Toe Be, or Not Toe Be

Well, I finally gave in and went to see a Chiropodist yesterday regarding the ingrowing toenail that's been irritating me for the last two years or so - having finally realised it was never going to heal up without some help!

Twenty Four hours (and one less toenail) later and all I can say is "Ow, Ow, OW!" I don't mean to sound like a big wussy girl, but bloody hell it hurts! Had to take a couple of impromptu days off work as no way was I going to be able to get a shoe on, let alone get to work. You know those old comedy films, where there's an old man suffering from gout, and he's got a bandage on his foot the size of a football, well, it's not quite that bad, but it's getting there!

Still, despite being currently doped up on Antibiotics and Painkillers, it'll all be worth it in the end .. I hope!

Love is All Around You ...

So the annual farce that is Valentines Day is upon us once again.

Now, I don't want to sound the grumpy bumpkin, but I'm sorry, I really really really do not buy into this whole event one bit. To me, it's a big wheeze of a scam concocted by greetings card companies, chocolate manufacturers and flower producers to get you to spend over the odds on a love related gift that cost half the price a week ago!

I can perhaps understand it if youngsters and teenagers want to send them, as it's just a bit of fun and they don't know any better! I sent a few when I was at school to a few girls that I had a bit of a crush on, but since becoming (deep voice) "a man", I can't say I've ever sent any - although I did slip once a few years ago and sent one to someone I admired, but never got one in return (sniff - poor Nige), so that was that!

That aside, why just one day a year anyway? Surely if you love your Girlfriend, Wife (or both!), Boyfriend, Husband or partner, then surely any day of the year is just as ideal to express your devotion and love for each other, and not wait until February 14th rolls around before sending a card, buying a bunch of flowers, or going out for a nice romantic meal, having a night in for a bit of the old rumpy pumpy, or even just simply asking someone out for a date.

Then again, I'm single, so what would I know ;)

Ewwwwww

We've all been in the situation, caught short at work and you really really really need to go .. so off you trot to the cubicle - to be greeted with the greatest stink you've ever had the misfortune to encounter! Still, you put up with it, hold your breath and try to conduct your business and get out as quick as you possibly can!

So why is it then, that whenever that happens - as you're leaving, someone goes into the cubicle straight after you and you know damn well they're going to think that you've left the hideous smell that's also going to hit them when they enter it!

So tempting to say "It wasn't me!!" - yet somehow that admission of innocence, makes you sound guilty!

The OneGigiPod!

So Apple have announced another addition to their ever expanding family of iPods - this time, a tiny 1GB iPod Nano, with capacity to store around 240 songs and selling for a reasonable £109 in the UK (Well, reasonable until you realise it sells in the US for $149, which is about £85 at todays rates, so we're being ripped off again!) - Still on the positive side, the iPod Shuffles have now been reduced in price, although never seen the appeal of the Shuffle as it just shuffles the contents and plays at random (as the name suggests), so no good if you like listening to Podcasts, or Audiobooks as you'll find out who killed the Butler, before the Butler even knows he's about to cop it and be hit with a Candlestick downstairs in the Billiard Room (Sounds painful!)

Still, this got me thinking (doesn't happen often!) Just how much smaller can these kind of gadgets get. Developers and Technicians seem to be obsessed and driven by making things smaller. Soon, I'm convinced we'll be talking to thin air! (Mind you, some of us already do that!)

Can you see me up there!?

Been a while since my last blog post, so apologies for that! My first post in a while will have to be an idea I saw on a friends Blog fairly recently, but as it's so damn neat, I thought I'd share it too (Cheers Paul!)

Simply point your browser in the direction of Google Maps! Hours of fun can be had (well, kills a few minutes anyway during office boredom!), by bunging in your Post Code and clicking the 'Satellite' button on the right, and hopefully, you'll get a decent satellite image of your street and can zoom in by using the zoom slider on the left. Clicking 'Hybrid' will overlay the street names onto the streets (who'd have thought it!). It's also pretty cool for planning routes too if you (like me) haven't got one of those fancy in car 'Sat-Nav' gadgets and still rely on paper!

The image below shows my street - although I see my car wasn't on the driveway, so I was obviously out at work when the spy satellite shot overhead to take the snaps!

Move over Carol!

In one of the very few days that I've come home from work happy that I've actually achieved something .. today I did. Not because I provided an excellent service, or went over and above the call of duty or anything like that (hell, I feel I do that everyday!)

No, today I managed something for the first time ever - I actually completed a Sudoku puzzle! Not any old Sudoku puzzle, but the one in todays Times newspaper no less! Now, granted, it may only have been a 'Mild' puzzle, but it's in The Times, not The Sun! I'm chuffed I completed it correctly as normally they just look like nothing but pure mathematical bollocks to put it mildly and I normally make a pigs ear of it.

Not only that, now I've finally cracked how you should actually do these things (rather than just blindly stick any old number in the blank space!) I came home and I've done two more, so I think I've found a new hobby for a day or two :)

It's for You-hoooo

It's that time of the year again when I'm looking to upgrade that piece of kit that I often seem to spend half the day tapping away on .. The mobile phone!

I currently have a Sony Ericsson k700i, which on the whole I've been happy with. Few niggles of late though with dust getting underneath the fiddly joystick and giving me grief when trying to navigate through the frozen menus, messages and so on (so apologies to anyone I may have inadvertently called whilst losing my temper with it and pressing the wrong button!)

Despite this, I am looking at two models at the moment (not those kind of models Paul! .. well not yet anyway!) - The newer Sony Ericsson k750i which is supposedly (according to reviews), a vast improvement over its predecessor the k700i (mine!) .. or the Nokia 6230i. If I'm being honest, I'm currently leaning towards the k750i as it looks and feels nicer in the hand that the Nokia!

So .. Thoughts .. Opinions?!

Ikea ... Lovely Ikea!

It was no good, I couldn't put it off any longer. Today, I finally had to face one of my fears .. Yes, I went to Ikea!

Finally deciding that I needed a new bookcase (although not so much for Books, more to hold those pesky plastic boxes containing DVDs), I took a couple of Anadin to prepare myself before setting off the journey up the motorway to the nearest store.

Problem number one - I arrived to face the car park! Now, I don't know how wide the cars are that they drive in native Sweden, but here in blighty, we like to fit two people side by side in our cars, so when I did eventually find a space to squeeze into, I couldn't open my door .. or the passenger door .. and as I don't have a sunroof, I couldn't crawl out of that either - so I abandoned that space, drove round in circles for ten more minutes before giving up and parking in a collection bay instead! (Curiously, none of the cars that followed me in seemed to have a problem finding somewhere to park - either that or they all gave up and went home!)

Problem number two - Their crazy 'one way' system once you get in the store. Arrows pointing you everywhere telling you where to walk. Now, no one likes to break a system, so you go along with it and kind of get ushered along by hoards of other people, often being unable to stop and have a look at something, as you'd get trampled on!

Anyway, I eventually found the section I wanted and was able to step out the way of the stampede for a moment to have a browse. Spotted something that I thought would look nice, then realised I'd left the house without my measurements (Doh!) so had to play it by ear, trying to visualise it in the space. So having decided on that, I picked up an Ikea pencil (well, actually I grabbed a handful and put them in my pocket as they'll come in handy around the house!) and wrote down the details of where I'd be able to find the flat pack. Zone number, shelf number, item number and so on. Before jumping back onto the arrow bandwagon and getting ushered along to the warehouse ...

Problem number three - When I did get to the warehouse and navigate myself to the right aisle and to the right shelf .. it was empty! ARGGHH. I just couldn't face going back in and looking for an alternative as I'd already sprouted half a dozen new grey hairs (I could feel them!)

.. so I came home and tried to order it off the internet on their website instead! Only to find that you can't do that. Still, they do allow you to check stock at your store, so I'll do that next time before setting out! Frankly, I can't think why I never did that in the first place, but that wouldn't have made a good blog post :)

Don't even get me started on the weird product names, which I'm sure they make up .. I mean, who want's a "Gorm Clip on Basket". What's a "Desk Jerker" (though that could provide some light relief in a stressful office at times!). The "Nick Chair", no, I'd rather pay for it! A "Klang Wall Shelf", mine usually does make a clang - when it's fallen off after I've tried to put it up!

Despite all this, I do actually like Ikea - they do some cracking stuff for the price, it's just the whole store experience that fills me with a cold fear at the thought :)

Nothing to see here ... Tic Tac Update!

Nothing much to say over the last couple of days, as they've been pretty uneventful. I spent most of yesterday on a friends website undoing the work of a group of Turkish H@ckers who seemed to want to wreak havoc on his forum installation .. before giving up on that as a bad job, I've now helped him set up a new one, so if you're a fan of either (or both) the old Carry On films, and Doctor Who, then why not pop on over to his site and have a look around. If you're a fan of neither, then can't help you there I'm afraid! ;)

Also further to my earlier blog note here regarding those lovely Cinnamon Tic Tac's, I've now found they're actually a limited edition release and are called "Winter Warmers" in jolly old Blighty, and found a pack of four in Tesco's yesterday, so have a few to keep me going (aren't you pleased!!) .. They might be an acquired taste though (much like Marmite!), you'll either love it or hate it!

DVD To Buy, or DVD Not To Buy!

I was always one of those people who would buy a DVD of a film so I could watch it for the first time .. Great idea if the film turned out to be wonderful, but not so good when the film turns out to be utter crap, and would be destined to end up gathering dust on my shelf, typically leaving me £15 lighter!

Not anymore! Think I must have saved a small fortune over the last few months on DVD's, following signing up to Amazon.co.uk's, DVD Rental Service! Plus of course, the added bonus that if I buy any DVD's from Amazon.co.uk, I now get 10% off the cost, so win-win all round!

Whilst rental films such as the action packed War of the Worlds, humbling Hotel Rwanda and thought provoking Downfall all ended up on my purchase list .. other snoozefests such as The House of Wax, House of Nine and The Seed of Chucky, were so appalingly awful, that I'd have been gutted to have actually purchased those, so glad I could send them back after I'd wasted a few hours of my life watching them!

So well worth checking out a rental option if you think you waste money on rubbish films!