Fine collection of tumbleweed we've got today. Where is y'all?



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I am very interested in the Universe. I am specialising in the Universe and everything surrounding it. - E. L. Wisty

working, sadly. Upgraded to Word2k across the business last night, been out on the floors checking for problems.

Usual lot, user error.

How's you? I think PSD and Skiffle are recovering after an all-night posting session...

TGIF, is all I can say. Tomorrow I'm taking Claire to see Rochdale v. Torquay United. I know how to show a girl a good time.



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I am very interested in the Universe. I am specialising in the Universe and everything surrounding it. - E. L. Wisty

I just got home. I stayed up all night so I could be in DC at dawn so I could take pics of the world-famous cherry blossoms that are at peak right now. However, it was quite foggy and a bit nippy. The light wasn't the greatest but I got some reasonably good pics anyway. BUT, I've discovered I have some specks of dirt attached to my CCD on my new Digital SLR!! So I gotta figure out how to clean them off. But in the meantime, I get to do some good Photoshop work!

(Had to hit DC this morning because it's supposed to rain for the next 4 days and the blossoms will be gone by the time it's sunny again. So it had to be done NOW!)

I'm off to bed for a while!

I've been trying to contact landlord re length of time taken to get my flat sorted. I don't want to phone him and talk to him directly, because I get the heebie-jeebies about that sort of thing. I can't write to him because I don't have his address here in Norfolk. Figured I might be able to try e-mailing him. I remembered his address was along the lines of initial.surname@qualityimports.etc. 'Quality Imports' always struck me as a bit dodgy, somehow.

So composed long, detailed and mildly threatening e-mail about all the hassle he's caused me and the fact that he hasn't paid me a penny for expenses, while I've still been paying rent for a flat I' haven't lived in for 9 weeks.
Then tried to set up hotmail account to send e-mail, as Dad doesn't have e-mail on his Broadband connexion (he's hardly used the thing since it was installed in mid-Feb. Not that he's had much chance, mind you). Hotmail not in at the moment.

Go and watch the races in other room with Mum. Eat pontefract cakes.

Return to hotmail and get account after certain amount of confusion over what they want in way of password. Copy long e-mail from Outlook Express into hotmail and press 'send'. Allow a few secs and check 'sent items' folder to check I got address right and it has gone. Empty. ?. E-mail nowhere to be found. Consider possibility of delusions brought on by working in rather hot room. After frantic searching and some swearing, spot tiny box that I should have ticked if I wanted copy to be sent to 'sent box'. $$£%^$$£*.

I shall check hotmail account again in a minute, and if it hasn't reappeared as 'bounced', shall assume I remembered landlord's address correctly.

Grrrrrrrrr !

nasty hotmail.

use fastmail.fm instead. Much better, and free. And lets you check your other accounts in one place, choose your domain (from a list).

I'm set up with hotmail now, though good advice apprciated. I shouldn't need it for more than a couple of weeks.

Depending on the landlord....

I wasn't about today as I was needed to navigate my sister back from the airport. This was much harder than it sounds, as she periodically forgets left and right. And even gets confused between her side and my side. And then she whinges when I start pointing instead...

I then went climbing. I strapped my bad ankle up, which worked - it's only marginally worse than it was this morning. Unfortunately to compensate for the injured limb I used some un-orthodox techniques. I've ripped all the skin off both knees, basically.

I also managed to click my hip out of joint. It still hurts. But at least I limp evenly now...

Skiffle --> Now all you need is to sort out microsoft messenger, and we can talk nonsense without leaving it all over the fforum.



Post Edited (04-04-03 20:16)

PSD

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This is the work of an Italian narco-anarchic collective. Don't bother insulting them, they can't read English anyway.

Aha ! finally tracked down thread with reference to messenger. I have sold my soul to Santa - sorry, Satan, and joined. Not that it was easy, a *lot* of muttered curses on the way. And a few rather louder ones.

Now how do AAHHHH ! Hit random key while typing and the whole thing jumped sideways !

Now how do I actually use the damn thing ? There's a line at the bottom 'Add contact', but I dunno what to put.

Click on 'add contact' and bung in poetscientistdrinker@hotmail.com in the box - ought to work



PSD

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This is the work of an Italian narco-anarchic collective. Don't bother insulting them, they can't read English anyway.

Choosing a random example...



PSD

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This is the work of an Italian narco-anarchic collective. Don't bother insulting them, they can't read English anyway.

I'll give it a bash.
Just been having a rest on the sofa

Still kinda quiet on fforum. Which suggests that everyone else is having a better weekend than I am.

Landlord sent brief e-mail to effect that he is going to speak to decorators on Monday.

Cats are apparently thriving without me, especially Skiffle, who is almost circular. I'm told that Diesel doesn't always finish her food, so skiffle clears up after her. Skiffle has allowed herself to be stroked by neighbouring children but Diesel still disappears at speed of light. Diesel's claws bit too pointy for comfort, so tips were clipped by knowledgable visiting friend. This led to hilarious results when Diesel attempted to scratch the stair carpet and fell on face due to unexpected lack of grip.

Letter and bumph from employers today, saying that I'm being retired on medical grounds. Lots of free time, but chances of getting a mortgage and actually owning a house looking pretty poor. Must write that bestseller.

Discovered extra tix have gone on sale for McCartney gig, including some £10 @#$%& and with side view, rather than rear view, which is what I've got. Decided I'd rather watch from behind, but close, than in front and 50 miles away. ( I may be exaggerating size of arena here).

Bet there isn't anything good on telly tonight.

Retired?! Good grief... sorry to hear it. I mean, it sounds more respectable than "unemployed", but even so...

Sounds as though your little black and white furry-purry is going to have to go on a diet. My big tabby one is going to have to go to the vet - Minsky, that is, not his soppy brother. He's got a huge swelling on one side of his face, poor chap. There is no apparent wound and he doesn't seem to be put out by it in the slightest, but it is worrying.

When you get back to Sheffield, I shall have to arrange a day off so we can write the story about the Hic. I think it's about time, don't you? ;-)



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That which does not kill us makes us stranger.
(Llewelyn the dragon, Ozy and Millie)

Sarah

Er, yes, actually I was having rather a good weekend. Taking events in order:

We went to Manchester to return the vegetable mill, which had been a failure. Turns out you can't power a mill by vegetables, arf arf. While in town, nipped into Waterstones, and amazingly they actually had the book I'd ordered in ('Family Bites' by Lisa Williams), so that was nice.

Then to Rochdale. Lunch in a nice Wetherspoons (Regal Moon), converted from a cinema. BEER good, food good and @#$%&. Showed Claire the pit of a bus station I used to work in, met old colleague. Then to our reason for being in Rochdale; Torquay United were in town. Away accomodation at Spotland best I've ever been in; right in the middle of the cantilever stand on one side; superb view. Entertaining game, United won 2-0, now up to 5th, promotion a very real possibility (which would only be the 3rd time in Torquay's history).

Arrived home to find news of more tickets available for McCartney gig. Can't afford it, who cares, bought two. Down the front-ish, but where we are in relation to the stage, I can't work out; depends whether the stage is in the middle or off to one end. So there will be a fforum party of three to see what might be Macca's last ever tour. V. excited.

Oh, and there was something good on telly; the launch of the BBC's Big Read. Varous celebs picked their fave book, and even if there was a suspicion that the last time some of them had read one was in school, there were still some interesting chioces. Can't decide which is mine. Question too difficult, does not compute.

Hope Minsky's OK, very curious as to Story of Hic ....

Bank account empty. Must write that bestseller.



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I am very interested in the Universe. I am specialising in the Universe and everything surrounding it. - E. L. Wisty

Wound up slumped in front of telly last night. Also watched stuff on Big Read and wondered how anybody could choose just one book as favourite. If pushed, might go for Romney Marsh book by Monica Edwards but not sure which one. Probably either 'Midnight Horse' or 'The White Riders'.

Stayed up late watching qualifying for Brazilian grand prix. Schumni on third row. Schumi with expression of man sucking lemons.
Reubens on pole. Whole of Brazil ecstatic.
Schumi not noticably pleased by teamate's success.

F1: best soap opera in the world.

Spent last night having a barbeque with my friends. Garden looked brilliant - I stuck fairy lights under the garden umbrella and stuck my glowing Mathmos brick out there as well, and it looked fantastic.

I made the mistake of asking my best mate to look after the ritual burning of food, and had turned my back for a full five seconds before I had to dive for cover with the first 'whooosh' of rapid sausage cremation. I really must teach him not to add so much charcoal. I'll forgive him though, as he admitted that TEA is a rather good book.

Rest of evening was spent getting increasingly drunk on beer, wine and a particularly welcome bottle of Zubrowka. At about midnight the guitars came out (including my bass) and we had a really good jam until three in the morning, over beers, coffee and more vodka. There is something really nice about a gang of people all having a laugh and mucking about with music. It's also nice to know we live in a detachhed house and won't have anyone banging on the front door...



PSD

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This is the work of an Italian narco-anarchic collective. Don't bother insulting them, they can't read English anyway.

I was out at a couple of pubs in the West End of Glasgow. Early on in the evening the weather was great, so we were down in the little cobbled lanes drinking outside Brel, a nice wee Belgian pub. Felt very cosmopolitan.

However, then it got cold, and Brel was packed, so we ended up in a crappy student pub (a Scream pub, do you have them in England/ elsewhere?) which was expensive because we didn't have the yellow cards, and had loud music, which deteriorated rapidly through Chesney Hawkes, Whitney Houston and Snap!, before returning to form with the KLF. We got a great sofa though, a huge red sofa bed kinda think. Very collapsible into, to the extent that we refused to leave it and sent the blokes to the bar.

Got back to one of my mates' houses about half one, just in time to drunkenly "help" feed the four month old baby. Much fun.

We do have 'Scream' pubs in England, unfortunately. Large one in Sheffield converted from former car hire place.....
Belgian pub called 'Brel' named after Belgian songwriter/singer Jacques Brel, presumably. Wrote fabulous, gloomy and angry songs about death and despair. His song,'Next' covered by Glasgow's own Sensational Alex Harvey Band.

Sarah: hope you get Minsky to the vet OK and swelling is dealt with. Don't like to think of such a handsome feller in trouble. And you insist on day off before I get back to Sheff, as well as after. I'll have some work to do setting flat to rights before anything else can be done. Have you checked out other options re finances yet ? There's no point in wasting time; you know how long it takes to see these things through (nearly typed 'thongs' then!). Keep thinking about 'hic'.

Yup, Brel is named after Jacques. It's very "trendy", and the bar staff (all two of them at packed weekends, usually) look at you oddly if you're not wearing the right clothes, but it's nice to sit outside.

Scott Walker did a great Brel cover, Jackie. Haven't heard anything else, I don't think.