August 2005

So, tomorrow is Thursday the 1st of September.
Therefore it must be the day the Sony PSP comes out in the UK!

I have already had my grubby geek paws on one of these devices which was imported from Nippon. I have to say that they are very sexy and are definitely worth the money (aprox £200). It could easily replace my iPod and GBA in one foul swoop.

The only problem is…

1. Should I save up for a new mountain bike seeing as I do the cycle commute thing now? £300 quid should do it. Mine is starting to creak a little.
2. Should I start saving for the XBOX360 which is not far off either? Thats only going to be around £300 too!
3. Should I get a new Windows Mobile smartphone? I miss my SPV.
4. Should I get a PSP and ditch the GBA seeing as the PSP can emulate the GBA and I can get the games for free off the webbernet thing?

Choices, choices…

Shame I have’nt got the money to do any of them!

Hot on the heels of Ogle comes Tyoogle which uses the widely published Google Hack to find web published indexes of MP3 files stored on servers around the world.

Type in the artist name and see if you get what you are after!

Update 1: This is a cool one i just found via that site.

My two children aged 6 and 3 and a half are currently upstairs emulating their impending teenage behaviour. They are both in the eldests bedroom blaring out pop music whilst emptying all of the toys onto the already messy floor, dancing and singing away at the tops of their voices.

I’ve not got a problem with that - it’s quite cute really.

It’s just they are listening to Steps!

I have finally given in to peer pressure and have just posted my first pic over at my new Photoblog which I have called Photao.

Make sure you keep visiting as, like Mr SwimPig, I will be posting a new pic every day!

A few years ago when I took a holiday with my parents to the Lake District and we climbed up into the hills above Derwentwater, my Dad stopped and said:

“Just think.. when you are sitting there at work, this is all still here. Just as quiet and peaceful.”

How i wish i was there now instead of stuck here slowly going blind in front of this keyboard.

I wish I could “bunk off” work and go there for the day. I would also hope that it was raining too as i prefer the rain to hot weather.

I could be sitting in a tent near the lake with rain “pit-a-patting” on the flysheet, reading or drawing, and just chilling out. The euphoric smell of freshly wetted grass and mud mingled with the smoky crackle of my campfire dying in the shower drifts through into the tent.

My iPod would be there for the times when music suited the mood and I could turn my mobile phone to silent, or just accidently drop it in the lake whist taking the Derwentwater motorboat across to the other side on another long walk back to the campsite, shooting some black and white photos on the way. A freshly whittled walking stick would also be needed as i sneer at tourists and pretend to be a local.

I would have a flask of coffee, a miniature of Jack Daniels, a freshly baked loaf of wholemeal granary bread with a jar of Peanut Butter to fill my tummy at lunchtime and a pack of Lucky Strike cigarettes to compliment my columbian coffee breaks.

And at 5pm I could go home to my family - as if nothing had ever happened….

See.. i don’t want for much, do i?
Where would you go on the day you bunked off work?

Technorati Tag Explosion: lake district, holiday, work, keswick, derwentwater, tent, coffee, lucky strike, ipod, jack daniels, bunk, photo

Fatigue

fa-tigue

1. Physical or mental weariness resulting from exertion.
2. Something, such as tiring effort or activity, that causes weariness: the fatigue of a long hike.
3. Physiology. The decreased capacity or complete inability of an organism, an organ, or a part to function normally because of excessive stimulation or prolonged exertion.

Today is my second day back at work after two weeks off and I already need another holiday. My old boss, Dave, used to say “There’s no point going on holiday… you come back more tired than before!”. I used to just laugh and say “yeah..” in a placating manner. Now I know what he meant.

My back feels like it has gone ten rounds with an overweight sumo on a cocktail of PCP, speed and Cilit Bang after I wrestled with our washing machine to try and find a leak at the weekend. It won, I lost and cried in the corner.

My forearms are aching after two weeks of no computing allowed my Carpal Tunnel Syndrome to slacken off its iron grip on my tendons - only to fit in two weeks worth of work into the last two days thanks to Mr Zotob. The light at the end of the tunnel is really just another room full of crap waiting to be shovelled. My simpleton, child-like, canal minded colleague BigFootCookie has handed me the spade, I now have to keep digging.

My head feels all spongy after too much coffee, not enough *real* food and numerous phone calls ringing in through my headset. My brain has turned into something resembling happy shopper mushy peas and my eyes are as sore as a 14 year old’s testicles.

Does anyone know how to do a cranial drill massage?

Technorati Tags: fatigue, holiday, carpal tunnel syndrome, RSI, mushy peas, zotob, virus, washing machine, sumo, hurts, ouch

I saw this once before but it passed me by in a haze of Bloglines updates and I forgot to blog about it. Over at The Nonist they have a free downloadable pamphlet titled “What everyone should know about BLOG DEPRESSION“.

I am no stranger to this effect either. What? You thought all my content was lovingly well crafted social commentary and prose? Wrong! I can count the times I have thought of deleting my blog or changing the content totally on more than one tentacle! WhiteBoyBob will tell you all about that (and how). And since i got my iPod… well… what else do I have to write about?

Blogs, like male prostitutes, come and go and even the giants of the blogosphere slip beneath the waves after dazzling us with their comedy and making us jealous with their volumous hit counters and subscriber numbers. The thing to remember is that “The Blog” is your own space. Own it and put a little of yourself out there. In a sad geeky way it has brought a little more happiness to my hum-drum life. Creativity is the key - whether it be photos, your reviews of the latest condiments or your latest rant about “that bloke that nearly knocked me off my bike on the way to work”. Everyones life is interesting.

Like the literature says: “No-one put a gun to your head. Blog for your own enjoyment or you’re in trouble”

Already it’s my first full day back from my holiday in Devon and I am getting used to the idea that going back to work is only a few hours away.

Things are returning to normal at home - the wife is in the garden reading, the washing machine is on, my youngest is packing in two weeks worth of playing with his trains into one day and the eldest boy is (again) watching Transformers The Movie. And I am blogging…

Whilst away I did learn how to do Soduko, walk a tightrope, re-discover my juggling skills, finish reading the latest Harry Potter book and discover that Budgerigars are actually parrots.

The break away was excellent - just a shame it has to end.
Mr Swimpig has also persuaded me to start my own Photoblog too… watch this space.

Technorati Tags:
holiday, devon, summer, juggling, thomas the tank engine, transformers, tightrope, harry potter, sudoku, parrot, budgerigar, photoblog

So here i am typing on an iBook running Mac OS9 after another hectic day on holiday trawling the sunny beaches of Southsea and Gosport. The kids are happy - the wine is flowing and my “borrowed” gps PDA unit brought me direct here with no hitches at all!!

I want one now!
Well… at least for when i am on my hols each year.

Off to the next portion of my holiday tomorrow - across the country to Devon for another week of swimming and fun.

See y’all laterz…
Wonder if i can permenantly “borrow” this iBook too!