You may or may not know what an ROV is – I am often asked. ROV stands for Remotely Operated Vehicle and usually refers to an underwater vehicle.

I have always had a passion for ROVs. I built my first (fairly crude) ROV when I was twelve. It was powered by floating battery pack that also contained a radio receiver (pinched from an RC car). And it kinda worked too!

My career path led me eventually into aviation but I have, over the last year, rekindled my long passion for exploring the depths of the ocean.

I have trained to operate ROVs and now I am venturing out into this remarkable industry that I have always wanted to be involved in. I still fly (more as an occasional luxury now), I still write, and I’m still organizing the development of 15toGo! So as you can imagine, I’m extremely busy!

If you are interested in ROVs and want to check out What they’re all about then I have a mini site here: http://steffanlewis.com/rov-pilot-technician/

I’ve you’ve found this and are looking to hire an ROV PT then check out my main ROV Pilot Technician web page!

Written on May 4th, 2013 , General

15toGo.com  will overcome the problems faced by many independent film makers who struggle to find a suitable distribution platform for their films, especially when so much time, effort and money is spent on production.

Anyone who has ever made an independent film will tell you that it is virtually impossible to get a suitable distribution deal.

Existing systems that digitally broadcast film vary from good to bad and few make much money for the film makers.

It is a sad fact that amazing  film making talent is wasted and that mainstream broadcasters are continually showing repeats.

The three saddest words are “It’s been shelved.”

But it seems crazy to shelve good content, when, during the economic collapse, television companies are struggling to commission exciting new work and the networks are riddled with repeats!

If you have contributed towards a film project on a crowd funding service, the chances are that film may be shelved and will not be widely distributed…

…until now.

15toGo.com is a simple idea to create a unique digital broadcast service for cinematographers, independent film and programme makers.

With your help, our team will bring our new platform to the industry.

15toGo.com will provide services to independent film makers offering unparalleled opportunities for income, showcasing and financing future productions.

But it’s not just the film makers who will benefit. 15toGo aims to provide services to people in many areas of the industry including  writers, journalists, comedians, actors and musicians.

This project will be by far our  biggest yet and it will require a lot of effort and investment.

Your help and pledges will make this worthwhile project happen. So thank you in advance.

Please feel free to explore this blog site to learn more about 15toGo . To see us on Indiegogo and pledge towards the development of 15toGo press the Massive Orange Button.

Written on August 17th, 2012 , General

I’m sure we all have an opinion about this. But for me it has to be the scene from Jaws 2. It’s the scene when a woman is speeding around in a nice little wooden boat by an idyllic beach with a lovely young woman having fun on a water ski. Until, that is, Jaws the second arrives with a craving to satisfy a ceaseless megalodon hunger.

So the poor hapless lass is swallowed in chunks while the woman continues to cruise around for what must seem like an eternity when your being chewed to death. Finally, after selfishly enjoying the summer sea air rushing through her hair the woman notices the teenager is absent.

Meanwhile, Jaws, not content with the succulent young woman, makes it’s move to secure the meal deal and rams the boat.

The woman, slightly surprised to discover the shark nose protruding through the side of her boat, instantaneously douses herself in gas and fires a flare.

Yep, she wins my “most dumb ass character in any film” award without question.

There are no clips of the ultimate moment of daftness so I guess you’ll just have to revisit the movie! In fact see Jaws 1 and 2 together next time you have a rainy Sunday afternoon to kill (you can guess what I’ve been doing today).

Please let me know of any other characters, real or fictional who should appear in my hall of stupidity.

Written on June 24th, 2012 , General, Jokes, Observations
naked cycle ride through London

800 cyclists rode naked through London on Saturday 11th of June

Thousands of cyclists rode naked through the streets of towns and cities around the world  during the weekend  as part of an annual Global campaign to increase awareness of the dangers to cyclists and in protest against what organizers called the rule of motor vehicles on the roads.

“It is about putting cycling and pedestrians first, instead of last,” said a London spokesman for the World Naked Bike Ride.

People along the London route from Wellington Arch to the Mall and back, who did not know what was going on looked on at the 800 naked cyclists with bemusement. However, no arrests were made for offences relating to public nudity according to a Metropolitan Police spokesman. Being naked in a public place is not criminal offence, but it can be treated as one if it causes offence and it often depends on whether there was intention to cause offence.

The London event’s spokesman said there was a serious purpose to eighth annual bike ride in the capital. “It shows the vulnerability of cyclists in traffic.

“It can be very dangerous in London for cyclists. Blue cycle lanes can be disastrous, because the cyclist assumes they’re safe within it, while motorists don’t pay any attention.”

Some of the signs read ‘Can you see me now?’

This article was written for the Vehicle Reporting and road safety website Regtex.

Written on June 15th, 2012 , General Tags: , , , , ,

…but  the number of traffic wardens were cut by 5 per cent.

6.8 million parking tickets were handed out in 2011, which is one ticket every five seconds.

According to research by Swiftcover.com, a shortage of town-centre parking and increased use of CCTV technology to spot illegally parked cars were behind the increase, generating over £234 million in revenue for local councils.

Although it is illegal for local authorities to use parking fines specifically to bolster their coffers, the extra funds have come at a good time for councils as they have had their budgets from central government cut by an average of 7 per cent a year until 2014.

An average of 74,257 fines were handed out by each local council last year, an increase of over 2,000 since the previous year.

However, the number of traffic wardens across the councils falling from just under 3,900 by 200.

Robin Reames, chief claims officer at Swiftcover.com, acknowledged that a shortage of parking has become a problem in UK towns and cities but does not excuse illegal parking.

“Although it might be an easy option to park on a double yellow for a short time, it’s potentially dangerous as well as being illegal, and can result in a fine,” he said.

The increase has led to an increase in the number of disputes by motorists, with one in four parking tickets queried by drivers with two out of five being overturned. Around 1/8th of tickets are being issued erroneously although motorists had dramatically different success rates appealing tickets depending on where they lived.

The survey found that only 11% cent of fines were dropped on appeal in Bradford. However this rose to 72% in Chichester.

On a final note…

It has been widely acknowledged by locals of the Welsh University town of Aberystwyth, that after a year chaos caused by no traffic parking enforcement, a return of Traffic Wardens has restored order. 192 parking fines, equating to £10,00, have been issued in the town in the first week since traffic wardens were re-introduced in the town.

This article was written for the Vehicle Reporting and road safety website Regtex.

Written on June 15th, 2012 , General Tags: ,

I have written a few more articles for Regtex – The first is about insurance claims for whiplash injuries. The second about proposed changes to the rules for learner drivers in Northern Ireland.
The third article  is about drink driving limits to be changed in Scotland. And the final article is about drug driving testing equipment that is soon to made standard in police stations all over the country.

These articles can be found over at Regtex 

Written on June 6th, 2012 , General

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Air & ROV Pilot, Writer & Entrepreneur