Chocolate and Vodka

One thing that ticks me off is when one of my email accounts breaks for no readily apparent reason. My NTLworld address is currently knackered, for reasons I'm not sure even NTL understand, and it's very annoying.
I don't mind so much when I can't get my email as I tend to assume that it'll […]

Why does vinegar on chips smell so nice? And why does a teaspoon of vinegar stop the hiccups immediately when ten minutes of standing on one leg, drinking out of the back of a glass with a finger in my ear quite definitely does not?
I think these are important questions that should be carefully […]

Friday, on my way back from London, I got a phone call from an agency in Bristol, asking me if I'd like to work as a 'search engine tuner' for five months. Once we'd figured out from the job spec what the client wanted, it was clear that it was certainly a job that I […]

The Sun is belching out gas like an angry demon with wind and, if the pics are anything to go by, the last one (third biggest since records began, although that was only 25 years ago) was a bit of a beast and heading right for us. Chances are there'll be an aurora borealis tonight, […]

I mentioned a while back that I was thinking of attempting to resurrect my career in journalism, such as it was, and that I’d started a short online course.
General weirdness over the last couple of weeks has meant that I’ve not knuckled down quite as often as I would have liked and I’ve only […]

I've finally got round to joining a Dutch learners' Yahoo group today, in order to give myself a little more motivation to actually study this language. So far, the things I can say* about myself in Dutch, (and which are actually repeatable in public), are limited to:
- Ik leer Nederlands. (I'm learning Dutch. No kidding!)
- […]

Have a nice long kip and still be up early!
Although today does of course mark the true beginning of the long, slow slide into winter, the days becoming darker and more dismal until December 21 when I'll have a wee little party to celebrate that the nights are starting to shorten again. I hate […]

Maciej is still having problems with turbulence, it seems. I have to admit, I'm not in a position to take the piss really - Maciej's fear of flying (and particularly turbulence) is no less irrational than my fear of driving and I actually can sympathise with that white-knuckle feeling you get when suddenly your brain […]

Thursday afternoon I went up to London for a drink with some of the guys from Zoetrope.com. Met up with Craig at 1 Parliament Street, where he works. Had to hang around there a little while as he was in the midst of doing battle with his computer, but whilst I was waiting I heard […]

What did I read before I read blogs?
I've just opened up Syndirella, as I usually do despite the fact that it's buggy as hell and usually crashes either just itself or my entire computer before it's managed to actually aggregate anything.
I've read all the blogs on my list that have updated since earlier […]

I slept quite peacefully last night, to my surprise. I did dream of Elliott, but he was calm, serene and happy and the strains of Last Call echoed through my head all night. Reading the words now, well, they have a whole new interpretation.
Last Call
last call
he was sick of it all
asleep at home
told you […]

It's not been the best few days, but I do feel like I'm getting back on my feet now, getting some balance back.
I'm off to London this afternoon to meet up with some people from Zoetrope.com, which should be fun. I've never met these people before, but I'm pretty sure that they won't turn […]

Although my mind was on other things, yesterday I got my court papers filed against my ex-landlord. I'm claiming back my desposit and court fees, totalling almost ?800. Hopefully I'll get a positive judgement on this, as I really don't think it's fair for a landlord to retain a deposit just because they think you […]

I can't quite believe that I'm typing these words. Elliott Smith, one of the most talented singers/songwriters to ever grace a stage, died last night, aged 34. It appears that he took his own life.
I feel quite numb. I never knew Elliott, but I do have friends who did and everyone always commented on […]

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