Richard's Journal

Make the most of the weather

2007-07-25T16:38:30Z

Berkley Castle horse drawing water skiing

Teas & infusions rated

2007-07-04T15:57:32Z

After seeing all these BPAL reviews I though I would do a tea review

5/10 My work tea : not bad and free, just need to train the people who make it
6/10   Breakfast tea : Proper tea
6/10   Twinings Lady Grey tea : Very citrusy tea and ok with milk if you like it that way.
10/10 Tetleys Earl Grey and vanilla tea : My favorite tea, drunk with milk, the vanilla gives it slightley sweater flavour
8/10   Blackberry & Nettle infusions : Full flavored and good but stays a little in the mouth after you have finished
4/10   Blackcurrant, Ginseng & Vanilla infusions : Gets in your mouth and stays there
5/10   Echinacea & Raspberry infusions : a little too sweet
6/10   Camomile & Spiced Apple infusions : sometimes lacks flavour

2/10   Pure Camomile infusion : Did nothing for me
3/10   Camomile, Honey & Vanilla infusions : too much did not like, perhaps good if you have a cold
3/10   Lemon & Ginger infusions : Ginger and lemon are very bitter flavours, perhaps better with a bit of sugar
8/10   Strawberry & Mango infusions : A nice sweet drink, very pleasants
5/10   Peppermint infusions : One to drink when you need it.
8/10   Melon & grape infusions Limited Edition : Very melony my current favorite infusion
7/10   Cherry & Cinnamon infusions Limited Edition : Not seen since Christmas, I enjoyed it then
8/10   Raspberry & Rose infusions Limited Edition : Another nice sweet but not to sweet drink
6/10   Pear & Apple Green tea : If you have no milk, need caffine, the flavour is subtle but pleasant
6/10   Orange & Lotus Flower Green tea : Same as above really
3/10   Jasmine Green Tea : Not keen, drinkable but not for me
5/10   Cranberry Green tea : Not quite in the same league as Pear and Apple, Orange and Lotus flower

Anything rated 5 out of 10 and above I will drink again and be happy.

Teas I want to try
Pineapple & Rooibos
Twinings tea with Vanilla & Coconut
Twinings tea with Orange
Twinings tea with After Dinner Mint
Twinings tea with Rose

Gunpowder just because of the name, although its a strong pure green tea, so I might not like it.

Day off work

2007-04-26T08:43:49Z

Yesterday afternoon I felt unwell, by the time I got home from work my teeth were chattering and I couldn't get warm. Taking a tablet helped for a few hours but by the time I went to bed even with a further pill, I was shivering from head to toe, I switched the heating back on, put another quilt and blanket on the bed and managed to eventually stop shivering.

This morning I woke aching all over and slightly dizzy so have rang in work to say I won't be in. Currently do not know what to do with myself, since no matter where I sit or lie I still ache and daytime TV is not distracting enough.

Virgin Media

2007-03-01T10:07:17Z

I’m a Virgin Media customer; having joined NTL for their cable modem service which I think is good, (my opinion based on very little evidence) last night Sky switch off Sky1 channel and Sky news.

My initial thought was that’s it, I switching to sky, I’m not interested in why (both companies seem to have spat out there dummies) but I just lost one of my favourite TV program Battlestar Galactica.

Now I’m thinking what I have actually lost, well after a bit of a thought, I’ve lost Battlestar Galactica, which I will buy on DVD (since I always miss 1 or 2 episodes) and could watch on channel4. I watch nothing else on Sky1 (the odd Simpson episode) and have never watched Sky news, my only other main series is Hero’s which is on Living TV so unaffected.

Sky wanted to charge Virgin 3p per day for sky1 which they say is only £ 10 a year, for TV with adverts is not worth it, if I had the choice I would not pay the extra, I have enough channels without Sky1.

Last thought Virgin is promising to buy TV shows itself so I can see everyone Sky and Virgin customers loosing out since each will buy that exclusive program and not show it to the other.

Not sure what I will do, I will probably see how things pan out in a few weeks, it just a pity that both sides could not agree, the short notice of 0 days leaves me with little immediate choice.

Mobile phones and driving don't mix

2007-02-28T14:03:26Z

I’ve just had an argument with young lad in the office who firmly believes the new tougher laws on using mobile phones whilst driving are about the government making money.

The big part of his argument is talking to a passenger is just as bad, I disagree and find even using a hands free distracting, I regularly when using a hands free have to say hold on a second to person I’m talking to when approaching a junction so I can give it full attention, and have missed a motorway junction while talking more than once.

A passenger is totally different, they are looking at the road condition with you, and go quiet at the right moments, and generally don’t draw attention any more than the radio; passengers can even be a second pair of eyes.

As for using non hands free, well I think any driver can quote an example of being cut up or some other bad driving by someone on the mobile, driving with there knees, and cigarette in the other hand so I think the law needs toughening.

Tea

2007-02-27T14:49:09Z

Today I brought a couple of nettle and blackberry tea bags to work a present jspriddleuk and people laughed, much fun is now being had at my expense, “does it sting the mouth”, “do you have to drink dock leaf tea afterwards”, ha ha, I do see the funny side, “are you suffering from strange ailment”, but they should try them.
I’m currently addicted and may have finished the box by the end of the week, with no local supply found yet :(

Larpers Market

2007-02-25T20:00:53Z

Had a nice trip to the Larper Market in Barnsley this Saturday, where I bought mainly costume, in fact only costume, I resisted all the weapons, material, and other accessories.
On second thoughts that's not quite true, I bought 2 latex daggers, a nice hat and some buttons as well.

I was joined on my expedition by jspriddleukwho succumbed to pile of fabric and DaveP who was sneaking a new weapon out the hall.

I also ran into to several Shards players including Dan, Gareth and Adam from Wales who seemed to be in then gone in flash. AndyL, Heather and kids where there, but its quite local for them as it is me. I even ran into some Medieval reinactors from my old club, sneaking in to collect costume.

The market was good, plenty of stock, but seemed to lack visitors, I would go again next year and recommend other Larpers to go, providing they need stuff, and provided they run it again.

Today I felt I needed to go back and spend more money since I don't see larp traders often, but resisted did the ironing instead, although at this moment, I'm thinking tomorrow I might need that thing I didn't buy.....too late.

TV

2007-02-20T12:21:01Z

So who watched Hero’s last night, I thought it was great.

Destructo fearsome pictures

2007-02-11T10:13:30Z

Wall paper torn and ripped apart

Mechanical vibrating worm's inards torn from its body

Claws of the ferocious beast as it plays with the wire spine stripped from a toy

All that remains of a bird mercilessly beheaded

Meet 'Destructo' also known has Jasmine

Cute really

Snow Moan

2007-02-07T10:05:33Z

Apparently its going snow round here tomorrow and everyone in my office is already moaning, ‘this countries rubbish a bit snow and all the roads get blocked, trains can’t run”, “never seen a gritter down my road” etc. I not sure myself this is valid complaint, how much snow do we get, do we spend millions on heated roads and specialised snow ploughs like other countries that have snow all the time, do we all go out buy big knobbly tires or snow chains for our cars for winter just in case.
I’m sure other countries that have snow very occasionally, suffer just has much, and I bet in places like the mountains of Scotland they have all the kit necessary to keep the roads open in the winter.
Me I think we run fair compromise for the amount of disruption it actually causes or is it me?

Yay snow tomorrow, if the weather people are right

Cat fun

2007-02-04T19:52:29Z

My wonderful new Cat Jasmine decided to jump on my knee tonight while I was at the PC with my spaghetti bolognaise dinner sitting on my lap.
Jasmine landed in dinner expecting a solid surface or my knees like she normally finds but ends up slipping pushing some of the food off the side of the plate onto my knee.
Final result, bolognaise sauce cat footprints on the carpet, spoilt dinner and a big smile at my cats foolish stunt.

This is the 2nd disaster in the last few days, since on Wednesday I think it was, Jasmine decided to jump on the top of wardrobe where I store lots of boxes of stuff.
This was late in the night and was sound asleep when heard a loud crash followed by Jasmine darting down the stairs at full pace, I'm not sure how but she had pulled the lot down, waking me, and possibly the neighbors. 10 second later she darted back up the stairs again at full pelt like a heard of tiny elephants, jumped onto my bed, and meowed.

Ah the joys of Cat ownership, I forgot the fun bits as well the good bits, at this moment I don't know I went for nearly 2 years without one.

Car disaster

2007-01-25T10:13:30Z

This morning I managed to lock myself out the car & house with the engine running. I started the engine to help defrost the car before I set off for work, then I think I caught the central locking button which is in the driver’s door armrest as I got out the car to scrape the snow and ice off the windows.

Panic, neighbour already left for work, mobile on the car passenger seat, then I remembered I had house key buried in the garden, cue digging the garden through the snow with the scraper trying to locate the exact spot the key was buried, eventually, hands going numb covered in ice cold mud I found the house key. So washed my hands, and the mud I got all over various surfaces, I opened the now nicely warm car and only 15mins late for work, although since I’m normally there half an hour early I perhaps should consider myself 3/4 of hour late.

New cat

2007-01-21T11:28:21Z

Collected my new cat yesterday called Jasmine, she is a Tonkinese colour described as choc tabby, born 29.5.05 making her 1 1/2 years old and very playful.

Yesterday she was quite nervous new home and all that, and would only come out when I sat down, and then charged and jumped at me, rolling about on my chest, lap, she apparently has a new pet human all to herself

This morning I awoke to destruction, its seems last night she decided to see what falls off shelves as you walk by, litter bins look like empty and what blue feathered toys look like when pulled apart.

She also had her 1st visitors this morning my sister, nephews and my mum, and was quite friendly greeting each once they sat before returning to sit by my feet.

Currently eating with paws, in other words taking the food out the bowl and letting it fall on the floor most of time, fortunately a wise woman told me to get a mat to put under the food bowl and I did.

see other pictures at http://s79.photobucket.com/albums/j147/richardxl5/Cats/ if your interested

Windy

2007-01-18T14:36:59Z

It’s a little windy it’s just blown the tree in our car park over, (or to be more precise snapped it about a third of the way up) fortunately only into the skip is which occupying a parking space

How to handle mice

2007-01-16T07:49:01Z

Last night I went to visit my mother to try to teach her the basic's of using a PC to get to the internet.

Teaching my mother to use a computer, proved more difficult than I thought, it wasn't finding her way around a keyboard, or understanding how to navigate a website, it was using a mouse.

What seems so natural to me after many years with a computer proved nearly impossible, I moved the double click speed to slowest, gave up, showed her how to one click, open, but every time somehow the up/down movement of the pointer she mirrored, and she kept lifting the mouse in the air.

So I've left her to practise with the mouse, before lesson 2

I can't even remember learning how to use a mouse, I'm sure I picked it up and just used it, still I'm sure she will get there.

Other than that, please, please don't let me ever loose my broadband connection, waiting for web pages to load, and logging in using a dial up is just frustratingly slow.

Off to Swindon today on my latest attempt to assassinate mrdreadful

Cats, football and computers

2007-01-14T20:35:01Z

This weekend I went to see a football match and apparently my IQ has just dropped 10 points, this is the effect according to my erm friends of watching football. Twas free, included lunch and I enjoyed it, and I may be safe since it’s prolonged contact that turns you into a tribal warrior supporting your team to the point when what has just been done by your player and worshiped, is suddenly dirty tactic sending off offence when the opposing team do it back.
Instead of going to watch football I should have been shopping for fabric to mock up some trousers I want to make for larp, but still managed to get some new shoes, trousers and a haircut.

I have also been looking for a new cat, some of you may read my blog and be aware of this, but anyway I went to visit the Cat Protection League in thier posh building with hundreds of homeless cats, I found quite a few that I wanted, but settled on young 1 ½ year old female cat called Jasmine that hopefully once I have had a home visit to check me out I will be able to take home. I have not had a cat since my last cat was poisoned a year and half ago so I’m very excited and can’t wait to collect her :)

My mother is being made redundant in March, since the shop she works at is closing, this is not really a problem since was due to finish work for good in April anyway. However she has decided she wants to be a silver surfer and has asked me to show her how to use a computer. My brother gave her his old lap top PC and I took it home this weekend to clear it up since errors kept popping up as it booted up, so after altering the registry and few other tweaks the computer still worked. This all took less than an hour, I then plug it into the phone socket and realised how slow a connection is using modem and normal phone lines, since I’ve been on cable broadband quite a few years it was a shock, a very big shock, you certainly need patience. BTW anyone seen the trailer for the Fantastic Four with the human torch chasing the silver surfer through town, excellent.

Overall a good weekend.

Job titles

2007-01-04T19:36:55Z

I was travelling today, and as it does when travelling your mind wanders, I had just recieved my newly printed business cards and started to wonder at my myriad of job titles that are for basically the same job.

Listed in order I achieved them usually as a excuse for a pay rise

Draughtsman was my 1st title and adequately explained what I did all day
Technical Support person - yes I supported people with drawings and knowledge
Design Assistant - also not a bad title
Designer - hmm a bit over the top for what I do
Design Engineer - A good title since engineering is more what I do

Then the stupid titles came along, were the company I work for did not have a drawing office,design or engineering department so they needed me to be slotted in with the rest of the company hierarchy.
So I started has
Sales and Contracts Coordinator - Never been near selling things, coordination yes, contracts they are for others.
My current title is
Senior Technical Administrator - Better than the previous title but still off the mark

So all these mean I basically do the same thing, odd isn't it.

Slave to Tea

2007-01-03T15:45:43Z

Right I’m on strike from making coffee, (again) I made coffee for everyone for the last 2 days (everyone being 6 people) and so thought it was someone else turn, but after my comment about being thirsty, and hands up who hasn’t made coffee this year falling on stony ground, I got up and made just myself a coffee, brought it into the office and now I’m childishly drinking it as noisily as can.

No comments as yet.

1/2 a day to go

2006-12-22T11:11:13Z

Christmas is now calling, I’m well and truly ready to finish work, but I’m working hard (yes I’ am, oh no I’m not, oh yes you is, etc.) tidying up loose ends and typing this, and I just caught our IT department playing quake 3.

Eating crisps, chocolates, peanuts, pork pie and other assorted nibbles.

2 days to go

2006-12-21T09:39:59Z

Came to work this morning with only half the usual traffic on the road, made me realise I’m one of the few still at work.
So who is still at work ?

And its Cold. Yesterday I broke the scarper on my car windscreen getting rid of the frost, this morning I tried the de-icer spray which re-froze on the window, something tells me winter is here at last and it is the shortest day.

Eregon

2006-12-20T12:06:34Z

Last night I went to see "Eregon", someone told me the story was written by a 15 year old and you can tell, the dialogue is rubbish, overall it past an evening, but didn't create, any tension, surprises, humour etc. so I won't be recommending it, unless you are 12 or less, well I guess that's all of you then.

Eregon 4 out 10.

Christmas meal

2006-12-13T14:14:01Z

At last I’m starting to feel Christmas is near, just been for a Christmas lunch meal with the rest of our small office.

So now you suffer the quality Christmas cracker jokes I’ve just read

What do get if you cross a dog and a frog?

And what do you call a polar bear that loves the sun?

A Croaker Spaniel

A Solar bear

Sorry

Fortress work 2 - the new theft

2006-11-27T12:36:03Z

So for those interested our new factory has been broken into again, this time they carted off the gas bottles for the welders etc. these bottles are as tall as me btw and they had to carry, role, drag them at least 200yards to get through the steel fence they bent, these are hard working thieves.

Christmas Shopping

2006-11-25T15:10:36Z

I have spent the day Christmas Shopping and now my head hurts, yes it does I have a headache and dry mouth, I find it a very stressful experience, too many people, too hot in store, buying products your not familiar with. Then there is buying for my Dad who wants nothing, has no hobbies, interest, collections, DIY or gardening interests, and a wife who hates me, the total opposite to my mother who wants me organise parachute jump for her, and seems interested in everything. Talking to other people I think every family has at least one awkward relative to buy for.

Still I can relax the next 2 weekend when I can't shop and finish my shopping in December not that will have much left to hopefully, I’m also planning some shopping tomorrow as well, time to visit them unique craft/art/gift shops out in the local countryside.

Now I’m online looking for some of the gifts I saw in stores that I did not buy, plus others.

Limited edition Rebel alliance blaster £ 399.00, I think I best have 2 of those, but perhaps my Dad won’t appreciate the gift, best stick with the jumper.

Overall even though I’m moaning a bit, I had prepared list of ideas, target shops and everything, so it went smoothly, and I have achieved my goal for today, and its still daylight.

Fortress work

2006-11-09T10:25:40Z

Today we had our second break in since moving into the new offices.
They didn't get into the offices, but we have a lot of stuff still stored outside in the compound

This time they bent the steel fencing, surrounding the site, broke through 2 padlocks into a container, and then dragged a generator, it a 2 man job to lift and carried over fence, over a spoil heap, across a empty field, to a empty car park behind Thorntons Chocolates, about a mile away, the police followed the drag marks, but with no CCTV not expecting a follow up.

This being a new site with big gate at the end of the road for security, unfortunately because of this gate the police or security patrols don't actually get anywhere near the building.

We are now turning the office into a fortress, extra locks have already been fitted to the doors, and window bars ordered for the downstairs windows.

So with luck if they get a bit adventurous and move on to the offices next, we might stand a chance of not loosing all our computers etc.

I may be looking at this simplistically, but with all the effort the thieves went in breaking in surely they might as well get a real job