Christmas is coming...

No I haven't got the date wrong, it is still November (just) but you definitely get the feeling that Christmas will soon be upon us. Obviously the decorations have been in shops since Halloween was done with and the ads are beginning to appear on television with greater frequency. Other signs are the appearance of Christmas lists round at Mum and Dads and of course the Christmas music is out with the bands. SCWB are doing a Christmas concert after the Turner Sims one last weekend (which went very well all things considered) and SUCB have got the now traditional festive encore. The major downside was that we had to play Sleigh Ride tonight, and though I was more comfortable getting the notes under my fingers, it's still never going to be my favorite piece to play.

In other news I managed to get a few games of badminton this week for the first time in around a year+. Still some of the old mistakes but some damn fine shots (even if I do say so myself). The muscles definitely let me know this morning that I'd done it, but a bit of exercise can't go amiss.

Finally we got v7 out the door and so there are drinks tomorrow \o/. It's always good when your manager sends out a meeting notice with a location of the local pub :)

and the decorating goes on...

Hopefully there will be a blog post soon which doesn't contain an update on decorating, but while it's going well and every little change brings a smile I don't think I'll be letting up. The border went up today again with help from Dad which has meant it's gone on right and again looks great. Fortunately we only had to do one joining up of the pattern on the massive wall and that will be cunningly hidden by a room divider.

New sofas were always on the cards, but I had planned to buy them a bit later (possibly after Christmas). However having seen one I liked in Homebase it suddenly turned out that the parents had got a voucher for 15% off which had to be used this weekend. So in about 4 weeks there should be some new sofas in my front room, which does give a bit of a deadline for sorting things out like carpets but that's ok as it'll help with my Christmas deadline(ish). Of course the credit card is not out of commission, what with the new fridge and putting my car through it's MOT.

My freevo box was brought back to life after shifting everything round in the front room. Some slight hacking was then involved to get it back to the original state and I still can't get the listing guide updating as automagically as it used to but it's usable for when I need it.

Finally I've managed to upload the pictures from the fireworks last night and the TP jolly to London which I completely forgot to mention last week. That saw us going round the London Eye (some great views) and then a meal on the Dixie queen while travelling up and down the river, the free bar didn't go amiss either.

Interesting/Different Weekends

The last two weekends have been different from what would have been considered the norm for the last month or so. Firstly we had the Colchester event with the O&S which was my last event as a player. After all the planning that had gone into the event and the concerns as to how well everything would work, I would have to say that the event was a success. The concert sounded fantastic and there was even an orchestral piece to keep us non-singers happy. Walking on stage while playing the solo in Bolero was probably one of the most challenging things I've ever done as a player, but nailing it in the concert (after a few false starts in rehearsal) certainly felt like an achievement. Now that I've officially left as a player there's plenty to be getting on with in terms of the management stuff but that can be discussed in a later post.

As you probably noticed last weekend was fireworks night, and in keeping with a tradition there was a firework party hosted by Zippie and Debbie for the support team from Greenbelt. Having gone through the previous weekend (see above) which was very hard work and then everything that's been going on in the office it was really good just to hang out and chill with some friends. Plus I got to do some different things like make wooden stakes and chop wood for the fire and most importantly light some fireworks :D It's really good to be able to hang out with groups of friends for no other reason than to hang out.

With all this *relaxing* done there's a few Christmas concerts coming up and now that my front room is really beginning to look good I ought to pull the stops out and get it all completed. Ah well, life goes on...

New House (stuff)

Not quite a new house, but does kinda have that feel to it. After some stirling work by Dad during the week, it was time to get some new colours on the wall, almost. There was still a little bit of prep work to do, which is why there is now an inch gap (or more) between the carpet and the wall, but as I was going to get a new carpet it's not a real problem.

But after putting some base coat on the skirting and the window sills, the two massive tins of paint got opened and on went the new colours. I was a bit nervous about the choice of colours, not entirely sure how well they'd work together, and in the room, but I think it's beginning to look really smart. The bottom colour is going to need a bit more touching up, and I still need to find a border to put round the middle. Once that's done there'll just be the small matter of getting a new carpet and furnishing the room. Making a separate dining area and living room should stop the room feeling so massive and it'll be nice to have some people over again possibly for Christmas drinks. (oooo mulled wine)

The new fridge/freezer got delivered easily enough, so that'll need to be stocked (though there is some beer in the at the moment, get the bases covered). So after a year and a bit, a bit more of the house is feeling like my own :)

House Changes

So having spent longer than expected getting to this stage I'm happy to announce all the wallpaper is down in my front room, the pelmets and bows with the *lovely* pink colouring are down (and may be ceremonially burnt). Holes have been filled, and rubbed down a couple of times, and white paint has gone up on the big wall and all the way around the coving.

My Dad is being brilliant, having patched a load of the plaster work and helped with the filler work, he's coming down tomorrow on one of this days off to do more work getting the walls preped and painted up. That just leaves sorting out the skirting boards, painting the walls the right colours and putting the border up. Then getting some furniture and sorting out how it looks. Suddenly that list seems a lot longer than the one of things that have been done but I'm feeling good about the room and what I want to do with it. Of course once it's done it'll be excuse to have friends round again for an evening/weekend.

On the slight downside from the weekend, the fridge/freezer that was left with the house is finally giving up the ghost. Well the freezer door no longer closes reliably (as I found this morning when it was open with defrosted food inside). So it's off for a quick trip to Currys tomorrow lunchtime to see if a replacement can be sourced, delivered and the old one removed. Not the best thing that could have happened, but with two lots of on call money coming through in the next pay packet that should have it covered.

I'm almost convinced everything is going to come good so what this space for piccies once everything is as I want it.

I'm not dead!!

Blimey it's been a while since I last posted so let's do a quick run down of what's been happening. We finally hit all the deadlines with work and so the pressure has kinda eased, though the occasional weekend day and extra hours are still present.

I managed to get away at the end of August for a bit, the O&S summer school was really good fun and a chance to get away from all the office stuff and concentrate on other things (mostly music). After that a load of us went on to Greenbelt for stewarding. This was only my second festival and my first on the support team. It was quite hard work, especially finishing after 3 most nights, but the work was interesting and varied, and made a huge difference from when I did venues a couple of years before. Plus I got a nickname, 'Guilty', which does have a backstory which people can ask me about if at all interested. Also it couldn't have been that bad as I'm all signed up for next year ;)

A while back I succumbed and bought a Nintendo DS, which is a very shiny piece of kit if you look at the main specs. There's a project out there to porting linux to run on it. Having got this working I thought I might carry on with my glut of C programming and port the latest Gaim release to it, as someone has made a very nice text front end onto it. This is all a bit geeky I know, and really it's a more see if you can rather than having really anything useful but I think it's quite cool.

Also I've started decorating other parts of my house, the office has had a couple of additions go on the wall, and I have all the parts necessary to put the book shelves up (though I might get some help in). The front room is the major project, firstly taking the wallpaper down and crying at some of the things I'm finding, and then sorting out the rest of that and painting and making it more my own. Hopefully the bulk will be done by Christmas, and Dad has said that he'll give a hand when I need it. *cough* painting *cough*

Finally, having joined the Southampton Concert Wind Band a few weeks ago, I finally plucked up the courage and went to my first concert. There were still a few pieces that I hadn't played fully but this didn't really matter (sight reading is a wonderful thing) and we survived nearly 3 hours of playing just out of the wind and rain in Port Solent.

Large Update 2

Not that this should become a normal occurrence but given the month lapse between posts let's catch up with what's been happening.

O&S made the trek up to Blackpool again to take part in the Breakout weekend that was being put on in the Winter Gardens. The fortnight before had been the rehearsal weekend which was a bit more southernly in Birmingham. Both weekends were a lot of hard work but really good fun, with some great music to play and a chance to catch up with friends again.

The drive back was hard but I did manage to get back to watch the second half, and then extra time, and then the penalties of the world cup final between France and Italy. Having Italy in the concert band sweepstake certainly made it more interesting to watch, especially once Italy had to take penalties with their record. However Italy managed to hold on and win not only the world cup but £48 for me.

On the subject of winning (please note the seamless links between these sections) Simon hosted a poker night last week for a group of us from work. Having only played poker on the computer meant I was unsure how well I'd hold up against real people, however I managed to come out the table winner (even if a lot of it came down to having a scoring hand on nearly every hand). Originally the winnings were going to be for drinks after Friday's Ultimate match but the heat and time put pay to that. Oh well it'll just have to wait for another time.

The Ultimate club is going well and I'm just surviving the current heat wave even if it just about kills me by the time I've run myself silly on both defense and offense. The exhibition match Friday lunch time went well (even if I had to wear dark at lunchtime in the sun) so hopefully we'll have a few new members coming down of a Wednesday.

We also ran the Sports Relief mile at work the previous week. I was fairly uncertain as to how well I'd manage it given how inactive I'd been in previous months but with a target of 10mins I headed off in the middle of the pack of 'runners'. In the end I (fairly) comfortably managed around 8mins which was fairly impressive. So my new exercise fad is to try and go running once or twice a week at work. The routes are fairly scenic and there's plenty of shade for when the temperature rockets as it has at the moment.

Finally (on the hottest day of the year so far) I headed into London in order to meet with a solicitor to help start the process of setting up the charitable company for the O&S. Certainly was an interesting meeting with a good outcome which should see things moving along.

Thorpe Park - WooHoo!!!

Yesterday the brave few from Concert Band that were still around and able travelled up to Thorpe Park for a day of fun and adrenaline. I think the best way to go through this is my opinions of my favourite rides.

Nemisis Inferno
Feels very weird when you don't have anything under your feet for this ride, especially when a corner throws you out to the side or you're doing a loop and you don't see anything but sky for what seems to be an eternity. Apart from keeping a firm eye on the seat in front of me I did enjoy the ride though it'd be worth going on it again to try and gain more of the experience.

Stealth
This is the parks new ride for the year, and looks very scary as you look at it from various points of the park. The track appears very simple, you go up and come down but the up is vertical and the down goes beyond vertical before catching you again. This was the first ride we had to properly queue for and this actually helped quell my anxiety, though having the ride breakdown while we were waiting wasn't the best announcement I heard all day.

The ride itself really is something else, being accellerated to 80mph in 2.5secs is just breathtakingly fast (literally) while the down part with the beyond vertical has you hanging against the harness while the cart twists down beneath you. This ride alone gave me the biggest adrenaline rush of the whole day, though I'm not entirely convinced I'd do it again.

Tidal Wave
Before you even join the queue for this ride it warns you that you'll get very wet, and they aren't exaggerating. In reality it's just a very big log flume ride, but the amount of splash that you generate just gets you from every angle. Of course we weren't expecting the group after us to get us as well as we were waiting to disembark but given the heat of the day it wasn't long before everything was dry again (well mostly) while we queued for the next rides.

Zodiac
This would probably be considered a tame ride in comparison to all the others, but given that you start in a ferris wheel on it's side which then spins you up enough that your pod is already horizontal and then lifts so you start doing loop the loops as if in a plane (or nemisis). I can't explain what is was about this ride, but it definitely brought a smile to my face or maybe that's just the adrenaline from the day.

Collousus
10 loops in total and two corkscrews, so at least we knew what to expect, or at least that's what I expected. What I didn't expect was that you could move in the seat, so that meant on some bumps you were jolted out of the seat (much like going over a hump back bridge) and on the corkscrews you were totally out of your seat resting on the harness. We managed to do this one twice, and even the second time it was exciting and worthwhile.

Overall I had a really enjoyable day and managed to keep the old fear of heights at bay to take on some of the more challenging rides :)

Summer Concerts and Sport

Last weekend was the BeachFest ultimate tournament down at Sandbanks, and while we weren't playing this year Liz, Si and I were there to support Andy and Sally playing for Gecko. A slightly late start meant we missed their first match but were there for all the rest. The weather was hot and sunny and the matches interesting and frantic at times. Always good to see how the game should be played, now if only I could get some of that in to the practices on a Wednesday ;)

The Concert Band summer concerts were this week, and with the Southampton one again being sited at Bargate these were a good chance to play some fun pieces in a more informal setting. The concert went pretty well ignoring the music flying all over the place, and me not being quite used to the new reeds I've decided to move onto. Today should have been the Bournemouth concert but for various reasons this was unable to happen, which is a bit of a shame, but we did instead play outside Winchester cathedral which was a very nice venue. The main cathedral to the side and the greenery in front for the audience to sit on. With a sparser band than previously the concert went very well and the solo in Bohemian Rhapsody is still fun to play (along with the rest of the piece).

Finally it would seem wrong to post at this time without mentioning the world cup (currently Portugal are 1-0 up against Angola). The first England match was certainly interesting, so we shall see how well we progress through the competition. Plus there are a couple of sweepstakes on the side which always helps make things a bit more interesting :D

Internet Freedom

While checking round the latest news and stuff I came across the latest campaign from Amnesty International which is trying to remove the censorship that some countries apply to the internet and what their citizens can publish and read. The site for this is irrepressible.info and as part of the campaign you can use your website to publish stuff that has been censored elsewhere in the world. An example of this is already on the right of this site and hopefully the campaign can change at least some things.

On a similar note the tv listings at bleb.org have had to remove ITV due to a law which says you have to be licensed to publish the TV listings for those channels. Obviously there's nothing that can be done at the moment, but it just seems silly when the information is already available on their websites.

Play hard then work hard?

Well the Concert Band ball was last Saturday and first of all I have to say it was one of the best nights out I've had in ages. I checked into the hotel about 2 and then we immediately headed out to a bar to watch the cup final.

Originally thinking that playing West Ham would be a walkover was a mistake as they played a fantastic match which went to extra time (issues for rehearsals) and penalties but Liverpool won (get in!) which to be honest is the main thing.

Getting back and sound checking and then getting ready all kind of went past in a haze and before you knew it, everyone else was showing up and we were getting ready to play. The set went really well, quickly followed by dinner and then the speeches and a new rousing arrangement of happy birthday which Jamez had arranged last minute, as per ;)

Time swiftly moved past and before we knew it the bar was closing and we were looking for a new place to move onto. Eventually collapsing into bed around half 2 was a blessing after a great night with great friends.

Unfortunately the last few days at work have been fairly long as we try to complete everything before the deadline but it should all be worth it, especially as our manager has agreed to get the drinks in when we head to the pub on Friday, result :D

Large Update

Check back it's been nearly a month since I updated so here's a hopefully comprehensive rundown of what's been going on. (In sections too, check me out)

Work
Things continue with a much of a muchness. There's plenty to be done, and hopefully just enough time to do it, but the work is still challenging (very in places) which is the important bit at the moment, I don't want to end up doing the same thing over and over again so it becomes mundane, gotta keep it interesting.

Band
Well we're back rehearsing after the Easter break, and the line up for the summer concerts is looking good. Bohemian Rhapsody is back in there again, with the fantastic tenor solos which I aim to really nail this year, obviously along with all the other pieces we'll be playing.

I did manage to go and get a new saxophone and after nearly an hour playing some very very nice instruments I went with the Yamaha (pictured below) which seemed to suit my style of playing and the type of playing I'm doing at the moment, and will probably carry on doing.


Speaking of playing, with the Summer Ball on Saturday the jazz band have reformed with it's 5th line up to provide some early evening entertainment for the masses. Last year's was really good fun to do, and hopefully this years will be even better. Just need to find the right level of liquid stimulation to induce the best improv possible ;)

O&S
With August fast looming and the need for the group to run independantly things are moving along fairly well. The structures appear to be falling into place for everyone to help out and keep things running and growing. I've got the role of chair of this new group, albeit temporarily until January when we should have more of the things we need in place.

It's looking to be quite a challenge running all these things, but hopefully the experiences I've already picked up from things like Concert Band will stand me in good stead, plus I've got a fantastic group of people to work with so that's got to be a bonus.

Sport
Finally a fairly unobvious section for those who know just how sporty (or not) I am but I think I can justify it.

The Ultimate club has moved the practices outside for the forseeable future (trying to encourage the summer) which means that there's a lot more running around to be done. The first one was last week, and was very enjoyable. Now I just need to sort out the throws again to cope with the wind, and cutting into the now acres of space there appears to be everywhere.

Secondly the concert band are now doing sports on the common of a weekend. The first was during the bank holiday weekend, which was felt for the next couple of days as every muscle complained bitterly about being used for something active. But we did the same mix of football, rounders and chucking the disc about yesterday, and things did seem a lot easier this morning. Plus I think certain aspects of the games we were playing had improved and I was definitely running about a bit more.
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Well there we go, hopefully a fairly comprehensive roundup of the last few weeks. Likely to be more of the same over the next few weeks, but I really will get round to doing some decorating this summer, most likely the lounge, and sorting out the garden a bit more as it'd be nice to have at least one bbq this summer.

Shopping and DIY

OK, so I've been telling people over the last couple of days my exciting news about getting a new saxophone, and I was all prepared to go up to Dawkes and try out and bring back a shiny new one. There just came the slight snag of getting the money out of my savings and ready to be used, I log on to my 'online' account and initiate the transfer which disappears straight away, but to where, it's not in my current account, and apparently won't be there until after Easter. So why does it take three working days to electronically transfer some money. Who know's but it does mean that the journey if postponed until next weekend :(

But this does give me some time to spruce up the house a bit and possibly sort out the garden over the long weekend. This will reaquaint me with the glorious orange receipts of B&Q but that not necessarily a problem.

On the plus side the prints I bought in Reims are now framed and hung (not too badly for a first attempt) so there's a bit more interest in the hallway. However the coat hooks appear to be pulling a massive amount of plaster out of the wall, so they may be moving slightly earlier than expected but this will at least remove coats from over the thermostat.

Back, and recovered?

Well tour was awesome, the photos are all up on my flickr site so you can check out some of the great shenanigans as I caught them on film.

Highlights of the week have to include

• Touring round Moet & Chandon, learning quite a lot about champagne and then getting a couple of free samples.
• New food, trying mussels for the first time (will try again), and in a more French style, Snails(!) or Escargot if you want to be posh. Quite a lot like mussels once you've hooked them out of the shell.
• Three great concerts, two which in churches with very challenging acoustics, but which we admirably coped with and made a significant difference to some of the pieces.
• Most importantly, getting to know all the new people in the band and everyone hanging out during the evenings in the local bars.

Having the weekend to recover was definitely a bonus, but then it was back to work as normal this morning to cope with all the new email that had arrived while I was out, and sorting out the things that had come up.

Never mind, the break was well worth it, and I can't wait for next years excursion.

Off on tour

After a hectic few weeks ensuring that everything would be done at work in time to meet the deadlines it's finally time to go off on tour with the band again.

This years tours to Reims should be fantastic, plus we have the advantage of being guided round Moet & Chandon champagne house as well as all the traditional meals in local restaurants and rearranging the local pubs to suit our seating arrangements better.

There will no doubt be a longer post once we're back and I've suitable recovered. But until then we're off for some fun and games :)

Rights and wrongs of protesting

Before we go too far into this post I want to make one thing very clear: I am not suggesting that people shouldn't be able to protest.

But reading this article on the BBC Website makes me question whether most people have a understanding of what makes a good protest. Why this guy thinks that wasting a disgustingly large amount of water, when we are already being warned of drought conditions this summer is a good idea is beyond me.

Protesting when done in the right way can do some good, I took part in the 'Make Poverty History' campaign last year, and marched round Edinburgh which was peaceful, well organized and supported by a great deal of the general public.

This has already caused derision from the same general public and hopefully the legal action that the water companies almost have to pursue will be successful.

The worst part of this in my humble opinion is the way this guy tries to dress it up as art, this is quite clearly a way for this guy to get his name in the press (which is why I'm refraining from mentioning it) and ought to be seen for the sham it is.

While our system of water isn't perfect, there also needs to be a greater understanding (in this and a lot of other things) that having clean water delivered straight to our home, and then (for some) not having to pay for exactly what is used is such a priviledge compared to some areas of the world that still don't have access to clean water.

Perhaps when everyone has a greater understanding of how lucky we are in this country then some of the things we take for granted will be better respected.

Ice Skating

Another week, and another concert band social, this time to the ice skating rink in Basingstoke. Not having gone ice skating for many years I was a bit nervy when I first set out on the ice, but after a bit of time and some almost bullying from Nicke I was just about getting around the rink under my own steam.

The only fall I had was very embarrasing, not actually skating, just getting back on the ice when my feet went out from out from under me. Wasn't that bad, but there's more than likely to be a bruise in the morning.

Now if I could just get rid of this irritating cold all would be good, well just so long as it's gone by tour.

Concert Time

So after 2 and a bit months practice it was time to sit in the Turner Sims and put on the Concert Bands Easter Concert. The line up was varied, and suitably challenging in places but I think we managed to pull them all off.

Opening with Pirates of the Carribean and then closing with Hollywood Milestones meant there were plenty of recognisable tunes. It was also great to play Global Variations again, I have mixed memories of this piece from when I first started in the band and the cafe style solo halfway through. This time I really think I nailed it and obviously there's the fun of being stood up to recognise the solo being played.

Afterwards there was the trip to the Mitre for a well deserved drink and all that remains for this term is a couple of socials, a pre-tour rehearsal and of course tour itself. Can't wait :)

The simple things in life

Given that it's a Friday that should be enough to keep the day happy and full of the promise of good things. But there were also a couple of things that on there own seem silly but really help improve that sense of inner well being.

1) The lunch time pint.
Now I'll admit, not a rare occurance during the working week/day but after 3 hours straight of meetings this morning being able to take some time out and chill out at the clubhouse was very, very welcome.

2) Wearing sun glasses on the way home
Again, this seems a silly thing to feel good about, but after months of leaving work or getting home in the dark, it still being light enough to require shades and still being light while I'm sat here typing this makes the outlook decidely bright for the weekend.

Resurrecting old hardware

Part of the reason I started this blog, was the previous one sat on my home server became unavailable due to some major hardware failure. Around the same time my other PC stopped working forcing the buying of a new one (I really needed it) and leaving me with a small PC graveyard forming in my house.

Well today I brought one of them back from the brink with several new components and after some searching, hacking and swearing hooked it up to my TV ready to watch any videos or listen to my music collection from the living room rather than using the laptop or sitting in my office all the time.

I might do some more with it and join the home PVR craze but that will need to wait until I can a) be bothered and b) find the time amongst everything else I should be doing...

Culinary Shenanigans

Given that Tuesday is band rehearsals I decided to invite a few friends over to have pancake day a day early. The fillings were varied and all home made, as were the pancakes, which was a bit scary given that I'd never made batter (or in fact pancakes) before. Everyone seemed to enjoy the food, and the DVD and gaming afterwards was also a bit of a laugh.

Speaking of cooking, I've been reminded by young Miss Samme that I haven't mentioned the invention of the breakfast fajita which was produced and sampled the other week. Pictures of this culinary masterpiece can be seen here.

Getting back to normal

Ok, so checking back I haven't posted anything for a couple of weeks, but I think I can justify it.

Last weekend was the O&S weekend in Grimsby, which didn't involve as early a start as originally thought but did give me the opportunity to get mentioned on the radio. Nothing too exciting (and I did forget to leave my name) but having spotted an accident in the tailback from another accident outside Oxford my report of it got read out.

The weekend itself was very good, if a little tiring. But we managed to get through the AGM with the decisions that we were hoping for, and even though we were a little short numbered for the concert everyone agreed that it was a great concert that showed just how much hard work we'd put into it.

Going up there tired probably didn't help what with sleeping on a floor but I think I'm fairly well caught up now, just need to avoid all the colds and flus that have been going round work, especially as I've agreed to give a demo on Wednesday as part of a large site wide event to show exactly what it is that each team uses.

Apart from that still trying to play Ultimate and get better at things, a couple of knocks to the chest meant I wasn't playing for as long as possible, but still got the score on the first one so it wasn't that bad.

SUCB Swimathon

The regular and varied social scene of the Concert Band took on a decidely aquatic theme as we took ourselves to Romsey Rapids for some fun and games. Everyone seemed to enjoy the flumes and the rapids, even if they were being dragged round by their ankles.

After everyone had had enough we dried off an headed down to the Crown to meet up with some other banders for food and drink. After a lively discussion of the various merits of toppings on a burger, Bacon and Pineapple still being my preference (and what I had) and on chips, mayonaise is not right I tell you. We finished the drinks and headed back well relaxed.

I guess there must have been some exercise involved as I was quite down on my weight for the piggy club at work, which might be a problem in a fortnight when I get a chance to weigh in again:/

Ultimate Social Occasion

So after getting back into the swing of things with practices it was obviously time another social event for the huc.it lot and so we ventured into Ocean Village for the evening. Starting off in Banana Wharf the old favourites of 'God save the queen' and the Buffalo Club came out with new rules and inventive ways of playing. But once hunger got too much we headed off to Chiquitos for a Mexican.

Above is a picture of my first ever Margarita, which was followed by a second before the end of the meal and heading back out into Southampton to a bar that Andy knew about. A good night was had by all and I'm sure there'll be another one before this one has faded from memory. 

Never rains but it pours

Having had my very first call out on Friday, the second was a lot sooner, as in last night. This one wasn't a straight forward and involved 5 hours on a conference call with the states, and an extra half hour getting up to speed and sorting stuff out for the "morning". I finally got to bed about 4am.

Let me tell you, going to work on 4.5 hours sleep is no fun what so ever but I managed to get through the day and tonights band rehearsal on a heady mixture of Pro Plus, coffee and Red Bull.

All that's left to do now is wait out the next hour or so to ensure that there's no follow ups or new emergencies and then try and get a good 8 hours. Ah sleep, how nice that will be. zzzZZZzzz

How musical are you?

Loads of people it seems will claim that they are tone deaf mainly because they aren't able to sing in tune with other people. But apparently there is a big difference between not being able to sing and not being able to tell the difference between notes (which is what true tone-deafness is apparently).

While browsing the BBC News website (during my lunch break) I ran across this article which explained the difference and how scientists are getting interested in what appears to be a genetic trait.

This also links to an online test to see how good you are at hearing the differences two samples of music (if they exist). I took it and got 28 out of 30, which I didn't think was too bad, especially as I claim to be a bit of a musician ;)

Have a go and see how well you do...

Playing silly beggars

Ok, so Liz has got this New Years resolution to do something new every week for the year and this weeks was an experiment that she'd heard on Radio 1 that involved a smarties tube, a tube of mentos and a two litre bottle of coke.

Finding the mentos was possibly the trickest bit having checked all the supermarkets in Totton I finally found the damn things in the local co-op in a last ditch attempt. After an abortive first try Thursday morning, Friday mornings retry yielded the desired results.

It's not easy to fully describe the results, so watch the video linked here from Liz's Blog.

Breaking a duck

Well I've just gone on call for the first time this year and already had my very first (genuine) call out. Hadn't fully left work, just about to drive home when the phone went off, so after a quick discussion with the guy out in the states, I agreed to take a look once I got home.

So that's what I've just done, so there's always that dangerous possibility that it's gonna come back and require more working at home but then I do get paid for it, and given that this is the first (and only time) it's happened in a year of being on the on call rota it's not too bad.

Putting the fun back into driving?

My car has just been through it's annual service which meant I had the opportunity to drive one of the courtesy cars around for the day. These are fairly new Corsas and I have to admit that this years was better than last years in which I felt very oversized and cramped (6ft 2in is far too big for a little car).

So the drive into work from the garage was fairly easy and doable, however on the way back I thought I'd try out the "fun" road between Hursley and Chandlers Ford. Driving as I knew I could in my own car was interesting to say the least, cornering was definitely an experience, more so than you normally get in a Vauxhall.

So in my humble opinion, putting the fun back into driving? for nipping around in the town/city the corsa is perfectly comfortable and can hold it's own. For doing fun things like 60 down a twisty country road, not so good.

Friends and Family

After several weekend meetings it was nice not to have to travel anywhere and spend some time at home. Large amounts of tidying went on Saturday before the band guys came round for snacks, pizza and DVD. The evening was a lot of fun, including a closely contested game of Pictionary. How I got the last clue is not something I really want to dealve into at this point but it was a great shout for the win.

Sunday it was back to the parents for dinner, don't remember the afternoon much due to some good napping, which was understandable due to the late night before. But it was good to catch up, and a roast dinner is always welcome.

Anyone fancy a curry?

What is it about that particular phrase that suddenly makes you hungry regardless of everything else you've eaten that day. Yesterday was one of those days, went out for a drink with some mates (or at least that was the plan) until we got to the first pub and the shout goes up, "we're going to Koh-i-noor" (our local curry house).

Well that was it, everyone wanted a curry at that point, and even though we had to wait a bit longer than expected for the table, it was a great meal and everyone had a great time, with some good banter going on.

Here's to the next time then, and the calling of that magic phrase...

TV Listings

If you've looked at the links down the right hand side you might have noticed that a couple of them mention TV listings. This isn't only because I'm a bit of a telly addict but have a vested interest in those particular sites.

bleb.org is run by Andrew Flegg and provides listings for all UK terrestrial and freeview channels. About a year ago I wrote a small script which generates RSS feeds which various people have used about the place. Andy Clayton has taken this a bit further and produced a widget for OSX which shows what's on now and next.

Take a look and see if they're of any use to you, hopefully they are.

First Post!! (again)

Ok, so it would appear to be a new year and a new blog, but after some severe computer issues my old website is offline for the forseeable future so lets start anew here.

Just got back from Ultimate practice with only a slight muscle cramp so that's certainly better than the other week which had me walking funny for the rest of the week.

Apart from that I *really* need to get the house tidied before the band guys come round at the weekend, plus there's the ongoing O&S work which I'm sure will start to get mentioned more and more in future blog posts (which there *will* be ;) )