Don't concentrate on the last idiot, concentrate on the next one.

pending information update

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:05:04 GMT

internet on the go came in handy this morning as I left the house and headed toward Palmers Green. I checked national rail to discover 2 cancelled previous trains and a 'no report' on my train. A swift U turn to Southgate and I was only at work 7 minutes late.

Well thanks a bunch facebook!

Fri, 16 May 2008 08:10:40 GMT

Your friends have voted on your strengths and weaknesses:

STRENGTHS:

most attractive
most likely to succeed
person with the best hair

WEAKNESSES:

most trustworthy
smartest

Everyone seems to think I'm a salesman or something. Seriously what is with this person with the best hair lark? My hair is lightweight, impossible to manage and most of the time unkempt and scruffy. How on earth does anyone think I have nice hair?

update

Mon, 12 May 2008 06:36:19 GMT

I have some time traveling on a train this morning on my way up to Hinckley for training. 2 weeks ago I got a new job as an IT consultant. I took it mainly because I think I will learn a lot and get my skills up to date. The downside is that it does involve a fair bit of travel.

Previously I had my own company that didn't work out, mainly because most of my clients were in the sub prime loan industry.

Otherwise things are going well. We have had a couple of house guests recently. Both from Australia and at different times, but this has given us an excuse to see more of England and we have now joined the national trust which should give us more of an excuse to travel. Bank holiday weekend was excellent; we got to see Churchhill's ex house, Dover castle, Bodium castle (fantasticly stereotypical with moat), Rye, Hastings, Winchester, stonehenge, Avebury and the house where Netherfield was portrayed in the film version of pride & p.

Saturday's Dr Who (Spoilers)

Tue, 06 May 2008 16:32:48 GMT

No wonder the Sontarans are losing the war with the Rutan Host. Their armour isn't as good as some human armour and can't even stop bullets. What a stupid way to spoil an otherwise enjoyable episode. Would the Doctor have destroyed the Sontarans or let earth perish?

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 20:04:28 GMT

Someone's cats like toys!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ugHp6TS_Po4

New reality tv game

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 17:17:42 GMT

Kill the lawyers:
http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/pakistan-faces-clash-over-judges/2008/03/10/1205125818889.html

I know I really shouldn't laugh at such atragic situation, but that picture and caption just struck me as funny.

Melbourne

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 05:28:14 GMT

5 full days in Melbourne flew past so quickly. We stayed with Claire's mum, Jennifer. Jennifer has recently moved down to Melbourne from Sydney to be closer to Claire's sister, Alison and Alison's 2 kids (my nephews). We saw a lot but not all our friends, but most of the time was spent with Claire's immediate family (and that was the purpose of the trip after all). We baby-sat Nicholas (4y 2m) and Christopher (18m) (Nicky and Crickey) on 2 occasions. Crickey is surprisingly developed for his age. I remember that Nicky was just about walking, while Crickey is now using the 3ft slide with ease. Crickey is also a great communicator and you sometimes look at him and wondering why he isn't speaking. He definately lets you know what he wants though. When Crickey is happy, he really is the happiest baby in the entire world and the world is a happy place, when he is upset however...

Nicky is a quiet kid, very deliberate. We had an argument when he called an Alsatian a shepard. I replied that it was a German Shepherd, but he was having none of it... "It's a DOGGY shepherd". Later I told him off when we were out walking, for running across a road. After that he continued walking all the way to the shops (and most of the way back) with his hands completely covering his eyes and saying nothing. Funny thing, especially when he walked into a bin.

Went out with essjayeff, hnpcc , astrocave and Dean on my final day. hnpcc and Dean's place is really neat. I love their deck out the back, although the Kitchen needs a bit of work. We then finished up at essjayeff 's house and played with her kitten/cats. Butch does this great thing of jumping up to the high cupboard and leaning over to the top shelf and fishing his toys out. Took some great video and it will be on youtube shortly.

I flew out on Saturday early morning to fly to Queenstown, NZ via Sydney. I got to the airport early (5:40) and walked straight up to the domestic counter. My 6:30 flight had been canceled, so she booked me on to the 6am. This meant a brisk walk through security and up to gate 1 (the closest gate). As I approached, they started announcing boarding, so I walked straight on to the plane. If I was in the terminal 5 minutes I would be surprised. Of course the qantas plane then stayed at the gate for a further 25 minutes. The flights to Sydney, then Queenstown were pretty uneventful.

Leaving Sydney - Gosford and Newcastle

Sun, 10 Feb 2008 10:05:20 GMT

We met up with a couple of Claire's friends on Wednesday. Saw Connie over lunch and then went round to Vals. Val has three kids: Hugh aged 4, Oscar aged 3 and Mia 6 months.

Hugh and Oscar were both born very premature, but you wouldn't know it. Very energetic kids! I tired myself out playing with them, while Claire caught up with Val.

Gosford was great, but New South Wales is making up for the 5 years of drought. It has rained torrentially every day. Sometimes it's actually quite cold. In between have been some sunny spells and we've taken our chances to go out for a couple of walks. We spent some really quality time with Claire's 87 year old Godmother Clare.

Got to experience dial-up internet for the first time in years. It's like going back to the stone-age! In Newcastle we are back to fast wireless broadband. We are visiting Claire's friend Vicky, her husband Mark and 2 year old son Freddy. We fly off to Melbourne at o crack double-o tomorrow morning.

Australia update

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 01:02:35 GMT

Had an excellent time with Cousin Lorna last night. She is looking great. Encasa in Pitt Street was packed for a Tuesday, but when we asked for a table for 3 we were taken to the only empty table in the place. It had 3 seats! The service was frankly superhuman. We didn't have to catch the waitresses eye all night. When we finished our jug of water it was replaced within seconds of us putting it down. The tapas portions were HUGE and very tasty. The conversation was also of course excellent.

I have managed to use the last of my Qantas FFP to book a flight to Queenstown to visit my Sister. That free flight costs 149 Australian in taxes. Instead of flying back to Sydney on 17th with Claire as planned, I fly to Queenstown on the 16th. I fly (paid ticket with airNZ) back to Sydney on 19th, so it really is a flying visit.

Tomorrow we drive up to Central Coast to visit Claire's aging God Mother and then off to Newcastle to visit friends. We sample the delights of JetStar Newcastle to Melbourne on the morning of the 11th.

Back to Australia

Sun, 03 Feb 2008 17:59:54 GMT

3 weeks back in Australia. Currently sitting in the Japan Air lounge at Heathrow. Frequent flyer points means 2 business class returns only cost 400 quid or so.

We arrive in Sydney on Tuesday morning and on to Melbourne the following Monday.

It was booked at quite short notice to take advantage of Frequent Flyer availability. Any one fancy meeting up?

Privilege meme

Thu, 03 Jan 2008 14:47:58 GMT

Father went to college
Father finished college
Mother went to college
Mother finished college
[Mum did A levels]

Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor
Were the same or higher class than your high school teachers
Had more than 50 books in your childhood home.
Had more than 500 books in your childhood home
Were read children's books by a parent
Had (music?) lessons of any kind before you turned 18
[School organise brass lessons, bot nowhere too lazy]

Had more than two kinds of (music?) lessons before you turned 18
The people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed positively
Had a credit card with your name on it before you turned 18
[When I turned 18]

Your parents (or a trust) paid for the majority of your college costs
Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs
Went to a private high school
Went to summer camp
[Well Scout camp]

Had a private tutor before you turned 18
Family vacations involved staying at hotels
[Went Ski-ing when I was 12]

Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18
Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them
There was original art in your house when you were a child
[Dad's a budding painter]

Had a phone in your room before you turned 18
[Never wanted one]

You and your family lived in a single family house
Your parent(s) owned their own house or apartment before you left
[Well they owned a large percentage of it, they've just finished paying it off]

You had your own room as a child
[Shared with my brother when we were young though]

Had your own TV in your room in High School
[When I left school I had 1]
Flew anywhere on a commercial airline before you turned 16
[My first memory was on a Jumbo jet aged 2]

Went on a cruise with your family
Went on more than one cruise with your family
Your parents took you to museums and art galleries as you grew up
[School trips]

You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family
[You pay for heating?]

Email to BBC

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 09:44:58 GMT

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am very concerned at the definitions used in the recent article about the CIA http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7132000.stm

You define Water Boarding as "prisoner bound to a board with feet raised, and cellophane wrapped round his head. Water is poured onto his face and is said to produce a fear of drowning"

This definition does not convey the impact of such psychological torture. It sounds almost benign to the average reader. In fact Water Boarding (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterboarding) is not benign. "The psychological effects on victims of waterboarding can last long after the procedure. Although waterboarding in cases can leave no lasting physical damage, it carries the real risks of extreme pain, damage to the lungs, brain damage caused by oxygen deprivation, injuries as a result of struggling against restraints (including broken bones), and even death."

The reason I write is that you have used this definition before and as I generally trust the BBC I believed it and wondered what the fuss was about. Further reading suggests that the Drowning is not simulated (with no water getting to the lungs because of 'cellophane wrapped round his head', but real because sometimes holes are made in the cellephane and water causes the subject to gag.

Finally, you also fail to mention that water boarding is a form of Mock Execution, which is illegal under international law. As United States Senator John McCain, who was tortured as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam, puts it 'waterboarding is torture, no different than holding a pistol to his head and firing a blank'

Please address these concerns the next time you use this definiton.

Lee Adams
0870 300 0974

Pictures of our Brazil holiday

Sat, 17 Nov 2007 15:57:25 GMT

http://picasaweb.google.com/123lee/BrazilSeptember2007

Serious question

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 08:25:04 GMT

Why would you sack a manager and then ask him to take charge of a match?

New Flat Part 4 (Grand Finale)

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 16:57:54 GMT

On Wednesday, we flew into Heathrow and went straight round my parents to pick up the keys. After a cup of tea[1] etc, we arrived at the new flat. We were terribly disapointed. After compiling a list of 11 items wrong with the place, we went around to the agent. He seemed[2] as shocked as we were. A phone call and then a stern email to the new landlady followed. We gave her a list of 8 items to be addressed, mostly by COB Friday. She emailed back agreeing to everything, but we were not hopeful. In fact we were a very short step to pulling the plug on the whole thing.

Friday evening and everything changed for the better! We have a flat in a reasonable condition, if a little unclean in places. The windows are now sparkling on the inside[3]. Following a very generous offer of help from Dad and 2 more van loads than expected, we are now in. My office is now virtually set up, but the rest of the flat looks like a storage depot.... gotta go and unpack!

[1] not really I don't drink tea very often.
[2] well you never really know with agents!
[3] we should have been more specific on the email, we meant for the outside to be cleaned as well!

Holiday

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 22:18:08 GMT

Now sitting in the AA longe in Sao Paulo. We have a night flight, then a day in Miami and then another night flight to Heathrow... and then the holiday is over. We plan to hire a Car in Miami this time and drive to the beach and learn to surf.

The Holiday has been great. Very relaxing, met a few great people and visited some great waterfalls and did some cool things. A canopy tree top walk through a forest being the best. Of course there was a spiritual side to the whole thing and the results from that vary, but overall pretty good. More on that if it happens.

New Flat Part 3

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 22:07:52 GMT

So eventually we recieved a scanned copy of the contract via email. It just came a little later than promised. On the day the contract started I contacted the agent to organise Dad to pick up the keys. Remember this was the date at least 1 week earlier than we wanted. No Keys. 2 days later we try again and when Dad arrives at the Flat, the land-lady is still decorating. Long story short, we arranged to start the contract a week later.

Moving part 2

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 18:01:20 GMT

We met our new landlady when we inspected the flat. She´s from New Zealand but she is also very nice.[1] She and her husband and little baby boy are moving back to New Zealand and that´s why they are renting out their flat. She mentioned that they would be flexible about our moving in date. Now I don´t know what she meant by flexible, but it´s not the usual dictionary definition. They moved out on 31st Aug and the flat was ´available´ from the 1st. She knew at the time of the ´flexible´ statement that we were not planing to move in until 6th Oct at the earliest.

When we put the deposit down, the agent said the property would be removed from the market, so we are a bit alarmed (after terminating our current contract) when we the agent phones us to say she has another person (privately) who has made them an offer. They aren´t considering the offer, but would like the contract to start on 7th September. 1 week doesn´t seem that flexible to me, so I request a start date of 21st and after a bit of to-ing and fro-ing we agree on the 14th. Given our old place doesn´t stop til 28th Oct, it´s a long time to be paying double rent.

In the meantime I am unable to get a reference from the current landlady[2] and I get Dad to email a reference (given we stayed at my parents place for 4 months and paid some board). The Agent receives the reference and I ask him if it´s ok. He says it´s fine. We go to sign the contract on the evening before we fly to Brazil. We sign the contract, but the Landlady is not there! Also the agent says that Dad´s reference is not OK[3]. So we leave the agent without a contract! I am not happy, I had assumed they would have already signed and that we would be able to take a copy. We are now in limbo and despite the deposit, we feel that the Landlady could pull out while we are away. It´s not likely to happen, but would leave us with very little time to find a new place if it did The Agent promises to get the landlady´s signature next morning and I phone him before we step on to the plane. No signature yet, but he promises[4] to email us as soon as she signs which will be that morning. No email by the time to get to Miami. More tomorrow...maybe.

[1] Couldn´t resist
[2] Due to a double bereavement
[3] He hasn´t included any contact info, just his first name and email address!
[4] Promises from agents are worth less that the paper they are not written on.

New Place

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 20:02:12 GMT

So I quit my job and started my own company[1]. This means that we no longer need to live in essex. In fact my main client is in Finchely, with other clients in Barnet, so moving is definately preferable. Location wise we want to be close to my parents in Potters Bar and also close to my Brother in Walthamstow. Also Claire wants a quick and easy (no changes) journey into Russel Square (or Kings Cross). This means the Picadilly line or main line into KX. We want a 3 bedroom (as we plan to start a family and I need an office) and Claire wants a garden. No stairs and off street parking also preferable and finally Claire must be able to pay the rent by her salary (even if she can afford nothing else). With a shopping list like that, we wanted to start looking as soon as possible. I look a few places up on the interweb and contact a few agents, but there is no substitute for driving around and popping into estate agents. We start in Palmers Green, which is a bit to the east of ideal, but has a mainline branch station (into Moorgate, but I assume incorrectly that this would be OK for Claire.)

We pop into 4 estate agents with propertys (and a few without) and have a view of one (which we knew would be unsuitable) and book another viewing for the afternoon. We are just about out of PG, when we spot one more estate agent. I hesitate to stop, as parking is on a meter and it doesn´t look like a place that does rentals. Cliare has another looking and says ´look they advertise rentals´, so we stop. They have a place which sounds good and we get to view it immediately. I love it. It has steps, no off street parking and the Garden isn´t attached directly, but otherwise is ideal. It´s the top 2 floors of a three story house converted into 2 flats. The top floor is a bedroom with an en-suite, and they currently use it as an office.[2]

It´s not too far off our top range in price, but I spend the hour (mostly spent walking to Southgate tube and back) persuading Claire that we will be hard pressed to find anything better. Claire wants to look at more properties and we look at 2 more that day. They aren´t very good. We pop back before close of business and put a deposit down. All has gone very smoothly so far... I´ll leave the irritations for another post. On Monday we are taken round 4 more properties by Foxtons[3]. This simply confirms our choice.

[1] Which of course needs another post.
[2] I want it as an office, Cliare wants it as the main bedroom
[3] of which I´ve read some bad things, but they are very polished and professional

Edit - must remeber to proof read before posting

Robert Jordan

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 13:58:07 GMT

Robert Jordan, he of the Wheel of Time series, has died. The news has hit me a bit harder than I thought it would. My thoughts are with his family.

An update... who'd have thunk it?

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 01:21:32 GMT

Arrived in Miami today. We have an 11 hour stopover here. Spent most of it walking around a shopping mall. Got 2 pairs of Levis for 27USD each and nearly bought a Video Camera. We then planned to take a Taxi to the beach, but ended up with the Taxi driver giving us a tour of Miami (From the tour we got the impression that there isn't much to see, but we both recognised the house where Versachi (sp?) got shot.)

A hot muggy day when we walked into the Shopping mall turned into a thunderstorm when we got out. Really impressive lightning, but it put a damperner on walking along the beach. The Weather turned nice as we headed back to the airport.

Having walked most of Miami International Airport, we finally found an Admiral's club and found the internet access. Still no news from the estate agent[1]... grrrr. The flight in Business class[3] was good, the reclining seats are nice and comfortable, but where's my bed! We stayed up all night and caught the flight at 9:55am, which meant 1) I looked pretty scruffy and 2) I was a little bit narky (Claire's description). Which (combined) led in turn to me being very short with the stewards. I went up to go to the loo, but as a trolley was coming down the aisle, I crossed over the the other aisle. The Stewardess didn't see me cross over and when I got to the loos she asked "Where are you seated?" I pointed vaugely in the general direction of my seat and unfortunately said "just back there", which she took to mean 'in coach'. She then politely asked me if I didn't mind using the 4 toilets down the ailse. In my sleep-deprived state, I meekly went down the ailse, thinking that the loos by her were all full. I then realised I had walked into 'coach'. Walking back, another steward said that I shouldn't cross cabins. Long story short, they ended up telling me to go back into 'coach', to which I said firmly 'I'm not seated in coach'[4].

I'm not very impressed with AA's business class, apart from the obvious, 'Where's my bed!'; at a time when Qantas, Singapore and others have on-demand films in 'coach', AA don't have on demand in (some) Business, plus you get a paltry 8 or so channels (inc CBC) and not even any games. I'm not sure why they don't have curtains separating the classes. When sitting in 'coach' the last thing I want is to see what I could be having. The food and service[5] were excellent though.

[1] That's the trouble with not updating for so long, I bet most of you reading this are thinking "What Estate Agent?"[2]
[2] I'm not sure I've even posted on here that I'm now self employed with my own business www.championsystems.info
[3] A Dave special.
[4] or words to that effect.
[5] ignoring the above incident.

Galaxy Zoo

Fri, 13 Jul 2007 08:40:55 GMT

I have to admit to be vaugely addicted to Galaxy Zoo.

The chance to see Galaxys that maybe no-one has seen before is one reason. I also get a warm fuzzy feeling that I'm helping the advance of astrophysics.

dr who

Sun, 01 Jul 2007 08:34:11 GMT

When you see this post, quote from Doctor Who on your LJ.

Lots of planets have a north

I prefered "don't even blink" but someone got there first. My Boss' son is now afraid of statues... which makes the Angel's episode (my favourite) definitive Who.

IMDB thing

Wed, 11 Apr 2007 15:20:40 GMT

Guess my favorite movies from their IMDB keywords:

1: shoe / Heart Attack / Sewer
2: Lovers Posing As Siblings / Unsubtitled Foreign Language / Animal Abuse
3: Battle Of Wits / Poison / Kissing
4: Baseball Bat / Cover Up / Honor
5: Sphinx / Actor / Sex
6: Stabbed In The Shoulder / Birthday Party / Gift
7: Elementary School / Trauma / Misfit
8: Bible / Hanging / Abuse of Power
9: Egotism / Alien Love / Hangover
10: Bank Robbery / Russia / Internet

I'll post the correct answers later.

EDIT: whoops, made a mistake in the last one.

Snarling Cup Report

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 10:24:26 GMT

It was a final that had everything except the right result and I'm glad I took the time and effort to get there. I wasn't expecting to get the chance, but because it's only the fizzy pop cup and because Arsenal would be playing their youngsters, the tickets went to Gold, then silver members and weren't sold out. So Wednesday at about 6pm I just happened to be online (no surprise there) and an Email came through offering me the chance to buy a ticket. Even though I had no plans on how to get there I was on the booking site like a shot. It was difficult to find a stand which wasn't sold out and It was fully sold out the next morning.

Coaches from Arsenal were all sold out and my train line to London had engineering works so I had no choice but to hire a car and drive.

I got up and left very early on the Sunday and was parked in Cardiff by 10am. Just in time for the pubs to open. The plan was to have a few pints early and stop drinking by lunch so that I was sober enough for the drive home. I had a quick look at the tourist map and worked out where the stadium was. I then walked past the castle and into the main town. At this point I spotted a sign to the stadium and followed that. I walked a bit and came to the conclusion that some one had nicked the stadium (bloody Chelsea fans). It just wasn't where the sign was pointed. There are no tourist maps around anyhere and added to that every other signpost had directions to every tourist attraction EXCEPT the stadium. It really was the twilight zone. It's a massive great building FFS!

I wandered down a street, but the crowd were getting worryingly blue. Finally I walked round a corner and straight into a massive crowd of Chelsea fans. I'm on my own and feel a bit vulnerable. I don't feel like asking them for directions and so pretend I've forgotten something and walk the other way. It turns out, had I looked up and not at the blue crowd I would have seen the stadium. Ho hum!

One thing worth pointing out is that I walked around a lot that day and did not see any aggressive or intimidating behaviour any where. Everyone was stunningly behaved.

3 pubs and a couple of cornish pasties later I made my way to the ground. There is a massive crowd of red and we are all kicking a football high in the air. Great fun until a jobsworth policeman confiscated it to cries and chants of: "Can We Have Our Ball Back?"

From the game itself the atmosphere was electric and better than the Grove. I thought both sets of fans were reasonably loud, even though I've heard some reports that blue fans were quiet until they were in the lead. I also felt so proud when every Arsenal fan that I could see stood and applauded John Terry off the field. He waved as he went off, so I knew he was OK.

The brawl and Almunia coming up for the last free kick topped a splendid game, though I did have the feeling (hope) that Almunia would score the equaliser.

I stayed for all of 30 seconds after the final whistle to applaud our boys and then marched to the car. It wasn't as bad as I feared getting out of Cardiff, although the fact we didn't have to wait for the awards helped.

X-Posted to Arsenal and Premiership