29 July, 2010

Bug Jam 24 - 2010

Okay, I know it's taken *ages*, but here are just a few pictures from the 2010 Bug Jam festival for your amusement -
Bug Jam 24
- this year (lacking Colin the Camper) we opted to just go for a single day (the Sunday) as you can get a cheaper day ticket rather than having to pay for the full weekend, the only flaw in our cunning plan was trying to drive to the travelodge we were staying at on the first day of the school summer holidays...it took about 5 and a half hours *and* the post code for the hotel took us to a doctors surgery car park in the wrong town (even Google maps had it completely wrong when I checked on my mobile), we ended up having to call reception (who said "Oh yes, that's the right post code but it doesn't work with Sat Navs I'm afraid, you either end up there or at Waitrose") and they talked us in over the 'phone...*just* what we needed after hours sat in stationary traffic with a bored baby Thomas... ಠ_ಠ

Anyway, a fantastic (Rib eye steak) meal that night in the local American-style diner more than made up for it and we were up early (me managing to flood the bathroom when I had my morning bath and Thomas covering the floor in nectarine and squashed banana) so we beat a hasty retreat to Santa Pod with barely a backward glance in case an angry maid was chasing after us with a mop...
Bug Jam 24
If you come on the Sunday they make you park in a different field (as we were early we were right on the far side of it - annoyingly) and then have to walk in, we paid our money and were told there was a shuttle bus to the strip if we wanted it, but we didn't think the pram would fit (and there's always a lot to see anyway) so we skipped it...

First stop, after marvelling at the odd things people had arrived in -
Bug Jam 24
Bug Jam 24
Bug Jam 24
- (there's lowered, and then theres *lowered* - can you imagine that on the M1??) or brought with them -
Bug Jam 24
- we made a quick pit stop in the new Pod Shop -
Bug Jam 24 - Do I really have to wear these?
- to buy Thomas some baby ear defenders (as drag racing can get *rather* noisy for little ears) which he initially really wasn't very sure about but soon came round to, then we walked around the other stalls (glancing nervously at the slate sky) -
Bug Jam 24
Bug Jam 24
- and then wandered back (with a few new T-shirts and a VW Camper van bin) to watch some of the racing (as the sun finally started to put his hat on)-
Bug Jam 24
Bug Jam 24
- Thomas (of course) slept through the jet funny car -
Bug Jam 24
Bug Jam 24
- Oh well, there's always next year...when he did wake up he made a big point of making sure we realised that there were cars racing along -
Bug Jam 24
- which was very sweet... ;) We had a poke around the show and shine (which was much improved by the lack of lakes of mud) -
Bug Jam 24
- although it was very difficult to push the pram around thanks to the rubble it was taking place atop)-
Bug Jam 24
- got a bite to eat (while Thomas bashed my head in extreme excitement) and watched the incredible new VW pickup bus do it's first ever run-
Bug Jam 24
- after that we decided it was probably time to head home (as it had taken so long to get here the day before) -
Bug Jam 24
- pausing to watch some incredible motocross stunt riders do their thing -
Bug Jam 24
- notice the new Monster Truck Experience (very reasonably priced too) -
Bug Jam 24
- and the usual heaps of rubbish the poor organisers are going to be picking up for weeks to come...Great day out (as usual) and great to see that a lot of the money we pay to get in is being invested back into the site, it's a better experience every single year...well done Santa Pod! ;)

Loads more pictures over here (if you are interested in this sort of thing)...

This really cheered me up...

Cheered me up... ;)
...when I saw it (on my commute)... ;)

I especially like the way the outline has been slightly imperfectly drawn so the little chap appears to have a little bit of hair... ツ

On a related note - Do you like my new smiley? I nicked it from Asia...(just hope it doesn't translate as "anus" or anything)... ツ

Update - it's okay, it's just a syllable pronounced "Tsu"...

Update update - this are too cool to keep to myself...

ಠ_ಠ - disapproval (you see this one on Reddit quite a bit)
ʘ‿ʘ - innocence

...loads more over here...scroll down to East Asia...

28 July, 2010

White Bowl Amnesty - Update

White Bowl Amnesty - Update
This is just getting more and more bizarre... ;) Yesterday's messages have all vanished, only to be slowly superseded today...very amusing... :)

You know you are working in Canary Wharf...#2

Tiffany & Co - Cabot Place
...when Baby Gap moves out of their retail unit in the hall of a thousand escalators your local shopping mall and Tiffany & Co. move in...

(Don't go getting any ideas, Flyingpops... ;)

27 July, 2010

White Bowl Amnesty...

White Bowl Amnesty
...a very serious matter is being discussed via anonymous post-it notes in our office kitchen today...zoom in at your peril... ;)

Very Important - Drowning doesn't look like drowning

Really have to share this...apparently when most people start to drown they go into a state known as the "Instinctive Drowning Response", and I quote "It is the number two cause of accidental death in children, age 15 and under (just behind vehicle accidents) – of the approximately 750 children who will drown next year, about 375 of them will do so within 25 yards of a parent or other adult. In ten percent of those drownings, the adult will actually watch them do it, having no idea it is happening"...

Drowning people cannot call out...
Drowning people cannot wave...
Drowning people cannot grab rescue equipment...
Drowning people frequently look like someone bobbing happily on the surface...

Do yourself (and your kids - if you have any) a favour and read the full article here...

26 July, 2010

Thomas plays the Vuvuzela...


Aw...this is so sweet, he did this all by himself after seeing me blowing the Vuvuzela in the back garden, quite spontaneously he crawled over, picked it up and started making "Oooooo!" noises through it... ;)

Clever little boy... :)

25 July, 2010

At Bug Jam...


At Bug Jam...
Originally uploaded by finkangel.

...actually really sunny for once this year, plenty of racing, more pics
later... ;)

22 July, 2010

Off to see Tommo...

...as soon as baby Thomas has been fed, watered and changed... ;)

21 July, 2010

Living room almost done!


Living room almost done!
Originally uploaded by finkangel.

Wow! Look at that!! I love it when a plan comes together... ;8D

Gmail account hacked!

...okay, that was a bit odd, looks like my Google account was hacked, please delete any odd emails I may have sent you and hopefully you didn't click on that link (which I have now deleted)...

The Next Few Days...

...I'm back off on holiday again (just until the end of the week), baby sitting Thomas today, then tomorrow off to see Tommo (hurrah!) and the weekend, assuming the weather improves, we have Bug Jam 24 to look forward to! No camper van this year though (hope you are somewhere having fun Colin!), so we are going to stay in the local travelodge to Santa Pod... ;)

Just fyi - posting may be sporadic...

20 July, 2010

Cable Testing Complete...!

Work in Progress
Okay, just a quick "work in progress" update (if you click the picture I've put some little notes of explaination on it on Flickr - just hover the picture with your mouse to see them) but basically - everything works - yay!

The power supply on the top is a temporary measure (obviously), so all those messy looking cables are going to vanish, the laptop will live in the cupboard below, but that proves the VGA and network cables are all laid in okay, the router and cable modem will also disappear below into the cupboard, but that's all good (which means I wired the coax okay - as we have cable TV and internets) and the xbox tested okay and works through the surround sound - a 100% success rate - thank goodness...!

Tonight the cupboard doors should be going on - meaning we can throw away the old TV stand and move the Jungle Jumparoo back to it's normal place of residence, and as soon as we can sort out the parts for Kenny we should have neat and tidy power cables (all pretty much hidden from view) too!

So it might look a bit of a mess currently (mostly through having to temporarily Thomas-proof sensitive items at grab-level), but hopefully I'll be showing you the finished product very soon! ;)

19 July, 2010

You know you are working in Canary Wharf... #1

Dyson Airblade
...when there are Dyson Airblade hand driers in the toilet down the hall... ;)

Cheap Baby Proof Living Room

Well, I'm back (briefly) after my little "break" spent looking after Toddler Thomas, hobbling around with painful knees, which was...interesting...did have a lovely time though... ;)

Friday morning we had to send him out for a little walk with our local friendly baby-sitter (thank you Louise!) as the real chaos of the weekend began with the whole under stairs cupboard having to be ripped out so a new mains supply could be routed under the floor (thanks Kenny!) which took a good few hours as everywhere he tried to drill, our largely plasterboard walls seemed to contain giant blocks of impenetrable wood...

Anyway, that done I put everything back into the cupboard (limping and pouting) and then headed over for a lovely lunch and tea with my folks and Flyingpops who joined us for the later meal at Harvester (thanks Folks!)...Friday night I barely sleep (coming down with a nasty cold), then Saturday arrives with me wishing I could just stay in bed and try to get better, but have no choice but to get up and soldier on as today is the day we start (hopefully) the Final Solution for the living room problem (everything else had either basically failed to be Thomas-proof or was waaaay too expensive - thanks for nothing Ikea!)...after driving around for 3 hours with Flyingpops' dad (thanks Tom!) negotiating the very best price for the very best quality stuff around all the trade stores, we arrive back at our house where I try and dismantle the entire living room without loosing any of the cables (much harder than it sounds)-
New Living Room Units
- while Flyingpops is having her hair coloured in the kitchen (thanks Charlie!) and Thomas is being herded away from falling off things and grabbing power tools by Flyingpops mum (thanks Janet!), Tom and I install the cabinet carcasses we have bought (*extremely* cheaply - thanks Magnet! We have a 70kg TV, but the guy in the store said once we got them all together I would be able to "******* dance on it if you want to mate")...
New Living Room Units
So we got all the units in, and level, then started putting in all the various cables we would need (everything will be hidden behind the back board, so even the cupboards interiors will be extremely neat and tidy)-
New Living Room Units - Wiring
- surround sound cables all laid in neatly and clipped together -
New Living Room Units - Xbox 360 cable
- Xbox 360 video and sound cable -
New Living Room Units - VGA cable
-VGA (for PC/Laptop etc.)-
New Living Room Units - top on
-and then we struggled around the garden for ten minutes trying to get the (extremely heavy) three meter beechwood top in the house the correct way round to make the work top...but it was already looking awesome - more later!! ;)

14 July, 2010

Probably not much...

...in the way of updates from me in the next few days, I'm at home baby sitting toddler Thomas while Flyingpops is on a course...

Yep, we'll see how well that goes! I may be yelling out for help any minute! ;)

13 July, 2010

Tesco Lasagne Sandwich - review


Tesco Lasagne Sandwich
Originally uploaded by finkangel.

Well....it launched today, and I just *had* to try it...when I got into Tesco Canary Wharf there were only about 4 sandwiches left and thirty grumpy executives shoulder barging each other to maul them, using my extraordinary height I managed to both spot my prize (slightly battered) and reach over the ravening hoard to claim it...

Back in the office, after the gasps of disbelief and pointed questions about Saturated fat and carb levels (which turned out to be comparable with the pot of light cottage cheese my desk neighbour had suffered with for lunch), the taste is actually extremely nice...

The cheese and (also cheese, but I'll let that slide) Ricotta dressing is pleasantly cheddary, the thin sheet of pasta just ends up on the palette like an American slice and the Ragù is wonderfully rich, high notes of basil and the sweetest tomato...

Ladies and Gentlemen, I think we have a new winner...! ;)

Ardingly Vintage Vehicle Show 2010 - Pics

So time for just a few of the more interesting sights from Ardingly over the weekend (what on *earth* anyone would want with a Woolworths sign is anyone's guess) -
Ardingly Vintage Vehicle Show 2010
Ardingly Vintage Vehicle Show 2010
- or a water-colour greeting card featuring Gordon Ramsay (for that matter) -
Ardingly Vintage Vehicle Show 2010
- (delicious pies though are a no brainer) -
Ardingly Vintage Vehicle Show 2010
- it was so hot this year that sections of the tarmac were melting (this little squirt shot out when I ran that bit over with the pram tyre -
Ardingly Vintage Vehicle Show 2010
- and I managed to get a rather painful sunburned neck looking round -
Ardingly Vintage Vehicle Show 2010
Ardingly Vintage Vehicle Show 2010
Ardingly Vintage Vehicle Show 2010
Ardingly Vintage Vehicle Show 2010
Ardingly Vintage Vehicle Show 2010
Ardingly Vintage Vehicle Show 2010
Ardingly Vintage Vehicle Show 2010
Ardingly Vintage Vehicle Show 2010
Ardingly Vintage Vehicle Show 2010
Ardingly Vintage Vehicle Show 2010
Ardingly Vintage Vehicle Show 2010
Ardingly Vintage Vehicle Show 2010
Ardingly Vintage Vehicle Show 2010
- and yes, this woman did indeed have a live parrot in her rucksack/cage -
Ardingly Vintage Vehicle Show 2010
Ardingly Vintage Vehicle Show 2010
Ardingly Vintage Vehicle Show 2010
Ardingly Vintage Vehicle Show 2010
Ardingly Vintage Vehicle Show 2010
...shame it's probably the last one...the talk of the show was of the organisers charging people to come and show their precious things, which isn't really going to work (imho)...

Anyway, many, many more pictures here if you like this sort of thing... ;)