November 23, 2006: Backyard Theme Park
Last Wednesday there was a novelty story in the Metro about a metalworker in Indianapolis who built The Blue Flash rollercoaster in his own in his backyard. It might not have made it into the RCDB, but I thought it was great. There should be more of this sort of thing. Like that guy who put a fake shark through his roof.
Anyway, it reminded me of the backyard monorail I found on the web about a year ago. Maybe these guys should get together and make a backyard amusement park?
October 18, 2006: Jackie Millard will be missed
Today I was given the sad news that Jackie passed away this morning, after her short battle with cancer. I first met Jackie when she was working on the reception at Tarsus, as I arrived for my interview. Her warm and genuine greeting brightened my day, as it did everyday we worked together. Jackie was generous, joyful, kind and everybody's friend. Jackie, I will miss your laugh, your stories, your values and your outward fondness for George Clooney.
October 04, 2006: Unfortunate press photo
I saw this picture in the London Lite paper on 22 September. Andrew said it’s a must for the blog, so here it is. It’s simply a girl (Alice Russell) singing into a microphone, but the light on her chin creates a rather unfortunate image in context with the way she is holding the mic combined with the expression on her face.
I’m sure I’ve seen something like this before…
September 25, 2006: Dodgy phone numbers
I've been getting 2 phone calls a day on my mobile phone since last Thursday. My handset will ring once and then stop. The calls are from different numbers each time, but the all start with 07099 8. The first call is about 13:20 and the next just before 19:00. I can only think that this is a scam, where they expect me to return the call which is probably a premium rate line.
I don't ever call back numbers which I don't recognise if there's no voicemail. Unfortunately I was drunk on Saturday night, and my call register tells me I returned one call for 1:25 minutes. I can't remember what happened. So when my statement comes through I'll let you know.
The dodgy numbers so far are:
- 07099871684
- 07099845250
- 07099878879
- 07099871869
- 07099845567
- 07099871165
- 07099890461
August 20, 2006: Look out for Parkour
I've recently been introduced to the powers of YouTube. Having this awesome video resource at my fingertips has really excited me. All the good music videos you can think of are there. The Big Brother 7 (UK) audition tapes are there.
I was going to blog about the Crazy Bike video, because of the amazing human skill. But then I saw Top Gear and I started to type Parkour in to the search. What I've found here is really amazing. Parkour or 'Free Running' as it's known in England is a new sport which consists of running, jumping, back-flipping, wall-running, spinning and summersaulting from great heights, at speed, usually in urban areas.
I saw a show on UK TV about 3 years ago called Jump London which studied the activity. A little research led me to discover that its founders are Frenchmen Sébastien Foucan and his friend David Belle, who appear in the blockbusters Casino Royale and Luc Besson's, District 13 respectively. So watch out for them in these.
I've picked out a few which I think are particularly good. So click, sit back and prepare to be amazed. Anyway, the closest I'm going get is playing Prince Of Persia.
July 31, 2006: Don't buy cheap drills
I was putting a curtain up yesterday and my cheap drill bit came up against a small stone - guess who lost. I've not done a lot of DIY home improvements, but I'm quite sure that I was doing everything correctly. A masonry bit for plaster and brick - right? Made a right chuffin mess of my plasterboard too.
June 06, 2006: Never forget your wedding anniversary
Absolute genius! It's only a simple thing, but what a great idea. I hear it all the time, guys getting in trouble because they're forgotten their wedding anniversary. My girlfriend's sister and husband were staying with us a a few days back. Duncan's only gone and had their special day engraved on the inside of his wedding band! All he has to do, is take his ring off and read it. That's what I'm going to do.
March 01, 2006: Group presents
For about the last 10 years my friends and I have clubbed in together to get each other a birthday present. It’s a great idea which has certainly paid dividends to me. This year my wonderful friends bought me a pair of Sennheiser PXC 300’s which is the kind of extravagance I could never justify buying for myself. Previous gifts include: a Lomo, a Ferrari driving experience, a 1.3MP digital camera (this one was a while ago), a Yamaha Tape Deck (this one was also a while ago, but a top quality item), a Panasonic car stereo, a Canon 35mm (yes… another camera), the list goes on. I definitely recommend it for the your group of friends in your twenties. Now though, as we’re all buying our homes, it’s proving difficult to find a worthy gift. All we want is sofas, plates and curtains. How dull is that?!
September 28, 2005: Feeds and Trackbacks
Sorry to be a pain, but I'm moving the RSS feeds and all the rest of 'em to www.brainfire.co.uk/feeds/. Trackbacks are being removed. Over the last 17 months, I've had one and I've had all the trackback spam I can take, I can't takes no more!
With effect as of now… for anyone who's interested.
September 18, 2005: Rogue taxidermy
No, not a Google whack, but something very strange indeed. Last nights dinner conversation touched slightly on the wonders of the Internet. Over the first course, I thought it was time we talked about animals with two heads and badger-fish. As if taxidermy wasn't enough already. Check it out for yourself, but beware, these custom creatures may offend.
July 12, 2005: In Case of Emergency
Following last weeks atrocities, I have received a few similar emails about ICE. This to me, sounds like a very logical idea.
By entering the acronym ICE - for In Case of Emergency - into the mobile's phone book, users can log the name and number of someone who should be contacted in an emergency.
This can be done by everyone, anywhere in the world.
June 22, 2005: Little iPod jumpers
Since buying my iPod about 9 months ago, I've wanted to buy a suitable case. Up until now I've had my iPod in an old Sony MiniDisc jewel bag. As the damn thing broke and Apple replaced it with a spanking new shiny one, I thought it was time I got something proper to keep scratches at bay.
My iPod's either in my pocket or in my bag, so I wanted something that would be slim line and also offer a little padding. I'm not keen on the belt clip stuff. iPod's were designed to fit in your pocket and the bulky cases defeat the object. So I waddled down to the Apple Store in Regent Street and got myself some iPod socks.
At £19 (for a pack of 6), they're not cheap. Luckily Pete stepped in and when halves with me and somehow picked the rubbish colours - thanks Pete! I think they're great. They do just what I need them too. Simple yet functional.
April 14, 2005: Mum's the word
Alton Towers have recently launched a new ride in their theme park. Usually a good thing, as I am a fan of theme park rides but this time they've called it Rita. Now 'Rita' happens to be my mothers name & this is putting me off somewhat. Besides, I don't think naming a ride 'Rita' does it any favours. It's a rubbish name. OK, they added Queen of Speed on the end but still, what were they thinking? "OK people, we've got Nemesis, The Black Hole, Oblivion, but I think we needs something with a little more... afternoon tea". What's next Margeret - Zimmer Frame Zoomer?
The wonderful Roller Coaster DataBase has all the stats for us. I love this site, you can find some pretty scary rides on there.
April 12, 2005: Close many windows shortcut
I stumbled arcoss this handly shortcut in Windows the other day. You can CTRL+Click multiple windows on the task bar, right click one of them & then select Close (or any other option). Very useful if you have loads of windows open which you would like to close at once.
March 24, 2005: Greatest invention known to man
Now correct me if I'm incorrect, but is this not the greatest invention ever? This mug holds up to 3 HobNobs - in case you didn't already know HobNobs are the ultimate in dunkability & are therefore the official template for any biscuit holder or dispenser - underneath your cup of tea ready for dunking.
Tea-time doesn't get much better than this!
July 03, 2004: Little bit of fun everyday
I've always found it difficult to take advice as advice rather than a command from someone wiser than myself. One piece of good I always remember was; listen to people's advice & only use the bits you like. This has helped me in a big way.
Sometimes advice can come from where you least expect it. In this case, my 4 year old niece. A young person who knows little more than her 2 parents & her favourite Barbie doll, but yet can pass on a message that reminded me that life is there to live.
"You've got to have a little bit of fun everyday"
After all, if you can't please yourself, than who can you please? A simple rule which I think we should all follow & coming from the same little girl who, on her way home from a theme park with her family (Mum, Dad & 12month old brother) was asked what her favourite ride was answered - "The car journey home, because we could all do it together" - I think it good advice from a trustworthy source.
June 02, 2004: Sucking Earth's blood
As militant attacks take place, oil prices rise, the public to protest over the price of fuel, the self-important paranoid Californian's are bickering over the size of their SUV's.
May 14, 2004: Pleonasm
Learnt a new word today. Pleonasm. I got a new debit card today with information about my PIN which reminded me how much it annoys me when people say "PIN number" or "ATM machine" or "LCD display".... eeeergh!
As I'm a bit of a lists-man, here's a list of pleonasms & also tautological redundancies.
Shows how much crap we come out with every day.
