I’m the sort of person who before going on holiday annoys everyone by doing a countdown. I’ll walk around saying, “This time next week I’m going to be in Paris” and the like.

(Of course the response to the previous statement is to say that in two weeks you’ll be back here.)

All in all, if I’m about to go somewhere it’s best to just stay away from me. The further the better, trust me on this. The closer to me going away I am the worse I get.

As you’re no doubt aware, I have my semiannual hospital checkup tomorrow, where I’m going to be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed and generally poked in areas you shouldn’t be poked in unless you’re married.

It’s the only escape I do, which I don’t make a fuss about. As most of you no doubt know, I like to keep my medical issues private. I will make hints, but I’m not the sort of person to make a song and dance about it.

Yes, I can see the irony of that last paragraph in the context of this being a blog which anyone can read. I’ve never said that I was consistent, now have I?

Now where was I? Oh yes, if someone asks me what I’ll be doing then I’ll mention it but other than that I keep it to myself. This all comes down to a very simple philosophical point. The more I have to make excuses for myself, the more I give in. I’m a stubborn so and so, and there is no way I’m going to let that happen to me.

I actually look at this whole hospital thing with dread. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I try and come up with all sorts of things to keep myself busy, so that I can’t dwell on it. I don’t anticipate this, I feel trepidation.

Today has been a rather strange day at work. I got quite a bit done, and I was able to put things in the back corner of my mind. Well for most of it anyway. In the afternoon I started getting messages like this from work colleagues.

“Hope all goes well tomorrow. You are very much in my thoughts.”

Sounds all well and good, but when you are trying desperately to put tomorrow in the back of you’re mind it doesn’t help. I really should take these sorts of things the way they were intended. But when I’m in one of these moods…

By now the anticipation is going through the roof. It’s nights like this where I wish I could drink. I would drink myself to unconsciousness, it’ll be the only way I’ll get some sleep tonight.

I’m going to have to think about my trip next weekend, instead. Believe you me, it is certainly going to be an adventure. I still can’t quite believe that I’m going to Estonia for a long weekend.

As a bit of admin, you’re going to get some jokes tomorrow and I will do a bit of a medical update on Wednesday. This should save me some of the bother of phoning around people in the next week or so.

It’s not that I don’t want to speak to people, it’s just that I don’t want to sound like a broken down record.

Bye for now

Comments

I've finally finished reading the last bbok of the Deverry series. I'm going to give it another quick read before I do a review.

I watched some of the rugby over the weekend. It was nice to watch Ireland win comfortably against Fiji. I recorded the other games, and I think that the referee messed it up in the Wales game for Wales' first try. Mind you, that was the second worst refereing decision of the week.

You've been waiting for this haven't you. We was robbed we was. Offside and two hand balls. It wouldn't be right to have a replay, and the result should stand. You have to go with the result on the field, no matter how bitter you are about it.

I thought that it was funny that the English have been calling it Ireland's Maradonna moment. It always comes back to the English doesn't it. Unlike them, we won't be reliving it at every major footballing match for the next twenty three years. Surely we won't, will we?

In other news, I think that I may have been chatted up yesterday.

I'll wait a moment while you stop laughing.

I've been becoming quite friendly with one of the women who works at the deli counter at my local supermarket. The last couple of times I've come across her we've started chatting. We've talked about things such as our favourite type of popcorn, and colour.

Yesterday, I found out that she has family in the same part of the world that I'm from originally. I've even been told her full name. I'm probably seeing more into this than I should, but I'm certain that they don't act like this with all their customers.

I have no idea what to do with all this extra cold meats I've been buying.

You almost didn't get this post today. My internet connection has been on the blink all day today. It's been up and down like the underwear of a lady of the night.

Next week will be a bit of a stinker. I'm going in for my six month MOT on Tuesday. Wish me luck.

Bye for now

Comments

I was walking past a bus stop as a bus was coming to it, so I thought that I'd get on it. So rather than walking around doing nothing today. I thought that I would spend the day going around London doing just as much.

It might bring out the bus spotter in me, but I like sitting on buses watching the world go by. If I'm not in any hurry, it can be quite relaxing just sitting there. It also gives me a view of parts of London I've never been to before.

I ended up travelling around for about seven hours on ten buses and a DLR train. Here is the list of buses I went on today:

Route To
246 Biggin Hill
R2 Orpington
61 Chislehurst
161 Woolwich
DLR Canary Wharf
135 Liverpool St
11 Chelsea
319 Clapham
G1 Tooting
264 Croydon
119 Back home to Bromley

Some statistics from the day:

Total Cost: £1.60 (Thanks to my bus pass)

Number of buses that changed destination while I was on it: Two

Nuber of men spotted being led around by their girlfriend with a leash: One

Number of men walking around in their boxer shorts: Two

Number of golf courses the buses stopped at: One
(The busstop was right next to the first tee)

Number of times that I got lost going between two bus stops: One

Number of buses that I was on that broke down: None

Number of people I wanted to srangle as they spent all their time chatting on their mobiles: Four

The worst was the last one who spent the shole journey complaining to her brother that she had to go to Bromley to go to the cinema. She then complained that her battery had almost run out. I didn't have the heart to tell her that the bus stop she got off was at the wrong end of town. Oh well...

Bye for now

Comments

Cleveland (1-8) @ Detroit (1-8)
I would love to see how this game would be advertised in the States. It would be even funnier to get a look at the viewing figures. Bad news for Cleveland as they are the visiting team, the game won’t be blacked out. Detroit giggles.
Pick: Lions

San Francisco (4-5) @ Green Bay (5-4)
The 49ers won last week with a large amount of help. The Pack played really well against the Cowboys.
Pick: Packers

Pittsburgh (6-3) @ Kansas City (2-7)
When was the last time the Steelers were out muscled by another team? When was the last time they abandoned the running game? Yes, the Chiefs won last week, but it was against the Raiders.
Pick: Steelers

Washington (3-6) @ Dallas (6-3)
Who will be sacked first, Zorn or Wade? Both will probably be gone by this time next year. If the Cowboys want to get into the playoffs they need to start winning now before their annual December collapse.
Pick: Cowboys

Atlanta (5-4) @ New York Giants (5-4)
The good news is that the Giants didn’t lose last week. Well, only on the technicality of them being on their bye week. The Falcons epitomise the muddled middle.
Pick: Falcons

New Orleans (9-0) @ Tampa Bay (1-8)
The Saints seem to be playing with a certain amount of arrogance. It’s good to have that extra gear, but they seem to be becoming dependant on it. One week, this will come back to bite them. But it won’t be this week.
Pick: Saints

Buffalo (3-6) @ Jacksonville (5-4)
Dick Jauron is gone, but he’ll be back as a co-ordinator. He just isn’t a head coach. The Jags seem to be still a bit hit and miss. I think more hit than miss this week.
Pick: Jaguars

Indianapolis (9-0) @ Baltimore (5-4)
This week’s edition of the best game ever to be played. The Ravens have lost a yard of pace in the defence. That’ll be enough for the Colts.
Pick: Colts

Seattle (3-6) @ Minnesota (8-1)
Moving quickly on.
Pick: Vikings

Arizona (6-3) @ St Louis (1-8)
Now gaining speed.
Pick: Cardinals

San Diego (6-3) @ Denver (6-3)
This all depends on whether or not Kyle Orton plays (who thought that anyone would ever have written that sentence). I’m guessing he won’t.
Pick: Chargers

Cincinnati (7-2) @ Oakland (2-7)
The Bengals showed last week that they have to be taken seriously. However, this is the sort of game they would normally lose. I just can’t see that happening.
Pick: Bengals

New York Jets (4-5) @ New England (6-3)
So how will the Pats rebound from Sunday night’s game? No matter what you think of the decision, it’s how the players respond that is the important thing. For the Jets this game has been circled with a really thick marker.
Pick: Patriots

Philadelphia (5-4) @ Chicago (4-5)
I’m sorry, but I’ve lost all confidence in this Bears team. Jay Cutler has averaged four interceptions in the three night games Chicago has played this season. The bad news is that this is the Sunday Night game.
Pick: Eagles

Tennessee (3-6) @ Houston (5-4)
If the Titans played in their throwback uniforms this game becomes Houston @ Houston. And yes, I make this same lame joke twice a year when the teams play each other.
Pick: Titans

Last Week: 7-8

Season: 94–50

Bye for now

Comments

It also means that tomorrow's post is already written and posted, so I get a day off.

Before I get to this week’s picks, all I like to say is bum! I’ve been doing this for a couple of years now and for the first time ever I had a losing week. Of course, this had to happen the year I made my picks public (that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it).

I don’t consider myself to be an expert on the NFL, more a knowledgeable fan. As this is being done more for entertainment value than anything else, I shouldn’t be too bothered. But, guess what? My competitive side is coming to the fore and I’m peeved off.

In other news, the New England Patriots went for it on fourth and two in their own half, failed and lost their game to the Colts (and with it any chance me getting a winning record last week, I’m not bitter). Prompting much criticism in the press, for it being the worst coaching decision ever made.

I’ve watched the game now, and even though it looks like a really bad decision I can see why they went for it. In the second half of the game the Colts had the measure of the New England defence, and were able to move the ball at will.

Some people have written that the Patriots should have let their defence win the game. Well, I’m sorry but the Pats strength is their offence, if you can win the game with your best players on the field then you take it. Also, who bets against Manning in a prime time game with it on the line?

The Pats tried to play to their strengths, it didn’t work. Bill Belichick showed he has the cojones to go for a win, he should be applauded for it.

The always excellent TMQ has a far better take on this than I would ever have. Read it here.

So onto my pick for tonight's game.

Miami (4-5) @ Carolina (4-5)
After a 0-3 start the Panthers have gone 4-2 and are a team in form. This season the middle of the pack is really muddled and you think that anyone can beat anyone else. The Dolphins win over Tampa Bay was their first outside of the division. Can they do it two weeks in a row?
Pick: Panthers

The rest will be with you tomorrow.

Bye for now

Comments

Always use tasteful words - sometimes you'll have to eat them.

Be nice to your kids - They get to choose your nursing home.

Talk is cheap, until lawyers get involved.

You don't need a parachute to skydive: you if you intend to do it twice.

Borrow money from pessimists, they don't expect it back.

If men had periods, they'd brag about the size of their tampons.

Blessed are those who have nothing to say, and cannot be convinced to say it.

Animal Testing is a bad idea - They get all nervous and get the answers wrong.

Everybody is someone else's weirdo.

If things are going your way, you're driving in the wrong lane.

The road to success is always under construction.

The nurse that smiles when things go wrong is probably about to go off shift.

Marriage is a three ring circus. The engagement ring, the wedding ring and the suffering.

A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.

It's far easier to forgive someone after you've got even.

An escalator can never break, it can only become stairs.

And finally ...

Never take life seriously - no one gets out alive anyway.

Bye for now

Comments

I took a double take and then a triple take, in those days indeed. I then realised that I was about ten years older than the person that I was talking to, and they probably used word processors.

So, I regaled the story of how when doing coursework, you would have to re write a whole page if you started making mistakes. It’s one of the reasons I dropped essay subjects at the first opportunity. My handwriting was naturally messy, I wouldn’t mind, but we did have lessons on how to write neatly. Boy, did I feel old.

It goes to show how quickly technology, and how we use it changes.
At home, most of the time I use a fountain pen. Mainly as I simply like using it, but also because it makes me write properly. It can be a pain when the ink doesn’t properly dry, otherwise it just feels right to me.

I take a rather strange view to using technology. If it doesn’t make my life easier then I don’t use it. There is no way that I could ever be called a technophobe, but I do like doing things without using technology.

For instance, I only shop online when I have to. I enjoy (maybe that is too strong a word, maybe tolerate) going into shops browsing and getting a feel for thing that I’m looking for. I like having something tangible when I make a purchase.

There is a temptation with technology to become lazy. We want to do things without making the effort of doing it ourselves. There seems to be a philosophy where making our lives easier is equal to us doing less. I don’t agree with this, I think that technology gives us the opportunity to do things quicker (not better), which in turn allows us to do more.

Some people see technology as the root of all evil. It’s just another way for us to show how evil we can be. Interesting point that, don’t you think.

And before someone mentions it. Yes, I do see the irony of writing this and putting it on a blog. I never said that I wasn’t a hypocrite.

Bye for now.

Comments

A little while ago I linked to a youtube clip of a song about how an airline broke someone's guitar. Well, there is now a sequel, and here it is:

Toby Jones' business empire just keeps on growing. Now he is starting his own legal and daycare academy:

As a public service, here is the whole plot of Babylon 5 broken down to two mintues and twenty seven seconds, enjoy:

Bye for now

Comments

I finally got around to having a look at the old hard drive on my laptop. Well it's dead Jim. Looks like I'll have to survive on the backup that I had taken.

Now that I know that I'm going to take some time off in a couple of weeks time I didn't realise how much I've been running on fumes recently. By Friday this week I was barely able to walk up the stairs in work (and no, I'm not going to start taking the lift up one floor). Mentaly, I've been making one or two basic errors. I'm starting to realise that I really need the time off work.

I was sent an application form for Student Cross this week. It seems a little bit early for me, but who am I to say. Reminds me, that I will have to have a long chat with my specialist about this. My mind is between one of two things at the moment. Either do two days at both the beginning and the end of the week. Or, just do the whole of the half week leg. Don't know which yet.

I can't believe that it's coming up to Christmas again. I went into London and all the lights are up, I know that sponsorship is all well and good, but I do find it funny that the film sponsoring the lights will probably be out of the cinema by the beginning of December. I did notice in Bromley today that there was a Christmas shop open. You simply cannot escape.

I mentioned in passing that I was meeting up with a friend of mine Sunday afternoon and that I told him I we would have o be finished by 5pm. One of my work colleagues said that he also needed time to prepare for a new Dr Who episode. I didn't have the gall to tell him that I had something to do between 5 and 7...

Speaking of Doctor Who, I've just watched the episode. It was nice to see the return of the darker Doctor. Mind you, he didn't really do much until the last ten minutes of the episode. One question I would have is, how would you know the really important things which cannot be changed?

On that deep and meaningful question I'll leave it there for tonight. You never know, I might even explain myself one of these days.

Bye for now

Comments

I'm not a big fan. In fact, I've a;lways referred to it as the Tate Crappy. I like the building, shame about the exhibits.

For some reason my opinion got me into a little bit of trouble (no shock there).

The discussion we had came to, "if you have to question whether something is art then it's art." I thought that was the stupidist argument I've ever heard.

I don't pretend to be an art critic, I'm never going to be an expert in any of the arts. But I don't get any of this new art stuff.

I'll give you an example, one of the more famous pieces of new art is "The Great Bear" which is a parody of the London Underground map. All of the stations have been renamed after famous people, with each line renamed to types of people (musicians, engineers and so on).

You look at it and while it is clever (it would be cleverer if the transfer stations were named for a person who fulfilled each of the lines), I have to question if it is art.

The moment you have to explain it to me with words of more than three sylables, or using words which I need to look up in my dictionary, it's not art. I'm a simple man really.

The last time I was at the Tate Crappy, I was looking at an exhibit which was three blue blocks next to each other. No idea what it was, or what it was meant to represent, but it was probably worth more than I make in a year.

I think that a large amount of contemporary art is nothing more than a bunch of elitest crap. Look how stupid you are when you don't understand three blue boxes? As for that messy room, do you know how long it took them to make it that way?

I like visiting the portrait gallery and museums and the like. Looking at paintings,statues and even the odd vase. When I was working in Holborn I would sneak into the British Museum every so often, just to have a look at things.

I suppose it's not just new art I don't like. My alma mater, the good old University of Huddersfield have a yearly contemporary music festival. I always called it the contemptable music festival.

Maybe I'm just old before my time.

Bye for now

Comments

So onto the picks:

Chicago (4-4) @ San Francisco (3-5)
I’ve got a rule that I always pick the Bears. The way that the defence hasn’t played recently, the rule will get broken this week. The Bears would rather have Samurai Mike on the field rather than on the opposite sideline. The good news is that the 49ers are also in freefall. So
Pick: Bears

New Orleans (8-0) @ St Louis (1-7)
Let me see. How do the Rams win this one. Oh yes, if the Saints don’t turn up. Yes, the Saints have had to come back into games recently, that won’t need to this week.
Pick: Saints

Tampa Bay (1-7) @ Miami (3-5)
The Bucs are slowly improving game by game. Other than the Wildcat, what else can the Dolphins do? This will be closer than most people think.
Puck: Dolphins

Detroit (1-7) @ Minnesota (7-1)
How lucky is it that number 4 doesn’t have to play in the cold weather until the end of the season? How fortunate that neither of the Williams have been suspended?
Pick: Vikings

Jacksonville (4-4) @ New York Jets (4-4)
Two middle of the pack team, playing to find out who is the most mediocre. The Jets need this more, if they want to stay in the divisional hunt.
Pick: Jets

Buffalo (3-5) @ Tennessee (2-6)
So, is Vince Young the quarterback of the future again in Titanland? Whatever he’s doing, he just needs to keep doing what he’s doing. I may as well go back to picking them again.
Pick: Titans

Cincinnati (6-2) @ Pittsburgh (6-2)
As I said in week 3, “This could be the key game for the division.” I know that you can’t have two key games, what about we change the word game for matchup.
Pick: Steelers

Denver (6-2) @ Washington (2-6)
Denver were able to spilt their run of four very difficult games. With what they have left they’re staring at ten to twelve wins. This week, the Redskins have asked Vin Scully to make the play calls, just don’t create a sign about it.
Pick: Broncos

Atlanta (5-3) @ Carolina (3-5)
A battle of two struggling quarterbacks. The good news is that the Panthers haven’t thrown an interception in two games, the bad news is that they’ve barely been throwing the ball. The Falcons have thrown five in their last couple of away games. This could be very messy.
Pick: Falcons

Kansas City (1-7) @ Oakland (2-6)
What can be said about this game? I have no idea.
Pick: Raiders

Philadelphia (5-3) @ San Diego (5-3)
Who has the worse clock management skills, Andy Reid or Norv Turner? I’ve been going one way and the other over who to pick in this one. Then I remembered the Eagles’ short yardage running game, and lack thereof.
Pick: Chargers

Seattle (3-5) @ Arizona (5-3)
The Cardinals have found a way of winning on their travels. The bad news is that they cannot win at home. With the Seahawks visiting, that should change.
Pick: Cardinals

Dallas (6-2) @ Green Bay (4-4)
The Cowboys’ defensive line is starting to find their form. The Packers have no pass protection. This could get very ugly for young Mr Rodgers.
Pick: Cowboys

New England (6-2) @ Indianapolis (8-0)
It’s November, so it must be time for the annual matchup between the Pats and the Colts. Both teams are in full stride, so this should be a close one (now it’ll be a blowout). I’m not why I’m going this way, but…
Pick: Patriots

Baltimore (4-4) @ Cleveland (1-7)
Like most films series, the sequel isn’t as good as the original. The big question is, who will score the most touchdowns, the Ravens defence, or the Browns offence.
Pick: Ravens

Last Week: 8-5

Season: 87-42

Comments

There was once a lady from Guam
Who said, "Now the ocean's so calm
I will swim, for a lark."
She encountered a shark.
Let us now sing the 90th psalm.

There once was a guy named Jake
Who had very bad stomach ache;
He sat in his chair
Saying, "Tis only fair,
For I ate the entire chocolate cake."

There once was a walrus named Lou
Who lived in a place called the zoo.
He said to his friend,
"Do my teeth ever end?
I can't see past them, can you?"

There was a young salesman of Leeds
Who rashly swallowed six packets of seeds.
In a month, silly ass,
He was covered with grass
And couldn't sit down for the weeds.

A golfer who hailed from Verdun
Was intent on not being outdone.
To avoid any glitches,
He carried spare britches
In case he got a hole in one.

And finally,

There once was a man from Peru
Whose limericks always end on line two.

Bye for now

Comments

It’s not as if the weather has been nice or anything. I woke up this morning and it was really misty. The time of year has arrived, where I won’t be out in the daylight during the week. I’m going to have to find another way of helping my natural tan.

Could it have been the things that I spent the weekend thinking about? Between you and me, I didn’t come to any decisions. I’ve come up with a couple of courses of action, but I’ll have to see how things go.

Would it be because of the medication I’m on at the moment? I hope not, unless someone has been spiking things again.

Was it because I won £45 million on Friday night? I was only missing one thing, a ticket!

Is there any real reason to be happy with work. Well, no but it wouldn’t be work if I was happy now would it.

Maybe I’m feeling happy because I just am. Maybe there is no reason. Maybe I’ve got a bad case of wind. Maybe I’ve completely flipped, and if I had would anybody notice?

Sometimes, there is no reason for feeling good. But, looking at it from another view, why should I have a reason to feel good about myself? Feeling good should be the default, shouldn’t it?

Well, I thought I would share.

Bye for now

Comments

I’ve been on retreat this weekend, or as I call it, a weekend of annoying nuns. Yesterday morning I went into London and spent some time just thinking about things in general. It wasn’t structured, there was someone available to talk to if needed.

I always find it fascinating going to a retreat centre in a city. I did go outside for a walk, I do find it easy to lock myself away from everything else going on around me. Most of my time was spent either in prayer, or in reflection.

I could have spent the weekend at home, but sometimes it’s important to change scenery. You don’t get the distractions, and those are what makes things difficult. It was also quite nice not to have to worry about anything.

I didn’t get much sleep Friday night, as some urban theatre was going on in one of the flats above me. From between 1 and 3 in the morning one of my neighbours were having a fight, shouting and door slamming included. So, it was probably a good idea escaping for the weekend.

One of the things which I’ve already decided is that I’m going to take most of December off again this year. I’m looking at escaping to Tallinn with a friend of mine for a long weekend, and I’ll probably spend some time in the clinic. It will also mean that my youngest brother changes his mind, I will be around.

One thing I forgot, at the beginning of last week I wrote my 200th post. I should have baked myself a cake. I hope I haven't repeated myself too much.

Bye for now

Comments

All joking aside, one thing about the Yankees you have to admit is that you know where their money is going. Unlike other teams which gives the impression of cutting corners, it’s all about putting a winning team out there for the Yanks.

Some people think that having teams like the Yankees hurts the sport. I’m not convinced. I would rather owners spending money on putting a winning team together rather than pocketing the cash. Don’t forget that the Yankees payroll was around $210 million, for last season, they also spent $26.9 million in the luxury tax.

This tax money was of course distributed to some of the small market teams. You can argue that having the most money means that things are stacked in your favour. It doesn’t mean that you get the best team. Paging your 2009 Washington Redskins…

One of the things that I love about the baseball season is that it changes everyday. You play games daily, and its all about keeping yourself going over the course of the six months regular season. Something is happening everyday, which keeps your focus on the games.

This all changes for the post season, where it seems that they have more off days than games played. The Yankees were able to win with only a three man rotation (I don’t think they really had a fourth). But, you don’t really get the same rhythm in the post season, which is a shame. I don’t understand the need for travel days, especially when you are staying in the same city.

Before I get emails from people, I do know that the Diamondbacks did more or less use two pitchers when they won their World Series. A certain dup of Messers Johnson and Schilling, or as I called them the K twins.

Yes, the Red Sox (God bless them, and all who sail in them) got to the playoffs, but there was something missing from the team this season. There wasn’t a batter this season who was able to put the team on their shoulders when needed.

Previously, David Ortiz was this man. However, with his struggles no one was able to step up and take his place. Having Victor Martinez will improve the lineup, but they still require a big time bat. If Big Papi can get his mojo back, just forget that I wrote this paragraph.

See you in 73 days, when pitchers and catchers report. I can’t wait.

So onto the picks:

Atlanta (4-3) over Washington (2-5)
Chicago (4-3) over Arizona (4-3)
Baltimore (4-3) over Cincinnati (5-2)
Indianapolis (7-0) over Houston (5-3)
New England (5-2) over Miami (3-4)
Green Bay (4-3) over Tampa Bay (0-7)
Jacksonville (3-4) over Kansas City (1-6)
Seattle (2-5) over Detroit (1-6)
New Orleans (7-0) over Carolina (3-4)
San Diego (4-3) over Giants (5-3)
San Francisco (3-4) over Tennessee (1-6)
Philadelphia (5-2) over Dallas (5-2)
Pittsburgh (5-2) over Denver (6-1)

Last Week: 8-5

Season: 79-37

Bye for now

Comments

I like eating good old fashioned food, meat and two veg for me please. The other thing I’ve noticed is that if you’re cooking it from scratch, it’s not that expensive. Meat for one, carrots for one, string peas for one, potato for six. When you’re budget is just over two pounds a head, you can do quite a bit with it.

I’ve brought this up a couple of times, and the normal argument back to me is that people want variety in what they’re eating. I do like eating more exotic foods, but only if they are done properly. When you’re catering for as many people as in a school, simple is best. I prefer food which looks/tastes like what it says in the menu.

The problem is that most of it ends up tasting quite bland. Bland as in, all you taste is the heat, as opposed to being tasteless. With large quantities being produced, you do have to keep it neutral to keep everyone happy.

A while back, they produced what they called an authentic Irish stew, it was barely even a casserole. I complained on the grounds that there was no way that what they produced with authentic. I was asked what did I know about making Irish stew anyway. I don’t think he quite placed my accent (pure cockney, just like Dick Van Dyke).

Anyway, this brings me onto my days at university. My diet wasn’t the best thing in the world, but it was consistent. In fact, it was very predictable especially on a Wednesday night.

You see, just down the hill from the house I lived in was a pub (the only problem was that it was uphill on the way home). It was called the Beaumont Arms, and it did the most fantastic food that any hungry student would ask for.

On a Wednesday night they did a special, a mixed grill, a slice of cheesecake and a drink for not very much. Two of my housemates and I would regularly partake. We would arrive shortly after Star Trek The Next Generation finished, and would have a very pleasant evening.

We were as regular as clockwork, and after a while we would walk in as our pints (a Tim Taylor, a Guinness and a Coke) were just being poured. Now that is what you called service. When they changed their chef, they did take the mixed grill off the menu. However, we did get ones made especially for us, but we did move onto the 16oz rump steak instead (with no salad for me of course).

So, I have no problem with eating the same thing every week. As long as it takes nice.

Bye for now

Comments

When you get projects like this, where another author comes in to finish a saga, the first thing you look at is to see if the writing fits with what is written before. There is certainly a difference in style, the characters are still there, but they look slightly different. It’s a bit like a comic, the inking has changed, but the comic hasn’t.

I’ve read that Brandon Sanderson was given a considerable amount of notes, and it seemed like he used them well. It’s also obvious that there is no way that the ending could have been one book (This is 700 pages long and is only the first third). Yes, there are a few things that could have been taken out, but not that much.

The Gathering Storm is essentially a story about Rand and Egwene. How Rand learns to laugh again, and how Egwene brings the White Tower back together. Elayne is only mentioned in passing, and there is a little bit about Perrin and Mat, but they seem to be on the move.

Let’s start with Rand shall we? One of the things with the Wheel of Time is that you sometimes want to smack every single character in the books. Almost killing both Min (unwillingly) and Tam (willingly) shows how close to the brink he was. The best line in the book is when (me thinks Min) states that hardness doesn’t equal strength. I wanted to shout at him “How can you be so stupid?” But, he might balefire me.

Speaking of balefiring, two Forsaken bite the big one in this book, Semirhage and Graendal (or was she). Graendal was taken out by the first piece of carpet bombing in Randland history. Semi got spanked physically (by Cadsuane) and metaphorically (when Rand balefired her). Neither really got the screen time, but there wasn’t much room for it.

I loved the conversation between Rand and Moridin. I always thought that it was more personal between LTT and Ishy, and this really confirmed it in my mind. Moridin knows that if the DO wins then it’s the end of everything. If he knows that why is he were he is then?

Reasons for being black moves us on nicely to Verin. We knew that she wasn’t pure brown, but who would have thought that she was Black Ajah? My personal looney theory was that she was tasked with finding out about as much as she could about the black and had somehow been released from the oaths. I was partly right, in a completely wrong sort of way.

There is a temptation to make a comparison with Snape from the Harry Potter books. I don’t think there is one. I don’t her heart was fully into being black, that it was to her a research project. She wasn’t really the spy within, more an interested observer. Yes, and that book she gave Egwene, that has convenient plot device written all over it.

Oh, and line about “your dress is green” to Egwene, sheer brilliance.

In some ways Egwene’s story is the counterpoint to Rand’s in this book. You can see her growing, and gaining the respect of the Tower Aes Sedai. You never feel dread, even when she is imprisoned for being a darkfriend. Her actions define what she has become, be it how she dealt with the Black Ajah, or defending the tower from the Seanchen.

There is a certain amount of humour when the Ajah heads discuss who should be Amrylin (they also solve the sitters issue from wotfaq), and they realise that the only option is outside with a large army.

All in all a really good book, which if you haven’t read it yet, has been thoroughly spoilt. Things seem to have moved on greatly. Yes, we are now in the shadow of the final battle. Rand has to find a way of getting the Seanchen on side. Moiraine still needs to be rescued (who thinks there was more references about her here than in the previous five books). We still need to find out who killed Asmodean (Of course, it was Bela).

Finally, who thinks that Mat won’t open Verin’s letter? Me neither.

Bye for now

Comments

Babysitting by Justin Casey Wails

Forestry by Tereasa Green

Public conveniences by I.P Freely

Have Fun Spitting by Joy Fleming

The Mystery Manual by Mr Emmanuel

The art of boasting by Ivor biggun

Under the Bleechers by Seymore Butts

Over the Cliff by Hugo First

Nail in the Bannister by Arse Tornoff

Brown Stain On Wall by Hoo Flung Dung

Sex With Food by Ben Inya

The Art Of Self Love by Ima Wayne Kerr

Down On The Farm by Ray Pin Cowes

When Nothing Comes To Mind by Atah Helwidit

My Plan To Make A Million by Salem Distome

Sexually Transmitted Diseases by Ivan Cockburn

How To Meet Women by Heywood Jablomey

What Is This Burning Sensation? by Dick Hertz

Inside Neverland Ranch by Holden and Sharon Dix

Paris Hilton Biography by Lotta Cox

Tiger's Revenge by Claude Balls

Confessions of a Peeping Tom by I. Sawyer Bush

How to make donuts by Kris P. Cream

Yellow river by i. p. daley

Brown Spots on the Wall by Hugh Flung Poo

50 days on the Saddle by Major Azzburn.

Naugty by Nutsone Ice

Lizards by Eeg wauna

100 Yards to the Outhouse by Willie Maikit; illustrated by Betty Wont

The Moons of Uranus by Rosie Cheeks

Headaches by M.I.Grains

Making Tea by Phil .a. Kettle

Flying Crap by Hu Flung Dung

Bye for now

Comments

I go through phrases, where I attempt to go out and put myself out there so to speak. I go on dates, and I run around like some sort of horse on heat. Certainly it's entertaining for anyone watching, but not necessarily for me. It doesn't really get me anywhere, but I think that everyone needs something that they aren't great at.

Well, I've been going through one of those phrases recently. Of course, me mentioning it will mean I will be back to normal by the time I finish writing this post.

I got a phone call a couple of weeks ago, from someone that I worked with in the city. We've barely spoken to each other for about three years (short emails mainly), so I thought that it was for a general catchup.

During the course of the conversation, she mentioned the reason why she thought that she would contact me. It seems, that she had just befriended someone from her work that reminded her of me. I said, so that means she's witty, charming, good looking and a damn fine dancer. Not really, was the response, actually more like northern irish, funny, and too nosey for their own good.

I really should get a better class of friends, but at least she thinks I'm funny!

For some reason she moved the conversation onto my relationship status. Yes, I know that I was being setup. Look, if you were me, you wouldn't have any problems taking a date like that. Now would you? Some of my best dates have been blind, she'd bring the dog, and I the stick.

So, I arranged that we would meet up by the half price ticket booth at Leicester Square last Friday evening. A simple guideline of dating, always go somewhere busy on the first date. The information I had consisted of her name, and that she was slightly smaller than me with longish curly brown hair.

I got there a little bit early as is my habit, and waited to see who or what would turn up.

Suddenly I heard this voice saying, "Emmett, I can't believe that it's you". This woman appeared in front of me and hugged me for all she was worth. I returned the hug more gingerly thinking to myself what was going on.

Alright, I should really backup for a second. How did she know who I was? Well, it did take me a second to recognise her, but I did go out with her best friend for over a year.

It wasn't as if we were close. What teenager likes the person who suddenly appears and takes all their best friend's attention from them? The penny should have dropped sooner, I should have recognised the name, but I didn't. Who would have thought that something like this would have happened.

It must have been about sixteen years since we had last saw each other. I haven't really changed much, a bit fatter, and some gray hair. We thought that the last time we would have talked would have been at the funeral. We talked about how we handled things and how our lives had moved on.

It brought home to me, how little I thought about about other people when I was a teenager. For a long time I thought that my pain was the worst in the history of man. Sitting across from me was someone of my age, who went through exactly the same thing. We spent the whole evening talking about someone who wasn't there.

For those of you not religious, during the last couple of days we have had both all saints day and all souls day. At this time of year we remember those people we know who have gone before us. It was erie how I would have such a strange conversation just before then, to really focus my mind.

Even stranger, was of all the people I could have gone out with for an evening. That it was, who it was.

Bye for now

Bye for now

Comments

I really enjoyed reading it, the second part (She Is The Darkness), was the stronger of the two. While I found Bleak Seasons to be god, it just seemed to be missing something. I think that it was the present storyline didn't seem to move so much. If I had read it on it's own I might have been left frustrated. It seems that this omnibus edition, makes both parts stronger.

As I've now finished this, I've got a bit of a dilemma. Which book do I read next, I'm going to leave the latest Orc and Terry Pratchet books for later. However, I have more of a problem between the latest Wheel of Time and Deverry books.

I've mentioned before that I've been looking forward to reading The Gathering Storm. I want to see how Brandon Sanderson handles what is really a daunting project. The biggest thing will be to see how well it fits into the overall storyline, and how he handles each of the characters.

On the other hand, I've been waiting for a long time for the last of the Deverry books. Katharine Kerr has teased me for a long time (that sounds far more personal than I meant), and now it is over.

This sounds rather sad, but when I saw The Silver Mage on display, my hands started to shake. I don't think that I was that cold, but it was the excitement of finally seeing a copy.

You see, I've kind of grown up reading those books. I first picked up Daggerspell in 1992, as a rather impressionable teenager, from my local library. Since then I've been hooked. When each new book came out I would pester my local bookshop into getting a copy for the release date.

I have quite a few friends who read fantasy novels, and it's interesting that no one else seems to have read her books. The only friend who had heard of her would ask if she had finished it yet? Well, I can now say yes.

I have loaned out my books to friends to try and hook them into the series. It has worked with a few. I just need to try a bit harder.

I just find it a bit strange that everyone seems to have read David Eddings, or GRR Martin, or Robert Jordan, but not little Kit. Maybe it wouldn't be as nice if she was mainstream. Sometimes I think I'm a rebel without a clue.

I'm probably the only person who thinks this, but I rather like the UK titles for some of the books. Yes, they are a wee bit cheesey, but everything seems to fit quite nicely together.

I'll probably do a full scale opus on my love of all things Deverry when I finish reading it. You've been warned.

I'm of the mind, that I might just rush through the Wheel of Time book, and then read the Katharine Kerr book at my leisure. I want to enjoy every last word of what is the end of a long journey.

I'm glad we had this little chat.

Bye for now

Comments

A bit like buses, I've been doing some hosting this week. Firstly, with having a friend staying with me last weekend for the NFL game. This was followed by another friend coming over Thursday. I haven't let anyone come visit me for a while, mainly as my place is normally a tip. May as well take advantage of me cleaning up.

This was followed by me going out on a blind date Friday night. By my standards it was surreal (not too sure how that would translate on a normal scale). I'll write about it properly on Tuesday, but I would say that it would be best described as something that would only happen to me.

You'll be happy to know that the third shoe has dropped. I somehow managed to snap with watch strap on Tuesday (sometimes I don't even know my own strength). Not as bad as the other two things, I understand, but I'm counting it.

For all of you baseball fans out there, the World Series started this week. The Phillies against the evil empire (queue John Williams). Currently the evil ones are up 2 games to 1. I'm currently attempting the reverse curse to see what happens.

I did my traditional thing of staying up overnight to watch game one. As there is no MLB on five (yes, I'm still in denial), there was no DJs involved. I suppose I should be grateful that ESPN are covering it. But I want Jonny and Josh.

You will have noticed that the sidebar of books I'm waiting to come out has disappeared. Over the last couple of weeks they have all been published and I've bought them. What did I mention earlier about buses?

I'm going to finish the book that doesn't exist this evening, which leads me to the interesting dilemma of which one to read first. More about that one tomorrow.

Bye for now

Comments

I would necer want to go to a concert at the New Wembley. The sound system is terrible. When they had the guy on doing the prematch entertainment, I could hear the music but not his singing. This may have been a good thing, as I had never heard of him before, and for all I know he could be as good as me. At least, it wasn't a X-Factor reject.

The anthems, both were quite good. I always enjoy listening to Toni Braxton. Katherine Jenkins was a big improvement on Joss Stone from last year, she actually knew the tune. A bit too operatic for my taste, by the end she sounded quite garbled. But she is a safe pair of hands. I won't mention the view of her dress from behind, hmmmmm...

It was interesting to see the difference in how both quarterbacks stood in the pocket. Tom Brady stood increadibly tall in the pocket, and you could feel the confidence he had in the pocket. Josh Johnson, seemed more subdued like he was hiding behind his linemen.

The difference in class between the two teams was evident throughout the game. There wasn't really a moment when you thought that the Bucs were going to get back into it. When they did score their touchdown, it was like "where did that come from".

There were some blokes sitting close to me who spent most of their time trying to start a Mexican Wave. The ironic thing was, that they never got one started. However, there was one that started in another part of the stadium that went around five times. To break it up, they just put on the "Wave Your Flags" notice on the screen. It was always fun to see that every time they put it on the screen 85,000 fans would do as they asked.

Talking about the fans, lots and lots of noise. One of the great things is that you do get fans from all of the teams at the game. This makes it more of an event than a normal game. However, for the first time that I've noticed anyway, there were quite a few fans for both teams.

One or two were either too lubricated before the game or just too excited. Like the women sitting next to my friend. I did get a "Da Bears" shout out in Waterloo Station though.

I must mention the cheerleaders. Always nice to look at, but doesn't really add much to the game. Not as if I'm going to complain too much. You have to admire their stamina, going for about three hours. Sometimes, they did have the best view of the game. Facing the fans.

It wasn't the most exciting of games, about a three out of ten. But all in all, very enjoyable and worth every penny. The friend I went with, did say that he would go to another game. I will have to explain to him the concept of "Are you ready for some football".

This Weeks Picks:

Houston Texans
Chicago Bears
Dallas Cowboys
Detroit Lions
Indianapolis Colts
New York Jets
Baltimore Ravens
New York Giants
Tennessee Titans
San Diego Chargers
Green Bay Packers
Arizona Cardinals
New Orleans Saints
And Yes that is 11 home teams out of 13.

Last Week: 8-5

Season: 71-32

Bye for now

Comments

So where do we go to from here?

Rumour has it that there are going to be two games in London next year. Seemingly, the experiment of playing games here are a success. What the NFL wants to find is the saturation point of support. Would you have two sellouts, or would people pick and choose?

The interesting thing is to find out how long would there be between games, and how many people would go to both? The plan will probably be to have the games a month apart. If they do go this route, getting the matchups right will be key.

We've been fortunate so far, that each of the matchups have had at least one team popular in the UK playing. Now, that hasn't mattered much as people, no matter who they supported, just wanted to experience the game. Now give us a choice, and things could turn.

Conference matchups are all well and good, but if we do go down this route it might be interesting to have two intraconference matchups. We'd never get a divisional game (for good reason), but a conference matchup would be nice.

One thing I have read is the idea of having one team being the host (like Buffalo playing games in Toronto), in the hopes of building a fan base for that team. At the moment, a number of teams are having problems selling out their games. Getting one of those to give up a home date shouldn't be too difficult. But in the long term?

The long term hope for quite a few fans, is a London based NFL franchise. However, I don't think that it's going to happen for a long time. The distances involved ae just too great. As was pointed out when David Beckham first signed by Los Angeles, the jet lag involved would be too great.

I think the best we can hope for is two or three games a season, played as part of a international round of matches. They are talking about dropping a pre season game and having a 17th game in the regular season. A slate of neutral field games, at this point would make sense.

The NFL is trying quite hard to market the game. The obvious example is the NFLUK show on a Saturday morning. It's funny, but they seem to be marketing it straight at the under 25s, by trying to make it both hip and happening. They're trying to make it the NBA mark two, as opposed to letting the action speak for itself.

The program does do some things right, such as the know the game segment. As for the rest, it just isn't my cup of tea. The presenters are shocking, but I guess it isn't aimed at me. Now how about a hour long highlights show, you know, with highlights. Trust me on this one, if you show people the game they will become fans.

The thing is, the people that they're marketing to, aren't going to be able to afford the ticket prices to go to the games. If you look at the majority of people who went to Sunday's game, they weren't the people they are marketing to.

As I'm slightly ranting already, two other things:

1) Someone needs to find a way of making it easy to get a decent amount of NFL merchandice available in the UK. Or even have a way of buying with ease to the UK through the NFL Shop website. If you make it easy for us to buy things, we might buy more stuff.

2) Something needs to be done with the TV coverage. Yes there may be more live games coming our way. But we seem to be having less games on TV. Sky have halved the games they show, and no MNF. We already know that Five won't be showing anything next season. It would be embarrasing if after all of the marketing of the game over here that the game coverage becomes difficult to get a hold of.

Oh, one last thing. Remind me never to mention the phrase "trap game" ever again. I picked Oakland to shock the Jets. Guess what? They lost by 38 points. Yes, I put the pun in pundit.

Bye for now

Comments

You will notice on the right hand side of this page I have a list of books which I have been waiting to get published. Well, three of them have been released in the past few weeks.

As regular readers of this blog are aware, I've been holding a one man protest against the one bookshop in the part of London where I live. So now, when I want to buy any books I do it during one of my visits into town.

So on Saturday I went bookshopping before going to the train station to meet my friend. The good news is that all three of the books I wanted to buy were in the store. The bad news is that all I could find was signed copies of one of them.

Alright, I'm just going off on a tangent here. I'm not a big fan of signed copies of books. My main problem is I like clean sets. If I get a book which is signed then I would want all of the books I have by that author signed. Maybe it is my surpressed librarian (did I ever mention that I am an honourary librarian at school), but I like clean books.

I have no problems with book signings. I once spent an hour and a half in a book signing queue, where all I did was thank the author for the many hours of happiness his books had brought me. I shook his hand and left without anything getting signed.

Now that I think about it, I did get one or two strange looks.

So I grabbed one of the signed books, and went to the information desk to see if they had any copies in the back which weren't signed. The man behind the counter said that he would check. Then things got wierd...

He went over to this bloke who was sitting at the table talking with a couple and asked him "Have you signed all of the books yet?" to which the bloke replied, "Yes, I've just finished."

The penny then dropped. The bloke sitting at the table was the author, and he was just finishing a signing at the store. D'oh

The information desk bod came over and said in a louder than necessary voice that "They had no copies which weren't signed". Of course, the author could hear him.

When he heard this the author wandered over and asked me why I didn't want a signed copy. After explaining to him the reason why I didn't want one, he gave me one of those care in the community looks.

We chatted for a while about a broadway show called Damn Yankees. He didn't like my suggestion of resigning the book with tipex, so that it was no longer signed.

I did have this dilemma, did I buy the book, but not in the way I wanted it. Or should I put the book back on the shelf, and buy it somewhere else with the author himself watching me do it?

You wouldn't have guessed that I chickened out. My excuse is that I was already embarrased enough by this stage. Most people were probably already thinking that I was some sort of nut case (how little they know). I think, that if I had put the book back, I would have probably got a lifetime ban from the store.

I ended up buying the signed book, which is now on my pile of books to read. This could be the start of a very slippery edge.

Bye for now

Comments

Not a good week for me with electirical equipment. On Monday, the power supply on my Playstation gave up the ghost. Then a couple of days later, my old laptop's harddrive decided it didn't want to work anymore.

As these things happen in threes, I am now waiting for the other shoe to drop. Considering my job, not wanting to do things with electrical things makes my life interesting.

This week was the last week of me taking my system analysis class. I've enjoyed it this year, the group have been one of the more interesting ones. Hopefully, something I've told them has sunk in. We'll see how they do in the exam.

It looks like I'm soon going to have a big backlog of books to read. I have already got a couple waiting, and everytime I go to a bookshop I find another book which I want to read. I'm either going to have to press the pause button on my life for a week or two, or I'm going to have to stop going into bookshops.

Now, where did I put that life remote control?

My new passport has arrived, that was very quick. I only sent the forms off on Saturday, and I get it within a week. That was with a post strike going on as well. Makes it almost worth the money I paid for it. Almost...

I will write something about the NFL game on Mondy or Tuesday. With Stankers visiting I'm writing this before he gets here.

Bye for now

Comments

San Diego (2-3) @ Kansas City (1-5)
Every season the Chargers seemingly get off to this type of start. Each year they seem to start to turn it around, to battle for the division title. I think that won’t happen this time around. They have too much talent for the Chiefs, or do they?
Pick: Chargers

San Francisco (3-2) @ Houston (3-3)
The Texan’s defence came up big last week, so did their offence. The 49ers should be a bigger test.
Pick: 49ers

Indianapolis (5-0) @ St Louis (0-6)
Winless against undefeated, need I say more?
Pick: Colts

Minnesota (6-0) @ Pittsburgh (4-2)
Neither team seems to be able to stop opponents in the final quarter. That should make this game more interesting, does it need that? My gut tells me the Vikings’ luck will run out this week.
Pick: Steelers

New England (4-2) vs Tampa Bay (0-6) @ London
Your trusty guide will be at Wembley getting the lowdown for the showdown (you can’t believe that I would do that pun, but I did). I hope that this won’t be as much of a blow out as everything it’s going to be. Tom Brady will want to prove that he is fully back.
Pick: Patriots

Buffalo (2-4) @ Carolina (2-3)
The Bills have somehow won two games in a row. How? Ugly, back of the bus ugly. Their no huddle experiment seems to have come to an end. About time too. The Panthers needs to run the ball. I think they can.
Pick: Panthers

Jets (3-3) @ Oakland (2-4)
Talking about winning ugly please welcome the Raiders. This should be an easy Jet’s victory but Mark Sanchez is starting to look like a rookie and Kris Jenkins is out (that is almost analysis that is). The problem that I’ve got is that this game has the word trap written all over it. So…
Pick: And I can’t believe I’m writing this… Raiders

Chicago (3-2) @ Cincinnati (4-2)
The Bengals were embarrassed last week, and will put everything into this game. Cedric Benson will want to embarrass the Bear’s defence. The Bear’s last Sunday night could move the ball quite easily to the Falcon’s red zone, shame what happened there.
Pick: Bears

Atlanta (4-1) @ Dallas (3-2)
The Cowboys have had the bye to prepare for this game. That should be the difference between these two very similar teams.
Pick: Cowboys

New Orleans (5-0) @ Miami (2-3)
The Saints really impressed last week, but up telephones numbers on one of the best defences in the league. The Dolphins coming off their bye, will probably have a few new wrinkles in their wildcat. I don’t think that will be enough.
Pick: Saints

Arizona (3-2) @ Giants (5-1)
Teams in the west seem to struggle playing on the east coast these last couple of seasons. However, the Cardinals have already won in Jacksonville this season. The Giants will simply not have a repeat of last week when they had their backside’s handed to them.
Pick: New York

Philadelphia (3-2) @ Washington (2-4)
The Eagles lost to the Raiders last week, while the Redskins lost to the Chiefs. In a shocker, the Redskins finally play a team that has won a game prior to playing them. I’m having a bad case of indecisiveness on this one. So, the special tie breaker, the Raiders beat the Chiefs earlier this season.
Pick: Eagles

Last Week: 9-5

Season: 63-27

Bye for now

Comments

I can be quite terrible in keeping up with people. One of the reasons for doing this blog, is to allow friends to find out what I've been up to. To allow me to constantly communicate. One of the side effects of this, is when I phone people up it means that I've already done my part of the conversation.

However, it is not a replacement for keeping in contact.

One of my problems is that I lack moderation. I will all out doing something at full tilt, go and do something else full tilt while ignoring the original thing. It's not that I'm easily distracted, it's just that I can get over enthusiastic about things.

So, I go through phases where I write a large body of emails/letters in one go, answer some, then don't do anything for four or five months. More a short burst of hyperactivity followed by long term lazyness.

Today, while the installations were going on around me I wrote a bunch of emails/letters, mainly to people with whom I haven't been in contact for a while. I haven't done everyone (I'm either too popular, or it has been too long. Most likely the latter), but it is at least the start.

With communication the way it is today, it ie very easy to keep in contact with friends. I think sometimes that it is too easy. I find it very difficult to just write a letter that is short (you've read my posts, not exactly one line jobs). Sometimes all I want to say is "hello", just so that my friends know that I am thinking of them. But it doesn't seem enough.

Maybe I'm just old fashioned, or I'm just long winded. I probably need to pace myself more, I've surprised myself with how I've kept this up for so long. I think my secret is that I have put a couple of specific things each week.

My other thing, is that I try to customise each letter and the like I write. I like taking a bit of care and attention when writing things. Well, with the exception of this, I will write a post in ten to fifteen minutes. This doesn't sound too bad until you realise that my connection emails are all written without recycling anything.

So, what I'm going to have to do is write shorter but more often. No, not for this, but in general.

Bye for now

Comments

I really don't like this restaurant that much, but I wanted to use this 2-for-1 coupon before it expired.

You know what I love? Putting costumes on my cats.

Eh, I'd give you a C+.

I used to come here all the time with my ex.

I'm sorry about my choppy moustache. Can you teach me how you shave yours?

I never said you NEED a nose job. I just said it wouldn't hurt to consider it.

Hold on, my Pimp is callin'.

So my friends. Can they come watch to prove I finally scored?

Could you excuse me? My cat gets lonely if he doesn't hear my voice on the answering machine every hour.

Would you wear a furry costume tonight?

I really feel that I've grown in the past few years. Used to be I wouldn't have given someone like you a second look.

Ya know, before the surgery, I bet my breasts were about your size.

And I won that trophy in the inter-fraternity belching contest.

In Yoda Talk, to me speak you should.

It's been tough, but I've come to accept that most people I date just won't be as smart as I am.

Lorena Bobbit is just misunderstood.

Bye for now

Comments

I haven't seen it for quite some time, I actually forgot that Kim Cattrall (she was in Sex and the City for those of you who didn't know) is in it.

Watching it, I realise how tame it is compared to what is shown today. Compared to something like the American Pie films, it is quite clean. It brings back so many memories, as it was the first 18 film I ever saw.

Well not exactly. When I was about nine I would go with my older sister and we would get a couple of films from the local video store. They did a special offer of three for the price of two for over the weekend.

One Saturday, we decided to get that well known Disney film, Bedknobs and Broomsticks. A good fun film for all the family. Well that was the plan anyway.

My middle sister was two at the time, and she was a big fan of musicals. So when we got back home, she decided she wanted to watch Bedknobs and Broomsticks first. Well, it wasn't exactly the film we were expecting.

The film came on, and things were mainly of a blue hue. There were things going on, which hopefully will be explained to me when I get a little bit older. My younger sister seemed to be enjoying it, as she was just staring at the screen neither moving or making a sound.

As the soundtrack was somewhat different to the one that she was expecting, my mother came running into the living room from the kitchen. She took one look at the screen, and ran over to the TV and switched it off. I've never seen her look so bright red, not from anger, but embarrasment.

For some reason, after that the video store always made sure that we got what we wanted without any further problems.

Bye for now

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I started getting the shakes really badly on Tuesday, which is always a bad sign. The following morning, I was so lightheaded I couldn't raise my head off the pillow. I had a out of body experience while awake. The good news is, I didn't lose consiousness, so at least it was an improvement.

I still haven't quite recovered yet, but before you ask I am feeling a lot better now. I did go into work on Friday, I said I was at about 80%, but it really closer to 60. My attitude is that every day that this causes me to not do my normal thing it wins. The more it wins, the more I give in to it, and I can't allow that.

It has been about 10 months since I've been hit that hard. Oh well, life goes on.

In other news, I was accused of being middle class last week. I haven't yet figured out how offended I should be. Being from the underclass (work was an unknown thing in my family), I should take it as a good thing. I've always thought that I've put myself up to working class.

Yes, I know that my job is white collar. I normally wash my hands only after going to the toilet, not before and after. But I think of myself as just hard working.

Of course this is all academic, as we live in a classless society.

I went and saw Zombieland yesterday. The plot had more holes than a Swiss cheese, but it was quite good fun. Always good to watch to watch Zombies getting deaded (as opposed to undeaded), I needed a bit of brainlessness.

Getting everything prepared for next weekend in preparation for the visitation of his holiness. All I've got left to do is to tidy up the flat. Reminds me, must get in contact with the nuclear waste people. I think I've come up with an appropiate unseen tour of London. Should be fun.

Finally, while not being well I finally sorted out renewing my passport, only about six months late. £7 for a set of passport size photographs, I think I was done. Mind you a two week turn around isn't too bad, depending on the post strike. That should be fine, for my cunning plan for escaping for a few days in January.

Bye for now

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