==<br />
<br />
=== Overall statistics of the route itself ===<br />
<br />
=== Some guesses as to where we would like to start / end each day ===<br />
<br />
====Fri 14th Sep====<br />
* Middlewich -> Church Minshull<br />
* 3 hours<br />
* 2 locks<br />
<br />
====Sat 15th Sep====<br />
* Church Minshull -> Grindley Brook<br />
* 8 hours<br />
* 15 locks, 3 movable bridges<br />
<br />
====Sun 16th Sep====<br />
* Grindley Brook -> Hindford<br />
* 8.5 hours<br />
* 6 locks, 5 movable bridges, 1 tunnel<br />
<br />
====Mon 17th Sep====<br />
* Hindford -> Langollen<br />
* 7 hours<br />
* 2 locks, 2 movable bridges, 2 tunnels, 3 aqueducts<br />
<br />
====Tue 18th Sep====<br />
* Llangollen -> Ellesmere<br />
* 9 hours<br />
* 2 locks, 2 movable bridges, 2 tunnels, 3 aqueducts<br />
<br />
====Wed 19th Sep====<br />
* Ellesmere -> Wrenbury<br />
* 9.5 hours<br />
* 10 locks, 7 movable bridges, 1 tunnel<br />
<br />
====Thu 20th Sep====<br />
* Wrenbury -> Middlewich<br />
* 8 hours<br />
* 12 locks, 1 movable bridge<br />
<br />
====Fri 21st Sep====<br />
* Middlewich -> Boat Yard<br />
* 1 hour<br />
* 1 lock<br />
<br />
== Photo links ==</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/The_Great_Strugglers_Boat_Trip_2007The Great Strugglers Boat Trip 20072007-07-05T09:35:31Z<p>Matt: /* Cigars */ tim not allowed</p>
<hr />
<div>Yes!<br />
<br />
It is back by popular demand, the annual (hopefully) narrowboat trip around the many and varied waterways of Britain.<br />
<br />
This year a group of geeks, and one [[neogeek]], will attempt to navigate the Llangollen canal in a week.<br />
<br />
== Who? ==<br />
<br />
* [http://popey.com/ Alan]<br />
* [[User:Andy|Andy]]<br />
* [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
* [[User:Phil|Phil]]<br />
* Tim (No point linking this to anything as Tim is now so neogeek that he has no internet presence, with the possible exclusion of some of the more fashionable social networking sites)<br />
<br />
== Where ? ==<br />
<br />
===Address and contact details of the boatyard===<br />
<br />
== When? ==<br />
<br />
Friday 14th September &rarr; Friday 21st September.<br />
<br />
Approximate sunrise and sunset times are as follows:<br />
<br />
<br />
==How much?==<br />
<br />
£220 each. Please send to Matt ASAP, details provided via email.<br />
<br />
We will again operate a communal kitty in order to pay for:<br />
<br />
* groceries.<br />
* pub lunches<br />
* evening meals (where relevant)<br />
* general supplies of drink (alcoholic or otherwise) for the boat.<br />
* "random stuff" that may be required, example batteries for walkie-talkies.<br />
* disposable BBQ kit for a suitable evening.<br />
<br />
Initial amount into kitty?<br />
<br />
Last year we each (4 of us) put £50 into the kitty initially, but this turned<br />
out to be not enough to cover even the initial shopping bill at the supermarket<br />
before we set off, let alone leaving anything in the kitty. So I suggest we<br />
actually put £100 each in the kitty, which seems a lot, but half of that will<br />
go on the shopping and we will easily spend the rest over the following few<br />
days going on past experience. --[[User:Matt|Matt]] 08:30, 5 July 2007 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Boat information ==<br />
<br />
This year's boat will be [http://www.waterwaysholidays.com/detail/midwichash.htm Poplar]<br />
provided by [http://www.middlewichboats.co.uk Middlewich Narrowboats]. There are 12 berths <br />
(we believe that the single beds at the back of the boat are actually bunk-beds) so there<br />
should be plenty of room for storage on the extra beds. 1 shower and 2 toilets are provided.<br />
Do we need to schedule a pump-out stop?<br />
<br />
== What to bring ==<br />
<br />
Space on the boat, and probably more importantly in the cars, will be limited, so try not to over pack. A large holdall for clothes and a small backpack for other bits and pieces seems reasonable.<br />
<br />
Note that all bed linen is provided so you don't need to bring any of that. You will need to bring your own towel however. All cooking utensils and crockery etc. is also provided.<br />
<br />
* Waterproof clothing - we'll probably end up having to pilot the boat and do locks in the pouring rain.<br />
* Gloves - some locks are real bastards.<br />
* Torch - if you have one; we may run out of power some nights, plus for walking to pub, etc.<br />
* A Tea Towel - there will probably be at least one on the boat, but would be good if everyone could bring one so that we have enough.<br />
* Sunscreen or hat, & sunglasses - just in case it happens to be sunny.<br />
* [http://www.cafepress.com/converter.5498827 A CafePress Mug] - for dropping into the canal causing much hilarity.<br />
* [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.patrick/bragaze.html Weak lemon drink] - for drinking down furiously in one gulp in celebration of your hobby success.<br />
<br />
=== Clothing considerations ===<br />
<br />
Casual clothing that you don't mind getting dirty/worn is best. Jeans are fine, though if it rains can get waterlogged. Due to the possible weather conditions do bring a few sets of clothing as you may end up stuck outdoors in the rain for several hours after which you'll definitely want a change of clothes.<br />
<br />
Footwear with decent grip is essential. Trainers are good most of the time, though if it's raining a pair of boots won't go a miss. You'll probably want to have more than one set of footwear in case one set gets soaked and needs to be dried.<br />
<br />
There will be drying facilities to some extent on the boat, though obviously drying space is limited. There will be some radiators and an airing cupboard. <br />
<br />
=== Comms ===<br />
<br />
Matt will provide a 2-way radio for each person with one charged battery pack. Extra<br />
battery packs will probably not be able to be provided this year, and given that we<br />
have had no real success charging the radios on the boat previously, it is suggested<br />
that everyone brings at least one set of batteries (4xAAA) to replace the battery<br />
pack when dead.<br />
<br />
==Entertainment Etc==<br />
<br />
===Poker===<br />
Despite poker turning into a bit of a farce last year, I (Matt) still would be up for<br />
having another attempt this year... perhaps we could sandwich in Tim to prevent him <br />
from leaving the table and make sure that his phone is at the other end of the boat :)<br />
<br />
===Cigars===<br />
Anyone interested in some cigars again this year? I (Matt) suggest that anyone who <br />
wishes to partake in a cigar or two should state roughly how many they would like<br />
here, and then we can pick out a suitable box to suit and split the cost appropriately? <br />
Last year we had a box of 10x<br />
[http://www.tomtom.co.uk/catalogue/cigars/openproduct.asp?id=149 Montecristo No.4]<br />
which personally I thought were fine in terms of cost (approx £8)/strength etc for the <br />
cigar noob<br />
like myself. If someone has a preference for something else though then I'm happy<br />
to let someone else pick...<br />
<br />
* Matt: 3<br />
* Andy: put me down for 2 or 3...<br />
* Tim: <probably not allowed><br />
<br />
Note: no point buying these until a couple of weeks before we go as they will just<br />
dry out if not stored correctly.<br />
<br />
== Planned route and schedule for the week ==<br />
<br />
=== Overall statistics of the route itself ===<br />
<br />
=== Some guesses as to where we would like to start / end each day ===<br />
<br />
== Photo links ==</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/The_Great_Strugglers_Boat_Trip_2007The Great Strugglers Boat Trip 20072007-07-05T09:28:35Z<p>Matt: /* Cigars */ fix heading level :(</p>
<hr />
<div>Yes!<br />
<br />
It is back by popular demand, the annual (hopefully) narrowboat trip around the many and varied waterways of Britain.<br />
<br />
This year a group of geeks, and one [[neogeek]], will attempt to navigate the Llangollen canal in a week.<br />
<br />
== Who? ==<br />
<br />
* [http://popey.com/ Alan]<br />
* [[User:Andy|Andy]]<br />
* [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
* [[User:Phil|Phil]]<br />
* Tim (No point linking this to anything as Tim is now so neogeek that he has no internet presence, with the possible exclusion of some of the more fashionable social networking sites)<br />
<br />
== Where ? ==<br />
<br />
===Address and contact details of the boatyard===<br />
<br />
== When? ==<br />
<br />
Friday 14th September &rarr; Friday 21st September.<br />
<br />
Approximate sunrise and sunset times are as follows:<br />
<br />
<br />
==How much?==<br />
<br />
£220 each. Please send to Matt ASAP, details provided via email.<br />
<br />
We will again operate a communal kitty in order to pay for:<br />
<br />
* groceries.<br />
* pub lunches<br />
* evening meals (where relevant)<br />
* general supplies of drink (alcoholic or otherwise) for the boat.<br />
* "random stuff" that may be required, example batteries for walkie-talkies.<br />
* disposable BBQ kit for a suitable evening.<br />
<br />
Initial amount into kitty?<br />
<br />
Last year we each (4 of us) put £50 into the kitty initially, but this turned<br />
out to be not enough to cover even the initial shopping bill at the supermarket<br />
before we set off, let alone leaving anything in the kitty. So I suggest we<br />
actually put £100 each in the kitty, which seems a lot, but half of that will<br />
go on the shopping and we will easily spend the rest over the following few<br />
days going on past experience. --[[User:Matt|Matt]] 08:30, 5 July 2007 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Boat information ==<br />
<br />
This year's boat will be [http://www.waterwaysholidays.com/detail/midwichash.htm Poplar]<br />
provided by [http://www.middlewichboats.co.uk Middlewich Narrowboats]. There are 12 berths <br />
(we believe that the single beds at the back of the boat are actually bunk-beds) so there<br />
should be plenty of room for storage on the extra beds. 1 shower and 2 toilets are provided.<br />
Do we need to schedule a pump-out stop?<br />
<br />
== What to bring ==<br />
<br />
Space on the boat, and probably more importantly in the cars, will be limited, so try not to over pack. A large holdall for clothes and a small backpack for other bits and pieces seems reasonable.<br />
<br />
Note that all bed linen is provided so you don't need to bring any of that. You will need to bring your own towel however. All cooking utensils and crockery etc. is also provided.<br />
<br />
* Waterproof clothing - we'll probably end up having to pilot the boat and do locks in the pouring rain.<br />
* Gloves - some locks are real bastards.<br />
* Torch - if you have one; we may run out of power some nights, plus for walking to pub, etc.<br />
* A Tea Towel - there will probably be at least one on the boat, but would be good if everyone could bring one so that we have enough.<br />
* Sunscreen or hat, & sunglasses - just in case it happens to be sunny.<br />
* [http://www.cafepress.com/converter.5498827 A CafePress Mug] - for dropping into the canal causing much hilarity.<br />
* [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.patrick/bragaze.html Weak lemon drink] - for drinking down furiously in one gulp in celebration of your hobby success.<br />
<br />
=== Clothing considerations ===<br />
<br />
Casual clothing that you don't mind getting dirty/worn is best. Jeans are fine, though if it rains can get waterlogged. Due to the possible weather conditions do bring a few sets of clothing as you may end up stuck outdoors in the rain for several hours after which you'll definitely want a change of clothes.<br />
<br />
Footwear with decent grip is essential. Trainers are good most of the time, though if it's raining a pair of boots won't go a miss. You'll probably want to have more than one set of footwear in case one set gets soaked and needs to be dried.<br />
<br />
There will be drying facilities to some extent on the boat, though obviously drying space is limited. There will be some radiators and an airing cupboard. <br />
<br />
=== Comms ===<br />
<br />
Matt will provide a 2-way radio for each person with one charged battery pack. Extra<br />
battery packs will probably not be able to be provided this year, and given that we<br />
have had no real success charging the radios on the boat previously, it is suggested<br />
that everyone brings at least one set of batteries (4xAAA) to replace the battery<br />
pack when dead.<br />
<br />
==Entertainment Etc==<br />
<br />
===Poker===<br />
<br />
Despite poker turning into a bit of a farce last year, I (Matt) still would be up for<br />
having another attempt this year... perhaps we could sandwich in Tim to prevent him <br />
from leaving the table and make sure that his phone is at the other end of the boat :)<br />
<br />
<br />
===Cigars===<br />
<br />
Anyone interested in some cigars again this year? I (Matt) suggest that anyone who <br />
wishes to partake in a cigar or two should state roughly how many they would like<br />
here, and then we can pick out a suitable box to suit and split the cost appropriately? <br />
Last year we had a box of 10x<br />
[http://www.tomtom.co.uk/catalogue/cigars/openproduct.asp?id=149 Montecristo No.4]<br />
which personally I thought were fine in terms of cost (approx £8)/strength etc for the <br />
cigar noob<br />
like myself. If someone has a preference for something else though then I'm happy<br />
to let someone else pick...<br />
<br />
* Matt: 3<br />
<br />
Note: no point buying these until a couple of weeks before we go as they will just<br />
dry out if not stored correctly.<br />
<br />
== Planned route and schedule for the week ==<br />
<br />
=== Overall statistics of the route itself ===<br />
<br />
=== Some guesses as to where we would like to start / end each day ===<br />
<br />
== Photo links ==</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/The_Great_Strugglers_Boat_Trip_2007The Great Strugglers Boat Trip 20072007-07-05T09:27:53Z<p>Matt: /* Cigars */ cost</p>
<hr />
<div>Yes!<br />
<br />
It is back by popular demand, the annual (hopefully) narrowboat trip around the many and varied waterways of Britain.<br />
<br />
This year a group of geeks, and one [[neogeek]], will attempt to navigate the Llangollen canal in a week.<br />
<br />
== Who? ==<br />
<br />
* [http://popey.com/ Alan]<br />
* [[User:Andy|Andy]]<br />
* [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
* [[User:Phil|Phil]]<br />
* Tim (No point linking this to anything as Tim is now so neogeek that he has no internet presence, with the possible exclusion of some of the more fashionable social networking sites)<br />
<br />
== Where ? ==<br />
<br />
===Address and contact details of the boatyard===<br />
<br />
== When? ==<br />
<br />
Friday 14th September &rarr; Friday 21st September.<br />
<br />
Approximate sunrise and sunset times are as follows:<br />
<br />
<br />
==How much?==<br />
<br />
£220 each. Please send to Matt ASAP, details provided via email.<br />
<br />
We will again operate a communal kitty in order to pay for:<br />
<br />
* groceries.<br />
* pub lunches<br />
* evening meals (where relevant)<br />
* general supplies of drink (alcoholic or otherwise) for the boat.<br />
* "random stuff" that may be required, example batteries for walkie-talkies.<br />
* disposable BBQ kit for a suitable evening.<br />
<br />
Initial amount into kitty?<br />
<br />
Last year we each (4 of us) put £50 into the kitty initially, but this turned<br />
out to be not enough to cover even the initial shopping bill at the supermarket<br />
before we set off, let alone leaving anything in the kitty. So I suggest we<br />
actually put £100 each in the kitty, which seems a lot, but half of that will<br />
go on the shopping and we will easily spend the rest over the following few<br />
days going on past experience. --[[User:Matt|Matt]] 08:30, 5 July 2007 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Boat information ==<br />
<br />
This year's boat will be [http://www.waterwaysholidays.com/detail/midwichash.htm Poplar]<br />
provided by [http://www.middlewichboats.co.uk Middlewich Narrowboats]. There are 12 berths <br />
(we believe that the single beds at the back of the boat are actually bunk-beds) so there<br />
should be plenty of room for storage on the extra beds. 1 shower and 2 toilets are provided.<br />
Do we need to schedule a pump-out stop?<br />
<br />
== What to bring ==<br />
<br />
Space on the boat, and probably more importantly in the cars, will be limited, so try not to over pack. A large holdall for clothes and a small backpack for other bits and pieces seems reasonable.<br />
<br />
Note that all bed linen is provided so you don't need to bring any of that. You will need to bring your own towel however. All cooking utensils and crockery etc. is also provided.<br />
<br />
* Waterproof clothing - we'll probably end up having to pilot the boat and do locks in the pouring rain.<br />
* Gloves - some locks are real bastards.<br />
* Torch - if you have one; we may run out of power some nights, plus for walking to pub, etc.<br />
* A Tea Towel - there will probably be at least one on the boat, but would be good if everyone could bring one so that we have enough.<br />
* Sunscreen or hat, & sunglasses - just in case it happens to be sunny.<br />
* [http://www.cafepress.com/converter.5498827 A CafePress Mug] - for dropping into the canal causing much hilarity.<br />
* [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.patrick/bragaze.html Weak lemon drink] - for drinking down furiously in one gulp in celebration of your hobby success.<br />
<br />
=== Clothing considerations ===<br />
<br />
Casual clothing that you don't mind getting dirty/worn is best. Jeans are fine, though if it rains can get waterlogged. Due to the possible weather conditions do bring a few sets of clothing as you may end up stuck outdoors in the rain for several hours after which you'll definitely want a change of clothes.<br />
<br />
Footwear with decent grip is essential. Trainers are good most of the time, though if it's raining a pair of boots won't go a miss. You'll probably want to have more than one set of footwear in case one set gets soaked and needs to be dried.<br />
<br />
There will be drying facilities to some extent on the boat, though obviously drying space is limited. There will be some radiators and an airing cupboard. <br />
<br />
=== Comms ===<br />
<br />
Matt will provide a 2-way radio for each person with one charged battery pack. Extra<br />
battery packs will probably not be able to be provided this year, and given that we<br />
have had no real success charging the radios on the boat previously, it is suggested<br />
that everyone brings at least one set of batteries (4xAAA) to replace the battery<br />
pack when dead.<br />
<br />
==Entertainment Etc==<br />
<br />
===Poker===<br />
<br />
Despite poker turning into a bit of a farce last year, I (Matt) still would be up for<br />
having another attempt this year... perhaps we could sandwich in Tim to prevent him <br />
from leaving the table and make sure that his phone is at the other end of the boat :)<br />
<br />
<br />
==Cigars==<br />
<br />
Anyone interested in some cigars again this year? I (Matt) suggest that anyone who <br />
wishes to partake in a cigar or two should state roughly how many they would like<br />
here, and then we can pick out a suitable box to suit and split the cost appropriately? <br />
Last year we had a box of 10x<br />
[http://www.tomtom.co.uk/catalogue/cigars/openproduct.asp?id=149 Montecristo No.4]<br />
which personally I thought were fine in terms of cost (approx £8)/strength etc for the <br />
cigar noob<br />
like myself. If someone has a preference for something else though then I'm happy<br />
to let someone else pick...<br />
<br />
* Matt: 3<br />
<br />
Note: no point buying these until a couple of weeks before we go as they will just<br />
dry out if not stored correctly.<br />
<br />
== Planned route and schedule for the week ==<br />
<br />
=== Overall statistics of the route itself ===<br />
<br />
=== Some guesses as to where we would like to start / end each day ===<br />
<br />
== Photo links ==</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/The_Great_Strugglers_Boat_Trip_2007The Great Strugglers Boat Trip 20072007-07-05T09:26:50Z<p>Matt: /* Entertainment Etc */ cigars</p>
<hr />
<div>Yes!<br />
<br />
It is back by popular demand, the annual (hopefully) narrowboat trip around the many and varied waterways of Britain.<br />
<br />
This year a group of geeks, and one [[neogeek]], will attempt to navigate the Llangollen canal in a week.<br />
<br />
== Who? ==<br />
<br />
* [http://popey.com/ Alan]<br />
* [[User:Andy|Andy]]<br />
* [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
* [[User:Phil|Phil]]<br />
* Tim (No point linking this to anything as Tim is now so neogeek that he has no internet presence, with the possible exclusion of some of the more fashionable social networking sites)<br />
<br />
== Where ? ==<br />
<br />
===Address and contact details of the boatyard===<br />
<br />
== When? ==<br />
<br />
Friday 14th September &rarr; Friday 21st September.<br />
<br />
Approximate sunrise and sunset times are as follows:<br />
<br />
<br />
==How much?==<br />
<br />
£220 each. Please send to Matt ASAP, details provided via email.<br />
<br />
We will again operate a communal kitty in order to pay for:<br />
<br />
* groceries.<br />
* pub lunches<br />
* evening meals (where relevant)<br />
* general supplies of drink (alcoholic or otherwise) for the boat.<br />
* "random stuff" that may be required, example batteries for walkie-talkies.<br />
* disposable BBQ kit for a suitable evening.<br />
<br />
Initial amount into kitty?<br />
<br />
Last year we each (4 of us) put £50 into the kitty initially, but this turned<br />
out to be not enough to cover even the initial shopping bill at the supermarket<br />
before we set off, let alone leaving anything in the kitty. So I suggest we<br />
actually put £100 each in the kitty, which seems a lot, but half of that will<br />
go on the shopping and we will easily spend the rest over the following few<br />
days going on past experience. --[[User:Matt|Matt]] 08:30, 5 July 2007 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Boat information ==<br />
<br />
This year's boat will be [http://www.waterwaysholidays.com/detail/midwichash.htm Poplar]<br />
provided by [http://www.middlewichboats.co.uk Middlewich Narrowboats]. There are 12 berths <br />
(we believe that the single beds at the back of the boat are actually bunk-beds) so there<br />
should be plenty of room for storage on the extra beds. 1 shower and 2 toilets are provided.<br />
Do we need to schedule a pump-out stop?<br />
<br />
== What to bring ==<br />
<br />
Space on the boat, and probably more importantly in the cars, will be limited, so try not to over pack. A large holdall for clothes and a small backpack for other bits and pieces seems reasonable.<br />
<br />
Note that all bed linen is provided so you don't need to bring any of that. You will need to bring your own towel however. All cooking utensils and crockery etc. is also provided.<br />
<br />
* Waterproof clothing - we'll probably end up having to pilot the boat and do locks in the pouring rain.<br />
* Gloves - some locks are real bastards.<br />
* Torch - if you have one; we may run out of power some nights, plus for walking to pub, etc.<br />
* A Tea Towel - there will probably be at least one on the boat, but would be good if everyone could bring one so that we have enough.<br />
* Sunscreen or hat, & sunglasses - just in case it happens to be sunny.<br />
* [http://www.cafepress.com/converter.5498827 A CafePress Mug] - for dropping into the canal causing much hilarity.<br />
* [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.patrick/bragaze.html Weak lemon drink] - for drinking down furiously in one gulp in celebration of your hobby success.<br />
<br />
=== Clothing considerations ===<br />
<br />
Casual clothing that you don't mind getting dirty/worn is best. Jeans are fine, though if it rains can get waterlogged. Due to the possible weather conditions do bring a few sets of clothing as you may end up stuck outdoors in the rain for several hours after which you'll definitely want a change of clothes.<br />
<br />
Footwear with decent grip is essential. Trainers are good most of the time, though if it's raining a pair of boots won't go a miss. You'll probably want to have more than one set of footwear in case one set gets soaked and needs to be dried.<br />
<br />
There will be drying facilities to some extent on the boat, though obviously drying space is limited. There will be some radiators and an airing cupboard. <br />
<br />
=== Comms ===<br />
<br />
Matt will provide a 2-way radio for each person with one charged battery pack. Extra<br />
battery packs will probably not be able to be provided this year, and given that we<br />
have had no real success charging the radios on the boat previously, it is suggested<br />
that everyone brings at least one set of batteries (4xAAA) to replace the battery<br />
pack when dead.<br />
<br />
==Entertainment Etc==<br />
<br />
===Poker===<br />
<br />
Despite poker turning into a bit of a farce last year, I (Matt) still would be up for<br />
having another attempt this year... perhaps we could sandwich in Tim to prevent him <br />
from leaving the table and make sure that his phone is at the other end of the boat :)<br />
<br />
<br />
==Cigars==<br />
<br />
Anyone interested in some cigars again this year? I (Matt) suggest that anyone who <br />
wishes to partake in a cigar or two should state roughly how many they would like<br />
here, and then we can pick out a suitable box to suit? Last year we had a box of<br />
10x [http://www.tomtom.co.uk/catalogue/cigars/openproduct.asp?id=149 Montecristo No.4]<br />
which personally I thought were fine in terms of cost/strength etc for the cigar noob<br />
like myself. If someone has a preference for something else though then I'm happy<br />
to let someone else pick...<br />
<br />
* Matt: 3<br />
<br />
Note: no point buying these until a couple of weeks before we go as they will just<br />
dry out if not stored correctly.<br />
<br />
== Planned route and schedule for the week ==<br />
<br />
=== Overall statistics of the route itself ===<br />
<br />
=== Some guesses as to where we would like to start / end each day ===<br />
<br />
== Photo links ==</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/The_Great_Strugglers_Boat_Trip_2007The Great Strugglers Boat Trip 20072007-07-05T09:01:14Z<p>Matt: Entertainment/poker</p>
<hr />
<div>Yes!<br />
<br />
It is back by popular demand, the annual (hopefully) narrowboat trip around the many and varied waterways of Britain.<br />
<br />
This year a group of geeks, and one [[neogeek]], will attempt to navigate the Llangollen canal in a week.<br />
<br />
== Who? ==<br />
<br />
* [http://popey.com/ Alan]<br />
* [[User:Andy|Andy]]<br />
* [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
* [[User:Phil|Phil]]<br />
* Tim (No point linking this to anything as Tim is now so neogeek that he has no internet presence, with the possible exclusion of some of the more fashionable social networking sites)<br />
<br />
== Where ? ==<br />
<br />
===Address and contact details of the boatyard===<br />
<br />
== When? ==<br />
<br />
Friday 14th September &rarr; Friday 21st September.<br />
<br />
Approximate sunrise and sunset times are as follows:<br />
<br />
<br />
==How much?==<br />
<br />
£220 each. Please send to Matt ASAP, details provided via email.<br />
<br />
We will again operate a communal kitty in order to pay for:<br />
<br />
* groceries.<br />
* pub lunches<br />
* evening meals (where relevant)<br />
* general supplies of drink (alcoholic or otherwise) for the boat.<br />
* "random stuff" that may be required, example batteries for walkie-talkies.<br />
* disposable BBQ kit for a suitable evening.<br />
<br />
Initial amount into kitty?<br />
<br />
Last year we each (4 of us) put £50 into the kitty initially, but this turned<br />
out to be not enough to cover even the initial shopping bill at the supermarket<br />
before we set off, let alone leaving anything in the kitty. So I suggest we<br />
actually put £100 each in the kitty, which seems a lot, but half of that will<br />
go on the shopping and we will easily spend the rest over the following few<br />
days going on past experience. --[[User:Matt|Matt]] 08:30, 5 July 2007 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Boat information ==<br />
<br />
This year's boat will be [http://www.waterwaysholidays.com/detail/midwichash.htm Poplar]<br />
provided by [http://www.middlewichboats.co.uk Middlewich Narrowboats]. There are 12 berths <br />
(we believe that the single beds at the back of the boat are actually bunk-beds) so there<br />
should be plenty of room for storage on the extra beds. 1 shower and 2 toilets are provided.<br />
Do we need to schedule a pump-out stop?<br />
<br />
== What to bring ==<br />
<br />
Space on the boat, and probably more importantly in the cars, will be limited, so try not to over pack. A large holdall for clothes and a small backpack for other bits and pieces seems reasonable.<br />
<br />
Note that all bed linen is provided so you don't need to bring any of that. You will need to bring your own towel however. All cooking utensils and crockery etc. is also provided.<br />
<br />
* Waterproof clothing - we'll probably end up having to pilot the boat and do locks in the pouring rain.<br />
* Gloves - some locks are real bastards.<br />
* Torch - if you have one; we may run out of power some nights, plus for walking to pub, etc.<br />
* A Tea Towel - there will probably be at least one on the boat, but would be good if everyone could bring one so that we have enough.<br />
* Sunscreen or hat, & sunglasses - just in case it happens to be sunny.<br />
* [http://www.cafepress.com/converter.5498827 A CafePress Mug] - for dropping into the canal causing much hilarity.<br />
* [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.patrick/bragaze.html Weak lemon drink] - for drinking down furiously in one gulp in celebration of your hobby success.<br />
<br />
=== Clothing considerations ===<br />
<br />
Casual clothing that you don't mind getting dirty/worn is best. Jeans are fine, though if it rains can get waterlogged. Due to the possible weather conditions do bring a few sets of clothing as you may end up stuck outdoors in the rain for several hours after which you'll definitely want a change of clothes.<br />
<br />
Footwear with decent grip is essential. Trainers are good most of the time, though if it's raining a pair of boots won't go a miss. You'll probably want to have more than one set of footwear in case one set gets soaked and needs to be dried.<br />
<br />
There will be drying facilities to some extent on the boat, though obviously drying space is limited. There will be some radiators and an airing cupboard. <br />
<br />
=== Comms ===<br />
<br />
Matt will provide a 2-way radio for each person with one charged battery pack. Extra<br />
battery packs will probably not be able to be provided this year, and given that we<br />
have had no real success charging the radios on the boat previously, it is suggested<br />
that everyone brings at least one set of batteries (4xAAA) to replace the battery<br />
pack when dead.<br />
<br />
==Entertainment Etc==<br />
<br />
===Poker===<br />
<br />
Despite poker turning into a bit of a farce last year, I (Matt) still would be up for<br />
having another attempt this year... perhaps we could sandwich in Tim to prevent him <br />
from leaving the table and make sure that his phone is at the other end of the boat :)<br />
<br />
== Planned route and schedule for the week ==<br />
<br />
=== Overall statistics of the route itself ===<br />
<br />
=== Some guesses as to where we would like to start / end each day ===<br />
<br />
== Photo links ==</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/The_Great_Strugglers_Boat_Trip_2007The Great Strugglers Boat Trip 20072007-07-05T08:46:33Z<p>Matt: /* Comms */ 2-way radios</p>
<hr />
<div>Yes!<br />
<br />
It is back by popular demand, the annual (hopefully) narrowboat trip around the many and varied waterways of Britain.<br />
<br />
This year a group of geeks, and one [[neogeek]], will attempt to navigate the Llangollen canal in a week.<br />
<br />
== Who? ==<br />
<br />
* [http://popey.com/ Alan]<br />
* [[User:Andy|Andy]]<br />
* [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
* [[User:Phil|Phil]]<br />
* Tim (No point linking this to anything as Tim is now so neogeek that he has no internet presence, with the possible exclusion of some of the more fashionable social networking sites)<br />
<br />
== Where ? ==<br />
<br />
===Address and contact details of the boatyard===<br />
<br />
== When? ==<br />
<br />
Friday 14th September &rarr; Friday 21st September.<br />
<br />
Approximate sunrise and sunset times are as follows:<br />
<br />
<br />
==How much?==<br />
<br />
£220 each. Please send to Matt ASAP, details provided via email.<br />
<br />
We will again operate a communal kitty in order to pay for:<br />
<br />
* groceries.<br />
* pub lunches<br />
* evening meals (where relevant)<br />
* general supplies of drink (alcoholic or otherwise) for the boat.<br />
* "random stuff" that may be required, example batteries for walkie-talkies.<br />
* disposable BBQ kit for a suitable evening.<br />
<br />
Initial amount into kitty?<br />
<br />
Last year we each (4 of us) put £50 into the kitty initially, but this turned<br />
out to be not enough to cover even the initial shopping bill at the supermarket<br />
before we set off, let alone leaving anything in the kitty. So I suggest we<br />
actually put £100 each in the kitty, which seems a lot, but half of that will<br />
go on the shopping and we will easily spend the rest over the following few<br />
days going on past experience. --[[User:Matt|Matt]] 08:30, 5 July 2007 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Boat information ==<br />
<br />
This year's boat will be [http://www.waterwaysholidays.com/detail/midwichash.htm Poplar]<br />
provided by [http://www.middlewichboats.co.uk Middlewich Narrowboats]. There are 12 berths <br />
(we believe that the single beds at the back of the boat are actually bunk-beds) so there<br />
should be plenty of room for storage on the extra beds. 1 shower and 2 toilets are provided.<br />
Do we need to schedule a pump-out stop?<br />
<br />
== What to bring ==<br />
<br />
Space on the boat, and probably more importantly in the cars, will be limited, so try not to over pack. A large holdall for clothes and a small backpack for other bits and pieces seems reasonable.<br />
<br />
Note that all bed linen is provided so you don't need to bring any of that. You will need to bring your own towel however. All cooking utensils and crockery etc. is also provided.<br />
<br />
* Waterproof clothing - we'll probably end up having to pilot the boat and do locks in the pouring rain.<br />
* Gloves - some locks are real bastards.<br />
* Torch - if you have one; we may run out of power some nights, plus for walking to pub, etc.<br />
* A Tea Towel - there will probably be at least one on the boat, but would be good if everyone could bring one so that we have enough.<br />
* Sunscreen or hat, & sunglasses - just in case it happens to be sunny.<br />
* [http://www.cafepress.com/converter.5498827 A CafePress Mug] - for dropping into the canal causing much hilarity.<br />
* [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.patrick/bragaze.html Weak lemon drink] - for drinking down furiously in one gulp in celebration of your hobby success.<br />
<br />
=== Clothing considerations ===<br />
<br />
Casual clothing that you don't mind getting dirty/worn is best. Jeans are fine, though if it rains can get waterlogged. Due to the possible weather conditions do bring a few sets of clothing as you may end up stuck outdoors in the rain for several hours after which you'll definitely want a change of clothes.<br />
<br />
Footwear with decent grip is essential. Trainers are good most of the time, though if it's raining a pair of boots won't go a miss. You'll probably want to have more than one set of footwear in case one set gets soaked and needs to be dried.<br />
<br />
There will be drying facilities to some extent on the boat, though obviously drying space is limited. There will be some radiators and an airing cupboard. <br />
<br />
=== Comms ===<br />
<br />
Matt will provide a 2-way radio for each person with one charged battery pack. Extra<br />
battery packs will probably not be able to be provided this year, and given that we<br />
have had no real success charging the radios on the boat previously, it is suggested<br />
that everyone brings at least one set of batteries (4xAAA) to replace the battery<br />
pack when dead.<br />
<br />
== Planned route and schedule for the week ==<br />
<br />
=== Overall statistics of the route itself ===<br />
<br />
=== Some guesses as to where we would like to start / end each day ===<br />
<br />
== Photo links ==</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/The_Great_Strugglers_Boat_Trip_2007The Great Strugglers Boat Trip 20072007-07-05T08:40:26Z<p>Matt: /* Boat information */ Poplar</p>
<hr />
<div>Yes!<br />
<br />
It is back by popular demand, the annual (hopefully) narrowboat trip around the many and varied waterways of Britain.<br />
<br />
This year a group of geeks, and one [[neogeek]], will attempt to navigate the Llangollen canal in a week.<br />
<br />
== Who? ==<br />
<br />
* [http://popey.com/ Alan]<br />
* [[User:Andy|Andy]]<br />
* [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
* [[User:Phil|Phil]]<br />
* Tim (No point linking this to anything as Tim is now so neogeek that he has no internet presence, with the possible exclusion of some of the more fashionable social networking sites)<br />
<br />
== Where ? ==<br />
<br />
===Address and contact details of the boatyard===<br />
<br />
== When? ==<br />
<br />
Friday 14th September &rarr; Friday 21st September.<br />
<br />
Approximate sunrise and sunset times are as follows:<br />
<br />
<br />
==How much?==<br />
<br />
£220 each. Please send to Matt ASAP, details provided via email.<br />
<br />
We will again operate a communal kitty in order to pay for:<br />
<br />
* groceries.<br />
* pub lunches<br />
* evening meals (where relevant)<br />
* general supplies of drink (alcoholic or otherwise) for the boat.<br />
* "random stuff" that may be required, example batteries for walkie-talkies.<br />
* disposable BBQ kit for a suitable evening.<br />
<br />
Initial amount into kitty?<br />
<br />
Last year we each (4 of us) put £50 into the kitty initially, but this turned<br />
out to be not enough to cover even the initial shopping bill at the supermarket<br />
before we set off, let alone leaving anything in the kitty. So I suggest we<br />
actually put £100 each in the kitty, which seems a lot, but half of that will<br />
go on the shopping and we will easily spend the rest over the following few<br />
days going on past experience. --[[User:Matt|Matt]] 08:30, 5 July 2007 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Boat information ==<br />
<br />
This year's boat will be [http://www.waterwaysholidays.com/detail/midwichash.htm Poplar]<br />
provided by [http://www.middlewichboats.co.uk Middlewich Narrowboats]. There are 12 berths <br />
(we believe that the single beds at the back of the boat are actually bunk-beds) so there<br />
should be plenty of room for storage on the extra beds. 1 shower and 2 toilets are provided.<br />
Do we need to schedule a pump-out stop?<br />
<br />
== What to bring ==<br />
<br />
Space on the boat, and probably more importantly in the cars, will be limited, so try not to over pack. A large holdall for clothes and a small backpack for other bits and pieces seems reasonable.<br />
<br />
Note that all bed linen is provided so you don't need to bring any of that. You will need to bring your own towel however. All cooking utensils and crockery etc. is also provided.<br />
<br />
* Waterproof clothing - we'll probably end up having to pilot the boat and do locks in the pouring rain.<br />
* Gloves - some locks are real bastards.<br />
* Torch - if you have one; we may run out of power some nights, plus for walking to pub, etc.<br />
* A Tea Towel - there will probably be at least one on the boat, but would be good if everyone could bring one so that we have enough.<br />
* Sunscreen or hat, & sunglasses - just in case it happens to be sunny.<br />
* [http://www.cafepress.com/converter.5498827 A CafePress Mug] - for dropping into the canal causing much hilarity.<br />
* [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.patrick/bragaze.html Weak lemon drink] - for drinking down furiously in one gulp in celebration of your hobby success.<br />
<br />
=== Clothing considerations ===<br />
<br />
Casual clothing that you don't mind getting dirty/worn is best. Jeans are fine, though if it rains can get waterlogged. Due to the possible weather conditions do bring a few sets of clothing as you may end up stuck outdoors in the rain for several hours after which you'll definitely want a change of clothes.<br />
<br />
Footwear with decent grip is essential. Trainers are good most of the time, though if it's raining a pair of boots won't go a miss. You'll probably want to have more than one set of footwear in case one set gets soaked and needs to be dried.<br />
<br />
There will be drying facilities to some extent on the boat, though obviously drying space is limited. There will be some radiators and an airing cupboard. <br />
<br />
=== Comms ===<br />
<br />
Do we have use of walkie talkies again?<br />
<br />
== Planned route and schedule for the week ==<br />
<br />
=== Overall statistics of the route itself ===<br />
<br />
=== Some guesses as to where we would like to start / end each day ===<br />
<br />
== Photo links ==</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/The_Great_Strugglers_Boat_Trip_2007The Great Strugglers Boat Trip 20072007-07-05T08:30:30Z<p>Matt: /* How much? */ more money</p>
<hr />
<div>Yes!<br />
<br />
It is back by popular demand, the annual (hopefully) narrowboat trip around the many and varied waterways of Britain.<br />
<br />
This year a group of geeks, and one [[neogeek]], will attempt to navigate the Llangollen canal in a week.<br />
<br />
== Who? ==<br />
<br />
* [http://popey.com/ Alan]<br />
* [[User:Andy|Andy]]<br />
* [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
* [[User:Phil|Phil]]<br />
* Tim (No point linking this to anything as Tim is now so neogeek that he has no internet presence, with the possible exclusion of some of the more fashionable social networking sites)<br />
<br />
== Where ? ==<br />
<br />
===Address and contact details of the boatyard===<br />
<br />
== When? ==<br />
<br />
Friday 14th September &rarr; Friday 21st September.<br />
<br />
Approximate sunrise and sunset times are as follows:<br />
<br />
<br />
==How much?==<br />
<br />
£220 each. Please send to Matt ASAP, details provided via email.<br />
<br />
We will again operate a communal kitty in order to pay for:<br />
<br />
* groceries.<br />
* pub lunches<br />
* evening meals (where relevant)<br />
* general supplies of drink (alcoholic or otherwise) for the boat.<br />
* "random stuff" that may be required, example batteries for walkie-talkies.<br />
* disposable BBQ kit for a suitable evening.<br />
<br />
Initial amount into kitty?<br />
<br />
Last year we each (4 of us) put £50 into the kitty initially, but this turned<br />
out to be not enough to cover even the initial shopping bill at the supermarket<br />
before we set off, let alone leaving anything in the kitty. So I suggest we<br />
actually put £100 each in the kitty, which seems a lot, but half of that will<br />
go on the shopping and we will easily spend the rest over the following few<br />
days going on past experience. --[[User:Matt|Matt]] 08:30, 5 July 2007 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Boat information ==<br />
<br />
== What to bring ==<br />
<br />
Space on the boat, and probably more importantly in the cars, will be limited, so try not to over pack. A large holdall for clothes and a small backpack for other bits and pieces seems reasonable.<br />
<br />
Note that all bed linen is provided so you don't need to bring any of that. You will need to bring your own towel however. All cooking utensils and crockery etc. is also provided.<br />
<br />
* Waterproof clothing - we'll probably end up having to pilot the boat and do locks in the pouring rain.<br />
* Gloves - some locks are real bastards.<br />
* Torch - if you have one; we may run out of power some nights, plus for walking to pub, etc.<br />
* A Tea Towel - there will probably be at least one on the boat, but would be good if everyone could bring one so that we have enough.<br />
* Sunscreen or hat, & sunglasses - just in case it happens to be sunny.<br />
* [http://www.cafepress.com/converter.5498827 A CafePress Mug] - for dropping into the canal causing much hilarity.<br />
* [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.patrick/bragaze.html Weak lemon drink] - for drinking down furiously in one gulp in celebration of your hobby success.<br />
<br />
=== Clothing considerations ===<br />
<br />
Casual clothing that you don't mind getting dirty/worn is best. Jeans are fine, though if it rains can get waterlogged. Due to the possible weather conditions do bring a few sets of clothing as you may end up stuck outdoors in the rain for several hours after which you'll definitely want a change of clothes.<br />
<br />
Footwear with decent grip is essential. Trainers are good most of the time, though if it's raining a pair of boots won't go a miss. You'll probably want to have more than one set of footwear in case one set gets soaked and needs to be dried.<br />
<br />
There will be drying facilities to some extent on the boat, though obviously drying space is limited. There will be some radiators and an airing cupboard. <br />
<br />
=== Comms ===<br />
<br />
Do we have use of walkie talkies again?<br />
<br />
== Planned route and schedule for the week ==<br />
<br />
=== Overall statistics of the route itself ===<br />
<br />
=== Some guesses as to where we would like to start / end each day ===<br />
<br />
== Photo links ==</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/BiTfOlKBiTfOlK2007-01-19T10:11:14Z<p>Matt: /* bitfolk */ added reasoning</p>
<hr />
<div>What should the casing be for [http://bitfolk.com/ bitfolk]?<br />
<br />
Evil griffer's decision is final obviously; terms and conditions apply.<br />
<br />
==Bitfolk==<br />
* [[User:Taras|Taras]]<br />
* [[User:Simon|Simon]]<br />
* This is the worst one! Pick one of the others - [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
<br />
==BitFolk==<br />
<br />
* I like this one in written text - [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
<br />
==bitfolk==<br />
<br />
* This one [[User:popey|popey]]<br />
* I like this one in logos with the two-colour design - [[User:Matt|Matt]] (Note: The reason that I don't like this one in written text is that it looks a bit odd when you use it to start a sentence - unless you then use Bitfolk for that case which means you then lack consistency)<br />
* Agreed, looks good with the two colours - [[User:Dominic|Dominic]]<br />
<br />
==More..?==<br />
<br />
* bytewizer</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/BiTfOlKBiTfOlK2007-01-18T00:13:49Z<p>Matt: /* More..? */</p>
<hr />
<div>What should the casing be for [http://bitfolk.com/ bitfolk]?<br />
<br />
Evil griffer's decision is final obviously; terms and conditions apply.<br />
<br />
==Bitfolk==<br />
* [[User:Taras|Taras]]<br />
* [[User:Simon|Simon]]<br />
* This is the worst one! Pick one of the others - [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
<br />
==BitFolk==<br />
<br />
* I like this one in written text - [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
<br />
==bitfolk==<br />
<br />
* This one [[User:popey|popey]]<br />
* I like this one in logos with the two-colour design - [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
<br />
==More..?==<br />
<br />
* bytewizer</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/BiTfOlKBiTfOlK2007-01-18T00:12:28Z<p>Matt: /* bitfolk */ my opinion</p>
<hr />
<div>What should the casing be for [http://bitfolk.com/ bitfolk]?<br />
<br />
==Bitfolk==<br />
* [[User:Taras|Taras]]<br />
* [[User:Simon|Simon]]<br />
* This is the worst one! Pick one of the others - [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
<br />
==BitFolk==<br />
<br />
* I like this one in written text - [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
<br />
==bitfolk==<br />
<br />
* This one [[User:popey|popey]]<br />
* I like this one in logos with the two-colour design - [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
<br />
==More..?==</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/BiTfOlKBiTfOlK2007-01-18T00:10:45Z<p>Matt: /* BitFolk */ my opinion</p>
<hr />
<div>What should the casing be for [http://bitfolk.com/ bitfolk]?<br />
<br />
==Bitfolk==<br />
* [[User:Taras|Taras]]<br />
* [[User:Simon|Simon]]<br />
* This is the worst one! Pick one of the others - [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
<br />
==BitFolk==<br />
<br />
* I like this one in written text - [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
<br />
==bitfolk==<br />
<br />
==More..?==</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/BiTfOlKBiTfOlK2007-01-18T00:09:06Z<p>Matt: /* Bitfolk */ not this one</p>
<hr />
<div>What should the casing be for [http://bitfolk.com/ bitfolk]?<br />
<br />
==Bitfolk==<br />
* [[User:Taras|Taras]]<br />
* [[User:Simon|Simon]]<br />
* This is the worst one! Pick one of the others - [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
<br />
==BitFolk==<br />
<br />
==bitfolk==<br />
<br />
==More..?==</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/islay.strugglers.netislay.strugglers.net2006-09-25T21:36:28Z<p>Matt: /* Power consumption */</p>
<hr />
<div>==Configuration==<br />
* Xeon 3.6GHz<br />
* 3x1GiB ECC registered DDR2 3200<br />
* 2x320GB 7200RPM Seagate SATA disks<br />
* Dual gigabit ethernet<br />
* Slimline CDROM<br />
<br />
==Power consumption==<br />
I've bought a power monitor in order to measure how many amps/watts the server draws. Take a guess how many watts it will draw about a minute after it has displayed the console login prompt with no special load running. There will be 3 Xen domains idling at this point, in addition to dom0.<br />
<br />
;[[User:Philc|Phil]]:192W<br />
;[[User:Taras|Taras]]:197W<br />
;[[User:Simon|Simon]]:200W<br />
;[[User:Andy|Andy]]:210W<br />
;[[User:Matt|Matt]]:220W</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/The_Great_Strugglers_Boat_Trip_2006The Great Strugglers Boat Trip 20062006-09-25T20:59:16Z<p>Matt: /* Photo links */ matt's photos</p>
<hr />
<div>Yes!<br />
<br />
It is back by popular demand, the annual (hopefully) narrowboat trip around the many and varied waterways of Britain.<br />
<br />
This year a group of geeks, and one [[neogeek]], will attempt to complete the Stourport Ring in a week.<br />
<br />
== Who? ==<br />
<br />
* [[User:Tim|Tim]]<br />
* [[User:Phil|Phil]]<br />
* [[User:Andy|Andy]]<br />
* [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
<br />
== Where ? ==<br />
<br />
We will be starting from and returning to the [http://www.alvechurch.com/marinas/alvechurch/index.html Alvechurch marina.]<br />
<br />
===Address and contact details of the boatyard===<br />
Scarfield Wharf<br /> <br />
[[Wikipedia:Alvechurch|Alvechurch]]<br /> <br />
[[Wikipedia:Worcestershire|Worcestershire]]<br /><br />
[http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=B48+7SQ&ie=UTF8&ll=52.346838,-1.972369&spn=0.038171,0.106773&om=1 B48 7SQ]<br /><br />
<br />
Tel: 0121 445 2909<br/><br />
Fax: 0121 447 7120<br />
<br />
== When? ==<br />
<br />
Our trip will run from Monday 11th September where the boatyard aims to have our boat ready for us between 14:30 and 16:00 and we have until 10:00 on Monday 18th September 2006 to have fully vacated the boat itself back at the boatyard.<br />
<br />
Approximate sunrise and sunset times are as follows:<br />
<br />
<table cellspacing="8"><br />
<tr><br />
<th>Date</th><br />
<th>Sunrise</th><br />
<th>Sunset</th><br />
<th>Comments</th><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>11/09</td><br />
<td>06:34</td><br />
<td>19:32</td><br />
<td>Partial day; boat will not be able to start moving until after 16:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>12/09</td><br />
<td>06:37</td><br />
<td>19:31</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>13/09</td><br />
<td>06:39</td><br />
<td>19:29</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>14/09</td><br />
<td>06:41</td><br />
<td>19:26</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>15/09</td><br />
<td>06:43</td><br />
<td>19:24</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>16/09</td><br />
<td>06:44</td><br />
<td>19:21</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>17/09</td><br />
<td>06:45</td><br />
<td>19:18</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>18/09</td><br />
<td>06:46</td><br />
<td>19:16</td><br />
<td>Partial day; boat must be back at marina for 09:30 at the latest! Aim to set off no later than 07:30</td><br />
</tr><br />
</table><br />
<br />
==How much?==<br />
<br />
£290 each. Please send to Phil before 24th August, details provided via email.<br />
<br />
We will again operate a communual kitty in order to pay for:<br />
<br />
* groceries.<br />
* pub lunches<br />
* evening meals (where relevant)<br />
* general supplies of drink (alcoholic or otherwise) for the boat.<br />
* "random stuff" that may be required, example batteries for walkie-talkies.<br />
* disposable BBQ kit for a suitable evening.<br />
<br />
Initial input to the kitty will be £30 on arrival at the marina in order to pay for the first pub lunch and then the shopping at Sainsburys.<br />
<br />
I'd vote for putting a bit more in the initial kitty than this. £30 each gives us £120, which after the pub lunch will likely leave us with less than £100. I could easily see the shopping costinig that much, and even if not, then the kitty would be left with minimal cash at best... I propose putting, say £50 each in initially? --[[User:Matt|Matt]] 08:49, 26 July 2006 (UTC)<br />
<br />
We will then add amounts to the kitty as and when required throughout the week, and divide any remaining money that is left at the end of the week between us.<br />
<br />
We'll need to go grocery shopping every few days because there won't be a lot of room on the boat for fresh food such as bread and milk. Also bear in mind that it may be several days between cash machines so you will want to carry a bit of your own cash aside from the kitty.<br />
<br />
== Boat information ==<br />
<br />
[http://www.alvechurch.com/holidays/boat_fleet/4_6_berth/plover/index.html Plover].<br />
<br />
== What to bring ==<br />
<br />
Space on the boat, and probably more importantly in the cars, will be limited, so try not to overpack. A large holdall for clothes and a small backpack for other bits and pieces seems reasonable.<br />
<br />
Note that all bed linen is provided so you don't need to bring any of that. You will need to bring your own towel however. All cooking utensils and crockery etc. is also provided.<br />
<br />
* Waterproof clothing - we'll probably end up having to pilot the boat and do locks in the pouring rain.<br />
* Gloves - some locks are real bastards.<br />
* Torch - if you have one; we may run out of power some nights, plus for walking to pub, etc.<br />
* A Tea Towel - there will probably be at least one on the boat, but would be good if everyone could bring one so that we have enough.<br />
* Sunscreen or hat, & sunglasses - just in case it happens to be sunny.<br />
* [http://www.cafepress.com/converter.5498827 A CafePress Mug] - for dropping into the canal causing much hilarity.<br />
* [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.patrick/bragaze.html Weak lemon drink] - for drinking down furiously in one gulp in celebration of your hobby success.<br />
<br />
=== Clothing considerations ===<br />
<br />
Casual clothing that you don't mind getting dirty/worn is best. Jeans are fine, though if it rains can get waterlogged. Due to the possible weather conditions do bring a few sets of clothing as you may end up stuck outdoors in the rain for several hours after which you'll definitely want a change of clothes.<br />
<br />
Footwear with decent grip is essential. Trainers are good most of the time, though if it's raining a pair of boots won't go a miss. You'll probably want to have more than one set of footwear in case one set gets soaked and needs to be dried.<br />
<br />
There will be drying facilites to some extent on the boat, though obviously drying space is limited. There will be some radiators and an airing cupboard. <br />
<br />
=== Lifejacket/Bouyancy Aid ===<br />
<br />
Part of our route will take us onto the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Severn River Severn], which will be a significantly different experience from handling the boat on a canal due to the flow of the river.<br />
<br />
The water in the river will also be significantly deeper in the channel than in the canals, therefore I would recommend that bouyancy aids/lifejackets are on hand, or worn, for this part of the trip itself.<br />
<br />
=== Comms ===<br />
<br />
Matt will provide walkie-talkies for everyone, though due to problems experienced last year with charging of them coupled with the fact that we lost track of where they were and which ones were charged a lot, there are some new rules!<br />
<br />
* Each person will be given a fully-charged walkie-talkie, labeled with their name. Everyone is obviously responsible for their own walkie-talkie.<br />
* Each person is responsible for bringing enough batteries for their walkie-talkie for however much they intend to use it.<br />
<br />
I would think that bringing an extra 2 or 3 sets of batteries will be sufficient for running your walkie-talkie for all the time that we want to use them. One set of batteries = 4x AAA (note triple A, not double A).<br />
<br />
10-4 ??<br />
<br />
== Planned route and schedule for the week ==<br />
<br />
Our route will take us anti-clockwise round the "Stourport Ring" starting/ending at Alvechurch Boatyard.<br />
<br />
The "Stourport Ring" consists of the following branches and sections of the following canals/rivers, that our route will take us round in the following order.<br />
<br />
Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester) picking up this section at Alvechurch<br />
<br />
Worcester and Birmingham Canal (Birmingham to King's Norton)<br />
<br />
Birmingham Canal Navigations (Main Line)<br />
<br />
Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (Main Line: Stourton to Aldersley)<br />
<br />
Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (Main Line: Stourport to Stourton)<br />
<br />
Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (Stourport Basin: Narrow Locks route)<br />
<br />
River Severn (main river)<br />
<br />
Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester) last part of the route back to Alvechurch.<br />
<br />
The reason for choosing the anti-clockwise route is that we will be going downstream on the River Severn which will mean that the current is working to our advantage and will enable us to complete this section of the route a lot quicker.<br />
<br />
There are a few online trip reports of trips around the Stourport Ring:<br />
<br />
* http://home.clara.net/hendricks/2000/index.html<br />
* http://www.benefuller.supanet.com/Home.html<br />
* http://www.bobulous.org.uk/canal/index.html<br />
<br />
Here's a time-lapse video of a section through the flight of locks at Tarbigge:<br />
<br />
* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJXtfFTOJd8<br />
<br />
=== Overall statistics of the route itself ===<br />
<br />
Total distance is 93 miles, 3½ flg and 118 locks. There are at least 12 small aqueducts or underbridges and 9 tunnels.<br />
<br />
''Made up of 80 miles, 4½ furlongs of narrow canals; 12 miles, 7 furlongs of large rivers; 115 narrow locks; 3 large locks.''<br />
<br />
This will take 54 hours, 27 minutes which is 6 days, 6 hours and 27 minutes at 8 hours per day.<br />
<br />
''' A furlong is 1/8 of a mile '''<br />
<br />
''' If anyone has no objection, Phil would like to volunteer now to drive the boat for the section along the River Severn due to probably having more experience in handling power driven vessels on fast flowing water. '''<br />
<br />
=== Monday 11th September ===<br />
<br />
We will aim to get to the boatyard by 12:00 in order to have lunch at [http://www.the-weighbridge.co.uk The Weighbridge Pub] which is located at the marina itself (0121 445 5111).<br />
<br />
After having lunch we will retire to Sainsbury's to pick up some supplies, which is on the A441 at the north edge of [[Wikipedia:Redditch|Redditch]], here are some fun facts about the store we will be going to:<br />
<br />
* 400 parking spaces<br />
* 40 disabled parking spaces<br />
* 30 parent and child parking spaces<br />
* 25 checkouts<br />
* 3 ATM machine(s)<br />
<br />
Perhaps we should consider stocking up on some things a bit more than we have done in the past? I'm thinking mainly of things like drinks (alcholic and otherwise), which always seem to run out and are also heavy and bulky to carry if some supermarket we find on-route is far from the canal.<br />
<br />
This should take us quite nicely to around 14:00 where we should be back at the marina in order to pick up the boat which will be ready no earlier than 14:30.<br />
<br />
Realistically on the first day we will probably not be able to do much more than 3 hours of cruising itself, however we should be able to achieve a reasonable amount of ground as there are no locks to navigate.<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:34<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:31<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, approx 3 hours. <br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - total 7 miles, ½ flg, 0 locks, 0 moveable bridges (2 hours, 49 minutes)'''<br />
<br />
Start Point : Alvechurch Boatyard, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester)<br /><br />
End Point : Breedon Cross Railway Bridge No 74, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (Birmingham to King's Norton)<br /><br />
Water Stop : Not required today - boat will be given to us with full tank of water supplied.<br /><br />
Grocery Stop : [http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/shoppingandservices/storelocator/store.htm?id=604 Sainsbury's] before going to the marina.<br />
<br />
''We will depart the marina and turn right on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester) heading towards Kings Norton and we will go through the Wast Hill Tunnel after approximately 3 miles from Alvechurch, we will then continue along the canal to King's Norton Junction where we will join the Worcester and Birmingham Canal (Birmingham to King's Norton) and our mooring spot for the evening will be near Breedon Cross Railway Bridge No 74''<br />
<br />
We will most likely eat on board this evening and then retire to a local pub for a few beverages of choice.<br />
<br />
=== Tuesday 12th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:37<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:31<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 13 hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - 20 miles, 3½ flg, 3 locks, 0 moveable bridges (8 hours, 40 minutes)'''<br />
<br />
Start Point : Breedon Cross Railway Bridge No 74, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (Birmingham to King's Norton)<br /><br />
End Point : Albion Wharf, Birmingham Canal Navigations (Main Line)<br /><br />
Water Stop : Worcester Bar, Gas Street Basin. Junction of Worcester and Birmingham Canal with BCN<br /><br />
Grocery Stop : Worcester Bar, Gas Street Basin. Junction of Worcester and Birmingham Canal with BCN<br />
<br />
''Stop for lunch at Pudding Green Junction where there is a waterside pub''<br />
<br />
=== Wednesday 13th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:39<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:29<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 12½ hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - 11 miles, 3¾ flg, 34 locks, 0 moveable bridges (9 hours, 50 minutes)'''<br />
<br />
Start Point : Albion Wharf, Birmingham Canal Navigations (Main Line)<br /><br />
End Point : Swindon, Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (Main Line: Stourton to Aldersley)<br /><br />
Water Stop : <br /><br />
Grocery Stop : <br />
<br />
''fluffy description to follow''<br />
<br />
=== Thursday 14th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:41<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:26<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 12½ hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - 16 miles, 5½ flg, 15 locks (9 hours, 39 minutes)'''<br />
<br />
Start Point : Swindon, Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (Main Line: Stourton to Aldersley)<br /><br />
End Point : Mitton Chapel Bridge No 7, Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (Main Line: Stourport to Stourton)<br /><br />
Water Stop : <br /><br />
Grocery Stop : <br />
<br />
''fluffy description to follow''<br />
<br />
=== Friday 15th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:43<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:24<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 12 hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - 17 miles, 5 flg, 16 locks (8 hours, 23 minutes)'''<br />
<br />
Start Point : Mitton Chapel Bridge No 7, Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (Main Line: Stourport to Stourton)<br /><br />
End Point : Ivy Bridge No 16, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester)<br /><br />
Water Stop : <br /><br />
Grocery Stop : <br />
<br />
''fluffy description to follow''<br />
<br />
=== Saturday 16th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:44<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:21<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 11½ hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - 13 miles, 6¾ flg, 20 locks (8 hours, 34 minutes)'''<br />
<br />
Start Point : Ivy Bridge No 16, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester)<br /><br />
End Point : Stoke Pound, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester)<br /><br />
Water Stop : <br /><br />
Grocery Stop : <br />
<br />
''fluffy description to follow''<br />
<br />
=== Sunday 17th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:45<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:18<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 11½ hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - total 3 miles, 3½ flg, 30 locks (5 hours, 24 minutes)'''<br />
<br />
Start Point : Stoke Pound, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester)<br /><br />
End Point : Tardebigge Wharf, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester)<br /><br />
Water Stop : <br /><br />
Grocery Stop : Not required today, boat being handed back to the marina tomorrow morning so require to run down supplies and arrange to take back non perishable items.<br /><br />
<br />
''fluffy description to follow''<br />
<br />
=== Monday 18th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:46<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:16<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 2½ hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - 2 miles, 6¾ flg, 0 locks (1 hour, 8 minutes)'''<br />
<br />
Start Point : Tardebigge Wharf, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester)<br /><br />
End Point : Alvechurch Boatyard, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester)<br /><br />
Water Stop : Not required today, boat being handed back to the marina.<br /><br />
Grocery Stop : Not required today, boat being handed back to the marina.<br /><br />
<br />
''fluffy description to follow''<br />
<br />
== Photo links ==<br />
<br />
[http://www.mattmarsh.net/photos/ Matt's Photos] - Album: canal2006 / Password: stourport</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/The_Great_Strugglers_Boat_Trip_2007The Great Strugglers Boat Trip 20072006-09-25T20:57:14Z<p>Matt: don't put her name if you can't spell it right :)</p>
<hr />
<div>= Oh yes! =<br />
<br />
Here follows advertisement crap of a nice route...<br />
<br />
"One week from Strand Horst<br />
<br />
Strand Horst - Amsterdam - Utrecht - Elburg round trip<br />
<br />
Friesland - North Holland - Utrecht<br />
<br />
Cruise the River Vecht and delight in the country houses lining the canal, formerly the weekend residences of wealthy business owners. Moor at Weesp and take the 10-minute train journey to the cosmopolitan city of Amsterdam. Tour the canals, visit the many tourist attractions, perhaps visit a diamond polishing factory. Cruise to Utrecht and return via Spakenburg.<br />
<br />
180km 4 locks 33hr round trip cruising time"<br />
<br />
[http://www.cruiseholland.com/boat-holidays.htm Holland!!!]<br />
<br />
I would like to point out that this route is using a cruiser rather than a narrowboat, so would give a new fun handling experience into the equation - well we do have to do something to make up for the lack of locks ;)<br />
<br />
Also, given that Matt has indicated that he might bring his girlfriend along - the boat in question has a double cabin at the front.</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/The_Great_Strugglers_Boat_Trip_2006The Great Strugglers Boat Trip 20062006-07-28T10:44:34Z<p>Matt: /* Planned route and schedule for the week */ time-lapse video</p>
<hr />
<div>Yes!<br />
<br />
It is back by popular demand, the annual (hopefully) narrowboat trip around the many and varied waterways of Britain.<br />
<br />
This year a group of geeks, and one [[neogeek]], will attempt to complete the Stourport Ring in a week.<br />
<br />
== Who? ==<br />
<br />
* [[User:Tim|Tim]]<br />
* [[User:Phil|Phil]]<br />
* [[User:Andy|Andy]]<br />
* [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
<br />
== Where ? ==<br />
<br />
We will be starting from and returning to the [http://www.alvechurch.com/marinas/alvechurch/index.html Alvechurch marina.]<br />
<br />
===Address and contact details of the boatyard===<br />
Scarfield Wharf<br /> <br />
[[Wikipedia:Alvechurch|Alvechurch]]<br /> <br />
[[Wikipedia:Worcestershire|Worcestershire]]<br /><br />
[http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=B48+7SQ&ie=UTF8&ll=52.346838,-1.972369&spn=0.038171,0.106773&om=1 B48 7SQ]<br /><br />
<br />
Tel: 0121 445 2909<br/><br />
Fax: 0121 447 7120<br />
<br />
== When? ==<br />
<br />
Our trip will run from Monday 11th September where the boatyard aims to have our boat ready for us between 14:30 and 16:00 and we have until 10:00 on Monday 18th September 2006 to have fully vacated the boat itself back at the boatyard.<br />
<br />
Approximate sunrise and sunset times are as follows:<br />
<br />
<table cellspacing="8"><br />
<tr><br />
<th>Date</th><br />
<th>Sunrise</th><br />
<th>Sunset</th><br />
<th>Comments</th><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>11/09</td><br />
<td>06:34</td><br />
<td>19:32</td><br />
<td>Partial day; boat will not be able to start moving until after 16:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>12/09</td><br />
<td>06:37</td><br />
<td>19:31</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>13/09</td><br />
<td>06:39</td><br />
<td>19:29</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>14/09</td><br />
<td>06:41</td><br />
<td>19:26</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>15/09</td><br />
<td>06:43</td><br />
<td>19:24</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>16/09</td><br />
<td>06:44</td><br />
<td>19:21</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>17/09</td><br />
<td>06:45</td><br />
<td>19:18</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>18/09</td><br />
<td>06:46</td><br />
<td>19:16</td><br />
<td>Partial day; boat must be back at marina for 09:30 at the latest! Aim to set off no later than 07:30</td><br />
</tr><br />
</table><br />
<br />
==How much?==<br />
<br />
£290 each. Please send to Phil before 24th August, details provided via email.<br />
<br />
We will again operate a communual kitty in order to pay for:<br />
<br />
* groceries.<br />
* pub lunches<br />
* evening meals (where relevant)<br />
* general supplies of drink (alcoholic or otherwise) for the boat.<br />
* "random stuff" that may be required, example batteries for walkie-talkies.<br />
* disposable BBQ kit for a suitable evening.<br />
<br />
Initial input to the kitty will be £30 on arrival at the marina in order to pay for the first pub lunch and then the shopping at Sainsburys.<br />
<br />
I'd vote for putting a bit more in the initial kitty than this. £30 each gives us £120, which after the pub lunch will likely leave us with less than £100. I could easily see the shopping costinig that much, and even if not, then the kitty would be left with minimal cash at best... I propose putting, say £50 each in initially? --[[User:Matt|Matt]] 08:49, 26 July 2006 (UTC)<br />
<br />
We will then add amounts to the kitty as and when required throughout the week, and divide any remaining money that is left at the end of the week between us.<br />
<br />
We'll need to go grocery shopping every few days because there won't be a lot of room on the boat for fresh food such as bread and milk. Also bear in mind that it may be several days between cash machines so you will want to carry a bit of your own cash aside from the kitty.<br />
<br />
== Boat information ==<br />
<br />
[http://www.alvechurch.com/holidays/boat_fleet/4_6_berth/plover/index.html Plover].<br />
<br />
== What to bring ==<br />
<br />
Space on the boat, and probably more importantly in the cars, will be limited, so try not to overpack. A large holdall for clothes and a small backpack for other bits and pieces seems reasonable.<br />
<br />
Note that all bed linen is provided so you don't need to bring any of that. You will need to bring your own towel however. All cooking utensils and crockery etc. is also provided.<br />
<br />
* Waterproof clothing - we'll probably end up having to pilot the boat and do locks in the pouring rain.<br />
* Gloves - some locks are real bastards.<br />
* Torch - if you have one; we may run out of power some nights, plus for walking to pub, etc.<br />
* A Tea Towel - there will probably be at least one on the boat, but would be good if everyone could bring one so that we have enough.<br />
* Sunscreen or hat, & sunglasses - just in case it happens to be sunny.<br />
* [http://www.cafepress.com/converter.5498827 A CafePress Mug] - for dropping into the canal causing much hilarity.<br />
* [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.patrick/bragaze.html Weak lemon drink] - for drinking down furiously in one gulp in celebration of your hobby success.<br />
<br />
=== Clothing considerations ===<br />
<br />
Casual clothing that you don't mind getting dirty/worn is best. Jeans are fine, though if it rains can get waterlogged. Due to the possible weather conditions do bring a few sets of clothing as you may end up stuck outdoors in the rain for several hours after which you'll definitely want a change of clothes.<br />
<br />
Footwear with decent grip is essential. Trainers are good most of the time, though if it's raining a pair of boots won't go a miss. You'll probably want to have more than one set of footwear in case one set gets soaked and needs to be dried.<br />
<br />
There will be drying facilites to some extent on the boat, though obviously drying space is limited. There will be some radiators and an airing cupboard. <br />
<br />
=== Lifejacket/Bouyancy Aid ===<br />
<br />
Part of our route will take us onto the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Severn River Severn], which will be a significantly different experience from handling the boat on a canal due to the flow of the river.<br />
<br />
The water in the river will also be significantly deeper in the channel than in the canals, therefore I would recommend that bouyancy aids/lifejackets are on hand, or worn, for this part of the trip itself.<br />
<br />
=== Comms ===<br />
<br />
Matt will provide walkie-talkies for everyone, though due to problems experienced last year with charging of them coupled with the fact that we lost track of where they were and which ones were charged a lot, there are some new rules!<br />
<br />
* Each person will be given a fully-charged walkie-talkie, labeled with their name. Everyone is obviously responsible for their own walkie-talkie.<br />
* Each person is responsible for bringing enough batteries for their walkie-talkie for however much they intend to use it.<br />
<br />
I would think that bringing an extra 2 or 3 sets of batteries will be sufficient for running your walkie-talkie for all the time that we want to use them. One set of batteries = 4x AAA (note triple A, not double A).<br />
<br />
10-4 ??<br />
<br />
== Planned route and schedule for the week ==<br />
<br />
Our route will take us anti-clockwise round the "Stourport Ring" starting/ending at Alvechurch Boatyard.<br />
<br />
The "Stourport Ring" consists of the following branches and sections of the following canals/rivers, that our route will take us round in the following order.<br />
<br />
Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester) picking up this section at Alvechurch<br />
<br />
Worcester and Birmingham Canal (Birmingham to King's Norton)<br />
<br />
Birmingham Canal Navigations (Main Line)<br />
<br />
Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (Main Line: Stourton to Aldersley)<br />
<br />
Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (Main Line: Stourport to Stourton)<br />
<br />
Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (Stourport Basin: Narrow Locks route)<br />
<br />
River Severn (main river)<br />
<br />
Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester) last part of the route back to Alvechurch.<br />
<br />
The reason for choosing the anti-clockwise route is that we will be going downstream on the River Severn which will mean that the current is working to our advantage and will enable us to complete this section of the route a lot quicker.<br />
<br />
There are a few online trip reports of trips around the Stourport Ring:<br />
<br />
* http://home.clara.net/hendricks/2000/index.html<br />
* http://www.benefuller.supanet.com/Home.html<br />
* http://www.bobulous.org.uk/canal/index.html<br />
<br />
Here's a time-lapse video of a section through the flight of locks at Tarbigge:<br />
<br />
* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJXtfFTOJd8<br />
<br />
=== Overall statistics of the route itself ===<br />
<br />
Total distance is 93 miles, 3½ flg and 118 locks. There are at least 12 small aqueducts or underbridges and 9 tunnels.<br />
<br />
''Made up of 80 miles, 4½ furlongs of narrow canals; 12 miles, 7 furlongs of large rivers; 115 narrow locks; 3 large locks.''<br />
<br />
This will take 54 hours, 27 minutes which is 6 days, 6 hours and 27 minutes at 8 hours per day.<br />
<br />
''' A furlong is 1/8 of a mile '''<br />
<br />
''' If anyone has no objection, Phil would like to volunteer now to drive the boat for the section along the River Severn due to probably having more experience in handling power driven vessels on fast flowing water. '''<br />
<br />
=== Monday 11th September ===<br />
<br />
We will aim to get to the boatyard by 12:00 in order to have lunch at [http://www.the-weighbridge.co.uk The Weighbridge Pub] which is located at the marina itself (0121 445 5111).<br />
<br />
After having lunch we will retire to Sainsbury's to pick up some supplies, which is on the A441 at the north edge of [[Wikipedia:Redditch|Redditch]], here are some fun facts about the store we will be going to:<br />
<br />
* 400 parking spaces<br />
* 40 disabled parking spaces<br />
* 30 parent and child parking spaces<br />
* 25 checkouts<br />
* 3 ATM machine(s)<br />
<br />
Perhaps we should consider stocking up on some things a bit more than we have done in the past? I'm thinking mainly of things like drinks (alcholic and otherwise), which always seem to run out and are also heavy and bulky to carry if some supermarket we find on-route is far from the canal.<br />
<br />
This should take us quite nicely to around 14:00 where we should be back at the marina in order to pick up the boat which will be ready no earlier than 14:30.<br />
<br />
Realistically on the first day we will probably not be able to do much more than 3 hours of cruising itself, however we should be able to achieve a reasonable amount of ground as there are no locks to navigate.<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:34<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:31<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, approx 3 hours. <br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - total 7 miles, ½ flg, 0 locks, 0 moveable bridges (2 hours, 49 minutes)'''<br />
<br />
Start Point : Alvechurch Boatyard, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester)<br /><br />
End Point : Breedon Cross Railway Bridge No 74, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (Birmingham to King's Norton)<br /><br />
Water Stop : Not required today - boat will be given to us with full tank of water supplied.<br /><br />
Grocery Stop : [http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/shoppingandservices/storelocator/store.htm?id=604 Sainsbury's] before going to the marina.<br />
<br />
''We will depart the marina and turn right on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester) heading towards Kings Norton and we will go through the Wast Hill Tunnel after approximately 3 miles from Alvechurch, we will then continue along the canal to King's Norton Junction where we will join the Worcester and Birmingham Canal (Birmingham to King's Norton) and our mooring spot for the evening will be near Breedon Cross Railway Bridge No 74''<br />
<br />
We will most likely eat on board this evening and then retire to a local pub for a few beverages of choice.<br />
<br />
=== Tuesday 12th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:37<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:31<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 13 hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - 20 miles, 3½ flg, 3 locks, 0 moveable bridges (8 hours, 40 minutes)'''<br />
<br />
Start Point : Breedon Cross Railway Bridge No 74, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (Birmingham to King's Norton)<br /><br />
End Point : Albion Wharf, Birmingham Canal Navigations (Main Line)<br /><br />
Water Stop : Worcester Bar, Gas Street Basin. Junction of Worcester and Birmingham Canal with BCN<br /><br />
Grocery Stop : Worcester Bar, Gas Street Basin. Junction of Worcester and Birmingham Canal with BCN<br />
<br />
''Stop for lunch at Pudding Green Junction where there is a waterside pub''<br />
<br />
=== Wednesday 13th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:39<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:29<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 12½ hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - 11 miles, 3¾ flg, 34 locks, 0 moveable bridges (9 hours, 50 minutes)'''<br />
<br />
Start Point : Albion Wharf, Birmingham Canal Navigations (Main Line)<br /><br />
End Point : Swindon, Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (Main Line: Stourton to Aldersley)<br /><br />
Water Stop : <br /><br />
Grocery Stop : <br />
<br />
''fluffy description to follow''<br />
<br />
=== Thursday 14th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:41<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:26<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 12½ hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - 16 miles, 5½ flg, 15 locks (9 hours, 39 minutes)'''<br />
<br />
Start Point : Swindon, Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (Main Line: Stourton to Aldersley)<br /><br />
End Point : Mitton Chapel Bridge No 7, Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (Main Line: Stourport to Stourton)<br /><br />
Water Stop : <br /><br />
Grocery Stop : <br />
<br />
''fluffy description to follow''<br />
<br />
=== Friday 15th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:43<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:24<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 12 hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - 17 miles, 5 flg, 16 locks (8 hours, 23 minutes)'''<br />
<br />
Start Point : Mitton Chapel Bridge No 7, Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (Main Line: Stourport to Stourton)<br /><br />
End Point : Ivy Bridge No 16, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester)<br /><br />
Water Stop : <br /><br />
Grocery Stop : <br />
<br />
''fluffy description to follow''<br />
<br />
=== Saturday 16th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:44<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:21<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 11½ hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - 13 miles, 6¾ flg, 20 locks (8 hours, 34 minutes)'''<br />
<br />
Start Point : Ivy Bridge No 16, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester)<br /><br />
End Point : Stoke Pound, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester)<br /><br />
Water Stop : <br /><br />
Grocery Stop : <br />
<br />
''fluffy description to follow''<br />
<br />
=== Sunday 17th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:45<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:18<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 11½ hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - total 3 miles, 3½ flg, 30 locks (5 hours, 24 minutes)'''<br />
<br />
Start Point : Stoke Pound, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester)<br /><br />
End Point : Tardebigge Wharf, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester)<br /><br />
Water Stop : <br /><br />
Grocery Stop : Not required today, boat being handed back to the marina tomorrow morning so require to run down supplies and arrange to take back non perishable items.<br /><br />
<br />
''fluffy description to follow''<br />
<br />
=== Monday 18th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:46<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:16<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 2½ hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - 2 miles, 6¾ flg, 0 locks (1 hour, 8 minutes)'''<br />
<br />
Start Point : Tardebigge Wharf, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester)<br /><br />
End Point : Alvechurch Boatyard, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester)<br /><br />
Water Stop : Not required today, boat being handed back to the marina.<br /><br />
Grocery Stop : Not required today, boat being handed back to the marina.<br /><br />
<br />
''fluffy description to follow''<br />
<br />
== Photo links ==<br />
<br />
To follow after the event!</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/The_Great_Strugglers_Boat_Trip_2006The Great Strugglers Boat Trip 20062006-07-26T08:54:28Z<p>Matt: /* Monday 11th September */ stocking up suggestion</p>
<hr />
<div>Yes!<br />
<br />
It is back by popular demand, the annual (hopefully) narrowboat trip around the many and varied waterways of Britain.<br />
<br />
This year a group of geeks, and one [[neogeek]], will attempt to complete the Stourport Ring in a week.<br />
<br />
== Who? ==<br />
<br />
* [[User:Tim|Tim]]<br />
* [[User:Phil|Phil]]<br />
* [[User:Andy|Andy]]<br />
* [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
<br />
== Where ? ==<br />
<br />
We will be starting from and returning to the [http://www.alvechurch.com/marinas/alvechurch/index.html Alvechurch marina.]<br />
<br />
===Address and contact details of the boatyard===<br />
Scarfield Wharf<br /> <br />
[[Wikipedia:Alvechurch|Alvechurch]]<br /> <br />
[[Wikipedia:Worcestershire|Worcestershire]]<br /><br />
[http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=B48+7SQ&ie=UTF8&ll=52.346838,-1.972369&spn=0.038171,0.106773&om=1 B48 7SQ]<br /><br />
<br />
Tel: 0121 445 2909<br/><br />
Fax: 0121 447 7120<br />
<br />
== When? ==<br />
<br />
Our trip will run from Monday 11th September where the boatyard aims to have our boat ready for us between 14:30 and 16:00 and we have until 10:00 on Monday 18th September 2006 to have fully vacated the boat itself back at the boatyard.<br />
<br />
Approximate sunrise and sunset times are as follows:<br />
<br />
<table cellspacing="8"><br />
<tr><br />
<th>Date</th><br />
<th>Sunrise</th><br />
<th>Sunset</th><br />
<th>Comments</th><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>11/09</td><br />
<td>06:34</td><br />
<td>19:32</td><br />
<td>Partial day; boat will not be able to start moving until after 16:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>12/09</td><br />
<td>06:37</td><br />
<td>19:31</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>13/09</td><br />
<td>06:39</td><br />
<td>19:29</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>14/09</td><br />
<td>06:41</td><br />
<td>19:26</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>15/09</td><br />
<td>06:43</td><br />
<td>19:24</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>16/09</td><br />
<td>06:44</td><br />
<td>19:21</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>17/09</td><br />
<td>06:45</td><br />
<td>19:18</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>18/09</td><br />
<td>06:46</td><br />
<td>19:16</td><br />
<td>Partial day; boat must be back at marina for 09:30 at the latest! Aim to set off no later than 07:30</td><br />
</tr><br />
</table><br />
<br />
==How much?==<br />
<br />
£290 each. Please send to Phil before 24th August, details provided via email.<br />
<br />
We will again operate a communual kitty in order to pay for:<br />
<br />
* groceries.<br />
* pub lunches<br />
* evening meals (where relevant)<br />
* general supplies of drink (alcoholic or otherwise) for the boat.<br />
* "random stuff" that may be required, example batteries for walkie-talkies.<br />
* disposable BBQ kit for a suitable evening.<br />
<br />
Initial input to the kitty will be £30 on arrival at the marina in order to pay for the first pub lunch and then the shopping at Sainsburys.<br />
<br />
I'd vote for putting a bit more in the initial kitty than this. £30 each gives us £120, which after the pub lunch will likely leave us with less than £100. I could easily see the shopping costinig that much, and even if not, then the kitty would be left with minimal cash at best... I propose putting, say £50 each in initially? --[[User:Matt|Matt]] 08:49, 26 July 2006 (UTC)<br />
<br />
We will then add amounts to the kitty as and when required throughout the week, and divide any remaining money that is left at the end of the week between us.<br />
<br />
We'll need to go grocery shopping every few days because there won't be a lot of room on the boat for fresh food such as bread and milk. Also bear in mind that it may be several days between cash machines so you will want to carry a bit of your own cash aside from the kitty.<br />
<br />
== Boat information ==<br />
<br />
[http://www.alvechurch.com/holidays/boat_fleet/4_6_berth/plover/index.html Plover].<br />
<br />
== What to bring ==<br />
<br />
Space on the boat, and probably more importantly in the cars, will be limited, so try not to overpack. A large holdall for clothes and a small backpack for other bits and pieces seems reasonable.<br />
<br />
Note that all bed linen is provided so you don't need to bring any of that. You will need to bring your own towel however. All cooking utensils and crockery etc. is also provided.<br />
<br />
* Waterproof clothing - we'll probably end up having to pilot the boat and do locks in the pouring rain.<br />
* Gloves - some locks are real bastards.<br />
* Torch - if you have one; we may run out of power some nights, plus for walking to pub, etc.<br />
* A Tea Towel - there will probably be at least one on the boat, but would be good if everyone could bring one so that we have enough.<br />
* Sunscreen or hat, & sunglasses - just in case it happens to be sunny.<br />
* [http://www.cafepress.com/converter.5498827 A CafePress Mug] - for dropping into the canal causing much hilarity.<br />
* [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.patrick/bragaze.html Weak lemon drink] - for drinking down furiously in one gulp in celebration of your hobby success.<br />
<br />
=== Clothing considerations ===<br />
<br />
Casual clothing that you don't mind getting dirty/worn is best. Jeans are fine, though if it rains can get waterlogged. Due to the possible weather conditions do bring a few sets of clothing as you may end up stuck outdoors in the rain for several hours after which you'll definitely want a change of clothes.<br />
<br />
Footwear with decent grip is essential. Trainers are good most of the time, though if it's raining a pair of boots won't go a miss. You'll probably want to have more than one set of footwear in case one set gets soaked and needs to be dried.<br />
<br />
There will be drying facilites to some extent on the boat, though obviously drying space is limited. There will be some radiators and an airing cupboard. <br />
<br />
=== Lifejacket/Bouyancy Aid ===<br />
<br />
Part of our route will take us onto the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Severn River Severn], which will be a significantly different experience from handling the boat on a canal due to the flow of the river.<br />
<br />
The water in the river will also be significantly deeper in the channel than in the canals, therefore I would recommend that bouyancy aids/lifejackets are on hand, or worn, for this part of the trip itself.<br />
<br />
=== Comms ===<br />
<br />
Matt will provide walkie-talkies for everyone, though due to problems experienced last year with charging of them coupled with the fact that we lost track of where they were and which ones were charged a lot, there are some new rules!<br />
<br />
* Each person will be given a fully-charged walkie-talkie, labeled with their name. Everyone is obviously responsible for their own walkie-talkie.<br />
* Each person is responsible for bringing enough batteries for their walkie-talkie for however much they intend to use it.<br />
<br />
I would think that bringing an extra 2 or 3 sets of batteries will be sufficient for running your walkie-talkie for all the time that we want to use them. One set of batteries = 4x AAA (note triple A, not double A).<br />
<br />
10-4 ??<br />
<br />
== Planned route and schedule for the week ==<br />
<br />
Our route will take us anti-clockwise round the "Stourport Ring" starting/ending at Alvechurch Boatyard.<br />
<br />
The "Stourport Ring" consists of the following branches and sections of the following canals/rivers, that our route will take us round in the following order.<br />
<br />
Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester) picking up this section at Alvechurch<br />
<br />
Worcester and Birmingham Canal (Birmingham to King's Norton)<br />
<br />
Birmingham Canal Navigations (Main Line)<br />
<br />
Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (Main Line: Stourton to Aldersley)<br />
<br />
Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (Main Line: Stourport to Stourton)<br />
<br />
Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (Stourport Basin: Narrow Locks route)<br />
<br />
River Severn (main river)<br />
<br />
Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester) last part of the route back to Alvechurch.<br />
<br />
The reason for choosing the anti-clockwise route is that we will be going downstream on the River Severn which will mean that the current is working to our advantage and will enable us to complete this section of the route a lot quicker.<br />
<br />
There are a few online trip reports of trips around the Stourport Ring:<br />
<br />
* http://home.clara.net/hendricks/2000/index.html<br />
* http://www.benefuller.supanet.com/Home.html<br />
* http://www.bobulous.org.uk/canal/index.html<br />
<br />
=== Overall statistics of the route itself ===<br />
<br />
Total distance is 93 miles, 3½ flg and 118 locks. There are at least 12 small aqueducts or underbridges and 9 tunnels.<br />
<br />
''Made up of 80 miles, 4½ furlongs of narrow canals; 12 miles, 7 furlongs of large rivers; 115 narrow locks; 3 large locks.''<br />
<br />
This will take 54 hours, 27 minutes which is 6 days, 6 hours and 27 minutes at 8 hours per day.<br />
<br />
''' A furlong is 1/8 of a mile '''<br />
<br />
''' If anyone has no objection, Phil would like to volunteer now to drive the boat for the section along the River Severn due to probably having more experience in handling power driven vessels on fast flowing water. '''<br />
<br />
=== Monday 11th September ===<br />
<br />
We will aim to get to the boatyard by 12:00 in order to have lunch at [http://www.the-weighbridge.co.uk The Weighbridge Pub] which is located at the marina itself (0121 445 5111).<br />
<br />
After having lunch we will retire to Sainsbury's to pick up some supplies, which is on the A441 at the north edge of [[Wikipedia:Redditch|Redditch]], here are some fun facts about the store we will be going to:<br />
<br />
* 400 parking spaces<br />
* 40 disabled parking spaces<br />
* 30 parent and child parking spaces<br />
* 25 checkouts<br />
* 3 ATM machine(s)<br />
<br />
Perhaps we should consider stocking up on some things a bit more than we have done in the past? I'm thinking mainly of things like drinks (alcholic and otherwise), which always seem to run out and are also heavy and bulky to carry if some supermarket we find on-route is far from the canal.<br />
<br />
This should take us quite nicely to around 14:00 where we should be back at the marina in order to pick up the boat which will be ready no earlier than 14:30.<br />
<br />
Realistically on the first day we will probably not be able to do much more than 3 hours of cruising itself, however we should be able to achieve a reasonable amount of ground as there are no locks to navigate.<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:34<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:31<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, approx 3 hours. <br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - total 7 miles, ½ flg, 0 locks, 0 moveable bridges (2 hours, 49 minutes)'''<br />
<br />
Start Point : Alvechurch Boatyard, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester)<br /><br />
End Point : Breedon Cross Railway Bridge No 74, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (Birmingham to King's Norton)<br /><br />
Water Stop : Not required today - boat will be given to us with full tank of water supplied.<br /><br />
Grocery Stop : [http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/shoppingandservices/storelocator/store.htm?id=604 Sainsbury's] before going to the marina.<br />
<br />
''We will depart the marina and turn right on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester) heading towards Kings Norton and we will go through the Wast Hill Tunnel after approximately 3 miles from Alvechurch, we will then continue along the canal to King's Norton Junction where we will join the Worcester and Birmingham Canal (Birmingham to King's Norton) and our mooring spot for the evening will be near Breedon Cross Railway Bridge No 74''<br />
<br />
We will most likely eat on board this evening and then retire to a local pub for a few beverages of choice.<br />
<br />
=== Tuesday 12th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:37<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:31<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 13 hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - 20 miles, 3½ flg, 3 locks, 0 moveable bridges (8 hours, 40 minutes)'''<br />
<br />
Start Point : Breedon Cross Railway Bridge No 74, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (Birmingham to King's Norton)<br /><br />
End Point : Albion Wharf, Birmingham Canal Navigations (Main Line)<br /><br />
Water Stop : Worcester Bar, Gas Street Basin. Junction of Worcester and Birmingham Canal with BCN<br /><br />
Grocery Stop : Worcester Bar, Gas Street Basin. Junction of Worcester and Birmingham Canal with BCN<br />
<br />
''Stop for lunch at Pudding Green Junction where there is a waterside pub''<br />
<br />
=== Wednesday 13th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:39<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:29<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 12½ hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - 11 miles, 3¾ flg, 34 locks, 0 moveable bridges (9 hours, 50 minutes)'''<br />
<br />
Start Point : Albion Wharf, Birmingham Canal Navigations (Main Line)<br /><br />
End Point : Swindon, Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (Main Line: Stourton to Aldersley)<br /><br />
Water Stop : <br /><br />
Grocery Stop : <br />
<br />
''fluffy description to follow''<br />
<br />
=== Thursday 14th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:41<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:26<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 12½ hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - 16 miles, 5½ flg, 15 locks (9 hours, 39 minutes)'''<br />
<br />
Start Point : Swindon, Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (Main Line: Stourton to Aldersley)<br /><br />
End Point : Mitton Chapel Bridge No 7, Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (Main Line: Stourport to Stourton)<br /><br />
Water Stop : <br /><br />
Grocery Stop : <br />
<br />
''fluffy description to follow''<br />
<br />
=== Friday 15th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:43<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:24<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 12 hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - 17 miles, 5 flg, 16 locks (8 hours, 23 minutes)'''<br />
<br />
Start Point : Mitton Chapel Bridge No 7, Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (Main Line: Stourport to Stourton)<br /><br />
End Point : Ivy Bridge No 16, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester)<br /><br />
Water Stop : <br /><br />
Grocery Stop : <br />
<br />
''fluffy description to follow''<br />
<br />
=== Saturday 16th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:44<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:21<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 11½ hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - 13 miles, 6¾ flg, 20 locks (8 hours, 34 minutes)'''<br />
<br />
Start Point : Ivy Bridge No 16, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester)<br /><br />
End Point : Stoke Pound, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester)<br /><br />
Water Stop : <br /><br />
Grocery Stop : <br />
<br />
''fluffy description to follow''<br />
<br />
=== Sunday 17th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:45<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:18<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 11½ hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - total 3 miles, 3½ flg, 30 locks (5 hours, 24 minutes)'''<br />
<br />
Start Point : Stoke Pound, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester)<br /><br />
End Point : Tardebigge Wharf, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester)<br /><br />
Water Stop : <br /><br />
Grocery Stop : Not required today, boat being handed back to the marina tomorrow morning so require to run down supplies and arrange to take back non perishable items.<br /><br />
<br />
''fluffy description to follow''<br />
<br />
=== Monday 18th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:46<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:16<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 2½ hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - 2 miles, 6¾ flg, 0 locks (1 hour, 8 minutes)'''<br />
<br />
Start Point : Tardebigge Wharf, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester)<br /><br />
End Point : Alvechurch Boatyard, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester)<br /><br />
Water Stop : Not required today, boat being handed back to the marina.<br /><br />
Grocery Stop : Not required today, boat being handed back to the marina.<br /><br />
<br />
''fluffy description to follow''<br />
<br />
== Photo links ==<br />
<br />
To follow after the event!</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/The_Great_Strugglers_Boat_Trip_2006The Great Strugglers Boat Trip 20062006-07-26T08:49:54Z<p>Matt: /* How much? */ higher initial kitty suggestion</p>
<hr />
<div>Yes!<br />
<br />
It is back by popular demand, the annual (hopefully) narrowboat trip around the many and varied waterways of Britain.<br />
<br />
This year a group of geeks, and one [[neogeek]], will attempt to complete the Stourport Ring in a week.<br />
<br />
== Who? ==<br />
<br />
* [[User:Tim|Tim]]<br />
* [[User:Phil|Phil]]<br />
* [[User:Andy|Andy]]<br />
* [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
<br />
== Where ? ==<br />
<br />
We will be starting from and returning to the [http://www.alvechurch.com/marinas/alvechurch/index.html Alvechurch marina.]<br />
<br />
===Address and contact details of the boatyard===<br />
Scarfield Wharf<br /> <br />
[[Wikipedia:Alvechurch|Alvechurch]]<br /> <br />
[[Wikipedia:Worcestershire|Worcestershire]]<br /><br />
[http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=B48+7SQ&ie=UTF8&ll=52.346838,-1.972369&spn=0.038171,0.106773&om=1 B48 7SQ]<br /><br />
<br />
Tel: 0121 445 2909<br/><br />
Fax: 0121 447 7120<br />
<br />
== When? ==<br />
<br />
Our trip will run from Monday 11th September where the boatyard aims to have our boat ready for us between 14:30 and 16:00 and we have until 10:00 on Monday 18th September 2006 to have fully vacated the boat itself back at the boatyard.<br />
<br />
Approximate sunrise and sunset times are as follows:<br />
<br />
<table cellspacing="8"><br />
<tr><br />
<th>Date</th><br />
<th>Sunrise</th><br />
<th>Sunset</th><br />
<th>Comments</th><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>11/09</td><br />
<td>06:34</td><br />
<td>19:32</td><br />
<td>Partial day; boat will not be able to start moving until after 16:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>12/09</td><br />
<td>06:37</td><br />
<td>19:31</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>13/09</td><br />
<td>06:39</td><br />
<td>19:29</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>14/09</td><br />
<td>06:41</td><br />
<td>19:26</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>15/09</td><br />
<td>06:43</td><br />
<td>19:24</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>16/09</td><br />
<td>06:44</td><br />
<td>19:21</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>17/09</td><br />
<td>06:45</td><br />
<td>19:18</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>18/09</td><br />
<td>06:46</td><br />
<td>19:16</td><br />
<td>Partial day; boat must be back at marina for 09:30 at the latest! Aim to set off no later than 07:30</td><br />
</tr><br />
</table><br />
<br />
==How much?==<br />
<br />
£290 each. Please send to Phil before 24th August, details provided via email.<br />
<br />
We will again operate a communual kitty in order to pay for:<br />
<br />
* groceries.<br />
* pub lunches<br />
* evening meals (where relevant)<br />
* general supplies of drink (alcoholic or otherwise) for the boat.<br />
* "random stuff" that may be required, example batteries for walkie-talkies.<br />
* disposable BBQ kit for a suitable evening.<br />
<br />
Initial input to the kitty will be £30 on arrival at the marina in order to pay for the first pub lunch and then the shopping at Sainsburys.<br />
<br />
I'd vote for putting a bit more in the initial kitty than this. £30 each gives us £120, which after the pub lunch will likely leave us with less than £100. I could easily see the shopping costinig that much, and even if not, then the kitty would be left with minimal cash at best... I propose putting, say £50 each in initially? --[[User:Matt|Matt]] 08:49, 26 July 2006 (UTC)<br />
<br />
We will then add amounts to the kitty as and when required throughout the week, and divide any remaining money that is left at the end of the week between us.<br />
<br />
We'll need to go grocery shopping every few days because there won't be a lot of room on the boat for fresh food such as bread and milk. Also bear in mind that it may be several days between cash machines so you will want to carry a bit of your own cash aside from the kitty.<br />
<br />
== Boat information ==<br />
<br />
[http://www.alvechurch.com/holidays/boat_fleet/4_6_berth/plover/index.html Plover].<br />
<br />
== What to bring ==<br />
<br />
Space on the boat, and probably more importantly in the cars, will be limited, so try not to overpack. A large holdall for clothes and a small backpack for other bits and pieces seems reasonable.<br />
<br />
Note that all bed linen is provided so you don't need to bring any of that. You will need to bring your own towel however. All cooking utensils and crockery etc. is also provided.<br />
<br />
* Waterproof clothing - we'll probably end up having to pilot the boat and do locks in the pouring rain.<br />
* Gloves - some locks are real bastards.<br />
* Torch - if you have one; we may run out of power some nights, plus for walking to pub, etc.<br />
* A Tea Towel - there will probably be at least one on the boat, but would be good if everyone could bring one so that we have enough.<br />
* Sunscreen or hat, & sunglasses - just in case it happens to be sunny.<br />
* [http://www.cafepress.com/converter.5498827 A CafePress Mug] - for dropping into the canal causing much hilarity.<br />
* [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.patrick/bragaze.html Weak lemon drink] - for drinking down furiously in one gulp in celebration of your hobby success.<br />
<br />
=== Clothing considerations ===<br />
<br />
Casual clothing that you don't mind getting dirty/worn is best. Jeans are fine, though if it rains can get waterlogged. Due to the possible weather conditions do bring a few sets of clothing as you may end up stuck outdoors in the rain for several hours after which you'll definitely want a change of clothes.<br />
<br />
Footwear with decent grip is essential. Trainers are good most of the time, though if it's raining a pair of boots won't go a miss. You'll probably want to have more than one set of footwear in case one set gets soaked and needs to be dried.<br />
<br />
There will be drying facilites to some extent on the boat, though obviously drying space is limited. There will be some radiators and an airing cupboard. <br />
<br />
=== Lifejacket/Bouyancy Aid ===<br />
<br />
Part of our route will take us onto the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Severn River Severn], which will be a significantly different experience from handling the boat on a canal due to the flow of the river.<br />
<br />
The water in the river will also be significantly deeper in the channel than in the canals, therefore I would recommend that bouyancy aids/lifejackets are on hand, or worn, for this part of the trip itself.<br />
<br />
=== Comms ===<br />
<br />
Matt will provide walkie-talkies for everyone, though due to problems experienced last year with charging of them coupled with the fact that we lost track of where they were and which ones were charged a lot, there are some new rules!<br />
<br />
* Each person will be given a fully-charged walkie-talkie, labeled with their name. Everyone is obviously responsible for their own walkie-talkie.<br />
* Each person is responsible for bringing enough batteries for their walkie-talkie for however much they intend to use it.<br />
<br />
I would think that bringing an extra 2 or 3 sets of batteries will be sufficient for running your walkie-talkie for all the time that we want to use them. One set of batteries = 4x AAA (note triple A, not double A).<br />
<br />
10-4 ??<br />
<br />
== Planned route and schedule for the week ==<br />
<br />
Our route will take us anti-clockwise round the "Stourport Ring" starting/ending at Alvechurch Boatyard.<br />
<br />
The "Stourport Ring" consists of the following branches and sections of the following canals/rivers, that our route will take us round in the following order.<br />
<br />
Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester) picking up this section at Alvechurch<br />
<br />
Worcester and Birmingham Canal (Birmingham to King's Norton)<br />
<br />
Birmingham Canal Navigations (Main Line)<br />
<br />
Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (Main Line: Stourton to Aldersley)<br />
<br />
Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (Main Line: Stourport to Stourton)<br />
<br />
Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (Stourport Basin: Narrow Locks route)<br />
<br />
River Severn (main river)<br />
<br />
Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester) last part of the route back to Alvechurch.<br />
<br />
The reason for choosing the anti-clockwise route is that we will be going downstream on the River Severn which will mean that the current is working to our advantage and will enable us to complete this section of the route a lot quicker.<br />
<br />
There are a few online trip reports of trips around the Stourport Ring:<br />
<br />
* http://home.clara.net/hendricks/2000/index.html<br />
* http://www.benefuller.supanet.com/Home.html<br />
* http://www.bobulous.org.uk/canal/index.html<br />
<br />
=== Overall statistics of the route itself ===<br />
<br />
Total distance is 93 miles, 3½ flg and 118 locks. There are at least 12 small aqueducts or underbridges and 9 tunnels.<br />
<br />
''Made up of 80 miles, 4½ furlongs of narrow canals; 12 miles, 7 furlongs of large rivers; 115 narrow locks; 3 large locks.''<br />
<br />
This will take 54 hours, 27 minutes which is 6 days, 6 hours and 27 minutes at 8 hours per day.<br />
<br />
''' A furlong is 1/8 of a mile '''<br />
<br />
''' If anyone has no objection, Phil would like to volunteer now to drive the boat for the section along the River Severn due to probably having more experience in handling power driven vessels on fast flowing water. '''<br />
<br />
=== Monday 11th September ===<br />
<br />
We will aim to get to the boatyard by 12:00 in order to have lunch at [http://www.the-weighbridge.co.uk The Weighbridge Pub] which is located at the marina itself (0121 445 5111).<br />
<br />
After having lunch we will retire to Sainsbury's to pick up some supplies, which is on the A441 at the north edge of [[Wikipedia:Redditch|Redditch]], here are some fun facts about the store we will be going to:<br />
<br />
* 400 parking spaces<br />
* 40 disabled parking spaces<br />
* 30 parent and child parking spaces<br />
* 25 checkouts<br />
* 3 ATM machine(s)<br />
<br />
This should take us quite nicely to around 14:00 where we should be back at the marina in order to pick up the boat which will be ready no earlier than 14:30.<br />
<br />
Realistically on the first day we will probably not be able to do much more than 3 hours of cruising itself, however we should be able to achieve a reasonable amount of ground as there are no locks to navigate.<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:34<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:31<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, approx 3 hours. <br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - total 7 miles, ½ flg, 0 locks, 0 moveable bridges (2 hours, 49 minutes)'''<br />
<br />
Start Point : Alvechurch Boatyard, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester)<br /><br />
End Point : Breedon Cross Railway Bridge No 74, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (Birmingham to King's Norton)<br /><br />
Water Stop : Not required today - boat will be given to us with full tank of water supplied.<br /><br />
Grocery Stop : [http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/shoppingandservices/storelocator/store.htm?id=604 Sainsbury's] before going to the marina.<br />
<br />
''We will depart the marina and turn right on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester) heading towards Kings Norton and we will go through the Wast Hill Tunnel after approximately 3 miles from Alvechurch, we will then continue along the canal to King's Norton Junction where we will join the Worcester and Birmingham Canal (Birmingham to King's Norton) and our mooring spot for the evening will be near Breedon Cross Railway Bridge No 74''<br />
<br />
We will most likely eat on board this evening and then retire to a local pub for a few beverages of choice.<br />
<br />
=== Tuesday 12th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:37<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:31<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 13 hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - 20 miles, 3½ flg, 3 locks, 0 moveable bridges (8 hours, 40 minutes)'''<br />
<br />
Start Point : Breedon Cross Railway Bridge No 74, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (Birmingham to King's Norton)<br /><br />
End Point : Albion Wharf, Birmingham Canal Navigations (Main Line)<br /><br />
Water Stop : Worcester Bar, Gas Street Basin. Junction of Worcester and Birmingham Canal with BCN<br /><br />
Grocery Stop : Worcester Bar, Gas Street Basin. Junction of Worcester and Birmingham Canal with BCN<br />
<br />
''Stop for lunch at Pudding Green Junction where there is a waterside pub''<br />
<br />
=== Wednesday 13th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:39<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:29<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 12½ hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - 11 miles, 3¾ flg, 34 locks, 0 moveable bridges (9 hours, 50 minutes)'''<br />
<br />
Start Point : Albion Wharf, Birmingham Canal Navigations (Main Line)<br /><br />
End Point : Swindon, Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (Main Line: Stourton to Aldersley)<br /><br />
Water Stop : <br /><br />
Grocery Stop : <br />
<br />
''fluffy description to follow''<br />
<br />
=== Thursday 14th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:41<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:26<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 12½ hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - 16 miles, 5½ flg, 15 locks (9 hours, 39 minutes)'''<br />
<br />
Start Point : Swindon, Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (Main Line: Stourton to Aldersley)<br /><br />
End Point : Mitton Chapel Bridge No 7, Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (Main Line: Stourport to Stourton)<br /><br />
Water Stop : <br /><br />
Grocery Stop : <br />
<br />
''fluffy description to follow''<br />
<br />
=== Friday 15th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:43<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:24<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 12 hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - 17 miles, 5 flg, 16 locks (8 hours, 23 minutes)'''<br />
<br />
Start Point : Mitton Chapel Bridge No 7, Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (Main Line: Stourport to Stourton)<br /><br />
End Point : Ivy Bridge No 16, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester)<br /><br />
Water Stop : <br /><br />
Grocery Stop : <br />
<br />
''fluffy description to follow''<br />
<br />
=== Saturday 16th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:44<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:21<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 11½ hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - 13 miles, 6¾ flg, 20 locks (8 hours, 34 minutes)'''<br />
<br />
Start Point : Ivy Bridge No 16, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester)<br /><br />
End Point : Stoke Pound, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester)<br /><br />
Water Stop : <br /><br />
Grocery Stop : <br />
<br />
''fluffy description to follow''<br />
<br />
=== Sunday 17th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:45<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:18<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 11½ hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - total 3 miles, 3½ flg, 30 locks (5 hours, 24 minutes)'''<br />
<br />
Start Point : Stoke Pound, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester)<br /><br />
End Point : Tardebigge Wharf, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester)<br /><br />
Water Stop : <br /><br />
Grocery Stop : Not required today, boat being handed back to the marina tomorrow morning so require to run down supplies and arrange to take back non perishable items.<br /><br />
<br />
''fluffy description to follow''<br />
<br />
=== Monday 18th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:46<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:16<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 2½ hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - 2 miles, 6¾ flg, 0 locks (1 hour, 8 minutes)'''<br />
<br />
Start Point : Tardebigge Wharf, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester)<br /><br />
End Point : Alvechurch Boatyard, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester)<br /><br />
Water Stop : Not required today, boat being handed back to the marina.<br /><br />
Grocery Stop : Not required today, boat being handed back to the marina.<br /><br />
<br />
''fluffy description to follow''<br />
<br />
== Photo links ==<br />
<br />
To follow after the event!</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/The_Great_Strugglers_Boat_Trip_2006The Great Strugglers Boat Trip 20062006-07-24T19:58:14Z<p>Matt: /* Planned route and schedule for the week */ trip reports</p>
<hr />
<div>Yes!<br />
<br />
It is back by popular demand, the annual (hopefully) narrowboat trip around the many and varied waterways of Britain.<br />
<br />
This year a group of geeks, and one [[neogeek]], will attempt to complete the Stourport Ring in a week.<br />
<br />
== Who? ==<br />
<br />
* [[User:Tim|Tim]]<br />
* [[User:Phil|Phil]]<br />
* [[User:Andy|Andy]]<br />
* [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
<br />
== Where ? ==<br />
<br />
We will be starting from and returning to the [http://www.alvechurch.com/marinas/alvechurch/index.html Alvechurch marina.]<br />
<br />
===Address and contact details of the boatyard===<br />
Scarfield Wharf<br /> <br />
[[Wikipedia:Alvechurch|Alvechurch]]<br /> <br />
[[Wikipedia:Worcestershire|Worcestershire]]<br /><br />
[http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=B48+7SQ&ie=UTF8&ll=52.346838,-1.972369&spn=0.038171,0.106773&om=1 B48 7SQ]<br /><br />
<br />
Tel: 0121 445 2909<br/><br />
Fax: 0121 447 7120<br />
<br />
== When? ==<br />
<br />
Our trip will run from Monday 11th September where the boatyard aims to have our boat ready for us between 14:30 and 16:00 and we have until 10:00 on Monday 18th September 2006 to have fully vacated the boat itself back at the boatyard.<br />
<br />
Approximate sunrise and sunset times are as follows:<br />
<br />
<table cellspacing="8"><br />
<tr><br />
<th>Date</th><br />
<th>Sunrise</th><br />
<th>Sunset</th><br />
<th>Comments</th><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>11/09</td><br />
<td>06:34</td><br />
<td>19:32</td><br />
<td>Partial day; boat will not be able to start moving until after 16:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>12/09</td><br />
<td>06:37</td><br />
<td>19:31</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>13/09</td><br />
<td>06:39</td><br />
<td>19:29</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>14/09</td><br />
<td>06:41</td><br />
<td>19:26</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>15/09</td><br />
<td>06:43</td><br />
<td>19:24</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>16/09</td><br />
<td>06:44</td><br />
<td>19:21</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>17/09</td><br />
<td>06:45</td><br />
<td>19:18</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>18/09</td><br />
<td>06:46</td><br />
<td>19:16</td><br />
<td>Partial day; boat must be back at marina for 09:30 at the latest! Aim to set off no later than 07:30</td><br />
</tr><br />
</table><br />
<br />
==How much?==<br />
<br />
£290 each. Please send to Phil before 24th August, details provided via email.<br />
<br />
We will again operate a communual kitty in order to pay for:<br />
<br />
* groceries.<br />
* pub lunches<br />
* evening meals (where relevant)<br />
* general supplies of drink (alcoholic or otherwise) for the boat.<br />
* "random stuff" that may be required, example batteries for walkie-talkies.<br />
* disposable BBQ kit for a suitable evening.<br />
<br />
Initial input to the kitty will be £30 on arrival at the marina in order to pay for the first pub lunch and then the shopping at Sainsburys.<br />
<br />
We will then add amounts to the kitty as and when required throughout the week, and divide any remaining money that is left at the end of the week between us.<br />
<br />
We'll need to go grocery shopping every few days because there won't be a lot of room on the boat for fresh food such as bread and milk. Also bear in mind that it may be several days between cash machines so you will want to carry a bit of your own cash aside from the kitty.<br />
<br />
== Boat information ==<br />
<br />
[http://www.alvechurch.com/holidays/boat_fleet/4_6_berth/plover/index.html Plover].<br />
<br />
== What to bring ==<br />
<br />
Space on the boat, and probably more importantly in the cars, will be limited, so try not to overpack. A large holdall for clothes and a small backpack for other bits and pieces seems reasonable.<br />
<br />
Note that all bed linen is provided so you don't need to bring any of that. You will need to bring your own towel however. All cooking utensils and crockery etc. is also provided.<br />
<br />
* Waterproof clothing - we'll probably end up having to pilot the boat and do locks in the pouring rain.<br />
* Gloves - some locks are real bastards.<br />
* Torch - if you have one; we may run out of power some nights, plus for walking to pub, etc.<br />
* A Tea Towel - there will probably be at least one on the boat, but would be good if everyone could bring one so that we have enough.<br />
* Sunscreen or hat, & sunglasses - just in case it happens to be sunny.<br />
* [http://www.cafepress.com/converter.5498827 A CafePress Mug] - for dropping into the canal causing much hilarity.<br />
* [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.patrick/bragaze.html Weak lemon drink] - for drinking down furiously in one gulp in celebration of your hobby success.<br />
<br />
=== Clothing considerations ===<br />
<br />
Casual clothing that you don't mind getting dirty/worn is best. Jeans are fine, though if it rains can get waterlogged. Due to the possible weather conditions do bring a few sets of clothing as you may end up stuck outdoors in the rain for several hours after which you'll definitely want a change of clothes.<br />
<br />
Footwear with decent grip is essential. Trainers are good most of the time, though if it's raining a pair of boots won't go a miss. You'll probably want to have more than one set of footwear in case one set gets soaked and needs to be dried.<br />
<br />
There will be drying facilites to some extent on the boat, though obviously drying space is limited. There will be some radiators and an airing cupboard. <br />
<br />
=== Lifejacket/Bouyancy Aid ===<br />
<br />
Part of our route will take us onto the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Severn River Severn], which will be a significantly different experience from handling the boat on a canal due to the flow of the river.<br />
<br />
The water in the river will also be significantly deeper in the channel than in the canals, therefore I would recommend that bouyancy aids/lifejackets are on hand, or worn, for this part of the trip itself.<br />
<br />
=== Comms ===<br />
<br />
Matt will provide walkie-talkies for everyone, though due to problems experienced last year with charging of them coupled with the fact that we lost track of where they were and which ones were charged a lot, there are some new rules!<br />
<br />
* Each person will be given a fully-charged walkie-talkie, labeled with their name. Everyone is obviously responsible for their own walkie-talkie.<br />
* Each person is responsible for bringing enough batteries for their walkie-talkie for however much they intend to use it.<br />
<br />
I would think that bringing an extra 2 or 3 sets of batteries will be sufficient for running your walkie-talkie for all the time that we want to use them. One set of batteries = 4x AAA (note triple A, not double A).<br />
<br />
10-4 ??<br />
<br />
== Planned route and schedule for the week ==<br />
<br />
Our route will take us anti-clockwise round the "Stourport Ring" starting/ending at Alvechurch Boatyard.<br />
<br />
The "Stourport Ring" consists of the following branches and sections of the following canals/rivers, that our route will take us round in the following order.<br />
<br />
Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester) picking up this section at Alvechurch<br />
<br />
Worcester and Birmingham Canal (Birmingham to King's Norton)<br />
<br />
Birmingham Canal Navigations (Main Line)<br />
<br />
Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (Main Line: Stourton to Aldersley)<br />
<br />
Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (Main Line: Stourport to Stourton)<br />
<br />
Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (Stourport Basin: Narrow Locks route)<br />
<br />
River Severn (main river)<br />
<br />
Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester) last part of the route back to Alvechurch.<br />
<br />
The reason for choosing the anti-clockwise route is that we will be going downstream on the River Severn which will mean that the current is working to our advantage and will enable us to complete this section of the route a lot quicker.<br />
<br />
There are a few online trip reports of trips around the Stourport Ring:<br />
<br />
* http://home.clara.net/hendricks/2000/index.html<br />
* http://www.benefuller.supanet.com/Home.html<br />
* http://www.bobulous.org.uk/canal/index.html<br />
<br />
=== Overall statistics of the route itself ===<br />
<br />
Total distance is 93 miles, 3½ flg and 118 locks. There are at least 12 small aqueducts or underbridges and 9 tunnels.<br />
<br />
''Made up of 80 miles, 4½ furlongs of narrow canals; 12 miles, 7 furlongs of large rivers; 115 narrow locks; 3 large locks.''<br />
<br />
This will take 54 hours, 27 minutes which is 6 days, 6 hours and 27 minutes at 8 hours per day.<br />
<br />
''' A furlong is 1/8 of a mile '''<br />
<br />
=== Monday 11th September ===<br />
<br />
We will aim to get to the boatyard by 12:00 in order to have lunch at [http://www.the-weighbridge.co.uk The Weighbridge Pub] which is located at the marina itself (0121 445 5111).<br />
<br />
After having lunch we will retire to Sainsbury's to pick up some supplies, which is on the A441 at the north edge of [[Wikipedia:Redditch|Redditch]], here are some fun facts about the store we will be going to:<br />
<br />
* 400 parking spaces<br />
* 40 disabled parking spaces<br />
* 30 parent and child parking spaces<br />
* 25 checkouts<br />
* 3 ATM machine(s)<br />
<br />
This should take us quite nicely to around 14:00 where we should be back at the marina in order to pick up the boat which will be ready no earlier than 14:30.<br />
<br />
Realistically on the first day we will probably not be able to do much more than 3 hours of cruising itself, however we should be able to achieve a reasonable amount of ground as there are no locks to navigate.<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:34<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:31<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, approx 3 hours. <br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - total 7 miles, ½ flg, 0 locks, 0 moveable bridges (2 hours, 49 minutes)'''<br />
<br />
Start Point : Alvechurh Boatyard, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester)<br /><br />
End Point : Breedon Cross Railway Bridge No 74, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (Birmingham to King's Norton)<br /><br />
Water Stop : Not required today - boat will be given to us with full tank of water supplied.<br /><br />
Grocery Stop : [http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/shoppingandservices/storelocator/store.htm?id=604 Sainsbury's] before going to the marina.<br />
<br />
''We will depart the marina and turn right on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester) heading towards Kings Norton and we will go through the Wast Hill Tunnel after approximately 3 miles from Alvechurch, we will then continue along the canal to King's Norton Junction where we will join the Worcester and Birmingham Canal (Birmingham to King's Norton) and our mooring spot for the evening will be near Breedon Cross Railway Bridge No 74''<br />
<br />
We will most likely eat on board this evening and then retire to a local pub for a few beverages of choice.<br />
<br />
=== Tuesday 12th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:37<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:31<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 13 hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - 20 miles, 3½ flg, 3 locks, 0 moveable bridges (8 hours, 40 minutes)'''<br />
<br />
Start Point : Breedon Cross Railway Bridge No 74, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (Birmingham to King's Norton)<br /><br />
End Point : Albion Wharf, Birmingham Canal Navigations (Main Line)<br /><br />
Water Stop : Worcester Bar, Gas Street Basin. Junction of Worcester and Birmingham Canal with BCN<br /><br />
Grocery Stop : Worcester Bar, Gas Street Basin. Junction of Worcester and Birmingham Canal with BCN<br />
<br />
''Stop for lunch at Pudding Green Junction where there is a waterside pub''<br />
<br />
=== Wednesday 13th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:39<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:29<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 12½ hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - 11 miles, 3¾ flg, 34 locks, 0 moveable bridges (9 hours, 50 minutes)'''<br />
<br />
Start Point : Albion Wharf, Birmingham Canal Navigations (Main Line)<br /><br />
End Point : Swindon, Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (Main Line: Stourton to Aldersley)<br /><br />
Water Stop : <br /><br />
Grocery Stop : <br />
<br />
''fluffy description to follow''<br />
<br />
=== Thursday 14th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:41<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:26<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 12½ hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - '''<br />
<br />
Start Point : <br /><br />
End Point : <br /><br />
Water Stop : <br /><br />
Grocery Stop : <br />
<br />
''fluffy description to follow''<br />
<br />
=== Friday 15th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:43<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:24<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 12 hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - '''<br />
<br />
Start Point : <br /><br />
End Point : <br /><br />
Water Stop : <br /><br />
Grocery Stop : <br />
<br />
''fluffy description to follow''<br />
<br />
=== Saturday 16th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:44<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:21<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 11½ hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - '''<br />
<br />
Start Point : <br /><br />
End Point : <br /><br />
Water Stop : <br /><br />
Grocery Stop : <br />
<br />
''fluffy description to follow''<br />
<br />
=== Sunday 17th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:45<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:18<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 11½ hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - '''<br />
<br />
Start Point : <br /><br />
End Point : <br /><br />
Water Stop : <br /><br />
Grocery Stop : Not required today, boat being handed back to the marina tomorrow morning so require to run down supplies and arrange to take back non perishable items.<br /><br />
<br />
''fluffy description to follow''<br />
<br />
=== Monday 18th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:46<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:16<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 2½ hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - '''<br />
<br />
Start Point : <br /><br />
End Point : Alvechurh Boatyard, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester)<br /><br />
Water Stop : Not required today, boat being handed back to the marina.<br /><br />
Grocery Stop : Not required today, boat being handed back to the marina.<br /><br />
<br />
''fluffy description to follow''<br />
<br />
== Photo links ==<br />
<br />
To follow after the event!</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/The_Great_Strugglers_Boat_Trip_2006The Great Strugglers Boat Trip 20062006-07-24T19:23:40Z<p>Matt: /* Monday 11th September */ sainsburys stats</p>
<hr />
<div>Yes!<br />
<br />
It is back by popular demand, the annual (hopefully) narrowboating trip around the many and varied waterways of Britain.<br />
<br />
Basically a group of geeks, and one [[neogeek]], will attempt to complete the Stourport Ring in a week.<br />
<br />
== Who? ==<br />
<br />
* [[User:Tim|Tim]]<br />
* [[User:Phil|Phil]]<br />
* [[User:Andy|Andy]]<br />
* [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
<br />
== Where and When? ==<br />
<br />
We will be starting from and returning to the [http://www.alvechurch.com/marinas/alvechurch/index.html Alvechurch marina.]<br />
<br />
Our trip will run from Monday 11th September where the boatyard aims to have our boat ready for us between 14:30 and 16:00 and we have until 10:00 on Monday 18th September 2006 to have fully vacated the boat itself back at the boatyard.<br />
<br />
Approximate sunrise and sunset times are as follows:<br />
<br />
<table cellspacing="8"><br />
<tr><br />
<th>Date</th><br />
<th>Sunrise</th><br />
<th>Sunset</th><br />
<th>Comments</th><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>11/09</td><br />
<td>06:34</td><br />
<td>19:32</td><br />
<td>Partial day; boat will not be able to start moving until after 16:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>12/09</td><br />
<td>06:37</td><br />
<td>19:31</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>13/09</td><br />
<td>06:39</td><br />
<td>19:29</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>14/09</td><br />
<td>06:41</td><br />
<td>19:26</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>15/09</td><br />
<td>06:43</td><br />
<td>19:24</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>16/09</td><br />
<td>06:44</td><br />
<td>19:21</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>17/09</td><br />
<td>06:45</td><br />
<td>19:18</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>18/09</td><br />
<td>06:46</td><br />
<td>19:16</td><br />
<td>Partial day; boat must be back at marina for 09:30 at the latest! Aim to set off no later than 07:30</td><br />
</tr><br />
</table><br />
<br />
==How much?==<br />
<br />
£290 each. Please send to Phil before 24th August, details provided via email.<br />
<br />
We will again operate a communual kitty in order to pay for:<br />
<br />
* groceries.<br />
* pub lunches<br />
* evening meals (where relevant)<br />
* general supplies of drink (alcoholic or otherwise) for the boat.<br />
* "random stuff" that may be required, example batteries for walkie-talkies.<br />
* disposable BBQ kit for a suitable evening.<br />
<br />
Initial input to the kitty will be £30 on arrival at the marina in order to pay for the first pub lunch and then the shopping at Sainsburys.<br />
<br />
We will then add amounts to the kitty as and when required throughout the week, and divide any remaining money that is left at the end of the week between us.<br />
<br />
We'll need to go grocery shopping every few days because there won't be a lot of room on the boat for fresh food such as bread and milk. Also bear in mind that it may be several days between cash machines so you will want to carry a bit of your own cash aside from the kitty.<br />
<br />
== Boat information ==<br />
<br />
[http://www.alvechurch.com/holidays/boat_fleet/4_6_berth/plover/index.html Plover].<br />
<br />
== What to bring ==<br />
<br />
Space on the boat, and probably more importantly in the cars, will be limited, so try not to overpack. A large holdall for clothes and a small backpack for other bits and pieces seems reasonable.<br />
<br />
Note that all bed linen is provided so you don't need to bring any of that. You will need to bring your own towel however. All cooking utensils and crockery etc. is also provided.<br />
<br />
* Waterproof clothing - we'll probably end up having to pilot the boat and do locks in the pouring rain.<br />
* Gloves - some locks are real bastards.<br />
* Torch - if you have one; we may run out of power some nights, plus for walking to pub, etc.<br />
* A Tea Towel - there will probably be at least one on the boat, but would be good if everyone could bring one so that we have enough.<br />
* Sunscreen or hat, & sunglasses - just in case it happens to be sunny.<br />
* [http://www.cafepress.com/converter.5498827 A CafePress Mug] - for dropping into the canal causing much hilarity.<br />
* [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.patrick/bragaze.html Weak lemon drink] - for drinking down furiously in one gulp in celebration of your hobby success.<br />
<br />
=== Clothing considerations ===<br />
<br />
Casual clothing that you don't mind getting dirty/worn is best. Jeans are fine, though if it rains can get waterlogged. Due to the possible weather conditions do bring a few sets of clothing as you may end up stuck outdoors in the rain for several hours after which you'll definitely want a change of clothes.<br />
<br />
Footwear with decent grip is essential. Trainers are good most of the time, though if it's raining a pair of boots won't go a miss. You'll probably want to have more than one set of footwear in case one set gets soaked and needs to be dried.<br />
<br />
There will be drying facilites to some extent on the boat, though obviously drying space is limited. There will be some radiators and an airing cupboard. <br />
<br />
=== Lifejacket/Bouyancy Aid ===<br />
<br />
Part of our route will take us onto the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Severn River Severn], which will be a significantly different experience from handling the boat on a canal due to the flow of the river.<br />
<br />
The water in the river will also be significantly deeper in the channel than in the canals, therefore I would recommend that bouyancy aids/lifejackets are on hand, or worn, for this part of the trip itself.<br />
<br />
=== Comms ===<br />
<br />
Matt will provide walkie-talkies for everyone, though due to problems experienced last year with<br />
charging of them coupled with the fact that we lost track of where they were and which ones were<br />
charged a lot, there are some new rules!<br />
<br />
* Each person will be given a fully-charged walkie-talkie, labeled with their name. Everyone is obviously responsible for their own walkie-talkie.<br />
* Each person is responsible for bringing enough batteries for their walkie-talkie for however much they intend to use it.<br />
<br />
I would think that bringing an extra 2 or 3 sets of batteries will be sufficient for running your walkie-talkie for all the time that we want to use them. One set of batteries = 4x AAA (note triple A, not double A).<br />
<br />
10-4 ??<br />
<br />
== Planned route and schedule for the week ==<br />
<br />
Our route will take us anti-clockwise round the "Stourport Ring" starting/ending at Alvechurch Boatyard.<br />
<br />
The "Stourport Ring" consists of the following branches and sections of the following canals/rivers, that our route will take us round in the following order.<br />
<br />
Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester) picking up this section at Alvechurch<br />
<br />
Worcester and Birmingham Canal (Birmingham to King's Norton)<br />
<br />
Birmingham Canal Navigations (Main Line)<br />
<br />
Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (Main Line: Stourton to Aldersley)<br />
<br />
Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (Main Line: Stourport to Stourton)<br />
<br />
Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (Stourport Basin: Narrow Locks route)<br />
<br />
River Severn (main river)<br />
<br />
Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester) last part of the route back to Alvechurch.<br />
<br />
The reason for choosing the anti-clockwise route is that we will be going downstream on the River Severn which will mean that the current is working to our advantage and will enable us to complete this section of the route a lot quicker.<br />
<br />
=== Overall statistics of the route itself ===<br />
<br />
Total distance is 93 miles, 3½ flg and 118 locks. There are at least 12 small aqueducts or underbridges and 9 tunnels.<br />
<br />
''Made up of 80 miles, 4½ furlongs of narrow canals; 12 miles, 7 furlongs of large rivers; 115 narrow locks; 3 large locks.''<br />
<br />
This will take 54 hours, 27 minutes which is 6 days, 6 hours and 27 minutes at 8 hours per day.<br />
<br />
''' A furlong is 1/8 of a mile '''<br />
<br />
=== Monday 11th September ===<br />
<br />
The schedule for the first day of the trip involves the journey to the boatyard itself.<br />
<br />
We will aim to get to the boatyard by 12:00 in order to have lunch at [http://www.the-weighbridge.co.uk The Weighbridge Pub] which is located at the marina itself (0121 445 5111).<br />
<br />
After having lunch we will retire to [http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/shoppingandservices/storelocator/store.htm?id=604 Sainsburys] to pick up some supplies, which is on the A441 at the north edge of [[Wikipedia:Redditch|Redditch]] (approx 10 minutes by car). Here are the Sainsbury's stats:<br />
<br />
* 400 parking spaces<br />
* 40 disabled parking spaces<br />
* 30 parent and child parking spaces<br />
* 25 checkouts<br />
* 3 ATM machine(s)<br />
<br />
This should take us quite nicely to around 14:00 where we should be back at the marina in order to pick up the boat which will be ready no earlier than 14:30.<br />
<br />
====Address and contact details of the boatyard====<br />
Scarfield Wharf<br /> <br />
[[Wikipedia:Alvechurch|Alvechurch]]<br /> <br />
[[Wikipedia:Worcestershire|Worcestershire]]<br /><br />
[http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=B48+7SQ&ie=UTF8&ll=52.346838,-1.972369&spn=0.038171,0.106773&om=1 B48 7SQ]<br /><br />
<br />
Tel: 0121 445 2909<br/><br />
Fax: 0121 447 7120<br />
<br />
Realistically on the first day we will probably not be able to do much more than 3 hours of cruising itself, however we should be able to achieve a reasonable amount of ground as there are no locks to navigate.<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:34<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:31<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, approx 3 hours. <br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - total 7 miles, ½ flg, 0 locks, 0 moveable bridges (2 hours, 49 minutes)'''<br />
<br />
Start Point : Alvechurh Boatyard, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester)<br /><br />
End Point : Breedon Cross Railway Bridge No 74, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (Birmingham to King's Norton)<br /><br />
Water Stop : Not required today - boat will be given to us with full tank of water supplied.<br /><br />
Grocery Stop : Not required today - we will stock the boat up before departing the marina.<br />
<br />
''We will depart the marina and turn right on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester) heading towards Kings Norton and we will go through the Wast Hill Tunnel after approximately 3 miles from Alvechurch, we will then continue along the canal to King's Norton Junction where we will join the Worcester and Birmingham Canal (Birmingham to King's Norton) and our mooring spot for the evening will be near Breedon Cross Railway Bridge No 74''<br />
<br />
We will most likely eat on board this evening and then retire to a local pub for a few beverages of choice.<br />
<br />
=== Tuesday 12th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:37<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:31<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 13 hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - 20 miles, 3½ flg, 3 locks, 0 moveable bridges (8 hours, 40 minutes)'''<br />
<br />
Start Point : Breedon Cross Railway Bridge No 74, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (Birmingham to King's Norton)<br /><br />
End Point : Albion Wharf, Birmingham Canal Navigations (Main Line)<br /><br />
Water Stop : Worcester Bar, Gas Street Basin. Junction of Worcester and Birmingham Canal with BCN<br /><br />
Grocery Stop : Worcester Bar, Gas Street Basin. Junction of Worcester and Birmingham Canal with BCN<br />
<br />
''Stop for lunch at Pudding Green Junction where there is a waterside pub''<br />
<br />
=== Wednesday 13th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:39<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:29<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 12½ hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - '''<br />
<br />
Start Point : <br /><br />
End Point : <br /><br />
Water Stop : <br /><br />
Grocery Stop : <br />
<br />
''fluffy description to follow''<br />
<br />
=== Thursday 14th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:41<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:26<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 12½ hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - '''<br />
<br />
Start Point : <br /><br />
End Point : <br /><br />
Water Stop : <br /><br />
Grocery Stop : <br />
<br />
''fluffy description to follow''<br />
<br />
=== Friday 15th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:43<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:24<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 12 hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - '''<br />
<br />
Start Point : <br /><br />
End Point : <br /><br />
Water Stop : <br /><br />
Grocery Stop : <br />
<br />
''fluffy description to follow''<br />
<br />
=== Saturday 16th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:44<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:21<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 11½ hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - '''<br />
<br />
Start Point : <br /><br />
End Point : <br /><br />
Water Stop : <br /><br />
Grocery Stop : <br />
<br />
''fluffy description to follow''<br />
<br />
=== Sunday 17th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:45<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:18<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 11½ hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - '''<br />
<br />
Start Point : <br /><br />
End Point : <br /><br />
Water Stop : <br /><br />
Grocery Stop : Not required today, boat being handed back to the marina tomorrow morning so require to run down supplies and arrange to take back non perishable items.<br /><br />
<br />
''fluffy description to follow''<br />
<br />
=== Monday 18th September ===<br />
<br />
Sunrise: 06:46<br /><br />
Sunset : 19:16<br />
<br />
Hours of usable daylight for cruising, 2½ hours.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - '''<br />
<br />
Start Point : <br /><br />
End Point : <br /><br />
Water Stop : Not required today, boat being handed back to the marina.<br /><br />
Grocery Stop : Not required today, boat being handed back to the marina.<br /><br />
<br />
''fluffy description to follow''<br />
<br />
== Photo links ==<br />
<br />
To follow after the event!</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/The_Great_Strugglers_Boat_Trip_2006The Great Strugglers Boat Trip 20062006-07-24T18:03:03Z<p>Matt: Comms</p>
<hr />
<div>Yes!<br />
<br />
It is back by popular demand, the annual (hopefully) narrowboating trip around the many and varied waterways of Britain.<br />
<br />
Basically a group of geeks, and one [[neogeek]], will attempt to complete the Stourport Ring in a week.<br />
<br />
== Who? ==<br />
<br />
* [[User:Tim|Tim]]<br />
* [[User:Phil|Phil]]<br />
* [[User:Andy|Andy]]<br />
* [[User:Matt|Matt]]<br />
<br />
== Where and When? ==<br />
<br />
We will be starting from and returning to the [http://www.alvechurch.com/marinas/alvechurch/index.html Alvechurch marina.]<br />
<br />
Our trip will run from Monday 11th September where the boatyard aims to have our boat ready for us between 14:30 and 16:00 and we have until 10:00 on Monday 18th September 2006 to have fully vacated the boat itself back at the boatyard.<br />
<br />
Approximate sunrise and sunset times are as follows:<br />
<br />
<table cellspacing="8"><br />
<tr><br />
<th>Date</th><br />
<th>Sunrise</th><br />
<th>Sunset</th><br />
<th>Comments</th><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>11/09</td><br />
<td>06:34</td><br />
<td>19:32</td><br />
<td>Partial day; boat will not be able to start moving until after 16:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>12/09</td><br />
<td>06:37</td><br />
<td>19:31</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>13/09</td><br />
<td>06:39</td><br />
<td>19:29</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>14/09</td><br />
<td>06:41</td><br />
<td>19:26</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>15/09</td><br />
<td>06:43</td><br />
<td>19:24</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>16/09</td><br />
<td>06:44</td><br />
<td>19:21</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>17/09</td><br />
<td>06:45</td><br />
<td>19:18</td><br />
<td>Full day's cruising; aim for at least 8 hours between 09:00 and 18:00</td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td>18/09</td><br />
<td>06:46</td><br />
<td>19:16</td><br />
<td>Partial day; boat must be back at marina for 09:30 at the latest! Aim to set off no later than 07:30</td><br />
</tr><br />
</table><br />
<br />
==How much?==<br />
<br />
£290 each. Please send to Phil before 24th August, details provided via email.<br />
<br />
We will again operate a communual kitty in order to pay for:<br />
<br />
* groceries.<br />
* pub lunches<br />
* evening meals (where relevant)<br />
* general supplies of drink (alcoholic or otherwise) for the boat.<br />
* "random stuff" that may be required, example batteries for walkie-talkies.<br />
* disposable BBQ kit for a suitable evening.<br />
<br />
Initial input to the kitty will be £30 on arrival at the marina in order to pay for the first pub lunch and then the shopping at Sainsburys.<br />
<br />
We will then add amounts to the kitty as and when required throughout the week, and divide any remaining money that is left at the end of the week between us.<br />
<br />
We'll need to go grocery shopping every few days because there won't be a lot of room on the boat for fresh food such as bread and milk. Also bear in mind that it may be several days between cash machines so you will want to carry a bit of your own cash aside from the kitty.<br />
<br />
== Boat information ==<br />
<br />
[http://www.alvechurch.com/holidays/boat_fleet/4_6_berth/plover/index.html Plover].<br />
<br />
== What to bring ==<br />
<br />
Space on the boat, and probably more importantly in the cars, will be limited, so try not to overpack. A large holdall for clothes and a small backpack for other bits and pieces seems reasonable.<br />
<br />
Note that all bed linen is provided so you don't need to bring any of that. You will need to bring your own towel however. All cooking utensils and crockery etc. is also provided.<br />
<br />
* Waterproof clothing - we'll probably end up having to pilot the boat and do locks in the pouring rain.<br />
* Gloves - some locks are real bastards.<br />
* Torch - if you have one; we may run out of power some nights, plus for walking to pub, etc.<br />
* A Tea Towel - there will probably be at least one on the boat, but would be good if everyone could bring one so that we have enough.<br />
* Sunscreen or hat, & sunglasses - just in case it happens to be sunny.<br />
* [http://www.cafepress.com/converter.5498827 A CafePress Mug] - for dropping into the canal causing much hilarity.<br />
* [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.patrick/bragaze.html Weak lemon drink] - for drinking down furiously in one gulp in celebration of your hobby success.<br />
<br />
=== Clothing considerations ===<br />
<br />
Casual clothing that you don't mind getting dirty/worn is best. Jeans are fine, though if it rains can get waterlogged. Due to the possible weather conditions do bring a few sets of clothing as you may end up stuck outdoors in the rain for several hours after which you'll definitely want a change of clothes.<br />
<br />
Footwear with decent grip is essential. Trainers are good most of the time, though if it's raining a pair of boots won't go a miss. You'll probably want to have more than one set of footwear in case one set gets soaked and needs to be dried.<br />
<br />
There will be drying facilites to some extent on the boat, though obviously drying space is limited. There will be some radiators and an airing cupboard. <br />
<br />
=== Lifejacket/Bouyancy Aid ===<br />
<br />
Part of our route will take us onto the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Severn River Severn], which will be a significantly different experience from handling the boat on a canal due to the flow of the river.<br />
<br />
The water in the river will also be significantly deeper in the channel than in the canals, therefore I would recommend that bouyancy aids/lifejackets are on hand, or worn, for this part of the trip itself.<br />
<br />
=== Comms ===<br />
<br />
Matt will provide walkie-talkies for everyone, though due to problems experienced last year with<br />
charging of them coupled with the fact that we lost track of where they were and which ones were<br />
charged a lot, there are some new rules!<br />
<br />
* Each person will be given a fully-charged walkie-talkie, labeled with their name. Everyone is obviously responsible for their own walkie-talkie.<br />
* Each person is responsible for bringing enough batteries for their walkie-talkie for however much they intend to use it.<br />
<br />
I would think that bringing an extra 2 or 3 sets of batteries will be sufficient for running your walkie-talkie for all the time that we want to use them. One set of batteries = 4x AAA (note triple A, not double A).<br />
<br />
10-4 ??<br />
<br />
== Planned route and schedule for the week ==<br />
<br />
Our route will take us anti-clockwise round the "Stourport Ring" starting/ending at Alvechurch Boatyard.<br />
<br />
The reason for choosing the anti-clockwise route is that we will be going downstream on the River Severn which will mean that the current is working to our advantage and will enable us to complete this section of the route a lot quicker.<br />
<br />
=== Overall statistics of the route itself ===<br />
<br />
Total distance is 93 miles, 3½ flg and 118 locks. There are at least 12 small aqueducts or underbridges and 9 tunnels.<br />
<br />
''Made up of 80 miles, 4½ furlongs of narrow canals; 12 miles, 7 furlongs of large rivers; 115 narrow locks; 3 large locks.''<br />
<br />
This will take 54 hours, 27 minutes which is 6 days, 6 hours and 27 minutes at 8 hours per day.<br />
<br />
''' A furlong is 1/8 of a mile '''<br />
<br />
/* Stub entries for dates as follows */<br />
<br />
=== Monday 11th September ===<br />
<br />
The schedule for the first day of the trip involves the journey to the boatyard itself.<br />
<br />
We will aim to get to the boatyard by 12:00 in order to have lunch at [http://www.the-weighbridge.co.uk The Weighbridge Pub] which is located at the marina itself (0121 445 5111).<br />
<br />
After having lunch we will retire to [http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/shoppingandservices/storelocator/store.htm?id=604 Sainsburys] to pick up some supplies, which is on the A441 at the north edge of [[Wikipedia:Redditch|Redditch]] (approx 10 minutes by car).<br />
<br />
This should take us quite nicely to around 14:00 where we should be back at the marina in order to pick up the boat which will be ready no earlier than 14:30.<br />
<br />
====Address and contact details of the boatyard====<br />
Scarfield Wharf<br /> <br />
[[Wikipedia:Alvechurch|Alvechurch]]<br /> <br />
[[Wikipedia:Worcestershire|Worcestershire]]<br /><br />
[http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=B48+7SQ&ie=UTF8&ll=52.346838,-1.972369&spn=0.038171,0.106773&om=1 B48 7SQ]<br /><br />
<br />
Tel: 0121 445 2909<br/><br />
Fax: 0121 447 7120<br />
<br />
Realistically on the first day we will probably not be able to do much more than 3 hours of cruising itself, however we should be able to achieve a reasonable amount of ground as there are no locks to navigate.<br />
<br />
'''Suggested cruising for this day - total 7 miles, ½ flg, 0 locks, 0 moveable bridges (2 hours, 49 minutes)'''<br />
<br />
Start Point: Alvechurh Boatyard, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester)<br />
End Point : Breedon Cross Railway Bridge No 74, Worcester and Birmingham Canal (Birmingham to King's Norton)<br />
<br />
''We will depart the marina and turn right on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester) heading towards Kings Norton and we will go through the Wast Hill Tunnel after approximately 3 miles from Alvechurch, we will then continue along the canal to King's Norton Junction where we will join the Worcester and Birmingham Canal (Birmingham to King's Norton) and our mooring spot for the evening will be near Breedon Cross Railway Bridge No 74<br />
<br />
=== Tuesday 12th September ===<br />
<br />
=== Wednesday 13th September ===<br />
<br />
=== Thursday 14th September ===<br />
<br />
=== Friday 15th September ===<br />
<br />
=== Saturday 16th September ===<br />
<br />
=== Sunday 17th September ===<br />
<br />
=== Monday 18th September ===<br />
<br />
== Photo links ==<br />
<br />
To follow after the event!</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/GeorgeWBushGeorgeWBush2006-07-19T13:25:05Z<p>Matt: Is GeorgeWBush also SarahA</p>
<hr />
<div>'''This page has just been copied from [http://wiki.blitzed.org/User:grifferz/GeorgeWBush the Blitzed wiki] and needs some updates, which will be forthcoming.'''<br />
<br />
Welcome to the '''GeorgeWBush''' FAQ. If you have any interesting ('''and true''') information about [[User:GeorgeWBush|GeorgeWBush]] or anything he has said, please feel free to add.<br />
<br />
Please note that throughout this document GeorgeWBush may be referred to as "he", "him", "his" although GeorgeWBush claims to have no gender. Using "it" and "its" all the time would be really cumbersome, and GeorgeWBush claims to have been born male so we'll use the male pronouns for now. Gender-neutrality "is of lower risk" than choosing a gender.<br />
<br />
==Who?==<br />
GeorgeWBush is a user of the Blitzed IRC Network who has taken to talking with us in #strugglers. We find him very entertaining/interesting/mad.<br />
<br />
We're not really sure of exact identity, but:<br />
<br />
<pre><br />
-!- GeorgeWBush [~golf@car303.force9.co.uk]<br />
-!- ircname : Golf<br />
-!- channels : +#strugglers #debian<br />
-!- server : coffee.de.eu.blitzed.org [Don't be a junkie...]<br />
-!- : has identified for this nick<br />
-!- idle : 0 days 0 hours 4 mins 46 secs [signon: Mon Jul 17 00:12:25 2006]<br />
-!- End of WHOIS<br />
</pre><br />
<br />
We have no evidence that GeorgeWBush is actually [[Wikipedia:George W. Bush|George W. Bush]] and "our" GeorgeWBush has in fact claimed that he is the political opposite of the "real" George W. Bush.<br />
<br />
GeorgeWBush says he was born under the name Craig but changed it by [[Wikipedia:deed poll|deed poll]] in 2005 to Lindsay "as that is [[Wikipedia:androgynous|androgynous]]." He claims to have been adopted (Alan is his adopted father). He also likes to use the name Sarah sometimes, but this is not to be confused with the ircer by the nickname of [[SarahA]], which he claims is definitely not him. He has admitted to using a nickname of SarahJ on occasions when wanting to appear as a female.<br />
<br />
GeorgeWBush says he currently lives somewhere in the South West of [[Wikipedia:England|England]] with his parents (Devon?). Previously he lived in a Christian House. He makes reference to ircing from a shed, which is also where he claims to sleep, and having to go to the bathroom in another shed. GeorgeWBush refuses to take pictures of his shed as he says that he is worried we may report him to the council for not having the correct building permission for the structure and its power feed.<br />
<br />
==Mannerisms==<br />
* "...at this time"<br />
* "I do not agree with that" (after being kicked for fuckwittedness)<br />
* "Now look, ..." (normally when he wishes to have the final say on a matter)<br />
* Pointing out when it is an "interesting" time, e.g. 00:00, 12:34, 11:11 etc., which he usually does with less accuracy than our own clocks:<br />
<pre><br />
23:59:52 < GeorgeWBush> At the sound of the tone it will be exactly: Midnight<br />
--- Day changed Fri Apr 22 2005<br />
00:00:07 < GeorgeWBush> TONE<br />
00:00:16 <@dg> 000007 < GeorgeWBush> TONE<br />
00:00:18 <@dg> bit off there<br />
</pre><br />
* "that is not good though" or "but that is illegal"<br />
* Referring to every channel notice as a "wide notice" despite being the only person on Earth to use this terminology:<br />
<pre><br />
16:16:22 -GeorgeWBush:#blitzed- WIDE NOTICE: Who is the network manager<br />
16:16:34 [notice(#blitzed)] narrow notice it is BELATUCADROS<br />
16:16:52 < GeorgeWBush> grifferz, you send a wide notice back<br />
</pre><br />
* Wide-noticing the channel "Ola" on join<br />
* "I know England almost always lose on penalties, but..."<br />
* Telling us what sort of behaviour is acceptable in our own channel, assigning US-style content ratings to what we say (e.g. "that is R rated"), and so on<br />
* "We're going to find them and we're going to smoke them." This is something that the real George W. Bush said about terrorists. GeorgeWBush now uses it with reference to [[Wikipedia:Iran|Iran]].<br />
* Singing on IRC. GeorgeWBush once joined the channel as both GeorgeWBush and DickCheney and proceeded to sing a modified duet of [[Wikipedia:Fairytale of New York|Fairytale of New York]] using both nicknames. [http://strugglers.net/w/images/2/2c/Fairytale_gwb_cheney_duet.txt (Log)]<br />
* Deliberately using the world "nucular" in place of "nuclear" because that is how the real George W Bush says it.<br />
* Inserting obvious spelling mistakes to check if people are reading what he's saying. [http://strugglers.net/w/images/4/48/Gwb_rickamansworth.txt (Log)]<br />
* Attempting to join channels that he is banned from when he connects. Perhaps he has them on auto-join as usually when he connects you see him joining several channels before chanserv promptly removes him.<br />
<br />
==Other things he has stated==<br />
GeorgeWBush says:<br />
<br />
* [[Wikipedia:Gender|Gender]] only exists because of the materialistic society we live in "at this time". GeorgeWBush first claimed to have no gender, but now says his gender is unclear, that he does not know if he wants to be female, that being neutral is "easier", and he is "definitely not male".<br />
* Sex is purely for procreation and any other use of it is immoral.<br />
* He has not been diagnosed with a mental illness.<br />
* [[Wikipedia:Charles Darwin|Darwin]] was wrong, and there are several competing theories other than [[Wikipedia:natural selection|natural selection]] (could not name one).<br />
* He does not celebrate [[Wikipedia:Christmas|Christmas]] because of its commercialism. He does not do anything different at Christmas because he says he can "visit anyone anytime" and it's all about "relationships and who has what."<br />
* He does not believe that much of the information here is needed, and has tried to blank it multiple times stating that "this is not your page", "this is a wiki and anyone can edit a wiki."<br />
* 'force9.co.uk' is not a domain name:<br />
<pre><GeorgeWBush> I do not have any domain names in my WHOIS</pre><br />
* Believes in reincarnation.<br />
* He is against private ownership of property.<br />
* There has never been a true communist state, and it would be a good idea if there was one.<br />
* Capitalism is directly responsible for his housing situation.<br />
* Sexuality is a likely root cause of all human corruption.<br />
* He is unmarried as "he doesn't feel lonely."<br />
* He has never had a girlfriend or boyfriend.<br />
* Suffers from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.<br />
* He lives on disability benefits.<br />
* In 2002 he spent £100/month for approx. 3 months on an unmetered dialup internet connection primarily in order to receive 24-hour streamed news from [[Wikipedia:Canada|Canada]]. This was paid for by state benefits.<br />
* Multiple sources of 24-hour news are essential as "WWIII could start and we wouldn't know." He does not regard the usual free-to-air TV channels and radio stations as being sufficient source of news as he believes they are controlled by the UK government.<br />
<br />
==Is GeorgeWBush also SarahA?==<br />
<br />
A number of people are of the opinion that GeorgeWBush and SarahA are the same person. They both connect from different ISPs, but George has talked many times about how he's had to use proxies to avoid the many bans that are usually in force for him. Vote here as to whether you think GeorgeWBush and SarahA are the same person or not.<br />
<br />
===Yes===<br />
<br />
* Eyecon<br />
<br />
===No===</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/GeorgeWBushGeorgeWBush2006-07-18T22:58:06Z<p>Matt: /* Who? */ adopted</p>
<hr />
<div>'''This page has just been copied from [http://wiki.blitzed.org/User:grifferz/GeorgeWBush the Blitzed wiki] and needs some updates, which will be forthcoming.'''<br />
<br />
Welcome to the '''GeorgeWBush''' FAQ. If you have any interesting ('''and true''') information about [[User:GeorgeWBush|GeorgeWBush]] or anything he has said, please feel free to add.<br />
<br />
Please note that throughout this document GeorgeWBush may be referred to as "he", "him", "his" although GeorgeWBush claims to have no gender. Using "it" and "its" all the time would be really cumbersome, and GeorgeWBush claims to have been born male so we'll use the male pronouns for now. Gender-neutrality "is of lower risk" than choosing a gender.<br />
<br />
==Who?==<br />
GeorgeWBush is a user of the Blitzed IRC Network who has taken to talking with us in #strugglers. We find him very entertaining/interesting/mad.<br />
<br />
We're not really sure of exact identity, but:<br />
<br />
<pre><br />
-!- GeorgeWBush [~golf@car303.force9.co.uk]<br />
-!- ircname : Golf<br />
-!- channels : +#strugglers #debian<br />
-!- server : coffee.de.eu.blitzed.org [Don't be a junkie...]<br />
-!- : has identified for this nick<br />
-!- idle : 0 days 0 hours 4 mins 46 secs [signon: Mon Jul 17 00:12:25 2006]<br />
-!- End of WHOIS<br />
</pre><br />
<br />
We have no evidence that GeorgeWBush is actually [[Wikipedia:George W. Bush|George W. Bush]] and "our" GeorgeWBush has in fact claimed that he is the political opposite of the "real" George W. Bush.<br />
<br />
GeorgeWBush says he was born under the name Craig but changed it by [[Wikipedia:deed poll|deed poll]] in 2005 to Lindsay "as that is [[Wikipedia:androgynous|androgynous]]." He claims to have been adopted (Alan is his adopted father). He also likes to use the name Sarah sometimes, but this is not to be confused with the ircer by the nickname of [[SarahA]], which he claims is definitely not him. He has admitted to using a nickname of SarahJ on occasions when wanting to appear as a female.<br />
<br />
GeorgeWBush says he currently lives somewhere in the South West of [[Wikipedia:England|England]] with his parents (Devon?). Previously he lived in a Christian House. He makes reference to ircing from a shed, which is also where he claims to sleep, and having to go to the bathroom in another shed. GeorgeWBush refuses to take pictures of his shed as he says that he is worried we may report him to the council for not having the correct building permission for the structure and its power feed.<br />
<br />
==Mannerisms==<br />
* "...at this time"<br />
* "I do not agree with that" (after being kicked for fuckwittedness)<br />
* "Now look, ..." (normally when he wishes to have the final say on a matter)<br />
* Pointing out when it is an "interesting" time, e.g. 00:00, 12:34, 11:11 etc., which he usually does with less accuracy than our own clocks:<br />
<pre><br />
23:59:52 < GeorgeWBush> At the sound of the tone it will be exactly: Midnight<br />
--- Day changed Fri Apr 22 2005<br />
00:00:07 < GeorgeWBush> TONE<br />
00:00:16 <@dg> 000007 < GeorgeWBush> TONE<br />
00:00:18 <@dg> bit off there<br />
</pre><br />
* "that is not good though" or "but that is illegal"<br />
* Referring to every channel notice as a "wide notice" despite being the only person on Earth to use this terminology:<br />
<pre><br />
16:16:22 -GeorgeWBush:#blitzed- WIDE NOTICE: Who is the network manager<br />
16:16:34 [notice(#blitzed)] narrow notice it is BELATUCADROS<br />
16:16:52 < GeorgeWBush> grifferz, you send a wide notice back<br />
</pre><br />
* Wide-noticing the channel "Ola" on join<br />
* "I know England almost always lose on penalties, but..."<br />
* Telling us what sort of behaviour is acceptable in our own channel, assigning US-style content ratings to what we say (e.g. "that is R rated"), and so on<br />
* "We're going to find them and we're going to smoke them." This is something that the real George W. Bush said about terrorists. GeorgeWBush now uses it with reference to [[Wikipedia:Iran|Iran]].<br />
* Singing on IRC. GeorgeWBush once joined the channel as both GeorgeWBush and DickCheney and proceeded to sing a modified duet of [[Wikipedia:Fairytale of New York|Fairytale of New York]] using both nicknames. [http://strugglers.net/w/images/2/2c/Fairytale_gwb_cheney_duet.txt (Log)]<br />
* Deliberately using the world "nucular" in place of "nuclear" because that is how the real George W Bush says it.<br />
* Inserting obvious spelling mistakes to check if people are reading what he's saying. [http://strugglers.net/w/images/4/48/Gwb_rickamansworth.txt (Log)]<br />
* Attempting to join channels that he is banned from when he connects. Perhaps he has them on auto-join as usually when he connects you see him joining several channels before chanserv promptly removes him.<br />
<br />
==Other things he has stated==<br />
GeorgeWBush says:<br />
<br />
* [[Wikipedia:Gender|Gender]] only exists because of the materialistic society we live in "at this time". GeorgeWBush first claimed to have no gender, but now says his gender is unclear, that he does not know if he wants to be female, that being neutral is "easier", and he is "definitely not male".<br />
* Sex is purely for procreation and any other use of it is immoral.<br />
* He has not been diagnosed with a mental illness.<br />
* [[Wikipedia:Charles Darwin|Darwin]] was wrong, and there are several competing theories other than [[Wikipedia:natural selection|natural selection]] (could not name one).<br />
* He does not celebrate [[Wikipedia:Christmas|Christmas]] because of its commercialism. He does not do anything different at Christmas because he says he can "visit anyone anytime" and it's all about "relationships and who has what."<br />
* He does not believe that much of the information here is needed, and has tried to blank it multiple times stating that "this is not your page", "this is a wiki and anyone can edit a wiki."<br />
* 'force9.co.uk' is not a domain name:<br />
<pre><GeorgeWBush> I do not have any domain names in my WHOIS</pre><br />
* Believes in reincarnation.<br />
* He is against private ownership of property.<br />
* There has never been a true communist state, and it would be a good idea if there was one.<br />
* Capitalism is directly responsible for his housing situation.<br />
* Sexuality is a likely root cause of all human corruption.<br />
* He is unmarried as "he doesn't feel lonely."<br />
* He has never had a girlfriend or boyfriend.<br />
* Suffers from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.<br />
* He lives on disability benefits.<br />
* In 2002 he spent £100/month for approx. 3 months on an unmetered dialup internet connection primarily in order to receive 24-hour streamed news from [[Wikipedia:Canada|Canada]]. This was paid for by state benefits.<br />
* Multiple sources of 24-hour news are essential as "WWIII could start and we wouldn't know." He does not regard the usual free-to-air TV channels and radio stations as being sufficient source of news as he believes they are controlled by the UK government.</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/GeorgeWBushGeorgeWBush2006-07-18T15:02:29Z<p>Matt: /* Mannerisms */ attempting to join channels on connect</p>
<hr />
<div>'''This page has just been copied from [http://wiki.blitzed.org/User:grifferz/GeorgeWBush the Blitzed wiki] and needs some updates, which will be forthcoming.'''<br />
<br />
Welcome to the '''GeorgeWBush''' FAQ. If you have any interesting ('''and true''') information about [[User:GeorgeWBush|GeorgeWBush]] or anything he has said, please feel free to add.<br />
<br />
Please note that throughout this document GeorgeWBush may be referred to as "he", "him", "his" although GeorgeWBush claims to have no gender. Using "it" and "its" all the time would be really cumbersome, and GeorgeWBush claims to have been born male so we'll use the male pronouns for now. Gender-neutrality "is of lower risk" than choosing a gender.<br />
<br />
==Who?==<br />
GeorgeWBush is a user of the Blitzed IRC Network who has taken to talking with us in #strugglers. We find him very entertaining/interesting/mad.<br />
<br />
We're not really sure of exact identity, but:<br />
<br />
<pre><br />
-!- GeorgeWBush [~golf@car303.force9.co.uk]<br />
-!- ircname : Golf<br />
-!- channels : +#strugglers #debian<br />
-!- server : coffee.de.eu.blitzed.org [Don't be a junkie...]<br />
-!- : has identified for this nick<br />
-!- idle : 0 days 0 hours 4 mins 46 secs [signon: Mon Jul 17 00:12:25 2006]<br />
-!- End of WHOIS<br />
</pre><br />
<br />
We have no evidence that GeorgeWBush is actually [[Wikipedia:George W. Bush|George W. Bush]] and "our" GeorgeWBush has in fact claimed that he is the political opposite of the "real" George W. Bush.<br />
<br />
GeorgeWBush says he was born under the name Craig but changed it by [[Wikipedia:deed poll|deed poll]] in 2005 to Lindsay "as that is [[Wikipedia:androgynous|androgynous]]." He also likes to use the name Sarah sometimes, but this is not to be confused with the ircer by the nickname of [[SarahA]], which he claims is definitely not him. He has admitted to using a nickname of SarahJ on occasions when wanting to appear as a female.<br />
<br />
GeorgeWBush says he currently lives somewhere in the South West of [[Wikipedia:England|England]] with his parents (Devon?). Previously he lived in a Christian House. He makes reference to ircing from a shed, which is also where he claims to sleep, and having to go to the bathroom in another shed. GeorgeWBush refuses to take pictures of his shed as he says that he is worried we may report him to the council for not having the correct building permission for the structure and its power feed.<br />
<br />
==Mannerisms==<br />
* "...at this time"<br />
* "I do not agree with that" (after being kicked for fuckwittedness)<br />
* Pointing out when it is an "interesting" time, e.g. 00:00, 12:34, 11:11 etc., which he usually does with less accuracy than our own clocks:<br />
<pre><br />
23:59:52 < GeorgeWBush> At the sound of the tone it will be exactly: Midnight<br />
--- Day changed Fri Apr 22 2005<br />
00:00:07 < GeorgeWBush> TONE<br />
00:00:16 <@dg> 000007 < GeorgeWBush> TONE<br />
00:00:18 <@dg> bit off there<br />
</pre><br />
* "that is not good though" or "but that is illegal"<br />
* Referring to every channel notice as a "wide notice" despite being the only person on Earth to use this terminology:<br />
<pre><br />
16:16:22 -GeorgeWBush:#blitzed- WIDE NOTICE: Who is the network manager<br />
16:16:34 [notice(#blitzed)] narrow notice it is BELATUCADROS<br />
16:16:52 < GeorgeWBush> grifferz, you send a wide notice back<br />
</pre><br />
* Wide-noticing the channel "Ola" on join<br />
* "I know England almost always lose on penalties, but..."<br />
* Telling us what sort of behaviour is acceptable in our own channel, assigning US-style content ratings to what we say (e.g. "that is R rated"), and so on<br />
* "We're going to find them and we're going to smoke them." This is something that the real George W. Bush said about terrorists. GeorgeWBush now uses it with reference to [[Wikipedia:Iran|Iran]].<br />
* Singing on IRC. GeorgeWBush once joined the channel as both GeorgeWBush and DickCheney and proceeded to sing a modified duet of [[Wikipedia:Fairytale of New York|Fairytale of New York]] using both nicknames. [http://strugglers.net/w/images/2/2c/Fairytale_gwb_cheney_duet.txt (Log)]<br />
* Deliberately using the world "nucular" in place of "nuclear" because that is how the real George W Bush says it.<br />
* Inserting obvious spelling mistakes to check if people are reading what he's saying. [http://strugglers.net/w/images/4/48/Gwb_rickamansworth.txt (Log)]<br />
* Attempting to join channels that he is banned from when he connects. Perhaps he has them on auto-join as usually when he connects you see him joining several channels before chanserv promptly removes him.<br />
<br />
==Other things he has stated==<br />
GeorgeWBush says:<br />
<br />
* [[Wikipedia:Gender|Gender]] only exists because of the materialistic society we live in "at this time". GeorgeWBush first claimed to have no gender, but now says his gender is unclear, that he does not know if he wants to be female, that being neutral is "easier", and he is "definitely not male".<br />
* Sex is purely for procreation and any other use of it is immoral.<br />
* He has not been diagnosed with a mental illness.<br />
* [[Wikipedia:Charles Darwin|Darwin]] was wrong, and there are several competing theories other than [[Wikipedia:natural selection|natural selection]] (could not name one).<br />
* He does not celebrate [[Wikipedia:Christmas|Christmas]] because of its commercialism. He does not do anything different at Christmas because he says he can "visit anyone anytime" and it's all about "relationships and who has what."<br />
* He does not believe that much of the information here is needed, and has tried to blank it multiple times stating that "this is not your page", "this is a wiki and anyone can edit a wiki."<br />
* 'force9.co.uk' is not a domain name:<br />
<pre><GeorgeWBush> I do not have any domain names in my WHOIS</pre><br />
* Believes in reincarnation.<br />
* He is against private ownership of property.<br />
* There has never been a true communist state, and it would be a good idea if there was one.<br />
* Capitalism is directly responsible for his housing situation.<br />
* Sexuality is a likely root cause of all human corruption.<br />
* He is unmarried as "he doesn't feel lonely."<br />
* He has never had a girlfriend or boyfriend.<br />
* Suffers from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.<br />
* He lives on disability benefits.<br />
* In 2002 he spent £100/month for approx. 3 months on an unmetered dialup internet connection primarily in order to receive 24-hour streamed news from [[Wikipedia:Canada|Canada]]. This was paid for by state benefits.<br />
* Multiple sources of 24-hour news are essential as "WWIII could start and we wouldn't know." He does not regard the usual free-to-air TV channels and radio stations as being sufficient source of news as he believes they are controlled by the UK government.</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/GeorgeWBushGeorgeWBush2006-07-18T13:10:47Z<p>Matt: /* Who? */ sleeps in the shed</p>
<hr />
<div>'''This page has just been copied from [http://wiki.blitzed.org/User:grifferz/GeorgeWBush the Blitzed wiki] and needs some updates, which will be forthcoming.'''<br />
<br />
Welcome to the '''GeorgeWBush''' FAQ. If you have any interesting ('''and true''') information about [[User:GeorgeWBush|GeorgeWBush]] or anything he has said, please feel free to add.<br />
<br />
Please note that throughout this document GeorgeWBush may be referred to as "he", "him", "his" although GeorgeWBush claims to have no gender. Using "it" and "its" all the time would be really cumbersome, and GeorgeWBush claims to have been born male so we'll use the male pronouns for now.<br />
<br />
==Who?==<br />
GeorgeWBush is a user of the Blitzed IRC Network who has taken to talking with us in #strugglers. We find him very entertaining/interesting/mad.<br />
<br />
We're not really sure of exact identity, but:<br />
<br />
<pre><br />
-!- GeorgeWBush [~golf@car303.force9.co.uk]<br />
-!- ircname : Golf<br />
-!- channels : +#strugglers #debian<br />
-!- server : coffee.de.eu.blitzed.org [Don't be a junkie...]<br />
-!- : has identified for this nick<br />
-!- idle : 0 days 0 hours 4 mins 46 secs [signon: Mon Jul 17 00:12:25 2006]<br />
-!- End of WHOIS<br />
</pre><br />
<br />
We have no evidence that GeorgeWBush is actually [[Wikipedia:George W. Bush|George W. Bush]] and "our" GeorgeWBush has in fact claimed that he is the political opposite of the "real" George W. Bush.<br />
<br />
GeorgeWBush says he was born under the name Craig but changed it by [[Wikipedia:deed poll|deed poll]] in 2005 to Lindsay "as that is androgynous." He also likes to use the name Sarah sometimes, but this is not to be confused with the ircer by the nickname of [[SarahA]], which he claims is definitely not him. He has admitted to using a nickname of SarahJ on occasions when wanting to appear as a female.<br />
<br />
GeorgeWBush says he currently lives somewhere in the South West of [[Wikipedia:England|England]] with his parents. He makes reference to ircing from a shed, which is also where he claims to sleep, and having to go to the bathroom in another shed.<br />
<br />
==Mannerisms==<br />
* "at this time"<br />
* "I do not agree with that" (after being kicked for fuckwittedness)<br />
* Pointing out when it is an "interesting" time, e.g. 00:00, 12:34, 11:11 etc., which he usually does with less accuracy than our own clocks:<br />
<pre><br />
23:59:52 < GeorgeWBush> At the sound of the tone it will be exactly: Midnight<br />
--- Day changed Fri Apr 22 2005<br />
00:00:07 < GeorgeWBush> TONE<br />
00:00:16 <@dg> 000007 < GeorgeWBush> TONE<br />
00:00:18 <@dg> bit off there<br />
</pre><br />
* "that is not good though" or "but that is illegal"<br />
* Referring to every channel notice as a "wide notice" despite being the only person on Earth to use this terminology:<br />
<pre><br />
16:16:22 -GeorgeWBush:#blitzed- WIDE NOTICE: Who is the network manager<br />
16:16:34 [notice(#blitzed)] narrow notice it is BELATUCADROS<br />
16:16:52 < GeorgeWBush> grifferz, you send a wide notice back<br />
</pre><br />
* "I know England almost always lose on penalties, but..."<br />
* Telling us what sort of behaviour is acceptable in our own channel, assigning US-style content ratings to what we say (e.g. "that is R rated"), and so on<br />
* "We're going to find them and we're going to smoke them." This is something that the real George W. Bush said about terrorists. GeorgeWBush now uses it with reference to [[Wikipedia:Iran|Iran]].<br />
* Singing on IRC. GeorgeWBush once joined the channel as both GeorgeWBush and DickCheney and proceeded to sing a modified duet of [[Wikipedia:Fairytale of New York|Fairytale of New York]] using both nicknames. [http://strugglers.net/w/images/2/2c/Fairytale_gwb_cheney_duet.txt (Log)]<br />
* Deliberately using the world "nucular" in place of "nuclear" because that is how the real George W Bush says it.<br />
* Inserting obvious spelling mistakes to check if people are reading what he's saying. [http://strugglers.net/w/images/4/48/Gwb_rickamansworth.txt (Log)]<br />
<br />
==Other things he has stated==<br />
GeorgeWBush says:<br />
<br />
* [[Wikipedia:Gender|Gender]] only exists because of the materialistic society we live in "at this time". GeorgeWBush first claimed to have no gender, but now says his gender is unclear, that he does not know if he wants to be female, that being neutral is "easier", and he is "definitely not male".<br />
* Sex is purely for procreation and any other use of it is immoral.<br />
* He has not been diagnosed with a mental illness.<br />
* [[Wikipedia:Charles Darwin|Darwin]] was wrong, and there are several competing theories other than [[Wikipedia:natural selection|natural selection]] (could not name one).<br />
* He does not celebrate [[Wikipedia:Christmas|Christmas]] because of its commercialism. He does not do anything different at Christmas because he says he can "visit anyone anytime" and it's all about "relationships and who has what."<br />
* He does not believe that much of the information here is needed, and has tried to blank it multiple times stating that "this is not your page", "this is a wiki and anyone can edit a wiki."<br />
* 'force9.co.uk' is not a domain name:<br />
<pre><GeorgeWBush> I do not have any domain names in my WHOIS</pre><br />
* He is against private ownership of property.<br />
* There has never been a true communist state, and it would be a good idea if there was one.<br />
* Capitalism is directly responsible for his housing situation.<br />
* Sexuality is a likely root cause of all human corruption.<br />
* He is unmarried as "he doesn't feel lonely."<br />
* He has never had a girlfriend or boyfriend.<br />
* Suffers from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.<br />
* He lives on disability benefits.<br />
* In 2002 he spent £100/month for approx. 3 months on an unmetered dialup internet connection primarily in order to receive 24-hour streamed news from [[Wikipedia:Canada|Canada]]. This was paid for by state benefits.<br />
* Multiple sources of 24-hour news are essential as "WWIII could start and we wouldn't know." He does not regard the usual free-to-air TV channels and radio stations as being sufficient source of news as he believes they are controlled by the UK government.</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/GeorgeWBushGeorgeWBush2006-07-18T13:09:49Z<p>Matt: /* Who? */ SarahJ</p>
<hr />
<div>'''This page has just been copied from [http://wiki.blitzed.org/User:grifferz/GeorgeWBush the Blitzed wiki] and needs some updates, which will be forthcoming.'''<br />
<br />
Welcome to the '''GeorgeWBush''' FAQ. If you have any interesting ('''and true''') information about [[User:GeorgeWBush|GeorgeWBush]] or anything he has said, please feel free to add.<br />
<br />
Please note that throughout this document GeorgeWBush may be referred to as "he", "him", "his" although GeorgeWBush claims to have no gender. Using "it" and "its" all the time would be really cumbersome, and GeorgeWBush claims to have been born male so we'll use the male pronouns for now.<br />
<br />
==Who?==<br />
GeorgeWBush is a user of the Blitzed IRC Network who has taken to talking with us in #strugglers. We find him very entertaining/interesting/mad.<br />
<br />
We're not really sure of exact identity, but:<br />
<br />
<pre><br />
-!- GeorgeWBush [~golf@car303.force9.co.uk]<br />
-!- ircname : Golf<br />
-!- channels : +#strugglers #debian<br />
-!- server : coffee.de.eu.blitzed.org [Don't be a junkie...]<br />
-!- : has identified for this nick<br />
-!- idle : 0 days 0 hours 4 mins 46 secs [signon: Mon Jul 17 00:12:25 2006]<br />
-!- End of WHOIS<br />
</pre><br />
<br />
We have no evidence that GeorgeWBush is actually [[Wikipedia:George W. Bush|George W. Bush]] and "our" GeorgeWBush has in fact claimed that he is the political opposite of the "real" George W. Bush.<br />
<br />
GeorgeWBush says he was born under the name Craig but changed it by [[Wikipedia:deed poll|deed poll]] in 2005 to Lindsay "as that is androgynous." He also likes to use the name Sarah sometimes, but this is not to be confused with the ircer by the nickname of [[SarahA]], which he claims is definitely not him. He has admitted to using a nickname of SarahJ on occasions when wanting to appear as a female.<br />
<br />
GeorgeWBush says he currently lives somewhere in the South West of [[Wikipedia:England|England]] with his parents. He makes reference to ircing from a shed and having to go to the bathroom in another shed.<br />
<br />
==Mannerisms==<br />
* "at this time"<br />
* "I do not agree with that" (after being kicked for fuckwittedness)<br />
* Pointing out when it is an "interesting" time, e.g. 00:00, 12:34, 11:11 etc., which he usually does with less accuracy than our own clocks:<br />
<pre><br />
23:59:52 < GeorgeWBush> At the sound of the tone it will be exactly: Midnight<br />
--- Day changed Fri Apr 22 2005<br />
00:00:07 < GeorgeWBush> TONE<br />
00:00:16 <@dg> 000007 < GeorgeWBush> TONE<br />
00:00:18 <@dg> bit off there<br />
</pre><br />
* "that is not good though" or "but that is illegal"<br />
* Referring to every channel notice as a "wide notice" despite being the only person on Earth to use this terminology:<br />
<pre><br />
16:16:22 -GeorgeWBush:#blitzed- WIDE NOTICE: Who is the network manager<br />
16:16:34 [notice(#blitzed)] narrow notice it is BELATUCADROS<br />
16:16:52 < GeorgeWBush> grifferz, you send a wide notice back<br />
</pre><br />
* "I know England almost always lose on penalties, but..."<br />
* Telling us what sort of behaviour is acceptable in our own channel, assigning US-style content ratings to what we say (e.g. "that is R rated"), and so on<br />
* "We're going to find them and we're going to smoke them." This is something that the real George W. Bush said about terrorists. GeorgeWBush now uses it with reference to [[Wikipedia:Iran|Iran]].<br />
* Singing on IRC. GeorgeWBush once joined the channel as both GeorgeWBush and DickCheney and proceeded to sing a modified duet of [[Wikipedia:Fairytale of New York|Fairytale of New York]] using both nicknames. [http://strugglers.net/w/images/2/2c/Fairytale_gwb_cheney_duet.txt (Log)]<br />
* Deliberately using the world "nucular" in place of "nuclear" because that is how the real George W Bush says it.<br />
* Inserting obvious spelling mistakes to check if people are reading what he's saying. [http://strugglers.net/w/images/4/48/Gwb_rickamansworth.txt (Log)]<br />
<br />
==Other things he has stated==<br />
GeorgeWBush says:<br />
<br />
* [[Wikipedia:Gender|Gender]] only exists because of the materialistic society we live in "at this time". GeorgeWBush first claimed to have no gender, but now says his gender is unclear, that he does not know if he wants to be female, that being neutral is "easier", and he is "definitely not male".<br />
* Sex is purely for procreation and any other use of it is immoral.<br />
* He has not been diagnosed with a mental illness.<br />
* [[Wikipedia:Charles Darwin|Darwin]] was wrong, and there are several competing theories other than [[Wikipedia:natural selection|natural selection]] (could not name one).<br />
* He does not celebrate [[Wikipedia:Christmas|Christmas]] because of its commercialism. He does not do anything different at Christmas because he says he can "visit anyone anytime" and it's all about "relationships and who has what."<br />
* He does not believe that much of the information here is needed, and has tried to blank it multiple times stating that "this is not your page", "this is a wiki and anyone can edit a wiki."<br />
* 'force9.co.uk' is not a domain name:<br />
<pre><GeorgeWBush> I do not have any domain names in my WHOIS</pre><br />
* He is against private ownership of property.<br />
* There has never been a true communist state, and it would be a good idea if there was one.<br />
* Capitalism is directly responsible for his housing situation.<br />
* Sexuality is a likely root cause of all human corruption.<br />
* He is unmarried as "he doesn't feel lonely."<br />
* He has never had a girlfriend or boyfriend.<br />
* Suffers from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.<br />
* He lives on disability benefits.<br />
* In 2002 he spent £100/month for approx. 3 months on an unmetered dialup internet connection primarily in order to receive 24-hour streamed news from [[Wikipedia:Canada|Canada]]. This was paid for by state benefits.<br />
* Multiple sources of 24-hour news are essential as "WWIII could start and we wouldn't know." He does not regard the usual free-to-air TV channels and radio stations as being sufficient source of news as he believes they are controlled by the UK government.</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/Installing_Linux_On_An_IBM/Lenovo_ThinkPad_R52Installing Linux On An IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad R522006-03-13T22:26:55Z<p>Matt: /* Adding More Repositories */ multiverse</p>
<hr />
<div>These are some notes from what I've discovered installing Linux, and in particular <br />
[http://www.ubuntu.com Ubuntu] 5.10 "Breezy", onto an <br />
[http://www5.pc.ibm.com/uk/products.nsf/$wwwPartNumLookup/_UN3AQUK?OpenDocument IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad R52].<br />
<br />
I can be contacted by email at [mailto:matt@mattmarsh.net matt@mattmarsh.net].<br />
<br />
==Pre-Installation Steps==<br />
<br />
These are a few things that I decided to do prior to installing Linux onto the <br />
notebook.<br />
<br />
===Created Rescue & Recovery Discs===<br />
<br />
In Windows there is a program to create the recovery discs:<br />
<br />
Start -> All Programs -> Access IBM -> Create Recovery Discs<br />
<br />
It prompts you to put blank/erasable discs in the drive; I used two DVDs though<br />
I now believe that the first disc may only need to be a CD rather than a DVD.<br />
<br />
After you've created one set of discs it wont let you create any more sets.<br />
<br />
===Created Rescue Media===<br />
<br />
There is another program for creating "Recovery Media" accessible from the<br />
start menu:<br />
<br />
Start -> All Programs -> Access IBM -> Create Rescue Media<br />
<br />
I believe this just creates the same thing as the first CD in the above step<br />
though so shouldn't be required.<br />
<br />
===Updated Firmware===<br />
<br />
I checked [http://www.lenovo.com Lenovo's website] to see if any of the firmware needed updating. I<br />
updated the BIOS (from version 1.18 to 1.22), everything else seemed to be<br />
up to date for me.<br />
<br />
I noticed that most of the firmware updates are available as bootable CD<br />
images and things so it shouldn't be a problem to update firmware in future<br />
even with no Windows on the machine.<br />
<br />
===Installed Additional Memory Module===<br />
<br />
I'd purchased an additional 512MB memory module from <br />
[http://www.crucial.com Crucial], so I put that<br />
in and checked that it was visible by the BIOS and Windows before installing<br />
Ubuntu.<br />
<br />
==Ubuntu Installation==<br />
<br />
I actually wanted a Kubuntu installation (using KDE rather than the default<br />
GNOME of Ubuntu), but I had an Ubuntu CD lying around so I decided to do<br />
that and add the Kubuntu bits afterwards. So I used a regular Ubuntu 5.10 <br />
"Breezy" installation CD and didn't use any special parameters at the boot<br />
prompt (I did try using "expert" mode first, but that just left me with all <br />
sorts of problems once it was installed, so I went back and installed it <br />
using the default installation mode).<br />
<br />
===Disk Partitioning===<br />
<br />
I used the manual patitioning mode when it got to that part of the<br />
installer. There were two partitions, one taking most of the disk for the<br />
main Windows installation and then a second partition of around 3GB for<br />
the IBM "Pre-Desktop Area" used for Windows recovery and so on. I deleted<br />
the main Windows partition and decided to leave the pre-desktop partition<br />
for now. I created one large partition of around 50GB to be the root <br />
filesystem (e3fs) and allocated the rest, approx 5GB, as a swap partition.<br />
<br />
===WiFi During Install===<br />
<br />
My home WiFi network uses WEP encryption in a "shared-key" system. I<br />
entered my WEP key etc in the installer but it failed to connect to my<br />
network. I found that I had to change my wireless access point from <br />
"shared-key" to "open" in order to get it to connect up. Once I had<br />
done that I was able to complete the install using WiFi just fine.<br />
<br />
===Fetching Updates===<br />
<br />
Once the Ubuntu installation was complete I made sure all the packages<br />
were up to date using APT from a terminal window:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get upgrade<br />
<br />
===Adding More Repositories===<br />
<br />
I modified /etc/apt/sources.list to uncomment the 'universe' repository<br />
there by giving me access to more software via APT. I uncommented the<br />
following lines:<br />
<br />
deb http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu breezy universe<br />
deb-src http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu breezy universe<br />
<br />
I also added "multiverse" on the end of each one, so they became:<br />
<br />
deb http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu breezy universe multiverse<br />
deb-src http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu breezy universe multiverse<br />
<br />
and following that I ran the following to update my package list with<br />
the newly available software:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get update<br />
<br />
===References===<br />
<br />
* [http://www.ubuntu.com/ Ubuntu]<br />
* [http://www.kubuntu.org/ Kubuntu]<br />
* [http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Category:Ubuntu ThinkWiki Ubuntu Page]<br />
* [http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Category:Kubuntu ThinkWiki Kubuntu Page]<br />
<br />
==Kubuntu & KDE==<br />
<br />
Now that I'd got a base Ubuntu system, I decided to install the KDE <br />
parts to get a Kubuntu system. This is done easily by fetching the<br />
kubuntu-desktop package:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop<br />
<br />
I think that during the installation of that package it prompted me<br />
to select whether to use the gdm (GNOME based) or kdm (KDE based)<br />
login screen. I opted for kdm (though I later changed to gdm as it<br />
seems to support the fingerprint scanner better, see later for <br />
details).<br />
<br />
===Upgrading KDE To 3.5.1===<br />
<br />
Breezy by default uses KDE 3.4.3, but I found that I needed to<br />
upgrade this in order to get DVD playback working (details to <br />
follow). So, I upgraded to KDE 3.5.1 using info from an <br />
[http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=133865&highlight=3.5.1 Ubuntu forum article]. <br />
The condensed steps I performed were:<br />
<br />
Fetched and added package maintainer's key:<br />
<br />
wget http://people.ubuntu.com/~jriddell/kubuntu-packages-jriddell-key.gpg<br />
sudo apt-key add kubuntu-packages-jriddell-key.gpg<br />
<br />
Added the following line to my /etc/apt/sources.list to add the repository:<br />
<br />
deb http://kubuntu.org/packages/kde351 breezy main<br />
<br />
Upgraded everything:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get update<br />
sudo apt-get upgrade<br />
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade<br />
<br />
==Upgrade Kernel==<br />
<br />
I say "upgrade", but what I really mean is that I took a build of the same kernel<br />
version but built for i686 instead of i386. It may be slightly faster though I<br />
doubt I'll really know the difference. The only thing that really pushed me to<br />
do it was the availability of a packaged 56k modem driver for the i686 version<br />
of the kernel.<br />
<br />
To fetch and install the kernel I did:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get install linux-image-2.6.12-10-686<br />
<br />
Once that had been completed I rebooted to run the newly installed kernel. Note<br />
that the kernel that was replaced will still be listed in the grub bootloader <br />
menu so you can still get to that one too if needed.<br />
<br />
==Power Management==<br />
<br />
===Suspend To RAM===<br />
<br />
This seems to mostly work right from the default Ubuntu installation. I can hit Fn+F4<br />
on the keyboard and the machine will suspend to RAM. I can then wake it up by pressing<br />
the power button, or alternatively if the lid is closed then opening it resumes.<br />
<br />
I say that it mostly works for I've seen a couple of issues:<br />
<br />
* On one occasion it did not resume correctly, instead I was left with a blank screen.<br />
* On one other occasion the machine resumed correctly but then immediately shut down (using the normal shutdown procedure).<br />
* Sometimes the Fn+F4 button combination doesn't work and I have to use a software method instead (eg. from the KLaptop applet on the Kicker).<br />
<br />
There are also some other things I'd like to get working right with it:<br />
<br />
* When suspending to RAM using Fn+F4 the machine suspends, but when it resumes you are not prompted for any password it just lets you right in. If you suspend from software, eg. the KLaptop applet, then it does prompt you for password.<br />
* I would like the ThinkPad to suspend to RAM if I close the lid, but I haven't found a way to do that yet.<br />
<br />
===Suspend To Disk / Hibernate===<br />
<br />
With the default Ubuntu installation this didn't work. The suspend to disk seemed to<br />
work, but when I tried to resume it would leave me with a blank screen. <br />
<br />
The solution (workaround) to this has been to make some changes to the grub bootloader. I<br />
removed the kernel parameter "splash" from all the kernel lines in /boot/grub/menus.lst so<br />
changing them from lines like this:<br />
<br />
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.12-10-386 root=/dev/sda1 ro quiet splash<br />
<br />
to lines like this:<br />
<br />
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.12-10-386 root=/dev/sda1 ro quiet<br />
<br />
After editing that file I needed to reinstall the grub bootloader using the following<br />
command:<br />
<br />
sudo grub-install /dev/sda<br />
<br />
Once I'd done that resume from hibernate has worked fine for me. Like with suspend to RAM <br />
sometimes the Fn+F12 key combination doesn't work and you have to use the software method<br />
instead and also like with suspend to RAM using the Fn+F12 combination means that you <br />
don't get prompted for a password on resume.<br />
<br />
==Special Buttons & On Screen Display (OSD)==<br />
<br />
This model contains a few special buttons such as:<br />
<br />
* Volume Up & Volume Down<br />
* Mute<br />
* Access IBM<br />
<br />
By default the volume and mute button work fine, though there is no on screen feedback<br />
when you press them. The "Access IBM" button doesn't do anything by default.<br />
<br />
To enable configuration of the above buttons and enable on screen feedback I fistly<br />
ran the following command:<br />
<br />
sudo chmod 644 /dev/nvram<br />
<br />
With that done I brought up KDE's "Laptops & Power" section within System Settings <br />
and selected the "IBM Thinkpad Laptop" page. In there I selected the "Run Thinkpad<br />
Buttons KMilo plugin" and disabled the "Change volume in software" option. You can<br />
set a command for the "Thinkpad" button in there too. The other buttons don't exist<br />
on this laptop apart from the Fn+Zoom button which can also be set.<br />
<br />
Once that had been done I then had to go to the "KDE Components" section of System<br />
Settings and from the "Service Manager" page I was able to select KMilo, stop the<br />
service and start it again.<br />
<br />
After all that I could use the volume buttons etc as before but now with some<br />
on screen feedback and the commands I'd set for the Access IBM button etc worked.<br />
<br />
==DVD Video Playback==<br />
<br />
It took a bit of messing around to get this to work, so I'm not certain if all the steps<br />
here are required, but at least having done them all I seem to have a working setup. There<br />
are a few movie players already installed with the Kubuntu system and I messed around <br />
with some of them, the best success so far has been with Kaffeine which is what I'll<br />
detail here.<br />
<br />
I had to upgrade KDE to 3.5.1 in order to get this working (see above section on Kubuntu<br />
& KDE for steps).<br />
<br />
I installed the "regionset" package (available from APT if you have enabled the "universe"<br />
repository) and used that to set the region code in the DVD drive's firmware to region 2<br />
(I'm in the UK so that's what most of my DVDs are) by running:<br />
<br />
sudo regionset<br />
<br />
and answering the prompts.<br />
<br />
Note: You can only set the region code in the DVD drive firmware a number of times (5 I<br />
think) so take care.<br />
<br />
I installed the libdvdcss library for viewing DVDs in other regions. I fetched a Debian<br />
package containing libdvdcss and installed that:<br />
<br />
wget http://download.videolan.org/pub/libdvdcss/1.2.9/deb/libdvdcss2-dev_1.2.9-1_i386.deb<br />
sudo dpkg -i libdvdcss2-dev_1.2.9-1_i386.deb<br />
<br />
Now for Kaffeine. By default in Ubuntu Kaffeine uses GStreamer for the backend DVD playback<br />
but I didn't have any success with that. I installed the package kaffeine-xine to get the<br />
Xine backend and enabled it from within Kaffeine using the menu: <br />
Settings -> Player Engine -> Kaffeine (it doesn't actually say Xine, but it's the <br />
non-GStreamer one).<br />
<br />
Now I was able to insert a DVD and play it using Kaffeine.<br />
<br />
==Bluetooth==<br />
<br />
A fair amount of the bluetooth stuff works right out of the box. In KDE at least I<br />
get a popup if someone tries to send me a file via bluetooth etc.<br />
<br />
First thing I did was to set the bluetooth PIN so that other people can't pair<br />
with my machine using the default PIN (1234). The PIN is set in /etc/bluetooth/pin.<br />
I also changed the bluetooth name to something more friendly by editing the name<br />
line in /etc/bluetooth/hcid.conf.<br />
<br />
After setting those I restarted bluez by running:<br />
<br />
sudo /etc/init.d/bluez-utils restart<br />
<br />
Once I'd done that I was able to use my bluetooth phone to pair with my ThinkPad and was<br />
prompted for the PIN I'd just set.<br />
<br />
===Dialup===<br />
<br />
In order to get a GPRS connection via bluetooth to my mobile phone, the first<br />
thing I did was to edit /etc/bluetooth/rfcomm.conf in order to tell the ThinkPad<br />
about by phone. The file is short and there is a commented out example configuration<br />
in there so I just uncommented it and substituted in the relevant values for my<br />
phone. By running the following command I was able to find out the bluetooth <br />
address of my phone and the channel that DUN (Dialup Networking) was running on:<br />
<br />
sdptool search DUN<br />
<br />
Once I'd done that I restarted bluez again:<br />
<br />
sudo /etc/init.d/bluez-utils restart<br />
<br />
And now I had a new device called /dev/rfcomm0.<br />
<br />
Once I'd done all that I used the KDE app KPPP, listed as "Internet Dial-Up Tool" on<br />
the KDE menu, to create the connection to my phone/provider. This will of course be<br />
different depending on your phone and provider, but basically in KPPP I created a new<br />
modem with the device /dev/rfcomm0 and connection speed of 115200. I created a new<br />
account for my mobile provider (O2 in the UK) and set the phone number to *99# (I <br />
believe that several providers use this same number for GPRS access, but YMMV).<br />
<br />
There was one other change that I found I needed to make. To begin with I couldn't<br />
get it to complete the connection as it was requiring the remote end to authenticate<br />
which it seems it wasn't doing. I edited the file /etc/ppp/options and changed the<br />
line which said "auth" to "noauth" instead. I'm not really sure if it's a good idea<br />
or not, but it's the only way I've been able to make it work so far. <br />
<br />
With the above all done clicking "Connect" in KPPP now makes a succesful connection.<br />
<br />
==Build Environment==<br />
<br />
I needed some build tools in order to get the fingerprint reader working so I <br />
installed the following packages:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get install gcc libc-dev g++ make<br />
<br />
==Fingerprint Reader==<br />
<br />
Not all the R52 sub-models have a fingerprint reader it seems, but mine (sub-model <br />
1846AQG) has one.<br />
<br />
I fetched and installed bioapi system, which is packaged as a Debian unstable <br />
package, but it installed on Ubunut just fine:<br />
<br />
wget http://www.qrivy.net/~michael/temp/bioapi_1.2.3_i386.deb<br />
sudo dpkg -i bioapi_1.2.3_i386.deb<br />
<br />
It moaned about not being able to find /usr/lib/libqtpwbsp.so, but this seems not<br />
to be fatal.<br />
<br />
Next, I fetched and installed the UPEK driver for the fingerprint reader:<br />
<br />
wget http://www.upek.com/support/download/TFMESS_BSP_LIN_1.0.zip<br />
unzip TFMESS_BSP_LIN_1.0.zip<br />
chmod a+x install.sh<br />
sudo ./install.sh /usr/lib<br />
<br />
I now built the "sample" tool that comes with the UPEK driver. Firstly I changed<br />
to the directory containing that within where I'd unziped the UPEK driver:<br />
<br />
cd NonGUI_Sample<br />
<br />
And in there did the following:<br />
<br />
gcc -o sample main.c -lbioapi100 -DUNIX -DLITTLE_ENDIAN<br />
<br />
Note: For this to work I needed to have installed the development tools as <br />
mentioned in the previous section above.<br />
<br />
Now I could run the sample tool:<br />
<br />
sudo ./sample<br />
<br />
In the tool I pressed "e" to enroll a fingerprint (you should give the name<br />
for the fingerprint the same name as your user account, so in my case "matt").<br />
I then used "v" to verify the fingerprint and then I quit. Once you quit you<br />
should find that a .bir file has been created, in my case matt.bir.<br />
<br />
I now worked on integrating this with PAM. Firstly a number of steps to get<br />
the PAM bioapi system patched with fingerprint support and built:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get install libpam0g-dev<br />
wget http://www.qrivy.net/~michael/blua/pam_bioapi/pam_bioapi-latest.tar.bz2<br />
tar jxvf pam_bioapi-latest.tar.bz2<br />
cd pam_bioapi-*<br />
wget http://badcode.de/downloads/fingerprint.patch<br />
patch -p0 < fingerprint.patch<br />
./configure<br />
make<br />
sudo make install<br />
sudo cp /usr/local/lib/security/* /lib/security<br />
<br />
And then some steps to get my fingerprint to the right place:<br />
<br />
SERIAL=`BioAPITest | sed -ne "/Fingerprint/{n;n;s/^.*: \(.\{9\}\)\(.\{4\}\)\(.\{4\}\)\(.\{4\}\)\(.*\)/\1-\2-\3-\4-\5/gp}"`<br />
mkdir -p /etc/bioapi/pam/$SERIAL<br />
cp matt.bir /etc/bioapi/pam/$SERIAL<br />
<br />
Where "matt.bir" should obviously replaced with whatever the file is that you<br />
created with the sample tool above.<br />
<br />
The final step was to modify /etc/pam.d/common-auth to call the bioapi stuff. I<br />
edited mine so that it contained the following lines:<br />
<br />
auth sufficient pam_bioapi.so {5550454b-2054-464d-2f45-535320425350} /etc/bioapi/pam/<br />
password sufficient pam_bioapi.so {5550454b-2054-464d-2f45-535320425350} /etc/bioapi/pam/<br />
auth required pam_unix.so nullok_secure<br />
<br />
With all the above done it was time to reboot. On reboot the kdm login screen<br />
started and then I was able to do the following:<br />
<br />
# Enter username<br />
# Hit return in the password box as though a blank password<br />
# Now scan finger, multiple times if necessary, there is no visual feedback<br />
<br />
Once it read my finger it let me in.<br />
<br />
This seemed a little clunky to me though as there is no visual indication of <br />
what is going on and no way to enter a password instead if you can't scan your<br />
finger for whatever reason. So then I tried gdm instead of kdm and it does seem<br />
to have better support. In gdm, after you enter your username you get a GUI <br />
asking you to scan your finger, and if that fails 3 times then it prompts for<br />
password instead. Much better in my opinion so I've switched my default login<br />
screen to gdm for now.<br />
<br />
===SSH Logins===<br />
<br />
It's a bit annoying when using SSH to the machine from elsewhere that you have<br />
to go up to the machine and scan your fingerprint for it to let you login! So<br />
I modified /etc/pam.d/ssh to remove this line:<br />
<br />
@include common-auth<br />
<br />
and replaced it with the contents of my original common-auth file:<br />
<br />
auth required pam_unix.so nullok_secure<br />
<br />
===SUDO===<br />
<br />
I found that with the above fingerprint setup there were a few issues<br />
surrounding sudo functionality such as:<br />
<br />
* If I was logged in remotely via ssh and then ran something as sudo, it would expect me to scan my fingerprint.<br />
* Certain tools within KDE that used the "run as administrator" type modes would not behave right. Some would just hang when I tried to start them (perhaps waiting for a fingerprint scan? but scanning one didn't seem to help), others would work fine as long as I scanned my finger when it presented the password box.<br />
<br />
I found that by disabling fingerprint access to sudo the same as I did for ssh<br />
above made a lot of these issues go away. I modified /etc/pam.d/sudo and again<br />
removed the line:<br />
<br />
@include common-auth<br />
<br />
and replaced it with the contents of my original common-auth file:<br />
<br />
auth required pam_unix.so nullok_secure<br />
<br />
===Issues===<br />
<br />
* I have this working at the login screen, but if I lock the screen then I can only get back in using password.<br />
<br />
===References===<br />
<br />
* [http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/How_to_enable_the_fingerprint_reader ThinkWiki Fingerprint Reader Page]<br />
<br />
==Internal 56k Modem==<br />
<br />
The modem in this machine uses a Conexant chipset and unfortunately there don't seem to<br />
be any open source drivers that work with it. There is however a binary driver <br />
available from a company called Linuxant which can be downloaded and used for free<br />
though limited to 14.4k. Buying a license from the for $19.99 enables the modem to be<br />
used upto its full speed and is also required to access the fax capabilities of the<br />
modem.<br />
<br />
When I looked on Linuxant's site I found that there were Ubuntu packages available<br />
for the modem driver, but these required me to run an i686 build of the kernel instead<br />
of the i386 build I was currently using. Therefore I upgraded the kernel as described<br />
earlier in this article.<br />
<br />
Next I fetched and installed the Linuxant driver:<br />
<br />
wget http://www.linuxant.com/drivers/hsf/full/archive/hsfmodem-7.43.00.01full/hsfmodem_7.43.00.01full_k2.6.12_10_686_ubuntu_i386.deb.zip<br />
unzip hsfmodem_7.43.00.01full_k2.6.12_10_686_ubuntu_i386.deb.zip<br />
sudo dpkg -i hsfmodem_7.43.00.01full_k2.6.12_10_686_ubuntu_i386.deb<br />
<br />
You get prompted for a few things like your email address and your license key if<br />
you've purchased one (I just left it as the default of FREE to get the 14.4k <br />
functionality for now).<br />
<br />
With the driver installed I fired up KPPP to test it. The driver maps the modem<br />
as /dev/modem so it's a simple case of creating a modem in KPPP with all default<br />
settings. I created an account with the settings for my ISP dialup account and<br />
was able to connect fine (though 14.4k feels a bit slow these days!).<br />
<br />
===Fixing Suspend/Hibernate Issues===<br />
<br />
Unfortunately the Linuxant drivers prevent the ThinkPad from going into suspend<br />
or hibernate states. If you try it you will see that the machine starts to <br />
suspend, but never actually stops, and then returns back to fully functioning<br />
again (perhaps with a locked screen). I had to modify the suspend,hibernate <br />
and resume scripts in order to unload the Linuxant drivers when the machine is<br />
sleeping/hibernating and then reload them when the machine resumes.<br />
<br />
I edited /etc/acpi/sleep.sh and found this line:<br />
<br />
echo -n $ACPI_SLEEP_MODE >/sys/power/state<br />
<br />
Just '''before''' that line I added this line:<br />
<br />
/etc/init.d/hfs stop<br />
<br />
I edited /etc/acpi/hibernate.sh and found this line:<br />
<br />
echo -n $HIBERNATE_MODE >/sys/power/disk<br />
<br />
Just '''before''' that line I added the same line as I did in sleep.sh:<br />
<br />
/etc/init.d/hfs stop<br />
<br />
Finally, I edited /etc/acpi/resume.sh to reload the drivers on resume. I found<br />
this line at the end of the file:<br />
<br />
(sleep 5 && rm /var/lock/acpisleep)&<br />
<br />
Just '''before''' that line I added this line:<br />
<br />
/etc/init.d/hfs start<br />
<br />
Following these changes suspend & hibernate both worked again, resumed fine and<br />
I was then able to use the modem again following the resume.<br />
<br />
===Adding License===<br />
<br />
I decided to purchase the license from Linuxant to unlock the full features of<br />
the modem. The purchasing process on Linuxant's website requires you to enter<br />
the "Registration ID" of your modem (I guess generated from some serial number<br />
in the hardware or whatever) in order to generate the license key. The <br />
registration ID can be obtained by the following command:<br />
<br />
sudo hsfconfig --info<br />
<br />
Once I'd purchased the license key I was able to set that by doing:<br />
<br />
sudo hsfconfig --license<br />
<br />
and following the prompts.<br />
<br />
===Issues===<br />
<br />
* I haven't managed to get the fax functionality working yet.<br />
<br />
===References===<br />
<br />
* [http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Conexant_HSF_modem_drivers ThinkWiki Conexant Modem Page]<br />
* [http://www.linuxant.com/ Linuxant Website]</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/Installing_Linux_On_An_IBM/Lenovo_ThinkPad_R52Installing Linux On An IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad R522006-03-13T21:51:17Z<p>Matt: Special Buttons & On Screen Display (OSD)</p>
<hr />
<div>These are some notes from what I've discovered installing Linux, and in particular <br />
[http://www.ubuntu.com Ubuntu] 5.10 "Breezy", onto an <br />
[http://www5.pc.ibm.com/uk/products.nsf/$wwwPartNumLookup/_UN3AQUK?OpenDocument IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad R52].<br />
<br />
I can be contacted by email at [mailto:matt@mattmarsh.net matt@mattmarsh.net].<br />
<br />
==Pre-Installation Steps==<br />
<br />
These are a few things that I decided to do prior to installing Linux onto the <br />
notebook.<br />
<br />
===Created Rescue & Recovery Discs===<br />
<br />
In Windows there is a program to create the recovery discs:<br />
<br />
Start -> All Programs -> Access IBM -> Create Recovery Discs<br />
<br />
It prompts you to put blank/erasable discs in the drive; I used two DVDs though<br />
I now believe that the first disc may only need to be a CD rather than a DVD.<br />
<br />
After you've created one set of discs it wont let you create any more sets.<br />
<br />
===Created Rescue Media===<br />
<br />
There is another program for creating "Recovery Media" accessible from the<br />
start menu:<br />
<br />
Start -> All Programs -> Access IBM -> Create Rescue Media<br />
<br />
I believe this just creates the same thing as the first CD in the above step<br />
though so shouldn't be required.<br />
<br />
===Updated Firmware===<br />
<br />
I checked [http://www.lenovo.com Lenovo's website] to see if any of the firmware needed updating. I<br />
updated the BIOS (from version 1.18 to 1.22), everything else seemed to be<br />
up to date for me.<br />
<br />
I noticed that most of the firmware updates are available as bootable CD<br />
images and things so it shouldn't be a problem to update firmware in future<br />
even with no Windows on the machine.<br />
<br />
===Installed Additional Memory Module===<br />
<br />
I'd purchased an additional 512MB memory module from <br />
[http://www.crucial.com Crucial], so I put that<br />
in and checked that it was visible by the BIOS and Windows before installing<br />
Ubuntu.<br />
<br />
==Ubuntu Installation==<br />
<br />
I actually wanted a Kubuntu installation (using KDE rather than the default<br />
GNOME of Ubuntu), but I had an Ubuntu CD lying around so I decided to do<br />
that and add the Kubuntu bits afterwards. So I used a regular Ubuntu 5.10 <br />
"Breezy" installation CD and didn't use any special parameters at the boot<br />
prompt (I did try using "expert" mode first, but that just left me with all <br />
sorts of problems once it was installed, so I went back and installed it <br />
using the default installation mode).<br />
<br />
===Disk Partitioning===<br />
<br />
I used the manual patitioning mode when it got to that part of the<br />
installer. There were two partitions, one taking most of the disk for the<br />
main Windows installation and then a second partition of around 3GB for<br />
the IBM "Pre-Desktop Area" used for Windows recovery and so on. I deleted<br />
the main Windows partition and decided to leave the pre-desktop partition<br />
for now. I created one large partition of around 50GB to be the root <br />
filesystem (e3fs) and allocated the rest, approx 5GB, as a swap partition.<br />
<br />
===WiFi During Install===<br />
<br />
My home WiFi network uses WEP encryption in a "shared-key" system. I<br />
entered my WEP key etc in the installer but it failed to connect to my<br />
network. I found that I had to change my wireless access point from <br />
"shared-key" to "open" in order to get it to connect up. Once I had<br />
done that I was able to complete the install using WiFi just fine.<br />
<br />
===Fetching Updates===<br />
<br />
Once the Ubuntu installation was complete I made sure all the packages<br />
were up to date using APT from a terminal window:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get upgrade<br />
<br />
===Adding More Repositories===<br />
<br />
I modified /etc/apt/sources.list to uncomment the 'universe' repository<br />
there by giving me access to more software via APT. I uncommented the<br />
following lines:<br />
<br />
deb http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu breezy universe<br />
deb-src http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu breezy universe<br />
<br />
and following that I ran the following to update my package list with<br />
the newly available software:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get update<br />
<br />
===References===<br />
<br />
* [http://www.ubuntu.com/ Ubuntu]<br />
* [http://www.kubuntu.org/ Kubuntu]<br />
* [http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Category:Ubuntu ThinkWiki Ubuntu Page]<br />
* [http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Category:Kubuntu ThinkWiki Kubuntu Page]<br />
<br />
==Kubuntu & KDE==<br />
<br />
Now that I'd got a base Ubuntu system, I decided to install the KDE <br />
parts to get a Kubuntu system. This is done easily by fetching the<br />
kubuntu-desktop package:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop<br />
<br />
I think that during the installation of that package it prompted me<br />
to select whether to use the gdm (GNOME based) or kdm (KDE based)<br />
login screen. I opted for kdm (though I later changed to gdm as it<br />
seems to support the fingerprint scanner better, see later for <br />
details).<br />
<br />
===Upgrading KDE To 3.5.1===<br />
<br />
Breezy by default uses KDE 3.4.3, but I found that I needed to<br />
upgrade this in order to get DVD playback working (details to <br />
follow). So, I upgraded to KDE 3.5.1 using info from an <br />
[http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=133865&highlight=3.5.1 Ubuntu forum article]. <br />
The condensed steps I performed were:<br />
<br />
Fetched and added package maintainer's key:<br />
<br />
wget http://people.ubuntu.com/~jriddell/kubuntu-packages-jriddell-key.gpg<br />
sudo apt-key add kubuntu-packages-jriddell-key.gpg<br />
<br />
Added the following line to my /etc/apt/sources.list to add the repository:<br />
<br />
deb http://kubuntu.org/packages/kde351 breezy main<br />
<br />
Upgraded everything:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get update<br />
sudo apt-get upgrade<br />
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade<br />
<br />
==Upgrade Kernel==<br />
<br />
I say "upgrade", but what I really mean is that I took a build of the same kernel<br />
version but built for i686 instead of i386. It may be slightly faster though I<br />
doubt I'll really know the difference. The only thing that really pushed me to<br />
do it was the availability of a packaged 56k modem driver for the i686 version<br />
of the kernel.<br />
<br />
To fetch and install the kernel I did:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get install linux-image-2.6.12-10-686<br />
<br />
Once that had been completed I rebooted to run the newly installed kernel. Note<br />
that the kernel that was replaced will still be listed in the grub bootloader <br />
menu so you can still get to that one too if needed.<br />
<br />
==Power Management==<br />
<br />
===Suspend To RAM===<br />
<br />
This seems to mostly work right from the default Ubuntu installation. I can hit Fn+F4<br />
on the keyboard and the machine will suspend to RAM. I can then wake it up by pressing<br />
the power button, or alternatively if the lid is closed then opening it resumes.<br />
<br />
I say that it mostly works for I've seen a couple of issues:<br />
<br />
* On one occasion it did not resume correctly, instead I was left with a blank screen.<br />
* On one other occasion the machine resumed correctly but then immediately shut down (using the normal shutdown procedure).<br />
* Sometimes the Fn+F4 button combination doesn't work and I have to use a software method instead (eg. from the KLaptop applet on the Kicker).<br />
<br />
There are also some other things I'd like to get working right with it:<br />
<br />
* When suspending to RAM using Fn+F4 the machine suspends, but when it resumes you are not prompted for any password it just lets you right in. If you suspend from software, eg. the KLaptop applet, then it does prompt you for password.<br />
* I would like the ThinkPad to suspend to RAM if I close the lid, but I haven't found a way to do that yet.<br />
<br />
===Suspend To Disk / Hibernate===<br />
<br />
With the default Ubuntu installation this didn't work. The suspend to disk seemed to<br />
work, but when I tried to resume it would leave me with a blank screen. <br />
<br />
The solution (workaround) to this has been to make some changes to the grub bootloader. I<br />
removed the kernel parameter "splash" from all the kernel lines in /boot/grub/menus.lst so<br />
changing them from lines like this:<br />
<br />
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.12-10-386 root=/dev/sda1 ro quiet splash<br />
<br />
to lines like this:<br />
<br />
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.12-10-386 root=/dev/sda1 ro quiet<br />
<br />
After editing that file I needed to reinstall the grub bootloader using the following<br />
command:<br />
<br />
sudo grub-install /dev/sda<br />
<br />
Once I'd done that resume from hibernate has worked fine for me. Like with suspend to RAM <br />
sometimes the Fn+F12 key combination doesn't work and you have to use the software method<br />
instead and also like with suspend to RAM using the Fn+F12 combination means that you <br />
don't get prompted for a password on resume.<br />
<br />
==Special Buttons & On Screen Display (OSD)==<br />
<br />
This model contains a few special buttons such as:<br />
<br />
* Volume Up & Volume Down<br />
* Mute<br />
* Access IBM<br />
<br />
By default the volume and mute button work fine, though there is no on screen feedback<br />
when you press them. The "Access IBM" button doesn't do anything by default.<br />
<br />
To enable configuration of the above buttons and enable on screen feedback I fistly<br />
ran the following command:<br />
<br />
sudo chmod 644 /dev/nvram<br />
<br />
With that done I brought up KDE's "Laptops & Power" section within System Settings <br />
and selected the "IBM Thinkpad Laptop" page. In there I selected the "Run Thinkpad<br />
Buttons KMilo plugin" and disabled the "Change volume in software" option. You can<br />
set a command for the "Thinkpad" button in there too. The other buttons don't exist<br />
on this laptop apart from the Fn+Zoom button which can also be set.<br />
<br />
Once that had been done I then had to go to the "KDE Components" section of System<br />
Settings and from the "Service Manager" page I was able to select KMilo, stop the<br />
service and start it again.<br />
<br />
After all that I could use the volume buttons etc as before but now with some<br />
on screen feedback and the commands I'd set for the Access IBM button etc worked.<br />
<br />
==DVD Video Playback==<br />
<br />
It took a bit of messing around to get this to work, so I'm not certain if all the steps<br />
here are required, but at least having done them all I seem to have a working setup. There<br />
are a few movie players already installed with the Kubuntu system and I messed around <br />
with some of them, the best success so far has been with Kaffeine which is what I'll<br />
detail here.<br />
<br />
I had to upgrade KDE to 3.5.1 in order to get this working (see above section on Kubuntu<br />
& KDE for steps).<br />
<br />
I installed the "regionset" package (available from APT if you have enabled the "universe"<br />
repository) and used that to set the region code in the DVD drive's firmware to region 2<br />
(I'm in the UK so that's what most of my DVDs are) by running:<br />
<br />
sudo regionset<br />
<br />
and answering the prompts.<br />
<br />
Note: You can only set the region code in the DVD drive firmware a number of times (5 I<br />
think) so take care.<br />
<br />
I installed the libdvdcss library for viewing DVDs in other regions. I fetched a Debian<br />
package containing libdvdcss and installed that:<br />
<br />
wget http://download.videolan.org/pub/libdvdcss/1.2.9/deb/libdvdcss2-dev_1.2.9-1_i386.deb<br />
sudo dpkg -i libdvdcss2-dev_1.2.9-1_i386.deb<br />
<br />
Now for Kaffeine. By default in Ubuntu Kaffeine uses GStreamer for the backend DVD playback<br />
but I didn't have any success with that. I installed the package kaffeine-xine to get the<br />
Xine backend and enabled it from within Kaffeine using the menu: <br />
Settings -> Player Engine -> Kaffeine (it doesn't actually say Xine, but it's the <br />
non-GStreamer one).<br />
<br />
Now I was able to insert a DVD and play it using Kaffeine.<br />
<br />
==Bluetooth==<br />
<br />
A fair amount of the bluetooth stuff works right out of the box. In KDE at least I<br />
get a popup if someone tries to send me a file via bluetooth etc.<br />
<br />
First thing I did was to set the bluetooth PIN so that other people can't pair<br />
with my machine using the default PIN (1234). The PIN is set in /etc/bluetooth/pin.<br />
I also changed the bluetooth name to something more friendly by editing the name<br />
line in /etc/bluetooth/hcid.conf.<br />
<br />
After setting those I restarted bluez by running:<br />
<br />
sudo /etc/init.d/bluez-utils restart<br />
<br />
Once I'd done that I was able to use my bluetooth phone to pair with my ThinkPad and was<br />
prompted for the PIN I'd just set.<br />
<br />
===Dialup===<br />
<br />
In order to get a GPRS connection via bluetooth to my mobile phone, the first<br />
thing I did was to edit /etc/bluetooth/rfcomm.conf in order to tell the ThinkPad<br />
about by phone. The file is short and there is a commented out example configuration<br />
in there so I just uncommented it and substituted in the relevant values for my<br />
phone. By running the following command I was able to find out the bluetooth <br />
address of my phone and the channel that DUN (Dialup Networking) was running on:<br />
<br />
sdptool search DUN<br />
<br />
Once I'd done that I restarted bluez again:<br />
<br />
sudo /etc/init.d/bluez-utils restart<br />
<br />
And now I had a new device called /dev/rfcomm0.<br />
<br />
Once I'd done all that I used the KDE app KPPP, listed as "Internet Dial-Up Tool" on<br />
the KDE menu, to create the connection to my phone/provider. This will of course be<br />
different depending on your phone and provider, but basically in KPPP I created a new<br />
modem with the device /dev/rfcomm0 and connection speed of 115200. I created a new<br />
account for my mobile provider (O2 in the UK) and set the phone number to *99# (I <br />
believe that several providers use this same number for GPRS access, but YMMV).<br />
<br />
There was one other change that I found I needed to make. To begin with I couldn't<br />
get it to complete the connection as it was requiring the remote end to authenticate<br />
which it seems it wasn't doing. I edited the file /etc/ppp/options and changed the<br />
line which said "auth" to "noauth" instead. I'm not really sure if it's a good idea<br />
or not, but it's the only way I've been able to make it work so far. <br />
<br />
With the above all done clicking "Connect" in KPPP now makes a succesful connection.<br />
<br />
==Build Environment==<br />
<br />
I needed some build tools in order to get the fingerprint reader working so I <br />
installed the following packages:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get install gcc libc-dev g++ make<br />
<br />
==Fingerprint Reader==<br />
<br />
Not all the R52 sub-models have a fingerprint reader it seems, but mine (sub-model <br />
1846AQG) has one.<br />
<br />
I fetched and installed bioapi system, which is packaged as a Debian unstable <br />
package, but it installed on Ubunut just fine:<br />
<br />
wget http://www.qrivy.net/~michael/temp/bioapi_1.2.3_i386.deb<br />
sudo dpkg -i bioapi_1.2.3_i386.deb<br />
<br />
It moaned about not being able to find /usr/lib/libqtpwbsp.so, but this seems not<br />
to be fatal.<br />
<br />
Next, I fetched and installed the UPEK driver for the fingerprint reader:<br />
<br />
wget http://www.upek.com/support/download/TFMESS_BSP_LIN_1.0.zip<br />
unzip TFMESS_BSP_LIN_1.0.zip<br />
chmod a+x install.sh<br />
sudo ./install.sh /usr/lib<br />
<br />
I now built the "sample" tool that comes with the UPEK driver. Firstly I changed<br />
to the directory containing that within where I'd unziped the UPEK driver:<br />
<br />
cd NonGUI_Sample<br />
<br />
And in there did the following:<br />
<br />
gcc -o sample main.c -lbioapi100 -DUNIX -DLITTLE_ENDIAN<br />
<br />
Note: For this to work I needed to have installed the development tools as <br />
mentioned in the previous section above.<br />
<br />
Now I could run the sample tool:<br />
<br />
sudo ./sample<br />
<br />
In the tool I pressed "e" to enroll a fingerprint (you should give the name<br />
for the fingerprint the same name as your user account, so in my case "matt").<br />
I then used "v" to verify the fingerprint and then I quit. Once you quit you<br />
should find that a .bir file has been created, in my case matt.bir.<br />
<br />
I now worked on integrating this with PAM. Firstly a number of steps to get<br />
the PAM bioapi system patched with fingerprint support and built:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get install libpam0g-dev<br />
wget http://www.qrivy.net/~michael/blua/pam_bioapi/pam_bioapi-latest.tar.bz2<br />
tar jxvf pam_bioapi-latest.tar.bz2<br />
cd pam_bioapi-*<br />
wget http://badcode.de/downloads/fingerprint.patch<br />
patch -p0 < fingerprint.patch<br />
./configure<br />
make<br />
sudo make install<br />
sudo cp /usr/local/lib/security/* /lib/security<br />
<br />
And then some steps to get my fingerprint to the right place:<br />
<br />
SERIAL=`BioAPITest | sed -ne "/Fingerprint/{n;n;s/^.*: \(.\{9\}\)\(.\{4\}\)\(.\{4\}\)\(.\{4\}\)\(.*\)/\1-\2-\3-\4-\5/gp}"`<br />
mkdir -p /etc/bioapi/pam/$SERIAL<br />
cp matt.bir /etc/bioapi/pam/$SERIAL<br />
<br />
Where "matt.bir" should obviously replaced with whatever the file is that you<br />
created with the sample tool above.<br />
<br />
The final step was to modify /etc/pam.d/common-auth to call the bioapi stuff. I<br />
edited mine so that it contained the following lines:<br />
<br />
auth sufficient pam_bioapi.so {5550454b-2054-464d-2f45-535320425350} /etc/bioapi/pam/<br />
password sufficient pam_bioapi.so {5550454b-2054-464d-2f45-535320425350} /etc/bioapi/pam/<br />
auth required pam_unix.so nullok_secure<br />
<br />
With all the above done it was time to reboot. On reboot the kdm login screen<br />
started and then I was able to do the following:<br />
<br />
# Enter username<br />
# Hit return in the password box as though a blank password<br />
# Now scan finger, multiple times if necessary, there is no visual feedback<br />
<br />
Once it read my finger it let me in.<br />
<br />
This seemed a little clunky to me though as there is no visual indication of <br />
what is going on and no way to enter a password instead if you can't scan your<br />
finger for whatever reason. So then I tried gdm instead of kdm and it does seem<br />
to have better support. In gdm, after you enter your username you get a GUI <br />
asking you to scan your finger, and if that fails 3 times then it prompts for<br />
password instead. Much better in my opinion so I've switched my default login<br />
screen to gdm for now.<br />
<br />
===SSH Logins===<br />
<br />
It's a bit annoying when using SSH to the machine from elsewhere that you have<br />
to go up to the machine and scan your fingerprint for it to let you login! So<br />
I modified /etc/pam.d/ssh to remove this line:<br />
<br />
@include common-auth<br />
<br />
and replaced it with the contents of my original common-auth file:<br />
<br />
auth required pam_unix.so nullok_secure<br />
<br />
===SUDO===<br />
<br />
I found that with the above fingerprint setup there were a few issues<br />
surrounding sudo functionality such as:<br />
<br />
* If I was logged in remotely via ssh and then ran something as sudo, it would expect me to scan my fingerprint.<br />
* Certain tools within KDE that used the "run as administrator" type modes would not behave right. Some would just hang when I tried to start them (perhaps waiting for a fingerprint scan? but scanning one didn't seem to help), others would work fine as long as I scanned my finger when it presented the password box.<br />
<br />
I found that by disabling fingerprint access to sudo the same as I did for ssh<br />
above made a lot of these issues go away. I modified /etc/pam.d/sudo and again<br />
removed the line:<br />
<br />
@include common-auth<br />
<br />
and replaced it with the contents of my original common-auth file:<br />
<br />
auth required pam_unix.so nullok_secure<br />
<br />
===Issues===<br />
<br />
* I have this working at the login screen, but if I lock the screen then I can only get back in using password.<br />
<br />
===References===<br />
<br />
* [http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/How_to_enable_the_fingerprint_reader ThinkWiki Fingerprint Reader Page]<br />
<br />
==Internal 56k Modem==<br />
<br />
The modem in this machine uses a Conexant chipset and unfortunately there don't seem to<br />
be any open source drivers that work with it. There is however a binary driver <br />
available from a company called Linuxant which can be downloaded and used for free<br />
though limited to 14.4k. Buying a license from the for $19.99 enables the modem to be<br />
used upto its full speed and is also required to access the fax capabilities of the<br />
modem.<br />
<br />
When I looked on Linuxant's site I found that there were Ubuntu packages available<br />
for the modem driver, but these required me to run an i686 build of the kernel instead<br />
of the i386 build I was currently using. Therefore I upgraded the kernel as described<br />
earlier in this article.<br />
<br />
Next I fetched and installed the Linuxant driver:<br />
<br />
wget http://www.linuxant.com/drivers/hsf/full/archive/hsfmodem-7.43.00.01full/hsfmodem_7.43.00.01full_k2.6.12_10_686_ubuntu_i386.deb.zip<br />
unzip hsfmodem_7.43.00.01full_k2.6.12_10_686_ubuntu_i386.deb.zip<br />
sudo dpkg -i hsfmodem_7.43.00.01full_k2.6.12_10_686_ubuntu_i386.deb<br />
<br />
You get prompted for a few things like your email address and your license key if<br />
you've purchased one (I just left it as the default of FREE to get the 14.4k <br />
functionality for now).<br />
<br />
With the driver installed I fired up KPPP to test it. The driver maps the modem<br />
as /dev/modem so it's a simple case of creating a modem in KPPP with all default<br />
settings. I created an account with the settings for my ISP dialup account and<br />
was able to connect fine (though 14.4k feels a bit slow these days!).<br />
<br />
===Fixing Suspend/Hibernate Issues===<br />
<br />
Unfortunately the Linuxant drivers prevent the ThinkPad from going into suspend<br />
or hibernate states. If you try it you will see that the machine starts to <br />
suspend, but never actually stops, and then returns back to fully functioning<br />
again (perhaps with a locked screen). I had to modify the suspend,hibernate <br />
and resume scripts in order to unload the Linuxant drivers when the machine is<br />
sleeping/hibernating and then reload them when the machine resumes.<br />
<br />
I edited /etc/acpi/sleep.sh and found this line:<br />
<br />
echo -n $ACPI_SLEEP_MODE >/sys/power/state<br />
<br />
Just '''before''' that line I added this line:<br />
<br />
/etc/init.d/hfs stop<br />
<br />
I edited /etc/acpi/hibernate.sh and found this line:<br />
<br />
echo -n $HIBERNATE_MODE >/sys/power/disk<br />
<br />
Just '''before''' that line I added the same line as I did in sleep.sh:<br />
<br />
/etc/init.d/hfs stop<br />
<br />
Finally, I edited /etc/acpi/resume.sh to reload the drivers on resume. I found<br />
this line at the end of the file:<br />
<br />
(sleep 5 && rm /var/lock/acpisleep)&<br />
<br />
Just '''before''' that line I added this line:<br />
<br />
/etc/init.d/hfs start<br />
<br />
Following these changes suspend & hibernate both worked again, resumed fine and<br />
I was then able to use the modem again following the resume.<br />
<br />
===Adding License===<br />
<br />
I decided to purchase the license from Linuxant to unlock the full features of<br />
the modem. The purchasing process on Linuxant's website requires you to enter<br />
the "Registration ID" of your modem (I guess generated from some serial number<br />
in the hardware or whatever) in order to generate the license key. The <br />
registration ID can be obtained by the following command:<br />
<br />
sudo hsfconfig --info<br />
<br />
Once I'd purchased the license key I was able to set that by doing:<br />
<br />
sudo hsfconfig --license<br />
<br />
and following the prompts.<br />
<br />
===Issues===<br />
<br />
* I haven't managed to get the fax functionality working yet.<br />
<br />
===References===<br />
<br />
* [http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Conexant_HSF_modem_drivers ThinkWiki Conexant Modem Page]<br />
* [http://www.linuxant.com/ Linuxant Website]</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/Installing_Linux_On_An_IBM/Lenovo_ThinkPad_R52Installing Linux On An IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad R522006-03-11T21:04:54Z<p>Matt: /* Internal 56k Modem */ references</p>
<hr />
<div>These are some notes from what I've discovered installing Linux, and in particular <br />
[http://www.ubuntu.com Ubuntu] 5.10 "Breezy", onto an <br />
[http://www5.pc.ibm.com/uk/products.nsf/$wwwPartNumLookup/_UN3AQUK?OpenDocument IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad R52].<br />
<br />
I can be contacted by email at [mailto:matt@mattmarsh.net matt@mattmarsh.net].<br />
<br />
==Pre-Installation Steps==<br />
<br />
These are a few things that I decided to do prior to installing Linux onto the <br />
notebook.<br />
<br />
===Created Rescue & Recovery Discs===<br />
<br />
In Windows there is a program to create the recovery discs:<br />
<br />
Start -> All Programs -> Access IBM -> Create Recovery Discs<br />
<br />
It prompts you to put blank/erasable discs in the drive; I used two DVDs though<br />
I now believe that the first disc may only need to be a CD rather than a DVD.<br />
<br />
After you've created one set of discs it wont let you create any more sets.<br />
<br />
===Created Rescue Media===<br />
<br />
There is another program for creating "Recovery Media" accessible from the<br />
start menu:<br />
<br />
Start -> All Programs -> Access IBM -> Create Rescue Media<br />
<br />
I believe this just creates the same thing as the first CD in the above step<br />
though so shouldn't be required.<br />
<br />
===Updated Firmware===<br />
<br />
I checked [http://www.lenovo.com Lenovo's website] to see if any of the firmware needed updating. I<br />
updated the BIOS (from version 1.18 to 1.22), everything else seemed to be<br />
up to date for me.<br />
<br />
I noticed that most of the firmware updates are available as bootable CD<br />
images and things so it shouldn't be a problem to update firmware in future<br />
even with no Windows on the machine.<br />
<br />
===Installed Additional Memory Module===<br />
<br />
I'd purchased an additional 512MB memory module from <br />
[http://www.crucial.com Crucial], so I put that<br />
in and checked that it was visible by the BIOS and Windows before installing<br />
Ubuntu.<br />
<br />
==Ubuntu Installation==<br />
<br />
I actually wanted a Kubuntu installation (using KDE rather than the default<br />
GNOME of Ubuntu), but I had an Ubuntu CD lying around so I decided to do<br />
that and add the Kubuntu bits afterwards. So I used a regular Ubuntu 5.10 <br />
"Breezy" installation CD and didn't use any special parameters at the boot<br />
prompt (I did try using "expert" mode first, but that just left me with all <br />
sorts of problems once it was installed, so I went back and installed it <br />
using the default installation mode).<br />
<br />
===Disk Partitioning===<br />
<br />
I used the manual patitioning mode when it got to that part of the<br />
installer. There were two partitions, one taking most of the disk for the<br />
main Windows installation and then a second partition of around 3GB for<br />
the IBM "Pre-Desktop Area" used for Windows recovery and so on. I deleted<br />
the main Windows partition and decided to leave the pre-desktop partition<br />
for now. I created one large partition of around 50GB to be the root <br />
filesystem (e3fs) and allocated the rest, approx 5GB, as a swap partition.<br />
<br />
===WiFi During Install===<br />
<br />
My home WiFi network uses WEP encryption in a "shared-key" system. I<br />
entered my WEP key etc in the installer but it failed to connect to my<br />
network. I found that I had to change my wireless access point from <br />
"shared-key" to "open" in order to get it to connect up. Once I had<br />
done that I was able to complete the install using WiFi just fine.<br />
<br />
===Fetching Updates===<br />
<br />
Once the Ubuntu installation was complete I made sure all the packages<br />
were up to date using APT from a terminal window:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get upgrade<br />
<br />
===Adding More Repositories===<br />
<br />
I modified /etc/apt/sources.list to uncomment the 'universe' repository<br />
there by giving me access to more software via APT. I uncommented the<br />
following lines:<br />
<br />
deb http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu breezy universe<br />
deb-src http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu breezy universe<br />
<br />
and following that I ran the following to update my package list with<br />
the newly available software:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get update<br />
<br />
===References===<br />
<br />
* [http://www.ubuntu.com/ Ubuntu]<br />
* [http://www.kubuntu.org/ Kubuntu]<br />
* [http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Category:Ubuntu ThinkWiki Ubuntu Page]<br />
* [http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Category:Kubuntu ThinkWiki Kubuntu Page]<br />
<br />
==Kubuntu & KDE==<br />
<br />
Now that I'd got a base Ubuntu system, I decided to install the KDE <br />
parts to get a Kubuntu system. This is done easily by fetching the<br />
kubuntu-desktop package:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop<br />
<br />
I think that during the installation of that package it prompted me<br />
to select whether to use the gdm (GNOME based) or kdm (KDE based)<br />
login screen. I opted for kdm (though I later changed to gdm as it<br />
seems to support the fingerprint scanner better, see later for <br />
details).<br />
<br />
===Upgrading KDE To 3.5.1===<br />
<br />
Breezy by default uses KDE 3.4.3, but I found that I needed to<br />
upgrade this in order to get DVD playback working (details to <br />
follow). So, I upgraded to KDE 3.5.1 using info from an <br />
[http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=133865&highlight=3.5.1 Ubuntu forum article]. <br />
The condensed steps I performed were:<br />
<br />
Fetched and added package maintainer's key:<br />
<br />
wget http://people.ubuntu.com/~jriddell/kubuntu-packages-jriddell-key.gpg<br />
sudo apt-key add kubuntu-packages-jriddell-key.gpg<br />
<br />
Added the following line to my /etc/apt/sources.list to add the repository:<br />
<br />
deb http://kubuntu.org/packages/kde351 breezy main<br />
<br />
Upgraded everything:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get update<br />
sudo apt-get upgrade<br />
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade<br />
<br />
==Upgrade Kernel==<br />
<br />
I say "upgrade", but what I really mean is that I took a build of the same kernel<br />
version but built for i686 instead of i386. It may be slightly faster though I<br />
doubt I'll really know the difference. The only thing that really pushed me to<br />
do it was the availability of a packaged 56k modem driver for the i686 version<br />
of the kernel.<br />
<br />
To fetch and install the kernel I did:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get install linux-image-2.6.12-10-686<br />
<br />
Once that had been completed I rebooted to run the newly installed kernel. Note<br />
that the kernel that was replaced will still be listed in the grub bootloader <br />
menu so you can still get to that one too if needed.<br />
<br />
==Power Management==<br />
<br />
===Suspend To RAM===<br />
<br />
This seems to mostly work right from the default Ubuntu installation. I can hit Fn+F4<br />
on the keyboard and the machine will suspend to RAM. I can then wake it up by pressing<br />
the power button, or alternatively if the lid is closed then opening it resumes.<br />
<br />
I say that it mostly works for I've seen a couple of issues:<br />
<br />
* On one occasion it did not resume correctly, instead I was left with a blank screen.<br />
* On one other occasion the machine resumed correctly but then immediately shut down (using the normal shutdown procedure).<br />
* Sometimes the Fn+F4 button combination doesn't work and I have to use a software method instead (eg. from the KLaptop applet on the Kicker).<br />
<br />
There are also some other things I'd like to get working right with it:<br />
<br />
* When suspending to RAM using Fn+F4 the machine suspends, but when it resumes you are not prompted for any password it just lets you right in. If you suspend from software, eg. the KLaptop applet, then it does prompt you for password.<br />
* I would like the ThinkPad to suspend to RAM if I close the lid, but I haven't found a way to do that yet.<br />
<br />
===Suspend To Disk / Hibernate===<br />
<br />
With the default Ubuntu installation this didn't work. The suspend to disk seemed to<br />
work, but when I tried to resume it would leave me with a blank screen. <br />
<br />
The solution (workaround) to this has been to make some changes to the grub bootloader. I<br />
removed the kernel parameter "splash" from all the kernel lines in /boot/grub/menus.lst so<br />
changing them from lines like this:<br />
<br />
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.12-10-386 root=/dev/sda1 ro quiet splash<br />
<br />
to lines like this:<br />
<br />
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.12-10-386 root=/dev/sda1 ro quiet<br />
<br />
After editing that file I needed to reinstall the grub bootloader using the following<br />
command:<br />
<br />
sudo grub-install /dev/sda<br />
<br />
Once I'd done that resume from hibernate has worked fine for me. Like with suspend to RAM <br />
sometimes the Fn+F12 key combination doesn't work and you have to use the software method<br />
instead and also like with suspend to RAM using the Fn+F12 combination means that you <br />
don't get prompted for a password on resume.<br />
<br />
==DVD Video Playback==<br />
<br />
It took a bit of messing around to get this to work, so I'm not certain if all the steps<br />
here are required, but at least having done them all I seem to have a working setup. There<br />
are a few movie players already installed with the Kubuntu system and I messed around <br />
with some of them, the best success so far has been with Kaffeine which is what I'll<br />
detail here.<br />
<br />
I had to upgrade KDE to 3.5.1 in order to get this working (see above section on Kubuntu<br />
& KDE for steps).<br />
<br />
I installed the "regionset" package (available from APT if you have enabled the "universe"<br />
repository) and used that to set the region code in the DVD drive's firmware to region 2<br />
(I'm in the UK so that's what most of my DVDs are) by running:<br />
<br />
sudo regionset<br />
<br />
and answering the prompts.<br />
<br />
Note: You can only set the region code in the DVD drive firmware a number of times (5 I<br />
think) so take care.<br />
<br />
I installed the libdvdcss library for viewing DVDs in other regions. I fetched a Debian<br />
package containing libdvdcss and installed that:<br />
<br />
wget http://download.videolan.org/pub/libdvdcss/1.2.9/deb/libdvdcss2-dev_1.2.9-1_i386.deb<br />
sudo dpkg -i libdvdcss2-dev_1.2.9-1_i386.deb<br />
<br />
Now for Kaffeine. By default in Ubuntu Kaffeine uses GStreamer for the backend DVD playback<br />
but I didn't have any success with that. I installed the package kaffeine-xine to get the<br />
Xine backend and enabled it from within Kaffeine using the menu: <br />
Settings -> Player Engine -> Kaffeine (it doesn't actually say Xine, but it's the <br />
non-GStreamer one).<br />
<br />
Now I was able to insert a DVD and play it using Kaffeine.<br />
<br />
==Bluetooth==<br />
<br />
A fair amount of the bluetooth stuff works right out of the box. In KDE at least I<br />
get a popup if someone tries to send me a file via bluetooth etc.<br />
<br />
First thing I did was to set the bluetooth PIN so that other people can't pair<br />
with my machine using the default PIN (1234). The PIN is set in /etc/bluetooth/pin.<br />
I also changed the bluetooth name to something more friendly by editing the name<br />
line in /etc/bluetooth/hcid.conf.<br />
<br />
After setting those I restarted bluez by running:<br />
<br />
sudo /etc/init.d/bluez-utils restart<br />
<br />
Once I'd done that I was able to use my bluetooth phone to pair with my ThinkPad and was<br />
prompted for the PIN I'd just set.<br />
<br />
===Dialup===<br />
<br />
In order to get a GPRS connection via bluetooth to my mobile phone, the first<br />
thing I did was to edit /etc/bluetooth/rfcomm.conf in order to tell the ThinkPad<br />
about by phone. The file is short and there is a commented out example configuration<br />
in there so I just uncommented it and substituted in the relevant values for my<br />
phone. By running the following command I was able to find out the bluetooth <br />
address of my phone and the channel that DUN (Dialup Networking) was running on:<br />
<br />
sdptool search DUN<br />
<br />
Once I'd done that I restarted bluez again:<br />
<br />
sudo /etc/init.d/bluez-utils restart<br />
<br />
And now I had a new device called /dev/rfcomm0.<br />
<br />
Once I'd done all that I used the KDE app KPPP, listed as "Internet Dial-Up Tool" on<br />
the KDE menu, to create the connection to my phone/provider. This will of course be<br />
different depending on your phone and provider, but basically in KPPP I created a new<br />
modem with the device /dev/rfcomm0 and connection speed of 115200. I created a new<br />
account for my mobile provider (O2 in the UK) and set the phone number to *99# (I <br />
believe that several providers use this same number for GPRS access, but YMMV).<br />
<br />
There was one other change that I found I needed to make. To begin with I couldn't<br />
get it to complete the connection as it was requiring the remote end to authenticate<br />
which it seems it wasn't doing. I edited the file /etc/ppp/options and changed the<br />
line which said "auth" to "noauth" instead. I'm not really sure if it's a good idea<br />
or not, but it's the only way I've been able to make it work so far. <br />
<br />
With the above all done clicking "Connect" in KPPP now makes a succesful connection.<br />
<br />
==Build Environment==<br />
<br />
I needed some build tools in order to get the fingerprint reader working so I <br />
installed the following packages:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get install gcc libc-dev g++ make<br />
<br />
==Fingerprint Reader==<br />
<br />
Not all the R52 sub-models have a fingerprint reader it seems, but mine (sub-model <br />
1846AQG) has one.<br />
<br />
I fetched and installed bioapi system, which is packaged as a Debian unstable <br />
package, but it installed on Ubunut just fine:<br />
<br />
wget http://www.qrivy.net/~michael/temp/bioapi_1.2.3_i386.deb<br />
sudo dpkg -i bioapi_1.2.3_i386.deb<br />
<br />
It moaned about not being able to find /usr/lib/libqtpwbsp.so, but this seems not<br />
to be fatal.<br />
<br />
Next, I fetched and installed the UPEK driver for the fingerprint reader:<br />
<br />
wget http://www.upek.com/support/download/TFMESS_BSP_LIN_1.0.zip<br />
unzip TFMESS_BSP_LIN_1.0.zip<br />
chmod a+x install.sh<br />
sudo ./install.sh /usr/lib<br />
<br />
I now built the "sample" tool that comes with the UPEK driver. Firstly I changed<br />
to the directory containing that within where I'd unziped the UPEK driver:<br />
<br />
cd NonGUI_Sample<br />
<br />
And in there did the following:<br />
<br />
gcc -o sample main.c -lbioapi100 -DUNIX -DLITTLE_ENDIAN<br />
<br />
Note: For this to work I needed to have installed the development tools as <br />
mentioned in the previous section above.<br />
<br />
Now I could run the sample tool:<br />
<br />
sudo ./sample<br />
<br />
In the tool I pressed "e" to enroll a fingerprint (you should give the name<br />
for the fingerprint the same name as your user account, so in my case "matt").<br />
I then used "v" to verify the fingerprint and then I quit. Once you quit you<br />
should find that a .bir file has been created, in my case matt.bir.<br />
<br />
I now worked on integrating this with PAM. Firstly a number of steps to get<br />
the PAM bioapi system patched with fingerprint support and built:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get install libpam0g-dev<br />
wget http://www.qrivy.net/~michael/blua/pam_bioapi/pam_bioapi-latest.tar.bz2<br />
tar jxvf pam_bioapi-latest.tar.bz2<br />
cd pam_bioapi-*<br />
wget http://badcode.de/downloads/fingerprint.patch<br />
patch -p0 < fingerprint.patch<br />
./configure<br />
make<br />
sudo make install<br />
sudo cp /usr/local/lib/security/* /lib/security<br />
<br />
And then some steps to get my fingerprint to the right place:<br />
<br />
SERIAL=`BioAPITest | sed -ne "/Fingerprint/{n;n;s/^.*: \(.\{9\}\)\(.\{4\}\)\(.\{4\}\)\(.\{4\}\)\(.*\)/\1-\2-\3-\4-\5/gp}"`<br />
mkdir -p /etc/bioapi/pam/$SERIAL<br />
cp matt.bir /etc/bioapi/pam/$SERIAL<br />
<br />
Where "matt.bir" should obviously replaced with whatever the file is that you<br />
created with the sample tool above.<br />
<br />
The final step was to modify /etc/pam.d/common-auth to call the bioapi stuff. I<br />
edited mine so that it contained the following lines:<br />
<br />
auth sufficient pam_bioapi.so {5550454b-2054-464d-2f45-535320425350} /etc/bioapi/pam/<br />
password sufficient pam_bioapi.so {5550454b-2054-464d-2f45-535320425350} /etc/bioapi/pam/<br />
auth required pam_unix.so nullok_secure<br />
<br />
With all the above done it was time to reboot. On reboot the kdm login screen<br />
started and then I was able to do the following:<br />
<br />
# Enter username<br />
# Hit return in the password box as though a blank password<br />
# Now scan finger, multiple times if necessary, there is no visual feedback<br />
<br />
Once it read my finger it let me in.<br />
<br />
This seemed a little clunky to me though as there is no visual indication of <br />
what is going on and no way to enter a password instead if you can't scan your<br />
finger for whatever reason. So then I tried gdm instead of kdm and it does seem<br />
to have better support. In gdm, after you enter your username you get a GUI <br />
asking you to scan your finger, and if that fails 3 times then it prompts for<br />
password instead. Much better in my opinion so I've switched my default login<br />
screen to gdm for now.<br />
<br />
===SSH Logins===<br />
<br />
It's a bit annoying when using SSH to the machine from elsewhere that you have<br />
to go up to the machine and scan your fingerprint for it to let you login! So<br />
I modified /etc/pam.d/ssh to remove this line:<br />
<br />
@include common-auth<br />
<br />
and replaced it with the contents of my original common-auth file:<br />
<br />
auth required pam_unix.so nullok_secure<br />
<br />
===SUDO===<br />
<br />
I found that with the above fingerprint setup there were a few issues<br />
surrounding sudo functionality such as:<br />
<br />
* If I was logged in remotely via ssh and then ran something as sudo, it would expect me to scan my fingerprint.<br />
* Certain tools within KDE that used the "run as administrator" type modes would not behave right. Some would just hang when I tried to start them (perhaps waiting for a fingerprint scan? but scanning one didn't seem to help), others would work fine as long as I scanned my finger when it presented the password box.<br />
<br />
I found that by disabling fingerprint access to sudo the same as I did for ssh<br />
above made a lot of these issues go away. I modified /etc/pam.d/sudo and again<br />
removed the line:<br />
<br />
@include common-auth<br />
<br />
and replaced it with the contents of my original common-auth file:<br />
<br />
auth required pam_unix.so nullok_secure<br />
<br />
===Issues===<br />
<br />
* I have this working at the login screen, but if I lock the screen then I can only get back in using password.<br />
<br />
===References===<br />
<br />
* [http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/How_to_enable_the_fingerprint_reader ThinkWiki Fingerprint Reader Page]<br />
<br />
==Internal 56k Modem==<br />
<br />
The modem in this machine uses a Conexant chipset and unfortunately there don't seem to<br />
be any open source drivers that work with it. There is however a binary driver <br />
available from a company called Linuxant which can be downloaded and used for free<br />
though limited to 14.4k. Buying a license from the for $19.99 enables the modem to be<br />
used upto its full speed and is also required to access the fax capabilities of the<br />
modem.<br />
<br />
When I looked on Linuxant's site I found that there were Ubuntu packages available<br />
for the modem driver, but these required me to run an i686 build of the kernel instead<br />
of the i386 build I was currently using. Therefore I upgraded the kernel as described<br />
earlier in this article.<br />
<br />
Next I fetched and installed the Linuxant driver:<br />
<br />
wget http://www.linuxant.com/drivers/hsf/full/archive/hsfmodem-7.43.00.01full/hsfmodem_7.43.00.01full_k2.6.12_10_686_ubuntu_i386.deb.zip<br />
unzip hsfmodem_7.43.00.01full_k2.6.12_10_686_ubuntu_i386.deb.zip<br />
sudo dpkg -i hsfmodem_7.43.00.01full_k2.6.12_10_686_ubuntu_i386.deb<br />
<br />
You get prompted for a few things like your email address and your license key if<br />
you've purchased one (I just left it as the default of FREE to get the 14.4k <br />
functionality for now).<br />
<br />
With the driver installed I fired up KPPP to test it. The driver maps the modem<br />
as /dev/modem so it's a simple case of creating a modem in KPPP with all default<br />
settings. I created an account with the settings for my ISP dialup account and<br />
was able to connect fine (though 14.4k feels a bit slow these days!).<br />
<br />
===Fixing Suspend/Hibernate Issues===<br />
<br />
Unfortunately the Linuxant drivers prevent the ThinkPad from going into suspend<br />
or hibernate states. If you try it you will see that the machine starts to <br />
suspend, but never actually stops, and then returns back to fully functioning<br />
again (perhaps with a locked screen). I had to modify the suspend,hibernate <br />
and resume scripts in order to unload the Linuxant drivers when the machine is<br />
sleeping/hibernating and then reload them when the machine resumes.<br />
<br />
I edited /etc/acpi/sleep.sh and found this line:<br />
<br />
echo -n $ACPI_SLEEP_MODE >/sys/power/state<br />
<br />
Just '''before''' that line I added this line:<br />
<br />
/etc/init.d/hfs stop<br />
<br />
I edited /etc/acpi/hibernate.sh and found this line:<br />
<br />
echo -n $HIBERNATE_MODE >/sys/power/disk<br />
<br />
Just '''before''' that line I added the same line as I did in sleep.sh:<br />
<br />
/etc/init.d/hfs stop<br />
<br />
Finally, I edited /etc/acpi/resume.sh to reload the drivers on resume. I found<br />
this line at the end of the file:<br />
<br />
(sleep 5 && rm /var/lock/acpisleep)&<br />
<br />
Just '''before''' that line I added this line:<br />
<br />
/etc/init.d/hfs start<br />
<br />
Following these changes suspend & hibernate both worked again, resumed fine and<br />
I was then able to use the modem again following the resume.<br />
<br />
===Adding License===<br />
<br />
I decided to purchase the license from Linuxant to unlock the full features of<br />
the modem. The purchasing process on Linuxant's website requires you to enter<br />
the "Registration ID" of your modem (I guess generated from some serial number<br />
in the hardware or whatever) in order to generate the license key. The <br />
registration ID can be obtained by the following command:<br />
<br />
sudo hsfconfig --info<br />
<br />
Once I'd purchased the license key I was able to set that by doing:<br />
<br />
sudo hsfconfig --license<br />
<br />
and following the prompts.<br />
<br />
===Issues===<br />
<br />
* I haven't managed to get the fax functionality working yet.<br />
<br />
===References===<br />
<br />
* [http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Conexant_HSF_modem_drivers ThinkWiki Conexant Modem Page]<br />
* [http://www.linuxant.com/ Linuxant Website]</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/Installing_Linux_On_An_IBM/Lenovo_ThinkPad_R52Installing Linux On An IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad R522006-03-11T21:02:25Z<p>Matt: /* Fingerprint Reader */ references</p>
<hr />
<div>These are some notes from what I've discovered installing Linux, and in particular <br />
[http://www.ubuntu.com Ubuntu] 5.10 "Breezy", onto an <br />
[http://www5.pc.ibm.com/uk/products.nsf/$wwwPartNumLookup/_UN3AQUK?OpenDocument IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad R52].<br />
<br />
I can be contacted by email at [mailto:matt@mattmarsh.net matt@mattmarsh.net].<br />
<br />
==Pre-Installation Steps==<br />
<br />
These are a few things that I decided to do prior to installing Linux onto the <br />
notebook.<br />
<br />
===Created Rescue & Recovery Discs===<br />
<br />
In Windows there is a program to create the recovery discs:<br />
<br />
Start -> All Programs -> Access IBM -> Create Recovery Discs<br />
<br />
It prompts you to put blank/erasable discs in the drive; I used two DVDs though<br />
I now believe that the first disc may only need to be a CD rather than a DVD.<br />
<br />
After you've created one set of discs it wont let you create any more sets.<br />
<br />
===Created Rescue Media===<br />
<br />
There is another program for creating "Recovery Media" accessible from the<br />
start menu:<br />
<br />
Start -> All Programs -> Access IBM -> Create Rescue Media<br />
<br />
I believe this just creates the same thing as the first CD in the above step<br />
though so shouldn't be required.<br />
<br />
===Updated Firmware===<br />
<br />
I checked [http://www.lenovo.com Lenovo's website] to see if any of the firmware needed updating. I<br />
updated the BIOS (from version 1.18 to 1.22), everything else seemed to be<br />
up to date for me.<br />
<br />
I noticed that most of the firmware updates are available as bootable CD<br />
images and things so it shouldn't be a problem to update firmware in future<br />
even with no Windows on the machine.<br />
<br />
===Installed Additional Memory Module===<br />
<br />
I'd purchased an additional 512MB memory module from <br />
[http://www.crucial.com Crucial], so I put that<br />
in and checked that it was visible by the BIOS and Windows before installing<br />
Ubuntu.<br />
<br />
==Ubuntu Installation==<br />
<br />
I actually wanted a Kubuntu installation (using KDE rather than the default<br />
GNOME of Ubuntu), but I had an Ubuntu CD lying around so I decided to do<br />
that and add the Kubuntu bits afterwards. So I used a regular Ubuntu 5.10 <br />
"Breezy" installation CD and didn't use any special parameters at the boot<br />
prompt (I did try using "expert" mode first, but that just left me with all <br />
sorts of problems once it was installed, so I went back and installed it <br />
using the default installation mode).<br />
<br />
===Disk Partitioning===<br />
<br />
I used the manual patitioning mode when it got to that part of the<br />
installer. There were two partitions, one taking most of the disk for the<br />
main Windows installation and then a second partition of around 3GB for<br />
the IBM "Pre-Desktop Area" used for Windows recovery and so on. I deleted<br />
the main Windows partition and decided to leave the pre-desktop partition<br />
for now. I created one large partition of around 50GB to be the root <br />
filesystem (e3fs) and allocated the rest, approx 5GB, as a swap partition.<br />
<br />
===WiFi During Install===<br />
<br />
My home WiFi network uses WEP encryption in a "shared-key" system. I<br />
entered my WEP key etc in the installer but it failed to connect to my<br />
network. I found that I had to change my wireless access point from <br />
"shared-key" to "open" in order to get it to connect up. Once I had<br />
done that I was able to complete the install using WiFi just fine.<br />
<br />
===Fetching Updates===<br />
<br />
Once the Ubuntu installation was complete I made sure all the packages<br />
were up to date using APT from a terminal window:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get upgrade<br />
<br />
===Adding More Repositories===<br />
<br />
I modified /etc/apt/sources.list to uncomment the 'universe' repository<br />
there by giving me access to more software via APT. I uncommented the<br />
following lines:<br />
<br />
deb http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu breezy universe<br />
deb-src http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu breezy universe<br />
<br />
and following that I ran the following to update my package list with<br />
the newly available software:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get update<br />
<br />
===References===<br />
<br />
* [http://www.ubuntu.com/ Ubuntu]<br />
* [http://www.kubuntu.org/ Kubuntu]<br />
* [http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Category:Ubuntu ThinkWiki Ubuntu Page]<br />
* [http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Category:Kubuntu ThinkWiki Kubuntu Page]<br />
<br />
==Kubuntu & KDE==<br />
<br />
Now that I'd got a base Ubuntu system, I decided to install the KDE <br />
parts to get a Kubuntu system. This is done easily by fetching the<br />
kubuntu-desktop package:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop<br />
<br />
I think that during the installation of that package it prompted me<br />
to select whether to use the gdm (GNOME based) or kdm (KDE based)<br />
login screen. I opted for kdm (though I later changed to gdm as it<br />
seems to support the fingerprint scanner better, see later for <br />
details).<br />
<br />
===Upgrading KDE To 3.5.1===<br />
<br />
Breezy by default uses KDE 3.4.3, but I found that I needed to<br />
upgrade this in order to get DVD playback working (details to <br />
follow). So, I upgraded to KDE 3.5.1 using info from an <br />
[http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=133865&highlight=3.5.1 Ubuntu forum article]. <br />
The condensed steps I performed were:<br />
<br />
Fetched and added package maintainer's key:<br />
<br />
wget http://people.ubuntu.com/~jriddell/kubuntu-packages-jriddell-key.gpg<br />
sudo apt-key add kubuntu-packages-jriddell-key.gpg<br />
<br />
Added the following line to my /etc/apt/sources.list to add the repository:<br />
<br />
deb http://kubuntu.org/packages/kde351 breezy main<br />
<br />
Upgraded everything:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get update<br />
sudo apt-get upgrade<br />
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade<br />
<br />
==Upgrade Kernel==<br />
<br />
I say "upgrade", but what I really mean is that I took a build of the same kernel<br />
version but built for i686 instead of i386. It may be slightly faster though I<br />
doubt I'll really know the difference. The only thing that really pushed me to<br />
do it was the availability of a packaged 56k modem driver for the i686 version<br />
of the kernel.<br />
<br />
To fetch and install the kernel I did:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get install linux-image-2.6.12-10-686<br />
<br />
Once that had been completed I rebooted to run the newly installed kernel. Note<br />
that the kernel that was replaced will still be listed in the grub bootloader <br />
menu so you can still get to that one too if needed.<br />
<br />
==Power Management==<br />
<br />
===Suspend To RAM===<br />
<br />
This seems to mostly work right from the default Ubuntu installation. I can hit Fn+F4<br />
on the keyboard and the machine will suspend to RAM. I can then wake it up by pressing<br />
the power button, or alternatively if the lid is closed then opening it resumes.<br />
<br />
I say that it mostly works for I've seen a couple of issues:<br />
<br />
* On one occasion it did not resume correctly, instead I was left with a blank screen.<br />
* On one other occasion the machine resumed correctly but then immediately shut down (using the normal shutdown procedure).<br />
* Sometimes the Fn+F4 button combination doesn't work and I have to use a software method instead (eg. from the KLaptop applet on the Kicker).<br />
<br />
There are also some other things I'd like to get working right with it:<br />
<br />
* When suspending to RAM using Fn+F4 the machine suspends, but when it resumes you are not prompted for any password it just lets you right in. If you suspend from software, eg. the KLaptop applet, then it does prompt you for password.<br />
* I would like the ThinkPad to suspend to RAM if I close the lid, but I haven't found a way to do that yet.<br />
<br />
===Suspend To Disk / Hibernate===<br />
<br />
With the default Ubuntu installation this didn't work. The suspend to disk seemed to<br />
work, but when I tried to resume it would leave me with a blank screen. <br />
<br />
The solution (workaround) to this has been to make some changes to the grub bootloader. I<br />
removed the kernel parameter "splash" from all the kernel lines in /boot/grub/menus.lst so<br />
changing them from lines like this:<br />
<br />
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.12-10-386 root=/dev/sda1 ro quiet splash<br />
<br />
to lines like this:<br />
<br />
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.12-10-386 root=/dev/sda1 ro quiet<br />
<br />
After editing that file I needed to reinstall the grub bootloader using the following<br />
command:<br />
<br />
sudo grub-install /dev/sda<br />
<br />
Once I'd done that resume from hibernate has worked fine for me. Like with suspend to RAM <br />
sometimes the Fn+F12 key combination doesn't work and you have to use the software method<br />
instead and also like with suspend to RAM using the Fn+F12 combination means that you <br />
don't get prompted for a password on resume.<br />
<br />
==DVD Video Playback==<br />
<br />
It took a bit of messing around to get this to work, so I'm not certain if all the steps<br />
here are required, but at least having done them all I seem to have a working setup. There<br />
are a few movie players already installed with the Kubuntu system and I messed around <br />
with some of them, the best success so far has been with Kaffeine which is what I'll<br />
detail here.<br />
<br />
I had to upgrade KDE to 3.5.1 in order to get this working (see above section on Kubuntu<br />
& KDE for steps).<br />
<br />
I installed the "regionset" package (available from APT if you have enabled the "universe"<br />
repository) and used that to set the region code in the DVD drive's firmware to region 2<br />
(I'm in the UK so that's what most of my DVDs are) by running:<br />
<br />
sudo regionset<br />
<br />
and answering the prompts.<br />
<br />
Note: You can only set the region code in the DVD drive firmware a number of times (5 I<br />
think) so take care.<br />
<br />
I installed the libdvdcss library for viewing DVDs in other regions. I fetched a Debian<br />
package containing libdvdcss and installed that:<br />
<br />
wget http://download.videolan.org/pub/libdvdcss/1.2.9/deb/libdvdcss2-dev_1.2.9-1_i386.deb<br />
sudo dpkg -i libdvdcss2-dev_1.2.9-1_i386.deb<br />
<br />
Now for Kaffeine. By default in Ubuntu Kaffeine uses GStreamer for the backend DVD playback<br />
but I didn't have any success with that. I installed the package kaffeine-xine to get the<br />
Xine backend and enabled it from within Kaffeine using the menu: <br />
Settings -> Player Engine -> Kaffeine (it doesn't actually say Xine, but it's the <br />
non-GStreamer one).<br />
<br />
Now I was able to insert a DVD and play it using Kaffeine.<br />
<br />
==Bluetooth==<br />
<br />
A fair amount of the bluetooth stuff works right out of the box. In KDE at least I<br />
get a popup if someone tries to send me a file via bluetooth etc.<br />
<br />
First thing I did was to set the bluetooth PIN so that other people can't pair<br />
with my machine using the default PIN (1234). The PIN is set in /etc/bluetooth/pin.<br />
I also changed the bluetooth name to something more friendly by editing the name<br />
line in /etc/bluetooth/hcid.conf.<br />
<br />
After setting those I restarted bluez by running:<br />
<br />
sudo /etc/init.d/bluez-utils restart<br />
<br />
Once I'd done that I was able to use my bluetooth phone to pair with my ThinkPad and was<br />
prompted for the PIN I'd just set.<br />
<br />
===Dialup===<br />
<br />
In order to get a GPRS connection via bluetooth to my mobile phone, the first<br />
thing I did was to edit /etc/bluetooth/rfcomm.conf in order to tell the ThinkPad<br />
about by phone. The file is short and there is a commented out example configuration<br />
in there so I just uncommented it and substituted in the relevant values for my<br />
phone. By running the following command I was able to find out the bluetooth <br />
address of my phone and the channel that DUN (Dialup Networking) was running on:<br />
<br />
sdptool search DUN<br />
<br />
Once I'd done that I restarted bluez again:<br />
<br />
sudo /etc/init.d/bluez-utils restart<br />
<br />
And now I had a new device called /dev/rfcomm0.<br />
<br />
Once I'd done all that I used the KDE app KPPP, listed as "Internet Dial-Up Tool" on<br />
the KDE menu, to create the connection to my phone/provider. This will of course be<br />
different depending on your phone and provider, but basically in KPPP I created a new<br />
modem with the device /dev/rfcomm0 and connection speed of 115200. I created a new<br />
account for my mobile provider (O2 in the UK) and set the phone number to *99# (I <br />
believe that several providers use this same number for GPRS access, but YMMV).<br />
<br />
There was one other change that I found I needed to make. To begin with I couldn't<br />
get it to complete the connection as it was requiring the remote end to authenticate<br />
which it seems it wasn't doing. I edited the file /etc/ppp/options and changed the<br />
line which said "auth" to "noauth" instead. I'm not really sure if it's a good idea<br />
or not, but it's the only way I've been able to make it work so far. <br />
<br />
With the above all done clicking "Connect" in KPPP now makes a succesful connection.<br />
<br />
==Build Environment==<br />
<br />
I needed some build tools in order to get the fingerprint reader working so I <br />
installed the following packages:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get install gcc libc-dev g++ make<br />
<br />
==Fingerprint Reader==<br />
<br />
Not all the R52 sub-models have a fingerprint reader it seems, but mine (sub-model <br />
1846AQG) has one.<br />
<br />
I fetched and installed bioapi system, which is packaged as a Debian unstable <br />
package, but it installed on Ubunut just fine:<br />
<br />
wget http://www.qrivy.net/~michael/temp/bioapi_1.2.3_i386.deb<br />
sudo dpkg -i bioapi_1.2.3_i386.deb<br />
<br />
It moaned about not being able to find /usr/lib/libqtpwbsp.so, but this seems not<br />
to be fatal.<br />
<br />
Next, I fetched and installed the UPEK driver for the fingerprint reader:<br />
<br />
wget http://www.upek.com/support/download/TFMESS_BSP_LIN_1.0.zip<br />
unzip TFMESS_BSP_LIN_1.0.zip<br />
chmod a+x install.sh<br />
sudo ./install.sh /usr/lib<br />
<br />
I now built the "sample" tool that comes with the UPEK driver. Firstly I changed<br />
to the directory containing that within where I'd unziped the UPEK driver:<br />
<br />
cd NonGUI_Sample<br />
<br />
And in there did the following:<br />
<br />
gcc -o sample main.c -lbioapi100 -DUNIX -DLITTLE_ENDIAN<br />
<br />
Note: For this to work I needed to have installed the development tools as <br />
mentioned in the previous section above.<br />
<br />
Now I could run the sample tool:<br />
<br />
sudo ./sample<br />
<br />
In the tool I pressed "e" to enroll a fingerprint (you should give the name<br />
for the fingerprint the same name as your user account, so in my case "matt").<br />
I then used "v" to verify the fingerprint and then I quit. Once you quit you<br />
should find that a .bir file has been created, in my case matt.bir.<br />
<br />
I now worked on integrating this with PAM. Firstly a number of steps to get<br />
the PAM bioapi system patched with fingerprint support and built:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get install libpam0g-dev<br />
wget http://www.qrivy.net/~michael/blua/pam_bioapi/pam_bioapi-latest.tar.bz2<br />
tar jxvf pam_bioapi-latest.tar.bz2<br />
cd pam_bioapi-*<br />
wget http://badcode.de/downloads/fingerprint.patch<br />
patch -p0 < fingerprint.patch<br />
./configure<br />
make<br />
sudo make install<br />
sudo cp /usr/local/lib/security/* /lib/security<br />
<br />
And then some steps to get my fingerprint to the right place:<br />
<br />
SERIAL=`BioAPITest | sed -ne "/Fingerprint/{n;n;s/^.*: \(.\{9\}\)\(.\{4\}\)\(.\{4\}\)\(.\{4\}\)\(.*\)/\1-\2-\3-\4-\5/gp}"`<br />
mkdir -p /etc/bioapi/pam/$SERIAL<br />
cp matt.bir /etc/bioapi/pam/$SERIAL<br />
<br />
Where "matt.bir" should obviously replaced with whatever the file is that you<br />
created with the sample tool above.<br />
<br />
The final step was to modify /etc/pam.d/common-auth to call the bioapi stuff. I<br />
edited mine so that it contained the following lines:<br />
<br />
auth sufficient pam_bioapi.so {5550454b-2054-464d-2f45-535320425350} /etc/bioapi/pam/<br />
password sufficient pam_bioapi.so {5550454b-2054-464d-2f45-535320425350} /etc/bioapi/pam/<br />
auth required pam_unix.so nullok_secure<br />
<br />
With all the above done it was time to reboot. On reboot the kdm login screen<br />
started and then I was able to do the following:<br />
<br />
# Enter username<br />
# Hit return in the password box as though a blank password<br />
# Now scan finger, multiple times if necessary, there is no visual feedback<br />
<br />
Once it read my finger it let me in.<br />
<br />
This seemed a little clunky to me though as there is no visual indication of <br />
what is going on and no way to enter a password instead if you can't scan your<br />
finger for whatever reason. So then I tried gdm instead of kdm and it does seem<br />
to have better support. In gdm, after you enter your username you get a GUI <br />
asking you to scan your finger, and if that fails 3 times then it prompts for<br />
password instead. Much better in my opinion so I've switched my default login<br />
screen to gdm for now.<br />
<br />
===SSH Logins===<br />
<br />
It's a bit annoying when using SSH to the machine from elsewhere that you have<br />
to go up to the machine and scan your fingerprint for it to let you login! So<br />
I modified /etc/pam.d/ssh to remove this line:<br />
<br />
@include common-auth<br />
<br />
and replaced it with the contents of my original common-auth file:<br />
<br />
auth required pam_unix.so nullok_secure<br />
<br />
===SUDO===<br />
<br />
I found that with the above fingerprint setup there were a few issues<br />
surrounding sudo functionality such as:<br />
<br />
* If I was logged in remotely via ssh and then ran something as sudo, it would expect me to scan my fingerprint.<br />
* Certain tools within KDE that used the "run as administrator" type modes would not behave right. Some would just hang when I tried to start them (perhaps waiting for a fingerprint scan? but scanning one didn't seem to help), others would work fine as long as I scanned my finger when it presented the password box.<br />
<br />
I found that by disabling fingerprint access to sudo the same as I did for ssh<br />
above made a lot of these issues go away. I modified /etc/pam.d/sudo and again<br />
removed the line:<br />
<br />
@include common-auth<br />
<br />
and replaced it with the contents of my original common-auth file:<br />
<br />
auth required pam_unix.so nullok_secure<br />
<br />
===Issues===<br />
<br />
* I have this working at the login screen, but if I lock the screen then I can only get back in using password.<br />
<br />
===References===<br />
<br />
* [http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/How_to_enable_the_fingerprint_reader ThinkWiki Fingerprint Reader Page]<br />
<br />
==Internal 56k Modem==<br />
<br />
The modem in this machine uses a Conexant chipset and unfortunately there don't seem to<br />
be any open source drivers that work with it. There is however a binary driver <br />
available from a company called Linuxant which can be downloaded and used for free<br />
though limited to 14.4k. Buying a license from the for $19.99 enables the modem to be<br />
used upto its full speed and is also required to access the fax capabilities of the<br />
modem.<br />
<br />
When I looked on Linuxant's site I found that there were Ubuntu packages available<br />
for the modem driver, but these required me to run an i686 build of the kernel instead<br />
of the i386 build I was currently using. Therefore I upgraded the kernel as described<br />
earlier in this article.<br />
<br />
Next I fetched and installed the Linuxant driver:<br />
<br />
wget http://www.linuxant.com/drivers/hsf/full/archive/hsfmodem-7.43.00.01full/hsfmodem_7.43.00.01full_k2.6.12_10_686_ubuntu_i386.deb.zip<br />
unzip hsfmodem_7.43.00.01full_k2.6.12_10_686_ubuntu_i386.deb.zip<br />
sudo dpkg -i hsfmodem_7.43.00.01full_k2.6.12_10_686_ubuntu_i386.deb<br />
<br />
You get prompted for a few things like your email address and your license key if<br />
you've purchased one (I just left it as the default of FREE to get the 14.4k <br />
functionality for now).<br />
<br />
With the driver installed I fired up KPPP to test it. The driver maps the modem<br />
as /dev/modem so it's a simple case of creating a modem in KPPP with all default<br />
settings. I created an account with the settings for my ISP dialup account and<br />
was able to connect fine (though 14.4k feels a bit slow these days!).<br />
<br />
===Fixing Suspend/Hibernate Issues===<br />
<br />
Unfortunately the Linuxant drivers prevent the ThinkPad from going into suspend<br />
or hibernate states. If you try it you will see that the machine starts to <br />
suspend, but never actually stops, and then returns back to fully functioning<br />
again (perhaps with a locked screen). I had to modify the suspend,hibernate <br />
and resume scripts in order to unload the Linuxant drivers when the machine is<br />
sleeping/hibernating and then reload them when the machine resumes.<br />
<br />
I edited /etc/acpi/sleep.sh and found this line:<br />
<br />
echo -n $ACPI_SLEEP_MODE >/sys/power/state<br />
<br />
Just '''before''' that line I added this line:<br />
<br />
/etc/init.d/hfs stop<br />
<br />
I edited /etc/acpi/hibernate.sh and found this line:<br />
<br />
echo -n $HIBERNATE_MODE >/sys/power/disk<br />
<br />
Just '''before''' that line I added the same line as I did in sleep.sh:<br />
<br />
/etc/init.d/hfs stop<br />
<br />
Finally, I edited /etc/acpi/resume.sh to reload the drivers on resume. I found<br />
this line at the end of the file:<br />
<br />
(sleep 5 && rm /var/lock/acpisleep)&<br />
<br />
Just '''before''' that line I added this line:<br />
<br />
/etc/init.d/hfs start<br />
<br />
Following these changes suspend & hibernate both worked again, resumed fine and<br />
I was then able to use the modem again following the resume.<br />
<br />
===Adding License===<br />
<br />
I decided to purchase the license from Linuxant to unlock the full features of<br />
the modem. The purchasing process on Linuxant's website requires you to enter<br />
the "Registration ID" of your modem (I guess generated from some serial number<br />
in the hardware or whatever) in order to generate the license key. The <br />
registration ID can be obtained by the following command:<br />
<br />
sudo hsfconfig --info<br />
<br />
Once I'd purchased the license key I was able to set that by doing:<br />
<br />
sudo hsfconfig --license<br />
<br />
and following the prompts.<br />
<br />
===Issues===<br />
<br />
* I haven't managed to get the fax functionality working yet.</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/Installing_Linux_On_An_IBM/Lenovo_ThinkPad_R52Installing Linux On An IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad R522006-03-11T20:54:12Z<p>Matt: /* Internal 56k Modem */ faxing issues</p>
<hr />
<div>These are some notes from what I've discovered installing Linux, and in particular <br />
[http://www.ubuntu.com Ubuntu] 5.10 "Breezy", onto an <br />
[http://www5.pc.ibm.com/uk/products.nsf/$wwwPartNumLookup/_UN3AQUK?OpenDocument IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad R52].<br />
<br />
I can be contacted by email at [mailto:matt@mattmarsh.net matt@mattmarsh.net].<br />
<br />
==Pre-Installation Steps==<br />
<br />
These are a few things that I decided to do prior to installing Linux onto the <br />
notebook.<br />
<br />
===Created Rescue & Recovery Discs===<br />
<br />
In Windows there is a program to create the recovery discs:<br />
<br />
Start -> All Programs -> Access IBM -> Create Recovery Discs<br />
<br />
It prompts you to put blank/erasable discs in the drive; I used two DVDs though<br />
I now believe that the first disc may only need to be a CD rather than a DVD.<br />
<br />
After you've created one set of discs it wont let you create any more sets.<br />
<br />
===Created Rescue Media===<br />
<br />
There is another program for creating "Recovery Media" accessible from the<br />
start menu:<br />
<br />
Start -> All Programs -> Access IBM -> Create Rescue Media<br />
<br />
I believe this just creates the same thing as the first CD in the above step<br />
though so shouldn't be required.<br />
<br />
===Updated Firmware===<br />
<br />
I checked [http://www.lenovo.com Lenovo's website] to see if any of the firmware needed updating. I<br />
updated the BIOS (from version 1.18 to 1.22), everything else seemed to be<br />
up to date for me.<br />
<br />
I noticed that most of the firmware updates are available as bootable CD<br />
images and things so it shouldn't be a problem to update firmware in future<br />
even with no Windows on the machine.<br />
<br />
===Installed Additional Memory Module===<br />
<br />
I'd purchased an additional 512MB memory module from <br />
[http://www.crucial.com Crucial], so I put that<br />
in and checked that it was visible by the BIOS and Windows before installing<br />
Ubuntu.<br />
<br />
==Ubuntu Installation==<br />
<br />
I actually wanted a Kubuntu installation (using KDE rather than the default<br />
GNOME of Ubuntu), but I had an Ubuntu CD lying around so I decided to do<br />
that and add the Kubuntu bits afterwards. So I used a regular Ubuntu 5.10 <br />
"Breezy" installation CD and didn't use any special parameters at the boot<br />
prompt (I did try using "expert" mode first, but that just left me with all <br />
sorts of problems once it was installed, so I went back and installed it <br />
using the default installation mode).<br />
<br />
===Disk Partitioning===<br />
<br />
I used the manual patitioning mode when it got to that part of the<br />
installer. There were two partitions, one taking most of the disk for the<br />
main Windows installation and then a second partition of around 3GB for<br />
the IBM "Pre-Desktop Area" used for Windows recovery and so on. I deleted<br />
the main Windows partition and decided to leave the pre-desktop partition<br />
for now. I created one large partition of around 50GB to be the root <br />
filesystem (e3fs) and allocated the rest, approx 5GB, as a swap partition.<br />
<br />
===WiFi During Install===<br />
<br />
My home WiFi network uses WEP encryption in a "shared-key" system. I<br />
entered my WEP key etc in the installer but it failed to connect to my<br />
network. I found that I had to change my wireless access point from <br />
"shared-key" to "open" in order to get it to connect up. Once I had<br />
done that I was able to complete the install using WiFi just fine.<br />
<br />
===Fetching Updates===<br />
<br />
Once the Ubuntu installation was complete I made sure all the packages<br />
were up to date using APT from a terminal window:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get upgrade<br />
<br />
===Adding More Repositories===<br />
<br />
I modified /etc/apt/sources.list to uncomment the 'universe' repository<br />
there by giving me access to more software via APT. I uncommented the<br />
following lines:<br />
<br />
deb http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu breezy universe<br />
deb-src http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu breezy universe<br />
<br />
and following that I ran the following to update my package list with<br />
the newly available software:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get update<br />
<br />
===References===<br />
<br />
* [http://www.ubuntu.com/ Ubuntu]<br />
* [http://www.kubuntu.org/ Kubuntu]<br />
* [http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Category:Ubuntu ThinkWiki Ubuntu Page]<br />
* [http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Category:Kubuntu ThinkWiki Kubuntu Page]<br />
<br />
==Kubuntu & KDE==<br />
<br />
Now that I'd got a base Ubuntu system, I decided to install the KDE <br />
parts to get a Kubuntu system. This is done easily by fetching the<br />
kubuntu-desktop package:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop<br />
<br />
I think that during the installation of that package it prompted me<br />
to select whether to use the gdm (GNOME based) or kdm (KDE based)<br />
login screen. I opted for kdm (though I later changed to gdm as it<br />
seems to support the fingerprint scanner better, see later for <br />
details).<br />
<br />
===Upgrading KDE To 3.5.1===<br />
<br />
Breezy by default uses KDE 3.4.3, but I found that I needed to<br />
upgrade this in order to get DVD playback working (details to <br />
follow). So, I upgraded to KDE 3.5.1 using info from an <br />
[http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=133865&highlight=3.5.1 Ubuntu forum article]. <br />
The condensed steps I performed were:<br />
<br />
Fetched and added package maintainer's key:<br />
<br />
wget http://people.ubuntu.com/~jriddell/kubuntu-packages-jriddell-key.gpg<br />
sudo apt-key add kubuntu-packages-jriddell-key.gpg<br />
<br />
Added the following line to my /etc/apt/sources.list to add the repository:<br />
<br />
deb http://kubuntu.org/packages/kde351 breezy main<br />
<br />
Upgraded everything:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get update<br />
sudo apt-get upgrade<br />
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade<br />
<br />
==Upgrade Kernel==<br />
<br />
I say "upgrade", but what I really mean is that I took a build of the same kernel<br />
version but built for i686 instead of i386. It may be slightly faster though I<br />
doubt I'll really know the difference. The only thing that really pushed me to<br />
do it was the availability of a packaged 56k modem driver for the i686 version<br />
of the kernel.<br />
<br />
To fetch and install the kernel I did:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get install linux-image-2.6.12-10-686<br />
<br />
Once that had been completed I rebooted to run the newly installed kernel. Note<br />
that the kernel that was replaced will still be listed in the grub bootloader <br />
menu so you can still get to that one too if needed.<br />
<br />
==Power Management==<br />
<br />
===Suspend To RAM===<br />
<br />
This seems to mostly work right from the default Ubuntu installation. I can hit Fn+F4<br />
on the keyboard and the machine will suspend to RAM. I can then wake it up by pressing<br />
the power button, or alternatively if the lid is closed then opening it resumes.<br />
<br />
I say that it mostly works for I've seen a couple of issues:<br />
<br />
* On one occasion it did not resume correctly, instead I was left with a blank screen.<br />
* On one other occasion the machine resumed correctly but then immediately shut down (using the normal shutdown procedure).<br />
* Sometimes the Fn+F4 button combination doesn't work and I have to use a software method instead (eg. from the KLaptop applet on the Kicker).<br />
<br />
There are also some other things I'd like to get working right with it:<br />
<br />
* When suspending to RAM using Fn+F4 the machine suspends, but when it resumes you are not prompted for any password it just lets you right in. If you suspend from software, eg. the KLaptop applet, then it does prompt you for password.<br />
* I would like the ThinkPad to suspend to RAM if I close the lid, but I haven't found a way to do that yet.<br />
<br />
===Suspend To Disk / Hibernate===<br />
<br />
With the default Ubuntu installation this didn't work. The suspend to disk seemed to<br />
work, but when I tried to resume it would leave me with a blank screen. <br />
<br />
The solution (workaround) to this has been to make some changes to the grub bootloader. I<br />
removed the kernel parameter "splash" from all the kernel lines in /boot/grub/menus.lst so<br />
changing them from lines like this:<br />
<br />
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.12-10-386 root=/dev/sda1 ro quiet splash<br />
<br />
to lines like this:<br />
<br />
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.12-10-386 root=/dev/sda1 ro quiet<br />
<br />
After editing that file I needed to reinstall the grub bootloader using the following<br />
command:<br />
<br />
sudo grub-install /dev/sda<br />
<br />
Once I'd done that resume from hibernate has worked fine for me. Like with suspend to RAM <br />
sometimes the Fn+F12 key combination doesn't work and you have to use the software method<br />
instead and also like with suspend to RAM using the Fn+F12 combination means that you <br />
don't get prompted for a password on resume.<br />
<br />
==DVD Video Playback==<br />
<br />
It took a bit of messing around to get this to work, so I'm not certain if all the steps<br />
here are required, but at least having done them all I seem to have a working setup. There<br />
are a few movie players already installed with the Kubuntu system and I messed around <br />
with some of them, the best success so far has been with Kaffeine which is what I'll<br />
detail here.<br />
<br />
I had to upgrade KDE to 3.5.1 in order to get this working (see above section on Kubuntu<br />
& KDE for steps).<br />
<br />
I installed the "regionset" package (available from APT if you have enabled the "universe"<br />
repository) and used that to set the region code in the DVD drive's firmware to region 2<br />
(I'm in the UK so that's what most of my DVDs are) by running:<br />
<br />
sudo regionset<br />
<br />
and answering the prompts.<br />
<br />
Note: You can only set the region code in the DVD drive firmware a number of times (5 I<br />
think) so take care.<br />
<br />
I installed the libdvdcss library for viewing DVDs in other regions. I fetched a Debian<br />
package containing libdvdcss and installed that:<br />
<br />
wget http://download.videolan.org/pub/libdvdcss/1.2.9/deb/libdvdcss2-dev_1.2.9-1_i386.deb<br />
sudo dpkg -i libdvdcss2-dev_1.2.9-1_i386.deb<br />
<br />
Now for Kaffeine. By default in Ubuntu Kaffeine uses GStreamer for the backend DVD playback<br />
but I didn't have any success with that. I installed the package kaffeine-xine to get the<br />
Xine backend and enabled it from within Kaffeine using the menu: <br />
Settings -> Player Engine -> Kaffeine (it doesn't actually say Xine, but it's the <br />
non-GStreamer one).<br />
<br />
Now I was able to insert a DVD and play it using Kaffeine.<br />
<br />
==Bluetooth==<br />
<br />
A fair amount of the bluetooth stuff works right out of the box. In KDE at least I<br />
get a popup if someone tries to send me a file via bluetooth etc.<br />
<br />
First thing I did was to set the bluetooth PIN so that other people can't pair<br />
with my machine using the default PIN (1234). The PIN is set in /etc/bluetooth/pin.<br />
I also changed the bluetooth name to something more friendly by editing the name<br />
line in /etc/bluetooth/hcid.conf.<br />
<br />
After setting those I restarted bluez by running:<br />
<br />
sudo /etc/init.d/bluez-utils restart<br />
<br />
Once I'd done that I was able to use my bluetooth phone to pair with my ThinkPad and was<br />
prompted for the PIN I'd just set.<br />
<br />
===Dialup===<br />
<br />
In order to get a GPRS connection via bluetooth to my mobile phone, the first<br />
thing I did was to edit /etc/bluetooth/rfcomm.conf in order to tell the ThinkPad<br />
about by phone. The file is short and there is a commented out example configuration<br />
in there so I just uncommented it and substituted in the relevant values for my<br />
phone. By running the following command I was able to find out the bluetooth <br />
address of my phone and the channel that DUN (Dialup Networking) was running on:<br />
<br />
sdptool search DUN<br />
<br />
Once I'd done that I restarted bluez again:<br />
<br />
sudo /etc/init.d/bluez-utils restart<br />
<br />
And now I had a new device called /dev/rfcomm0.<br />
<br />
Once I'd done all that I used the KDE app KPPP, listed as "Internet Dial-Up Tool" on<br />
the KDE menu, to create the connection to my phone/provider. This will of course be<br />
different depending on your phone and provider, but basically in KPPP I created a new<br />
modem with the device /dev/rfcomm0 and connection speed of 115200. I created a new<br />
account for my mobile provider (O2 in the UK) and set the phone number to *99# (I <br />
believe that several providers use this same number for GPRS access, but YMMV).<br />
<br />
There was one other change that I found I needed to make. To begin with I couldn't<br />
get it to complete the connection as it was requiring the remote end to authenticate<br />
which it seems it wasn't doing. I edited the file /etc/ppp/options and changed the<br />
line which said "auth" to "noauth" instead. I'm not really sure if it's a good idea<br />
or not, but it's the only way I've been able to make it work so far. <br />
<br />
With the above all done clicking "Connect" in KPPP now makes a succesful connection.<br />
<br />
==Build Environment==<br />
<br />
I needed some build tools in order to get the fingerprint reader working so I <br />
installed the following packages:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get install gcc libc-dev g++ make<br />
<br />
==Fingerprint Reader==<br />
<br />
Not all the R52 sub-models have a fingerprint reader it seems, but mine (sub-model <br />
1846AQG) has one.<br />
<br />
I fetched and installed bioapi system, which is packaged as a Debian unstable <br />
package, but it installed on Ubunut just fine:<br />
<br />
wget http://www.qrivy.net/~michael/temp/bioapi_1.2.3_i386.deb<br />
sudo dpkg -i bioapi_1.2.3_i386.deb<br />
<br />
It moaned about not being able to find /usr/lib/libqtpwbsp.so, but this seems not<br />
to be fatal.<br />
<br />
Next, I fetched and installed the UPEK driver for the fingerprint reader:<br />
<br />
wget http://www.upek.com/support/download/TFMESS_BSP_LIN_1.0.zip<br />
unzip TFMESS_BSP_LIN_1.0.zip<br />
chmod a+x install.sh<br />
sudo ./install.sh /usr/lib<br />
<br />
I now built the "sample" tool that comes with the UPEK driver. Firstly I changed<br />
to the directory containing that within where I'd unziped the UPEK driver:<br />
<br />
cd NonGUI_Sample<br />
<br />
And in there did the following:<br />
<br />
gcc -o sample main.c -lbioapi100 -DUNIX -DLITTLE_ENDIAN<br />
<br />
Note: For this to work I needed to have installed the development tools as <br />
mentioned in the previous section above.<br />
<br />
Now I could run the sample tool:<br />
<br />
sudo ./sample<br />
<br />
In the tool I pressed "e" to enroll a fingerprint (you should give the name<br />
for the fingerprint the same name as your user account, so in my case "matt").<br />
I then used "v" to verify the fingerprint and then I quit. Once you quit you<br />
should find that a .bir file has been created, in my case matt.bir.<br />
<br />
I now worked on integrating this with PAM. Firstly a number of steps to get<br />
the PAM bioapi system patched with fingerprint support and built:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get install libpam0g-dev<br />
wget http://www.qrivy.net/~michael/blua/pam_bioapi/pam_bioapi-latest.tar.bz2<br />
tar jxvf pam_bioapi-latest.tar.bz2<br />
cd pam_bioapi-*<br />
wget http://badcode.de/downloads/fingerprint.patch<br />
patch -p0 < fingerprint.patch<br />
./configure<br />
make<br />
sudo make install<br />
sudo cp /usr/local/lib/security/* /lib/security<br />
<br />
And then some steps to get my fingerprint to the right place:<br />
<br />
SERIAL=`BioAPITest | sed -ne "/Fingerprint/{n;n;s/^.*: \(.\{9\}\)\(.\{4\}\)\(.\{4\}\)\(.\{4\}\)\(.*\)/\1-\2-\3-\4-\5/gp}"`<br />
mkdir -p /etc/bioapi/pam/$SERIAL<br />
cp matt.bir /etc/bioapi/pam/$SERIAL<br />
<br />
Where "matt.bir" should obviously replaced with whatever the file is that you<br />
created with the sample tool above.<br />
<br />
The final step was to modify /etc/pam.d/common-auth to call the bioapi stuff. I<br />
edited mine so that it contained the following lines:<br />
<br />
auth sufficient pam_bioapi.so {5550454b-2054-464d-2f45-535320425350} /etc/bioapi/pam/<br />
password sufficient pam_bioapi.so {5550454b-2054-464d-2f45-535320425350} /etc/bioapi/pam/<br />
auth required pam_unix.so nullok_secure<br />
<br />
With all the above done it was time to reboot. On reboot the kdm login screen<br />
started and then I was able to do the following:<br />
<br />
# Enter username<br />
# Hit return in the password box as though a blank password<br />
# Now scan finger, multiple times if necessary, there is no visual feedback<br />
<br />
Once it read my finger it let me in.<br />
<br />
This seemed a little clunky to me though as there is no visual indication of <br />
what is going on and no way to enter a password instead if you can't scan your<br />
finger for whatever reason. So then I tried gdm instead of kdm and it does seem<br />
to have better support. In gdm, after you enter your username you get a GUI <br />
asking you to scan your finger, and if that fails 3 times then it prompts for<br />
password instead. Much better in my opinion so I've switched my default login<br />
screen to gdm for now.<br />
<br />
===SSH Logins===<br />
<br />
It's a bit annoying when using SSH to the machine from elsewhere that you have<br />
to go up to the machine and scan your fingerprint for it to let you login! So<br />
I modified /etc/pam.d/ssh to remove this line:<br />
<br />
@include common-auth<br />
<br />
and replaced it with the contents of my original common-auth file:<br />
<br />
auth required pam_unix.so nullok_secure<br />
<br />
===SUDO===<br />
<br />
I found that with the above fingerprint setup there were a few issues<br />
surrounding sudo functionality such as:<br />
<br />
* If I was logged in remotely via ssh and then ran something as sudo, it would expect me to scan my fingerprint.<br />
* Certain tools within KDE that used the "run as administrator" type modes would not behave right. Some would just hang when I tried to start them (perhaps waiting for a fingerprint scan? but scanning one didn't seem to help), others would work fine as long as I scanned my finger when it presented the password box.<br />
<br />
I found that by disabling fingerprint access to sudo the same as I did for ssh<br />
above made a lot of these issues go away. I modified /etc/pam.d/sudo and again<br />
removed the line:<br />
<br />
@include common-auth<br />
<br />
and replaced it with the contents of my original common-auth file:<br />
<br />
auth required pam_unix.so nullok_secure<br />
<br />
===Issues===<br />
<br />
* I have this working at the login screen, but if I lock the screen then I can only get back in using password.<br />
<br />
==Internal 56k Modem==<br />
<br />
The modem in this machine uses a Conexant chipset and unfortunately there don't seem to<br />
be any open source drivers that work with it. There is however a binary driver <br />
available from a company called Linuxant which can be downloaded and used for free<br />
though limited to 14.4k. Buying a license from the for $19.99 enables the modem to be<br />
used upto its full speed and is also required to access the fax capabilities of the<br />
modem.<br />
<br />
When I looked on Linuxant's site I found that there were Ubuntu packages available<br />
for the modem driver, but these required me to run an i686 build of the kernel instead<br />
of the i386 build I was currently using. Therefore I upgraded the kernel as described<br />
earlier in this article.<br />
<br />
Next I fetched and installed the Linuxant driver:<br />
<br />
wget http://www.linuxant.com/drivers/hsf/full/archive/hsfmodem-7.43.00.01full/hsfmodem_7.43.00.01full_k2.6.12_10_686_ubuntu_i386.deb.zip<br />
unzip hsfmodem_7.43.00.01full_k2.6.12_10_686_ubuntu_i386.deb.zip<br />
sudo dpkg -i hsfmodem_7.43.00.01full_k2.6.12_10_686_ubuntu_i386.deb<br />
<br />
You get prompted for a few things like your email address and your license key if<br />
you've purchased one (I just left it as the default of FREE to get the 14.4k <br />
functionality for now).<br />
<br />
With the driver installed I fired up KPPP to test it. The driver maps the modem<br />
as /dev/modem so it's a simple case of creating a modem in KPPP with all default<br />
settings. I created an account with the settings for my ISP dialup account and<br />
was able to connect fine (though 14.4k feels a bit slow these days!).<br />
<br />
===Fixing Suspend/Hibernate Issues===<br />
<br />
Unfortunately the Linuxant drivers prevent the ThinkPad from going into suspend<br />
or hibernate states. If you try it you will see that the machine starts to <br />
suspend, but never actually stops, and then returns back to fully functioning<br />
again (perhaps with a locked screen). I had to modify the suspend,hibernate <br />
and resume scripts in order to unload the Linuxant drivers when the machine is<br />
sleeping/hibernating and then reload them when the machine resumes.<br />
<br />
I edited /etc/acpi/sleep.sh and found this line:<br />
<br />
echo -n $ACPI_SLEEP_MODE >/sys/power/state<br />
<br />
Just '''before''' that line I added this line:<br />
<br />
/etc/init.d/hfs stop<br />
<br />
I edited /etc/acpi/hibernate.sh and found this line:<br />
<br />
echo -n $HIBERNATE_MODE >/sys/power/disk<br />
<br />
Just '''before''' that line I added the same line as I did in sleep.sh:<br />
<br />
/etc/init.d/hfs stop<br />
<br />
Finally, I edited /etc/acpi/resume.sh to reload the drivers on resume. I found<br />
this line at the end of the file:<br />
<br />
(sleep 5 && rm /var/lock/acpisleep)&<br />
<br />
Just '''before''' that line I added this line:<br />
<br />
/etc/init.d/hfs start<br />
<br />
Following these changes suspend & hibernate both worked again, resumed fine and<br />
I was then able to use the modem again following the resume.<br />
<br />
===Adding License===<br />
<br />
I decided to purchase the license from Linuxant to unlock the full features of<br />
the modem. The purchasing process on Linuxant's website requires you to enter<br />
the "Registration ID" of your modem (I guess generated from some serial number<br />
in the hardware or whatever) in order to generate the license key. The <br />
registration ID can be obtained by the following command:<br />
<br />
sudo hsfconfig --info<br />
<br />
Once I'd purchased the license key I was able to set that by doing:<br />
<br />
sudo hsfconfig --license<br />
<br />
and following the prompts.<br />
<br />
===Issues===<br />
<br />
* I haven't managed to get the fax functionality working yet.</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/Installing_Linux_On_An_IBM/Lenovo_ThinkPad_R52Installing Linux On An IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad R522006-03-11T20:49:39Z<p>Matt: /* Ubuntu Installation */ add references</p>
<hr />
<div>These are some notes from what I've discovered installing Linux, and in particular <br />
[http://www.ubuntu.com Ubuntu] 5.10 "Breezy", onto an <br />
[http://www5.pc.ibm.com/uk/products.nsf/$wwwPartNumLookup/_UN3AQUK?OpenDocument IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad R52].<br />
<br />
I can be contacted by email at [mailto:matt@mattmarsh.net matt@mattmarsh.net].<br />
<br />
==Pre-Installation Steps==<br />
<br />
These are a few things that I decided to do prior to installing Linux onto the <br />
notebook.<br />
<br />
===Created Rescue & Recovery Discs===<br />
<br />
In Windows there is a program to create the recovery discs:<br />
<br />
Start -> All Programs -> Access IBM -> Create Recovery Discs<br />
<br />
It prompts you to put blank/erasable discs in the drive; I used two DVDs though<br />
I now believe that the first disc may only need to be a CD rather than a DVD.<br />
<br />
After you've created one set of discs it wont let you create any more sets.<br />
<br />
===Created Rescue Media===<br />
<br />
There is another program for creating "Recovery Media" accessible from the<br />
start menu:<br />
<br />
Start -> All Programs -> Access IBM -> Create Rescue Media<br />
<br />
I believe this just creates the same thing as the first CD in the above step<br />
though so shouldn't be required.<br />
<br />
===Updated Firmware===<br />
<br />
I checked [http://www.lenovo.com Lenovo's website] to see if any of the firmware needed updating. I<br />
updated the BIOS (from version 1.18 to 1.22), everything else seemed to be<br />
up to date for me.<br />
<br />
I noticed that most of the firmware updates are available as bootable CD<br />
images and things so it shouldn't be a problem to update firmware in future<br />
even with no Windows on the machine.<br />
<br />
===Installed Additional Memory Module===<br />
<br />
I'd purchased an additional 512MB memory module from <br />
[http://www.crucial.com Crucial], so I put that<br />
in and checked that it was visible by the BIOS and Windows before installing<br />
Ubuntu.<br />
<br />
==Ubuntu Installation==<br />
<br />
I actually wanted a Kubuntu installation (using KDE rather than the default<br />
GNOME of Ubuntu), but I had an Ubuntu CD lying around so I decided to do<br />
that and add the Kubuntu bits afterwards. So I used a regular Ubuntu 5.10 <br />
"Breezy" installation CD and didn't use any special parameters at the boot<br />
prompt (I did try using "expert" mode first, but that just left me with all <br />
sorts of problems once it was installed, so I went back and installed it <br />
using the default installation mode).<br />
<br />
===Disk Partitioning===<br />
<br />
I used the manual patitioning mode when it got to that part of the<br />
installer. There were two partitions, one taking most of the disk for the<br />
main Windows installation and then a second partition of around 3GB for<br />
the IBM "Pre-Desktop Area" used for Windows recovery and so on. I deleted<br />
the main Windows partition and decided to leave the pre-desktop partition<br />
for now. I created one large partition of around 50GB to be the root <br />
filesystem (e3fs) and allocated the rest, approx 5GB, as a swap partition.<br />
<br />
===WiFi During Install===<br />
<br />
My home WiFi network uses WEP encryption in a "shared-key" system. I<br />
entered my WEP key etc in the installer but it failed to connect to my<br />
network. I found that I had to change my wireless access point from <br />
"shared-key" to "open" in order to get it to connect up. Once I had<br />
done that I was able to complete the install using WiFi just fine.<br />
<br />
===Fetching Updates===<br />
<br />
Once the Ubuntu installation was complete I made sure all the packages<br />
were up to date using APT from a terminal window:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get upgrade<br />
<br />
===Adding More Repositories===<br />
<br />
I modified /etc/apt/sources.list to uncomment the 'universe' repository<br />
there by giving me access to more software via APT. I uncommented the<br />
following lines:<br />
<br />
deb http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu breezy universe<br />
deb-src http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu breezy universe<br />
<br />
and following that I ran the following to update my package list with<br />
the newly available software:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get update<br />
<br />
===References===<br />
<br />
* [http://www.ubuntu.com/ Ubuntu]<br />
* [http://www.kubuntu.org/ Kubuntu]<br />
* [http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Category:Ubuntu ThinkWiki Ubuntu Page]<br />
* [http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Category:Kubuntu ThinkWiki Kubuntu Page]<br />
<br />
==Kubuntu & KDE==<br />
<br />
Now that I'd got a base Ubuntu system, I decided to install the KDE <br />
parts to get a Kubuntu system. This is done easily by fetching the<br />
kubuntu-desktop package:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop<br />
<br />
I think that during the installation of that package it prompted me<br />
to select whether to use the gdm (GNOME based) or kdm (KDE based)<br />
login screen. I opted for kdm (though I later changed to gdm as it<br />
seems to support the fingerprint scanner better, see later for <br />
details).<br />
<br />
===Upgrading KDE To 3.5.1===<br />
<br />
Breezy by default uses KDE 3.4.3, but I found that I needed to<br />
upgrade this in order to get DVD playback working (details to <br />
follow). So, I upgraded to KDE 3.5.1 using info from an <br />
[http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=133865&highlight=3.5.1 Ubuntu forum article]. <br />
The condensed steps I performed were:<br />
<br />
Fetched and added package maintainer's key:<br />
<br />
wget http://people.ubuntu.com/~jriddell/kubuntu-packages-jriddell-key.gpg<br />
sudo apt-key add kubuntu-packages-jriddell-key.gpg<br />
<br />
Added the following line to my /etc/apt/sources.list to add the repository:<br />
<br />
deb http://kubuntu.org/packages/kde351 breezy main<br />
<br />
Upgraded everything:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get update<br />
sudo apt-get upgrade<br />
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade<br />
<br />
==Upgrade Kernel==<br />
<br />
I say "upgrade", but what I really mean is that I took a build of the same kernel<br />
version but built for i686 instead of i386. It may be slightly faster though I<br />
doubt I'll really know the difference. The only thing that really pushed me to<br />
do it was the availability of a packaged 56k modem driver for the i686 version<br />
of the kernel.<br />
<br />
To fetch and install the kernel I did:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get install linux-image-2.6.12-10-686<br />
<br />
Once that had been completed I rebooted to run the newly installed kernel. Note<br />
that the kernel that was replaced will still be listed in the grub bootloader <br />
menu so you can still get to that one too if needed.<br />
<br />
==Power Management==<br />
<br />
===Suspend To RAM===<br />
<br />
This seems to mostly work right from the default Ubuntu installation. I can hit Fn+F4<br />
on the keyboard and the machine will suspend to RAM. I can then wake it up by pressing<br />
the power button, or alternatively if the lid is closed then opening it resumes.<br />
<br />
I say that it mostly works for I've seen a couple of issues:<br />
<br />
* On one occasion it did not resume correctly, instead I was left with a blank screen.<br />
* On one other occasion the machine resumed correctly but then immediately shut down (using the normal shutdown procedure).<br />
* Sometimes the Fn+F4 button combination doesn't work and I have to use a software method instead (eg. from the KLaptop applet on the Kicker).<br />
<br />
There are also some other things I'd like to get working right with it:<br />
<br />
* When suspending to RAM using Fn+F4 the machine suspends, but when it resumes you are not prompted for any password it just lets you right in. If you suspend from software, eg. the KLaptop applet, then it does prompt you for password.<br />
* I would like the ThinkPad to suspend to RAM if I close the lid, but I haven't found a way to do that yet.<br />
<br />
===Suspend To Disk / Hibernate===<br />
<br />
With the default Ubuntu installation this didn't work. The suspend to disk seemed to<br />
work, but when I tried to resume it would leave me with a blank screen. <br />
<br />
The solution (workaround) to this has been to make some changes to the grub bootloader. I<br />
removed the kernel parameter "splash" from all the kernel lines in /boot/grub/menus.lst so<br />
changing them from lines like this:<br />
<br />
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.12-10-386 root=/dev/sda1 ro quiet splash<br />
<br />
to lines like this:<br />
<br />
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.12-10-386 root=/dev/sda1 ro quiet<br />
<br />
After editing that file I needed to reinstall the grub bootloader using the following<br />
command:<br />
<br />
sudo grub-install /dev/sda<br />
<br />
Once I'd done that resume from hibernate has worked fine for me. Like with suspend to RAM <br />
sometimes the Fn+F12 key combination doesn't work and you have to use the software method<br />
instead and also like with suspend to RAM using the Fn+F12 combination means that you <br />
don't get prompted for a password on resume.<br />
<br />
==DVD Video Playback==<br />
<br />
It took a bit of messing around to get this to work, so I'm not certain if all the steps<br />
here are required, but at least having done them all I seem to have a working setup. There<br />
are a few movie players already installed with the Kubuntu system and I messed around <br />
with some of them, the best success so far has been with Kaffeine which is what I'll<br />
detail here.<br />
<br />
I had to upgrade KDE to 3.5.1 in order to get this working (see above section on Kubuntu<br />
& KDE for steps).<br />
<br />
I installed the "regionset" package (available from APT if you have enabled the "universe"<br />
repository) and used that to set the region code in the DVD drive's firmware to region 2<br />
(I'm in the UK so that's what most of my DVDs are) by running:<br />
<br />
sudo regionset<br />
<br />
and answering the prompts.<br />
<br />
Note: You can only set the region code in the DVD drive firmware a number of times (5 I<br />
think) so take care.<br />
<br />
I installed the libdvdcss library for viewing DVDs in other regions. I fetched a Debian<br />
package containing libdvdcss and installed that:<br />
<br />
wget http://download.videolan.org/pub/libdvdcss/1.2.9/deb/libdvdcss2-dev_1.2.9-1_i386.deb<br />
sudo dpkg -i libdvdcss2-dev_1.2.9-1_i386.deb<br />
<br />
Now for Kaffeine. By default in Ubuntu Kaffeine uses GStreamer for the backend DVD playback<br />
but I didn't have any success with that. I installed the package kaffeine-xine to get the<br />
Xine backend and enabled it from within Kaffeine using the menu: <br />
Settings -> Player Engine -> Kaffeine (it doesn't actually say Xine, but it's the <br />
non-GStreamer one).<br />
<br />
Now I was able to insert a DVD and play it using Kaffeine.<br />
<br />
==Bluetooth==<br />
<br />
A fair amount of the bluetooth stuff works right out of the box. In KDE at least I<br />
get a popup if someone tries to send me a file via bluetooth etc.<br />
<br />
First thing I did was to set the bluetooth PIN so that other people can't pair<br />
with my machine using the default PIN (1234). The PIN is set in /etc/bluetooth/pin.<br />
I also changed the bluetooth name to something more friendly by editing the name<br />
line in /etc/bluetooth/hcid.conf.<br />
<br />
After setting those I restarted bluez by running:<br />
<br />
sudo /etc/init.d/bluez-utils restart<br />
<br />
Once I'd done that I was able to use my bluetooth phone to pair with my ThinkPad and was<br />
prompted for the PIN I'd just set.<br />
<br />
===Dialup===<br />
<br />
In order to get a GPRS connection via bluetooth to my mobile phone, the first<br />
thing I did was to edit /etc/bluetooth/rfcomm.conf in order to tell the ThinkPad<br />
about by phone. The file is short and there is a commented out example configuration<br />
in there so I just uncommented it and substituted in the relevant values for my<br />
phone. By running the following command I was able to find out the bluetooth <br />
address of my phone and the channel that DUN (Dialup Networking) was running on:<br />
<br />
sdptool search DUN<br />
<br />
Once I'd done that I restarted bluez again:<br />
<br />
sudo /etc/init.d/bluez-utils restart<br />
<br />
And now I had a new device called /dev/rfcomm0.<br />
<br />
Once I'd done all that I used the KDE app KPPP, listed as "Internet Dial-Up Tool" on<br />
the KDE menu, to create the connection to my phone/provider. This will of course be<br />
different depending on your phone and provider, but basically in KPPP I created a new<br />
modem with the device /dev/rfcomm0 and connection speed of 115200. I created a new<br />
account for my mobile provider (O2 in the UK) and set the phone number to *99# (I <br />
believe that several providers use this same number for GPRS access, but YMMV).<br />
<br />
There was one other change that I found I needed to make. To begin with I couldn't<br />
get it to complete the connection as it was requiring the remote end to authenticate<br />
which it seems it wasn't doing. I edited the file /etc/ppp/options and changed the<br />
line which said "auth" to "noauth" instead. I'm not really sure if it's a good idea<br />
or not, but it's the only way I've been able to make it work so far. <br />
<br />
With the above all done clicking "Connect" in KPPP now makes a succesful connection.<br />
<br />
==Build Environment==<br />
<br />
I needed some build tools in order to get the fingerprint reader working so I <br />
installed the following packages:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get install gcc libc-dev g++ make<br />
<br />
==Fingerprint Reader==<br />
<br />
Not all the R52 sub-models have a fingerprint reader it seems, but mine (sub-model <br />
1846AQG) has one.<br />
<br />
I fetched and installed bioapi system, which is packaged as a Debian unstable <br />
package, but it installed on Ubunut just fine:<br />
<br />
wget http://www.qrivy.net/~michael/temp/bioapi_1.2.3_i386.deb<br />
sudo dpkg -i bioapi_1.2.3_i386.deb<br />
<br />
It moaned about not being able to find /usr/lib/libqtpwbsp.so, but this seems not<br />
to be fatal.<br />
<br />
Next, I fetched and installed the UPEK driver for the fingerprint reader:<br />
<br />
wget http://www.upek.com/support/download/TFMESS_BSP_LIN_1.0.zip<br />
unzip TFMESS_BSP_LIN_1.0.zip<br />
chmod a+x install.sh<br />
sudo ./install.sh /usr/lib<br />
<br />
I now built the "sample" tool that comes with the UPEK driver. Firstly I changed<br />
to the directory containing that within where I'd unziped the UPEK driver:<br />
<br />
cd NonGUI_Sample<br />
<br />
And in there did the following:<br />
<br />
gcc -o sample main.c -lbioapi100 -DUNIX -DLITTLE_ENDIAN<br />
<br />
Note: For this to work I needed to have installed the development tools as <br />
mentioned in the previous section above.<br />
<br />
Now I could run the sample tool:<br />
<br />
sudo ./sample<br />
<br />
In the tool I pressed "e" to enroll a fingerprint (you should give the name<br />
for the fingerprint the same name as your user account, so in my case "matt").<br />
I then used "v" to verify the fingerprint and then I quit. Once you quit you<br />
should find that a .bir file has been created, in my case matt.bir.<br />
<br />
I now worked on integrating this with PAM. Firstly a number of steps to get<br />
the PAM bioapi system patched with fingerprint support and built:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get install libpam0g-dev<br />
wget http://www.qrivy.net/~michael/blua/pam_bioapi/pam_bioapi-latest.tar.bz2<br />
tar jxvf pam_bioapi-latest.tar.bz2<br />
cd pam_bioapi-*<br />
wget http://badcode.de/downloads/fingerprint.patch<br />
patch -p0 < fingerprint.patch<br />
./configure<br />
make<br />
sudo make install<br />
sudo cp /usr/local/lib/security/* /lib/security<br />
<br />
And then some steps to get my fingerprint to the right place:<br />
<br />
SERIAL=`BioAPITest | sed -ne "/Fingerprint/{n;n;s/^.*: \(.\{9\}\)\(.\{4\}\)\(.\{4\}\)\(.\{4\}\)\(.*\)/\1-\2-\3-\4-\5/gp}"`<br />
mkdir -p /etc/bioapi/pam/$SERIAL<br />
cp matt.bir /etc/bioapi/pam/$SERIAL<br />
<br />
Where "matt.bir" should obviously replaced with whatever the file is that you<br />
created with the sample tool above.<br />
<br />
The final step was to modify /etc/pam.d/common-auth to call the bioapi stuff. I<br />
edited mine so that it contained the following lines:<br />
<br />
auth sufficient pam_bioapi.so {5550454b-2054-464d-2f45-535320425350} /etc/bioapi/pam/<br />
password sufficient pam_bioapi.so {5550454b-2054-464d-2f45-535320425350} /etc/bioapi/pam/<br />
auth required pam_unix.so nullok_secure<br />
<br />
With all the above done it was time to reboot. On reboot the kdm login screen<br />
started and then I was able to do the following:<br />
<br />
# Enter username<br />
# Hit return in the password box as though a blank password<br />
# Now scan finger, multiple times if necessary, there is no visual feedback<br />
<br />
Once it read my finger it let me in.<br />
<br />
This seemed a little clunky to me though as there is no visual indication of <br />
what is going on and no way to enter a password instead if you can't scan your<br />
finger for whatever reason. So then I tried gdm instead of kdm and it does seem<br />
to have better support. In gdm, after you enter your username you get a GUI <br />
asking you to scan your finger, and if that fails 3 times then it prompts for<br />
password instead. Much better in my opinion so I've switched my default login<br />
screen to gdm for now.<br />
<br />
===SSH Logins===<br />
<br />
It's a bit annoying when using SSH to the machine from elsewhere that you have<br />
to go up to the machine and scan your fingerprint for it to let you login! So<br />
I modified /etc/pam.d/ssh to remove this line:<br />
<br />
@include common-auth<br />
<br />
and replaced it with the contents of my original common-auth file:<br />
<br />
auth required pam_unix.so nullok_secure<br />
<br />
===SUDO===<br />
<br />
I found that with the above fingerprint setup there were a few issues<br />
surrounding sudo functionality such as:<br />
<br />
* If I was logged in remotely via ssh and then ran something as sudo, it would expect me to scan my fingerprint.<br />
* Certain tools within KDE that used the "run as administrator" type modes would not behave right. Some would just hang when I tried to start them (perhaps waiting for a fingerprint scan? but scanning one didn't seem to help), others would work fine as long as I scanned my finger when it presented the password box.<br />
<br />
I found that by disabling fingerprint access to sudo the same as I did for ssh<br />
above made a lot of these issues go away. I modified /etc/pam.d/sudo and again<br />
removed the line:<br />
<br />
@include common-auth<br />
<br />
and replaced it with the contents of my original common-auth file:<br />
<br />
auth required pam_unix.so nullok_secure<br />
<br />
===Issues===<br />
<br />
* I have this working at the login screen, but if I lock the screen then I can only get back in using password.<br />
<br />
==Internal 56k Modem==<br />
<br />
The modem in this machine uses a Conexant chipset and unfortunately there don't seem to<br />
be any open source drivers that work with it. There is however a binary driver <br />
available from a company called Linuxant which can be downloaded and used for free<br />
though limited to 14.4k. Buying a license from the for $19.99 enables the modem to be<br />
used upto its full speed and is also required to access the fax capabilities of the<br />
modem.<br />
<br />
When I looked on Linuxant's site I found that there were Ubuntu packages available<br />
for the modem driver, but these required me to run an i686 build of the kernel instead<br />
of the i386 build I was currently using. Therefore I upgraded the kernel as described<br />
earlier in this article.<br />
<br />
Next I fetched and installed the Linuxant driver:<br />
<br />
wget http://www.linuxant.com/drivers/hsf/full/archive/hsfmodem-7.43.00.01full/hsfmodem_7.43.00.01full_k2.6.12_10_686_ubuntu_i386.deb.zip<br />
unzip hsfmodem_7.43.00.01full_k2.6.12_10_686_ubuntu_i386.deb.zip<br />
sudo dpkg -i hsfmodem_7.43.00.01full_k2.6.12_10_686_ubuntu_i386.deb<br />
<br />
You get prompted for a few things like your email address and your license key if<br />
you've purchased one (I just left it as the default of FREE to get the 14.4k <br />
functionality for now).<br />
<br />
With the driver installed I fired up KPPP to test it. The driver maps the modem<br />
as /dev/modem so it's a simple case of creating a modem in KPPP with all default<br />
settings. I created an account with the settings for my ISP dialup account and<br />
was able to connect fine (though 14.4k feels a bit slow these days!).<br />
<br />
===Fixing Suspend/Hibernate Issues===<br />
<br />
Unfortunately the Linuxant drivers prevent the ThinkPad from going into suspend<br />
or hibernate states. If you try it you will see that the machine starts to <br />
suspend, but never actually stops, and then returns back to fully functioning<br />
again (perhaps with a locked screen). I had to modify the suspend,hibernate <br />
and resume scripts in order to unload the Linuxant drivers when the machine is<br />
sleeping/hibernating and then reload them when the machine resumes.<br />
<br />
I edited /etc/acpi/sleep.sh and found this line:<br />
<br />
echo -n $ACPI_SLEEP_MODE >/sys/power/state<br />
<br />
Just '''before''' that line I added this line:<br />
<br />
/etc/init.d/hfs stop<br />
<br />
I edited /etc/acpi/hibernate.sh and found this line:<br />
<br />
echo -n $HIBERNATE_MODE >/sys/power/disk<br />
<br />
Just '''before''' that line I added the same line as I did in sleep.sh:<br />
<br />
/etc/init.d/hfs stop<br />
<br />
Finally, I edited /etc/acpi/resume.sh to reload the drivers on resume. I found<br />
this line at the end of the file:<br />
<br />
(sleep 5 && rm /var/lock/acpisleep)&<br />
<br />
Just '''before''' that line I added this line:<br />
<br />
/etc/init.d/hfs start<br />
<br />
Following these changes suspend & hibernate both worked again, resumed fine and<br />
I was then able to use the modem again following the resume.<br />
<br />
===Adding License===<br />
<br />
I decided to purchase the license from Linuxant to unlock the full features of<br />
the modem. The purchasing process on Linuxant's website requires you to enter<br />
the "Registration ID" of your modem (I guess generated from some serial number<br />
in the hardware or whatever) in order to generate the license key. The <br />
registration ID can be obtained by the following command:<br />
<br />
sudo hsfconfig --info<br />
<br />
Once I'd purchased the license key I was able to set that by doing:<br />
<br />
sudo hsfconfig --license<br />
<br />
and following the prompts.</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/Installing_Linux_On_An_IBM/Lenovo_ThinkPad_R52Installing Linux On An IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad R522006-03-11T20:38:23Z<p>Matt: /* Installed Additional Memory Module */ link to crucial's website</p>
<hr />
<div>These are some notes from what I've discovered installing Linux, and in particular <br />
[http://www.ubuntu.com Ubuntu] 5.10 "Breezy", onto an <br />
[http://www5.pc.ibm.com/uk/products.nsf/$wwwPartNumLookup/_UN3AQUK?OpenDocument IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad R52].<br />
<br />
I can be contacted by email at [mailto:matt@mattmarsh.net matt@mattmarsh.net].<br />
<br />
==Pre-Installation Steps==<br />
<br />
These are a few things that I decided to do prior to installing Linux onto the <br />
notebook.<br />
<br />
===Created Rescue & Recovery Discs===<br />
<br />
In Windows there is a program to create the recovery discs:<br />
<br />
Start -> All Programs -> Access IBM -> Create Recovery Discs<br />
<br />
It prompts you to put blank/erasable discs in the drive; I used two DVDs though<br />
I now believe that the first disc may only need to be a CD rather than a DVD.<br />
<br />
After you've created one set of discs it wont let you create any more sets.<br />
<br />
===Created Rescue Media===<br />
<br />
There is another program for creating "Recovery Media" accessible from the<br />
start menu:<br />
<br />
Start -> All Programs -> Access IBM -> Create Rescue Media<br />
<br />
I believe this just creates the same thing as the first CD in the above step<br />
though so shouldn't be required.<br />
<br />
===Updated Firmware===<br />
<br />
I checked [http://www.lenovo.com Lenovo's website] to see if any of the firmware needed updating. I<br />
updated the BIOS (from version 1.18 to 1.22), everything else seemed to be<br />
up to date for me.<br />
<br />
I noticed that most of the firmware updates are available as bootable CD<br />
images and things so it shouldn't be a problem to update firmware in future<br />
even with no Windows on the machine.<br />
<br />
===Installed Additional Memory Module===<br />
<br />
I'd purchased an additional 512MB memory module from <br />
[http://www.crucial.com Crucial], so I put that<br />
in and checked that it was visible by the BIOS and Windows before installing<br />
Ubuntu.<br />
<br />
==Ubuntu Installation==<br />
<br />
I actually wanted a Kubuntu installation (using KDE rather than the default<br />
GNOME of Ubuntu), but I had an Ubuntu CD lying around so I decided to do<br />
that and add the Kubuntu bits afterwards. So I used a regular Ubuntu 5.10 <br />
"Breezy" installation CD and didn't use any special parameters at the boot<br />
prompt (I did try using "expert" mode first, but that just left me with all <br />
sorts of problems once it was installed, so I went back and installed it <br />
using the default installation mode).<br />
<br />
===Disk Partitioning===<br />
<br />
I used the manual patitioning mode when it got to that part of the<br />
installer. There were two partitions, one taking most of the disk for the<br />
main Windows installation and then a second partition of around 3GB for<br />
the IBM "Pre-Desktop Area" used for Windows recovery and so on. I deleted<br />
the main Windows partition and decided to leave the pre-desktop partition<br />
for now. I created one large partition of around 50GB to be the root <br />
filesystem (e3fs) and allocated the rest, approx 5GB, as a swap partition.<br />
<br />
===WiFi During Install===<br />
<br />
My home WiFi network uses WEP encryption in a "shared-key" system. I<br />
entered my WEP key etc in the installer but it failed to connect to my<br />
network. I found that I had to change my wireless access point from <br />
"shared-key" to "open" in order to get it to connect up. Once I had<br />
done that I was able to complete the install using WiFi just fine.<br />
<br />
===Fetching Updates===<br />
<br />
Once the Ubuntu installation was complete I made sure all the packages<br />
were up to date using APT from a terminal window:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get upgrade<br />
<br />
===Adding More Repositories===<br />
<br />
I modified /etc/apt/sources.list to uncomment the 'universe' repository<br />
there by giving me access to more software via APT. I uncommented the<br />
following lines:<br />
<br />
deb http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu breezy universe<br />
deb-src http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu breezy universe<br />
<br />
and following that I ran the following to update my package list with<br />
the newly available software:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get update<br />
<br />
==Kubuntu & KDE==<br />
<br />
Now that I'd got a base Ubuntu system, I decided to install the KDE <br />
parts to get a Kubuntu system. This is done easily by fetching the<br />
kubuntu-desktop package:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop<br />
<br />
I think that during the installation of that package it prompted me<br />
to select whether to use the gdm (GNOME based) or kdm (KDE based)<br />
login screen. I opted for kdm (though I later changed to gdm as it<br />
seems to support the fingerprint scanner better, see later for <br />
details).<br />
<br />
===Upgrading KDE To 3.5.1===<br />
<br />
Breezy by default uses KDE 3.4.3, but I found that I needed to<br />
upgrade this in order to get DVD playback working (details to <br />
follow). So, I upgraded to KDE 3.5.1 using info from an <br />
[http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=133865&highlight=3.5.1 Ubuntu forum article]. <br />
The condensed steps I performed were:<br />
<br />
Fetched and added package maintainer's key:<br />
<br />
wget http://people.ubuntu.com/~jriddell/kubuntu-packages-jriddell-key.gpg<br />
sudo apt-key add kubuntu-packages-jriddell-key.gpg<br />
<br />
Added the following line to my /etc/apt/sources.list to add the repository:<br />
<br />
deb http://kubuntu.org/packages/kde351 breezy main<br />
<br />
Upgraded everything:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get update<br />
sudo apt-get upgrade<br />
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade<br />
<br />
==Upgrade Kernel==<br />
<br />
I say "upgrade", but what I really mean is that I took a build of the same kernel<br />
version but built for i686 instead of i386. It may be slightly faster though I<br />
doubt I'll really know the difference. The only thing that really pushed me to<br />
do it was the availability of a packaged 56k modem driver for the i686 version<br />
of the kernel.<br />
<br />
To fetch and install the kernel I did:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get install linux-image-2.6.12-10-686<br />
<br />
Once that had been completed I rebooted to run the newly installed kernel. Note<br />
that the kernel that was replaced will still be listed in the grub bootloader <br />
menu so you can still get to that one too if needed.<br />
<br />
==Power Management==<br />
<br />
===Suspend To RAM===<br />
<br />
This seems to mostly work right from the default Ubuntu installation. I can hit Fn+F4<br />
on the keyboard and the machine will suspend to RAM. I can then wake it up by pressing<br />
the power button, or alternatively if the lid is closed then opening it resumes.<br />
<br />
I say that it mostly works for I've seen a couple of issues:<br />
<br />
* On one occasion it did not resume correctly, instead I was left with a blank screen.<br />
* On one other occasion the machine resumed correctly but then immediately shut down (using the normal shutdown procedure).<br />
* Sometimes the Fn+F4 button combination doesn't work and I have to use a software method instead (eg. from the KLaptop applet on the Kicker).<br />
<br />
There are also some other things I'd like to get working right with it:<br />
<br />
* When suspending to RAM using Fn+F4 the machine suspends, but when it resumes you are not prompted for any password it just lets you right in. If you suspend from software, eg. the KLaptop applet, then it does prompt you for password.<br />
* I would like the ThinkPad to suspend to RAM if I close the lid, but I haven't found a way to do that yet.<br />
<br />
===Suspend To Disk / Hibernate===<br />
<br />
With the default Ubuntu installation this didn't work. The suspend to disk seemed to<br />
work, but when I tried to resume it would leave me with a blank screen. <br />
<br />
The solution (workaround) to this has been to make some changes to the grub bootloader. I<br />
removed the kernel parameter "splash" from all the kernel lines in /boot/grub/menus.lst so<br />
changing them from lines like this:<br />
<br />
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.12-10-386 root=/dev/sda1 ro quiet splash<br />
<br />
to lines like this:<br />
<br />
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.12-10-386 root=/dev/sda1 ro quiet<br />
<br />
After editing that file I needed to reinstall the grub bootloader using the following<br />
command:<br />
<br />
sudo grub-install /dev/sda<br />
<br />
Once I'd done that resume from hibernate has worked fine for me. Like with suspend to RAM <br />
sometimes the Fn+F12 key combination doesn't work and you have to use the software method<br />
instead and also like with suspend to RAM using the Fn+F12 combination means that you <br />
don't get prompted for a password on resume.<br />
<br />
==DVD Video Playback==<br />
<br />
It took a bit of messing around to get this to work, so I'm not certain if all the steps<br />
here are required, but at least having done them all I seem to have a working setup. There<br />
are a few movie players already installed with the Kubuntu system and I messed around <br />
with some of them, the best success so far has been with Kaffeine which is what I'll<br />
detail here.<br />
<br />
I had to upgrade KDE to 3.5.1 in order to get this working (see above section on Kubuntu<br />
& KDE for steps).<br />
<br />
I installed the "regionset" package (available from APT if you have enabled the "universe"<br />
repository) and used that to set the region code in the DVD drive's firmware to region 2<br />
(I'm in the UK so that's what most of my DVDs are) by running:<br />
<br />
sudo regionset<br />
<br />
and answering the prompts.<br />
<br />
Note: You can only set the region code in the DVD drive firmware a number of times (5 I<br />
think) so take care.<br />
<br />
I installed the libdvdcss library for viewing DVDs in other regions. I fetched a Debian<br />
package containing libdvdcss and installed that:<br />
<br />
wget http://download.videolan.org/pub/libdvdcss/1.2.9/deb/libdvdcss2-dev_1.2.9-1_i386.deb<br />
sudo dpkg -i libdvdcss2-dev_1.2.9-1_i386.deb<br />
<br />
Now for Kaffeine. By default in Ubuntu Kaffeine uses GStreamer for the backend DVD playback<br />
but I didn't have any success with that. I installed the package kaffeine-xine to get the<br />
Xine backend and enabled it from within Kaffeine using the menu: <br />
Settings -> Player Engine -> Kaffeine (it doesn't actually say Xine, but it's the <br />
non-GStreamer one).<br />
<br />
Now I was able to insert a DVD and play it using Kaffeine.<br />
<br />
==Bluetooth==<br />
<br />
A fair amount of the bluetooth stuff works right out of the box. In KDE at least I<br />
get a popup if someone tries to send me a file via bluetooth etc.<br />
<br />
First thing I did was to set the bluetooth PIN so that other people can't pair<br />
with my machine using the default PIN (1234). The PIN is set in /etc/bluetooth/pin.<br />
I also changed the bluetooth name to something more friendly by editing the name<br />
line in /etc/bluetooth/hcid.conf.<br />
<br />
After setting those I restarted bluez by running:<br />
<br />
sudo /etc/init.d/bluez-utils restart<br />
<br />
Once I'd done that I was able to use my bluetooth phone to pair with my ThinkPad and was<br />
prompted for the PIN I'd just set.<br />
<br />
===Dialup===<br />
<br />
In order to get a GPRS connection via bluetooth to my mobile phone, the first<br />
thing I did was to edit /etc/bluetooth/rfcomm.conf in order to tell the ThinkPad<br />
about by phone. The file is short and there is a commented out example configuration<br />
in there so I just uncommented it and substituted in the relevant values for my<br />
phone. By running the following command I was able to find out the bluetooth <br />
address of my phone and the channel that DUN (Dialup Networking) was running on:<br />
<br />
sdptool search DUN<br />
<br />
Once I'd done that I restarted bluez again:<br />
<br />
sudo /etc/init.d/bluez-utils restart<br />
<br />
And now I had a new device called /dev/rfcomm0.<br />
<br />
Once I'd done all that I used the KDE app KPPP, listed as "Internet Dial-Up Tool" on<br />
the KDE menu, to create the connection to my phone/provider. This will of course be<br />
different depending on your phone and provider, but basically in KPPP I created a new<br />
modem with the device /dev/rfcomm0 and connection speed of 115200. I created a new<br />
account for my mobile provider (O2 in the UK) and set the phone number to *99# (I <br />
believe that several providers use this same number for GPRS access, but YMMV).<br />
<br />
There was one other change that I found I needed to make. To begin with I couldn't<br />
get it to complete the connection as it was requiring the remote end to authenticate<br />
which it seems it wasn't doing. I edited the file /etc/ppp/options and changed the<br />
line which said "auth" to "noauth" instead. I'm not really sure if it's a good idea<br />
or not, but it's the only way I've been able to make it work so far. <br />
<br />
With the above all done clicking "Connect" in KPPP now makes a succesful connection.<br />
<br />
==Build Environment==<br />
<br />
I needed some build tools in order to get the fingerprint reader working so I <br />
installed the following packages:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get install gcc libc-dev g++ make<br />
<br />
==Fingerprint Reader==<br />
<br />
Not all the R52 sub-models have a fingerprint reader it seems, but mine (sub-model <br />
1846AQG) has one.<br />
<br />
I fetched and installed bioapi system, which is packaged as a Debian unstable <br />
package, but it installed on Ubunut just fine:<br />
<br />
wget http://www.qrivy.net/~michael/temp/bioapi_1.2.3_i386.deb<br />
sudo dpkg -i bioapi_1.2.3_i386.deb<br />
<br />
It moaned about not being able to find /usr/lib/libqtpwbsp.so, but this seems not<br />
to be fatal.<br />
<br />
Next, I fetched and installed the UPEK driver for the fingerprint reader:<br />
<br />
wget http://www.upek.com/support/download/TFMESS_BSP_LIN_1.0.zip<br />
unzip TFMESS_BSP_LIN_1.0.zip<br />
chmod a+x install.sh<br />
sudo ./install.sh /usr/lib<br />
<br />
I now built the "sample" tool that comes with the UPEK driver. Firstly I changed<br />
to the directory containing that within where I'd unziped the UPEK driver:<br />
<br />
cd NonGUI_Sample<br />
<br />
And in there did the following:<br />
<br />
gcc -o sample main.c -lbioapi100 -DUNIX -DLITTLE_ENDIAN<br />
<br />
Note: For this to work I needed to have installed the development tools as <br />
mentioned in the previous section above.<br />
<br />
Now I could run the sample tool:<br />
<br />
sudo ./sample<br />
<br />
In the tool I pressed "e" to enroll a fingerprint (you should give the name<br />
for the fingerprint the same name as your user account, so in my case "matt").<br />
I then used "v" to verify the fingerprint and then I quit. Once you quit you<br />
should find that a .bir file has been created, in my case matt.bir.<br />
<br />
I now worked on integrating this with PAM. Firstly a number of steps to get<br />
the PAM bioapi system patched with fingerprint support and built:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get install libpam0g-dev<br />
wget http://www.qrivy.net/~michael/blua/pam_bioapi/pam_bioapi-latest.tar.bz2<br />
tar jxvf pam_bioapi-latest.tar.bz2<br />
cd pam_bioapi-*<br />
wget http://badcode.de/downloads/fingerprint.patch<br />
patch -p0 < fingerprint.patch<br />
./configure<br />
make<br />
sudo make install<br />
sudo cp /usr/local/lib/security/* /lib/security<br />
<br />
And then some steps to get my fingerprint to the right place:<br />
<br />
SERIAL=`BioAPITest | sed -ne "/Fingerprint/{n;n;s/^.*: \(.\{9\}\)\(.\{4\}\)\(.\{4\}\)\(.\{4\}\)\(.*\)/\1-\2-\3-\4-\5/gp}"`<br />
mkdir -p /etc/bioapi/pam/$SERIAL<br />
cp matt.bir /etc/bioapi/pam/$SERIAL<br />
<br />
Where "matt.bir" should obviously replaced with whatever the file is that you<br />
created with the sample tool above.<br />
<br />
The final step was to modify /etc/pam.d/common-auth to call the bioapi stuff. I<br />
edited mine so that it contained the following lines:<br />
<br />
auth sufficient pam_bioapi.so {5550454b-2054-464d-2f45-535320425350} /etc/bioapi/pam/<br />
password sufficient pam_bioapi.so {5550454b-2054-464d-2f45-535320425350} /etc/bioapi/pam/<br />
auth required pam_unix.so nullok_secure<br />
<br />
With all the above done it was time to reboot. On reboot the kdm login screen<br />
started and then I was able to do the following:<br />
<br />
# Enter username<br />
# Hit return in the password box as though a blank password<br />
# Now scan finger, multiple times if necessary, there is no visual feedback<br />
<br />
Once it read my finger it let me in.<br />
<br />
This seemed a little clunky to me though as there is no visual indication of <br />
what is going on and no way to enter a password instead if you can't scan your<br />
finger for whatever reason. So then I tried gdm instead of kdm and it does seem<br />
to have better support. In gdm, after you enter your username you get a GUI <br />
asking you to scan your finger, and if that fails 3 times then it prompts for<br />
password instead. Much better in my opinion so I've switched my default login<br />
screen to gdm for now.<br />
<br />
===SSH Logins===<br />
<br />
It's a bit annoying when using SSH to the machine from elsewhere that you have<br />
to go up to the machine and scan your fingerprint for it to let you login! So<br />
I modified /etc/pam.d/ssh to remove this line:<br />
<br />
@include common-auth<br />
<br />
and replaced it with the contents of my original common-auth file:<br />
<br />
auth required pam_unix.so nullok_secure<br />
<br />
===SUDO===<br />
<br />
I found that with the above fingerprint setup there were a few issues<br />
surrounding sudo functionality such as:<br />
<br />
* If I was logged in remotely via ssh and then ran something as sudo, it would expect me to scan my fingerprint.<br />
* Certain tools within KDE that used the "run as administrator" type modes would not behave right. Some would just hang when I tried to start them (perhaps waiting for a fingerprint scan? but scanning one didn't seem to help), others would work fine as long as I scanned my finger when it presented the password box.<br />
<br />
I found that by disabling fingerprint access to sudo the same as I did for ssh<br />
above made a lot of these issues go away. I modified /etc/pam.d/sudo and again<br />
removed the line:<br />
<br />
@include common-auth<br />
<br />
and replaced it with the contents of my original common-auth file:<br />
<br />
auth required pam_unix.so nullok_secure<br />
<br />
===Issues===<br />
<br />
* I have this working at the login screen, but if I lock the screen then I can only get back in using password.<br />
<br />
==Internal 56k Modem==<br />
<br />
The modem in this machine uses a Conexant chipset and unfortunately there don't seem to<br />
be any open source drivers that work with it. There is however a binary driver <br />
available from a company called Linuxant which can be downloaded and used for free<br />
though limited to 14.4k. Buying a license from the for $19.99 enables the modem to be<br />
used upto its full speed and is also required to access the fax capabilities of the<br />
modem.<br />
<br />
When I looked on Linuxant's site I found that there were Ubuntu packages available<br />
for the modem driver, but these required me to run an i686 build of the kernel instead<br />
of the i386 build I was currently using. Therefore I upgraded the kernel as described<br />
earlier in this article.<br />
<br />
Next I fetched and installed the Linuxant driver:<br />
<br />
wget http://www.linuxant.com/drivers/hsf/full/archive/hsfmodem-7.43.00.01full/hsfmodem_7.43.00.01full_k2.6.12_10_686_ubuntu_i386.deb.zip<br />
unzip hsfmodem_7.43.00.01full_k2.6.12_10_686_ubuntu_i386.deb.zip<br />
sudo dpkg -i hsfmodem_7.43.00.01full_k2.6.12_10_686_ubuntu_i386.deb<br />
<br />
You get prompted for a few things like your email address and your license key if<br />
you've purchased one (I just left it as the default of FREE to get the 14.4k <br />
functionality for now).<br />
<br />
With the driver installed I fired up KPPP to test it. The driver maps the modem<br />
as /dev/modem so it's a simple case of creating a modem in KPPP with all default<br />
settings. I created an account with the settings for my ISP dialup account and<br />
was able to connect fine (though 14.4k feels a bit slow these days!).<br />
<br />
===Fixing Suspend/Hibernate Issues===<br />
<br />
Unfortunately the Linuxant drivers prevent the ThinkPad from going into suspend<br />
or hibernate states. If you try it you will see that the machine starts to <br />
suspend, but never actually stops, and then returns back to fully functioning<br />
again (perhaps with a locked screen). I had to modify the suspend,hibernate <br />
and resume scripts in order to unload the Linuxant drivers when the machine is<br />
sleeping/hibernating and then reload them when the machine resumes.<br />
<br />
I edited /etc/acpi/sleep.sh and found this line:<br />
<br />
echo -n $ACPI_SLEEP_MODE >/sys/power/state<br />
<br />
Just '''before''' that line I added this line:<br />
<br />
/etc/init.d/hfs stop<br />
<br />
I edited /etc/acpi/hibernate.sh and found this line:<br />
<br />
echo -n $HIBERNATE_MODE >/sys/power/disk<br />
<br />
Just '''before''' that line I added the same line as I did in sleep.sh:<br />
<br />
/etc/init.d/hfs stop<br />
<br />
Finally, I edited /etc/acpi/resume.sh to reload the drivers on resume. I found<br />
this line at the end of the file:<br />
<br />
(sleep 5 && rm /var/lock/acpisleep)&<br />
<br />
Just '''before''' that line I added this line:<br />
<br />
/etc/init.d/hfs start<br />
<br />
Following these changes suspend & hibernate both worked again, resumed fine and<br />
I was then able to use the modem again following the resume.<br />
<br />
===Adding License===<br />
<br />
I decided to purchase the license from Linuxant to unlock the full features of<br />
the modem. The purchasing process on Linuxant's website requires you to enter<br />
the "Registration ID" of your modem (I guess generated from some serial number<br />
in the hardware or whatever) in order to generate the license key. The <br />
registration ID can be obtained by the following command:<br />
<br />
sudo hsfconfig --info<br />
<br />
Once I'd purchased the license key I was able to set that by doing:<br />
<br />
sudo hsfconfig --license<br />
<br />
and following the prompts.</div>Matthttps://strugglers.net/wiki/Installing_Linux_On_An_IBM/Lenovo_ThinkPad_R52Installing Linux On An IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad R522006-03-11T20:37:48Z<p>Matt: /* Updated Firmware */ link to lenovo website</p>
<hr />
<div>These are some notes from what I've discovered installing Linux, and in particular <br />
[http://www.ubuntu.com Ubuntu] 5.10 "Breezy", onto an <br />
[http://www5.pc.ibm.com/uk/products.nsf/$wwwPartNumLookup/_UN3AQUK?OpenDocument IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad R52].<br />
<br />
I can be contacted by email at [mailto:matt@mattmarsh.net matt@mattmarsh.net].<br />
<br />
==Pre-Installation Steps==<br />
<br />
These are a few things that I decided to do prior to installing Linux onto the <br />
notebook.<br />
<br />
===Created Rescue & Recovery Discs===<br />
<br />
In Windows there is a program to create the recovery discs:<br />
<br />
Start -> All Programs -> Access IBM -> Create Recovery Discs<br />
<br />
It prompts you to put blank/erasable discs in the drive; I used two DVDs though<br />
I now believe that the first disc may only need to be a CD rather than a DVD.<br />
<br />
After you've created one set of discs it wont let you create any more sets.<br />
<br />
===Created Rescue Media===<br />
<br />
There is another program for creating "Recovery Media" accessible from the<br />
start menu:<br />
<br />
Start -> All Programs -> Access IBM -> Create Rescue Media<br />
<br />
I believe this just creates the same thing as the first CD in the above step<br />
though so shouldn't be required.<br />
<br />
===Updated Firmware===<br />
<br />
I checked [http://www.lenovo.com Lenovo's website] to see if any of the firmware needed updating. I<br />
updated the BIOS (from version 1.18 to 1.22), everything else seemed to be<br />
up to date for me.<br />
<br />
I noticed that most of the firmware updates are available as bootable CD<br />
images and things so it shouldn't be a problem to update firmware in future<br />
even with no Windows on the machine.<br />
<br />
===Installed Additional Memory Module===<br />
<br />
I'd purchased an additional 512MB memory module from Crucial, so I put that<br />
in and checked that it was visible by the BIOS and Windows before installing<br />
Ubuntu.<br />
<br />
==Ubuntu Installation==<br />
<br />
I actually wanted a Kubuntu installation (using KDE rather than the default<br />
GNOME of Ubuntu), but I had an Ubuntu CD lying around so I decided to do<br />
that and add the Kubuntu bits afterwards. So I used a regular Ubuntu 5.10 <br />
"Breezy" installation CD and didn't use any special parameters at the boot<br />
prompt (I did try using "expert" mode first, but that just left me with all <br />
sorts of problems once it was installed, so I went back and installed it <br />
using the default installation mode).<br />
<br />
===Disk Partitioning===<br />
<br />
I used the manual patitioning mode when it got to that part of the<br />
installer. There were two partitions, one taking most of the disk for the<br />
main Windows installation and then a second partition of around 3GB for<br />
the IBM "Pre-Desktop Area" used for Windows recovery and so on. I deleted<br />
the main Windows partition and decided to leave the pre-desktop partition<br />
for now. I created one large partition of around 50GB to be the root <br />
filesystem (e3fs) and allocated the rest, approx 5GB, as a swap partition.<br />
<br />
===WiFi During Install===<br />
<br />
My home WiFi network uses WEP encryption in a "shared-key" system. I<br />
entered my WEP key etc in the installer but it failed to connect to my<br />
network. I found that I had to change my wireless access point from <br />
"shared-key" to "open" in order to get it to connect up. Once I had<br />
done that I was able to complete the install using WiFi just fine.<br />
<br />
===Fetching Updates===<br />
<br />
Once the Ubuntu installation was complete I made sure all the packages<br />
were up to date using APT from a terminal window:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get upgrade<br />
<br />
===Adding More Repositories===<br />
<br />
I modified /etc/apt/sources.list to uncomment the 'universe' repository<br />
there by giving me access to more software via APT. I uncommented the<br />
following lines:<br />
<br />
deb http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu breezy universe<br />
deb-src http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu breezy universe<br />
<br />
and following that I ran the following to update my package list with<br />
the newly available software:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get update<br />
<br />
==Kubuntu & KDE==<br />
<br />
Now that I'd got a base Ubuntu system, I decided to install the KDE <br />
parts to get a Kubuntu system. This is done easily by fetching the<br />
kubuntu-desktop package:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop<br />
<br />
I think that during the installation of that package it prompted me<br />
to select whether to use the gdm (GNOME based) or kdm (KDE based)<br />
login screen. I opted for kdm (though I later changed to gdm as it<br />
seems to support the fingerprint scanner better, see later for <br />
details).<br />
<br />
===Upgrading KDE To 3.5.1===<br />
<br />
Breezy by default uses KDE 3.4.3, but I found that I needed to<br />
upgrade this in order to get DVD playback working (details to <br />
follow). So, I upgraded to KDE 3.5.1 using info from an <br />
[http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=133865&highlight=3.5.1 Ubuntu forum article]. <br />
The condensed steps I performed were:<br />
<br />
Fetched and added package maintainer's key:<br />
<br />
wget http://people.ubuntu.com/~jriddell/kubuntu-packages-jriddell-key.gpg<br />
sudo apt-key add kubuntu-packages-jriddell-key.gpg<br />
<br />
Added the following line to my /etc/apt/sources.list to add the repository:<br />
<br />
deb http://kubuntu.org/packages/kde351 breezy main<br />
<br />
Upgraded everything:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get update<br />
sudo apt-get upgrade<br />
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade<br />
<br />
==Upgrade Kernel==<br />
<br />
I say "upgrade", but what I really mean is that I took a build of the same kernel<br />
version but built for i686 instead of i386. It may be slightly faster though I<br />
doubt I'll really know the difference. The only thing that really pushed me to<br />
do it was the availability of a packaged 56k modem driver for the i686 version<br />
of the kernel.<br />
<br />
To fetch and install the kernel I did:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get install linux-image-2.6.12-10-686<br />
<br />
Once that had been completed I rebooted to run the newly installed kernel. Note<br />
that the kernel that was replaced will still be listed in the grub bootloader <br />
menu so you can still get to that one too if needed.<br />
<br />
==Power Management==<br />
<br />
===Suspend To RAM===<br />
<br />
This seems to mostly work right from the default Ubuntu installation. I can hit Fn+F4<br />
on the keyboard and the machine will suspend to RAM. I can then wake it up by pressing<br />
the power button, or alternatively if the lid is closed then opening it resumes.<br />
<br />
I say that it mostly works for I've seen a couple of issues:<br />
<br />
* On one occasion it did not resume correctly, instead I was left with a blank screen.<br />
* On one other occasion the machine resumed correctly but then immediately shut down (using the normal shutdown procedure).<br />
* Sometimes the Fn+F4 button combination doesn't work and I have to use a software method instead (eg. from the KLaptop applet on the Kicker).<br />
<br />
There are also some other things I'd like to get working right with it:<br />
<br />
* When suspending to RAM using Fn+F4 the machine suspends, but when it resumes you are not prompted for any password it just lets you right in. If you suspend from software, eg. the KLaptop applet, then it does prompt you for password.<br />
* I would like the ThinkPad to suspend to RAM if I close the lid, but I haven't found a way to do that yet.<br />
<br />
===Suspend To Disk / Hibernate===<br />
<br />
With the default Ubuntu installation this didn't work. The suspend to disk seemed to<br />
work, but when I tried to resume it would leave me with a blank screen. <br />
<br />
The solution (workaround) to this has been to make some changes to the grub bootloader. I<br />
removed the kernel parameter "splash" from all the kernel lines in /boot/grub/menus.lst so<br />
changing them from lines like this:<br />
<br />
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.12-10-386 root=/dev/sda1 ro quiet splash<br />
<br />
to lines like this:<br />
<br />
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.12-10-386 root=/dev/sda1 ro quiet<br />
<br />
After editing that file I needed to reinstall the grub bootloader using the following<br />
command:<br />
<br />
sudo grub-install /dev/sda<br />
<br />
Once I'd done that resume from hibernate has worked fine for me. Like with suspend to RAM <br />
sometimes the Fn+F12 key combination doesn't work and you have to use the software method<br />
instead and also like with suspend to RAM using the Fn+F12 combination means that you <br />
don't get prompted for a password on resume.<br />
<br />
==DVD Video Playback==<br />
<br />
It took a bit of messing around to get this to work, so I'm not certain if all the steps<br />
here are required, but at least having done them all I seem to have a working setup. There<br />
are a few movie players already installed with the Kubuntu system and I messed around <br />
with some of them, the best success so far has been with Kaffeine which is what I'll<br />
detail here.<br />
<br />
I had to upgrade KDE to 3.5.1 in order to get this working (see above section on Kubuntu<br />
& KDE for steps).<br />
<br />
I installed the "regionset" package (available from APT if you have enabled the "universe"<br />
repository) and used that to set the region code in the DVD drive's firmware to region 2<br />
(I'm in the UK so that's what most of my DVDs are) by running:<br />
<br />
sudo regionset<br />
<br />
and answering the prompts.<br />
<br />
Note: You can only set the region code in the DVD drive firmware a number of times (5 I<br />
think) so take care.<br />
<br />
I installed the libdvdcss library for viewing DVDs in other regions. I fetched a Debian<br />
package containing libdvdcss and installed that:<br />
<br />
wget http://download.videolan.org/pub/libdvdcss/1.2.9/deb/libdvdcss2-dev_1.2.9-1_i386.deb<br />
sudo dpkg -i libdvdcss2-dev_1.2.9-1_i386.deb<br />
<br />
Now for Kaffeine. By default in Ubuntu Kaffeine uses GStreamer for the backend DVD playback<br />
but I didn't have any success with that. I installed the package kaffeine-xine to get the<br />
Xine backend and enabled it from within Kaffeine using the menu: <br />
Settings -> Player Engine -> Kaffeine (it doesn't actually say Xine, but it's the <br />
non-GStreamer one).<br />
<br />
Now I was able to insert a DVD and play it using Kaffeine.<br />
<br />
==Bluetooth==<br />
<br />
A fair amount of the bluetooth stuff works right out of the box. In KDE at least I<br />
get a popup if someone tries to send me a file via bluetooth etc.<br />
<br />
First thing I did was to set the bluetooth PIN so that other people can't pair<br />
with my machine using the default PIN (1234). The PIN is set in /etc/bluetooth/pin.<br />
I also changed the bluetooth name to something more friendly by editing the name<br />
line in /etc/bluetooth/hcid.conf.<br />
<br />
After setting those I restarted bluez by running:<br />
<br />
sudo /etc/init.d/bluez-utils restart<br />
<br />
Once I'd done that I was able to use my bluetooth phone to pair with my ThinkPad and was<br />
prompted for the PIN I'd just set.<br />
<br />
===Dialup===<br />
<br />
In order to get a GPRS connection via bluetooth to my mobile phone, the first<br />
thing I did was to edit /etc/bluetooth/rfcomm.conf in order to tell the ThinkPad<br />
about by phone. The file is short and there is a commented out example configuration<br />
in there so I just uncommented it and substituted in the relevant values for my<br />
phone. By running the following command I was able to find out the bluetooth <br />
address of my phone and the channel that DUN (Dialup Networking) was running on:<br />
<br />
sdptool search DUN<br />
<br />
Once I'd done that I restarted bluez again:<br />
<br />
sudo /etc/init.d/bluez-utils restart<br />
<br />
And now I had a new device called /dev/rfcomm0.<br />
<br />
Once I'd done all that I used the KDE app KPPP, listed as "Internet Dial-Up Tool" on<br />
the KDE menu, to create the connection to my phone/provider. This will of course be<br />
different depending on your phone and provider, but basically in KPPP I created a new<br />
modem with the device /dev/rfcomm0 and connection speed of 115200. I created a new<br />
account for my mobile provider (O2 in the UK) and set the phone number to *99# (I <br />
believe that several providers use this same number for GPRS access, but YMMV).<br />
<br />
There was one other change that I found I needed to make. To begin with I couldn't<br />
get it to complete the connection as it was requiring the remote end to authenticate<br />
which it seems it wasn't doing. I edited the file /etc/ppp/options and changed the<br />
line which said "auth" to "noauth" instead. I'm not really sure if it's a good idea<br />
or not, but it's the only way I've been able to make it work so far. <br />
<br />
With the above all done clicking "Connect" in KPPP now makes a succesful connection.<br />
<br />
==Build Environment==<br />
<br />
I needed some build tools in order to get the fingerprint reader working so I <br />
installed the following packages:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get install gcc libc-dev g++ make<br />
<br />
==Fingerprint Reader==<br />
<br />
Not all the R52 sub-models have a fingerprint reader it seems, but mine (sub-model <br />
1846AQG) has one.<br />
<br />
I fetched and installed bioapi system, which is packaged as a Debian unstable <br />
package, but it installed on Ubunut just fine:<br />
<br />
wget http://www.qrivy.net/~michael/temp/bioapi_1.2.3_i386.deb<br />
sudo dpkg -i bioapi_1.2.3_i386.deb<br />
<br />
It moaned about not being able to find /usr/lib/libqtpwbsp.so, but this seems not<br />
to be fatal.<br />
<br />
Next, I fetched and installed the UPEK driver for the fingerprint reader:<br />
<br />
wget http://www.upek.com/support/download/TFMESS_BSP_LIN_1.0.zip<br />
unzip TFMESS_BSP_LIN_1.0.zip<br />
chmod a+x install.sh<br />
sudo ./install.sh /usr/lib<br />
<br />
I now built the "sample" tool that comes with the UPEK driver. Firstly I changed<br />
to the directory containing that within where I'd unziped the UPEK driver:<br />
<br />
cd NonGUI_Sample<br />
<br />
And in there did the following:<br />
<br />
gcc -o sample main.c -lbioapi100 -DUNIX -DLITTLE_ENDIAN<br />
<br />
Note: For this to work I needed to have installed the development tools as <br />
mentioned in the previous section above.<br />
<br />
Now I could run the sample tool:<br />
<br />
sudo ./sample<br />
<br />
In the tool I pressed "e" to enroll a fingerprint (you should give the name<br />
for the fingerprint the same name as your user account, so in my case "matt").<br />
I then used "v" to verify the fingerprint and then I quit. Once you quit you<br />
should find that a .bir file has been created, in my case matt.bir.<br />
<br />
I now worked on integrating this with PAM. Firstly a number of steps to get<br />
the PAM bioapi system patched with fingerprint support and built:<br />
<br />
sudo apt-get install libpam0g-dev<br />
wget http://www.qrivy.net/~michael/blua/pam_bioapi/pam_bioapi-latest.tar.bz2<br />
tar jxvf pam_bioapi-latest.tar.bz2<br />
cd pam_bioapi-*<br />
wget http://badcode.de/downloads/fingerprint.patch<br />
patch -p0 < fingerprint.patch<br />
./configure<br />
make<br />
sudo make install<br />
sudo cp /usr/local/lib/security/* /lib/security<br />
<br />
And then some steps to get my fingerprint to the right place:<br />
<br />
SERIAL=`BioAPITest | sed -ne "/Fingerprint/{n;n;s/^.*: \(.\{9\}\)\(.\{4\}\)\(.\{4\}\)\(.\{4\}\)\(.*\)/\1-\2-\3-\4-\5/gp}"`<br />
mkdir -p /etc/bioapi/pam/$SERIAL<br />
cp matt.bir /etc/bioapi/pam/$SERIAL<br />
<br />
Where "matt.bir" should obviously replaced with whatever the file is that you<br />
created with the sample tool above.<br />
<br />
The final step was to modify /etc/pam.d/common-auth to call the bioapi stuff. I<br />
edited mine so that it contained the following lines:<br />
<br />
auth sufficient pam_bioapi.so {5550454b-2054-464d-2f45-535320425350} /etc/bioapi/pam/<br />
password sufficient pam_bioapi.so {5550454b-2054-464d-2f45-535320425350} /etc/bioapi/pam/<br />
auth required pam_unix.so nullok_secure<br />
<br />
With all the above done it was time to reboot. On reboot the kdm login screen<br />
started and then I was able to do the following:<br />
<br />
# Enter username<br />
# Hit return in the password box as though a blank password<br />
# Now scan finger, multiple times if necessary, there is no visual feedback<br />
<br />
Once it read my finger it let me in.<br />
<br />
This seemed a little clunky to me though as there is no visual indication of <br />
what is going on and no way to enter a password instead if you can't scan your<br />
finger for whatever reason. So then I tried gdm instead of kdm and it does seem<br />
to have better support. In gdm, after you enter your username you get a GUI <br />
asking you to scan your finger, and if that fails 3 times then it prompts for<br />
password instead. Much better in my opinion so I've switched my default login<br />
screen to gdm for now.<br />
<br />
===SSH Logins===<br />
<br />
It's a bit annoying when using SSH to the machine from elsewhere that you have<br />
to go up to the machine and scan your fingerprint for it to let you login! So<br />
I modified /etc/pam.d/ssh to remove this line:<br />
<br />
@include common-auth<br />
<br />
and replaced it with the contents of my original common-auth file:<br />
<br />
auth required pam_unix.so nullok_secure<br />
<br />
===SUDO===<br />
<br />
I found that with the above fingerprint setup there were a few issues<br />
surrounding sudo functionality such as:<br />
<br />
* If I was logged in remotely via ssh and then ran something as sudo, it would expect me to scan my fingerprint.<br />
* Certain tools within KDE that used the "run as administrator" type modes would not behave right. Some would just hang when I tried to start them (perhaps waiting for a fingerprint scan? but scanning one didn't seem to help), others would work fine as long as I scanned my finger when it presented the password box.<br />
<br />
I found that by disabling fingerprint access to sudo the same as I did for ssh<br />
above made a lot of these issues go away. I modified /etc/pam.d/sudo and again<br />
removed the line:<br />
<br />
@include common-auth<br />
<br />
and replaced it with the contents of my original common-auth file:<br />
<br />
auth required pam_unix.so nullok_secure<br />
<br />
===Issues===<br />
<br />
* I have this working at the login screen, but if I lock the screen then I can only get back in using password.<br />
<br />
==Internal 56k Modem==<br />
<br />
The modem in this machine uses a Conexant chipset and unfortunately there don't seem to<br />
be any open source drivers that work with it. There is however a binary driver <br />
available from a company called Linuxant which can be downloaded and used for free<br />
though limited to 14.4k. Buying a license from the for $19.99 enables the modem to be<br />
used upto its full speed and is also required to access the fax capabilities of the<br />
modem.<br />
<br />
When I looked on Linuxant's site I found that there were Ubuntu packages available<br />
for the modem driver, but these required me to run an i686 build of the kernel instead<br />
of the i386 build I was currently using. Therefore I upgraded the kernel as described<br />
earlier in this article.<br />
<br />
Next I fetched and installed the Linuxant driver:<br />
<br />
wget http://www.linuxant.com/drivers/hsf/full/archive/hsfmodem-7.43.00.01full/hsfmodem_7.43.00.01full_k2.6.12_10_686_ubuntu_i386.deb.zip<br />
unzip hsfmodem_7.43.00.01full_k2.6.12_10_686_ubuntu_i386.deb.zip<br />
sudo dpkg -i hsfmodem_7.43.00.01full_k2.6.12_10_686_ubuntu_i386.deb<br />
<br />
You get prompted for a few things like your email address and your license key if<br />
you've purchased one (I just left it as the default of FREE to get the 14.4k <br />
functionality for now).<br />
<br />
With the driver installed I fired up KPPP to test it. The driver maps the modem<br />
as /dev/modem so it's a simple case of creating a modem in KPPP with all default<br />
settings. I created an account with the settings for my ISP dialup account and<br />
was able to connect fine (though 14.4k feels a bit slow these days!).<br />
<br />
===Fixing Suspend/Hibernate Issues===<br />
<br />
Unfortunately the Linuxant drivers prevent the ThinkPad from going into suspend<br />
or hibernate states. If you try it you will see that the machine starts to <br />
suspend, but never actually stops, and then returns back to fully functioning<br />
again (perhaps with a locked screen). I had to modify the suspend,hibernate <br />
and resume scripts in order to unload the Linuxant drivers when the machine is<br />
sleeping/hibernating and then reload them when the machine resumes.<br />
<br />
I edited /etc/acpi/sleep.sh and found this line:<br />
<br />
echo -n $ACPI_SLEEP_MODE >/sys/power/state<br />
<br />
Just '''before''' that line I added this line:<br />
<br />
/etc/init.d/hfs stop<br />
<br />
I edited /etc/acpi/hibernate.sh and found this line:<br />
<br />
echo -n $HIBERNATE_MODE >/sys/power/disk<br />
<br />
Just '''before''' that line I added the same line as I did in sleep.sh:<br />
<br />
/etc/init.d/hfs stop<br />
<br />
Finally, I edited /etc/acpi/resume.sh to reload the drivers on resume. I found<br />
this line at the end of the file:<br />
<br />
(sleep 5 && rm /var/lock/acpisleep)&<br />
<br />
Just '''before''' that line I added this line:<br />
<br />
/etc/init.d/hfs start<br />
<br />
Following these changes suspend & hibernate both worked again, resumed fine and<br />
I was then able to use the modem again following the resume.<br />
<br />
===Adding License===<br />
<br />
I decided to purchase the license from Linuxant to unlock the full features of<br />
the modem. The purchasing process on Linuxant's website requires you to enter<br />
the "Registration ID" of your modem (I guess generated from some serial number<br />
in the hardware or whatever) in order to generate the license key. The <br />
registration ID can be obtained by the following command:<br />
<br />
sudo hsfconfig --info<br />
<br />
Once I'd purchased the license key I was able to set that by doing:<br />
<br />
sudo hsfconfig --license<br />
<br />
and following the prompts.</div>Matt