amateur ramblings

changing lanes

2005-01-17T22:53:00.000Z

i've been building for a few days now, and i believe that my new typepad based blog is ready fro viewing. it is not radically different, and i'm sure that there will be a few things to iron out, etc, but hopefully a paid service (less than $4 per month) will give great freedom.

so, click here for more amateur ramblings.

voice your voice

2005-01-17T20:46:00.000Z

in my best black country accent then:

check eout the beeb, thaym doowin a bostin prowjekt cauld voycis, orl abowt 'ow yo spake.

translation here.

people-watching

2005-01-14T21:50:00.000Z

i love people-watching, and could happily spend hours doing it. interesting people i saw today included: four just-arrived-in-town europeans (germans?) with incredibly loud laughs; a man with cartoon stubble. a girl with the coolest woolen hat; a man who got off a bus, then immediately asked someone for some money for bus fare.

free speech

2005-01-12T21:44:00.000Z

the guardian reports that an edinburgh blogger has been sacked for occasionally mentioning his employers (a well known bookmongers) in his weblog:

waterstone's is, after all, a bookseller, whose stock in trade is the purveying of opinion, not all of it palatable to those concerned. the action that has been taken so far bears more resemblance to the behaviour of an american fast-food chain than a company who deal in intellectual freedoms and the concerns of a pluralist liberal society.

recent days

2005-01-12T21:35:00.000Z

so, i have been away for a few days. last monday, i went to manchester with andrew and michelle, where we met friends from liverpool. wagamama's provided the lunch. we visited a gallery that was running a lomo exhibition, but i missed the final touches being added to the b of the bang sculpture.

after work on thursday night, gemma i drove to oxford through gale-force winds, to stop with some of gemma's relatives. gemma's uncle is a professor at the university, and the live in a lovely big house near to the cowley road area. then on saturday, we headed over to bristol, for john's 30th birthday, and the birth of john and rachel's first child. the inconsiderate infant had other ideas however, and rachel at the time of writing, remains firmly pregnant. twenty of us went to zero degrees, the new microbrewery at the top of christmas steps. the food and drink was fine, and the company made for a skill night. we stopped at sarah's, where we enjoyed a high standard of hospitality and home cooking.

lick of paint

2005-01-12T07:31:00.000Z

i think in 2005, i want to operate a slightly tighter quality control policy on my life. now, do not think that this is some kind of new year's resolution, because you know that i do not make those. i don't feel like i want to make any major changes, just slight tweeks here and there. this extends to my online profile, so i decided to change the appearance of my main blog. tighter quality control here means not posting something as soon as it pops into my head. i have recently become a bit frustrated with the limitations of blogger (i know, i know, it's a free service). ideally, i would like to be able to archive post by catagory; this would be especially useful for my overground project. i have been impressed by typepad, and i may yet defect. i also continue to battle against the evil forces of ntl - i am trying to set up my free webspace. it just won't let me in so i fear there may not be any pictures for a short while. at least tom appears to have finally received satisfaction.

mobile privacy

2005-01-04T21:58:00.000Z

if you use a mobile, and feel you would like a bit of privacy, then you need one of these. hopefully it will work the other way round, and innocent people will no longer be subjected to loud, annoying half-conversations. i think they look only marginally more ridiculous than hands-free headsets.

new year's day

2005-01-02T13:27:00.000Z

after having had too little sleep, we like to do precisely nothing on the first day of the new year. we were able to continue in this tradition, after discovering the joys of foster's home for imaginary friends on cartoon network. what a great show; really well animated, cool stories, and a hilarious and surreal cast of characters.
i don't like computer games. but i totally enjoyed andrew playing grand theft auto: san andreas. dean showed him the ropes of the game the daily mail loves to hate, then we looked on through tears of laughter, as andrew proceeded to negotiate his way around town, hi-jacking all manner of vehicles - tractors, pick-ups, lorries, motorbikes, bmx's, cars. there was even a hot dog van. once settled into your new wheels, you can tune the radio (if there is one) to one of ten stations - brilliant. you can go anywhere (within the boundaries of the particular level), and andrew found himself unable to avoid crashing into the sea or the river at least three times. he ran people over, he fought people, he shot people, he got shot. he even punched a car on fire!

resolve

2005-01-02T13:01:00.000Z

i do not make new year's resolutions. if i want to start doing something, give something up, or change something, then i will, i don't feel the need to wait for a certain date in the calendar.

new year's eve

2005-01-02T12:57:00.000Z

i had to work on friday, but only until 2pm. we had decided amongst ourselves what hours we would work, and i chose wisely, for quite a bit of work came in around lunchtime. i went to our local library, where i hoped to find some books about the history of crossgates, but failed. crossgates library is fairly small however, so i may call in to the city library in the week.
in the evening (after i had taken gemma to work - the buses stop at 6pm in leeds on new year's eve!) i went to a party in chapel allerton. paul and sarah are friends of friends (andrew and michelle). i can report that they seem like great company, and have a really cool house. i had some amazing vegetarian chilli, which had a fruity element to it - i was later informed it contained chocolate. i understand that paul went to college with leigh francis. michelle, andrew and i then headed over to farsley, for our now traditional end of the year celebrations at dean and rachel's. unfortunately, the livepool gang* did not come this year, so it was a back to basics grimthorpe terrace reunion. as usual, we laughed like drains. at midnight, we headed outside to see the fireworks and shiver.

*the liverpool gang do not necessarily come from, or indeed currently live in, liverpool

wrongy wrong

2004-12-28T21:14:00.000Z

it is the time of year when the thoughts of television producers turn to the top-ten lists of the year. let's see if i can add to this recent tradition, with my exclusive top ten list of things that have been annoying me this year. in no particular order...

1) mullets. who said it was ok to introduce them back into society?

2) george bush winning the election (see previous posts)

3) leeds city council recycling policies. they do not collect glass! still no-one at the council has been able to tell me on what day the collection is, although it has been narrowed down to 'one wednesday per month'.

4) reality tv

5) ntl (see previous posts)

6) drivers who drive in an aggresive, dangerous manner, use mobiles whilst driving (despite it now being against the law), speed, display a complete lack of consideration and courtesy.

7) no snow at christams again

8) shaun of the dead being pipped to a comedy award by school of rock. both funny films, but simon pegg is far funnier than jack black, in my book.

9) john peel dying.

10) mobile phone headset things. what do you look like? (answer = a twot).

traffic-calming measures can seriously damage your health

2004-12-28T10:48:00.000Z

this is doing the rounds on the interweb at the moment, i came across it at duuh celebs. see if you can see whether millisa williamson holds misplaced concerns over her baby's health...

bargin hunt

2004-12-27T21:11:00.000Z

well, i am just back from birmingham, where gemma and i spent a lovely few days staying at my mum and dad's house. we received approximately 1mm of snow, which is a shame, because i love snow. on christams day, we ate the traditional goose (traditional in the smith household), and had some of the family round in the evening. we played trivial pursuits. thank you to everyone for our presents. a large part of the weekend was spent in the bull ring; it was extremely cold and busy both on sunday and today, but we managed to pick up some nice bargins.
i wish i hadn't turned the heating down so low while we were away - it's totally cold in my flat. gemma has started a week of nights at the hospital, 9pm to 8am. ouch!

amateur weather

2004-12-24T07:50:00.000Z

my friend rachel was telling me about bill foggitt (what a great yorkshire name), who died earlier this year. bill is pictured above; he is the one on the left, rachel is not pictured. according to the royal institute of navigation site:

his family had been studying the weather since 1830 and [bill] took over the mantle in the late '60s. foggitt's observations were based on plant and animal behaviour as well as rainfall and barometer readings. he also believed that the weather is cyclical - a hot summer should occur every 22 years and a severe winter every 15 years. foggitt did not subscribe to general theories about global warming but felt that there might be a return to the ice age.

read his obituary here.

heading home

2004-12-23T08:00:00.000Z

my journey home last night was unpleasant. i met gemma after work, and we had a lovely meal at little tokyo. i then realised that i had lost my bank card - luckily i had my credit card to pay the bill. i then had to finish my christmas shopping. i still don't feel christmassy, but i am looking forward to going to my mum and dad's tomorrow night, where i will be able to do nothing for a few days (well, i might help with the washing up).
anyway, i caught the indigo line to crossgates. the driver looked like he was 17; his bottom jaw hung loosely and he wore a burberry baseball cap. he looked like matt lucas. it became immediately apparent to me that he was only recently qualified to drive a double-decker - he drove too fast around corners, mis-judged the space require by his vehicle, and clumsily thumped into the guided bus lanes. as i go off, i noticed he was using his mobile phone.
i sat upstairs, always a gamble after 7pm. the bus was pretty full,but as usual the rear seats were occupied by townies. there were a couple of lads, and maybe four or five girls. all were being loud, and i was annoyed by their liberal use of swearing (there were kids on the bus), their clothing, their banal conversations, and their laughter at things that were not funny. at least one of them was smoking. these selfish children were too interested it projecting their 'hard' image to think about how annoying and ridiculous they were being.

lovely day

2004-12-20T22:16:00.000Z

i went for a bike ride on sunday, just a short one. i went up to colton sainsburys, down bullerthorpe lane, then picked up the trans-pennine trail, following the river and canal back into leeds. i ended by looping back through temple newsam.

wow.

this rusting corrugated fence reminded me of a stegosaurus.

look at this. why do some people not get out into the countryside more often? i saw about seven people in as many miles.

i think the underneath of bridges can be really striking and interesting. here is the m1 extension near rothwell.

link dump

2004-12-19T19:54:00.000Z

i have been having a tidy up, and i have decided to share some things with you. some links first, a la i like, and first up (all the way from 2001) is this edited transcript of when nicky campbell interviewed will self and richard littlejohn - it is very funny.
fun for the kids; pixel-based super heroes, and a bit of blue; b3ta's if advertisements were honest, and snurfer's celebrity data base.
my friend mark timmins had some involvement with evil fringe records, and i enjoy the t-shirts peddled by lucky horse, bogus, kung-fu nation and cotton factory. ideas can be stupid or reasonable clever. can't wait until 2012? you don't have to, the world beard championships are in london as soon as 2007. the idler's crap town site seems to compliment chaver central nicely. other people's dirty laundry can be viewed at not proud.
if you are still stuck for xmas ideas, check out jones' soda, quantum sleeper, superdeux, pocket mr t, lunchboxes.com, top ten, the folks on this list could afford just about anything. tv doesn't seem like it is as good as it used to be. maybe that's a good thing.
a spare few minutes online would be well spent at the world's most detailed digital photograph, zoom quilt, frosty welcome, coffee-break arcade, dodge-block, different greys? (you'll need photoshop or similar for this), or playing one of the penguin games; terminal cases of tedium should visit mirror sytes.

film review

2004-12-15T23:44:00.000Z

tonight i went to see the incredibles. i met dean, andrew and michelle at the light, which was a co-op (i think) and then a large hole last time i lived in leeds thank you very much. The screen was massive, the entire wall was taken up by screen; the toilets were futuristic and clean. what more could a man want?
but i digress. the film is the latest disney/pixar collaboration, and was the best film i have seen in a long time, it was liquid enjoyment. the animation was amazing, almost completely realistic, but not quite, in a stylish way; the script was funny; the story gripping. the 50's feel to the music, scenery and references lent the film a cool feel. i would say definitely one for the adults more than the kids.

whatever, the weather

2004-12-14T08:07:00.000Z

there appears to be some disagreement between the bbc and weather outlook as to whether this christmas will be a white one.

that's not the way to do it.

2004-12-13T18:32:00.000Z

last week, one of our customers returned a letter that we sent to him. our letter was sent automatically by our system, and only if we haven't received required documents from the policyholder. his reply to our simple reminder was a torrent of expletives.

we politely wrote back explaining the need for proof of his no claims discount, and explaining that we will not tolerate such language. he replied, again in crazy handwriting on the back of our letter, with an even more rude text. so we cancelled his policy, like so:

we are writing to inform you that we are exercising our right to invoke the cancellation clause under condition 5(a) of your policy and hereby give formal notice that all cover in relation to this policy will cease with effect from noon on 20th december. the reason for this is that it is clear the professional relationship that must exist between client and insurer has broken down and as a result of the content of your recent letters, we are unwilling to continue with the contract of insurance.

in accordance with the road traffic act, you are now required to return the current certificate of motor insurance to us as quickly as possible. it is an offence to fail to return this document once it has been requested by the issuing insurer.

mctime-warp

2004-12-12T14:50:00.000Z

we lunched in wimpy yesterday. i suppose this establishment is best described as a cross between a little chef and a burger king - it certainly holds a certain outmoded feel.
wimpy is a british take on an american idea; this makes for an interesting combination of fast food with waitress service. the company found inspiration for their name from the popeye comic strip, and celebrated their 50th birthday this year. i was glad to see that they still sell benders.

gas

2004-12-08T18:37:00.000Z

above is the view from my kitchen window. the picture shows the gasometer situated at the back of crossgates shopping centre. the picture was taken early morning. i knew that gasometers go up and down depending on how much gas is contained, but i didn't realise just how quickly they can change. the picture below shows an evening vista.

disappointed visitors

2004-12-08T08:11:00.000Z

i am enjoying using statcounter to see the keyword searches that lead people to my site. the most recent searches include justification for the clifton suspension bridge and aunty spanks.

stitch

2004-12-07T22:32:00.000Z

today at work, gemma was learning suture (stitches). she bought home her practice equipment, comprising silk thread, skin clamp, tweezers and pig skin. i had a go, and it was fun.
we are now wrapping presents; i suggested we could use pig skin instead of paper, and stitching instead of ribbon, but gemma wisely pointed out that a stinking, decomposing pile under the tree might not be the best idea.

is this a local shop?

2004-12-05T16:27:00.000Z

yesterday we bought a christmas tree. we got it from a local garden centre to try and ensure a locally grown tree. gemma has taken charge of decorating it - i am not allowed to get involved, despite having a degree. still, it looks really good. last night, friends andrew and michelle came over for tea. we watched amelie, which i think is one of my favourite films ever; a really nice, cool, funny film.
yesterday morning i walked to the shops, to pick up one or two bits. i decided that crossgates reminds me of halesowen (my home town). not the present day halesowen, but a halesowen from the late seventies/early eighties. it has the same mix of bigger stores (tesco, wilkinsons, boots), a post office and a library, a small (now indoor) shopping centre, good independent butchers, bakers, greengrocers, etc, and plenty of smaller shop - generally cheap card shops, fast food outlets, and charity shops. mysteriously, there appears to be no newsagents - i guess tescos fills that gap. the people also put me in mind of the people i mingled with some 20-25 years ago. either old people, or young mums with at least two kids in tow, but frequently three generations of the same family going about their business, stopping to chat with others they know. most people seem to know each other, a real sense of community.
this afternoon, i continued my exploration of my new home by going on a short walk (around three miles), through an area my map tells me is called brown moor. my route took me across the railway line, along side the m1 (still called the new road round these parts), and passed the ricmond ice-cream factory. they are apparently the uk's number one ice-cream manufacturers; unfortunately they appear to have some involvement with nestle. i also walked along the perimeter of the massive, now closed, vickers tank factory. from what i can gather, the factory closed in 1998, and it was here that the challenger II was built. i think that the site was previous owned by royal ordnance. it is certainly a large site - it took me five minutes to walk the length of the main factory.

ha ha

2004-12-04T17:01:00.000Z

robert kilroy-silk has been attacked with poo.

coconut macaroons

2004-12-02T20:34:00.000Z

i am pleased to see that victoria wood is bringing a musical version of acorn antiques to the stage; the original cast have signed up.

written quality

2004-12-02T07:55:00.000Z

part of my job involves answering customer complaints, the majority of which are written. if i ever send a letter of complaint, i make sure i lay it out neatly (i use my pc, but i appreciate not everyone has access to a computer), and i check the spellings and meanings of words. some of the correspondence we receive is laughable; written in red or green, written on copies of letters we have sent or on envelopes, with poor spelling, grammar, punctuation and structure. of course, i deal with all complaints in the same way.

jitter

2004-11-30T18:27:00.000Z

the following is an extract taken from our works intranet:

please note that all natwest atms have now been upgraded with a new security feature to provide added protection against fraud. when using an atm that has this new security enhancement, you will notice that your card will vibrate as it enters and exits the card reader. this upgrade is also running as a pilot scheme within selected royal bank of scotland branches. natwest is one of the first banks in the uk to implement this enhancement, known as 'jitter', along with a number of other industry led initiatives currently being deployed.

i have noticed this phenomenon a couple of times in the last few weeks, and did wonder whether my card was being skimmed.

insert pun based on second class service here

2004-11-29T18:57:00.000Z

postwatch have warned not to bother sending letters first class this christmas - they say that the chances are you will be wasting your money because royal mail are too rubbish to guarantee next day delivery. i think on one hand we should we that a letter can in theory be transported from lands end to john o' groats for 28p. but this is the service that royal mail claim to offer, and so if they do not delivery the promise, then you have wasted you money, and should be entitled to a refund of 7p, the difference between first and second class postage. in practice, alsmost no-one would bother to claim such an amount.

old faces

2004-11-29T18:16:00.000Z

since moving back to leeds, i have seen one or two old faces - people i recognise from when i used to live here over four years ago. i used to work at burger king in leeds coach station, a greasy job, but someone had to do it. the coach station is situated near to the markets, at the 'cheaper' end of town, so we used to get a number of 'characters' passing through. one was a dithering old lady, who i saw on my first day back, in crossgates. today i saw a woman i never thought i'd see again; she looked so old, even at the end of last century, and she always appeared (and smelled) to be sleeping rough. i reasonably assumed she could pass away at any moment. she babbled and shouted to no-one in particular, yet colleagues at coach station maintained that she was a wealthy witch from bradford. today i saw her in park row, looking, if anything, slightly healthier than when i last saw her.
however, the one i want to see again is the birdcage haired lady, who works in the indoor market at a bagstand and, as her name suggests, has hair that is literally as big as a big birdcage. it is as if she has balanced a birdcage on her head, then allowed her hair to grow over it. she was something of a tourist attraction a few years back, and hopefully she will still be there when i walk past.

(f)east

2004-11-27T21:58:00.000Z

i feel fat - i have eaten out for two nights in a row. last night, i met gemma in town and we went to the aagrah, which has a really good reputation, and was therefore fully booked at 6.30 in the pm. so we went to akbars instead. we were not disappointed - although we had to wait 30 minutes for a table, the food was tasty and plentiful, the service was prompt, and the naan bread was huge. luckily we spotted one being delivered to another table before we managed to order one each; ours was bought over on a kind of metal tree, and was literally two feet tall.
tonight we went with some of gemma's friends to little tokyo, which has doubled in size since i last looked. i had miso soup, gyoza, and a teriyaki mackerel bento box. we shared japanese profiteroles.
earlier today, i went with gemma and her sister to freeport shopping village. it was horrible. i found there to be a poor selection of shops and a vast selection of mullets. things picked up when we wandered over to the nearby indoor show/skate dome, and watched around 30 eight year olds sledging into each other, and browsed the £200 ski jackets.

u-turn

2004-11-25T18:17:00.000Z

according to raging bike, the british medical association have now decided that they are in favour of the compulsary wearing of cycle helmets (when cycling). i don't really know where i stand on this one - the bma previously were against the legislation because the number of injuries prevented would be outweighed by the effect on health caused by people cycling less. i guess i'm pro choice on this issue, and i choose to wear one.
smells i experienced along the a64 today: baking bread; brewing; sewage; fumes.

pot, kettle

2004-11-24T18:36:00.000Z

from the guardian: 'the us secretary of state, colin powell, today said his government refused to accept the results of the ukrainian presidential election, which has been marred by reports of widespread electoral fraud'. ok then, i guess that viktor yanukovich is going to listen to someone asscoiated with the bush government elected fair and square in 2000.
i like this idea; clever, peaceful, and unless everyone is barred from the inauguration day celebrations, bound to be effective. with a british general election probably less than 6 months away, there are moves afoot to impeach tony blair.

lone rider

2004-11-23T18:52:00.000Z

leeds is very different to bristol for cycling. home to work is five miles (in bristol it was two miles, well still is unless my old house moved as well). also, in the two days i have been cycling to and from work, i have seen only a handful of other cyclists; in bristol, you couldn't move for people on bikes.
the route i take is along the busy a64 york road. the road has been adjusted in recent years in favour of buses, with sections of
guided bus lanes and regular bus/cycle lanes along most of the route from the crossgates/seacroft/halton districts.

the trouble is that the bus lanes are only wide enough for a bus, and the route is hilly, so i end up holding up buses or worse, having them literally brush past me. i haven't yet figured out how to safely negotiate the roads outside the department of health building. central leeds is strange in the morning rush, with an odd deserted feel to the shopping areas. it seems most of the offices are outside of the city loop, which is what they call the inner ring road.
i have taken to walking around in my lunch hour, re-acquainting myself with central leeds, and exploring new areas.

the view from leeds

2004-11-22T07:08:00.000Z

picking up from my last bristol post, here are some current* views from leeds:

1) view of city centre, looking south-east 2) the university 3) millenium square
*only the millenium square webcam appears to be updating.

the further adventures of a man's quest to obtain broadband

2004-11-21T19:28:00.000Z

of course, i should be grateful that i live in a time and place where i am able to get broadband. but because i do, and i pay money for such services, i do expect a reasonable connection service. this, in my experience, is not something ntl are able to provide. see this recent post to discover the problems they have already presented.
i had tried to arrange a connection in good time so that i could be back on line during the first week in leeds; this would be fairly important as i would need to contact banks/utilities etc, as well as keep in contact with my friends. the engineer called tuesday night to confirm the following mornings appointment (good service), and arrived at 8.45am (good service). he was done fitting cable tv, phone and cable modem within 30 minutes, and explained that we would not be able to register until the following evening, due to some upgrade work at their end. fine. of course, things had to fall apart sometime - on trying to register internet services on thursday night, i was unable to get a connection, so i called ntl's 'customer service' number (freephone, luckily) and after 90 minutes, i had managed to manually register. however, i could still not get online. the boy i was talking to transferred me to tech support, who advise i had been registered incorrectly and would have to call back saturday if i still had no connection.
which i did. saturday morning 10am: 'right, we have a senior technician on the case, you should be up in 2 hours'. saturday afternoon 1.30pm: 'call back after 4pm'. saturday 4.30pm: 'right, we have a senior technician on the case, you should be up in 2 hours' all call lasted between 30 and 90 minutes, and not once did anyone properly apologise, explain what the exact problem was, or give an accurate time in which i could expect to receive a service that i was now paying for. this morning i called again, asked for someone to call me back with some answers, only to be told there was no phone with outside dialing capabilities. what? 'i don't believe you', i angrily exclaimed, but it turned out to be true, as i was in fact talking to someone in india. tonight, i got through to mervin, who within 10 minutes had things fixed up and working - although he did note that the person who registered the service on thursday night had set up a bandwidth of 300mb; i requested 750mb.
so i guess they will be receiving a letter from me - and my job working in the complaints department of a big insurance company may come in useful yet again.

i'm going up north; i may be some time

2004-11-12T20:43:00.000Z

here are some final views of bristol tonight, courtesy of the bbc's webcams:

they show 1) the harbour, looking towards the centre, 2) cityscape, 3) the ss great britain

tell nine others

2004-11-12T08:11:00.000Z

recent poor service i have been receiving:

1) i wanted to have tv/phone/internet connection as soon as possible after i moved to leeds. telewest do not provide services in the north of england; sky is part of the evil fox empire owned by rupert murdoch. so i arranged a package with ntl online, and received a call a few days later to tell me an install date had been arranged - for a day before we actually move in! following instructions left in the message, i called a number to change the date. the man in customer services said speak to sales. the man in sales said speak to customer services. the man in customer services said speak to sales. i said no, i was told to phone this number, you sort it out now. the man was clearly out of his depth, and confessed that he couldn't find my details at all! as usually happens when dealing with call-centres, you usually end up speaking with someone who does know what they are talking about, and so it came to pass that i was transferred to wendy, who quickly indentified the problem, which was that my order had been logged against the wrong address.

2) there was a big car crash in our street a week last monday; one car was written off, and there were injuries (although not too serious). the following night, i noticed that in fact my car (parked) had been hit, as had other neighbours cars. on wednesday i called my insurers, direct line, who quickly arranged for a local garage called gemini to collect the car that evening. all good so far. on thhursday the garage called to advise my car would be ready the following wednesday (two days ago). they confirmed this when i spoke to them tuesday. come wednesday, it turns out my car isn't ready after all. so i complained to direct line, but pretty much got fobbed off, in fairly brisk fashion, with standard £10 late return 'compensation'. i had asked that my £100 excess be waived. but my car was going to be returned last night, at 5pm. of course, it wasn't. at 7.30pm i was at teohs on north street, and the garage rang, asking where i was because i needed to sign for my car. i pointed out that as it was two and a half hours after the agreed time, i felt the fault really lay with them, and suggested they bring it round friday at 6.30pm. 'ooh, we can't do that, it's too late'. ok, what about in the morning? ooh, we can't deliver before 9am, sir'. well, i'll be at work then. in the end, we agreed they would drop it round at 8am, on the condition i then gave a lift back to the garage to their driver.
as i type these words, my car was returned, but the man declined a lift, seeing as it would take longer during rush hour to drive the half mile to the garage than it would to walk. i think i'll give direct line another call later. working in a call-centre myself, and dealing with complaints every day, i have learned the best way to complain is not to shout or come across as crazy or irrational; just remain calm, remember who you are complaining about (usually the company, rather than the person on the end of the phone, who is probably earning £11k p.a.), know your rights, and you'll get a lot further.

sunrise in west street

2004-11-11T08:10:00.000Z

seen through my condensation-laden window, the sun reflecting off rock cottage.

the things you find (if you look for them)

2004-11-10T22:47:00.000Z

i stumbled across blogshare, a trading site where fictional shares are traded in real blogs. my blog appears to currently command a share price of $579.35.

that's entertainment

2004-11-10T18:27:00.000Z

don't know if my reader has caught the bbc3 comedy my life in film, which parodies well known films in thirty minutes, and parodies them well.
more things i have done for the last time: had lunch with rick at joe cuba's; forgetting to remember the farmer's market is on on a wednesday.

doing things for the last time

2004-11-09T08:18:00.000Z

this week i am doing things in bristol for the last time; this time next week i will be living in leeds, the uk's third largest city (by population). here is a picture of the city centre:

distinctive, isn't it. doing things for the last time is strange. everyday things, such as cycling to work along dean lane and across the orange bridge which isn't orange anymore, or going to our local shop, or knowing i can see my bristol friends at any time (well, within reason).
i have lived in bristol for four and a half years, and i have had a really nice time thank you. i knew only one person when i came here, but i was right to trust john coe's judgment in having cool friends. bristol is a good place to live; bedminster is a reasonable area, i can cycle to town/work in ten minutes, and yet five minutes in the other direction gets me to the countryside. pretend broadmead doesn't exist, and the centre is very cool, with park street, the harbourside, and gloucester road to choose from. i also live ten minutes walk from 'up and coming' north street, although sarah who lives above a cake shop there reports it is now just 'up', as an influx of chains appears to be starting.
my reason for moving to leeds is to live with my girlfriend, gemma. we are renting a flat in the crossgates area, and i guess we will think about buying somewhere eventually, although i understand that house prices are a little high at the moment.
so this week will mostly involve packing and goodbyes.

map

2004-11-08T22:24:00.000Z

the skyscraper museum have published a 3d, layered, interactive map of new york.

doing a ratner

2004-11-06T17:58:00.000Z

paul and i went to argos on east street to return a phone bought just three months ago. last week it went crazy and started ringing all the time (the phone, not east street). paul didn't have the receipt, but the boy-manager replaced it anyway, admitting 'i'm know that some of the products we sell are not of the highest quality'.

more sad news

2004-11-06T17:49:00.000Z

fred dibnah has died.

true hue

2004-11-06T17:44:00.000Z

boing boing have published the following map to illustrate the actual voting patterns across the united states. it shows that things are never just black and white (or red and blue).

oh boy

2004-11-06T12:16:00.000Z

so, bush won the election. it seemed, as we went to bed on tuesday night, that john kerry might just do it. but it was not to be - it was obvious by wednesday morning that the current president had sneaked a victory. bush won because as a stupid white man, he appeals to stupid white men. he won the male vote by 9%; he won the white vote with 57% to kerry's 42%. he won the votes of rich people, and the more you attend church, the more likely you are to vote republican (63% of people who attend church more than once a week voted bush, versus a figure of 34% amongst people who never go to church). 61% of gun owners voted against kerry.
against most predictions, bush managed to win by appealing his base, rather than moving towards middle ground. the bbc's justin webb said it best when he explained the kerry's style of politics was 'too european', and appealed to 'rational thought'. so, what might four more years of republican rule mean for america, and the rest of the world? more policies designed to dismantle civil rights, restrict freedom for ordinary americans, tax-cuts for those that don't need them (bush is the only president ever to cut taxes during a war), no environment policy, no further restrictions in gun ownership, possible invasion of other countries such as iran, north korea or syria, that won't allow u.s. business in to make money. will american and british soldiers still be getting killed in iraq in four more years?

camera obscura

2004-11-02T22:43:00.000Z

last sunday, a few of us went to the halloween market at the tobacco factory. there, casey and i had our pictures taken by justin quinnell on a pin-hole camera that was in his mouth. i need to wait 10 days to pick up the finished portrait, but it should look something like this:

four more hours?

2004-11-02T22:33:00.000Z

the polls close in a few hours, and maybe we will know by lunchtime tomorrow who has won the u.s. election. it is all very exciting - the only thing that seems clear is that no-one really knows who will win; for example, the electoral vote predictor currently has it 262 - 261 in favour of kerry.

best laid plans

2004-10-30T16:55:00.000Z

sarah and i planned a non car day out. i went to her flat, armed with croissants and the papers, in time to listen to what is most likely the last home truths. we then caught the train to weston super mare. the train was nearly empty, and was of the same sort, and working the same route, as the one that caught fire last week. weston gets it's unusual name from the anglo-saxon west tun (west settlement), and the latin super mare (on sea). although i would dispute whether you could describe the severn estuary, beaches of mud, and a tide that retreats over a mile as a true seaside resort. many holidaymakers from birmingham come here.
we had a polite look round the shops; i agree with bill bryson when he says that if you look at most high streets today, you could really be anywhere, what with the same shops with the same oversized plate-glass frontages, the same red paving and mock victorian signage, the same litter. most of the shops had added seasonal goods, i.e. cheap halloween costumes, to their more usual stock. we headed a little way along the front, where we saw these crazy formation on the so-called beach:

the sign in the picture warns of sinking mud, so i think these mounds are where people and/or dogs have not heeded the warning. we had fish and chips on the grand pier, and then had a go on the 2p slots, before agreeing that 3 hours in weston on a saturday in october is one hour too much; we hurried to the station, where security is paramount...

careless talk costs lives

2004-10-29T19:24:00.000Z

be careful about what you say here; you never know who might be listening.

ha ha bang bang

2004-10-29T18:55:00.000Z

ha ha, i am the top trader on polidex today, with an increase of 42.32%.
but enough about my prowess in the field of fictional share trading; i would like to use this post to review the channel 4 show teachers. this used to be one of my favourite shows, but, now in it's forth series, i find it completely unwatchable. paul and i lasted for the first episode, although paul had to stop me walking out of the house 10 minutes before the end. the writers seemed to have just skipped a load of storey line, killing off brian and kurt, but bringing in two replacement characters who are exactly like them. the senarios presented have been increasingly unlikely, but for me have reached the point where i no longer care to watch this program.
i am so pleased that it is almost november 5th, because i get to listen to the sound of fireworks being set off all over the city, all night, why?

open government

2004-10-28T17:49:00.000Z

george bush has blocked anyone outside of the states accessing his offical campaign website.

sad news

2004-10-26T17:31:00.000Z

john peel has died. someone at work told (someone i would never has expected to have heard of him, let alone liked him - shows you shouldn't judge people). only one other person had heard of him, which i thought was sad. his various shows, on radio 1, radio 4, and the world service meant that he will be missed by a wide range of listeners for his familiar warming style and clumsy dj-ing abilities, and of course his thousands of musical discoveries over the years since he first broadcast on wwr in dallas.
fleeting encounters with the remarkable broadcaster: i was driving back from derby, late one night in 1998, and was listening to the peel show, when he played my band's record. i nearly crashed my car, and grinned the rest of the way to leeds. also my brother worked at the aa last summer, and took a call from john ravenscroft (his real name) who had broken down somewhere between the studio and his home.

strangely brown

2004-10-25T17:18:00.000Z

my mistake today was not to check my colour-coordination; i chose brown chords, and brown hoody. further to this, i wore a green shirt of the same tone as the brown of my chords, which i think i managed to carry off with aplomb. i finally finished looking at the earth from the air exhibition.

someone i work with got stabbed in the neck on friday. he was walking home to whitchurch, and was near to the broadwalk centre in knowle (slogan: fantastic family atmosphere) when two lads attacked him from behind, and when he refused their request to inspect his wallet, they cut him with a stanley knife, and stole one of his trainers and his bag of miss millies (slogan: cheap and nasty alternative to greasy nasty kfc). he was very lucky not to die, and possibly the worst thing about it is that they won't catch anyone (unless maybe they do it again and are caught in the act).

on your bike

2004-10-25T07:06:00.000Z

if you are in london, check out oybike, who are operating a scheme whereby you can hire a bike via you mobile phone, at a cost of around 30p for fifteen minutes. the bikes are unlocked by entering a pin number sent to you by sms, and you are charged for the period of time that you bike is 'unlocked'. the security hopefully addresses the problems they faced in oxford when they introduce free bikes - they all got stolen.

route 41

2004-10-24T21:11:00.000Z

there are lots of cycle routes in and around bristol; today i took routes 41 and 33 to portishead. i was able to add to my 'under bridges' series of photographs.

following yesterdays rain, the path was really muddy, and it wasn't long until i was splattered head to toe with muck, which made me feel like i was truly out of doors. at pill, i saw the following sculpture, which represents dog-dirt:

tonight, paul and i watched fahrenheit 9/11 again. wow, i can't believe that it is only 9 days before george bush loses the election.

what is the matter with robert kilroy-silk?

2004-10-20T17:12:00.000Z

i don't know the answer to that. he is in the news again today, still moaning because he is not in charge of his itiotic single issue uk independence party. if you are in any doubt as to how poisonous this man's opinions on race are, check out this site*, which hangs kilroy with his own quotes.

*origianlly compiled for private eye

fire, fire, go away

2004-10-18T19:12:00.000Z

i just found out that my old school has burned down. then i found out that they are trying to build a wilkinsons in bedminster, where the east street market used to be, but that too has set on fire. update! a bristol to weston-super-mare train has burned up near backwell station. someone has been listening to smile i think.
i was cooking some food tonight when the doorbell rang, indicating someone wanted me to answer the door. i did so, and was greeted by a young woman who looked like she was going to try to sell me something. i was right, she was working for three. she asked me how i was, so i told her i am ok, and i asked her how she was, and she said 'i'm quite cold actually'. i thought 'well it is october in the uk', but i didn't say so. she did the classic thing that doorstep sellers do, that is, when i told her straight that i was not interested in buying anything from her, she continued to try and sell, even asking if anyone else was inside my house to whom she could have a go at selling a mobile.

good shows

2004-10-15T00:04:00.000Z

the photograph is by yann arthus-bertrand, part of the the earth from the air exhibition, that is currently touring the country. it is in bristol now, in millennium square. i went to see it in my lunch hour, but only managed to see one third of the photos. i will go back next week for the rest.
tonight, casey, john and i went to the polish club to see the album leaf, a copy of whose album john gave me this week. unfortunately, they chose to sit down for the entire show, so i only heard them. no matter, they sounded great, similar to sigur ros, and they are my current favourite band, but only for this week. they were supported by a quite girl called sansto-xtro, and local band kiska, who were also mighty.

five get over excited

2004-10-11T17:12:00.000Z

crackington haven is a tiny village on the north cornwall coast, around 8 miles from bude, and situated in a steep-sided valley. there is a small snack shop, a pub, and a telephone box. we (me plus sarah, john, rachel and paul) have just returned from nine nights in a beautiful thatched cottage, a one minute walk from the sea, or if you prefer, 55 seconds from thom yorke's house (we saw him - he had green wellies on but still looked every bit like a rock star). we (above personnel, plus rick), stayed in the same place last year, and therefore knew we would have a great time.

friday
we traveled down after work, and whilst everyone else unpacked and cooked pizza, rachel and i took our cars down to the pub car park, where we paid an unnecessary £10 each for one week's parking. later on, both paul and i had trouble with the medieval cork-screw, which tended to force the cork into the bottle, causing a backdraft of merlot.

saturday
today we went to bude, for a look at the shops, a walk in the (windy) beach, and a cup of coffee at the summer bay diner. the bude lido reminded me of an east berlin border installation.

the evening meal was cooked by john (we all took turns to cook - see below for full menu), and entertainment was provided by celebrity top trumps. After a few rounds played to the standard rules, we adopted different themes, such as 'with whom would you like to go out for a drink', and 'who is best at maths'.

sunday
today was the only poor weather day of the whole trip; not bad going for october. the weather has been topsy-turvy this summer anyway; crackington was affected by the same floods that devastated boscastle in august. the damage in our village was less severe - the other shop, a house, and the road bridge were covered by muddy waters. the footbridge to the beach was totally washed away, and a hastily-constructed 'temporary' bridge now stands in it's place...

we decided to stay in on this day with the sunday papers, a log fire, and sarah's sunday roast plus pudding extragaganza.

monday

the weather was better today, much better. we went to padstow, which should be renamed steinville, because it seems that every other shop is owned by rick stein, the fish chef. we went to the harbour, and enquired of a salty sea dog (in fact a man) if he would take us out in his boat, so that we could catch some mackerel. but we were informed that although mild conditions prevailed inland, out at sea gales were blowing. so we caught the ferry to rock, just across the bay. there, we walked along the golden sands, and enjoyed a coffee, but not before john had fun with his new kite.

back in rick-on-sea, we sampled the omnipresent one's fish and chips. yummy! i think today was when we intrudoced boggle to the procedings.

tuesday
paul suggested the lost gardens of heligan, so we went there to learn how they had become lost, and who found them again*. the gardens overlook near-by st austell, and extend to some 200 acres, so a full day is required if you plan to see everything. restoration is ongoing, but much of the original layout is completed to a degree that allows you to imagine what the place would have been like 100 years ago.

we had lunch in the potting shed, where we sheltered from the rain, and saw a ghost gardener. (having watched a beautiful mind the previous night, sarah and i weren't sure if she was real or imaginary).

wednesday
today, sarah's mum and dad came to lunch; they were on holiday, in rock. the rest of us went to bude to confirm that the shops were still there, and give sarah space to cook. in the evening we went to trebarwith strand, but the tide was in, so we went to the mill house inn for food. i have never heard anyone squeal in excitement over sea bass before (although it is something that i imagine rick stein does).

thursday
john drove us to port quin.

i so want to live in this tiny, tiny national trust owned village. look at the cottage, it couldn't be dripping with more quaintness if you poured quaint paint all over it. next along the coast is port isaac, a big village, on this day suffering from cornish country road rage which stressed out john. on the way home we passed the gaia energy centre, and called in. but it had closed down due to lack of visitors; all that remained was a discount book sale of the stock.

friday
another good weather day. sarah made coffee and walnut cake, and we took it, and coffee, on a walk to st genny's, where a church has stood since the 10th century. as we rested at the top of the big hill on the right, three inappropriately dressed (converse sneakers, leather jackets, skinny t's) youngish men walked passed us, and sarah and rachel speculated that they were rock stars. we looped round cleave (very steep hills), and walked back along the river. our third visit to bude was necessary in order for paul to gather ingredients for his meal. sunsets in crackington are usually spectacular, as this picture confirms:

the nights now were getting chillier; we were grateful for the log fire. we cracked open guess who, but decided to liven up the game by playing semiotic rules - that is rather than simply asking 'does your person have facial hair', you need to make judgements about the person, eg 'does your person recycle'. rachel was particularly good at this.

saturday
sarah and i wanted a non-car day. unfortunately, if you are familiar with rural buses in the uk, you will know that this is easier said than done. two routes serve crackington, one runs on tuesdays and fridays only, and service 594 runs four times each day (sundays excepted). we chose wadebridge; paul came with us, john and rachel drove to tintagel. we had only two hours in wadebridge, but i reckon that is more than enough. after a pasty, we split up; i walked a little way along the camel trail, to the A39 road bridge.

they were rock stars; paul spoke to one of them on the beach tonight. they were sent here by their manager, to get away from the distractions of the big city. rachel and sarah really wanted to invite them for tea.

sunday

subdued mood, as always, on the last day of the holiday. overcast skies matched feelings towards returning to work on monday morning.

menu**
friday
tea: pizza
saturday
breakfast: cereal, toast
lunch: sandwiches
tea: garlic chicken with poor man's potatoes (john)
sunday
breakfast: cereal, toast
lunch: sunday roast, apple and blackberry crumble (sarah)
tea: don't be silly, we were stuffed from lunch
monday
breakfast: cereal, toast
lunch: fish and chips (rick stein)
tea: vegetable soup (sarah)
tuesday
breakfast: cooked breakfast
lunch: sandwiches
tea: cottage pie (me)
wednesday
breakfast: cereal, toast
lunch: onion tart, wild rice salad (sarah)
tea: prawns, steak (mill house inn)
thursday
breakfast: cereal, toast
lunch: pasty
tea: fish pie (rachel)
friday
breakfast: cereal, toast
lunch: sandwiches
tea: lamb kebabs, trifle (paul)
saturday
breakfast: cereal, toast
lunch: pasty
tea: avocado prawns (me), spaghetti and meatballs (sarah), apricot and chocolate pie (john)
sunday
breakfast: boiled eggs, toast
lunch: pasty

*the great war, tim smit
**subject to errors of memory

four weeks off

2004-09-30T14:22:00.000Z

they are filming casualty in the centre today. i am still excited whenever i see any evidence of shooting, even if whatever quality this 'drama' used to possess has long since been diluted by the 48 edisodes per series policy. they even filmed in my old street - gemma held up filming by wandering onto the set by accident.

i just bought a new guitar (see above). i was well served by the friendly staff of rikaxe (bad name). i would also like to point out that the staff of sound control are curmugeonly guitar snobs - when i went in to enquire after a new acoustic in the region of £150, the attendant scoffed at me and said something along the lines of 'well, you could get one for that amount, but really you need to spend £350+ to get one of quality'. er, no thanks.
funniest quote of the day: the parents wanted their son to be named after the cartoon superhero, because he was born with one arm pointing upwards - as superman flies.

wet fish

2004-09-29T17:14:00.000Z

micheal fish mbe is retiring next month. he has been part of the furniture in uk livingrooms since 1974, broadcasting the weather forecast for bbc television and radio, and usually getting it right.

pizza the action

2004-09-29T17:13:00.000Z

thanks to john coe for the link to the wurst gallery. to see more of the above, click onto their archive.
last night paul and i watched the documentary on narcolepsy. the program followed a number of sufferers, but my favourite moment could truly have come from the brain of chris morris. cameras captured a meeting of ukan, the uk narcolepsy association; the gathering was completely surreal because of course the members kept falling asleep! three people have to take the minutes in case anything gets missed. it seemed that the sense of farce was not lost on the members (so i guess it's ok for me to mention it here).

do you use a laptop? worried about being the victim of crime? then this product is for you. but what if someone trys to rob you because they want your margarita?

of course i like good music

2004-09-28T06:25:00.000Z

paul's brother matt, and his czech girlfriend, came over to clevedon on sunday. we had a lovely lunch at the salthouse. in the evening we went to the bierkeller to see gary us bonds play his soul / rock and roll fusion. matt had tickets through work, paul and i weren't sure what to expect. the venue had a sorry half-empty feel, and i judged that the crowd was 100% male. the entire bristol guitar shop workforce appeared to be in attendance, and as the band played the first song, a standard rock and roll number, we wondered if we had made a mistake in coming to a gig on a sunday night. but then gary us bonds glided onto the stage, and demonstrated why he is mates with both bruce springsteen and otis redding. it was a good show.
last night some of us went to the croft to see leave land for water and line. it was alright - last time i saw lucas' band at the louisiana, they were amazing - this time, the sound was too loud and muddy, and some of the subtlety was lost. the same probably goes for line, but i couldn't be sure as i have never seen them before. i enjoyed them more. good to see ben trinkle in a musical setting again (he was in the insects of greece with john, sam and me).

red shift

2004-09-26T18:33:00.000Z

for the victorians, it was fashionable to have pale skin. but these days the opposite is true. the more tanned you are, the better. even yellow is in, amongst todays young and happening recording artists...

i guess pointing is also making a comeback.

clevedon

2004-09-26T15:29:00.000Z

i went to clevedon; my friends john and rachel have recently moved there. paul stayed over on the friday night, and we both stayed last night.
the area around clevedon seems to have been densely populated as far back as the 2nd century, during the time of the romans. in 1086, it was mentioned in the domesday book:

in the settlement were 8 villagers and 10 smallholders with 4 ploughs, 2 1/2 hides and 2 furlongs. meadow 46 acres, pasture 1.5 leagues long and as wide. woodland 2 furlongs long and 1/2 furlong wide. 7 unbroken mares, 1 cob, 22 cattle 25 pigs, and 115 sheep. formerly worth 40/- it is now worth 80/-

in 1800 it was 'a comparatively unimportant though pretty little village, principally occupied by respectable farmers and their labourers. the inn, bearing a very unpretentious exterior, and appropriately called 'the old inn', was almost the only place in the village where entertainment could be obtained for man and horse'. by 1841 two large hotels and around 100 houses had been built. sewage works were completed in 1865 - this would have been important as most of the area is only a few feet above sea level. the pier was opened in 1868. we walked along it's 600ft length today. this cost £1. it has a really flimsy feel to it, the sponsored planks have huge gaps so that anyone with vertigo would have to keep looking directly towards wales to avoid having a turn.

global footprint

2004-09-24T06:06:00.000Z

this site will tell you how much impact you have on the planet. i require 2.8 hectares to sustain myself. if everyone lived like me, we would need 1.6 earths on which to live (we should try and stick to 1.8 hectares). but get this: the uk average is 5.3 hectares per person!

too much

2004-09-23T17:11:00.000Z

the salt industry has 'hit back' at the governments campaign to encourage people to reduce their salt intake. they say that '[the] campaign's assertions that too much salt is unhealthy are incorrect'. what? are they seriously suggesting that too much of something is not bad for you? 'too much' literally means an amount that is in excess of a healthy or safe amount. too much salt will kill you - fact. too much pepper will also kill you. so they are wrong, and stupid to think people won't realise that they are the salt lobby and have a vested interest in people buying more salt.
today, i was in wilkinsons (one of the best shops ever, ever). i saw a young woman, in full chav costume, complete with baby in pushchair. what was amazing was that the pushchair was piled high with toys, cosmetics, stationary, and stuff, so that it resembled a kind of giant buckaroo. but the weight of all the objects was causing the baby to lean forward to avoid having it's head caved in by shopping, and the feeble pushchair looked ready to collapse under the weight of it all. the girl said to a friend: 'i can't believe i can get all this stuff for £71'. i thought: 'yeah, you'd have to spend £120 in sainsburys to crush your kid'.

ransom

2004-09-21T06:12:00.000Z

richard branson and tony blair were happy to show off virgin's 'record breaking' run from london to manchester. the aa site shows this to be a distance of just over 200 miles, and that a car would take nearly 4 hours (driving within the speed limits of course). not bad. but it is no good doing it as a one-off. gemma's virgin cross country train from birmingham to leeds on sunday (distance 120 miles) took 3 hours 40 minutes, an average speed of about 35mph! maybe richard branson should learn from the 1950's, when british rail could do london to brighton in 4 minutes (average 765mph).

use forks

2004-09-20T17:30:00.000Z

apparently, this is the reason why everyone was late for work this morning.
yesterday, gemma and i booked a flight to prague with jet2 (£31 each), and a return flight from warsaw with wizz (300pln between us - you work it out). we will be going next february, and we will spend a couple of nights in each city, and also visit krakow, and we will travel around by train. how exciting. thanks to cheap0 (via tom betts) for help with finding lowcost airlines.
last night, paul, casey and sarah (must mention her or she won't be my friend) watched a film called the station agent, which is a wonderful little film about a man who inherits a train depot and goes to live there. it is the sort of film with no real plot (this is good), and i like films like this because you can concentrate more on the characters and locations.
i bought the new delgados record today, and will enjoy listening to it later tonight.

i saw dave prowse today (he is the one on the left). he is the man who wore the darth vader outfit in the star wars films. he was also the face of 1970's road safety in the uk. it was quite a coup for the virgin megastore in bristol to secure his services on the day that the star wars boxset was released. i wondered what his reaction would be if i went up to him and called him james.

understood signals

2004-09-17T05:55:00.000Z

i went to see supersize me at the watershed. it was entertaining, with both funny and jaw-dropping moments. you all know the premise: for 30 days, morgan spurlock can only eat food that appears on the mcdonalds menu (it is interesting to compare the american site to the uk site). anyway, i'm sure you can guess what sort of effects this has on his body. what is shocking is the extent of the effects - he is monitored by three doctors, and all of them completely underestimate the dangers of doing this project. i think you should go and see it.
ridiculously pretentious 'magician' update: roy horn says that the tiger that ripped his neck apart was 'trying to move him out of danger after he fainted onstage'.

'it was an accident. montecore understood the signals and wanted to save me. it was unfortunate that his teeth hit my carotid artery'.

wow, i guess biting the carotid artery is part of standard first aid training these days.

open government

2004-09-16T06:08:00.000Z

it appears that it is ridiculously easy to gain access to polititians and the royal family these days. why wait for your local mp's weekly surgery, when you can simply walk onto the floor of the commons. luckily men with swords were on hand to apprehend the five pro-hunting protesters, who's number included the son of bryan ferry.
this continues the recent tradition of slack security: on monday, batman* managed to climb onto the queen's house (robin was tackled in her front garden). in may, adult men threw flower bombs at tony blair. they hit his back. and who can forget aaron barschak.

*it can be argued that batman is not a superhero; ask me why.

i am now c0i

2004-09-14T22:32:00.000Z

this means i am 'other communicating - internet'. i am involved in study for a researcher at uwe which investigates new technology's evolving role, nature and effects for transport. i have to note in a special diary what i do from the moment i woke up last monday, to the moment i go to sleep next sunday. in code form.

right, i'm off to h1, i've got to get up for f1 in the morning.

back chat

2004-09-14T22:23:00.000Z

i have been neglecting my reader this past week. i am having trouble typing this now though, due the 99p challenge continually distracting me. speaking of simon pegg, i watched shaun of the dead again recently. the people who were involved with this film are completely on my generation's comedy wavelength, and for this we* should all be grateful.
organic update: the tobacco factory are contemplating hosting a local market, and i have discovered the joy of innocent drinks.
last weekend i was in leeds; gemma and i saw the birds at lotherton hall, and continued our affair with tapas by dining with dean and rachel at la tasca.
paul is currently in hospital, recovering from an operation to fix his slipped disc. he had keyhole surgery. we were most fascinated by his special stockings that regularly filled with air, in order to combat the effects of dvt.

*my generation

good good bad bad good

2004-09-07T22:04:00.000Z

good news; continental are starting flights to newark from bristol international. well done to franz ferdinand, commiserations to belle and sebastian, snow patrol and hilary benn mp. well done to the tate, who have listened to me.

raging bull

2004-09-06T16:57:00.000Z

i'm currently enjoying raging bike, a site that allows, amongst other things, users to see how much money or co2 they save each week, or to post incidents that happen, such as this outrageous incident (a similar thing happened to me a couple of years ago; the solicitor that hit me told me she was 'in a hurry'). on the subject of cycling, i completely agree with what rose george says in this article.

i'm looking forward to just a minute later, then on wednesday jeremy hardy has a new series starting.

we had a televisual nostalgia weekend, with paul's brother bringing down fresh supplies of dvd's for his housebound brother. we laughed out loud through episodes of adam and joe, and ever decreasing circles.

green pound

2004-09-05T17:24:00.000Z

it was the organic food festival in bristol this weekend. i went round the whole thing yesterday, and i saw hugh fearnley-whittingstall (he once cooked a placenta). today i took my mum and dad. stalls were selling every sort of organic product you could imagine: wines, cheeses, meats, juices, clothes, sauces, teas and coffees, vegetables, books, ice creams, yogurts, breads, cereals. there were also demonstrations and signings, and campaign stalls, including oxfam, slow food, friends of the earth, greenpeace, and the soil association. i also discovered that there is a concentration of organic food shops around blackboy hill, but that is the other side of town; i'll have to stick to the southville deli.

windy-pops

2004-09-04T06:20:00.000Z

bad news for my work colleague lisa (as well as the local population of course) this weekend; hurricane frances is due to hit florida anytime soon. as is lisa, for a two week holiday. it is funny to me how we think we have extreme weather. 10mm of rain - boo hoo.
i like this subverted map of the underground, designed to show how it could be for those south of the river. seeing that reminds me how cool the underground map is, and what a clever man harry beck was.

ps. this is my 100th post; congratulations to me.

changing the tone

2004-09-02T07:05:00.000Z

i had to comment on dick cheney's speech at the republican party conference. having just read al fraken's excellent new book, i have learnt that george bush, back in the 2000 election campaign, called for the political tone to be changed, from a malicious one based on insults and misinformation to one of solid political debate. of course, this call came after republicans had referred to bill clinton as a 'scumbag', a 'craven miscreant', and a 'rapist'*. it was also the republicans who relentlessly pursued clinton over monica lewinski - yet it can be proven that bush (an recovering alcoholic) took cocaine between 1958 and 1974, surely a more serious charge.
anyway i digress. i should raise the tone. cheney was dissing john kerry's record, and seemingly turned the conference into a pantomine, listing things kerry hasn't done, after each one the audience hissed and booed. but what about some of bush's beliefs and policies? he has some outrageous views on contraception, tax (apparently bush runs the only administration to lower taxes during a war, plus guess who's friends benefit from the tax break), the environment, abortion, gay marriage, and telling the truth. boo, hiss, shame on you, bye bye.

*scumbag: dan burton in the washington post; craven miscreant: michelle malkin in the washington times; rapist: george will in his syndicated column (source - al fraken's book 'lies and the lying liars who tell them')

dean simmons

2004-09-01T23:15:00.000Z

this is a cool birthday cake made for my leeds-based friend dean by some of his work colleages.

flying low

2004-09-01T22:59:00.000Z

richard herring's blog entry for monday was the funniest thing i read for a couple of weeks.
tonight i saw three men in an unmarked white transit stealing a cashpoint from the natwest on north street; nobody was intervening and there were no alarms, so i left them to it.

silly season

2004-08-31T05:53:00.000Z

the summer always feels like a news drought; there are too many stories covering such world-shattering topics as bears escaping on bikes, adopt a grandad, jet-powered wheelchairs, and rude composers.

what would morrisey be scared of? meat ghosts.

2004-08-30T15:46:00.000Z

why don't you listen to the 99p challenge?

organic food festival

2004-08-30T11:09:00.000Z

it is organic week from 4th - 12th september, and there will be a festival of organic food here in bristol next weekend, down at the harbourside (of course).

lelant history

2004-08-30T10:24:00.000Z

i wanted to post a short history of carbis bay, but i had trouble finding anything on the net, and it was much easier to find something on st ives.

a multiple britain in bloom winner, st ives was historically a small but busy fishing port, but since those crazy victorians started a trend, it is now an important seaside resort. this is due to the 'warm' cornish weather (average temperature in july is 21, and apparently cornwall enjoys '163 frost-free days per year'), high quality of the beaches and the sea. it seems to have avoided becoming tacky like weston-super-mare* or blackpool, instead, the old part of the town near the harbour is a quaint maze of winding, narrow streets and cobbled alleys (annoying if you're in a hurry). smeaton's pier was built in 1770; at the beginning of the pier is st leonard's chapel, where fishermen would pause to pray before setting out to sea. apparently, they paid the chapel friar in fish. the oldest building in st ives is the parish church, which was begun in 1434 and 'boasts one of the tallest towers in cornwall'. it is dedicated to a trio of saints; andrew, peter, and ia - the latter was an irish priestess who is said to have converted the area to christianity in the 5th century after crossing the irish sea in a leaf.
more recently, the power of the north atlantic has been a draw for surfers. when we got to carbis bay, i saw for myself how clear and blue the water can be; it reminded me of majorca. i'll sort out some pictures in the week.
st ives has had a longish history as a centre of art, particularly avante-garde and abstract art, a fact recognise by the establishment of the tate (part of the tate london, and the barbara hepworth museum. at norway square the st ives school of painting holds outdoor lessons in the summer.

*be sure to check out the jill dando tribute: 'not since diana, princess of wales has the nation been so affected by such a tragic and wasteful loss of life'. kind of puts 9/11 into context, doesn't it?

beef in black bean sauce, rice noodles

2004-08-30T09:38:00.000Z

as i said in an earlier post, we travelled back on friday night. gemma was going to go in nikki and paul's car, but when we came out of the sunny city cantonese restaurant in penzance on thursday night, we got a call from rebecca, who was babysitting joe. joe was premature, and very ill when he was born. he had (still has) heart problems, and his esophagus joined to his lungs rather than his stomach. this has been corrected with an operation, but he still cannot swallow and is fed overnight through a valve in his stomach. but on thursday night, rebecca couldn't get his feed in. then his valve just fell out of his stomach! this causes no discomfort, but literally if you put your finger in the hole, it would go into his stomach. truro was the nearest hospital, an hours drive, but they couldn't help, so nikki decided it would be best to drive overnight and admit him to st james' in leeds.
a new valve was put in place, and everything is back to normal now.

take part in the pilot

2004-08-29T22:40:00.000Z

dave gorman is working on a new idea.

back to the future

2004-08-29T22:36:00.000Z

we just watched momento. casey says that you need to watch it a few times to get a better picture of what is going on. i agree.
but in the spirit of the film, and because i didn't write everything down, i will write what happened on my holiday in the order in which i recall it.

we (me, gemma, her aunty bev and uncle steve, two of their three children; rebecca and sophie, and rebecca's boyfriend andrew, gemma's aunty nikki and uncle paul, and their 14 month old baby joe) stayed in a cool apartment in carbis bay, in cornwall. we were three miles from st ives, around 15 miles from penzance. we overlooked the coastal path and st ives branch line, and enjoyed amazing views of the bay.
the weather was mixed; as you may have seen, cornwall was on the sharp end of some crazy weather, although this was around 40 miles to the north-east. therefore, on fine days, we made for the beaches (carbis bay, porthmeor, sennen, and pothcurno). carbis bay beach could be reached in 5 minutes by walking down the cliff; porthmeor is in st ives, to the left of the headland; sennen is round the corner from land's end, and indeed we did walk there along the coast path; porthcurno is home to the telegraph museum, and on the day we went, some large waves.
on other days, we went to st ives, st austell, the tate, and penzance. the only thing i liked at the tate was the david nash stuff; i soon remembered that i really hate the pretentious 'descriptions' of each work attached to the wall. they are completely annoying to me - it feels like a justification rather than an explanation.
at sennen, gemma, sophie and i did a surfing lesson, and i managed to stand up quite a few times, but i must have used muscles that i rarely use, because for the next few days i had achey arms and legs.

back to basics

2004-08-28T11:01:00.000Z

i only burned by dose*!
we got back last night - it was decided we would rather travel the night before we were due to leave due to saturday being change-over day. we were wise; the journey back took only 3.5 hours (and we were in a jam for just 30 minutes of that). the trip down took six hours, and those coming down from leeds took twelve hours! never have i used two exclamation marks in one paragraph.
when we got back, we caught up with news from the house: paul had an mri scan which revealed that he is suffering from a slipped disc. ouch. casey started a new job on thursday, doing something with computers over by temple meads.
today i will need to go shopping, and do piles of washing. all of my things are now made up from 33% sand.

*my nose

tom smith is out of the office

2004-08-13T17:21:00.000Z

right, i'm off to the seaside. i will return on 28th august, however, i may dip in a couple of times to let you know that i'm not too burned.

oscar and sue 2000-2004

2004-08-10T22:04:00.000Z

oscar (right) passed away a few weeks ago, sue perished on sunday night after seemingly suffering a stroke, leaving her partially paralyzed. cod bless them.

taxi

2004-08-10T21:51:00.000Z

paul has a bad back. so he had today off work, in order to go to see a physiotherapist in redland. he decided to take a taxi. taxi's in bristol are really expensive - a trip of 3 miles would cost around £6-7 here, versus £2-3 in newcastle. paul's driver had a satellite navigation system fitted to the taxi, which spoke directions based on the current position of the vehicle. the driver said to paul 'right, don't worry about this machine - i'm going to override it, because i know a short cut'. well, it wasn't long before the robot voice was urgently requesting the driver to do a u-turn at the next island*; the chosen route madly took in the centre, the M32, and ended when the driver had to stop and consult a bristol a-z.

why can't taxi drivers go for more than 300 yards in a straight line? they go along a street a short distance, before being overcome by the urge to dart down the nearest side-road. it's almost as if they stand to charge a larger fare the longer the journey.

*if anyone is unsure what an island is within this context, please let me know. i am conducting an experiment. thank you.

jam jar mush

2004-08-10T16:54:00.000Z

we watched mystery train recently, which a really well shot and funny film that follows three sets of different characters has their lives almost but not quite meet. i suggest you get down to blockbusters immediately, then leave as they obviously want stock this film, go to a cool local store such as 20th century flicks instead.

too many of these

2004-08-10T06:07:00.000Z

1) stretch limos. on the way to a-squared on saturday we saw no less that 6 of these in town. which means that you would be more unique if you arrived in a fiat uno. casey noted there is a girls versions (standard white stretch), boys version (van style, white) and mens (van style, silver/grey with neon lights).

2) mullets. who said it was ok to resurrect these tragic cuts? i think anyone caught in possession of one of these should be arrested for life.

3) bad language. no, i don't mean rude words, i mean people these days don't seem to be able to construct a sentence in the queens english. we're all guilty of lapsing into 'y'know, yeah, like' from time to time, but certainly at work, people seem to be increasingly communicating in text message speak. this might help.

yours sincerely
brigadier trumpington-smythe III

ginger sunday

2004-08-08T10:07:00.000Z

look at this fellow. thanks to her, i could get free entry to london zoo today.

handshake interrupt

2004-08-08T09:50:00.000Z

on the way to andrew's party, casey and saw a woman in dean lane. she was fairly big-boned, and she had her hand down her pants. she sniffed her hand, then looked at us as if to say 'what are you looking at, have you never seen a fairly big-boned lady with her hand down her pants, then take it out and sniff it?' we had to check with each other that we had really just seen this occur. we got to the centre, having met sarah by the orange bridge. the woman was by the fountains. how did she get there before us? the answer is: on her broomstick, for she is surely a witch (and a pikey one at that).

andrew and alasdair's flat is really cool, close to town, with a balcony at the rear commanding spectacular views of a big glass office (the sort that might explode in a bruce willis action flick). the invite forgot to mention that this was a bbq, but hey, who can't make room for a bbq. near the end of the night, we were talking to a man who said he was trained by derren brown and paul mckenna. sarah was convinced that she was hypnotized by him, because he touched her watch.

a reputation for subversive stunts that outfox authorities

2004-08-06T06:14:00.000Z

banksy has some new art.

rip-off bristol

2004-08-05T06:27:00.000Z

1) first bus.
first run almost all of the buses in bristol, both city and regional services. they also run the trains from london to the south-west. they have a monopoly. this allows them to run what i understand to be a mediocre service with extortionate fares. from my house to the centre (distance 2.5 miles) the fare is £1.20. compare this with fares in birmingham; the city buses there are run by national express, but there is competition from other operators. the fare from my mum and dad's house to the city (8 miles) is £1 maximum. so it could be argued that bristol is 400% more expensive, charging 48p per mile versus 12.5p per mile in birmingham.

2) the trustees of the clifton suspension bridge
in 2003, the toll went up from 20p to 30p, a increase of 50%. to me, 30p still seems reasonable, but then i don't have to use the bridge daily. now, they want to increase the toll again, to 50p! it is said by the trustees the reason is 'unforeseen higher running costs'. if they have under-estimated costs to the tune of 66%, then surely that is pretty serious?