Chris Hansen’s blog

Woke up oddly refreshed, given that I’d rolled over Mount Everest all night. I decided that yesterday was the day to shop for tech stuff.

I went to Funan digitaLife centre downtown at City Hall. Went around, looked at stuff, and specifically looked for a wireless Skype-enabled phone. This phone will connect to Skype directly through your wireless router, thus obviating having to connect up your pesky computer and put a very primitive USB phone into it. I found one, priced Sg$219 (about GBP 85) and bought it. Then, idly looking at small laptops, I discovered the Asus Eee 1000H, which with 2GB RAM and 160GB HDD, seemed pretty inexpensive at the equivalent of GBP 384. So, I bought it. The keyboard is almost normal size, the only exception being the right shift key, which is small. I thin it’ll be good for the Cambodia trip, as it takes a camera card so I can upload pictures directly. The hotel has WiFi, I am told.

After buying that, I had lunch (late) at Subway, returned to Bishan to unload my prizes, then went to Orchard to have dinner with HWMBO, Tiow Hua, and Devin, whom we had dinner with in Kiasu, in London. Very nice dinner at Wisma food court, which is a step up from the usual hawker senter here. I had Indian food, and the plate was piled so high that I couldn’t finish it (good thing, too).

Home, and continued reading FDR until 12:15 am…my bad.

Of to lunch now, and to the Art Museum with HWMBO, then dinner with my friends George and Chen this evening.

I have just learned that the Cambodian e-Visa program I blogged about before has a blog site itself. It seems quite interesting and newsy, besides being a plug for travel to Cambodia. They have made a real effort to be of service to tourists and I’m still doffing my cap to them.

I will tell you about my experience in getting through Immigration at Siem Reap next week, after it’s happened.

I have actually taken some photos this week, and now that I’ve discovered I can get them uploaded and put into my blog through Flickr (I normally upload them to my website but that’s not possible at the moment for various reasons I won’t bore you with), here are some selected photos.

First, . What a handsome man!

While we were looking for a restaurant at Bugis Junction, we came across this particular place that seems to cater to tourists, of which there are not an insignificant number in the centre of town. I got my picture taken.

You may remember the cheesy pod picture that the Singapore Flyer staff took of our party before we actually got on the wheel? Well, here is a picture of the picture, a bit blurry, but you can see the general idea.

And when we were actually in the pod, I gook a picture of Nein and one of his fathers, Joe. Joe is holding up the “circular map” of Singapore that you can look at during your “flight” which tells you what everything you can (or can’t) see is. But, it looks a little bit like he is recognising Nein as the little angel that he is.

In the background are Louie and Leslie, our great friends here, who are just lovely people.

• 01:46 morning tweeters all! Day 4 in Singapore, still jet-lagged, my dinner dance card is almost full…if it weren’t for the rain it’d be heaven! #
• 03:30 singapore tweeters: i’m free for lunch and dinner today if anyone’s interested in an old British tourist… #
• 04:45 having coffee with Devin this afternoon, still free for lunch and dinner…Funan DigitaLife IT Mall later on to shop… #
• 09:34 @ErnieAtLYD Mary was entirely Jewish, as was Jesus. #
• 14:24 had dinner with HWMBO, Tiow Hua, and Devin…very nice. back home now playing with eee… #
• 14:59 @dirrtysean it the UK a twitcher is a bird-watcher. Do you like to watch birds? #
• 17:15 well, tweeters, it’s no longer good night, it’s good morning from Singapore. Reading Smith’s new biog of FDR–very inspiring! #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

Medicine for juridical and natural people!

I suppose that most juridical people, not being natural persons, might have difficulty in using medicine of any kind…

I woke up at 4:30 am and tossed and turned for a while, eventually falling back asleep until about 8. Breakfast in the house and then a cup of kopi (coffee) with BK at the breakfast place across the street.

I then got ready to fact the day and went to Plaza Singapura to meet . He was a bit late due to the thunderstorm that was then sweeping across Singapore, but arrived on time, bright-eyed and bushy tailed. (I originally wrote “busy tailed” and God only knows how that would have come across…)

We wanted to eat at Mosburger, a japanese chain that has lots of branches in Singapore, but it was full of students bulking up on calories from cows and deep-fried potato. So, we repaired to Carl’s Jr, where we both had Guacamole Bacon Cheeseburgers (a LOLCAT would have had a field day) and talked for two hours or so. is interested in religion, mostly the RC faith, so we had a lot to talk about and his knowledge of the faith and his devotion are really heartfelt. I took a picture.

After that, I met HWMBO, BK, and Leslie for “high tea”, Chinese-style. There are two restaurants in Novena Centre that serve Chinese high tea. The one we wanted to go to, Lao Beijing, was absolutely stuffed, so we went upstairs to another restaurant serving chinese high tea, but vegetarian (Lao Beijing is for carnivores). We sat and talked from 3 until about 5, eating little dim sum-like dumplings and other delicacies. The herbal tea was especially good; I must have drunk about 6 glasses. BK showed off his new Asus Eee with the broadband key to connect up to the Internet and everyone was suitably impressed.

Back to Bishan afterwards with HWMBO, where we walked around Junction 8 for a while (it hasn’t changed much) and then back home for a nap. Ate a late dinner with HWMBO and BK across the road at a food stall, where a table of elderly “gentlemen” was smoking up a storm right under the “Smoking Prohibited” sign. I wasn’t best pleased.

Back home, where I had a nice chat with on the phone. Slept well, and about to go out for kopi with BK before facing the day. I don’t have a dinner companion for tonight, any takers?

• 01:53 morning from singapore, tweeters all. bed is still lumpy, back hurts, but it’s a new day pregnant with possibilities! Lunch with @devinjay #
• 01:54 @tug no, god wants you to eat cold meat and drink ale on sunday night, like our forefathers did. #
• 01:56 @boyshapedbox lucky you! were there pix? we can only hope… #
• 04:35 @jallen285 don’t give in, ever! #
• 12:47 had a lovely lunch with @devinjay, then Chinese high tea with BK, HWMBO, and Leslie. Now resting before dinner. #
• 12:48 @kevjumba lovely weekend, spent partly in the air, partly in singapore. darned hot, but the food’s good. #
• 12:49 @dirrtysean please, tell us all! ope your eyelid gets better… #
• 00:02 @helenroper that’s nothing–I was a Latin and Greek major in college, and many of my peers also ended up in tech instead of classics. #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

Awoke at 4 am, couldn’t sleep any more. The bed that was here for my previous visits has been replaced by a sofa bed, kind of. Instead of having a bed tucked away within it, the back is on hinges and can be let down to form a “bed”. Unfortunately, there is a ridge in the middle when it’s a bed, and it is extremely difficult to sleep on–it seems like you’re on one side of Mount Everest and either rolling down the North Face or the South Face.

After catching up on my blog reading and having breakfast with BK’s housekeepeer, Enca, who is one of life’s great women–she has been working for BK’s family for several decades and now works for the Filipino Embassy here dealing with cases of domestic help who are in difficulties of one sort or another–I got in touch with , and we met at Bugis for lunch, then off to Sim Lim City for shopping.

Singapore never ceases to amaze me, as it seems to reinvent itself every time I return. Last time I was here, the top floor of Bugis Junction was a mass of shops. Now, it’s the food court, and another food court has sprouted in the basement. I had Singapore Chicken Rice, which was very good.

Sim Lim was a hotbed of people handing out flyers for various computer shops. For those who are not familiar with Singapore, Sim Lim is a large building, with 5 floors and a basement, containing many hundreds of computer and technology shops. There is a massive central atrium and shops surrounding it on every floor. Ascending on the escalators, you are bombarded by young people handing out flyers for shops, which flyers mostly consist of lists of products and prices, in very very tiny type.

I was looking for a couple of things, and managed to find them all. A cradle for SATA drives cost Sg$89 (GBP 34.90)–BK had one and I immediately coveted it. In addition, it has slots for memory cards, a USB port, and various other things. Extremely good, I bought it immediately. I got a “universal” electrical adapter, to ensure that I can plug things in when I get to Cambodia, and a cradle for my iPod with speakers. This was a mistake (it was cheap, and shows it); I think I will try to get a better one later on.

Then we were to go on the Singapore Flyer with our friends Leslie and Louie. Kevin accompanied me to City Hall Station and as we exited, who should be walking in front of us but HWMBO, who of course was coming too. So I gave him quite a start by sneaking up on him and putting my hand on his shoulder and saying, “Hi!”

It was raining buckets when we emerged. It wasn’t like London rain, which is like a very gentle garden sprinkler; it was as if God were throwing buckets of water at us. We huddled under a very inadequate awning while waiting for L&L. When they finally arrived, it was with some more friends: Joe, a Thai man with his English partner Norman, and their 10-year-old son, Nein (I hope the spelling is correct). Nein is quite the ham, and would make a good actor (he can pull faces with the best of them). We seemed to have missed the bus to the Singapore Flyer, so I bade farewell to and we made our way down the MRT again and walked there. It was a long walk. We got there at 6:10 or so, and were immediately ushered onto one of the pods.

The Singapore Flyer is, for now, the largest Ferris Wheel in the world. It is constructed slightly differently from the London Eye in that it is totally freestanding, while the Eye has a strut supporting it. The airplane trip motif of the Eye is preserved, however, as you are welcomed onto your “flight”, go through a metal detector and have your bags X-rayed, and then waved onto the pod, but not before a cheesy picture is taken of your whole group in a simulated pod, for collection later (at a hefty price) if you want it.

We got on the pod; Nein was amazingly rambunctious, fake break-dancing and generally raising Cain, after first falling asleep as we started. On a clear day you can see all the way to Indonesia; it wasn’t a clear day. I got some shots of the near skyline, and a tiny shot of the Merlion statue in the harbour. The pod was very dark, unfortunately, and as night was falling, the skyline lit up but it was difficult to see inside the pod.

After this we walked to a harbourside hawker centre which was a cut above the usual hawker centre, with fancier fare at a fancier price. I had chicken mee goreng and we shared satay.

After a walk along the harbourside, which seems to have been turned into a relatively dimly lit Lovers’ Lane, HWMBO and I parted from the rest and took the MRT home. There will be pictures as soon as I can get them uploaded.

A lovely evening–we enjoyed it thoroughly, and I enjoyed the day with immensely. Now for lunch with , even though it’s now bucketing down outside…anyone for dinner? Call 8370 5057 and I’ll respond soonest.

has embedded part of a TV program (BBC something or other) where Tony Benn is his usual forthright self. Go there and watch it; it’s priceless.

• 01:35 @MrPandaBehr congratulations! good luck! #
• 01:36 @besskeloid …um, no. None of them could have written to such heights as to write a song with that title… #
• 01:37 lazing around waiting for the pills to stop working before going out to face the day… #
• 04:47 @danbjorn so what would be wrong with you if you were gay, then?? #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

Well, we finally got here. We packed in a leisurely fashion on Friday morning, then I had lunch at St. matthew’s Friday drop-in. HWMBO joined me for a cup of coffee and everything was great.

We left the house at 2:30 pm and made our way to Paddington and the Heathrow Express. Along with the airlines, you can now print out your Heathrow Express ticket. A “square code” (not a bar code) is printed out and the conductor scans it with his/her ticket machine. It’s really quite slick.

Security was a relative breeze (1/2 hour from check-in to wandering around in the lounge), and we looked around a bit then settled down. I called Vodafone to dispute the bill I’d just been sent. The bill included about GBP 60 of charges made by my very sick BlackBerry–perhaps it was calling for help. I hardly ever download more than 100K in a day, and suddenly it was downloading 6M? No way. I needed to dispute it before flying off, so of course the bill came the day we left. Luckily it didn’t come the day after we left. Anyway, at first they wanted to split the charges, but I told them that wasn’t good enough. After putting me on hold several times, they finally said that they’d take the GBP 60 off the bill, getting it down to GBP 88 rather than GBP 150+. Having done that, we rewarded ourselves with a Starbucks.

Then I told HWMBO “Wait here; I’ll go look at the display and come back when our gate is announced.” When the gate number came up, I turned around (I had looked back several times and HWMBO was placidly reading and listening to his iPod) and HWMBO was nowhere to be seen. ALONG WITH MY CARRYON BAG! The panic I felt was massive! Where was he? Where did he go? Where was my luggage? With my passport in it! I got frantic until, about 5 minutes later, he came up to me. He’d had to go to the toilet and couldn’t see me (although I was standing up) so he took everything with him. I’d thought that was the case but you just don’t wander off on me without telling me! We made up but I’m sure my blood pressure doubled from its already high rate.

We got on the plane but noted with some alarm that a large number of infants and young children were on the flight. True to form, we were seated near some of them. Being kids, they didn’t understand how to make their ears pop on take-off and descending for landing. They just screamed. And, of course, the toilet bins were full of their used nappies (=diapers ). This was seriously not good.

Singapore Airlines provided a vely dinner–I had beef, and HWMBO had chicken, and both were absolutely lovely. I told the cabin attendant when she took my tray that it was the best airplane meal I’d ever had, and I meant it.

then I settled in to about 10 hours of sitting around hoping not to get a blood clot. Neither of us got much sleep.

We landed bang on time (the airlines pad the schedules so that even a temporary disruption won’t have too much of an effect) at the new Terminal 3 at changi Airport. It is huge! Seriously huge. So huge that even Zaphod Beeblebrox in the Heart of Gold would have difficult traversing its length without a 40-mule-team and 3 days worth of supplies.

One thing that Singapore Airlines fell down on is that they did not have enough landing cards for everyone. All the countries around here have landing cards which you must fill out when entering the country. Part of the card is left in your passport and you surrender it when you leave. So I had to stop and fill one out at Immigration Control while HWMBO (being Singaporean, and not having to fill one out) waltzed through. I got through too, and we waited for our luggage while HWMBO’s parents and our friend CB waited for us ourside.

I got a huge shock when I went through the customs exit and saw HWMBO’s mom. She is nearly bent over double from osteoporosis. His dad is the same as ever–pert and pleasant. it was nice to see CB again too. We separated, and I took a cab to Bishan, where I’m staying with BK.

Of course, I got a grumpy cab driver who complained that just knowing BK’s address wasn’t enough; I had to know which street to go down (I was too jetlagged to remember). We got here in the end, and I even tipped him. It was lovely to see BK again, and stay here in Bishan. It was especially nice that they’ve upgraded the elevators/lifts in this building so that they stop at every floor, not just selected ones. So I didn’t have to schlep my luggage up the stairs.

After showering, shaving, et al. I could face Singapore. I have a phone number (+65 8370 5057 for you Singaporeans out there who I want to meet and greet!!!) and an EZ-Link card for the MRT (=subway/Underground).

My lovely friends and were meeting for coffee, so I joined them. went off to dine with his parents, while and I had dinner in a kopitiam (=coffee shop). I had pork porridge which was really really good, and had some kind of fish soup that he thought was a bit thin. then joined us for soy desserts. They are very playful… is always scoring points over …I was the referee.

Then a bus 13 to Junction 8 shopping centre at Bishan, where I got some money out of the new Citibank ATMs there, and a bus 147 home, surfing, and bed.

Didn’t sleep too well, though. BK has replaced the bed that was in the spare room with a sofa bed. It’s lumpy and the blanket is too short for my 5″ 11′ frame…I guess I’ll survive.

Today am going to lunch with and perhaps shopping at Sim Lim for computer stuff. Dinner with friends and HWMBO and BK tonight.

Did a “spell check” before posting and one of the spell check’s suggestions for “HWMBO” was “HOMO’S”. Amusing.

• 11:00 hi all. have landed in singapore and made my way to my friend’s place by taxi, very grumpy driver who didn’t know where he was going. #
• 15:51 had a lovely dinner of pork porridge and tofu (unsweetened) for dessert. it was good. met my Cambodia roomie for the first time. #
• 21:47 @chrys nonononono! A cupcake has frosting on the top, a muffin does not. I have never heard “cupcake” used in the United Kingdom. Ever. #
• 21:48 I wish I weren’t jetlagged…it’s 4:47 am and I am wide awake. #
• 23:04 @besskeloid Pungent Stench…sounds like a schoolmaster… #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

• 00:18 ‘night, all. Vista has been up and down more than a poledancer’s knickers this evening…what a pain. #
• 10:00 well, morning all. tweets will be few and far between until i get to singapore may try to tweet once we get through security at the airport. #
• 17:14 All thru security at Hell…er…Heathrow, ready to board. Sg here we come. Next tweet fron Singapore. #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

• 00:14 cheers, tweeters! time to retire… #
• 12:50 afternoon tweeters. have been slowly gearing up for packing. charging all my devices in anticipation–listening to R Vaughan Williams hymns. #
• 14:05 now must get cracking on filling my suitcase for tomorrow. #
• 15:55 mostly packed now, just the electronics and the toiletries, I think. #
• 17:12 making dinner now…linguine with butter and parmesan. simple because i don’t dare to buy in a lot of stuff before we leave. #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

I am finally starting to pack for the trip tomorrow. I’m charging up all the electrics so that they’ll last for the journey. I’ve got all my papers, money, and the like together. I’m thinking about getting my suitcase out and putting all the clothing in it. I need to remember handkerchiefs, several baseball caps, my Singapore money, my US dollars (for Cambodia, where they don’t normally take the local currency), toiletries, medications (I don’t want to forget any pills like I did last time!), and myself.

We’re not leaving the house until about 2:30 pm tomorrow, but advance preparation is the key to ensuring that you don’t forget anything at the last minute. I have a Deanery Synod tonight, which is annoying, as our friend Thai Mark is having dinner with HWMBO but I won’t be able to go, and I may not see Thai Mark again until next year. In the year or so we’ve all known each other here, we’ve become very close and I’m sad that he has to leave the UK because of a silly mistake the British embassy in Thailand made and won’t acknowledge. HWMBO flicked past one of those reality shows “UK Border Cops” or something very like that, and I just couldn’t bear to watch it.

Anyway, I digress. I shall be in Singapore from Saturday afternoon through the next Friday, then off to Bintan and finally to Cambodia. Back in Singapore on November 1st and back to the UK on November 3rd. So time is limited. I was wondering if anyone could coordinate a dinner sometime over this weekend (Sunday before St. James?) or next week where all my LJ friends who wish to could come and say “hi!”. I am tentatively free all next week in the evening, subject to whatever our hosts have in store, but I can always rearrange that stuff. I hope to be seeing some of you over the week (have already tentatively arranged Monday lunch with ).

We will be landing at 2:20 pm on Saturday, 18th October. I look forward to seeing as many of you as I can over the next week.

• 09:29 morning tweeters all. i have to search for luggage today, maybe, and get vodafone to make my BlackBerry reconcile emails. #
• 14:20 @dirrtysean : i’m looking… #
• 14:21 just noticed a counterfeit £1 coin in my coin purse. what a pain. #
• 14:52 @chrys : i’m not looking forward to jet lag when we go to singapore. #
• 17:06 off to the diocesan Board of Finance meeting…we have no money in Icelandic banks, thank God… #
• 20:30 @stephenfry : the additional stuff after the 6-character tinyurl code was unnecessary; deleting it gave me your location quite accurately. #
• 20:32 back from Board of Finance meeting; we are still solvent. there were fewer sandwiches, though. managed 3/4 sandwich and a coffee and banana. #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

I looked through my change purse this morning for 80 pence for the Grauniad. I spied a pound coin that looked somewhat odd, and a closer look told me that it was counterfeit. News reports of a rise in the number of counterfeit pound coins have appeared in the local news lately, but I’ve never actually seen one that I could identify as fake.

I tried to take pictures, but I’m not sufficiently skilled to do so. The colour isn’t quite right: it’s a bit shinier than a regular pound coin (which has the same metallic colour as a US nickle). If you hold the coin between thumb and forefinger so that the Queen’s head on the reverse is vertical, turning the coin to show the observe reveals that the obverse is not vertical but leaning over to the right. The milling on the edge of the coin is only evident in the centre of the edge; the top and bottom of the edge are smooth.

Apparently about 1 in 10 of the coins in circulation is fake. I feel cheated, but, of course, I can’t pass the coin along and I won’t get any money back. I believe I got it in a supermarket, but am not sure.

There was a case in the 1930’s where US one-dollar bills were appearing in small numbers in circulation. No one could figure out why the person wasn’t counterfeiting $20 bills, as you could make 20 times the money from one of those. Finally, when the counterfeiter was discovered, he turned out to be a self-effacing person who just wanted a little money for things like newspapers, and groceries–he wasn’t out to make a large profit from the crime. The one-pound coins go for

Some of you may recall that I occasionally post funny entries from Marblehead, Massachusetts’ Police Log, which appears in the Marblehead Reporter. Well, if you like that, you’ll love this blog, that posts funny items from newspapers published all over the place.

• 08:00 @urbanbohemian : 3.14159265 … oh, you meant PIE. Never mind. #
• 08:04 morningm ye tweeters. have to buy a decent suitcase today in anticipation of Singapore. #
• 11:20 @stephenfry : when i first saw that you tweeted “Drinking giraffe” I thought: “Hm, new kind of Kenyan beer to try…” #
• 13:15 need to call Vodafone to get the browser on my BlackBerry sorted out. #
• 14:04 vodafone were quite useful, if a bit tardy. browser is now working. #
• 14:44 have entered my singapore and cambodia itineraries into WorldMate on BlackBerry. #
• 14:45 oh, anyone got a twitter client for blackberry that they prefer? #
• 17:42 @soveren : you’ve been in britain too long without seeing much of the sun… #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

John Cleese on Palin…Sarah Palin, that is.

• 09:49 morning tweeters. especially to @stephenfry who seems to be transporting rhinos this morning, as one does. #
• 16:26 @urbanbohemian : there’s no fun in a machine like that. #
• 16:49 @RobertFischer : i think that palin will be looking toward 2012. god help us all! #
• 16:49 @tug : don’t be vulgar. #
• 23:39 well, tweeters, i have discovered the Catherine Tate Show..quite funny. Also Paul Merton in India..somewhat odd. Everyone’s travelling on TV #
• 23:39 good night tweeters all. Singapore minus 4 days and counting! #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

Aged nuns are holy women, with tons of experience, and lots of prayer behind them. This 106-year-old American nun who lives in Rome has registered to vote, and will be voting for the first time in about 52 years (she last voted for Eisenhower). But Eisenhower Republicans are few and far between these days, so she’s not voting for one.

Ten years on, rest in peace, and rise in glory.

• 08:04 @ErnieAtLYD : i suppose it’s good to have restaurants near a smoke shop…getting the munchies when you’re far away from food is bad. #
• 08:06 good morning tweeters. most of y’all are asleep now so i’ll tiptoe away. #
• 12:09 @dirrtysean : i hope it’s not too too huge. if u need help, just ask… #
• 17:47 @stephenfry : as long as that’s the only thing you forgot, you’re OK. i always forget at least one thing, maybe subconsciously on purpose. #
• 17:51 back from the Heyward–Warhol and someone else. I was in NYC during Warhol’s time, but prefer Mapplethorpe and Haring. #
• 20:17 just finished dinner and the Sat. Grauniad. We had salad and pasta with egg, cheese, and margarine…comfort food but I will pay for it ltr. #
• 23:56 @helenroper : yes, practitioner in test management. test is in december. hope to pass and then teach intermediate and practitioner. #
• 23:56 @helenroper : thanks for asking, too! #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

I’m lucky that I won’t have to live there after January 20th if the Repugs get in. Thanks to MadPriest for the tipoff.

There are many unbelievable stories out there about both candidates and their supporters. But this account of a meeting in Starbucks takes the biscuit.

• 07:43 morning tweeters. it should be a good day…good news overnight about palin. #
• 07:55 @fonsus : what is scissors rice? i suppose i should google it… #
• 07:56 there was lots of interesting news last night, some of which was not about finance. what a refreshing change! #
• 18:19 went out to lunch with a friend from leicester, then meandered around St. James’s Park. Needed a nap when I got home… #
• 21:25 @ramseym : not always. i was at a wedding once where the bride said, “No!” to her vows. #
• 21:27 dinner finished. surfing while listening to this week’s “Hearts of Space”. Infinite Loops–very restful and peaceful. www.hos.com #
• 22:28 @ErnieAtLYD : geez, you must vote. hold your nose, ignore the media, and vote. i’m in london, and i voted… #
• 22:30 oh, “Beautiful People” is a waste of electrons, and so is “Little Britain USA”. New ideas are conspicuous by their absence. It was good b4. #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

William F. Buckley was a thinking conservative (even if I usually disagreed with his positions, you had to give him that). His son also writes for the National Review, which Buckley founded. It’s surprising then that Buckley fils, although he knows McCain and even wrote speeches for him, is going to vote for Barack Obama.

• 17:36 evening all, sorry I didn’t greet you this morning–rushing off to the last day of the course. Was OK, and maybe I’ll get a new job from it. #
• 21:14 been one of those evenings. HWMBO is still out carousing with a departing colleague, and I’ve had my dinner and his is sitting cooling off.. #
• 21:51 @jallen285 : it’s a really lovely and amazing building. #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

Q. What’s the difference between a pigeon and an investment banker?

A. The pigeon can still make a deposit on a Rolls-Royce.

• 06:30 @MrPandaBehr : glad to hear you two made it OK. have fun! #
• 06:32 morning all. work email is seriously fsked up, can’t send messages. have to go to 2nd day of course soon and can’t investigate. cu tonite. #
• 07:48 @fonsus : oct 18 through nov 3, with a cambodia break oct 27 thru nov 1. #
• 19:01 evening tweeters. day 2 of course went OK, and I have my BlackBerry back! Now to see if I can put all my stuff back on it… #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

• 06:33 morning tweeters. off to breakfast and then to a course. back this evening. play nice! #
• 06:37 @boyshapedbox : like in the ’50’s when we went on a school outing on a friday and the prots ate hot dogs and we had to eat tuna rolls 🙁 #
• 06:38 @MrPandaBehr : most are quite bold. some are a bit skittish, and one hides under a bush in the yard; we have to drop peanuts for him there. #
• 06:39 @BrianHeys : don’t bgother; it’s crap. get a voyager 2500 if you still can. #
• 06:40 @helenroper : adobe updater is the devil. adobe also breaks lots of stuff nowadays. #
• 21:39 hi tweeters, back fromthe first day of the course and the diocesan lay chairs meeting. both profitable enough… #
• 22:29 time to leave the computer and bid all ye tweeters goodbye and good night. #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

I had signed up for the ISEB Practitioner’s course in software test management after my success at the Intermediate Certificate. This was in June. Heard nothing from them–normally they collect the money straightaway and send you joining instructions. So, I assumed that they had cancelled or were about to cancel the course–sometimes this happens when they don’t get enough delegates to fill a course (they normally want at least 5).

So imagine my surprise last Thursday when they called me and said the course was on. I was a bit miffed, and as my BlackBerry is still in the shop (due to arrive at the retail outlet any day now) I didn’t have access to my calendar. So I put them off until Friday and took a look at my saved calendar–nothing this week. I arranged with work to take Wednesday through Friday off, paid my

• 10:06 morning tweeters. work beckons! #
• 16:20 afternoon, all. fed four squirrels today in the midst of writing a proposal–they ate about 1/2 lb. of peanuts. lucky them. #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

In many societies, the powers-that-be still deny rights to women, sexual minorities, and minority racial groups. However, only in New Jersey are the rights of inflatable rats in question.

I can assure you that I have never travelled into or out of Birmingham Airport. However, one person who did, luckily anonymously, will have occasioned the screeners some moments of levity.

• 09:11 morning tweeters. #
• 11:48 off to make lunch now. had a lovely chat with @mrpandabehr and got some work done, oddly enough. #
• 14:37 @chrys my blackberry is wending its way to me from the repair shop… #
• 20:24 @jmspool : try riding in a tuk-tuk in the centre of Bangkok. Your whole life flashes before you… #
• 20:24 had dinner: roast chicken, cheddar mash, carrots, salad. #
• 23:07 good night tweeters. finished off the Church Times–quite enjoyed Word from Wormingford this week. #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

No comments necessary.

• 07:49 @MrPandaBehr : my pleasure! i will look around the bookshops there with a chinese speaker as well–i love to buy books there! #
• 07:52 morning tweeters. off to breakfast and church shortly, then lunch at Belgo with HWMBO and ThaiMark (no twiiter). #
• 12:27 @boyshapedbox : kind of like skinny dipping, I suppose. Skinny spinning? We want pics, by the way! #
• 19:35 @helenroper : i heard a conference lecture by him a few years ago that was somewhat incoherent…we left wondering what he’d said. #
• 19:38 have to reboot…no browser seems to be able to connect at the moment…maybe a BT problem but will reboot first before I panic. #
• 21:29 @boyshapedbox : i miss Castro Street. Say hi! to 595 Castro near 19th…right next door to Harvey Milk’s photo shop. #
• 23:06 goodnight tweeters…a week of work and a course awaits me… #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

• 09:24 @MrPandaBehr : Outback is great! I go at least twice whenever I go to Massachusetts. BTW, I’m enquiring about the book you asked about. #
• 09:25 @fonsus : Hug! #
• 09:26 morning all. off to the Tate this afternoon, I think. HWMBO is the Social Secretary so it’s up to him where we go. #
• 13:22 @soveren : you didn’t miss much, and it’s probably on reruns or iPlayer somewhere. #
• 13:24 had lunch, HWMBO thinks weather is too awful to venture out in (not raining tho) so it will be a quiet day indoors for us. #
• 15:39 There was nothing in Cardinal Newman’s coffin except a brass plate and some scraps of cloth. Love conquers all! #
• 23:07 good night tweeters. off to the land of Nod. #
• 23:09 @jspin : i’ve already voted absentee…now i’m just going to watch and hope. #
• 23:11 @juzzywuzzy : no they aren’t. The 3 best words to hear in England are: “Warm with sunshine” in the weather report. We rarely hear them. #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

• 08:27 morning tweeters all. actually working at home today and a meeting late in the afternoon. #
• 10:53 got my assignment for the banking proposal so will fall to it this afternoon. #
• 17:18 @juzzywuzzy : crocs store, good to know. will be certain to drop by there when i’m in singapore in a few weeks’ time. #
• 17:20 @BrianHeys : i just uploaded a new driver into my Voyager 2500, w00t. exciting day! #
• 17:21 @boyshapedbox : well, you’re awesome all over, i hope your inside matches the awesome on the outside soon. #
• 17:21 just spent £1300 on ISEB Practitioner’s course in Test Management. Hope I pass and that it makes me more employable. #
• 20:31 @jallen285 : i’ll send good thoughts your way that you’ll be one of the best… #
• 20:32 we’re back from SuperFish–I had haddock, he had Masters Special (cod). I don’t like fish but the things one does for love… #
• 20:33 Little Britain USA on at 21:30…hope it’s better than the last season of Little Britain #
• 22:42 Little Britain USA was not quite a steaming pile, but close to it. Sad; they really need to think of something else to do. #
• 22:42 time to retire, tweeters. play nice, and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

…and many happy returns of the day.

• 08:48 morning tweeters. meeting this afternoon I think, then gym. otherwise pretty laid back. 20th anniversary of me becoming an Anglican today! #
• 13:52 off to a meeting…what a pain. #
• 17:53 meeting was cancelled at the last minutes before i left home for it. went to the gym then shopped for dinner. #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

Twenty years ago today I was received into the Episcopal Church at the Church of the Holy Apostles at 28th St. and 9th Avenue in New York City.

It’s been quite a wild ride, and I’m not through yet. I’m thankful that I found this haven from guilt and knownothingism.

reminds me that I took some pictures of us in Marblehead and I hadn’t posted them. Profuse apologies, and here they are:

The Old Town House was “City Hall” for Marblehead until the 1880’s. It was the police station until the 1960’s. and I walked around town for what seemed hours, and I took a picture of her in front of the Old Town House steps (no equal access laws back then!).

insisted that would not believe that we had indeed met unless there was a group picture. We tried many times, and this one was the best out of them–I’m crap at taking pictures at arm’s length. I think it’s a talent confined to the young, who are always taking pictures of each other with their mobile phones. Anyway, we were indeed together and this is the proof!

• 08:05 morning tweeters. nice day today. lunch with ex cow orkers then a meeting at work. hopefully both will go well. #
• 16:43 back from lunch with @tug and david n. (no twitter) and a work meeting. RFP from a bank that’s being taken over…huh? #
• 21:10 @jallen285 : get a dye job (don’t forget the eyebrows). then white hair won’t matter. #
• 21:12 dinner finished, hate the low signal on my wireless internet radio. faugh! #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

Normally here in the UK, few cash machines accept deposits. However, in the United States, most of them do. If you do pay cheques into your ATM, you might find that you have to be careful which buttons you press. I particularly liked the reporter’s assertion in the last paragraph–it should give the banks pause.

…and many happy returns of the day!

• 11:43 morning tweeters, just. my employer seems to have remembered that i work for them, yay! #
• 20:20 @urbanbohemian : does that include “We are where we are…”? #
• 20:32 was pleasantly surprised that cambodia offers online visa application, and moreover, that it worked! Hats off to Cambodia! #
• 23:11 @tug : i guess you’ve gone all duchamp on us… #
• 23:12 night night tweeters, another day awaits! #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

One of the most prominent of Singaporean opposition politicians, JB Jeyaretnam, has died there from heart failure at the age of 82. His interaction with the People’s Action Party and its leader for most of its history, MM Lee Kwan Yew, makes interesting reading. He was about to stand again for Parliament, after having been the first opposition party member to have been elected to Parliament after Singapore’s independence from Britain. Rest in Peace, JBJ.