Happy SysAdmin Day...

...yes, apparently, it's SysAdmin appreciation day, so thanks guys for keeping Blogger and Flickr working for me...and all the other sites too for that matter... ;)

Now if my local ops would only come and re-install CuteFTP (after killing my old workstation for a very silly reason), everything would be well with the world...

The Sun Newspaper

...is obviously contempating a name change, following the extraordinary weather we have been enjoying just lately... ;)

Make words from buildings!

An awesome Google Earth mashup, use Geogreeting to make words out of satellite images of suitably shaped buildings...it even shows you where on the planet it found them... ;)

nature.com interviews Al Jean!

Wow, just noticed that Al Jean (executive producer for "The Simpsons") was interviewed on this weeks nature podcast (discussing the in jokes that pepper the series included for the amusement of the scientifically minded (or actually more usually the math-savvy) among the viewer community), there is a brief text summary here also, but the podcast contains much more (including sound-bites from the show)...quite amusing...coverage in the podcast starts at 11 minutes 47 seconds (if you fancy skipping the doom and gloom climate change segments that preceed it)... ;)

Silly Search Terms #10

Well, haven't done one of these for *ages*, so just another little batch of the more amusing (some funny, some strange and some downright disturbing) search arguements that have resulted in (often confused) visitors ending up on one of my posts, while actually after something *rather* different -

"what to do if you accidentally roast silverside" - Urm? Eat it?

"brown paper package bomb exploded kid subway book amazon" - Hrm, this must be some mis-hit for this little story from my past...

"how cook rice in 10 seconds vw" - Urm, you can't..? Even if you do call upon the powers of Volkswagen...in fact, judging by our mini kitchen in the camper, it would take even longer than usual... ;)

"dirty birthday animation gif" - Not guilty me'lud...

"unfloatable wood" - Urm, well perhaps extremely water-logged soft, porous wood might not float, can't think of any specifics though, and certainly never brought the subject up here...

"funny looking homemade mobile campers" - Don't listen Colin! :(

"symptoms eye saw 'laser mouse'" - Urm, were are you doing with your mouse to get sore (as I imagine you *meant*) *eyes*??

"Argo strike silver salt" - Sorry?

"ranch dressing rash" - What were you using it for to get a rash for goodness sake??

"'water polo' steaky" - not quite sure what this is all about, but I think I can guess, and no, they were wearing their cossies, thank you...!

More of these here, if you like this kind of thing... ;)

Off to New York...

...well, we have two new members of staff in our New York office, so I'm going out to meet both of them, and train one of them in the esoteric arts of online advertising and campaign management...it's not for a few weeks yet, but it does mean, for the *second* time, that I am having to cancel my summer holiday...

Arse...

I can't quite believe that this has happened again - once could be considered just rather bad luck, twice can almost be read (if feeling a little paranoid) as if some powerful force in the universe were conspiring against me (Fink glances nervously over his shoulder)...there is a bit of a silver lining glimering in there somewhere though (after some discussion of our options) two weeks in the west country (although Flyingpops will still go down with her folks for some of the planned break, as she (quite reasonably) isn't terribly thrilled by the idea of sitting around the house on her own while I'm working in the States) will become magically transformed into a week somewhere that qualifies as both "hot" and "abroad" in September or October (southern Europe, or maybe even the Canaries, depending what's best value/weather at the time)...Really not that fussed, but I do have a little hankering for Tapas, cold cervesa and beef steak (plump fillet, bloody as hell...or on the bone and the size of a telephone book) all of which the Spanish seem to do rather well...so I'd probably lean in that direction if it offered itself up at a tempting enough price in the last minute deals...

Actually, I moan, but last time the office paid for my connecting flight to get me from Gatwick down to the west country so I could actually pick up the tail end of the holiday (and, excitingly, it was an old propeller plane), and, as we were there at basically the end of the holiday season as a result, we almost had the place (the whole of Cornwall, I mean) to ourselves, so it wasn't *that* much of a pain...it's just a bit annoying when you've been really looking forward to a well deserved break to find it draining silently away before your eyes...

Bug Jam Show Guide, in Kings Cross??!

Now, although this isn't *quite* the spookiest thing to ever happen to me, it ranks pretty damn near to it - Lunch time, I take a quick walk, enjoying the sunshine (curse it for coming too late!), get as far as Lavina Grove (down Wharfdale Road) and have to do a double take at the tattered bit of paper laying in the street in front of me...quickly followed (as I fumbled to find the camera in my rucksack) with an explaination to the two very confused builders sat watching me, mid-mothful of tea...

It was (although my mind was telling repeatedly me how staggeringly unlikely it actually was to be) a massively transported show guide for Bug Jam...sat, battered by repeatedly being run over, rain soaked, most of the pages missing, but still, unmistakably, the remains of a show guide handed out, one per car/bus upon entrance to the Bug Jam festival over the weekend...

This is **way** beyond coincidence...

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Got it!

So it was waiting in the outside cupboard when we got back on Sunday (and had survived the storms intact, I am pleased to report)...I'm now on chapter seven (and enjoying every word)...Flyingpops is displaying an amazing amount of self control by waiting until I am finished before she makes a start (which is good, no fighting)... ;)

According to the Telegraph, it sold enough copies over the weekend to be the fastest selling book of all time (in the UK at least), putting it (amazingly) in roughly 1 household out of 10...it's also interesting to note that although it was only released in English, it sold a quarter of a million copies in Holland/Belgium (selling out completely), nearly 400,000 copies in Germany and 100,000 in India...!

I wonder what she is going to write next?

Bug Jam 21 - 2007 - Pictures and Video

So just a smattering of the sights and sounds (although not the smells) of Bug/Bog/Mud Jam 21, we set off in a torrential downpour (at about half five in the morning...zzz...), stopped very briefly at Toddington services, then completed the journey to Podington, or more specifically the "Santa Pod Raceway")...where "Motor Sport can be Dangerous" -

- because we got there so early (way before 0900hrs) the queue was tiny -

- but the conditions were already really, really bad...we bagged an excellent parking spot (about 2 seconds from the Mars Lorry), so about 90 seconds walk from the end of the strip where the proper toilets and food stalls/bar lurk...right next to the road way (two steps onto solid tarmac)...

...we spent much of Friday, after setting up, just sat in the camper or gazebo, hiding from the rain, but when things cheered up (slightly) we decided to take a little walk around site...spotted this guy in a wetsuit on his BMX taking a little ride up the strip (about the only action of the day) -



- then sloshed around the shops -

- up to the pit lane -







- and spent a damp few minutes watching the Friday night bands -

Next morning we got up about 0830 (to more rain), nabbed as many free Mars drinks as possible (several outfit changes by Flyingpops worked wonders) ;) I think we came away with about 20 bottles -

- then we took a seriously muddy slog up to the bank by the strip -

- to watch the only action so far -

- in the "Live action arena" - Click here for some video action of Terry Grant in his broken stunt car - he also got up to some tricks in his TVR -

- and his unmodified Honda (wow) but he couldn't do any VW tricks as Volkswagen wouldn't lend him a vehicle (boo, but at least there was some official merchandise in evidence this year in the hilarious VW bus bus) -

- then, it was on to the Monster Trucks -

- click here for some video of Podzilla crushing some Vauxhalls in impressive fashion -

- then it hammered down with rain again, but we finally got a tiny bit of track action on Saturday afternoon (very brief), so we took a little walk back down to the entrance (to do a bit of shooting) -

- saw a number of interesting characters ;) -


- watched Killa Kella on the main stage (awesome) but then the rain drove us back to DVDs and snackies in the cosy bus -

- bleugh -

- Woke up on Sunday to blazing sunshine (Hurrah!) -

- click here for some video of dodgy track burnout -

- then took a (much more pleasant) walk around the stalls, although still flooded out in places -




- then past the Jet Bike -

- and on to the (increasingly badly named) "Show and Shine" -






- and we then spent the remainder of the day enjoying the action on the strip (despite some tragically bad planning stopping all play as the Ambulances were stuck on the wrong side of the Live Action arena for over an hour, during which some totally inconsiderate idiots lit up two disposable BBQs on the top of the strip, on which they proceeded to burn everything they tried to cook, much to the dismay of the patient 200 people downwind of them), anyway, thanks to all the rain over the rest of the weekend we got lots of jet car action -


- and then some awesome normal track action -







- before we chugged out (easily) through the mud (thank goodness for having the engine in the back!)...much like this chap (but without the helpful elves)...

Wish it hadn't been so wet, but everyone still had a great time I think... ;)

Home now...

...pics later on (thanks Colin)! ;)

Stuck on the motorway...

Stuck on the motorway...
Originally uploaded by finkangel.

...still, at least we stopped somewhere with quality facilities... ;)

What is that all about...

What is that all about...
Originally uploaded by finkangel.

...almost two solid days of rain, then they decide to run a few cars and then take an hour long lunch break!? Crazy! Oh, and someone has now kindly lit up two disposable BBQ's upwind of us and are burning their dinner, leaving up downwind to inhale the fume...how thoughtful...still, they have run the jet car twice... ;)

Killa Kella - Bug Jam 21

Killa Kella - Bug Jam 21
Originally uploaded by finkangel.

Another little break in the rain, we have made a mad dash to the main arena to watch Killa Kella doing his awesome beat-box thing...just before sunset we had a nice blue sky, so hopefully a good sign for tomorrow! ;)

Yes! Some racing!

Yes! Some racing!
Originally uploaded by finkangel.

Finally a few minutes without rain! ;)

Bug Jam 21 - Bog Jam

Bug Jam 21 - Bog Jam
Originally uploaded by finkangel.

It's official, it's no longer Bug Jam, it's Bog Jam...the rain is -still- coming down, the gazebo is flooded, mud is everywhere, just pleased we have the warm, dry camper to come back to hide in! Please, rain...go away! We want to see some racing! ;)

Bug Jam weather update

Bug Jam weather update
Originally uploaded by finkangel.

...I think the picture probably says it all, thank goodness we are parked three feet from the road! ;)

Here and pitched...

Here and pitched...
Originally uploaded by finkangel.

...rain hasn't stopped yet, but at least base camp is established... ;)

Bug Jam - rain

Bug Jam - rain
Originally uploaded by finkangel.

Was this really a good idea? Rain still hasn't let off, just eternally grateful that we have the camper to sleep in and we don't have to worry about putting up a tent...oh, and when we stopped for petrol two chaps pulled up next to us in full waterproof gear and crash helmets sat in a beach buggy! We laughed and said 'Woah Hardcore!' and they kind of stood up, absolutely drenched, peeled off the top layer of clothing and emptied pockets filled with water and finally countered with 'F*cking stupid more like' ;)

Off to Bug Jam!

Off to Bug Jam!
Originally uploaded by finkangel.

Well, it's been a seriously early start, I've had a bath and we've packed the last few bits, weather looks bloody awful, but at least Colin the camper seems to be running well after his recent garage visit...more later...

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Now on eBay!

...and now copies are for sale on eBay...apparently some online "etailer" shipped over a thousand copies on Tuesday by mistake...and they are actually selling (there are only 2 days to go for cris'sake!) for upwards of £120...poor Bloomsbury...still, at least this is the last book they are going to have to worry about... ;)


I N S A N I T Y

Moo StickerBooks - and London Summer Party

So, tonight is the big launch party in Kings Cross for the new "Moo StickerBook" *thing*, I love Moo cards, so I'm guessing the stickers are going to be equally excellent (although quite what I am going to stick them on, at this stage, I cannot say)...what I can tell you is that you get 90 stickers for just under a fiver, which is just about the right price for a bit of fun with your photography...just need to take some nice, vibrant texture shots now, although the odd cropped sunset might do the trick too... ;)

Anyway, it's a free party, and Moo are paying the tab on the bar ("for a while anyway", thank you Moo-people)...Renemy went to the Moomeet in SF earlier in the year and said it was a great laugh, so, nothing to loose, might even get some free stuff (in exchange for my free promotion), you never know...! ;)

Oh, *and* we are being taken out for a free lunch by the office too (at Canal 125), so quite a good day today, all in all...! ;)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Leaked

So it got leaked, only the second of the books to have done so (before release day), but what a waste of all that money spent on prevention - £20 million was it? The press is all abuzz...despite the fact that the copy released is pretty bad (someone turned every page and took a wobbly shot with a low-res point-and-shoot, believe it or not)...perhaps the culprit *could* be tracked down (by a dedicated investigator) with a combination of hand-matching, carpet matching (it's definitely an office carpet), and clues from the objects that appear around the periphery in many of the shots (something circular and gold in the top left hand corner, diet coke can, special brew can(?) and on the right perhaps the base of an office lamp, or the corner of a buff brown bag with a black trim)...But it's already a colossal best seller, before it even hits the shelves, so I don't suppose it's really worth the bother (apart from to save a few red faces at the top)...I mean, no one is going to seriously think about cancelling their purchase off the back of this leak...

Anyway, shortly after all the low-res photos appeared, some kind soul turned them all into a nice, single part PDF document, and within 48 hours, some other kind soul had translated the whole thing into German(!)...and I'm guessing it won't stop there either...The entire rationale for not to producing a digital version of this book was to stop precisely this kind of thing happening...didn't really work, did it...? And all this effort, all this free work these people have put in to getting this thing out there...especially the translators, it's quite staggering, remember - no-one is paying them to do this...

All I'm asking is, are there any lessons the publisher could learn here?

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - 4 days to go

Yep, only 4 days to go, and guess where I am going to be? And guess where my pre-ordered book is going to be? Yes, I'll be at Bug Jam, and my book, no doubt, will be in the cupboard by the front door...getting damp... >:(

Still, it could be worse, I could have intended to buy my copy from Asda...this *really* isn't the moment to start a dispute with the publishers, guys!! ;)

Bug Jam Cometh

Bug Jam 21 is rapidly approaching, the weather report isn't wonderful (light rain for Saturday), and Bug Jam in the rain is a bit of a waste of time (as you can't do any drag racing), even a stray shower stops all the action for 20 minutes while they dry the track out with a giant hair drier (on the back of a tractor), and there really are some good things to look forward to on the track (so fingers crossed it holds off!) - Fireforce 3 (reaches 336Mph in a quater of a mile from a standing start, making it a world record holder over the quarter mile since 2005, can't believe the Americans are so lame!), Blue Max (jet powered, and yet road legal beetle, although the last couple of years it's just looked bloody dangerous) and a Swedish Beetle that can apparently do an 8 second run (about a second off the dedicated drag racing cars, so that should be fun to see, a 160Mph beetle!) and if you have £500 burning a hole in your skyrocket, you can take a hair-raising trip down the strip in the new two-seater drag racing car...this year (also) we have some new attractions, most notably the new Live stunt arena where they will be running Monster Trucks "Podzilla" and "Slingshot" (ooo! Crushing Novas and Saxos apparently), which I'm sure won't be stopped by even a quite determined downpour, the usual stunt car displays, but there is a beetle stunt display promised for this year for the first time, and another first, freestyle motocross (suicidal bikers launching themselves off ramps trying to pull flips and tricks)...On the stages it's Killa Kella (beatbox master, if you haven't seen him then prepare to be amazed) and a Queen tribute band (can't go wrong there), plus dance tent, and hippie "Car Wash"...and all the usual stuff like the show and shine, fun fair, run what ya brung, traders and autojumble...Petrol heads...Assemble! Burning rubber awaits!

Only problem is, Colin the camper is still poorly, he's in the garage today getting a new fuel pump, so fingers crossed it does the trick!

Facebook and Twitter

Well, I've had to give in and create a profile on Facebook, there are only so many "invites" one person can ignore...signed up also to Twitter (see the new section on the right in the side bar, which, incidentally was extremely simple to add (just a tiny code snippet)), which you can update from your mobile (just send it a text message, perfect if you get a bunch of free SMS), IM (doesn't support any I use, but they are adding more as they go along), or just from their website...you get 144 characters per post, so it's a bit like a mini blogging tool, there is supposed to be a facebook plugin for it (which should eliminate the need to actually use Facebook too often, as I have quite enough to do without worrying about yet *another* social networking *thing*, Flickr and Blogger already keep me fairly busy during my down time)...

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Movie review

Harry Potter! Drove over to Crawley today to catch the latest movie, didn't really know what to expect after the disappointingly rushed feeling evoked in the last film (by trying to cram effectively two film's-worth of material into the running time of one)...this one didn't have quite as much content to condense (so an easier job for the director), but once the story *had* been distilled, I dunno, I just felt like perhaps the joy of *reading* TOTP might have actually been taking the ride alongside Harry, through all his ups and downs and really, apart from Sirius' departure, the story (as a whole) isn't advanced very far at all during this book, it's more a tale of growing up - skipping the Cho/Harry difficulties (apart from one sentence from Hermione, summing it up neatly) and one kiss, even that essential part of the story ended up largely on the cutting room (or more likely, the script meeting room) floor...action was good (highlight being the battle between Dumbledore and Voldemort), lowlight being the DA easily brushing off the early attentions of the Death Eaters and then suddenly *all* being caught and helpless at the exact same moment, that really didn't work...casting was frankly superb, the highlight for me was the tragically under-used Timothy Bateson's "Kreacher", so wonderfully resentful and thoroughly believable (my imagination got no-where near that good)...Imelda Staunton's "Umbridge" was excellent too, but didn't quite communicate the absolutely unswerving mania I got from the book (close though, I couldn't imagine anyone else doing a better job of it), again , Evanna Lynch's Luna, not *quite* the character I know and love, but I can't honestly think of anyone who could have done a better job...all in all, not as good as the first two movies, but a *hell* of a step up from the last one...

Oh and we also got to see some of the multi-million pound hype engine for the Simpsons movie...it's everywhere...even the "please turn your mobile phone off" message was sponsored by them...same with the drinks and the popcorn...just wonder why it's taken 18 years to arrive...

Guinea pig racing?

Spotted this the other day, parked on the estate, did make me wonder if there really is such a thing as a commercial "Guinea pig racing" scene?

...and if there is, does it really merit a whole van? ;)

Did a bit of digging around and found a video of the 1985 championships (from New South Wales in Oz, my goodness, it made it on to TV!), guess it must have fizzled out in the UK then... ;)

No Number 13 in Earlswood

On the subject of numerology/superstition, spotted this at Earlswood station the other day...now, I know some cultures I could mention (USA and ASPAC mostly), do jolly silly things like completely ignoring the fact that that certain numbers exist (because they are deemed "unlucky"), but since when have we started to do that kind of thing in the UK? All the other car parking spaces have little white lines, and all the other car parking spaces have their neatly stencilled numbers...so what's happened here then, eh? ;) Official Network Rail policy?

"Nah, sorry mate, number 13's been cancelled"...or maybe the line painter is just delayed... ;)

Fifth Disease - Review... ;)

...been pretty ill the last few days, managed to work for a while on Monday and most of today, but the rest of the time has been pretty serious, went to bed feeling a bit zoned out on Friday last, woke up on Saturday with a splitting headache and was absolutely ready to die by about 4pm but somehow struggled through the day, then Sunday woke up with these horrible joint pains, even worse headache and fever (with sweat and shivery goodness), plus what Flyingpops was putting down as "sun burn" (but actually turned out to be a rash)...

Ended up sleeping for about 17 hours that day, then again for over half of Monday and most of Tuesday...feeling a lot better now though (managed my first proper food since Friday last night), doc diagnosed me with a virus that has no cure other than rest, paracetamol and plenty of water (and that is normally reserved for school kids!) like measles or chicken pox, you get it once and are then immune, and most tend to get it early on, which means I must have got away with it as a little 'un somehow...bit annoying...like if you got chicken pox now, I mean, I know viruses are indescriminate and will have their fun wherever they can, but it just seems a little...embarrassing, somehow...like I forgot to turn up for my Maths GCSE or something... ;)

Anyway, almost better now I think, head is still fuzzy, but I reckon I should be back in town tomorrow...the doc did warn me that the nasty symptoms could occur/recur at any time from up to 7-20 days after infection though (and I have no idea when that was or who it was from, from what I have read there has been at least one other confirmed case in the office where I work, so that's the most likely source, although it's equally possible that I caught it elsewhere and I spread the infection there...it's transmitted via the air, so there's just no way to tell), oh and the doc also said that I could feel fine one day and bad the next until it's out of my system), but at least I shouldn't be able to infect anyone else now...we'll just have to see how we get on... :(

Caused a bit of a stir when we found out what it was I had, stories of causing problems for pregnant women and their babies (and me having just been in a maternity ward, and commuting beside goodness only knows how many pregnant people, same goes for being in the office for that matter), but the story goes (and it is very serious, just (thank God) not dangerous to anyone I have knowingly come into contact with since I either became symptomatic or were made aware of the issue), is that if a woman who is between 5 and 20 weeks pregnant gets infected (and it is rated as *highly* infectious) then there is a 15% chance of miscarriage *and* (if that wasn't bad enough) there is then a 3% chance of that baby developing a fatal heart condition while still in the womb...(and that would be all thanks to me)...

When you are carrying that kind of shit in your blood stream, you stay at home...embarrassing or not...

070707 - Glorious sunshine

The view out of the front door this morning, as opposed to the view out the door during the week (you may want to view these ones large, as you can clearly pick out the hail stones hammering down if you do so) -


- the dampest June on record, country flooded, and come the day of Nic's wedding...absolutely glorious sunshine...I had sneered at the superstitious approach by some to this "lucky" day, but it really does turn out to have been extremely good fortune for one lucky couple...pics from that later on, no doubt... ;)

How lunch arrives...

Hrm...buckets and bin bags (and 24 hours too early?), spotted this on Tuesday lunchtime sitting on the floor in the corner of the office canteen (covered in cling film and labelled "Veg Chow Mein" and "Rice"), well, Renemy spotted it actually and I ran up with her (not really believing what I was being told)...still maintained the thought it was almost certainly rubbish *really* until she told me that it showed up on the menu yesterday...urk...hope it didn't sit on the floor for too long, if that was the case it probably should have been in the 'fridge... >;S

Baby Peskett!

Congratulations to Matt and Sue on the birth of baby Maria... ;)

Seven pounds nine ounces, c-section at 10pm last night...mother and baby doing well...phew!

Simpsons Movie Avatar

Hehe, well, there never was going to be a hair style on there quite like mine, this was the closest I could get without resorting to "Sideshow Bob"'s hair, which might have been a bit over the top... ;)

If you want to make your own avatar, visit http://www.simpsonsmovie.com/ (Flash site btw)...

In other Simpsons news, some marketing *genius* has made a deal with the US convenience store 7-11 to re-brand 12 of the stores (across the US) as "Kwik-e-Mart"s to hype the movie! Just astonishingly ingenious, there are some excellent pictures of one of the stores on a flickr stream here, it's an amazing transformation...! I've just looked and those six packs of buzz cola are trading on ebay for $25! ;)

The marketing machine is obviously working on me, I'm getting really quite excited about seeing it now!

[Fink closes eyes, crosses fingers and whispers] "pleasedon'tsuckpleasedon'tsuckpleasedon'tsuck"...

Terror Threat Critical

Blimey, what a weekend, so it *was* two bombs in London on Friday (just blind luck neither of them hit their targets), and then this idiotic display of ineptitude in Glasgow on Saturday afternoon, brings us to the highest level of terror alert -

- which is "Critical", meaning "an attack is expected imminently", as a result, rather a lot of coppers visible on my commute this morning (I still wonder where they all are normally, they can't all be doing paperwork, surely?) -

Anyway, I decided to get the Thameslink (keep things simple, and stay away from buses and tube), at Redhill there were five officers visible, three on platform three (who were constantly walking up and down, checking in corners, asking people about their luggage and generally being very vigilant) and two on platform one/two who were standing and laughing and chatting, one of them even making a "woo scary" face at one stage, to much mirth from the other (so you know which platform the senior officer was on) -

I've also heard tell that armed officers were spotted at Blackfriars (but I was playing on my PSP for the rest of the journey and not really looking out the window, so cannot confirm)...Funnily enough I didn't see any officers at all in the Kings Cross area, which is most unusual, normally it's crawling with police in the wake of a terror alert, but perhaps they are all concentrated in the city this time, dunno...Oh, I also read this morning that *two* of the suspects that are in for questioning are practicing doctors, whatever happened to the Hippocratic oath, eh?

In other news, England joins the rest of the sensible world by introducing a smoking ban in all indoor public spaces, I guess this would otherwise have been the main story of the day...I'm still not quite clear about what happens on railway stations, they seem to be saying that smoking is illegal on all their property, but the end of most railway platforms can hardly be described as an "indoor public space", can it? Wonder how that one will play out...

Also, ebay tip, probably worth buying up (cheap) a bunch of nice pub ashtrays, as they are destined to now be consigned to the history books...I'm quite excited, it's wonderful to sit in a bar in New York, completely smoke free (not that it bothers me massively), it's just nice to think that this is the last time I'm ever going to wake up and wrinkle my nose at the reek of tobacco when I pick up my jacket after a night on the piss... ;)