The Waddle of the Blackberry Zombies

Time for another "thing that should be deleted" now...and I'm not quite sure if it's the entire principle of the Blackberry that should go into the recycle bin here - although the last estimate I heard was that for each £50-odd monthly contract fee a company pays to equip a drone with their shiny black handset and connection, they (on average) reap 5 extra *free* hours work from them per week (not a bad deal!)-

- or do I just want to delete the zombie-like blind waddle that is characteristic of the hopelessly infected (usually excessively overweight - so they can completely block my way) executive unable to tear their eyes from that little screen even for the purposes of walking along...? Last time I tried that with a book I nearly walked into a lamp post (and that was in leafy Surrey) you'd have to be a bloody idiot to do it in London (with it's multiple dangers to the unwary) and yet there they all are, every morning, clogging the pedestrian arteries, bumping into each other (and potentially falling in front of trains/buses/taxis in a sort of digital darwinia of dismal delay)...

DELETE!

Dave's Gourmet Insanity Sauce

Ouch... :(

...and I love hot food...I licked a generous dose (about a teaspoon full) off my hand as a sampler at the end of lunchtime (thanks to Alan from the Maths department) and WHOAH...my nose (which was congested) is now completely clear and my throat feels like I had sandpaper for my dinner (I also sweated about a pint and got told by a colleage "you look like you have had a stroke")...checked it out on the internets and this sauce is 180,000 on the scoville scale (the common benchmark here, for reference, is Tabasco sauce - which most people think is spicy) which is about 2500) and was the only sauce ever banned from the American "National Fiery Foods Show" for being too hot...So no blooming wonder my head 'asploded! That was like chewing up and swallowing a couple of raw Scotch Bonnets... :0

*pant*

Finks Links #87

Woo hoo, Friday again, so let's get some link action going -

First off - How Men reacted (differently) as the Titanic and Lusitania went down (and why)...

The ISS from above...

Would a lava lamp work on Jupiter?

Meanwhile, in Finland...

Watch a head on collision of two vortex (smoke) rings...

Watch a praying mantis take on a humming bird (and see pictures of the aftermath)...

Mario and Luigi spotted in Manchester...

...and last, but not least a rather scary "slide fail" and a definitely spiky "golf fail"...

More at some undisclosed future date (maybe even next Friday)...! :)

Baby Thomas has a chest infection

Poor Thomas...you know, I've been rinsing and repeating the same little joke about this for a while now (to knowing nods and chuckles from some, and shocked exclaimations from others non-parents) - "Thomas doesn't 'come down' with anything as such, he just seems to have the occasional week off being poorly" - and I'm not exaggerating, if it's not a few days with an upset tummy (with unwanted ejections from one end or the other), it's going to be the opposite issue - huge effort getting anything to come out with a lot of huffing, puffing and pouting, or it's some sort of respiratory issue - a nasty cough, or bouts of sneezing/a runny nose, maybe a bit of a temperature - the point is, despite all the great work Flyingpops has done and is continuing to do priming his system with all those antibodies from the breast milk the simple fact remains - babies get poorly - they are new to the world, and every single bug out there understandably wants it's shot (which of course it deserves) especially as babies spend a large amount of time sharing largely unwashed suckable objects (which includes pretty much everything) in communal spaces (usually with lots of other babies)...

Unfortunately, this (discovered) inevitability, twinned with my own conscious wish *never* to become/or even be seen as one of "those parents" who fret and worry and pamper, then whisk their fragile bundle off (wrapped in cotton wool) to the doctors at the slightest spot or wheeze has probably meant that poor Thomas has been struggling bravely on with a nasty chest infection for over a week (maybe even longer)...Flyingpops finally gave up on my insistence that he was *fine* and took him to the doctors on Monday where he got his diagnosis and his first tiny prescription of liquid antibiotics (which he greatly dislikes and thus has to be smuggled into his mouth mixed with food)...the doctor did actually say, had we taken him in much beforehand we would probably have been sent away to try him on a bit of baby nurofen to see if he got over it, but you can't help feeling a little guilty for assuming he had only "got another little cough" only to find it was something slightly more serious... :S

Funny Announcement - London Commute

Hehe, this made me laugh the other day, had just got on an East Croydon train from London Bridge and as it was pulling away so the guard came on over the public address system (as they do)...Not quite sure exactly what it was that told me, but I think this chap might have been a *bit* new to the job though -

He cleared his throat and began - "Read this as you depart after welcoming the customers on board. This train is fast to East Croydon then calls at..." (and here he listed a long number of destination stations) "then make sure you tell the passengers to take all their belongings with them when they leave the train and make sure they keep them with them at all times while on the platforms and trains during their onward journey, then say thank you"...

Yeah...not sure that was actually meant to be read out verbatim... ;)

DLR - Three carriage trains

So my toe dipping continues, having not had any of them seriously bitten so far (just a slight nibble one morning when there was a signal failure at Canary Wharf) thus far it's pretty much all positive...so far, while I have been comfortably seated, enjoying the view from the elevated rail of the DLR I've gleefully ignored three automated text messages from TFL informing me of serious delays and merrily deleted two bearing news of complete suspensions of the Jubilee Line (which I am not missing at all) and have chortled to myself at the flustered and sweaty, grime smeared colleagues arriving 50 minutes late, clutching Metro newspapers crushed beyond all possible use (other than Papier-mâché), sharing tales of the total collapse of society (that seems able to happen underground on a daily basis) and shocking invasions of personal space...It's just the cherry on the top that my change of route seems to have coincided with the introduction of larger three carriage trains (meaning things are even less crowded) - the train I boarded this morning offered me a choice of ten different seats (as opposed to a sausage of space a contortionist would scratch their head at - and politely decline)... ;)

The next step is to see (as I am no longer breaking my journey in zone 1) if I can save any money on my train ticket...

Xbox Goodness

Just realised I forgot to mention this (tut!)...when the box arrived from Frankfurt, bearing my Xbox 360 (repaired), it didn't actually contain my xbox at all...instead, it was a brand new one, complete with extended warranty and a free Xbox Live voucher!

Heard something very nasty about Sony the other day (after the "day the earth stood still"), turns out, if your PS3 has the "yellow light of death" and is out of warranty, they charge you £119 and send you someone else's old reconditioned console... :(

Microsoft 1 Sony 0

Finks Links #86

Yay! It's Friday! So here we go -

Firstly, let's discover that they don't make computer manuals like they used to...

My Solar System (but I'll let you have a go on it, if you like)...

The seasons, from space...

Nikola Tesla's (actual) letterhead

Fancy a meal at a Ninja restaurant?

How about a nice snuggly floppy disk pillow?

Irish sculptor who works with scrap metal makes a rather good Alien Queen (weighing 1200 pounds)... ;)

...and then God created Saturn...(note - you need sufficient pop culture points to get this one)...

...and finally a scary Lullaby fail and a funny celebration fail... ;)

More at some undisclosed future date (maybe even next Friday)...! :)

Hello Sunshine!

Ah...can't tell you how good it is to be leaving the house in daylight again...and for bonus points, not in the snow or rain! In fact, it's been so nice my mind has been turning to thoughts of al fresco dining on charcoal cooked meats...just a shame it's absolutely freezing cold with it, or I'd be out poking the BBQ with a stick to scare off the spiders and pulling on my apron... ;)

Only bad thing is, BST starts at the end of the month, and then we'll be back to square one (in the morning, anyway)!

Earlswood Crime Scene

Oo-er! Got to the railway station the other day, only to find that it has been transformed into a crime scene! Desperate (and obviously rather strong) villains managed to pry open the front of the ticket machine and steal all the pennies (and perhaps more importantly, the blank tickets - if they can get a good font match, that is)...

...probably not much chance of catching whoever did it either (apart from the fact that whoever is investigating put the tape on upside-down), the CCTV in the area has been vandalised so often they gave up replacing it and put up a mirror instead (for all the good that will do) - update - there are now in fact some cameras, up by the Indian Restaurant, so there may well be some footage...very unusual for there to be any sort of brush with the criminal underclass in our neck of the woods, it's normally such a lovely, quiet sort of place...how exciting!

Vote for Thomas

We know that Thomas is the most adorable baby in Surrey, so couldn't resist when the local paper had their annual baby competition.

The photographer was absolutely brilliant and check out the gorgeous picture they took way back in January...

Now, if you happen to buy the Surrey Mirror, or Dorking Advertiser in the next 3 weeks, please use the coupon to vote for Thomas. Not that i'm a pushy parent, I just think Thomas would enjoy spending the £200 prize fund ;o)

So near, and yet so far...

Oh how maddening is this? My Xbox left the UPS office in Brussels at 9am this morning and arrived during lunchtime (at 12:56 to be precise) in Barking - so basically, if I look out my window I can probably see the depot where it is currently sitting...I suppose there's just a *chance* they can get it Redhill today, but most likely it will be tomorrow... :(

No Fear Skeleton Gloves

Thank you Flyingpops for my awesome new gloves! Keeping my hands lovely and warm in the cold, cold weather (and useful for scaring commuters on the Jubilee line)... ;)

Finks Links #85

Link time (wow, look at that - two weeks in a row)!!

Ooo...a Millennium Falcon toy that really flies... ;) [pic]

Fifty Dangerous Things (You Should Let Your Children Do)... [book review]

Firefly project (scroll to the bottom of the page) - what an incredible concept...!

A rather long-winded way to open the curtains (home-brew "incredible" machine - video)...

Glow-in-the-dark loo roll (for nocturnal toilet trips)...

Inside the home of a serial killer... [pics]

A bit like finding out there's no Father Christmas... [pic]

...and finally an excellent Dad Win...

More at some undisclosed future date...! :)

Xbox Fixed!

Wowie! My Xbox only set off to Frankfurt (to Xbox hospital) at lunchtime on Monday and it's already on it's way back, all better (and with an extended warranty for bonus points)!!

Can't wait! :D

(UPS tracking page - Excited tapping of F5, F5, F5, F5, F5, F5, F5, F5, F5 etc.) ;)

Update on the "V2" at London Bridge

Update on this post...

From Elwyn at the London Dungeon -

"Hi Fink,

It’s nothing to do with us I’m afraid. I think it’s a V2 rocket from the Second World War put there by the Britain at War Museum.

Hope this helps!

Kind regards,

Elwyn"

- thank you Elwyn (and thanks to Matt from London who provided the same suggestion on the Flickr page), but I think we already know it isn't actually a V2 rocket...on to the Britain at War Experience "contact us" page next then! ;)

Seabulk shipping and Evil Ushenko

Well, that's me sorted if I ever need to move anything large around in South East Asia! The Vice General Manager of Seabulk Shipping (Shanghai), Mr Thomas Wang, has very kindly emailed me a full schedule of the movements of all their vessels with the cheery (capitalised) advice to "NOT HESITATE CONTACT WE WHEN YOU HAS SUITABLE CARGOES!"...Mr Wang, I promise I'll keep you in mind...

...oh and while I'm at it - Mr Furmuzaki Vadim Valerievich? I've got it...you invented a circuit board that was stolen from you by Viktor Ushenko which he used in order to shape-shift his way to the position of President of the Ukraine and he now torments you by making your DVD player work without discs being inserted. You do not need to email me every day to remind me...really...you were both loud and clear the first time(s)...

(I've hit the top limit on my block list on Lotus Notes, in case you haven't already guessed)... :(

V2 Rocket or Atlas Booster - Platform 1 London Bridge

Most odd...spotted this the other day on Platform One at London Bridge...at first glance, one would have thought one would be quite safe assuming that it is a memorial to those who lost their lives to Nazi V2 Rocket attacks during World War 2, however something isn't quite right in this picture...

It was googling around for some sort of explanation, discovering in the process that Tooley Street - above which it is suspended - suffered a few V1 attacks and Borough High Street (which is just around the corner) had a very nasty V2 incident (killing 35 people) which should have satisfied my curiosity, that I spotted this (very similar picture) on a contact of mine's Flickr stream, where (I discovered) that it, of course, looks absolutely nothing like a real V2 rocket (and thanks to Tommo for pointing out exactly the same thing)... ;)

It is actually a scale model of a NASA Atlas Booster, which (of course) dates it from somewhere during the cold war, likely after 1968...so what was someone doing between the late 60's (or early 70's) and now sticking a painted scale model of an Atlas Booster on the wall opposite Platform 1 at London Bridge station? It's not tatty either (and this is central London we are talking about here), the thing looks freshly painted (and shiny) and the union flag you can see fluttering to it's left is in equally good condition, which means someone has definitely been maintaining it in (however long) the meantime (was)...

Anyone have the faintest idea? Is it anything to do with the London Dungeon perhaps, or does some of my train fare or tax go towards it's (historically inaccurate) upkeep? I've emailed Elwyn Owen at the London Dungeon to see if it's anything to do with them, I'll let you know if they are kind enough to reply... ;)

All change - Thomas at (almost) seven months

It's funny, because I know every single day *something* about Thomas is evolving, but this weekend I really did notice a lot of new things...this is probably largely because Thomas and Flyingpops had just returned from a lovely holiday visiting friends in Devon and Cornwall (hello all - wish I had been there too!)...they enjoyed four nights on holiday in all, during which time (while I wasn't either commuting or working) I stared at the hole where my Xbox used to be, fell asleep on the sofa watching the Winter Olympics (which was fun in it's own way), and lapsed slightly into batchelordom so when Mummy and Thomas came home there was quite a lot of catching up to do (some of which involved slightly naughty amounts of dirty clothes and dishes)... ;)

Anyway (ahem), Thomas...The first, and least impressive thing that Thomas has learned, is how to blow raspberries. He now spends at least 50% of his waking time with his tongue sticking out, the final 50% being only because there is something else stuck in the way...the response to having his nappy changed is to blow a raspberry, the response to having his toes tickled is to smile and blow a raspberry, the response to "How are you this morning Thomas?" is to sleepily blow a raspberry, the (messy) response to a nice warm spoonful of mashed carrot and swede is to blow a raspberry (prompting an autonomic startle response from Mummy or Daddy followed by a several minutes work with a damp flannel)...but it's not all bad...he can also now (all of a sudden) sit on his own for quite long periods, although he did manage to topple over once yesterday and cried and pouted for a while with the shock of it all (I know it wasn't pain, as he was on his soft play floor mat at the time)...

The most impressive thing of all (although Flyingpops came up with an annoyingly simple explaination) is that he is now happy spending short periods of time playing with his toys even when he can't set eyes on either Flyingpops or I...This is a revelation...not since he was born (apart from at Family parties where there are plenty of sets of willing arms) have we both been able to leave him to himself while I, say, peel some vegetables and Flyingpops loads the dishwasher (for example)...I mean, I'm not talking about us both going out for a meal abandoning him, but the relief of just being free to walk out of line of sight without a lonely wail is staggeringly liberating...Flyingpops clever explaination (by the way) is that he was simply pleased to see all his toys again after his holiday (rather than being a bit bored with them)...but I'm sticking with my diagnosis, he's just being a very good little boy... ;)

Finks Links #84

Well we haven't done this for a while, but somehow I've cobbled together enough to do a reasonable approximation of link time!

Unseen (until now) betamax video of the Challenger disaster (1986)...

A mosquito having it's wings clipped by an automatic laser targeting device...

Torch which transforms into a submachine gun...

Sticking with the theme, an over-the-top concealed weapon wind-up...

Check out Microsoft's profit, by division (not making a huge amount out of the Xbox then)...!

GPS Ski goggles...

Watch Squid cam, watch an attempt to rear a deep sea giant squid in captivity (disclaimer - they are actually still quite small at the moment)... ;)

...and finally a sign fail...

More at some undisclosed future date...! :)