Not So Strong Finish

Ya, well...that never happened. Maybe next time.

Strong Finish

I've been lazy, but I've also been too busy to post anything recently. I've been to Spain with Glen, had some visitors, finished a few websites, now I have more visitors and I may take trip to Oslo. Pictures will follow when I get around to it, but by then I might be back in Montreal.

The Olympics and Nazis

Apparently the tradition of the Olympic torch was started by Nazis!


Looks like Montreal messed up when it had its chance with the torch. Not as much as Paris did yesterday - it got put out 4 times because of protests.

Snow Invades London

I didn't know it was snowing until someone told me on MSN and I went to the window and looked out.


It had all melted before supper time.

Spider Invades Work

There was a really big spider at work today and by big, I mean it was about the size of a twoonie but it looks pretty menacing in this picture.


It was a pretty bad day for some people. There was a car accident just down the street from our office and the helimedics had to be called in, it landed in the field next to us but I didn't want to take any pictures.

Alex Invades London

Alex came to visit last week. Here are some pictures we took of central London on a bright and sunny day.

Here are some impressive buildings taken from across the Thames.


Here is Tower Bridge from far away.


Here is Tower Bridge from a bit closer.


Here is Tower Bridge from right up close.


Here is a picture of City Hall and a staircase. I thought it looked sort of cool but Alex made me take another one of just the building for him.


Those are all the pictures I have now. You should contact him if you want to see any others. They are mostly night shots from when we went on Jack the Ripper Tour and his last night here when (we went all the way to the pub across the street).

Stockholm, Sweden

I went to Sweden for a couple of days over the Easter weekend. Here is the only picture I took. Apparently this is a theater inside looks even more expensive than the outside.

Southern (Bonus Panoramic)

You'll have to click the picture and wait for it to load, it's very big. It is a 360 shot taken from the middle of the pier. It was bright and sunny on our walk back, we stayed in the cafe until the storm went away.


Warning: It is a pretty big file, so it could take a while to load. You're probably better off to right click the thumbnail and use "Save Target As" or a similar option.

Trip to Southend

I went to Southend to see the longest pier in the world about a month ago with Simon (on of my flatmates). I kept forgetting to get he pictures off my phone and even now, I was too lazy to resize them. In any given picture you should be able to see where the next one is taken from.

This is a picture taken from shore looking out over the amusement park and Southend Pier.


This is me before setting out on the 1.3 mile (~2km) walk to the end of the pier that you can see off in the distance. The track on the left is for a little shuttle train (if you're lazy or smart).


We went on the weekend where there were huge storms and lots of wind. We got about half way out before it started raining sideways. It reminded me of Montreal except the rain wasn't frozen. But we made it to the other end, here is the view from the other end. They used to have shops and more rides but they burned down, twice.


Ok, I guess you can't really see this observation tower in the previous picture unless you now what to look for, it's sort of hidden behind the lamp post on the left side of the pier.


Looking along the shoreline from the observation tower. The statue in the next picture is just off to the left along the top of the grassy hill / ridge.


Here's a statue of Queen Victoria, I think. There's a story behind it about her facing out to sea but I don't know it and I can't be bothered to look it up right now. Try Wikipedia.

This is the inscription on the back of her throne.


And that's the end of the tour.

Flight of Fantasy

This was a reader's response to an article they published in one of the free newspapers (Metro) a couple weeks ago. The original article HAS to be fake but I thought this was funny because I had the same reaction. I don't believe the "British Earth and Air Mysteries Society" even exists, much less that it has a member conveniently named like a fictional character.

Flight of Fantasy: The funniest thing I’ve read in Metro was the report that Hilary Porter of the British Earth and Air Mysteries Society (Metro, Wed) knows that the photo of an apparent UFO is unlikely to be fake as it is on a tilt, which is the way they normally fly.

I hope people that post comments on YouTube are banned from pursuing journalism or coming in contact with printing presses. They probably shouldn't be allowed to have blogs either but that would be a little hard to regulate.

Kwak

This is a kwak (Belgian beer) served in "the most absurd glass" (according to the menu). The menu fails to mention, however, that you have to give them a 10 pound deposit for the privileged of being inconvenienced by its awkwardness.


It was worth it though.

Ball of Whacks

Yesterday I was working from home and finally got a chance to play with my Ball of Whacks (while eating lunch). It is a set of 30 magnetic shapes that you can combine in any number of different ways. In doing so, you're supposed to be able to spark creativity or just have fun. Even from a different angle (perspective) a creation may look different (symbolic of problem solving - they like to play that up).

Here are some pictures of the things I made, along with what I thought they resembled. Maybe they'll remind you of something else - that's the whole point.

A sea anemone.

An AT-ST.

A windmill.

A biker and his motorcycle.

A farmer his wife and and their dog.

A chair.

A scorpion.

A dog scratching his side with his back paw.

A chipmunk on its hind legs.

A lobster directing an orchestra, Disney-style.

A tri-force..with ears?

In case you're wondering, I made the descriptions less visible to give you a chance to play along. If you are having trouble my "answers" then highlight the text (if you're lazy, use Select All).

A New Hope

Since the news is more interesting than my daily work routine here's an article from the Metro. Again, I've left the full-size image large so you can read it.


It's still better than Scientology in my books.

Night On Brick Lane

I went to a place called "Verge" (on Brick Lane) last weekend. It was pretty nice. He's a picture of their menu.


We opted for taking the scenic route back to Liverpool Street station. On the way we found this building that was set up to flash different colours. It was pretty weird. Unfortunately I was talking into being in the picture and I'm too lazy to crop it.


I had my first experience with a London night but. It was super packed for the first part of the trip but we made pretty good time. I know it's blurry and grainy and horrible but it's the best I could do.


I'm still alive AND I haven't been stabbed yet. I read in the paper today that they are going to start marketing a bulletproof sweatshirt for the urbanites. I don't plan to invest.

News Flash

This was a story on the free newspaper you pick up at tube stations.

I left the image full size so you could read the article if you wanted to.

Red Rooster

One of these things is not like the other. One of these thing just isn't the same. Can you spot it?

Who do they think the are fooling by putting it between the Red Bull and sugarless Red Bull. I admit it could probably fool someone that lacks all 5 senses and is not familiar with energy drinks. Even then I'm sure it would still be a tough call. That doesn't seem like a very profitable demographic to be targeting. They copied Red Bull right down to the last detail and still managed to do a terrible job. As if naming the drink "Red [animal]" wasn't enough they ripped off the tag line too. The original, "Energy Drink," has been swapped for "Stimulation Drink" à la Word-right-click-synonyms. Way to raise the bar!

At least they went with an appropriate animal, roosters do wake up and can be red. Although, to be honest I would probably buy a drink named Red Platypus just for the amazingness-factor.

Also: Note the slightly larger cans of Red Bull on the left self. That isn't an optical illusion those are bigger and therefore packed with more energy. But still not quite as much as Power Thirst.

Making Pasta

I had pasta for the past three nights to use up my ground beef. It is really cheap, really easy and really seems like something I will be eating quite a bit of. Hopefully I make it more interesting, but I had a few good trials. Here's a picture of it in progress.

See, I wasn't kidding about the people at the Design Museum. It looks like they actually made an event for the scarf-wearing Artistes. I'm not sure if that ranks above or below Star Bucks screenplay writers on my personal scale of Contempt to Hate. Once I consult with Alex I will let you know. I present Glam Night Knit Night: "BE GLAMOUS, BE CHIC BE COSY AND BE SEEN." BE AFRAID!

"Dress code: party frock or cardy." (Seriously)

I'm too busy to make stuff like this up. I will not be attending.

Update: After some deliberation I have decided that it is better that the Design Museum ropes these people and keeps the streets clean and safe. I salute their efforts.

NIN

Over here that stands for National Insurance Number. It's a number I need to give my employer so that the government can take money from me more efficiently. I'll barely have a chance to use it as it takes about 8 weeks to arrive but I shouldn't have to apply for it again.

On my way to the government office where I applied for it, I saw a building that looked like it had exactly the same style as the Palais de Congrès in Montreal. On my way back, I had to fight for sidewalk space with a bunch of pigeons. This picture doesn't do them justice because some of them waddled off before I got my phone out but here they are.

Christmas Meals

I'm just catching up to pictures from Christmas because I'm lazy. The pictures aren't too spectacular because it was a cloudy day and there wasn't much light in the kitchen but here they are anyways. Simon (someone sharing the flat) showed me how to make St. Helena curry with lamb - traditionally they use goat at Christmas. That isn't to say that I will be able to make it properly but he gave it his best shot. It was really good so I hope I do get the hang of it. Here it is cooking on the stove right before we ate it.


Here it is on my plate as I was eating it. With a trusty Dr. Pepper close at hand.


On boxing day he made pea soup. I was supposed to be a part of that cooking lesson too but I wasn't awake. Happy Holidays.