Gizmodo

Gizmodo is a blog I check on a regular basis for gadgets news delivered with some humour. Chuffed to see this announcement about Siemens sponsoring the Gizmodo attendance at an upcoming German exhibition. Spot on decision by my colleagues.

Everday Matters Today

Found a wonderful, inspiring story in the Everday Matters blog today. I feel like I want to read it through again a couple more times. I'm sure I can something in it for me. I notice that yet again the 'move to New York' motiff reappears.

Bowling

Family get together at bowling this morning. Good fun as before. A few of the kids didn't last the distance. Bowling couldn't compete with running and skidding along a length of carpet!

Mexican food after which was ok but because there were so many of us, the food took ages. More fun back at Marys recreating an old photo which Steve uploaded here and here. Nice new camera he's got. Managed to get Steve K to upload today also. Result.

The kids had a great day playing with their cousins. Back home, Dyl and I had a top session of Soul Calibur before bed. The little trickster still keeps beating me, I'll have to get some practise in.

Steam Powered Fun

Jacq bought it for me for my birthday last month but I only got around to installing it last night. But my God, what and awesome piece of work HalfLife2 is! It was quite late by the time I got it installed, updated, verified and running. Jacq went up while I waited for the startup. A couple of hours later I had to force myself up to bed too cos of work in the morning. It is such an amazing, immersive experience. The design is so clever as it masks the scripted moments and they feel so real. The art design is stunning. The mix of european, industrial, future tech is delicious. Can't wait to get back in there.

Another Week Almost Passing

Harriet not well, throwing up lots last night. Poor thing is drained. Must be some bug/germ thing she's picked up. Hopefully not from Jims flat the other night. We didn't get much sleep last night and I should be doing some work stuff to catch up my hours but the energy isn't really there.

A few more in the office today which was better than yesterday. Although a point of interest yesterday was the introduction of Quake 3 to the office LAN. Me and Mark played a quick deathmatch. Passed a copy of the CD over to Dave today and he sounds up for it. Would be great to get the luchtime deathmatch going again. But of course not at the expense of regular walks as they are valuable too.

So the week ends tomorrow with a day on site which will be made more pleasant by the fact that Geoff is coming over also to finalise the HCI release. Then it's the weekend and another week done. My, they go by so quick. I wish I could slow them down and focus real hard on individual details more. Especially the kids. There isn't a day goes by I don't cherish them but I'm paranoid that I don't get the most out of every moment. I know it's a stupid unreachable goal but the thought nags away all the same.

Snowy Bandstand

Snowy Bandstand,
originally uploaded by Dylzuzu.

It tried to snow this morning but once again the battle was lost. When I got into the office it was coming down heavy and looked lovely through the window. On the way back from school Jacq took this lovely picture in the park. I think it really captures something. The empty bandstand symbolic of the muted sound produced in a snowfall.

It's luchtime now and there's no trace left in Coventry. Shame.

Move To New York

Over on the Everyday Matters blog is a list for boosting creativity. Point 4 caught my eye, "Move to New York". Is someone trying to tell me something? Or can this point be taken as a philosophical concept? Maybe I could move into a mental space that emulates NYC and gives me the inspiration and feedback that being in such an exciting environment would provide. But the question remains, will I be able to get fresh bagels at two in the morning there?

Haunted Weather

Fergus mailed today that he's in Cork having a meeting with David Toop about an exhibition he's planning for later in the year. By coincidence I'm currently reading Toops Haunted Weather at the moment. Some people have interesting jobs...

NYC Envy

I'm suffering from a condition known as NYC Envy. Paul texted me to let me know he was standing in the queue for the Empire State Building. Lucky bugger.

Has Bruce Left Then?

The runour about Bruce leaving WIRE hit the list a few days ago and it's still running. Shame that WIRE can't put out any clear communication about this. Don't know why most artists seem unwilling to communicate directly. Maybe they need to preserve a distance.

So It Never Did Snow

Enjoying the weekend. No snow left at all from the past week. Every day we hoped we'd get a decent snowfall but it never happened. One morning in the playground the kids were scraping together the dusting of snowfalkes in a desparate attempt at a snowball fight. Such a shame we never got a chance to have a real play in some deep snow. It never seems to snow here anymore.

No More R.E.M. Ranting

A knight who says Ni.

I've said my piece and I'll say no more. But I wish I had taken the camera like Steve did. He got some nice shots even though he was miles away. Good work.

R.E.M.

Tonight we went to see REM at the NEC. Top band but shit venue. I really hate stadium gigs. They are really pointless souless affairs. The band are an inch high and the sound is lame. It was the quietest gig I've ever been to. And what the fuck is the clap-a-long all about? A bunch of fools displaying a rudimentary graps of a songs rhythm and tempo? I want to hear the music, not the claps of middle-aged cretins. And yes, I know I'm middle-aged but I'm a different sort to this lot let me assure you.

A real gig involves shoving, sweating, spilt beer and music so loud that you can't hear properly the whole bus journey home. Give me one of those any day.

Happy Little Skater Boy

Well it's Wednesday and I still don't have my car back yet. Hopefully this morning, I'm waiting for the call back to say it's ready to collect. I should have chased them earlier yesterday but I was up on site. While up there I grabbed myself my first ever pair of Vans trainers! Only had to wait thirty years! The little skater boy inside of me was a very happy chappy.

Trying to snow a bit again today but still not having much impact. No where near deep enough to both walking round to the woods.

My work laptop looks like it's gone tits up this morning so I'm not being very productive while waiting for my car to be ready. Hopefully the I.T. man will fix it this Friday. Though knowing my luck it'll snow hard and he won't bother coming up from Winchester. Need to get into the Coventry office and collect my old laptop.

Car Service Day

Today was my annual car service day which always fills me with dread. Somehow I've got the whole power relationship wrong with garages. When they phone me up to advise me of things that need doing I almost feel like I'm in trouble. I need to remember that I'm the customer here! So the car needs some work doing on the brakes but by the time I spoke to them it was too late to complete the work today. Good job I've got a hire car for site at the moment.

Popped into the office this afternoon. First time for ages. Got stuck in a meeting with my boss and a salesman. A cruel reminder of how deep the talent pool runs at that place. Trapper updated on the latest gossip. Seems like SP is still a possible for the Winchester job. Maybe change is coming?

Totally Pooped

A busy weekend involving all the usual stuff and more besides.

Paul over first thing Saturday to dump his camcorder footage onto DVD clearing his tapes for his trip to NYC next week. Dylan asked him to come and watch him swim which he did. Watched the Bourne Supremacy tonight. Top stuff.

Sunday morning took the kids to see Spongebob at the cinema. Met up with Steve his kids there. It wasn't as funny as the TV version. I fell asleep for a while which made it mercifully short. Went to the Bullring in the afternoon to pick up a present for Maleeq. Over to Star City for the bowling party. What a noisy place. Dylan was unsure at first but settled into having a great time with his mates. He was pipped for first place by one point right on the last turn. Harriet was pretty stressed out by the place. I ended up chatting with Steve and Ruth same as last Saturday. When the party was finally over we visited Jim and dropped in some groceries for him. Back home about 8:30PM totally pooped.

A Week Offline Is A BAD Thing

Back from a week on site and so glad to be back online. No real tales to tell about my week. Long days but finally my project comes to a sort of close. Some mopping up left to do but all the sites are now up and running.

Phil down on site this weekend coverng for the Grain team. Hope it's no too tedious down there mate!

Watched Anchorman tonight. Bit of a dissapointment. Very patchy for laughs. Not really worth a copy, and that's saying something.

Chloes Party

Got up early. Couldn't stay in bed any longer. Decided to go for a walk. Boots on and striding out with purpose. Did a big circuit around Bearwood for about 35 minutes. Felt good. Gave swimming a miss this morning. Harriet stayed with Aksa while we took Dylan and Sofia to Chloes party. Dylan had a great time. Good chat with Steve and Ruth while there. Rest of day spent just lazing about. Downloaded some good tunes. Enjoying 'The Lost You' by Hood who are playing the Flapper this week but I won't be able to catch them cos of working on site. Put off the groceries until tomorrow. Feel OK in myself.

Nathan Barley

Mike came over this morning. Great to see him and ramble on about all sorts. Reviewed some of my latest loops. Some of them are definite keepers. Got him to agree to restarting the 'whatever' stuff under a different guise. Plan is to use the blog structure and concentrate on content. My first task is to plough the box of stuff we've collected and get them scanned in.

Lots of work comms again today. Seems that there is no alternative to me going up to the Mersey site on Monday. Thankfully Geoff while be there as backup if I flake out. More gossip circulating about the new engineering structure. Interesting times ahead.

At last some decent comedy on the telly tonight with the start of 'Nathan Barley', the new series by Chris Morris and Charlie Brooker. Okay, the target were soft, Hoxton media types, but it was damn funny shit all the same. Check out www.trashbat.co.ck

Nintendo DS VIP Pack

Fresh in the post today, the Nintendo DS VIP Pack. The latest addition of Nintendo goodness to our household. It's a lovely bit of kit. It came this morning while I was kipping in bed. Jacq bounced into the room to show me Mario 64 in all his touch-screen glory.

Not feeling too bad this morning I guess. Although it has varied throughout the day. Going to the toilet feels like I'm pissing needles! I've been assured it will ease after 24 hours so I just have to grin and bear it.

Jacq went out to help with a school visit to church this afternoon and I spent the entire time on the phone. Spoke with Mike and arranged a 'coffee-morning' session this Friday. Should be just like old art-school times. Dad called and we compared painful pissing stories. Spoke with Geoff on site to try and help with problems. Have suggested to Stuart that I work next week from Kingsbury just in case I need to flake out back home. Trapper phoned with the latest gossip. Seems that the new my systems manager post in Winchester is not in the bag. Maybe things won't be changing in Coventry after all. Apparently the new Team Leader roles are salary based, rather them than me.