I’ve broken my car
The one-toothed hick garage man round the corner says it’s my wheel bearing
The one in the front left corner
I have just found out what a wheel bearing is
Here’s what it is:
if it breaks, you’re fucked
If it breaks, the wheel can come off
Like, when you're driving
Mine is almost broken. My car makes a funny howling noise when I drive it
Apparently doing 50 down a farm track ain’t so clever now
:(
March 31, 2006
Toy time
In our house we have 2 laptops and one desktop computer. The desktop computer sits in the corner of the kitchen and is just about dead, but is fine for mum to check her hotmail on and stuff. It is hooked up to our only printer and to some pretty awesome speakers.
What invariably happens is that Benny and I will steal the printer cable to print stuff from laptops or steal the speaker cable to play loud music etc. Then when mum goes to use the computer it doesn’t work and she throws a luddite strop.
I’ve used some of my spare time to set up wireless printing with this airport express thing. So now the printer’s plugged into it and all three computers print wirelessly. I’ve also linked the speakers to it. So now I can play songs from my laptop using the big speakers without arsing around with wires. It was crazy simple. The cunning bit was in getting the apple airport express thing to join the network controlled by my belkin router. WDS! I am a golden god. Etc.
What invariably happens is that Benny and I will steal the printer cable to print stuff from laptops or steal the speaker cable to play loud music etc. Then when mum goes to use the computer it doesn’t work and she throws a luddite strop.
I’ve used some of my spare time to set up wireless printing with this airport express thing. So now the printer’s plugged into it and all three computers print wirelessly. I’ve also linked the speakers to it. So now I can play songs from my laptop using the big speakers without arsing around with wires. It was crazy simple. The cunning bit was in getting the apple airport express thing to join the network controlled by my belkin router. WDS! I am a golden god. Etc.
March 29, 2006
Dodgy Davros
Went to see V for Vendetta last night. Really enjoyed it. Definitely better than the one star it received from The Times anyway.
On the way back, Duncan invited Benny and I in for a beer. Duncan's house (Name: Fra Mauro) is incredible. There's loads of moon landing memrobilia everywhere - plaques, bits of material from the capsules, saturn V models, all sorts. Duncan's most recent acquisition, however, is a full size Dalek. Benny is pictured within it, halfway through the assembly process. Apologies for the dark picture, the flash on my phone is a bit lame.
There's something very strange about seeing one in front of you. If you're around my age then the image of a dalek is burnt into your memory as one of the scariest things ever. On some level, I think I was expecting to die when I saw it.
On the way back, Duncan invited Benny and I in for a beer. Duncan's house (Name: Fra Mauro) is incredible. There's loads of moon landing memrobilia everywhere - plaques, bits of material from the capsules, saturn V models, all sorts. Duncan's most recent acquisition, however, is a full size Dalek. Benny is pictured within it, halfway through the assembly process. Apologies for the dark picture, the flash on my phone is a bit lame.
There's something very strange about seeing one in front of you. If you're around my age then the image of a dalek is burnt into your memory as one of the scariest things ever. On some level, I think I was expecting to die when I saw it.
Looks Familiar
Astor's grandmother (?) has a plaque in the commons visitors lobby because she was the first female MP.
Things are looking pretty bleak for Harvey plaques. Perhaps I'll get one outside a brewery, shirtmaker or an apple store for keeping them in business.
Things are looking pretty bleak for Harvey plaques. Perhaps I'll get one outside a brewery, shirtmaker or an apple store for keeping them in business.
Point of Order
Ewan and I went to parliament on Monday to see a fabian debate on the first 100 days of Cameron. Ed Miliband, a professor from Birkbeck, a lady from the evening standard or associated newspapers or something and another MP were on the platform. Most interestingly, they were joined by Michael Gove - a mentor to Cameron. The whole thing was very interesting - especially going into the building for the first time.
However, the real revelation was Gove (who as a conservative MP in a left wing meeting could easily have played the sacrificial lamb). In fact, a good many of the attendees were out to get him - some with outrageously pre-prepared questions and pre-laid traps. He avoided them all, and ended up instead playing Road Runner to their Coyotes. Excellent to watch and listen to. I was meaning to write him a letter to thank him but in time honoured fashion I haven't bothered.
Ewan and I then had a look in the commons chamber: bigger than I thought. God knows how they hit Blair with the purple powder. Then an obligatory pizza, then home.
I got a frantic phone call from Benny when I was on the train. He had taken my laptop (the one I use for work) down the pub to show his mate the website he'd designed for his charitable endeavours. On his return, the laptop wouldn't boot. I resolved not to look at it that evening because I was too tired. But I was quite worried - it would have put my work project back by about a week if we'd lost it. As it turned out I unscrewed the hard disk cover the next morning and saw the controller lead had come out. A 5 minute job to fix. Could have been much much worse.
However, the real revelation was Gove (who as a conservative MP in a left wing meeting could easily have played the sacrificial lamb). In fact, a good many of the attendees were out to get him - some with outrageously pre-prepared questions and pre-laid traps. He avoided them all, and ended up instead playing Road Runner to their Coyotes. Excellent to watch and listen to. I was meaning to write him a letter to thank him but in time honoured fashion I haven't bothered.
Ewan and I then had a look in the commons chamber: bigger than I thought. God knows how they hit Blair with the purple powder. Then an obligatory pizza, then home.
I got a frantic phone call from Benny when I was on the train. He had taken my laptop (the one I use for work) down the pub to show his mate the website he'd designed for his charitable endeavours. On his return, the laptop wouldn't boot. I resolved not to look at it that evening because I was too tired. But I was quite worried - it would have put my work project back by about a week if we'd lost it. As it turned out I unscrewed the hard disk cover the next morning and saw the controller lead had come out. A 5 minute job to fix. Could have been much much worse.
Stomp
Benny, Loopy and I went for a walk on Sunday. We sped past salisbury, stonehenge etc. and ended up deep in Wiltshire. It was quite invigorating walking for 8 miles. As it was Mother's day we circumnavigated the pub and repaired to Loopy's for breakfastlunch. Scrambled egg on toast with tarragon. The man's a genius. During our tesco stopoff I picked up some Chocolat Charbonnel hot chocolate which is awesome.
Waiting for my eye test
Went to the opticians on saturday to assist Benny in picking some new glasses. I had my eyes tested for the hell of it. It turns out that my eyesight could be fractionally improved but it's not really worth the bother.
This is a bit of a worry, because when I last my eyes tested (5 years ago) I had 25/25 bad boy fighter pilot vision. I suppose that's what half a decade of staring at laptops will do for you :)
This is a bit of a worry, because when I last my eyes tested (5 years ago) I had 25/25 bad boy fighter pilot vision. I suppose that's what half a decade of staring at laptops will do for you :)
March 27, 2006
Get your benny fix here
I got Benny to test the video stuff on my phone while we were driving home the other day. The commentary's quite amusing. The quality's a bit crap because I had to reduce it to fit on youtube. My favourite bit is when he spots an unfamiliar car on the track.
March 23, 2006
Rise of Nations
We played again on Tuesday. Make no mistake, Ms Astor is improving rapidly. Macleod wimped out as part of his 6 month long sulk because I nuked him, like, once. Jesus wept, man! I apologised didn’t I?
Natasha was about 30 to 60 seconds behind me on the age advances but hadn’t built her army up so my invasion was fairly rapid. It’s nice to embrace your inner geek once in a while. I can see the time coming, perhaps in one or two more battles time, when I have a real fight on my hands. My style of play is stagnant. I need to shake off the complacency!
Natasha was about 30 to 60 seconds behind me on the age advances but hadn’t built her army up so my invasion was fairly rapid. It’s nice to embrace your inner geek once in a while. I can see the time coming, perhaps in one or two more battles time, when I have a real fight on my hands. My style of play is stagnant. I need to shake off the complacency!
Money
I'm terrible at saving, so have devised parallel cunning plans to save money whilst convincing myself that I'm doing nothing of the sort.
1) Random transfers. Sometime last year I got drunk, set up a few savings accounts over the interweb and arranged transfers from my current account to them at random points during the month. I then changed the password to randomly generated prime numbers and then destroyed my records of them. When I need the money, I'll phone the banks and tell them I'm an idiot and have forgotten my password.
Now, this might seem a bit sophisticated for a simple bit of saving. However, I've noticed over the years that I have a very well developed ability for spending money on impulse. However, if I don't know how much money I have, I can't spend it. Bizarre, but it works.
2) The Consultant's Change Jar. This is quite simple and you can try it at home :)
Go to a cheap household store and buy a large vase (I went to Muji and spent £14). You're aiming for probably around 4 litre capacity. Now, every day when you return home from werk empty all the change in your pockets into the jar. When you go out in the morning, only ever take £2 in change with you. This is not only very good for your trousers, but is surprisingly effective in terms of saving. I fill roughly a jar a year and the typical yield is £750. And counting money is fun for all the family. At least, that's what you should tell them when you rope them in to helping you.
1) Random transfers. Sometime last year I got drunk, set up a few savings accounts over the interweb and arranged transfers from my current account to them at random points during the month. I then changed the password to randomly generated prime numbers and then destroyed my records of them. When I need the money, I'll phone the banks and tell them I'm an idiot and have forgotten my password.
Now, this might seem a bit sophisticated for a simple bit of saving. However, I've noticed over the years that I have a very well developed ability for spending money on impulse. However, if I don't know how much money I have, I can't spend it. Bizarre, but it works.
2) The Consultant's Change Jar. This is quite simple and you can try it at home :)
Go to a cheap household store and buy a large vase (I went to Muji and spent £14). You're aiming for probably around 4 litre capacity. Now, every day when you return home from werk empty all the change in your pockets into the jar. When you go out in the morning, only ever take £2 in change with you. This is not only very good for your trousers, but is surprisingly effective in terms of saving. I fill roughly a jar a year and the typical yield is £750. And counting money is fun for all the family. At least, that's what you should tell them when you rope them in to helping you.
Unusually Productive Again
Yesterday:
I worked half the day
Paid a huge jar of change into the bank
Sent off some money for some V tickets
Bought some Apple shares
Bought Fred a birthday present
Played badminton
Picked up my ironing
Went out for a chinese to celebrate Fred's birthday proper
Went down the pub for a bit
Watched Jackass the Movie with Benny
That felt like quite a lot for a day off!
My first Wednesday night at home for literally years. I was quite excited.
Oh, and this morning I got some gold dust presale Radiohead tickets! I bought 4 for Amsterdam on May 9. I will now see if I can convince some lame friends to come with me. If not, I'll see if I can find a way of selling them on to people who, like me, are huge fans but thought they'd stand no chance of getting tickets.
I worked half the day
Paid a huge jar of change into the bank
Sent off some money for some V tickets
Bought some Apple shares
Bought Fred a birthday present
Played badminton
Picked up my ironing
Went out for a chinese to celebrate Fred's birthday proper
Went down the pub for a bit
Watched Jackass the Movie with Benny
That felt like quite a lot for a day off!
My first Wednesday night at home for literally years. I was quite excited.
Oh, and this morning I got some gold dust presale Radiohead tickets! I bought 4 for Amsterdam on May 9. I will now see if I can convince some lame friends to come with me. If not, I'll see if I can find a way of selling them on to people who, like me, are huge fans but thought they'd stand no chance of getting tickets.
Badminton
I hooked up with OtherTom in Eastleigh yesterday for some badminton action. We played three games. He won two, I won one.
We played badminton a lot in the garden during the summer and I was champion. Benny was useless. Tom has been practising regularly since then and is now better than me. I intend to play him again soon though. Loser's mitigation: my neck's knackered from when I dozen off on the sofa the other day.
I was quite surprised at how quick it was to get there and at how good the facilities were. Lots of yelping from players on the other side of the hall. Quite scary.
We played badminton a lot in the garden during the summer and I was champion. Benny was useless. Tom has been practising regularly since then and is now better than me. I intend to play him again soon though. Loser's mitigation: my neck's knackered from when I dozen off on the sofa the other day.
I was quite surprised at how quick it was to get there and at how good the facilities were. Lots of yelping from players on the other side of the hall. Quite scary.
Oh Delia, you let me down
Fred requested a coffee cake for his birthday on the weekend. I saw quite a good one in Waitrose but resolved instead to make one myself.
I found one on deliaonline.com
The cake was quite nice, but used a marscapone / fromage frais mix instead of icing. Looked quite good, tasted interesting. Not a regular coffee cake. Not totally disappointing, but, you know, a bit weird.
I found one on deliaonline.com
The cake was quite nice, but used a marscapone / fromage frais mix instead of icing. Looked quite good, tasted interesting. Not a regular coffee cake. Not totally disappointing, but, you know, a bit weird.
March 17, 2006
Pet Fish
Benny, I don't really know how to tell you this but I think they're dead.
Stop feeding them!
Stop feeding them!
Glorious
Remember Tessa Jowell leading female MPs in a singsong after the whole mortgage thing hit the news? They gathered round a statue of Emmeline Pankhurst and knocked out a song for the benefit of the cameras.
It turns out that in doing so, Jowell broke the law. Public entertainment of this nature requires a licence at it turns out that the MPs didn't have one.
Who could possibly be behind a law banning a few colleagues singing a harmless song outdoors accompanied by a sole guitar. Step forwards.....Tessa Jowell.
Great story here
It turns out that in doing so, Jowell broke the law. Public entertainment of this nature requires a licence at it turns out that the MPs didn't have one.
Who could possibly be behind a law banning a few colleagues singing a harmless song outdoors accompanied by a sole guitar. Step forwards.....Tessa Jowell.
Great story here
Now Drewery buys a mac too
Chris has just purchased a mac mini. He emailed me to pass on some blame for putting the idea in his mind.
I've been toying with the idea of buying some apple shares. I'm going to now. And if they tank, I'll blame Chris.
I've been toying with the idea of buying some apple shares. I'm going to now. And if they tank, I'll blame Chris.
March 16, 2006
Complexity
Doctors this afternoon. I have tonsillitis. I am now on antibiotics. Two tablets, four times a day for 5 days. Marginally fewer pills than the dance tent at Glastonbury. Not fun.
Naturally, was in two minds about cricket practice tonight. Resolved to get off the sofa. We met our cricket buddies in the car park - the hall was being used for something else, so practice was cancelled at minus 5 minutes notice. Arse!
Working from home tomorrow. Mikey returns from skiing. My contract notionally expires but it's very probable it will be extended again. We have to renegotiate my rate. The amount of work I've taken on was misrepresented to me when I started. Mates rates no more!
Finally, I can't think how I forgot to mention that we won the pub quiz on Monday. I can't remember many questions. One was: Which European country has 4 miles of coastline? Another: What element makes up most of the volume of the sun?
Naturally, was in two minds about cricket practice tonight. Resolved to get off the sofa. We met our cricket buddies in the car park - the hall was being used for something else, so practice was cancelled at minus 5 minutes notice. Arse!
Working from home tomorrow. Mikey returns from skiing. My contract notionally expires but it's very probable it will be extended again. We have to renegotiate my rate. The amount of work I've taken on was misrepresented to me when I started. Mates rates no more!
Finally, I can't think how I forgot to mention that we won the pub quiz on Monday. I can't remember many questions. One was: Which European country has 4 miles of coastline? Another: What element makes up most of the volume of the sun?
March 15, 2006
Consumption
Being sick just sucks. I started to get ill on Wednesday last week and although by now I'm well over it, a lingering sore throat remains. It hurts to swallow (no sniggering at the back, thankyou). Strepsils, lemsip, hot water all mitigate the pain. Work sucks. I have become an even bigger grump. Grrrrr.
March 13, 2006
Buying an apple laptop
This is mainly for the benefit of Ms Astor, my erstwhile rise of nations opponent.
There are three types of apple laptop available at the moment: the mac book pro, the powerbook (being phased out) and the ibook. The last two have been around for a couple of years and are coming to the end of their lives. All apple computers used to run on G4 or G5 processors from a company called Freescale. Apple are now basically halfway through moving over to intel processors. They’re making this switch because intel chips give you more power for your money. Of the three different types of laptop, only the mac book pro currently uses the intel processor. An intel version of the ibook is coming out in a couple of months. You definitely shouldn’t buy a mac with a G4 or G5 processor in. Ewan did, but that’s because he was crazed by a lust for new technology.
The powerbook and mac book pro are silver while the ibook is white. The powerbook is aimed at high end users, the ibook is like a consumer model. The best one for you depends on a range of things. Definitely don’t get a powerbook (they’re almost dead). The ibooks are slower at intensive tasks (e.g. making videos, recording music), but come in a smaller size and have a longer battery life (up to 6 hours vs the mac book pro’s 3 hours). If you absolutely must have one now then get the mac book pro. If you can wait, then I’d wait to see what the new intel powered ibooks are like when they’re released in a month or two and make a decision then.
itunes is better on apple. I’ve used it on both PCs and Apples and the apple version is slicker and simpler. And your existing wireless networks will work fine. Geek trivia: apple laptops had wireless networking years before PCs did.
You can get rise of nations on apple, but you’d need to buy it again because it’s a different format. And here’s a niggle: if you’re playing on a mac, you can’t play against someone using a PC. Don’t ask me why. There are a few little niggles like that – nothing serious I’ve come across – but I guess you’re going to have that even if you move to another PC laptop.
Your documents and all that kind of thing will open fine. Microsoft do a version of Office for the mac (in fact, they normally bring out new versions for the mac first) and it’s fully compatible with the PC version. Or at least, I’ve never had any trouble with it. There’s no equivalent to Access, the database application, but not many people use that. If what you want to do with a computer is open documents with Word, Excel and Powerpoint, browse the internet, listen to music, watch DVDs, use MSN, manage your photos and home movies and send emails then a mac can do it for you. If you want to play around with high end databases, write software, manage servers then you need to think about the decision closely (like Macleod did before his raging horn for cardboard boxes full of shiny computers got the better of him).
March 12, 2006
Happy Pancakes
Blogger sez this is our 500th post. Huzzah. We must be settting some kind of record for quantity of drivel in one location. I had pancakes for breakfast. I had a variety, but I think my favourite is vanilla ice cream.
MacToys
Ewan has bought a mac. This is rather like the Pope becoming a Mormon convert. I am happy to have played a small part in the conversion. I'm confident he'll love it. The experience is so well thought out - from opening the packaging to the long term support, it's right up his street.
It pretty much sings right out of the box. But there are some things I use which make my life a bit easier:
Browser : Firefox 1.5 - better support for live bookmarks etc. than Safari
Browser : Camino - Mozilla derived, "smaller is better" concept. Interesting to play with
Feedreader : Newsfire - Very pretty RSS reader. Good visual integration
EyeCandy : Earthdesk - Turns your desktop into a live world clock. Very impressive.
File Transfer : FilckrUploadr - even better than the PC version in my unhumble opinion
Powertoy : Salling Clicker - Turn your bluetooth ericsson phone into a remote for your mac
Microsoft Mitigator : TNEF's Enough - There's one spanner I know who sends me email in some weird format. All attachments comes across as 'winmail.dat'. "TNEF's enough" converts these files into something you can work with.
Showing off : Expose (built into the OS) makes people stop and ask you what they just saw. Set up a key for it in system preferences. It knocks alt-tab into a cocked hat.
It pretty much sings right out of the box. But there are some things I use which make my life a bit easier:
Browser : Firefox 1.5 - better support for live bookmarks etc. than Safari
Browser : Camino - Mozilla derived, "smaller is better" concept. Interesting to play with
Feedreader : Newsfire - Very pretty RSS reader. Good visual integration
EyeCandy : Earthdesk - Turns your desktop into a live world clock. Very impressive.
File Transfer : FilckrUploadr - even better than the PC version in my unhumble opinion
Powertoy : Salling Clicker - Turn your bluetooth ericsson phone into a remote for your mac
Microsoft Mitigator : TNEF's Enough - There's one spanner I know who sends me email in some weird format. All attachments comes across as 'winmail.dat'. "TNEF's enough" converts these files into something you can work with.
Showing off : Expose (built into the OS) makes people stop and ask you what they just saw. Set up a key for it in system preferences. It knocks alt-tab into a cocked hat.
March 10, 2006
How to lose money
On Tuesday I went to the dogs in Reading with a bunch of people from work. Never been dog racing before. I tried betting and failed. Apparently you're supposed to bet on the third dog in the third race. Surprisingly, this strategy failed. Apparently, you're supposed to bet on the greyist looking dog in your last race. This strategy also fails.
Dog racing is weird, isn't it? I mean, it's all over so quickly, and the intervals between races are so long. Interesting to check it out though.
Dog racing is weird, isn't it? I mean, it's all over so quickly, and the intervals between races are so long. Interesting to check it out though.
Over-Designed Hotel Madness
In the corner of my hotel room I found this. It must be to hang your clothes on or something. It had drawers in its head. Bizarre.
Benny and Chris
Met Ben, Chris, Ilana and Laura for breakfast on Sunday. Great to see everyone. Chris has just got a job with Williams F1. Ilana has just finished her book. Laura has started well at college. Benny...er...has a nice shirt. It's all good, baby.
Mick
Mick is my godfather. We met up in an old pub on lamb's conduit street near Great Ormond Street. Mick and his girlfriend of 20 odd years have recently returned from a retirement trip to australia via lots of places in asia. He wanted to go to australia so that he could meet and interview Bill Kerr, formerly of Tony Hancock's "Hancock's Half Hour". Mick is a huge fan of Hancock's work and used to be quite seriously involved in some kind of appreciation society or something. He had a great time.
Mick also recently had his 60th birthday. He is lording this over his (younger) girlfriend because it means he doesn't have to pay for tube journeys but she does. Despite his advancing years, Mick has a huge amount of energy and spark. Definitely something to aspire to.
Mick also recently had his 60th birthday. He is lording this over his (younger) girlfriend because it means he doesn't have to pay for tube journeys but she does. Despite his advancing years, Mick has a huge amount of energy and spark. Definitely something to aspire to.
Art Attack
We swung past the Bargehouse gallery. Warchild, who are the guys who put together the Help albums, had an exhibition on. It was very moving and very sad. There was supposed to be a few things on show from Stanley Donwood who does all of Radiohead's artwork, but I couldn't find it anywhere. Quite overwhelming.
Lunch
Hoyan and I caught up over lunch last weekend. She has just returned from the states where she saw her boyfriend for the first time in a long time. Lots of gossip to catch up on, photos to see etc.
We email each other quite often, but I had forgotten how funny she was in person. Top afternoon.
We email each other quite often, but I had forgotten how funny she was in person. Top afternoon.
Editors
A few weekends ago Benny and I went to see the Editors in Southampton. We only got the tickets due to my superior understanding of how ebay works. The band themselves weren't bad, but weren't all that either. I think this photo's rather good. Nice lighting colours etc. The problem with the gig was that fair sized bands rarely visit Southampton, so the crowd got themselves worked up and thus tanked up. Hence right at the front, people were jumping around and shoving one another even during the slow tunes. Quite distracting. But better than not going at all, by a mile.
Unusually Productive
I'm at home today, but I'm also sick. I think I'm better today; last night I was huddled right in front of the fire under a thick blanket and I was still shivering.
Anyway, apart from being dizzy when I stand, having an awful sore throat and not really being able to think straight for all the congestion, I'm fine. I even slept for like 12 hours or something.
Despite all the unwatched DVDs and unread books which would normally be perfect fodder for a day like today, I've sorted lots of stuff out. I also found lots of pictures in my phone so I'm going to spam them up here. I've sorted out our interweb connectivity problems, chased banks and ISA people and all sorts.
Eating's quite a liberating experience when you're sick I had a chicken mango curry for lunch followed by some vanilla ice cream. If I was confident that I could drive straight I'd probably head off to the shops to buy some fruit but I'm not so I won't.
Daytime TV is a bag of shite, isn't it?
Anyway, apart from being dizzy when I stand, having an awful sore throat and not really being able to think straight for all the congestion, I'm fine. I even slept for like 12 hours or something.
Despite all the unwatched DVDs and unread books which would normally be perfect fodder for a day like today, I've sorted lots of stuff out. I also found lots of pictures in my phone so I'm going to spam them up here. I've sorted out our interweb connectivity problems, chased banks and ISA people and all sorts.
Eating's quite a liberating experience when you're sick I had a chicken mango curry for lunch followed by some vanilla ice cream. If I was confident that I could drive straight I'd probably head off to the shops to buy some fruit but I'm not so I won't.
Daytime TV is a bag of shite, isn't it?
March 07, 2006
Pub Quiz
Whenever I can, I try to get home on a Monday night to attend the Pub quiz. This adds 2 hours to Monday night and Tuesday morning, but it's worth it because it keeps me sane.
Our team came somewhere in the middle of the scorings this week, which is somewhat better than abject failure.
Here are a few of the questions that defeated my team. See if you can answer them without resorting to the interweb.
How many brains does a jellyfish have?
[I got this one right but was overruled by my team]
Which scottish player won the golden boot award in 1992?
What type of nut does a cadbury's fruit and nut bar contain?
Our team came somewhere in the middle of the scorings this week, which is somewhat better than abject failure.
Here are a few of the questions that defeated my team. See if you can answer them without resorting to the interweb.
How many brains does a jellyfish have?
[I got this one right but was overruled by my team]
Which scottish player won the golden boot award in 1992?
What type of nut does a cadbury's fruit and nut bar contain?
March 06, 2006
Windows = Crap [again]
I took my PC laptop and a couple of 'House' DVDs to London in case I found myself in need of some light relief
On the train home I decided an episode would be fun and stuck the DVD in. Up came windows media player. "Windows Media Player requires a codec to play this disc. Please connect to the internet". Same with Real Player.
Now, I may not be a software developer any more but this is fucking atrocious.
Contrast with Mac: stick DVD in drive, DVD player opens and starts playing DVD.
Appalling.
On the train home I decided an episode would be fun and stuck the DVD in. Up came windows media player. "Windows Media Player requires a codec to play this disc. Please connect to the internet". Same with Real Player.
Now, I may not be a software developer any more but this is fucking atrocious.
Contrast with Mac: stick DVD in drive, DVD player opens and starts playing DVD.
Appalling.
Love life
Met Tammy again last night. Her turn to choose somewhere and she chose the George on Borough High Street, my old local from the Jimbo Borough days and – top trivia – the only pub in England that is owned by the National Trust. We had a couple of pints there, had some food at Bankside Restaurant (another old favourite) and finished up in a pub by Blackfriars station.
This street musician chap came up to our table at the George and did a few tricks which initially set off a couple of “this is going to be tedious” alarm bells but ended up being quite interesting. Foam balls were produced from nowhere, sugar disappeared and re-appeared, cards were nominated and produced from a closed deck; all very good stuff.
I think we’re still very much finding our way around each other. We’ve got plenty in common in terms of views and outlook, but there’s quite a lot of difference in terms of our backgrounds and our approach to stuff. I’m not sure whether this is a problem or not and there’s no quick fix – I think we’ve just got to get on with it and see whether it’s an issue.
This street musician chap came up to our table at the George and did a few tricks which initially set off a couple of “this is going to be tedious” alarm bells but ended up being quite interesting. Foam balls were produced from nowhere, sugar disappeared and re-appeared, cards were nominated and produced from a closed deck; all very good stuff.
I think we’re still very much finding our way around each other. We’ve got plenty in common in terms of views and outlook, but there’s quite a lot of difference in terms of our backgrounds and our approach to stuff. I’m not sure whether this is a problem or not and there’s no quick fix – I think we’ve just got to get on with it and see whether it’s an issue.
Work
Thursday just gone was supposed to be the final day of my contract. To recap: February 3rd was my last day as a full time employee. I then agreed to work 4 days a week for 4 weeks. We were mislead in terms of how much work needed to be done, so at this point I’m 2/3rds of the way through my assigned tasks. The money’s handy, the work’s semi-interesting and I don’t like the idea of leaving something half done. In addition, leaving now (as I’m fully entitled to do) would fuck the project and the people working on it. So, whatever. Another 8 days.
This was all agreed in a very rushed conversation at 8am on Thursday morning.
After this, the prospect of more work is being held out to me. This is quite troubling because it’s highly tempting. The work would be less interesting, but would only be for 3 days a week. Here’s the clincher: they’re proposing increasing my day rate so my weekly billing would be equivalent to what I’m being paid now; a sort of “work three days, get paid for four” arrangement. This is interesting.
Post work, I have more or less settled on the idea of going somewhere hot for 3 or 4 weeks. I am therefore looking at all this unwanted liquidity as an opportunity to have a slightly nicer beach hut, or carry a few more books over with me or maybe buy a guitar to fiddle about with when I’m out there or whatever. Current destination candidates include India and Thailand or maybe both. Focus on the desired outcome and keep your head down!
This was all agreed in a very rushed conversation at 8am on Thursday morning.
After this, the prospect of more work is being held out to me. This is quite troubling because it’s highly tempting. The work would be less interesting, but would only be for 3 days a week. Here’s the clincher: they’re proposing increasing my day rate so my weekly billing would be equivalent to what I’m being paid now; a sort of “work three days, get paid for four” arrangement. This is interesting.
Post work, I have more or less settled on the idea of going somewhere hot for 3 or 4 weeks. I am therefore looking at all this unwanted liquidity as an opportunity to have a slightly nicer beach hut, or carry a few more books over with me or maybe buy a guitar to fiddle about with when I’m out there or whatever. Current destination candidates include India and Thailand or maybe both. Focus on the desired outcome and keep your head down!
Dearth
The central heating at home was bust on Friday. Something to do with oil in the tank, the pipe from the tank, the aga, the boiler or the pump. Whatever. The house is normally freezing. On Friday it was exceptionally cold outside and the radiators weren’t functioning. The only warm place was my bad (owing to cunning electric blanket). Riley took 10 seconds to work this out and promptly sat on me. I was soooo tired after the long week and cricket practice I slept from midnight through till about 1300.
So up to London this weekend. Dating on Friday night, posh lunch + Hawaii catchup + gallery stuff with Hoyan for Saturday lunch, Dinner and Drinks with Mick (godfather) and Ros for Saturday evening and then brunch with Chris, Ilana, Laura and Benny on Sunday and then home.
This weekend I’m stayed at the Waldorf Hilton on Aldwych. Suffice to say I loved it even more than I did during my previous stays. The room was huge and they (unwisely) gave me access to an infinite stash of booze in the executive lounge.
The only slight downer is the absence of a bath. I was well up for one when I got here after surviving the freezing house – but it turns out some designer or other has jettisoned the bath in favour of a wet room. Boo! I was thinking “Maybe I’ll go for a swim” but of course I didn’t.
So up to London this weekend. Dating on Friday night, posh lunch + Hawaii catchup + gallery stuff with Hoyan for Saturday lunch, Dinner and Drinks with Mick (godfather) and Ros for Saturday evening and then brunch with Chris, Ilana, Laura and Benny on Sunday and then home.
This weekend I’m stayed at the Waldorf Hilton on Aldwych. Suffice to say I loved it even more than I did during my previous stays. The room was huge and they (unwisely) gave me access to an infinite stash of booze in the executive lounge.
The only slight downer is the absence of a bath. I was well up for one when I got here after surviving the freezing house – but it turns out some designer or other has jettisoned the bath in favour of a wet room. Boo! I was thinking “Maybe I’ll go for a swim” but of course I didn’t.
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