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[Dr's Q and Lock] Oh, I doubt there's any need for that. An apology was all the compensation necessary, and it was paid in full. I wouldn't try and stop people coming here, even though MC5 does run on my equipment. The community doesn't need an evil overlord. [Dr Lock] Do you find it seems to land on weekends far less than your friends as well? Still, Friday's about as ideal as it gets.
All that was necessary for me, I mean. I wouldn't want to seem like I'm speaking for rab.
random celebration
What ho. It's St. Joseph's Day today, apparently. I think I celebrated by booking a holdiay. Which was nice.
Me too
I quite agree. DrQ's suggestion seems like taking things way too far.
The Lock Cup
Thanks, everyone. Guess I'll just have to remove Q from the Cup the old-fashioned way. Feel free to drop in and catcall from the cheap seats, by the way.
pfffft
I was late for work this morning - you know why? A friend rang me to tell me she was getting married on my birthday! How mean is that? Just 'cos it falls on a Saturday in July this year, does every cupid-struck couple have to go and pinch it for their own gooey nuptuals? Lay off my birthday, I say!
commandeering birthdays
ooooh pen - think yourself fortunate. No less than THREE, yes three ... members of my or partner's close family have chosen to die on my birthday. Since then, every year has been a "it may well be your birthday, K, but, it's exactly 2/3/7 years since ...... passed away, you know .." I'm made to feel really selfish because I want to enjoy my birthday [it falls at that time when everyone has just got over the aftermath of Christmas credit and is just about ready for fun, what with spring just round the corner] but ALAS no. *sigh* Compassion is the name of the game. Just call me Martyr :-)
squib
[Chalky] When's your birthday? We'll all send you presents this year! :)
Hello, Martyr, welcome to the board!
I don't suppose, perchance, that you are related to the Farqhars?
the morning after
[ZK] It was at the end of Feb on a Tuesday so, in determined fashion, I had a birthday party on the following Saturday so's not to clash with the 'death dates'.
[Duj] Not that I know of ... and Happy Birthday for last week to you, yourself, sir!
[Chalky] I remember reading Wuthering Heights and being struck by the fact that young Catherine doesn't celebrate her birthday because it's also the anniversary of her mother's death. This must have happened a lot in the days when childbirth was far more dangerous to the mother than it is today. Makes you think, doesn't it... Of course, Origen said that no Christian would ever celebrate their birthday, but then he had no private parts so we can ignore that.
(Cross-posting)
Wahey! New Doctor Who is Christopher Ecclestone!
what?
[BM]What? [UK]Yay!
Dr Who?
[UK] :) I'd read that earlier too! I've always thought CE was hideously underrated and I'm pretty fond of Dr Who...so I was much the joyous one today!
Okay, I'm better now. There was just a hell of a lot of bad things happening last Friday that just got me way down. Thanks to Nik & rab for accepting my apologies and I promise not to be as much of a w@nker from now on.
DrQ
Well, good! I was worried you were going off to hide in cyberspace and we might never see you again! ***big hugs**
[snorgle] *accepts and returns hugs* Thanks. Actually, upon further review, I notice that rab never said he accepted my apology....sorry for presuming as such.
Groan
I have ants in my kitchen. I suppose it was the Spring Equinox yesterday ... *grumble grumble grumble* (my fault really, I went away for the weekend and didn't clean up well enough before going)
ants
[Brendan] Put a wipe of neat lemon juice in several places across their route. It destroys the formic acid scent trail they've left for themselves and they won't find their way in to your pantry any more.
Ogre
[DrQ] I seem to have assumed ogre status. My comment entitled "me too" was supposed to have acted as an apology acceptance measure. Apologies for the lack of clarity on my part, and possibly for being slightly more grumpy than I needed to be... Group hug?
[penelope] But what about the ones that are in the kitchen when he does that? They won't be able to find their way back! They'll be lost! Do you want that on your conscience?
ants in pants
[pen]They may decide to build their own state - in the kitchen cupboard (or the underwear drawer) - the horror!

***hugs everyone***
I'm not usually this demonstrative, you know, but as we're online.. ;)

Giant ants are walking the earth
[Breadmaster] They're already dead. Very dead. And yet my concscience is clear. [pen] Cheers for the advice; unfortunately I didn't manage to work out where they were getting in (I did wait to kill them until I'd watched them running around for a while, but there wasn't an obvious entrance/exit, and then my insecticidal urges overtook me and I bludgeoned them all to death), but wiping the kitchen down with lemon juice doesn't seem as extreme as putting powder down everywhere.
more ants
[Bm]I'd rather have ants on my wipe-clean conscience than in my pants or my biscuit tin :o)
Thos were the days, my friend
Can I just say a very belated "Hello Thos" as well? Ta.
of nothing
hello. I have been in Chamonix Mont Blanc and it was loverley. Drove back to geneva airport on an uncrowded 2 lane autoroute yesterday am at 160kmh and it was a pleasure to pay the tolls (5 euros in total). The most pleasurable drive of my life - or high up there. Mont Blanc and it's sister's and brothers lit up by alpinr sun certainly beat anything the M4 has to offer. ***deeply contented sigh***
sister's
ahem. ha ha.
envious
[st d] Wow - autorouting in and around mountains ... lucky you.
Tonite
Just to let you know I won't be gracing the Chat Room tonight but only for the reason that I shall be out with my colleagues. I'm sure this announcement won't stop people assuming anyone who arrives in costume is me :)
oh yeah?
[rab] you DO tell porkies sometimes
europe
I'm off to Bella Roma on Wednesday! Yippee!!!!!
*fume*
*seethe* [zk] Lucky you. I neeeeeeed a holiday.
hunting
I had to search high and low for my post today.
Trappings
Bit quiet the mo.
Yah.
On the bright side, I just chatted with me mum in Aus. And the webcam works. woo.
hogging the space
So, not quite as hideous a day as was first thought. Still not the best.
Settling in
[flerdle] Great to see you posting from your new domicile ... that didn't take long! ... ;-) I trust all is well and Mr f is as organised as yourself.
Knackerd
1 hour to go then I bugger off home and forget all about the NHS for 13 hours.............
[widey] I hear you. After spending all night in a three-person team doing the work of a five-person team, I am about to put myself in the bed and remain there, if possible, for the next ten hours. Nasty working conditions do have an up-side, even if it's only when they end.
Greetings!
Allow me to break up the routine with a message from Rome!(Its not that boring here its just weve only just found the internet)If its any comfort to you, pen, the weather here is pretty rubbish anyway...
The rain in Rome
[ZK-o] S'ok... I have plans for a trip to Reykjavik next month (current temp: 0 degrees). I know it's getting close because I've started throwing socks into a backpack and enquiring about buying foreign currency. :o)
not *exactly*
[Dujon] Not quite in the new flat yet, so will probably still be a bit intermittent since we have no idea how long it will take to get a phone there. Until then, I'm making good use of what I have access to :-)
holidays
well, i am hoping my bruises will go down and am currently thinking of a long weekend maybe in Les 2 Alpes in late April for a bit of a glacier ski, then an unlikely but very tempting week or two in Chile in the summer for some S Hemisphere skiing and then a race camp in Austria in October. :o) All unlikely but fun to imagine....
noffink
No-one has said anything today. So I thought I might as well mention that the BIG DIET starts on Monday, and there should be a difference in me by the time we get to the Rugby pilg in May. :o)
[pen] Difference? You're not having the sex-change operation are you?
vive la difference
[pen] Woo. I hope you'll feed back your technique to me.
die(t)ing
I have a great diet! Just eat less. (Please ignore the mars bar in my mouth.)
nil by mouth
[Projoy] 'Feeding' is a word that is henceforth banished from my vocabulary. I will be existing on a series of meal replacements, (courtesy of that nice man at herbalife), caffeine tablets and cigarettes in a desperate attempt to prevent myself looking like a fat, shelf-bound spinster older sister at my younger sister's wedding in October, to be able to find something to wear for aforementioned wedding that doesn't have to come from the 'plus sizes' department, and hopefully to be able to fit into the £170-worth of linen trousers I have bought for the summer. (That's three pairs, by the way - I'm not into the huge-spending league just yet). I don't care that it relies on caffeine and soya. I just want to be smaller.
hello
[pen and all reducers] I've just finished a 60-hour week [I know it's not a lot by some standards but it was very intensive sort of work] so it's great to have time to catch up with the Morniverse. It's also quite exciting to see a reference to Rugbypilging in May. I'm going to cut out butter for the next six weeks in an attempt to rid myself of this blubbery lump around my middle. Oh yes - I'm also aiming to drink a couple of litres of water a day.
As it happens, I'm also on a diet, and so far I've lost a little over a stone.
die
Although I am drinking a remarkable amount of water, I am not on a diet, and you really do NOT want to know how much oil there is in a biryani, as taught to me by a nice Iraqi woman. Further investigations of regional cuisine will be undertaken soon.
Dieting
Here's a cheering thought: when the Allied forces liberated the concentration camps, they found no fat people. Therefore, it is possible.
You know when...
As symptoms of too much online MC go, I think starting a page of notes with the title "Slap this jammy factor" must count as one of them.
Concentrate...
[Raak] Yes, I guess it's all a matter of concentration. Where do you find a Japanese or Nazi prison guard when you need one? (And if I might say so, you speak like the enviably skinny person you are... :op)
diggings
I just found The Encyclopaedia Morningtonia here: http://www.satiche.org.uk/satiche/sat-0207.htm. Have I not been following the chat, or did anyone know?
[pen] It was mentioned in the Morniverse a while ago. It seems to have added an acknowledgement of its source since then, but the URL of course doesn't work.
unmarried ladies
I was looking at an old marriage certificate (circa 1942) at work today, and noticed that the the bride (aged 18) was described as a "spinster"! I never realised that applied to any unmarried woman (unless she was thought old to be unmarried at 18).
the spin
All first time brides were known as 'spinsters' [and possibly may still be so - but I haven't got married for a while so I don't know] and their age had nowt to do with it. It's interesting how the word now [to those aged 30 and younger]conjures up an image of a a lady past her prime.
... whereas batchelor, the gender opposite, conjures up an image of the footloose and fancy-free young blade. Life's a b*gger really, for us girlies.
Shelves
Surely not! A spinster, just like a bachleor, is someone of marriagable age (definition liberal) who isn't? I have never thought of it as otherwise.
Spinsters etc
(Chalky) You don't need to be under 30 to think of a spinster as unmarried and no chicken. The word was a bit old-fashioned even in my childhood (40's - 50's), and mildly derogatory. Its original meaning was "female spinner" (of yarn). This was presumably thought a proper way for unmarried ladies of a certain age to occupy their time, in the absence of vibrators, though who knows.
Yippppppeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...........
Home in 55 minutes and 5 nights off......Will the NHS survive without me, probably. Do I care if it doesn't, no!!!!!
As Rosie says, a spinster is just an unmarried woman, but it has acquired unofficial overtones of left-on-the-shelfness. If you have banns read in church before your marriage, the woman is always described as "spinster of this (or another) parish".
Spinsters
It's all part of the gender bias inherent in the English language. Get a thesaurus and look up 'manly' and 'womanly'.
bias schmias
Hmmph. It works both ways... Being left on the shelf means you sometimes get mixed up with the rejects and the returns, which sometimes ain't so bad. This weekend is an interesting one, for complicated (and unexpected) reasons. I just hope I've got enough lipstick to last me until tomorrow. BTW (and to start another subject) I bought a petrol-engined lawn mower on the web last night. It's going to be delivered to my office on a day when I'm out at meetings all day. Am I completely nuts? (On second thoughts, don't answer that)
*doesn't answer, but...*
*sends in the white-coated squirrels*

mmmm, machinery. Is that just for your patch of lawn, or are you thinking of going into business? And has the back corner managed to reassert itself, or is the forest properly under control now?
Mind you, I can't talk, I'm still slightly in love with my new fridge. It purrs...

Manly vs womanly
[Tuj] Womanly means to exude femininity or lady-like qualities, whereas Manly is a suburb of Sydney, Australia. ;)

I don't believe I've heard the term "spinster" used in America for...well...ever.
digital camera
Yay! I finally got one, that can be used to take short videos and act as a webcam, for the princely sum of £17.95, including postage! I can now use the internet for its true purpose - putting up pictures of my cats (once I get some webspace sorted - I get some free from NTL). I'm looking forward to selling shiny objects on E-bay, as well. ;)
digital knobs and dials
[Snorgle] Don't be ridiculous. The internet's true purpose is so men can chat you up by sending you pics of their tattoos and knobs and you can pretend to be impressed. (And £17.95??? Did you get the decimal point in the wrong place?)
Clocking off
Just to let you know I'm stepping into the Slovak Republic for a few days, so if you don't hear from me, that's why. Oh, and not impressed with myself at booking an 8.15am flight on the morning the clocks go forward...
[pen] For a fine selection of knobs you could do worse than look here.
knobbing it large
[rab] Thanks, sweetie. It even gave me the option of 'knobs - small, medium, large' :oD
wrong places
Nope, it was that cheap. I really didn't want anything fancy, just something to try out. It was discounted too. I actually got some nice photos today! Here it is.
go pen, GO!
[pen] Good luck on your mission to shrink. Sounds tough, but I'm sure you'll cope. I'm on a exercise mission to minimise my waistline to fit better into my bridesmaid corset and skirt, will be going to the gym later for multiple sit-ups. But only when i can prise myself out of my pyjamas!
[widey] Which bit of the evil NHS do you suffer in? I'm quite content at the moment as its my third weekend off in a row! But next week I'll be back to miserable, downtrodden Lib!
The value of the penny
pen] I'm on my 10th week of weight loss - so far I've managed about 1.5 stone. I’ve found that if I substitute my normal meals with low-fat options, I just crave the high-fat version. Low-cal stuff is often (not always) crap - so I've taken to eating really high quality stuff so that when I do eat, I've really got something to look forward to. Plus I've discovered Lebanese cooking - fabulous couscous and fresh onion salads, houmus, pitta bread, fresh mint leaf tea...
[Btd] Sounds delicious... I'll have to find a book. I'm still waiting for the diet stuff to arrive, but now I have a lurgy which isn't going to make it much fun...
the dreaded!
Oh, that ruined my last diet! I got a cold and just felt too miserable to cut down - I was drinking loads of hot chocolate, etc..
lurgy survival
pen, snorgs] Chicken soup is good for lurgy and diets. If you can wait for it, go for this one.
bob boc boc
I'm a veggie - so I'd better not.. :)
chikensoupicillin
[Btd] I make a chicken soup so substantial that it becomes a meal in itself - I ate it three nights in a row last week. Wish I'd frozen some of it now :o(
Orthographic pedantry
It's Lurgi. Think Italian. Trust me; I heard it first time round. :-)
lurgi
[Rosie] I'm snotterini too. *Atciao!*
[penelope] (back one post) Wouldn't that have been a chicken lollipop?
Quiet night in outer space?
No e-pilg tonight?
e-pilg
Sorry, DrQ, busy tonight! My brother is coming over from Canada on Wednesday, and I'm still getting his room ready..
Indeed a quiet night.
[snorgle] Yes, I see he took the cold with him. ;)
Lurgi
Has anyone heard this pantomime sequence? (don't know which pantomime) - 1st witch: Where's the fairy princess? 2nd witch: She's in bed with the dreaded lurgi. 1st witch: Oo-er! 2nd witch: Oh, I dunno, I quite fancy Italian men meself.
Sniffles
Lurgi has now struck here too...
Lurgi
Well, *I* still can't get rid of this damned bronchitis that's been bugging me since the beginning of the month. It's mostly died down but it won't go away...
*atchoo*
Was out with Mother last night, after dropping off older sister at the airport for her return to the US. I'll be there next week :o) The lurgi is steadily taking a grip... :o(
not so cute
My two and a half year old, Thomas, picked up the lurgi over the week end. Unfortunately being so little he does not quite understand the concept of blowing his nose into a tissue, with the consequent torrent of stickyness streaming from his nose. As I leave you with the wonderful picture in your mind of this shimmering gunge glistening in the soft light of spring. Ponder a few seconds further on semi transparent bubbles on the end of his nose each time he sneezes.
[pen] I don't suppose a side-trip to Da'Burgh is in your plans? :(
oops
[DrQ] Bleeeaaaauuuurgh. I meant I'll be in the chatroom next week, not I'll be in the US. I realised once I posted it how rong (that's right, R-O-N-G, rong) it looked, but was too busy sneezing to put it right.
*hangs yellow flag outside door*
I'm not coming back here until everyone is recovered!
*hands round tissues, paracetamol, cups of tea and some sympathy to all those suffering from lurgi*
I'd send some warm weather, but having a summer cold is foul.
Guarantees
[Btd] That would guarantee you a pat down search... depends what floats your boat, I suppose.
ISIHAC Pilg In Rugby In May
If anyone is interested, I've just posted here.
Get Well Soons
....and * a comforting pat * to all you poorly people. Awww.
change of subject
Sorry to change the subject and anticipating that I am about to whine --- Two and a half weeks ago I was in a car crash. A lady who reports for a local tv station zoomed through a red light and creamed me. I was lucky in that she did not hit the driver's side door. But I still hurt and I still find in idle times that I relive the event. Worst thing I've been through, although I'm sure many have been through worse. My car, meanwhile, is a total loss. So finding transportation after the rental car is done is also a concern. Just wanted to vent.
Awww!
[Tina] Sorry to hear that. *a comforting pat for you aswell *. I hope they throw the book at her.
Bumps and lumps
[Tina] Bad luck, that sort of event is never pleasant. If my experience is anything to go by those sudden memories will slowly reduce in frequency - a bit like the bruises, I suppose. I had a few bingles when I was younger (not all my fault, by the way) but maturity (?) brings sanity, adherence to speed limits and a much more alert attitude. I too had a lady fly through a red light and hit the area of the driver side rear wheel; it's a little disconcerting when one thinks about the timing! The worst thing I found is the incredible inconvenience of not having your own transport following the incident. I was fortunate enough to have a good friend who loaned me his FWD for the duration (I used to arrive at work at 5 am in those days, at which time there was no train which would allow that). Fortunately the lady involved admitted her error - I hate to think what might have happened should she have disputed my version.
Tina and sympathy
[Tina] *offers more sympathy* It's trite, but it helps to remember that it could have been worse. My most recent experience of something similar was when my collarbone was shattered about six months ago by an idiot out-of-control a****** (or, for our British readers, a*******) in a soccer match. I'm still recovering, dealing with tendonitis in my upper arm and very odd clicks in my shoulder; and even with insurance, it cost me several hundred dollars. So it still pisses me off that I bear the consequences of someone else's irresponsibility and stupidity. BUT -- and the BUT is very important... 1. I didn't land on my head and suffer a spinal injury, which I easily could have. 2. In the emergency room that evening I remember passing a legless guy in a wheelchair. That has helped me keep the incident in perspective ever since.

Truth is, life throws us some nasty experiences from time to time. If they end up being no worse than mine or yours, we are lucky. As I said, it's trite. And true.
[Tina] Ooh, ouch. I'm sure as Dujon says you'll feel better in time, but that doesn't necessarily help when you're in the middle of it, so *sympathy*.
Anyone who breaks the law whilst driving should be banned forever. No exceptions.
[Bm] Well, that takes at least 90% of drivers off the road immediately.
ty
Thanks all for the kind words. They do help.
accidents
Tina] Surely your insurance will cover you for a new car until her insurance pays out ? Are the police pressing charges (or are you?) - My advice would also be to see a Personal Injury Lawyer about it. Apparently any claim for injury/worry caused are automatically accepted by insurers if they are not over a certain limit (a few grand) when they start to check up.....I know it is not greatly helpful at the moment but I am sure that when a cheque finally arrives from her insurers it will make you feel better. I'm against stupid litigation generally, but in car accidents like this they are rarely stupid and you should also be vigilant for any signs of injury that may not be yet manifesting themselves - neck, back especially.
BM] That is an ***utterly*** ridiculous thing to say.
Cars
[st d, raak, bm] We probably don't want a repeat of the 'speeding as crime'/'stupid speed limits' argument.
[Tina] Sorry to hear about that. I've never been in a serious road accident so don't know how it feels, but I do know my sister suffered for quite some time after a car drove into the passenger side of the car she was a passenger in. Time seems to be healing her, as I'm sure it will you,
I was about to post about the fantastic day I've had belting my car around Oulton Park, but I won't, now.
'otfooting round Oulton
[Nik] At least you let all yours out on the track where it's legitimate rather than playing in real traffic. Good for you. And [Tina] *sympathy* too. What a bummer.
[Tina; following on from st d] If you do end up suing (and when something similar happened to my other half she didn't seem to get much choice in the matter, the insurance company just decided they were going to [no prosecution, though -- the police are holding the threat of same over the culprit's head to make him take some sort of How Not To Be A Complete Idiot Of A Driver course]) don't forget to mention those nasty flashbacks you've been having ... Our legal system seems significantly keener on compensating emotional distress than physical injury.
the horn, it goes "beep, beep"
All this talk of motor vehicles... I've been having the slightly surreal experience of learning to drive on the wrong side of the road. Granted, the roads here are in +superb+ condition, but everyone drives like they have some lower limb condition that prevents them from taking the weight off the right pedal. There's not so much of the crazy weaving and cutting in and tailgating (not as much as, apparently, in the UAE), it's just that they drive really, really fast. And then some. I have been doing very well (manual car, too), mainly because I'm reasonably ambidextrous, and I'm a spatial thinker, so turning things back to front in my mind (or contorting them in some other way) as required is pretty easy. The only thing I've noticed is an unconscious drifting to the right within the lane, which I find rather puzzling.

And for bizarre traffic, just one word: India

continental drift
[flerdle] The drift to the right is to be expected. You are used to driving a right-hand drive car, which means you are used to most of the car being to the left of you (equivalently, you, as an individual, are used to being on the right side of the traffic lane). Now most of the car is to your right, which means if you place yourself (your body) in the position in the lane that you are used to, the car will be too far to the right. As someone whose driven pretty extensively on both sides of the road, I actually find this is the biggest problem of adjustment -- more than actually making the mistake of turning onto the wrong side.

But you should take care in the next week or so: the dangerous time for accidentally driving on the wrong side is typically after a few days, when you stop thinking so consciously about which side of the road you should be on.

[nik] er, I think Bm was _kidding_; and I think (hope) that Raak and st d knew that.
[Breadmaster] There is a small country in which that is actually the case. I am pretty sure it's Kiribati. I remember reading they brought in a zero tolerance policy around 2000, and have since banned about half their drivers, without much effect on the economy, so I gather.
There's no reason to think it would have a major impact on the economy. In most economies the transportation sector is a pretty small fraction of GDP, and other forms of transportation typically operate as effective substitutes for private vehicles. Plus the revenue that would have gone to the transportation sector ends up being spent elsewhere, so on net the effects are going to be minimal. In fact, the impact could be positive, in that there may be stronger multiplier effects in the tradeable sectors of the economy (which is where at least some of the spending will go), and the policy would also eliminate some of the uncompensated costs, such as pollution and congestion ("externalities" in economists' lingo), from cars. Thus I might actually expect to see improvements in the balance of trade, little impact on tax revenues (and hence on the government budget deficit), and a positive (though probably negligible) effect on growth rates. Of course, this analysis presumes that the monetary authority pursues an apprpriate interest rate policy to ensure that the impact on the financial sector is minimized.
[Projoy] As Kiribati consists of groups of archipelagos spread over about half the Pacific Ocean, and none of the islands are very big, this means that (a) you can't drive any particularly useful distance in the first place, and (b) air and sea travel is much much more important.
Banning half the drivers in Britain may seem like a good idea to some (e.g. Richard Brunstrom, chief constable of Mrs Trellis' neck of the woods (N Wales)), but taking (say) half the HGVs off the roads would place an intolerable strain on the rail infrastructure, which, in any case, leaves far too many places unserved. OR you double the number of aircraft plying our domestic skies - and you'll know how much stick air travel comes in for for its alleged impact on pollution levels.
Well, maybe I was kidding a little bit. Perhaps it would be more realistic to say that anyone who breaks the traffic laws has to retest before they can drive again, with possible relaxations of the law for those to whom driving is intrinsically part of their jobs. That's as un-draconian as I'm prepared to go, though.
[Breadmaster] I'd go the other way -- if people are going to be driving a great deal, they should be subject to more stringent testing, not less. I think the only real way to make your system work would be if there was a decent public transport alternative so that people (particularly in rural areas) couldn't plead that they simply have to be able to drive. Which inevitably means subsidising it, but you get a heap of environmental/congestion/etc. benefits too ... I'll get off my hobbyhorse now.
[Projoy] It may not have affected their economy, but 75% of the car factories in Rawaki have gone out of business since the policy was introduced ...
of nothing in particular
Would anybody like to see my potograph of a little horsey who looks like MOOMIN ? Well if you do, HERE it is. :o) Moomins. I wonder what he is doing now ?
[Brendan] I think you're right. A tricky one. But as someone said, we don't want to get into this argument again.
[StD] You're right! He does look like a Moomin. Very cute.
arguments
do you like the way I am trying to divert the topic from cars to horses ?
[StD] You're doing a fine job. I think we can all agree to like horses, especially ones that look like Moomins. Even though a horse bit me once, and it darnedly hurt, I can tell you.
I think that anyone who rides a horse carelessly should be retested and banned for life. Particularly if it looks like a Moomin.
horses
PJ] Do you not think that some of the responsibility should lie at the hooves of the horse ?
Indeed...
..it surely behooves us to at least lay some responsibility at his hooves. (Now I bet you will never hear that sentence again)
[st d] I am not sure. I have never been behooved myself. Perhaps I will form a stronger opinion if I am.
[Projoy] Maybe we could resort to satyr?
Ticket
Hello. I'm back. Glad to see nothing untoward is happening, apart from Tina's accident of course for which I offer my condolences.
Hmmm
That killed the conversation...
conversation killers...
Talking of which, the new diet makes my wee green. It's worth the hideous expense and pain of meal replacements for the entertainment value. [Lib] Any explanation?
wee green
reminds me of the 14th at the Royal & Ancient. Tiny tiny tiny and surrounded by bunkers.
green pee!
[pen] I've never heard of green wee before...... Perhaps you're turning into an alien! I've come across bright red (not good), maroon (not bad) and orange (also not bad), plus the usual normal variations. The other day I saw wee akin to cottage cheese! YUM!
Lime Green Wee
Pills with chlorophyll colour my wee lime green - it looks like it could glow in the dark. BTW, when is Rugby? Have I missed it?
Rugby Ball
Bool] Rugby is on May 15th, so you've not missed it. However, I am reluctantly attending a school reunion tomorrow (03.04.04) to which I feel urged to remind you, you qualify to attend. Your company would be most welcome, especially if I get to find out why you have to take chlorophyll greenwee tablets.
chlorowee
[Boolbar] That'll be it. Chlorophyll is one of the ingredients in the formulae. I'll be photosynthesising nicely then. Dark reactions, light reactions... *forgets most plant biology*
Vroom! Vroom!
Can't hold it in any longer: Car pr0n! 15mpg....
naaaaaaaaaaah!
[Nik] You don't wanna be driving one of those! You wanna be driving one of these!. This is part of what I do... VIP passes available for my very close friends or see your local press for competition tickets closer to the date! :o)
[Nik] Golly - I do wish I lived near a circuit like that so I could give my TT a good thrash sometime.
you dont wanna drive one of those
Not Bernie...
[Btd] You didn't know? Good grief, man - get out from under that stone! But, yes, I agree!
more red carpet
After last weeks Celebdaq success of x_sugarbabe_x in reaching the top of Celebrity Mornington Crescent for the first time, it is now the turn of ffiish (aka Graham III) no stranger to the red carpet, the last time, was only in January.
Lol...I keep thinking Ronni Ancona/Lorraine Kelly stylee..."You need a pair of these!"
[pen] always glad to solve life's little mysteries. [btd] 03.03.04? But that's today! and it's 7pm! and I've nothing to wear!
daquiri
Ooh. Why thank you. Not really been paying too much attention, but it seems that Sven was a good investment. I'm in Europe at the moment (and for the next few weeks) so going to slip rapidly I think. Anyone in the Paris area, Munich area, Prague area? Would love to meet an English speaker! mail:at:graam:dot:me:dot:uk
Bollox n stuff
Offline for 7 days!!!! I have withdrawl symptoms!!!
Weather.
April 4th. Latrobe, PA: 1 C, snow flurries.

GAAAH!
Today's date is 04.04.04 and you know what? My big sis is 40 today... how's that for planning?
JUST LAUGH TO BURST
I ONCE SAW A PRODUCER OF CONDOM AT ENERHEN ROAD IN WARRI CARRYING TWO KIDS ON HIS HEAD WHEN I ASK WHY THIS ACTION? HE REPLIED MY CUSTOMERS ARE COMPLAINING OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MY CONDOMS AND THESE ARE THE PRODUCTS OF THEIR COMPLAIN. SO.....LOL......HAHAHAHAHAH. DO U THINK CONDOMS PREVENTION OF HIV/AIDS CAN MEET THE CUT OFF MARK.IF YES CONTINUE TO USE THE CONDOM,IF NO PLEASE TRY ABSTENANCE.
Fabulous.
ahhhhhhhhhhh
The British weather it brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it. I have 2 days off and the forecast is rain........oh joy and delight abound NOT
wetwang
[widey] Why not look at it positively? These two days are the only two days you can go out and enjoy the rain with impunity. Get your wet weather gear on, have plenty of hot water waiting at home for a long hot soak, and go out in it. Admire it for what it is - just another kind of weather, no less beautiful than sunshine or fog, but admittedly inconvenient if you're dressed for sometjing else. As they say, there's no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing. Sorry. I'm on a restricted diet, you know
Mmmm. Bath.
more royal bust up
Mrs Becks shares are starting to twitch!!
daqing
I'm hanging onto Prince William due to his hopefully high divvies..
pj] Exeter.
Mmmm. Weston-Super-Mare.
Royal knockout
I'm on the Queen. She's getting loads of coverage here in Paris cos of the 100th anniversary of the entente cordiale, but I don't know whether that's being covered in the broadsheets. Half of Paris is closed today. For one doddery old woman. Makes you think. Not for very long, but it does, doesn't it?
Knocking Out Royals
I'm currently working in the 24th storey of a building overlooking Buckingham Palace, so I see HM coming and going by helicopter from the back lawn frequently. I wonder how long I'd last if I were to point a long tube towards her???
It must be one of the best views in London.
Get your Royal Kock Out!
[Projoy, st d, Chalky] You're all wrong. Chew Magna.

[GIII] You're on the Queen. I think there's a few tabloid editors who might be interested in that...

Eurostar
[GIII] That sounds like someone keen to keep on top of the Celebdaq, yours could be a wise choice as the queen will have lots of coverage and possibly even front page of the broadsheets. And tomorrow she will meet President whats-his-face of France - even more pics and column inches.
[snorgle] your a big softie.
I'm on the Queen....
sounds like something you'd overhear someone saying on their mobile phone. Or rather something you probably wouldn't.
That sounds like a cue for my Moscow story, but then again, it probably isn't.
pravda
ZK] go on tell us anyway. But keep it brief and witty.
Queenie
It's looking a decent choice, but the Beckhams' divis will be pretty high as well. Watch a space...

[rab] £50,000, exclusive. Cheap at the price...
I don't know about witty..
I was on a school trip to Moscow and I was the only russian student there, so everyone was used to me translating everything...we were walking down the Arbat and a man went past three of us, speaking loudly into his mobile phone. I quipped, "Hello! I'm on the train!" And Karoline turned round and said "Really?" ...Wrong for so many reasons....
Has the orange gone rotten?
I've been trying now and then for the last three or four hours. Has the site gone down, or is it just me?
rotten oranges
I'll check...
do not readjust your set
seems alright to me.
Orangey
[Dujon] Up as far as I know, and no reports of any downishness.
Hums
Hums (again, it seems)
It must be me. The site flatly refused to talk to my browser (I normally go straight into the site using the MCIOS skin) BUT when I attacked the site in a normal hacking manner (I am a smoker) all worked well; buzzed off to the MCIOS skin and it worked. Now I can access through my old 'bookmark'. Urrghhhhhh.

I may not be on for the next few weeks as my fourteen pounder, sitting quietly in the shed at the moment, may be called upon to do its duty.
cryptics
[Duj] Your fourteen pounder? New baby? Marrow?
Throwing weight around
Sounds like a man planning an Eddie Shoestring reboot.
Heavy metal
[Chalky] INJ is correct. It's a hammer; a bloomin' big hammer. :-o
cracking a nut with a ....
So it's a hammer. AND?
Action
Well, Chalky my dear, I'm about to find out about the 'AND' bit. Stand by.

Testing, testing

Tes(%╕Ñ▓ü▒êª╝╜┐

I felt that!
More celebdaq stats
Sometimes I think about the Celebdaq (probably more often than is good for me) and I've been wandering around and came to the stange decision that I needed more of 'it'. So now I've opened another account (Cleddau) and joined the waiting list of Celebdaq Discworld Guild Minileagues, which has 14 leagues of 30 players!! relegation and promotion !!!
There's an msn group called The Celebdaq Basements which has links to two very good tools. The one exampled is the Potential and Previous Dividends
Name Price
(Fri 00:00)		 Price
(Wed 06:00)		 Price
(latest)		 Last Div Total Gain
Last Week		 Total Gain
since Wed 06:00 		Potential Div Pot Yield
for Week 		Price Gain Pot
Total Gain
Victoria Beckham 3.43 3.89 4.15 3.28 86.91 6.68 14.23 414.87 20.99 435.86
Prince William 3.84 4.88 5.20 6.39 232.14 6.56 7.93 206.51 35.42 241.93
The Queen 4.11 4.80 5.13 5.76 178.03 6.88 8.75 212.90 24.82 237.71
David Beckham 6.63 7.40 7.89 2.97 25.65 6.62 13.65 205.88 19.00 224.89

Graham III could well have chosen right in going for the Queen instead of David Beckham tomorrow will tell. I'm almost excited ...time for a custard cream or two to settle the nerves :o)
Oh well...
Looks like Viccy B was the way forward. I'm miles off.
More vinyl
Today has been one of those rare occasions when I can dig out my albums, (some of which I have not listened to for several years) the Inkspecks have gone to stay overnight with the grandparents leaving me to decorate the living room. There's buried memories in them bits of black vinyl. Back then the music was part of what I did. Today listening to the intro of 'The Great Om Rift' by Steve Hillage made the hairs on the back of my neck rise just as it did when I first heard it,(I can still picture him on the stage of the Crdiff Uni). Tonight my task is to find some old tapes I made of the singles I bought at the time, as stopping every three minutes to 'spin the next disc' may lose its appeal very quickly.

Meanwhile over at Celebdaq and Celebrity Mornington Crescent its congrats and celebrations for Chalky who rises to No1 only question is, with which Royal family?
For the first time i've tried out the advanced trading tool which gives a very easy to read at a glance read out of which shares are moving and by how much over the last hour, three hours and since midnight, taking away much the guess work. I could work it out by the percentages.
I had bought Goldenballs some months ago knowing sooner or later he would hit the headlines. The account has been bumping along the bottom of the league for sometime, but patience has finally paid off.

html reprise
Its the second time I've made this mistake now, the "r" was missing from "href" so please insert this into the above posting ..... celebrations for Chalky who rises to No1....
chattin'
[Inkyspot] Thanks. I put all my shares on Vicky Becks even before the twitch. Also, it's only fair to admit that I'm also playing x_sugarbabe_x because the daughter lost interest in the Daq after a few weeks. In my sugary role I placed all my money on Mister Becks [the cheating b*stard]. Now I'm hedging my bets on both accounts between both royal families, but have spotted Arnie is on the rise. Wass 'e done NOW?
*note to self: must read the newspapers*.
Glad to hear you had some space to yourself for vinyl stroking.
Ommm .....
[Inkspot] Blimey, someone else who owns "Green". One great record, if you can get used to the vocals! I never saw him live, but I do have "Live Herald", one of the best live albums by anyone, ever.
Vinyl: it's the new black
Chalky] Be careful of Arnie, he picks up every Friday but his libido only lasts till Sunday, so if you need something for the weekend slip him into your top pocket. He has a rugged saw tooth profile as people throw their divi's at him on Friday morning only to cash in on Monday to transfer over to the news story of the week, so his value drops again.
So there you have it Arnie the quickie one-night-stand of the Celebdaq.
The 'vinyl stroking' went well today and has eased my pent up frustrations.

HB] I was lucky enough to see him twice during that era, the second time was when he was promoting 'Green' at a concert at Cardiff's Top Rank, they were selling the album along with all the other memorabilia. Anyway the album is a prized possesion, he autographed the record label and signed it with the om symbol. I agree Live Herald is a great album but I cheated at tea time and put the on the Live in Concert at the BBC CD.

I had my first ever, ever, ever virus today on the pc. After downloading the latest update, as usual, I ran the full scan, it discovered and removed a trojan called downloader.nex.B, I had picked it up somewhere when surfing. Although I'm up to date now, I could stumble across its like again tomorrow or the next day but unless I run my virus scan everyday I'll never know. Is this something I should seriously consider or am I becoming paranoid after one incident?

's a bit quiet in 'ere, innit?

[weather report] Another greyish day here, but no hope of rain, of course. Keeps the temperature down, though - about 31 or so most of the time here, down to 22ish at night. Am wondering when it'll start heating up properly. And planning to escape it :-)

Irritating diseases
[Inkspot] Do you have anything set up to scan everything you download automatically? I have found both Norton 2003 and McAfee (latest one) pretty good at that. You can also get utilities that sit there looking for unusual horsing around, which you can get in packages. There are, iirc, one or two free trojan horse finders which run through a lot quicker than a full system scan.
[flerdle] Might be with being Easter weekend and all.
[Dunx] Yeah. I only remembered part way through Friday. Thankfully I've avoided most of the Easter commercial hype (what a relief); sort of to be expected here :-)
locked out
I can't get into the chatroom and there's an eplig going on. *sob*
pests
Graham III] Thanks for your note on the virus and trojan scans, I have AVG and Zone Alarm running in the background the whole time which pickup things like;
The firewall has blocked Internet access to your computer (TCP Port 715) from 142.163.205.65 (TCP Port 3683)
The firewall has blocked Internet access to your computer (TCP Port 901) from 68.86.243.159 (TCP Port 2772)
which are two from tonight 68.... is a frequent caller perhaps 142 is worth a look over at Whois. The email is scanned by AVG and touch wood my Inbox has been junk free with only my expected mail from NASA, ESA and Loonies, everything else gets routed to Hotmail. However for the last three years I've been running a peer-to-peer program on cancer researh from United Devices/Grid.org. One of the sites identified this type of regular data transfer as a possible way in for the unscrupulous!
awwww
[Lib] therethere *patpatpat* next week...
googlewacking
this site is a googlewack
waspish carping
[Ich] Not any more, it ain't.
carpish wasping
Maybe we should keep track of the number of times people pop up and say that? I'm sure it happened at least once before here..
celebrity sos
Tommorrow (wednesday) we're off down to Broad Haven for a couple of days till the end of half term to stay in a caravan. With no access to the 'net could I ask please if someone from Celebrity MC could send me the page, gareth underscore penn athotmaildotcom so that I can do the usual.
I'm too excited...
Here I am, all packed, too excited to go to bed yet... will try and post somewhere into the Morniverse from Reykjavik later this week :o)
Liddle Gyser
Pen] Ah - wonderful Iceland.* envyenvyenvy *. Business or pleasure? Either way, be sure to take a bus inland to see the waterfalls. Under no circumstances miss a dip in the blue lagoon.
Half term?
Surely the Easter holidays haven't finished yet!?
Eggsellent
Easter? Oh, so that's why I had an extra day off.
Rugby ball update
Chalky has reminded me that there are only 31 more days until ISIHAC 2. Several folks have been contacting Chalky with contributions - please send them to me @nettlesoup, that is a .co.uk address and my name is bobthedog
Shattering the silence...
*trumpet fanfare* I'm very excited to announce to you all that I've bought a house! We've exchanged contracts today to move later in the month. I didn't believe that it was going to happen as its been a rough ride, but it is! Yay! I've got some piccies which I'll post if enough of you are interested.....
*cheers*
ooh, yes please.
not much convincing needed!
Click here.
House!
[Lib] Congratulations! I particularly like the matching buggies in the back...
Ah....
I notice the title of that page is out-of-date... *tweaks various knobs* Not any more!
Castles
Terrific, Lib. I hope all goes smoothly with the move and that the house and area turn out to be what you expected. Exciting times indeed - good luck!
[Lib] I remember the pain of buying a house... well done! My house is scarily similar to that in format. If I had a digitally-inclined camera, I'd be tempted to replicate the shots. On the other hand, the car pr0n seems to be killing my bandwidth, so more pictures would be a bad idea, I think.
I have a horrible case of the shakes at the moment. I can barely type. This is odd, because I've only had 2 pints of weak lemonlager, and a mere 3 cans of Diet Coke, today. Not much caffeine yesterday, either. Bizarre.
Lib's abode
It looks great Lib. [Lovely pic of you in the bedroom] An interior design tip .. in the kitchen - lose the tiles, keep the wine.
er ..
[Lib] I am assuming that IS you in the bedroom. Apologies if I've been a bit presumptuous.
I Often.....
Lose my tiles in the kitchen after drinking wine.......It should be a compulsory house purchasing sport! And on a completely different note I've just finished building a new Koi pond from recycled house bricks and it look fabulosoe...............chin chin everyone.......
Thanks or all your nice words. [Dunx] I too like the buggies in the garden, but the vendors won't let me keep them! [Chalks] That's my Mum, I was behind the camera! You'll have to wait till the superpilg to see my face!
fault lines
[Lib] Having just returned from Iceland (and having been educated in all things seismic) I think you were sensible not to buy the blurry houses on either side. Looks like they might be laying along a tectonic fault and are suffering frequent tremors. Congratulations! :o)
Boyce
I would have thought the caption might have tipped the wink as to the identity of the lady in question...
[rab] Read? Are you quite insane, sir?
[Pilg] Er, being my typical parnoid self, I'm beginning to worry about the upcoming pilg. I have vague, distant memories about confirming my desire to attend to someone (Chalky?), but what am I supposed to be doing (if anything) about accommodation? Am I giving a lift to Manchester-based peoples, or are we going by train? Yes, yes, there's almost a full calendar month left, but still.
Lib
I too assumed it were Lib, and that maybe she had a wee baby. Certainly the picture is in much shadow, but Lib's Mum looks very much like a friend of mine who is about 28, which would make Lib about 15 at the very most assuming Momma fell pregnant so early, and would still be very young to actually be buying a house....
Lib's mum and Nik's room
[rab] the words 'proud parent' could mean proud owner of new home? eh eh ...? oh alright ...perhaps not
[Nik] Yes - you're booked into hotel. Single room. JLE, rab & Lib might be in the epilg in MCiOS tonight - I know there was some talk about travel from M'chester last week. I'll be there mesself at about 9.30 pm for Q's about the hotel and timings.
Thanks for that. I will try to be in the chat room tonight, but usually forget about these things.
Spleen
I wonder if it's time for a spring clean? Mind you, from the position of not currently being very active in the games I may not be the best person to judge.
I haven't a clue. Sorry.
How did the epilg go? Any remaining questions?
Menu
[Btd] Any questions? I have thousands! What's in the line-up? Who's been really clever? How much swotting are people doing? What do we need to prepare? And what should I wear? :o)
dress code
A few pics of the venue if anyone wants to adopt a personal style in accordance with the interior ambience .. http://www.corushotels.com/hotel.asp?hotelID=54
I'm opting for a burgundy/aubergine crushed velvet gown, black lipstick, untamed long dark hair and wild, swivelly eyes.
Er .. what's all this preparing/swotting for ... do we actually have to do something when we're there?
Bansheen
[Chalky] You are Siouxsie Sioux and I claim my £5.
PENELOPE !!!
STOP HANGING AROUND IN INTERNET CAFES AT ONCE AND GET OUT THERE AND GO CLIMB A VOLCANO OR SOMETHING !! jeeez - the kids these days ?
great minds
[Chalky] Darn! Now I'll have to find something else to wear.
BTW, Is the Rugby venue a non-smoking venue? Mrs B wants to know.
fag
It wasn't smoking last time I saw it boom-boom. Seriously, the restaurant is non-smoking but it is ok to smoke in other places. My vote is that we politly ask smokers to refrain from doing so for the duration of the games.
smokers
bob] can we politely tell you to go stick your head in a bucket ?
;o)
PEN] apologies - I thought you were still in Iceland.
Spleening
[rab] Whoo-doodoo-Hitler seems to be due for retirement. A-V-M-A as well?
Concur
I certainly concur with the first, fun though it was. Not played AVMA for a while, but it may well be a good idea to lay it to rest for a while. It can always be resurrected in the fullness of time if so be required.
culling
Whoodoodoo for sure. AVMA seems to have a fanbase but I'm sure they'll speak out. But surely there are other games that have seen their best? Tell you what - let's end them ALL! [except Banter,and Long Game]
I'm still at work :-(
Alacrity
Why not?! I feel things have stagnated a little here...
Oh
The Furcation Game is unwinnable, but I can change that if need be.
Furcs etc
rab] I see no need... I may be alone on that one though!
Culling could be the way, but not a total one. Let's freshen up and stride onward, blah-blah.
mouldy old dough
It may have been mentioned here or at another of the boards after Dunx posted the "White Rose" archive that games do tend to go on beyond their sellby date, due a collective unwillingness to end games and feel the ire of players still posting. To the extent that generally I have come to only killing off games that I have created on Orange, which reminds me one of them has almost ground to a halt, time to get the sythe out again.
Although I still enjoy guessing in AVMA, it feels at times that there are only the same few of us playing and so making the winning move is a bit like musical chairs. I'll miss it when it goes but then again I also miss my mum's rice pudding with the skin on the top.
Rice pud.
Blimey, Inkspot, that doesn't half bring back memories. Loved rice pudding, whether 'runny' or 'firm'. Haven't had one since I married. I must have a go one day and see how I fare. With my culinary abilities (which run to meat and three veg.) I'll probably burn the bowl! Still, a couple of vinos before starting in order to settle the nerves and bolster the confidence should do wonders. Incidentally, to those of you who proferred information on dumplings some months ago, I never did get around to them. The main obstacle was the suet - not readilly available I'm afraid. My local butcher said he could organise some for me, but it'd take a week or so. The unusual burst of enthusiasm then waned rather rapidly.
Suet
(Duj) Suet is only flour and fat (or oil). You can make it in no time but don't overdo the oil. It's available here anyway, at least it is in Hamsey Green Co-op. Ideally, dumplings should be very slightly burnt.
Really?
I always thought suet was the scrapings from the inside of a haggis! Only kid'neyr. Burned dumplings sound like some of the nouveau riche who idolise Bondi Beach - poor misguided souls. I'm white and I'm proud of it! (To be honest it's the pain that puts me off).
suets you, sir
[Boobar] have mailed you using an address from last year - hope it reaches you
[Rosie & Duj] Sorry 'bout the interruption - suet - yes - the real thing is that solid fatty stuff that accumulates around the kidneys and omentum of the ox, sheep. etc. I believe one can no longer buy it readily because of the restrictions due to BSE, but I may be mistaken.
Suetessimal
[dumpling eaters] nope - it's still available. It's also available as a vegetable suet - it's just a solidified vegetable fat. I don't know about suet fresh from butchers... I guess it does take a couple of weeks if it's not something they produce regularly - you have to wait for the next beast to come through the slaughterhouse, I presume they throw it away otherwise as it's pretty untrendy right now. But both beef suet and vegetable suet are available in packets from UK supermarkets - I made dumplings the other day, in fact, for a beefy stew. Delicious. Look in the bakery aisle, near the flour and Yorkshire pudding mixes... (for those that know not how to mix together three ingredients... pffft!)
Haggis
DEEELLLIIICCCCCCCIIIIIIIIOOOOOOUUUUUUUSSSSSSS. Nothing else to say.
Haggis
Seconded. As indeed are fagots in gravey. Yumma.
Ahem
Faggots in gravy.
[Btd] I thought that was just serious food...
Faggots
"Fagotto" is Italian for bassoon. Can't see how this helps but it's true nevertheless.
I fagot
[Rosie]... coming from the french word for 'bundle of sticks' (fagot). Can't see how this helps either, but I always thought it was interesting.
haggis
I ate a vegetarian haggis before - it was delicious! No idea if it tasted like REAL haggis though..
faggots
does it not all come from the latin "fasces" ?
speaking of food, a colleague of mine went to THE FAT DUCK in Bray for her wedding anniversary a couple of weeks ago, and is still reeling.
Anyone fancy a bad tempered game ?
new game
st d] Yes. Get on with it.
the noo
snorgle] I am a big fan of the veggie haggis. The spices are the same as the meaty variety, so the flavour is very similar. What make the (McSween) veggie haggis so good is that it is full of real ingredients (nuts and veg) and none of that soya meat substitute nonsense.
bad tempered
if we do it, can we have RUDE swearing ;o) ?
rudity
[st d] you mean, like .. why don't you get get your effing act together and sodding well get on with it?
[st d] Well, after my Irvine Welsh effort at Orange, too much 'king swearing might stuff up people's content filters. So shove that in your cock and smoke it.
here comes a chopper ...
Apart from AVMA and Who-doodoo, which seem to have reactivated since the threat of closure was mooted, what's the favourite for the chop? I don't play many of the others ..
kill kill kill
well to be honest I think the INTRODUCING games and the LOST CONS games have been VERY SLOW recently. Also the AVMA and WHOODOODOO games seem to be trying to end naturally (one is in swan song mode.) I was tempted to just shut the feckers down but again, dont really play in them much so didnt feel I had the right. Maybe I should just go in and shut one down anyway and you can argue about it with me in the new game. If you think you are hard enough.
Now I am Bad Tempered
Okay Okay great joke ! I killed a game and now HOW DO I START A NEW ONE ?
hardness
[st d] I hate INTRODUCING - kill that one. Go on.
KILLING TIME
shall I kill that as well ? i have BLOODLUST now. I was going to but someone started a new one. It has been pretty weak recently after a strong start (just like HEDGEHUNTER in teh grand national. £20 I had on him. Bastar*)
Gutted
Finally get the chance to start a new ball in late arrivals, and find it killed stone dead less than six hours later!
bad tempered mode
{Uncle K] Tough sh*t :-)
Guts
UK] blame it all on Chalky. Vent your spleen on her in the new game.
Just tried to start a bad tempered game, wrote some wonderful blurb (it was called 'A Game to Rival PMT for Bad Feeling' - poetic, doncha think? and it had a load of stuff rubbishing StD in the intro. When I pressed the button, the sodding site wouldn't let me do it. Pffft.
Stop yer whingeing
rubbishing st d
whyever would yo uwant to rubbish me in the intro to a game is quite quite beyond me. By the way Chalky, you might want to go have a look at the !Yorkives to see GAME 736 which was the first (&last) outing of this game. It got rather carried away and I can only say far exceeded my expectations at the time. It still has me laugh out loud if I read through a lot of it. As for content filters, well......
Wahay!
[st d] Haha - just looked and how ROOD were you all? Extreme blasphemy from someone called Jacob and someone else called GRKWYK or some such fancy-arsed acronymically-challenged tosspot moniker ...
New gameage
[pen] Was that cos st d's game was started in the time it took you fill out the create game form? Did it say something like 'Don't think you can sneak a new game past me?' or similar... I think that's what's supposed to happen, but we've never had that race situation before.

[std] Ya fuckwit, didn't you spot the 'Create a New Game' button on the front page?

Oh
On the other hand, I have have surreptitiously dropped the game limit...
fuckwittedness
[rab] Actually ['though it chokes me to say this] in st d's defence - the New Game Slot didn't appear after he'd killed off GNBN. It only popped up when I murdered the Ball's Game.
Yeah
Yeah, that's what my previous posting was trying to explain. Read? It's that thing you do when you scan you eyes from left to right past some letters. Helps if the eye-brain connection is working of course.

Whoops, wrong game! I moot we restore civility on this particular forum...

civil engineering
What a fine evening it's turning out to be. Here I am, happily ensconced at my desk, playing online games with some awfully nice people. I shall be picked up at around 6.15 and taken to an excellent pub to join some chums. I intend to nibble on a packet of mixed fruit & nuts [haven't had any tea, see] and swig a glass or three of house plonk.
Bollocks.
ah - so the dog's bollocks is stirring ..
suggestion
Does anyone fancy a game of Cress?
I know I won't get any response 'til daylight 'cause this place, like, dies at this time of night, but I just thought I'd ask ...
nighty nite
[Chalky]Cress sounds good, go on its a form that's not played very often.
dreamy fillings
Mmmmmh, egg and cress sandwiches with mayo . . . .
Celebdaq
Woohoo! I'm number 1! (Again). (At last!). Were we supposed to take a screen print for someone? I want to save this for posterity..
Happy _______ day!
Happy St. George's Day.
Happy Nik's Birthday. (at the risk of offending him again)
Happy Dr. Lock's Birthday.
Happy My Birthday next week.
Happy Merlyn's Birthday next week in case I'm too pissed to say it then.
Today or not today, that is the question
Yesterday was NotmrsBobthedogs birthday. Today is Shakespeare’s birthday and tomorrow 1stchildofBobthedog is going to be a flower-girl in the Shakespeare parade.
Today...
...is spacebarofBobtheDog's holiday... :-)
Re: Cress] As good as any... we appear to have run out of suggestions (though not insults).
[DrQ] Does Dr Lock actually exist?
Oh yes, happy returns to all current birthday celebrators
Celebdaq
Congratulations on a fine effort, snorgle.

For Inkspot, whom I think wanted the chart saved; just in case no-one else did I have captured the table as a straight jpg image. It's not small (a bit over 200Kb) but if needed, it's here. I have not attempted to pretty up the page so the table is crammed in between a couple of advertisements.

Or was that last week?
Whatever. I shall clear it off the site in a week or so - or when I remember. :-(
and todays excitement is...
I *almost* got to go in an ambulance with a blue flashy light all the way to Liverpool today!
baddy pirthhay
Can I wish everyone a very happy notyourbirthday (and if it is your birthday, wait 'til tomorrow) as I am so bad at remembering peoples birthdays (including my own) that I am more likely to succeed in remembering to wish everyone a notyourbithday greeting.
[Lib] What, you mean you where clinging to the outside?
more Brazilian nuts
Late congratulations snorgle on being ay No1 . [Dujon]Thank you for the screen shot, yes it was for last week, how good are you at maths? The thing is, knowing the £ worth this week and the % gain, is it possible to calculate backwards to last weeks worth and gain . The table I have posted is from Saturday so the results are slightly wrong. If any passing mathematician is passing could they post a simple equation, I tried to do various transpositions but failed dismally.

...and another thing Dujon who do Bolton Wanderers think they are doing signing the Brazilian Rivaldo!

Mathematics etc.
You leave my lads alone, Inkspot. :-) You should know by now that we buy has-beens and rejuvinate their careers - then they nick off for more money! At the risk of incurring the wrath of everyone else - we're tenth on the table, who'd a'thought it.
I've never followed the percentage calculations on the 'Daq. They certainly don't look right at times. I've noticed that sometimes after kneecapping (when it's easy to do a quick mental calc.) the numbers don't always compute. Then again, it could be the wine. ;-)
'rejuvenate', perhaps.
...or 'prolong' ;-)
The "Start a new game" button
Is it there for a limited time only? I'd been thinking of porposing a game of Boardo, but then one sprung up over at MCiOS. Any suggestions?
new game
I made one a coupla days ago .. Inky agreed ... no-one else said anything
Rugby game
I've been considering using a game as a venue for ISIHAC pilg chat and news. Any takers?
Liverpool and Rugby
[Boolbar] Thankfully not, I had to stay at work as I was deemed to junior by Liverpool hosptial to be a medical escort. So I stayed at Macclesfield hospital and had promotion while my senior was out on the ambulance.
[BtD]Yes, yes, yes, yes!
Bob's idea
*thinks* hmmm .. I would hate to marginalise those who aren't going to be involved. I think most interested parties now go to the Pilg Game in Orange. There are of course, some people who are coming to Rugby who don't post in here, so whether they would start *looking* in here is anyone's guess. Then again, if we do do it it would only be for a month or so. [How about that? consecutive double 'do's' and 'it's'. Grammatically sound?]
not even going, but...
Valid idea, BtD, but splitting discussions and arrangements in two, in my experience, is inevitably a Bad Arrangement. So I would recommend everyone just look in The Pilgrim Game on Orange for Rugbypilg arrangments regularly, and someone involved keep posting the link to it here, or bookmark it yourself if you don't usually visit Orange.
As recommended above
Apologies for the cross posting, but details of the ISIHAC2 party in Rugby have now been posted on the Orange Pilg board. Jon Naismith, eat your heart out.
which level
junior once took his cat to skool and was asked by the teacher; teacher:junior why did u bring your cat to skool? junior:uncle,coz i heard my elders sister's boyfriend telling her that i will eat up ur pussy......hahahaahaahhh.o boy no be lie.
warri wan kill me oooooooooooo
o boy na 4 sizzlers o warri se wan woman carry small dog.after d dog don run entre nain d woman ask d security,have u seen enough?meanwhile she wear small microscopic skirt.nain security se we never see enouggh oo ur small dog?guy d babi bend down well well so tey every con dey show.nain she ask ve u seen enough?nain security answer yes we have seen more than enough........o boy no be lie.
Nice.
what the..?
What the hell is that about?
o boy no be lie
snorgs] e be de babi story bendi down for to look at me dog man yo no unnerstan? yo be crezi momma. o boy no be lie.
jokes
I got the sense of it, but I'm stuck on the word "nain".
nain
PJ] it means DWARF in french. See the poular song:-
Je voudrais etre un nain,
Pour avoir une grosse bîte,
Mais je ne suis qu'un géant,
Et la mienne est petite.
Just realised that attendance at the RugbyPilg will mean missing my mate's annual Eurovision party!
One song to the tune of the same song
UK] And your mates will be missing the Rugbypilg. Unless you invite them :o)
One song to the tune of last year's...
Btd] After swift negotiations, managed to book myself in 'round my mate's for Saturday 22nd, where we can watch the qualifiers and the contest itself (which he'll be taping), and pretend it's all happening live.

I really am a sad case...
Bollocks!
DIdn't realise the RugbyPilg clashed with Eurovision... What shall we do?
Euro-Trellis
We could perhaps have a Eurovision Break? The results of the voting are always really late - perhaps the scheduled entertainment will have finished by then, so those that need to will be clear to watch it. And I reckon we should have a sweepstake organised for the Eurovision result too... so there'll be a cash prize!!
You have to ask?
I'm sure you'll get over it, rab!
eurovision
oh dear oh dear oh dear oh dear
rugbyvision
I'll make sure there's a TV in The Study, eh?
Bad news
I'm afraid that e-pilg transcriber was in a horrible browser crash last night. He sadly has no recollection of the goings-on last night.
transcrash
what a relief :-)
Buttered muffin
Loobyloo] Darn shame I'd say ;o)
Dr Q] Nice to see you back, we missed you. Would you like to contribute long-distance to the Pilg? I'd like to have a "and this one was sent in by... "section for Mcers who can not attend. Cast your beady eye over the Orange pilg game and email me with contributions.
moomintroll
I read a rather funny news story about a man dressed as a moomin being run over by a truck in Norway and I was going to post it, but I can't find it anywhere!
ignorant rude w****rs
The tetchy game seems to be going quite well, I thought.
can anyone say "oven"?
Ok, ok, the "cool" weather (22 to 32°C or thereabouts) is officially OVER, here. Just in the last three days, it's all changed. Yesterday was a stinker of a humid day. Today, it was measured at 44°C (but very very dry) at 4pm.
I wanna icecream.
On the non-avoidance of ice-creams...
flerdle] I had two today, feeling rather gluttonous!
Weather
Did anyone else catch the incredible rainstorm in London yesterday? I did - indeed, I was caught by it. I don't think I've ever been out in such heavy rain - I didn't even know it was possible. Thoroughly enjoyable stuff all round.
Whoee!
When you've had enough, post the left overs to me would you, please? What was it like? It must have been some drop to elicit comment.
Saying 'bye-bye' for a few days ... speak soon
:'(
It never rains
[BM, Dujon] I was sheltering under the portico of St Martin in the Fields at the time and it was of tropical intensity – streets and pavements were a continuous flow of water. The worst bit lasted about 15 minutes, but my guess would be that it amounted to 1-2cms in that time. I was the slightly embarrassed-looking person in the business suit carrying his wife’s yellow umbrella with the duck’s head handle!
BTW I went to SMITF to see 'ZUM' a band that plays an eclectic mixture of E. European gypsy music, jazz and Argentinian tango. Very enjoyable.
more rain
The rain continues to rain here in the north of Wiltshire, I only hope it is dry in Youlbury, Oxfordshire as Little O' is going camping with the Cubs over the weekend.
ahhhhh the sound of rain
I live in Manchester and even when its dry its raining, now figure that one out!!!
huh?
[widey] fancy that, where I am it's the exact opposite, at least so far. Two "showers", not enough to actually wet the ground.
[INJ] Ah, those tropical downpours - several every summer in Bris. Be thankful there was no hail? *pines*
Manx Cats
[widey] I didn't realise we had another Nor'westerner in our midst! I agree with you about the moistness, though.
Mancunian rainfall
Manchester isn't all that wet. The average rainfall at Manchester Airport (1971-2000) is 807 mm per year. That's less than I get here in the sunny south (Surrey), with 828 mm. (1983-2003). Cardiff gets 1112 mm and Swansea over 1200 mm, the wettest large city in Britain. The driest would seem to be Cambridge, average 554 mm. Cherrapunji (Assam) has about 11,000 mm, the total for July alone being about 1800 mm. 60 mm a day - every day. Over most of lowland Britain (i.e. where we all live) you get that amount about once every 25 years.
panda leaves
There have been one or two comments about my punctuation, but I know what I mean and it ends up legible (more or less). Today I have picked up a copy of Eats, Shoots and Leaves from the library, hopefully some of the pedants round here will see some slight improvement in the next three weeks.
As a designer and Planning Supervisor, I wade through documents from the HSE on the Building Industry, anyway today I've been reading mostly Peer review of analysis of specialist group reports on causes of construction accidents Research Report 218.
I should not make light of other peoples misfortunes but on page 98 the Description of the Incident:-
A building was being refurbished and in the course of this staircase balustrade and handrails had been removed and plastic warning tape placed around the stair well. Upholsters were working on the upper floor in the neighbourhood of the stairs and one fell down the stair. well.

Rather than falling badly?
[Rosie] Ah yes, but in Manchester it does it all the time - a constant drizzle, rather than a few huge downpours. And even when it's not raining, it feels like it's raining. The rare clear, sunny day sees industry and traffic (well, moreso than usual, for the latter) grind to a halt, with crowds of people stumbling around, faces uplifted, blinking in slightly worried confusion at the big yellow ball in the sky. Hence, it's grim oop norf.
Persistent Mancunian precipitation
(Nik) A good point. Figures for rainfall duration are remarkably hard to come by but I strongly suspect Manchester has more hours of rain per year than my back garden, despite the lower rainfall total. Sunshine figures give some clue - Manchester has 1395 hrs annually (same as Sheffield, incidentally) compared to typically 1500-1600 hrs for inland southern England and the Midlands. Eastbourne gets 1848 hrs, making the retired gentlefolk even more prune-like than ever. Places like Oldham and Burnley are a lot wetter than M/C, and have even less sun. Manchester is not uniquely awful, weatherwise, not by a long chalk.
Raining in my heart
And to continue with that thought...
[flerdle] There was some hail in the rainstorm, amazingly. I know because it was hitting me. The whole thing was like running through a lake with a few bubbles in it.
Please send it over
My location has had this rain since the start of 2004:
January - 61.5mm
February - 108mm - 80mm of which arrived on one day.
March - 44.25mm
April - 31mm

My wife's lovely garden may be about to get the chop. There seems to be no doubt that existing water restrictions (use thereof) are about to be tightened. Urk!

Oz rain
(Dujon) That's 245 mm, against my 281 mm. Seems quite a lot to me, though your higher temperatures make it less "useful" hydrologically. But laying water out to dry is a bit of an indulgence in Australia, isn't it?
I'm writing this from my lovely back yard, powered by my clever new phone. [dr q] I got to keep one of the buggies featured on my house website, yay! If only i was small enough to fit in it!
wot rain?
[BM] It's not really hail till it's the size of giant golfballs ;-)
[Dujon] Urk, indeed. What has she been growing? I think lawn can be a bit of an extravagance, but a lot of other things can be made pretty water-sparing, but that depends on what they are. My own experiments in gardening had to be stopped a couple of years ago when I could no longer get the lucerne hay I needed, because of drought (no-dig style, lucerne hay topped with spent mushroom compost. Amazingly productive). I only ever grew veges, though.

I think I mentioned before, average rainfall here is around 100mm annually. This is a slightly old (1995) but still informative report on agricultural resources. Ironically, the largest crop here, other than dates? Alfalfa (lucerne).

Four inches
[flerdle] That's a bit on the dry side! Where does water come from (and don't say the sky) - dams, next door's river? [Rosie] It does sound odd does it not. That's supposed to be our wet season though. Winter - at least where my castle is situated - tends to be the dryest time of year. We shall see. Sydney's main dam (Warragamba, about five miles from me as the crow flies) is said to be down just under the 50% capacity level which does not auger well.
I'm not going to drill for water; let's try augur.
well, actually... let's go UndergrounD
[Dujon] Next door is at least as bad, if not worse - they have to resort to desalination of sea water. Along the Batinah coastal plain there are aquifers. The water itself is very high in calcium/lime but very safe, however because of the taste and the effect on kettles etc most drinking water is bottled springwater. There is a large mountain range about 30km inland, parallel to the coast, which gets the same to three times the rain that the plain does. There is continuous replenishment of the aquifers by seepage from the mountains, and from the flash floods that race down the wadis (dry gullies) when it does manage to rain. The rain, when it happens, is in the winter. The other main source of water close to the mountains are the Aflaj (sing: falaj), which are ancient and very reliable.
MCiOS problems
Anyone else having trouble accessing MCiOS? Another website I use was down yesterday, apparently due to Mayday hacker attacks on their server. I wonder if the same thing has happened to Parslow?
[snorgle] I can't see it either.
hyperlink
Well, as it's down, I'll put this link here, because otherwise I'll forget. Just a cute ferret story, although I recently saw a cat living in a garden centre, I just assumed it belonged to the shop, maybe it was a stray.
Nip!
Has Dr Q been visiting Mrs Trellis? [flerdle] Thanks for the info.
*snore*
Was in mediocre-smelling but still decent-looking New Wilmington, Pennsylvania this weekend eating Schweinflesch and getting heavily pissed. Kinda obvious considering the event is called "Hog & Grog". ;)
New Wilmington, PA
(Dr Q) Where's that, then? Couldn't find it on my atlas. Hope you enjoyed your Pork and Paralysis. :-)
more spears
Latest news in from the daq; in Celebrity MC moreteaplease has taken back the top from snorgle, but what is this!!!! blamelewis at No2?! a stunning performance after being kneeecaped just pipping ffiish.
Oink
It's hailing cows and chickens out there...
Hail, Mary
[rab] Sure is here too in Brum. Where's you?
Weee
[HB] Moist Manchester. Chorlton-on-Medlock, to be more precise.
Likewise here in Manchester's *other* Chorlton, Chorlton-cum-Hardy...
Silly names
No hail in Woodstock today. Sunny and bright here in Clopton.
New Wilmington, PA
[Rosie] It's a tiny town between Sharon & New Castle, right on the Lawrence/Mercer county border. You may be able to find it by the artificial lake in the shape of Alabama.

And yes I did. ;)

Slightly drizzly here in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh.
I'm back in Woodstock and it is p***ing down.
now you see them...
A torrential rain and hail storm half an hour ago washed away the newly-painted car park markings. Oh, how we laughed...
Penelope's storm seems to be on its way here. The last piece of blue sky is fleeing in a north-easterly direction while black clouds arrive with faint thunder.
Places in PA and other things
(Dr Q) Found Sharon and New Castle, but no New Wilmington, or Alabammy-like lake. Must be nearly in Ohio, it looks to me. (Bob the dog) Silly names? Near me is Fickleshole, consisting of a road junction, a pub and two farms. (All) Measured nearly an inch of rain Weds morning (25.1 mm) and quite a bit more today with a bit of feeble thunder. Good reason not to cut the grass or continue with my outdoor painting job. (Warlingham, NE Surrey).
[Rosie] Golly, I am glad I;m not in Surrey!

Well, bit of a given that one, really...

Weather
It's pissing down here in Turin and has been for over a week. Apartment block-residents (self included) who do not have autonomous heating (i.e. whether the heating is on or off depends on the calendar not on whether you need heating - April 15, all central heating off!) have been freezing their nipples off for the last fortnight, as it is colder than a witch's tit.
Rain
(Dunx) What I measured was the rainfall for the past 24 hrs, which I do every morning. So, not as bad as it sounds. :-)
sigh
Come to sunny Manchester where the sun shines even when its raining, which it does 365 days a year.................(rain I mean)
sigh
I know there are places that have more rain fall than here, but we do have a naturally damp climate, hence the boom of the cotton industry back in the 19-20 Centuries. Damp air is great for spinning cotton as the fibers are less prone to break and are easier to work. The same applies to wool. Are you all asleep now?
cotton and wool
Not quite. The Lancashire cotton industry had more to do with availability of labour and the proximity of a large port (Liverpool) than any climatic factors. Besides, the woollen industry was concentrated in Yorkshire, where the air is marginally drier, but frankly it makes bugger all difference anyway. Anywhere in Britain would be quite satisfactory.
Spinning around.
I used to walk past a cotton mill on the odd occasion on which I walked between the homes of a couple of my relations. One thing that struck me at the time - and I've never solved the conundrum - was that the building was large and had a huge number of windows, albeit those little six inch panes set into a larger frame. Presumably this was to allow natural light to access the interior; but the windows were never cleaned - or at least did not appear to be so. Still, I'm talking of a town called Leigh which also had two or three active coal mines and hundreds of coal burning fireplaces so maybe it was just 'natural' deposits. The air that came out of those windows - many were hopper type, hinged at the bottom - was hot. I sympathise with anyone who had to work in that environment.
why
coz
Raak
Isn't that more of an aak or an uhk?
Raak
OK, you win. My mouth explodes with delight.
Terrible implosions of unconnectedness!
[Raak] Shades of night is a friend of RavenBlack (the Advice contributor). Not massively interesting, no, but this sort of thing always jars my brain, especially on a slightly tender saturday morning.
Rrraak!
[Raak] It sounds like the "baby" in Eraserhead.
more soap
Meanwhile....over at Celebrity Mornington Crescent ; blamelewis climbs to the top, many congratulations (what or where is The Fly Floor).
sounds; one resource I plunder everynow and then for a new mail notification noise etc is http://www.findsounds.com/ click on "Need Examples?".
Actually Rosie your wrong!!!! oo errrrr did I say that!!! It does make a difference to spinning cotton if the air is dry and not moist. I admit the close proximity of an atlantic (via the irish sea) port (Liverpool) holds some merit but its not the main reason, if it were, Bristol would have been a good choice!! As for the "labour pool" most were agricultural workers who came into the developing areas to look for work in the "new factories". The populace of Manchester pre 1750 was much the same as the rest of the country.........
Lanky cotton
(Widey) Like anyone else I can talk bollocks from time to time, and do so, but I don't think I'm that far out about the climatic factors, though you've certainly got a point about the availability of labour. You're certainly right, of course, that high humidity is helpful, but what it boils down to in actual numbers is the difference in average relative humidity between Lancashire and the rest of the country and in all honesty I don't think it is really all that much. I don't want to sound too much of a pompous old fart but I am a trained meteorologist, albeit er . . . some time ago. (1966, actually). :-)
another question?
Cool........pun not intended.......I'm only going off what has been published in my local history books so I guess there is a lot of room for error on my part, I find it fascinating though the link between climate and manufacturing. I guess the other major factor is the multitude of fast flowing streams and rivers in the local, great for the early waterpowerd mills and shops...... I would be interested to know your thoughts on the present weather situation, is it my imagination or are we having more rainfall in the uk? Also it seems to be a lot warmer earlier in the year than it ever was in the past!......
boo hoo sob
I miss missiv trellis can't we av it back, g'uvnor?
missing missive
[widey] Some of the games are very slow and would probably welcome a euthanastic shove [not The Furc Game - that's sacrosanct] If no-one objects over the next day or so ... go for it
The weather
(Widey) The average UK rainfall has gone up, but not a lot, in the last 40 yrs. For instance, my own records, made with a standard raingauge, show an average of about 830 mm annually over the last 21 years, whereas from old data and charts I would estimate a figure of 790 mm for 1931-1960 for my place (NE Surrey). The rain has become more seasonal with autumn and winter wetter and summer drier. July is now the driest month of the year over a large area of the UK whereas 50 yrs ago it was about 4th or 5th wettest, certainly in the eastern half of the country and the Midlands. Summers are better! Winters are definitely milder than the 60's and 70's. This is only slightly due to global warming but mainly because we get a lot less easterly and northerly winds than in the past. The change in the circulation may in itself be due to global warming, but this kind of shift has happened in the past so it may equally well not be. I could write pages on this but I'd better not. :-)
Droughts and Floods
[widey] There is a number of factors which directly affect our planet and its atmospheric behaviour, quite apart from our own efforts to do the same. This is an interesting article if you are that way inclined.
[widey] Yes, I'd like to see Missive Trellis back too. I missed a lot of it last time because of my access troubles.
Kill them All!
Go on, go on, go on!
Sacrosancy
*wonders if we should perform the Furcation Game on Saturday*
*very quickly realises that's a rubbish idea*
Furcating
*has thought of an interesting variation*
Dentistry
(Softers) Couldn't think of a limerick line so here's the toothypeg news. There was a hole the size of the Arizona Crater in it, with the nerve almost bare. No wonder it bloody hurt. The dentist declared it a write-off and pulled it. All is now well. :-)
Tuesday 25/05/04, Radio 4, 11.30am
Just been advised of the following by my mate at the Beeb:
No Fixed Abode, Cricklewood
Phill Jupitus talks to Graeme Garden, Tim Brooke-Taylor and Bill Oddie about their early days as comedy writers and performers, and about their 1970s cult series The Goodies (1/2).
Here's a game we could play on Saturday - the Bad HTML game.
rab?
Chalky?
Just thought I'd break the silence :-)
Ah.
[Chalky] You know you're going to have to pay for that silence, don't you?
We could talk about the weather...
Same old... dull and overcast, cool, but dry.
[pen] Perfect running weather, then.
The weather
What will tomorrow bring?
rainbow skies
Tomorrow could bring the end of AVMA, and with it a new game. Any takers for "Spot Ruttborough's Ostrich"?
Yay!
Now where could that ostrich BE-E-E-E-E-E-E-E?
Frisky fish!!!
Today my Koi have been in a most frisky mood and have engaged in a mass spawning, must be the slight rise in the water temperature. I look forward to seeing their many offspring (and making a couple of quid when they mature!).
Entrepreneurs
[widey] That made me laugh! As a sprog I used to breed white mice and flog 'em. I never asked where they were going as some people feed them to their pet snakes. Nevertheless, the temperature didn't seem to make a difference at all to the production rate. ... :-)
So you were the white mouse supplier!
My Royal(Ball)Python, Oscar, used to love white mice. I used to feel a bit guilty feeding them to him, but then what the f**k they would eat us if they could!!!
What's in a name?
'Oscar' as a name for a snake?  Sounds a bit fishy to me.
FIRE!
Just ordered out of bed by an incessant beeping and the vague smell of burnt popcorn and told by the fireman standing outside our neighbouring flat to get out of the flat, whence we stood around on the lawn. Interesting start to the day, especially for the poor sods from that flat who have exams this morning and have to look forward to coming home to a water-logged, sooty kitchen, smoke-damaged flat and melted toaster.
yikes
[ZK] Lovely way to start the day.
[weather] It has slowly crept up to usually about 25-35°C here; some degree of aircon is a must now. No rain, of course. I think I'm becoming nocturnal.
ZK] Escape the smoke and examination pressure this weekend. Come to Brownsover Hall for the ISIHAC2 Pilg. You'd be most welcome! I'm sure Lib, Pen and Chalky would love to meet you too.
Indeed
excited
Blimey, that's the day after tomorrow. I now have 1 Jurassic "Radio Tymes". Most get more. Panic? Me?
excuse any incoherence; I'm only lately being introduced to Carling....
ah, sadly this weekend is much-needed time with my family; re-bonding over eurovision, Wogan-esque sarcasm and the traditional Spag Bol (ah, real food at last!!!!!). Have missed EV for inexcusable reasons these last two years, so shall be rather looking forward to catching up on the previously annual cheesefest. Otherwise, naturally, I would love to join you all. Have a good time on me. *tip of the day* beer is much nicer when accompanied by Polo mints.
Meantime, of course, the poor girls whose flat got burnt out have to live elsewhere for the remainder of the examination period, which I didn't realise.
Eurovision has nothing on what we have planned (and anyway TV can be recorded). Not so sure we can match the Spag Bol tho.. ;o)
I had the dubious pleasure of watching a semi-final of the EVC last evening. If you enjoy a few mid-teen check out chicks trying to make a quid and a heap of blokes singing falsetto (or have an injury; or aren't blokes?) this is for you.
Mind you, I wouldn't miss it for quids - it's got to be the funniest show on television each year.
Rugby Pilg
You're probably all on your way if not there already - but have fun! And make sure you get too drunk. That's important.
Seconding snorgle's sentiments
Yeh...
Hey, I loved it! The Netherlands should have won, in my opinion, but I won't complain about Ukraine...
Schwoing
[snorgle, Tuj] I certainly had quite a hangover this morning, though I understand others were more restrained. I think I good time was had by all, though I shouldn't necessarily speak on their behalf. Much kudos and fanx attack to Bob the dog (note small d).
thanx R Us
. . . . and Chalky!
Whoops, of course, and to everyone else who made the thing such a success.
Carrot
umm, Carrot?
Carrot (was it just one, or were they plural?)
And if I'm not mistaken there was a bottom too! Thank you everyone for such an excellent super-pilg. Same time next year?....
Vote 1 - Yes.
Vote 2 - YES [and I hereby volunteer to do the hotely thing]
and Bob - the Biscuit Game print is a work of art and is being framed to take pride of place alongside 'The Great Bear'. We didn't do it justice. Can we play it online pleeeez?
Vote 3 (from the Rickmansworth jury) YES.
More prepared alternative lyrics next time please. Merlyn's Bohemian Rhapsody has me in hurty squeaking stitches, as you all probably noticed (and no, I didn't have a Tenalady moment). I vaguely remember discussing American Pie with some sort of MC alternative lyric but I'm sure I wasn't volunteering. Perhaps it should be stored in the Sonnets game on Orange to see what incubates.
Vote 4 - YES. What a fantastic event, and a great location too. And what a wonderful bunch of people, who all got on tremendously well. At this stage in the proceedings, I'd also like to say carrot.
Vote 5 - YES. And is there any chance it could include a live game of "The Great Bear"?
Put me down as a YES as well. Nice venue, great company and I hardly felt any embarassment at my lack of preparation (although I will have to learn how to play a kazoo).
Oops that's embarrassment of course.
Old-fashioned MC, just like mother used to make
Chalky] The gauntlet's down - see the Lockisseum's Proving Ground.
carrot
[INJ] I think you were actually right the first time.
Great Bear
JLE] If so, I can bring my wall print of said map with me for team reference purposes.
grapefruit
[IncleKorks] Wahay - I'm there :-)
Wobbly
Just to let you know I'll be off piste for the next couple of days, as I'm travelling up to Edinburgh tomorrow for an interview. Feeling a little wobbly already... I also shan't be in the chatroom tonight for various logistical reasons.
"So, why do you want this job...?"
Good luck, rab!
Oooohhh.....
I see that there are suddenly two spare game spaces... Now, having worked out the etiquette of these things, I'm announcing my ideas for the replacements. I had a chat with Bob the dog after ISIHAC2, and we both like the idea of:
1] Playing Last Lines - inappropriate sentences that sound the death knell for a television programme (for example: The Money Programme - Has anyone got 50p for the meter? or Upstairs Downstairs - Rose! We're moving into a bungalow!").
2] Writing sales pitches for hard to sell items. The item must be described, and then the sale pitched in Estateagentese.
Well, folks - the ball's in your court. Anyone interested?
New Game
Lemon Puff
So was this uber-pilg recorded as you said it would be? Or do we have to make do with transcripts?
Recording medium
ZK] Half was recorded on to mini-disc (the second half)+ the end of games cabaret (which really was wonderful). We lost the first half due to a technical hitch :o( But I am preparing transcripts :o)
empty rooms...
9.50pm BST - is anyone going in the chatroom tonight?
Changing rooms
Sorry pen. I've been playing Lawerence Llewyellen-Bowen. 60 percent of wallpaper removed from bedroom. And thankfully all the plaster is where it should be! Fun.
[ZK] Unfortunately, the singing games and sound charades were in the first half! Still, that's all the more reason to attend next year's one!
chatroomier
[Lib] Never mind - I think we're probably all pilged out anyway. Stripping walllpaper? Wheeee! [Btd] Sorry I missed you.
Back from Richmond, VA
I'm back just in time to miss the e-pilg. Feh. Photos are here.
Rugby Photos
Darren has been kind - there are photos. Marvel at the thespery!
Or here?
Common-ents
[flerdle, PaulWay] They nicked our little badges!
Plate 40: I'm a wee bit concerned about that UFO about to alight upon LotUS' right shoulder.
Top hole, Dunx, thanks for posting them.
Did try epilg last night but it was quiet. Assume everyone sleeping off the weekends excesses.
picture this
Great pictures of everyone enjoying themselves....jealous? me? pah!
snap snap snap
Darren] Great pics - you can really see the detail on hiz nob. Dunx] Cheers for posting 'em!
Got home last night, and, as it was so hot, I decided I'd use the opportunity to run the Flymo over the lawn. I tell you - there's nothing like the smell of pureed cat poo pervading the warm air to keep you on task.
catmo
[UK] Ahh, the flymo/catpoo incident rears its ugly head. I've commented on this before, and recently remonstrated with a neighbour who doesn't believe his cat would poo anywhere but the litter tray provided. I tell you, you'd be amazed at the amount of shit one cat can produce. Starving them would seem to be the most obvious course of action.
Aaahhhhh..... NOT Bisto...
Pen] Sadly, they're my cats. As far as I'm aware, cats don't tend to toilet on their own territory, but ours never developed that quirk. At our previous house, our next door neighbour had fourteen cats, all of which used our garden, and I suppose they just worked out that the nearest patch of grass smelled right for business.
pushycats
Well, my cats nearly ALWAYS use my garden - although to be fair, one is so old she can't jump up on the wall anymore, and the other is so fat, he has some difficulty jumping up on the wall, and is quite funny to watch when he tries. So I'm always having to clear the garden, as we have a dog, too. We used to have a dogloo but it couldn't take the pressure, so now I just chuck it out with the rubbish. Lovely topic of conversation here today! :)
*dithering*
Do I take it that because there's been no comment on my games proposals (above), other than Chalks (who, I believe, would like a go at The Biscuit Game), there'd be no objection to my starting one or both...?
[UK] Go ferret, I'd say. I would suggest one tweak to the sales pitches one, which is that it might work a bit better if each person proposes the item which the person coming after them has to sell ... (a la things like Jeopardy). Then again, I suppose your structure would work more like The Book Blender on Orange, with people contributing when they thought of a cool idea. Don't know which would be better suited, tbh.
Love the pics...
[rab] a bit late, but... good luck.
[Dujon] Ooooh, they did too, the naughty beggars.
[pen, Btd] Phone line is dead, couldn't be there.
Hmmm this is interesting
Are there people living in here?
uninhabited
[Paulgeaf] We visit here from time to time - usually several times a day in my case. Have you found the other Mornington Crescent sites? They're similarly un-inhabited but there's a chat room on MCiOS, and we often camp in there on a Monday evening (BST or GMT). Have fun!
I've taken the plunge
Corporation dustcart is up and running. Winning move is a programme that I would definitely notlike to see scrapped (should be enough of a clue for anyone who knows me). If that isn't enough of a clue, it's one that Michael Grade has had a go at before.
Brendan] I'm giving some more thought to the sales pitch game, and I hope to post it in the next day or so, as long as the slot's still vacant.
nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!
There was Flanders & Swann and I missed it!
On The Slow Train...
ZK] And it was very good indeed! I have the whole F&S session recorded on my camcorder, but I have no idea how to transfer it to anything else...
[Dujon] Thanks for posting the corrected link. Safari's addition of line break characters can be pretty annoying.
life on mc server
[penelope] tanks for that. I must look around and work this place out.. I thought i was too old to find a 'new' area of communication online cheers :)
Uncle Korky's F&S Footage
[Uncle Korky] I can probably help you there - I've mailed you about it.
[Dunx] My pleasure.
[Darren] Thanks for providing the pics. I thought I'd put that in on my previous post!
exams
Woooo! One down, three to go. Then, only two more academic years before I can join the rat race and become even more bitter, twisted and cynical than I am now :)
testing times
Good luck ZK in the exams, is your time now your own? way back when, after our exams, we still had course work to do. The peer group crits took place on the last two days of term; older, bitter, twisted and cynical.
sees the light
[ZK, Inks] So that's why I'm not bitter, twisted and cynical! There's a lot to be said [which I may do, another time] for 'dropping out' of Uni, which I did for various raisins.
currantly speaking
Chalky] I hope you didn't eat them all at once;)
ZK] So come on then, which uni and what subject? (Good luck with the rest -- how well-spaced are they?)
peering
[Inkspot] What's a peer group crit? I'm imagining a ritual out of Maoist China in which each student in turn has to stand up in front of the rest and have their ideological errors stridently condemned, before making abject confession of their sins.
oh no! 'fessing time!
Classics at Birmingham. I applied to Cambridge but the bastards wouldn't have me! Shame really - I would've quite liked to be punting this time of year, but then some of my friends got into Oxford, so I'd have been forced to hate them :) I applied for Pembroke College as well, which would have been v cool cos 2 of the Goodies went there, as well as Peter Cook, I believe. Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned that as motivation in one of my interviews, or I might've got in :)
Back to exams, I still have Latin language to go, which is on Saturday morning, Greek language, which is next Tuesday, and my lecture exam, the following Wednesday (cram cram cram!). Luckily with the one I just took (Latin books) and Greek, we had take-home exercises which made up 40% of the grade and I did quite well. You only need 40% for the overall programme to pass for the second year, I think, which is ludicrous. [Inkspot] I hope my time is now my own, as I want to go home! :) I suspect it's all over from here, as my lease runs out on the 25th of June, and the property's managed by the university. My friend from school (same uni) seems to have finished for now, as her MSN name has read "sunbathing till September" for about the last week and a half. Jammy swine. :)

Now why couldn't I have written that much in my exam?
Question
Hello lovely people. I don't want to ask this question in MCIOS playground as the big boys are fighting. Anyway, may I just ask what people's understanding of the term "seafood" is? I've had a bit of a disagreement over it today in the jolly old office, and I'd value your opinions. Your normal service is now resumed.....
to me, anyway...
Anyfing dat comes out of da sea. Fish. Shellfish. yukky things like eels. Was it in the context of someone being allergic to it? Then it's often just shellfish.
Well, it depends what the meaning of "understanding the term" is ...
[Thos] Anything from the animal kingdom that came out of the sea. Fish, shellfish, squids, whatever ... I am far too ignorant to know what fishies live where, so in practice my definition includes freshwater beasties too. Not plant things like seaweed or little planktony things, though, even if they do come from the briny depths. The Blob-style mental image that arises for me is that of a large prawn, FWIW.
[ZK] Don't worry, you're not the only Cambridge reject in the world. ;) You'll find that 40% thing is pretty universal throughout this nation's fine universities, and indeed 40% over the whole degree will bag you an honours degree at most places ("only" a Third, but still ...)
fishyness
Hello dear Thos. We have a 'seafood' restaurant here and they serve anything that's considered aquatic, including molluscs and crustaceans. Did you know there's an edible sea urchin?
Simulposted with Brendan -but what the hell - I'll press 'submit' anyway .....
pin up time
Raak] You don't know how close that guess is. As part of the Architecture course we were given design projects which could take anything from a week to a whole term. The end of the process was 'the crit', in front of tutors and a group of students, it was inquisitorial and confrontational, others sailed through the process; me, absolutely terrified and nervous dreaded every single one. A tough crit of hard questioning gave no indication of how well, or how you had done everyone was grilled to the 9th degree.
It sounds bad, but the end result (which almost justified the means) was that you made sure the design process was robust. So, if ever you meet a building designer who seems a little (over)protective of their work....

Thos]Seafood; anything from the salt water sea? but Trout and Salmon could be served in a seafood retaurant, they may be considered fresh water river fish and therefore strictly not 'seafood'.

Unshellfishness
I've heard the term "seafood" used to refer only to shellfish and the like, and not to fishfish. I have also heard it used pretty broadly to include all fish, including those which have never been near an ocean. I think you can find precedent for whatever you want to argue
Salmon
[Inkspot] Surely the freshwaterness of salmon depends on where it has been caught? It is a fish that lives in both sea and reiver at different times in its life.

Then again, do they fish for salmon in the sea?

[CdM] This has a disturbing parallel in the number of piscivores and chicken eaters that call themselves vegetarian...

I sea food, I eat it...
Seafood, for me, is crustacean. Other stuff what comes out of the sea is 'fish'. Being descended from a fishing family (my great-grandfather and his sons were fish merchants in Aberdeen; it's probably where I get my habit of getting up too early from), I'd like to think this was some kind of official position, but it's just my usage. To me there's a clear distinction between 'seafood pie' and 'fish pie'; if the former included cod or whitebait or some such, I'd be most upset.
You shall have a fishy . . .
[Dunx] As a piscivore myself, I often describe myself as vegetarian to avoid confusion - if a restaurant/hotel can cope with veggies, then they can cope with me. Plus telling people that you are a piscivore means they lock up their alcohol.
Greetings
Hello. Nice to see about five new games have started across the servers since I went away - was that deliberate? Now I need to work on my space-time-continuum distortion device in order to find enough time to be able to play them!
Welcome back rab. I trust all went well :-) Re. your STCD device - you may need to factor in a couple of hours to catch up on the lively discussion in MCiOS - an eye opener if ever there was!

[all] Perhaps we shall find out which stance Thos adopted in the jolly old office disagreement. I was born in February - does that make me a Piscivore?

oops
I think that when I mentioned shellfish I meant things like prawns and lobsters and stuff too. My excuse is I grew up far from the sea, so I have never really gotten into fish and other watery edibles, cos they were always either muddy and disgusting from the local creek, or several days old and liable to be a bit dodgy...
Wells
[Chalky] I haven't heard the outcome yet (they're a postal organisation, and that combined with University mail systems means I have a bit of a wait on my hands, grrr) but I did enjoy myself in the interview room, even if I totally fluffed my way very badly through what might have been the killer question of "Is it new and is it useful?". Hate waiting.
Oh, and my odds are just under 30%, I understand.
All the best rab - hope they hurry up. And say yes.
[Seafood] Thanks for your answers and your discussion which almost entirely reflected the debate in my office. I personally hold seafood to be shellfish but it seems that whilst many others agree, a sizeable group also includes fish (both sea fish and fresh water fish interestingly). [Rab] Good luck
Carted
I appear to have accidentally stumbled on the winning move for Corporation Dustcart. Can it be reinstated?
Get Carted
Honestly... There I go, my first game as well, and I take the trouble to advise of the winning move further up this page too... Tut tut tut... I don't know... *mutter mutter*
endings
Raak]Is there anyway you could stumlbe across the finishing touch to Bad Tempered, Critical & Tetchy Game? or rab, could you advise what the winning move is please.
I'll reinstate the Dustcart shortly; meanwhile surely you can work out what the winning bloody move in BTC&TG is!
*phew*
Well done, rab!
And thank you rab for the clue, hehehe. What will we do with our new game slot? Missive Trellis?
Daq
I wonder if the BBC's data base has gone awry. I'm listed as sixth in the world. This cannot be correct.
I'd be proud. who do you own?
Mini cheddars
Congratulations to Darren on making me laugh at this hour - the game is usually sublime, but that move was rather fabulous :)
Puffing chest
[ZK] Calum Best. I had to go and have a look! I've no idea as to who he is and have been 'sitting' on him due to the day trading being reasonable. Mind you, not being celebrity minded and being totally ignorant of most people listed within the various categories, this is not surprising. *scratches head and disappears into the sunset*
Woo!
I got mentioned on Radio 2 embarrassing Sybil Ruscoe. Genius!
What's he been up to?
Belated comment
[Dr Q+] Thanks for the pics. Great stuff! Mind you - and I've probably said it before - the thrill of whizzing around continual left or right hand bends holds very little interest for me. Bloody frightening when one watches some of the drivers, quite apart from some of them greeting a wall with a hearty handshake :-(
That was not meant to be funny - far too many steerers have finished their careers in that manner.
more of the best
Dujon] Sixth is a great achievement (I'm envious), I think it was penelope, getting herself into a similar position in the players chart that prompted the whole Celebrity Mornington Crescent thing.

Unfortunately the daq will be skewed for the next month; Big Brother takes to the air waves yet again from next Friday (28th).

big sis
[Dujon] Yup, it was me. I got to No. 4 in the world, although I have no idea how. And now? How things have changed... I got an email from the Celebdaq people yesterday warning me that my account has been inactive for 30 days and I have only another 30 in which to re-activate it otherwise it will be lost and gone forever. :o( and yet... I still can't be bothered!
Slimming down
I feel the front page is looking very slender just now. As God intended, of course.
rab] Where I come from, we call that tempting fate ;)
...as long as the next game's nowt to do with Big Brothel...
Big Brothel
[Tuj] Perhaps a game of breathing new life into tired old TV shows or film franchises?
hellooo
I've decided to start posting on forums other than lock and orange again, so a big hi. and ZK, I'm in the throes of exams at the moment also so good luck and remember pro plus and the answer is generally option C...
[nights] How I wish I still had multiple choice questions! :) I have a bit of a thing against Pro Plus but I'll certainly remember that as an emergency option! What exams are you throeing? :)
Multiple choice exams are ok, except for the ones we had for mid-term Physiology. There, anywhere between one and all five of the options could be correct. If you missed any, or added extras, you were deemed incorrect. They were written in the most excruciatingly sneaky manner as well. It is possible that wrong answers were marked negatively ie right +1, no answer +0, wrong -1. I wouldn't have put it past him to do so.
exam excitement
well, 4500 words of essays (by after the bank holiday), two hours of french, two hours of russian, two hours of european studies, and about 20 minutes of russian oral... uuurgh. I seem to remember from combined sciences gcse that most of the multiple choice answers are C... wish I had that option now. what about yourself?
Have so far sat through two Latin exams (one 2 hours, one 3 hours) and have yet to sit my Greek exam (three hours, taking it well into "No Fixed Abode, Cricklewood") and my exam for Introduction to Greece and Rome, a further three hours. I handed in my Greek and Latin assessments in January - 40% for each of those subjects, I believe, which I thankfully already know I've passed.
On the upside, I never have to do a Latin language exam again. The downside is I have to do more literature....
Poo
I failed to stun the judges last week, but am the next on the list if someone declines an offer (which I doubt will happen). Ho hum...
...
...though it's not all doom and gloom as I've just been offered a job in Saarbrücken...
[rab] Your experiences are uncannily matching those of one of my officemates ... (first reserve after fellowship interview, [I'm assuming that's what your thing was?] ended up with a job in Germany). Good luck with whatever happens.
chuckling
oh the utter silliness of the Monday night e-pilg. Fair sets me up for the week, it does :-)
arrow_circle_down
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