Markets

Markets are brill. I went today having convinced myself that it would be much cheaper than Tescos and guess what? It was. Of course I had to buy two of everything to get the deals, but everything was soooo much cheaper and nicer looking. I shall be frequenting it again (and not the tourist trap that is Borough market either, but the wonderful East St. market, more commonly known as "down the lane").

I sold my sunglasses to someone on the bus several weeks ago (he was a bit strange, but he really wanted them and I made a major profit, let's hope he is not performing voodoo ceremonies with them). Although this meant I had a whole week of money in my pocket, it now means my poor eyes are exposed to the sun. I am determined not to pay more than 3 quid for a new pair, but finding one is proving more and more difficult. I will triumph though...

Current mood is: content.

Yet Another Code for London

Can you believe that there is to be yet another telephone code for London, when the majority of Londoners (and visitors) still can't even handle the 020 one??? Apparently the new one is 020 3--- ----. They haven't actually explained yet what happens to the 7 or 8 that would be there, just saying that it is for new number that will be allocated shortly. So is it 020 37--- ---- or 38--- ----? Or do we just forget the 7 or 8?

Oh for the days when it was just 01...

Mood of the Day

So I have been a bit jealous of the mood icons you can get over at livejournal and have been looking for some to put on this blog...
At last I have got some!

Hopefully no-one will be offended by my blatant plundering of the net for items for the old blog, but there you go if you are let me know and we can fight it out.

Talking of which, I am finally winning my fight against lastminute.com and their mis-advertising. I don't think I have actually mentioned the trouble they have caused me, but it was all over a trip to Alton Towers (what a great place by the way) and some non-existant meal vouchers. Anyway this morning I got an email asking me how much refund I would like. That has taken over a month of emails from me so we shall see what happens. I also implemented slight abuse of the title Dr. in my emails, but I will be one in a couple of weeks, and since it hasn't done me any good in getting a job, it might as well be put to use elsewhere. Roll on the flight upgrades!

The Joy of Alton Towers

current mood is:Jubilant.

Finger Food

News story today from America as reported in the Graun:

"Fast-food lovers across America reacted with collective disgust when they heard how Anna Ayala had spat out a two-centimetre human fingertip after tucking into a bowl of chilli in a northern California branch of Wendy's earlier this year. Ms Ayala threw up, and then, this being the US, she consulted a lawyer.

However, police soon suspected something was amiss in Ms Ayala's claims of victimhood. With Wendy's pleading innocence, the police began a nationwide hunt for the owner of the missing fingertip. Wendy's offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the identification of the short-fingered person.

Within a month, Ms Ayala stood accused of concocting the finger find in an attempt to extort money from the fast-food chain. Police arrested her at her Las Vegas home on charges of attempted grand theft, and this week added a conspiracy charge to the list. She has denied the charges.

Ms Ayala is accused of conspiring with her husband, James Plascencia, to force a settlement payment from Wendy's. Plascencia, 43, who has not been charged in the case, was arrested last month in Las Vegas on unrelated charges of failing to pay child support in a previous relationship.

But the fingertip itself, which forensics tests had confirmed as human, remained a riddle until last week, when the San Francisco Chronicle fingered him (sorry) as a nine-fingered former resident of a Las Vegas trailer park and acquaintance of James Plascencia. With no confirmation forthcoming from the police, Chronicle reporters rang the man's mother in Pennsylvania for a quote. In grand California tradition, they had struck gold.

The man worked with Mr Plascencia at a Las Vegas paving firm, his mother told reporters. She described her boy as a happy-go-lucky guy who lost his finger when his gloved hand was caught in a mechanical truck lift. According to his mother, her injured and cash-strapped son settled a $50 debt owed to Mr Plascencia by giving him the finger.

She denied her son knew anything of the alleged Wendy's plan. "It's like a man thing," she explained. "If a woman had her finger severed, she would never show it to anyone.""

Wristbands

Now here is another thing...wristbands. I have found myself wanted to get one of those Make Poverty History ones because I like the cause, and one of the Breast Cancer Care ones because I like the colour (and obviously the cause is a good one too). But there are just too many of them around now. Ironically, I read a report that said that kids wearing the blue Beat Bullying bads were actually being targetted for bullying.

I guess what I am trying to say is, wristbands are getting just a little bit toooooo popular now.

Oh dear, I have started thinking about Bono. The "every three seconds" advert says it all for me.

Computer Malfunction

The L key on my puter has just fallen off leaving a little rubber cylinder in it's place. It is not entirely unpleasant to type L's without the key there.

I have to give this puter back to Burns soon. Let's hope the key will stick back on...

A Threat to Anonymity

Is it wrong to want to be anonymous? Don't think so, but this morning I awoke to a break in my security, and a threat to my anonymity!!! Well I certainly don't mind my mates reading what I have to say, or complete strangers for that matter, but there are certain people that I would rather not. Burns has to be number one on that list, and who knows what his little spies have already found out. Let's just say that it's easier to talk about stuff if you know that those that might recognise themselves can't link it with you.

Also, the fact that I am trying to get a job (now approaching the 1 year of searching mark) means that I really would rather not have my name on the web linked with my bitter thoughts about the state of the Empire and excess of people with the same qualifications as me!

Talking about the Empire, I am already feeling that the new Star Wars will let me down. It is the same every time it promises so much and then poos on you from a great height. Why George, why! You could have left it as a peak of movie history and instead you have just ruined it. It's going to be a long time before I can watch the originals again without that bitter taste in my mouth.

Hmmm, bitter twice in one blog, am I subconciously trying to tell myself something...??

The beginning of the end???

So much for thesis writing being an ideal time to blog to my heart's content. It turns out that I didn't have any time, but hoorah hoorah now I am revising for the dreaded viva it looks like I have all the time in the world to make up for my lack of blog action.

Two things have been brought to my attention today:

1) You can buy Cillit Bang in Superdrug (BAKED-ON GREASE, DIRT ON FLOORS!). This strikes me as more than odd. Even stranger is that fact that it is stocked right next to men's deodourants. I have nothing really to say about Cillit Bang as I have talked it all out and can't be bothered to re-hash it all here. Suffice to say that limescale is not just "calcium that sticks", and calcium reacts with plain water so your demonstration is useless Barry whatever-your-name-is. And have you noticed that their amazing demonstration of how many buckets you get from one tub of "power crystals" adds up to the vast vast total of 9? Not exactly beating the Fairy liquid challenge, are they?

2) What I am actually writing this blog for: the amazing self-replicating robot. OK it is just a pile of blocks, but this may well be the beginning of the end for the human race. I read an article that rated the disasters facing Earth in the near (!) future for likelyhood and distructive power. AI taking over was rated extremely likely and highly distructive. Apparently it will happen in the next 75 years. I don't think I need to tell you where I read that, but it begins with M and sounds like Petro.