Happy New Year
Today’s post to the soon to be year-old blog known as “Life and Times” marks the end of 2006, and the beginning of 2007. We have been staying with my parents...
Posts from 2006
Talland
We arrived in Talland at about 5pm last night, after a day spent on the road battling driving rain and howling winds. It was great to finally arrive, sit in ...
Heading West
We’ll be leaving the house mid-morning tomorrow, firstly to Heathrow to pick up family from San Francisco, and then heading west across southern England to m...
Virgil Brigman Back On The Air
Half way through reading a blog yesterday afternoon, a small red cross appeared in the Windows system tray (yes, I use a desktop computer with Microsoft Wind...
Lego Star Wars Takes Over
Has anybody seen W? I used to be married to this lady who knitted things, and wrote in her knitting blog. Now I live with this person who enthusiastically re...
Playing Thud
For Christmas this year I received the board game “Thud” from W’s parents. I played W last night (and got badly defeated), but still enjoyed it immensely. It...
Christmas Day Ends
As Christmas’s go, this one was pretty good (apart from one thing that I will get to in a minute).
Christmas Hits The Beckett Household
We invited friends and neighbors round last night for drinks and mince pies, and it finally feels like Christmas has arrived.
Last Day Of Work Before Christmas
Today is the last day of work before Christmas. The office has reduced down to a skeleton staff, of which I am one.
Review Of The Year
The idea to do this “review of the year” came from W, who has done a similar thing.
Inventing Reindeer Buckets
While having a rather silly conversation this morning about the belief children have in “Father Christmas”, I remembered something I invented when I was youn...
Very Cold Indeed
(Photo is courtesy of lizvang on Flickr - I forgot the camera again)
Monsier Mange Tout
I hereby crown my brother with the title “Monsier Mange Tout” (Mr. Eat Everything).
Time Magazine Names You Person Of The Year
It’s very rare that I run a story across both the PluggedOut blog and here at LifeAndTimes, but I felt today was one of those rare times…
Christmas Decorations
Today was spent on a madcap dash into town for presents, to the supermarket for christmas meal ingredients, and to the garden center for a Christmas Tree and...
The Singer Songwriter
While writing a comment on Lauren’s blog last night, I thought about an artist I have not listened to for a long time - Billy Joel.
Home Alone
Today finds me at home, with coffee, sandwiches, a big thick jumper (sweater for those of you in the US), and the laptop keeping me warm. The cat is keeping ...
Aguilera Rules With Back To Basics
While off work today I decided I needed some good tunes to accompany my surfing and free-wheeling across the world-wide-web. I chose “Back To Basics”, the ne...
Homeless
I had to inform my brother that he wouldn’t be able to stay with us much past Christmas today. The adoption process is going to pick up, and we need to start...
Choosing Underwear
I am busy perusing the Figleaves website, trying to pick something for my better half for Christmas. Why is it so difficult?
Twittering Against Mediocrity
I have heard several quotes over the years warning against the dangers of mediocrity. How best to battle the slide of this blog over the past several days to...
No Seriously I Have No Friends
I have one friend on Twitter. This is embarrassing. Please help me solve this problem…
Good Night And Good Luck
We watched the movie “Good Night and Good Luck” last night.
The Britney Results Are In
You are not going to believe this - you may recall that a couple of days ago I posted on “Life and Times” a spurious post about a certain Mrs Spears, with th...
Sunday With Char And Jake
We just spent Sunday afternoon and evening with my cousin Charlotte, and her boyfriend Jake…
Memories Of London
Following a week spent commuting in and out of London - mostly during the hours of darkness - I thought it might be interesting to transcribe some of the not...
Dead Hand
I disovered just how quickly you can wake up if you are in a state of panic this morning. Here’s what happened (a transcript of thoughts, if you will…)
Britney Spears Crotch Shots
Forgive the title. This post is an experiment. I am going to let this run for a few days, then post the Google Analytics results of how many people came to r...
Six Million Dollar Man
Sorry for the absence of a “real” post this evening, but I just came across this on YouTube, and had to share it;
Tired
Another day, another journey into the depths of London’s East End. A little further through Anna Karenina, and a little less energy left in the tank.
Anna Karenina
While commuting back and forth from London this week I have been reading “Anna Karenina” by Leo Tolstoy, and thought it might be interesting for some of the ...
Back To The City
The alarm crackled into life at 5:55 this morning, and reminded me that I will be working in London for the week. After trying to stumble around the bedroom ...
The Santa Fun Run
This morning Glenn, W’s Mum, Myself and W took part in the second “Santa’s Fun Run” in Marlow.
Ghost In The Shell
While out Christmas shopping yesterday, I picked up a couple of things for myself - one of which was the first part of “Ghost in the Shell” on DVD. I’m tryin...
Christmas Shopping
I took my Moleskine Notebook out Christmas Shopping today. I am perhaps a little worried that I am referring to it as you might a character in a story, but p...
November Ends
I have completed “National Blog Posting Month” (NaBloPoMo) successfully. For those who have no idea what on earth I am talking about, it was a challenge to w...
Out Of Control
It seems like so long since I last wrote what I might regard as a “proper” post. Everyday happenings don’t seem to qualify. “I did this, then I did that” doe...
Born In The Wrong Era
Is this a myth perpetuated by artwork, or did all women look like the one on the front of this book in the 1950s and 60s ?
I Take It All Back Britney
I sit down, fire up Mozilla Thunderbird to check my email, then over to Google Reader to catch up on news and blogs, and…
Seduction By Nintendo
I should have known it would happen. I can still remember the afternoon I arrived home with the little blue box from Nintendo, wired it up to the television ...
One Word Answers
While making the daily rounds, commenting on my friends blogs I came across a challenge too good to pass up from Sarcomical (photo above taken from her wonde...
Through Caverns Measureless To Man
I woke this morning with a piece of poetry in my head.
Love The Beatles
While out shopping, quite apart from finally aquiring a Moleskine notebook, I spied the new Beatles album “Love”…
I Have No Underwear On
Seriously. I got up this morning and discovered that all my underwear was in the dirty washing. I am consequently sat here in my pyjama bottoms. The washing ...
Answering The Questions
Firstly, I would like to extend a huge thankyou to those who commented on my previous request for questions. I shall endeavour to answer them in as interesti...
Nearly Last
The one we got wrong…We just got back from the pub. We performed hilariously badly. 14 out of 30.
Inviting Questions
Here’s an idea. I am inviting you to ask me up to 4 questions each in the comments, and this evening I will answer the first 20 questions.
Pub Quiz Beckons
We’re off to take part in the weekly pub quiz at the Marlow Donkey later. I will write a more complete blog post upon my return - which will almost certainly...
This Isnt Lonely This Is Wallowing With Style
I sit down, take a sip from my cup of tea, and light bathes my face. Fingers dance across keys. Within the machine virtual cogs turn, pipes open, and informa...
Getting Late
I just realised what the time was, and NaBloPoMo popped into my head. It has a habit of doing that. I apologise in advance for a disjointed and badly written...
How We Got Here
I thought it might be about time I started to tell the story of why we are adopting children.
Home Once More
We have arrived home this evening after a week spent in Lincolnshire with my brother and his family. It took on my role as “children’s entertainer” for my ne...
Into The Unknown
Today is the final day of the adoption preparation group, and immediately following it we are travelling to the north of England to visit my brother for the ...
Another Place
The morning started with a stealthy departure from the house at 6:55 - the reason for said stealth being the avoidance of waking W. We are trying to enjoy “n...
A Short Post
Today finds me writing a somewhat short post. We have spent all day sat in a classroom confronting our preconceived ideas, thoughts and fears about maintaini...
Unhinged
Imagine this week started on a gentle downhill trend towards hell, fire, damnation, fury and madness. Today has seen a steady increase in incline throughout ...
Off The Rails
Today started fine. I got up, had a shower, got dressed, made some lunch, packed my bag, and went to work.
A Video Blogging Experiment
After reading The 13th Apostle this morning, I looked at the webcam over on the corner of the desk, and wondered if I could figure out how to record somethin...
Dungeons And Dragons
I have a confession to make. I never played “Dungeons and Dragons” when I was younger. Meeting me as an adult, you might suspect otherwise - I own very nearl...
Violated
My Google Mail account got hacked last night. I’m not so much worried about loss of personally sensitive information (there wasn’t anything too terrible in m...
Seduced By Moleskine
I have a secret.
Feeling Sorry For Britney Spears
When I got up this morning and wandered into the lounge with my scary hair and cup of tea, the first international news greeting me from the BBC was not the ...
Thou Shalt Not Criticise Pop Idol Winners
Wow - what a response… after yesterday’s post where I made comments in passing about Will Young and Kelly Clarkson, I was deluged with emails and comments.
In The Defence Of Great Music
After kicking up something of a storm by criticizing the current crop of manufactured “musicians”, (and yes, the quotes are deliberate), I thought it only ri...
Morning Fog In Marlow
It would appear that Winter is finally upon us…
Finding Time
It’s just gone 9pm and I have my first chance to sit and record the adventures of the day. With a little luck the act of writing will act as a catharsis and ...
Marlow Half Marathon
Today saw the running of the Marlow Half Marathon, which W’s mum took part in. This saw me up and about at an unusually early time on a Sunday morning in pre...
This Is A Journey Into Sound
I just logged into emusic and discovered I have 118 credits in the bank - that’s 118 tracks of music I can download for free (except of course it’s not free,...
Dogs Have Owners Cats Have Staff
Have you ever decided to take a day out from your normal life? I did today, and I have decided I need to do it more often.
Last Day Of The Adventure
Today marks my last day in the metropolis before returning back to the relative quiet of Marlow. Travelling back and forth, and spending each day among the m...
Returning To London
Today marked the second day of three spent in London - and this time I remembered the camera!
Three Days In London
For the next three days I will be commuting into central London to work on-site on a client project. This will mean getting up at 5am, and getting home at 8p...
Not Meeting Old Friends
Today was the first day of three commuting into London to work on-site on a client project. That might not seem like such a big deal at first glance, but whe...
Where I Work
On the way to work this morning I took my camera, and stitched several photos together. Here’s the view of the estate (I have no idea if this will work or no...
Getting Back On The Bike
After a week spent twiddling my thumbs, and “evaluating” various pieces of software at work, I had to “get back on the bike” today - and start crunching out ...
Getting Fatter By The Second
After a particularly shitty day at work, after dinner I went to the local garage and bought a big bag or rubbish. I can now announce that I just ate a 250 gr...
Do Soft Toys Have Feelings Too
This is going to sound like a very, very strange post to come from a man.
Clocks Go Back
The clocks went back this morning - we are finally back on GMT. We get an hour extra in bed, and the mornings are light once again.
Evil Empire Attacks Study
In events occurring entirely within Jonathan’s head this morning, the Empire launched an assault on the computer desk. They met staunch resistance from a lon...
Tense Nervous Headache
I have a headache that has been steadily growing throughout the day. Before you tell me to go find the paracetamol, I don’t think we have any. I have already...
Fruit Bowl
This is what you get when I am off work, not feeling great, and bored. I know I should be eating this stuff - I just can’t face it at the moment.
Blogging Blogging Blogging Cough Cough
I am off work today, having finally caught the lurgi that W has been suffering with for the last week. I’m not coughing as much as her, but that might have s...
Wireless N64
On Sunday we won an auction on E-Bay for a Nintendo 64. It was a thrilling battle against unknown assailants to secure a piece of 1990s video gaming history ...
Wiped Out
Following yet another evening of running ragged in the pursuit of a house that doesn’t resemble a rubbish tip quite so closely, and lifting the spirits of a ...
Hungry
Where the hell is the sandwich man? I am sat here in the office, it’s lunchtime, and I am waiting for the arrival of the guy who sells sandwiches in the car ...
Venturing Out
This evening I have been venturing out on the the “internet at large”. You probably have visions now of me sneaking along the side of the internet high stree...
Stuck In A Rut
My life at the moment seems to be a never ending series of “things to do”. I need to make some kind of change before I go mad. Perhaps getting out of the hou...
Simplification
After several days being dissatisfied with the look and feel of my blog, I have decided that “simple is best”. It’s about the words, after all - not how pret...
Nablopomo Beckons
While scouting interesting blogs to read earlier this evening, I came across “NaBloPoMo” - National Blog Posting Month.
Thinking Of Friends
After arriving at work this morning, I discovered that one of our friends (the husband of a colleague) collapsed at home yesterday evening and is in hospital...
More News
I have more news on the friend who collapsed yesterday - he is conscious, but still in hospital. The news is third hand so may well be wrong in many ways. I’...
Rainy Sunday In Maidenhead
After getting up late this morning and sitting in my robe for the best part of an hour, I looked out at the constant rain outside and a retail therapy sessio...
This Is Where It Happens
I thought it might be fun to take a picture of the desk at home in the study… this is where all the geekiness eminates from.
Everything Changes
Some of the people that read my blog were surprised earlier this week by my decision to start winding down the “development” area of the website. There were ...
Trying To De Stress
For the first time this week, I worked from the normal offices - meaning a chance to rescue at least a couple of hours of sleep. Judging by the difficulty I ...
The Day From Hell
My body woke me at half hourly intervals between 3 and 6am this morning. So much for the idea of a finely tuned body clock.
On The Road
While the title of this post may be “On The Road”, I can assure you that it’s content bears no relation to the Jack Kerouak book. If a stormtrooper were stoo...
More Than Half A Million Now Dead In Iraq
I was going to write a blog entry about feeling awful today (I still have the cold), but events in the news have given me an excuse to write an opinionated b...
Making The Girls Feel Better
I came across these before and after photos of a girl that appeared in FHM recently on FWDitOn, and thought I should share them to make all the women out the...
New And Interesting Insult
I was just reading the comments to a post on Digg, and came across a new insult to hurl at people…
Befuddled
I started to feel a little better this afternoon, so dragged the work laptop from my bag, set it down on the desk, and tried to kickstart my head.
Down
I have been sat here for a while, trying to think of something to write about. I feel like I need to write about something, and keep the blog going in at lea...
Photo From Turkey
We finally got W’s films developed of our trip to Turkey.
Another Day In The Life
While running around doing ten things at once since getting in from work this evening I thought it might be worth recording “just another day in my life” for...
Physics Breakthrough Raises Questions
I have just been reading about the physics breakthrough that has enabled scientists to move several billion atoms from one point to another in space (yes, th...
Amanda Across America
I was watching one of my favourite video “netcasts” earlier - Amanda Across America, and just had to share today’s post… click on the image to view it :
Pressure Eases
I had been contemplating the idea of bringing my laptop home from work throughout the evenings this week and doing unpaid overtime to (hopefully) deliver the...
Thoughts On A Saturday Night
This evening W’s brother came over and we went out for dinner together in town (as I write this, we are home, it’s nearly midnight, and we’ve hit the columbi...
Photos Lots Of Them
I uploaded a raft of photographs to Flickr last night. This followed the purchase of a “Pro” account. I have this amazing digital camera that I rarely use, s...
Crashing Down
I just played Chess on the internet for the first time in ages, and got resoundingly thrashed twice in a row. It may have had something to do with the glass ...
Wine And Music
This evening finds me re-discovering free time, wine, and most importantly music. I haven’t done this in ages - there is a value to be had from relaxing in a...
Unexpected Growth
Over the last few weeks I have been busy re-styling the PluggedOut website, and have started writing regular posts over there on the thing that interests me ...
Organising My Life
For the past couple of days I have been looking at various means of organising my life a little better. I tend to forget where I should be or what I should b...
Discovered
I forgot to say… while on holiday in Turkey we went out for dinner one evening in nearby Fethiye, and while eating the main course, our host for the evening ...
Chess World Championships
Yes, I know… this post is a little “out of the ordinary” even for me. I love playing chess though, so I’m excusing myself from any finger pointing for quite ...
Bookmarks And Feeds
For the first time since last weekend I have what appears to be a Sunday to myself. I’m probably going to fill it with all manner of activities that are on t...
Slow Saturday
Today finds me having not written anything in my blog for a week, and wondering what to write. It’s been a long time since I have written so few posts, and I...
Makover For Pluggedout
I have spent most of this evening working on a makeover for the PluggedOut website. The general idea has been to make it more simple to navigate (everything ...
Fascinated Yet Horrified
We just witnessed a sparrow hawk rip a dove to shreds in our back garden…
Turkey
7 days ago we got on a plane at London Heathrow, switched our mobile phones off, and dissappeared. Vanished.
Returning To Civilisation
After a week where we seemingly dissappeared off the face of the earth, we are back home and very, very tired.
Holiday Reading Decided
By the time you read this, I will most likely either be on an aircraft somewhere over europe, or sat on a balcony in the middle of knowhere in deepest Turkey...
Seclusion
The photograph above is from the balcony of the house we will be staying at in Turkey for the next week. We fly out from London Heathrow tomorrow afternoon f...
Choosing Holiday Books
We are finally escaping from our life tomorrow, and spending a week holed up in a cabin in the Turkish mountains (click here for a sneaky peek). This of cour...
Waiting For Ice Cream
I have just sat here for ten minutes desperately trying to think of something to write about. I seem to have hit something of a dry spell. Perhaps it has to ...
Wonderful Sunday
Today was the kind that you remember with a smile.
A Busy Saturday
It feels rather strange - entering “normal” life once more after several months working weekends.
Its Official I Have The Lurgi
While stood in the bathroom brushing my teeth this morning, I noticed red weilds around my neck and thought “hmmm… that’s not right”.
In The Absence Of A Subject
In the absence of anything to write about at present, I thought a photograph from our various adventures might be in order.
Describing The Problem
Ideas appear within my mind at the most unpredictable moments, and I am left wondering what the triggers are. This evening while cycling home from work an an...
Down
Where do we find solace from the continual weight of the world surrounding us. Deadlines. Expectations. Schedules. Where does it all end ?
Late Night Thoughts
Following week upon week, working huge numbers of hours on an incredibly complex project at work, you would think a night off would be greeted with open arms...
1970S Influences
After watching the movie “Almost Famous” the other night (the same movie that caused an attack of introspection, and this blog entry), I have found myself di...
Unsettled
After an evening trying to escape from the reaper that my work has become, I find myself watching a movie about people running from a normal existence - look...
Yet Another Blog
While busy banging my head against a brick wall this morning in a manner only fellow software developers will identify with, one of my colleagues sent me an ...
Running In Circles
When I came home tonight I planned on getting a big chunk of work done. Somehow inbetween getting home from work, and the clock striking midnight I have ache...
Beaverton Oregon Has A Secret
In a world filled with people working their nine to five jobs like orwellian automatons, we all sometimes wish that we had pursued a dream, an interest or a ...
Wendys Woolies
My better half finally has her own blog on the internet - at present it is hosted at PluggedOut, but it will be getting it’s own domain name in the near futu...
After The Deluge
The whole complexion of the weekend changed with a rumble, a flicker of light and an ear-splitting crash yesterday afternoon. The dark clouds that have been ...
Where The Time Goes
With the absence of anything significant going on in what I laughably call “my life” this weekend, I find myself working once again.
That Friday Feeling
I woke with a start this morning, and heard the garbage collection truck pass the end of our drive - the end of our drive that had no bin on the end of it be...
The End Of Summer
It’s raining. The sky is grey, it’s colder than it’s been in days, and it really feels like summer is coming to an end today.
Important People In My Life
I actually seem to have regained my uber-software-developer mojo today. The keys are clicking. Code seems to be dripping from my fingers.
Returning To The Fuckwad Theory
I spent some time tonight exploring MySpace, and while browsing the forums discovered that nothing has really changed in people’s behaviour on the internet s...
Adrift
Before launching into this post, it’s worth pointing out that I have finally succummed to the monster that is MySpace - mainly because I have several “real” ...
A Different Perspective
I was talking to somebody recently about drawing, and they made an observation about me. It stuck in my mind because it’s not the first time I’ve heard it sa...
One Hell Of A Weekend
If ever proof was needed of the power of the internet to bring people together, this weekend was it.
Moving Projects To Sourceforge
I have decided - somewhat reluctantly - to move my development projects (PluggedOut Blog and PluggedOut CMS) to SourceForge.
Experimenting With Webcams
I’m experimenting with a little utility that lets me upload webcam images to the webspace. The image below should update every so often (I can either set a t...
You Might Be Interested In
If you are interested in retro video games, you might be interested in an article I just wrote on NewsVine about “Asteroids” - the game made by Atari in 1979…
Working On A Saturday
It’s saturday morning, and I find myself firing the computer up to carry on with my work.
Front Page On Newsvine
I don’t believe it. I wrote a story on Newsvine and it hit the front page…
A Night Off
My cousin arrived at our house last night to stay for a couple of days, so I had a night off from the endless hours of overtime I’ve been doing recently. She...
Monday Monday
It’s Monday morning, and I’ve just discovered I am the only one in my office today (there are normally three of us). What fun.
Media Player Rules
I never thought I would end up saying this, but the latest version of Microsoft’s “Windows Media Player” (currently in beta) really does rule.
Books Rule
Over the last few months I have found myself with very little time outside of work to persue my own interests, and have been watching television less than ev...
Is It Only Wednesday
It’s Wednesday morning, and I feel like it’s the end of the week already. So far I have logged over 24 hours work for the week so far. That’s in two days. If...
Very Very Tired
I’m not really sure if I’m coming or going any more.
Tagged With A Life Questionairre
One of my friends on the internet “tagged” me with a set of questions, and I sheepishly agreed to reply to them. Enjoy…
Tekken 5 Arrives
Just before leaving the house this morning the postman came by, and delivered a jiffy bag. I stood in the hallway clutching it like a small child, almost too...
Holy Storage Batman
I think this might have to be a geeky post.
The News Finally Breaks
I logged into Rojo this lunchtime to catch up with the various blogs I regularly read, and came across a news story that I have been expecting to see for som...
The Slog Continues
This is going to sound mad… it is Tuesday evening, and I am already crossing the 24 hours of work mark for the week so far. The subject of study this evening...
Melancholy
After discovering that we had very little in the cupboards to make a meal out of this evening, I jumped on my bike and cycled into town in search of food and...
Finally A Graphics Tablet
While wandering around John Lewis yesterday (in the process losing half a day of programming time), I was walking past the electrical department and saw the ...
Superman Returns In Style
We just got in from a visit to the cinema to see “Superman Returns”. In many ways this evening was all about being a child again. W picked me up from work, w...
More And More Hours
It’s starting to feel like my life has dissappeared, and been replaced by endless hours of work. Today I crossed through 40 hours for the week so far - and w...
The Mind Of An 80 Year Old
I recently bought W “Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training” for her Nintendo DS. I had a go on it, and am regretting it now.
Trying Harder
I have had what feels like the first chance in weeks to catch up with some of my friends blogs this afternoon - and almost feel like an outsider, which is we...
Soul Calibur 3
After a trip late yesterday afternoon to our local Blockbusters, I raided the bargain bin of second-hand games, and came away with Soul Calibur 3.
Day Off
I woke up this morning at 10am and decided - on the basis of me never waking up that late - that it was time I had a day off.
The Remains Of The Day
It’s late afternoon on Saturday, and I am finally having some weekend. I’ve hit a bump in the programming I am doing for work, and can’t be bothered to inves...
Getting Tired
It’s Thursday morning, and so far this week I have logged over 35 hours work. At this rate, I’m going to hit something like 60 hours at some point over the w...
Work Takes Over My Life
Unfortunately blog posts may be very scarce on the ground over the next few weeks - I am working on a project at work that has had all overtime approved in o...
Back On Dry Land
We are finally back on dry land after our adventure on the high seas.
Rossi Starts Whining
It came as no surprise that following Rossi’s 10th place in Assen, he is whining about the MotoGP races being so close together. If he had been in the lead o...
Holiday Back On Track
This morning myself and W went for a walk around Polruan - both to get away from everybody, and to salvage at least something from the holiday.
Better News But Annoyed
Okay - Jim survived and is okay - he’s still in hospital while they figure out why his heart stopped, but he’s sat up, is talking to people and is otherwise ...
Holiday Starts Badly
We were supposed to have been on the boat by now, sailing out of Plymouth Sound. Instead we are sat at home waiting for my parents to return from Dereford Ho...
Tired And Unsettled
I have been working on a project for work all weekend (complex programming geekery), and am finding it difficult to get it out of my head.
1Am And Tired
It’s 01:00 on Saturday morning, and I have been programming all night. I am relatively pleased though - I now have a complete database wrapper class that I c...
Working Late
It’s now 22:06 and I find myself finishing up on some work that I brought home with me. Maybe time for some television, some quality time with my other half,...
Learning Something New
I am on a course for the first few days this week (or “taking a class” as the American’s among you might better understand).
Celebrity Weakest Link
We have just been watching “Celebrity Weakest Link” on the television, and laughing our socks off at the lack of knowledge they seem to have.
Nintendo Entertainment System
When I got home from work last night there was a parcel at the back door, and even though it had my name on it, I thought W must have bought something on E-B...
Discovering Music
I have been listening to various internet music feeds tonight, and stumbled across a goldmine.
Did A Brainbench Test
After my apparent “success” with the IQ test the other day, I sat down late last night and did a free exam on the Brain Bench website.
Very Busy Indeed
I’m just taking the chance (while waiting for some software to install) to write a few words in my blog.
Just Took An Iq Test
I just took an IQ test at the Tickle website, and have no idea what the results mean. Apparently unless you pay, they give you an abridged version of the sco...
The Good Girl
Last weekend I bought the movie “The Good Girl” from the bargain bin of the local Blockbuster, thinking it would be a good no-brain-required, typical “Jennif...
King Of The Idiots
Nobody will be interested in this post apart from the geeks among you. Actually, it’s a bit of a misnomer addressing an “audience” to this blog - as far as I...
Detached
For some reason for the last few days I have felt detached from my work, and (being truthful) life in general. I don’t really know why either.
Unexpected Friendship
After the low ebb that the weekend started on, my faith in life, the universe and everything in general has been somewhat restored.
The Art Of Vallejo
Following on last night from the post of a piece of artwork by Sorayama, here is a painting by Boris Vallejo.
The Art Of Sorayama
After talking to a new friend on messenger earlier, I realised that I know quite a bit about various artists and their work, and I never impart this knowledg...
Bored And Lonesome
Do you ever have days when you just run out of cheer and optimism? I seem to be having one today.
Schumacher Guilty Of Cheating Again
During qualifying for the Monaco Formula One Grand Prix today, during the closing minutes of qualifying Michael Schumacher stalled his car on the track, ruin...
Morning In London
I had to visit a client in London this morning to rescue them - their web database server had gone down, and I was chosen to don the cape and fly in - well, ...
Finland Rock
I forgot to mention that last weekend I sat and watched the Eurovision Song Contest, and happily voted for the runaway winner - Lordi, from Finland…
Stop The World
(more about the gratuitous Serenity picture further on…)
Waddesdon Manor
On Saturday we went out with some friends to visit “a National Trust place”. We didn’t really decide where until we arrived at their house.
Way Behind
I know - I’m way behind with my blog.
Home Alone
Did I write a blog yesterday? I don’t recall…
Saturday Morning
I’ve been up since 7:30 this morning, and find myself in the unusual position of having the whole of the weekend stretched out before me with nothing planned...
Day Off
I have had the day off work today - although somehow it feels as if the hours have ebbed away and nothing is left of it. I have achieved a few things though ...
Pluggedout Receives Funding
I was about to write something along the lines of “readers of my blog may not be aware that I also run a website where I give away and support a number of op...
Completing The Marlow 5
I finished the Marlow 5 this morning - amazing considering that I thought about pulling out last weekend. I had only gone out on about 5 training runs in tot...
Working In The Garden
We woke at about 8 this morning and looked out across a sun filled garden. A garden who’s grass needed cutting, and with numerous jobs to be done.
News Aggregation Services
I have been playing with Rojo this morning - and have come to to conclusion that it’s one of the best RSS aggregators I have ever seen.
A Blog Journey
So we set out on another “Blog Journey”. If you have no idea what I’m about to do, a little explanation is probably in order…
The Marathon Abates
After finishing work at 11:30pm last night, and then going in early today, myself and a colleague worked straight through the day (eating at our desks) and f...
Working Throught The Night
I’m working through the night tonight to “try” and get ahead with a work project.
Tired
I woke up this morning to the gentle tones of our house telephone running out of battery charge - “beep….. beep….. beep”, followed by W leaning over and putt...
Surviving The Fun Run
I took part in a 4.5 mile “fun run” in Oxfordshire this morning. I would like to say I did well, but that would be a bare faced lie.
Nintendo Wii
No - the title of this post is not a typo. Nintendo have released the name of their new baby that will compete with the might of the X-Box 360, and the Plays...
A Strange Week
In the absense of regular blog posts recently perhaps a quick review of the week is in order.
Ie7 Good But Flawed
You may not know that Microsoft released beta 2 of Internet Explorer 7 last month. I’ve been trying it out and was initially impressed - however I’ve just ha...
The Marlow 5 Looms
The weekend after next I am going to run in our local running race - the “Marlow 5”. I say “run” in something of a creative sense. I don’t think you can desc...
5 More Miles
After getting in from work this evening I went for a run and managed to churn out 5 miles.
Fitter But Knackered
On Thursday night one of my friends gave me a call and asked if I wanted to go out running on Saturday morning. While at work yesterday, I started to wonder ...
Belated Birthday Present
As a belated birthday present (because the pyjamas I bought her were the wrong size, and you can’t get them in her size), I bought W her replacement present ...
Thinking Of Cat Names
One of my friends on the internet is about to become the proud owner of two kittens. I say “owner” in the loose sense, because as any cat “owner” knows, cats...
Time To Speak Out
I’ve just been watching a documentary about the fur trade, and thought it might be time to speak out about some of the things I believe in. A lot of the peop...
Slogging Away
I feel like I’m shackled to a treadmill at the moment - with no obvious way of getting off.
War Of The Ring
Last year W bought be the “War of the Ring” board game, based on the “Lord of the Rings” books by J.
Easter Monday Morning
It’s just gone 9 on Easter Monday morning - I’ve filled the dishwasher up and am sat here in my housecoat with crazy hair and a cup of tea. I really need to ...
Playing Chess On The Internet
I thought it was about time I wrote about RedHotPawn - probably the one website I make a point of visiting every day. Perhaps obviously, it’s a Chess website...
Annoyed With Blogger
Okay. I’ve started using my own blog script again - mainly out of frustration with Blogger, who’s servers refuse to publish my blog at the moment.
Gardening On Good Friday
It’s “Good Friday” in the UK today. We’re off work, and have been working on the garden. W is still out there, digging the far end over.
Now Yahoo Are At It
When I arrived at work this morning, I was browsing the “latest news” on Yahoo, and came across the story about Tom Cruise’s baby being born… the second para...
Sadly Lacking
This blog has been sadly lacking “interesting” entries over the last week or so. There are a few reasons for it, but the main one is that I have a very simpl...
Copper Reminds Of The Simple Things
I just wanted to take the opportunity to direct you over the wonderful online comic strip that is “Copper”…
Weekend Away
This weekend we went to visit some friends who live down in the southwest of England - a little village called Chappel Knapp. If I was going to paint a word ...
Rojo
I’ve been playing with a new(ish) website called “Rojo” tonight. It’s a news aggregation service - they basically pull together RSS feeds from multiple sourc...
Old News
While helping a couple of people on the internet last night, I was watching television out of the corner of me eye - and a news story made me look up.
Working On The Blog Script
Over the last few days I have been working on my blogging script, and finally released an update for it. It’s now up to version 1.9.9d (I wish I had kept som...
Working On The Blog Script
Those of you who have not been reading my blog for very long (or perhaps this is the first time you’ve seen my blog) will have no idea that I have written a ...
Wandering Round In Circles
I have been trying to figure out how to access Microsoft Sharepoint from an external application today, and have so far found the documentation very thin on ...
Jean Michel Jarre
I’ve been sat here programming all night, and thought I would take a bit of a break and tell you what I’m listening to.
Surviving
I survived the day (just). After working flat out throughout the day, I finished my work at 5:26 - with 4 minutes to spare inside my normal working day. Hope...
And For My Next Trick
I have just spent the morning digging myself out of a development hole.
The Code Factory
I feel like some kind of computer code factory at the moment. I spent all day at work churning out C# programming, and since I got in have been churning out ...
Feeling Low
It really shouldn’t have come as a surprise that I didn’t feel very well when I got up this morning - W was off work for the first half of last week, and I’v...
Analysing My Photography Skills
I just did a meme over at http://www.tickle.com [http://www.tickle.com/] and answered the question “What do your Photos Say About You?”
Old Friends Crossing Paths
I was browsing around on the internet a couple of days ago and came across a webpage where somebody mentioned that a certain person was their momand I saw th...
Oooh Shiny
Unless you are completely blind, or are reading this blog entry via RSS, you will notice that I have changed the template. It’s still a similar layout to bef...
France Displays Its Idiocy
I have just been reading about the French politicians voting to approve a bill forcing the likes of Apple, Sony, and Microsoft to open their digital media fo...
The Blog Journey
While bored last night I came up with a somewhat novel idea for a meme - the “Blog Journey”. The idea being to choose a random blog, and follow the path thro...
Horse Riding
I’ve just been reading a blog entry written by my aunt, and it brought back quite a few memories.
Quiet Sundays Rule
I got up at 6:30am this morning to watch the Formula One race in Malaysia. What a complete and utter waste of time that was.
Apathy
Today has been a quiet day. I’m sat here in the lounge at home, wondering what to do with myself. As much as I like having “quiet days”, I always find myself...
All Kneel Before Erin Grey
You’re probably asking yourself “who the hell is Erin Grey?”. She came to mind while reading a great blog post about Knight Rider by Sarcomical (a fantastic ...
A Blog Journey
I just had a rather wonderful idea for a blogging activity when you’re bored. I’m going to call it a “Blog Journey”. Here’s how it works - you go to a random...
Thank Its Friday
I’m just having a break from my work for a few minutes, so thought I would spend some time posting an entry to my somewhat neglected (of late) blog.
First Look At Microsoft Windows Vista
I’ve just been looking at Windows Vista with a colleague. He installed it on a virtual machine to play with (virtual machines allow you to create “pretend” c...
Tired
I’m not sure why, but I got in from this work and just have no energy. Perhaps it’s the result of a late night last night.
Returning From A Week Away
Myself and W have just got back from spending a week in Dorset on the south coast of England, taking a much needed break from the world in general.
First Photos From Our Trip
We’re back! We arrived home a few hours ago, and I’ve just got around to making a start with sorting the photos out.
Happy Birthday To Me
On Saturday 3rd March 1973, June Beckett gave birth to her second son. He remained nameless for several weeks while the hospital did every check possible on ...
Its Nearly My Birthday
I am going to be 33 years old tomorrow. I am officially becoming a grumpy old man, one year at a time.
Taking The Time
I’m sat here wondering about time - five minutes to be more precise. I’ve never really thought too deeply about how I spend my time each day before - I tend ...
Cold House
Our heating has packed up. Again.
Walk The Line
We just got back from watching the movie “Walk the Line”. We decided to see it at the last moment when we arrived at the cinema - we had been thinking of goi...
Is It Thursday Already
I can’t believe it’s Thursday. This week is dissappearing faster than a fast thing that dissappears quickly.
Starting A Readers Group
You heard it here first.
Unplanned
This weekend didn’t happen how I thought it was going to happen at all.
Buying Books
For the past several years I have read an awful lot of non-fiction - books about chess, science, astronomy, mathematics… you name it. I’ve continually told p...
The Weekend
It’s Saturday morning, I’ve been up since 8am, and I feel great - which is surprising as I was off work yesterday feeling very rough indeed.
Uk Bans Smoking In Public Places
Yesterday the British government voted to ban smoking in all public places, with the ban coming into force in 18 months time (summer 2007). This is absolutel...
Its About Time Too
Yes, yes, I know - I haven’t written anything in here for a few days and you’re wondering where I’ve dissappeared off to. I’ve not been keeping up with the b...
Choose A Quiet Sunday
For the first time in living memory, I am choosing to stay at home today rather than trudge off across the country to visit W’s family (or go on some other e...
Chilling On A Saturday
It’s been a great Saturday so far. It’s cold outside, but not unpleasantly so. A crunchy cold.
113960916143323903
Before I start, I just want to say thankyou to all the people who left messages about the IVF stuff this week.
Listening To Mozart
I’m sat here in our lounge on my own, tapping away at the laptop, and I have a Mozart CD in the player.
Brain Dump
It seems like days since I last posted a “proper” entry into my blog, so here is one. I’m not sure quite what I’m going to write about at this point, so we’l...
How Powerful Is Word Of Mouth
I’m sat here wondering how powerful “Word of Mouth” might be when starting a new website.
Soccer Is The Most Pathetic Game In The World
Yes, you heard right. I am English, and I think Soccer is the most pathetic game in the world - or at least the people who play it at the top level are the m...
Something New
For the last few evenings I have been working on a new website - a public workshop for writers of all abilities to put their writing out there, and to give a...
Absolutely Knackered
I think I might be experiencing what some people call “burnout”.
Problems Concentrating
I’m back in the office this morning and having real problems concentrating.
Sunday Morning
Do you ever feel guilty about being lazy? It’s now just gone 12:00 on Sunday, and all I have managed to do so far is get out of bed at about 10, make a cup o...
The Story That Never Was
Late last year I planned to take part in “Nanowrimo” - the annual internet novel writing event. Unfortunately circumstances got in the way and my attempt was...
More News From The Lab
More IVF news
Looking Good
Just a quick update (don’t have much time at the moment)… we got the lab results back from the Lister Hospital in London this morning - fantastic news - they...
Early Morning In London
We were up at 5am this morning, made our way to Maidenhead, and caught the 6:05 train to London for the first part of the IVF cycle. It seems strange referri...
The Comic Strip Will Happen
I have just decided that a comic strip will happen.
How Cold
It’s nearly 9:20 as I write this, and I’m just starting to warm up a bit. When I got my bike out of the shed this morning I thought it was cold outside, but ...
Playing With The Camera
Okay… I’ve been playing with the new camera (at last)
Drawing Comic Strips
I’m sat here this evening thinking about drawing an online comic. For the last hour or so I’ve been looking around on the web at various online comic strips....
Discovering Jackson Browne
I was busy downloading some music yesterday evening that a friend recommended (Brad Paisley and Tim McGraw if you’re interested), and discovered who Jackson ...
Saturday Morning
Where to start? The photo I guess… it was taken a couple of weeks ago in Higginson park - about 15 minutes walk from our house in the middle of Marlow. I was...
Story Of The Day
I have no work to be getting on with at the present moment, so thought it might be entertaining to while away a few minutes telling the story of my day so fa...
Im Not A Chihuahua
I just did a survey at tickle.com, and am somewhat shocked, stunned and amazed at the result. I filled out a survey to answer the question “What kind of Dog ...
It Was All Made Up
I wonder if there is a name for the study of conversation subject paths? If you’re wondering why I’m thinking that, just read on for a few paragraphs, and yo...
Found While Surfing
If you have read the list of interests in my profile, you will see that I have “comic artwork” in there. It probably seems like a pretty childish thing to be...
Wednesday Night
Today started at 7:30am when the radio alarm woke me up. I turned to W and reminded her that I had left my bike at work last night, and that she had promised...
Defining A Meme
I was just reading somebody elses blog, and the term “meme” came up yet again - I keep seeing this term all over the place, so decided to look it up.
A Wanderer Returns
Over the last few days I have been juggling with the thought of stopping blogging all together - thinking of maybe going back to a paper diary.
A Beginning
All blogs have to start somewhere, and this is the start of this one.