Last Thursday night (being the start of the weekend) I was out for a friend’s birthday drinks. It turned out to be a reasonably late night and so as we were in the northern end of town, I ended up crashing at my mate’s place in North London.
We had a full English the next morning (well it was lunch by then) and I then made my way to the tube station to head home. On my way I passed a large group of gospel singers, spreading the word of God, singing loudly and generally being rather annoying. Can’t they give it a rest for once and leave people alone, I thought to myself. It was not until a few hours later when I was sitting at home that I realised it was Good Friday.
So fair enough these people were out celebrating a Christian holiday and giving thanks to Jesus. We have a lot to thank Jesus for; if it weren’t for Him, we would have 4 less public holidays every year. There would be no post Christmas shopping sales either! So for dying on the cross so we could have a few more hours sleep on days we would otherwise have to be at work; thank you Jesus. On the other hand, I am a contract worker and don’t get paid if I don’t go to work, so thanks for nothing pal.
If you look in the top right hand corner of your screen you will see the button to click to read the next blog. Chosen randomly, it can make for some interesting reading. Many of the bloggers I have noticed are Christians and are using their blog to spread the word. Good for them, they can write whatever they like, however I’m going to leave the comments open on this post, in case any of them surf my way and want to give us their thoughts.
Actually most of the bloggers are Americans, and Americans always seem to incorporate God and/or Guns into whatever they’re doing. Strange mix really isn’t it?
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
A published writer
It was a pretty slow start this morning, after 4 days off. Didn’t do all that much over the weekend but did spend Sunday afternoon in Southend, one of the many places in Britain that can truly be called Chavsville. I hardly had any emails in my inbox this morning, I really must write to people more often.
Evening’s are getting longer now, summer time has arrived so no sunset until around 7.30, and getting later.
My letter was published in today’s TNT, interestingly enough right next to the letter of a friend who was also writing about rugby.
It’s detox week this week, no beer from Monday through till Friday after work; wish me luck.
Evening’s are getting longer now, summer time has arrived so no sunset until around 7.30, and getting later.
My letter was published in today’s TNT, interestingly enough right next to the letter of a friend who was also writing about rugby.
It’s detox week this week, no beer from Monday through till Friday after work; wish me luck.
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Pigs and pig skins
I am still alive. Rob brought back the product of his pig killing adventures, mostly in sausage form. We were treated to photos of the event, from collecting the live pig to the dinner plate; we then sat down to eat. The sausages were quite tasty actually, and did not cause us food poisoning, despite what could be described as questionable hygiene standards in the Czech Republic. Needless to say they had not been declared to customs on the way into the country, but from live pig in Prague, to sausages in South London is a pretty quick turnaround.
This week there has obviously been plenty of reporting on the six nations tournament, and obviously with the Lions tour coming up in a few months attention is focussed on who should be selected. Many pundits have given their starting Lions XVs, obviously now with quite a few Welsh players in them. What I found utterly astounding is that so many rugby commentators can still claim that Jonny Wilkinson should be the starting fly half. The man has not played a game of international rugby since the world cup, and in that time he has only played a handful of club games. If he is fit for the Lions tour, it will be only just in time. No matter how good a player he used to be, such a long stint on the sidelines will, at least initially, prevent him from playing to the best of his abilities. Wilkinson will not have the match practice or fitness to competently fill the number 10 role. To overlook Stephen Jones for the starting position, for a player who will have not played a rugby international in more than 18 months, is sheer lunacy.I can only see a detriment to the team if Wilkinson is selected ahead of Stephen Jones, however knowing Clive Woodward, it will be of no surprise. If it is the case, the All Blacks will have him for dinner (breakfast UK time.)
This week there has obviously been plenty of reporting on the six nations tournament, and obviously with the Lions tour coming up in a few months attention is focussed on who should be selected. Many pundits have given their starting Lions XVs, obviously now with quite a few Welsh players in them. What I found utterly astounding is that so many rugby commentators can still claim that Jonny Wilkinson should be the starting fly half. The man has not played a game of international rugby since the world cup, and in that time he has only played a handful of club games. If he is fit for the Lions tour, it will be only just in time. No matter how good a player he used to be, such a long stint on the sidelines will, at least initially, prevent him from playing to the best of his abilities. Wilkinson will not have the match practice or fitness to competently fill the number 10 role. To overlook Stephen Jones for the starting position, for a player who will have not played a rugby international in more than 18 months, is sheer lunacy.I can only see a detriment to the team if Wilkinson is selected ahead of Stephen Jones, however knowing Clive Woodward, it will be of no surprise. If it is the case, the All Blacks will have him for dinner (breakfast UK time.)
Monday, March 21, 2005
Jaded
Yeah so I've got the Monday blues as usual, I didn't quite realise our Sunday lunch at the pub with the flatmates was going to turn into a marathon drinking session, but never mind.
I will have to brave the crowds at the gym tonight, Monday night is always really busy and you often have to wait for the equipment. I usually don't go on Mondays because of this reason but I have other commitments the rest of this week. After the gym though I'm off to Rob's place. He went to Prague on the weekend to visit a friend with whom he killed a pig (yes that was the intention of the trip) So tonight we will be feasting on the result of this slaughter.
I usually flick through the TNT on Monday's, it's not a bad read. Occasionally something bothers me enough to write in to letters about it. This week, in response to a sentence in an article about Andrew Johns, I sent in the following.
I find it very difficult to understand how Andrew Johns can be regarded as the best player in either rugby code (TNT 1125.) Andrew has never played Rugby Union before, people merely assume that as he is such a quality league player, he has what it takes to be the best in union. The ARU decided that he didn’t when they blocked the Waratahs’ attempts to sign him late last year. Whether he could play the game or not is irrelevant, Johns never has and never will have anything to do with Rugby Union so let’s have an end to these ridiculous claims.
I could rave on for longer about this matter, but I have to keep the letter brief and succinct so it will be printed. It really does piss me off when people say Johns is widely regarded as the best player in either code. I don't regard him as such and neither does anyone I know who supports Rugby Union. In fact I would go as far as to say it is insulting to suggest that a player, who has never had anything even remotely to do with Union in his lifetime, could be regarded as the best player in either League or Union. We don't want him to have anything to do with Union either. He might have the skills, but he doesn't have the passion and the instincts for the game, that course through the blood of all true Rugby people. Besides, I find it hard to believe anyone who spends all their time on the treatment table can be regarded as the best at anything... cough cough Jonny Wilkinson.
Oh and Willie Mason, you can piss off too.
So staying with Rugby; well done Tahs, good win, played as a team, probably should have picked up a bonus point but apart from that. Well done Wales, played some great rugby throughout the tournament and throroughly deserved their grand slam. And well done Don Cameron, kicking off Uni's Shute Shield with the first try of the season.
I will have to brave the crowds at the gym tonight, Monday night is always really busy and you often have to wait for the equipment. I usually don't go on Mondays because of this reason but I have other commitments the rest of this week. After the gym though I'm off to Rob's place. He went to Prague on the weekend to visit a friend with whom he killed a pig (yes that was the intention of the trip) So tonight we will be feasting on the result of this slaughter.
I usually flick through the TNT on Monday's, it's not a bad read. Occasionally something bothers me enough to write in to letters about it. This week, in response to a sentence in an article about Andrew Johns, I sent in the following.
I find it very difficult to understand how Andrew Johns can be regarded as the best player in either rugby code (TNT 1125.) Andrew has never played Rugby Union before, people merely assume that as he is such a quality league player, he has what it takes to be the best in union. The ARU decided that he didn’t when they blocked the Waratahs’ attempts to sign him late last year. Whether he could play the game or not is irrelevant, Johns never has and never will have anything to do with Rugby Union so let’s have an end to these ridiculous claims.
I could rave on for longer about this matter, but I have to keep the letter brief and succinct so it will be printed. It really does piss me off when people say Johns is widely regarded as the best player in either code. I don't regard him as such and neither does anyone I know who supports Rugby Union. In fact I would go as far as to say it is insulting to suggest that a player, who has never had anything even remotely to do with Union in his lifetime, could be regarded as the best player in either League or Union. We don't want him to have anything to do with Union either. He might have the skills, but he doesn't have the passion and the instincts for the game, that course through the blood of all true Rugby people. Besides, I find it hard to believe anyone who spends all their time on the treatment table can be regarded as the best at anything... cough cough Jonny Wilkinson.
Oh and Willie Mason, you can piss off too.
So staying with Rugby; well done Tahs, good win, played as a team, probably should have picked up a bonus point but apart from that. Well done Wales, played some great rugby throughout the tournament and throroughly deserved their grand slam. And well done Don Cameron, kicking off Uni's Shute Shield with the first try of the season.
Friday, March 18, 2005
The ramblings of a tired man on a Friday afternoon
4pm. Officially an hour and a half until the working week is over. Unofficially more like an hour and a quarter. I’m having a strong coffee now to pick myself up, had a couple of pints at lunch and that always makes me feel sleepy in the afternoon. It’s actually pretty difficult to get back to work after that, you just hit the wall. I’m going to go to the gym straight after work though, I like going on Fridays because it’s quiet and you generally don’t have to wait to use the equipment. I’ve stared varying the exercises I do so it all doesn’t become monotonous. I’m also doing my dips unassisted now, which I think is pretty impressive. It’s quite funny that when I look at myself in the mirror, the satisfaction I get from seeing the results I get from the gym, is tinged somewhat by the fact that I am sickeningly pasty and white.
I am appalled but not in the slightest way surprised that the US are going to start drilling for oil in Alaska. They’ll get maybe a six-month supply of oil from the place and despite backer’s claims that modern drilling equipment is far more environmentally friendly, irreparable damage will be caused to the area. Of course we will not stop until we have sucked every last drop of oil from the earth, and the earth will run out of oil within my expected lifetime. At the moment there is little sign of a viable alternative to fossil fuels. Dubya has insisted that drilling there is in the interest of security. This is of course the standard excuse for everything nowadays. Now whenever you are asked to explain pretty much anything, the statement ‘It’s for security purposes,’ seems to be infallible.
All the world’s energy problems could be solved by perpetual motion, then we need not worry about drilling for more oil. To do this I think we need to apply a law previously discussed in this blog; Sod’s Law. For example, if you drop a piece of toast, sod’s law states that it will always land buttered side down. When a cat falls, its body is designed to twist so it will always land on its feet. Now if we can attach a piece of toast to a cat’s back, buttered side up, and drop the cat; the two aforementioned laws will cause the cat to spin endlessly. If we can somehow harness this perpetual motion, we will have little further need for fossil fuels.
The laws of physics do not allow for perpetual motion. However the problem is infinity. The impossibility of perpetual motion and the concept of infinity are mutually exclusive. We cannot create perpetual motion because of entropy, however the concept of entropy must preclude a finite universe. I wrote this second point down a while ago when it came to me, despite the absence of any scientific data, I think it is conceptually a valid idea.
Again we will not see Mat Rogers turning out for the Tahs tomorrow. Perhaps he is at the tattoo parlour getting drawn on again. I noticed in the last game he played, he was sporting a large tat in calligraphic writing along the inside of his right forearm. These are quite popular amongst footballers and other people with absolutely no taste or style. But what does it say? Well Mat has shown again that his sense of originality applies only to his skills with a football by permanently marking the phrase C’est la vie on his arm. I wonder what else he had on the short list before deciding to go with that one. More that likely this phrase means a lot to him, as it’s what he says to himself every time he gets injured. Well done Mat, you have shown us so far this year that you are a great footballer, but you are also a total dickhead. But hey, that’s life.
Right, I’m going home.
I am appalled but not in the slightest way surprised that the US are going to start drilling for oil in Alaska. They’ll get maybe a six-month supply of oil from the place and despite backer’s claims that modern drilling equipment is far more environmentally friendly, irreparable damage will be caused to the area. Of course we will not stop until we have sucked every last drop of oil from the earth, and the earth will run out of oil within my expected lifetime. At the moment there is little sign of a viable alternative to fossil fuels. Dubya has insisted that drilling there is in the interest of security. This is of course the standard excuse for everything nowadays. Now whenever you are asked to explain pretty much anything, the statement ‘It’s for security purposes,’ seems to be infallible.
All the world’s energy problems could be solved by perpetual motion, then we need not worry about drilling for more oil. To do this I think we need to apply a law previously discussed in this blog; Sod’s Law. For example, if you drop a piece of toast, sod’s law states that it will always land buttered side down. When a cat falls, its body is designed to twist so it will always land on its feet. Now if we can attach a piece of toast to a cat’s back, buttered side up, and drop the cat; the two aforementioned laws will cause the cat to spin endlessly. If we can somehow harness this perpetual motion, we will have little further need for fossil fuels.
The laws of physics do not allow for perpetual motion. However the problem is infinity. The impossibility of perpetual motion and the concept of infinity are mutually exclusive. We cannot create perpetual motion because of entropy, however the concept of entropy must preclude a finite universe. I wrote this second point down a while ago when it came to me, despite the absence of any scientific data, I think it is conceptually a valid idea.
Again we will not see Mat Rogers turning out for the Tahs tomorrow. Perhaps he is at the tattoo parlour getting drawn on again. I noticed in the last game he played, he was sporting a large tat in calligraphic writing along the inside of his right forearm. These are quite popular amongst footballers and other people with absolutely no taste or style. But what does it say? Well Mat has shown again that his sense of originality applies only to his skills with a football by permanently marking the phrase C’est la vie on his arm. I wonder what else he had on the short list before deciding to go with that one. More that likely this phrase means a lot to him, as it’s what he says to himself every time he gets injured. Well done Mat, you have shown us so far this year that you are a great footballer, but you are also a total dickhead. But hey, that’s life.
Right, I’m going home.
The Craic
Saint Patrick; Patron saint of plastic paddy pubs and large novelty Guinness hats. So yesterday was one of the world’s favourite national days St Patrick’s Day. Everyone likes St Patrick’s Day, because everyone likes the Irish, and everyone likes getting pissed. St Patrick’s Day gives everyone an excuse to get pissed, most people don’t need an excuse, but having one takes away the guilt.
In the end it wasn’t the most raucous evening, I teamed up with my Irish mate James and we started at London’s oldest Irish pub The Tipperary. The plan was to go from real to plastic paddy and make our way to an O’Neils or such via a few other places on the way. We did this, fuelled by some good old fashioned Irish stew and plenty of pints of the black stuff.
Armed with our novelty Guinness hats, we marched through the West End singing Ireland’s Call. As it turned out there was a huge cue to get into all of the plastic paddy pubs in the west end and buggered if we were going to wait. But there are plenty of pubs around, and plenty that sell Guinness, so all was not lost.
So cheers to the Irish, may only cowards go to battle wearing armour.
What made the evening possible was the weather. After those few weeks of chill, the weather has turned very pleasant indeed. Winter is over, the over coat will be packed away and with summer time starting in a week, bring on the summer!!!
In the end it wasn’t the most raucous evening, I teamed up with my Irish mate James and we started at London’s oldest Irish pub The Tipperary. The plan was to go from real to plastic paddy and make our way to an O’Neils or such via a few other places on the way. We did this, fuelled by some good old fashioned Irish stew and plenty of pints of the black stuff.
Armed with our novelty Guinness hats, we marched through the West End singing Ireland’s Call. As it turned out there was a huge cue to get into all of the plastic paddy pubs in the west end and buggered if we were going to wait. But there are plenty of pubs around, and plenty that sell Guinness, so all was not lost.
So cheers to the Irish, may only cowards go to battle wearing armour.
What made the evening possible was the weather. After those few weeks of chill, the weather has turned very pleasant indeed. Winter is over, the over coat will be packed away and with summer time starting in a week, bring on the summer!!!
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Gosh darn those big macs are healthy
Last Tuesday in the US, McDonalds launched a massive advertising campaign urging Americans to fight obesity by eating healthily and exercising.
Ummmm, does anyone else see a problem with this picture?
Isn’t that like the porn industry sponsoring the silver ring thing?** Or a cigarette company encouraging people to get more fresh air?
Pretty soon McDonalds will be sponsoring Lent.
McDonalds also announced sponsorship contracts with Tennis’s Williams sisters. Now these two sold out long ago, but surely this one takes the cake, I mean, burger. Here’s a message to all those young aspiring athletes for whom Venus and Serena are role models: They didn’t become champions by eating big macs!
** The Silver Ring Thing is a ‘head in the sand’ initiative from America, (the world leaders in teenage pregnancy) to try and encourage young people not to have sex until they are married. Whether it is a good idea for these people to breed at all is another matter, for another day’s blog.
Ummmm, does anyone else see a problem with this picture?
Isn’t that like the porn industry sponsoring the silver ring thing?** Or a cigarette company encouraging people to get more fresh air?
Pretty soon McDonalds will be sponsoring Lent.
McDonalds also announced sponsorship contracts with Tennis’s Williams sisters. Now these two sold out long ago, but surely this one takes the cake, I mean, burger. Here’s a message to all those young aspiring athletes for whom Venus and Serena are role models: They didn’t become champions by eating big macs!
** The Silver Ring Thing is a ‘head in the sand’ initiative from America, (the world leaders in teenage pregnancy) to try and encourage young people not to have sex until they are married. Whether it is a good idea for these people to breed at all is another matter, for another day’s blog.
Just Call Me Del Boy
Ticket touting update:
I advertised my spare ashes tickets on thegumtree; to test the water I put them on at six times the face value wondering if there’d be any takers. The first response I got was an email from some twat asking whether I was having a laugh, and that anyone paying that much would be “stupid or a desperate aussie spending their hard earned barman wage.” I agreed with him saying you would have to be stupid, but there are plenty of stupid people out there and, if he looked on ebay, he would find plenty of people willing to pay that much.
I left it over the weekend and come Monday, had responses from 3 people all saying they would buy them. So applying what little I actually remember from my unfinished education in Economics, I let demand increase the price and reposted the ad.
Shortly I had another interested party. After a quick phone call and a bit of haggling, a deal was done. The buyer (English geezer as opposed to desperate Aussie barman) was willing to drive into town and meet me near my office, with cash, the next day.
And so the transaction was completed at lunch time today; a little bit dodgy making a cash transaction out in the street, but I felt like a regular Del Boy Trotter after that with a wad of bills held in a paper clip in my jacket pocket. Of course the next place I went was the bank to deposit the cash equivalent of 650% of the face value of two ashes tickets.
The story however does not end there. My friend, let’s for these purposes call him Rob; also was fortunate enough to have 2 tickets. He too is coming on the SA trip and will thus be selling his tickets. So after discussing my wheeling and dealing with him, I advertised his tickets on his behalf. Shortly after, he received a call from the same person who purchased mine, willing to buy his for the same price. The story I got was that he was going to treat his son, Rob’s story was the grandparents. In any case, we don’t care what he does with them, we’ve got our money and we both think it is a stupid amount of money to pay for tickets to the cricket. The black market price may go up as the test draws closer, but tickets are being sold by ticketing agencies now, for the same price we received for ours. So I’m happy, what it all really equates to for me is free flights to Johannesburg. Now that’s what I call budget travel.
I advertised my spare ashes tickets on thegumtree; to test the water I put them on at six times the face value wondering if there’d be any takers. The first response I got was an email from some twat asking whether I was having a laugh, and that anyone paying that much would be “stupid or a desperate aussie spending their hard earned barman wage.” I agreed with him saying you would have to be stupid, but there are plenty of stupid people out there and, if he looked on ebay, he would find plenty of people willing to pay that much.
I left it over the weekend and come Monday, had responses from 3 people all saying they would buy them. So applying what little I actually remember from my unfinished education in Economics, I let demand increase the price and reposted the ad.
Shortly I had another interested party. After a quick phone call and a bit of haggling, a deal was done. The buyer (English geezer as opposed to desperate Aussie barman) was willing to drive into town and meet me near my office, with cash, the next day.
And so the transaction was completed at lunch time today; a little bit dodgy making a cash transaction out in the street, but I felt like a regular Del Boy Trotter after that with a wad of bills held in a paper clip in my jacket pocket. Of course the next place I went was the bank to deposit the cash equivalent of 650% of the face value of two ashes tickets.
The story however does not end there. My friend, let’s for these purposes call him Rob; also was fortunate enough to have 2 tickets. He too is coming on the SA trip and will thus be selling his tickets. So after discussing my wheeling and dealing with him, I advertised his tickets on his behalf. Shortly after, he received a call from the same person who purchased mine, willing to buy his for the same price. The story I got was that he was going to treat his son, Rob’s story was the grandparents. In any case, we don’t care what he does with them, we’ve got our money and we both think it is a stupid amount of money to pay for tickets to the cricket. The black market price may go up as the test draws closer, but tickets are being sold by ticketing agencies now, for the same price we received for ours. So I’m happy, what it all really equates to for me is free flights to Johannesburg. Now that’s what I call budget travel.
Friday, March 11, 2005
It's just not cricket
It’s funny how some things seem to come at once. After having booked our flights to Yappieville on Wednesday, I returned home to find an unexpected letter waiting for me. (I get so little mail I usually know what it is before opening it.) So anyway, I waited a few minutes to increase the anticipation – such is the thrilling existence of my life.
The opening of the letter was met with a somewhat maniacal laughter from me (I should be a mad scientist) when I found what was inside: 2 tickets to day 3 of the first Ashes test at Lords!
Lords don’t do their ticketing on a first come first served basis, they operate a ballot system just like in the Olympics or World Cups. I had entered the ballot back in November, but they only let you apply for a maximum of 2 tickets per person. Typical bloody Lords, how is one supposed to attend a cricket game accompanied by only one other person? It’s just not cricket! Spectating at a cricket game requires at least half a dozen boozed up blokes and no shirts. What are we supposed to do with just one mate along, watch the game?
Now as it turns out, when we were planning the trip to South Africa, we realised that it clashed with the first test. We hadn’t had our tickets allocated yet and it didn’t really require much thought to decide the trip was worth missing out on the cricket. I’ve been to an Ashes test at Lords in 2001, and the fifth test is on at The Oval so there’ll be plenty of chances to see the cricket.
It’s funny that these tickets should turn up on the same day we confirmed we wouldn’t be able to go. So I guess I’m stuck with two tickets to the first Saturday of the Ashes series, does anyone want them?
Well of course someone does. This year England have probably they best chance of beating the Aussies than they have had in the past 15 years. Although I probably have a better chance of dating Claudia Schiffer this year than I have had in the past 15, but that doesn’t mean it will actually happen. But blind faith pushes up ticket prices.
I think it is highly likely I will be able to sell the tickets for at least a 500% mark-up. That should almost cover the cost of my flights! I'd better work on my cockney accent first; 'anyone need ticke's? buy or sell ticke's, anyone need ticke's?'
Oh did I say sell the tickets? I meant I would give them to someone and then charge a few quid transportation costs!
The opening of the letter was met with a somewhat maniacal laughter from me (I should be a mad scientist) when I found what was inside: 2 tickets to day 3 of the first Ashes test at Lords!
Lords don’t do their ticketing on a first come first served basis, they operate a ballot system just like in the Olympics or World Cups. I had entered the ballot back in November, but they only let you apply for a maximum of 2 tickets per person. Typical bloody Lords, how is one supposed to attend a cricket game accompanied by only one other person? It’s just not cricket! Spectating at a cricket game requires at least half a dozen boozed up blokes and no shirts. What are we supposed to do with just one mate along, watch the game?
Now as it turns out, when we were planning the trip to South Africa, we realised that it clashed with the first test. We hadn’t had our tickets allocated yet and it didn’t really require much thought to decide the trip was worth missing out on the cricket. I’ve been to an Ashes test at Lords in 2001, and the fifth test is on at The Oval so there’ll be plenty of chances to see the cricket.
It’s funny that these tickets should turn up on the same day we confirmed we wouldn’t be able to go. So I guess I’m stuck with two tickets to the first Saturday of the Ashes series, does anyone want them?
Well of course someone does. This year England have probably they best chance of beating the Aussies than they have had in the past 15 years. Although I probably have a better chance of dating Claudia Schiffer this year than I have had in the past 15, but that doesn’t mean it will actually happen. But blind faith pushes up ticket prices.
I think it is highly likely I will be able to sell the tickets for at least a 500% mark-up. That should almost cover the cost of my flights! I'd better work on my cockney accent first; 'anyone need ticke's? buy or sell ticke's, anyone need ticke's?'
Oh did I say sell the tickets? I meant I would give them to someone and then charge a few quid transportation costs!
Thursday, March 10, 2005
That creative streak
Catching the tube home late in the evening is always amusing. Invariably many people are on there way home from an evening that has involved alcohol. So most carriages have some kind of dirty old man / sad pathetic loser, trying to chat up the nearest female. Most of the time the ladies are good natured about it and are pleasant in return. It is amusing though to observe the inebriated man oblivious to the woman squirming in excruciating awkwardness.
Last night I boarded the train and found myself overhearing such an exchange. There were two ladies in question and they appeared to be involved in the fashion industry in some way (although definitely not as models.) So these two ladies were suffering some Billy Mitchell look-alike and appeared to be talking about the creative side of the industry. This guy says: “I’d like to be creative, but I don’t have a creative streak in me.” Nice one dude!
So it got me thinking, I’d like to be a movie star; but I can’t act.
Or maybe a rock star; but I can't sing.
Or even design an inter-galactic spacecraft; but I don’t have a creative streak in me.
Moving on..........
The man in football with the best name: Bayern Munich player Sebastian Schweinsteiger. In German it means Pig Climber, must have been hell in the school yard.
Second Prize goes to PSV's Jan Vennegor of Hesselink. Damn that's a cool name
Last night I boarded the train and found myself overhearing such an exchange. There were two ladies in question and they appeared to be involved in the fashion industry in some way (although definitely not as models.) So these two ladies were suffering some Billy Mitchell look-alike and appeared to be talking about the creative side of the industry. This guy says: “I’d like to be creative, but I don’t have a creative streak in me.” Nice one dude!
So it got me thinking, I’d like to be a movie star; but I can’t act.
Or maybe a rock star; but I can't sing.
Or even design an inter-galactic spacecraft; but I don’t have a creative streak in me.
Moving on..........
The man in football with the best name: Bayern Munich player Sebastian Schweinsteiger. In German it means Pig Climber, must have been hell in the school yard.
Second Prize goes to PSV's Jan Vennegor of Hesselink. Damn that's a cool name
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Bored to tears at work
I don’t want to write here about sport all the time but last night’s Champions League tie between Chelsea and Barcelona cannot go unmentioned.
So there I’ve mentioned it.
No but really, it was a great game to watch. The league leaders from Spain and England dishing up a six goal thriller, with a dash of controversy is what the champions league is all about. Barca can be a little aggrieved as it did look like Carvalho fouled Victor Valdez for Terry’s winning goal. Even more so considering all the whingeing that came from Mourinho after the first leg. Chelsea though deserved to win and I’m pleased to see them through. Petr Cech was outstanding in goal, making some fine saves that kept Chelsea in the match. Saves that probably wouldn’t have been saved by Roy Carroll, Tim Howard, Jerzey Dudek, Jens Lehman or Manuel Almunia.
While Chelsea and Barcelona served up 9 goals in their two legs, Man U and Milan gave us 2. Man U are out, can’t really blame the goalkeeper for letting a goal in if the rest of the team aren’t going to bother scoring any.
It’s so easy to book airline tickets these days. We don’t even need to ring travel agents to get quotes. As with pretty much everything else these days, it can all be done on-line. There are loads of sites to book holidays through, there are even sites you can go to that will do a comparison of all the prices being offered on these sites.
So I’ve been doing my research, finding which is the best price for our trip to South Africa in July. Yesterday I had singled out the best deal and was ready to book. One of my mates wanted me to wait until today, so he could see what the flights were before I booked them.
As is with a lot of these booking engines, the prices fluctuate based on how far away the trip is and how full the flight has already been booked. I was a little hesitant to wait until today to make the booking, I knew which one I was going to book so why take the risk that the price might go up. But what difference is one day going to make?
This morning I ran the particular flight search and was horrified to find the price per ticket had risen 25% overnight! I ran the search again and again hoping to get different results but there was no way I was getting yesterday’s price. I was kicking myself. So I took a few moments to compose myself and started looking for another deal. In a real anti-climax to this story, I managed to find flights with a different carrier on another website, which in the end turned out to be slightly cheaper than the ones I had originally planned to book.
So all’s well that ends well, we’re flying Swiss now instead of Lufthansa as originally planned. All that’s left to make this story interesting is for the Lufthansa flight to crash!
So there I’ve mentioned it.
No but really, it was a great game to watch. The league leaders from Spain and England dishing up a six goal thriller, with a dash of controversy is what the champions league is all about. Barca can be a little aggrieved as it did look like Carvalho fouled Victor Valdez for Terry’s winning goal. Even more so considering all the whingeing that came from Mourinho after the first leg. Chelsea though deserved to win and I’m pleased to see them through. Petr Cech was outstanding in goal, making some fine saves that kept Chelsea in the match. Saves that probably wouldn’t have been saved by Roy Carroll, Tim Howard, Jerzey Dudek, Jens Lehman or Manuel Almunia.
While Chelsea and Barcelona served up 9 goals in their two legs, Man U and Milan gave us 2. Man U are out, can’t really blame the goalkeeper for letting a goal in if the rest of the team aren’t going to bother scoring any.
It’s so easy to book airline tickets these days. We don’t even need to ring travel agents to get quotes. As with pretty much everything else these days, it can all be done on-line. There are loads of sites to book holidays through, there are even sites you can go to that will do a comparison of all the prices being offered on these sites.
So I’ve been doing my research, finding which is the best price for our trip to South Africa in July. Yesterday I had singled out the best deal and was ready to book. One of my mates wanted me to wait until today, so he could see what the flights were before I booked them.
As is with a lot of these booking engines, the prices fluctuate based on how far away the trip is and how full the flight has already been booked. I was a little hesitant to wait until today to make the booking, I knew which one I was going to book so why take the risk that the price might go up. But what difference is one day going to make?
This morning I ran the particular flight search and was horrified to find the price per ticket had risen 25% overnight! I ran the search again and again hoping to get different results but there was no way I was getting yesterday’s price. I was kicking myself. So I took a few moments to compose myself and started looking for another deal. In a real anti-climax to this story, I managed to find flights with a different carrier on another website, which in the end turned out to be slightly cheaper than the ones I had originally planned to book.
So all’s well that ends well, we’re flying Swiss now instead of Lufthansa as originally planned. All that’s left to make this story interesting is for the Lufthansa flight to crash!
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Carcinogens
Apologies to my regular readers (whom I'm sure I can count on one hand) as I have not been actively blogging the last week or so. In any case, the barren streak wont continue, I just haven't been in the mood. Anyway, it's time for quick piece of classic cynicism.
Recently a large number of food products have been called off the shelves as they contain the food dye known as Sudan 1. Now would be a good time to make a joke about how these food products are causing mass genocide in a large North African country, but I wont.
Apparently, Sudan 1 causes cancer; well, that's the theory anyway. Of course so does bloody everything else. Every day there is another report about something we do that gives us cancer. Soon, we'll be told that everything gives us cancer, which is probably true. Pretty much everyone dies of cancer nowadays, the only people who dont, are people that wind up dying of something else first.
I'll take my chances with the Worcestershire sauce.
Ok it's 5.30 now so I'm going, I'm sure I could rant on about this for longer, but not today. I will post more tomorrow and even though Champions League is on tonight, I will try and post about something else as well as football.
Tips for tonight: Milan 1 : 0 Man U - Milan Qualify
Chelsea 4 : 2 Barcelona - Chelsea Qualify
Oh and message to David Campese: Shut up, nobody gives a shit about what you have to say anymore, has-been.
Recently a large number of food products have been called off the shelves as they contain the food dye known as Sudan 1. Now would be a good time to make a joke about how these food products are causing mass genocide in a large North African country, but I wont.
Apparently, Sudan 1 causes cancer; well, that's the theory anyway. Of course so does bloody everything else. Every day there is another report about something we do that gives us cancer. Soon, we'll be told that everything gives us cancer, which is probably true. Pretty much everyone dies of cancer nowadays, the only people who dont, are people that wind up dying of something else first.
I'll take my chances with the Worcestershire sauce.
Ok it's 5.30 now so I'm going, I'm sure I could rant on about this for longer, but not today. I will post more tomorrow and even though Champions League is on tonight, I will try and post about something else as well as football.
Tips for tonight: Milan 1 : 0 Man U - Milan Qualify
Chelsea 4 : 2 Barcelona - Chelsea Qualify
Oh and message to David Campese: Shut up, nobody gives a shit about what you have to say anymore, has-been.
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
Pictures of new cars
I've not had much news the past couple of days and have been a little busy at work to post any thorough comments, so here's posting version lite:
Good to see Ireland and Wales win on the weekend, if Ireland can beat France next weekend it will set up a great Grand Slam decider in the last round. Wales performed outstandingly in the second half to come back at France and win the game, well done the Taffs. England played well against Ireland and still lost, so they couldn't make excuses for their loss and say they played badly, but they did anyway and this time blamed the referee. The Scotland v Italy game was abject. A disgrace that it should actually be called an internationaly rugby game, both teams were so afraid of losing that they were too scared to play. There really are not enough adjectives to describe how terrible it was. A stellar performance on the other hand by the Brumbies in their match against the Crusaders. Even with key injuries in the first part of the game, they showed they have the depth, and experience to come out on top. Larkham and Gerrard lead from the front. The Brumbies are pure class and are the kind of team that all others should emulate. My early tip for 2005 champions.
So enough about rugby. Apparently over the weekend my parents bought a new car. I know nothing more than that it is a blue Mercedes A Class. I opened my emails on Monday morning to find a picture of it emailed to me by my Dad, no explaination provided. Guys, I know you'll be reading this, so let's have some details please!!!
Oh, I have also discovered that leather soled shoes are crap in the snow.
Friday, February 25, 2005
Don't tell me the score!
A winning start for the Tahs!
All reports suggest it was an outstanding performance from club rugby's favourite son, Mat Rogers. One game down, only three more to go before his season ending injury wrecks our chances of winning the title.
While the match was being played on Friday evening in Sydney, I was at work on Friday morning in London; so I didn't get the opportunity to see it. I did however follow the occasional updates posted on the NSW Rugby website and thus knew the outcome when the match was over.
A very close friend of mine, who is a passionate rugby fun, does not want to know the score. He hopes, although he does not know for sure, that a pub somewhere in London will be showing a replay of the game, around Wednesday next week. He has requested that all his friends, many of whom are also passionate rugby and Waratah fans, do not tell him the score. He already has a voice message on his phone from a friend of ours back in Sydney, and will be getting his girlfriend to screen the message in case it contains any reference to the result.
I can understand where he's coming from, watching a game of sport is far more exciting when one doesn't know the outcome. It's perfectly reasonable to miss watching a game on a Saturday afternoon, and request not to be notified of the result so one can watch the replay in the evening. Surely though, asking your mates to wait almost 6 days without mentioning the match is a bit much? This is the first game of the Super12 season we're talking about here. Rugby is a big part of our social circle, asking us not to talk about rugby is almost like asking us to not talk at all.
Essentially this is all a big burden for me to shoulder It is not necessarily about temptation and wanting to reveal the result, but it will be a conscious effort not to slip into what would otherwise be a regular conversation.
Although I think he's a bit bonkers, I'm happy to play along. I cannot however, guarantee this will still be the case when the season is 12 weeks old!
Ok well after writing all that down, I just thought I'd email the text of the posting to my mate just so he could read my comments about him before I posted them. What I forgot when I did this was that I revealed the outcome at the beginning of the post. Stupid me. So now after having written that whole spiel and saying I wasn't going to tell him the score, I just did.
Funny though, if he hadn't been so adamant that he didn't want to know the score for 6 days, I would never have written this post, and never revealed the result.
I do feel bad though. Sorry Buddy
All reports suggest it was an outstanding performance from club rugby's favourite son, Mat Rogers. One game down, only three more to go before his season ending injury wrecks our chances of winning the title.
While the match was being played on Friday evening in Sydney, I was at work on Friday morning in London; so I didn't get the opportunity to see it. I did however follow the occasional updates posted on the NSW Rugby website and thus knew the outcome when the match was over.
A very close friend of mine, who is a passionate rugby fun, does not want to know the score. He hopes, although he does not know for sure, that a pub somewhere in London will be showing a replay of the game, around Wednesday next week. He has requested that all his friends, many of whom are also passionate rugby and Waratah fans, do not tell him the score. He already has a voice message on his phone from a friend of ours back in Sydney, and will be getting his girlfriend to screen the message in case it contains any reference to the result.
I can understand where he's coming from, watching a game of sport is far more exciting when one doesn't know the outcome. It's perfectly reasonable to miss watching a game on a Saturday afternoon, and request not to be notified of the result so one can watch the replay in the evening. Surely though, asking your mates to wait almost 6 days without mentioning the match is a bit much? This is the first game of the Super12 season we're talking about here. Rugby is a big part of our social circle, asking us not to talk about rugby is almost like asking us to not talk at all.
Essentially this is all a big burden for me to shoulder It is not necessarily about temptation and wanting to reveal the result, but it will be a conscious effort not to slip into what would otherwise be a regular conversation.
Although I think he's a bit bonkers, I'm happy to play along. I cannot however, guarantee this will still be the case when the season is 12 weeks old!
Ok well after writing all that down, I just thought I'd email the text of the posting to my mate just so he could read my comments about him before I posted them. What I forgot when I did this was that I revealed the outcome at the beginning of the post. Stupid me. So now after having written that whole spiel and saying I wasn't going to tell him the score, I just did.
Funny though, if he hadn't been so adamant that he didn't want to know the score for 6 days, I would never have written this post, and never revealed the result.
I do feel bad though. Sorry Buddy
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Soap Opera
For English teams, last night’s Champions League matches were characterised by two common events, a Roy Carroll howler, and Anders Frisk playing for the television cameras.
A side that is trying to win the European Cup, cannot afford to have a goalkeeper prone to such errors. The defence must take some of the blame, Seedorf should not have been allowed to shoot, but it is a shot that should have been saved, and not fumbled into the path of Crespo. Again, the defence should have reacted quicker to clear the ball, but the shot was hit straight at Carroll and he should have caught it. Petr Cech would have caught it, Iker Casillas would have…… Peter Schmeichel would have.
Manchester United were knocked out of the competition last year by eventual winners Porto, when, in the last few minutes of the game, Tim Howard parried a relatively simple shot into the path of Francisco Costinha, who gave them the goal they needed to advance. Man U are by no means out of it, it is not often that a team goes to the San Siro and gets against such miserly defence, but if any team can then it’s Man U.
Perhaps it is unfair to heap so much blame on goalkeepers. Perhaps we should blame the strikers for not converting their chances, it’s not entirely fair; a mistake by a striker doesn’t generally appear on the score sheet, whereas a goalkeeper’s mistake does. However, all great teams are built on a strong presence in goal.
I do not think that the current Man U team is inferior in quality to the side that won the treble in 1999, and dominated the premiership in the 90s. The big difference however, is in goal. Man U would never have been so successful in the past if Roy Carroll was minding the nets instead of Peter Schmeichel; and they would be a far more successful side currently, with a goalkeeper of Schmeichel’s quality. It is as simple as that! There are quality goalkeepers out there, and Manchester United are not a poor club!
Roy Carroll has twice refused a renewal of his contract at Old Trafford now, I wonder which clubs will want to sign him instead. Perhaps he should consider not wearing the number 13 on his back!
Chelsea were unlucky to have had Didier Drogba sent off last night. Both challenges that brought him yellow cards were rather innocuous, and both may not have brought cautions from a different referee. For the second caution, Drogba instinctively went for a 50-50 ball with the goalkeeper, he made contact with the ball only and, if anything, Valdez clattered into Drogba when he realised he didn’t have the ball. Anders Frisk produced a yellow card, which then became red. Goalkeepers are a protected species.
Most will say that Drogba was unfairly punished, and I agree, especially since that diving little shit Deco wasn’t booked in the first half for one of the most blatant acts of simulation you’ll ever see. But after picking up his first caution after 15 minutes, he always looked like picking up another one, especially with Anders Frisk blowing the whistle.
For a long time I have always had a great deal of sympathy for referees; I was a referee myself once upon a time. It is a thankless task, nobody is ever happy with a referee’s performance. At all levels, referees give up their Saturday afternoons so we can play, only to be abused by players, parents, and fans alike. We must always remember that without referees, there would be no football. There are many credible refs who love the game and want to put in as much as they have gotten out of it.
There are also many referees who are complete arseholes. These are the men who seem to end up officiating at the top level.
It takes a particular type of person to become a referee at the top level. Are these the type of people that we want refereeing the games that mean so much to so many people? It is similar to government; it takes a certain type of person to become a politician, however, these are not necessarily the type of people we want running the country.
Most referees are failed footballers. If they were any good at football, they would be playing the game instead of officiating it. Most referees are also short, ugly, and bald. When you consider how much money, how much passion, and how much emotion is vested in football matches, it is frightening to think how much power these short, ugly, bald, failures actually have.
The best referees are the ones that nobody ever talks about, the exception perhaps being Pierluigi Collina. The fans are there to watch the players, not the ref, but the refs just cant handle that; they grew up dreaming of playing in front of thousands of cheering fans, and they want some of the spotlight too!
They revel in the power they have to change the course of a match, the power they have over millions of dollars worth of talent; they envy that talent and all that it brings. The players earn more in a week than these refs do in a year, the players are idolised and championed, the players have little respect for the referee. The referee wishes he was a player, but he feels he has the next best thing, power over them. They are out there in front of thousands of cheering fans, just like they dreamed of, and they want to be on television too.
I’m sure the referees are not consciously thinking these kind of things when they brand a controversial red card, or rule out a goal that should have stood. All these emotions are exist in the subconscious, are a part of the referee’s personality, and are what shapes his decisions on the field.
Anders Frisk is one of these refs; he blows his whistle too loud, is far too flamboyant, and pulls his shorts too far up his arse. I think he wears his shorts this way in order to cause enough pain to his rectum, so as to put him in the right mood to officiate the way he does.
In the earlier stages of the Champions League, at half time in a match at Roma, a spectator threw a coin from the stands, which hit Frisk right between the eyes, and gave him a decent cut. Nobody should condone this kind of behaviour from fans (he was caught and has now been signed by the England cricket team) but when referees like Frisk are concerned, we can sometimes empathise.
Who wants a job where they are constantly subject to constant abuse, harassment and death threats? These people do, they are small in number, but play a huge part in making football the soap opera it is. Forget about Eastenders, this is one soap opera that just keeps people coming back for more.
A side that is trying to win the European Cup, cannot afford to have a goalkeeper prone to such errors. The defence must take some of the blame, Seedorf should not have been allowed to shoot, but it is a shot that should have been saved, and not fumbled into the path of Crespo. Again, the defence should have reacted quicker to clear the ball, but the shot was hit straight at Carroll and he should have caught it. Petr Cech would have caught it, Iker Casillas would have…… Peter Schmeichel would have.
Manchester United were knocked out of the competition last year by eventual winners Porto, when, in the last few minutes of the game, Tim Howard parried a relatively simple shot into the path of Francisco Costinha, who gave them the goal they needed to advance. Man U are by no means out of it, it is not often that a team goes to the San Siro and gets against such miserly defence, but if any team can then it’s Man U.
Perhaps it is unfair to heap so much blame on goalkeepers. Perhaps we should blame the strikers for not converting their chances, it’s not entirely fair; a mistake by a striker doesn’t generally appear on the score sheet, whereas a goalkeeper’s mistake does. However, all great teams are built on a strong presence in goal.
I do not think that the current Man U team is inferior in quality to the side that won the treble in 1999, and dominated the premiership in the 90s. The big difference however, is in goal. Man U would never have been so successful in the past if Roy Carroll was minding the nets instead of Peter Schmeichel; and they would be a far more successful side currently, with a goalkeeper of Schmeichel’s quality. It is as simple as that! There are quality goalkeepers out there, and Manchester United are not a poor club!
Roy Carroll has twice refused a renewal of his contract at Old Trafford now, I wonder which clubs will want to sign him instead. Perhaps he should consider not wearing the number 13 on his back!
Chelsea were unlucky to have had Didier Drogba sent off last night. Both challenges that brought him yellow cards were rather innocuous, and both may not have brought cautions from a different referee. For the second caution, Drogba instinctively went for a 50-50 ball with the goalkeeper, he made contact with the ball only and, if anything, Valdez clattered into Drogba when he realised he didn’t have the ball. Anders Frisk produced a yellow card, which then became red. Goalkeepers are a protected species.
Most will say that Drogba was unfairly punished, and I agree, especially since that diving little shit Deco wasn’t booked in the first half for one of the most blatant acts of simulation you’ll ever see. But after picking up his first caution after 15 minutes, he always looked like picking up another one, especially with Anders Frisk blowing the whistle.
For a long time I have always had a great deal of sympathy for referees; I was a referee myself once upon a time. It is a thankless task, nobody is ever happy with a referee’s performance. At all levels, referees give up their Saturday afternoons so we can play, only to be abused by players, parents, and fans alike. We must always remember that without referees, there would be no football. There are many credible refs who love the game and want to put in as much as they have gotten out of it.
There are also many referees who are complete arseholes. These are the men who seem to end up officiating at the top level.
It takes a particular type of person to become a referee at the top level. Are these the type of people that we want refereeing the games that mean so much to so many people? It is similar to government; it takes a certain type of person to become a politician, however, these are not necessarily the type of people we want running the country.
Most referees are failed footballers. If they were any good at football, they would be playing the game instead of officiating it. Most referees are also short, ugly, and bald. When you consider how much money, how much passion, and how much emotion is vested in football matches, it is frightening to think how much power these short, ugly, bald, failures actually have.
The best referees are the ones that nobody ever talks about, the exception perhaps being Pierluigi Collina. The fans are there to watch the players, not the ref, but the refs just cant handle that; they grew up dreaming of playing in front of thousands of cheering fans, and they want some of the spotlight too!
They revel in the power they have to change the course of a match, the power they have over millions of dollars worth of talent; they envy that talent and all that it brings. The players earn more in a week than these refs do in a year, the players are idolised and championed, the players have little respect for the referee. The referee wishes he was a player, but he feels he has the next best thing, power over them. They are out there in front of thousands of cheering fans, just like they dreamed of, and they want to be on television too.
I’m sure the referees are not consciously thinking these kind of things when they brand a controversial red card, or rule out a goal that should have stood. All these emotions are exist in the subconscious, are a part of the referee’s personality, and are what shapes his decisions on the field.
Anders Frisk is one of these refs; he blows his whistle too loud, is far too flamboyant, and pulls his shorts too far up his arse. I think he wears his shorts this way in order to cause enough pain to his rectum, so as to put him in the right mood to officiate the way he does.
In the earlier stages of the Champions League, at half time in a match at Roma, a spectator threw a coin from the stands, which hit Frisk right between the eyes, and gave him a decent cut. Nobody should condone this kind of behaviour from fans (he was caught and has now been signed by the England cricket team) but when referees like Frisk are concerned, we can sometimes empathise.
Who wants a job where they are constantly subject to constant abuse, harassment and death threats? These people do, they are small in number, but play a huge part in making football the soap opera it is. Forget about Eastenders, this is one soap opera that just keeps people coming back for more.
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Hump Day
Tie update: Only one of them was ruined and I didn't really like that one anyway. The others were well salvaged with a few minor stains on the back of them so.......... I still think I'll make a trip to TM Lewin
Champions League last night, Arsenal have been compared to Only Fools and Horses; you know what's going to happen, but you watch anyway, and laugh.
Champions League tonight!!! Should I be surprised that more London pubs are showing the Man U game as opposed to the Chelsea game? I suppose not, there are probably more Man U fans in London than Chelsea fans (damn I hate Man U)
Anyway, Barcelona v Chelsea is definitely the pick of the competition, the league leaders in Spain and England, the people's club vs the person's club. My tip: Barca 2 : 1 Chelsea.
In the other match: Man U 1 : 1 AC Milan
Thank god the Champions league is back on, the premiership was getting dead boring there for a while.
A great article as a follow up from my Mr Grumpy post.
Wednesday's over, it's all downhill from here.
Champions League last night, Arsenal have been compared to Only Fools and Horses; you know what's going to happen, but you watch anyway, and laugh.
Champions League tonight!!! Should I be surprised that more London pubs are showing the Man U game as opposed to the Chelsea game? I suppose not, there are probably more Man U fans in London than Chelsea fans (damn I hate Man U)
Anyway, Barcelona v Chelsea is definitely the pick of the competition, the league leaders in Spain and England, the people's club vs the person's club. My tip: Barca 2 : 1 Chelsea.
In the other match: Man U 1 : 1 AC Milan
Thank god the Champions league is back on, the premiership was getting dead boring there for a while.
A great article as a follow up from my Mr Grumpy post.
Wednesday's over, it's all downhill from here.
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
London Snow
We got some proper snow in London last night for the first time this season. Enough to settle on the grass overnight, and enough to make the pavements icy enough to slide to the train station instead of walking.
I always find snow in London has two effects:
1) It makes everyone just a little bit cheerier, at least at first. Let's face it, snow is fun, pretty, it makes the cold bearable and it's a hell of a lot better than rain. The usual grumpy population of London seem to be just a little bit more willing to let the corners of their mouths turn up into what might be contrued as a smile. The snow though could last here for a couple of weeks and I'm sure by that time peoples attitudes will have changed.
2) Everything stops working. This also happens in the summer if it gets too hot. Britain is not a country built for exteme temperatures (although what is classed as extreme here is not necessarily the case in other places.) Britain works best in mediocre weather, not too hot and not too cold, which is great. Although for a week or two each year, it gets too hot or too cold and then everything stops working.
This same sense of mediocrity can also be applied to Britain's sporting teams, consistently average with everyone feeling relatively comfortable about that. Occasionally though, as with England's 2003 Rugby team, things do move beyond mediocrity, and they perform very very well. Once this has happened, in keeping with the consequences of extremes in the weather; everything stops working.
I always find snow in London has two effects:
1) It makes everyone just a little bit cheerier, at least at first. Let's face it, snow is fun, pretty, it makes the cold bearable and it's a hell of a lot better than rain. The usual grumpy population of London seem to be just a little bit more willing to let the corners of their mouths turn up into what might be contrued as a smile. The snow though could last here for a couple of weeks and I'm sure by that time peoples attitudes will have changed.
2) Everything stops working. This also happens in the summer if it gets too hot. Britain is not a country built for exteme temperatures (although what is classed as extreme here is not necessarily the case in other places.) Britain works best in mediocre weather, not too hot and not too cold, which is great. Although for a week or two each year, it gets too hot or too cold and then everything stops working.
This same sense of mediocrity can also be applied to Britain's sporting teams, consistently average with everyone feeling relatively comfortable about that. Occasionally though, as with England's 2003 Rugby team, things do move beyond mediocrity, and they perform very very well. Once this has happened, in keeping with the consequences of extremes in the weather; everything stops working.
Monday, February 21, 2005
Mr Grumpy
Ok so I admit that this is what I look like most mornings, but Monday mornings in particular, and this Monday morning more so.
My first task this morning was to take my ties to the dry cleaners. Yesterday the various laws of thermo-dynamics, gravity and stupidity conspired against me, all in the form of a full Grande cup of Americano coffee. The aforementioned item had just been re-heated in the microwave, thus weakening the stability of the paper cup. My grip on the cup, which would have otherwise been sufficient to safely transport the vessel, turned out to be inadequate. The culmination then of various laws of physics as well as our old friend Sod’s law, caused the cup to slip, my fingers to burn, and the entire contents to spill into the top drawer of my bedside dresser, which had been opened, but not closed, only a few minutes previously.
Shit… no wait… Fuck!
So anyway, this particular draw contains mostly important things: Passports, Birth and Citizenship certificates, letters, work, etc. Fortunately for these documents, the majority of the liquid was soaked up by the collection of rather expensive ties that I own, and wear to work on a daily basis. Some cleanup of my paper work was required, and it reminded me of those school history projects we once had to do, when we spilled coffee over the papers to make it look like it was an old manuscript (that had been found in the basement of a Starbucks.)
So to the dry cleaners this morning I went. The guy near my local tube station wanted to charge me £3.50 per tie, which I consider nothing less that extortion. Fortunately, the place near my office charges a slightly more reasonable £2.49. Makes me think though about the rules of bargaining, when you start off with a completely ridiculous offer, and then put forward the one you actually want as a ‘compromise.’
So watch this space, I have resigned to the fact that half of them will probably be ruined, and a trip to TM Lewin may be required in the next few days, and knowing me I will probably end up buying some more shirts while I’m there.
If this all happened in America, I’m pretty confident I could sue Starbucks for failing to put a warning on their cups; stating that their structural integrity could be adversely affected, if warmed in the microwave.
£1.70 for another cup of coffee
£19.92 dry cleaning costs
£200 replacement ties
Legal costs
£1,500,000 for emotional distress and punitive damages.
I was going to write about what else makes a Monday morning even more unbearable, ie; having to commute to work on the London Underground. I really do find this a distressing experience at times. I have however said to myself I will try and hold off for as long as possible before launching into a tirade of vitriol on the subject. I have recovered from this morning’s journey and so I feel I can wait a little longer. Again though, watch this space.
Friday, February 18, 2005
Derby matches
Ok so this was just going to be a comment about a previous posting but it may as well be a new posting altogether.
Further to the whole foreign football thing, there is a big Lancashire derby this weekend in the FA cup with Burnley and Blackburn facing each other. Traditionally these two clubs have not gotten on well with each other and so the atmosphere is expected to be heated.
I often wonder how people who support clubs that are only 8 miles away from each other, can despise each other with such vitriol, when there are so many other people in the world to hate. Surely it would make sense for such close neighbours to band together and perhaps hate supporters from clubs in say, Bulgaria.
In any case it will no doubt be the fans who provide the atmosphere for this weekend's match, but with the topic of foreign players being talked about these days, how many of the teams' players feel the intensity of a derby game like the fans do? With Burnley being a Championship side anyway and this having a majority of British players anyway, it may not be the best example; but do Arsenal's entirely foreign team care that much about their local derby against Spurs when they come around?
Further to the whole foreign football thing, there is a big Lancashire derby this weekend in the FA cup with Burnley and Blackburn facing each other. Traditionally these two clubs have not gotten on well with each other and so the atmosphere is expected to be heated.
I often wonder how people who support clubs that are only 8 miles away from each other, can despise each other with such vitriol, when there are so many other people in the world to hate. Surely it would make sense for such close neighbours to band together and perhaps hate supporters from clubs in say, Bulgaria.
In any case it will no doubt be the fans who provide the atmosphere for this weekend's match, but with the topic of foreign players being talked about these days, how many of the teams' players feel the intensity of a derby game like the fans do? With Burnley being a Championship side anyway and this having a majority of British players anyway, it may not be the best example; but do Arsenal's entirely foreign team care that much about their local derby against Spurs when they come around?
Boring
It's only when one starts to try and write down things about one's life, does one realised how uninteresting it actually is.
It has been a terribly boring week at work with little to do, next week I'm sure will be busier. It's Friday afternoon and I've not got the motivation to have any opinions today.
It has been a terribly boring week at work with little to do, next week I'm sure will be busier. It's Friday afternoon and I've not got the motivation to have any opinions today.
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