That new car smell
May 13, 2008
Today is the first day, since I started in a new job at the beginning of January, that I’ve forgotten to shave before going to work in the morning. I remembered as I was walking to the bus, but didn’t have time to go back and do it. When I got in there was no fanfare. Nor any telling off. (Nobody even seemed to notice. Not that I’m bitter or anything. Oh no.) Nevertheless it somehow seems important. As if the honeymoon is over. The new car smell is gone.
Mole fantastic!
April 15, 2008
I’m sure it wasn’t so fun for his neighbours, whose houses allegedly were at risk from his excavations, but I found this story of a man who spent 40 years digging a labyrinth under his house to be incredibly amusing. You’ve just got to applaud it.
Beauty & depth
April 9, 2008
People who appreciate beautiful art are said to have depth. People who put a lot of weight on beauty in a partner are regarded shallow. Discuss.
Wifi network and computer network names
September 24, 2007
Will wants to know the scheme I use for Wifi network and computer network names. Though I’m not really keen on these memes, I’m not above admitting I’m feeling a bit flattered to have been tagged. So I’ve decided to dish the dirt:
- My current wireless network is called “Icon”. It is named after an album by Paradise Lost. (Which was my first wireless network.)
- My home machine is called Russet and my work machine Idared.
Anybody spot the link between the the computer names without googling? :)
Parking hostility
July 3, 2007
Islington residents recently voted yes to higher parking charges for gas guzzlers. This is wonderful news. Anyone driving enormous 4×4 vehicles in London deserve what they get. Buy an environmentally friendly car, jackass.
I don’t know what the charges will be, but here is my suggestion: Let’s first find out how much it would cost to hire a person to continuously drive your car around the block while you’re not using it. Then, let’s make the parking charges just enough cheaper than that for it not to be an economically viable solution. Alternatively, let’s make it economically viable but an offence punishable by destruction of your car.
No Smoking
July 1, 2007
Nadia and I went to the Northgate, on the corner Northchurch road and Southgate road, to celebrate the smoking ban finally kicking in across England. It is not a moment too soon, and we’ve been looking forward to it for ages.
Nadia had roast whole plaice with baby vegetables and champagne sauce, while I went for halibut with lentils and green beans. Nadia found the plaice a bit bland and undercooked, while I really enjoyed the halibut. It was dry in places and juicy in others, but very tasty all the way through.
For dessert Nadia had chocolate grand marnier truffles with vanilla cream, while I had vanilla panacotta with a berry compote. We ended up eating about half of each other’s, and we found that the dishes were a fantastic mix.
One downside was that they’ve stopped doing Peetermans, but this was compensated a bit by me finding out that they had both Früli and Kriek—albeit bottled.
The Orient Express
June 21, 2007
Today Nadia and I took her parents on a day-trip to Folkstone on the Orient Express. We left Victoria at about 11:30 and had a delicious three course lunch on the way down. The main course, in particular, was fantastic.
The train in itself was an experience. It consisted exclusively of British Pullman carriages; ours was the Ibis, built in 1925. We had our own compartment, and people in white uniforms falling over themselves to make sure we had a comfortable journey.
Even the toilet was spacious, and came complete with a huge marble sink and naked lady mosaic flooring. I also liked that it had honest-to-god coat-hangers so you could hang your coat up properly whilst riding the porcelain bus. None of those pert knobs on the wall that leaves your jacket a funny shape afterwards. Oh, no.
As we arrived at Folkstone Harbour Band a four-piece band started playing 1920’s music. Well, it sounded like 1920’s music to me, at least. They were jolly, and pretty good, and added a great atmosphere.
We were taken by bus up to Grand and Metropole hotels, where we spent a good 80 minutes stretching our legs trotting around the grounds and lounging in the bar. Nadia and I also had a good laugh at a Japanese woman with one of the weirdest head-garments I’ve ever seen. It looked like she’d super-glued half a surf-board to her forehead. It was hilarious. I wish I managed to get a picture of it, but I was laughing too hard.
We left an hour late from Folkstone, but the driver managed to rein in about three quarters of that, making our homeward trip a little bouncier than I’d liked. It meant that if we filled our tea-cups more than one third up, they would spill if we didn’t hold on to them all the time. Other than that, the sandwiches, scones, clotted cream, jam, and cakes were all wonderful.
Pop Quiz
June 11, 2007
I’ve just been to the gym. As I gathered all my things and prepared to leave the changing rooms a tall lanky guy arrived and dropped his open gym bag on the floor. And, here’s the thing, a huge tub of Vaseline fell out.
Honestly, why would anyone keep a tub of Vaseline in their gym bag? I’m sure keeping the machines well-greased is the responsibility of the people who run the gym, so what use could it possibly be? Answers in the comments please! (Oh, and keep it tidy please.)
Oops. I had somehow disallowed commenting on this post. Fixed now. Comment away!
Can of Worms
June 5, 2007
You know the feeling: you’re at your desk, planet-sized brain poring over some code through your beady browns. Then out of the blue somebody arrives with a can of worms, and there can be no mistake: it’s got your name written on it. It’s yours.
This happened to me at work today. It wasn’t your regular baked-bean tin either. No, sir! It was a large green plastic container. With a carrying handle. Subsidised by the council, even. And not to forget: my name on the shipping label.
Normally I’d kicked the bucket at this point, but today it was a pleasant surprise. I did not expect my new wormery until tomorrow.
It’s a wonderful thing. I think. I’ll feed it leftover food, cardboard, egg-shells, dust-rabbits, and the contents of my Dyson; in return, the little crawlies inside will produce excellent compost for my plants.
(Pictures of the actual worms in question over here.)
Mail redirections gone wrong
April 11, 2007
We’ve had a Royal Mail redirection in place since we moved from our last flat in Stanmore nearly a year ago. It’s mostly been working OK, though occasionally it gets the hiccups and Nadia’s mail is sent to her sister instead (and her mail to us), but at least those letters get to the right addressee in the end.
This last blunder, however, is a bit more of a mystery. We’ve got mail redirected to us from an address we’ve never lived in: we were in 27 Lady Aylesford Avenue, but the redirection is from flat 28. Ok, so somebody might have been a bit chubby-fingered; 7 & 8 are, like, right next to each other. It turned really interesting when I opened the pack and found two letters to a Mrs King in 18 Embryo Drive—a person we don’t know, at an address we’ve never heard of.
There’s only one way I can imagine how this could happen: Someone must have been behind on their workload and decided to just make stuff up to make it seem like they were catching up. Or maybe they were on their last day, or were excruciatingly hung-over, and decided to have a little fun.
By the way, Mrs King, it looks like it’s just spam from Argos. You want it, or should I just throw it away?
