Posts Tagged “On Generalities”

October 05, 2015
The blog is back

After an, ahem, small hiatus, the blog is back.To be fair, I’ve been attempting to get it back for quite a while now, which is a bit of a challenge with a toddler and a 3 month old causing havok left right and centre.All sorts of pain involved in ...
August 09, 2009
Sometimes I just don’t understand…

Sometimes I just don’t think I’m ever going to understand this country…
August 09, 2009
Is it just me…

… Or is a sport where you have to put your blood types on the window just a bit on the dangerous side?
August 09, 2009
No wonder…

… People think cricket is strange: “Onions on a hat-trick”? Really?
October 06, 2008
Grass Area...

Personally, would’ve thought that you really wouldn’t need a sign for this… Would’ve thought it would be quite obvious. Though, that said, there isn’t actually a surfeit of green areas round here… Maybe some people don’t know what grass...
October 06, 2008
Sorry Ron…

What does this say about my local pub, when they put a sign on the door like this: Poor Ron.
September 23, 2008
A disturbing state of affairs…

Was out and about a while back, wandering around the Thames Barrier Park, and saw the following: Was more than a bit disconcerting… What is the world coming to?
August 28, 2008
So true...

The urban dictionary defines blog as: A meandering, blatantly uninteresting online diary that gives the author the illusion that people are interested in their stupid, pathetic life. Consists of such riveting entries as "homework sucks" and "I sle...
February 10, 2008
Nice...

Slightly off-topic (but then again, dont actually have a topic, so how can it be off it?), but I quite like the words of Grandfather’s Clock by Henry Clay Work.
January 24, 2008
Amazing photoshop'd images...

Wow - some people are amazingly talented. The winning entry for the crestock.com photoshop competition: Go check it out - some amazing images there.
January 24, 2008
Cool photos...

Some nice photos I found a while back: Josef Hoflehner - Landscape Photographs.Apparently he's got an exhibition on until 29 February at Atlas Gallery, Dorset Street, London.Just have to find the time to get down there!
January 02, 2008
Censorship...

Hmmm... Not so impressed that Australia has just joined China in censoring the internet... Censorship is a slippery slope to start down.
January 01, 2008
Happy new year!

Happy new year, boys and girls! Hope you had a great 2007, and an even better 2008!(oh, and hope your head isn't too bad after the new years celebrations!) Will try and post a bit more on the blog next year - now that i'm officially unemploye...
September 20, 2007
Comments...

I'd pretty much resigned myself to the fact that no-one actually reads my blog anymore, when I did a quick check and realised that I hadn't actually enabled comments... So, kinda makes it hard to comment.So, enabled. Hopefully, it doesn't kick off...
May 02, 2007
Well, that's that...

Finished up at UBS last week, after a four month stint there. Was quite a good place to work, though getting to know the team was hard work though. 'Bout half the work was interesting and enjoyable, but the other half ranged from passable to downr...
February 19, 2007
Food For Thought...

I know its never going to happen, but isn't it about time that the UN brought sanctions against the US?I mean, they are the worlds worst polluter, they've refused to sign the Kyoto agreement, and frankly, they're more dangerous that North Korea.Oh...
January 17, 2007
I'm still alive...

Seems I've been AWOL from the blog for quite a while. Just really haven't been in the mood for writing anything.Been doing lots and lots of stuff, but just really haven't felt like writing about it. I'm sure I will at some point though.Half way th...
November 11, 2006
Its a hard life...

Unemployed, lazing around the house all week, and now I'm off to Barcelona for the weekend.Can life get any worse???
October 26, 2006
Time for some bad publicity for NatWest...

Disgusted in NatWest right now...1. They advertise 'Phones answered 24/7'. Until you ring up and get told 'Our business hours are 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday'. Make up your mind.2. Rang up the number on the back of the card, which said 'Press1 for...
October 24, 2006
Brainbench tests...

Just did yet another Brainbench test the other day, as part of the hunt for a contract job...Thought it might be interesting to share the results I've had over the time: Date Subject Scor...
October 24, 2006
Maybe parking your car on Brick Lane is a bad idea...

No idea what the point is, but its pretty cool...
October 21, 2006
Good on you, Google...

Google has just announced that they're covering the roof of their buildings with solar panels to offset the power they use.Good on you, Google!
October 20, 2006
Gotta love 'The Sun'...

Have a look at the front cover of today's 'The Sun', and the story that its about...As ever, 'The Sun' is doing its best to calm racial tensions... Gah.
October 14, 2006
Reverse graffiti?

Is cleaning a crime? 'Graffiti' by cleaning grimey walls... from Neatorama, via Dan Bartels.
October 14, 2006
Good evening, its 11.30pm, and its time for the evenings news...

Well, its official, its final, and I'm not worried about it at all.I resigned on Wednesday from company I was contracting at[1]. Finally.I've got no new job, but judging by the fact that I uploaded my CV to a few job sites last night, an...
October 14, 2006
Scary...

Hadn't heard much about it, but seems that the fires in Hobart (down in Tasmania) were pretty scary. A mate sent me this photo (by Ian Stewart):<IMG alt="Hobart Bushfires - 12/10/2006" src="/images/HobartBushfire12Oct06_small.jpg" border=0>&...
October 14, 2006
The Aurora...

A very cool timelapse video of the northern lights…
October 14, 2006
There's nothing better to be doing on a friday night than...

... sitting at home installing Vista RC2, reading blogs, and doing some blogging.Okay, well maybe there is. But, in the interests of sharing the love, this caught my eye: ... some currencies, notably sterling issued by <A title=Scotland href="h...
October 09, 2006
The blanket monster...

My nephew's now 6 months old... And has grown into a blanket monster, it seems: How cute is he??? <IMG alt=":)" class="emoticon" src="/images/emotions/emotion-1.gif" border=0>
October 07, 2006
Six word stories...

Check this out. Very cool. Some of the comments are brilliant too.
October 06, 2006
Damn...

Downloading some stuff from Microsoft the other day, and I got these download speeds: Bugger...<IMG alt=":)" class="emoticon" src="/images/emotions/emotion-1.gif" border=0>
October 06, 2006
Platform 9 3/4

Just before I left Melbourne, back in 2004, I had a bit of a family dinner, just to say bye to everyone.One of my younger cousins (Georgia, I think), said I had to take a photo of Platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross Station, as in the Harry Potter books...
October 05, 2006
London Still...

Just listening to The Waifs this morning, and I'm still loving 'London Still': Wonder if you can pick up my Accent on the phoneWhen I call across the countryWhen I call across the worldI see you in my kitchenI can picture you nowAs you toast t...
October 05, 2006
Giving a damn...

Ran across an old post today thats quite interesting... To paraphrase: If you're not passionate about what you're doing with your life, why are you doing it?Check it out at awasu, and follow the link to the other article as well. Interesting.
October 02, 2006
That bastion of democracy...

...has finally completely lost the plot... Last week, the White House and three Republican senators announced a terrible deal on this legislation that gave Mr. Bush most of what he wanted, including a blanket waiver for crimes Americans may have c...
September 25, 2006
Some wedding snaps...

Seeing I'm getting hassled to get some photos from Andrew and Caths wedding up, I thought I'd better pull my finger out: Cath and her Dad Cath and her Dad Andrew, Cath and the Registrar Andrew, Cath and the Registrar ...
September 23, 2006
Deep question...

Think of all the clear things you know of, ie, glass, cling film, perspex, etc.Now, why are all of them shiny?(I've got no idea, just a thought I had the other day...)
September 09, 2006
Paranoia gone overboard...

Saw this one the other week, but didn't get around to posting it...Mutiny as passengers refuse to fly until Asians* are removed Racial profiling at its best... Scary. Those guys went through security. if the other people don't want to fly with th...
September 08, 2006
Goldfish...

Two goldfish are sitting in a tank. One says to the other: “How do you drive this thing?”
September 04, 2006
By the way...

I'm back in travel mode. currently in Berlin, after a week off work, where I bummed around, visited Cambridge with Rob and Dan, and dropped by Liverpool for Andrew and Caths wedding, which was quite good. Will post a photo or two when I can.Now on...
August 15, 2006
It's gonna be interesting...

In four days, I hit the 2 years of being in the UK. Damn, that time's gone fast.But, the thing that's gonna make it interesting is that Andrew is buggering off. He's getting married (to the loverly (cough) Cath) on the 1st of Sept, and then h...
August 15, 2006
Possibilities...

Been looking into some asp.net and atlas stuff recently, and I've really enjoyed it. Even was playing with some virtual earth mapping stuff the other day, which was very cool. It was so easy, but still so powerful. Its takes away so much that you ...
August 07, 2006
I'll try not to kill it...

Hannah's made me try and grow the tree seedlings that were handed out at the Ben & Jerry's Sundae in the park concert, as part of their seed the world program. Well, I promise I'll try and look after it - no guarantees they'll survive though....
August 07, 2006
I'm loving this Atlas stuff...

Been reading about, watching a few screencasts, and even doing a bit of Atlas development, with ASP.NET.Damn, I'm loving it! Its going to make life sooo much easier.Now, just have to get away from doing the ancient (and extremely painful) ASP that...
August 07, 2006
I like London...

In the last week, I've been to 3 gigs/concerts: Ben & Jerry's Sundae in the Park Concert: Paperadio Gig: TheCat Empire Gig: Life's hard sometimes <IMG alt=":)" class="emoticon" src="/images/emotions/emotion-1.gif" border...
August 03, 2006
Italian Soccer Training Camp...

A bit belated, but so true... Funny too. <IMG alt=":)" class="emoticon" src="/images/emotions/emotion-1.gif" border=0>In other news an Australian man was arrested in Italy for an assault on a local man following the football match ...
August 01, 2006
Yay! It *wasn't* my fault...

Send the main bits of my new computer back to the supplier, and it turns out there was a fault with one of the items. So, it wasn't me! I'm not incompetent! (well, not completely, at least)... Just have to wait until the new bits arrive now...
July 29, 2006
The colour of my socks is vital to national security...

A mate took this photo for me - I'd seen it when I was in Melbourne last time round, but didn't get a chance to take it myself. I was quite annoyed when I saw this, as its simply not true. How can what I ate for breakfast help fight terrorists? Ho...
July 25, 2006
A little toasty...

Been a little toasty round here lately... This is my thermometer the other morning when I got up: <IMG style="BORDER-RIGHT: #000 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: #000 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #000 1px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #000 1px solid" heigh...
July 25, 2006
I love Top Gear!

Absolutely loved watching Top Gear last week - laughed so much I cried... <IMG alt=":)" class="emoticon" src="/images/emotions/emotion-1.gif" border=0>They've got a bit of a thing against caravans, so, just for a laugh, they decided to go fo...
July 16, 2006
Erk...

Not a big fan of london water... This is my cup of tea from the other day, just using normal tap water: And yes, its a huge cup - is about twice the size of a normal cup <IMG alt=":)" class="emoticon" src="/images/emotions/emotion-1.gif" border...
July 16, 2006
Stark raving mad...

Went and saw the Rocky Horror Show the other day, with Sue and Hannah. <IMG alt="Rocky Horror Show" src="/images/rickyhorrorshowheader.jpg" border=0> I'd never seen it before, so this was a bit of an eye opener... Stark raving ...
July 16, 2006
Hand made ferrari...

This is on display round the corner from work...Yes, its a hand-knitted ferrari. Some people have far to much time on their hands...More info on The Times website.
July 15, 2006
Which part of my brain decided it was a good idea to...

Which part of my brain decided it was a good idea to get this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this and this, and try and turn it into something like this.Not working as planned <IMG alt=:( class="emoticon" src="/images/emotions/emoti...
July 12, 2006
Zooomr...

Thought I'd check out Zooomr, especially seeing they're giving away free Pro accounts to bloggers. All you have to do is sign up, upload a photo, and then link to it from your blog (as explained here).Schweet!So, if I can be bothered, I'll try and...
July 09, 2006
If only they'd listen...

Saw this on the side of a bus in Washington (I believe), at the start of the year: Granted, its just an advert for Lonely Planet, but still...
July 06, 2006
I'm jealous...

I’m extremely jealous of this guy. (Not of his dancing skills though).
July 06, 2006
Finally! Somebody twigs that Apple & the iPod are anti-competitve...

Finally, instead of purely Microsoft bashing, law-makers have finally realised that the iPod is anti-competitive.French law-makers have approved a law forcing Apple to make its music format available to other manufacturers, rather than only allowi...
July 06, 2006
Football...

Been getting into the football soccer lately, and I'm really quite enjoying it.Bitterly disappointing about the Italy v Australia result - really wasn't happy about that. That said, when Italy played Germany last night, they played brilliantly. If...
June 28, 2006
Un petit monde...

Sue crashed at my place over the weekend, and then was heading over to Otto's place for the rest of the week. Otto's a Finnish friend that she knew from a while back.Was talking to Sue the night before she headed over, and gave her my business car...
June 27, 2006
Randomness...

Been a busy couple of weeks... I really need to take some time out, and kick back and relax for a change.Quick catch up: Went up country the other weekend to some places that I'd never heard of. Really enjoyed visiting Birkhamsted - the ...
June 27, 2006
Not happy...

... that Australia lost that world cup game. I can understand when its hard fought, but when its won on a (very dodgy) penalty, right at the extreme end of the game - well, its just not cricket, really!I could be biased, but I reckon we played muc...
June 12, 2006
My nephew...

Since some people wanted some more pics of little Isaiah, here you go:Isaiah and Tony (my dad): Isaiah and Denise (my mum): Isaiah and Matt (me (duh)): Enjoy <IMG alt=”:)” class=”emoticon” src=”/images/emot...
June 12, 2006
Worse...

Saw these books in the bookshop in an airport in New Zealand... Sorry, really couldn't resist sharing this...
June 12, 2006
Bad...

Saw this out the front of a café in New Zealand (finally getting around to sorting out my photos...):
June 12, 2006
Poignant...

From the latest Non Sequitur, by Wiley:
June 12, 2006
Football fever...

At the pub the other night: Even the dogs are getting into it!
June 12, 2006
Those thieves are getting bolder...

Saw this as I wondered down Kingsway, near Holburn Station a while back... <IMG height=191 src="/images/atm_stolen.jpg" width=282>The notice on the right says: <IMG height=245 src="/images/atm_stolen_notice.jpg" width=177>I'm guessi...
June 12, 2006
I love...

Summer! Its great! <IMG alt=”:)” class=”emoticon” src=”/images/emotions/emotion-1.gif” border=0>
June 12, 2006
I hate...

Indian call-centres. Gah!
June 03, 2006
Living???

A quote I found from Benjamin Franklin, from a cool blog I read: Many people die at twenty five and aren't buried until they are seventy five.So true...
June 01, 2006
Going on holiday to your home town - not recommended...

If you go to your home town, you're not going to do any of the touristy things, as you already know your town, so that knocks out a lot of the daytime activities.Then, all the people you know there are stuck in the normal rut of life (yoga on Tues...
June 01, 2006
The travellers farewell...

“See you in some city, in some country, sometime..”Kinda sums it up, really. The whole bit that you can just pick up friendships even after a long gap, and just catch up with people from all over, in all sorts of random places round th...
May 25, 2006
Getting warmer...

Had a brain wave the other day - for some reason, it struck me that we may actually have six senses. I mean, we have taste, touch, hearing, sight, and smell. But, the ability to sense temperature doesn't really come under these. Its kinda related ...
May 17, 2006
Doing the shuffle...

Kinda tempted, seeing I'll be in Melbourne then...<IMG alt=":)" class="emoticon" src="/images/emotions/emotion-1.gif" border=0>
May 17, 2006
Anyone speak dutch???

A friend of mine has started up a website that, while its mainly in dutch*, has some pretty damn good artwork on it. Granted, she is a graphic designer, so you'd expect it to be good, but I quite like her designs. Check it out: Heavenly Green at w...
May 17, 2006
Ahh... Chickens...

Saw this the other day - was quite amused - especially seeing I went speed dating the other week for a laugh*<IMG height=427 alt="Speed dating by Doug Savage" src="http://www.savagechickens.com/images/chickenspeed.jpg" width=408>*Yes, t...
May 12, 2006
I'm a happy puppy...

(or something...)I've got internet at home now! Finally!24 Meg wireless - woohoo <IMG alt=":D" class="emoticon" src="/images/emotions/emotion-2.gif" border=0> - no more internet via grps for me (damn, that was painful).Only problem...
April 29, 2006
Site update...

Seeing some people whinged, I did a little jiggery-pokery-black-magic, and now there's a little hourglass when you expand the treeview, and it loads the menu items in the navigation panel. You know, that thing on the left. Go on, try it....
April 27, 2006
My latest toy...

Thought it was about time I blogged about my latest toy:Its a T-Mobile MDA Vario (also known as a HTC Wizard).Slide out keyboard, internet access via wi-fi or GRPS, full windows mobile o/s, so media player, word, excel, lots of games, and all...
April 27, 2006
Maths...

£700 poorer1 week of wages that wont be earned1 week in Australia richerThink I come out okay on that one <IMG alt=":)" class="emoticon" src="/images/emotions/emotion-1.gif" border=0>
April 24, 2006
I'm becoming acclimatised!!!

Temperature overnight lately has been about 6 or 7 degrees.Problem is that I've been sleeping with the window open.Not good. I'm becoming acclimatised to English weather! NOOO!!!
April 24, 2006
My boss is strange...

Something he said on friday:"Gradually, its just me sailing into deep deep space, just me and a pig..."I fit right in round here <IMG alt=":)" class="emoticon" src="/images/emotions/emotion-1.gif" border=0>
April 20, 2006
The local coffee shop...

The sign outside the coffee shop right near work:
April 19, 2006
Life

/discuss
April 12, 2006
What I say?

Hmmm... Was there some warning put out about me or something? Just recently, quite a few people haven't responded to emails that I've sent them. Is strange, cos they're all pretty good at replying. Very annoying too.Or have I just started smelling...
April 10, 2006
A slight update...

Just spent a bit of time updating www.oneroundpebble.com today. Now the navigation bar on the left should be a lot quicker to load, as it now dynamically loads the child nodes. Hopefully it also works on more people's computers.Had to fight a...
April 07, 2006
On a lighter note...

Was quite amused the other day when I sat down to watch The World Is Not Enough (you know, the James Bond one), and they have that chase scene with the boats, right near the start:<IMG height=217 alt=”James Bond ...
April 06, 2006
Hmmm...

Just spoke to DHL to ask them why my latest parcel hasn't been delivered.Apparently, my area is a no-go area. Their drivers kept getting mugged.They'll deliver to Baghdad, but not to Canning Town... Crap...
March 30, 2006
The worshipful company of cooks?

One of the things I like about London is the random bits of strangeness you get.For example, on the side of a van near where I used to live (in Morden), it has this: The mind boggles. It really does.
March 30, 2006
Daylight savings...

I love the feeling that changing to daylight savings gives you. Makes you feel like you've got an extra hour or more in the day.Especially in England, where the sun goes down very early in winter, it makes you want to head home and hibernate. ...
March 21, 2006
My new nephew...

Finally managed to get a pic of my new nephew, Isaiah Kai Carnell: <IMG height=264 alt="Isaiah Kai Carnell" src="/images/isaiahkai040s.jpg" width=298 border=0> Now... To start the diabolical scheming to corrupt him <IMG al...
March 15, 2006
I'm an uncle!

Woohoo! I now officially have a nephew, born 11.15pm, on the 14th of March, 2006. Congratulations Sherry and Steve!According to reports, his name is "Dunno". <IMG alt=":)" class="emoticon" src="/images/emotions/emotion-1.gif" border=0>Update...
March 06, 2006
Stuff...

In some ways life is pretty good right now, but in others, it ain't so good. I'm keeping fairly busy - got a social life that’s pretty hectic, but partially because of that, I'm dead tired all the time.But other than that depressing topic, a...
March 06, 2006
Work-life balance

Think I'm going a bit too hard on the life side, and not enough on the work side...Damn, this balance thing is hard to find...
March 02, 2006
Can I scream? Pretty please?

Gah... Working at this place makes me fume! Drives me up the wall! I just wanna scream! Or go postal... Hmmm... Now there's an idea...
January 19, 2006
Too many secrets...

In one way, its gratifying when someone tells you a secret - it means that they trust you. However, it adds a burden to you in your life - you've now got to walk around knowing this secret for the rest of your life. Sometimes, it seems that it'd b...
December 26, 2005
Well...

Its a bit belated, but, hey, better late than never... So:Merry Christmas everyone <IMG alt=":D" class="emoticon" src="/images/emotions/emotion-2.gif" border=0>.Hope you all have a great day, and Santa brings you all the presents that you wa...
December 15, 2005
London *doesn't* add fluoride to the water supply...

Found out today that London doesn't add fluoride to the water supply.Wanna know how I found out? I went to the dentist today... Not a good prognosis... <IMG alt=:( class="emoticon" src="/images/emotions/emotion-6.gif" border=0>
November 25, 2005
Windsor knot...

Just so i can find it again when I need it:How to tie a windsor knot...
November 25, 2005
Awww...

Just got a text msg from my dad, asking:"Have u got anything organised for new years eve? We have been invited out by ..., do you mind if we go?"Awww... how sweet...On the same kind of note, apparently my mum is getting possessive - she was arguin...
November 21, 2005
India emails...

Been meaning for a while to post the emails that I sent while I was in India early last year... They weren't really written as blog entries, so they may be a bit strange.But anyway, I'll be posting them here - enjoy!
November 21, 2005
Personality types...

Talking to a friend the other day - she's piloting an project at the company where she's consulting, based on personality types... As part of it, she asked me what personality type I was (based on the myers-briggs personality test). Turns out, ba...
November 18, 2005
An interesting article about research...

This article, written in 1945, foresaw issues finding information, when you've got too much information stored, and a way to solve it. <A title=http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/flashbks/computer/bushf.htm href="http://www.theatlantic.com/unbo...
November 18, 2005
The latest linux install...

Forget installing linux onto watches, psp's, xboxes and the like... Installing Linux on a Dead Badger: User's Notes(have a quick look, even if you're not a nerd...)
November 18, 2005
Old emails...

Was looking through some old emails last night, trying to track down some stuff, and came across a few interesting links / articles that I'd sent last year... So, I thought I'd share them with you lot <IMG alt=":)" class="emoticon" sr...
November 18, 2005
Yay...

High of 4 degrees C today. Low of -1 tonight.I'm not looking forward to heading to Melbourne for a few weeks of summer. No, not at all...
November 07, 2005
I'm just oozing culture...

The other week, I went to BAFTA and saw a pre-final cut movie called Copying Beethoven - the director wanted feedback on the movie, so in exchange for getting a free ticket, we had to fill out a survey at the end, to tell him what went right and w...
October 24, 2005
Tempting....

Messenger conversation with Dan: Ah, well in that case, its time for you to go to bed and dream of an entire colony of fairy penguins bowing down to you as King Matt and feeding you pilchards while you recline on a bed of kelp, being fanned a...
October 20, 2005
One last note…

It’s been an interesting week at work… It’s been pretty stressful, and moral hasn’t been the best, and it all came to a head this week.The head of software development (my boss) sat down and some pretty honest meetings with...
October 20, 2005
It’s been how long?

Just because I can, here’s another one for you:Seems that I’ve been away from good old sunny Melbourne for quite a while now. Pretty sure it was August 17th, 2005 or so when I left Aus, so I think that means I’ve been gone for ju...
October 20, 2005
A funky shot

Had a very foggy morning yesterday – definitely seems that winter is looming round the corner…On my way to work, managed to take a half-decent photo (if I do say so myself… <IMG alt=":)" class="emoticon" src="/images/emotions/...
October 20, 2005
Jonny the Star

(once again, another post that I’ve been putting off for a while…)Jonny, the part-time tester in our team at mergermarket, was in an advertisement the other week for pcworld… We’re all just hanging out to see him on TV̷...
October 20, 2005
Free alcohol

Been meaning to post about this for quite a while, but me being me, I got slack and didn’tA while back, Hugh Macleod, of gapingvoid.com fame, started offering free bottles of Stormhoek wine to bloggers… There was no catch to write abou...
October 10, 2005
How could this happen???

I love the Bunny comics, and this one especially, entitled "no more teabags":
October 07, 2005
Political: European court rules that prisoners have the right to vote...

According to a news item I saw on BBC news earlier (here's a link from the guardian website), apparently the European court of human rights has ruled that those in prison should be allowed to vote, which will apparently force Britain to review its...
September 29, 2005
I must have blinked...

Walked out of the tube station the other night, and had to check my watch... It was already dark, and it was only 7.20pm...So much for summer... I must have blinked...(S'pose it's still better than the middle of winter - dark at 4.30pm... gah!)
September 25, 2005
Odd...

Just watched an advert on tv, and it was advertising a magazine for kids about the human body. One of the 'sample' things was “why is my brain wrinkly”.So, doing a google search on this (who doesn't want to know why their brain is wrin...
September 25, 2005
I love my mum...

She got a friend of mine to bring over a cake for me (all the way from Aus), for my birthday last month. A beautiful, tasty, scrumptious fruit cake.Love you mum! You're ace! <IMG alt=":)" class="emoticon" src="/images/emotions/emotion-1.gi...
September 22, 2005
Andrea & Mark's Wedding...

A few weekends back, headed down to Kent, to Nettlestead Place, for Andrea & Mark's wedding.Was an amazingly beautiful venue, a country house set in beautiful gardens, and it was also a very nice ceremony. I've uploaded some photos of the day ...
September 13, 2005
New toys...

Got a little carried away the other day, and went and bought myself some new toys...Got myself one of these little babies, and also one of these little babies.For those that couldn't be bothered following the links, the first one is a digital SLR ...
September 01, 2005
Thinking ahead...

For a while I've been meaning to write a bit of an essay on how it seems our society doesn't really think for the future anymore - but I've never quite got around to it. It also seems that I've forgotten how to write essays, so i think I'll just s...
September 01, 2005
One giant leap for developers...

Ran across this site a while back - a competition where you can win ipods, dvd's, or a space flight, 99 km above the earth, just for entering a competition...Whatever will they think of next...?
September 01, 2005
The American internet?

Been meaning to write about this for a while, but never quite got around to it.About 2 months ago, the US government announced that it would not be relinquishing control of the root name servers that are the basis of the internet, and retaining co...
August 24, 2005
Plans..

Currently sitting here in good ol' Edinburgh, relaxing in the castle rock hostel, whiling away the day, revelling in the joy of not having to do anything. It is a very nice feeling. Much better than having to work on your birthday...But, I've been...
August 13, 2005
The state of IT recruitment...

Just a quick note to say how disgusted I am with the state of IT recruitment in London these days. I mean, if I get another (effectively) spam email that outlines a job where the only relation to me is that its in IT, and hey, I just happen to wor...
August 04, 2005
yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm still here...

I've just been told off by someone for not writing anything for my blog lately... Admittedly, she's probably the only person who does read it, but hey, at least someone does... <IMG alt=":)" class="emoticon" src="/images/emotions/emotion-1.gif"...
July 13, 2005
Hear, Hear!

Go read: "A Letter To The Terrorists, From London".
July 12, 2005
Bad luck, ladies...

Well, I've been sitting on this one for quite a while (mainly cos I was threatened with serious bodily harm if I said anything), but its now official, and the news has been set free to galavant round the paddock, like a... well, like a bit of news...
July 08, 2005
London Terrorist Attacks - Part II

Okay. Now that I've had a bit of time to settle down, thought it might be a good idea to write about today... I think that it would've been easier to write this earlier, and just point at it in the emails I've sent today. I've had quite a few emai...
July 08, 2005
London terrorist attacks

Just a quick note to say that I'm okay, and nearly everyone I know is safe. Just got to get over the serverly-freaked-out bit, then I'll be fine.Will try and post a bit more about it later.
June 13, 2005
Always knew it...

Not entirely sure I want to identify myself with this, but I could resist pointing it out... <IMG alt=":)" class="emoticon" src="/images/emotions/emotion-1.gif" border=0>From the New York Daily News, via Scoble: Nerds make better lovers.
June 13, 2005
The geek dinner...

Went along to the geek dinner the other night, a little worried at how bad it was going to be (who wouldn't be scared at the thought of going to a place where 200 people are voluntarily going to something called a “geek dinner”...)But,...
June 13, 2005
Woohoo!

Back in the good old days, I used to absolutely love McGyver. Used to watch it every week, without fail. I used to watch it with as much regularity as my sister and mother used to watch A Country Practice, or as much as they watch Home and Aw...
June 13, 2005
Bonus!

Got an email the other day from Bulldog, our internet provider.Just for the hell of it, they're going to up our connection to an 8 meg connection (instead of the current 4 meg). No extra cost, nothing to do. Damn... How annoying. Not.
June 09, 2005
Its raining...

Had an interesting Sunday morning last weekend... I'd just had a nice long relaxing shower, dried off, and headed downstairs, back to my room. Now, my room sits directly underneath the shower (perceptive people here are going oh-oh already).The "i...
May 31, 2005
A brilliant euphemism...

Heard a great euphemism the other day for being a 'little' hungover: “he's got the 'happy hamster barn dance' going on in his head”. <IMG alt=":)" class="emoticon" src="/images/emotions/emotion-1.gif" border=0>
May 31, 2005
Opportunities for your largess...

Seeing you’re all just dying to buy me presents, I thought I’d let you know that I’ve gone and updated my present wish list, so there’s a veritable truckload of things for you to choose from… Happy shopping <IMG alt=”:)” class=”emoticon” src=”/...
May 28, 2005
Weird conversations

Matt says:I think the question was "where's the nearest cricket bat, i need to hit alex over the head with it..." Alex says:oh... use Biscuit instead Matt says:to hit you over the head? Alex says:please
May 25, 2005
Ahh! So that's what it means...

Ahh! I’ve finally figured out what it all means…
May 18, 2005
Finally! A court with some sense!

A Hamburg court has just ruled that an ISP can't be forced to handover customer data to record companies.Finally, a judge that hasn't given into the recording industry and is upholding existing law.This whole issue (of media companies losing money...
May 17, 2005
Bloggers dinner...

Now, I've already been laughed at for this, so I'm gonna try and word it a bit better this time...I just signed up for a bloggers dinner thats happening early next month. Now, hopefully its not gonna be a complete geek fest - I'm going cos it...
May 17, 2005
Pauls travels...

Paul's finally got around to uploading some photos (all 5 of them), and damn, I'm jealous. I'm sure he was just as jealous when I was traveling the greek islands, but, damnit...(Oh, and seems the site is running really slowly at the moment - my ap...
May 12, 2005
Randomness...

out of the past, she appears.from time long gone, a friend.things have changed, its strange.time has moved on, conversation falters.days pass...
May 02, 2005
Life in the big city...

From gapingvoid:
May 02, 2005
On blogging less...

From gapingvoid's latest post (the guy with the cool t-shirts), where he quotes Mena Trott, Six Apart's co-founder, in his post: Frankly, I know that when my heaviest periods of blogging came when I was unemployed or not feeling fulfilled at work....
May 02, 2005
Passion for your job...

Just read an interesting post over on the awasu blog, about being passionate about work. Go check it out, and also the other article that he points to.
April 16, 2005
Housemates, visitors, new jobs and travels...

Okay, its been a while since I've just done a bit of a general update, and a few things have happened lately, so I feel I ought to share them... Carolyn and Andrew have moved in, taking over the 4th bedroom in the house. They're both American, Car...
April 16, 2005
Dreams...

Woke up from a dream the other morning, and I caught the last thought of the dream: "must remember to cut the parachute down to size..."Now, I dont know about you, but I’m worried…
April 11, 2005
Hokey...

Going through my old email, I ran across this one from the end of last year: With all the sadness and trauma going on in the world at the moment, it is worth reflecting on the death of a very important person which almost went unnoticed last wee...
April 11, 2005
DVD Region Encoding...

<rant>Okay, I'm about 5 years too late to really get in on the complaints about DVD region encoding, but, hey, i thought I'd put my 2 cents (pence?) in anyway.DVD region encoding, for those that don't know, is where a DVD and a DVD player ha...
March 26, 2005
The person that always has a smile on their face...

Just been thinking about how a person with a smile, or even a half smile, on their face is a pleasure to look at, and just seems to cheer up people around them, and is just good to be around.So, I've just been practicing smiling as I walk around G...
March 26, 2005
Sharing thoughts...

Warning: deep, and possibly lacking in purpose...On the odetocode blog, I found a pretty cool quote the other day. Its in slightly technical language, but i thought i'd share, and add my 2 cents (or is it pence?) to it: Taking the thoug...
March 24, 2005
Short term travel plans...

Okay, time for a quick update on travels...Come this Friday morning, I'm heading over to Ireland for the Easter break. I'm heading out to a place called Inishbofin, a tiny little island off the west coast - population 200. A friend of mine, Holly,...
March 23, 2005
You know when there's something wrong with a country...

… when the best coffee you can find is from Starbucks…
March 18, 2005
*Shock* *Horror* - Good weather at last?

And I thought that Melbournes weather was odd.Only a few weeks ago, it was snowing - pretty heavily even, and it was bitterly cold. Today, I was walking around in a t-shirt. Its warmed up a *lot*.Apparently Fridays going to be 19° or so, and ...
March 16, 2005
'Dungeons and Dragons'...

Always knew those D&D playing people were weird:The other day, ran across an article (via Bruce Schneier's Security Blog) which told of the Israeli defense forces giving people who play Dungeons and Dragons lower security ratings, as "The...
March 15, 2005
Rant: Rubbish Bins...

<Rant mode="on">I'd just like to rant about rubbish bins for a few minutes... Or more to the point, I'd like to rant about the *lack* of rubbish bins in London's streets and tube stations...There are *no* rubbish bins near most tube stations...
March 12, 2005
Andrea's skiing trick...

Just found out (okay, it was yesterday that I found out, but I forgot to post about it), that Andrea had heard back from the doctors...Now, to backpedal a bit, Andrea and Mark went on a skiing holiday last week, over in France (I think). First of ...
March 11, 2005
How come nobody reads my blog?

Ran across this while reading Scoble's blog yesterday, and thought it was kind of appropriate...<IMG src="http://www.gapingvoid.com/Moveable_Type/archives/zzzzzz7654197.jpg" P <> If you like it, go check out the <Ahref="http://www.gap...
March 10, 2005
Walking through Liverpool Street Station this morning...

Walking through Liverpool Street Station this morning, I walked past a guy dressed up as a cigarette, in a big cage, growling at people as they walked past...It was just a Nicorette promotion, but nonetheless, it put a big smile on my face. A...
March 05, 2005
An interesting week...

Well, what can I say. Biscuits definitely had an interesting week <IMG alt=;) class="emoticon" src="/images/emotions/emotion-5.gif" border=0>. And that is all I'm allowed going to say on the matter. You wanna know why, you'll have to ask him...
March 05, 2005
Random ramblings...

Right. Time for another long winded blog entry. I think there's been a lot happening that I haven't had a chance to write about, so here's a bit of a bash at it.I'm currently sitting, well, actually, standing on a tube train, on my way into work. ...
February 24, 2005
Freaky!

Found the other day that my new housemate Cath has the same birthday as me... Freaky! I be thinking that my our birthday this year could be a bit rowdy <IMG alt=":)" class="emoticon" src="/images/emotions/emotion-1.gif" border=0>.
February 23, 2005
Snow, lovely snow!

[edit: added the pictures]Got very excited yesterday - it snowed properly for the first time!Was at work when it first snowed, but that didn't count, cos I was stuck inside. But, went home, and when I got off the tube, it was snowing properly :). ...
February 23, 2005
On Politics: Free Arash and Mojtaba

Felt that I should get involved in this political thing for a bit:The Committee to Protect Bloggers has announced today (Feb 22nd) as Free Arash and Mojtaba Day. These guys have been imprisioned by the Iranian...
February 21, 2005
We're not insane...

We're not insane; the people who hear voices are the insane ones... The smurfs tell us what to do...(from a conversation with Biscuit...)
February 11, 2005
I got me a contract!

Yay!After looking for what seems like an eternity, but which more likely would be about 2 months, I've finally managed to get myself a contract.As of Tuesday morning, I'll be starting as a Senior Software Developer, with the following j...
February 11, 2005
Scary

Looking through a friend from Canada's pics, and as I got up to the Florence pics, I saw this and got a little scared. So, I just thought i'd share the scare, as it were... Scary, huh?</P...
February 10, 2005
Random thoughts of an interviewee

Random thoughts on the way to an interview: Nervous, but not really. I know I can do what they want me to, but its just a case of convincing them that I can. Wish my resume had some more pure dev roles on it. Last proper role (infosys) wasn't so g...
February 07, 2005
General Update

I thought I'd actually sit down and share a little bit about what I've been doing lately, as I haven't been posting much real stuff - just funnies and odd stuff that I've felt the need to share.So, here goes:I'm still living in Crawley, on Paul &a...
February 03, 2005
As I was going to St. Ives...

For some odd reason, I was just talking to Biscuit on Skype about the man from St Ives, you know, the one from the riddle: As I was going to St. Ives, I met a man with seven wives. The seven wives had seven sacks, The seven sacks had seven cats, ...
January 30, 2005
The youth of today...

Reading a blog post recently, and in it, Duncan Mackenzie talks about never typing “end if” properly when coding - he types it as “endif”, and the auto-correct fixes it for him.I also stumbled across another article from Go...
January 29, 2005
The tsunami earthquake...

Read a vaguely interesting article the other week when I was trying to find information about the latest NASA launch (I think it was the one that's supposed to impact that comet), about the seismological effects of the earthquake that caused the B...
January 29, 2005
I'm worried... about me...

Just re-reading an email I'd sent to a friend, about going insane, getting fed up with looking for a contract: I'm going insane! Shoot me! I know. I'll shoot me (somewhere where its not going to hurt too much), then find a corrupt doctor to prono...
January 26, 2005
Doh! I missed my 10,000th day!

[Edit: Added a link to the dodgy spreadsheet thingy, cos some whingers (okay, one whinger) complained.]Thanks to a dodgy spreadsheet thingy that my good old buddy Simone sent me, I just realised that I'm10,017 days old. That means I just missed&nb...
January 14, 2005
Je suis voyager en France pour la ski!

Bright and early Sunday morning, Biscuit, Paul & Lyds, Leigh, Jon and I are off to Chalet hotel L’Aiguille Percee in Tignes, France, for a week of skiing. Yay!So, I get to learn to ski, which I'm told is not too hard if you've water-skie...
January 14, 2005
No wonder I was sick for so long...

When I was rather sick, and coughing up lots of horrible stuff, I was drinking hot water with lemon and honey - to sooth the throat and all that.The other day Paul tried to pour some lemon juice out of the bottle, and it wouldn't come out. He open...
January 09, 2005
Site changes...

Had to change a bit of the site today, for a few reasons: Legions of lazy scrabrous mangy fleabags were complaining that they couldn't access the photos link in the menu. So, I've changed it to something thats a lot more ugly, but supposedly cross...
January 09, 2005
English...

Just downloading FireFox (which is a different internet browser, like Internet Explorer, but stupider), and i came across the download link: But... I thought the British invented English... Nerd bit: If you must know, I'm downloading cos of the in...
January 08, 2005
I hate clothes shopping...

I've decided one of the bad things about being over here is the lack of females that I can dragoon into helping me shop <IMG alt=:( class="emoticon" src="/images/emotions/emotion-6.gif" border=0>.I had to go buy some stuff tod...
January 04, 2005
I hate being sick...

Over Christmas, I wasn't the most well, but I'd pretty much recovered by New Years Eve.But, due to, ahem, an overindulgence on New Years Eve, my immune system has decided to check out what the weather in Majorca is like, and consequentia...
January 04, 2005
Interesting times...

[Edit - apparently it was over 4 years, not 3 years]It seems that the curse “may you live in interesting times” might have been inflicted on me again... (Not to self - stop calling Confucius funny names...)Momentus times, it seems, mom...
December 31, 2004
Annoying laptops...

Just recently my laptop has been a bit odd, and blue-screened a few times on me.Today, I found out why. When I turned it on this morning, it popped up with “SMART Disk Drive: Imminent Disk Failure”. That explains why it hasn't been too...
December 29, 2004
The bad part of knowing people from around the world...

[Edit - 25th Jan - I've now heard from everyone that I know that was in the affected areas - everyone and their families are safe. ]One of the things I like about travelling around is meeting and getting to know people from all parts of the world....
December 27, 2004
Thoughts On... "Remember The Secret Policeman's Ball"

A few weeks back (or maybe more, I cant remember), Biscuit and I went to see the premiere of “Remember the Secret Policeman's Ball?” at the Prince Charles Theatre. The Secret Policeman's Ball's are comedy shows put on by Amnesty Intern...
December 21, 2004
Why OneRoundPebble?

Well, its 3am, I should be heading to bed, and so, seeing I've just been asked (again) why its called OneRoundPebble, I thought I might espouse my views on this most pertinent of topics.As I'm sure you can see, I'm in full possession of my faculti...
December 20, 2004
Cool Stuff... Patriotism...

Okay, for some reason at the pub last night, we got talking about that Fosters advert that they showed during the last Olympics. Just went looking for it, and couldn't find the video, but i managed to find a transcript of it, and a few interesting...
December 19, 2004
Merry Christmas and all that...

Howdy all.Seeing its approaching Christmas, and the whole New Year thing, and seeing that I'm too slack to actually send individual emails, or heaven forbid, actually send cards, I'm going to do it all from here.So, I wish you all an amazing Chris...
December 14, 2004
Paul has a blog!

The boy has finally jumped on the bandwagon and got a blog going...Not that he's written anything exciting on it yet, but, well, we can hope...If you've got a vague idea of who he is, go check it out. Its under the “Paul and Lyds” bit ...