text:
Team UKRM did the Snetterton 8 hour race on the weekend preceding the start of the Manx Grand Prix. While the bike hadn’t been changed much since the previous 6 hour race at Pembrey, it did have a new petrol tank. Insufficient flushing of the contents caused serious problems with the fuel system (blocked filter, knackered fuel pump).
So, for the two days before departure, Alex Ferrier and I went through the whole bike – replacing all the consumables (oil and filter, brake pads, tyres, etc) and replacing the all the fuel lines, connectors and filter, as well as changing the tank for one with a normal filler cap (instead of the twin filler dry-break system we use for endurance racing).
Alex and I are lucky enough to be good friends of Manx residents Keith and Jan, and their near neighbours Sally and Michelle – lodging had been arranged for us with “the girls”, and space cleared in Keith’s workshop for my bike and kit.
Having loaded the van the evening before, today consisted of little more than driving to Heysham, collecting Alex from Bridgnorth on the way, and getting the ferry to the Isle of Man. We arrived in the early evening, driving over the mountain (the “wrong way”) to Ramsey in the evening sunshine. On days like this, the Isle of Man is definitely one of the most beautiful places on earth. After unloading an enormous amount of kit into Keith’s workshop, we ensconced ourselves in Sally and Michelle’s house, and then got a takeaway curry.
A busy, busy day - I had to get to the Grandstand in Douglas and sign on, get my kit inspected, and jump through several other administrative hoops including the newcomers briefing and the newcomers bus tour of the circuit. Meanwhile, Alex took my bike to Slick Bass’s tuning shop and gave it a run on the dyno, to ensure that it was still healthy after all the work we’d done on it. Encouragingly, it still made 130bhp at the rear wheel.
Scrutineering for practice started in the afternoon, with all the newcomers scheduled to do a lap behind a travelling marshal (mounted on a Fireblade) before being allowed to take to the circuit alone. This new measure was introduced this year after a French rider killed himself at the TT last year, on his first lap of practice, on about the 3rd corner. And this was our undoing. Despite the bike having run that morning on the dyno, and run for the best part of 8 hours the previous weekend, it chose this moment to develop a water leak (where the hose joins the water pump) on the start line, just as we’re due to be shepherded round by the travelling marshals. We quickly pulled it off the grid and fixed the problem in about 10 minutes; however by this time the ducklings had all left with their mother goose, and I wasn’t allowed to start – I would have to wait until Monday. This was not a good start to the fortnight. Later, in more contemplative mood, I reasoned that if one were going to suffer a catastrophic water leak anywhere on the Isle of Man, waiting on the start line is probably the best place.
A busy day in the garage. I can’t remember what we did now (two weeks later) but it must have been important.
Because of missing Saturday’s session, I and half a dozen other newcomers were to be escorted behind a Travelling Marshal at the start of today’s practice. Consequently, our presence was requested early at Scrutineering – i.e. around 2:30pm, even though the scrutes don’t arrive until 4pm. There’s a lot of waiting around in this game. And, the weather didn’t look good. In fact, it looked pretty bad – it was raining, so we retired to local hero Tommy Clucas’ awning, for a cup of coffee and a slice of cake. Tom is a mate of Keith’s, and despite being favourite to win the Junior race, and perhaps the Senior too, he is really down to earth, friendly and approachable. I first met him six weeks earlier, when he took time out to sit in the passenger seat of the car and talk me round a lap.
Eventually we got scrut’ed, and then it was another two hours until the roads closed at 6pm, with practice due to start at 6:15. Although the rain had stopped, the weather still looked bad – the problem with the Island circuit is that if the weather comes down, the mountain section is covered in fog/cloud. In the old days, no one cared, but now, if the helicopter can’t fly the whole course, then no one rides.
So, at around 6:30, the practice session was cancelled and we all went home. So, I’d been on the Island for four days now, and still hadn’t ridden the bike. It’s fair to say I was not in a good mood.
In the morning, a group of us stood around in the workshop, wondering why there was so much travel in my brake lever. Alex, Keith and Joe decided to fix the problem, and pulled the brakes to bits, discovering several stuck pistons and some rather dished disks. We got all the pistons moving (with compressed air), cleaned them up, fitted some moderately flat disks and Keith bled the brakes in 10 minutes, and now they felt 10 times better than they ever had before. Why didn’t I do that ages ago? Thanks, guys.
Got to scrut’ing early again, and then had the wait until 6:15 pm for the off. Which, today, actuall happened! Six new boys in orange bibs lined up on the Glencrutchery Road, and off we set behind the Travelling Marshal. It was immediately obvious that this was going to be a sloooooow lap – apparently some of the TMs had been criticised for going too fast on the escorted laps on Saturday. I spent half the time resting my left hand on the tank – I don’t think we went faster than 70 or 80mph down the straights. No matter, my penance was served, and when we got back to the Grandstand I was free to do a solo lap. Which, after a quick look over the bike, I immediately did. This was more like it! I headed off towards St Ninians Crossroads and Bray Hill, aware that I just need to dial myself carefully. But even so, that drop down the hill is quite amazing. Fortunately, having done so many laps of the circuit before on open roads, I had no problem knowing where the course went, and was able to navigate round at a comfortable pace – I got back to the Grandstand to find that I’d done 95mph – I was happy enough with that for my first lap on closed roads. The bike wasn’t handling particularly well either, so I resolved to call Richard at Maxton for some set up advice the next morning.
By now I’m in the swing of things. There are always a few little jobs to do in the morning – checking the bike over, buying fuel, charging the transponder, etc, and then it’s off to the Grandstand in Douglas, and get in the queue for scrut’ing. Now that I’d passed my novice initiation, I was out practicing with the fast boys – practice sessions are divided in two – the first for classic and smaller capacity bikes (125s and 400s), the second for the 600s and 750s (and the odd pukka race 250 two stroke). So now there as an even longer wait until my session started just after 7pm. A fair amount of meaningless wandering around took place to pass this time. I also managed to meet Richard from Maxton in the queue, and he had a bounce on the rear suspension of the bike, and applied a few clicks, and then a few more.
Bikes go off in pairs at ten second intervals for practice, just like in the race, but your starting position depends on how soon you get through scrut’ing and how much you’re prepared to jostle in the queue. I didn’t want to be too near the front, but nor did I want to be near the back either, so I manage to get out about half way. Bear in mind that there are a lot of bikes on the course for a practise session – easily over a hundred. I set off with another rider (can’t remember who now) and immediately felt good – just comfortable and enjoying the speed of the bike. I wanted to do two laps (including a ‘flying lap’ as the second one to actually get into the rhythm of the place, and make sure the bike was ok, as it would need to do this in the race (which is four laps with a pit stop). Of course, there are still some places where I was slowing down despite the fact that I knew I shouldn’t – the flat out kinks at Glen Vine, Crosby, Gorse Lee and the end of Conk-y-Voddy were far from flat out. But elsewhere the suspension felt far better now Richard had adjusted it.
My sense of fun was interrupted at the 13th Milestone, however – coming out of the bottom of Barregarrow, there were waved yellow flags – we slowed down, and coming round the corner there was a scene of carnage. Three bikes were down, riders lying in the road, and straw bales littered everywhere. We had to thread our way through the wreckage at no more than 20mph. It suddenly hit home to me that if there’s an accident here, the bike and rider are likely to stay on the road (rather than slide off the track into the gravel as on a short circuit), and collisions were therefore a real danger (I was later told that the 2nd and 3rd riders had crashed hitting the wreckage of the first one). That gave me pause for thought, but I soon got my head down and got going again.
I was enjoying myself here – there were a few bikes coming past me, but I was catching and passing a few myself, and in some ways was just like being on a ride out with a bunch of fast mates, but with all the road to use, and no concerns about traffic or police. I came flying through and started my second lap. We still had to slow to negotiate the accident at the 13th, but otherwise I felt good, and when I got back to the pits Alex greeted me with a big grin, telling me that my first lap had been 101mph, and the second 103mph. I was over the moon!
Thursday afternoon practise is a little different – it’s in the afternoon, rather than the evening, and slightly longer, meaning most people can get in three laps if they want. Consequently, the whole timetable of the day is moved forward. Fortunately, we had nothing to do to the bike, and so were up, breakfasted and over to Douglas with no rushing around. The bike passed scrut’ing again without trouble (once we’d noticed the missing bolt on the handlebar clamp in the queue! This place really does shake bikes to pieces). Often Thursday produces the fastest times, just because it’s a more congenial time to be riding bikes (with no low sun as in the evening sessions) but the weather was grey with a threat of rain. Still, no problems, and we were all off on time. By now I was feeling pretty comfortable, but I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to find any additional pace. Again, there were a couple of accidents on the course, one at Rhencullen and then, after speeding up again for the Bishopscourt section I came round a corner to find an accident that the marshals hadn’t even got to yet – the rider was on one side of the road, the bike on the other, on fire, with smoke drifting across and obscuring the road. I had no time to do anything apart from scream, and went flying through the smoke to find myself still on two wheels and pointing in approximately the right direction. Now that was scary.
I decided to see if I could up the pace a little, so tried to ensure I got out near the front of the practice group, and found myself lining up with Irish newcomer Andrew Neill, riding TT winner Ryan Farquar’s ZX6RR. As expected, Andrew immediately drew ahead of me on the run down Bray Hill, but I girded my loins and tucked in behind him, and kept him in sight all the way to Cronk-y-voddy (10 miles later), where my bike started to play up, holding back in top gear. This felt exactly like the fuel starvation problems we’d had previously at Snetterton. Through the twisty bits it was ok, and only when flat in top did it show up. I soldiered on, but the bike wouldn’t pull more than 10k in top all the way from Union Mills to the Highlander, or along Sulby stratight, so I knew there was a ‘real’ problem. I must have been yanking on the throttle particularly hard, because on the run down to the Creg-ny-bar the throttle cable snapped. If only we’d listened to the scrutineer. So, I parked by the pub, and a marshal gave me some money to get a drink, and I waited for the roads to open and Alex to come and pick me up in the van. Still, I’d managed a 104mph lap, even with a bike that was a bit slow in top gear. Andrew Neill was 27 seconds faster (106mph) so tagging on to him had been a good plan.
Alex went through the fuel system this morning, checking the tank, fuel filter and hoses. Meanwhile, I dashed from Ramsey to the paddock in Douglas, got some new throttle cables made up, and dashed back to Ramsey to fit them. The new inner cables were slightly too long for the new outers, so we had to get them shortened in the paddock again anyway. I also got a new chain fitted, as recommended by all the old Isle of Man regulars – the course is so bumpy it plays hell with chains. We then went through the by now regular routine.
This was the last practice session, and several people advised me to just take it steady, and to just bed in the new chain. Which is what I did, posting an easy 102mph. Unfortunately, the fuelling problem was still there. Oh dear.
Sunday 29th August – Day before Newcomers Race.
So now we had a problem – the bike had a fuelling problem, and there was no more practise time. The problem could only be down to two things – either the fuel pump couldn’t supply the peak fuel demand, or the one-way valve on the tank breather (which lets air into the tank, but not fuel out) was causing a restriction. So, I borrowed a fuel pump from local rider Derren Slous, and we threw away the one-way valve and replaced it an old fashioned length of hose, curled up several times. We took the bike to Slick Bass’s dyno and ran it before and after the changes. While the dyno couldn’t re-create the problem (it’s not able to put the engine under load for long enough) we could at least check that it still ran as well as it did before. And it was still making healthy horsepower.
But, before all this, there was more admin to do. Keith and I had to go to the race office at the Grandstand to sign on, and I had to go to the Newcomer’s race briefing, which was really just about how to do a pit stop. Having done three seasons of endurance racing, pit stops held no fears for me, but they’re something new for riders who’ve only done short circuit races.
It was while having a cup of tea in the paddock with Keith that we heard that fellow newcomer Gavin Feighery had died overnight from the injuries he sustained when he crashed at the Mountain Box in the last practice session. It was the first fatality of the week.
Scrut’ing is done slightly differently for the race – batches of bikes have a time slot, and ours was 7:00 to 7:30. This meant the van had to leave Ramsey at 6:30am! We’d loaded the van the evening before, and Alex and Michelle had volunteered to take it over, giving me an extra hour in bed. Thanks guys! I arrived with Keith at 8:30 and had to get my riding gear scrut’d again. And then it was just a question of waiting for the off, and the weather, which again didn’t look good. While the cloud was quite high (so no mist over the mountain) several showers had blown over the course, and much of it was reckoned to be wet. I collared two guys from Manx Radio, and they told me the entire Glen Helen section was soaked. So, that decided it – we swapped the wheels to run intermediate tyres, as did about 90% of the field.
The roads closed at 10am, but a 30 minute delay was announced immediately, putting the start back to 10:45. At 10:30 we started moving the bikes up to the Glencrutchery road, but just as it looked like we were going to get away, another 30 minute delay was announced. So, we all milled around on the grid, chatting to each other and offering clichés and platitudes. And then the time went, and the start procedure was underway.
Racing on the Mountain Course is essentially a time trial – riders set off in pairs at ten second intervals, and race the clock. I was number 29, meaning I would start some 2 minutes and 10 seconds behind the starting pair. Alongside me was a chap called Dave Saxby, who coincidentally was from Gloucestershire too, and was riding a GSX-R 600 from Fraser’s Motorcycles. We got a clean start, and the extra few ponies in my 750 got me ahead of Dave on the run to St Ninian’s crossroads, and that was the last I saw of him. When I spoke to him later he told me his intermediate tyres we sliding all over the place.
The run down Bray Hill, for the first time in a race, for the first time in the wet, was scary. And, on the approach to Quarter Bridge, I, like the most of the rest of the field, had the warnings ringing in our head not to overcook it on cold tyres, with a full fuel load. And the same advice applied through Braden Bridge, which was also wet. In fact, the road was wet all the way to Glen Vine, but my tyres felt great, and I was already catching people – coming round the bottom of Union Mills and seeing someone ahead of you on the straight run to Glen Vine is a great feeling. I passed a couple of bikes on the way to Crosby, and caught a couple more through Greeba Castle, passing them on the run down to Gorse Lee and Ballacraine.
And then we were into the Glen Helen section. Normally I love this part of the course, tho I’m not sure I’m particularly quick, but with very wet roads it needed some care. Still, I seemed to be going OK, and the tyres weren’t moving around at all, so I burst out of the climb up Creg Willys Hill onto the Cronk y Voddy straight, and onto completely dry roads for the first time, enjoying myself. And, the bike pulled top gear along the straight with no problems, meaning the fuelling problem was sorted.
At the time of writing (10 days after the race), my memory has already faded too much to give a corner by corner write up. In fact, I found earlier in the week that even after two practise laps, I had pretty poor recall of when things happened – the brain is just too busy to file stuff away. The rest of the first lap went well, and (tho I didn’t know it at the time) I’d moved into 15th place. The mountain was mostly dry (apart from Bungalow Bridge, which stayed wet for the whole race), and my bike definitely pulled well over the top. The second lap was much drier, tho still wet through Glen Helen and the 13th Milestone, and a few other places under the trees. It was on this lap that I caught number 28, Vince Prevett, who’d started 10 seconds ahead of me. It took me a little while to get past him, eventually doing it at Bishopscourt. I thought that was the last I’d see of him, but blow me if he didn’t outbrake me into Parliament Square, some 6 miles later. I followed him up the mountain, getting past on the Mountain Mile, but he came alongside me in the stop box on the way into the pits.
The pit stop was smooth, but slightly slow – our petrol tank had explo-safe expanded foam in it, and it slowed down the petrol going in (we pulled this out for the Senior race). Two or three bikes I’d passed got out of the pits before me (including Vince) but I soon caught and passed them again, although Vince took a while. The next two laps were a bit of a blur – each lap was drier, though it remained wet in parts of Glen Helen, the 13th Milestone, Quarry Bends and Bungalow Bridge. Vince and I had a right old ding dong, passing each other two or three times a lap, but I got the result in the end – as I’d started 10 seconds behind him, I knew that I only had to keep him in sight, but I managed to finish 1 second in front of him on the road too.
I was greeted by Alex and Keith in the paddock, with big grins on their faces. I experienced an odd combination of emotions – relief, euphoria, achievement, all overlaid with a severe overdose of adrenaline. The results were available on a computer in the rider’s centre, and it turned out I was 11th, and had earned a replica (by finishing within 110% of the winner’s time). While there, I learnt another quaint part of the Manx GP tradition – riders get a free sandwich, piece of cake and a cup of tea!
We took the day off, and did nothing.
I wanted to watch the Junior race, so borrowed a car and drove down to Quarry Bends. Unlike the TT, it is possible to get a decent view even at the popular viewing places at the Manx Grand Prix, and I sat on the bales and watched as the front runners came flying through. Tommy Clucas got off to a storming start, setting a new MGP record of 120mph on his first lap. He continued to open the gap over the next two laps, but on the last lap he didn’t come through Quarry Bends. At the commentary point at Ramsey, he was reported as missing, but no other word came, which I knew meant he’d had a serious crash (breakdowns and minor accidents are usually reported quite quickly on the commentary).
I went back to Ramsey and had a beer with Keith in the Central Hotel as the 350 Classics came through. Apparently Tommy had crashed on the run down to Ballaugh Bridge.
Alex, Sally, Michelle and I went to the Villa Marina in Douglas for the presentation of the awards for Monday’s and today’s races. The sense of pride I felt hearing my name read out by Geoff Cannell (the voice of the TT, for me), and going on stage to collect my replica was enormous, as can been seen in this picture.
I went round to see Keith and show off my replica, to find him very quiet – Tommy had died overnight. The second death of the meeting. Keith knew Tommy very well, and was talking about not even riding in the senior the next day. And, the weather forecast was awful.
Just to contradict the weather forecast, the day dawned bright and sunny. The senior race was in the afternoon, after the Lightweight/Ultra-Lightweight race. Despite dire predictions, it stayed dry, and the cloud stayed high, and the first race got off on time. And then it was our turn. This time I was starting number 92, over seven minutes behind the guys at the front of the grid. Which was a good thing, because those guys were going to be going a lot faster than me (fastest lap in practice had been 118mph). Number 91 was a non-starter, so I set off by myself. Strangely, I got passed by a few people on the first lap, even though I didn’t feel I was going slowly (turns out I was – first lap was only just over 100mph). The second lap I got my head down a bit and did 103. Although the roads were dry, it was incredibly windy over the mountain, and the bike felt pretty flat in place, and was hard to steer in others. Still, it was the same conditions for everyone. At the pit stop, Alex employed his trusted motivational technique – “Why are you going so slow?” he asked. “Come on, get your finger out!” It must have worked, because I picked up the pace and gained some places. Also, about here, I started racing with Simon Briggs, on his old steel framed 600 Honda. He was riding as if on a short circuit, out-braking me into the slow corners, but I mostly stuck to my line and usually out accelerated him down the straights. Of course, it helped having more horsepower! Simon had a lower starting number than me, so I knew I was ahead of him on time, but it was good fun racing on the roads. In the final run down the mountain Simon got in front of me and I thought he was going to win the race on the road, but he outbraked himself into Govenors Bridge and I rode through the huge door he left open for me and beat him over the line. We grinned at each other as we rode back up to the paddock.
I got the results shortly afterwards – 60th, from some 100+ starters. And a best lap of 105mph, which had been my target speed from the beginning. Not too bad, tho I must admit that I felt slightly disappointed – if I’d gone faster on the first lap I’d have been a few positions up, and my mate Keith had posted a new personal best of 107, and I’d not been able to go with him. Still, not bad for a newcomer.
Alex and I got the ferry that evening, and drove home through the night. I got to bed at 4am. The next day I was up, changed the oil, filter, brake pads and tyres on the bike, fitted the endurance petrol tank and drove the van to Donington. The next day, Team UKRM did the final six hour race of the season.
too many others to mention for help large and small.

lowercased:
team ukrm did the snetterton 8 hour race on the weekend preceding the start of the manx grand prix. while the bike hadn’t been changed much since the previous 6 hour race at pembrey, it did have a new petrol tank. insufficient flushing of the contents caused serious problems with the fuel system (blocked filter, knackered fuel pump).
so, for the two days before departure, alex ferrier and i went through the whole bike – replacing all the consumables (oil and filter, brake pads, tyres, etc) and replacing the all the fuel lines, connectors and filter, as well as changing the tank for one with a normal filler cap (instead of the twin filler dry-break system we use for endurance racing).
alex and i are lucky enough to be good friends of manx residents keith and jan, and their near neighbours sally and michelle – lodging had been arranged for us with “the girls”, and space cleared in keith’s workshop for my bike and kit.
having loaded the van the evening before, today consisted of little more than driving to heysham, collecting alex from bridgnorth on the way, and getting the ferry to the isle of man. we arrived in the early evening, driving over the mountain (the “wrong way”) to ramsey in the evening sunshine. on days like this, the isle of man is definitely one of the most beautiful places on earth. after unloading an enormous amount of kit into keith’s workshop, we ensconced ourselves in sally and michelle’s house, and then got a takeaway curry.
a busy, busy day - i had to get to the grandstand in douglas and sign on, get my kit inspected, and jump through several other administrative hoops including the newcomers briefing and the newcomers bus tour of the circuit. meanwhile, alex took my bike to slick bass’s tuning shop and gave it a run on the dyno, to ensure that it was still healthy after all the work we’d done on it. encouragingly, it still made 130bhp at the rear wheel.
scrutineering for practice started in the afternoon, with all the newcomers scheduled to do a lap behind a travelling marshal (mounted on a fireblade) before being allowed to take to the circuit alone. this new measure was introduced this year after a french rider killed himself at the tt last year, on his first lap of practice, on about the 3rd corner. and this was our undoing. despite the bike having run that morning on the dyno, and run for the best part of 8 hours the previous weekend, it chose this moment to develop a water leak (where the hose joins the water pump) on the start line, just as we’re due to be shepherded round by the travelling marshals. we quickly pulled it off the grid and fixed the problem in about 10 minutes; however by this time the ducklings had all left with their mother goose, and i wasn’t allowed to start – i would have to wait until monday. this was not a good start to the fortnight. later, in more contemplative mood, i reasoned that if one were going to suffer a catastrophic water leak anywhere on the isle of man, waiting on the start line is probably the best place.
a busy day in the garage. i can’t remember what we did now (two weeks later) but it must have been important.
because of missing saturday’s session, i and half a dozen other newcomers were to be escorted behind a travelling marshal at the start of today’s practice. consequently, our presence was requested early at scrutineering – i.e. around 2:30pm, even though the scrutes don’t arrive until 4pm. there’s a lot of waiting around in this game. and, the weather didn’t look good. in fact, it looked pretty bad – it was raining, so we retired to local hero tommy clucas’ awning, for a cup of coffee and a slice of cake. tom is a mate of keith’s, and despite being favourite to win the junior race, and perhaps the senior too, he is really down to earth, friendly and approachable. i first met him six weeks earlier, when he took time out to sit in the passenger seat of the car and talk me round a lap.
eventually we got scrut’ed, and then it was another two hours until the roads closed at 6pm, with practice due to start at 6:15. although the rain had stopped, the weather still looked bad – the problem with the island circuit is that if the weather comes down, the mountain section is covered in fog/cloud. in the old days, no one cared, but now, if the helicopter can’t fly the whole course, then no one rides.
so, at around 6:30, the practice session was cancelled and we all went home. so, i’d been on the island for four days now, and still hadn’t ridden the bike. it’s fair to say i was not in a good mood.
in the morning, a group of us stood around in the workshop, wondering why there was so much travel in my brake lever. alex, keith and joe decided to fix the problem, and pulled the brakes to bits, discovering several stuck pistons and some rather dished disks. we got all the pistons moving (with compressed air), cleaned them up, fitted some moderately flat disks and keith bled the brakes in 10 minutes, and now they felt 10 times better than they ever had before. why didn’t i do that ages ago? thanks, guys.
got to scrut’ing early again, and then had the wait until 6:15 pm for the off. which, today, actuall happened! six new boys in orange bibs lined up on the glencrutchery road, and off we set behind the travelling marshal. it was immediately obvious that this was going to be a sloooooow lap – apparently some of the tms had been criticised for going too fast on the escorted laps on saturday. i spent half the time resting my left hand on the tank – i don’t think we went faster than 70 or 80mph down the straights. no matter, my penance was served, and when we got back to the grandstand i was free to do a solo lap. which, after a quick look over the bike, i immediately did. this was more like it! i headed off towards st ninians crossroads and bray hill, aware that i just need to dial myself carefully. but even so, that drop down the hill is quite amazing. fortunately, having done so many laps of the circuit before on open roads, i had no problem knowing where the course went, and was able to navigate round at a comfortable pace – i got back to the grandstand to find that i’d done 95mph – i was happy enough with that for my first lap on closed roads. the bike wasn’t handling particularly well either, so i resolved to call richard at maxton for some set up advice the next morning.
by now i’m in the swing of things. there are always a few little jobs to do in the morning – checking the bike over, buying fuel, charging the transponder, etc, and then it’s off to the grandstand in douglas, and get in the queue for scrut’ing. now that i’d passed my novice initiation, i was out practicing with the fast boys – practice sessions are divided in two – the first for classic and smaller capacity bikes (125s and 400s), the second for the 600s and 750s (and the odd pukka race 250 two stroke). so now there as an even longer wait until my session started just after 7pm. a fair amount of meaningless wandering around took place to pass this time. i also managed to meet richard from maxton in the queue, and he had a bounce on the rear suspension of the bike, and applied a few clicks, and then a few more.
bikes go off in pairs at ten second intervals for practice, just like in the race, but your starting position depends on how soon you get through scrut’ing and how much you’re prepared to jostle in the queue. i didn’t want to be too near the front, but nor did i want to be near the back either, so i manage to get out about half way. bear in mind that there are a lot of bikes on the course for a practise session – easily over a hundred. i set off with another rider (can’t remember who now) and immediately felt good – just comfortable and enjoying the speed of the bike. i wanted to do two laps (including a ‘flying lap’ as the second one to actually get into the rhythm of the place, and make sure the bike was ok, as it would need to do this in the race (which is four laps with a pit stop). of course, there are still some places where i was slowing down despite the fact that i knew i shouldn’t – the flat out kinks at glen vine, crosby, gorse lee and the end of conk-y-voddy were far from flat out. but elsewhere the suspension felt far better now richard had adjusted it.
my sense of fun was interrupted at the 13th milestone, however – coming out of the bottom of barregarrow, there were waved yellow flags – we slowed down, and coming round the corner there was a scene of carnage. three bikes were down, riders lying in the road, and straw bales littered everywhere. we had to thread our way through the wreckage at no more than 20mph. it suddenly hit home to me that if there’s an accident here, the bike and rider are likely to stay on the road (rather than slide off the track into the gravel as on a short circuit), and collisions were therefore a real danger (i was later told that the 2nd and 3rd riders had crashed hitting the wreckage of the first one). that gave me pause for thought, but i soon got my head down and got going again.
i was enjoying myself here – there were a few bikes coming past me, but i was catching and passing a few myself, and in some ways was just like being on a ride out with a bunch of fast mates, but with all the road to use, and no concerns about traffic or police. i came flying through and started my second lap. we still had to slow to negotiate the accident at the 13th, but otherwise i felt good, and when i got back to the pits alex greeted me with a big grin, telling me that my first lap had been 101mph, and the second 103mph. i was over the moon!
thursday afternoon practise is a little different – it’s in the afternoon, rather than the evening, and slightly longer, meaning most people can get in three laps if they want. consequently, the whole timetable of the day is moved forward. fortunately, we had nothing to do to the bike, and so were up, breakfasted and over to douglas with no rushing around. the bike passed scrut’ing again without trouble (once we’d noticed the missing bolt on the handlebar clamp in the queue! this place really does shake bikes to pieces). often thursday produces the fastest times, just because it’s a more congenial time to be riding bikes (with no low sun as in the evening sessions) but the weather was grey with a threat of rain. still, no problems, and we were all off on time. by now i was feeling pretty comfortable, but i wasn’t sure if i was going to be able to find any additional pace. again, there were a couple of accidents on the course, one at rhencullen and then, after speeding up again for the bishopscourt section i came round a corner to find an accident that the marshals hadn’t even got to yet – the rider was on one side of the road, the bike on the other, on fire, with smoke drifting across and obscuring the road. i had no time to do anything apart from scream, and went flying through the smoke to find myself still on two wheels and pointing in approximately the right direction. now that was scary.
i decided to see if i could up the pace a little, so tried to ensure i got out near the front of the practice group, and found myself lining up with irish newcomer andrew neill, riding tt winner ryan farquar’s zx6rr. as expected, andrew immediately drew ahead of me on the run down bray hill, but i girded my loins and tucked in behind him, and kept him in sight all the way to cronk-y-voddy (10 miles later), where my bike started to play up, holding back in top gear. this felt exactly like the fuel starvation problems we’d had previously at snetterton. through the twisty bits it was ok, and only when flat in top did it show up. i soldiered on, but the bike wouldn’t pull more than 10k in top all the way from union mills to the highlander, or along sulby stratight, so i knew there was a ‘real’ problem. i must have been yanking on the throttle particularly hard, because on the run down to the creg-ny-bar the throttle cable snapped. if only we’d listened to the scrutineer. so, i parked by the pub, and a marshal gave me some money to get a drink, and i waited for the roads to open and alex to come and pick me up in the van. still, i’d managed a 104mph lap, even with a bike that was a bit slow in top gear. andrew neill was 27 seconds faster (106mph) so tagging on to him had been a good plan.
alex went through the fuel system this morning, checking the tank, fuel filter and hoses. meanwhile, i dashed from ramsey to the paddock in douglas, got some new throttle cables made up, and dashed back to ramsey to fit them. the new inner cables were slightly too long for the new outers, so we had to get them shortened in the paddock again anyway. i also got a new chain fitted, as recommended by all the old isle of man regulars – the course is so bumpy it plays hell with chains. we then went through the by now regular routine.
this was the last practice session, and several people advised me to just take it steady, and to just bed in the new chain. which is what i did, posting an easy 102mph. unfortunately, the fuelling problem was still there. oh dear.
sunday 29th august – day before newcomers race.
so now we had a problem – the bike had a fuelling problem, and there was no more practise time. the problem could only be down to two things – either the fuel pump couldn’t supply the peak fuel demand, or the one-way valve on the tank breather (which lets air into the tank, but not fuel out) was causing a restriction. so, i borrowed a fuel pump from local rider derren slous, and we threw away the one-way valve and replaced it an old fashioned length of hose, curled up several times. we took the bike to slick bass’s dyno and ran it before and after the changes. while the dyno couldn’t re-create the problem (it’s not able to put the engine under load for long enough) we could at least check that it still ran as well as it did before. and it was still making healthy horsepower.
but, before all this, there was more admin to do. keith and i had to go to the race office at the grandstand to sign on, and i had to go to the newcomer’s race briefing, which was really just about how to do a pit stop. having done three seasons of endurance racing, pit stops held no fears for me, but they’re something new for riders who’ve only done short circuit races.
it was while having a cup of tea in the paddock with keith that we heard that fellow newcomer gavin feighery had died overnight from the injuries he sustained when he crashed at the mountain box in the last practice session. it was the first fatality of the week.
scrut’ing is done slightly differently for the race – batches of bikes have a time slot, and ours was 7:00 to 7:30. this meant the van had to leave ramsey at 6:30am! we’d loaded the van the evening before, and alex and michelle had volunteered to take it over, giving me an extra hour in bed. thanks guys! i arrived with keith at 8:30 and had to get my riding gear scrut’d again. and then it was just a question of waiting for the off, and the weather, which again didn’t look good. while the cloud was quite high (so no mist over the mountain) several showers had blown over the course, and much of it was reckoned to be wet. i collared two guys from manx radio, and they told me the entire glen helen section was soaked. so, that decided it – we swapped the wheels to run intermediate tyres, as did about 90% of the field.
the roads closed at 10am, but a 30 minute delay was announced immediately, putting the start back to 10:45. at 10:30 we started moving the bikes up to the glencrutchery road, but just as it looked like we were going to get away, another 30 minute delay was announced. so, we all milled around on the grid, chatting to each other and offering clichés and platitudes. and then the time went, and the start procedure was underway.
racing on the mountain course is essentially a time trial – riders set off in pairs at ten second intervals, and race the clock. i was number 29, meaning i would start some 2 minutes and 10 seconds behind the starting pair. alongside me was a chap called dave saxby, who coincidentally was from gloucestershire too, and was riding a gsx-r 600 from fraser’s motorcycles. we got a clean start, and the extra few ponies in my 750 got me ahead of dave on the run to st ninian’s crossroads, and that was the last i saw of him. when i spoke to him later he told me his intermediate tyres we sliding all over the place.
the run down bray hill, for the first time in a race, for the first time in the wet, was scary. and, on the approach to quarter bridge, i, like the most of the rest of the field, had the warnings ringing in our head not to overcook it on cold tyres, with a full fuel load. and the same advice applied through braden bridge, which was also wet. in fact, the road was wet all the way to glen vine, but my tyres felt great, and i was already catching people – coming round the bottom of union mills and seeing someone ahead of you on the straight run to glen vine is a great feeling. i passed a couple of bikes on the way to crosby, and caught a couple more through greeba castle, passing them on the run down to gorse lee and ballacraine.
and then we were into the glen helen section. normally i love this part of the course, tho i’m not sure i’m particularly quick, but with very wet roads it needed some care. still, i seemed to be going ok, and the tyres weren’t moving around at all, so i burst out of the climb up creg willys hill onto the cronk y voddy straight, and onto completely dry roads for the first time, enjoying myself. and, the bike pulled top gear along the straight with no problems, meaning the fuelling problem was sorted.
at the time of writing (10 days after the race), my memory has already faded too much to give a corner by corner write up. in fact, i found earlier in the week that even after two practise laps, i had pretty poor recall of when things happened – the brain is just too busy to file stuff away. the rest of the first lap went well, and (tho i didn’t know it at the time) i’d moved into 15th place. the mountain was mostly dry (apart from bungalow bridge, which stayed wet for the whole race), and my bike definitely pulled well over the top. the second lap was much drier, tho still wet through glen helen and the 13th milestone, and a few other places under the trees. it was on this lap that i caught number 28, vince prevett, who’d started 10 seconds ahead of me. it took me a little while to get past him, eventually doing it at bishopscourt. i thought that was the last i’d see of him, but blow me if he didn’t outbrake me into parliament square, some 6 miles later. i followed him up the mountain, getting past on the mountain mile, but he came alongside me in the stop box on the way into the pits.
the pit stop was smooth, but slightly slow – our petrol tank had explo-safe expanded foam in it, and it slowed down the petrol going in (we pulled this out for the senior race). two or three bikes i’d passed got out of the pits before me (including vince) but i soon caught and passed them again, although vince took a while. the next two laps were a bit of a blur – each lap was drier, though it remained wet in parts of glen helen, the 13th milestone, quarry bends and bungalow bridge. vince and i had a right old ding dong, passing each other two or three times a lap, but i got the result in the end – as i’d started 10 seconds behind him, i knew that i only had to keep him in sight, but i managed to finish 1 second in front of him on the road too.
i was greeted by alex and keith in the paddock, with big grins on their faces. i experienced an odd combination of emotions – relief, euphoria, achievement, all overlaid with a severe overdose of adrenaline. the results were available on a computer in the rider’s centre, and it turned out i was 11th, and had earned a replica (by finishing within 110% of the winner’s time). while there, i learnt another quaint part of the manx gp tradition – riders get a free sandwich, piece of cake and a cup of tea!
we took the day off, and did nothing.
i wanted to watch the junior race, so borrowed a car and drove down to quarry bends. unlike the tt, it is possible to get a decent view even at the popular viewing places at the manx grand prix, and i sat on the bales and watched as the front runners came flying through. tommy clucas got off to a storming start, setting a new mgp record of 120mph on his first lap. he continued to open the gap over the next two laps, but on the last lap he didn’t come through quarry bends. at the commentary point at ramsey, he was reported as missing, but no other word came, which i knew meant he’d had a serious crash (breakdowns and minor accidents are usually reported quite quickly on the commentary).
i went back to ramsey and had a beer with keith in the central hotel as the 350 classics came through. apparently tommy had crashed on the run down to ballaugh bridge.
alex, sally, michelle and i went to the villa marina in douglas for the presentation of the awards for monday’s and today’s races. the sense of pride i felt hearing my name read out by geoff cannell (the voice of the tt, for me), and going on stage to collect my replica was enormous, as can been seen in this picture.
i went round to see keith and show off my replica, to find him very quiet – tommy had died overnight. the second death of the meeting. keith knew tommy very well, and was talking about not even riding in the senior the next day. and, the weather forecast was awful.
just to contradict the weather forecast, the day dawned bright and sunny. the senior race was in the afternoon, after the lightweight/ultra-lightweight race. despite dire predictions, it stayed dry, and the cloud stayed high, and the first race got off on time. and then it was our turn. this time i was starting number 92, over seven minutes behind the guys at the front of the grid. which was a good thing, because those guys were going to be going a lot faster than me (fastest lap in practice had been 118mph). number 91 was a non-starter, so i set off by myself. strangely, i got passed by a few people on the first lap, even though i didn’t feel i was going slowly (turns out i was – first lap was only just over 100mph). the second lap i got my head down a bit and did 103. although the roads were dry, it was incredibly windy over the mountain, and the bike felt pretty flat in place, and was hard to steer in others. still, it was the same conditions for everyone. at the pit stop, alex employed his trusted motivational technique – “why are you going so slow?” he asked. “come on, get your finger out!” it must have worked, because i picked up the pace and gained some places. also, about here, i started racing with simon briggs, on his old steel framed 600 honda. he was riding as if on a short circuit, out-braking me into the slow corners, but i mostly stuck to my line and usually out accelerated him down the straights. of course, it helped having more horsepower! simon had a lower starting number than me, so i knew i was ahead of him on time, but it was good fun racing on the roads. in the final run down the mountain simon got in front of me and i thought he was going to win the race on the road, but he outbraked himself into govenors bridge and i rode through the huge door he left open for me and beat him over the line. we grinned at each other as we rode back up to the paddock.
i got the results shortly afterwards – 60th, from some 100+ starters. and a best lap of 105mph, which had been my target speed from the beginning. not too bad, tho i must admit that i felt slightly disappointed – if i’d gone faster on the first lap i’d have been a few positions up, and my mate keith had posted a new personal best of 107, and i’d not been able to go with him. still, not bad for a newcomer.
alex and i got the ferry that evening, and drove home through the night. i got to bed at 4am. the next day i was up, changed the oil, filter, brake pads and tyres on the bike, fitted the endurance petrol tank and drove the van to donington. the next day, team ukrm did the final six hour race of the season.
too many others to mention for help large and small.


text:
At Shower Filter Guys, you will find skilled and experienced personnel to attend to your Shower Filter needs in a most efficient and effortless way. They have been in this trade for the longest time and therefore understand the dynamics of having the appropriate shower water filter for your bathroom requirements. Their training on every aspect of safety and usability come to test when you seek to have a Shower Filter installed at your premises. Shower Filter Guys in East Moline, IL is dedicated to the provision of high class shower water filter that meets all your needs.
The Shower Filter services that you will get in East Moline, IL have been sanctioned so that you do not get worried that you are getting poor quality service. We adhere strictly to the laws on the design and installation of shower filters that are approved by the authorities for purposes of protecting you from suffering from exposure to harmful substances. You will rest with full knowledge that all your concerns on health are taken consideration at every stage. Too much of chlorine or chloramines could mean that you spend much more money in seeking treatment, not mentioning the fact that you could lose your investment because they Shower Filter may fail to meet the quality standards. In East Moline, IL, you will be sure to get the standards that are recommended for your safety.
From Shower Filter Guys in East Moline, IL,you can be sure to get high output sprite Shower Filter that will give you the most in terms of showering experience while preserving your skin from coming into contact with high amount of chlorine,dirt,metal trace element or bad smell in the water. By making a call at 888-384-1899, you will learn new and exciting details about how to make the most out of sprite Shower Filter.
Shower Filter Guys in East Moline, IL can be contacted through 888-384-1899 in order to discover the various aspects of designs and safety features in a modern,safe,top notch shower head filter for all your needs. Our experts have the skill, training and experience to minimize the harmful substances found in your average shower water filter.They will design and install a shower head filter that meets your specifications in terms of standard, safety and efficiency. Talk to our experts and have any other issue addressed in a simple ways so that your health is not compromised. These shower filters also come with replaceable cartridge.

lowercased:
at shower filter guys, you will find skilled and experienced personnel to attend to your shower filter needs in a most efficient and effortless way. they have been in this trade for the longest time and therefore understand the dynamics of having the appropriate shower water filter for your bathroom requirements. their training on every aspect of safety and usability come to test when you seek to have a shower filter installed at your premises. shower filter guys in east moline, il is dedicated to the provision of high class shower water filter that meets all your needs.
the shower filter services that you will get in east moline, il have been sanctioned so that you do not get worried that you are getting poor quality service. we adhere strictly to the laws on the design and installation of shower filters that are approved by the authorities for purposes of protecting you from suffering from exposure to harmful substances. you will rest with full knowledge that all your concerns on health are taken consideration at every stage. too much of chlorine or chloramines could mean that you spend much more money in seeking treatment, not mentioning the fact that you could lose your investment because they shower filter may fail to meet the quality standards. in east moline, il, you will be sure to get the standards that are recommended for your safety.
from shower filter guys in east moline, il,you can be sure to get high output sprite shower filter that will give you the most in terms of showering experience while preserving your skin from coming into contact with high amount of chlorine,dirt,metal trace element or bad smell in the water. by making a call at 888-384-1899, you will learn new and exciting details about how to make the most out of sprite shower filter.
shower filter guys in east moline, il can be contacted through 888-384-1899 in order to discover the various aspects of designs and safety features in a modern,safe,top notch shower head filter for all your needs. our experts have the skill, training and experience to minimize the harmful substances found in your average shower water filter.they will design and install a shower head filter that meets your specifications in terms of standard, safety and efficiency. talk to our experts and have any other issue addressed in a simple ways so that your health is not compromised. these shower filters also come with replaceable cartridge.


text:
Accommodation in Mooloolaba. Hotels in Mooloolaba and apartments in Moololaba is the most comprehensive guide to Moooloolaba Holiday accommodation . See our special rates.
Centrally located in Mooloolaba, just a short stroll to shopping, exciting cafe`s and nightlife, with most apartments enjoying magnificent views of the bay to Point Cartright, or the Glasshouse Mountains. Sunshine Coast Airport is just 15 minutes drive, and Brisbane is conveniently 1 hr away.
There are many fantastic places and activities along our beautiful coast, visit Fraser Island for fishing and whale watching. Noosa for its many water activities and shopping. Bribie Island, Caloundra, and Montville on the Blackall Range are all within close driving proximity to our apartments.
You can do all these things or just do nothing and rest in our tranquil apartments or just laze in the cool water of our beautiful pool, the choice is yours when you are here.
The Sunshine Coast has over 150 kilometres of white sandy beaches, lush tropical rainforestson cool mountainsides, tumbling waterfalls and sleepy rivers. There are many man-made tourist attractions to delight the entire family.

lowercased:
accommodation in mooloolaba. hotels in mooloolaba and apartments in moololaba is the most comprehensive guide to moooloolaba holiday accommodation . see our special rates.
centrally located in mooloolaba, just a short stroll to shopping, exciting cafe`s and nightlife, with most apartments enjoying magnificent views of the bay to point cartright, or the glasshouse mountains. sunshine coast airport is just 15 minutes drive, and brisbane is conveniently 1 hr away.
there are many fantastic places and activities along our beautiful coast, visit fraser island for fishing and whale watching. noosa for its many water activities and shopping. bribie island, caloundra, and montville on the blackall range are all within close driving proximity to our apartments.
you can do all these things or just do nothing and rest in our tranquil apartments or just laze in the cool water of our beautiful pool, the choice is yours when you are here.
the sunshine coast has over 150 kilometres of white sandy beaches, lush tropical rainforestson cool mountainsides, tumbling waterfalls and sleepy rivers. there are many man-made tourist attractions to delight the entire family.


text:
Some Crystal Clear Inspiration! Thanks!
what a privilege to have met you in Bali Dawn AND been introduced to Kundalini Yoga!
Thank you very much for this nice post and information.

lowercased:
some crystal clear inspiration! thanks!
what a privilege to have met you in bali dawn and been introduced to kundalini yoga!
thank you very much for this nice post and information.


text: We are a company passionate about Flavored Egg whites. Not only Fitness related to the people who want that envious physique after loads of hard work they put in the Gym but also helping athletes and health conscious people reach and maintain their goals. We guarantee you all that when you buy from us, what you'll get will be a fully Tested Whole food based product that is free from any harmful additives.

lowercased: we are a company passionate about flavored egg whites. not only fitness related to the people who want that envious physique after loads of hard work they put in the gym but also helping athletes and health conscious people reach and maintain their goals. we guarantee you all that when you buy from us, what you'll get will be a fully tested whole food based product that is free from any harmful additives.


text:
These are the Jewish obituaries for day 20/02/2019 published in the argentinean newspaper "LA NACION".
NAIMARK, Bernardo, Z.L., falleció el 20-2-2013. - Te recordamos siempre con inmenso amor. Betty, Mariza, Daniel, Meli y Fede.

lowercased:
these are the jewish obituaries for day 20/02/2019 published in the argentinean newspaper "la nacion".
naimark, bernardo, z.l., falleció el 20-2-2013. - te recordamos siempre con inmenso amor. betty, mariza, daniel, meli y fede.


text: Abstracts should be submitted by email attachment as .doc or .docx files to socamr@gmail.com and should be from 500-600 words in length for a paper to last between 15 to 20 minutes. Abstracts should contain a title and a word count, but should not have any information regarding the identity of the submitter. For further information about abstract format, please see the SCS Program Guide. The new deadline for submission of abstracts is Friday, March 8, 2019, and all abstracts for papers will be reviewed anonymously. Please direct all queries to SAMR at socamr@gmail.com.

lowercased: abstracts should be submitted by email attachment as .doc or .docx files to socamr@gmail.com and should be from 500-600 words in length for a paper to last between 15 to 20 minutes. abstracts should contain a title and a word count, but should not have any information regarding the identity of the submitter. for further information about abstract format, please see the scs program guide. the new deadline for submission of abstracts is friday, march 8, 2019, and all abstracts for papers will be reviewed anonymously. please direct all queries to samr at socamr@gmail.com.


text: Gold-centred alpine auricula. Attractive browny-orange shades. Bred by Derek Telford in 1991. Naturally produces large pips of good form.

lowercased: gold-centred alpine auricula. attractive browny-orange shades. bred by derek telford in 1991. naturally produces large pips of good form.


text: MonthlyPLRniche.com sold out a few days ago. You can get on the waiting list by going to the site and signing up there. If our experience of MonthlyPLR (which has also sold out) is anything to go by, there’ll be a couple of places that will become vacant each month. If you want one, you’ll need to get on the waiting list., and we’ll let you know.

lowercased: monthlyplrniche.com sold out a few days ago. you can get on the waiting list by going to the site and signing up there. if our experience of monthlyplr (which has also sold out) is anything to go by, there’ll be a couple of places that will become vacant each month. if you want one, you’ll need to get on the waiting list., and we’ll let you know.


text:
I am still here. In the last several months a lot has happened. I have completed my graduate degree, defended my Master’s and moved to another state. On top of all of this, I held part time position focusing on industry analysis and mapping of micro and nanotechnologies, attended conferences and industry networking events, and worked to develop and patent a new MEMS sensor.
As a result, I have a lot to write about but until now, have rarely been able to create the time and focus to post these on this blog. Aside from finishing my degree, many of my recent activities have focused on career, technology, and business development. New posts are coming soon. Please stay tuned.
What exactly is nanotechnology, and how does one explain it to others from more traditional backgrounds? I get that question often, especially from students hesitant to reach out to employers on this subject. Earlier I wrote about doing so. This reblogged post contain my advice on how to communicate ones knowledge on anything nano.
One question that comes my way often is how can we explain what a “nanotechnology company” is? Secondly, what would they look for in a new hire in terms of education and technical skills?
To answer these, first it needs to be recognized that nanotechnology is interdisciplinary. This means that work related to micro and nanotechnologies uses ideas and concepts typically associated with several different fields of science and engineering. For an example, look up BioMEMS. Because nano is indeed interdisciplinary, many companies will hire teams of engineers from various backgrounds (often electrical, chemical, and mechanical) to work on nanotechnology related products.
In most cases that I have observed both through analysis and contact with industry, a “microsystems” or “nanotechnology” company will base its operations around a core set of technical competencies to develop their products.
To identify these competencies (and the skills a new hire may need), the Southwest Center for Microsystems Education has counted over 2700 companies within the United States alone with work on the micro and nanoscale and is in the process of compiling industry maps for all 50 states. See here for more details. I have been part of this effort.
The Southwest Center for Microsystems Education (SCME) has just released a poster on its industry mapping project. Through this effort, the SCME’s goal is to gain an idea of the skills need by employers working in the micro and nanotechnologies in recent graduates. Knowledge gained will be used to strengthen technical and post-secondary education programs across the United States.
As explained on the poster, the commercial and industrial use of microsystems and nanotechnology is widespread throughout the United States. The data presented provides a snapshot into the micro and nanotechnology enabled industry, displaying where within the US it is clustered and a profile the diverse applications of small technologies. Because the applications are widespread, the industrial sectors impacted by their use are wide ranging, which is partially illustrated in this analysis.
However, these findings do not tell the rate at which the micro and nanotechnology enabled industry is growing nor the size or hiring and employment statistics of companies listed. Future work will examine these. Companies included in this study range from startups with less than 20 employees to large semiconductor foundries employing over 1000. No data was found for Alaska, Hawaii, or Puerto Rico.
More information on the methodology of this work is available here.
Out of the 1500 companies categorized, 22% produce tools and capital equipment. These companies build and repair the machines and specialty parts used to analyze and manufacture micro and nanostructures.
18% of companies categorized produce microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and Bio-MEMS. Many biotechnology and medical diagnostics companies that make use of microsensors or gene sequencing technologies are included in this category.
Over half of the companies categorized focus on the production of devices or instruments, as opposed to materials and components for them.
Only 13% of companies specialize in the manufacture of materials traditionally viewed as nanotechnology such as nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, and nanostructured materials.
This study provides a snapshot of the geography of the micro and nanotechnology enabled industry within the United States and the specialties of companies within it. The density map presented illustrates where nanotechnology may have the largest impact upon regional economies within the US. Categorization of the companies working within micro and nanotechnology provides insight into their specialties and potential skill needs.
Based on the categorization, it can be concluded that the majority of companies categorized build integrated systems, as opposed to the manufacture of advanced materials. These systems include the tools for the manufacture and characterization of nanotechnology and microelectronic devices incorporating nanotechnology. Recent graduates who aim for technical employment within nanotechnology are well served understanding how to integrate it within a useful device in an economical manner. Knowledge of only the scientific phenomena behind nanotechnology and the microsystems it is incorporated into may be insufficient. Companies focusing exclusively on production of nanomaterials through the use of these scientific principles are only 18% of those categorized.
While many of the companies counted specialized in micro or nano-dimensioned products, many others focus in more established technical industries but are introducing micro and nano products as solutions to technical problems. There is no defined “nanotechnology industry” but instead many established industries turning to micro and nanotechnologies to solve their problems.
Note: This author presented this work at the COMS Conference in Salt Lake City.

lowercased:
i am still here. in the last several months a lot has happened. i have completed my graduate degree, defended my master’s and moved to another state. on top of all of this, i held part time position focusing on industry analysis and mapping of micro and nanotechnologies, attended conferences and industry networking events, and worked to develop and patent a new mems sensor.
as a result, i have a lot to write about but until now, have rarely been able to create the time and focus to post these on this blog. aside from finishing my degree, many of my recent activities have focused on career, technology, and business development. new posts are coming soon. please stay tuned.
what exactly is nanotechnology, and how does one explain it to others from more traditional backgrounds? i get that question often, especially from students hesitant to reach out to employers on this subject. earlier i wrote about doing so. this reblogged post contain my advice on how to communicate ones knowledge on anything nano.
one question that comes my way often is how can we explain what a “nanotechnology company” is? secondly, what would they look for in a new hire in terms of education and technical skills?
to answer these, first it needs to be recognized that nanotechnology is interdisciplinary. this means that work related to micro and nanotechnologies uses ideas and concepts typically associated with several different fields of science and engineering. for an example, look up biomems. because nano is indeed interdisciplinary, many companies will hire teams of engineers from various backgrounds (often electrical, chemical, and mechanical) to work on nanotechnology related products.
in most cases that i have observed both through analysis and contact with industry, a “microsystems” or “nanotechnology” company will base its operations around a core set of technical competencies to develop their products.
to identify these competencies (and the skills a new hire may need), the southwest center for microsystems education has counted over 2700 companies within the united states alone with work on the micro and nanoscale and is in the process of compiling industry maps for all 50 states. see here for more details. i have been part of this effort.
the southwest center for microsystems education (scme) has just released a poster on its industry mapping project. through this effort, the scme’s goal is to gain an idea of the skills need by employers working in the micro and nanotechnologies in recent graduates. knowledge gained will be used to strengthen technical and post-secondary education programs across the united states.
as explained on the poster, the commercial and industrial use of microsystems and nanotechnology is widespread throughout the united states. the data presented provides a snapshot into the micro and nanotechnology enabled industry, displaying where within the us it is clustered and a profile the diverse applications of small technologies. because the applications are widespread, the industrial sectors impacted by their use are wide ranging, which is partially illustrated in this analysis.
however, these findings do not tell the rate at which the micro and nanotechnology enabled industry is growing nor the size or hiring and employment statistics of companies listed. future work will examine these. companies included in this study range from startups with less than 20 employees to large semiconductor foundries employing over 1000. no data was found for alaska, hawaii, or puerto rico.
more information on the methodology of this work is available here.
out of the 1500 companies categorized, 22% produce tools and capital equipment. these companies build and repair the machines and specialty parts used to analyze and manufacture micro and nanostructures.
18% of companies categorized produce microelectromechanical systems (mems) and bio-mems. many biotechnology and medical diagnostics companies that make use of microsensors or gene sequencing technologies are included in this category.
over half of the companies categorized focus on the production of devices or instruments, as opposed to materials and components for them.
only 13% of companies specialize in the manufacture of materials traditionally viewed as nanotechnology such as nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, and nanostructured materials.
this study provides a snapshot of the geography of the micro and nanotechnology enabled industry within the united states and the specialties of companies within it. the density map presented illustrates where nanotechnology may have the largest impact upon regional economies within the us. categorization of the companies working within micro and nanotechnology provides insight into their specialties and potential skill needs.
based on the categorization, it can be concluded that the majority of companies categorized build integrated systems, as opposed to the manufacture of advanced materials. these systems include the tools for the manufacture and characterization of nanotechnology and microelectronic devices incorporating nanotechnology. recent graduates who aim for technical employment within nanotechnology are well served understanding how to integrate it within a useful device in an economical manner. knowledge of only the scientific phenomena behind nanotechnology and the microsystems it is incorporated into may be insufficient. companies focusing exclusively on production of nanomaterials through the use of these scientific principles are only 18% of those categorized.
while many of the companies counted specialized in micro or nano-dimensioned products, many others focus in more established technical industries but are introducing micro and nano products as solutions to technical problems. there is no defined “nanotechnology industry” but instead many established industries turning to micro and nanotechnologies to solve their problems.
note: this author presented this work at the coms conference in salt lake city.


text:
Mass Appeal delivers the third and final part to their “Release Roundtable” with Pusha T and panel of Hip Hop bloggers as they examine and break down My Name Is My Name. Watch as Pusha addresses his love for Rick Ross and Young Jeezy and his disappointment that fans will probably never hear the two on any future collaborations. ”King Push” also touches on “Hold On” featuring Rick Ross and “No Regerets” with Young Jeezy and Kevin Cossom.
This entry was posted in Miscallenous, Video and tagged hip hop, hold on, kevin cossom, My Name Is My Name, no regrets, pusha t, rap, release roundtable, Young Jeezy. Bookmark the permalink.

lowercased:
mass appeal delivers the third and final part to their “release roundtable” with pusha t and panel of hip hop bloggers as they examine and break down my name is my name. watch as pusha addresses his love for rick ross and young jeezy and his disappointment that fans will probably never hear the two on any future collaborations. ”king push” also touches on “hold on” featuring rick ross and “no regerets” with young jeezy and kevin cossom.
this entry was posted in miscallenous, video and tagged hip hop, hold on, kevin cossom, my name is my name, no regrets, pusha t, rap, release roundtable, young jeezy. bookmark the permalink.


text:
Drink plenty of water: There can be no better way to make sure that you stick to the right schedule than by taking up the easiest way to get it done. Water is nature’s purifier and it helps you flush out all the unneeded and unnecessary deposits. The more you sweat, the more the toxins are washed out from your body. The greatest benefit of this trick is that it is completely free and anyone can take it up at anytime. All you have to do is just gulp down a couple of glasses more than you normally do.
Skin care products: During the course of the day, if you are a person who has to do a lot of outdoor work, you are left exposed to a lot of pollutants. They slow down the recovery rate and actually end up hampering your skin texture. Try to use some skin care products that rejuvenate your skin and help t heal at a faster rate. They will help you fight back against the daily onslaught that your skin undergoes. In the longer run of events, these measures become quite necessary to follow.
Wash your face properly: There is more number of skin pores on your face than anywhere else in your body. It means that there is a greater chance of dirt accumulating on your face than anywhere else. This brings the additional problem of blackheads and whiteheads appearing on your face. They appear as a blemish on a perfectly good toned skin. If you do not want to suffer from this issue, make sure that you have a good face wash to cleanse out the sticky residual materials.
Parlors and massages: The blood flow on your face is quite essential in determining the glow that resides on your face. When you get a massage the blood vessels are stimulated and work with more vigor. The blood flow to the face increases and you appear in a better frame of health.
So as you just read, you have to follow a number of steps to keep your face looking in prime. And believe us, all investments pay off in the end.

lowercased:
drink plenty of water: there can be no better way to make sure that you stick to the right schedule than by taking up the easiest way to get it done. water is nature’s purifier and it helps you flush out all the unneeded and unnecessary deposits. the more you sweat, the more the toxins are washed out from your body. the greatest benefit of this trick is that it is completely free and anyone can take it up at anytime. all you have to do is just gulp down a couple of glasses more than you normally do.
skin care products: during the course of the day, if you are a person who has to do a lot of outdoor work, you are left exposed to a lot of pollutants. they slow down the recovery rate and actually end up hampering your skin texture. try to use some skin care products that rejuvenate your skin and help t heal at a faster rate. they will help you fight back against the daily onslaught that your skin undergoes. in the longer run of events, these measures become quite necessary to follow.
wash your face properly: there is more number of skin pores on your face than anywhere else in your body. it means that there is a greater chance of dirt accumulating on your face than anywhere else. this brings the additional problem of blackheads and whiteheads appearing on your face. they appear as a blemish on a perfectly good toned skin. if you do not want to suffer from this issue, make sure that you have a good face wash to cleanse out the sticky residual materials.
parlors and massages: the blood flow on your face is quite essential in determining the glow that resides on your face. when you get a massage the blood vessels are stimulated and work with more vigor. the blood flow to the face increases and you appear in a better frame of health.
so as you just read, you have to follow a number of steps to keep your face looking in prime. and believe us, all investments pay off in the end.


text:
Comedian Jon Stewart headed back to Capitol Hill Thursday to blast Congress' "stupid and embarrassing" failure to renew the Zadroga Act.
The former "Daily Show" host, first responders, and Congressional reps made a last ditch push to get the healthcare bill for Sept. 11 responders passed by the end of the year.
"This is insane," Stewart told the crowd.
"We have a bunch of first responders outside freezing their asses off," he said. "Our country's last responders, our country's worst responders, are inside nice and comfy and cozy, and probably having soup."
"Sen. Mitch McConnell can rectify this immediately," Stewart said, noting that the Kentucky pol sponsored a health care bill for nuclear energy workers that has cost $11 billion.
"How in good conscience can you deny them the very thing that you have proudly brought to the people of your state? Please, personally ask him that," Stewart said.
McConnell ignored questions about his role in blocking the legislation after a press conference Tuesday. His spokesman denied he was the roadblock.
Sept. 11 advocate John Feal said the group met with McConnell Wednesday and he promised to include Zadroga in an omnibus budget bill, but said money must still be found to pay for it.
Congress let the World Trade Center Health Program expire in September. The program has enough money to continue treatment for responders suffering from cancer and respiratory disease caused by Ground Zero toxins for now, but it will run out if the feds don't renew it.
Backers want a permanent reauthorization.
"Men and women who answered the call of duty after the gravest terrorist attack in our nation's history stood there on the pile looking for survivors, finding remains, doing the horrible work of cleaning up after such a loss — all the while breathing in so many deadly toxins that are now killing them," said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).
"They came because they are patriots. They came before they are heroes. So what is Congress doing today? Nothing. The answer is nothing."
Still, she vowed to get the bill over the finish line before Congress leaves town for the holidays.
"We are moving this bill," she said. "What we need from our Senate and House leadership is exactly that — leadership."

lowercased:
comedian jon stewart headed back to capitol hill thursday to blast congress' "stupid and embarrassing" failure to renew the zadroga act.
the former "daily show" host, first responders, and congressional reps made a last ditch push to get the healthcare bill for sept. 11 responders passed by the end of the year.
"this is insane," stewart told the crowd.
"we have a bunch of first responders outside freezing their asses off," he said. "our country's last responders, our country's worst responders, are inside nice and comfy and cozy, and probably having soup."
"sen. mitch mcconnell can rectify this immediately," stewart said, noting that the kentucky pol sponsored a health care bill for nuclear energy workers that has cost $11 billion.
"how in good conscience can you deny them the very thing that you have proudly brought to the people of your state? please, personally ask him that," stewart said.
mcconnell ignored questions about his role in blocking the legislation after a press conference tuesday. his spokesman denied he was the roadblock.
sept. 11 advocate john feal said the group met with mcconnell wednesday and he promised to include zadroga in an omnibus budget bill, but said money must still be found to pay for it.
congress let the world trade center health program expire in september. the program has enough money to continue treatment for responders suffering from cancer and respiratory disease caused by ground zero toxins for now, but it will run out if the feds don't renew it.
backers want a permanent reauthorization.
"men and women who answered the call of duty after the gravest terrorist attack in our nation's history stood there on the pile looking for survivors, finding remains, doing the horrible work of cleaning up after such a loss — all the while breathing in so many deadly toxins that are now killing them," said sen. kirsten gillibrand (d-ny).
"they came because they are patriots. they came before they are heroes. so what is congress doing today? nothing. the answer is nothing."
still, she vowed to get the bill over the finish line before congress leaves town for the holidays.
"we are moving this bill," she said. "what we need from our senate and house leadership is exactly that — leadership."


text:
I compiled a version of FEX that locates P3Dv4 as part of the interface.
Several of us have tested it here with good results.
If you want to try it, just browse to where FEX is located on your PC and replace the EXE.
You can right click the shortcut and select Open File Location, or select properties to get the path.

lowercased:
i compiled a version of fex that locates p3dv4 as part of the interface.
several of us have tested it here with good results.
if you want to try it, just browse to where fex is located on your pc and replace the exe.
you can right click the shortcut and select open file location, or select properties to get the path.


text:
WEBSITE IS CURRENTLY UNDER MAINTENANCE. PLEASE CHECK BACK LATER TO PLACE YOUR ORDER. THANK YOU.
1,500 years in the making.
Compared to its North American relative, European Walnut offers lighter tones of color with a unique aesthetic. Within any given butcher block sheet, you’ll find light pastels contrasted with dark and rich chocolate browns. The consistency from sheet to sheet allows them to be used in sequence, guaranteeing a pleasing uniform appearance. GL Veneer has custom produced thou-sands of these European Walnut Butcher Block in 4x8s and 4x10s for your next project. Find it in our Veneer Gallery under the name “Euro Walnut Butcher Block.” Add it to your cart. And make GL Veneer your wood veneer supplier today.

lowercased:
website is currently under maintenance. please check back later to place your order. thank you.
1,500 years in the making.
compared to its north american relative, european walnut offers lighter tones of color with a unique aesthetic. within any given butcher block sheet, you’ll find light pastels contrasted with dark and rich chocolate browns. the consistency from sheet to sheet allows them to be used in sequence, guaranteeing a pleasing uniform appearance. gl veneer has custom produced thou-sands of these european walnut butcher block in 4x8s and 4x10s for your next project. find it in our veneer gallery under the name “euro walnut butcher block.” add it to your cart. and make gl veneer your wood veneer supplier today.


text:
This week on POP Showcase we're highlighting "Artificial//Soul" by Nihilism.
Briggs, a young and brazen bounty hunter was injured during a mission and saved by Matilde. As she nursed Briggs back to health they became closer. Briggs never forgot her kindness. But suddenly Matilde disappeared without a trace. After following many false leads he finds a special memory chip that could finally tell him what happened to Matilde.

lowercased:
this week on pop showcase we're highlighting "artificial//soul" by nihilism.
briggs, a young and brazen bounty hunter was injured during a mission and saved by matilde. as she nursed briggs back to health they became closer. briggs never forgot her kindness. but suddenly matilde disappeared without a trace. after following many false leads he finds a special memory chip that could finally tell him what happened to matilde.


text: In picture books of religious old masterpieces held by the Louvre, it was particularly the portrayal of hands that inspired AMVK to do these drawings. She was also once struck by an article about how important hands are in contacts with the demented. Hands can connect, help, order, offer calm and give warmth. But they can also destroy. Images of the present crisis in and around Europe are shocking. Her outrage and desire for positive counter-images prompted AMVK to put down on paper the results of her personal reflections. They are coloured by mysterious codes from her unconscious, by theoretical quotes, and by images from art history that are rooted in the collective memory, though the keys to the comprehension of their message have been lost. This is a reaction to Islam, which considers any depiction of Allah as blasphemy and in its recent excesses has taken up an extremely hostile position towards the Christian tradition and our Western culture.

lowercased: in picture books of religious old masterpieces held by the louvre, it was particularly the portrayal of hands that inspired amvk to do these drawings. she was also once struck by an article about how important hands are in contacts with the demented. hands can connect, help, order, offer calm and give warmth. but they can also destroy. images of the present crisis in and around europe are shocking. her outrage and desire for positive counter-images prompted amvk to put down on paper the results of her personal reflections. they are coloured by mysterious codes from her unconscious, by theoretical quotes, and by images from art history that are rooted in the collective memory, though the keys to the comprehension of their message have been lost. this is a reaction to islam, which considers any depiction of allah as blasphemy and in its recent excesses has taken up an extremely hostile position towards the christian tradition and our western culture.


text:
The University has added a second window the mailroom as well as hiring more workers. This seems to be a response to the increase in students shopping online as well as a new package notification system, creating more mailroom traffic. The general consensus among students: these improvements were much needed. That’s not the only cosmetic change made to the University. The Freshmen Success Center bears a new banner with a new name. Now dubbed the Student Success Center, the office now offers their services to all students at the university. A new smoke-free seating area has been added to the Harry Jack Gray Center. As a part of President Harrison’s values initiative, project overseer Jane Horvath sat down with students to find out what they wanted in order to create a greater sense of community. What students most asked for was a better way to find out about events on campus, as well as more informal meeting places. New tables and chairs as well as an outdoor information screen were put in place between the library and the bookstore just a week before the start of classes. Horvath thanks the Parents Association for granting funding for the project. The Village Market at the Konover Campus Center went under new renovations giving it a new look and a new name. Provisions On Demand, as it’s called, now focuses on fresh produce, meats, and hot food.
So, what do you think? Is the idea of alcohol being served on campus a good one or bad. Let us know by answering our question of the week.

lowercased:
the university has added a second window the mailroom as well as hiring more workers. this seems to be a response to the increase in students shopping online as well as a new package notification system, creating more mailroom traffic. the general consensus among students: these improvements were much needed. that’s not the only cosmetic change made to the university. the freshmen success center bears a new banner with a new name. now dubbed the student success center, the office now offers their services to all students at the university. a new smoke-free seating area has been added to the harry jack gray center. as a part of president harrison’s values initiative, project overseer jane horvath sat down with students to find out what they wanted in order to create a greater sense of community. what students most asked for was a better way to find out about events on campus, as well as more informal meeting places. new tables and chairs as well as an outdoor information screen were put in place between the library and the bookstore just a week before the start of classes. horvath thanks the parents association for granting funding for the project. the village market at the konover campus center went under new renovations giving it a new look and a new name. provisions on demand, as it’s called, now focuses on fresh produce, meats, and hot food.
so, what do you think? is the idea of alcohol being served on campus a good one or bad. let us know by answering our question of the week.