Archive for May, 2008

We’re back from the hospital dental clinic…

Monday, May 12th, 2008

…and HWMBO has one less wisdom tooth. We arrived around 1 pm and waited in a very small waiting room until 1:35 or so, when they called out his name and he disappeared into the examining room. By 2:20 pm they were calling me to join him in the recovery room. He was the first one to be able to get up and go, but we had a hard time finding a taxicab (it took them 20 minutes to send one) and the cabbie was one of those who WOULD NOT SHUT UP. Neither would his satnav, which was quietly giving him the wrong directions.

Kudos to the hospital, which was very efficient: HWMBO said that when he had a wisdom tooth out in Singapore it was much more difficult. No kudos to the cab company, which might have sent a less verbose taxi.

HWMBO is now resting on the sofa and watching BBC News 24.

The weekend…and Monday

Monday, May 12th, 2008

We had a very stress-free Saturday, mostly. We decided to go out and sit in the park, as the weather was so good. So, we collected two Subway sandwiches (a BMT and tuna, as it happened) and sat in the park and read and listened to our iPods, as well as watching the cute men walk by. Lots of very casually-clothed guys, as it was the first really nice day of the year.

After that, went to the White Cube at Mason’s Yard to see the Gregory Crewdson photo exhibition. His photos remind me of stills from The Twilight Zone, except they’re photographed someplace in Massachusetts (I couldn’t tell where, exactly). Whoever wrote the exhibition notes was NOT from Massachusetts as he referred to “upstate” Massachusetts. There is no such place. Massachusetts has some areas: North Shore, South Shore, Boston, the Cape, the Berkshires, but no “upstate” unless they’ve added something since I lived there. Perhaps he was referring to New Hampshire?

Edit: I did a Google on one of the businesses shown in one of the photographs, and it’s in Pittsfield, so the note should have said “Western” Massachusetts, or perhaps “The Berkshires”..

Then, we walked to Old Compton Street and had dinner at the old Pollo Restaurant, across the streed from Ed’s. I can’t remember what they call it now but it’s some combination of pig and cock…HWMBO had cuttlefish risotto (black with ink…his mouth was starting to look very Goth by the time he was finished) and I had a calzone, which was absolutely huge. I didn’t remember it being that big the last time we were there. I ate the middle but left the ends. I had an Italian beer (Messina, it’s forgettable [could be its advertising slogan]) and when that was finished I asked for a Diet Coke, but she brought another beer. When I protested that I’d ordered a Diet Coke, she just said, “Really?” Then off to the Number 1 bus and home–they’re grubbing up New Oxford Street so it’s pretty well impassable, in case anyone is around there.

Sunday we had Pentecost at St. Matthew’s, and the Rector decided to put everything but the kitchen sink into the liturgy. There was more there than there was at Easter. This is pretty annoying, really. It’s as if the more stuff he puts in (there was an anointing, a kind of rededication liturgy at the end, and various other bits in the middle) the better the liturgy is. That’s not what liturgy is about.

Lazed around in the afternoon until Mark Ch. called–we should meet at the gym as early as we could, so I trotted off there, had a good workout, then we walked back to the Elephant and had Chinese food at the Well with HWMBO before Mark went off up North.

Today is pretty nerve-wracking: HWMBO has to have a wisdom tooth extracted, and I have to accompany him as he’ll be pretty heavily sedated and anesthetised. Hopefully it will go well but I foresee a couple of soft-boiled eggs in his dining future tonight. I shall bring the newspaper and a good book.

Today’s The Criminal Mind URL

Monday, May 12th, 2008

If you’ve just robbed a bank, and decided to destroy the clothing you were wearing at the time so as to put the police off the scent, where do you stash the loot? This criminal had an answer to that burning question, but seems to have gotten it wrong…

Happy birthday, <lj user=”roosterbear”>

Monday, May 12th, 2008

…and many happy returns of the day.

I have a VPN proxy…

Friday, May 9th, 2008

… and I have a question about it. Is there any way to “install” it on my router rather than on my computer? That way I could use my internet radio on stations in the USA which bar reception outside of the US. Currently I use it on my computer by clicking on the icon and letting it start up. “Install” might not be the right word…

I’m not very bright about such things, but if I could do that it would be an advantage for me.

Back to my regularly scheduled programming…

Happy birthday, <lj user=”fj”>

Friday, May 9th, 2008

…and many happy returns of the day! We are thrilled to have you as our neighbour.

Today’s OLPFRSC URL

Friday, May 9th, 2008

When I was baptised, it was a white gown event; you still see them occasionally, although many nowadays choose to put something quite different on their little munchkin.

I do think that this baptismal attire is a bit OTT, though. I suspect that a certain Trawna ailuropod will covet it, though.

Today’s I Put My Pants On One Leg At A Time…..NOT! URL

Friday, May 9th, 2008

Thanks to Ramsey for this one…made me laugh so much I nearly peed my shorts. Into which I had gotten, one leg at a time!

Today’s Great Headline

Thursday, May 8th, 2008

…comes from the BBC News website:

Great tits cope well with warming

Has anyone told Dolly Parton?

A good reason not to go back to the US to live…

Thursday, May 8th, 2008

…is that many people in the US are clueless about almost everything.

Hello! {knock, knock!} There are no such people as wizards!

Thanks to for alerting me to this asshattery.

Today’s joke

Thursday, May 8th, 2008

You see a handsome guy at a party. You go up to him and say,

Today’s Quiz

Thursday, May 8th, 2008
Dude! You’re 100% from Massachusetts!

Dude! Me and Sully and Fitzie and Sean are gonna hit Landsdowne tonight after the game, hang out at the Beerworks. I’ll pick you up at the Coop at 6.

How Massachusetts are you?
Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

I cannot say how this makes me feel. I haven’t lived there in 38 years, but I’m still 100% from Massachusetts. Yay me!

Thanks to Snickollet for the link.

Today’s A Hunting I Will Go URL

Thursday, May 8th, 2008

Best quote:

“Most hunting accidents are caused by not identifying your target,” he said. “Mistaking a man for a turkey is definitely a case of misidentifying the target.”

The rest of the story.

Today’s Pleasant Jaunt Video

Wednesday, May 7th, 2008

If you don’t like heights, perhaps you might not want to look at this one. It’s “El Camino del Rey” and you may have to change your underwear after watching it.

Rest of the weekend story

Wednesday, May 7th, 2008

Sorry I’ve taken so long to do this, had lots of little things to get out of the way.

First, here’s two pictures of the Saturday night dinner.

, HWMBO, and me on one side of the table.

Me, Nicky, and HWMBO.

Sunday morning we had a small breakfast (thanks, Novotel, for the coffee fixings and shortbread in our room), then went with Nicky to the Trafford Center. It’s said to be the largest shopping center in Europe. It is certainly larger than Bluewater. By the way, that Bluewater site needs a major redesign. It looked like a placeholder web page for a minute, and not a good placeholder at that. We bought shirts, trainers (for HWMBO), shorts (for Nicky), and lunch at this restaurant. The burger was only fair and the service was, well, forgettable.

We then went to Nicky’s place to meet his housemate, Martin, and see the house. It’s a boardinghouse, with high ceilings and great decor. It’s almost all new and is very well done. More and more of it is being done as the landlord gets time and funds. We had a coffee and a long chat, then back to Manchester, to dinner with !

I only knew Glenn from his blog, but he turned out to be a really great companion. He steered us to a good restaurant where we could eat and talk without much interruption. Then we went along to a bar on Canal St. (I don’t remember the name) where we sat and talked for hours, nearly closing the bar! I haven’t closed a bar in decades and this weekend I came very close. He loves music, his car, and the cello, but doesn’t care much for Manchester or the UK…sob! We parted and we hope to see him again either up there or down here in the future.

Monday we got packed and checked out. The hotel kept our luggage and we walked around downtown, and walked, and walked! I was quite footsore by now. We had lunch in a restaurant called Tampopo, near the Orbis museum. Good, but the service was only fair and they charged us for something we had ordered but they didn’t bring.

There is a Ferrris wheel around the corner from the restaurant. It seems that every world-class city now has to have a Ferris wheel after the success of the London Eye. There is one in Singapore, and there is about to be one in Beijing.

We also strolled around Manchester Cathedral (C of E). Quite a cute little building, squat really. Not very long but quite wide. Some nice modern stained glass.

Got a picture of HWMBO that I thought was characteristic:

Then we struggled back to the bus. We got there in plenty of time, got our luggage stowed, and sat in the empty front seat (there were lots of other empty seats but we thought this would be nice). The driver, after everyone else had gotten on, came on board and told us that we couldn’t sit there. We then had to sit separately for the entire trip. Of course, after the rest stop (we at least got a rest stop here) a lady got up and moved to the front seat, and the new driver didn’t say anything. I was really annoyed.

To Victoria Coach Station, where I managed to drop my Oyster card and not discover that until I had paid 20p to use the restroom. Back out to find the card on the floor, but I had wasted the 20p. Finally, home!

Today’s Culinary URL

Tuesday, May 6th, 2008

I haven’t had a Big Mac in years, but the gentleman in this video seems to have ensured that my share hasn’t gone to waste. Thanks to Ramsey for this one. Make sure you aren’t eating while you watch it.

Today’s Idiot Sightings post…

Tuesday, May 6th, 2008

We had to have the garage door repaired. The Sears repairman told us that one of our problems was that we did not have a ‘large’ enough motor on the opener. I thought for a minute, and said that we had the largest one Sears made at that time, a 1/2 horsepower. He shook his head and said, ‘Lady, you need a 1/4 horsepower.’ I responded that 1/2 was larger than 1/4. He said, ‘NO, it’s not.’ Four is larger than two..’

We haven’t used Sears repair since.


My daughter and I went through the McDonald’s take-out window and I gave the clerk a $5 bill. Our total was $4.25, so I also handed her a quarter. She said, ‘you gave me too much money.’ I said, ‘Yes I know, but this way you can just give me a dollar bill back.’ She sighed and went to get the manager who asked me to repeat my request. I did so, and he handed me back the quarter, and said ‘We’re sorry but they could not do that kind of thing.’ The clerk then proceeded to give me back $1 and 75 cents in change.

Do not confuse the clerks at McD’s.


I live in a semi rural area. We recently had a new neighbor call the local township administrative office to request the removal of the DEER CROSSING sign on our road. The reason: ‘Too many deer are being hit by cars out here! I don’t think this is a good place for them to be crossing anymore.’
From Kingman , KS .


My daughter went to a local Taco Bell and ordered a taco. She asked the person behind the counter for ‘minimal lettuce.’ He said he was sorry, but they only had iceberg lettuce.
From Kansas City


I was at the airport, checking in at the gate when an airport employee asked, ‘Has anyone put anything in your baggage without your knowledge?’ To which I replied, ‘If it was without my knowledge, how would I know?’ He smiled knowingly and nodded, ‘That’s why we ask.’
Happened in Birmingham , Ala.


The stoplight on the corner buzzes when it’s safe to cross the street. I was crossing with an intellectually challenged coworker of mine. She asked if I knew what the buzzer was for. I explained that it signals blind people when the light is red. Appalled, she responded, ‘What on earth are blind people doing driving?!’

She was a probation officer in Wichita , KS


At a good-bye luncheon for an old and dear coworker. She was leaving the company due to ‘downsizing.’ Our manager commented cheerfully, ‘This is fun. We should do this more often.’ Not another word was spoken. We all just looked at each other with that deer-in-the-headlights stare.

This was a lunch at Texas Instruments.


I work with an individual who plugged her power strip back into itself and for the sake of her life, couldn’t understand why her system would not turn on. A deputy with the Dallas County Sheriffs office, no less.


When my husband and I arrived at an automobile dealership to pick up our car, we were told the keys had been locked in it. We went to the service department and found a mechanic working feverishly to unlock the driver’s side door. As I watched from the passenger side, I instinctively tried the door handle and discovered that it was unlocked. ‘Hey,’ I announced to the technician, ‘it’s open!’ His reply, ‘I know. I already got that side.’

This was at the Ford dealership in Canton, Mississippi


STAY ALERT!
They walk and drive among us… And the scary part is that they VOTE and they REPRODUCE

Happy birthday, <lj user=”mouseworks”>

Monday, May 5th, 2008

and many happy returns of the day.

In Manchester

Saturday, May 3rd, 2008

We decided on the spur of the moment to visit Manchester and our friend Nicky this weekend. So, I got two tickets on Megabus for