That strange amber liquid, and I don't mean Irn Bru, that turns your legs to jelly, and makes the weather seem good.
Mad Mumsie
- Tue May 31 16:25:44 2005

 Jeff: "Pie and Chips". In England this might get you a "chicken and Muchroom" variety. Or "Steak and Kidney" etc. Over the border it gets you Mutton, Old Lamb by another name. A deep fried pie in a strange crust.... I shudder as I remember that first bite.... :/
Nigel
Wrexham, Working... - Tue May 31 16:19:37 2005

 Talking to anyone. The docks in Glasgow. Anyone called Hamish.
Rob lang
- Tue May 31 16:16:31 2005

 Ginger haired Scots nutters.
tom
- Tue May 31 16:11:06 2005

 I am off to Scotland in two days...any thing I should avoid?
jeff
UofT - Tue May 31 15:54:35 2005

 Is she as vain? ;-)
Rob Lang
- Tue May 31 15:08:36 2005

 That cute? Gosh.
Mad Mumsie
- Tue May 31 14:26:49 2005

 Hi MM, she's doing very well thank you, and very cute. She's more or less back to her birth weight now, and is almost a cute as her dad!
dsp
- Tue May 31 13:28:55 2005

 Well dsp, how is the little one?
Mad Mumsie
- Tue May 31 13:27:25 2005

 Back at work :-(
dsp
- Tue May 31 12:14:15 2005

 'ello.
tom
- Tue May 31 11:29:39 2005

 Lox: I liked your comments earlier about China being good at copying and manufacturing. Maybe "originality" is their weakness - especially for western markets? However I do not think Chinese as a language will take off - more probably "American" will win. As the US must be the richest current buyer of Chinese technology components, the Chinese have to learn to speak with a Texas drawl! Once they have the designs of course, they can take over!
Nigel
Wrexham, Still working... - Tue May 31 11:02:28 2005

 Nigel: In Italy we are having the opposit flooding of anglo-saxob words. They ARE used by managers (most of them DON'T KNOW what they are talking about), and by some "wannabe cool" teachers in business classes and in private master courses (the ones where you pay a lot of money). It's soooo nice to hear them speaking and then prod an odd question or give your point of view using their same tactic. You see, latin it's understandable (more or less) so in order to streghten your position and make others feel uncultured, you add some English or German word, and the trick is done!!!
We care more about the package than te contents of things, this society it's getting rotten more and more.

Oh well doesn't matter we are all going to speak chinese sooner or later... (today I have learnt to ask for a PORK DUMPLING ad a glass of water, and I have still trouble counting up to TEN, but it will come, after all it's only one day that I am trying to learn it...)
Lox
Taiwan - TAIPEI, - Tue May 31 10:48:51 2005

 Lox: Good point! I see what you mean. I have to say I wonder if some of these "new" words are being introduced by businesses to make their Powerpoint Presentations look more intelligent! Sadly, when I hear one, I tend to cringe!
Nigel
Wrexham, Work... - Tue May 31 10:07:16 2005

 Nige: I think much has to do with Latin. In the academical world Latin is often used to express concepts and to show one's culture and studies. Latin is often linked to intellectuals and professors, so if you can use it properly then you automatically gain an "higher degree" of cleverness... I think that now the use of these terms are sipping into Germanic-root languages such as English and German itself. Maybe the dememnted mind thinks that anglicising a Latin word it makes it easier to use...
Lox
- Tue May 31 09:43:47 2005

 Ah, there are a lot of unreal words cropping up in English nowadays. I suppose our foreign cousins are hard pressed to understand which are bona-fide and which are the creations of a demented mind. I offer as examples: "Timeous" "Proactive" and the miss-used "owns". I suppose all languages are going through this painful metamorphosis. It would be so much easier learning another if they stayed constant. Mine extras are French and Danish and thankfully these nations hold fast by their originality (almost!)
Nigel
Wrexham, Work... - Tue May 31 09:14:54 2005

 John: It's certainly an aspect that I find strange myself, for the exact same reason, I feel always compelled to say something, or bow, or smile... The other japanese don't care about it, but that's all with the culture of being a client (hence almost GOD)... Still it doesn't bother me, I actually like the idea that by smiling at the young trainee who says "irashiai" for 8 hours a day, absolutely not recognized as a life form by the customers, gives him the idea that life is not that bad...

Travis: what game is that? As for the word it would have been highly unlikely that it didn't existed. Usually these phrases are translated word by word using the biggest mean dictionary that you can find (because it's better to have a big dictionary!!), shame that the structure is all worng and some word are never used in common language.
Lox
- Tue May 31 07:02:37 2005

 I assume you've all heard about the old video game that is dubbed into English with such gripping lines as, "Someone set us up the bomb!" and "You have no chance to survive so make your time," and the clincher, "All your base are belong to us."
Travis
- Tue May 31 02:51:02 2005

 John, according to dictionary dot com, it's a word. As for the French, I'm no expert but it seemed to make a little bit more sense. It seemed like the structure was okay in the French and then the translation was largely verbatim to English?
Travis
- Tue May 31 02:50:08 2005

 Sorry - schoolboy error - that should of course read "you may well HEAR it 100 times".
John
- Tue May 31 02:28:11 2005

 Lorenzo - is it just me that finds irashaimasse quite irritating...? I don't mind it once, but of course every customer that comes into the establishment gets the same treatment, and often several staff say it in sequence, so in the duration of a meal you may well here it 100 times.... and the Japanese never react to it, which I find difficult - if in England somebody said "welcome to our shop" or whatever the equivalent is in English on the way in, I'd feel compelled to at the very least smile in return, or perhaps nod a bit, or maybe even say thankyou or something... In Japan you get this constant assault of irashaimasse and you're not supposed to do anything back. This can't be good for you psychologically.
John
- Tue May 31 02:27:24 2005

 Or even a real *word*...?
John
- Tue May 31 02:20:18 2005

 Also, is "urbanity", as shown in Lorenzo's picture, actually a real world?
John
- Tue May 31 02:20:03 2005

 For me, the real pleasure of finding that IKUKO picture was that it showed not only does this craziness get applied to English but also for French - I'm pretty sure the French version sounds every bit as daft as the English.
John
- Tue May 31 02:19:35 2005

 I was contemplating on China yesterday. I went to this nice Japanese Restauran and as noon as I enter they greeted me with the typical "Irashyaimase!", a sort of Japanese welcome. So I thought that they could speak japanese, and started asking things... After 1 minute I realized that they didn't know a bloody word!! So it the end it turns out that all the staff members know the basign restaurant japanese to make the place feel real, but you must order in chinese nevertheless... In business this is China now, they are great at copying and making things look real, but there is no depth in what they do. The real chinese things on the countrary are far from this stage... Maybe we still have a hope of survival us Europeans and Americans...
Lox
- Tue May 31 01:02:13 2005

 Ciao guys, I think that the lorry one it's completely sensless... Maybe I am wrong but I cannot understand what are they trying to tell me!! The shop name says it all... It would be nice if they move the chain to the US or England!!!

John:Good one that pic!! why don't we make a sub-page where we can stash all these goodies? I am sure that we can find may during our travels..
Lox
- Tue May 31 00:54:53 2005

 Nice pics! I can understand yours Lox. Glad there was no "translation" for the first one! I actually agree with the second/third lorry one!! It's John's one about satisfying ladies in white nighties that worries me... :/
Nigel
Oswestry, Home... - Mon May 30 16:58:48 2005

 Nice, John. I can understand what they're going for at least in the pic you linked, no clue at what they meant in that one Lox posted. I can't find the Big Wong sign from Arlington but there are apparently many Big Wongs...I don't have a password so here's a url: http://www.ronsaari.com/stockImages/nyc/BigWongRestaurant.jpg
Travis
- Mon May 30 15:53:03 2005

 Another similar example of this bizarre phenomenon can be found here.
John
- Mon May 30 11:24:09 2005

 Hmmm I think it's just the unusual wording - there's not a straightforward gag in it per se.
John
- Mon May 30 11:22:50 2005

 Love the shop, but dont get the truck. Do I need to be able to read Japanese?
dsp
- Mon May 30 10:48:23 2005

 Lox - your pictures are here - tres amusant!
John
- Mon May 30 04:49:57 2005

 Lox: Let me give it a shot, see if I can find it...
Travis
- Mon May 30 03:45:23 2005

 John: Sent! On the little truck picture remember to enlarge the small written part, the gold is there.
Lox
- Mon May 30 00:27:30 2005

 Travis do you think you can get a picture of that place? I want to start a collection of all these marvellous pieces of Asianess!!
Lox
- Mon May 30 00:26:50 2005

 There are some Asian places around here, mostly food places, that have quite humorous-sounding names in English. For instance, in Arlington, Texas, there is an eaterie named "Big Wong's" with the words "Entrance in Rear" just below it. Pretty amazing.
Travis
- Sun May 29 17:24:26 2005

 Lorenzo - please feel free to send them to me - john at this site's domain name.
John
- Sun May 29 13:44:01 2005

 that was "apparel"...
Lox
- Sun May 29 10:01:56 2005

 Guys I need to show you two pictures that I have taken today in Taiwan, but since I have no web space to link, I was wondering if I can send one of you the two pics and then maybe you can link them... One it's a perfect example of use of english in the Asian community, and the other is the name of the most famous appreal chain-store in Taiwan...
Lox
- Sun May 29 08:20:29 2005

 I don't watch TV...I rent movies or watch the various movie channels I have on digital cable.
Travis
- Sun May 29 02:46:40 2005

 Anyone else loving Big Brother?
dsp
- Sun May 29 00:11:02 2005

 Jeff, Episode III is infinitely better than II. Portman still sucks but she's not in the film much.
Travis
- Sat May 28 19:35:24 2005

 I haven't seen the new Star Wars yet. I was at a party last night (theatre majors) and we watched the second movie. And I found it funny that when Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen were fighting the lame bee men that something happened and tore away Natalie's shirt midriff! And all I could ask was where is Leia's bikini?
Jeff
UofT - Fri May 27 21:54:45 2005

 Comanche Texas the "peanut capitol" of central Tejas...I so wanted to get out of there. Travis Comanche is about 60 miles from Brownwood. Back in high school that was the only freaking place to see a movie!
Jeff
UofT - Fri May 27 21:29:51 2005

 Hey is that Omar Salleh from Southbank? It's Dan Wright. I lost your email address and found this messageboard from google. Shoot me an email at daniel@drsmooth.com. Oh, and I agree with Travis. Hayden Christiansen and Natalie Portman were awful in the new movie. It's hard to know if it's their fault or George Lucas's. I didn't think the moment was built up enough for Anakin to cut off Sam Jackson's arm, but everything after that was pretty damn awesome.
Daniel Wright <daniel@drsmooth.com>
Brooklyn, NY, - Fri May 27 19:17:47 2005

 John: It's an easy place to miss :) I think that there are fewer than 20,000 people in the whole county. I'd wager that there are people in Texas who do not know that it exists. In similar news, the songs "Tyler" and "Possum Kingdom" by Toadies? are named after places in Texas.
Travis
- Fri May 27 16:47:16 2005

 Lox, Chom 3 has paused for the moment, while I finish off a number of other commitments (websites and Icar Elements 3.5). As soon as it gets to the point where playtesters are needed, I will let you know indeed!
Rob Lang
- Fri May 27 09:16:06 2005

 Hi all. I surf from my new Dell Axim X30 PDA !! It works wirelessly!! (Not yet up to dsp's standards of geographical surfing, but getting there!!) The Maison is surprisingly PDA friendly. Well pleased... :))
Nigel
Oswestry, Dell!!! - Fri May 27 08:46:37 2005

 Rob: Any news on the beta testing for Chom3? I think that I can bring more than 1 player, maybe 2 or 3... let me know if you are interested...
Lox
- Fri May 27 06:56:38 2005

 John: How are you? Are going to be in Japan next week then? Let me know something...
Lox
- Fri May 27 05:32:36 2005

 Hmmm.. Comanche - it is a song by CAKE. Didn't realise it was a place name!
John
- Fri May 27 05:29:25 2005

 Dsp: Oh if I remember that!!! But I remember that after the first couple of times it started to be a "classic" joke in the house. Think that at that time we didn't have mobiles, it would have been hell if we had them!!! Yesterday I ate dog, it's nice! (well it's the third time that I eat it..)
Lox
- Fri May 27 02:02:13 2005

 Jeff, my father-in-law works in Comanche. Down by Brownwood, right?
Travis
- Thu May 26 20:46:30 2005

 Comanche texas pop. 4,000
jeff
UofT - Thu May 26 19:52:50 2005

 Jeff, I'm from Lehighton, Pennsylvania. There are about 5000 people there. My wife was born in Wichita Falls and grew up in Arlington. I've lived in Arlington for about 5 months, in Brownwood very briefly, and in Lubbock for about 2 years now.
Travis
- Wed May 25 22:41:49 2005

 Where did you grow-up Travis?
Jeff
UofT - Wed May 25 19:50:20 2005

 Well, I have finally spent my money that I was bloody well saving for a cheap motorcycle and have bought myself a guitar. Its and limited ed. Rickenbacker rep of the one Pete Townshend played on the Live At Leeds album! The thing has P90 pickups which sounds great up and down...Feed back to scare yer Mom...I figure this time I'm certain to get laid.
jeff
UofT - Wed May 25 19:48:35 2005

 Lox: Do you remember that genius prank we used to play on you? You know, the one where we'd get the phone to ring, then shout you down from the 2nd floor saying it was your mum calling from Italy. Then you'd run all the way downstairs, put the phone to your ear then yell "BASTARDS!!". Oh how we laughed.
dsp
- Wed May 25 16:43:46 2005

 On Google map I have noticed a little problem... THE WHOLE WORLD IS MISSING!! Oh well is still beta I guess...
Lox
- Wed May 25 14:44:45 2005

 Today I found this site. Very useful for getting access to some sites that require registration to read a particular article but you just can't be bothered to register. http://www.bugmenot.com/
Kev
- Wed May 25 14:43:04 2005

 John: What did you have to buy apart from the laptop adapter? A router as well? I am looking into a massive upgrade of the house LAN and I am surely going wireless for the sheer coolness value of it!!!
Lox
- Wed May 25 14:42:29 2005

 Hola, I am writing from Seoul at the moment...
Jill: No I didn't get around to baking them, I still have the receipe on my desk so I will try when I go back home. It seems that I will sepnd a WHOLE week with my sis and my nephew (don't care much about the sister, after all I have spent 26years with her already!!!), so maybe it could be a good occasion to let the baby try the rock cakes!!! (he is 7 months old)
Lox
- Wed May 25 14:41:02 2005

 Happy days! Rah rah rah!
Rob Lang
- Wed May 25 10:22:56 2005

 Travis: I tried Rob's neat Google-Map find (I didn't know this beta existed) on where I live (try "Oswestry England") but though the road I'm on is shown it isn't named. Multimap.com lets me see an aerial view of my house - very blurred but I can recognise the shape. Sadly, though Lubbock seems a nice, orderly place, Oswestry is pretty chaotic in design!
Nigel
Oswestry, Home again... - Tue May 24 20:47:24 2005

 Rob: Afraid not. You can see my neighborhood. Try 9508 Canton Avenue, Lubbock. Can't see my former residences either, mostly because I lived in a very small town for most of my life.
Travis
- Tue May 24 17:04:28 2005

 Can you find your house on the satellite image?
Rob Lang
- Tue May 24 16:39:38 2005

 Rob: That road is "Loop 289" or "The Loop" as it's known here. I live...just south of the loop, like one block down and one block left, under the sign for 289 on the lower edge on that map. It's a really conveniently lain out "city."
Travis
- Tue May 24 16:15:16 2005

 Lubbock must be nice, T-Boy, it's got a ring road: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=lubbock+texas&hl=en
Rob Lang
- Tue May 24 15:55:11 2005

 John: Yes I was the same about wireless, but as my laptop connects to the house access-point wirelessly I've realised (too) that it's actually pretty good! Just upgraded the main router to "802.11g" which helps. The PDA is for convenience and can join the network. Travis: Sounds pretty good! Over here, if we get a high temperature it's usually accompanied by humidity you can cut with a knife! It's about 12-deg C here - and wet!
Nigel
Wrexham, Work.. - Tue May 24 15:27:00 2005

 Nigel, I'm in Lubbock, Texas, which is roughly 100 miles from anything, in all honesty. There is very little precipitation, which is actually nice having moved from Pennsylvania where it rains for days on end. The past few days, the temp has eclipsed 100 degrees but with no humidity, it's pretty nice.
Travis
- Tue May 24 15:13:17 2005

 Lox: did you ever try the Rock Cake recipe.
Mad Mumsie
- Tue May 24 15:08:56 2005

 Actually I'm using a wireless card with my laptop now in Japan. After all my scepticism about wireless I have to say I'm actually rather impressed... although haven't yet used it whilst on the toilet so perhaps am still not experiencing the full effect.
John
- Tue May 24 14:42:58 2005

 Omar!! Greetings and Salutations to the Pretzel King! Good to hear you're doing well! Lets get Rob to FedEx us some Rock Cakes!!
dsp
- Tue May 24 14:40:41 2005

 Nigel: Good move!! You know it makes sense!! *flush*
dsp
- Tue May 24 14:39:43 2005

 Hi all. It rains... Is it raining with you Omar? Some how I feel you may be the envy of the Brits about now! How's Texas Travis? Must be getting late over your way, John. I've just bought a Dell Axim with wlan so I can copy dsp and email from the loo. In my house that's the only privacy I get anyway!!
Nigel
Wrexham, Work... - Tue May 24 14:35:05 2005

 John: Thanks for the heads-up. I suppose if you have a masterpiece, traditional formatting doesn't matter as much. Let's cross our fingers that mine is a masterpiece. Lox: Agreed about the dialogue. Can't Lucas write a touching scene without horrible dialogue? Omar: I don't know you, but I do know a spanish-speaking Omar. You can take his place.
Travis
- Tue May 24 14:16:36 2005

 I doubt it Johny, which links were broken?
Rob Lang
- Tue May 24 11:48:34 2005

 Cool site but several links refused to work .... may be problem is on my side?
Johny
- Tue May 24 11:23:22 2005

 Good to hear from you Omar! I'm writing from Hiroshima at present, as Rob mentioned I'm looking for work in Japan. I think my Mum is planning a visit to Mallorca soon - please say hello to her from me if you bump into her!
John
- Tue May 24 11:03:57 2005

 Travis: Mmmm I still think that the second was better. I agree on the lack of acting abilities of the main characters, but they were NOT helped by the totally crappy script! My nephew (7months old) could write a better dialogue!! I thought that the movie had very high points and then dropped suddenly to very low points, I was expecting more to be honest. I gave it a B- (when discussing with my friends)...
Lox
- Tue May 24 09:52:05 2005

 OOOOOMMMMAAAAAAAAARRRRRR... How are you ?!? Still in Mallorca then... niiiicceeee... The International man of mystery (me) is living near Milan (in a place called Varese), next to the swiss border. Though I am getting paid stupid amoutns of money I hate my job and would like to go back to Florence or somewhere else in the world... How's life in Mallorca? New game project? Any details?
Lox
- Tue May 24 09:49:38 2005

 Hello Mad Mumsie! Pleased to make your acquaintance. Not so pleased to have just realised that I'm not sure if I spelled acquaintance correctly. Must buy a dictionary. Oh wait, www.dictionary.com can help me out. Hey, whaddya know? I got it right! Acquaintance. Yay!
Omar
- Tue May 24 09:46:07 2005

 Daaaang, congrats to Dr Sneeky Peek and Tom for spawning The Next Generation! That's great news!
Omar
- Tue May 24 09:42:02 2005

 Hi Omar - I'm Rob's lovely, gorgeous, super mum. (Well someone has to say it)
Mad Mumsie
- Tue May 24 09:40:43 2005

 Now with the pleasantries. To update you a bit, John is in Japan with his Fiance, Chie. He's coming back over to blighty to do the viva for his PhD soon. Tim is still up norf and he and his wife Clare have had a lovely baby girl, Abi. Tom is still living out towards Newbury way, Sarah and him are expecting their second child. Lorenzo is being the international man of mystery. No change there. Chris Challacombe (you might remember from Icar) popped on a while back and told us that he'd got married, divorced, put on many a stone, given up programming and become a teacher.
I'm getting married to Kate next year some time and am waiting for the corrections to my PhD be signed off so I can graduate. I still run Icar. I still fly. I still live in Reading.
There are other denizens of the boards (Travis, Jimmy, Mad Mumsie and Nigel) but you didn't go to Uni with any of them ... I think!
Rob Lang
- Tue May 24 09:37:00 2005

 I'll do it manually, if anyone on the boards would like Omar's email, then let me know!
Rob Lang
- Tue May 24 09:29:57 2005

 Oh arse. I didn't see anyone elses email address and assumed mine wouldn't be displayed either. I simply can't -wait- for the junkmail to begin. Ahem. Anyone know if it's possible to remove my addy from my previous msg?
Omar
- Tue May 24 09:02:05 2005

 Hey hey everyone. Rob told me to post on the message board so here's me doing so (Sir Yes Sir!). Am still living in Mallorca, still grunting away trying to get our first game project finished, still married and still love curry. Glad to see you're all still alive and kicking, I'll be trying to catch up on all the happenings posted on this site over the next few days. So anyway, Hi again everyone!
Omar
My frikkin desk, Mallorca, Spain - Tue May 24 08:59:58 2005

 Travis - Jerome K. Jerome's masterpiece Three Men in a Boat, which I am currently in the process of re-reading, is only about 175 pages - but there isn't much text on each page, and plenty of illustrations etc. I'm pretty sure if you took the text and put it in a "normal" book it might well end up at about 85 pages.
John
- Tue May 24 03:49:20 2005

 Tim - Port Ellen - an excellent (and no doubt pricey!) choice if I may say so - I'm sure Clare's Dad will be a very happy man!
John
- Tue May 24 03:37:20 2005

 Jeff, the first draft is done. It's an alarmingly "in-between" length at 85 pages. It's far too long to be a short story but far too short to be a novel. What's between those too, a novella? It'll be increased but may never be a story, just a screenplay. I also wrote another short story and I'm working on finishing up a third story/screenplay I started about a year ago. Thanks for asking!
Travis
- Mon May 23 22:34:06 2005

 Lox: I liked the film quite a lot. It was certainly better (in my opinion) than episodes I and II. I would say it was a B+/A- (as I did on my site). My only problems: Hayden Christensen cannot act. Natalie Portman cannot act IN STAR WARS. Put them together on screen and I dare you to watch without wincing. Other than that, solid flick. Darth Vader Rules.
Travis
- Mon May 23 22:32:54 2005

 Thanks Si! Its good to hear from you! Don't clog up the 1-9.
dsp
- Mon May 23 20:32:23 2005

 Yoda: patience have I, hmmmm!
dsp
- Mon May 23 20:31:16 2005

 Travis, hows the horror story going?
jeff
UofT - Mon May 23 19:29:55 2005

 DSP - We may have to wait a while, we need another special occasion to open such a special bottle, however something ending in 'day' should suffice.
Yoda
- Mon May 23 18:26:32 2005

 DSP - you may have to wait a while we need another special occasion to open such a special bottle, however something ending in 'day' might suffice.
Yoda
- Mon May 23 18:22:04 2005

 Tim - I just randomly discovered via the magic of the web that you are now a father! Congratulations!
Simon W
- Mon May 23 17:32:24 2005

 John - Sorry we couldn't make it to the Beer festival or evening out before you left - we were down my dads. Glad to hear all is well in Japan - the pictures are very interesting!
Simon W
- Mon May 23 17:31:29 2005

 John: It was my father in law's 50th birthday yesterday, he's a big Islay whiskey buff so a bottle of 1982 Port Ellen went down a storm! Can't wait for him to open it.
dsp
- Mon May 23 15:04:24 2005

 Balsamic vinegar is even worse than Wine!!! If it is done properly, you loose almost 50% of the original wine put in the barrel (a bit like whiskey), but there are scores of bottles of balsamic vinegar in Italy and one wonders if it is possible that such a huge production has been started 10 years ago, when nobody wanted it... Ergo, there is some dodgy eucaliptus or whatever is balsamic put into the vinegar! It must be that way. This fair (food engeneering in Japan is a major thing by the way) is the final proof... Though I totally object these processes, if a whiskey has to stay there 30years, I don't just buy the taste of the spirit, but I also buy the history that goes with it!! By cutting the ageing period you spoil everything.
Lox
- Mon May 23 14:17:23 2005

 Funnily enough here in Hiroshima one of the department stores had an "Italian Fair" on today. One of the products we sampled was some balsamic vinegar that was advertised as having undergone a special new aging process which, although only actually aged for 5 years, tasted like it had been aged for 20 (or something like that). One wonders if this was an example of this sort of thing....?
John
- Mon May 23 14:11:59 2005

 Hmmmm.... now in Scotch single malt there are strict rules about what you can and can't add, and if any of these are disobeyed the SWA will send the boys round. Pretty much the only ingredient you're allowed to add after the spirit is made is caramel (and this is frowned upon by lots of connoisseurs). Having said that lots of different types of barrel are used - most commonly ex-sherry or ex-bourbon, and in this way the spirit reacts with the seasoned wood and extra flavour seeps in. I wonder if you might be able, therefore, to get away with impregnating the wood of a barrel with some dodgy chemical first, then aging for a much shorter period... This might not help a great deal though - the SWA has very strict rules about the age statement on the bottle, and you couldn't lie about that...
John
- Mon May 23 14:09:17 2005

 I was speaking to a wine producer friend of mine during the weekend. He told me that most of the "BARRIQUE" taste of many commercial wines here in Italy is just a chemical that it's added to the liquid. Sometimes the wine doesn't even see a barrique in pictures!! I am sure that some crappy whiskeys are the same...
Lox
- Mon May 23 13:56:59 2005

 John + Tim: (the upcoming "Baby" software) will it feature cross compatibility between Amiga and Mac?
Lox
- Mon May 23 13:54:25 2005

 Kev - I think have heard of it before, at least for wine. Despite all the cynicism I feel compelled to pour onto this product (a compulsion brought about by a "the book was better" school of psychology), it may well actually work. In the end aging of whisky etc is just a chemical process - it surely can't be beyond the wit of man to do that a bit quicker can it?
John
- Mon May 23 13:53:45 2005

 Tim - this is a brilliant analogy! So in effect a repeated application of the best first search algorithm ought to do it...? That doesn't sound that hard!
John
- Mon May 23 13:49:47 2005

 In the same way that there is a Baby Haynes manual, you lot should write a Software Engineering Baby manual. I can feel a series of book covers coming on...
Rob Lang
- Mon May 23 13:49:18 2005

 John, what about zapping your Port Ellen through this ? Make your own 30 year old whiskey in seconds. http://www.sylves.com/shooterbuddy/index.htm Traversty or genius ?
kev
- Mon May 23 13:38:45 2005

 Did anyone saw "revenge of the siths"? I was a bit disappointed by the movie, but i was curious to know other people's opinions...
Lox
- Mon May 23 12:43:19 2005

 John, you're quite right. A baby is just an organic Finite State Machine. Understanding the baby's current state, and which of the possible transitions is the best is all you need. If I get chance, I sketch a diagram...
dsp
- Mon May 23 12:05:24 2005

 Good to hear Tim - I'm hoping that in a few weeks time you'll enfuriate other parents by reporting that the first month was an absolute breeze, and you're not sure what all the fuss is about.
John
- Mon May 23 11:45:47 2005

 Nice tim, NIIIICE.
Rob Lang
- Mon May 23 11:22:48 2005

 Tim: Great!! Best regards to the rest of the family. How many visits are are granparents paying?
Lox
- Mon May 23 11:21:39 2005

 Hi Lox, still around. Baby is doing great and has now turned into a hungry milk monster! Clare spent most of the night feeding her!
dsp
- Mon May 23 11:05:11 2005

 Ciao everyone, where does all this russian sentiment comes from? By the way is DSP still around? Any news from him? How's the baby?
Lox
- Mon May 23 10:55:45 2005

 Ah... Sounds plausible. Another opportunity for racial hatred there then?! "I'm a European Russian you know... blah-blah." "Ha! You Western Russians are Wimps. We Easterners have Siberia - that's *real* Russia!" I notice (equally nerd-like) that this years Russian entry was actually from Belarus... So she's ok then! (Rather svelt too!)
Nigel
Wrexham, Working... - Mon May 23 10:51:23 2005

 Actually my collision theory may not be entirely correct - although it is more or less along those lines. According to the ever wonderful wikipedia, the Ural mountains were formed by a collision of continents, but at that time Europe and Asia as we know them today were not distinct contintents - so it was more down to a land mass which is now Siberia colliding with a supercontinent which contained just about all the other bits of land at that time.
John
- Mon May 23 10:40:50 2005

 Maybe this page with a map etc may help to illustrate.
John
- Mon May 23 10:27:23 2005

 Actually, I think that "Eural" is really supposed to be spelt "Ural". Although I have seen it spelt both ways.
John
- Mon May 23 10:26:27 2005

 Nerd.
Rob Lang
- Mon May 23 10:20:24 2005

 (to be read in nerdy voice) Ahem, geographically speaking, a significant portion of the Russia Federation is in Europe, given that the official dividing line between the Asian and European continents is the Eural mountain range. In fact mountain ranges are often formed where continental plates are moving into each other. The most commonly used example of this phenomenon being the Himalays, formed by the Indian sub-continent shoving it's way into the bulk of Asia. This may also be the case with the Eurals - this is where the European and Asian continetal plates collide. Moscow, being West of the Eurals, is quite firmly in Europe, tectonically speaking at least.
John
- Mon May 23 10:15:29 2005

 The body dancer was extraordinary but I did have to look away when he went from standing to the splits. It was wince worthy. I could imagine thousands of men around the globe all crossing or uncrossing their legs simultaneously!
Rob Lang
- Mon May 23 09:41:56 2005

 I think judging by the prevelance of drums on the night, most shops will be out of stock! Yes, it would have served Moldova right if they'd won - probably bankrupted them! Wasn't the "Body Artist" in the interval amazing. Put break-dancers to shame, eh?
Nigel
Wrexham, Work... - Mon May 23 09:26:05 2005

 Maybe I ought to buy a drum.
Mad Mumsie
- Mon May 23 09:18:13 2005

 I think most of the eastern european countries think Eurovision was some sort of a game about recognising the names of countries near you. I thought the whole thing was very funny and Wogan did a fab job as usual. My favourites were Moldova, who were a rock band with the granny and a drum. Smashing.
Rob Lang
- Mon May 23 09:09:44 2005

 Has it occurred to anyone that the British WANT to lose, but perhaps not so convincingly! Do you have any idea how much it costs to stage one of those things. Perhaps they always pick the worst song!!
Mad Mumsie
- Mon May 23 08:31:18 2005

 True. And which part of Europe is Russia? Mind you, have you read the lyrics to the Russian entry? Making a point I see, but did it really need two people to write that? I'm in the wrong business...
Nigel
Oswestry, Before work - Mon May 23 07:33:02 2005

 I couldn't work out why Israel had an entry and yet Saudi Arabia et al did not... Euro-vision... although the singer did have a stunning dress on. And wasn't Terry Wogan funny!
dsp
- Sun May 22 23:29:42 2005

 Funny you should say that... How did you guess? Funny how Denmark voted Norway but poor old Sweden (a good pointless song "Las Vegas" but still catchy) must have upset their neighbours as they came pretty much in our group. I get the feeling that good, old "honesty" has left Eurovision - it's just voting for your mates no matter how bad they were.
Nigel
Oswestry, Ahh... - Sun May 22 16:00:55 2005

 Oh and without wanting to sound like a sore loser (although I am) the lyrics to the Greek entry are just utter, utter crap - "You're my lover, undercover....?". Can I perhaps hazard a wild guess as to how many points Cyprus awarded Greece...? It wasn't, by any possible stretch of the imagination, douze by any chance was it?
John
- Sun May 22 15:23:27 2005

 If you were really serious about it, you could probably swing the Andorran vote in favour of your country by sending a busload of your mates on holiday there. I think the official population of Andorra is four plus a goat, and given that the goat can't use a phone, and at least one of the four people is probably not interested in Eurovision, you'd only need to to find two or three friends who like skiing and duty free, and you'd guarantee us a safe douze points.
John
- Sun May 22 15:18:31 2005

 Music is the one thing that the UK can hold it's head up high about in Europe and say it does well. If there was a Eurocooking contest, you wouldn't expect the UK to win, and France/Italy to come last would you?
John
- Sun May 22 15:11:11 2005

 The other thing that never ceases to amaze me about Eurovision, and specifically the UK always doing so badly at it, is when you consider the relative impact of European countries on popular music in the rest of the world. As a good case in point, I was recently looking at the lineup for the Fuji Rock Festival here in Japan. Of the six main headline acts three are English and three American (interestingly all the Japanese acts seem to get a much lower billing). Still, I can't see any evidence of any other Europeans bands there at all - it's basically all English, American and Japanese. It seems odd then, that given the impact England has on popular music in the world totally dwarfing the rest of Europe put together, that we still can't manage to win Eurovision...
John
- Sun May 22 15:09:34 2005

 True. I liked Hungary's performance, but they were up first... The online video feeds I've found today are pretty poor quality (as you probably found John) Yes, prop. representation a good idea. All the countries who didn't make it past the semis - Andorra for eg, also got to vote. And, yes, countries gave most points to their neighbours - as usual. Except Ireland... Apparently a DVD is going to be released 6th June... Hmmm... :)
Nigel
Oswestry, Just downing a whisky... - Sun May 22 15:09:00 2005

 ...and you're right about the scores - UK third to last with 18, France second to last with 11, and poor old Germany the outright losers with a stunningly poor 4 points. I had a quick listen to the German song - it really wasn't that bad, surely they deserved a bit more than 4 points...? I can understand the UK doing badly for political reasons, but why punish France and Germany? I guess this is down to all those little Eastern European countries voting for each other - perhaps it is time for proportional representation in Eurovision. Should Malta's vote really hold as much clout as Germany's...?
John
- Sun May 22 15:02:27 2005

 Oooh, ooh, now I think I know where Moldova is, although only because Tony Hawks (authot of the tremendous "Round Ireland with a Fridge") wrote another book which had something to do with Moldova and, bizarrely, tennis. It's pretty far away - I recal it sharing a border with Ukraine (a quick look on multimap seems to confirm this...).
John
- Sun May 22 14:56:50 2005

 Hi all. Not seen Star Wars, but I did watch Eurovision. Interesting point Wogan made about the main contributors financially and technically - Germany, Spain, France and the UK all coming last... Take over by eastern Europe it seems. No one likes the UK. Didn't know the Ukrainian's democracy was so new (shame on me). Moldova got a lot of points (where?) Andorra got lower population than Shrewsbury!!!
Nigel
Oswestry, Breakfast - Sun May 22 09:40:06 2005

 Well, I've seen Star Wars: Episode III. Have any of you?
Travis
- Sun May 22 05:37:49 2005

 Isn't that what blogs are for though? Bouncing ideas... reaching out... I've just spent the last hour installing a new 200GB drive in my Shuttle, plus upgrading the wireless to "g". Now I'm adding MAC addresses to the router ... and hence surfing from that very machine! It works! Eurovision eh? Yes, I'll be watching, sad though I may be... If you treat it as cutting-edge music, that's a mistake. Treating it is a daft bit of fun for 2-1/2 hours it's ok!
Nigel
Oswestry, In the shed... - Sat May 21 15:42:30 2005

 I've just found out it's the Eurovision Song Contest tonight - I really wanted to see it this year! (No this isn't sarcasm, I am one of the few Englishmen on the planet that actually enjoys it)... I guess I could have a bash at the live stream over the net, but it doesn't even start until 4AM my time (it is 11:30 PM here as I write)... So it looks like I will mess it again... Ho, hum.
John
- Sat May 21 15:28:49 2005

 I've had an interesting time over the last hour or so visiting other people's blogs and posting comments in replies to their entries wherein they stated some kind of quandry. Although I feel all virtuous and altruistic, I may well in fact have given a few complete strangers some really terrible advice, which they may now follow with disastrous consequences. Ho, hum - we can but try!
John
- Sat May 21 13:35:59 2005

 You may Sir! A good idea. I'll have to just nip out though as I seem a little low... :/
Nigel
Oswestry, Lunch time... - Sat May 21 12:59:09 2005

 Nigel - can I perhaps suggest that beer will fix it...?
John
- Sat May 21 12:26:16 2005

 Ah! John/Travis - that's explained both of my confusions! I think my brain was just a a bit befuddled after a particularly annoying Friday. Still, it's the weekend now (though it has been promised stormy rain here in the UK) and hte possibilities are endless (almost...) :)
Nigel
Oswestry, Home... - Sat May 21 08:10:44 2005

 Nigel - which bit were you referring to as cryptic? If it helps at all I believe "do one" is a colloquialism for run away, as in "do a runner".
John
- Sat May 21 04:11:17 2005

 Nigel, I think he meant that the mums would post the pics of their respective children, not that Rob and DSP would be jointly fathering a child or procreating with one another. I could be wrong.
Travis
- Sat May 21 00:29:32 2005

 Evening dsp: Very cryptic!! Are you managing to get some "quiet time" in the evenings?
Nigel
Oswestry, Home... - Fri May 20 20:24:09 2005

 Who knows, next it'll be our baby pictures online before you know it!
dsp
- Fri May 20 20:15:32 2005

 Quick Rob! Do one!
dsp
- Fri May 20 20:13:53 2005

 WATCH IT LANG, or the locks will be changed when you get home tonight.
Mad Mumsie
- Fri May 20 16:40:47 2005

 Tim, run for the hills, our mothers are conversing!
Rob Lang
- Fri May 20 16:30:02 2005

 Tim's Mum: Thank God for the internet. Bethan's Gramps was in Canada when she was born, a picture was sent to a friend's e-mail and he arrived at the camp site waving a piece of paper!!
Mad Mumsie
- Fri May 20 16:02:06 2005

 Tim: Check your e-mail. Love the latest pics. What a beautiful girl!! Love, Mum (besotted granny)
Tim's mum
- Fri May 20 15:49:37 2005

 Hi Mad Mumsie, Thank you. Yes, this is my first grandchild and of course, I am totally besotted! - hence my having to have constant bulletins as to Abi's progress! We are on holiday in the USA and I am using the free internet access in the local library. Brilliant. Need to show your passport though. Must dash now as have left DH parked outside with 14 mins left on the parking meter. BFN, Tim's Mum
Tim's mum
Lancaster PA, - Fri May 20 15:48:18 2005

 T-Boy, excellent! You make me larf.
Rob Lang
- Fri May 20 10:37:53 2005

 Hi Tim's Mum. Congratulations. It's great being a grandparent. Is this your first one.
Mad Mumsie
- Fri May 20 08:23:54 2005

 These tests are fun. I'm a nose piercing (100%), my drug of choice is none (74%), my ideal political party is Green (75%), I'm a boob guy (83%), my music recommendation is Emo & more (75%), I will die of natural causes (67%), my mental disorder is eating disorder (50%). That was fun.
Travis
- Fri May 20 01:07:59 2005

 I got Existentialist on that quiz...but I voted '3' numerous times, because the questions are so ambiguous it's ridiculous. Those questions about God and religion have so much loaded into them, they're impossible to answer appropriately if you have more than a simple understanding of the terms involved.
Travis
- Fri May 20 00:39:23 2005

 Lox, Quentin directed the...strange scene with Benicio Del Torro. You'll know which one it is if you see it. If you have seen it, I'll tell you which one (via email so I don't spoil it for others).
Travis
- Fri May 20 00:35:06 2005

 Message for Tim: Hi there! Had a good trip, everything fine. Hope you three are doing well. Check your e-mail. Much love, Mum
Tim's mum
Lancaster PA, - Thu May 19 18:32:12 2005

 Lox, did you also know, Rob also has a blow up Dalek
Mad Mumsie
- Thu May 19 16:49:53 2005

 Lox, there is NOTHING strange about my hat!!!
Mad Mumsie
- Thu May 19 16:49:08 2005

 Nigel: You mean a 4 years old changing settings in Windows?! That's great!! Truly amazing, I know of a 6 years old girl who can install Win2000 Server edition on a machine and that too is quite amazing... Still it is good for possible future careers!
Lox
- Thu May 19 16:33:39 2005

 Lox: Well more sleep than dsp, I guess! Yes, my daughter has already realised she can wrap me around her little finger. Trouble is, I know she's doing it and *still* comply!! Caught my son changing his user settings in Windows XP the other day. Clearly he's going to be an IT wizard - unlike his father!
Nigel
Wrexham, In front of an NEC ... - Thu May 19 16:27:09 2005

 On the other side together with the PAST Mr.Blobby inflatable shape, it's one of the memories that I link to Rob the most!
Lox
- Thu May 19 16:26:01 2005

 Jill: Unfortunately it didn't work as burglar-repellent...
Lox
- Thu May 19 16:25:12 2005

 Jill:I had to explain to my colleagues why I was crying my eyes out... "Lang Towers", marvellous, I can see where Rob got his quick-wittness!! (and strange hats)...
Lox
- Thu May 19 16:23:05 2005

 Lox, ah that top hat. Always remember an X of Rob's saying she was glad he had that hat, because she could spot him a long way off and cross the road to avoid embarrassment.
Mad Mumsie
- Thu May 19 16:20:35 2005

 Nigel: Woooooo I am sure that you and your wife DO get a lot of sleep!!! :) They are nice though, how is having two? Is the second more cuddled, cared and generally given everything that he/she wants? My sister used to get everything that I always fought hard to get!!
Lox
- Thu May 19 16:20:28 2005

 Rob: The bill for Lang Towers has just doubled for this weekend!
Mad Mumsie
- Thu May 19 16:18:37 2005

 Lox: 4-1/2 and 18-months, both very lively! I look a bit smug in the hat though. Well I've just tried the Quizfarm test and I'm "Postmodernist" too apparently. Does this mean I have to blow smoke rings too? :)
Nigel
Wrexham, Hmmm... - Thu May 19 16:12:09 2005

 Lox, yeah. Still have the topper. Also, I will arrange to scan a pic of mum with her UFO.
Rob Lang
- Thu May 19 16:06:37 2005

 Mmmmm I don't know about this one... Prefer that Vader thinghy!! :)
Lox
- Thu May 19 15:56:36 2005
You scored as Materialist. Materialism stresses the essence of fundamental particles. Everything that exists is purely physical matter and there is no special force that holds life together. You believe that anything can be explained by breaking it up into its pieces. i.e. the big picture can be understood by its smaller elements.

Materialist

94%

Modernist

88%

Existentialist

81%

Cultural Creative

75%

Idealist

69%

Postmodernist

56%

Romanticist

44%

Fundamentalist

44%

What is Your World View? (corrected...hopefully)
created with QuizFarm.com

Lox
- Thu May 19 15:55:29 2005

 Talking about hats, I still remember Rob's Green and Blue Mad Hatter's hat... I quite liked that... Do you still have it? I guess you could wear it to some cybernetics lecture (where of course you are the reader), or maybe some convention!
Lox
- Thu May 19 15:51:13 2005

 Nigel: NICE one! How old are they? Do you still wear that hat?

Rob: Any chance of a picture of Jill with that hat that she is referring to? I am quite curious to see now that she mentions it... :P
Lox
- Thu May 19 15:49:22 2005

 Nigel: Your son has his eyes shut, and your daughter is looking into the far distance. Says a lot really.
Mad Mumsie
- Thu May 19 15:10:28 2005

 Ha!! And they thought I *wouldn't* wear it!! They do look embarrassed, don't they? :)
Nigel
Wrexham, Still working... - Thu May 19 15:04:30 2005

 Nigel: I'm happy to say that no child of mine ever bought me a hat like that! ROBERT - NO COMMENTS about my hat for Alex's wedding.
Mad Mumsie
- Thu May 19 14:51:17 2005

 I'd like to add: Nice hat.
Rob Lang
- Thu May 19 14:49:09 2005

 Nigel and his kids:

Rob Lang
- Thu May 19 14:48:43 2005

 Put your brain in for this one:
You scored as Postmodernist. Postmodernism is the belief in complete open interpretation. You see the universe as a collection of information with varying ways of putting it together. There is no absolute truth for you; even the most hardened facts are open to interpretation. Meaning relies on context and even the language you use to describe things should be subject to analysis.

Postmodernist

88%

Idealist

75%

Existentialist

69%

Cultural Creative

63%

Materialist

56%

Modernist

50%

Romanticist

44%

Fundamentalist

13%

What is Your World View? (corrected...hopefully)
created with QuizFarm.com

Rob Lang
- Thu May 19 14:11:57 2005

 Cyberdad went as well!!
Mad Mumsie
- Thu May 19 14:10:28 2005

 Lox; when Rob was born, roughly the same year as yourself, computers were large things that took up nearly a whole floor of office blocks. One in the corner of the dining room was not an option! So no, Cyperdad had to trundle down to the Registry Office.
Mad Mumsie
- Thu May 19 14:10:00 2005

 Cheers Rob! It's on it's way over as I write. :)
Nigel
Wrexham, Work... - Thu May 19 12:58:53 2005

 Nigel, email the pic to me at roblang at icar.co.uk and I will upload to the maison and link it from here.
Rob Lang
- Thu May 19 12:52:56 2005

 Jill: Do you mean that you can register your kids over the internet without having to go to the offices and stuff? Wow!
Lox
- Thu May 19 12:22:22 2005

 Dsp: She is totally beautiful !!!!! (must have taken from Clare of course...) :) Does she wakes up at night? My nephew had the same tummy problems, which caused endless stress to my sister, but now it seems that all is ok...
Lox
- Thu May 19 12:21:34 2005

 Just get the date right. More difficult with the second one. Cyberdad, tried to register Rob with Alex's birth date. The Registrar was too quick for him though and suggested the date that Rob was actually born.
Mad Mumsie
- Thu May 19 11:55:09 2005

 Oh bother!! That might be "meandthekids2.jpg". The firewall here at work won't let me get through to check.. Sorry if it's broken...
Nigel
Wrexham, Work.. - Thu May 19 11:21:55 2005

 Talking of which... Should anyone want to finally discover what me and the kids look like, go here : http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/bagley/meandthekids.jpg My ability to lead the world in sartorial head-gear is obviously to the fore. Take note! (Actually this is what happens when your kids buy you a present!)
Nigel
Wrexham, Work.. - Thu May 19 11:19:03 2005

 Hi dsp: Not much else I seem to recall, just proof of who we were and our address (utility bill). But I suppose various local authorities may be different. I *do* remember they had this kind-of ceremonial pen to do the signing with. It was a 1950's Parker Duofold foutain-pen. Rare, as any officianado will tell you! You can opt for the "quick and free" version, or a more ornate parchment type of thing that costs a few quid. :)
Nigel
Wrexham, Work... - Thu May 19 11:15:10 2005

 Hi Jill! Its going good thank you! We're both a bit tired, a couple of bad nights on the trot, but teamwork wins the day (or night)! Baby has been getting bad wind and has a very gurgly and uncomfy tummy/bowel. My winning tactic is to bring her downstairs and make her watch BBC News 24/7. That'll learn her!
dsp
- Thu May 19 11:13:16 2005

 Hi Lox, yes, they came back home last Saturday (see: http://www.nonhostile.com/ for piccies!) Abi is 1 week old today! We've had a fun night taking it in turns and today I am going to go and register her birth. I guess I'll need marriage certificate and passports. Does anyone know if I need anything else?
dsp
- Thu May 19 11:06:28 2005

 Rob: WOW!!! Where is he now?
Lox
- Thu May 19 10:59:47 2005

 Omar Salleh has just posted in my shoutbox. Hurrah!
Rob Lang
- Thu May 19 10:40:12 2005

 Tim: Are Abigail and Clare back at home?
Lox
- Thu May 19 10:25:15 2005

 Tim: You're very quiet. How's it going?
Mad Mumsie
- Thu May 19 10:23:52 2005

 Were there some scenes with an inexplicably higher volume of swearing than the rest of the film...?
John
- Thu May 19 09:05:16 2005

 Here in Italy they say that the movie was co-directed and Tarantino shot some scenes... Is that true?
Lox
- Thu May 19 08:07:12 2005

 A shame, Rob. Frank Miller is one of the best writers I've read in any medium. Sin City is maybe the best stuff I've read that was put out in the past two decades or so.
Travis
- Wed May 18 22:24:28 2005

 Not seen the comic (unlikely to) but am looking forward to the film - the trailers are great.
Rob Lang
- Wed May 18 16:24:25 2005

 I am waiting for Sin City too.. I used to read the comic a long time ago, it seems a nice movie...
Lox
- Wed May 18 15:47:00 2005

 Also saw, and liked, "House of Wax." I just haven't gotten around to updating my site recently.
Travis
- Wed May 18 15:12:40 2005

 I am Mace Windu. Rob: Sin City was pretty amazing...have you read any of the graphic novels? You might want to before going in. Not that the film needs additional background, but I read them first and loved the movie despite knowing what was going to happen at nearly every turn.
Travis
- Wed May 18 15:12:13 2005

 Yes. Tanaka, Yoshida, Kato are all "Mr.Smith"s in Japan...
Lox
- Wed May 18 15:04:22 2005

 I met a guy called Tanaka-san yesterday - it's sort of the "Mr. Smith" of Japan isn't it? Naturally, I was very pleased.
John
- Wed May 18 14:59:15 2005

 Well Actually beign Darth Vadre is kind of flattering... :) Especially if I remember when we were playing ICAR (Vincent Tanaka)...
Lox
- Wed May 18 14:42:08 2005

 Well, Rob, you always said I was Yoda - hit you with my stick I will - and I've now proved it!!
Mad Mumsie
- Wed May 18 12:06:41 2005

 Lorenzo - don't know for sure yet - still not sure when I will have to fly back to England, it could well be during that first week of June...
John
- Wed May 18 09:08:56 2005

 Vitamin C
doctor <awe@farm.com>
- Tue May 17 23:28:22 2005

 I am YODA !!! Unfortunatly there is a disturbance in the force that is preventing me from posting html.
Kev
- Tue May 17 19:15:17 2005

 I think that Vader suits you, mate.
Rob Lang
- Tue May 17 16:48:20 2005

 John: Do you know where are you going to be from the 3rd till the 5th? My trip is approaching I will leave for Korea next tuesday...
Lox
- Tue May 17 16:26:29 2005

 I am going to Florence especially to see the movie with my freinds this friday!! :)
Lox
- Tue May 17 16:25:39 2005

 108 questions...? You've got to be kidding! Incidentally it doesn't come it out here in Japan until July apparently...
John
- Tue May 17 16:24:59 2005

 I thought that I was going to be Skywalker or something like that.... Oh well I like beign Darth Vader anyways!!!!
Lox
- Tue May 17 15:27:30 2005
You scored as Darth Vader.

Darth Vader

61%

General Grievous

56%

Yoda

53%

Anakin Skywalker

53%

Clone Trooper

44%

Mace Windu

36%

Emperor Palpatine

33%

R2-D2

31%

Obi Wan Kenobi

31%

Padme Amidala

31%

C-3PO

31%

Chewbacca

17%

Which Revenge of the Sith Character are you?
created with QuizFarm.com

Lox
- Tue May 17 15:26:25 2005

 Graf: You and Hester take it easy. Whiplash always sound like nothing, but it can be pretty awful (A speeding Peugeot remodelled my rear-end last September). Give up bungie-jumping and take up Tai-chi. (I've managed 50% of this!)
Nigel
Wrexham, Work - Tue May 17 14:40:12 2005
You scored as General Grievous.

General Grievous

72%

Yoda

69%

Anakin Skywalker

67%

Darth Vader

67%

Mace Windu

50%

Obi Wan Kenobi

47%

Chewbacca

39%

C-3PO

33%

Padme Amidala

33%

Clone Trooper

33%

R2-D2

31%

Emperor Palpatine

31%

Which Revenge of the Sith Character are you?
created with QuizFarm.com

Rob Lang
- Tue May 17 14:38:08 2005

 Lorry ... Smart Car ... I reckon you had a lucky escape there!
Jimmy
- Tue May 17 13:31:57 2005

 Did you know the music for Grand Theft Auto - Sin City was produced in Oswestry? Just though I'd share that (gamesound.co.uk).
Nigel
Wrexham, Work - Tue May 17 13:30:24 2005

 Looks like T-Boy enjoyed Sin City, I must admit that it's the only film that I really want to see in the near future. Charlie and the Choccy factory too but mostly Sin City.
Rob Lang
- Tue May 17 11:37:30 2005

 *subliminal* xml output from Photostudio */subliminal*
Rob Lang
- Tue May 17 11:36:34 2005

 Sorry to hear that Mr. G. Hope you and the missus get well soon.
Rob Lang
- Tue May 17 11:36:03 2005

 Not sure how the car is going to be - I fear hearing the words "twisted subframe" in the near future. It could just be a case of bolting on some new bits of plastic and new indicator bulbs though (the joys of having a Smart car)
Graf
- Tue May 17 11:06:26 2005

 Hester and I had to visit casualty on Sunday night, though we got out in a recordbreaking 1 hour 58 minutes (I wasn't timing that meticulously, their system was though). A lorry shunted into the back of us at a T junction - I was ok, but Hester has whiplash. She's ok with it though, just a bit sore and stiff, and taking lots of Ibuprofen.
Graf
- Tue May 17 11:06:02 2005

 It is indeed, Nigel. I've had several million fake freckles tatooed all over my body and now I want rid of them. I know who to call.
Rob Lang
- Tue May 17 09:25:02 2005

 And there's me thinking... "Where can I go to get this annoying tattoo - 'I love Mum' - removed". And now I know! Spam's a wonderful thing, isn't it?
Nigel
Wrexham, work... - Tue May 17 09:10:36 2005

 So how do you call a russian with 3 testicles? I am waiting for the reply!
Tim: How are Abigail and Clare?
Lox
- Tue May 17 09:10:22 2005

 Well done Rob, you win today's special star prize...
dsp
- Tue May 17 09:05:14 2005

 What do you call a Russian with three testicles?
Rob Lang
- Tue May 17 09:02:32 2005

 Guess the joke from the punchline: "Whodyounikabolokov"
dsp
- Tue May 17 08:54:31 2005

 Unsubscribe.
tom
- Tue May 17 07:58:31 2005

 Tattoo removal: http://tattoos.siteburg.com
ua9oml <a9oml@zmail.ru>
russia, omsk - Tue May 17 03:12:28 2005

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ua9oml <a9oml@zmail.ru>
russia, omsk - Tue May 17 03:11:44 2005

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888888
- Tue May 17 03:11:37 2005

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ua9oml <a9oml@zmail.ru>
russia, omsk - Tue May 17 03:10:33 2005

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ua9oml <a9oml@zmail.ru>
russia, omsk - Tue May 17 03:09:18 2005

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ua9oml <a9oml@zmail.ru>
russia, omsk - Tue May 17 03:08:31 2005

 Sorry, this message was too big.
tianzy1980 <tianzy19802000@yahoo.com.cn>
china, shenzhen - Tue May 17 03:08:04 2005

 Nice, not used it but it looks good. :)
Rob Lang
- Mon May 16 14:46:06 2005

 Has anyone tried MS OneNote? Now THIS is an application that is going to change my life!
tom
- Mon May 16 14:34:05 2005

 Sleep is for wimps.
tom
- Mon May 16 14:33:16 2005

 Nice one Tom! Ay, all worth it. Who needs sleep anyway?!!
Nigel
Wrexham, Work - Mon May 16 11:59:06 2005

 What do you mean 3 months, then 3 months, then 3 years, then 10 years, then a few more years, then they go to university, then ................... etc etc. With luck they then get married and you get grandchildren - suddenly its all worth while!
Mad Mumsie
- Mon May 16 11:53:56 2005

 But it's worth it! http://www.rowan.me.uk/content/images/dom-01may2005.jpg
tom
- Mon May 16 11:12:44 2005

 The first three months are the worst. Followed by the next three.
tom
- Mon May 16 11:08:21 2005

 dsp: For what it's worth I became an expert on those Sainsbury 99p ready meals. You know - roast beef, potatoes and yorkshire puds, carrots, all in a microwavable plastic tray. When you *do* get those moments of peace you need to eat fast and can't be asked to cook. Crying and sleep-deprivation *are* normal. Though at the time it doen't feel like it :/ Just don't plan any big programming tasks! The brain-cells might not cope!
Nigel
Wrexham, Work.. - Mon May 16 11:02:26 2005

 It does, Tim, it does. I bet it is far superior than my crappa version. I do feel a little sorry for him because no sooner had he finished his version but I released the Alpha of the next version of the english one. doh! Still, there are not too many changes. :)
Rob Lang
- Mon May 16 10:35:13 2005

 Rob: that's great, I often feel as though the Internet is 'light on content', so all credit to you. Its a great complement that someone would volunteer their time. Makes you feel warm doesn't it?
dsp
- Mon May 16 10:17:41 2005

 I expect that the Italian version will be far superior to "this English cat piss crap"
dsp
- Mon May 16 10:13:50 2005

 Just when you thought stranger things could not happen, Icar has been translated into Italian!!!!. Furthermore, not by Lox but by another fellow who felt like translating it. I've done next to nothing to help (save a few graphics for the website) so it has rejuvinated my faith in the internet once more.

I am flattered and surprised that he has gone to this much effort! :) Truly wonderful. I still can't believe it.
Rob Lang
- Mon May 16 09:49:33 2005

 Sorry to hear that, Tim. Aparently kids grow up fast these days.
Rob lang
- Mon May 16 09:47:03 2005

 The second night didn't go as well as the first. Its been a long one with a lot of crying. She's asleep now, and its raining on my washing. Clare and me are enjoying the peace!
dsp
- Mon May 16 09:44:30 2005

 Ah, Tim, very sweet indeed!
Rob Lang
- Mon May 16 09:30:32 2005

 Thanks Tim! Nice one. How was the second night?
Mad Mumsie
- Mon May 16 08:58:40 2005

 Good man! Splendid! Not heard the phrase "Code Brown" before but I get the drift. For some reason only known to ourselves - and I can't remember why now - we use "fruity". Gets the meaning over! Gorgeous Babe! (In the paternal sense of course!) Stay cool...
Nigel
Oswestry, Gin and Tonic time... - Sun May 15 17:48:38 2005

 Nice scan Tom!! Clare came home yesterday!! Our first night went well, I consider I escaped lightly. Some more here: http://www.nonhostile.com/default.asp?id=41 The last one is especially for Jill!
dsp
- Sun May 15 10:32:38 2005

 Wow, scans have improved in the 18-months since Isobel was born. She was but a blurr! How long to go Tom? Well after my chores I'm just experimenting with Win4Lin on my Xandros set-up. Anyone got experience of this emulator?
Nigel
Oswestry, Just mowed the lawns - Sat May 14 17:25:18 2005

 Spectacular Tom - and if I'm not very much mistaken, number 2 appears to be dancing, no?!
John
- Sat May 14 05:00:19 2005

 You *may* be interested to see our baby scan picture? Then again, you might not. http://www.rowan.me.uk/content/images/babyscan-12may2005-fortheweb.jpg
tom
- Fri May 13 22:15:21 2005

 Being sent to work in Newcastle - presumably this is some kind of punishment?
John
- Fri May 13 16:35:48 2005

 Sarah: We're both good, thanks. Don't know when we'll get a chance to see you, but we should try and arrange something. Hester may be working in Newcastle for the next 2 months though, so it could be tricky...
Graf
- Fri May 13 16:12:47 2005

 Tom, I'm not going to qualify that with an answer! :P
Rob Lang
- Fri May 13 15:23:43 2005

 Never been to Las Vegas, but my parents have been a few times. I am not really a fan of travelling. There are plenty of things that are quite pricy, but apparently very entertaining to do in Vegas. I'm afraid I can't be of much help.
Travis
- Fri May 13 14:59:33 2005

 Tom - get on with some work you slacker.
Sarah
- Fri May 13 14:45:07 2005

 Hi Andy, how are you and Hesta? When are we going to see you guys???
Sarah
- Fri May 13 14:44:07 2005

 Rob: Typical America - even the dams have product placement sponsorship deals. Is there a Dyson dam too?
tom
- Fri May 13 14:35:57 2005

 Congratulations Tim and Clare! My advice is to spend a little time getting the house spotless, all the washing done and dried. You won't have time to do household tasks properly for quite a while.. (and get some Bubbly on ice too for Sunday)
tom
- Fri May 13 14:35:15 2005

 Congratulation Clare & Tim.
Graf
- Fri May 13 14:04:40 2005

 Been twice. Hoover dam is not far outside, worth hiring a car to go see if you have a spare day. They might even do a bus tour from Vegas. The hotels change so very much all the time, it's more of a theme park.
Rob Lang
- Fri May 13 13:19:58 2005

 Sarah: I went some years ago, (robert was about 14!) yes that long ago. Just see everything you have time to. I particularly liked the volcano.
Mad Mumsie
- Fri May 13 12:30:06 2005

 Anyone been to Las Vegas? Any recommendations as to where to go and what to see?
Sarah
- Fri May 13 11:40:27 2005

 Tim, I am no father of course but my sister (who is now waiting for the second to be born in October) always tells me that she is thinking a lot to thoose times when she could sleep more than 8 in the morning... Have you already bought endless amounts of new clothes, diapers and so on? My sis had mountains of stuff...
Lox
- Fri May 13 11:00:44 2005

 Sarah: Wooo I hope it gets better. I am actually having a similar problem to my ankle, badly sprained it 1 and half year ago in the usual football match, still haven't recovered. My ligaments are still damaged and muscles haven't quite recovered... Make sure you do all the excercises that they give you they are very important in order to recover properly..
Lox
- Fri May 13 10:56:01 2005

 Excellent advice as always, thanks Nigel! Good tip! I'll do a reccy this afternoon.
dsp
- Fri May 13 10:54:28 2005

 dsp: Yes, this is when us chaps realise our women are made of tough-stuff! Have you sussed out the hospital restaurant yet? I used to go before visiting time, to have a good three-courser for a pittance. No fun cooking alone at home! Get some serious sleep now - you'll appreciate it! :)
Nigel
Work, Again... - Fri May 13 10:46:28 2005

 Believe it or not, I can remember what it was like to have a new baby at home for the first time (Alexandra). Its pretty scary, because you have no idea what this little bundle is crying for. Just feed, wind, change and cuddle and hopefully that will sort most problems.
Mad Mumsie
- Fri May 13 10:39:55 2005

 Thanks MM!
dsp
- Fri May 13 10:34:10 2005

 Clare is doing brilliantly. She was so brave and has had to undergo a massive amount. Compared to a normal day, this was 24 hours solid of one new experience to another. I am so proud of her and how well she is at being a mum!!!
dsp
- Fri May 13 10:33:56 2005

 Don't worry Tim, Sunday will soon be here, then you have years of fun(!) ahead of you.
Mad Mumsie
- Fri May 13 10:33:19 2005

 Oh dear, sorry to hear that. Hope she's coping ok though, it's nice I guess that she gets to stay in for a while. Will be a shock to the system when she comes home and no nurses there to help. Didn't know what to do with myself when I got home after six days in hospital. Doing Dad like things in the shed sounds like a perfect way of spending the time - make a mobile or something ;-)
Sarah
- Fri May 13 10:24:31 2005

 Mad Mumsie: Thanks for asking - ankle is painful but I'm starting to walk on it again. Bad sprain and torn ligaments and a lot of black bruising. Because I was trying to protect the baby when I fell, I've just about managed to hurt/pull every other muscle possible including those around the bump. Wont be doing that again in a hurry! Just glad I didn't break it.
Sarah
- Fri May 13 10:20:50 2005

 Clare and baby will be in the hospital until Sunday as she had to have an emergency c-section. Quite anoyingly, I can only go at visiting hours. Which is why I'm hanging around here and playing with photos!! Perhaps I should be doing more dad-like things in my shed.
dsp
- Fri May 13 10:19:12 2005

 Congrats. So pleased that everything went ok for you all. Were you brave and cut the cord? Lovely name. Are you all back at home? Hope you manage to get some sleep between you, I can remember what the first three months where like!!!!
Sarah
- Fri May 13 10:11:39 2005

 Lox: It was amazing and scary. The moment of here you go, here's your baby is mind blowing. There are now three people who live at our house. For me, Clare being pregnant and us now having a baby are worlds apart. Looking at and holding her reminds me how amazing it is that just a few hours earlier she was in Clare's tummy. Wow. But wow doesn't quite cover it somehow.
dsp
- Fri May 13 09:57:40 2005

dsp
- Fri May 13 09:54:24 2005

 Now moving onto the questions: HOW WAS IT? I remember that you said that you were going to be in the delivery room with Claire, right? More pictures?
Lox
- Fri May 13 09:43:30 2005

 CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! Good Job Tim, I am sure that Bradietta was right there next to Abigail Kira until the last minute!! Please give my best wishes to Claire, good to hear that she's doing well too!!
Lox
- Fri May 13 09:41:50 2005

 Congratulations!
Jimmy
- Fri May 13 08:50:46 2005

 CONGRATULATIONS to you both. What lovely names. Glad to hear that both are OK. I'm sure Alex would add her good wishes, but she is moving today and her PC is in a box somewhere!
Mad Mumsie
- Fri May 13 08:23:24 2005

 Congrats, dsp. Good name choice as well. Too many children go through life with rubbish names. You've done her a service.
Travis
- Fri May 13 04:48:08 2005

 That's fantastic news Tim - and what a beautiful name (although secretly I was still rooting for Bradlietta...). Glad to here Clare is doing good too, please send her all my best wishes etc.
John
- Fri May 13 01:26:17 2005

Congratulations!!!

Pass on my warm wishes to Mum and baby!
Get used to being called Dad, Timmy boy! :)
Rob Lang
- Thu May 12 22:59:28 2005

 Congratulations!!!Pass on my warm wishes to Mum and baby!Get used to being called Dad, Timmy boy! :)
Rob Lang
- Thu May 12 22:59:15 2005

 Splendid!! Congratulations old boy! Best wishes to all of you :)
Nigel
Oswestry, Home - Thu May 12 20:37:07 2005
dsp
- Thu May 12 17:54:51 2005

 Hiya folks! Job done. Abigail Kira Hastings was born today at 9:06, she weighed in at 8lb3oz. Both mother and baby are doing well.
dsp
- Thu May 12 17:54:29 2005

 Sarah - should have asked - how's your ankle.
Mad Mumsie
- Thu May 12 13:14:52 2005

 Sarah, wasn't it yesterday evening that she had an appointment at the hospital - maybe they've kept her in.
Mad Mumsie
- Thu May 12 12:27:30 2005

 Anyone heard news from dsp yet as to whether baby is here etc??
Sarah
- Thu May 12 12:14:42 2005

 Ah, that's what I like to hear! Numbers...! Still, should be okay as Celery doesn't usually get too hot. Was reading a review of a Sony Lappy last night saying it was "hot on the lap" - no dancing involved! - gave it good marks even so. And that was the new ultramodern "So..." something or other (replacement for Centrino I believe) I gave up trying to understand CPUs after frying my brain machine-coding a 486... Never bee nthe same since... :/
Nigel
Wrexham, Work... - Wed May 11 16:24:09 2005

 My fancy numbers machine contains 2.6 sticks of celery, or something like that - at least that's what the man in the shop said (this is a figure of speech, I of course bought it online).
John
- Wed May 11 16:04:53 2005

 Rob: I use drupal over at www.3822.org and www.rowan.me.uk
tom
- Wed May 11 15:30:19 2005

 Yes, I have an old ThinkPad which doesn't even break out in a sweat! Mind you it does only run at a heady 133mhz!! Gonads perfectly safe there Jimmy! Laptops are useful though - especially if you have kids with inquisitive fingers. My desktop PC is forever getting switched off by my daughter while she locks me with that cute smile and sneakily presses the off button! At least on a table the lappy is safely out of reach! What processor has yours got John?
Nigel
Wrexham, Work - Wed May 11 15:17:39 2005

 Jimmy: Forgot to add that advertising is misleading. They say "ONLY 2 Kg laptop" but then you have to add 300grm of power lead, externa cd, external disk drive, and an hefty 1kg of laptop bag! In the end it's always 4kg that you carry around...
Lox
- Wed May 11 14:49:15 2005

 (I may have gone a bit overboard with the exclamation marks there)
Jimmy
- Wed May 11 14:18:30 2005

 Oh- and all laptops are *especially* rubbish. They start off OK (-ish). Then the battery dies. Then the internal modem. Then the power-lead becomes dodgy (and you have to sit the thing at a funny angle to stop it from powering-off all the time). And their disc drives are DEAD SLOW. And they burn your testicles if you're naked while using them. They always have super-slim CDs (or DVDs) which are flimsy and break easily. And they have so many (stupid) sleep/hibernate modes that if you hit the wrong key by accident, then it'll go into one of these modes, and you'll have to RTFM to find out how to make it work again. And their keyboards are C-R-A-P. And they are UGLY. I really don't know why any sane person would actually want to use a laptop. And DOCKING STATIONS! ARGH! Dont even get me STARTED on those!!! Using a laptop is something you'd do when there really is no alternative!
Jimmy
- Wed May 11 14:17:03 2005

 Nigel, even. Sorry.
Jimmy
- Wed May 11 14:11:29 2005

 Nidel- I don't think the OS should have a "Safe mode" with low colours and resolution. It should have bloody well worked in the first place. That is my gripe!
Jimmy
- Wed May 11 14:11:11 2005

 In fact, it would be nice to move the whole damn lot of maison over to drupal.
Rob Lang
- Wed May 11 13:53:30 2005

 Looking at using drupal for the next version of my website. Unfortunately, it needs php and the maison doesn't have it. Arse.
Rob Lang
- Wed May 11 13:51:43 2005

 My laptop gets so hot that Claudia Schiffer naked looks like Camilla in comparison!
Lox
- Wed May 11 13:40:17 2005

 Once upon a time, a car was new technology though!
tom
- Wed May 11 13:39:31 2005

 Nigel: Exactely! The problem is design and programming, but on the other side I think that they are pushed too much from the management to get the products out soon. I am totally against it, it counterproductive and illogical... We work in the same way in the non-technological textile field, it just doesn't pay. It's really hard to find good programs, I think that everyone has now accepted the fact that after having paid for a piece of software it will need a couple of patches to get it stable anyways... I think it's again ignorancy that let them get away with it (them=software companies) because if someone tried to sell me a car that is missing the exauster and rearview mirrors, I probably wouldn't buy it. The more I think about it the more I am convinced that menkind and technology were NOT meant for each other. People fear technology and therefore technology is allowed treatments that other product would not have... How long till mankind will learn? I can't wait!
Lox
- Wed May 11 13:35:55 2005

 Oh.. and if you have any cheese left over, stuff that into any vents on the laptop to get extra hot'n'crispy cheese on toast.
Kev
- Wed May 11 13:35:20 2005

 Old laptops are fine.. the processor doesn't get hot enough... new ones get way too hot!
tom
- Wed May 11 13:33:02 2005

 John, to get around the burning knees problem. Put two slices of bread, and some sliced cheese on top, worcester source ( optional for veggies ) onto your knees and place laptop ontop. This will solve the burning leg issue and you get a nice snack out of the bargain at the same time.
Kev
- Wed May 11 13:31:26 2005

 dsp: I guess there are many who would say that's a moot point in Window's case!! Quite agree on the price point though. However: Linspire cost me £45, Xandros £29.99 and SUSE Pro £34.99 :( Of the *free* distros I like the grand-daddy Debian. Still, I'm just a learner... :) I still use WinXP SP1, because after having installed SP2 found it caused more problems than it solved! So your point about free software is strengthened on that point!! :)
Nigel
Wrexham, ... - Wed May 11 13:27:24 2005

 Lox: good point. This boils down to designers. I wonder how many computer hardware/software manufacturers do real ergonomic studies, usability studies etc. Ok, maybe Apple. Windows seems to be going that way. The Linux community are learning... Slowly... The software I use at work is cobbled together from various objects that interrelate very badly. No intuition, no logical links. And all pretty much as it was under Windows 3.11 !!!!!
Nigel
Wrexham, Back at it... - Wed May 11 13:18:18 2005

 You get what you pay for. Free OS = may need to tinker. MegaBucks OS = works out of the box.
dsp
- Wed May 11 13:11:54 2005

 Nigel: The problem that I see is a very big difference between the things that people THINK computer should do, and things that computer can Actually DO. It boils down all to general ignorance of the technological mean that we are given. With pasta it's easy, you know what it does even if you can't cook it, you don't expect pasta to do your laundry or fly you to the moon... I love computers and I try to understand as much as possible, still I probably know only 20% of what it's out there... I think about all my collagues who have troubles switching the PC on and I shiver!!
Lox
- Wed May 11 13:00:34 2005

 John: Don't worry there is nothing important or that you can use properly in your lap area......
Lox
- Wed May 11 12:50:57 2005

 All I know about computers right now is that my laptop is overheating and burning my legs. They didn't really think through that whole "lap" business did they?
John
- Wed May 11 11:49:24 2005

 True Lox. Mind you though I know a bit about computers, I know nothing about how to prepare basil/olive-oil pasta! (just that it tastes good!) So I'm just a food "user" !!
Nigel
Wrexham, Blue skies everywhere - Wed May 11 11:37:33 2005

 Yes, I agree Jimmy. I'm no mega-programmer but it occurs to me that it's obvious if a system is unable to suss out a hardware item - especially grapics - it would we better to offer a "safe mode" to at least allow some work to be done on setting things up easily (eg 640x480 16cols 60hz). Imagine if Windows just dumped a new user at the DOS prompt in such an event!! Oh grief! Does that mean I've just said that MS have got something right for once?!?!? The shock of it!! :/
Nigel
Work, Flustered... - Wed May 11 11:32:51 2005

 Jimmy: I can see where you are coming from, but I think that Graf and Nigel are trying to find the nerdy solution to monitor refresh rates... Look at computers like a car. You need a licence to drive, people should be give a BASIC education on how computers and mainstream software works.
Lox
- Wed May 11 11:26:12 2005

 My attitude to technology is not a crisis ... more of an ongoing process. The discussion between Nigel and Graf is just a symptom of what I'm complaining about. Why should people have to be knowledgeable about computers, to be able to get their monitor to work? That's like saying you need a degree to watch TV.
Jimmy
- Wed May 11 11:09:55 2005

 Graf: Thanks for that! I appreciate it. Very useful. I'll have a look later. It's embarrassing to have to admit to a gap in my knowledge here. The work systems I was used to never had anything as posh as graphics!! For some reason my Sony doesn't succumb readily to graphics hardware probing, though it ran Suse ok. However, as I don't understand what Novell is doing to their Linux (see news items etc) I'm moving distros. Cheers! :)
Nigel
Wreham, Work again... - Wed May 11 11:06:42 2005

 Jimmy: Having a technology reject crisis? Dsp: Indeed, but the english crappy cat piss version will do nicely anyways... :P I forgot to add "serve with class A world reknown Lox's Loaf" (where class A identifies the atomic weight, with A being the highest on the scale).
Lox
- Wed May 11 10:51:04 2005

 Computers are just rubbish, aren't they? Instead of helping you to perform a task, you invariably take 10x longer to explain to the bloody things exactly what it is that you want them to do. And then they bollocks it all up anyway.
Jimmy
- Wed May 11 10:42:36 2005

 Nigel: You can edit the /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 file to set up the screen resolution and refresh rate. There's also a program which you may have installed called xf86config. This asks you questions to generate the XF86Config-4 file - might be best to back up your existing config file before running it, just in case anything goes wrong.
Graf
- Wed May 11 10:24:32 2005

 John: Were two nasty men waiting for you? (Ralphy)
dsp
- Wed May 11 10:06:03 2005

 Lox: Would that be nice Italian basil? Or is it the "English cat piss crap" that is available in the UK super markets?
dsp
- Wed May 11 10:05:28 2005

 I've just arrived at our "weekly mansion" (short term let appartment thingy) in Tokyo. Pleasingly it has an internet connection which worked straight away without any fuss. Which is nice.
John
- Wed May 11 08:48:20 2005

 Since we are talking about Tuna Pasta...

Tuna Pasta - Calabria's receipe (Southern Italy) This is a pasta dish that I quite like to cook, mostly because it's simple but it's very peculiar. Cook the pasta (300grms - 100gr x person) in a proper way (i.e. not like Rob's mr.blobbly pasta shapes), then put it in a glass bowl adding olive oil (all the pasta needs to be all oily). While the pasta is in the hot water open 1 can of tuna (good enough for 3 people) and drain the crappy oil inside the can. Take 3 lemons (1 x person) and cut it in half. Once the pasta has been oiled, put in the tuna and mix, adding the squeezed lemon while doing so. Sprinkle with black pepper, chopped basil (need quite a bit to give colour). Turn it around again and the pasta is made! Quick and simple, but rather nice. Enjoy (white wine, possibliy a Pinot Noire or Chardonnais)
Lox
- Wed May 11 08:47:14 2005

 Morning all! May I ask a techie question? How can I set X-Window display resolution and refresh-rate from the command-line prompt? (bash etc?) Any useful command?Although I've used UNIX/AIX and LINUX at work there was never any X-server involved! I have a Sony desktop PC with digital LCD monitor that very often "X" cannot resolve automatically! Some distros suss it out but one or two I'm trying install okay but dump me to the command-line. Cheers!
Nigel
Wrexham, Work now... - Wed May 11 08:44:12 2005

 All very cryptic! I like Tuna Pasta!! Typical student food. Joc, once my GF at TTcollege now my better half, used to make it with cheese and crushed crisps on top. Yum! Ah, those were the days... dsp: Hope all goes well tomorrow! John: Enjoy the "big city" I tried BT's OpenZone in Wrexham, which involved hovering around outside McD's with mi lappy. Not a good idea.... :/ Shame they don't have a Starbucks... Now, of course, I use works... Rob: Tattoos? So you like Edinburgh military displays then...? :)
Nigel
Oswestry, Yawn... - Tue May 10 21:06:36 2005

 Thanks Rob! Tom: 100% of all my emergeny-style health care related incidents are due to a Tuna pasta.
dsp
- Tue May 10 14:44:26 2005

 Partly charms (mmmm maybe), quite definiately it was because I had a terrible ear pain... Though it could have been that last brick of bread that I had that night... :)
Lox
- Tue May 10 14:29:14 2005

 Tim: When was the last time you were in hospital? Was it anything to do with Tuna Pasta?
tom
- Tue May 10 14:11:54 2005

 Lox is was probably your Latin charm that got you seen so quickly!
Mad Mumsie
- Tue May 10 13:58:23 2005

 Jill: It's now more than 6 years... 1999 August was when I got back to Italy... In the UK I had to use the Hospital only once and they were rather quick, but then again it might have been just luck... Here in Italy 2 hours are rather good as a waiting time...
Lox
- Tue May 10 13:53:22 2005

 Good luck, Tim. And Good Luck to T-Boy, who is on time for administering his exam today.
Rob Lang
- Tue May 10 13:41:38 2005

 Electro-shock, and a big pair of pliers - that's what she needs to get it out!
Jimmy
- Tue May 10 13:27:13 2005

 Hi everyone, still here. We're bored now, and just want our baby. Got an appointment tomorrow evening at the hospital.
dsp
- Tue May 10 12:55:25 2005

 Rob: Attempt #2 to dispsense my students' final logic exam.
Travis
- Tue May 10 12:17:08 2005

 Sarah and bump are both fine (well, badly sprained ankle notwithstanding). We were in A&E from about 10pm until 2am!
tom
- Tue May 10 11:28:02 2005

 Lox, how many years is it since you were here - 2 hours is good.
Mad Mumsie
- Tue May 10 11:02:50 2005

 Tom: You didn't say if Sarah was OK.
Mad Mumsie
- Tue May 10 11:01:52 2005

 I hope that she is ok now... 2 hours in the ER?! Wow we are getting close to crappy italian standards!! What happened to the old efficient NHS?
Lox
- Tue May 10 11:01:39 2005

 We were in the hospital until 2am. Sarah has sprained her ankle... of course, the doc's wanted to have her checked out by the Maternity dept too. Took HOURS. Yawn.
tom
- Tue May 10 10:43:29 2005

 Any news Tim?
tom
- Tue May 10 10:12:21 2005

 Still around then Tim.
Mad Mumsie
- Tue May 10 09:08:22 2005

 They'll negotiate, they're corporate.
dsp
- Tue May 10 09:02:24 2005

 I'm going to be travelling to Tokyo tomorrow (Wednesday) where I'll be spending a week or so. I have a bit of a nerdy ambition to develop some software whilst I'm there, whilst sitting in a coffee shop or something (a bit like that story Tim mentioned of that development coffee that used Starbucks as their offices). Tokyo is so steely, to revive an old buzzword, and the levels of nerdy satisfaction inherent in writing code amongst the skyscrapers, conveyor belt pavements and robotic waiters is likely to be quite high.
John
- Tue May 10 02:57:09 2005

 Rob, that's very nice. I'd be Highly Illogical. And I'd have three dancers whom I call the syllogism.
Travis
- Mon May 9 17:14:53 2005

 Trouble is Lox all those freckles. AND PLEASE EVERYONE Tattoo has three "Ts"
Mad Mumsie
- Mon May 9 17:00:44 2005

 Mmmm I think that you could tatoo only half of your body black and the rest milk white as it is now... You could be the first "half and half" rapper, after all blacks, whites and yellows have already been done!
Lox
- Mon May 9 16:06:33 2005

 Excellent plan, Rob! It might well help your rapping career, although it'll probably sting a bit ...
Jimmy
- Mon May 9 16:04:04 2005

 Tim - yes all the other address basically just forward onto that.
John
- Mon May 9 16:04:00 2005

 Travis: I think he would be something along the lines of "The GING" or "MC Sooty" or maybe "Mr. Blobby (tm)"...
Lox
- Mon May 9 15:48:12 2005

 M.C. Emsee. What would yours be, T-Boy?
Rob Lang
- Mon May 9 15:25:34 2005

 John: Do you still use your Reading (.ac.uk) address?
dsp
- Mon May 9 14:48:56 2005

 If I had 3 hours to get to work, I'd look for a change of career as well, Rob. What will your rapper name be?
Travis
- Mon May 9 14:48:04 2005

 Rob: What's a "tatoo"?
Mad Mumsie
- Mon May 9 14:44:38 2005

 I was thinking of tatooing all of my skin black so I could be a rapper.
Rob Lang
- Mon May 9 14:39:28 2005

 Jimmy - well said - that'll learn 'em.
John
- Mon May 9 13:45:52 2005

 Well Jimmy, I've got needles and some nice blue ink!
Mad Mumsie
- Mon May 9 13:24:47 2005

 I was actually hoping to get a tattoo, but the DNS did not resolve any of those pages, so I guess I shalln't bother now ...
Jimmy
- Mon May 9 13:07:37 2005

 Tattoo removal: http://tattoo.fast-stars.com/body-art-tattoo.htm http://tattoo.fast-stars.com/tattoos.htm http://tattoo.fast-stars.com/tattoo.htm http://tattoo.fast-stars.com
vlad <a9oml@zmail.ru>
russia, omsk - Mon May 9 11:54:02 2005

 Sorry, this message was too big.
vlad <a9oml@zmail.ru>
russia, omsk - Mon May 9 11:53:17 2005

 Yes Rob john at the maison is fine, I'm checking a couple of times a day at present...
John
- Mon May 9 10:41:27 2005

 Buongiorno a tutti! Here is nice and sunny, a biy windy but nice. Let's hope for a good week... :)
Lox
- Mon May 9 10:31:22 2005

 John, what's you current email of choice? John@maison or are you using another. I have a feature request for Photostudio and would like to write it up properly. Ta.
Rob Lang
- Mon May 9 10:23:42 2005

 Morning! Just took me 3 hours to get to work. Not a new personal worst but getting there.
Rob Lang
- Mon May 9 10:07:59 2005

 Morning. Still no news :-(
dsp
- Mon May 9 09:10:13 2005

 Morning everyone. Beautiful sunny day in London, if a bit cold. dsp - any news?
Mad Mumsie
- Mon May 9 09:00:47 2005

 You could well be right Kev, I haven't really kept track. Thinking about it, it seems pretty unlikely he would have been able to make as many changes as he has in London without some sort of support from Tony and the gang. They'd have "bought him out" ages ago if he'd really been a problem to them.
John
- Sun May 8 02:35:44 2005

 I thought ken was back in the fold again after his brief fling with independence ?>
Kev
- Sat May 7 11:25:11 2005

 Yes, it's easy to have principles when you're rich, isnt it? Sorry that's a bit negative, and I don't mean that if you're poor you have none. Far from it. It's just that there's nothing quite so annoying as someone who's rich telling people of all incomes to eschew money etc. (Perhaps you can tell I'm not particularly well-healed?!?)
Nigel
Oswestry, ... - Sat May 7 08:45:16 2005

 I was surprised looking on that map by just how red (i.e. Labour) all of London is - does this have anything to do with that old rascal Ken? Mind you, he's not labour any more is he? Even Hampstead is Labour - famously this is of course Glenda Jackson's constituency. There's something pleasingly ironic about people living in million pound houses voting for the party which traditionally associates itself with equality in society. In the building where I used to live, the other residents didn't really work or anything, so it's interesting that presumably some of them must have voted labour.
John
- Sat May 7 01:35:25 2005

 Hey here's some pointless trivia for you - last night on TV here in Japan we watched Shall we Dance - the Japanese film on which the recent American one (Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez etc) was based. Interestingly the dance instructor character (equivalent of Lopez) dreams of going back to Blackpool, where she spent time as a child. The Winter Gardens feature in it quite a lot. I bet none of these Blackpool references make it into the American version.
John
- Sat May 7 01:23:17 2005

 Hey Nigel, good name choice for your 2nd. Still no sign of the stork. Its very windy, perhaps its been blown off course.
dsp
- Sat May 7 00:03:53 2005

 dsp: Ah, thought you were all down in the south of England around Reading/London. I live in Oswestry, Shrops: work in Wrexham N.Wales. So really "south" for you then? Do I take it the wee-one hsa not put in an appearance yet? Our oldest. Tim (yes, that's his name!), was all for staying with Mummy... :)
Nigel
Oswestry, Home... - Fri May 6 22:04:38 2005

 Where ooop north are you nigel? I'm in Lancashire.
dsp
- Fri May 6 20:24:27 2005

 Well "Ooop North (West)" where I am the polling station was in a rather nice restaurant at the end of our street. So I could vote, then pop in for refreshment! Booths were made of what looked like up-ended pasting tables. Big pencil on a piece of string! Crowded when I went after work. No "young 'uns" in sight. dsp: I always snarl at the politicos who stand outside and ask for your card number. Bit like selling T-shirts outside the concert hall, isn't it?
Nigel
Oswestry, Home again... - Fri May 6 19:38:04 2005

 Have a good one, everybody!
Jimmy
- Fri May 6 17:57:55 2005

 Mmmmmm.... electoral role
Homer
- Fri May 6 17:03:38 2005

 Nearly asleep at the keyboard, so pushing