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Cab
Nov. 5th, 2009
10:54 am - Helmet cam and hamsters
Helmet cameras are not all that interesting to hamsters. But hamsters noses are really, really big right up close.
Nov. 4th, 2009
06:19 pm - A bit of politics...
According to the BBC:
"David Cameron has said "never again" to powers being transferred from the UK to Brussels without a referendum."
Thats a 'never again' like the 'cast iron pledge' on a referendum on the Lisbon treaty, then?
Two faced retard.
Nov. 3rd, 2009
09:52 am - Weekend - Halloween, sport on telly
Halloween party was good. Tiring, but good. Much food and merriment.
Manufacture of Christmas presents commenced.
Weekend also saw first track meet of the cycling world cup, with team GB dominating on home ground in Manchester. Turns out that in mens spring, mens and womens persuits (team and individual) the biggest problem the Brits face is working out which potential gold medallists to leave at home and not take to the world championships.
The cheap offer on sky sports is not worth it. It should be, but the viewing on offer has been dire so far.
Oct. 29th, 2009
08:31 am - Annual Cycling Blitz in Cambridge
What used to happen in Cambridge...
New students would arrive in September/October and get bikes. They would ride around and many of them would get right royally fed up with that because of how they're treated on the roads, you'd hear them complaining loudly before giving up some time around December, when not only are the motorists madder than normal but its also cold and wet. By January most cyclists in the city centre would be well lit, as the fair-weather cyclists had given up.
What happens now...
In October every year, when the clocks change, Plod stake out several streets in the city centre. They catch some of these fair weather cyclists, count them, give them a stern talking to and sell them some lights (sorry, they impose a 'fixed penalty' of £30 and GIVE them some lights). They then count the cyclists again later in winter and hail the drop off in cyclists without lights as a great success for Plod.
The difference? None, except that the way its done now costs more money and gives Plod some nice stats without improving accident stats in any way. Something is seen to be done, while nothing is achieved, so from a policing perspective its a great success.
Oh, and this year Plod have got an ITV camera crew with them. They're making a program on 'bike rage'. They've been 'researching' this program by posting to shouty petrol-head forums asking for input (and ignoring invitations to research the subject in places that aren't cycle-unfriendly).
Oct. 13th, 2009
11:03 am - Noooooo!
Oct. 7th, 2009
06:38 pm - Swimming
I have negative bouyancy. Or, in other words, I sink. Legs first, straight down. So I've not ever really taken to swimming, its very tiring, its a lot of effort staying afloat and, besides, it uses the wrong muscles (that is, muscles neither used in digging nor cycling).
So obviously because its tiring and because I'm too fat I just went swimming this evening.
Gosh, but its tiring.
Going to have to do more of it. Or, at least, try to.
Oct. 6th, 2009
04:17 pm - Ouch
Not just at how much these things cost, but at the bad quality work that so called professonals come out with!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west
Oct. 5th, 2009
02:51 pm - Crazy season
Students back in town.
So more bikes on the roads, many of them novices.
Therefore those driving find it takes longer and thats all someone elses fault.
Therefore they take more insane risks with other peoples safety and the number of road rage incidents will start to rocket.
Oct. 2nd, 2009
02:43 pm - Late holiday update
Last week was on holiday with Elliphant.
Saw, among other things, water voles, stone circles (Avebury rules, and the landscape around it is staggering, whereas Stonehenge is disheartening), iron age castles (Maiden castle is magnificent but makes me sad), other castles, monkey world (which indeed has many monkeys, but also many apes, and gibbon song rocks), Durdle Dor and Lulworth Cove, curry in a pineapple, an eel, a sealife centre, a great riding school as a venue for a elliphants brohters wedding blessing, enough excellent Kenyan food to feed 150 being fed to 50, lots of bats, all the spiders ever, fantastic medieval paintngs in a little church, a ruined cathedral, a still standing cathedral, ceiling bosses depicting moors, many kestrels and buzzards, a little weasely thing, the sweetest little medieval village on the edge of Exemoor, and a sand lizard.
01:43 pm - I'm cheering for Rio
Barcelona used the Freddie Mercury and Monseratte whatshername 'Barcelona' as a theme tune.
Therefore it seems only reasonable that Rio will used the Duran Duran song of the same name, and Chicago will use 'Sweet Home Chicago'. Clearly we have to root for Rio.
Sep. 30th, 2009
Sep. 17th, 2009
10:49 am - Wyrins wedding...
Was excellent. He's done alright, bride looked special, groom looked nervous, and possibly the most anatomically surprising grooms speech ever.
Lovely spot, with a gazebo over a pond for the ceremony. On a windy day like that it didn't seem impossible that a tree would come falling down on proceedings, but they got away with it.
This was followed by dinner (a buffet which was good, but ever so slightly baffling; pilao rice (good), chilli (okay), pork and plum sauce (good), veggie lasagne (didn't have any), greek salad (good) mediterranean vegetable salad (didn't try). I could neither fault any part of it or piece together something that all matched up. Most enjoyable though, and worked well, made all the better by being followed by rhubarb crumble and custard.
Bacon butties came later, alongside wedding cake, during dance. But it was a school night, so we left the party early.
Personalised wedding dice. Very cool.
Elliphants cold was beginning to hit me hard by the end of the evening, not feeling ideal this morning.
10:44 am - Barclays yet again...
After getting two different resolution letters with two different stories, I took them both in to a branch of the bank. The woman I talked to had already ordered a card for herself without wireless, agreed with me, had worked out how to do it... and ordered me one!
So, a week later, along comes a new card. A week after that I work out its for my personal account, not the joint account; its the right card, but for the wrong account, replacing another card that didn't have wireless...
Went back in, many apologies from bank, ordered card again.
Along comes new card, for right account, but has wireless in it. So, same card as I had, not the replacement without wireless.
Took it in on the way to work, they're trying again. They've given up saying sorry again.
Sep. 15th, 2009
02:22 pm - James Martin, you, sir, are a twat.
Evidence for this?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/g
Seems that the article in the Mail causing this ruckus may have been edited a little now.
Sep. 14th, 2009
01:19 pm - Music world gone mental
I followed a link to the album charts, from a news story about Vera Lynn being at number 1.
In the top 40 are the Beatles (many times over), Neil Diamond, Prefab Sprout, Michael Jackson and Beverley Knight.
What decade is it?
Sep. 13th, 2009
07:06 pm - Thats the worst I've ever felt...
...after a night out. One might almost call that a hangover. Felt very thirsty and didn't much fancy breakfast.
Still, it was followed by the best half round of golf (par three, so a long pitch and putt coursE) that I've ever played.
Cracking night out on wyrins stag do though.
Sep. 4th, 2009
11:02 am - Snowy Farr Memorial
There was an eccentric old man used to raise money for charity in Cambridge, you used to see him in his bright red old-soldiers style outfit with mice running around on his straw hat. Called Snowy Farr. The City Council are, apparently, spending £80,000 on a memorial to him.
In his fundraising career he made something like £130,000 for charities, specifically charities who worked with the blind.
Is it just me, or would it not be better to have a cheaper (smaller) memorial and to give the bulk of 80k to guide dogs for the blind?
Sep. 3rd, 2009
09:33 am - And Barclays solution?
Well, they haven't got one. Their head office has sent written information that their card people are wrong, the letter from the card people gives different advice to their customer relations people, who subtly contradict both as far as I can tell, and none of them agree with the branch staff.
I've been offered £150 for the time wasted; I asked for a different deal whereby I get £20 per mistake that Barclays make from now on (it'd be more lucrative and provide a reason for them not to make mistakes). They won't do that though.
And now? Well, I don't know. Screw 'em, I'm melting my card.
Sep. 2nd, 2009
04:13 pm - Plinth love for Marillion
The loyalty and passion that some of my fellow Marillion fans have... Well, its baffling. Cool, but baffling.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainmen
Sep. 1st, 2009
10:38 am
...from Barclays would be:
1. A Visa card useable in all of the places Visa is useable, according to one Barclays employee.
2. A Visa Electron card useable in less places.
3. A Visa Electric card that might do nearly anything.
4. A Visa Electronic card that works just the same as Electron.
5. A Visa Electronic card that would work like a Visa.
I've got two of those options (5 and 2) confirmed in writing, both as the 'last word and only option'.
I've also got a letter on the way telling me that I'm welcome to melt my card to determine where the RFID tag is and work out how to break it, but I mustn't post online to tell anyone else how.
Gits.
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