Sunday, 13 May 2012

Weekend Round. Up

As has been the familiar pattern over the past few weekends the continuing theme for Saturday and Sunday seemed to be space rationalisation. 30% has set a challenging target of getting the house finished by the end of the year. Anyone who has viewed The Pile will know that this will be some feat but I am quite happy to give it go and even if we don't succeed we will be that much nearer completion. We now have only the office, dining room, hall and rear porch to go and the dining room is next on the list ...

... recently we have cleared out much from the office and, although not refurbished, I am now able to work in a dedicated space which is strangely satisfying. The clearing of the office resulted in furniture and surplus household items being deposited in the "to be" dining room ...

... and this weekend we made a start on clearing it. The room had degenerated from a "kid's sitting room" to a dumping ground for no longer required domestic items and had reached the point of being crammed to the gills. Redundant furniture was delivered to a grateful friend and arrangements were made for the Dresser to be collected for stripping. At the same time we picked up another book case that matches the one I bought a couple of weeks ago* so we now have a pair in the office. There is still a fair bit of stuff to go through in the dining room but we can now see the floor and have plans to deal with the vast pile of CDs** and the old television***. It doesn't take a crystal ball to realise that there will be trips to the Charity Shop and much use of the shredder in the next week or so too.

 Dogs got walked, lawns got mown, beds were lay in for as long as possible and wine got drunk. It has been a busy but very satisfying weekend.
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* I also managed to part exchange a Pine Chest of Drawers for a far superior piece in Oak
** iTunes, of course
***  the local tip, of course

Friday, 11 May 2012

Apparently I like Fish Fingers

I started Friday in a slightly more positive frame of mind when I took a couple of steps back and realised that I had only been working on this Project for three days. It would be somewhat churlish to expect progress so early in the engagement so attempted to hold on to this positive view as I trundled in to The Nearest Circle of Hell to meet up with the Sales Exec ...

... much of the day was spent in a small Office reviewing information requests and allocated resources. It wasn't as bad as it could have been as the Exec seems like a decent chap and is easy to get on with. He has a reasonable sense of humour and swears like a Trooper which means that at least he not adding formality and lack of sociability in to an already pressured working environment.

I did manage a couple of breaks and took lunch with Grandad Jack and The Poet which was a pleasant interlude from the Tsunami of questions that need to be answered.

I got home at a reasonably civilised time and although I really should have spent a couple of more hours at the Laptop I put that off to later in the weekend working on the principal that no bugger is going to look at an e-mail from me this evening*

At home my plans for the weekend appear to have been changed as a text from Tim Hyett advised that the Ducati is not yet ready to be picked up from the workshop due to a paint issue. To be honest this is no big deal as we have loads of stuff that we want to get done this weekend and removal of a return trip to Cheltenham gives us back an hour or more. It is not as though I am without a bike ...

... the actual problem is having the time and weather to ride it.
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* not unless it is entitled "Friday Fun" and the content would most definitely not live up to the headline

Thursday, 10 May 2012

I see no light at the end of the tunnel

Thursday was very similar to Wednesday except that it had ADDED TIGGER!

When you are about to hunt a nelifunt you need to have your trusted friends* and who better to have on board than Tigger. We spent much of the day trying to work out which Subject Matter Idiots we needed and then raised Resource Requests so that, in a couple of days, we could enjoy the disappointment and stress associated with the "request denied" responses that we will get.

We have made a little progress in a couple of areas but this is an "all or nothing" activity ... we need it all, end of story.

By the end of the day I was feeling tired and very frustrated. I seem to be putting in a lot of effort but I am not likely to see any results or indications of how effective I have been until a couple of days in to next week. It is only then that I will see how deep the shit really is and by that point I will be close to half way through the time available ...

...  Oh Fuck.
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* Oh, and a Winchester Model 70 African Rifle and a healthy supply of .458 Winchester Magnum shells too

Wednesday, 9 May 2012

Attempting to gain traction

Wednesday was spent requesting resources and attempting to beg favours from colleagues and contacts. To be honest I don't really feel comfortable attempting the "can you do me a favour" approach as this is an absolute pig of a job and if someone is going to get shafted with it it only seems fair that the appropriate process has been followed in order to dump this pile of shite in their inbox....

... basically it is is the only way to prevent them escaping to do something else.

To sum up the day I appear to have been very busy but I am not really sure whether I have achieved that much. I have made lots of requests but it is only when I get hold of named resources and they have completed an initial review of the task in hand that I will finally get a clear idea of how deep the shit is that I am standing in*

Away from work 30% finally got hold of the Upholsterer and we delivered the settee and new hide over at her house. She was very impressed with our eBay bargain hide and is really keen to make a start on the job. Hopefully it won't be too long before we will be collecting it.
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* I am only 5'3" and am therefore hoping that it is not too deep**
** Fat Chance!

Tuesday, 8 May 2012

Dante's Bumper Book of Outsourcing

I spent much of today getting to grips with the latest Project. This involved a trip in to the Nearest Circle of Hell to meet up with the Sales Exec and many hours pouring over a long document thinking "How the Hell am I going to get that information ?"  ...

... Basically I have been brought in at the very early stages of an Engagement where the prospective client is looking for information on Supplier Capabilities rather than priced solutions. They have just provided us with a very long list of questions and all but a handful of them require detailed responses from Subject Matter Experts.

As is usual we have very little time available to complete this task and key resources are required on other activities. Hence it is the all too frequent story of bad man fighting to get the resources he needs. As the title suggests, the client is looking for a tailored edition of Dante's Bumper Book of Outsourcing in order that they can reassure themselves that we are suitable prospective partner. After all you wouldn't want to be at the point of signing a contract with  Steve's Right Price Outsourcing and be thinking "can they actually manage data centres across the Globe?"

This Sales process is a standard way of initiating an outsourcing deal and you would think that Dante's Nine Circles of Hell would have a honed  set of processes and a team of Geniuses ready to tweak intellectual capital so that this would be little more than a formality ...

... How fucking wrong is that? The words of the day are "indifference", "disinterest" and "nebulous"...

... Christ, I wish I knew what I was supposed to be doing. Ah well, in the absence of clear instruction I will just do something. It has to be better than doing nothing.


Monday, 7 May 2012

The Bank Holiday Weekend continues ...

... and I am afraid that I have nothing of great interest to report.

Sunday saw the end of season presentations at the Rugby Club where TP got to shake the hand of an Hereditary Peer and received a "Trophies-r-Us" medal complete with ribbon for his year's efforts on the pitch. I cheered and clapped with vigour as it now means that I have at least 4 months of Sundays where I do not have to haul my sorry arse out of bed to run him over to the club.

The rest of the day was filled with domestic activities such as lawn mowing and general tidying.

Monday was no different apart from the point early in the day when I was called to the Lounge by 30%. I arrived to see Eddy sprawled alongside a recently deceased young rabbit and he was looking mighty pleased with himself. I must admit I was pretty impressed too as Eddy only has three legs and it must have take some effort to drag that back from the fields, up the drive and through the cat flap. Both Noggin and Tog were quite interested by this scene of feline carnage and I have the feeling that it will not be too long before they too will soon be bringing "gifts" in from the garden.

30% mentioned that she thought Eddy may well have brought it in alive and killed it in the lounge as she recalled walking in at one point to see all three cats staring intently at the settee. It may therefore have sought temporary refuge beneath the sofa.  She also had a vague recollection of  hearing scrabbling and a scream earlier in the day.

On the subject of feline carnage I may have managed to put the cat amongst the pigeons with the final item on my to do list. This was the drafting of a letter that I had needed to write for a couple of weeks. I finally found a few minutes to unearth the necessary details, knock up a few paragraphs and get the thing printed and posted. We will see how that pans out over the next few weeks but lets just say that I am only asking for that to which I am entitled.

The rest of the day was taken up by a trip in to Worcester to look at curtain material and carpets and we came home with a couple of samples. The only irritation over the weekend was the inability to locate the Upholsterer so that we could deliver the cane backed settee and hide ...

... My, my, it is getting frightfully Middle-Class here!

Saturday, 5 May 2012

Domesticity ...

Saturday started with a run over to the Defender Centre to sort out a minor issue with the heated seats. Initially I was concerned that they did not work but as I was driving over I switched on the passenger seat and noticed that my bum was getting noticeably warmer. It appears that I had been the victim of the "Dual Control Electric Blanket trick*" and we soon had the cables swapped over and shortly after I was on my way back home.

Back at home I discovered that Kathy H-R had popped round and dropped off a pigs head that was going spare. She had obviously just had a kill and the customer didn't fancy the head. Being slightly more open minded I know of the potential of a pig's head and set to with a sharp knife. 30% popped the ears in a roasting tin and cooked them as a treat for T&M while I carefully removed the cheeks from the skull and rubbed them with a dry cure mixture. In five or six days they will be transformed in to Guanciale and, once cubed in to lardons, are very popular here at The Pile.

30% had also been busy and had managed to find a "friend of a friend" that had a clutch of chicks due to hatch in the next couple of days. Our solitary chick will fare much better reared with other chicks and so it was dropped off to await the hatching of it's adoptive siblings.

The day continued in this vein with jobs being removed from lists. I fitted a pair of new door seals to the Defender in the hope** that they will combat the rivulets of water that trickle down the insides of the doors when it rains. I also managed to reassemble the Band Saw in the garage and fit a new blade. This might seem trivial but the degree of dismantling had almost reached the point where the less patient than I*** would be perusing the Screwfix catalogue and the Axminster Tools website.

The evening saw us take a trip out for a combined 50th Birthday and House Warming Party hosted by the parents of one of TP''s friends. I would like to say that we had a lovely time ...

... but being crammed in with three times more guests than the house could hold made crossing any room not dissimilar to an old fashioned Tile Puzzle. It was no fun at all. Then there was the fact that all of the guests EXCEPT US were members of the same Baptist congregation. This meant that they all knew each other and had something in common. Neither 30% nor I are Church goers and the crush and noise made any attempts at getting to know new people impossible ...

...Needless to say we made our excuses and disappeared after judging 90 minutes to be more than enough.
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* This is a fiendish and pure Practical Joke involving a double electric blanket with dual controls. One simply swaps the controls so that each occupant is controlling the other side of the bed. As a result one person ends up freezing and the other ends up roasting.
** Most Land Rover owners will say "vain hope"
*** These are the people that ride around on unicorns

Friday, 4 May 2012

Hmmm !

It seems that I shouldn't count my chickens even after they have hatched.

I nipped outside after lunch to check on the broody and found her taking her last few breaths. It seems the strains of incubating the clutch were too much for her and she is dying. She had not managed to gather the chicks beneath her and they had chilled and sadly died. I found one chick still breathing beneath her and put it in a box under a lamp. It didn't look very strong but after an hour or so under the warmth of the lamp it had struggled to it's feet and looked like it could make it. In fact by the time I finished work for the day it had become very noisy and was starting to peck at the chick crumb I had placed beside it...

... Let's hope it's luck continues and it turns out to be a pullet rather than a cockerel.

Stepping back a few hours I took an unexpected call from the Idiot Manager where he assigned me a new piece of work that he wants me to progress while the current project is in a quiet phase. This new project looks quite interesting as it will see me take on a broader role as the main technical contact with the client. I'll learn more on this next week when I have my first meeting with the Sales Exec.

Away from work I spent an unnerving half an hour stood on a step ladder at the top of the stairs installing a new light fitting. It is not the height that worried me it is the potential to end up as a crumpled mess at the foot of the stairs that had me wishing I didn't have to do this job...

... obviously I completed this task without suffering either electrocution or paralysis following a headlong flight down the flight and am now looking forward to a long weekend during which we should finish the final few jobs on the landing.

Thursday, 3 May 2012

They have hatched, I have counted

Today the plan was to meet up with Golfy and Grandad Jack at the Nearest Circle of Hell and go out for a couple of drinks after work. The plan stumbled in the second furlong when GDJ failed to make the running. We later found out that he was feeling "shyte" and unable to stand the demands of imbibing a couple of post-work shandies with Golfy and me ... Southern Softy.

This change of plan meant that Golfy and I needed a new purpose to our working day. Instead we sat down and started to investigate and arrange some training that appeared to be highly recommended, if not mandated, if we wanted to stand any chance of career progression to the level of Assistant Goblin, second class. The system we had to go through was revolting. It was badly designed, repetitive and contained numerous links that ended in a "404 - not found" type of page. The Conspiracy Theorist in me wonders of the system is intentionally crappy to dissuade all but the most anal from getting ticks in the appropriate educational boxes.

After a frustrating forty minute period Golfy and I managed to arrange just over 25 hours of on-line training. Do you know, some days the fun just never ends!

Jack's lack of fortitude meant that there was little point staying in work all day so I got flexible with the truth and cancelled my one meeting of the day so that I could get home at a very reasonably hour.

The evening saw me finish applying a coat of wax polish to the door at the foot of the stairs and an investigation of the chicken coop  shows that 5 chicks have hatched.

Wednesday, 2 May 2012

Feeling Dog Rough

This morning's first significant activity was a trip to the Vets with Tyson. Marauder also came along as she has worked out that if she looks cute enough she can blag a couple of dog treats from the Vet while T suffers the indignity of having a thermometer shoved up her backside.

The reason for this trip was that T is suffering from an upset stomach and, after 18 hours of vomiting and worse she most definitely needed medical intervention. The diagnosis was an infection rather than an obstruction and an anti-inflammatory injection and a course of antibiotics were prescribed. The Vet advised that she should be restricted to small portions of bland food and that we should see an improvement by the evening.

Having dealt with that Medical Emergency the rest of the day was reasonably quiet. Today was the day that the eggs under the Broody were due to hatch and, at the encouragement of Village Idiot*, I took a quick peep in the coop this evening. I was reluctant to disturb the hen so gently slid my hand underneath her. I had barely lifted her feathers when I heard cheeping and felt fragments of egg shell. I left it at that safe, in the knowledge that we have  at least one chick.
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* He turned up this evening with a fist full of stolen Rhubarb, regaled us with tales of his failing health and gratefully munched his way through the leftovers from our supper**.
** Salmon Fishcakes and  chips

Tuesday, 1 May 2012

Wax Bannister *

William Arthur Xavier "Wax" Bannister:
Born 1 January 1898 - Deceased 23 April 1924
Child Prodigy, Athlete, Gentleman. Inspiration to all Middle Distance Runners.

Today's post is dedicated to this little known amateur runner in an attempt to raise his profile and give him the recognition he truly deserves.  It is a little know fact that "Wax" is attributed with running the first sub-four minute mile back in 1924 with an astounding, but unrecognised, 3 minutes 56 seconds, but more of that later.

Wax was born in to a privileged background and at an early age was recognised as a child prodigy. His stunning intellect and physical prowess caught the attention of British Intelligence and he was recruited from his Boarding School as an Agent in the First World War. It was whilst serving in Greece that he became fascinated with running and, at the end of hostilities, he continued this sport as a recreational diversion from his career as a Professor of  Defence Science & Technology.

Many of his creations are closely guarded secrets to this day but it can be revealed that he was responsible for the early versions of the "rab-bots" that guard Golfy's secret lair. He can also lay claim to the anti-tank badger and the proposal to use auto-asphyxiating spaghetti if the Italians ever got "a bit stroppy".

Back on the cinder track Wax was most definitely "old school" and shunned the new fangled flannel shorts, vests and plimsolls that were becoming popular with young whippersnappers who fancied a crack at setting a record for the mile. Wax tended to prefer corduroy slacks and de-studded football boots for training although he would remove his jacket, tie and shirt studs for  more serious competition. It was during these runs that Wax gained his nickname as a result of his tendency to apply a secret mixture of Carnauba and Beeswax to the inner thighs of his trousers in an attempt to reduce the inevitable friction of corduroy against corduroy.

One should not be fooled in to thinking that Wax was against progress as he was the first British runner to use pacemakers in record attempts. A lifelong dog lover, Wax tended to use Border Collies or Airedales during training and would move on to Whippets for his record attempts. It is alleged that he once ran an exhibition race at White City against a very strong field of Greyhounds and came a creditable third.

It was in late 1923 that Wax began training in earnest with the aim of running a mile in under four minutes. On 14th September he had received a telegram informing him that his American, arch rival Stanley "Stan" Astaire-Luft planned to break the four minute barrier on Independence Day the following year. This prompted an intense training programme with the aim of setting the record on St Georges Day.

Although rivals, Astair-Luft and Bannister were friends too and Bannister was delighted to receive a modern, American, low friction wax that Astaire-Luft had thoughtfully shipped from a new laboratory in Wisconsin.  His Widow, Hermione, recalled that he was so pleased to receive it and planned to use it in the record attempt.

St Georges Day 1924 dawned and the cool, clear weather was perfect for the attempt. Eight of the finest Lancastrian Whippets had been selected to act as pace makers and a calm Bannister stepped out on to the cinder track. A Gentleman from The Times was on hand to act as timekeeper at this historic event and a few locals gathered as the mist cleared and Bannister approached the starting line.

A pistol crack started the attempt and Bannister set out at a steady pace keeping a constant distance between him and the first whippet. The race was uneventful although there was a comical moment around the twelve hundred yard mark when Wax nearly dropped his pipe and a bystander had to offer a lucifer to relight the lucky Briar. At around the fifteen hundred yard mark Wax was running like one of the King's Thoroughbreds and the record seemed within his grasp. He crossed the line in a stunning 3 minutes and 56 seconds and promptly self-combusted to the shock and astonishment of onlookers.

It was a tragic end to a momentous occasion and all were distraught at the loss of one of Britain's finest young men. Later investigations indicated that some observers thought they saw plumes of smoke rising from Bannisters trousers during the final quarter mile. These rumours were never substantiated and neither was the theory that stray spark from the Briar caused the heated wax to ignite as Bannister crossed the line.

Conspiracy Theorists will point to the fact that Astaire-Luft provided the wax that Bannister used on that fateful day and also that Astaire-Luft later openly accused Bannister of using Liquorice Comfit suppositories to achieve the incredible feat. At that time liquorice was a banned stimulant and, as a result, Bannister's feat never entered the Record Books.

Wax Bannister; Gentleman Athlete at least you are remembered here. 
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* actually this was another item on my to do list but I came up with this instead.




Monday, 30 April 2012

Another Slow Day

Monday was another quiet day at work. I took advantage of this and hit the to do list with a vengeance. As a result the basin and shower drains have been treated with caustic soda solution and the trim panels on the stairs have been coated with a liquid wax product that has given them a beautiful lustre.

The weather today is as balmy as yesterday's was blustery so, after a pleasant stroll around the Three Miler, I hauled the Porn Mower from it's lair and mowed the lawn. This was a long overdue cut and at 8" in length I actually  had to mow it twice to get a tidy looking sward.

After the restorative powers of a glass of Rioja I took on the final task of the day and gave the door at the foot of the stairs it's second coat of Danish Oil, one more to go and then it is time for a finishing coat of wax.

At this rate I am going to need a new list.

Sunday, 29 April 2012

I'm thinking of building an Ark

The weather for the past week has been pretty soggy but today was even worse. It was cold, very windy and pouring with rain. I was very glad the Rugby Season had finished as a couple of hours pitch side in this would have been most unpleasant as I was to find out later ...

... The morning saw me cross another item of my to do list; I fabricated the final piece of elm trim for the stairs and fixed in place. That does, of course, mean that I can now add apply finishing coat to stair trim to the list. Bugger! The rest of the morning was spent applying the first coat of Danish Oil to the door at the foot of the stairs.

After lunch it was time to brave the elements and take T&M out for a walk. It is fair to say that the weather had not improved. The roads and paths were sodden and carpeted with young leaves torn from the trees by the wind. We came across a number of small trees blown down and skirted a couple of fluddles* on the way round the Three Miler. It is fair to say that we all returned home soaked and it was a case of "new trousers please".

It was at this point in the day that I rediscovered my inner child as I emptied my pockets and discovered sweet papers, a rubber band, a length of string, a twenty pence coin and a piece of paper containing an illegible scrawl. All I needed was a stone and a battered Dinky toy for the full set. Should I be worried that there was no mobile phone or wallet or any other adult accoutrements? My pockets are definitely eight rather than forty eight.

Once thawed and dry I continued with my regression to boyhood and spent half an hour in the garage repairing a puncture in TP's bike ...

... He owes me now!
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* fluddle: noun, a pool of standing water too large to be a puddle but too small to be called a flood. A fluddle must be large enough to cover the full width of a road to merit the term.

Saturday, 28 April 2012

Site Clearance

Saturday started with an early walk around the Three Miler with T&M, lunch followed and then 30% and I set out to take a car full of surplus domestic items to the local Charity Shop. Our first point of call was Pinkie's house where we dropped off a couple of borrowed items that were long overdue for return. This visit was fortuitous as Pinky is most definitely in need of some storage and shelving and was most grateful to take ownership of the CD unit, book case and glass fronted cabinet that are currently giving our Dining Room the appearance of a loaded Pickfords Lorry. Coffee was drunk, a date was arranged for delivery and we set off to drop the rest of the crap load at The Primrose Hospice Charity Shop.

It was late afternoon by the time we returned home and I crossed another item off my list by rehanging the  door at the foot of the stairs and replacing the rattly, Victorian, Rim Lock with a Thumb Latch.

I know its not exciting but I can't be spending every minute of every hour living life to the max or, as is more usual, swearing about things in general.

Friday, 27 April 2012

A Day with Bad Man Senior

I knew in advance that Friday was going to be a very slow day from a work perspective so I arranged to pick up Bad Man Senior & Tilly and bring them over to The Pile for a leisurely lunch. BMS has been feeling a little under the weather recently and we both felt that a change of scenery would be beneficial. He phrasing was a little more concise and he summed it up with "I'm glad to be out of the bloody house". I'm guessing that a combination of advancing years, ageing bones, miserable weather and the constant presence of a monosyllabic twenty two year old son was making the chaos that happens at The Pile seem like light relief.

A couple of weeks ago we were chatting on the 'phone and after we had finished I realised that we had really were scarily alike. We were both moaning about our children, me about TP's lack of thought and inability to do anything more that grunt and BMS was having similar issues with my half brother. His second family means that his experiences of raising a son have been revisited and consequently there is perhaps more common ground than might be expected between father and son.

Anyway, we had a great time and he was delighted to inspect the recently decorated Landing and our furniture acquisitions. He always loved the Landing and often said that he would like to sleep up there and be able to see the stars from the skylights.

He is an incorrigible old devil and, after inspecting my bookcase, advised that I should buy the one that apparently will be arriving in the workshop next week. Thanks Dad ...

... I think I probably will

Thursday, 26 April 2012

If a tree falls in a forest ...

... and there is no-one there to hear it, does it make a sound?*

It was a slow news day today so Golfy and I got creative with technology. Another spin on the thought experiment that forms the title and first line of this entry is What happens to the light when you shut the fridge door?

Using our combined intellects we can now provide the answer to the question that has puzzled all but the designers of refrigeration appliances. Our scientific approach was as follows; first we established a face-time conversation using our iPhones. I then placed my iPhone in the fridge so that Golfy could see what happened when the door was shut. I then opened the door removed the phone from behind the cheese and we discussed the event.

Golfy then performed the same actions at his locale so that I too could experience being shut in a fridge.**

Other Stuff:

Today the Long Case Clock and Cylinder Desk that 30% bought were delivered along with a cast iron fire back and a bookcase. So I spent a good hour or so assisting with the unloading of the items plus a Beginners Guide to the care and maintenance of the clock. It is a beautiful thing and the ticking is very relaxing, there in the background delimiting the seconds. The bell, too, is lovely and it is quite peculiar as I know the clock has only been here a few hours but it is as though it has been here forever. It really seems to belong in the house.

With the arrival of the desk I have been able to move in to the office at home. The room is tatty and needs some serious work but at least I will no longer get shouted at for leaving my laptop on the Dining Table. I also found out the price of the book case and can advise that I will not be able to buy any books for quite some time. 

As for the fridge experiment...

... it was ruined by a falling tree.
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* By the way, there is no such thing as one hand clapping. That is called waving badly in these parts
** I suppose I had better add a health warning that shutting yourself in a fridge is a dangerous thing to do. Mind you, if you are that bloody stupid I am sure that you will manage to shorten your life span by some other idiotic activity. Is you dick cold? Try the toaster.

Wednesday, 25 April 2012

Progress?

Another quiet day at work.

On the home front I am slowly working my way through my list and have managed to strike through the entry pertaining to the power socket on the landing. Sanding door has an in progress comment against it and it would have possibly been completed had the heavens not opened today. I suppose I need to add that the door has just been stripped and is being sanded outside before being reattached to it's frame, hence when it pissed down it all got put back in the garage and I retired and did some proper work instead.

Chippy Ian was here today adding some strengthening timbers to our staircase. I know I have mentioned before that they are very old and very primitive in their construction but Ian was of the opinion that they are still reasonably sound and the insertion of a few supports underneath have really firmed things up. There is a possibility that I may also be able to barter a spare towel radiator for Ian's labour as he has expressed interest in one that I have tucked away following the DIY Chain fiasco eighteen months ago.

The bartering approach was also raised later in the day when 30% was discussing curtain making and re upholstery requirements with Sally; a local lady that is a genius with a sewing machine and upholstery hammer too. Sally was interested in a few pieces of pine furniture that are surplus to requirements and we are hopeful that we can swap our goods for her services.

The final activity of the day and a significant item on my to do list was Clear Office. The Office is not an office. It is a room that has become a dumping ground for items of furniture and general bric-a-brac that are not required but there is a general unwillingness to dispose of them. We need to clear this room a) because it needs to be gutted and refurbished and b) because we are having a desk and bookcase delivered tomorrow and need space to put them. The net result of clear office is that the Dining Room is now so full of furniture that you could not swing the proverbial feline in there....

... I see an urgent need for Clear Dining Room to be added to the list or perhaps Arrange Yard Sale or Have Bonfire.

Tuesday, 24 April 2012

Don't blame me Dara

This evening we went to see Dara O'Briain at Warwick Arts Centre performing his Craic Dealer show. It was a great night out and there were loads of laughs. We were sat right in the middle of the front row and had lots of interaction with him particularly TP and 30%'s colleague Rich who, at one point claimed to be a Sex Therapist called Dick!

There was however one thing that rankled. Dara seemed to be of the opinion that perhaps the audience wasn't as enthusiastic as they could have been and there were a couple of asides along the lines of "a Tuesday Night Audience in Warwick" and a lack of response to certain jokes. Now I had a great time but need to point out that it was Dara that arranged the gig for Tuesday 24th April and therefore any blame for a mid week, school night audience rather than one projecting Friday Night fever rests squarely on his shoulders.

I can definitely confirm that we did not, as a collective audience, discuss and agree to assemble on the outskirts of Coventry on 24th April and then decide to invite Dara along. It was most definitely the reverse. That being the case, don't moan at us if we don't have the enthusiasm of a group of people who don't have to go to work tomorrow.

Monday, 23 April 2012

Hopefully it will be a quiet week

It is surprising what a difference a week can make. Last Monday I just wanted to get the week over with. Today I was quite looking forward to my week at work. The main reason for this is that the pressure has most definitely alleviated. Our project is approved and has been released to the US team and, whilst there are likely to be follow-on activities and questions, we have basically done what needs to be done for the current iteration of the project.

So the working day was mostly "housekeeping duties" but there has been a significant amount of down-time which was felt to be deserved after the preceding few weeks. I was called upon to assist with a Commercial Review but that was only a matter of recycling a couple of slides and regurgitating the five minute spiel that I had been spouting for the past month.

The rest of the day was taken up with a lengthy and humourous discussion with Tigger on a variety of subjects that were nothing to do with pushing boulders uphill at Dante's Nine Circles of Hell.

Away from my desk I appear to have taken ownership of a "to do" list since I will be having a quiet week at work. I would try to imply that 30% was the instigator of this fiendish catalogue but it is self imposed. Mind you, once the aforementioned partner was aware of THE LIST it was interesting to note that it started to grow with non-fun items like hang the washing out.

To be honest I didn't get very far with the list today. The washing did go out and come back in again and I did make a start on socket box. This is where it gets very boring so look away now ...

... on the recently decorated landing we have a power outlet on the floor. The power outlet is standard British, white, ABS plastic and stands out like the proverbial sore thumb as it is surrounded by oak floorboards. I managed to purchase a very nifty power socket that has an oak face plate but could not find a similar patress box. As a result I have spent an hour or so cutting some timber to create a mitred oak surround to conceal the plastic socket box. I'm quite please with the result and once oiled and waxed it should match the socket perfectly.

I also managed to buy a new book case without actually asking the price ... oops!




Sunday, 22 April 2012

Man of the Match

After yesterday's Rugby Club Dinner I was feeling slightly less than chipper when I woke this morning. To be honest it was nothing that a couple of paracetamol couldn't assuage and apart from being lethargic and famished all day I wasn't too bad.

We had a relatively early start as it was the final match of the Season and we were out past Leamington for an away game against a team that are closely matched in terms of skill and ability. TP had an absolutely blinding match and played a key part in the first of his team's tries. Later in the game he collected the ball in his own team's half and raced over half the pitch, dodging a number of tackles to put the ball down between the posts. It was a blinding try and he could have possibly had another if the referee hadn't blown the final whistle as TP was approaching the try line. It was a peculiar decision as a rugby match usually ends when the ball goes in to touch not when it is still in play.  He made a few peculiar decisions during the game and his neutrality was questioned by a number of Spectators. In the end it made no difference, TP's team won and he was selected as Man of the Match.  It was a great way to end the Rugby Season.

Needless to say, yesterday's late night and indulgences meant that I took it easy for the remainder of the day and apart from a walk around the Three Miler I did nothing worth jotting down here.