29.9.07
i don't like football
gradezero | | # | 
gradezero.com
ibald
27.9.07
living alone
no, i'm not looking for sympathy. most things about living alone are good. peace, quiet; if i put something down it's always where i left it; it's my mess and i like it etc. but there is one problem.
plates
well, plates, side plates, bowels, knives, forks and general tools required to do everything between getting the food out of the packet and into my face.
i have a 12 place setting dishwasher. i don't like to run it till it's full. this however means i plan my diet not around any healthy living plan, or what i might want to eat, but on what i have avalable to eat with and off.
for the start of the week i have normal size portions and use a knife and fork like a grown up; but as things progress and i run out of dinner plates i have to start on the side plates and either pile them high or go back for seconds. once they're gone i have to resort to bowls, and believe me... eating fish and chips from a bowl using a soup spoon is not as easy as you might think. i would blend it all up but the belnder jug has been waiting to be washed since monday.
i have loads of chopping boards though. i have to was them by hand.
plates
well, plates, side plates, bowels, knives, forks and general tools required to do everything between getting the food out of the packet and into my face.
i have a 12 place setting dishwasher. i don't like to run it till it's full. this however means i plan my diet not around any healthy living plan, or what i might want to eat, but on what i have avalable to eat with and off.
for the start of the week i have normal size portions and use a knife and fork like a grown up; but as things progress and i run out of dinner plates i have to start on the side plates and either pile them high or go back for seconds. once they're gone i have to resort to bowls, and believe me... eating fish and chips from a bowl using a soup spoon is not as easy as you might think. i would blend it all up but the belnder jug has been waiting to be washed since monday.
i have loads of chopping boards though. i have to was them by hand.
Labels: wtf
gradezero | | # |
daft punk girl
not only does anything by daft punk kick ass this video is one of the best sequences i have seen. apparently filmed at half speed then sped up; personally i don't care how they did it. it makes me wish i looked less like an egg whisk when i dance.
Labels: teh internets, video
gradezero | | # |
21.9.07
"ride a bike? you must be rich"
well, according to ben webster writing in the times i must be very rich The richer people become the further they cycle.
the article raises a few good points (and a few better quotes) but i think it misses the point slightly. i really don't think it's "young people" that need to be educated about cycling. kids know bikes are fun; it's the adults that seem to think it's something that you grow out of that need a gentle shove, and i really don't know how to shove them. i would like to think that most adults don't have role models in the same sense as they did when they were younger (perhaps i am crediting people with more intelligence than they really have), but i can't imagine any adult seeing *insert footballer's name here* riding a bike and thinking "maybe if i ride a bike i'll earn £45k a week too".
i still believe the whole of society, along with this country's pathetic attempt at cycling provision (CTC notwithstanding) needs to be changed before we will see the shift that needs to happen.
*edit*
apparently in the paper version there is a table showing that the highest fifh's average annual mileage was 63 miles, and the lowest fifth 26 miles.
63 miles is a sunday morning ride.
we're all doomed!
the article raises a few good points (and a few better quotes) but i think it misses the point slightly. i really don't think it's "young people" that need to be educated about cycling. kids know bikes are fun; it's the adults that seem to think it's something that you grow out of that need a gentle shove, and i really don't know how to shove them. i would like to think that most adults don't have role models in the same sense as they did when they were younger (perhaps i am crediting people with more intelligence than they really have), but i can't imagine any adult seeing *insert footballer's name here* riding a bike and thinking "maybe if i ride a bike i'll earn £45k a week too".
i still believe the whole of society, along with this country's pathetic attempt at cycling provision (CTC notwithstanding) needs to be changed before we will see the shift that needs to happen.
*edit*
apparently in the paper version there is a table showing that the highest fifh's average annual mileage was 63 miles, and the lowest fifth 26 miles.
63 miles is a sunday morning ride.
we're all doomed!
Labels: bikes
gradezero | | # |
the country where i quite want to be......
i finally got some of the pics from finland posted. i took so bloody many i couldn't be bothered to sift through them before now.
here they are.
gradezero | | # |
17.9.07
spain
after a longish weekend of doing as little as possible except enjoying the sun and enjoying the sun while staying with some friends who live in almunécar (malaga-ish in spain) these are the poncey photos i wave virtually in your face
gradezero | | # |
5.9.07
food tips
milky milky
cycling home today (did you know i rode a bike?) i stopped off at the preferred store of that fat tongued mockney jamie oliver to get something for dinner. as it was warm i was a bit thirsty and noticed this carton of "so good" in their reduced section
i needed milk anyway so i thought it was worth 50p of anybody's money.
i was really really wrong. i headed outside back to my bike (i ride a bike remember) excited at this new, healthy, fat free, suitable for vegans, more calcium than milk, taste sensation. i eagerly twisted the cap off only to find a ringpull under it (well, poison in your "LOW FAT NUTRITIOUS ALTERNATIVE TO SKIMMED MILK MADE WITH A BLEND OF FILTERED WATER AND SOYA PROTIEN WITH ADDED VITAMINS, CALCIUM AND IRON" would be no good (no, i don't know why they felt the need to use upper case). with excitement building to a crescendo i ripped the pull from it's ring and took a long draught.... i winced... i thought about ejecting it from my mouth but good amnners and decorum prevailed. i swallowed (shush at the back). this stuff is really really terrible. imagine a mix of flour and water with added horribleness.. that's what it's like; and it did nothing for my thirst.
i read the label again looking for the "warning, this tastes like shit" disclaimer, but there wasn't one. the label goes on to say how god it is, how it lowers cholesterol, how it has more iron and folic acis than skimmed milk; but it never mentions the taste. i'm not surprised.
i looked at the ingredients and pondered how they can cram so many things into a stable suspension.
this got me thinking about the ingredients in real milk.
i went to the fridge.
i removed the milk from the door.
i looked for the ingredients.
there aren't any.. it seems milk is just milk, which in my book makes it better than "so good" (surely that is a lie, as it is in fact really really bad)
i did however notice this gem on the milk container.
so, in this 4 pint container of semi skimmed milk i might have to be cautious because it "contains milk"... i would hope so. that's why i bought it.
have i mentioned my dispair for the world?
anyway, back to the so bad..... on my way home there are a load of blackberry bushes. i made some room in the container (yes, i actually drank some of this foul stuff), picked about 100 blackberries and dropped them into the "milk" with the idea of making some sort of smoothie when i got home. which i did.. it still tasted like shit but now it was blue, i added a banana and some honey, and still the overwhelming taste was of shitty horrible not milk.
i tipped it all away and chalked it up to experience. in future i'll stick to pure bovine lactose, non of this new fangled hippy vegan bullshit.
did i mention i ride a bike?
cycling home today (did you know i rode a bike?) i stopped off at the preferred store of that fat tongued mockney jamie oliver to get something for dinner. as it was warm i was a bit thirsty and noticed this carton of "so good" in their reduced section
i needed milk anyway so i thought it was worth 50p of anybody's money.
i was really really wrong. i headed outside back to my bike (i ride a bike remember) excited at this new, healthy, fat free, suitable for vegans, more calcium than milk, taste sensation. i eagerly twisted the cap off only to find a ringpull under it (well, poison in your "LOW FAT NUTRITIOUS ALTERNATIVE TO SKIMMED MILK MADE WITH A BLEND OF FILTERED WATER AND SOYA PROTIEN WITH ADDED VITAMINS, CALCIUM AND IRON" would be no good (no, i don't know why they felt the need to use upper case). with excitement building to a crescendo i ripped the pull from it's ring and took a long draught.... i winced... i thought about ejecting it from my mouth but good amnners and decorum prevailed. i swallowed (shush at the back). this stuff is really really terrible. imagine a mix of flour and water with added horribleness.. that's what it's like; and it did nothing for my thirst.
i read the label again looking for the "warning, this tastes like shit" disclaimer, but there wasn't one. the label goes on to say how god it is, how it lowers cholesterol, how it has more iron and folic acis than skimmed milk; but it never mentions the taste. i'm not surprised.
i looked at the ingredients and pondered how they can cram so many things into a stable suspension.
this got me thinking about the ingredients in real milk.
i went to the fridge.
i removed the milk from the door.
i looked for the ingredients.
there aren't any.. it seems milk is just milk, which in my book makes it better than "so good" (surely that is a lie, as it is in fact really really bad)
i did however notice this gem on the milk container.
so, in this 4 pint container of semi skimmed milk i might have to be cautious because it "contains milk"... i would hope so. that's why i bought it.
have i mentioned my dispair for the world?
anyway, back to the so bad..... on my way home there are a load of blackberry bushes. i made some room in the container (yes, i actually drank some of this foul stuff), picked about 100 blackberries and dropped them into the "milk" with the idea of making some sort of smoothie when i got home. which i did.. it still tasted like shit but now it was blue, i added a banana and some honey, and still the overwhelming taste was of shitty horrible not milk.
i tipped it all away and chalked it up to experience. in future i'll stick to pure bovine lactose, non of this new fangled hippy vegan bullshit.
did i mention i ride a bike?
Labels: food, people can't be this stupid
gradezero | | # |
4.9.07
i must be poor
actually, while we're on the subject of transport. why is it when you're walking somewhere people see you as somebody walking somewhere; when you're running you're obviously getting fit so well done you; driving is driving... but when you're on a bike you are little more than a target for ridicule "haven't you grown out of that" (no, i grew into it); pity "can't you afford a car" (umm, actually this bike cost more than your car)or general amazement "you ride to work?? why is that?" (roll out standard why i ride to work speech) or in some cases a target to have things thrown at you or for people to drive into you.
it just baffles me sometimes.
it just baffles me sometimes.
gradezero | | # |
cars cars everywhere
it seems the brats are back to school this week.. i know this because the roads are once again a static line of single occupancy cars all the way from my house to my office. every morning i pass about 7 miles of queueing cars; about 90% of them with only the driver. A good proportion of the remainder are just on the school run.
this really makes me dispair for peple now and in the future. have we really become so lazy that we have to drive everywhere? are we really so scared that our children will be abducted that we cannot let them out of our sight? are we really so snobbish that we refuse to take public transport?
sadly it's not so easy to solve. i wrote this piece a while ago:
we hear more and more about this governments pitiful attempts at an "integrated transport policy" (integrated?! ever tried getting a bike on a train?) and trying to get the fat lazy proles out of their tin kingdoms and onto something slightly more physically and environmentally friendly. this however will never happen for many reasons; the overriding of which i will mention thusly:
1. cars are cool. they go where you want, when you want, door to door; and you don't have to put up with sharing your space with the general public.
2. other forms of transport are not.
now.... i could leave it there, most people would agree with what i've said, but "leaving things there" just aint my bag baby. so lets look into it in a bit more detail.
cars are something that heralds the onset of adulthood. they make you feel like a man (or whatever the politically correct female equivalent is these days. i hear biatch is not acceptable anymore). when a boy gets to 16 he can zoom about like he owns the world on some irritating pathetic chicken chaser gay scooter mobile; but when he gets to 17 that's it. he becomes nothing short of a GOD! no longer reliant on public transport or tapping your old man for a lift and that seems to continue throughout some peoples lives. a car is how you get from a to b, even if b is within sight of a. a car is a status symbol, a nice car means more than manners and upbringing, no matter how deeply in debt it gets you. it doesn't seem to matter that in a lot of cases a car is not the quickest way to get about as long as they are in their metal box that's just fine.
this has led to other transport methods to get a bad name.
the bus is for poor people and OAPs.
the train is late, dirty and doesn't go anywhere near where you want to go so you have to get a bus as well. you might as well hire a car or people will think you're poor.
bike. are you fucking mad. that's for hippies, green freaks and poor people.
walking is fine to get to the freezer to dig out a ready meal but that's just about it, it's no good for more than 10yards, you'll probably get cancer or something.
now, that grinning idiot* you lot voted in can bang on and on as much as he likes about "green taxes" and "sustainable transport" but until the masses have a change of attitude towards the mighty motorcar nothing is going to change; and with this country loves being american, that just won't happen.
strangely enough i own 2 cars. i don't use them much though. i'll walk, run or cycle in preference. this makes me better than you.
*former pm tony "grinning idiot" blair
this really makes me dispair for peple now and in the future. have we really become so lazy that we have to drive everywhere? are we really so scared that our children will be abducted that we cannot let them out of our sight? are we really so snobbish that we refuse to take public transport?
sadly it's not so easy to solve. i wrote this piece a while ago:
we hear more and more about this governments pitiful attempts at an "integrated transport policy" (integrated?! ever tried getting a bike on a train?) and trying to get the fat lazy proles out of their tin kingdoms and onto something slightly more physically and environmentally friendly. this however will never happen for many reasons; the overriding of which i will mention thusly:
1. cars are cool. they go where you want, when you want, door to door; and you don't have to put up with sharing your space with the general public.
2. other forms of transport are not.
now.... i could leave it there, most people would agree with what i've said, but "leaving things there" just aint my bag baby. so lets look into it in a bit more detail.
cars are something that heralds the onset of adulthood. they make you feel like a man (or whatever the politically correct female equivalent is these days. i hear biatch is not acceptable anymore). when a boy gets to 16 he can zoom about like he owns the world on some irritating pathetic chicken chaser gay scooter mobile; but when he gets to 17 that's it. he becomes nothing short of a GOD! no longer reliant on public transport or tapping your old man for a lift and that seems to continue throughout some peoples lives. a car is how you get from a to b, even if b is within sight of a. a car is a status symbol, a nice car means more than manners and upbringing, no matter how deeply in debt it gets you. it doesn't seem to matter that in a lot of cases a car is not the quickest way to get about as long as they are in their metal box that's just fine.
this has led to other transport methods to get a bad name.
the bus is for poor people and OAPs.
the train is late, dirty and doesn't go anywhere near where you want to go so you have to get a bus as well. you might as well hire a car or people will think you're poor.
bike. are you fucking mad. that's for hippies, green freaks and poor people.
walking is fine to get to the freezer to dig out a ready meal but that's just about it, it's no good for more than 10yards, you'll probably get cancer or something.
now, that grinning idiot* you lot voted in can bang on and on as much as he likes about "green taxes" and "sustainable transport" but until the masses have a change of attitude towards the mighty motorcar nothing is going to change; and with this country loves being american, that just won't happen.
strangely enough i own 2 cars. i don't use them much though. i'll walk, run or cycle in preference. this makes me better than you.
*former pm tony "grinning idiot" blair
Labels: bikes, rant, you're all losers
gradezero | | # |
3.9.07
journalism for the masses
tabloid's are great*
on a sunday i generally buy the observer and one of the redtops. the observer is a real newspaper and there's normally at least an hours worth of reading in it; generally well written and not blatantly biased. there's also very little in the way of celebrity bullshit (the colour supplement is a different kettle of fish though). this week was no different. while mia was working hard making a top birthday cake (possibly the nicest cake ever) i was drinking coffee and finding out what had been going on in the world
my redtop of choice this week was the news of the world. once i had filtered out the 60! pages of football, the dozen or so pages of other sport i was left with about 30 pages of news. of this 12 were of sharon osbourne and why she is a bitch.. that's 12 pages of utter uselessness, 3 of royal nonsense in including the revelation that diana publicclotheshorse somebodyorother was putting it about before she snuffed it; some slapper from big brother showing her arse to the world (nice arse, shame about what it's attached to); and various other non news stories (the spice girls are reforming. yay). as far as real news goes there was 1/3 page dedicated to what had been going on in basra and 1/3 page on gordon brown jigging about with election dates. best of all though was the tabloid's favourite right wing, fop haired mp and possible future mayor of toilet town boris johnson. he's had 7 bikes nicked in london in 7 years you know. shocking!
what gets me is this is what some people read as "news". it actually scares me. i only really buy the tabloids to complain about them; which i just have done.
if only all my aspirations we so easy to achieve
*actually, they're not.
on a sunday i generally buy the observer and one of the redtops. the observer is a real newspaper and there's normally at least an hours worth of reading in it; generally well written and not blatantly biased. there's also very little in the way of celebrity bullshit (the colour supplement is a different kettle of fish though). this week was no different. while mia was working hard making a top birthday cake (possibly the nicest cake ever) i was drinking coffee and finding out what had been going on in the world
my redtop of choice this week was the news of the world. once i had filtered out the 60! pages of football, the dozen or so pages of other sport i was left with about 30 pages of news. of this 12 were of sharon osbourne and why she is a bitch.. that's 12 pages of utter uselessness, 3 of royal nonsense in including the revelation that diana publicclotheshorse somebodyorother was putting it about before she snuffed it; some slapper from big brother showing her arse to the world (nice arse, shame about what it's attached to); and various other non news stories (the spice girls are reforming. yay). as far as real news goes there was 1/3 page dedicated to what had been going on in basra and 1/3 page on gordon brown jigging about with election dates. best of all though was the tabloid's favourite right wing, fop haired mp and possible future mayor of toilet town boris johnson. he's had 7 bikes nicked in london in 7 years you know. shocking!
what gets me is this is what some people read as "news". it actually scares me. i only really buy the tabloids to complain about them; which i just have done.
if only all my aspirations we so easy to achieve
*actually, they're not.
Labels: people can't be this stupid, rant
gradezero | | # |
1.9.07
mark is on the web
well done mark for getting a blog..... although with blogs and facebook we really will have nothing to talk about down the pub.
Labels: computing, teh internets
gradezero | | # |
l'orange
if the future is orange it's not very bright
i know ntl/virgin are generally regarded and a bunch of useless wasters and not fit to feel the same sun as the rest of humanity but i get my cable broadband service from them and it has been fast and faultless. i've never had to call their hlpline, which is probably why they have never pissed me off.
orange/wannado (wannadont) however have very hacked me off... and it's only 20 past 9.
i shall surmise thusly
They force you to use their own SMTP server for sending any outgoing mail. Any attempt to connect to port 25 of another machine is met with an SMTP server that just gives you an error telling you to use smtp.orangehome.co.uk. Presumably this is a roadblock to make it harder for botted machines to send spam. Unfortunately it has the side effect of breaking perfectly legitimate (and fairly common) uses as well. Like most people I have my mail client set up to use my perfectly reliable, predictable and controlable SMTP server.. it works, it always works and if it doesn't; then I well, doug really) can fix it. orange's SMTP is not so... and to top it off is blocked by many other servers and known for sending spam, and if it thinks the message you're sending is spam, it won't send it. this means if i want to discuss viagra or the purchase of cheap watches then i can't do it over email on an orange connection.
but then what can you expect from a shit mobile phone company.
i know ntl/virgin are generally regarded and a bunch of useless wasters and not fit to feel the same sun as the rest of humanity but i get my cable broadband service from them and it has been fast and faultless. i've never had to call their hlpline, which is probably why they have never pissed me off.
orange/wannado (wannadont) however have very hacked me off... and it's only 20 past 9.
i shall surmise thusly
They force you to use their own SMTP server for sending any outgoing mail. Any attempt to connect to port 25 of another machine is met with an SMTP server that just gives you an error telling you to use smtp.orangehome.co.uk. Presumably this is a roadblock to make it harder for botted machines to send spam. Unfortunately it has the side effect of breaking perfectly legitimate (and fairly common) uses as well. Like most people I have my mail client set up to use my perfectly reliable, predictable and controlable SMTP server.. it works, it always works and if it doesn't; then I well, doug really) can fix it. orange's SMTP is not so... and to top it off is blocked by many other servers and known for sending spam, and if it thinks the message you're sending is spam, it won't send it. this means if i want to discuss viagra or the purchase of cheap watches then i can't do it over email on an orange connection.
but then what can you expect from a shit mobile phone company.
gradezero | | # |
