Saturday, January 17, 2004
This Monkey's Looking at Heaven
The Pixies are to reform, though so far only for the one confirmed show. How do I get to California in May for the Coachella festival?
posted by Ian Pattinson at 7:42 PM link
The Pixies are to reform, though so far only for the one confirmed show. How do I get to California in May for the Coachella festival?
posted by Ian Pattinson at 7:42 PM link
Not looking too good
Though I guess I should enter the bloggies to stand any chance at all.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 7:23 PM link
35%
There's a 35% chance that I'll win a Bloggie™.
What's Your Chance to Win a Bloggie™?
What's Your Chance to Win a Bloggie™?
Though I guess I should enter the bloggies to stand any chance at all.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 7:23 PM link
So long as they didn't try to smoke it
Yellowcake uranium ore with a connection to Iraq has finally been found. In a Rotterdam scrap yard.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 6:49 PM link
Yellowcake uranium ore with a connection to Iraq has finally been found. In a Rotterdam scrap yard.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 6:49 PM link
Tossing a baseball cap into the ring
Michael Moore has come out in favour of Wesley Clark, if I were an American I'd be with him on that. Though I do still have a lingering soft spot for Howie Dean.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 6:02 PM link
Michael Moore has come out in favour of Wesley Clark, if I were an American I'd be with him on that. Though I do still have a lingering soft spot for Howie Dean.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 6:02 PM link
That Was The Week That Was
I've missed a number of stories this week, so a quick bit of catch-up.
RIP Film
Kodak is going to curtail production of their 35mm, and APS, cameras. People are lamenting this, and the news that digital cameras outsold film for the first time last year, means that film is dead. Which is rubbish. In the same way that vinyl is still around, there will always be a place for chemical film in cameras. I have six cameras, if you count the phonecam and the groovy, grainy lo-res digicam Damian leant me, and they're split evenly between digital and film. And I'll never give up one for the other. Film is lush and will almost always produce a richer image, especially in pure light. Digital allows multiple exposures cheaply, instant results and cool effects of its own.
Equipment
Back in the days of The Mary Whitehouse Experience, they decided that Matthew Kelly was good shorthand for The Word You Cannot Say, mostly because Matthew Kelly was such a total...... Matthew Kelly. Geoff Hoon is the new Matthew Kelly.
If a company outfitted its offices with everything except chairs and their employees were expected to provide their own seating arrangements from their own pockets there would be an outcry. This is what's happening in the Army. A soldier died in Iraq after having to give his enhanced body armour back. Almost as bad as this disaster was the news that he had spent over a thousand pounds getting equipment that the Army hadn't provided but which he needed for deployment to Iraq. Never mind the stupidity of the invasion, it's positively criminal to send soldiers into action if we can't even be bothered to equip them properly.
Kilroy
What a total Hoon.
Listing
There were screams of derision and horror when the supposed list of the top ten British sitcoms was announced. How the fuck did Vicar of Dibley get into the top ten, let alone the top fifty? And where was Coupling? At least The Orifice only made it to twenty five.
Tuition fees
I may currently be penurious doley scum, but my heritage is middle class. It might not be if my parents hadn't had grants to fund them through higher education. Grants all but died a decade ago, replaced by loans and now they want to shift even more of the expense onto the student. I hate to admit it, but Michael Howard actually made a good point- if you're going to charge people for going into higher education, why not charge sixth formers. After all, they have chosen to stay on whilst those who left school at sixteen will have gone into work and they're tax will be funding those free loaders who are trying to get A levels. News flash to Tony, most students do go on to pay a graduate tax because they get better paid jobs and head up the tax brackets. They also give much more back to the country. If you want to get students from poorer backgrounds into University don't threaten them with twenty five years of debt, promise them funding and a prosperous future.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 4:37 PM link
I've missed a number of stories this week, so a quick bit of catch-up.
RIP Film
Kodak is going to curtail production of their 35mm, and APS, cameras. People are lamenting this, and the news that digital cameras outsold film for the first time last year, means that film is dead. Which is rubbish. In the same way that vinyl is still around, there will always be a place for chemical film in cameras. I have six cameras, if you count the phonecam and the groovy, grainy lo-res digicam Damian leant me, and they're split evenly between digital and film. And I'll never give up one for the other. Film is lush and will almost always produce a richer image, especially in pure light. Digital allows multiple exposures cheaply, instant results and cool effects of its own.
Equipment
Back in the days of The Mary Whitehouse Experience, they decided that Matthew Kelly was good shorthand for The Word You Cannot Say, mostly because Matthew Kelly was such a total...... Matthew Kelly. Geoff Hoon is the new Matthew Kelly.
If a company outfitted its offices with everything except chairs and their employees were expected to provide their own seating arrangements from their own pockets there would be an outcry. This is what's happening in the Army. A soldier died in Iraq after having to give his enhanced body armour back. Almost as bad as this disaster was the news that he had spent over a thousand pounds getting equipment that the Army hadn't provided but which he needed for deployment to Iraq. Never mind the stupidity of the invasion, it's positively criminal to send soldiers into action if we can't even be bothered to equip them properly.
Kilroy
What a total Hoon.
Listing
There were screams of derision and horror when the supposed list of the top ten British sitcoms was announced. How the fuck did Vicar of Dibley get into the top ten, let alone the top fifty? And where was Coupling? At least The Orifice only made it to twenty five.
Tuition fees
I may currently be penurious doley scum, but my heritage is middle class. It might not be if my parents hadn't had grants to fund them through higher education. Grants all but died a decade ago, replaced by loans and now they want to shift even more of the expense onto the student. I hate to admit it, but Michael Howard actually made a good point- if you're going to charge people for going into higher education, why not charge sixth formers. After all, they have chosen to stay on whilst those who left school at sixteen will have gone into work and they're tax will be funding those free loaders who are trying to get A levels. News flash to Tony, most students do go on to pay a graduate tax because they get better paid jobs and head up the tax brackets. They also give much more back to the country. If you want to get students from poorer backgrounds into University don't threaten them with twenty five years of debt, promise them funding and a prosperous future.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 4:37 PM link
Friday, January 16, 2004
The Further Adventures of Incompetence Watch
I wasn't lying when I said my finances were fucked. This is a lean time of year to find work, and chances are significantly narrowed by having a day a week dedicated to my course. I haven't done any freelancing, or heard from my one client, since before Christmas, and I'm still owed 200 or so quid for old invoices. And my main debtor told me this week he's been given a month's notice and isn't likely to start paying off his (large) debt any time soon.
So what does the JobCentre do at this time when, for the first time since signing on, I actually need them to give me some money?
They send me precisely nothing because the claim was frozen in September and nobody bothered to tell me I was filling the forms out wrong.
Then they go and lose the paperwork I provided to show what I'd earned from my 'part time' work.
I swear most benefit fraud is actually because people know that the system can't handle such complicated things as the truth and want to make life easy for it.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 5:05 PM link
I wasn't lying when I said my finances were fucked. This is a lean time of year to find work, and chances are significantly narrowed by having a day a week dedicated to my course. I haven't done any freelancing, or heard from my one client, since before Christmas, and I'm still owed 200 or so quid for old invoices. And my main debtor told me this week he's been given a month's notice and isn't likely to start paying off his (large) debt any time soon.
So what does the JobCentre do at this time when, for the first time since signing on, I actually need them to give me some money?
They send me precisely nothing because the claim was frozen in September and nobody bothered to tell me I was filling the forms out wrong.
Then they go and lose the paperwork I provided to show what I'd earned from my 'part time' work.
I swear most benefit fraud is actually because people know that the system can't handle such complicated things as the truth and want to make life easy for it.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 5:05 PM link
Who?
Nominet details for Spinneyhead.
Employing ever more desperate measures to avoid doing my tax return, today is becoming a day of hard decisions. the one I'm willing to talk about at the moment is that I can't afford to stay on with my current ISP. I need to find a new one and update the registration of spinneyhead. So a few questions to all the people out there who I know are more knowledgeable about this sort of thing.
1. How? Actually, Nominet has details on renewal and changing agent, so I think I can cope with those bits.
2. Who? Can anyone recommend a host? They need to be cheap, as cash is the main reason for the move. They should have php and MySQL on the servers so I can transfer the existing code and carry on writing more. And they shouldn't be too restrictive of content, as I'd like to offer up through BitPass some of my more 'mature' writings which- whilst not quite porn- would be frowned upon by my current ISP.
3. When? I'll have to move as soon as possible, because my contract with my current hosts runs out at the end of the month (at the time as the domain needs renewing).
posted by Ian Pattinson at 2:57 PM link
Nominet details for Spinneyhead.
Employing ever more desperate measures to avoid doing my tax return, today is becoming a day of hard decisions. the one I'm willing to talk about at the moment is that I can't afford to stay on with my current ISP. I need to find a new one and update the registration of spinneyhead. So a few questions to all the people out there who I know are more knowledgeable about this sort of thing.
1. How? Actually, Nominet has details on renewal and changing agent, so I think I can cope with those bits.
2. Who? Can anyone recommend a host? They need to be cheap, as cash is the main reason for the move. They should have php and MySQL on the servers so I can transfer the existing code and carry on writing more. And they shouldn't be too restrictive of content, as I'd like to offer up through BitPass some of my more 'mature' writings which- whilst not quite porn- would be frowned upon by my current ISP.
3. When? I'll have to move as soon as possible, because my contract with my current hosts runs out at the end of the month (at the time as the domain needs renewing).
posted by Ian Pattinson at 2:57 PM link
Groovy
The Raleigh Chopper is set to return. I used to have a Chopper, and its little brother the Chipper. The Chopper died as a result of my friends' andmy pre-teen craze for jumping any bike we could get our hands on. Anything we could aim at a ramp- including racers and ladies shopper bikes- was leapt over the stream and other obstacles. The ladies shopper literally folded up (no top tube to take the strain) and the Chopper split in two when the weld between the seat tube and down tube sheared.
I promise that if I get one of the new Choppers I won't jump it over anything. I'll just use it for cruising and impressing the chicks, dig?
via Carlton Hibbert
posted by Ian Pattinson at 11:22 AM link
The Raleigh Chopper is set to return. I used to have a Chopper, and its little brother the Chipper. The Chopper died as a result of my friends' andmy pre-teen craze for jumping any bike we could get our hands on. Anything we could aim at a ramp- including racers and ladies shopper bikes- was leapt over the stream and other obstacles. The ladies shopper literally folded up (no top tube to take the strain) and the Chopper split in two when the weld between the seat tube and down tube sheared.
I promise that if I get one of the new Choppers I won't jump it over anything. I'll just use it for cruising and impressing the chicks, dig?
via Carlton Hibbert
posted by Ian Pattinson at 11:22 AM link
Photo Friday
This week's theme is Motion. I've got a couple of cool shots of speed blur from the cyclists' section of the triathlon around the city centre last year. Ignore the abstraction of the thumbnails and click the images to see the whole view-
posted by Ian Pattinson at 9:45 AM link
This week's theme is Motion. I've got a couple of cool shots of speed blur from the cyclists' section of the triathlon around the city centre last year. Ignore the abstraction of the thumbnails and click the images to see the whole view-
posted by Ian Pattinson at 9:45 AM link
Thursday, January 15, 2004
More evidence that managers are morons
Yes, I am in a shitty mood today.
A survey of managers by a recruiting agency and the magazine Accountacy Age revealed that managers would not trust a doctor "as far as I could dangle his stethoscope" when it came to sick notes.
Doctor- several years of education and a quite exacting qualification process.
Manager- several years of kissing the arse of anyone above them and promotion based upon the Dilbert Principle.
I know who I'd trust (unless he had a dodgy beard and lots of dead OAPs to his name).
posted by Ian Pattinson at 1:56 PM link
Yes, I am in a shitty mood today.
A survey of managers by a recruiting agency and the magazine Accountacy Age revealed that managers would not trust a doctor "as far as I could dangle his stethoscope" when it came to sick notes.
Doctor- several years of education and a quite exacting qualification process.
Manager- several years of kissing the arse of anyone above them and promotion based upon the Dilbert Principle.
I know who I'd trust (unless he had a dodgy beard and lots of dead OAPs to his name).
posted by Ian Pattinson at 1:56 PM link
Ticketting
The national award for the most stupid parking ticket received in the last year has gone to the pet store owner who had a rabbit hutch fined for illegal parking.
I would like to point out that Traffic Wardens are people too. It's just that some of them are very stupid and officious people.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 1:36 PM link
The national award for the most stupid parking ticket received in the last year has gone to the pet store owner who had a rabbit hutch fined for illegal parking.
I would like to point out that Traffic Wardens are people too. It's just that some of them are very stupid and officious people.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 1:36 PM link
Future Artillery 2004
This sounds like such a thrilling conference. Two days in a room full of men comparing the size of their weapons. Though I have to admit, I have downloaded the brochure.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 9:22 AM link
This sounds like such a thrilling conference. Two days in a room full of men comparing the size of their weapons. Though I have to admit, I have downloaded the brochure.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 9:22 AM link
Wednesday, January 14, 2004
Smelly Justice
Having a bad day at work? PHB on your case? Want to bash your head against a brick wall just to make the pain go away?
You need The Mad Shitter, he'll make everything alright.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 10:26 PM link
Having a bad day at work? PHB on your case? Want to bash your head against a brick wall just to make the pain go away?
You need The Mad Shitter, he'll make everything alright.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 10:26 PM link
Breed for the economy
One of my Engkish teachers back at school was an odd bloke. Amongst his many opinions was that it was the duty of intelligent middle class boys such as myself to go out and spread our seed. Likewise it was the duty of good intelligent middle class girls to have the resulting children and stay at home to look after them. This, you see, was because the world was becoming dumber as intelligent people used contraception and had fewer children and stupid people bred like bunnies.
A study commissioned for the Scottish parliament has reached a similar (though couched in slightly- just- more PC language) conclusion.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 6:43 PM link
One of my Engkish teachers back at school was an odd bloke. Amongst his many opinions was that it was the duty of intelligent middle class boys such as myself to go out and spread our seed. Likewise it was the duty of good intelligent middle class girls to have the resulting children and stay at home to look after them. This, you see, was because the world was becoming dumber as intelligent people used contraception and had fewer children and stupid people bred like bunnies.
A study commissioned for the Scottish parliament has reached a similar (though couched in slightly- just- more PC language) conclusion.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 6:43 PM link
The next comic to leave the station....
I know that I promised to restart Deputised Experts after the Christmas break. But, in finest Tony style, I have to say IwaswrongIadmititokaycanwemoveon. And I feel that the hand of history on my shoulder will vindicate me in the long run.
I'm waiting for webcomicsnation to go live, which the site admin promises will happen before January 30th. Then I can run the regular and a premium Hi-Res version of the strip as well as other subscription material- namely Usual Time, Usual Place and Mary Tales.
Of course, this extra delay gives me a chance to get further ahead with the art as well.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 5:06 PM link
I know that I promised to restart Deputised Experts after the Christmas break. But, in finest Tony style, I have to say IwaswrongIadmititokaycanwemoveon. And I feel that the hand of history on my shoulder will vindicate me in the long run.
I'm waiting for webcomicsnation to go live, which the site admin promises will happen before January 30th. Then I can run the regular and a premium Hi-Res version of the strip as well as other subscription material- namely Usual Time, Usual Place and Mary Tales.
Of course, this extra delay gives me a chance to get further ahead with the art as well.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 5:06 PM link
And the winner is....
The results of the Bush in 30 seconds ad competition have been announced.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 2:48 PM link
The results of the Bush in 30 seconds ad competition have been announced.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 2:48 PM link
Beastly
Seeing as you've got a Salon Day Pass to go and see the K Chronicles, checkl out this follow up to the story about the mountain cat that killed a cyclist.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 11:03 AM link
Seeing as you've got a Salon Day Pass to go and see the K Chronicles, checkl out this follow up to the story about the mountain cat that killed a cyclist.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 11:03 AM link
Check In
In other cartoony goodness today, I'm not the only one dreaming of a Howard Dean/ Wesley Clark dream ticket (it's on Salon, get a day pass).
posted by Ian Pattinson at 10:54 AM link
In other cartoony goodness today, I'm not the only one dreaming of a Howard Dean/ Wesley Clark dream ticket (it's on Salon, get a day pass).
posted by Ian Pattinson at 10:54 AM link
Want One!
Nicky just reminded me of the sheer genius of ThinkGeek. Is it too late to ask for birthday presents? I want one of these, and one of these to mount it on.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 10:24 AM link
Nicky just reminded me of the sheer genius of ThinkGeek. Is it too late to ask for birthday presents? I want one of these, and one of these to mount it on.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 10:24 AM link
Tuesday, January 13, 2004
Ask Alyson
The Times wants you to send questions to Alyson Hannigan prior to her run in When Harry Met Sally. Mine would all be unprintable, so it's up to you.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 6:39 PM link
The Times wants you to send questions to Alyson Hannigan prior to her run in When Harry Met Sally. Mine would all be unprintable, so it's up to you.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 6:39 PM link
More appropriate for Spinneyhead.
Seeing as this is Spinneyhead, the only site in the UK with exacting knowledge of all things wrong with everything, I found something based on famous artist Saul Steinberg that has been updated for the present. To help increase USA awareness, here is how it came about. The work was originally a 1976 New Yorker cover called The World from 9th Avenue, depicting how a New York person would see the rest of America (California appears as small ridge on the horizon).
A collection of his original works and more about the famous artist is here. His foundation does an excellent job of explaining a complex yet inspired man.
posted by john o at 1:48 PM link
Seeing as this is Spinneyhead, the only site in the UK with exacting knowledge of all things wrong with everything, I found something based on famous artist Saul Steinberg that has been updated for the present. To help increase USA awareness, here is how it came about. The work was originally a 1976 New Yorker cover called The World from 9th Avenue, depicting how a New York person would see the rest of America (California appears as small ridge on the horizon).
A collection of his original works and more about the famous artist is here. His foundation does an excellent job of explaining a complex yet inspired man.
posted by john o at 1:48 PM link
50K
It's 9:50 am GMT (by my watch anyway) and the hit counter reads 50,003.
*team spinneyhead performs a small mexican wave*
posted by Brian Frost at 9:53 AM link
It's 9:50 am GMT (by my watch anyway) and the hit counter reads 50,003.
*team spinneyhead performs a small mexican wave*
posted by Brian Frost at 9:53 AM link
Breaking News
Harold Shipman has hung himself. The news on the BBC site currently only runs to a few paragraphs, but I'm sure it'll be bulked out as the day goes on.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 9:08 AM link
Harold Shipman has hung himself. The news on the BBC site currently only runs to a few paragraphs, but I'm sure it'll be bulked out as the day goes on.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 9:08 AM link
So long and thanks for all the special effects
Casting has started for the big screen version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 8:41 AM link
Casting has started for the big screen version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 8:41 AM link
Monday, January 12, 2004
Spalding, Iraq
The friendly fire incidents even occur in mainland Britain.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 6:23 PM link
The friendly fire incidents even occur in mainland Britain.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 6:23 PM link
Don't go into the cellar
As a prelude to the assault on the Messines Ridge in the First World War the British dug tunnels under the German lines and laid huge mines in chambers. The explosives were detonated just before the assault, the largest controlled explosion to date. However, some of the mines were lost and one of them, the largest unexploded bomb in the world, sits directly under a Belgian farm.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 6:19 PM link
As a prelude to the assault on the Messines Ridge in the First World War the British dug tunnels under the German lines and laid huge mines in chambers. The explosives were detonated just before the assault, the largest controlled explosion to date. However, some of the mines were lost and one of them, the largest unexploded bomb in the world, sits directly under a Belgian farm.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 6:19 PM link
P60 P45 P30 GO!
I'm getting the paperwork together to do my tax return. Despite the chaos of my filing (stacking things on the floor or shoving them in boxes) system, I've managed to find P45s/P60s for the two periods of temp work I did in 2002-2003 and a bunch of invoices and receipts that are relevant. I have yet to find anything from the unemployment people explaining how much they paid me. I'm guessing they're incompetent and never sent me anything. I checked my bank account yesterday and found I hadn't been paid any dole for the Christmas and New Year weeks- the first time since signing on when I haven't actually done enough freelancing and therefore should have received some money- and when I tried to phone them about this there was no answer.
(I don't think there is such a thing as a P30, I was just alluding to a song by Bow Wow Wow.)
posted by Ian Pattinson at 3:12 PM link
I'm getting the paperwork together to do my tax return. Despite the chaos of my filing (stacking things on the floor or shoving them in boxes) system, I've managed to find P45s/P60s for the two periods of temp work I did in 2002-2003 and a bunch of invoices and receipts that are relevant. I have yet to find anything from the unemployment people explaining how much they paid me. I'm guessing they're incompetent and never sent me anything. I checked my bank account yesterday and found I hadn't been paid any dole for the Christmas and New Year weeks- the first time since signing on when I haven't actually done enough freelancing and therefore should have received some money- and when I tried to phone them about this there was no answer.
(I don't think there is such a thing as a P30, I was just alluding to a song by Bow Wow Wow.)
posted by Ian Pattinson at 3:12 PM link
SpongeBob
Back during BeerFest Nas tried to convince me of the genius of SpongeBob SquarePants, proclaiming it the greatest cartoon series of all time. She is young and thus innocent of the greats. She probably doesn't even know the beauty (and subsequent depravity) of The Clangers.
Anyway, enough of my old man mutterings. She will probably be ecstatic to know there's a SpongeBob movie on the way. I know that Groc was.
On the subject of Bad Clanger, I thought he might be in need of a little excursion, so took him along to my birthday meal yesterday. Predictably, things went horribly wrong.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 2:59 PM link
Back during BeerFest Nas tried to convince me of the genius of SpongeBob SquarePants, proclaiming it the greatest cartoon series of all time. She is young and thus innocent of the greats. She probably doesn't even know the beauty (and subsequent depravity) of The Clangers.
Anyway, enough of my old man mutterings. She will probably be ecstatic to know there's a SpongeBob movie on the way. I know that Groc was.
On the subject of Bad Clanger, I thought he might be in need of a little excursion, so took him along to my birthday meal yesterday. Predictably, things went horribly wrong.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 2:59 PM link
Sunday, January 11, 2004
Reincarnation
Are you damned?
Brought to you by Rum and Monkey
You're coming back! And if you are a Hindu you are going to have very specific characteristics:
"The slayer of a woman and the destroyer of embryos becomes a savage full of diseases; who commits illicit intercourse, a eunuch; who goes with his teacher?s wife, disease-skinned. The eater of flesh becomes very red; the drinker of intoxicants, one with discolored teeth...." (Garuda Purana)
via Rants, No Raves
posted by Ian Pattinson at 10:27 PM link
Are you damned?
Brought to you by Rum and Monkey
You're coming back! And if you are a Hindu you are going to have very specific characteristics:
"The slayer of a woman and the destroyer of embryos becomes a savage full of diseases; who commits illicit intercourse, a eunuch; who goes with his teacher?s wife, disease-skinned. The eater of flesh becomes very red; the drinker of intoxicants, one with discolored teeth...." (Garuda Purana)
via Rants, No Raves
posted by Ian Pattinson at 10:27 PM link
Comment Spam
Miss Me will hate me, but I comment spammed a JohnnyTheo post earlier. Sort of.
Expressing my disgust at The Office I suggested Coupling as a vastly superior sitcom. Except that the link I included was set up to give referal money to Spinneyhead.
Fuck it. He isn't an amazon associate and I need the money more than he does.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 9:53 PM link
Miss Me will hate me, but I comment spammed a JohnnyTheo post earlier. Sort of.
Expressing my disgust at The Office I suggested Coupling as a vastly superior sitcom. Except that the link I included was set up to give referal money to Spinneyhead.
Fuck it. He isn't an amazon associate and I need the money more than he does.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 9:53 PM link
No Fly Zone
One by one the stories accumulate of the stupidity of the Homeland Security syetems in America's airports. An Australian journalist was abysmally treated by the Customs and Border Protection bureau (via Burnt Toast) and a six year old girl is mistreated because someone put the wrong name into some system or other.
Really, any American readers, I'm confident your country is a great place and 90% of you are lovely people, but whilst you have this stupid and pointless crap going on at your airports (especially since my opinions are at odds with those of your Chimp in Chief) I'm not heading over to find out.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 8:54 PM link
One by one the stories accumulate of the stupidity of the Homeland Security syetems in America's airports. An Australian journalist was abysmally treated by the Customs and Border Protection bureau (via Burnt Toast) and a six year old girl is mistreated because someone put the wrong name into some system or other.
Really, any American readers, I'm confident your country is a great place and 90% of you are lovely people, but whilst you have this stupid and pointless crap going on at your airports (especially since my opinions are at odds with those of your Chimp in Chief) I'm not heading over to find out.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 8:54 PM link
Twins
My #1 result for the SelectSmart.com selector, Who Is Your Weblogger Twin?, is Caroline of Prolific.org
posted by Ian Pattinson at 8:34 PM link
My #1 result for the SelectSmart.com selector, Who Is Your Weblogger Twin?, is Caroline of Prolific.org
posted by Ian Pattinson at 8:34 PM link
I AM going to heaven!
Lust is a virtue, not a sin. Yay! Now we can add it to laziness, impatience and hubris.
via Green Fairy
posted by Ian Pattinson at 7:17 PM link
Lust is a virtue, not a sin. Yay! Now we can add it to laziness, impatience and hubris.
via Green Fairy
posted by Ian Pattinson at 7:17 PM link
Back to Nature
A mountain biker in Orange county has been killed by a mountain cat whilst out on a training run.
Full story (requires registration)
posted by Ian Pattinson at 11:21 AM link
A mountain biker in Orange county has been killed by a mountain cat whilst out on a training run.
Authorities said Friday it appeared that a 110-pound male cat attacked Reynolds around noon Thursday after his bicycle chain broke as he zoomed down Cactus Ridge Run trial in the northeastern section of the park.I'd still rather deal with that sort of danger than have to dodge idiots in cars.
After seizing upon the trim, well-liked biker whom neighbors usually only saw in helmet, shorts and racing jersey, the mountain lion dragged him about 40 yards, ate his internal organs, then partially covered the remains under brush, coroner's spokesman Jim Amormino said.
Full story (requires registration)
posted by Ian Pattinson at 11:21 AM link
Happy shiny thoughts, happy shiny thoughts
Nope, not working, the world's still going to shit. Look, I don't drive a car, I recycle, I try to buy organic. I'm doing the best I can, it's time the rest of you joined in.
That's great.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 10:46 AM link
Nope, not working, the world's still going to shit. Look, I don't drive a car, I recycle, I try to buy organic. I'm doing the best I can, it's time the rest of you joined in.
That's great.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 10:46 AM link
I'm only getting older
Ahhh, birthdays. Let's have a quick flashback to 2003 and the happy days of 2002, when I was more concerned about falling off snowboards than anything else.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 9:25 AM link
Ahhh, birthdays. Let's have a quick flashback to 2003 and the happy days of 2002, when I was more concerned about falling off snowboards than anything else.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 9:25 AM link
