I’m home after a very useful but tiring trip. Full report will follow. I’ve been here about 30 minutes, so I think that is enough time elapsed that I can now head to the Nags (actually going for a pre-arranged lunch with Jane G).

Not good. I wonder what this will mean for the space program?

Beer, champagne and red wine aplenty last night in the company of Lady Bren, Lord Percy, Fi and Julie A. I feel a little delicate this morning. This morning? Blimey, it’s 2.20 already! oops

Some recent pictures….

Pulteney Bridge, Bath, Somerset.
The Courthouse, Santa Barbara, CA.
The Pier, Pismo Beach, CA.
Priory Park, Chichester, in the snow.

As promised, a report on my trip to Germany:
Not much to tell really. I travelled with Mike, one of the guys who is supporting The Project. We travelled separately to Gatwick by train, which were thankfully running normally in spite of the snow - it was probably not the "wrong type". Our flight was delayed though, and the journey in the Aérospatiale ATR-72 was pretty rough in the snow and strong wind, to say the least. I think I can get quite used to bumpy flights, although it was noticable that quite a few passengers were pretty tense, including my travelling companion. Most odd was the guy in t-shirt and shorts, totally the wrong dress for Gatwick or Dusseldorf (both only just above freezing).
From Dusseldorf, we took the train to Essen, and then the U-bahn to our hotel, which we located pretty quickly. As we walked to the hotel, we passed a friendly looking bar, and returned there after checking-in in order to sample the local beverages and food, which were extremely good. Mike is a fluent German-speaker, having gone to university in Bonn, so communication wasn’t a problem, which is just as well as I hadn’t spoken German since my third-year lessons with Mr Cockburn, some sixteen or seventeen years ago. By the end of our stay, it was slowly coming back to me, and I was able to confidently order two coffees and two slices of apple cake in a café.
Day two saw us walk through the snow-covered streets of Essen to the Messe Essen exhibition centre for the Internationale Pflanzenmesse 2003, better known as IPM, Europe’s biggest horticultural trade show. IPM is a three day event featuring literally hundreds of exhibits by companies and organisations from all over Europe and beyond, filling all twelve of the Messe Essen’s halls. We attempted to see the entire event in a day, which, we quickly realised, was an impossible task. However, we had come prepared, with copies of the event catalogue marked with a "hit-list" of must-see stands, and even a route map to show our best route through the halls to see what we wanted to see. Inevitably, along the way we saw other things that interested us, and I’m sure that if we had had more time, we would have found other things too.
I plan to go again next year, but will allow two days to go around the halls more thoroughly, so that I can spend more time discussing things at each stand that I visit. Thankfully, the majority of exhibitors spoke good English - for those that didn’t, Mike had to translate for my benefit. Many also had literature in English, and we both left the event heavily laden with brochures, catalogues and handouts - so much so that we decided not to walk, but to take the U-bahn back to our hotel.
We only stopped briefly at the hotel, before heading out for dinner at the Oase Italian restaurant with Mike’s German friend Jakob and his wife Maria. We had an excellent conversation (they both speak English fluently) covering all sorts of work and non-work topics, aided by a very good merlot, some splendid grappa and one of the best Italian meals I have ever had, with the finest calamari I’ve tasted in my life. If you are in Essen and need a good meal, Oase would be highly recommended by me. Before we parted, Jakob and Maria invited me to visit and stay with them at their home in southern Germany, and offered to take me on a tour of business-related sites in the region - a very generous offer that I will be sure to take up.
The next morning saw us surface early to take a taxi back to Dusseldorf for our flight back to blighty, this time on a 737 in clearer weather, affording good views across the snowy German landscape. A tiring and time-pressured trip, but extremely useful for me.

I’m piling on the pounds again at the moment. America was not good for my waistline. Nor was Germany. And I’ve just cooked and eaten a huge but delicious roast dinner (first one I’ve done in a while here). Might be time to start the walking-after-work routine again soon, or maybe actually get round to getting my bicycle repaired.

GRAYBLOG - I DONT KNOW U PAOPL3 Y R U H3R3??!!???! WTF LOL
via Marcia.

Should I be disturbed by the fact that this site comes in the top ten search results for masonic ringtones? What exactly is a masonic ringtone anyway?

These B3tans, they are the craziest peoples.

This seems like a good working solution to a long-running problem. However, I feel that it is important that rules such as those proposed are confined to food crops only, and not extended to ornamentals (which are currently covered by the same patent and plant variety rights legislation). Additionally, who defines what is or is not an "exempt" farm?
Having said that, I’ve always felt that it is bad practice (i.e. unethical) to take plant patents/PVR on naturally occuring plant varieties where no development work has taken place. Where there has been a selection or breeding process undertaken by a plant breeder/developer, then that is a different matter, as there has been cost and effort incurred which needs to be recouped and profit sought. This is not the case with plant materials that occur naturally in the wild (although defining that state will always be open to conjecture).

I should be doing and acting.
Instead, I’m prevaricating, dwelling on "stuff", undoubtedly thinking too much, and generally needing motivation, probably in the form of a swift kick up the backside.
Even a hug would be good right now.

Consider the thinking well and truly over.
Consider a conclusion reached.
Consider that I’m walking away whilst the walking is good, and that there are better options to be followed.
Consider that I feel much better now that I know what I’m doing.

Once again, radio grayblog is full of tunes that so perfectly reflect my mood. I notice that my listeners are steadily increasing in number too. I’ll try and add a few new tunes over the next few days, if I find time.

A bright and sunny morning, with very very clear air, affording perfect views of a buzzard (or similar sized bird) that flew overhead earlier in great looping circles, trying to find a thermal that would lift it higher, whilst attempting to dodge the attentions of a less-than-happy rook.
Actually, my disposition is reasonably bright and sunny as well. It’ll never last.

Is it me, or is today really dragging?
Regular comment writers have been quiet lately - so, come on, make some noise!

Read the comments to this post. Fraser has some straaaange readers.
Joy of joys, I’m off to let beautiful women run their fingers through my hair. Marvellous!

Busy busy, revising The Document. Again. gah.

About page revised.
Just had a phone call. That was easier than I’d expected, and highly amicable.

According to the latest figures from the Halifax, I "earned" more last month by being a property owner than I did through turning up for work each day. This is good news, as I spent more last month than I earned through turning up for work each day, roughly by the same amount that my property increased in value. urf.

Lots and lots to do this morning. What to do first? And it’s nearly afternoon already. Pants.

I’ve been struggling with recalcitrant Blogger all morning. If anyone says "why don’t you use MT?", I’ll hit them. Hard.

Slaving over a hot Document again this evening. However, a few minor steps forward today: forms obtained from the NatWest; first credit account set up; domain names registered.
I wanted to register four domain names. The most important one was available in both .com and .co.uk versions, no problem, but the secondary one that I wanted was available only in .co.uk form. I checked and found that the .com variant is being sat on by a domain name company, who, when approached, attached a price tag of US$3880.00, more than £2500, which is about one hundred times my budget for this. Is this utterly unreasonable, or what? Advice appreciated from anyone that has more experience of these things.
Incidentally, I wouldn’t be too concerned if I didn’t get this domain name. The one that counts is safely mine.

Live365 are changing their terms, so that to listen to radio grayblog, listeners must first log in. I’ve been considering upgrading from the lowest level of service, and possibly going ad-free, as these two things would help me get some sort of money back (in an referral fee style). But it is one of those spend money with no guarantee of return situations. Dunno - still thinking about it.

Beer tonight with Arron. Sightings of Alex, Nikki, Clive and Hamish.
I hear that Bora is leaving Chichester. But I’ve heard that before.

No news this morning.
Had to run for my train due to lingering too long over breakfast, but having stepped on the scales as I stepped out of the shower, a little exercise may be no bad thing. Thank goodness that the evenings will soon be getting light - I’ll be able to restart my walking regimen.

"From the outset, I tried to be different…"
And succeeded. Scaryduck’s first birthday.

It comes to something when the most exciting thing going on around work at the moment is speculation on the reason for workmen digging a series of holes in the road through the middle of the village.
I reckon it’s the sewers.

Boothby Graffoe - utterly brilliant.

Yay! My new business is being born! It will take around eight working days. I’m really REALLY excited!

What I’m less excited about is tidying this flat. It’s a tip, and I have two lovely laydeez coming around for dinner tomorrow. It would be good if it was less of a tip by then.

Is Getting On the new Scaryduck?

Very busy, therefore quiet.
You ok?

Top marks to Barclays for using Rae and Christian for their hold music - had me bopping around the office. Further top marks for keeping me on hold for no more than a minute too.

Ridiculously tired this morning, compounded by the fact that the ultra-strong Javan I made at 2.30 this morning for me and Julie kicked in at around 6am, precluding much more in the way of profitable sleep. So I got up a little after 8, floated in the bath for a while, then went to the bank. Now I’m sitting here, looking at my monitor, and thinking “I really should do some work on The Project”, when all I really want to do is sleep. And then there is the small matter of the washing up mountain, looking at me beadily from the table and kitchen.
Anyway, as you will no doubt realise if you’ve read the comments two posts down, last night’s dinner with Fi and Julie was a roaring success, not least because the three of us got roaringly drunk. Again. Apologies to neighbours for any late night loudness that may have occured (memory a bit patchy). On the plus side, we plan to make these little threesome dinners a regular event, which, I must say, is an utterly splendid thing.

I’m trying to figure out what I did yesterday or last night that has made my thighs ache this morning. Whatever it was, I hope I enjoyed it.

I know what didn’t happen last night - the Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou 1997 is still sitting here in my wine rack, gently gathering dust, so we obviously didn’t drink that. That’ll have to wait until next time.

It’s things like this that make me proud to be British: man smashes record for least distance covered in a boat in the greatest time.

The BBC article includes this picture:

If you look closely in the bottom left corner, I think you’ll see the problem - he’s still tied up!

EDIT: live footage of the rower from his boatcam:

I spent far too long on this. Not exactly B3ta quality, but quite fun for a first attempt at animation.

This is a joke, right?
Brighton 4 - Wolves 1. Who’d have predicted that?

….must….get……motivated….
Beer last night with Paul F and Tim W, with sightings of Malcolm, Sally and the rest of the Nags suspects.
Really should make better use of today than I made of yesterday. So I’m going to do some laundry, some work on The Project and take a stroll through the city to Waitrose.
And the tulips I bought the other day have all opened, which is nice.

Not doing very well. 3.15, and I’ve done one lot of laundry, the washing up and have been shopping, but really have no desire to do anything on The Project. I really should do, as it can not progress until I do the things that need to be done, but, to be honest, all I want to do at the moment is curl up on the sofa and have a kip. Maybe I’ll do that for a while and then work later whilst my dinner is roasting.

Formula 1: my tip for car and driver to watch this season can be found here. I may be proven wrong, by I reckon that Renault and Jaguar will have a tough time keeping up with the Saubers, and, as has been shown in some races in 2001 and 2002, Sauber can threaten the podium on a good day.

I’m sick of Valentine’s Day already. I think last year I wrote some nauseating guff about how lovely and peachy it all is, and how single people should be jolly happy and all the rest, because I was all loved up with Marianne. Well, don’t expect that this year unless a minor miracle occurs between now and Friday. Instead, expect me to be miserable and curmudgeonly, and probably rambling on about the fact that I haven’t had a VD card since 1997. grump.
I’m fed up with the whole anti-valentine’s thing too. If people want to be happy and gooey and give each other cards, flowers, dinner and genital herpes, well that’s up to them. We’ve all done it at some time or another, even in a small way, so really have no room to make any sort of statement about it. But don’t try to get me to make some statement about it in the form of an e-card or something. I’ll just be miserable and grumpy here, all by myself, without any help from anyone else, thank you.

Next time you’re having problems with BT, call up your local neighbourhood eunuch.

The wonder that is Lizzie is seeking either a zimmer frame or (preferably) an electric wheelchair for a life of laughter, sex and goodness knows what else on stage in comedy clubs and so forth. Can you help? The budget for this is nil, so she’s relying on the generosity of some kind soul or souls. If you can help her (useful if you’re in the London area), let me know.

Monday. Mooooooonday. Mooooooooooooondaaaaaay.
yup. Bored already.
Anyone got any exciting gossip?

Been busy all day.
Just so you know.

Sorreeee. No updates due to busyness.
Beer tonight with Paul F, discussing The Project. Always useful to get another perspective.

Anyone in the Chichester area interested in sharing an office? I looked at two yesterday - one was lovely, but much too big for me to use (or afford) on my own - sharing with another person would make it perfect, and would mean that I don’t go insane through working on my own. The other was okaaaay, but had no window, only a skylight. I think I could go slightly mad if I could see nothing more than a square of sky.
The trouble is, I can afford the second one, but they need me to give a response as soon as possible. I don’t really wanyt to be bounced into choosing an office, and, somehow, this one just didn’t seem right for me.
Sigh.

I woke up with a sore throat this morning and a decided lack of lustre. Joy of joys, I have to travel to Tunbridge Wells this evening to give a presentation, and then I’ve got to visit a trade show near Bournemouth tomorrow. So lots of driving (never good when lacking lustre) and even more talking. gah.

via various sources comes a blog from Baghdad. Worth a look.

Wish it was warmer.
Yesterday, I spent a bit of time in the bank re-arranging my finances (with The Project in mind). I now owe frightening sums of moolah, but should be able to clear my credit cards, thereby reducing my monthly repayment costs considerably (smaller repayments, much longer period). This leaves a massive temptation to wander into a (virtual) travel agent and nip off to sunnier climes for a bit, particularly as I haven’t had a holiday (excluding the weekend in Bath) since the first week of 2001. I’ve said this before, though, haven’t I?

I’m sure that Nato used to be called NATO.

Out for most of today at a trade show in Bournemouth. Expect quiet.

Trade show very useful. Met with Jane G and enjoyed a coffee, and came away with a shedload of brochures, leaflets and contacts.
Snuffly cold. Knackered. Pooped. Expect more quietitude.

For those who were aware that he was going into hospital, I can report that Arron is remarkably good condition - largely because his operation was postponed. Apparently, they won’t operate on a sinus condition when the patient has a cold. NO! Don’t think about it! EEEeeeeeeww!!

urf. My cold is even worse this morning. I’m more bunged up than ever, which is impacting on my enthusiasm/ability to do much that is constructive. However, being the martyr that I am, I’ve dragged myself to the office for another day of hard work. Get the violins out.

New Weebl, definitely with "ah bless!" quality.

Anyone here read Horticulture Week? No, didn’t think that any of you would. It is not exactly a thrilling read that will keep you on the edge of your seat. However, this week’s issue is very useful to me indeed.

via Marcia: weapons of mass destruction error page.

This site is going through one of those unexciting periods again, isn’t it? (Oi, you at the back, stop muttering "no change there" before I come over and bop you).
Well, all I can is apologise and suggest that I’ve run out of oomph, special sauce, beans, drive, inspiration or whatever you like to call it. I’ll try and write with more enthusiasm shortly.
And I’ll try and update radio grayblog too (yet more apologies to those people that I’ve promised to add music for).

In the meantime, today’s question for debate is: should Graybo join a dating agency (again)? Bung your comments into the ..um.. comments under this post, and I’ll cogitate, procrastinate, prevaricate, obfuscate, levitate, dehydrate, masticate (steady!), ruminate, ungulate and then go and watch an Ingmar Bergman film rather than make a decision.

For the first time since 1997, I got a Valentine’s Day card. So thanks and big love going to Berkshire’s finest.
All I need now is one from someone who actually wants to get in my pants!

Was late for work this morning, as I had to stay late at home for the arrival of a surveyor to view my flat. All related to The Project, of course.

As I walked home, a man was playing a clarinet under the arches at the Council House in North Street. All rather mournful for Valentine’s Day.
I’m in something of a volatile mood, swinging between irritation at the whole VD thing, feeling sorry for myself for being on my own on VD and generally good feeling for actually liking myself and being inwardly happy on VD. The last of these three is probably winning at the moment, although whether that will still be the case after a few beers, who can tell.
It’s been pointed out that being single on VD has two advantages: firstly, all the women that I see on their own or with other girls are certain to be single (or lesbian!), and secondly, I’ve saved myself at least £80 on flowers, cards, chocs and posh dinner, which amounts to rather a lot of beer.

Beer and vodka last night with Paul F, Nikki, Sasha, Tim and Arron.
The last of the three mood options definitely won through, particularly towards the end of the evening, and continues into today.

Thoughts this morning are with the people (including a number of friends) going on the Stop The War rally in London. I was going to go, but have too many other things to do for The Project and myself that I need to do (and yes, I know that those reasons pale somewhat against the threat of war) - and I must confess that I feel more than a little guilty that I’m not going. No protest has ever made me feel that way before.
I’m not opposed to war under any circumstances, but I feel that there must be a true justification for it, as there was when liberating Kuwait. I’m also particularly uncomfortable that Mr Bush and Mr Blair see fit to send troops into another country with the purpose of "regime change", even if they do dress it up as disarmament (little evidence of those arms yet, it seems) or even "liberating the people".
Politically, I hope that today’s protest shakes the Government (and the opposition) a little with regard to this issue. It seems to me, at the moment, that Charles Kennedy and the LibDems, as the only mainstream party to be actively questioning the policy of the Government in a reasoned and reasonable way, are most likely to gain from the current situation. Whether that will change if/when military action actually kicks off is another matter, as the British populace is known for supporting the British forces in pretty much whatever they do. I’m not sure if that largesse extends to governments and political parties though.
So, I’m sorry that I’m not marching today. But whilst I may not be marching in body, I shall be there in spirit. Good luck to those who go today, and let’s see what unfolds.

Music by Kush is really rather good. Etric Lyons has kindly sent me a CD all the way from Canada, and I’m greatly impressed. No need for me to go into great description, as you can judge for yourself by listening at the mp3.com page. I’ll be adding at least one track to radio grayblog very soon indeed.
On the subject of radio grayblog, listeners will now have to log in to live365 in order to listen. It’s free and secure. However, it’s worth trying to listen without logging in, in order to hear the ever-so-camp "Operator 8014" make his announcement about registration and logging in.

ooo blimey. 181 Orchard Street has got a man outside erecting a "For Sale" sign. It’s directly opposite me, so any stalkers would be well advised to snap it up. Details available from this estate agent.

I have every sympathy for Nasser Hussain. The whole issue has been handled terribly, right from governmental level downwards. Cricket should not be mixed with politics, in my view - sport is a great opportunity to see past the things that divide people and to build bridges between people and nations. In fact, I think that a cricket match in Zimbabwe, with its attendant media circus, would have drawn attention to that country. But to hold it there clearly became impossible, and the players have been left to pick up the tab in sporting terms for trying to protect their own safety. All wrong.

hmm. Is today a "good day to bury" news stories such as this one? Seems to be an increasing trend recently - consistent bad news at home is buried under major international stories. I’ll look out for other examples and highlight them when I spot them.

Bradford 0 - Brighton 1. Thank goodness for Bobby Zamora. At last, Brighton move up two places.

Sounds like the Stop The War march exceeded all expectations. Brilliant!

Beerage with Bren and Greg. A good evening, in splendid company. Sightings of Kearn and Stein, as well as of Matt and his fiancee, even if only in tacky photographic form (what were you thinking??).

Happiness, after three hours of trains, buses and walking, is an excellent take away of egg fried rice and sweet and sour chicken in batter.

Too tired to write now. More tomorrow.

I see Blogger has been bought out by Google. I’ll make some ill-informed comment on that tomorrow.

Frighteningly busy this morning. The phone keeps ringing, I’ve got a pile of email, some documents in the post and last week’s leftover paperwork as well. Agh! I’m drowning!

My accountant has come up with a couple of stumbling blocks for The Project. Not insurmountable, but slightly irritating. But then, I guess that’s what he is paid to do - spot those things now, and not later when they are a problem.

Sorry. Tired still. Just want to go to bed and sleep, but have dull paperwork and laundry to do. Guh.
Normal service will be resumed shortly.

It’s always "nice" when a porn site shows up in your referrer stats. Clearly, one of you dirty little reprobates has been jacking off over your keyboard whilst looking at pictures of laydeez. But why you visited here afterwards is anybody’s guess!
(link not safe for work)