o
v
e
r
y
o
u
r
h
e
a
d
.
.
.
|
|
|
| |
|
Crawling through technology, life and love Contact me: hotmail gmail home 
Listening: 
Playing: Donkey Kong Jet Racing - Wii iTuning: Podcasts - Russell Brand, Chris Moyles and Mark Kermode Reading: The End of Mr. Y - Scarlett Thomas Bits and Bobs: Wish List Gerry's Lyrics Pop Quiz Minipops Quiz Sites I like: Marc Almond Top 40 Singles News IMdb The Register Hacks Sainsbury's Recent GBlogs Arsenal FC Some blogs I enjoy: bboyblues2000 bitful blogadoon brainsluice chig groc minkered scally sparky troubled diva Books recently read: I Never Knew That About London - Christopher Winn The Arsenal Miscellany - Adam Gold Young Hearts Run Free: The Real Story of the 1970s - Dave Haslam Magical Thinking - Augusten Burroughs Veronika Decides To Die - Paulo Coelho Time Out Guide - Amsterdam Lillian's Story - Kate Grenville The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins Schott's Original Miscellany - Ben Schott Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J K Rowling A Gay History Of Britain - Matt Cook Time Out Guide to Madrid Time Out Guide to New York Kingdom Come - J. G. Ballard The Hours - Michael Cunningham Mutants - Aramand Marie Leroi A Young Man's Passage - Julian Clary Growing Pains - Billie Piper The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath Wild Swans - Jung Chang Highbury: The Story of Arsenal N.5 - Jon Spurling Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins - Rupert Everett Affinity - Sarah Waters Lighthousekeeping - Jeanette Winterson Tipping The Velvet - Sarah Waters The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini Of Human Bondage - W Somerset Maugham Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier Lucky Man - Michael J Fox Labyrinth - Kate Mosse Fingersmith - Sarah Waters The Night Watch - Sarah Waters The Pedant's Revolt - Andrea Barham The Republic Of Trees - Sam Taylor Written On tbe Body - Jeanette Winterson Untold Stories - Alan Bennett The Plot Against America - Philip Roth Read All About It - Max Clifford The Folding Star - Alan Hollinghurst Thursbitch - Alan Garner Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim - David Sedaris Staying Alive - Matt Beaumont The Bookseller Of Kabul - Asne Seierstad Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince - J K Rowling A Short History Of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson Count Karlstein - Philip Pullman The Shadow Of The Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood The Spell - Alan Hollinghurst The Double Life Of Daniel Glick - Maurice Caldera The Smoking Diaries - Simon Gray Straight- Boy George Digital Fortress - Dan Brown Deception Point - Dan Brown The Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith Angels and Demons - Dan Brown Sydney - Time Out Guide Oryx and Crake - Margaret Atwood Eleanor Rigby - Douglas Coupland The Scarecrow and His Servant - Philip Pullman Tha Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown The Perks Of Being A Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky Planet Simpson - Chris Turner The Line Of Beauty - Alan Hollinghurst Barcelona - Time Out Guide The Closed Circle - Jonathan Coe The Clerkenwell Tales - Peter Ackroyd Copenhagen - TimeOut Guide The Butterfly Tattoo - Philip Pullman The Broken Bridge - Philip Pullman In Search of the Pleasure Palace - Marc Almond Brick Lane - Monica Ali Vernon God Little - DBC Pierre Last Exit To Brooklyn - Hubert Selby Jr You Shall Know Our Velocity - Dave Eggers Touching The Void - Joe Simpson Life Of Pi - Yann Martel Istanbul - Time Out Guide Millennium People - J G Ballard The Duchess Who Wouldn't Sit Down - Jesse Browner Hey Nostradamus! - Douglas Coupland Eats, Shoots and Leaves - Lynne Truss The Wind-up Bird Chronicle - Haruki Murakami Our Man In Havana - Graham Greene The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Mark Haddon Lyra's Oxford - Philip Pullman Doran - Will Self Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides the book, the film, the t-shirt - matt beaumont High Society - Ben Elton Man And Wife - Tony Parsons I Was A Rat - Philip Pullman Harry Potter: The Order of the Phoenix - J R Rowling Great Apes - Will Self Barrel Fever - David Sedaris Round Ireland With A Fridge - Tony Hawkes Close Range - Annie Proux The Third Way - Anthony Giddens dot.con - John Cassidy The Salmon of Doubt - Douglas Adams One Hit Wonderland - Tony Hawkes The Thief Lord - Cornelia Funke The Corrections - Jonathan Franzen The Cloud Sketcher - Richard Rayner Keane: the Autobiography - Roy Keane A Wasteland of Strangers - Bill Pronzini The English - Jeremy Paxman How to Lose Friends and Alienate People - Toby Young Dead Famous - Ben Elton The Amber Spyglass - Phillip Pullman (again) The Subtle Knife - Phillip Pullman (again) Northern Lights - Phillip Pullman (again) The Bear and The Dragon - Tom Clancy 101 Reykjavik - Hallgrimur Helgason Forward The Foundation - Isaac Asimov Carter Beats The Devil - Glen David Gold The Tin Princess - Philip Pullman Atonement - Ian McEwan The Tiger In The Well - Philip Pullman The Rotters Club - Jonathan Coe Generation X - Douglas Copeland Perfume - Patrick Suskind All Families Are Psychotic - Douglas Coupland The Shadow In The North - Phillip Pullman No Logon - Naomi Klein The Dirt - Motley Crue Miss Wyoming - Douglas Coupland The Amber Spyglass - Phillip Pullman The Subtle Knife - Phillip Pullman Northern Lights - Phillip Pullman The Ruby in the Smoke - Phillip Pullman The Sandman - Miles Gibson Blood and Gold: The Vampire Marius - Anne Rice The Actrocity Exhibition - J G Ballard Shameless - Paul Burston Sing Out! - Boze Hadleigh Brilliant Orange - David Winner New Boy - William Sutcliffe London - Peter Ackroyd Wonder Boys - Michael Chabon One For My Baby - Tony Parsons How To Be Good - Nick Hornby White Teeth - Zadie Smith Lust - Geoff Ryman Tulip Fever - Deborah Moggach Dead Souls - Ian Rankin The House Of Sleep - Jonathan Coe A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius - Dave Eggers What a carve up! - Jonathan Coe The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay - Michael Chabon The Grapes Of Wrath - John Steinbeck Heartwood - James Lee Burke Cryptonomicon - Neal Stephenson Man and Boy - Tony Parsons The Map Of Love - Ahdaf Soueif e - Matt Beaumont The e Before Christmas - Matt Beaumont  
Archives: September 1971 February 2001 March 2001 April 2001 May 2001 June 2001 July 2001 August 2001 September 2001 October 2001 November 2001 December 2001 January 2002 February 2002 March 2002 April 2002 May 2002 June 2002 July 2002 August 2002 September 2002 October 2002 November 2002 December 2002 January 2003 February 2003 March 2003 April 2003 May 2003 June 2003 July 2003 August 2003 September 2003 October 2003 November 2003 December 2003 January 2004 February 2004 March 2004 April 2004 May 2004 June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 
|
Wednesday, July 31, 2002
Austin Powers In Goldmember...
 Marky, Jo and I went to see Austin Powers in Goldmember last night. And we were all in hysterics throughout.
Maybe it's the fact that I had Victorian parents that makes me now laugh out loud at jokes about guffs, wee and willies. They were things that were never mentioned at home. The film follows on from Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me but in some ways is better. Actually, this outing from the shagadelic sleuth could have been renamed Carry On Bond - for that's what it was. A melee of a Carry On film and James Bond (in the same vein as, but much funnier than, say, Carry On Spying). In fact funnier than most Carry On films (which from me is really saying something). It was crammed full of knob gags, boob gags, post modern gags, visual gags and Hollywood gags. It's hard to find fault with such a well observed and written piece of pure comedic entertainment. Sure it presented nothing new - but since when did a good time have to be original? You know precisely what it is you're going to get and that is exactly what is delivered. The list of cameos all playing themselves was amazing: Tom Cruise, Danny DeVito, Gwyneth Paltrow, Quincy Jones, Ozzy Osbourne, Kevin Spacey, Burt Bacharach, Britney Spears, Steven Spielberg and John Travolta. The casting director needs an Oscar. It reminded me of the ending of that titanic God of a film Pee Wee's Big Adventure. If forced to choose my favourite scenes from Goldmember they would have to be the subtitles scene (parts of subtitled words get blocked out by white items on the screen leaving just the rude bits of words displayed), when Mini Me gets beaten up (just a riot) and the submarine sick bay shadows (old gag, even cruder twist). And I almost wet myself when a chocolate cup cake hit and stuck to Dr Evil's head. My 12 year old nephew wants to go and see this film. And I think I'll go (again) with him. Yeah, baby, yeah!!
What are the chances of that?...
1. Happy Birthday, Ben (thanks for the meal last Saturday - you'll make a veggie of me yet) 2. Happy Birthday, Paul (looking forward to seeing you later tonight) I seem to know two people with a birthday today. What are the chances of that, eh? Well it's quite high actually. Does anyone remember their maths or stats teacher showing them the proof to the question: what is the minimum number of people needed to be in a group before there's a 50:50 chance of any two sharing the same birthday? I remember the answer being really low. Just 23. But I can't remember the proof. Can anyone else remember it? And just to muddy the waters even further I know someone else who has a birthday today... 3. Happy Birthday, Nick (not seen you in ages - hope the recording career is going OK. Not seen you on CD:UK yet!) Now what are the chances of that!? Tuesday, July 30, 2002
Tory MP Alan Duncan is gay. Big deal...
Hugo Young, as ever, makes a lot of sense in today's Guardian. "Almost everything you need to know about the Tory party is encapsulated in the revelation that Alan Duncan is gay. A banal detail is elevated into first place in the news. A dreary social commonplace is treated by both the party and the media on a par with the discovery that the Pope has a secret wife. How much further behind the curve can an organisation get than feeling obliged to declare its 21st-century relevance by means of this amazing item? How devoid of content does a party have to be if the best way it can think of proving its openness, its revolutionary departure from type, is by showing its tolerance for Alan Duncan being gay? The only interesting thing about this disclosure is that it's the big thing the Tories have to say about themselves. It underlines rather than diminishes their predicament. It is a headline they could do without because it distracts from everything to do with their real problem."
In the pink...
Ever wondered why lobsters go pink when cooked? Well it appears that when cooked a protein in their shell gets 'denatured' so that it turns from blue to a pinky-orange colour. Hence the colour change in the shell when it turns up on your plate. So now you know.
Rain, rain...
The London weather forecast was for rain today. Thunder, lightning and rain. 6cm of it. So far it's been sunny and bright. Come on then. Bring it on!
Six Feet Under...
Six Feet Under just goes from strength to strength. Last night's was episode #8 in series 1 where brothers Nate and David decide to rent out a room in their funeral home to make some extra money. A line dancing class turns up - with (surprise, surprise) a gay dance caller, Kurt. There is a great scene later when Kurt and David go on their first date and are sitting in a crowded restaurant. Kurt gets straight to the point: Kurt: So, David, are you a top or a bottom? David: (nervously) Er, a what? Kurt: (makes a poking gesture with his finger) David: Oh. (in very small voice) I'm versatile. Kurt: (smiling) A bottom? That's great. We'll get along just fine. Very funny. And so true. As a coda to this scene later on in the episode we get a quick flash of them in bed and Kurt says to David, "boy, you ARE versatile!" Monday, July 29, 2002
Drew and Steven...
Last weekend our nephew Drew came over for Sunday lunch and a games afternoon with his new beau, Steven. Steven is quite a charming man and if our approval were to be sought (which it wasn't) then we would have to say: "We approve!"  Friday, July 26, 2002
Spider-man gets a group thing going......
You may remember Spider-man had a solo thing going a few weeks ago. Well now he's got a group together. Work it, girls! [Thanks to Elle for the file]
George Michael - up and down...
George Michael's new single Shoot The Dog is getting precious little radio play in the UK. It has been categorized to only be on Radio One's C playlist. It is therefore unlikely to have a very high UK chart entry next week. His charm offensive in the States hasn't faired much better either. This fuss over Shoot The Dog (and to some extend over Freeek! too) reminds me a bit of Madonna's Erotica/Sex phase. It all seemed to be to shock rather than to entertain. Such periods in artists lives rarely produce their best work. In other (slightly cheerier) news George has been asked to write the theme song for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Apparently George (of Greek extraction himself) was asked as he is considered a near deity in Greece. So what are your going to call it, George? Shoot the God?
Big Brother: The Live Final...
 As an official BB3 boycotter naturally I won't be watching tonight.
Oh no, I won't be watching Big Brother's Little Brother on E4 at 7pm. Or Big Brother on C4 at 8:30pm Or Big Brother (again) at 10:30pm. Or indeed Big Brother's Little Brother again at 11:40pm And I certainly won't be voting for the lovely Kate to win*. Oh no. *(But if she does I shall be very happy as she's my favourite)
Tony Alley...
Guy and I share a lust for the British swimmer Tony Alley. What is it about a swimmer's build? :-)   
Commonwealth Games...
Last night was the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Manchester. Old cynic that I am I was ready to pour scorn on the feeble attempts of emulating the Olympic Opening ceremony. But actually it was quite good fun. Lots of cute bodies to watch, a bit of camp nonsense with But hang on, since when was Jersey, Cook Islands, Falkland Islands, Isle Of Man etc al separate countries? I half expected to see The Isle of Dogs march past! Thursday, July 25, 2002
XDA...
 I have been lusting after this for some months. And as part of my generous pay settlement two weeks ago my company bought me one. To say I was/am ecstatic would be putting it mildly.The XDA is basically a small, light, brightly-lit colour pocket computer that combines the functionality of a high-end mobile phone with that of a PDA i.e. e-mail (POP3/IMAP4/HTTP), SMS, WAP, web browsing (inc Javascript), GPRS (fast, always on internet access), Outlook (contacts, calendar, notes), Word, Excel, Windows media player (MP3, WMA, AVI etc), RealPlayer, Flash, Street maps, Windows Messenger, remote control by a PC, remote control of a PC, Dictaphone, speaker phone, full syncing with desktop apps and games. And there are heaps of other goodies to download and install - just like for a regular PC. The memory is 32Mb ROM / 32Mb RAM but I've got some large capacity SD cards inserted so storage isn't a problem. Copying music to it is automatically recompressed/resampled to use the bit rate of choice. That way I can decide whether to go for higher quality or higher quantity on the fly. I'm planning on putting Spider-man on it! The BBC seem to like it too. You can see a demo of the XDA here.
Iwan Thomas...
 The Commonwealth Games start today in Manchester. Iwan Thomas MBE will be competing. He is currently the British and European 400 metre record holder, who is also an Olympic silver medallist and a true ambassador in the sport of athletics.
Oh, and he's pretty damn cute! He lives in Southampton is 6' 3" and has gorgeous blonde hair and freckles. Go Iwan! [Thanks to the ever horny Guy for the heads-up] Wednesday, July 24, 2002
Rumour has it...
According to Popbitch, Kate Bush has covered Soft Cell's Youth and has been described as 'sublime'. If true, can't wait.
Riddle me this...
I want to seen me but I don't want you to see me There were no rushes - yet I was thrown together I've been waiting for months on the shelf I make a day turn into five minutes I am weak and yet too strong for some I am now going to be later than planned and yet earlier than planned at the same time I am no longer digital I was finished off ages ago I am the future What am I?
To the observatory!...
There is a real chance that the earth is about to be hit by a large space rock that is hurtling through space towards us. And it's going to hit us very soon. The asteroid in question is called 2002 NT7 and is on an impact course with Earth. It is expected to strike the planet on 1st February, 2019. From its brightness, astronomers estimate it is about two kilometres wide, large enough to cause continent-wide devastation on Earth. It has a rating on 0.06 on the Torino Scale - the first object to have a positive rating. 
So whose fault is this? Who do we blame? Why, it's the astronomers of course. It's all their fault. I say we kill all the astronomers! Now! To the observatory! Tuesday, July 23, 2002
Chase The Name (again)...
Mike has come up with some great entries (with pictures!). I'd also like to extend his a bit (oo-er missus)... Pam Ayes Rock DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince Edward Heath Cliff Richard James Dean Martin Luther King Arthur Lee Harvey Oswald Mosley and mine too Mark Antony Wedgewood Ben Elton John Boy George Michael Jackson Browne Can you make either any bigger?
Let's talk about sex...
Dave is talking about sex and raises some interesting questions about what is it that drives people in their lives. Is the sex the prime motivator in life? He's my take on things: Sex is first (thirst?). Everything else is a distant second. To begin with... Why is sex first? Because when you're young sex it easy. Especially if you're cute (which Dave is). Sex gives you quick and climatic returns for very little effort. It makes you feel good and (despite the risks) is good for you. It's a basic part of what (gay) men are, it fulfills a basic need and let's face it, it's bloody good fun (!) It's short term pleasure. A quick fix. Then you can go out for more. Your career is something different altogether. It's a bit like love. You can spend years getting nowhere with it. Sometimes you need to work at it very hard. It's a long term thing. The rewards aren't nearly as obvious or as guaranteed but boy when it comes good it's worth it in the end... At the end of the day people have a need to be remembered. To have made their mark on the world. Ten years after you're dead no one will remember whether you were good at sex or not. But if you have a hit with a song, a loving relationship or make your mark in some other way you'll live forever.
City Hall...
 The Queen opened the new City Hall this morning on the South Bank. It's a beautiful building and I'm looking forward to the Open House Weekend in late September when we'll be able to have a good look around. The building was designed by Norman Foster who also involved in designing the Reichstag in Berlin which is resembles in some ways. It has been decribed by some as a big glass tit. Fnah.
This as news arrived that Ken Livingston isn't to be readmitted to the Labour Party - rejected by 17 votes to 13. Ken was drummed out when he ran against the official Labour Party candidate (Frank Dobson) last time. The next Mayoral election is in 2004.
Oldies but goodies...
For those who haven't seen it (where have you been?), we'd just like to point out the internet's best archive: The Wayback Machine. It has loads of pages archived, so you can surf circa 1994, or uncover old versions of classic websites.
Chase The Name...
I've just thought a good game. Perhaps it's been thought of before but I've never seen it. I call it CHASE THE NAME. You think of two famous names that share a common first name and second name. You then join the names together. So "Boy George" + "George Michael" becomes "Boy George Michael" You can then daisy chain another name on the end (or the beginning) So "Boy George Michael" + "Michael Jackson" becomes "Boy George Michael Jackson" and so on. You can't be too pedantic of spelling but the closer the better. You can work backwards or forwards. The ones I've come up with so far are:- Ben Elton John Boy George Michael Jackson Browne Kiki & Herb Albert Gore Vidal Sassoon Jacqueline Susan George Harrison Ford Prefect Can you extend these or indeed think of any more? Monday, July 22, 2002
May the paper be with you...
Get into that stationery cupboard, friends and liberate as much paper as you can because we're here with Star Wars Origami.
The Psychiatric Hotline...
The wonderful News Guru Guy sent this out as an APB on Saturday but I thought it might be worth repeating here. As it's so funny. The Psychiatric Hotline: Hello. Welcome to the Psychiatric Hotline. If you are obsessive-compulsive, please press 1 repeatedly. If you are co-dependent, ask someone to press 2 for you. If you have multiple personalities, please press 3, 4, 5, and 6. If you are paranoid-delusional, we know who you are and what you want. Just stay on the line until we can trace the call. If you are schizophrenic, please listen carefully. The voices will tell you which number to press. If you are borderline, it doesn't matter which number you press - no one will answer. If you are manic-depressive, please press 7 as fast as you can for the next 24 hours, and then crash for the following 24 hours. Thank you for calling the Psychiatric Hotline. Saturday, July 20, 2002
Big...
A bunch of seven of us went to a new art exhibition last night in an old church. The art was fine but nothing really worth buying. Then it was all back to ours for a roast meal and to watch Tim getting kicked out of Big Brother, Will & Grace and Graham Norton. Gary brought his new screen projector round so we could watch the night's TV in not only 16:9 format but actually as a 16" x 9" image. The light was so powerful we even successfully projected on a tree, a van in the street and on the house next door. Way cool. Gary left it here overnight so this morning I've been playing PS2 games with the volume up high and immersed in a giant image on the wall. I want, I want, I want! Friday, July 19, 2002
Cat cut...
We all know that during the World Cup, Japanese people became pretty obsessed with David Beckham. But we didn't know it was this bad... did they have to give their cats haircuts like Becks?
The Trials of Joanne Lees...
A British backpacking couple (Peter Falconio and Joanne Less) were attacked last year in the Austrailian outback - just north of Alice Springs - in the middle of the night. Last night's Cutting Edge programme on TV followed the aftermath of the disappearance of 28-year-old Peter and the subesquent hounding of Joanne Less by the media. The did she/didn't she stories said more about the media's (over)reaction to the events than about the events themselves. Because Joanne didn't want to talk to the press created a vacuum into which were pulled all sorts of sinister plots. One fact about Australia that emerged was rather startling though. The claim that Adelaide is the murder capital of the world. (And I thought it was either Washington DC or South Africa!)
Doctor, doctor...
Dr Harold Shipman killed at least 215 patients making him Britain's biggest serial killer, it has been confirmed.
Battleships...
You can play Battleships online. It brought back memories of playing the game with my brother when we were kids. Fun and only takes about 5 minutes to play. Thursday, July 18, 2002
Poisoning myself...
I felt a bit of a tingling on my lower lip yesterday and thought I might be getting a cold sore. Over indulgence at the weekend was probably the cause. So immediately I took some Acyclovir. Not those wimpy 200mg or 400mp tablets but the full strength 800mg ones. One when I got up, one four hours later at lunchtime and one four hours after that around mid-afternoon. And what a big mistake that was. It was far too high a dose. By 5pm I had started to feel tired and was having slight stomach cramps. By 6pm I had a headache and was feeling dizzy. I got home somehow and went to bed. By 9pm I was up again and throwing up. I was spending more time on the loo than off it. I was exhausted and yet my tummy cramps were too painful to let me lie down. Eventually I managed to get to bed but had a dreadful night. I feel such at idiot for what was effectively poisoning myself. Thank God for the tube strike today that let's me stay at home. UPDATE: [Thanks to Marky for the info] Acyclovir side effects (reduced if take with meals) Short-term therapy: nausea/vomiting, diarrhea, headache, dizziness, fatigue, skin rash, edema. inguinal adenopahty, anorexia, leg pain, medication taste, sore throat. Long-term: nausea/vomiting, diarrhea, headache, vertigo, insomina, irritability, depression, skin rash, acne. accelerated hair loss, arthralgia, fever, palpitations, sore throat, muscle cramps, mestrual abnormalities, lyphadenopathy.
Two strikes and I'm out...
There was a council worker's strike in the UK yesterday, and a 24 hour tube strike from 8pm last night. So today I'm 'working from home' as they say. Thank God (more of that later). As far as the strikes themselves are concerned it's interesting to see how reports by the BBC and in the media at large still use expressions like, 'Angry union leaders demand...' while those nice 'Managers offer...' Wednesday, July 17, 2002
Archives (again)...
I've changed my archives so they appear on a separate page now. Rather than how I really want them to appear (and how they always used to appear) which is in my side bar. It appears that the problem I have is that the javascript/text thingy doesn't want to display it even though it exists (and the URL is correct). Oh, OK let's be honest. I don't know the first thing about Java or (HTML) so I'm stummbling around in the dark! But here's a question anyway for any java savy people. Does anyone know why <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.overyourhead.co.uk/archives/overyourhead_archive.html"></script> doesn't work for embedding?
Fifty innovations that changed the last 50 years...
This Saturday an exhibition at Birmingham's new museum of science and technology aka Thinktank will display what it believes are the 50 things that have most affected our lives in the last 50 years. What do you think? 1952 First fare paying passengers in a jet airliner 1953 CinemaScope 1954 TV dinner 1955 Non-stick saucepan 1956 TV remote control 1957 Sputnik carries the first living creature into space 1958 Ultrasonic image of unborn child 1959 Mini rolls off the production line 1960 Implanted pacemaker 1961 The Pill goes on the market in the UK 1962 TV satellite relays live pictures 1963 Cassette tape and birth of portable music machines 1964 Home kidney dialysis 1965 Packet switching - essential for the internet 1966 Satellite provides the first whole-earth viewing of the weather 1967 Breathalyser used on drivers 1968 First supersonic airliner, the Soviet T-144 1969 Moon landing 1970 Watches with liquid crystal displays go on sale 1971 CAT scan 1972 Pocket calculator 1973 Cars with airbags 1974 Barcodes on supermarket products 1975 Birth of the home computer 1976 VHS and Betamax 1977 Maiden voyage of space shuttle 1978 Birth of Louise Brown, baby conceived by IVF 1979 Graphical-user interface developed 1980 Ghetto blaster and Sony Walkman 1981 Compact discs on sale 1982 Video keyhole surgery 1983 Synthetic human insulin cleared for sale 1984 DNA fingerprint 1985 First registered dotcom 1986 Laptop computer 1987 Prozac goes on to market 1988 First internet worm unleashed, disabling 10% of computers on the fledgling network 1989 Toaster becomes the first machine to be controlled over the internet 1990 First gene therapy, on a four-year-old girl with an immune system disorder 1991 Internet browser developed 1992 Text messaging 1993 Global Positioning Satellites 1994 Genetically modified tomatoes 1995 Toy Story is the first entirely computer generated feature film 1996 'Deep field' photographs of our universe show how it looked 10 billion years ago 1997 Dolly the sheep is the first mammal cloned from an adult cell 1998 First section of the international space station launched 1999 Electronic, reusable paper invented 2000 Scientists discover how to remove genes from pigs, paving the way for xenotransplants 2001 Microchips inserted into the damaged retinas of three blind men to restore their sight 2002 Iris scanners installed at airports for security
Archives...
Why do my Archives keep bumming out? They just don't seem to get the .../archives/ bit added at the beginning despite me setting them to do so in my archive template AND in the actual template code. Grrrr. Tuesday, July 16, 2002
AvantGo......
So you sit your PDA on it's cradle. It automagically sucks down up-to-date text versions of all your favourite web sites to read off line. It's easily configurable by a web interface. You can get the entire Guardian, the FT, BBC News and any other web site you care to point it at. How cool is that? It just works. If you have a PDA go check out AvantGo. Oh, and it's free.
Brum, Brum...
Roger and I had a fabulous weekend in Birmingham. The weather was delightful, the show we went to see was great and the bars, pubs and clubs we went to were busy, fun and exciting. The last time I went to Brum was years ago when the Jester and the concrete Bull Ring were about all you could expect to see. Now the transformation has been amazing. There are huge pedestrian walk ways and squares with theatres, museums and places to eat and drink. The gay area is full of fun places to sup and shuffle and I definitely want to go back for a another visit soon.       
Naturally the weekend was made even more fun by the very fact that I was with Roger. We shared a room this time and we got on very well. We seem to share exactly the same definition of what makes a good night out i.e. a bit of this, a bit of that and a bit of the other. You can see the full set of photos here. Monday, July 15, 2002
World Cup footballer looki-likies...
Click on any picture for a larger version.      
      Friday, July 12, 2002
Just desserts...
As regular readers may know I've had a tough time at work recently. Not going into gory details, it had resulted in me at times doubting my value to the company at times. I've been fighting my corner fiercely and I've had to explain myself to the MD on more than one occasion. This week I had my annual performance review and I wasn't sure how it was going to go. I needn't have worried. My boss gave me an overall rating as OUTSTANDING (the highest grade possible). This grading is directly linked to the pay structure and dictates, within a small range, my salary increase. And yesterday he told what it was going to be. He simply came into my office and sat down and told me. And when he did I shouted back at him across the desk, "FUCK! Really?! FUCK!" Now, my boss is a devote Christian and this perhaps wasn't quite the response he had anticipated or was used to. The two people in offices next to me popped their heads round the door to see if I was OK (maybe they thought I was angry or something). I apologised to them and to my boss for swearing. He smiled. "That's OK. I thought you'd be pleased!". Too bloody right I was. It's not just the money though, it's the huge vote of confidence it gives me. It is full, tangible support. And to say I am happy would be putting it mildly. Last night I took Mark, Nikki, Colin and I out to Frederick's in Islington for a posh meal to celebrate. And I stuffed my face with the sweetest, richest chocolate mouse I could find. Savouring my just desserts.
I use antlers in all of my decorating...
Tonight Roger and I are off to Birmingham for the weekend. The reason for the trip? We're going to see Beauty and the Beast. Don't laugh. Roger originally tried to persuade me to go with him on a ticket of a wild and frantic weekend tickling the seemy underbelly of Midlands low-life. But to be honest it was a plain and simple love of light musical theatre that swung it for me. Because as you all know, I'm a good clean-living boy, me. (Again, enough with the sniggering!)
Guardian A-List of British Blogs...
Yeah! I'm made the Guardian A-list of British blogs. As does the ever-readable Ian. (A big thanks to Terreus for pointing this out to me).
Clean bill of health...
Regular readers may remember I went to the clinic for a health check a couple of weeks ago. Well, I went back on Wednesday to pick up my results. All clear for both the little and the big diseases which is good. But not totally unexpected. I'm a good clean-living boy, me. (No sniggering at the back, please). Thursday, July 11, 2002
Sadie and the Scrubbers...
Here is another two minutes of perfect pop from delightful Sadie and the Scrubbers with their latest track I Love You 'Cause You Look Like Jim Reid. Check out their web site too for the latest gossip and news.
The cost of living...
Refuse collection: putting out the rubbish may soon cost you an extra £1 a bag - it used to be free. Post delivery: getting your post delivered before 9am may soon cost you an extra £2 a day - used to be free.
Julie Birchill Is Away...
 Last night we went to go and see Julie Birchill Is Away at the Soho Theatre. Jackie Clune (described by the Sunday Times as "an Essex version of Jodie Foster after she'd seen off Hannibal Lecter") gave a wonderful performance as the now slightly aging Birchill who started as |
