Beer with Arron (great chocolates!), Dave, Tim and Clare. Knackered now.

As he promised, the splendid Mo has redesigned/relaunched/regurgitated/reincarnated/refrigerated his blog/journal/site/wibble. And very good it looks too.

You may (or may not) recall that ages ago this blog was featured in ComputerActive magazine. The guy who wrote that article has been in touch again recently, seeking help on an article on blogging for the Daily Mirror (I think it will be in tomorrow’s edition) - in particular, he wanted to get in touch with some female UK bloggers. So I asked around and put him in touch with a few. In return for my efforts, he has very kindly bought a CD from my Amazon wishlist - a compilation: Abstract Jazz Lounge III. And it’s good.
Graybo: pimp to the UKblogging community.

Guess the dictator or sit-com character.

I’ve just discovered that the article that featured me *was* reproduced online. You can read it here.

Total class. via Nico.

comments is down again. I think I may change to a different service provider for the comment function. more soon.

Utterly brilliant - a huge download, but worth it. via Meg.

Comment update: Reblogger still seems to be down, in that no new comments can be added, although old ones can still be read. Jesse was talking about launching his all-new version, so whether this outage is a prelude to that, I don’t know. In the meantime, I’ve investigated a few alternatives, and BlogBack looks most appealing. However, that too is suffering an outage at the moment - or rather, no new accounts are being started until the new version is launched, which is imminent.
So, in the meantime, if you have something to say, mail me.

I guess it had to happen - when the comments are down, my sarcastic anonymous commentator reverts to using the search function to leave messages. Today (s)he asks: “Am I becoming the new Nick Jordan?”
Well, to be honest, there is only enough room in this world for one, and who would want it any other way?

Twat.

Comments are functioning again. Which is nice. Jesse (the guy that runs the comments function) tells me he is working on a stand-alone version of the code which I’ll be able to host myself, which should put an end to all these problems.

My lovely friend Jane G has just popped in to work to see me. Good to see her, especially as she hasn’t been at all well lately. And on such a lovely sunny day too.

It seems I have a reputation for starting arguments. I can’t imagine why. And Nico likens me to this character.
It’s funny in a way. On the web I seem to be perceived as corporate evil made flesh. Yet in my marketing class group, everyone reckons I’m the soft tree-hugging leftie. Strange.

Syphilis scares football players.

Globalisation keeps on truckin’.

hmmm. I’ve just found a large dead rabbit in the middle of the sales area at the nursery. The foxes wouldn’t leave a rabbit laying around. And it seems too big to have been brought down by Seamus. How odd.

Following on from a discussion taking place in Meg’s comments, I present:

My friend Rachel (the one who was supposed to be interviewing Bruce Willis - he cancelled) has had a proposal accepted by Channel 4, and will be seeing the commissioning editor on Monday. How cool is that?

In a minor miscalculation, I missed Paul C’s annual firework display tonight because I thought it was tomorrow. Damn.
However, beer with: Paul F, Helen W, Steve, Stein, Matt, Simon, Ian, Sacha, DA, DAGS, Kearn, James, Jayne, Kristian, Tim, Gary, Alison, Clare, Dave, Malcolm, Phil, Mick and the very gorgeous Cath (diminutive or not, she’s gorgeous).

I wish it was summer.

It is a beautiful clear autumn day. And I’m stuck at work. guh.

It’s very quiet today. Not much going on online, even less around here at work. Just me and the cat, and not many customers - I guess they are doing more enjoyable things on a lovely day like this. Oh well, not long to go before I can scoot home and then to the pub.

The caption of this poster translates as:

Chinese propaganda posters. (via malpractice)

Can’t see this catching on in Chichester.

Beer with Paul F and Ian. Also sighted were Malcolm, Alison, Tim, Dave, Gary and my old landlady Sas.

Visit Visit Venus and listen to good music.

SuperGreg.

Sometimes I think I think too much.
Maybe I think that I think I think too much too much too.

AFF: a very respectable 18 points, rocketing my team 12 places up the league to 271st, and taking my total to 67.

As I am sure you are all already aware, today is:

which, considering that it is also Guy Fawkes night, is quite timely. I’ll be spending the day as sensibly as possible in the office, followed by sensibly going to Waitrose and then sensibly on to college. That’ll be followed by a sensible dinner and probably a very sensible early night.

If find the contents of this story to be disappointing, both that our government isn’t doing more to encourage businesses and consumers to adopt broadband, and also that so many large firms have yet to adopt the internet at all. Unless we are very careful, we are going to be left far behind.

Mouse inventor strives for more, complete with comedy photo and caption.

Schoolboy suspended from classes after attending masquerade dressed as female genitals, even though his costume won first prize.

How come I’ve not seen this reported anywhere else? It would even have an impact on my ickle work website.

Morton, Illinois: pumpkin capital of the world.

I’m considering a redesign. I’m bored with the black background. oh hell - check back later.

Just been to see an impromptu fireworks display at the Nags, courtesy of Paul F, and attended by all the Nags regulars, acting like the big kids we really are. weeeeeeeeeee! oooooooooooooooooo! aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar!

Very cool.

I worry about this girl.

OK, so I might be the happiest man alive. I might not. But anyone who wants to take me on is welcome to try!

Beer tonight with Paul F, Paul C, Kearn, DA, Aris, Julie, Sandra, Ali, Phil, Tim, Teresa and Dave. Before that, college with Dave, Hev, Leigh, Libby, Chris, Lee, Dave, Charlotte and Holly. Much fun, little work.

and yes, I am at the centre of a stream of good news. And no, I can’t believe it either. And, yes, I do have a huge grin. More reports as things become certain.

TFF: a mediocre, but respectable, 29 points this week, taking my total to 272.

Ok - I’ve changed a few of the colours again. The “lovely blue” is back in order to satisfy sis-not-in-law, and the unpopular black background has gone. Not entirely sure that I am happy with this yet, so may tweak it more, but, as usual, constructive comments are welcome.

Bit distracted at the moment, so updates likely to remain irregular. Also, it seems that there are intermittent problems with the comments function - will I ever find a reliable and stable comments service?

Mo ponders life.

I’m abundant in the cheerfulness department tonight. Beer with Aris, Arron, Patrick, Sal, Steve C, Tim, Gary and Malcolm. And a huge grin worn throughout. My warning of sporadic updates still stands.

awwwwww!

Radio silence ends - one of the longest periods without an entry on here since its inception.
Two days of sunshine, good food, nervousness, smiling, fast cars, Berkshire countryside, good music, beautiful sunsets, autumn leaves, warm sweaters, black cats.

It’s all my fault.

A long night in the Nags and W2 last night with Aris, Julie, Greg, Brenda, DA, DAGS, Tanya, Ian, Dom, Emma, James, Matt, Kearn, Arron, Paul F, Dave, Tim, Chas, Bonny, Kristian and Hilje. Nursing a hangover this morning.

This hangover is proving to be a bit stubborn, probably because it resulted from drinking beer, vodka and champagne on a nearly empty stomach. I’m in work today, and not really focused. I should try and tidy my desk at least.

Microsoft in trouble over possible patent infringement.

Beer last night with Clive (briefly), Aris and Paul F. Lots of text messages going on all evening, but I still don’t know if I should be feeling happy, scared or disappointed. I’m hoping that I should be happy, but at the moment I’m just scared.

Matt the Bakiwop has a new project. Go take a look.

I’ve got quite a lot to do today, but motivation is lacking. Thankfully, I’ve been saved the bother of making a comment about student markets at notsosoft by a pre-emptive strike by Meg.

A bit of canny marketing by bol.com?

today is my half birthday. I’m 30½. I’d say that is the perfect excuse to buy me things.

I’ve just heard about a new plane crash in New York, but can’t get any of the online news providers to work. This is not good. Not good at all.

Plane crash: I understand exactly what Vaughan means.

Hmm. For some reason, half of the front page of this site is missing. Excuse me whilst I rush off to investigate.
Update: well, it seems to be back, although the comments have fallen off. I’ll work on that too….

Must…..resist…temptation…to….make………joke.

For some reason, my scalp has been incredibly itchy for the last 24 hours or so. Is this the symptom of something awful? Is there an easy cure? Advice welcome.
Also, for some reason, I seem to often start sentences with the words “for some reason”. I think this is because life is all just a bit strange at the moment. But strange in a good way. At least, I *think* it is good. I *hope* it is good. I’m not really sure.

I’ve just made someone very happy. From sixty miles away too.

This is bad in my view. It is ill-considered, and will probably simply provide extra expense for legitimate business and do little to protect individuals from spam.

For some reason, my scalp has been incredibly itchy for the last 24 hours or so. Is this the symptom of something awful? Is there an easy cure? Advice welcome.
Also, for some reason, I seem to often start sentences with the words “for some reason”. I think it is because life is all just a bit strange at the moment. But strange in a good way. Well I think it is good. I *hope* it is good.

Today I promise not to post the same thing twice. Not sure how that happened, although Blogger was being a bit wappy for me yesterday.
Actually, what I can promise is a paucity of posts here today (as well as an alarming amount of alliteration), as I’m going to be at a thoroughly unexciting growers’ exhibition at Sandown Park racecourse for most of today, then scooting off to London to celebrate Nick’s birthday.
In the meantime, I’d be grateful if someone could explain why I have woken up at 3.15am precisely for the last two nights, convinced that I have heard my mobile make that distinctive ‘beep-beep’ to indicate the receipt of a text message. Not only that, but I’ve known what the text message has said and who it is from. Yet, when I clamber out of bed, stagger to the living room and check my phone, no message has been received. Telepathy?

Beer (briefly) last night with Paul F, Gary, Tim, Paul C, DA and Kearn. Not eventful.

Beer last night in a particularly shabby London pub with Nick, Marcia, Mo, Katie, Jen, Tom, Fraser, Peter, Paul, Davo and the lovely Penn. An evening only briefly interrupted by an incoherent Irish drunkard.

Hmmm. I’m not a fan of smoking, but this does seem to be carrying it a bit far.

Muesli mystery solved. You can sleep easy now.

As quite a few of you know already, there have been things going on over the last week or two that I haven’t spoken about here. I was really optimistic that it would all work out perfectly - in fact, I haven’t felt more optimistic about anything in a very long time - but I found out yesterday that that was not going to be the case. As usual, I think I let my feelings run away with me - you’d think I’d learn really. But the feelings were honest, and I’d hate to lie to myself or anyone else about what is going on inside me.
Whatever happens, if I can sort my head and heart out, I think I have made a great new friend. An amazing, beautiful, funny, interesting, entertaining, patient, intelligent, understanding and caring friend. I would have loved for it to be something more, but it looks as though that’ll not be the case. But a new friend is something to be valued, and this one especially.
I feel a bit sad at the moment - I don’t think I can hide my disappointment, so please bear with me. But I know my friends will help me deal with this, my new friend especially.

Comments are not functioning at the moment. Again. guh.
Also, forgot to say (my mind has been on other things) that there are no TFF and AFF scores for this week because there were no games last weekend.

Ok. Comments are going ok now, but BlogBack users are warned to expect continued intermittent problems, caused by the volume of users. I may look into the possibility of a stand-alone script that I host myself and that does not need support from a third party. Boring techie stuff, I know, but you guys seem to enjoy commenting here, and I like the feedback - so I want it to work!

I’ve got a sore throat and a bit of a headache. Can’t decide if that is because I’m ill or stressed - either is possible. Either way, I plan to go out shortly and drink far too much in the Nags. Join me if you feel inclined.

Beer tonight (Friday) with a huge number of people, including several good sports who had their heads shaved for Children in Need. It seems about £800 to £1000 was raised, which is excellent.
But special mentions to Paul F, Arron, Ian, Dave, Paul (from the band) and his lovely girlfriend, Julie, Greg, Brenda, Phil (top work on raising money), Tam, Matt, Sacha, Tanya, Clive, Kearn, Paul C, DA, Dave and loads of other people.
A text message sent this evening remains unanswered. This is probably a good thing, although…… although. …….urf. damn.

Now it is 1am. At least the Westway isn’t trying to reach out to clutch me back.

ooooopps. too oblique.

maybe sleep will help. Difficult days lie ahead for me, but I’ll battle through, just as I have before.

Dad celebrates the completion of 71 years of life today (Saturday). This still holds true.

Not feeling particularly chirpy, but must make an effort, both for the benefit of Dad and also because I’ve to go to the AGM of an organisation I helped to form several years ago.
When I’m in the sort of mood I’m in at the moment, probably the last thing I need is a horoscope like this:

I am interested in getting to the bottom of things, because by doing so I’ll help myself to understand what is going on, and hopefully help the other person concerned too. But my horoscope is probably right, and I should tread carefully. Much is at stake.
In other news: Sarah gets back from Dubai today. Hopefully I can get the day off work tomorrow, and maybe go for lunch with her and catch up on everything.

Sometimes I wish things were much less complex. And I think that for that to be the case, I’d need to be a much less complex person. And I wouldn’t like that, because even though I sometimes irritate myself beyond belief by being stupid or stubborn or far too sensitive, ultimately I like who I am. So I guess I’ll just have to get used to things being complex. Although things have been complex for a long time, so you’d think I would have got accustomed by now. Perhaps in a way I have.

Beer tonight with Paul F, Ian, Kearn, Matt, Tam, Sacha, Kev and Andrea, with sightings of Tim, Arron, Dave and Gary. Yes, Kev and Andrea were there, and we were social. Times they are a-changing.
Text messages galore this evening. Which made me smile.
And before all that, chinese food and some excellent fireworks to celebrate my dad’s birthday.
Shockingly, I’ve come home in a good mood. But sooooooo tired.

Sundays were made to be spent at the pace I’ve set so far today - getting up late, long soaks in the bath, easy chats on the phone with good friends, strolls through town (bumped into Tim W, who also seemed to be in fine Sunday form), a light lunch of fresh bread and boiled eggs. Unfortunately, the day is now going to be spoilt by having to do homework for my course. Guh.

Seven hours to do a 72 minute exam question? Something is wrong - and what’s wrong is my ability to concentrate. I’ve spent the evening chatting online with various mates, one in particular who I love dearly, but who will not be more than a friend. At least I’ve helped her tonight, which is what friends are good at - so I’m behaving as a friend, even if I need a bit of time to get the hang of it.

Self pity. Not attractive is it?
OK - as of tomorrow, I’m going to be cheerful chirpy Graybo. Which means I’ve got a little less than half and hour left to enjoy wallowing in it.

Anyone got any good jokes? If so, put them in a comment.

Fantastic! In a few years, I can see some dim-witted protestors turning up outside the wrong WTO meeting.

Lisbon zoo finds unexpected training needed for conversion to the Euro.

What a long day this is turning out to be. Thankfully, distractions abound, which is good for morale but bad for productivity. The prospect of college doesn’t fill me with glee though, but there is the thought of fajitas to keep me going until the end of the day.
I’ve only recently discovered the joy of fajitas. They manage to combine simplicity, fun and nutrition in one dish, and have the added bonus of being variable, by altering the meat or vegetables used in the filling, or the spicy stuff used as flavouring.
Since Meg has been asking lots of questions of her readers lately, I’m going to jump on the bandwagon and ask you to join in: what’s your favourite recipe?

The comment function still seems to be operational only sporadically. Fear not, I’m working on it.

Sorry that I’ve been a bit quiet here today - been busy with actual work and also updating my marketing pages. Normal service will be resumed as soon as I can.

College tonight, followed by more fajitas. Then beer with Paul F, Arron, DA and Kearn with sightings of Tim, Dave, Ricky, Kristian and Terry.
Beer is not a good mood improver, is it?

If you come here and find that the comments are missing from the bottom of each post, go to the Blogback page (there is a link in the navbar under Resources) and then use the Back button on your browser to come back here. The comments should then appear as normal. Don’t ask me why it works, it just does.

TFF: 30 points this week, taking my score to 302.
oooo! I’ve just noticed I made a miscalculation waaaaaay back in the second week of the season, when I actually scored 29 instead of the 27 that I recorded. So my correct total is 304.
Transfers today:
OUT: Stewart (until his jaw is fixed), Matteo and Cole.
IN: Alpay, Ricketts and Riise.

A Wednesday morning in the life of Graybo:
The alarm goes off at 6:59am, just in time to catch the 7am news bulletin. My first thought is a sleep-muffled “already?” followed by a long sigh - a double bed can be a lonely place in the morning. I’m sorely tempted to roll over and snuggle against the warm radiator for a while, but instead I throw back the duvet, drink the glass of water I keep on my bedside table, and stagger out of the room without turning on any lights.
In the bathroom, I run a bath and soak for a while by candlelight, reading a paperback and letting the scent from a bath ballistic relax me, as music drifts in from the stereo in the living room. Eventually, I drag myself from this retreat to face the day.
After selecting clothes for the day (a blue shirt, blue sweater and blue jeans - bit of a blue day, really), breakfast consists of Weetabix with too much sugar (just the way I like them), a glass of cranberry juice and an assortment of vitamin supplements. At 8:20, I lock the door and walk down Chapel Street towards the Cathedral, passing the same people I pass every morning - the blonde woman walking towards the County Council offices, the couple kissing goodbye by the back door of Marks and Spencer, the man who always carries a bottle of sparkling mineral water. I cross the Cathedral Green which is lush and peaceful - a man is picking litter and putting it into a large grey plastic bin bag - and walk through The Close into South Street.
After the peace of the green, the noise in South Street is almost deafening. Two street sweepers are working their way northwards, one on the pavement and one on the road. A man is picking up bags of rubbish and hurling them into the back of a lorry. A group of men are repairing the pavement. And a steady stream of people stride towards their workplaces from the railway and bus stations - the same faces every morning, sometimes showing smiles, occasionally showing tears, usually displaying that blank numb face of morning.
Dodging the cars in Avenue de Chartres, I get to the railway station, show my ticket and walk onto the platform. I buy a newspaper in the cafeteria, queuing behind a tall woman who always buys the Times and in front of an impossibly thin but very pretty woman who always buys the Sun. All three of us have timed it perfectly - as we leave the cafeteria, newspapers in hand, the 8:33 stopping service to Brighton rolls up to the platform, releasing its cargo of schoolchildren, college students and office workers. I take my usual seat, just over halfway along the third carriage - the usual faces are on the train, each in their usual places, every one ignoring the others, even though we have all travelled together every day for a long time.
I read the newspaper headlines as the train rumbles along its short journey to Barnham. Glancing up, my old school comes into view, the cue to fold my newspaper away and prepare to leave the train. I stand by the door and open it at the train comes to a halt, then leave the station and cross the road to the baker’s shop to buy a loaf of bread. A little chat ensues with Heather (the assistant) as she puts my french loaf into a bag (”isn’t it a horrid grey morning?”), then I pay and leave, walking along the road to my office.
On arrival, I leave the paper and bread on a desk, say “good morning” to Seamus (the cat), switch on my PC and sit writing about my morning so far….

Worrying news. My aunt has been admitted to hospital, having been diagnosed with breast cancer. She is to have her left breast removed, as well as the glands under her arm. We are all concerned for her - a concern made worse by the fact that she lives on the other side of the world in Wanganui, New Zealand. So it is a little hard for us to just go and visit her.
Our family has a long history of cancer - everyone on my father’s side of the family has experienced cancer in one form or another. My grandmother (my father’s and my aunt’s mother) died from breast cancer when I was only five years old - a thought which is certainly at the front of my father’s mind today. It is something that truly scares me.
Click here to read about the Imperial Cancer Research Fund.

Sometimes I have the most bizarre conversations with my brother. Today: the fetish of eating candyfloss off of a car seat.

… and it gives you a nice warm feeling too!

AFF: 8 points this week, taking my score to 75 and leaving me languishing in 274th place, down three places on last week. However, I did get ahead of a certain other blogger in the monthly league, finishing 104th compared to his lowly 171st. He’s still 36 points and 80 places ahead of me though.

I’m having a bit of a weird day today, largely brought about by a very strange dream that I had last night that was particularly intense and vivid, still rumbling around my synapses now. I won’t bore you with the details, although I’m curious to know what it might mean.
Unexpected bonus for the day, though, is receipt of a CD from my online pal Lizzie (thank you!). The CD is by Lemon Jelly and is very good indeed - I’m sure I’ve heard the first track before, probably on Monkey Radio. With the CD, Lizzie has enclosed a 1970s postcard of Zabriskie Point.

Talking of weird…

• will someone please explain exactly what is going on over at orbyn.com with the Orbyt collective?
• and isn’t this just a bit too "ewww!"? (via Marcia)

Now I know why I detest Toony Blair. He’s really a closet Geordie.

Jen has moved home.

Having a slow Thursday? Lighten up with a few jokes. Assuming you have a sense of humour, that is.

This article raises some interesting points.
Firstly, there is clearly something seriously wrong with the system that tracks ownership of domains. The whole thing makes Verisign look Veribad.
Secondly, what should happen to a domain name when a company goes into liquidation?
And, thirdly, what the hell was the marketing department at Boots (the chemists) thinking? Surely they should have been looking to purchase boots.com long before now?

I’m listening to Monkey Radio, and they are playing a “song” by Inevidence called Cum Dancing, which features a sample of a woman crying and screaming in an ecstatic fashion. When will songmakers learn that this sort of thing really isn’t pretty? You’re certainly pretty unlikely to dance to the sound of someone shagging - well, at least I wouldn’t! I suppose you could shove it on the stereo on autorepeat, turn it up loud and impress the neighbours with your staying power.

Beer last night with Malcolm, Phil, Tim, Gary, Arron, Aris and Al.

I sometimes worry why on earth Marcia spends her time looking for sites like this. Since when has "gimping" and "crutching" been a turn-on? (not office safe, needless to say)

AFF transfer: Marcus Stewart out, replaced by Andy Cole.

Quiet round here, isn’t it?

Beer tonight (Friday) with Paul F, Malcolm, Dave, Tim (pissed), Clive, Julie, Arron, DA (very pissed), Kearn, Kev (sociable again), Geoff, Clare, Lisa, Teresa (in her new beret) and Phil. Wore my grayblog t-shirt, so hopefully will get thousands of new visits here (Hi! if you visited here because of my cool t-shirt - click ‘merchandise’ in the sidebar if you want one yourself).

Don’t you hate it when you are expecting something in the post, and it doesn’t arrive? The next opportunity for postal satisfaction won’t be until Monday morning now - and I’m almost beginning to worry that it won’t show up at all, as it was apparently sent at least three days ago.
I wasn’t feeling especially cheerful when I woke up anyway, and a little thing like that is enough to make me feel really maudlin. It’s one of the hazards of being slightly hungover (too much beer, too much vodka and too many olives at 2am).
Anyhow, I’ll cheer up because I’m going to be spending a large chunk of today with the girls from the college course, doing some revision and hopefully winding down a bit.

Revision for four hours with Charlotte, Heather, Holly and Leigh, along with Leigh’s gorgeous kitten, Cookie. Followed by afternoon drinks with Sarah. I feel sleepy.

Contracted from Meg.

Beer tonight with Tim, Matt, Brenda, the lovely Donna, Greg, Ian, Paul C, Kearn, Kev, Andrea and Sacha, with the added bonus of sightings of Malcolm, Dave and my old school friend Mandy.

It’s strange how a scent can stir memories.

I really should try to get an early night sometime soon. Then I might not feel like punching the train crew on the 9:26 from Chichester, who were irritatingly cheerful this morning. Additionally, I’d probably find it easier to win the daily battle with EvilDuvet II and drag myself from bed early enough that I don’t have to rush.

People who use the internet are "sociable and successful" according to a new survey. I’ll go along with the sociable part, but I think I could do with a bit more time to work on the successful bit.

Paul’s A to Z of excuses for not updating his site could easily be adapted to any situation. I suggest that you go and read them, make notes and perhaps use them next time you are late for a meeting.

New conifer genus discovered. Name changes ahead - oh joy. If there is one thing that horticulturalists hate, it is plant name changes. At least this sounds like it has good reason.

Feeling a bit rusty on Chinese communist doctrine? Fear not! The Chinese People’s Daily has thoughtfully provided a handy repository of the selected works of Deng Xiaoping.

Sex and money incompatible. I’m skint, so why am I not getting more sex?

oh yuk!

Gah. I can feel my mood slipping, after something of a recovery in the last 36 hours. Time for a large mug of strong coffee and some Siouxsie and the Banshees. Loud.
(note to self: must add some Creatures CDs to my Amazon wishlist.)

AltaVista users can be very strange.

Attila the Stockbroker has a website. Go see.

Just had dinner, but got a bit over-enthusiastic with putting peas into the pan. Thankfully, I was able to invoke Nick Taylor’s First Law of Peas.

So much for the early night: just got a call from Arron: “fancy heading to the bar to try some home-made chocolates and drink beer?”. I am weak.

I really must update the graybiography. And my CV. I’ll do it soon - I promise.

AFF: 8 points this week, taking my total to 83, regaining the three places I lost last week, and narrowing the gap with Nico by 2 points and 12 places.

I’m reading Extra Virgin by Annie Hawes at the moment - it’s the story of how she came to buy and live in a rustic cottage in the Liguria area of Italy (and it is very good). Combine a book like that with my current mood, and what do you get? Hair-brained ideas, that’s what - ranging from jacking it all in and moving to Spain or Italy (totally preposterous) through to grabbing a friend and going away for a weekend in Lisbon (equally preposterous given the current state of my finances - unless I can find a wealthy friend stupid enough to take me on holiday).
Of course, what I should really do is sort out my double glazing, fix up my new shelf and lighting and sort out whatever it is that is blocking the kitchen sink. And revise for my exams. sigh.

Evidently, I’m Britney too.
via Tom.

Forget Windows XP. What you need is RedOffice 1.0, the first operating system to be endorsed by the Chinese government.

In today’s news:

• the weather is cold, grey and miserable
• I am cold, Gray and miserable
• I can’t get no [postal] satisfaction - the item of mail I’ve been waiting for still has not arrived. I am pretty much convinced that it is lost in the post
• Due to extended faffing about, I nearly missed my train this morning
• I’m really missing someone
• …and will someone please remind me never to get into a Nigerian swimming pool?

Advantages of my job:

• free internet access
• ability to feed my addiction to current affairs by listening to FiveLive for the Chancellor’s pre-budget report (see my marketing page for links)
• cheese scones on demand

TFF: considering the lack of goals at the weekend (I don’t have Thierry Henry in my team), a very respectable 21 points this week, taking my total to 325.

Loads of people have linked to it (I read about it over at Luke’s site), but this really is utterly brilliant.

I should have done it ages ago, but I’ve just got round to adding Darren’s LMG to the list of personal sites I read. Top quality amusement.

How bizarre. I’ve just been to an exhibition about the new open-access schemes (which allow evil ramblers to ramble, but thankfully not here), and bumped into a girl I went to primary school with, and haven’t seen for 20 years. Shame we didn’t have a chance to talk - would have been interesting to find out what she had done during that time. Has to be said that it doesn’t seem as though she has changed much, and I can’t say we got on well 20 years ago, so I’m not sure we would now.

A night in, featuring:

• revision (ugh!)
• listening to Hitch Hiker’s Guide on Radio 4 (yay! - but the last episode - boo!)
• munching pistachios - buy two packs, save £1 at Waitrose (bargain!)
• splendid food - chicken and vegetables in rustic tomato and chilli sauce on a bed of basmati and wild rice (and enough for tomorrow’s dinner too - I had one of those galloping gourmet moments [argument rages as to whether I was named for Graham Kerr or Graham Hill - see me in the kitchen and it’s Kerr, in a car and it’s Hill!])
• good music, thanks to Aerial M, Monkey Radio and John Peel, in that order (wide!)
• a bottle of pinot grigio from Waitrose - only £3.99 and bloody gorgeous (hic!)
• gorgeous chocolate mousse for dessert
• all to be followed by listening to Gilles Peterson from between clean crisp sheets whilst devouring an excellent paperback

All that is missing is someone to share it all with.

Some days I think that the world is dropping me subtle hints that are driving me towards a series of inexorable conclusions.
Either way, it’s a foul morning out there - wet, windy and grey. Thoroughly depressing. But, one of the conclusions that I have reached is that I must at least try to be positive and upbeat, so that is exactly what I am going to do, and sod the bloody weather!

This and this are very funny. Darn, another blog that I’ll have to add to the "approved" list.

Forgot to mention: my Advanced Certificate in Marketing arrived yesterday, so I’ll be shopping for a frame this weekend. I worked hard for it, so you can be sure it will be on display!

For crying aloud. If I see another instance of the BadTrans B virus, I think I’ll scream. Or at least tut and mutter under my breath.
If you don’t have any virus protection on your PC, for heaven’s sake get some!

No, no, no! This isn’t going nearly far enough. After all, even the real world, far removed from ‘weblogging’, is full of utter shite, tedium and drivel, not to mention a large number of small minded, thick, ugly and generally undesirable people. And if you can’t stand being near the poorer quality web content by virtue of sharing the same medium, how can you stand being on the same planet as those people, standing on the same rock hurtling through space? Why not just end it all, and go on to better things in a utopian afterworld of Linux, Mozilla and iBooks?

Someone got here by searching Google for a Miss Bitch t-shirt. One she has worn, or one bearing her image?

Last night, I enjoyed a restful and useful evening. Deleted a few unwanted emails, did nearly two hours revision, cooked and ate a lovely meal, chatted aimlessly online with Marcia, Nick and Sarah, poked about a few websites, read a book, listened to some good music, drank a beer and then clambered into bed. Tonight should be even better, with plans to eat and revise, then head off to the bar to catch up with everyone. I’ve been a bit of a recluse this week due to the pressing need to revise and a severe shortage of funds. I’ll also be heading off in a few minutes to see Jo, get my hair cut (barely necessary, it’s hardly grown since the last time) and get up to speed on the gossip.

George Harrison, 1943-2001.
Hopefully, rather than buying flowers and creating one of those instant shrines, Princess Diana style, people might donate to the Imperial Cancer Research Fund or some other good cause.

I’m tired. Considering that I haven’t really done much today, this is a bad thing. I feel like I’ve spent an hour or two in a tumble dryer. A cold and particularly uncomfortable one.
However, in tune with my current must-be-forward-looking-and-cheerful policy, I’m looking forward to heading down the pub tonight - I need to chill with friends. I might even switch off my mobile for an hour or two. Not that it would make much difference in the Nags anyway, as the reception is non-existent in there. And I’d just *have* to switch it on again as I am walking home, being a communication addict. So I’ll probably just leave it switched on, and save myself the effort.