Friday before Christmas

I feel a little bad that it's Friday already. I was sort of hoping for it to feel like I'd had more time off. Ah well, at least Christmas is really on top of us now. There's still time to get a last minute gift or two!

Been so long...

I finally have a bit of time to myself! Thank goodness for the festive holidays. More soon...

Halloween 2011

I've been incredibly busy lately, both at home and at work. At times like these the blog has to take a backseat. Time for reflection and general musing has to go out of the window.
To mark Halloween we have carved our pumpkin and it will be outside tonight to ward off the evil spirits. I believe they are called Jack'o'lanterns in the US? We put a candle inside. I always find pumpkins surprisingly dense. This year I've noticed that the pumpkins seem physically bigger than they have for a few years. I wonder if the growing conditions have been good?
Anyway, time for me to get back to rhe world of work, so have a happy Halloween all!

Sunday Morning Musing

I watched a bit pilot episode from a series I bought a boxset for from the library about six months or more ago. The series is called Over There. I'd never heard of it before. But I enjoyed what I've seen of it so far. The DVD stopped playing though, so it's either in need of a clean or it might be that the mini-DVD player I was using is a bit too sensitive for it.
I expect I'll be helping with the cleaning of the house today. I also have some work to do and I'd like to have some time to myself but I've probably had that already, it's 8:19am.
Yesterday, my wife and I had some time on our own to do some shopping for Christmas. It's good to get out on our own, amazing how much less stressful it is without the children. Even though I love my kids and don't think they misbehave, it was nice not having to worry about them.
I am using an official iPhone Blogger app to post this. They finally got round to building one, I've been looking for one for a long while and have been surprised they didn't have one. I might have been persuaded to move to WordPress if Blogger was going to remain stagnant. But with the redesign and the smartphone app, I'm settled.
I want to get the iOS5 for my iPhone 4, the iPhone 4s looks good but I won't be trading in my iPhone. I might get my wife the iPhone 4s for Christmas but I need to consider the cost a bit more before I decide. Christmas doesn't seem so far away.

Hue and Cry

A truly wonderful vocal performance. I loved this band but I always felt they were underrated.

19 Adele

I love Adele's voice, it is so emotional and powerful at the same time. I've been listening to tracks from this album for some time and it just dawned on me that this calls for a blog entry in my favourite albums category. I don't really have much back story to this post. Except to say one of my favourite tracks on it is a great cover version of a Bob Dylan song (Make You Feel My Love). Infact, I also love Bob Dylan so expect to see some Bob Dylan albums getting the nod on this blog too.
I've heard Adele's normal speaking voice and was quite surprised by it. She sounds very down to Earth and normal, instead of sounding like the Superstar that she is.

Favourite track: Tired

Red - Saturday Scavenger Hunt

This is late, due to a very long day out yesterday. But here is my entry for the Saturday Scavenger Hunt. We attend a fair number of sport events and there are competitions known as Red Belt Rumbles, so here is my son's red belt. When it is first handed out to the children by the coach and they have to put it on for the first time, it is a great for the children to feel the pride and sense of accomplishment. I love the way they use coloured belts in Judo to reward progression.

Alright, Still - Lily Allen

This is an artist that on paper, I shouldn't like. However, it is inspite of everything else that I still enjoy the music on this album and her voice, phrasing and  songwriting. I love the melodies, the lyrics and the ska beats and horns. There is an Englishness to the songs that appeals to me and the personal nature to them. I know there are some mockney jibes about her and I'm pretty sure that she didn't grow up on the streets in poverty. But my exposure to the tabloids is fairly limited, so I have listened to the music more than I've read about her. I don't like the whole album to the same degree but there are some wonderful songs on this.

Favourite track: Knock 'Em Out

Strife

Over the last few years I've found life generally more difficult in various ways. I did think long ago that life for me would be sorted once I got a regular job with good pay, a car of my own, a wife, kiddies and a house. I have all of those things and yet sometimes I don't feel any happier than when I didn't have any of it. Life is certainly more complicated the more involved you get. I often say the wrong things or react in the wrong way or even just appear to be thinking a wrong thought and then everything turns toxic. I probably am very difficult to live with sometimes. Short of a personality transplant I don't know what the answer is. At times I just think I'm sliding down a slope and have nothing to hang on to anymore.

Mellow Music for a Sunday night

Hope you like this song by two great artists.

Big Fat Moon

Hasn't the moon been big and fat recently? I love the moon when it's big and fat and close to the horizon and there is still enough sunlight before the sun goes down. I overheard a question on the radio this week, asking how much does the moon weigh. The answer was of course some ludicrously heavy amount, actually it weighs nothing but has a mass of several million million kilos.

To be precise :  mass of the Moon = 7.36 × 10²² kilograms

The moon is a thing of beauty I think. Something to be observed from a distance, rather than seen up close - I have no desire to set foot on the moon. I do wonder whether man will ever have the resources and patience to venture into space and colonise another planet? We know so little about the universe really. I do find it fascinating to listen to scientists who try to make the complexities of quantum physics understandable to the common man. I wanted to be a mad scientist when I was a young boy, inventing rocket ships and ray guns. I still do have those desires infact. Never going to happen though - I just don't have the processing power in my brain to do calculations and I think you need to have a great deal of brain versatility to become a physicist. Dreaming doesn't hurt though does it?

Mary Lou Lord

I first heard about this album while reading a glowing review of it in Melody Maker. That particular music paper no longer exists. This was back in the 1990s. It's one of the few albums that actually lived up to the glowing review. It is simple, folksy music but quite charming at the same time. I think all the songs are cute and catchy and deeper than they first seem. I don't know how many copies of this were ever sold, I suspect it wasn't produced in the same quantities as more popular artists, being released on K Records (I think, writing this without it in front of me). I vaguely remember there was some connection with Kurt Cobain and I don't think Courtney Love approved - I believe I even read a news story once that Courtney bashed Mary Lou but that might just be complete nonsense dreamed up by an over-imaginative journo.

Favourite track: The Bridge

The Need for Art

I realised today that I love art. It allows me to explore the creative minds of other human beings and make insightful connections that would otherwise be lost or trampled. It sounds trite but there is a simple fact in this.I believe that when I'm being creative it actually helps me to relax and understand myself, and possibly others, better. For too much of the time I'm stressed about work or other stuff. I sometimes think how peoples lives change, go in unexpected directions, not through their own choice. And I wonder if anything like that will happen to me. Or will I carry on and keep going as I have been for the last few years. I don't have any answers to the question, of course. But it must be nice to do what you love every day, instead of doing what you have to, in order to earn money. Art can be an escape from the humdrum of reality. I like that too about art.
I'm pleased that P.J. Harvey won the Mercury Music Prize this year, I love her work, it's so original and interesting.

Today is the 10 year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre and Pentagon. I was at work when it happened back in 2001, I remember seeing a photograph on the web of WTC1 with smoke pouring out of it - live streaming of the BBC website was not possible since so many browsers were trying to access it. At first I could only accept that it was a terrible accident, a plane hitting the tower. I thought the terrorism theory was just scaremongering. Then the second plane hit and I could scarcely believe it. It was beyond my comprehension, beyond the realm of real life. Then the tower's collapse, to be followed by the collapse of the second tower. The terrorists could not have known that their attack would prove so effective. It is so shocking to be alive and watching something like that. In 100 years time it will be in our history books. May all the victims of that day rest in peace and the people who survive them find the strength and courage to live their lives day by day with a place in their hearts reserved for loved ones lost.

Let me introduce my new feature...

I've introduced a new label tag to this blog, if you select the tag 'albums' you'll start to see my posts of albums I consider to be very good. In each of these posts I will tell a story or say why I think the album is so good and I will include my favourite track or tracks.
Who knows, you may even read the entry and consider a listen, if it's not an album you've heard - or you might agree or disagree with the album by the band or track on the album. If you feel strongly, why not post a comment?
This is going to be a pretty permanent feature because I have so many great albums and discover new ones all the time. I hope you like reading these and that it inspires you in some way or other...

Paranoid - Black Sabbath

I can listen to this album all day and never get bored. As the starting point for a new feature of this blog, I can't think of a better way to begin. Sabbath came up with so many great riffs in their early albums, it seems like they must have made some kind of pact with the devil (of course, they did no such thing and actually thought a lot of the black magic brigade at the time were nutters). The story of the band is well known, Tony Iommi's fingertips cut off in a machining accident and Ossie Osbourne working in an abbatoir, coming together in Birmingham in the West Midlands. It is close to my the town of my birth and I think there is something in the fact that the area was known for iron and steel and black smoke billowing out of furnaces and foundry chimneys. I still remember the constant sounds of a machine press a few doors down from our house in the street. This album reminds me of my childhood and happy memories.

Favourite track: Hand of Doom

Midweek

I don't normally post on a Wednesday. I don't know what has gotten into me! I have enjoyed a nice couple of days without work on Monday and Tuesday this week. On Monday, I enjoyed the last day of the summer holidays for my daughter. On Tuesday I did the same with my son. Both are now back at school for the autumn (fall) term. Their next holiday is the last week of October, I want to take some leave to spend a few days with them then - so I have something to look forward to.

I keep feeling the urge to write but keep pushing it away and finding other things to do. I mean "write" as in story writing or something but at the same time I feel like I wouldn't be able to create something I'd be happy with. The hardest thing is to start writing - I used to have a book that contained lots of little writing activities designed to let the imagination roam free without having to worry about producing anything. I was told once that writing is like exercise, if you don't do it frequently you don't get any fitter. I'm not sure the analogy works 100 per cent but I think there is some truth in it.

A Golden Oldie

Back to school week

Posting this using Blogger's new user interface. It's very clean and simple so gets a thumbs up on that score.

This week my kids go back to school. My daughter starts at her new school on Tuesday. I'm going to be around on Tuesday but I work away from home for a couple of days. I find this difficult as I'd really like to be around for her for a few weeks, but working from home a couple of days is already a luxury I have: guess I can't push my luck too far!

I feel like this time of year signals the run up to Christmas. Programmes like X Factor, Strictly Come Dancing and that ilk are all starting their run up to Christmas, so that they can pull in advertisers. My sons birthday is in a few weeks and a month after that it's Halloween, then Bonfire Night. That's when the dark mornings and dark evenings kick in.

We got our heating sorted last week. It gets warm really quick, that might be because it is already warm enough though! We are having a lot of rain but it isn't too cold with it.

I have a couple of days off tomorrow and Tuesday, I'm pretty glad about that.

I'm starting to think about Christmas.

New

I feel like I've got a new Netbook. But I haven't, I'm still using the one I bought a couple of years ago. Last night I restored it from the recovery partition again, for the second time since owning it. You see, I counted up all of the applications I had installed and the list was HUGE. I was using it just like I would a notebook/laptop and I never intended that I would use it like that. It was taking longer and longer to load Windows and then I would have to wait while all the applications loaded, including things like the antivirus package and my anti-Spyware protection loaded. So basically, it was taking like-forever! Hence the decision to wipe it and start again. Now I have a fast loading Netbook again and I've only installed the minimum necessary software. There are a couple of programs I need to add but my email, office, social networking, blogging, bookmarking apps are all online and accessible through my favourite browser: Google Chrome. I feel cleansed and so does my Hard Drive.

We visited the town this morning and picked out a Hitachi stereo/CD/FM radio/iPod sound system for my daughter. She is starting to get interested in music of her own choice. So the time is right for her to have her own music system. We've had music players in the kids room before but they were mainly for our own use, now she has her own room as an 11 year old she has a clearer idea of what she likes to listen to. It wasn't all that expensive and the sound is quite good. I tried the speakers on the shelf but they actually sound better on the floor with their backs to the wall. I think that has amplified the bass.

It's match day 3 of the new football season. My team is West Bromwich Albion, they are playing tomorrow, rather than today like some other teams. I've been playing quite a bit of a football video game series called FIFA, it's published by Electronic Arts and at the beginning of all their games they have someone say "It's in the game", which I find a bit funny. I normally find that football games get very very cheap much quicker than other types of videogame. I think it's because the teams move between leagues each season and clubs change team members during the transfer season. So when you buy a new football game you expect it to have up-to-date teams and players. At least as up-to-date as at the start of the season at any rate. But I found this morning that I was able to create a new tournament and add the current crop of teams to it, so I might not have all the current players in the teams but I can mirror the teams that are in the current season's league.

Not much to post about

This is probably going to be a random post, as I don't seem to have much to say about anything. We're still sorting through stuff we brought with us when we moved. At least I can say its in the garage and not in storage where we would be paying for it. I found out where our local recycle centre is, after taking a few wrong turns. I briefly looked at Google Maps before I set off and the signposting to the centre wasn't, well it just wasn't - at least not from the direction I was travelling. The wrong turns did lead to to find a country park and a local wood, so I don't feel too bad about losing my way; sometimes a wrong turn helps in some other way (a bit like life!). The recycle centre itself was smaller than I've used before but it had a better feel to it. At our old centre I used to feel that the staff were a bit sharp, meaning I felt some trepidation before putting my rubbish in the skips, occasionally I would get one of them shouting I was putting something in the wrong skip. I know it's their job but I hate being told off.
I did a bit of gardening this weekend with my wife. Putting some slate chips down around the shrubs on the front garden, had to buy 8 bags and boy they are heavy! I did some digging in our back garden, which is much bigger than our old one. It's got some borders, grass, a stepped area and a patio. I would like to work out a design for it, my wife doesn't think it'll ever happen but actually I can't see her agreeing to what I've got in mind anyway. I like gardens that have secluded areas and interesting things. The garden centre where I bought the slates from had these ornaments that were zombies climbing out of the ground - just the head and arms as though they were rising from the grave. I thought they were quite cool but my wife would never have one.

second week back

It's the start of my second week back at work since my holiday. How the time goes by!

The holiday was good. At first I thought it wasn't going to be. But it always takes a day or two to settle, at least it does with us. After that you begin to realise that you're somewhere different and that you might as well enjoy it. I'm pretty positive and always look for the good but my wife at first is more sceptical. I wouldn't say she is negative generally but she is certainly quite negative at first when we go away and either the hotel or the apartment is new to her, she tends to notice the things I would gloss over. However, after the first couple of days she relaxes and we have a good time. Same thing happened this time and actually, even though I was worried it would be too hot and that there wouldn't be anything to do it turned out that was the good part. Lovely hot weather, water and a great time on the beach or by the hotel pool. My kids enjoyed themselves and I read a Michael Connelly, a Nicci French and a Stieg Larsson book, which is quite unusual for me to read so quickly. I preferred to read than watch TV.

Since being back from holiday, I hit work on the Monday and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. This is now my second week back. I finally managed to walk into my new local town and although its smaller than our last town, it is actually a lot pleasanter. There are lots of charity shops and lots of smaller shops that are local people offering craft and other stuff. A new party shop was opening on Saturday and they must have booked an Elvis impersonator to open the store, even the town Mayor turned up and started to dance with people. It was quite good to see that.

Sorry to end this on a downer but we think our fridge has a problem. It makes no sound and doesn't seem to refrigerate properly. The door seals are good, the freezer compartment works and the light comes on when you open the door. It just doesn't seem to be refrigerating as constantly as it should. I think it might be expensive to fix.

It's the little things...

I was chatting to a colleague at work this afternoon about how small things you don't expect can have big consequences and might sometimes lead to death. For example, I guarantee that when I'm moving cables or trying to plug something in, at least one cable gets snagged around something meaning what should be easy becomes a lot of effort to try and reach and un-snag. Or when carrying a heavy box, my foot might hit something I didn't expect like the roll of a floor mat kicked up at the corner. Or perhaps I'm trying to move a box between rooms and it's just too big to fit through the door because one of the flaps is out and I haven't got a hand free to hold it in. I bet there are hundreds, if not thousands, of deaths each day due to small snags like that but in more extreme circumstances. Or perhaps not even extreme circumstances, I think there is some crazy statistic that suggests a number of people each year are killed by their own clothes. Imagine being killed by your own trousers! My own bastard trousers! I'm sure there must be some comedy value in that notion. I wonder if anyone has been killed by their own bra?

Where is summer?

Here are some thoughts I blogged earlier today...

I thought we were supposed to have fine weather this week, if the sky doesn't clear I don't see it getting any warmer.
I'm in a waiting room at the train station. A lady opposite me keeps yawning really deeply. On my journey home yesterday I sat opposite a lady who fell asleep with her head back and her mouth wide open. I had the mischievous thought that she looked like an inflatable doll as might be found in a adult catalogue. She wouldn't have thanked me for that thought, I'm sure.
The train announcer has told us that the train is delayed. That's a pain. I bought a fruit salad from a new stall just before the ticket barriers. I've eaten it but the fruit was very bland to be frank. I think that's the trouble with fruit salad, the flavours don't sit well together if you leave it too long. I don't think I'll buy the same thing again from the stall, even though the seller was pleasant enough.

Monday commute

Here's me posting something what I wrote on the train this morning...

I woke this morning, realising it was Monday and the weekend was over. A bit disappointing considering the weather is so nice. We're on holiday next week and I bet the weather is going to be unusually great here, meaning we could just as well as had the hot weather and not have to have spent a fortune on going away. I keep telling myself we're going to have experiences we couldn't have in this country. We're going to experience a different way of life for a week: you can't get that staying at home. That's certainly true.
I'm on the train at the moment. This is only my second journey from my new local station. It's a busier station, there are more places to catch a train to. I am lucky to get a seat. I didn't last week. I think a lot of people are on holiday for the next few weeks. I'm starting to think I should have taken more leave and had two weeks this summer. Never mind, at least I can take it at the next half term.
My journey is approaching it's end, I'll soon be walking in the sprawling metropolis that is the capital city. Another week begins....

Summer 2011

Hello all, what can I say but it's good to be back. I've been extremely busy in my work and home life since March but finally I feel like I can start to come back to the process of living life instead of worrying about where my family and I are going to live. We moved house 5 days into July and we're still in the process of trying to sort out boxes and boxes of possessions. The good thing is that we're very happy to be where we are and the house is really great. It does feel odd living somewhere where we all have enough space but it's nice at the same time knowing that it's a place we can grow into.

We were without the Internet for about a week and that really made a difference. It's hard to imagine life without the web. Fancy saying that 30 years ago, you'd get some strange looks. We're all connected up now, so I hope to be able to keep this blog up-to-date again.

My final thoughts for tonight are about looking forward to the holidays. My children break from school in two days and at the end of next week we fly to Spain for our holiday. I'm a bit excited and a bit fearful. I'm excited because it is somewhere different and will be a new experience for us as a family to be abroad. The last time we flew my son was just two years old. And I'm fearful because I feel the pressure of being the one who books the holiday, so if it doesn't meet expectations I'm the one who gets the blame. There are four people to please, including myself, and that's not an easy balance to get right. What happened last year was that I booked somewhere and it didn't meet expectations: I thought my wife would just return home after the first night but she stuck it out and by the end we were alright and even enjoyed ourselves: I know that sounds crazy but believe me it can be difficult when you don't get a lot of time off work - I think it takes a few days to unwind your springs and get into that holiday mood. My wife and I aren't lazy beach bums, so it will be out of character for us to do nothing. But really, that's my intention. Buy a nice reading book and just relax as much as possible, letting life go on around me while I chill. The only issue might be what to do with the children. I hope they are able to do the same. I suspect not though, they are like us in that respect! Ah well, at least it will be interesting no matter what.

Not Removed At All

I have been pre-occupied with moving house, that epic is still to finish running, but in the meantime I thought I would just visit my blog to check it out this afternoon. I was shocked to discover that it had been removed, the reason was apparently suspicious activity on my gmail account. So I've resolved that but I'm at a loss about the removal of my blog. I have managed to restore it but I don't need a shock like that very often, I'm not afraid to tell you.

I hope I will be able to blog regularly again soon. In the meantime it will be on an ad hoc basis.

The Return

My dear blog friends, I thought I would post an update since it has been so long. I am sorry I had to neglect my blog for a while, the pressure of different things was getting on top of me and I had to simplify my life. The things are:

• My daughter's school appeal
• Our decision to put our house up for sale
• Finding a new house
• Talking to mortgage lender and estate agents
• Starting a big new project at work before completing the last one
• Starting a new project for our local judo club

As you can probably guess, my daughter's schooling and our house move have been the biggest areas of concern for me. It's a massive decision and change for us. The process of buying and selling takes a long time we're finding out. I literally haven't been able to deal with so many things happening all at once. There have been things I've had to say I can't or won't do in order to be near home and family. Some of these things have been very painful, such as declining an invite to a friend's wedding in May. That really upset me. But I know that sometimes in my life, I just have to batten down the hatches and ride out the storm - and that's exactly what my life feels like at the moment.

Thank you for your good wishes, I hope to be back soon. I would like to give you some news on the house move when I can.

On Hold

This blog is on hold while I try to sort out life. Back soon.

Teddy Thompson

Imperial War Museum

On Friday, I took my son to the Imperial War Museum in London. We had a good day and it was really great to see the exhibits. There were lots of things he was too young to understand though. I could do with going back there by myself. The World War 1 trenches experience was quite unsettling for him, he doesn’t like smelly places and it was a bit smelly and dark and about as realistic as a museum experience of that kind of thing could be – so it had the desired effect of making him think again about what the reality of war really means. He did ask the lady in the shop if they sold any toy guns afterwards though.

I liked guns and war related things at his age. I had lots of plastic and metal toy guns as a child, there were a lot more opportunity to buy toy guns when I was younger. Military themed toys have become less popular in general and while you can still buy military action figures it seems harder to buy toy weapons then it used to be. With my son, we have tried not to introduce toy guns into the house but he just makes them out of Lego instead. With so much glamorisation of war and violence on the TV or in films I don’t know how we’re going to avoid him being exposed. It is worrying but I guess we just have to make sure he appreciates the difference between fiction and reality.

End of my long weekend

Well, these are the final minutes of my long weekend. I finished work last Thursday and haven’t done any work since then, at least not physically but I have thought about it. It is strange how thoughts of work occupy nearly all of my waking moments even if I don’t want it to and also it seems a waste of life to have my thoughts filled with something that I know is totally inconsequential to my life outside of work. A lot of my work is “of the moment”, by which I mean it is about small details that get passed between teams and that are important while they are important but are not necessarily things to get wound up about in and of themselves. Work seems just like a succession of these things, each quickly forgotten when they have been used.

Baby Gaga ice cream?

Do you like ice cream? How about some made from human breast milk, would you buy it? It was being sold in a posh restaurant in Covent Garden for £14 ($32) and comes served in a Martini glass with an injection of liquid nitrogen and a Rusk. I would be a bit concerned to eat something that was someone else’s bodily fluid. It was apparently health-screened but exactly what screening was performed? I think the thought of it puts me off more than anything else but whereas babies need a high concentrated amount of nutrients and fat, adults certainly don’t. Just because breast milk can be used to make ice cream it doesn’t mean that it should be and just because some people can afford to pay that much for a dessert it doesn’t mean they should be able to. I have a problem with the whole idea on a number of levels but then I wouldn’t pay that much for any dish of ice cream.

Middle East Crisis

Crises may be more accurate. What is happening in the Middle East? There does seem to be some kind of people’s revolution sweeping through to democratise parts of the world that have been ruled by regimes that have been in power a long time. If these are emerging democracies their birth is certainly painful but in some ways it seems inevitable, I only hope that the deaths are not in vain and that true democracies are infact emerging.

Not a busy blogging fortnight

We are well into February and I see that I’ve not done much blogging this last fortnight. I don’t really know why I go through this cycle, it seems to happen every month. I start with good intentions but then work and home life intervene and the time I have available for blogging just seems to disappear.

I missed The Brits this year, so not much to blog about there! Tinie Tempah did well though, I did like one of his songs that I heard on the radio a lot last year so will probably check him out when I get the opportunity to listen some more.

Egypt

The whole Egyptian popular revolt thing kind of escaped me I’m afraid, I mean up until this week I knew there was unrest but I didn’t really sit and watch the news. So I had no idea of the political analysis of the situation. It’s a shame in a way that I am so dumb when it comes to international affairs. I don’t really think there is any excuse for my ignorance, there are so many channels for news these days.

Well now that President Mubarak has been ousted from power after 30 years perhaps someone else can do better, 30 years is such a long time for one man to have that kind of power. It had to come to an end at some point. Shame he held on too long that he was no longer welcome. I hope for the citizens of Egypt and all the children there that a new peace can shine on the land. Such a beautiful country that is so so important historically to mankind.

Gary Moore RIP

I learned this evening that Gary Moore was pronounced dead today. He died apparently whilst in his sleep on holiday in Spain. He was a great guitarist, one of the best. I first heard of Gary Moore back in the eighties. I loved the Out In The Fields era. The first song I really remember hearing from him was Shapes of Things, a track that made me think this band is special. I don't know much about the track but I have a strong feeling that I heard once it was a cover of someone else's song.

Indiana Jones

My son is a big fan of Indiana Jones and who can blame him? I think the films are an excellent set of adventure stories and Indiana is a true hero. Today I watched the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull with my boy and it has something of a reputation for being one of the weaker films in the series. Having watched it properly though, I am not so sure about that. There is still a good proportion of action and mystical adventure. My son likes it and while it probably isn’t my favourite, it is still a pretty great adventure ride for a Sunday morning.

My son is interested in aliens and alien abduction at the moment. I remember my brother being interested in UFOs and the unexplained in the 1970s. I used to own quite a number of paperback books about UFOs – handed down to me from my brother. Including the works of Eric von Daniken, I thought Chariots of the Gods was very interesting. I’m a little more sceptical as an adult now though and I think science has come a long way since the sixties.

Great Little Ideas

I’ve watched series where chefs tell you how easy and simple cooking is. I’ve read their books and other cookery books that describe recipes as easy or simple. The truth in my experience is that their recipes require food that is not in the ordinary household cupboard and fridge. I haven’t found a book that makes cooking easy for me. That’s why I am something of a fan of the Great Little Ideas website. I’m not precious about making my own sauces, indeed it’s exactly things like making sauces that use up lots of unusual ingredients that are costly and not easy to find in the average house, so I usually use ready made sauces in jars or cans in my cooking for convenience – and there are lots of options for combining sauces with fresh vegetables and stuff. I know that Great Little Ideas is like adverts for products but they are products that are easy enough to find in the house and they are ideas for trying different things without making me feel like a failure in the kitchen. I may not be adventurous in the kitchen but I do want to make tasty food and for my family to enjoy what I produce within a budget. So I’m a fan of the site.

John Barry, RIP

It’s a sad day for music. Composer John Barry died. I loved several of his compositions. The James Bond films contain  some of his most well known pieces. A composer who can create so many great scores is rare indeed. For me, his music made me take notice of film scores. He was a master of his craft.

Sunday evening

It’s Sunday evening and the end of another weekend. This one has been fairly quiet but it has been pretty good. It started with a nice trip to go shopping on Friday evening, which made a change from the usual Friday end-of-week collapse into bed.

Saturday and Sunday were spent just getting things done and organising my netbook and iPhone. I’ve found a free application that I think is quite amazing – more on this after I’ve got some more use out of it and can give you a true review.

I’ve been reading quite a bit more recently. Both using books printed on paper and e-books (nope, I haven’t got a Kindle but you can download a free Kindle application and free e-books). I don’t mind reading from a screen, I know some people don’t like it but it feels okay to me.

I watched the pilot episode of Twin Peaks again last night, it’s funny but I don’t know why it seemed so exciting first time round. I was a bit bored watching it, to be honest with you. Yet at the time, I thought it was really on the cutting edge.

I wonder what this week will have in store? Have a good one folks!

Video Call of the Future

Here we go again. Another week and it's mid-week. Goes by fast enough doesn't it? Your born. You live a bit. You work a lot. You die. It's stark but true.
I'm currently away from home on business. I did manage to successfully have a video-call through Skype with my daughter this evening, which was quite exciting. It does make a big difference when you can see the person you are talking to. I don't think I really appreciated that as much before tonight. I've used video-phone style technology for work but when comparing it for work use against use for personal reasons, I feel it becomes so much more important to see the person at the other end in a personal call. It means a lot. That was just through Skype, so I can only imagine how great Apple Facetime calling must be - you do need two iPhone 4s for that, which is the downside. I heard something about Apple bringing out a new iPhone this year. I love mine, I feel like I've wasted a few years not getting one before. That's the problem when new stuff just seems so damned expensive that it puts you off.
Anyway, I hope the rest of the week goes well for you all.

Blue Mood

This weekend has fallen flat on its arse. I thought I was going to enjoy it more than last weekend because Sunday was relatively free. My wife wasn’t around much on Saturday, having planned a trip to London to see the show Wicked almost a year ago with friends. I looked after the kids, I did have an invitation to go and see a friend’s new house he’s moved into with his fiancé. but I didn’t feel like it – mainly because I haven’t seen my friend for several months and I didn’t know who else would be going and whether they would have children and blah blah, I could go on but they are just excuses for my own awkward shyness. It was after 7pm when my wife got back and after a day with the kids, I just didn’t feel like going out and meeting anyone new. So I didn’t go, I did buy a card to welcome them to their new home and will post that tomorrow for them. Now it’s Sunday night.

I feel like I’ve squandered Sunday away, we didn’t get up very early and then when we did, we went to Costco. The roads were busy, Costco was busy and we didn’t really buy very much, but just about enough to justify the trip. Had a disagreement about eating food there with my wife, which kind of spoiled the day as well. So I just feel a bit deflated knowing that tomorrow is Monday and it all begins again.

M.R. James

I’ve recently discovered some radio shows on the BBC iPlayer that are narrated ghost stories from M.R. James. About 15 minutes in length they are ideal for bedtime. I find M.R. James’ stories quite cerebral and not horrific in the gory sense and I suppose I find them unsettling or disturbing more than horrifying. I confess I don’t know what the M.R. stands for or the gender of the author, infact that shall be my next Wikipedia look-up!

Was that a weekend?

What was that? Oh, a weekend? I missed it! My wife was working part of Saturday, so we got up early to run her to work and I took the children into town to get their haircut. I had to juggle my two children in two shops but that went pretty smoothly and fortunately neither had to wait to be seen at that time in a morning. We popped into the library before having to go and take my son to his swimming class. After that I took them both to the supermarket and selected the family shopping for the week, then back home to make us all some lunch. My wife called and asked to be picked up at two in the afternoon, after which we again pulled into town but this time to select some new glasses for us both. She made her choice of new frames faster than I did, so she took the children off while I finished up.

Late afternoon and evening I was doing finance stuff for work, which took about 6 hours. I stopped at 11pm because of having to get up at five the next morning. So Sunday was spent mainly as a passenger and a spectator. My children were both competing in a Judo Mini-Mon. Both came back with medals and some useful experience under their belt. When we got back got, I had a mountain of washing up to do – we don’t have a dishwasher sadly.

So it seems this weekend was one lost to complete functionality, with almost zero creative input from me! Shame that, can I have my two days off again on Monday and Tuesday though?

Led Zeppelin I Anniversary

42 Years ago (a fine vintage), this album was first released. I bet they didn’t ever really think that the band would be so well known and successful in another 42 years. Here’s the band from 1969 all fresh faced and young.

Eye Test…New Specs are in the Offing

I went for a routine eye test today. I am short-sighted and have worn glasses since I was a teenager. My eyes are in good health and my prescription has changed only very slightly. My current glasses are 3 years old, so it is time to change them. I went for quite a radical visual change of style last time and it felt good to change my appearance a little. I’m not sure what sort of style to go for now. There is an offer of buy one pair get one free, so I may go with a mix of one pair quite visually strong and another pair that are more conservative.

Christmas Holidays Final Day

After allowing myself the luxury of sleeping in, today I set my iPhone alarm for 6.30am (I saw a news report of the iPhone alarm software bug for 1 and 2 January) and it went off and I got up. My wife was up already, she’s a morning person anyway, but I think she was a little stunned by returning to work. I read a story yesterday that suggested we would suffer Social Jetlag due to a variety of factors, such as a long period of not seeing work colleagues and late nights and morning lie ins. I’d never heard of Social Jetlag before, I hope it doesn’t become a popular expression. I decided that even though I wasn’t working today (because the children don’t start back until tomorrow), I would make the effort to get used to the clock again. I can see why getting out of bed early is useful but it doesn’t mean I have to like it.

I know today will go quick and then tomorrow it will all be for real and the holidays will be quickly forgotten. On the whole, we had a nice Christmas. The fact that Christmas and Boxing Day were on weekend days does make it feel unusual and I think the Bank Holidays also meant that shop staff got more of a break this year, even if it meant they started later and finished slightly earlier. We’d all been working really hard right up until the finish, so we needed the break but I think conscientiously there is a slight feeling of guilt that we completely put work (and school work) aside for a bit.

I just feel like going back to sleep now but no, must keep going to make the most of my last holiday day for three months or whatever it is until Easter…