my bike's got no name

Some people give their bicycles names,
like "trigger". mine is just "my bike".*


I have a big lock to stop people stealing my seat

look at all these gears. i nearly always use the two small ones,
if I went up mountains more often I might use the big ones too.

I'm not really sure why I needed new brake levers,
but the man in the shop said I did. the lights are a bit chunky

Fruit & veg today? - two bananas, spinach, cucumber, two small oranges
Exercise today? - a short bike ride, some sit-ups
Hours of sleep I'm going to get tonight? - seite (7) horas

* my computer has a name though. Obviously.
"Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : konglong"

what do I want? when do I want it?

I've been on strike today after the union I'm in and the government I work for failed to resolve their differences over pensions. I'm not really planning to stay in this job long enough for this to affect me. in fact, I'm REALLY NOT planning to stay in this job. But I don't see why my colleagues in the "support staff" should get a worse pension than my colleagues in the "teaching staff". the school needs all of us to function
anyway, good to have a day off work, even if I don't get paid for it

how to solve all the problems of society (unfinished)

I was thinking about scientology, which has been in the news lately. If one thinks of society as an organism, then one of the weaknesses of that organism is that there are people who aren't very smart who have tonnes of money and influence. I flicked through MTV Cribs today so if you want examples of that last point just check out some of the featured actors, musicians or sportspeople.
& diseases attack weak points. & successful diseases find a weak point where they can take a hold and spread.
so I think a maximum wage is needed. something to stop too much power ending up where it can go wrong. obviously this scheme needs a bit of work, comments appreciated
Fruit & veg today? - lettuce, sweetcorn and 3 servings of apple crumble
Exercise today? - 6 miles on my bike
Hours of sleep I'm going to get tonight? - hmmm, better get started

in conference

I'm in Derbyshire today for a conference. The subject is education and vaguely IT, video and multimedia ways to deliver it. The hotel is luxurious-ish, the food is okay and there are a few interesting people to drink with. Certainly better than going to work. Eaten fruit salad, did 20 press-ups and should get a lie in.

the weekend in pictures

fixed a puncture on saturday. having a fancy new plug in the kitchen sink certainly made it easier to find out where the air was escaping

on sunday I put a light fitting up in the bathroom, it's suitable for all the bathroom zones (1, 2 and 3) and can be fitted plenty more places too. looks kind of spooky in the picture, but it's fairly non-descript in real life.

Fruit & veg today? - spinach, and I fancy an apple
Exercise today? - nada
Hours of sleep I'm going to get tonight? - oooh, 8? i'm an optimist

Film Review - V for Vendetta

I'm a big fan of the book. I've been dreading this film ever since I heard it was coming. But I knew I'd have to go see it, and tonight I did. I had said that as long as the film had the miracle of transubstantiation scene in it I wouldn't be disappointed.

I'm disappointed

But this wasn't the only missing scene, large parts of the story have been removed. So? it's a long story, have to chop some of it to fit it into a time period people can stay sitting in those little seats. But did they have to repace it with such tosh?

In the book V is a man with noble intentions and an extraordinary plan, driven to free the populace from oppression. In the film he becomes a freak driven by revenge with a flair for violence and alliteration. Evey comes off even worse, with her compunctions against killing replaced with cowardice.

In the book Finch has a hard time understanding what's going on. In the film it's a bloody miracle that he can understand anything. The comic has a second narrative line that gives the reader a look at society in Vendetta's UK, without this in the film the actions of Sutler (Susan in the book), Creedy, Dascomb et al make little sense.

I'd go on but risk spoiling the story for people who may want to see it. I was recommended the book by my good friend Stacey around about 1992. I've recommended it to other people and it's sometimes difficult to get people to read a comic.

The film is more cartoony than the book, and not any better for it. Please read the book instead. Read these reviews.

Fruit & veg today? - banana, mange tout
Exercise today? - a short ride on my bike
Hours of sleep I'm going to get tonight? - 8 would be good

i need to sleep

only slept for about 4 hours last night (insomnia) and worked a 12 hour shift today. teaching the adult ict class from 18:30. the extra money will be handy

and i feel cabbaged, good night everybody

Fruit & veg today? - had the worlds best sandwiches for lunch
Exercise today? - pah
Hours of sleep I'm going to get tonight? - zzzzzz

Hey vegan, do you eat...?

from time to time people ask me about my diet. occasionally these requests for information centre around some wierd stuff which I never would have wanted to eat anyway, but I may as well start the FAQ
yeast - i think it's a plant and I do eat it, especially in the form of marmite which is full of vitamin B
coral - may be high in calcium but definately an animal product and I wouldn't touch it with a barge-pole from the north pole
virii - maybe animal, I'm not sure. but I wouldn't eat them on purpose and if I ate one or more accidentally I won't worry about the moral aspects

Fruit & veg today? - some raisins
Exercise today? - nil
Hours of sleep I'm gong to get tonight? - tbc

another night in

I eschewed the pub tonight for some stolichnaya in a rather nice glass, and an unmissable opportunity to use the word "eschewed"

Fruit & veg today? - bell pepper, onion, satsuma, mushroom, asparagus (not all at the same time)
Exercise today? - no, still sore from yesterday
Hours of sleep I'm going to get tonight? - 8 i hope