Wednesday 27 February 2008

Little post today

Not much going on. I have some work to do so Im not clock watching all day, my ankle is a lot better and should be fine for March 9th, apart from that its a normal boring Wednesday.

Soundtrack of the day: "Stadium Arcadium" (both discs) by Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Good feeling of the day - remembering how good the RHCP's are... in the words of, well, me, they rock like a b*stard.

Tuesday 26 February 2008

A bad night

So I played football last night... played well for 40 minutes of the hour and then - twist-click-scream.
Yes, I turned my ankle over again. This time it was my right leg, but luckily not as bad as I did my left a few weeks ago. I haven't been to the hospital and I don't need crutches, but I can't walk properly and it looks like golf's off for a couple of weeks. I just hope it clears up in time for 9th of March.. :-(

Also, City lost at home to Everton. They were deservedly beaten, Everton were the better side on the night. Still, it doesn't make me feel any better about the result. :-(

I also had bad insomnia again... partly due to pain, partly just insomnia. I think I got about 2 hours sleep last night. :-(

So not a good start to the week. Send me things to cheer me up, please!

Peace.

Monday 25 February 2008

Lessons

As I looked in the mirror this morning and thought "My God, how do you look so good on a Monday morning?" (Im kidding of course - I looked like stir fried sh*t as I do every morning) I cogitated on the lessons I had learned this weekend.

1. A bottle and a half of red wine is too much for one person to drink without ill effects
2. It is easy to spend too much money on food shopping whilst hungover
3. There IS such a thing as too much rugby on TV.
4. It's easy to eat three bags of crisps (chips for my American listeners) without realising
5. You should make sure your bedroom curtains are closed properly BEFORE getting undressed
6. Housework never takes as long as you think it will
7. Free-range omelettes with chestnut mushrooms and mature cheddar are nice

The family are back now, so no more watching what I want on TV or NOT getting slobbered over first thing in the morning (I really must get the wife to stop that) . This week - playing football tonight, then watching the mighty City on TV (home against Everton... come on the blues). Nothing planned for the rest of the week apart from working from home on Thursday.
Oh, and its payday today, so time to go online and pay all my bills... *sigh*.

Have a good Monday children, and play nice.

Wednesday 20 February 2008

New site

Another new blog I found today that is strangely good reading...

Waiter Rant

Enjoy!

Tuesday 19 February 2008

Apologies and showering in the dark

First of all, I want to apologise for the post yesterday - I hope I didnt offend anyone. I have not had any comments to that affect, but I understand that reading the last statements of those death row inmates could be quite disturbing. So, apologies...

Now... last night, whilst in the shower, the bulb in the bathroom went. Which meant I was then showering in the dark. Have you ever done that?? Talk about weird... but it felt really good. Such a strange sensation, not being able to see anything but having this stream of hot water pouring over you. If you've never done it, I recommend you try it.

Another day mentoring today... it gives me a lot of pleasure teaching someone else to code, and I do have a bit of a knack for it. Similar to last night, when I played football. We only had 9 people turn up, but one of the blokes bought along his son (10 - 12 years old I think) so we had him on our side to make it 5-a-side. We still stuffed the opposition, but the thing I enjoyed was playing along side this youngster, talking to him, encouraging him, helping him. At the end of the game his dad (who was on the other side) said to me "Thanks for encouraging him, he's really enjoyed it tonight"...

Im such a nice bloke me!

The family are off today to Wales, so I'll be all alone (*sniff sniff*) as of about 09.30 today.

Have a good Tuesday listeners...

Monday 18 February 2008

Morbid

Just stumbled on this site:

Texas Department of Criminal Justice

It lists people on death row - and the bit I found fascinating, the list of people executed, and their last statements... one of those sites that are compulsive reading.

A good weekend

Yes, it was. Friday night we had my sister in law, her husband and three kids staying with us. So it was a bit of a houseful, but lovely to see my nephew and two nieces (5, 2 and 10 months (I think) respectively). Saturday morning was spent at football training with Jake (where he had an outstanding session, which was very good to watch). Saturday afternoon was spent dog sitting as the others all went out for a few hours. I also went with a friend to take a look at a car he was thinking of buying, and to give him some moral backbone in the negotiating side of things. He decided to buy the car, and so is very happy.
The visitors left Saturday night so the wife and I decided to treat ourselves to a curry. We phoned a local take away that is literally 5 minutes walk down the road and asked for a delivery... "Yes sir, half hour to 45 minutes"... no worries I thought. AN HOUR AND A HALF LATER it finally turns up... so of course I refused to pay so we got a free curry. Sunday, Jakes team had a match against the team who are top of their league and unbeaten... Jake had an absolute blinder, scored two goals, and his team won 2 - 0. Fantastic.
City didn't play as it was F.A Cup weekend, so that was stress free... and before I knew it I was having a relaxing bath and shave ready for work today. This week - football tonight, golf tomorrow afternoon, and then a quiet rest of the week. The family (wife, son, dog) are going away tomorrow morning to North Wales for half term (to see the in-laws) so I have an empty house until Saturday afternoon... its gonna be quiet, lonely, but I can't lie, restful. Have a good Monday people.

Thursday 14 February 2008

Anyone who works in I.T...

... has spoken to this tech support guy!

Music vs. Mood

OK, here's something to think about. Does the music we listen to change our mood, or does our mood dictate what music we want to listen to? Or is it a bit of both?

For example, while writing this Im listening to The Bluetones and their album "Science & Nature". I didn't choose to listen to it, I just hit random on my MP3 player and up it popped. When I listen to the Bluetones, it puts me in the mood to start writing my own songs again, but also in the mood of performing them... I mean, I love singing along to Bluetones songs because I have a similar pitch in voice and (I think) I sing them quite well. So now, all I wanna do is go home and start playing guitar, singing, maybe writing some stuff. There's an obvious case of music dictating mood.
The other day, however, I was not in the best of moods, and when I arrived at work all I wanted to do was listen to bands like Disturbed, Drowning Pool, Skindred etc. I was in an angry, shouty, growly mood and these songs fit perfectly... but then those songs perpetuated my mood which meant hapless user gimps who wanted help got their heads bitten off... so there is a case of mood dicating music, but also music dictating mood!
Im not too sure where Im going with this post, I think I just wanted to start you all thinking about your own music tastes and how they effect / are effected by your moods... you can tell, its a SLOW day at my desk today...

Happy Valentines Day II

No poem this year. I tried to think of some over-the-top romantic way of expressing my feelings for my wife, but then thought "why should today be any different from any other day?" Yes, its Valentines day, but that shouldn't make any difference to the way I feel or express those feelings. The simplest, easiest way is to say - I love her. I have done since I met her. In the best possible way our relationship feels to me like coming home. Safe. Comfortable. With nowhere else I'd rather be.

Have a happy Valentine's day listeners.

Wednesday 13 February 2008

Wanna laugh at idiots?

A very good way to pass a few minutes... the Darwin Awards website. There are some classic stories on here, which prove to us that some people should not even bring their swimming kit, let alone be kept out of the gene pool... enjoy.

This one cracked me up!

(October 2007, UK) John, 71, used wood and rope to make a traction device to ease his wife's neck pain. But applying traction to the neck takes a delicate touch. His DIY (do-it-yourself) medical device turned out to be a gallows, as John found out when he tested it and hung himself.

The Coroner's verdict: Death by Misadventure.

A look at where one of my mates sit

What I've seen so far today...

My hell on earth... sorry, I mean my place of work!


Building a new Travel Inn right by the tube (subway) station near my office



Outside the window of my desk

I have been asked...

...to post more along the lines of yesterdays video. So here's my walk from the entrance to the I.S area to my desk.



Yes, it really IS that quiet at the time I get in... Im the first one in.
I actually have something to try and fix today (yay!) some Java code, so I will be doing something constructive instead of spending money online or writing stalking letters to minor celebrities.
What I might do, if I get the time, is take some random photo's of the things I see around me today... won't that be interes... zzzzzzzzz.

More postings later maybe... TTFN.

Tuesday 12 February 2008

Thought you might like to see

What I see when I get to my desk...



You can see:

Starbucks cup from yesterday (lazy cleaners)
Diet coke (I drink FAR too much of that stuff... Im a bit like Scott Adams in that respect, although not as funny / talented / rich)
My current book
My Satnav unit
a Hung Groundhog
TWO PC's (the one on the left I dont use much, my latop uses two screens)
So this is where I sit when I post (sometimes...)

Yes, you guessed it, a slow-post day today.. zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Monday 11 February 2008

Second Monday post

Only because I fancied writing some more.
I did something very capitalist today - had a Starbucks coffee. (Our kitchen at work is out of action today and I fancied something different). Tip: Dont order a cappuccino - its more froth than coffee. (School boy error).

Bought THREE new books today by an author called Christopher Moore. One of those occasions (all to frequent in my life) when I see a book with an interesting cover, (Don't judge a book by its cover my arse) read the blurb, like the sound of it, then see other books by the same author and think "Why not, give 'em a go" because I know that if I like the first one I will read it in like three days and wanna read the rest.

Soundtrack of the day: The traffic and birdsong outside my office window (I forgot my MP3 player... d'oh!)

I'd like some of you to do me a favour - if you read this blog, but have never commented, please do so now - even its anonymous, and even if its just a hello... just interested in the size of my audience (God, how vain!) Ciao.

Monday again

Not a bad weekend really... Jake didn't have a match, so we didn't have to go out early on Sunday. City won in their derby against United (which was, pardon my french, f*ckin' awsome!) and so consequently I have a bit of a headache this morning (yes, self inflicted).

Apart from all that, it was a quiet one. This week, I have:
Football tonight
Golf range tomorrow
No plans for Wednesday
Football Thursday
Sister in law and her husband and THREE kids visiting Friday night! (Its gonna be a packed house, but it'll be nice to see the kids)

Not much work on this week unfortunately, and seeing as my boss is out from Thursday for 10 days, I think I can take it easy for a couple of weeks. Very unprofessional, I know, but if there's no work, what's a boy to do? Any suggestions?
Peace.

Getting older

A friend sent this to me about getting older... enjoy.

What happens when we get older?
  • You no longer worry that you are turning into your parents, as you actually are your parents. You now understand why it used to take so long to leave the house as you now have to remember all the things your children may have forgotten
  • You are free to embrace wearing cardigans!
  • You don’t give an “Artic Monkey” about the latest group, and you don’t have to pretend that you do
  • You become difficult to buy presents for and you secretly wish people would just give you the money as they did when you were a teenager
  • You accept a compliment gracefully
  • The idea that you can actually change a man or woman to suit your current agenda is ridiculous
  • You value the people you have known for a long time- despite you thinking they are getting rather “odd” even more so than yourself
  • You can gaze in awe at a beautiful man/woman without feeling jealous or lustful (actually take that back) im not that old!!!
  • You no longer have to pretend you don’t like the Vicar of Dibley
  • You choose your own outlook on life
  • You no longer have to fight your eccentric side
  • You still try to hold back the years, but its no the full scale war it used to be
  • The things that used to annoy you (like the loud guy in my hotel bar) now make you laugh
  • You no longer have to pretend to find young people interesting
  • No longer do you have to wear the latest fashions if they strike you as ugly and you realise that the young people wearing them actually look ugly too
  • Your children stop being selfish brats and miraculously turn in to nice people

Thursday 7 February 2008

Why mother nature kicks ass....











Sat Nav

Yes I bought a Sat Nav unit. I did have a copy of Sat Nav on an old mobile phone, using a seperate GPS receiver, but I decided that this wasn't very 21st century so I bought a proper unit.

Its a Garmin nuvi (with two little dots over the 'u') 660FM.



It comes with all the 'normal' sat nav stuff (maps, voice instructions etc.) but the reasons I went for this model are;
  • bluetooth technology, so it can act as a hands free kit for my phone
  • it can play MP3s
  • it can play Audio books
  • free traffic updates for life
Its not often I go to places that I dont know how to get there, but I do it enough to warrant this - and also, as its portable, the wife can use it as well when she needs to go somewhere.
So thats nice.

Soundtrack of the day: "Sleep Through The Static" by Jack Johnson

Day off tomorrow, playing golf... Im looking forward to it, so I know Im gonna play like a retard. That sounds strange I know, but when Im really looking forward to playing, I end up playing crap and having a bad round which means I dont enjoy it. I try and think "Im not at work, its a nice day, Im outside having a nice quiet walk" etc. etc. but its no good, if Im not swinging well, I can't relax and enjoy it. Oh well.
Have a good day everyone. If I get bored at work today I might post more later....

(greeny - yes, I know, you say you struggle to post one a day - and yet I can post MORE than one! How sad must I be??)

Peace.

Wednesday 6 February 2008

Nuts

My hit counter has stopped working, so I have had to remove it. Its annoying, it was like getting a tiny little ego boost each morning seeing how many more hits I had received. If I can get another one I will, I think I was up to something like 3700 or something...

Tuesday 5 February 2008

A Good Book - is there anything better?

I know this has been said by me before, but I do really, really, like reading. At the moment, for example, Im reading Stephen King's new one "Duma Key". Now Stephen King is one of my all time favourite authors, (along with people like William Gibson, James Herbert, Terry Pratchett and many more) and he never fails to captivate me with his writing. When I sink into one of his books, when I first start reading my field of perception is on the page, but also taking in the world around me... slowly (but not too slowly) my field of focus narrows, narrows, until its just on the page and I have no idea whats going on around me. Finally, my focus widens again, but this time its the images being painted with the words on the page that populate the world around me. I have a very good imagination, which I think comes from a kind of circle effect... I have a good imagination because I read alot, but I read alot because I have a good imagination. Is it any wonder I can spend hours on a book in one sitting? I have been known to start reading early evening when I am alone and (say around 6.00 ish) and still be reading near midnight... fantastic.

Anyway - a better night last night (alot better actually) in bed by 10.00 slept through to 06.30, so feeling more human today, although I do have a minor cold at the moment which is making me feel a little blurgh.

A quick advertisment - visit my friends blog The Blog With No Name when you get the time... its new, but I know it will be filled of interesting stuff as days go by (no pressure Russ!)

Finally a list of things I hope to be posting / blogging about in the future (in no particular order)
- School trips
- Inner monologues
- Some fiction I wrote
- Fatherhood
- The bad things about growing up

and whatever else I can think of... Have a great Wednesday children.
Soundtrack of the day: Whatever new album I buy from HMV (the record store) today...
Update: Didnt buy an album - bought a SatNav system instead (more info later / tomorrow) so the soundtrack of the day is "Chronicles Of A Bohemian Teenager" by Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly.
Music that soothes the soul...

Insomnia SUCKS

I suffer from insomnia. Not as bad as some people no doubt get it, but I get it bad enough and last night was a bad one. I went to bed at about 10.30, read for a while and then nodded off at about 11.00. I was then woken by *cough* 'someone' coming to bed at about midnight, and I then was awake until about 03.30 ish. Now, that doesn't sound too bad when you read that, but believe me lying awake for three and a half hours, unable to switch your brain off, listening to the wind and rain outside (which I sometimes find restful, but not last night) just wanting to sleep is not a nice experience. At first you think, "Oh its OK, I'll just get comfy and I'll nod off soon..." then you realise you've been awake 30 minutes. You then start to get a little worried thinking "God I hope this isn't a bad one" (meanwhile song lyrics and layouts of golf courses and things you wanna say to the wife all run round and round your head), which means you start to worry that "God, I need to sleep, I have to get up in a few hours". This then turns into more restlessness as you realise you can't get comfortable no matter what you try, and you look at the clock and its been an hour and a half now... You get the picture. So this morning, I am tired. I have a cold coming (I can feel it, its already in my nose) and I know that little things that normally wouldn't faze me are gonna be getting under my skin today, so I need to try and remain calm, get through the day and get home. Have a good Tuesday all.

Monday 4 February 2008

And so the week begins

Hope you all had a nice weekend.
This week:
Tonight - football
Tomorrow - golf range after work
Wednesday - watching the England game
Thursday - football
Friday - day off to play golf.

I drank too much this weekend. I didn't get really drunk or have a bad hangover, but my alcohol consumption over the two days was too high to be healthy. I have to start cutting down.
Jake had a good training session on Saturday morning, and played well on Sunday, but his team (who were 3 - 0 up) ended up drawing 3 - 3. City lost (to my best mate's team... ouch) and so did England against Wales in the RBS Six Nations. So not a good weekend for results as far as I was concerned. Finally, I'll be getting my hair cut after work today... now this may not sound like a big deal, but Im finally admitting Im losing my hair, and whereas I usually just get the barber to 'trim and tidy', this time Im getting shaved the way I used to. So Im gonna be looking very bald this time tomorrow. Im not vain in the slightest, but its hard for me to admit I am losing my hair, and when I get my hair cut it will be obvious to everyone thats whats happening. So wish me well, and if you know me, and see me, please be kind!

Friday 1 February 2008

Sensible head

I must be getting older. Im not going to get that car now, my sensible head won through over night and I've decided I can't stretch to the extra finances. Now I've made the decision, Im relieved. All I need to do to feel good about my own car again is get it valeted, because when I do that I really enjoy driving it again. Dont get me wrong, its not a travelling pig sty, but its a bit grubby and muddy inside (football boots from number one son) so when its all cleaned up its pretty spotless.
Anyway, now thats out of the way, there's not much else to do this weekend. Football with Jake Saturday morning, watching City Saturday lunchtime, then the RBS Six Nations starts this weekend so I'll be watching the English batter the Welsh Saturday afternoon.
Sunday Jake has a match and then it'll be chillin out in preparation for work on Monday(!)
OK, a question to get some comments coming in...
If you had to do without one of your five senses for the rest of your life, what would you choose?
Touch, Smell, Sight, Hearing, Taste? (Advance apologies for anyone reading this who is already deaf, or can't taste, or is reading this via braille etc. No offence intended!)
Have a good weekend people, more posts soon.