simm

The Midsummer's Night Ball

Sat, 05 Jan 2008 18:23:01 GMT

I would like to announce the Midsummer's Night ball to be held in Salisbury June 20th 2008

The details are available here:

Tickets are available to order, but there will be a 1-2 week delay in delivery as we are currently having them printed.

Hope to see you there!!

You have to love the french

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 17:22:34 GMT

I thought this whole concept was wonderful!!!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/france/story/0,,2217067,00.html

Especially that they were not even noticed in over a year of doing this!!

Sports for the girls

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 12:50:08 GMT

Have to admit - it looks quite interesting

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7096653.stm

Are ghosts covered by the health and safety at work act??

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 11:01:20 GMT

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7072188.stm

You're digging up a plague pit and a communual grave - what exactly do you expect??

In sickness and in health...

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 08:34:37 GMT

Well in sickness this week mostly.

Colds should not make you feel this bad. Normally a heavy dose of sudafed and some paracetamol and I can atleast function - with enough caffine anyway.

Had a day off sick last week, but then tried to struggle on, now I had to take yesterday off and today :( I hate having to take time off work. Part of it comes form being a contractor in the past - no sick pay - but I also really enjoy this job and feels like I'm letting them down.

Plus in those days I did struggle in I think I managed to infect the rest of the office...

Well fingers crossed it will be cleared up over the weekend, got a docs appointment in an hour since I suspect its gone into my sinuses and antibiotics will be required :( no drinking next week then.

I certainly do want to be recovered in time for the halloween party!!!

In other news finally got around to replcing the case and powersupply on my old computer - the cheap case I had it in before needed so many fans to keep it cool it sounded like a jet engine. But my ailing firewall, a pentium 150 laptop, needs replacing and if that desktop is to become an always on server it needs to be quiet. So one antec p182 case later and all is well... except for the dvd drive I replaced. It didn't come with a SATA cable and since I was replacing an old style IDE drive I don't have one here. So here I am, off sick, nothing to do and I can't even work on reinstalling this PC because I lack a cable and am certainly not up to a cycle to PC World to pick up a replacement :( this sucks!

Thought for the day

Sat, 13 Oct 2007 22:47:46 GMT

The only rights you can have in life are the right to choose, and the right to take the consequences and without accepting the latter, you never truly have the former.

Parents beware

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 11:21:39 GMT

A very naughty pumpkin....

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 11:54:20 GMT

On your bike!

Tue, 25 Sep 2007 11:03:09 GMT

I got my bike back!!

Finally!!

Wheel all repaired even though it did take them 2 weeks, they also replaced the inner tube that they fitted with the right one (had the wrong fitting on the top originally)

And they didn't charge me without there even being an argument about it.

Its nice when companies do fix their mistakes without too much hassel

Gothic cake tins!

Tue, 25 Sep 2007 08:37:34 GMT

http://www.decuisine.co.uk/cookshop/bakeware/bakeware_for_cakes.html?id=d8fa6a1d7c61fa608942839950fff031.1190708548

Well one gothic one but the rest are pretty cool to :)

However Friday's cake is going to be a train - specifically James

Pictures will no doubt follow

concerning....

Tue, 14 Nov 2006 18:02:23 GMT

Ok thats a little odd

I could have sworn I posted on here yesterday but it seems to have vanished....

Probably no major loss since I can't actually remember what I posted...

Gradually settlign in here still - really missing jareth during the week but I do have very sweet phone calls with him each morning

Last weekend we were all rather ill however was still quite pleasant as there were no arguments with Rose - definitely bodes well for us being able to keep this arrangement going.

Still trying to find a place to stay for after the VC xmas party... may end up in a hotel just have to see how it goes

time to wind down now I think - been a long day today

news n stuff

Wed, 08 Nov 2006 21:01:59 GMT

Ok so I'm crap at subject headings.... never mind

shock fact: heineken in holland actually tastes really nice - its not knats piss over here!!

I do however have a dilema - one that I think is easily solved though

Its the goth event over here on friday the 8th, and the VC xmas part on the 9th - I know I can only make one but which?

I was planning for the former but I saw the latter posted on morbidfrogs lj yesterday so I think I'll be changing my plans and go to the VC - loads of people I haven't been able to see in ages.

so the question becomes does anyone have a spare bed/sofa/patch of floor I could borrow on that night? Beer is offered in return ;)

VC halloween party - anyone got a sofa spare? ;)

Thu, 26 Oct 2006 21:03:26 GMT

Hi all

just wonder if anyone going to the VC halloween party has a spare sofa I could crash on?

My last train home is at 11:35 from water loo which would mean I'd have o leave the party at 11 which I dont really fancy (nor think I would remember to do!!)

Would be mre than happy to return the favour in amsterdam sometime ;)

I got the job!!

Wed, 04 Oct 2006 08:58:52 GMT

Woot!!

They want me to start asap, I've handed in my notice so will be started by 1st november definitely but I'm hoping my current place will let me go sooner - I think its quite likely to be honest.

They didn't offer me quite as high as I would have liked, but its still double my current salary and overtime is available!

I'll be in a b&b for the first few days unitl I get a short term rental on an appartment - however given the way their tax laws work there I want to buy a place as soon as I'm settled in the job as morgage interest is tax deducatable - given the top end tax bracket is 52% that makes a huge difference!

Once I'm atleast renting a place though if anyone fancies a trip to amsterdam then give me a yell and I can put you up ;)

the plague

Mon, 17 Jul 2006 10:33:23 GMT

I see to be coming down with a cold, not to mention that swimming yesterday with jareth has given me what is probably going to be a nasty ear infection....

joy of joys....

Back home tonight - Rose has gardening she needs to do and I have wine I need to bottle plus beer to start a new batch of... one problem though I'm nearly out of sterilising powder!!

Beer!!!

Fri, 23 Jun 2006 23:00:01 GMT

To log my efforts in beer and wine making I have decided to start my own little wiki

http://brewing.tinhinan.net

Its only editable by me right now - which I know partially defeats the point of wiki's but I'll probably make a public sub wiki in both the beer and wine (doesn't exist yet) wiki's in the next week or so

Also need to work on the appearance - its just the default right now which is rather dull

Right bedtime - I'm knackered!!!

Tatoos in the workplace

Mon, 19 Jun 2006 09:21:00 GMT

See this article:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5079470.stm

I just wish a blog or contact address had been given as I'd love to send her a note of support!! Good for her!!

Happy Birthday!!

Mon, 05 Jun 2006 09:11:53 GMT

Happy Brith dat flannelcat

Many apologies that we didn't realise yesterday!! Would have brought you a cake!!!!

(only found out this morning when I saw uberredfraggle's lj entry!

Have a great day ;) Enjoy the beer!

Kenyan rape law

Thu, 01 Jun 2006 10:22:46 GMT

Reading the bbc artical here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/5036398.stm

I certainly agree with the complaint that marital rape is still rape - even if they are asleep!!!!

The point of contention I find interesting though is that false acusation of rape is a crime equal to rape under their new new. One of the womens rights groups argues that the ordeal of rape isn't about sex. I assume from that they mean the life time effects of humiliation, fear, trauma things that will stay with the woman forever.

But then flase accusation has much the same points. Even if it goes to court and they ar aqquited, some people will never recover from the acusation, it can ruin career, marriages, self esteem, cause humilation and lifetime trauma.

Much the same as rape really....

I'm not sure I'd go quite as far as saying the sentence should be equal - but that false accusation is up to 50% length sentence as the rape I can see and agree with.

The only problem comes when you consider the practicalities.... many women are too afraid or embarrassed to come forward after being raped... most rapists will deny the claim, rape conviction rates are very low in the uk. Setting false accusations at such a severe penalty could discourage victims of rape to come forward.

But then how do you discourage actual false accusations? What about the victims of those? I personally know one guy that lost his job as a teacher, and being on the sex offenders register can never teach again, lost his house, went bankrupt though not being able to work and basically had his life ruined. Why? because he told a girl in the high school to tuck her shirt in. She then decided to claim he groped her - much much later admitted she was lying but by then it was too late, the damage had been done.

Its a tricky problem and I'm not really sure I can suggest a solution that would work well after you add humans to the equation

better now - caffine is good stuff

Thu, 01 Jun 2006 09:32:48 GMT

Ok I've had 2 cups of tea now and things are calmer

Still cancelling plans for tonight but am going tomorrow and probably something else next week so all is good.

Guess lack of sleep and caffine is making me cranky in the morning

Oh dear - its gotten silly now...

Mon, 22 May 2006 10:56:16 GMT

http://isnoop.net/blog/2006/05/20/macsaber-turn-your-mac-into-a-jedi-weapon

Apparantly the US is trying to make english their national language

Fri, 19 May 2006 09:03:44 GMT

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4996512.stm

It would probably help though if people there could

a) speak it
b) spell it

Even reciting the alphabet in it correctly would be a start ;)

I have beer!!

Thu, 18 May 2006 08:58:33 GMT

Broached the first 2 bottles of my first batch of home brew last night!!! A few days early but what the hell.

Came out pretty well!! A lot more sediment than you get in shop bought bottle conditioned, leaving it for longer might help with that though - though I supose I could always consider a filter for later.

Also a touch on the flat side - I'm not sure I added enough sugar for the secondary fermentation - problem is if you add too much the bottles can explode.... will try adding a little more next time ( a slightly rounded teaspoon rather than a completely level one)

However it may just be that I opened them a touch too early and leaving a little longer will help it out.

Nice mellow taste - deceptive I think since given the ammount of sugar I suspect.

Great day yesterday - went to dinner with Rose, then shopping, then a coffee shop - even picked up some homemade barfi from the asian food store!!

Early bed for both of us - though didn't get much sleep at first ;)

A eurovision entry that might not be the usual crap?

Tue, 16 May 2006 10:28:29 GMT

Finland enters a death metal group :)

http://eurovision.lordi.org/main.site?action=siteupdate/view&id=8

Sites running slow so haven;t actually been able to listen to their entry yet....

Update: Nope even as metal it still manages to sound like a eurovision entry....

mmmmBeer!!!

Fri, 12 May 2006 08:56:41 GMT

The primordial beer has eveolved into more of a Jurassic beer.....

Its out of the bucket and into 38 bottles - time consuming - didn't get into bed til near midnight though most of that was waiting for the dishwasher to finish sterilising all the bottles.

So move them to the garage this weekend then they should be ready to drink come next weekend!!

I am also only 8 bottles short of being able to do another batch (assuming each batch is 38 bottles, probably be good to have a couple of spares) so a few more bought from the shops and drunk then I can set off a second batch - will be nice to have it done soon since the bottled beer improves if its left a few more weeks to age

Deffinatly save a lot of money though now everything is bought - figure its going to cast about 25p a pint :) and for what will hopefully be very good beer!