Blimey no comments for ages and then three in one night! Two of which may well be from robots. Had to implement that text authentication thingy to try and stop that. How annoying.
One of them was rather amusing though. That heavenly credit money on earth thing. You know who you are...
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Harry Potter blah blah blah
At last I have read the new Harry Potter. Brill. Actually I read the back and saw he was meant to be in his 6th year at school and thought "hang on he is about 11 isn't he?" so I had to read all the others before I could read this one to remember what happened. Actually, by read I mean listen to Stephen Fry reading them to me. I wish I could hire Stephen Fry to read to me all the time, he is amazing! Really one of the best audio books I have ever heard, he does all these voices and accents for all the characters so they are instantly recognisable when they speak, and when there is an arguement between to characters with different accents it is amazing. So when I read this one, all the characters had those accents it was wonderful. Highly recommended to anyone.
I won't say anything about the book to spoil it, just that I am soooo pleased XX turned out to be eviiiil!!!!!!!
On another note, whenever I think of Harry Potter I hear that voice saying "Hairy Poe-tar" from that terrible advert a couple of years ago with the American voiceover putting on an English accent. Why do they do it?
I won't say anything about the book to spoil it, just that I am soooo pleased XX turned out to be eviiiil!!!!!!!
On another note, whenever I think of Harry Potter I hear that voice saying "Hairy Poe-tar" from that terrible advert a couple of years ago with the American voiceover putting on an English accent. Why do they do it?
R.I.P. Guardian Life section
Tragedy has struck the Guardian once again and they are reformatting and getting rid of the Life section (a science supplement in collaberation with Nature that comes out on Thursdays). Of course it was a bit rubbish in the main, and all the jobs were actually in IT (which is not a science I would hasten to add), but the first couple of pages were an excellent read, excellent enough for me to actually buy it! They do say that they will do a page a day to replace it, but I am still too tight to buy it every day.
Sadly it has gone the way of the Editor, the old Friday supplement that was even better and gave a weeks update of the news from all the papers. That died a death about 3 years ago and was mourned greatly by myself. It was good enough for us to get someone back home to buy it every Friday and send it to us when D and I were travelling. Way better than the Guardian Weekly was. They said they would do a page a day to replace that one too, but that didn't last so I imagine that the promises for the science page will not be fulfilled for long.
Also it is rumoured (as in the editor said it, and then denied doing so) that they are taking a step to the right. Oh deary deary me. What will I read now?!?!
Sadly it has gone the way of the Editor, the old Friday supplement that was even better and gave a weeks update of the news from all the papers. That died a death about 3 years ago and was mourned greatly by myself. It was good enough for us to get someone back home to buy it every Friday and send it to us when D and I were travelling. Way better than the Guardian Weekly was. They said they would do a page a day to replace that one too, but that didn't last so I imagine that the promises for the science page will not be fulfilled for long.
Also it is rumoured (as in the editor said it, and then denied doing so) that they are taking a step to the right. Oh deary deary me. What will I read now?!?!
Speaking to Aliens
Apparently we should all be carrying around a bag of small onions and luminous watches so that we can communicate with aliens when they get here. I was watching an informative clip from a TV show of the past this morning...
It seems that in 1966 the Tomorrow's World boffins had considered the fact that aliens may not speak English, or indeed any earthly language. One of them suggested the use of luminous dial watches to emit "hard radiation" which may well be detectable to them. He even was helpfull enough to construct a picture of the plough constellation using said watches, as an attempt to determine the origin of these aliens. Of course he noted that they may well communicate by smell, and proceeded to exchange the watches for... onions.
Hmmmm.
It seems that in 1966 the Tomorrow's World boffins had considered the fact that aliens may not speak English, or indeed any earthly language. One of them suggested the use of luminous dial watches to emit "hard radiation" which may well be detectable to them. He even was helpfull enough to construct a picture of the plough constellation using said watches, as an attempt to determine the origin of these aliens. Of course he noted that they may well communicate by smell, and proceeded to exchange the watches for... onions.
Hmmmm.
iPod nano
My iPod mini crashed and died the day after the iPod nano was launched. Coincidence? I think not...
Thankfully after wiping the whole thing and restoring the factory settings all is well. Hoorah.
I personally think they are making a mistake downsizing the capability of the iPod. But I suppose this gives them the opportunity to bring out a new iPod nano maxi super smashing great in the next few years.
Nice that you can get a white one that is small though...
Thankfully after wiping the whole thing and restoring the factory settings all is well. Hoorah.
I personally think they are making a mistake downsizing the capability of the iPod. But I suppose this gives them the opportunity to bring out a new iPod nano maxi super smashing great in the next few years.
Nice that you can get a white one that is small though...
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Supermalt
at last, a small picture of a supermalt can (not a stubbie, which would have been my container of choice). This is just a discarded can on the Old Kent Road. Adverts to follow hopefully.
There is no denying this is a sinister drink. Try it at your peril.
There is no denying this is a sinister drink. Try it at your peril.
Rajesh Mirchandani (part 2)
You notice since my expose of Rajesh, there has been less news from the midlands...
Coincidence? I think not.
Coincidence? I think not.
Saturn and Its Crazy Moons
First Mimas the Death Star, and now we find Enceladus is just a crazy, with half of it pock-marked and clearly old as old and the other half spurting out hot water, all in a moon apparently too small to have a hot centre. The boffins will be thinking that one over again, then...
Isn't it pretty though!
Close up of the Saturnian ski-resort:
Rather nice zoom-in movie here (of course the little alien skiers aren't visible to the naked eye...)
Isn't it pretty though!
Close up of the Saturnian ski-resort:
Rather nice zoom-in movie here (of course the little alien skiers aren't visible to the naked eye...)
commuter commuter
blimey it has been a while.
and I have so far failed in my supermalt quest. sorry about that. If only I had a camera on my phone, I would have been able to bring you more news on the subject, but alas no.
The only reason I can give for my continued absence is the amount of time I spend travelling these days. The new job is all very well, but 4 hours is a bit much I must say. Even for the seasoned London commuter. But at least the mainline is actually air conditioned unlike the tube, God only knows how all those people survived today, with the supreme temperatures. 32 degrees they say. I do hope it is going to cool down a little for the weekend, I'm off to one of my bestest mate's weddings, and I only have rather unsuitable clothes. Wierdly enough, I have had a 4 weddings this year to attend, but there has been no overlap of friends, so I have been able to get away with the same outfit, but it is a bit hot, and every wedding has been on days of extreme heat.
Anyway the reason I am so verbose today is that I was sent home early. Can you imagine?!?! There was a power cut at the new company (haven't thought of a cunning name for it yet, but will do shortly) and they sent us home. Bit of a change from the old empire, eh! Other noticable differences include having to go through a right old rigmarole when I stuck a needle in my finger the other day. I probably did that a million times in the empire, but it is more frowned upon here! Mental note to take more care....
Things are going ok there, since you ask. Bit overwhelming, being expected to be all clever and knowledgable about chemistry, and unfortunately the old experiments haven't been going too well. I had to perform a quick switch when I first started too, as they put me in a job I didn't want to do, so I had to tell the boss which wasn't a great experience, but he was very nice about the whole thing and switched me over no questions asked.
and I have so far failed in my supermalt quest. sorry about that. If only I had a camera on my phone, I would have been able to bring you more news on the subject, but alas no.
The only reason I can give for my continued absence is the amount of time I spend travelling these days. The new job is all very well, but 4 hours is a bit much I must say. Even for the seasoned London commuter. But at least the mainline is actually air conditioned unlike the tube, God only knows how all those people survived today, with the supreme temperatures. 32 degrees they say. I do hope it is going to cool down a little for the weekend, I'm off to one of my bestest mate's weddings, and I only have rather unsuitable clothes. Wierdly enough, I have had a 4 weddings this year to attend, but there has been no overlap of friends, so I have been able to get away with the same outfit, but it is a bit hot, and every wedding has been on days of extreme heat.
Anyway the reason I am so verbose today is that I was sent home early. Can you imagine?!?! There was a power cut at the new company (haven't thought of a cunning name for it yet, but will do shortly) and they sent us home. Bit of a change from the old empire, eh! Other noticable differences include having to go through a right old rigmarole when I stuck a needle in my finger the other day. I probably did that a million times in the empire, but it is more frowned upon here! Mental note to take more care....
Things are going ok there, since you ask. Bit overwhelming, being expected to be all clever and knowledgable about chemistry, and unfortunately the old experiments haven't been going too well. I had to perform a quick switch when I first started too, as they put me in a job I didn't want to do, so I had to tell the boss which wasn't a great experience, but he was very nice about the whole thing and switched me over no questions asked.
Monday, August 08, 2005
Supermalt
Supermalt has been on my mind for some time now. This so called 'energy drink' is possibly the worst thing ever to have passed my lips. And I have chomped on some rank things in my time. I have no idea what it contains but the stench when you open the can or the stubbie is more than over-powering. Like a dead dog burping in your face. The taste is indescribable.
But it becomes more sinister. This is not a racialist rant, but the fact of the matter is that I have never seen a white person drinking it (except when I am my friends decided to try it, but that was only because it was free and we soon regretted it). A quick canvas of Asian friends has ruled them out too. In fact, the only people that seem to enjoy this drink are black. Is it something that we are missing?
Even stranger, there are NO PICTURES of this drink on the internet. Well not as far as google knows anyway. There is an advert in the Elephant that I will endeavour to photograph when I am next there (of course it contains only black people).
What is the supermalt conspiracy?
But it becomes more sinister. This is not a racialist rant, but the fact of the matter is that I have never seen a white person drinking it (except when I am my friends decided to try it, but that was only because it was free and we soon regretted it). A quick canvas of Asian friends has ruled them out too. In fact, the only people that seem to enjoy this drink are black. Is it something that we are missing?
Even stranger, there are NO PICTURES of this drink on the internet. Well not as far as google knows anyway. There is an advert in the Elephant that I will endeavour to photograph when I am next there (of course it contains only black people).
What is the supermalt conspiracy?
Thursday, August 04, 2005
Rajesh Mirchandani
I signed out of the empire today hoorah, but it did mean I had to give back the puter (boo hiss). So I am typing this on the old desktop trying to get used to it, and realising that I need to remember all my passwords that I just had Mozilla remember for itself before.
Anyway, that is not the point. The point is, Rajesh Mirchandani. Here he is:
Time was, we knew him only as a radio 1 presenter for his show called backstage or something, or for the Holiday program and that sort of semi-celebrity stuff. Now all of a sudden, he is everywhere. He has become the BBC's 'midlands' corresspondant. Now, is it just me, or has the midlands just become a news hotspot. I am starting to wonder if he is a criminal mastermind leading and gathering smaller-time rogues to prowl the streets of the midlands and get his face on TV.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the evidence:
1) unusual flurry of activity regarding bombings, raids, terror suspects, bomb scares, evacuations, etc. etc. etc. all taking place in the midlands
2) freak weather. a tornado hits Birmingham.....? Per-lease! I realise I am suggesting here that he has some sort of huge weather machine, and is using it with a callous disregard for property and life, but let us not forget his quest for fame.
3) and most worryingly. Rajesh is always on the scene in a tailored suit, smart shirt, freshly gelled hair, and always always looks pleased with himself.
I rest my case your honour.
Anyway, that is not the point. The point is, Rajesh Mirchandani. Here he is:
Time was, we knew him only as a radio 1 presenter for his show called backstage or something, or for the Holiday program and that sort of semi-celebrity stuff. Now all of a sudden, he is everywhere. He has become the BBC's 'midlands' corresspondant. Now, is it just me, or has the midlands just become a news hotspot. I am starting to wonder if he is a criminal mastermind leading and gathering smaller-time rogues to prowl the streets of the midlands and get his face on TV.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the evidence:
1) unusual flurry of activity regarding bombings, raids, terror suspects, bomb scares, evacuations, etc. etc. etc. all taking place in the midlands
2) freak weather. a tornado hits Birmingham.....? Per-lease! I realise I am suggesting here that he has some sort of huge weather machine, and is using it with a callous disregard for property and life, but let us not forget his quest for fame.
3) and most worryingly. Rajesh is always on the scene in a tailored suit, smart shirt, freshly gelled hair, and always always looks pleased with himself.
I rest my case your honour.
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Description of the suspect
Brilliant, the description of the bombing suspect includes:
a blue jacket with wires hanging from it
not sure why I find that amusing, but I do.
a blue jacket with wires hanging from it
not sure why I find that amusing, but I do.
More bombs
More bombs in London. Tube and bus again, but no details. The TV doesn't seem to be getting very excited, so I assume it is not too bad...
How Ridiculous!!!
This is an article about Wolverhampton banning the use of the song Land of Hope and Glory from its rememberance day service. Apparently it has political connotations. What??? Sorry but the very rememberance of those lost in war has political connotations. And Land of Hope and Glory doesn't say anything offensive, does it? A quick search reveals these are the lyrics:
Land of Hope and Glory, Mother of the Free,
How shall we extol thee, who are born of thee?
Wider still, and wider, shall thy bounds be set;
God, who made thee mighty, make thee mightier yet!
Truth and Right and Freedom, each a holy gem,
Stars of solemn brightness, weave thy diadem.
Tho' thy way be darkened, still in splendour drest,
As the star that trembles o'er the liquid West.
Throned amid the billows, throned inviolate,
Thou hast reigned victorious, thou has smiled at fate.
Land of Hope and Glory, fortress of the Free,
How may we extol thee, praise thee, honour thee?
Hark, a mighty nation maketh glad reply;
Lo, our lips are thankful, lo, our hearts are high!
Hearts in hope uplifted, loyal lips that sing;
Strong in faith and freedom, we have crowned our King!
How shall we extol thee, who are born of thee?
Wider still, and wider, shall thy bounds be set;
God, who made thee mighty, make thee mightier yet!
Truth and Right and Freedom, each a holy gem,
Stars of solemn brightness, weave thy diadem.
Tho' thy way be darkened, still in splendour drest,
As the star that trembles o'er the liquid West.
Throned amid the billows, throned inviolate,
Thou hast reigned victorious, thou has smiled at fate.
Land of Hope and Glory, fortress of the Free,
How may we extol thee, praise thee, honour thee?
Hark, a mighty nation maketh glad reply;
Lo, our lips are thankful, lo, our hearts are high!
Hearts in hope uplifted, loyal lips that sing;
Strong in faith and freedom, we have crowned our King!
OK, I understand that sometimes patriotism can be misplaced, and perhaps offensive when it involves slagging off other countries, but this song hardly does that. Is there something wrong with celebrating that we are Truth, Right and Freedom. As far as I can see the only thing wrong with that is that it sounds a bit Americanian.
Oh Lord our God arise,
Scatter our enemies,
And make them fall
Confound their politics
Frustrate their knavish tricks,
On Thee our hopes we fix
Oh save us all.
Scatter our enemies,
And make them fall
Confound their politics
Frustrate their knavish tricks,
On Thee our hopes we fix
Oh save us all.
I particularly like the bit about knavish tricks.
Ooooh I am going to get to say the most excellent phrase......it's political correctness gone mad!
Ooooh I am going to get to say the most excellent phrase......it's political correctness gone mad!
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Yoghurt becomes professional!
No way! I've got a job! I can hardly believe it!!!!!
Great news as far as I am concerned, but it is outside the city, so that is that for London I suppose. We will see how I cope with the commute for a while, and move soon enough I expect. There is a relocation package so we would be crazy not to take it. D still has a few months to go, so we will stick around till then.
Trust me, too late I have come across a rather hilarious site of comic strips about the thrills of a PhD. Very apt.
mood is:
over the moon!
Great news as far as I am concerned, but it is outside the city, so that is that for London I suppose. We will see how I cope with the commute for a while, and move soon enough I expect. There is a relocation package so we would be crazy not to take it. D still has a few months to go, so we will stick around till then.
Trust me, too late I have come across a rather hilarious site of comic strips about the thrills of a PhD. Very apt.
mood is:
over the moon!Friday, July 15, 2005
health matters
Man have I been ill this week! Flu-belly-chest-infection-tastic. I have been stuck in bed for the whole week. My immune system appears to be triumphing though.
The worst thing is that Burns phoned me up on my mobile phone on Tuesday and scared the life right out of me. That has never ever happened to me before. He appeared to have absolutely nothing at all to say, so it gave me the willies.
The worst thing is that Burns phoned me up on my mobile phone on Tuesday and scared the life right out of me. That has never ever happened to me before. He appeared to have absolutely nothing at all to say, so it gave me the willies.
Hoax Emails
WOW I have received my first hoax email with regard to the bombings in London. That took a long time! I honestly thought I'd be getting stacks of them by now! Apparently there is going to be an attack on the tube in the next week. Yeah right, whatever. D got an email today saying there would be an attack at Bluewater this weekend.
Who starts this rubbish?? Come on people. The whole point of terrorists is that they can attack ANYWHERE at ANY TIME. There is no point in being scared. Also, it is very difficult to protect yourself against terrorists as the whole idea is that they get you where you don't expect it. If we set up security on the tube they will just go elsewhere.
Let's just all go about out lives shall we? England has been a terrorist target since before I was born, so we all have lived with this for years. How many bomb scares have we all been stuck in over the years. Did we get all scared about it? No we did not.
Rather amusingly, one thing this old bombing lark has done is show how little people outside London know about it. People contacted me dispite knowing I was at home asking if I was OK, which is very nice but they obviously thought central London is a very small place. One of my friends lives just outside Croydon and was phoned up by people asking if she was safe as she "lives in London" dispite the fact that she is 40 miles away!!! London is a big place, and the part that is affected is tiny. Even the public transport system is mostly fine. I was going to travel right across London and up to Oxford today, and there is absolutely no disruption on that route.
Who starts this rubbish?? Come on people. The whole point of terrorists is that they can attack ANYWHERE at ANY TIME. There is no point in being scared. Also, it is very difficult to protect yourself against terrorists as the whole idea is that they get you where you don't expect it. If we set up security on the tube they will just go elsewhere.
Let's just all go about out lives shall we? England has been a terrorist target since before I was born, so we all have lived with this for years. How many bomb scares have we all been stuck in over the years. Did we get all scared about it? No we did not.
Rather amusingly, one thing this old bombing lark has done is show how little people outside London know about it. People contacted me dispite knowing I was at home asking if I was OK, which is very nice but they obviously thought central London is a very small place. One of my friends lives just outside Croydon and was phoned up by people asking if she was safe as she "lives in London" dispite the fact that she is 40 miles away!!! London is a big place, and the part that is affected is tiny. Even the public transport system is mostly fine. I was going to travel right across London and up to Oxford today, and there is absolutely no disruption on that route.
Saturday, July 09, 2005
Who did it???
The Friday Thing are offering these odds on who is repsonsible for Londoners getting to work late on Thursday:
My bro has drawn my attention to this hilarious site, it is perhaps slightly more mature than my old favourite popbitch, I shall certainly be visiting in the future, it is the funniest thing I have read in a long time. Shame you have to pay for the email updates...
This weeks Haiknews:
London Olympics
Transport regeneration
Off to rocky start
Today's mood is:
relaxed
EVENS: THE FRENCH. Chirac hates us. We know that. He hates our food, he hates our cattle, and he is hopping mad that we got the Olympics. Also, in footage of Blair and the rest of the G8
delegates at around 1 o'clock, Chirac was standing to the left of
Blair and we swear, he was biting his cheeks so hard to keep himself from smiling, that blood was starting to seep out of his eyes.
10/1: G8. Things were getting just a little out of hand. People's
voices were being heard, climate change and poverty were
beginning to overshadow international terrorism as the world's
number one issue. Something had to be done to allow George Bush
to say this: 'The War on Terror goes on.' It was. He did.
50/1: RANDOM TERRORISTS. Jealous of the press coverage generated
by Edinburgh-based anarchists, random terrorists decide to win
back some coverage for the capital.
100/1: POVERTY. Depressed at the possibility of being made
history, poverty strikes back and attempts to make London
history.
1000/1: POWER SURGES. Right.
This weeks Haiknews:
London Olympics
Transport regeneration
Off to rocky start
Today's mood is:
relaxed
Thursday, July 07, 2005
Trapped Underground
Adam Stacey trapped underground near Kings Cross on the Northern Line. He is out now, suffering from smoke inhalation, but otherwise fine.
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