John: Well done :)
Kev
Fri Feb 29 18:57:29 2008

Well I'm spending the afternoon at a whisky exhibition in London and I'm already hugely pissed.
John
Fri Feb 29 17:56:25 2008

I must admit to being a bit blinkered about this - I just tend to be glad it's slightly shorter between pay-slips!
Nigel
Fri Feb 29 11:25:13 2008

Hmmm yes I read an article on the whole getting-February-29th-off-work issue, with some bemusement. I can't say it really bothers me - months are variable length entities anyway, if anything I feel like "normal" Februaries are short changing somebody or other.
John
Fri Feb 29 09:48:47 2008

Yes Nigel, leap year day is work for free day ( unless you get paid daily or weekly)
Kev
Fri Feb 29 08:53:22 2008

!
Morning all :)
"Work for Free"? Anathema! But I guess you mean leap-year day etc, Kev? Here, in Wales it's Go Red for Wales day, apparently. I thought "Go Red" was the AIDS charity idea, but... What do I know?
Nigel
Fri Feb 29 08:45:23 2008

Morning all, today is "Work for Free" day. Enjoy.
Kev
Fri Feb 29 08:21:31 2008

Coo! 20" iMac goodness!! Glad to find Leopard is no slouch - even compared with it's predecessor. Must admit having so much screen real-estate is a bit unsettling to start with!!
Nigel
Thu Feb 28 20:39:39 2008

Travis: Johns email is here
Kev
Thu Feb 28 19:36:02 2008

Absolutely, John. Just need to find your email address. I know I have it in one of my accounts.
Travis
Thu Feb 28 18:54:11 2008

I sometimes wonder why I bother to come to work. Traffic this morning was awful due to an accident at the end of the M1, which throws all the traffic on our little local roads. Took me half an hour to get to work (about 2 miles). Still better than being at home as they are resurfacing our road today. Then that little blue envelope arrives at the end of the month and I remember why. (holidays - Cyprus Sunday week - bits for grandchildren; nice meals; new carpets.
Mad Mumsie
Thu Feb 28 14:55:41 2008

Morning all! :)
At the risk of being controversial, I'm glad to report I am going back to Mac...
Nigel
Thu Feb 28 11:02:21 2008

Your mother is always proud of you. Occasionally, she is also staggered.
John's Mum
Thu Feb 28 09:27:35 2008

Morning Kev. I got into work for 8AM this morning! I'm so proud of myself.
John
Thu Feb 28 09:26:34 2008

Morning All
Kev
Thu Feb 28 08:24:57 2008

Travis: not quite sure I understand that mail address - could you mail me?
John
Wed Feb 27 23:18:57 2008

Yikes. It's been so long. Would someone be so kind as to tell me the username I need to use to login via FTP? I'm embarrassed. One can email me at koprophage at the letter after F mail. Thanks.
Travis
Wed Feb 27 17:11:31 2008

Awight there!
tom
Wed Feb 27 13:26:14 2008

Morning all!! What a nice, spring-like morning it is too! (As long as the world hasn't come tumbling down around you, that is. :( )
Nigel
Wed Feb 27 11:08:59 2008

Kev: Cordon Bleu Computing, you mean? :-)
Bryan
Wed Feb 27 08:47:13 2008

Morning All
Kev
Wed Feb 27 08:17:09 2008

There you go John, get a epson that uses Durabrite inks, mum knows best :) Bryan: If you use edable inks when potato printing you can spend a hards days work printing photos and then have coloured chips for tea. nice.
kev
Tue Feb 26 23:07:49 2008

Nigel: Yes, how come we don't see the John Bull name up there with Epson, Hewlett-Packard, Lexmark etc? There is no justice in this world! I spent many a happy hour plying my tweezers around Mr Bull's curlicues (if you'll excuse the expression!)...
Bryan
Tue Feb 26 22:24:02 2008

Tom: I was surprised to see that in my local VW dealership, when I took my wife's car in for service, all their invoices and estimates were still being printed on a bank of OKI dot-matrix printers, buzzing away... ! :)

Bryan - Oh yes! More recently the old John Bull Printing Sets!!! :) :)
Nigel
Tue Feb 26 19:16:44 2008

Bring back potato printing, I say! :-)
Bryan
Tue Feb 26 18:50:11 2008

Bring back dot matrix!
tom
Tue Feb 26 17:55:46 2008

My printer is Epson, and uses Durabrite ink - I print a lot of posters both on plain paper and glossy - its supposed to be waterproof. Cartridge World now supply Durabrite ink as refills.
John's Mum
Tue Feb 26 14:37:44 2008

IMHO cheap inks are fine if all you want is to print out a few documents etc, but if you want to do photo prints that won't fade after a year, you really do need to get matching inks and paper i.e of the same brand like Epson ( if thats your printers make ).
Kev
Tue Feb 26 13:52:11 2008

John, go into John Lewis Partnership in central London, tell the saleman what you want and he/she will do the rest. I can gaurantee their service and knowledge, and lowest price policy. Go for a printer that takes one black and three separate colour cartridges. As for re-fill cartridges, locate your nearest Cartridge World Store (find it online first). If not convenient, they will post. Don't ever, EVER, pay full price for cartridges/ink. I only pay £6 for a colour one, f'rinstance.
John's Mum
Tue Feb 26 12:58:55 2008

Morning All
John, as for printers, I've never really had need of them so don't have much to offer.
Kev
Tue Feb 26 08:42:09 2008

It's only me... Well, Joc gets most use out of a £20 HP ink-jet printer. Cartridges (genuine) from Ebay when needed. Lovely! Me? Well I've got a Brother 5150D Laser... Marvellous, and laser's can be had for less than £100 now... Except the consumables. For mine a drum and toner will be... oh around £100. So when this set runs out I'll just dump the printer and probably by an ink-jet, for all the use I give it...
Nigel
Mon Feb 25 23:49:55 2008

Kev: when are you going to chime in and tell me what to buy?
John
Mon Feb 25 23:00:47 2008

...and Amazon tells me people who bought a particular model of printer also bought the printer cartridges for that printer. Gobsmacking.
John
Mon Feb 25 22:54:38 2008

...but hey the websites do tell me the range of humidity in which those printers can operate. Isn't that useful?
John
Mon Feb 25 22:53:10 2008

....oh and then there's the bloody user reviews, and just like every other set of user reviews on the web precisely 50% of the people give it the highest possible score, while the other 50% give it the lowest possible score - which, as we all know, by the law of entropy means in aggregate they are providing absolutely no useful information whatsoever.
John
Mon Feb 25 22:51:01 2008

...and the names are all crap - I mean, what exactly am I suppose to glean from the model being a "C5180" as opposed to a "D7360".
John
Mon Feb 25 22:40:34 2008

...and all of those sites are so messy as well!
John
Mon Feb 25 22:38:15 2008

Hmmm... have looked on Amazon, ebuyer and dabs, and none of them let me limit my search by a set of features / price range - what I want is something networked, Mac friendly, compact, and under 100 quid. I'm really surprised by how primitive those sites are that I can't just specify those requirements and have it all over and done with in about five minutes.
John
Mon Feb 25 22:37:05 2008

So on an unrelated note, how on earth do you go about choosing a printer? We want something to have at home, mostly for printing off all those ticket confirmations for various things (planes / buses / trains, even whisky exhibitions) that seem to just assume you have a printer... but the range is a bit overwhelming and I can't really see anything that clearly distinguishes one over the other.
John
Mon Feb 25 22:27:57 2008

Yes, I quite agree John. I'm actually really glad a company like Google has the ability to combat such attacks; which says a lot about many governments abilities to do anything at all! A sobering occurance.
Nigel
Mon Feb 25 22:14:35 2008

Wow - I can't believe the internet is that corruptible - it's hard to imagine how someone in one country can redirect traffic from all over the world away from a website in another country. Bizarre, and quite scary!
John
Mon Feb 25 21:50:16 2008

I wonder if this is just the tip of a new iceberg? - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7262071.stm - Where one leads... :( :( :(
Nigel
Mon Feb 25 12:56:54 2008

Good morning all. Why does the sun always shine when I'm at work?
Mad Mumsie
Mon Feb 25 09:00:34 2008

Morning Maisoneers!
Nigel
Mon Feb 25 08:39:22 2008

John: I have some pepper ones if you like them, you could come over and have some if you want.
Lox
Sun Feb 24 09:59:08 2008

Or indeed salt and vinegar... or smoky bacon...
John
Sun Feb 24 02:31:52 2008

Alas, I really fancy a packet of cheese and onion crisps.
John
Sun Feb 24 02:25:31 2008

Alas, I really fancy a packet of cheese and onion crisps.
John
Sun Feb 24 02:25:31 2008

Oooh, it's quite late isn't it?
John
Sun Feb 24 02:14:05 2008

SWEENEY TODD, absolutely one of the best movies that I have seen in the last 12 months. I recommend it!
Lox
Sun Feb 24 00:11:19 2008

Blimey, I think I have just gone two whole days without checking the message board.
John
Sat Feb 23 17:58:17 2008

But not the spelling Nigel :)))))))))) Oh yes, good evening. Not often I get to say that!
Mad Mumsie
Sat Feb 23 17:54:57 2008

OK, I'll rid the world of Friday's postings!! :)
Afternoon all!!
May I heartily recommend all Vista users disable Indexing if they want their hard-drives (and their sanity) to last for any length of time? It's made a world of a diffeence to my little systems over here! :)
Nigel
Sat Feb 23 17:03:23 2008

Phew! Steady!! :)
Nigel
Fri Feb 22 10:45:03 2008

At risk of being controversial: Good morning!
tom
Fri Feb 22 09:41:42 2008

Morning all!! :)
Nigel
Fri Feb 22 08:54:25 2008

Morning.
Mad Mumsie
Fri Feb 22 08:42:18 2008

Morning All
Kev
Fri Feb 22 08:38:31 2008

Morning all: Just had five super days with the grandchildren. Am now back at work for a well deserved rest. Thank goodness the boss is away for a couple of days.
Mad Mumsie
Thu Feb 21 11:16:56 2008

Check this out. link Now thats what I call a programming strategy.
Kev
Thu Feb 21 09:08:21 2008

Morning Kev.
John
Thu Feb 21 09:01:47 2008

Morning All
Kev
Thu Feb 21 08:42:04 2008

John - why not take up plumbing as a hobby? Even if you don't fix bathrooms, it might come in handy for the whisky distillery you could retire to after all this money you earn on software.
John's Mum
Wed Feb 20 22:28:26 2008

Actually, Lox, I *do* like large, passive coolers, maybe with a slow-running fan attached for insurance (see my own CPU cooler in a previous post!). I looked at some for my own project, but graphics performance really still needs a fan... And despite my "scoffing", I actually think the Peltier idea is the most scientifically elegant. You just have to be careful of condensation and frost!!! Oh, and it needs a little more active development.
Nigel
Wed Feb 20 20:24:21 2008

Nigel: How about passive dissipation? Like those HUGE and HEAVY heat sinks that take 2 cases to be accommodated on the cpu?
Lox
Wed Feb 20 18:06:22 2008

Noisy fans are a bain of modern life! (There. Dramatic, sweeping statement!) But aren't they just? We have all this hyper-sophisticated, computing power cooled by simple, mechanical NOISY fans. Phht! Don't tell me about Peltier; don't tell me about water-cooling... Water+electronics... Pah!!! (Yes, I'm having a "good" day so far!)
Nigel
Wed Feb 20 10:33:43 2008

Turns out it was a [censored] fan in a computer.
Kev
Wed Feb 20 09:32:57 2008

[message deleted for reasons of taste]
Rob Lang
Wed Feb 20 09:28:07 2008

Mmmmmmm!
Self-gagged Sheri
Wed Feb 20 09:01:31 2008

I hope not Kev!! I hope it's just "dodgy plumbing"!!
Morning all!! :)
Nigel
Wed Feb 20 08:46:45 2008

Morning All. The corner of the office is making a funny noise. Theres noone else here. It might explode. Do you think I'll make the evening news?
Kev
Wed Feb 20 08:29:55 2008

I'm feeling mentally very tired Tom. I'm drowning in a sense of ennui over the utter futility of software engineering.
John
Tue Feb 19 17:45:29 2008

Anyone else shattered?
tom
Tue Feb 19 16:07:21 2008

What a rich seam that was - also had the original on there, plus the parody version from the Cable Guy. Although I think I like the cat version the best.
John
Tue Feb 19 13:02:41 2008

Kev: 1000000 out of ten.
John
Tue Feb 19 12:58:59 2008

Yep you tube clip
Kev
Tue Feb 19 12:43:08 2008

Kev: I really wanted to but was worried nobody would understand my apallingly tunless rendition of an already fairly obscure piece of incidental music. It's the one that goes DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DER DER DER DOO DOO isn't it?
John
Tue Feb 19 12:21:15 2008

Gosh, I feel another fit of insanity is upon me! I'm in one of those phases when I cannot control my mouth. I will lock myself in the attic and speak no more till I get better. Adieu.
Sheri
Tue Feb 19 11:20:04 2008

John, did you hum the startrek music ?
Kev
Tue Feb 19 11:00:37 2008

Morning!
Nigel
Tue Feb 19 10:32:41 2008

Kev: there has been a small disagreement in my team just now, and you'll be pleased to hear I advised them to resolve their differences using pugil sticks.
John
Tue Feb 19 10:03:55 2008

Morning All
Kev
Tue Feb 19 08:26:49 2008

Evening all!!
Well Tom, I finally sussed the Parallels Tools problem of earlier - annoyingly simple when I realisation dawned :( The Tools don't give so much functionality to Linux - just the seemless mouse movement. No auto-screen-res it seems (Posting this from Mandriva, but tried Ubuntu too) Still, I just reconfigured X-server for 1280x800 in full-screen and it look mighty fine!
Good night all!
Nigel
Mon Feb 18 23:41:05 2008

(Nigel, what's the password? I feel like impersonating someone...)
Sheri
Mon Feb 18 18:55:56 2008

...
Sheri
Mon Feb 18 18:55:06 2008

(what what!)
Sheri
Mon Feb 18 16:41:36 2008

(he is a bit of a sinister bird)
Sheri
Mon Feb 18 16:40:51 2008

Dsp: I came to know our chappie, and this is not the kind of puns he fully appreciates... t'was a good one, though!
Sheri
Mon Feb 18 16:37:07 2008

Thanks anyway, Tom. No matter. I was setting up a Linux VM under Vista, using Parallels Workstation (much the same as Parallels Desktop for Mac actually).
Nigel
Mon Feb 18 15:46:19 2008

dsp: John's on the wagon.
tom
Mon Feb 18 15:36:24 2008

Nigel: Sorry, only used Parallels on Mac OS. I've got VMware Fusion on the Mac now too (working for a VmWare distributor helps!) and so haven't really used Parallels since moving to Leopard... (Oh: Leopard much much much improved in 10.5.2 build.)
tom
Mon Feb 18 15:36:01 2008

Coach or couch?
dsp
Mon Feb 18 11:38:10 2008

We're on the coach again, heading back to London. Somehow it doesn't feel quite so unbearable this time round.
John
Mon Feb 18 09:55:42 2008

Morning all!! :)
Tom: Have you ever installed Parallels Tools for Linux in a Linux distro, successfully? I can't figure what I'm doing awry. I've tried Suse, Ubuntu, Freespire and Mandriva. I've no problem mounting the image; I can either open a terminal window session, or boot straight in without loading a desktop. I can log in as Admin, or use SUDO. When I run the app, it starts fine and gives the initial message to close running apps and save data, asks me if I want to Continue Y/N - and then loops at this point and goes nowhere!
Have I missed something? Thanks for any pointers!
Nigel
Mon Feb 18 08:46:55 2008

morning all
Kev
Mon Feb 18 08:44:24 2008

JM: Actually I loved Castle Donington, it was great to stay there, I always felt at home. As for the 17 miles walk... I remember it was my birthday or something similar, and we finished clubbing quite late at Rock City... OH HAPPY DAYS!!
Lox
Sun Feb 17 23:04:44 2008

Lox - give us your memories of walking from Nottingham to CD in the middle of the night with John ... Yes folks, even this rogue Italian has been there!
John's Mum
Sun Feb 17 22:09:16 2008

Evening gents and ladies! Chiara is out to a meeting with the friends that will take part in the 2 weeks trip to Colombia that she is going to do shortly... I was meant to go but let's say that work impediments got in the way (I am still on a trial contract). Still tonight I didn't want to join the merry men...
Lox
Sun Feb 17 21:07:17 2008

Hi both! Well I left Nottingham when my parents split - my Dad stayed there, so I went back frequently. Actually I remember liking it, but I understand things have gone "downhill" recently...

As for Saturday Night Sunday Morning, angry young man territory, I quite agree Bryan! I also enjoy the Stan Barstow take on "modern living" in the 60's!! :)
Nigel
Sun Feb 17 16:33:19 2008

Ah, Nottingham - Alan Sillitoe country!! To my mind, one of the greatest modern English writers...
Bryan
Sun Feb 17 15:39:48 2008

Nigel - I didn't know about your Snottingen connection! Were you glad to get away?
John's Mum
Sun Feb 17 10:36:13 2008

Hi Bryan. Yes, the Midlands somewhere... Ironically (again!) I come from the midlands myself (Nottingham) but not as far west as she... :)
Nigel
Sat Feb 16 23:47:12 2008

Does she come from the Kidderminster area, Nigel? I used to live there (just outside Stourport-on-Severn) back in the late 1970s and they speak like that there...
Bryan
Sat Feb 16 19:45:36 2008

... Ho-hummm. Sorry about that! :)
Nigel
Sat Feb 16 16:59:08 2008

It's never much fun on a cross-country bus... Though it once was fine, these days there is a certain stigma. Ironic, isn't it, that the demise of local branch-line railways was mostly because of buses?

There is a lady at work, who describes them as "buzzes" - this annoys me totally out of proportion with the actual liguistic sin! She also goes to the dentist because of a troublesome "tuth"... Yeeeeeaaaaarrrrgggggggggg!
Nigel
Sat Feb 16 16:58:10 2008

Stopped at the services on the M4 briefly. Bought some Irn Bru. Coping with the misery of coach travel slightly better now.
John
Sat Feb 16 11:57:09 2008

Still on that bloody coach, another hour to go. Groan.
John
Sat Feb 16 11:13:53 2008

We are on our way to visit my grandmother for the weekend. Somehow Chie talked me into going by coach. I am now deeply regretting my lack of resolve. It is uncomfortable, claustrophobic, smelly, and worst of all I am filled with an overwhelming sense of being poor. It is quite horrid.
John
Sat Feb 16 09:39:45 2008

WHAT!?? ROB IS PREGNANT!?
Lox
Fri Feb 15 17:45:36 2008

And what a rumour that would have been.
Mad Mumsie
Fri Feb 15 16:47:55 2008

Oh! Ok, my apologies to all!! :D :D Still, there's nothing like starting a rumour is there!!?? ;) :) :) :) :)
Nigel
Fri Feb 15 16:36:48 2008

Nigel, my post referred to the fact that Rob sometimes needs carrying :) (Loses something when it has to be spelt out doesn't it.)
Mad Mumsie
Fri Feb 15 16:05:24 2008

Nigel: have you ever got the wrong end of the stick. Read the posts again :))))
Mad Mumsie
Fri Feb 15 16:03:55 2008

... so Rob and Kate are expecting then? Are congratulation imminent!!!? :) :)
Nigel
Fri Feb 15 15:32:17 2008

No John, slightly smaller than that, one of them still needs carrying.................. ah I see where you are coming from :)
Mad Mumsie
Fri Feb 15 11:52:26 2008

By the small people do you mean Rob and Kate?
John
Fri Feb 15 09:42:41 2008

Morning all. It's Friday and after today I'm off for nearly a week. Won't be a lot of rest though because the small people are coming to stay! I think they are bringing Mum and Dad as well.
Mad Mumsie
Fri Feb 15 08:41:13 2008

Depressing board...
Sheri
Fri Feb 15 07:22:51 2008

snoring
Sheri
Thu Feb 14 20:04:08 2008

;-)
Sheri
Thu Feb 14 14:58:19 2008

Or a sandwich?
tom
Thu Feb 14 14:57:25 2008

Perhaps it slipped out for a coffee?
tom
Thu Feb 14 11:10:15 2008

Kev: LOL :-D
Sheri
Thu Feb 14 08:45:54 2008

Morning! :)
Nigel
Thu Feb 14 08:43:50 2008

Have you looked under the bed?
Kev
Thu Feb 14 08:27:28 2008

SOMEONE STOLE MY MOJO!!!
Sheri
Thu Feb 14 08:06:25 2008

Btw, where is my Mojo?!
Sheri
Thu Feb 14 08:05:33 2008

John: How dare you questioning my integrity?! I would never impersonate you! ............ Never!
Joh..... err.... Sheri
Thu Feb 14 08:05:00 2008

I quite agree John - and his very last paragraph, about Vista, was rather apposite! :)
Nigel
Wed Feb 13 23:17:04 2008

Oh bloody hell, tomorrow is sodding Valentine's Day - I quite appreciated this article, which seemed to sum up my opinions on the subject rather perfectly.
John
Wed Feb 13 22:38:19 2008

...and yes, those earlier posts bore all the hallmarks of our favourite Belgian.
John
Wed Feb 13 22:10:11 2008

Sim.
John
Wed Feb 13 22:09:19 2008

John Austin Powers??!
Lox
Wed Feb 13 21:30:23 2008

Oh Behave!
A. Powers
Wed Feb 13 18:11:11 2008

;-)
X
Wed Feb 13 17:43:44 2008

Doesn't sound at all like my John to me, and he has a bucket under his name, not his usual yellow padlock symbol. Will the real John Hawkins please reply to the Board, giving NOT his middle name but the first three letters of the surname of the actor he was named after, so we can identify him?
John's Mum
Wed Feb 13 17:19:47 2008

Yeah, MM, John doesn't seem to be entirely himself. Weird.
Sheri
Wed Feb 13 15:57:40 2008

John, YOU DID WHAT. I like to see you try Edward who has just weighed in at a whopping 12 lbs. 5 ozs.
Mad Mumsie
Wed Feb 13 15:41:34 2008

Another slow day on the Maison :)
Mad Mumsie
Wed Feb 13 15:39:59 2008

I ATE A BABY!!!!
John
Wed Feb 13 15:39:33 2008

AOUCH! Frisky, are we?!
John
Wed Feb 13 15:39:22 2008

I'm dead sexy!!! Sexy man, sexy man!!!
John
Wed Feb 13 15:38:48 2008

Good Afternoon!
tom
Wed Feb 13 15:36:35 2008

Good Morning!
tom
Wed Feb 13 10:53:44 2008

I mean, your alleged superior...
Sheri
Wed Feb 13 09:18:30 2008

Morning. Lox, just tell your boss: "ma vai a farti fotere, stronzolano"! You'll feel much much better, I can assure you.
Sheri
Wed Feb 13 08:43:37 2008

Morning all. Lox - don't lose your temper, most unbecoming. Play it cool.
Mad Mumsie
Wed Feb 13 08:40:01 2008

Morning.
John
Wed Feb 13 08:25:11 2008

Morning All
Kev
Wed Feb 13 08:14:42 2008

Another strange day at the office, tomorrow I get to confront my alleged superior over a couple of things that I am meant to be doing and that he "happens" to do by himself. I am really stressed about the whole thing, let's hope that the thing doesn't degenerate in a plain argument.... :(
Lox
Tue Feb 12 21:37:51 2008

'ello
tom
Tue Feb 12 12:17:14 2008

Morning all: Fog is lifting in London Town, and the sun is coming through, but it is still b.....y cold.
Mad Mumsie
Tue Feb 12 09:51:47 2008

Maybe it will turn up later, out of context and you will look slightly bonkers.
Kev
Tue Feb 12 08:45:55 2008

That was odd, I thought I said good morning just now, but it didn't appear to show up.
John
Tue Feb 12 08:34:10 2008

Morning All, Foggy and Icy here today. Brrrrrr. Good job the air-con in the office has a hot mode.
Kev
Tue Feb 12 08:30:39 2008

I use the stairs all day, but first thing in the morning I'm not awake enough.
Mad Mumsie
Mon Feb 11 16:28:24 2008

Stairs keep you fit!
tom
Mon Feb 11 15:37:20 2008

We have a lift in our building, which seems to out of order more often than working. And would you believe that one of the reasons given by the lift company was that the oil got cold at the weekend, so they installed a small heater in the lift shaft, and guess what, it still broke down at the weekend. More likely the uncontrolled kids playing in it. So it was the stairs for me again this morning. :(
Mad Mumsie
Mon Feb 11 11:23:09 2008

But the ones who work higher up presumably are...? And they are the ones who rode the buckaroo lift!!! :p
tom
Mon Feb 11 10:16:23 2008

(I would like to hastily point out that we share our building with some other companies, and the inept facilities staff on the ground floor are not employees of my company)
John
Mon Feb 11 09:49:49 2008

So it turns out people who work in offices in London have very little regard for human life (including their own). I got in the lift just now, and after starting to go up a bit there was a sharp shudder, then some worrying noises, followed by the little LCD display inside the lift displaying an emergency message, and an alarm went off. Luckily moments later the lift door opened and we were able to get out. The fellow occupants of my lift rather nonchalantly shrugged their shoulders and went and got in another lift. I thought somebody ought to at least mention it to the facilities people in the building who promptly did nothing. Other people then tried to get back in the dangerous lift, and I warned them off it, so they let the doors close and waited for another... but then the same one came back and they just shrugged their shoulders and got in. It seems given a choice between a real and present danger of a serious accident, or having to wait another minute for a lift, the former is universally a more attractive option. Bloody idiots!
John
Mon Feb 11 09:49:09 2008

Goody, one can never be too certain can one! Clear blue skies in N.W.London although I understand its very foggy on the Thames. Still I do live and work in one of the greenest London boroughs.
Mad Mumsie
Mon Feb 11 09:06:12 2008

yep its really me :) very foggy in Norwich, bright and sunny on the coast though :)
Kev
Mon Feb 11 08:52:06 2008

Morning Kev, I assume that it is you and not your alter ego. Oh yes, and good morning everyone.
Mad Mumsie
Mon Feb 11 08:38:27 2008

Morning All
Kev
Mon Feb 11 08:27:27 2008

Wow everyone having a busy Sunday!
Lox
Sun Feb 10 12:52:18 2008

Just came back from the cinema, saw Cassandra's Dream... Utterly shite.
Lox
Sun Feb 10 00:21:20 2008

I have a terrible, terrible hangover.
John
Sat Feb 9 13:47:05 2008

Sorry I am bored !!!!!
Kev
Sat Feb 9 13:20:12 2008

Godwins Law again
Kev
Sat Feb 9 13:17:21 2008

And futher evidence More godwins law

I don't think its particually conclusive, although from extensive analysis ( well I clicked a few links ) it does appear that John has a rather unhealthy fascination with Hitler and Nazis. :D
Kev
Sat Feb 9 13:16:04 2008

On completely tangental theme, I just stumbled across Godwinds Law which states "As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one."

To see if this is correct( assuming that te.

Godwins Law
Kev
Sat Feb 9 13:09:22 2008

Thats a bit of bad luck lox. Maybe you have recently become electrostatic?
Kev
Sat Feb 9 12:54:04 2008

Morning everyone.... Also the other Hard Drive that I have FAILED yesterday, but apparently it's only the power cable that went burst on me.... Now I must buy a new external case just to use the cable... how shit is that?!
Lox
Sat Feb 9 08:38:42 2008

John - I've just sent you a personal email. Everybody - have a good weekend - weather looks mild enough to start the annual gardening!
John's Mum
Fri Feb 8 17:00:29 2008

Oh no he didn't.
Kev
Fri Feb 8 14:35:33 2008

I don't think all those comments were mine, I think John has been applying some sort of predictive algorithm based on previous days starting conversations :)
Kev
Fri Feb 8 14:10:33 2008

Strange thing Jimmy, I usually am ;)
Mad Mumsie
Fri Feb 8 13:48:10 2008

Damndamndamndamndamndamn! (MM- you appear to be right)
Jimmy
Fri Feb 8 13:17:11 2008

Isn't it strange how every day starts off withe pleasantries and very often degenerates from there. Oh yes, Good morning everyone.
Mad Mumsie
Fri Feb 8 10:15:19 2008

Fine thankyou John
Kev
Fri Feb 8 09:05:47 2008

Morning Kev, how are you today?
John
Fri Feb 8 08:49:10 2008

Morning All
Kev
Fri Feb 8 08:21:10 2008

Evening all!! :) Well I had a busy day, on the public counter, training some transferee, generally doing my stuff... Pooped this evening, but Ashes To Ashes made me smile! :)
Nigel
Nigel
Thu Feb 7 22:22:17 2008

I have had the most peculiar day at work... The more I stay in this place the more I think I should leave IMMEDIATELY... A "cage of fools" we would call it in Italy... It's a shame I cannot talk about it :(
Lox
Thu Feb 7 18:22:53 2008

John- is Christmas also absent? Easter? Epiphany? Advent? Lent? Maundy Thursday? (Oops, got a bit carried away)
Jimmy
Thu Feb 7 12:36:45 2008

Fine thankyou John
Kev
Thu Feb 7 10:35:24 2008

Morning Kev, how are you today?
John
Thu Feb 7 10:04:05 2008

Morning All
Kev
Thu Feb 7 08:43:25 2008

My calendar is of a secular variety and doesn't have shrove Tuesday marked on it.
John
Wed Feb 6 22:17:48 2008

MM: Tut-tut!
Sheri
Wed Feb 6 16:51:23 2008

JM: I have found that it is NEVER necessary to remind them to eat chocolate. We recently moved the sweetie cupboard at home, and it was great fun watching them trying to find the curly wurlys. Must do it again soon. I mean, WE know where they are and that's all that matters.
Mad Mumsie
Wed Feb 6 16:44:00 2008

Nigel: pathetic excuse!
Sheri
Wed Feb 6 15:39:41 2008

John's mum: Don't be so harsh with your boy. It's not his fault, you know... ! Doing his best!
Sheri
Wed Feb 6 15:38:49 2008

Hi all! What a lovely day out there today! Sun galore! I haven't been to work today as Joc is rather unwell so I've been playing nurse-maid, carting the kids around etc.
Nigel
Wed Feb 6 15:37:10 2008

John - I supposed that you could read a calendar like anybody else :) Today is Ash Wednesday - not such a long tradition, and not one based on Christian religion, but smokers among you could start giving up today. You can start again on Easter Sunday. John (again) - will you want a reminder then to eat chocolate eggs?
John's Mum
Wed Feb 6 15:13:35 2008

And what about you, my good chap?
Sheri
Wed Feb 6 14:55:54 2008

OK - I understand.
dsp
Wed Feb 6 14:51:53 2008

Et donc non, je n'ai pas mangé de crêpes !
Sheri
Wed Feb 6 14:19:40 2008

Ah, right! Didn't read the comments previous to Nigel's.
Sheri
Wed Feb 6 14:18:14 2008

Hu... no. Why the question?
Sheri
Wed Feb 6 14:13:33 2008

Sheri: Did you have crepes last night?
dsp
Wed Feb 6 12:32:31 2008

What, what?!
Sheri
Wed Feb 6 11:22:28 2008

Hallo, old top! How are you today?
Sheri
Wed Feb 6 11:21:35 2008

Morning all! :)
Nigel
Wed Feb 6 10:19:14 2008

Had a strange phone call yesterday afternoon, I thought I recognised the number, but wasn't sure. This voice said to me without any of the preamble - hello, how are you, isn't the weather foul/good/indifferent - just "is it 4 oz flour, 1/2 pint of milk and 1 egg". I hope Big Sis and Boo enjoyed their pancakes!
Mad Mumsie
Wed Feb 6 09:02:05 2008

JM: I toss with the best of them :) except for last night, we didn't have a lemon, and as I couldn't be botdets). John: if you have all the ingredients together, pancakes can be eaten on any day of the year.
Mad Mumsie
Wed Feb 6 08:59:16 2008

Crap - why couldn't somebody have more usefully reminded me about pancake day before it happened? I had to hush up the whole affair last night, if word got out to Chie that everyone else in the country was eating pancakes apart from her there would have been hell to pay. It'll probably crop up in a conversation at her office today, and she'll come home tonight and beat me to death with a frying pan.
John
Wed Feb 6 08:32:30 2008

Actually when I told Chiara about this use that you have in England, she complained because she would have liked a pancake night and the fact that I didn't know about it meant that we had fillet and salad "only" !!! Is there any other special night (excluding Burns night and of course YIKES EVENING) that I should be aware of?
Lox
Tue Feb 5 22:51:14 2008

Yup - pancakes here too :-) I can report sugar and lemon.
dsp
Tue Feb 5 22:47:53 2008

Yep - pancakes here tonight! My son wolfed them down, but daughter wasn't bothered, thankyou very much! I enjoyed a couple with lemon juice and Golden Syrup!
Nigel
Tue Feb 5 21:21:05 2008

Well I am aware of pancakes and the like, but it's the first time that I read about Shove Tuesday and all... Oh well, there are many more obscure things that I probably have never heard about, although the guys at Radstock did a great job with me.. I mean, how many foreigners can joke about Jammy Dodgers having infinite jam? (Tim taught me that one, as he said that since he was a kid the marketing of Jammy Dodgers was "even more Jam than before", meaning that by now they have infinite jam inside...)
Lox
Tue Feb 5 20:26:10 2008

I don't know Lox I think its got something to do with lending pancakes to others :) Being a "honourary" Englishman I am suprised you are not aware of the making of the batter.
Kev
Tue Feb 5 20:03:00 2008

Is "toss your pancake" a new swearword? Or it has some hidden meaning that now you guys/gals must explain to me?!! :D
Lox
Tue Feb 5 19:27:10 2008

At the risk of being misunderstood and having MM shouting at me in capital letters ... have you all tossed your pancakes tonight?
John's Mum
Tue Feb 5 19:18:48 2008

Thanks, Jon. I'll give it a look. I'm trying to formalize some crap notes from a course on set theory.
Travis
Tue Feb 5 16:56:40 2008

Lox, sorry to hear about your HD woes, have you considered getting a 16GB Memory stick or once of the 8GB solid state drives> I know the capacities not as big but they are less likely to break. fwiw I am suprised your disk lasted as long as it did, HDs are just not really designed for knocks and bumps I think, which is a bit rubbish as they are usually sold as "portable" devices but in reality they really mean external.
Kev
Tue Feb 5 14:56:34 2008

Nigel: Mmmmm MTBF, I am not sure... Well it's the HD that travels with me all around the world, so it has been subject to high pressures, shakes, sometimes falls, so I cannot complain if it died on me. It's just a shame because now I need to buy a new one, and if it died 3 days ago I probably would have bought it in Thailand where are darn cheaper than here!
Lox
Tue Feb 5 13:11:05 2008

dsp: I think Lox has had a funny turn.
Mad Mumsie
Tue Feb 5 11:44:22 2008

Lox: OK... Well 5-years is MTBF for an HD so maybe we are losing hope... Though I do have a 40MB 14-year-old one at home, still working!!
Nigel
Tue Feb 5 11:15:09 2008

DSP: AAAAARGGGHHGHHGHGHHhhhhhhhhhhhh........
Lox
Tue Feb 5 11:02:20 2008

Lox - Last night I was eating just-add-water noodles and their noisy/slurpy consumption took me straight back to YUMMY!!
dsp
Tue Feb 5 10:53:15 2008

Nope so far no information was found on the internet.. .:(
Lox
Tue Feb 5 10:29:04 2008

Nope I have tried but I get the same error... I think that the little light on the unit wants to "tell" me something as it flashes in a very ordinate way, but since I bought this gizmo in Japan more than 5 years ago I am sure that I won't find a lot of literature on that... :(
Lox
Tue Feb 5 10:19:46 2008

Lox: Can you please check if the drive is "visible" to a Windows machine?
Nigel
Tue Feb 5 09:55:03 2008

Travis: it probably isn't very helpful, but everything vaguely mathematical I ever did (conference papers, PhD thesis, etc) was done in LaTex. I don't ever remember choosing a particular font, I think I just had some template in each instance which made all those decisions for me.
John
Tue Feb 5 09:18:44 2008

Nigel/Tom: Unfotunately I haven't got another caddy here... It could be the controller, I have tried to unplug, clean it, and whatever else you do but no luck there... I'll wee if I can fetch one somewhere...
Travis: Nope I am shite at fonts, I barely know the difference between Arial and TNRoman...
Lox
Tue Feb 5 08:33:09 2008

Hullo, ladies and gents. I'm looking for a nice font that will allow me to type mathematical and logical notation speedily. Any suggestions?
Travis
Tue Feb 5 02:00:46 2008

(Incidentally I couldn't quite 100% leave Apple so bought a new Shuffle... It's really not fair to the competition just how good this little thing sounds! :))
Nigel
Mon Feb 4 22:20:10 2008

Yep, Tom's going my way on this! First up check Disk Util just to make sure the hardware isn't visible there (might be, even though the volume won't mount etc) If there's nothing visible, it could point to the controller being snafoo. If there is... We move on..! :)
Nigel
Mon Feb 4 22:18:02 2008

Have you got another caddy lying about my any chance?
tom
Mon Feb 4 21:25:44 2008

Double partition FAT32 and NTFS.... If you have a viable solution I am willing to try of course! :D I have already dismantled it but there is no apparent damage or anything..
Lox
Mon Feb 4 20:43:55 2008

(you'll get the impression I hate to give up on a problem like this!!! :) )
Nigel
Mon Feb 4 20:35:58 2008

I will persist... What disk format was/is the portable drive?
Nigel
Mon Feb 4 20:34:40 2008

Lox: Ah well, in that case the software in question won't help - the drive has to be visible to the computer, of course...
Bryan
Mon Feb 4 19:59:24 2008

Bryan: Thanks I'll give it a go! The problem is that the unit is not recognized by the computer, so there is technically very little to scavenge as the drives are not mounted... :( But I'll try...
Lox
Mon Feb 4 17:34:47 2008

Lox: the software available from QueTek (called File Scavenger) may be of help to you - I have used it to recover data from a non-operational hard drive and it is a godsend, and cheap too. The address is wwwDOTquetekDOTcomFORWARDSLASHprod02DOThtm (seems I can't post html here...). Hope this helps!
Bryan
Mon Feb 4 17:22:05 2008

Nothing at all... I was copying a large amount of files (15 gigs) from the mac to the HD and it stopped working... Now it power up but I can hear the head spinning the drive as if it was damaged... I am afraid that something happened during the copy, it locked the mac (hard reste, quite rare) and ruined the unit... :(
Lox
Mon Feb 4 16:42:51 2008

Hmm. A recent model, or old? Did you drop, or has it just stopped working? Some recent models have an sudden-shock locking mech. Any noise on power-up, or USB plug-in? Common though, is an internal cable displacement due to a drop...
Nigel
Mon Feb 4 15:43:13 2008

2.5..... :( 80 gigs.... :(:(:(:(:(::(:(
Lox
Mon Feb 4 15:17:47 2008

Is it 3.5" or 2.5" Lox?
Nigel
Mon Feb 4 14:35:33 2008

Finally I am home, although the day has not been great... my portable hard drive is DEAD, with a lot of files onto it, nothing majorly important but I am a bit gutted nonethless :(
Lox
Mon Feb 4 14:19:22 2008

Finally I am home, although the day has not been great... my portable hard drive is DEAD, with a lot of files onto it, nothing majorly important but I am a bit gutted nonethless :(
Lox
Mon Feb 4 14:19:22 2008

Ah, sounds cool, Lox! Yes, I guess some kind of sensor; presumably not mercury...
Nigel
Mon Feb 4 14:11:25 2008

Nigel: Actually my camera does the same thing, I wonder how they do it, some sort of motion sensor?
Lox
Mon Feb 4 13:03:18 2008

... apparently it's on Orange... Some whizzy chipped v> ... apparently it's on Orange... Some whizzy chipped version... Brave man. Works well though. Love the way, if you're viewing a photo and turn the iPhone round, it rotates the photo automatically.
Nigel
Mon Feb 4 10:44:11 2008

Morning all! :)
How annoying is this? One of our security guards just bought an iPhone!
Nigel
Mon Feb 4 09:37:46 2008

Morning All
Kev
Mon Feb 4 08:29:27 2008

The guy with the truffles is on BBC2 this evening, 7pm. Kev - if John ever, EVER, addresses me as "dear", I will strangle him!
John's Mum
Sun Feb 3 16:58:20 2008

Afternoon guys and gals! :)
Kev: you sound a bit "rich" :) :) I suspect you probably have Krugerands under the bed!! :) :) ... I just read the Telegraph article with interest as I have couple of friends in Iceland. It certainly does seem an unfeasibly rich country considering there are only 330,000 inhabitants whose primary industries are fishing and minerals. Their quality of life (living standards etc) is much higher than our own it seems. The only thing they miss is sunshine in winter, and walks in the park (as we know it). My friends aren't in the financial sector... ;)
Nigel
Sun Feb 3 15:11:55 2008

Kev: Strictly FEET and CALVES.... :P
Lox
Sun Feb 3 14:12:41 2008

Like I was hinting at yesterday regarding the icelandic banks, looks like its going mainstream media at last. Telegraph - Is Iceland headed for meltdown
Kev
Sun Feb 3 13:57:25 2008

Lox was that a "foot massage"?
Truffles tree sound interesting, more akin to gambling than an effective investment vehicle though :)

Mrs John: So John, did you invest all our hard earned savings wisely?

John: Yes dear, I have a 25% stake in 30 truffle Oak trees in Le Gers, France, with an ongoing yearly maintenance charge to cover such items as irrigation, weed control, harrowing, pruning and ultimately harvesting.

Mrs John: Oh.
Kev
Sun Feb 3 13:30:15 2008

Once again posting from a lounge.... this time I bless who invented them because I have to wait other FOUR hours before leaving... :) Had a great foot massage today, next time I am here I am going back there for sure!
Lox
Sun Feb 3 13:09:27 2008

Mum - that sounds like lunacy - and yet is oddly tempting.
John
Sun Feb 3 11:38:21 2008

John, If you want an investment only slightly riskier than the banks at the moment, and a lot more fun, have a look at this www.truffle-tree.co.uk
John's Mum
Sun Feb 3 10:04:38 2008

Kev: Hmmm... it's a bit disquieting that I only start to hear bad things about Icelandic banks after I've given them some of my money! Still, it's good to know, as I say I think I'll probably not send any more their way for the time being.

Nigel: yes I agree - people who do nothing but move about money from one place to another for their jobs are basically parasites, and it is particularly frustrating that these people who seem to contribute the least to society are also often the richest. Ho, hum.
John
Sat Feb 2 15:39:58 2008

... although to be honest I get cheesed off with all those money-men who don't actually "produce" or "create" anything at all, except turmol in the money-markets and bring down perfectly good, solid businesses just because customers want improved dividends each and every year without fail... !!!!! They should actually go out and build a sofa with their bare-hands, programme a weather forecast main-frame or help someone recover in a hospital!!!!!!
Sorry guys and gals, just had to have a little rant!!
:))
Nigel
Sat Feb 2 15:19:56 2008

Kev, you might now, no doubt, recommend we all go live in a bunker in Nebraska and spit tobacci into spitoons (or the floor) and swear about the gosh-dash liberal governments ... etc
Nigel
Sat Feb 2 15:16:07 2008

Your UK banks are covered for upto 35K in each account. Foreign banks esp the iclandic ones are a little more flakey and may not be covered. Things are pretty bad in the banking world right now I think, you only need to look at the egg situation, 161,000 customers being told to f-off ( Egg is owned by Citibank who have recently had big writedowns) Some of the Monoline insurers looking like they are going to get downgraded, some already have been. If what we get told about is only a tenth of the problem( which I suspect it is ) I would suggest buying some gold coins and getting a shotgun :)
Kev
Sat Feb 2 15:05:07 2008

...so I think what I did gleen from that article is that banks offering very high rates on savings accounts are actually doing so because they're really short of capital, possibly even verging on bankruptcy, and therefore your money is at risk. So really when choosing a savings account you should look at the bigger picture - I guess effectively you can factor in some metric for risk into the equation.
John
Sat Feb 2 13:27:11 2008

Thanks Kev - I didn't fully understand that article but I think it is probably very pertinent. I was right in the midst of moving a big load of cash out of one of the banks it suggests is a safe bet, and into one of the ones it identifies as a potential risk! Hmmm perhaps I won't move any more for the time being then. I think I'm already fairly safe in terms of the not-putting-all-of-your-eggs-in-one-basket theory, currently my "financial assets" are spread between about 7 different accounts on 3 continents, albeit that this is just the way it has ended up (having worked abroad for multinationals etc) rather than any particular prudence on my part.
John
Sat Feb 2 13:22:43 2008

Since we are talking finance, take a look here
Kev
Sat Feb 2 12:28:19 2008

I've just set up an ISA for the first time. I feel very grown up.
John
Sat Feb 2 11:59:41 2008

Morning!
John
Sat Feb 2 11:46:00 2008

Morning all,
Kev
Sat Feb 2 10:43:53 2008

A chilly Good Morning! :)
Nigel
Sat Feb 2 10:19:20 2008

Evening dsp!! Sounds like a great plan! Cheers!! :) I hope you have a peaceful evening !! Here, we've just got the kids to bed so I've come online looking for headphone amplifiers... (Can't really use the hifi speakers any more...)
Nigel
Fri Feb 1 20:25:52 2008

Hi Nigel - I've just poured a can of the black stuff and thought of you. So whilst it settles I'll say 'hello'.
Clare's going out with her mum friends so "tonight Matthew, I'm going to be... designated parent"
dsp
Fri Feb 1 19:14:22 2008

MM - sorry - thought you knew - hard by East Midlands Airport. The snow hasn't come to anything - yet.
John's Mum
Fri Feb 1 17:48:51 2008

MM: And you british people have not burned them to the ground yet? I think it's outrageous.... :(
Lox
Fri Feb 1 17:02:52 2008

Lox: There is a bit on the board, started on 28.1. with Kev.
Mad Mumsie
Fri Feb 1 16:39:00 2008

Lox: Apparently Macdonalds are offering the equivalent of a GCSE or something. I didn't take a lot of notice, except to read the headline. I'm sure someone will fill you in.
Mad Mumsie
Fri Feb 1 16:35:06 2008

AH double post, clearly John's messageboard programming is buggy, a bit like CHEESE that works only on his computer...
Lox
Fri Feb 1 16:32:35 2008

MM: What exams are you talking about? Did they decide to test their food finally?
Bangkok is amazing, today I ventured in the "red light" areas, the street that I was in was apparently for Japanese audiences... I thought that certain things happened only in movies, but.... (before someone starts posting sarky comments, I did not "enjoy" the pleasures offered)
Lox
Fri Feb 1 16:31:54 2008

MM: What exams are you talking about? Did they decide to test their food finally?
Bangkok is amazing, today I ventured in the "red light" areas, the street that I was in was apparently for Japanese audiences... I thought that certain things happened only in movies, but.... (before someone starts posting sarky comments, I did not "enjoy" the pleasures offered)
Lox
Fri Feb 1 16:31:53 2008

Lox: They are obviously interested in the exams that Macs are doing. JM Where is "here"
Mad Mumsie
Fri Feb 1 16:23:49 2008

I have heard a rumour that Google wants to buy Macdonalds .....
Lox
Fri Feb 1 15:53:30 2008

It's snowing here.
John's Mum
Fri Feb 1 15:53:04 2008

Hmmm, reading the article seems to imply a history going on there. Didn't know companies wrote each other letters like that! It's one heck of a price though, isn't it? I guess it shows the big "M" are worried about the big "G" in the long term.
Nigel
Fri Feb 1 14:51:35 2008

So apparently Microsoft wants to buy Yahoo then? Not sure if there was writing on the wall about that, but it certainly comes as a bit of a surprise to me.
John
Fri Feb 1 14:16:19 2008

Blimey, is it February already?
John
Fri Feb 1 13:33:33 2008

... "sick and tired, you keep hanging round me..." :)
Morning!
Nigel
Fri Feb 1 09:58:12 2008

January
Kev
Fri Feb 1 09:04:11 2008

Morning All, Today iri Feb 1 09:04:11 2008

Morning All, Today is SnowDay ( apparently )
Kev
Fri Feb 1 09:03:10 2008

Morning all. Lovely sunny day in London. Won't last :)
Mad Mumsie
Fri Feb 1 08:47:49 2008