Thursday 29 March 2007

How to irritate people in the UK

It is a wonderful pastime in the UK, queuing. We are great at it, but this surely is a step too far. It is frustrating at the moment to be stuck behind someone who can't remember their PIN number, or someone who is trying all their accounts to find one that isn't overdrawn and so will cough up the cash. But to be able to play games, print photos and so forth would push the normal Brit reserve over the edge.



40 years on - the cashpoint gets a makeover - Yahoo! News UK

Cold Tea Again

Just in case you never read the sidebar of this 'ere blog, you may have not noticed that Cold Tea Again is back and running, or being blogged to. Basically this is my 'more' cynical take on things from around the world. I'll get around to a redesign soon, although currently I am suffering from 'one-hour-less-at-the-weekend-really-throws-my-body-into-a-mess-itus'.

Life is really busy and losing the hour in order to make the evenings brighter hasn't so far been the positive event it should have been. I've been trying to nap of evenings but at the moment getting up an hour earlier each day is taking its toll; British Summertime Lag.

If you want to know what I am doing you can follow it on Twitter, another new way to express thineself on t'internet, and via my sidebar - see it is a very important part of this blog. As is the title, which I shall be working on over the weekend :-)

Tuesday 27 March 2007

Blog Death threat, the meme to follow

Ok, what has happened is totally out of order, I mean when have people been threatened for saying what they think? Is free speech dead? Oh yea, it always has been if you don't say what is socially acceptable.



What is worrying about this post on the BBC site (and before you complain I read Kathy's blog and think she is a wonderful blogger and death threats are totally out of order) is the comment that bloggers are doing their own investigation. Can you imagine it, within days we'll have a meme doing the blogosphere rounds



1 Tell me 5 things about you know one knows

2 What drugs have you taken

3 How many times have you had sex in the last week

4 Have you recently sent a death threat to a fellow blogger



After you have done this tag the local law enforcement agency



BBC NEWS | Technology | Blog death threats spark debate

Coronation Street fans treated like the rest of us

It's hard to believe but Coronation Street fans have been treated like the rest of humanity. They have been abused by a drunk. It is almost as shocking as the abuse poured out by Shatner on Star Trek nerds many moons ago. When will this fan abuse end.



BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Coronation Street actor suspended



PS What do you expect being fan of a pathetic soap opera.

Monday 26 March 2007

Who do I write for?

This post is in reply to a tag from Camille, don't you just love being tagged? Actually this one was a little different to normal tags and has actually had me thinking about it for a while. The subject of the tag is 'who do I write for?' and so with no further ado, let's get on with it.

I blog, therefore I am would be a far too pretentious way to say that I simply write what is within, so I won't say that, even if it is somewhat true (so does that make it unpretentious? - I need to get out more)

What I write depends on the context. So if it is at my livejournal account, what I write comes from deep within, it is my 'journal' (this post isn't rocket science) and is used in that sense. I have always been interested in journaling but never got into the swing of it before the world of blogging, so my LJ is my journal.

I also write because I want to share, my imaginality site is my little way of sharing what I have learnt over the years at my current job. I work in a creative industry (yes, Andrew, I did struggle with calling SU an industry, but thought that keeping it vague would be good) and need to be as creative as possible. Therefore that site is where I share some creative insights.

How I write perhaps answers the tag question more effectively. I write in a style that I feel comfortable with, and I feel comfortable with who I am. I write as I live, a little cynically (I am working on that, a little is fine but it can be too much at times), a little cheekily, a bit aloof (ignorance with no desire to learn is a pet hate), but as friendly as I can be (I am not the most sociable chap on the planet [see myers-briggs INTP for confirmation] but online I find it much easier to say how I feel and share myself, and so I do).

So I think that those whom I write for are, myself and anyone else who wants to enjoy the journey that we are all embarked upon.

Friday 23 March 2007

Losing track of time

This has, so far, been a hectic week. I have been rushing to get one stage of a major project finsihed, which I have done, however I am not happy with it. This means that I am now unsure how to proceed with stage two. On top of all this I have had to deal with a lot of other little bits and pieces. So work has been very stressful and busy, this had led home to be tired and stressful. I have procrastinated too much when I get home and therefore done very little of what I need to do there.

So, a step back is needed today. I'll do a little GTD mind-sweep (or perhaps it will be a big one) get all my project and next actions lists up to date. Hopefully this will make a few things clear as to what I need to do and how I need to go forward with them. (Yes, I know I should be doing a weekly review anyway but I have let it slip and so my mind like water is very choppy at the moment).

Haven't forgotten the meme form the previous post's comment, I am thinking about that, well it is on my list - a very interesting one that.

Friday 16 March 2007

Shaggy Blog Stories

Great idea, superbly executed and all for a good cause

Shaggy Blog Stories

New name

I like to think of myself as a rather creative type of guy. With this in mind I am working at coming up with a new name or title for this 'ere blog. So if you see any steam rising fomr these pages as you view them you'll know that it isn't time to call the fire brigade... however much you want to see those guys in their baggy trousers with braces, I mean what is it with the fireman's uniform that does it for about half the world's population ... but merely my brain thinking a little too hard.

Thursday 15 March 2007

I can't dry out the damp

The damp that I reported in my previous post is still there. I am now unable to dry it out as our microwave has decided to die.

On two different occasions it has now made a funny noise and has contained lightning whiclst powered up. I believe this to be outside of normal operational parameters and also quite dangerous. It did work okay for a day between these localised storms but when it happened for the second time there was clearly a problem.

I did look inside the oven to make sure there wasn't a metal spoon hidden at the back, or some nanotech spy fly, but couldn't see anything. My eyesight is quite good, with my glasses, and so I would have seen some nanotechnology lurking - it would have needed to be reasonably large in order to react with the microwaves.

If there was some spy fly hanging around, and if it had survived its flight through the microwaves, I could have reprogrammed it to look for leak causing the damp. I fear I may need to talk to a tradesman.

Sunday 11 March 2007

Productive saturday

Another saturday but not another lazy day.

I set myself a few goals this week, one of them was to get my head around Wordpress and learn how to create new templates and themes. Well the afternoon was spent doing exactly that. Not only doing that but achieving it too.

Having achieved one goal I can now sit down, relax and see if Man Utd can win in the FA Cup. I hope they do better than the MK Dons!

Another busy week to look forward to, lel's hope I can achieve some more goals as the week progresses.

Friday 9 March 2007

We have a dampness

Leaking water causes damp patches. This is an eternal truth that can't be disproved. If water is coming out of somewhere then it causes damp, or more likely a puddle. We have a damp patch on our wall. But there is no water leak anywhere. It is not rising damp either, for the patch isn't on the ground.

Why is life so confusing?

Why am I posting at Cold Tea Again again - was it simply to get that sentence published?

Red Nose(d) Troubled Diva Fundraiser

Find the title of interest?
Want to raise some money for Comic Relief?
Then take the hyperlink here and find out what all the fuss is about.

MK Citizen makes me laugh

No this isn't a complaint about local news reporting, this is actually a compliment, a post of praise, heaped upon a news story from this week's paper - no I'm not looking for a job there.

If you follow the link below you'll be able to read a funny report about MK TV, Milton Keynes very own TV station. The reporter made me smile as I read the satirical article... at one point I thought I was reading the local news equivalent of Harry hill's TV Burp. It is a funny reprt so if you'd like to know more about MK's answer to Sky read on here.

Thursday 8 March 2007

Test

A little post to see how e-mail posting works.

Tuesday 6 March 2007

YouTube is of the devil

I really must stop hanging around there and watching great things from the past.

The Cure and comedy

Ok, I posted this on my LJ, but just had to share it here too. The above really do go together as the Mary Whitehouse Experience showed many years ago. And if there are any Cure fans browsing the blogosphere don't worry, Robert Smith found it very funny too.

Sunday 4 March 2007

Send in the clowns

Whatever happened to 'entertainers' turning up at your house for birthday celebrations? I for one don't like clowns, there is something distinctly sinister about someone who is trying to make you laugh while they themsleves have to paint a smile on their own face.

However, it seems far more beneficial to have such a 'sad' entertainer to make your birthday go with a swing than the two birthday celebrations in the following link.

Two men dead after Birthday celebrations in Milton Keynes - Milton Keynes - Latest Local News

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Blogged with Flock

Saturday 3 March 2007

Saturday

Here I am again at the weekend. Haven't got much to say as I am listening to Man Utd vs Liverpool via the BBC five live site. Never done this before so it is fun, being able to pause live radio - weird though as I immediately fast forward to the actual live time if I pause it.

I am also trying to sort out my firefox bookmarks, which are in a mess.

Friday 2 March 2007

It seems...

... that feeling has returned to my little finger ;;;;;::::::;;;;;;;:::::: - that was touch typed to prove I am once again in full working order.

Thursday 1 March 2007

Environmentally smug, digit(ally) challenged

Since our car died (yes, a big ahh, and despite what I continue to say, we would love to get a new one) I have become very environmentally smug. My carbon footprint is like an infant taking its first steps, barely noticeable.

Last night however, we decided to walk to Tescos in order to buy a few pairs of 'tracks' for our son (Tracksuit bottoms to those who don't know the 'youth' speak). This was fine, a nice brisk walk without adding to the CO2 in the atmosphere and a good aerobic workout.

When in a supermarket though it is difficult to simply buy what you go in for. Therefore an hour or so later, we emerged with several, heavy carrier bags. The walk back was tiring and included several stops, but we made it. The plastic carrier bags had cut into my fingers on the journey. By the time I got home my hands were numb. After putting the bags down feeling started to return in all but the tip of my little finger, that digit remained tingly and numb (I know that is a paradox but it does explain how it feels) OK, numbish.

It is still the same today. Fortunately ny touch typing isn't great (ie I can't) but if it was I would be having difficulty with my : and ; and the other keys that surround that area of the board.