Notes to Myself

Last Trains

Thanks to Hon for treating us to some of his cocktails. I don't think I've ever had cocktails before, but some of them were really nice - especially the banana cream one! But soon it was time to Go Go (couldn't resist, sorry).

In London, the last Tube trains leave at about 12-midnight which is a pain as we have to leave wherever we are by 11:30 at the latest to get home. That is unless you consider expensive taxis or night buses which I don't particularly like.

So, we walked to the station, by which time it was about 11:30. After buying an extension ticket I walked through the open gate without anyone checking - another £1 wasted! My friends had to travel to central London before heading North, while I had to go that way myself.

Changing at Holborn station I got the last Rayners Lane Piccadilly line train. I was waiting to get on at the back-end of the train and as it pulled up, a fairly big man with big, black, heavy boots and an orange workman's bib made a last rush for the end carriage. His speed was strange considering he had been waiting on the platform for some time. He got on right at the end, while I was at the front of the end carriage. I heard him chuck down a big black workman's bag and it sounded full of heavy tools.

Once the train was moving he strided along the carriage in an aggressive manner. He threw his bag down again at the end - 1 meter away from me. Then he started fiddling with the door between the carriages and I thought that he might go through while we were moving - this can be done. The train was quite empty and it was a little freaky, I have to say.

Thankfully at Covent Garden and Leicester Square more people got on returning from their Friday night outings. Among them were 4 Americans. The guys were wearing huge pairs of jeans and one guy kept swaying on the blue bars which seemed to annoy me at the time. One said 'lie-ster' square to the others. A Brit who had just sat down next to me laughed to himself.

The man who had sat down was one of those annoying types who thinks that his legs need to be as far away from each other as possible, therefore encroaching on what should have been my space - maybe I get more conscious of personal space than other people do. Then you think, does he mean to touch my leg. Should I move and let him move yet more, or stand firm?! Bah!

The scary man in boots decides he is still crazy, gets off and boards the next carriage along (you can see from carriage to carriage). I saw him again stride angrily to the far end, dumping his bag of hammers menacingly. Thank god he had gone.

A very drunk young woman was shouting amongst friends.
"Who do you want to win the world cup?" She wants Italia or Argentina to win apparently.
"England, why the balls are they there?"

When she walked back down to the other end people in my section started to talk to each other about her. They laughed. This is strange and only happens when people have had a bit to drink. Normally strangers don't speak on trains in England - only to ask for directions etc. This, perhaps is quite sad. Same as all large cities?

Thankfully I skipped over to the last District line train to complete my journey. When i got off the gates to the station were half closed. Hopefully one day the trains will run longer hours.

So ends the tale of Friday night's last Underground trains. Tune in for the tale of "The Two Trains" and "The Return of the District Line."

Golden Jubilee Intro

It's time for what seems rare (& boring?!) - some British culture! Well, let's start at the beginning as my knowledge of the Royalty is almost non-existant and frankly it doesn't really interest me - not everyone loves the Royals!

Name: Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor
Birth date: April 21, 1926
Title: Queen Elizabeth the Second

"The Queen's Golden Jubilee marks the 50th anniversary of Her Majesty The Queen's Accession to the Throne on 6 February 1952."

The Golden Jubilee weekend starts tomorrow and ends on Tuesday(?!). Monday is Golden Jubilee bank holiday and Tuesday is May bank holiday (which was moved) - that's right, we get 4-days off work!!! Yes, I love the monarchy. Celebrations are supposed to continue until July.

Events will start tomorrow with The Queen's Concert (Prom at the Palace) in the gardens of Buckingham Palace. Many events will follow until on Tuesday we reach the 'Balcony Appearance' and RAF Flypast.

Of course, it's now become obvious that the golden buses I was talking about ages ago are in celebration of the Golden Jubilee!

Royal Linkage:
http://www.goldenjubilee.gov.uk/
http://www.goldenjubilee.info/
http://www.goldenjubileeweekendtrust.co.uk/
http://www.royal.gov.uk/ - Official Monarchy website.

Lee Evans

I joined some friends yesterday after work to go and see Lee Evans, a stand-up comedian. One of my mates is quite a fan so he was very keen to go. Click here to see a Lee Evans site, or here to go straight to the biography/FAQ page.

"...Lee has captured the imagination of both audiences and critics with his unique brand of physical humor and disarming charm."

If you think about some of the jokes he tells, they are not all incredibly funny, yet he makes them so using his funny body gestures - his body doesn't seem to move like anyone else's. In saying that though, some of his stuff was really original and funny on its own.

But Lee Evans is not exactly my taste in comedy and so I didn't enjoy it as much as some of the other members of the audience who nearly deafened me with their clapping and whistling (actually it was mainly the guy sitting directly behind me). My friends enjoyed it very much too.

Split into two sessions, the evening was getting quite late and I was getting equally tired. Towards the end Evans sang a song, but not a funny song, and that seemed a little out of place at a comedy show. Apparently though, he always does this...? However, returning to comedy, much to the delight of my friends, Evans finished with his famous Queen act whereby he comically acts to the tune of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. This has been shown on TV before and is top quality stuff.

Mini note to myself: had my first Dunkin' Doughnut today! Oops, I mean Donut :)

Confidence

I have never had much confidence. My pessimistic approach must have followed on from this naturally. Though I have improved lately, I wonder how I've come this far with my attitude. Thoughts concerning my abilities are usually negative, leading to unnecessary worry. Natural worry is to an extent essential, but beyond that it becomes a negative force (sounds familiar).

My confidence must improve! From a quick browse at amazon.com you can see numerous books on the subject. Apart from typical self-esteem books, Sven Goran Eriksson's book looks interesting. It's obviously football based, but looks at how state of mind affects performance. I may invest in it, as it has caught my eye before in a book shop.

How about the web? Some sites I have found include:
Google Directory
BBC health - self esteem
BBC health - confidence

Think positively! We can all achieve our goals! England can win the World Cup!

Zirtek

Right, from today I shall be trialling Zirtek Allergy relief (cetirizine hydrochloride) for my hayfever. I have just opened the pack and am horrified to find only 7 tablets for my £5. By my extensive calculations, they should last approximately one week.

"Antihistamines like Zirtek Allergy Relief relieve the unpleasant symptoms and discomfort associated with sneezing, irratated, runny and blocked up nose, itchy, red and watering eyes and skin rashes."

See mypharmacy-shop.co.uk info.

Well, it's worth it if it does the trick, but we'll see.

Hidden Underground

The London Underground is old and a little crappy in modern terms. But because of it's history there are spooky, interesting things like abandoned train stations. I stumbled across an interesting website - take a look:

Underground History - there are many other links from here to other Underground sites.

The Official Tube site - the official Tube lowdown.

Dream Ride

It's dream time folks. I was at some kind of fairground by the sea, perhaps geographically based on Ocean Park in Hong Kong. With friends, I waited at the top of some kind of odd rollercoaster ride which overlooked the rest of the park. Actually it also felt like a slide because the rider had to get on and go down alone. The ride had one rail at least, and at the beginning - for the dream changed later - people stood on a tiny platform with only one of those rear-passenger motorbike hand holding bars (behind naturally) as protection from falling! It looked terrifying!

Once my friends had gone whizzing down it was my turn. Zoom, off I went. Initially, the track was straight in direction but had a few dips accelerating up to the first hard right turn. For some reason my platform/death trap decided that the forces of physics could no longer hold it to the start of the bend and it flew straight off, spinning through the air!

Uh-oh, another falling dream. I haven't had one of these in quite a while, but it's supposed to be one of those insecurity dreams. I was considering my life last night, and that was a little scary...

Anyway, whatever I was on (falling with), it was now a bigger platform; about a 1x1 meter square of foam sitting on the same sized heavy, metal(?) base. The air rushed by and my thoughts were of the wait until I came crashing down on some horribly hard concrete below.

Then I realised that I had overshot the whole of the hillside where the fairground was built and was going to crash-land in the sea. Still spinning, I somehow got rid of the heavy base under me leaving some kind of water-slide mat. Now, this was fantastic, because instead of crashing down with a deadly thud, I hit the water and skimmed along like a flat stone thrown at the seaside!

Having survived, but with my mat sunk, I conciously checked each limb and was surprised that nothing seemed broken. The water wasn't rough so I started to swim back towards the land. Strangely a group of huge guys, "Sumos," I thought, jumped in to come and rescue me - there wasn't a beach but a raised platform like a pier. However, I was ok, and swam back alone. Heaving myself out of the water, my boss was waiting for me.

Breakfast for Lunch

Like many other days, today I sought lunch alone. Going for lunch with my work colleagues, often they talk about their intertwined social lives and I don't really get too involved. I must be becoming a loner as I enjoy the solitude of eating alone, which I never used to like.

For lunch I went to Seasons fish and chip shop, which my uni friends will know (and love?!). We used to go there sometimes for the £3 all-day-breakfast, and that's what I did today - longing to still be a student?

My first aim, after adding too much salt, is to remove the chips that will be sitting on the egg yolk, preferably without breaking it. This can be tricky and today I failed. It was one of those clumsy days where a chip went flying and my knife was dropped.

The chips were soggy today, and I couldn't be bothered with the undercooked bacon. At least tea is included for the £3!

I read a little more of The Fellowship of the Ring before leaving. It seems a short while ago when I was just starting and it's width seemed overwhelming. I'm looking forward to finishing it and moving onto the second book when I will at last be ahead of the films!

Episode II

I dread to think how many people have written about Star Wars, so I don't intend to dwell on it for long here.

My only expectations were to be entertained by light sabres and Force powers, and in particular, Yoda's! I wasn't too disapointed in that respect. Recently I finished playing Jedi Knight II on the PC and so my Star Wars interest levels have been higher than usual so I was really looking forward to seeing the film.

However, we were more than a little disappointed with the quality of the acting. I had heard about this from people at work, but wasn't sure if it would be that bad. Usually, in fact, I am not that sensitve to bad acting, but it was plainly evident during parts of the film.

On the whole it was so-so for me, but my friends were not so impressed.

Big Brother: 3

On Friday evening I suddenly remembered that the 3rd series of the British Big Brother was starting. I was a huge fan of the first series, but didn't watch that much of the second series.

Unfortunately, I missed half of the first show, but did get to see all of the new contestants and the new house. Davina as ever is presenting and told us about the surprise public vote to nominate the first two people to leave the house, whom the people in the house will then have to vote for! There are one or two annoying people so perhaps I should phone in.

Maybe it takes a while for the people to grow on you, but was it missing something? Does the whole thing feel different? Fingers-crossed to see how it develops - I am trying not to be too critical in these early stages! Will I be a big fan again? Or only in as much as series 2?

Films

I've had the 'Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within' DVD for ages now, but it was only last night that I actually finished watching it. It was pretty much what I expected: impressive graphics and a fairly uninteresting story. How long did it take to render? I was not at ease with familiar voices not matching their real owners' bodies though!

What else? Is there some sort of Van-damme season going on at the moment? I was watching a bit of Lionheart the other night, then was it last night or the night before, Timecop was on.

Got to see Star Wars: Episode II at some point in the near future - wanna see Yoda kick-ass!

Itchy Eyes

During the past week or two my hayfever has been much worse. Oh, it's those itchy eyes! I have had hayfever for as long as I can remember. Back in primary school there was a boy who also had it, but he couldn't stop himself from rubbing his eyes... very nasty! I can stop myself, but it's in the night that sometimes I rub my eyes in my sleep - goggles or padded gloves are in order :)

How are the rest of you sufferers feeling? Well, Maurice, what do you make of that medicine on TV at the mo: Benodryl or something? I may give that a try for 'only' £5 or so! It has got to be better than my Beconase which has never seemed to do anything much for me.

Funland

These dreams lately have been strangely vivid. I got to sleep early last night, so perhaps I was at the right stage of sleep for me to start dreaming and for my alarm to wake me up.

The rain was pouring down and the sky was grey. I ran along roads with my (non-existent!) girl-friend with the rain lashing down on my umbrella. The rain was gone, and we were running down a grassy hill. We had also become children and were headed for some sort of play-centre! After a collision with another running person, and a near fight it was time to go and play!

This place seemed like one of those fun-land type places for kids - those areas with things to climb on and things to play with. It must have been opening time, as kids streamed in rushing to get to the entertainment. There were steps and stairs everywhere, they twisted and turned, and sometimes went vertical all of a sudden - changing into ladders!

Eventually I found myself in the entertainment section. There were various arcade machines and other strange games. There was a Virtua Tennis machine there, and you were then next to me, Mike. I asked you about your exams and how they were going. I played a strange game a bit like snooker, but played with your hand wearing a glove. The aim was to pot balls, but you had to chop at the balls using spin!

These dreams are very strange, and they are difficult to remember. If only I could recall everything!

X-Ray

Today I took the afternoon off work to go and have a chest X-ray at Charing Cross hospital. Don't panic, I'm not ill, but it was just to check everything was in order; thankfully it is.

Just in case you want to know, if you have a private referral, then a chest X-ray will set you back £55. I also shelled out £75 paying my credit card bill off today, so I'm not pleased!

The difficult part wasn't the X-ray, but paying; the cachier's office is on the 15th floor while the X-ray department is on the 1st! The actual X-ray took about 1 minute in total.

Fact of the day: the radiographer is the bloke that does the test, while the radiologist is the person that inspects the results.

For my money I got the all clear and also to keep the actual X-ray exposure! Hmm, it's strange to look inside yourself, but not as strange as your mind probably would be :)

Search Engines

Today is the first day that I have noticed Notes To Myself being listed in Google & Yahoo. It seems that it was scanned/spidered etc. last Saturday. I haven't been too proactive in promoting my site. It seems such an effort after putting it all together that I am happy just to let people stumble across it if and when that happens.

All I have to do now is wait for the flood of fans and admirers... right? :)

Hair Brained Ideas

After at least two months since my last hair cut I thought that I might make the most of the situation and grow it into some kind of style similar to that which I had when I was a young kid. Other thoughts were just to shave it shorter than ever, just for experimental purposes.

In the end though, I got fed up with big hair and got the chop, in the usual style, but slightly longer on top. My head looks a lot longer and less like a mushroom now, which was a pleasant surprise :) For a week or so I will have the motivation to gel it and play with spikes etc, until I get bored and things go boring again. Hmm, what about dye...

Fighting Bears

In a brightly lit forest I walked along, tracing out the paths in the grass, trying to follow the arrows. The path was curvy and even looped in places, but for some reason I had to follow it carefully. This is how my latest dream started.

Then, all of a sudden I was with at least one other person. We were armed with hand guns and approaching some sort of bear enclosure. There were solid metal bars coming out of the low concete walls up to about 7ft tall.

A huge brown bear approached on the other side and started clambering up the bars. "I don't think it can get over that." With an effort the bear scrambled over the top and jumped down, running towards me. I shot the bear as it charged and jumped on me. "Shoot it," I was shouting, but apparently I was a crack-shot, and had killed the bear with a fatal chest wound. Phew!

With that we turned back and went through some big metal doors that slid back automatically. There was blood everywhere, all over the floors and walls. We kept running on through similar doors and blood-filled rooms. It was obvious that we had been framed! I wonder what the rest of the story is?

Into Darkness

Today I was going to meet some friends in the West End and so went to my local London Underground station at about 12:30. A Piccadilly line train promply arrived but strangely with no lights on inside. "Strange," I thought, but it does happen. Usually, they flicker back on after a short while. However, the lights didn't flicker on even after 30 seconds or so.

During the journey to Barons Court station the daylight outside just allowed me to read my book. The thought occured to me that the line goes truely underground after Barons Court and I put my book away. Almost in an instant there was pitch blackness all around. The only visible things were the orange message boards showing "Cockfosters", and the occasional tunnel-wall light flashing by outside.

Everyone on the train was surprised, and were talking to their friends. A couple of teenagers were saying that it wasn't funny and it was like a ride. However, I thought it was exciting and great fun! You could not see anyone, or anything, not even your own hand in front of you. For 2 minutes there was just darkness, but slowly my eyes were picking up faint glimpses of things from the glow of the orange message boards. The excitement ended just before Earls Court station, when finally the lights came on. It was a shame it ended, but I could at least carry on with my book.

Steve Vs Ronnie

A few friends and I went to Fairfield Halls in Croydon, South London last night to see an exhibition match between Steve Davis and the World's no. 1, Ronnie O'Sullivan. I was amazed to see trams whizzing around in Croydon, as I didn't think anywhere in London had trams.

One of the best local amateur snooker players won the opportunity to play one frame of snooker against Ronnie. This guy must be pretty good, as his high break I think was 140+. Unfortunately, I think nerves got the better of him and he played a bit, well, shit really. Still, he did make double digits.

Then Steve Davis was introduced by the excellent Alan Hughes, and I think he got a bigger reception than Ronnie did. The match was 9 frames split into two sessions. In the theatre, the atmosphere was friendly and not serious.

I was hoping that Steve would pull out some of his old magic, but it wasn't to be: Ronnie battered him - 8 frames to 1! Steve made a maximum break of around 50, but every ball seemed an effort; in contrast, Ronnie made 2 century breaks with effortless ease which is just incredible to see for yourself. Of course, he played shots left-handed too - much better than you or I ever will with any hand!

To finish off, Steve Davis put on a microphone to tell us some jokes and stories while trying to perform various trick-shots. Though his trick shots were quite impressive, his commentary on snooker was more interesting. I particularly enjoyed the part when he told us about the final in 1985 against Dennis Taylor - when he lost in the final frame on the black ball. He did a fantastic impression of Dennis' movements when he won the frame and it was hilarous to see.

Losing Battle

Over at The Register there is an article concerning Microsoft's decision to "opt Passport holders to spam hell"!

If you have a hotmail account for instance, go to the options page and then 'Personal Profile'. You will be presented with the 'Edit your .NET passport' with some sneaky checkboxes added near the bottom of the page. Check this out if you want to keep your privacy.

To update you with my hotmail problem, things are not looking good! I am now using the highest junk filter, and in about 3-4 days I have received 170+ junk mails, therefore my account is full and I can no longer receive genuine email.

The junk mail folder is emptied automatically every seven days or immediately, but obviously neither option is really good enough. How about choosing the number of days before automatic deletion yourself? Looks like termination is on the cards...

Sleeping In

This morning I woke up, feeling strangely rested. After a couple of seconds I realised that that may not have been a good sign. Opening my eyes, in horror I saw that the time was 9:15 a.m.

My alarm was set for 8:20 a.m. and I always hear it. Today was one of those rare occasions when either my clock malfunctioned, or more likely I turned off the alarm without fully waking up. Annoyingly, my sister was sitting downstairs watching TV, when she should have realised that I shouldn't have been asleep. To be fair though, it isn't her responsibility.

Luckily, I managed to get out of the door within about 10 minutes, and so was only 5 minutes late for work. I am disturbed that I have managed to sleep through my alarm without even remembering it. Perhaps it was those situps I tried last night that sapped my energy!

Student Loans

In the UK, prior to my year going to university, students were given grants to help pay for the costs of student life. Unfortunately for us, the government changed the scheme in favour of student loans.

Means tested tuition fees up to £1000 are charged for study. The amount to be paid depends on family earnings. So, if you are not so well off you will not pay much in the way of tuition fees. However it's still likely that you will need to take out a student loan, from the Student Loans Company, or get a job, or both, to pay for costs along the way. I'm sure that in other countries families must pay far more, but for us it seems horrible considering the former grants system.

Recently I received my annual statement from the Student Loans Company. I now owe far in excess of £7000, which is a sobering thought after leaving university. Though interest is low, it will add on about £100 a year.

As a graduate, you only have to pay student loans back as and when you start work, and a percentage of money is taken directly from your wages. Last April was supposed to be the start of the repayments, but I don't think they deducted anything from my wages. I'm sure I can't escape for long. When will I be free of this debt?!

V - Good

Have you been watching the new weekday nightly programme V Graham Norton? Hilarious stuff...

Graham Norton is a funny Irishman who used to present 'So Graham Norton', once a week I think. Now, the new show is shorter, but more regularly shown. He interviews famous guests and talks to people in the audience about various embarrassing experiences. Now he is asking the audience to participate even more.

Last week, Vern from the audience was challenged to do all sorts of things through the week - such as shaving his head, getting a tatoo, riding a horse in the nude... - and he won a car! Last night a man was given a candle making kit to make a copy of his... 'member'. For his efforts he won a brand-new Nintendo Gamecube, which was only released in the UK last week (I am jealous).

Can Graham Norton's shows be seen outside the UK? It's one of the few decent things worth watching, in my opinion - go watch it!

Email Concerns

In another post a while back I was talking about my junk mail. My hotmail account is practically unusable now, so I have had to change my junk mail filter to 'Exclusive'. This means that I will only receive messages from people in my address book, which is obviously not that flexible.

From the 5th to 11th of May I managed to build up 85 mails in my inbox, and 268 mails in my junk mail folder (using the extra custom filters & the second most strict junk filter). Every single one of these emails was junk, except one - if you don't count Hotmail member services as junk. It told me that my account was at a critical size, and that 'upgrading' would give me more space. No thanks.

Your junk mail may not be as bad as mine, but things will get worse I am sure. Take a look at this BBC article. Even my other pop based email accounts are suffering at the hands of junk mail.

Recently I've realised that I need to sort out my email accounts. I have around 7 accounts, which is just a bit silly. They are not all used regularly, but I need to rethink at least which will be my main and secondary email addresses. Things I want to consider are: junk mail problems, web-accessibility, and overall style of the address!

Selfish Reading

This morning on the Tube I got out my new book to start reading - note to myself: get something sturdy to put it in; I hate those creases and dog-ears.

Fortunately, again I nabbed an end of row seat. On top of that, the person that ended up sitting next to me wasn't stinky like last time! However, this person was an 'over-the-shoulder-reader'. I'm sorry, but this is one of my pet hates!

If it's my friend sitting next to me and we are looking at a magazine then fair enough, but for a stranger I am selfish and wonder how people can blatantly stare at your current page. Actually, I think it's just plain rude! Buy your own!

Is this just me? Own up, you thief-readers! :)

Sensei

In a strange coincidence, after hearing about my job offer, I was to meet my friend Maurice and our old Japanese teacher, Kawabata-sensei for lunch yesterday. Jade Garden provided some delicous dim sum. I especially enjoy their prawn cheung-fun.

We hadn't seen Kawabata-sensei for at least 6 months I would guess, so it was nice to catch up. We had the opportunity to discuss the JET programme, and Maurice's forthcoming holiday with friends (sorry I can't be there guys).

It might have been a good idea to practise our Japanese with her, but it has been eroded with time. Apparently the Japanese we learnt isn't really the typical everyday Japanese that people use. It's time to dust off those books and get learning again!

Book Decision

If you read my last entry you will know that I have the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter box sets. As well as the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I bought the prelude to the series: The Hobbit.

On Thursday I finished The Hobbit, and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. It was not really what I had expected, and was an exciting, imaginative adventure, following the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, and a group of dwarves seeking treasure guarded by a great dragon.

Due to seeing the Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring at the cinema - translated from the first book of the trilogy, this now leaves me with a decision: should I read the book to see the differences and to remember the details, or skip straight to the second book? I wonder if the film ended at exactly the point the book ends. So many books to read, so little time. What do you think?

Authors Forgiven

When I went for my teaching job interview I didn't do all that well at some points. My interview technique is sorely lacking and not well practised. I tended to answer questions quickly without thinking carefully enough, which gives an honest answer, but not always the best one!

However, the main problem occured when I was asked about current famous British authors and books. I went blank, and couldn't answer. The lady then went on to ask me what films I had seen recently, presumably to get me along the 'Lord of the Rings' track - but I totally missed it. The annoying thing was that that actually was the last film I had seen, but I went blank and said something else!

Of course, the other popular author/books were J.K Rowling/Harry Potter. When asked if I read much, I gave a typically negative answer, when in actual fact the previous week I had bought both the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter box sets!

These thoughts have plagued me since the interview, just like those "I knew the answer, but in the exam I just couldn't get it," moments. At last I can put those thoughts to rest and enjoy the books instead of resenting them :)

JET Off!

At 3:02pm, some unknown caller rang my mobile. I answered and in a slow, bored voice a man told me that he was calling from the JET programme and that a vacancy has opened up to teach English in Japan, which he then offered to me! Of course, I agreed to the offer, so it looks as though I will be able to teach in Japan after all!

I was excited and nervous both at the same time, and couldn't think of many questions to ask. Apparently I should get some kind of written confirmation next week. This is unbelievable news! Let's Celebrate!

Sitting Too Close

Occasionally, what looks like a golden opportunity can turn horribly wrong. Strategically, I boarded the train this morning on the front carriage, aiming to find a seat. Even though people got on before me, amazingly there was a seat free at the end of a row of seats - this is rare, let me tell you!

Unfortunately for me, a guy sat down next to me, as that seat was also free. Yes, that's fine, but he was very smelly! There is only so much you can lean into the glass at the end of the seats without looking very strange. When there is a bad smell I can't help but smell it. It's a bit like having an ache of some kind, I just have to make it hurt to see if it's still there! Eventually I stopped this silly sniffing and looked forward to my station, which was 5 or so (exactly) stops away.

Weapon Research

I have been reading a rather disturbing report from the New Scientist website.

"Bugs that eat roads and buildings. Biocatalysts that break down fuel and plastics. Devices that stealthily corrode aluminium and other metals. These are just a few of the non-lethal weapons that the US has tried to develop, or is trying to develop."

"The US National Academy of Sciences is refusing to release dozens of reports proposing or describing their development, even though the documents are supposed to be public records."

Quite scary, but not all that surprising that this sort of research goes on I suppose. What do you think?

Naked Cats

My cat was asleep last night in the bathroom on top of the heater, next to the bath. He finds these places and they become his favourite place for a few days, then he moves on to find new pastures leaving behind lots of hair.

The bath was running, which no longer scares Heathcliff - yes my cat. He is old, and probably nearing the end of his life. I must add that I am against measuring cats' lives as "x amount of human years" etc., pointless! He doesn't possess the energy to run away at the first sight of water anymore, though vacuum cleaners work a treat still.

The problem was that when I went to lock the door, he didn't look like has was in any hurry to move. "Fine," I thought, so locked him in too. However, I was uncomfortable getting undressed in front of him! I must be a little crazy, but where do you draw the line? Goldfish? Cats? Dogs? Would you get undressed in front of a cow? A monkey? I don't know, it just got me thinking.

But if you consider it, you have to feel sorry for humans and cats - humans are wary and self-conscious, while cats are not, but are naked all the time!

Graduation Day

No, of course it is not my graduation day! That would be better than being at work, or would it? Near to my work is Imperial College and today many people are graduating. I know a few of these guys, so well done!

Each faculty has a different set of colours on their robes and there were a good few varieties around today at lunchtime. Yes, they look at little silly, but I'm sure they are proud to be wearing their outfits at the same time.

I decided to have lunch in the college, in the Junior Common Room. Well, I don't really blend in that well, but I do almost look like a student! My chicken Tikka wrap was satisfactory and lunch was completed by a Twix bar, lovely KP nuts (which I notice they have changed the packets of) and a can of Coke.

Sitting opposite the STA Travel shop, I watched students going in and out, and I longed for a summer break of my own. Who knows, it might happen. Think positive!

Pigeon Prevention

South Kensington station, like many other London Underground has quite a few pigeons hanging around, up to no good harassing good-natured folk.

Many stations have metal spikes sitting on top of anything above head-height to stop birds from sitting there, and I should think from pooping on people waiting innocently for their next train. Today I noticed there are many new plastic versions of the spikes at South Kensington. Not quite as sturdy as metal, but I wouldn't fancy sitting on them ;)

Snooker Final

To top off the extended weekend given to us courtesy of the Bank holiday today, came the final sessions of the Embassy World Snooker final. I was glued to it pretty much all day, especially in the evening.

In a best of 35 frame match Peter Ebdon took on Steven Hendry. Personally, for some reason, I wanted Steven Hendry to win from the start. However, in fairness Hendry has won it 7 times, so I wanted Ebdon to win too.

Unbelievably, the match went to the final frame and was incredibly tense. By the end, I wasn't sure who I wanted to win, but Ebdon won, getting the trophy and £260,000! If you were watching I'm sure you enjoyed it.

Back to work tomorrow, but on the bright side at least it will only be a 4-day working week.

Eric Knowles

Most people left work early today, so I was at the platform of South Kensington station before 6pm. Usually I get on at the front of the train, but as it slowed to a stop I saw a lady with a baby getting on at the front - as you may recall I have had bad experiences with babies on trains, so I turned around to get on the second carriage.

The man getting on in front of me looked familiar - it was Eric Knowles! Eric is the man in the know about anything related to antiques. He appears on lots of BBC programmes related to antiques. I didn't stare, but I'm sure it was him. I was dissapointed that he didn't have his bow-tie on, but he had a rather flashy material covered suitcase. Incidentally, we both got off at Piccadilly Circus - the Friday night party animal?

Eating Tar

Along one side of Exhibition road there have been workers resurfacing the top of the road. Yesterday they were stripping about 2 inches off the top of the road with some nifty machines (on wheels). Today they are actually laying new tarmac on the road.

I am loving this because I love that tar smell! It's probably no good for you, but for some reason I have always liked it. It's such an interesting smell that I think you either love it or hate it - personally, it smells good enough to eat!

Telepathy

Telepathy occurs a lot, of that I am convinced. I shouldn't think I am hugely talented or unique ( at least in terms of telepathy :P ), and I'm sure you have experienced similar things to me. I'm not talking about Uri Gellar's power, but smaller things. For example, when you think of someone, then a few mintues later they knock on your door or they phone you; You are about to close an instant messanging window on your pc, then 10 seconds later that person messages you. That last one happens to me quite a bit.

At lunch-time I decided to ring a friend after eating. Usually, when at work, I never phone anyone, but I just felt that I should today. So when I got back to the office building I got my phone to call him, only to find that I had a text message from that very friend. Coincidence?

Coincidences are all well and good, and yes, I could accept that a lot of these experiences are caused merely by coincidence, but I'm sure that some are not and that there is such a thing as telepathy - even for normal people. What do you think?

Telepathy page
ESP - Extra Sensory Perception

Secure Email

I've just read an interesting article about email security and privacy. It gets you thinking... How many of you send email that is of a private nature? Would it matter if a stranger read it? The article discusses ways of making email safer, like the use of Public, Private Key encryption schemes for example.

The author, Dan Simon is a cryptographer. His blogs can be found here.

Creased Hobbit

For my short train journey I reached into my bag for the book I am currently reading: The Hobbit, by J.J.R. Tolkien. My aim, like many others I suppose, is to complete The Hobbit and the first two books of the Lord of the Rings trilogy before the second film comes out.

Anyway, my lovely (black version) book was creased down the front! I am a perfectionist in some ways, and such is the case with books. Yes, this even applies to broken spines - but to a lesser extent nowadays. Looks like I am going to need stronger protection; a plastic bag isn't cutting it.

The book has been enjoyable so far. I have reached about page 70, and am reading a section with riddles. Perhaps I am stupid, but I am not getting them for myself!

External Views

As most of the elements of the site are now in place, barring the conversion of some old photo pages, I have deemed it finished enough for other people to see.

Yesterday the site was listed on the movable type web site - the first link to my site - and generated my first few external views! While only a few hits, it was still is exciting for me.

Surprisingly, I received an email from one of my first visitors - thanks Kiyo! Take a look at his weblog here. Please leave a message on the message board next time!