There's a chap who works on the shop floor who sometimes comes up to grab stock from us. The sort of guy who's completely grey. He just doesn't intrude on the senses at all, In fact, I wouldn't mention him at all if it wasn't for his party trick of exhaling smoke. No, seriously he does, without a cigarette, dark grey smoke billowing out of his lungs. It looks utterly bizarre. KS spotted it today and we had a banter about this strange phenomenon.
Not only do we have a ghost on the premises, b
I have no idea who rang the doorbell this morning but thank you anyway. There I was, snoozing away,, lost in a land of sheep and... Well, dreams... When I heard the frantic attempts to attract someones (anyones) attention out in the street. Ohmigosh! It's daylight outside! I've slept in!
By the time I'd wearily fallen out of bed I remembered this was indeed saturday and I wasn't late for work. I hate to say it, but I'm almost rehabilitated. Heck, I'm turning into a mature responsible adult.
Well would you believe it? Stephen Hawking, one of the worlds most foremost scientists, has announced that aliens almost certainly exist and that we shouldn't meet them because they'll be horrible to us and nick all our resources. Joking aside, I agree the risks of cultural shock are very real and as I've written a couple of times in the past, contact with more powerful and sophisticated civilisations isn't such a good thing. I also note that it's taken until now to for Mr Hawking to reach that
Another day, another job vacancy. That seems to be the ritual I've been forced to observe. Every day they swivel the monitor so I can read the multicoloured gobbledegook that lists the latest jobs available. It makes depressing reading. So many of them simply mention that the job conforms to the National Minimum Wage, or that the wages are 'competitive'. I've even seen executive vacancies that would earn a business high-flyer a huge sum of
I used to see urban foxes from my back window on a regular basis. More often than that, I would hear their yelps and screeches in the dead of night. It's been a while since that noise has pierced the stillness of Old Town's quiet hour. Had pest controllers reduced their numbers? It seemed as if the only interruption to my slumber was going to be inept car thieves from now on.
Last night a vivid sunset appeared through my back window. I went off to get the camera, opened the window, and took
Today is another gloriously sunny day. Clear blue skies, which oddly enough we don't see too often in summer. Sunday mornings tend to be quiet. All the yobboes from last night have found somewhere to sleep off last nights slanging match. Judging from the intermittent sirens out in the street, one or two had help finding it. Aside from that, the steady stream of moslems and sikhs walking to their places of worship add an exotic air to what is, after all, rainy old Swindon.
Silliness
I see th
With all the rain and weather warnings currently afflcicting everyday life in Britain, it was a pleasant suprise to see a blue sky out the window this morning. Of course this isn't summer and a clear sky means chilly weather. My breath was easily visible. Not to worry, the sun will warm things up in due course.
Days like this sometimes have something extra. There's a splendid view of the Moon this morning, a splotchy ball of of putty grey that you normally associate with the night-time. It's
Todays the day when I face a new claims advisor. His name is on the confirmation letter but we've not had dealings before, so I haven't a clue what sort of person he is. Could he be worse than Bovine Betty? Well, actually, yes, he could be. We shall see.
The problem with handovers like this this is that my jobsearch agreement gets changed. The 'agreement' is an informal contract. It sets out what I have to do as a minimum each week to earn my benefits. I always try to exceed those requiremen
Yet another day of unadulterated sunshine. I suppose it's politically correct to thank the internal combustion engine for this, but since car sales are struggling right now, I can't help wondering if I was right all along. That the weather isn't as affected by the motor car as the eco-concious and vote hungry politicians would have us believe.
This bright weather seems to be moderating driver behaviour too. Fewer drivers are accelerating madly down the local roads in a mad attempt to practi
How much do you take for granted? It's an interesting question. We all bcome comfortable with our daily routines certainly, but the extent to which we assume we understand our world is astonishing. Let me explain.
Fifty years ago a British astronomer said that spaceflight was impossible. A hundred years before that, powered flight was impossible, or that travelling more than thirty miles an hour would kill you. A few centuries earlier, we all knew the Earth was the centre of the universe and
After the dreary damp weather of the last few days the sunsine is back. That about sums up the last twenty four hours for me. Nothing much happened....
Oh yes. My downstairs neighbour left the hallway light on all nght. More news when I get it
Postal Woes
Royal Mail is threatening strikes shortly and so disruptions to services are expected. Will I notice? Just lately the post to my address contains all the neighbours letters too, and I suspect they're getting some of mine. Come on guys
It's a very special day today. have you forgotten? You have? Okay, I'll remind you. This tuesday is World Pirate At Work Day. Now much of the eastern world is already back at home having missed this wonderful opportunity for japes, drinking songs, Johnny Depp impressions, Errol Flynn heroism, and old sea dog stories. Incidentially, most of America still has time to get involved, so come on America! Join us down the tavern for tankards of rum and a right 'ole sing-song. Here goes...
This way,
Mankind is a clever species. These days we can talk to someone on the other side of the globe. We can, in theory, arrive at any point of the worlds surface within 48 hours comfortably. Some human beings have been to the dark and crushing depths of the oceans. Others have skipped across the dusty surface of the moon. With all these wondrous inventions and achievements, why is it we cannot design doors that work?
My love/hate relationship with doors is nothing new. Time and again I've pulled i
It's saturday morning. I write that just in case anyone reading this blog was unaware of that fact. No, let's be honest, I'm writing that because nothing is happening in Swindon right now. Some of you might argue that's always the case. Shame on you! We have a Pride of Swindon celebration coming up over the next few weeks. Even the park around the corner from me has staged a conga dance. Oh what fun they must have had. Rarely has Swindon been so ready to let its hair down and party on dude. Most
My trainers are damp. There's a sort of cold wet feel to them. Yes, you're right, I got soaked. Yesterday I ventured out to find a certain seminar venue and with the weather looking like drizzly showers, I decided it might be wise to take a baseball cap with me. Oh, yes, and a rain resistance jacket. You never know. These survival items really should be made compulsory for everyone risking their lives in exploring the rainforests of Darkest Wiltshire.
It started drizzling not long after I se
That's it. Summer is over. Our three days of glorious sunshine has been brushed aside by grey cloud and chilly wind. Weather forecasters say it will improve this afternoon, which pleases me no end. Very soon we'll be in that dangerous Autumn season when car drivers forget that mist, fog, and frosty roads aren't as safe as the as they were in the last few months.
Going back a few years, back in the days when I drove my trusty Toyota MR2, I was on my way to work early in the morning. It was st
The universe is going down the plughole. It really is. I used to think the epicentre of this phenomenon was Swindon, but apparently there's a place far far away that's sucking in galaxies at a huge rate. I learned that from a science program on television last night.
Science is fun. Now before you all click on a link to another part of the world wide interesting net, bear with me. You see, I had this sort of conversation with J a couple of days ago. I made an observation that the science pro
I've been requested by J to make a full and complete report on the events of Mellow Monday. Okeedokee. Here goes...
First Things First
Woke up. Still dark. Dozed off again. Woken at the last minute by the noise of my neighbour slamming the door, proof that noisy neighbours can be useful. Got washed, dressed, fed (in no particular order) and stumbled down the stairs to start my short amble to work. Lovely morning, bright sunny sky, but heck it was cold.
Dramatic Developments In Stockroom
For those unaware of the panic in Britain, we've been increasingly concerned about gas and road salt. With only six days of gas supply left, Frozen Britain came perilously close to actually happening. Except of course the government have denied a problem exists. That's original.
Road salt though is also getting scarce, so surfaces have been prioritised with regard to need. Many roads and pavements no longer qualify, and everything gets 25% less scattered on top. In order to meet this shortag
Yesterday I looked out the back window to view the monochrome vista of wintery Swindon. It was all pretty quiet. The garage mechanics had gone home, the yard was silent, and vehicles weren't moving on the streets about. Oho! There he is... Mr Fox, a fine russet furred specimen emerging from under the tall white fence that guards the old college site, where I imagine the Mr Fox has set up home.
He trotted up the slope without a care in the world, only breaking into a run to cross the road. Cu
Yet another sunny day. Pretty darn chilly this morning as I strolled through the park devoid of the birds returning from winter in tropical climes (or are they grounded by volcanic ash too? Must be tough cleaning those feathers). All in all, it's turning out to be a chilly day all round.
I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later. My title has been impugned. My claims advisor not only bluntly refused to acknowledge it but she took every opportunity to criticise my behaviour and even th
One of the most intriguing human speculations is the sixth sense, the extra sensory perception, the pyshic ability that some would have us believe is a latent talent lurking in the dark recesses of our brain. It's been the fundamental idea behind plenty of fiction, television, and film. Can we really reach out with our minds and become aware of things our mundane senses don't perceive?
In europe there's a guy called Bronnikov that tells us we can. He was the subject of an investigation by De
Oh hello, what's this? A new television channel? That heralds another quest to reprogram my litle black box and reveal the latest source of boredom dellivered in high definition digital bliss. We often say how odd it is that with hundreds of new channels to watch, there's hundreds less to be interested in.
As to what channel is now included in my daily browsing session, I can't say, because I haven't found it yet. I did stumble on that dating channel again. Shall I? Shan't I? Oh go on then.
Funny how little things can seem so important. There is of course that quaint Chaos Theory that suggests a butterfly in motion could upset a balance that leads to a storm elsewhere. At first glance, it seems a ridiculous notion, because the laws of physics clearly indicate that a butterfly would have a hard time creating a massive cyclonic movement of air that flattens most of the Eastern US seaboard. But then again, little things matter.
There was that time I thought I was losing fuel in fl
Some years a Cessna took off from Edinburgh. The pilot was giving his girlfriend a joyride in the local area. Unfortunately the pilot left his radio on 'transmit' which made it impossible for air traffic control to contact anyone on that frequency for more than an hour, during which personal conversations and long periods of intimate silence were heard.
What astonishes me is not the application to join the Half-Mile-Club, but that he succeeded in intimate relations within the very cramped co
