Just another day

An entralling day of overlapping and shifting meetings finally came to an end about two hours after the GF had planned to get on the road. The journey home was pretty uneventful despite a sevarl crashes, breakdowns and sets of roadworks. The late exit meant that GF missed his council meeting.

[File under: Diary]

Over the evening meal tonight we discussed plans for the Christmas get together... which will be at the Indian restaurant in Worcester (well, somehow it seemed seasonal). The question faced by the Gorse Fox, The Abbot, the Don, and other colleagues was "what do you do to an evening at the Indian to make it more Christmassy?".
Suggestions included:

• Sumo karaoke
• Onion bhaji ping-pong (using Naans as bats).
• Dressing up (though the Abbot doesn't have to wait for Christmas to do that)
• Face painting, and of course
• Seasonal Tattooing
• Seasonal body-piercing - this could include the use of Christmas bells
  

Not sure which of these will be chosen to brighten the meal... but further suggestions are welcomed.
[File under: Diary]

Bizarre

Gorse Fox must have had some magic mushrooms in his Chinese meal last night. The night was punctuated with weird dreams. Perhaps that most bizarre (and one that will be news to Cousteau-cub, who is away diving in Thailand at present)...

"Silver Vixen arrived (in the dream) and was cross. She was cross because she had had to escort Cousteau-cub home because of her phobia for gloss paint, and that fact that she had painted the inside of her fridge with bright gloss"

Not sure whether Gorse Fox should be more worried about the dream, or the content of the dream! (And, NO, Cousteau-cub does not have a phobia for gloss paint).

Pooped

Long hard day... lots of change whilst the Gorse Fox has been away but sensible change. He's too pooped to be inspired tonight.

Rats Race

Gorse Fox joined the rats in their race again as he swept across country through the monsoon-like rains of the pre-dawn rush.

He would love to say how much pleasure it gives him to be back... but somehow, he suspect, he may not be believed!

Better, more flexible, bigger (or smaller), cheaper

A note in the Gorse Fox's inbox reminded him of this piece of wisdom (acknowledgements to the original author, whoever he/she may be). This is what life might be like for a real architectect if dealing with requests the way we get them in IT:

Dear Mr. Architect:



Please design and build me a house. I am not quite sure of what I need, so you should use your discretion.



My house should have between two and forty-five bedrooms. Just make sure the plans are such that the bedrooms can be easily added or deleted. When you bring the blueprints to me, I will make the final decision of what I want. Also, bring me the cost breakdown for each configuration so that I can arbitrarily pick one.



Keep in mind that the house I ultimately choose must cost less than the one I am currently living in. Make sure, however, that you correct all the deficiencies that exist in my current house (the floor of my kitchen vibrates when I walk across it, and the walls don't have nearly enough insulation in them).



As you design, also keep in mind that I want to keep yearly maintenance costs as low as possible. This should mean the incorporation of extra-cost features like aluminum, vinyl, or composite siding. (If you choose not to specify aluminum, be prepared to explain your decision in detail.)



Please take care that modern design practices and the latest materials are used in construction of the house, as I want it to be a showplace for the most up-to-date ideas and methods. Be alerted, however, that the kitchen should be designed to accommodate, among other things, my 1952 Gibson refrigerator.



To insure that you are building the correct house for our entire family, make certain that you contact each of our children, and also our in-laws. My mother-in-law will have very strong feelings about how the house should be designed, since she visits us at least once a year. Make sure that you weigh all of these options carefully and come to the right decision. I, however, retain the right to overrule any choices that you make.



Please don't bother me with small details right now. Your job is to develop the overall plans for the house: get the big picture. At this time, for example, it is not appropriate to be choosing the color of the carpet. However, keep in mind that my wife likes blue.



Also, do not worry at this time about acquiring the resources to build the house itself. Your first priority is to develop detailed plans and specifications. Once I approve these plans, however, I would expect the house to be under roof within 48 hours.



While you are designing this house specifically for me, keep in mind that sooner or later I will have to sell it to someone else. It therefore should have appeal to a wide variety of potential buyers. Please make sure before you finalize the plans that there is a consensus of the population in my area that they like the features this house has. I advise you to run up and look at my neighbor's house he constructed last year. We like it a great deal. It has many features that we would also like in our new home, particularly the 75-foot swimming pool. With careful engineering, I believe that you can design this into our new house without impacting the final cost.



Please prepare a complete set of blueprints. It is not necessary at this time to do the real design, since they will be used only for construction bids. Be advised, however, that you will be held accountable for any increase of construction costs as a result of later design changes. You must be thrilled to be working on an interesting project such as this! To be able to use the latest techniques and materials and to be given such freedom in your designs is something that can't happen very often.



Contact me as soon as possible with your complete ideas and plans.

Email Avalanche

GF Just logged on after his vacation... 690 emails to wade through. What a relief they are not real mail, he wouldn't be able to get in the door, and he'd have so much wasted paper he could build a bonfire for David Milliband.


Technorati Tags: Diary

The Great Philosopher

Gorse Fox notices a quote from The Great Philosopher's newspaper article this morning:

Show me someone who drives slowly and I’ll show you a catastrophic bore. Someone whose life is empty, shallow and pointless. But there’s more to it than that.

They are also deeply unpleasant. Like bell ringers, they wish to
impose their beliefs and their way of life on everyone else. They are
people with an antisocial personality disorder, manifested in amoral
behaviour without empathy or remorse. And that’s the
dictionary-definition of a psychopath.

On form, eh? Well, you may aregue that this assertion cannot be backed up by facts... but Clarkson continues:

The next time someone goes on a random shooting spree, hosing down
innocent men, women and children and then making good his escape,
please do not look for someone driving away at high speed in a flash
car. Look instead for someone in a chocolate-brown Nissan Micra doing
28mph.

You don’t believe me? Well, think about it: how many racing drivers have been done for murder? None.

And now try to picture Saddam Hussein doing 200mph in a
Koenigsegg. You can’t, can you. Or Michael Ryan, or Robert Mugabe. And
then consider Hitler, whose automotive legacy was the VW Beetle —
absolutely the slowest car in the world.

Remember the M25 murderer Kenneth Noye? Remember what car he
stepped from before he stabbed that kid to death? Was it an M5 BMW?
Nope. It was a diesel-powered Land Rover Discovery, and this proves my
point. Slow drivers — they’re all exceedingly dull and they’re all
murderers.

Well, he may have problems proving the last bit. However, living in Sussex does make you wonder, and look sideways at all of the hats that seem to be driving slowly in the middle of the roads with an apparent ignorance of all that is going on around them.

Technorati Tags: Motoring

Slide Show

No Gorse Fox is not talking about ice skating.



GF has spent much of the last 24 hours looking at ways he can create satisfactory slide shows of his digital photos on DVD, such that they will show on both PC and TV.

• Nero barfed at the task
• Ulead barfed at the task

It looks as if Photodex's Photo Show Gold will do the trick... but does seem to be taking an extraordinary amount of time over a DVD-RW.

Alternative Christmas Fare

"Thinking of Christmas lunch, but tired of the annual culinary blow-out?"

"Tired of Turkey?"

"Tired of Goose?"

How about a low fat alternative. The Gorse Fox found this book on the shelves of a store in Lanzarote. He's not sure how much meat there is on a Canary, but it would point out that the feathers can be used as additional decorations. It is probably the ideal Christmas meal for one, but should you have guests you may need a few. The other advantage is that you can get them from a pet store, so don't have to fight through the supermarkets. 

Photo completion

The photos have all been inserted into the relevant sequence covering the last week. They start here on the entry for 16th November and work up until now.

Retro posts

There may be some re-shuffling and editing of the mobile posts made during the last week. This is to ensure they appear in the correct chronological order, as opposed to the order in which the mailing system let them through. GF will also add some photos... so do check back again later.
[File under: Diary]

Home again

After the romance of travel, yesterday, with the concomitant queues, security searches, flight delays (only 1 hour), then the arrival at Gatwick (which is only surpassed by La Guardia in terms of the oppressive and depressive nature of its arrivals facilities) we emerged into the mild night air of Sussex.

We boarded the bus for the Long Term Car Park and observed as passengers (with their brains still in their luggage) boarded and blocked all the passagees and exist, whilst the back of the bus was empty. Once back at the car we were soon on the move and back home where we had an orgy of envelope opening of all the cards that had arrived for the Silver Vixen whilst we were away.

Today, a degree of normality returns... and GF will read a newspaper and watch the news for the first time in over a week (and much to his surprise the world has carried on without his attention).
[File under: Diary]

The romance of travel

A quiet morning with the books, on a sun terrace overlooking Fuerteventura seemed like a good start. The airport tanfer was not due till 12:50 so there was time to kill.

We went out to wait for the bus 15 mins early as requested... But it was 15 mins late (as expected). The journey to the airport was delayed by roadworks,but we got there. Then it was the usual heaving throng at check-in and the long queue for security. Finally we were through and able to sit down for a tea... And watch our embarcation times slip.

And they claim there is a romance to travelling.

Tearing yourself away

The Gorse Fox confesses that it is very difficult to tear yourself away from a view like this, knowing that there is a coach to catch, and an airport to struggle through, and a flight home (with your knees up round your ears).

Lanzarote deserves a further visit. It has a nice feel to the Island (certainly in the south) and there are a number of things that we did not get time to explore... and this does seem like the perfect time of year for such adventures. 

More travellin'

All our bags are packed, we're ready to go...(sounds like the cue for a song). A leisurely midday checkout gives a more relaxed start to the day... before the expected hubbub of the airport.

Quiet time

The afternoon, spent by the pool, was time for reading and a time for musing.

Why is there a sign by the pool, outside the PADI Dive Centre, indicating "No diving"?

Is it accidental that Spanish jewellery shops are called "Joyerias"?

Why is it that the uglier a person is, the more flesh they insist on uncovering?

Not fade away

This golden sunset seemed like a fitting end to our last full day on Lanzarote. 

Lighthouse

Glorious sunny day... started with a walk to the lighthouse and back. Then decided it was so nice we'd return the car to Avis and walk back along the beach and spend the afternoon by the pool.
Perfect... and somehow so much more fulfilling than an afternoon in Worcester!
[File under: Diary]

Poolside

After the walk, and the subsequent return of the hire car, and afternoon by the pool was the order of the day.

It did look rather inviting (though GF confesses the water was a bit chilly).