Birthday weekend

So last weekend was my Birthday weekend, and months ago I decided I wanted to do something different. A friend of mine made the mistake of saying that she'd never been camping, well not proper camping anyway, so during an evening when altogether too much alcohol was flowing, she agreed to come away on an 'activities weekend' with me.

There was supposed to be four of us going, however a cancellation meant we were down to three. But no matter, still plenty to do. And so it was we embarked upon our weekend. The place we stayed at had non of the mod-cons (TV etc.) but to be fair, you didn't care. The days were almost entirely taken up with activities - Rock Climbing and Abseiling on the Saturday, and Kayaking and Hiking on the Sunday - and in the evenings after a quick shower to get rid of the muck and grime (the grime was me falling over), everyone sat round the large huge fire in the lodge and chatted until the early hours - a proper sense of camaraderie.

Breakfast was a healthy affair with more fruit than my local supermarket, this was so you had plenty of energy for the morning of activities ahead. Lunch was provided, and the evening meal should have been a choice of three options off their menu, but since there was no chef as yet, it was just the one option. But all the food was fantastic, and sourced from with 10 miles (or in the case of fish, caught that morning in the river that was about 20 meters away!).

It was good to get away from it all, even if it was just for a couple of days. I can honestly say, that whilst I was there, I did not give a thought to my everyday life. I was 100% there in the moment, and it was great: -

No Internet;
No TV;
No room service;
No air conditioning;
Just local food;
Sleeping under the stars;
And listing to the sound of the rain on our tents;
Absolutely the best hotel I've have ever stayed in!!

When cycling home isn't easy

So my new year's resolution was to cycle into work, even if the weather wasn't as good as it could be. No more of this namby pamby "ooh it looks cold out there" or "well, it's raining, so better take the car". The first step was to get some proper wet weather clothing - check, and to get proper 'layered' clothing - check. So now, all I had to do was start cycling.

This I did, and it went well, for a few days anyway. Then I got a puncture on the way home. Well, no big deal, these things happen. Unfortunately for me, to continue along the unlit road with no footpath (sidewalk), wasn't a good idea and I had to take a shortcut over some grassland. Ordinarily not an issue, but recently we've had more rain than when Noah built his Ark. So I got very muddy and very tired (it's hard to push a bike through mud). But I got home eventually, had a coffee - proper coffee too, not this decaf stuff I've been drinking for the last couple of years - and repaired my puncture.

Then the next night, whilst cycling home, I got another puncture. This time I took the (very) long way home, stuck to the paths, and although it took me longer, I wasn't tired or muddy. Not a bad result.

I then emailed the council to see if it was possible to get the cycle-path cleaned (as it was the thorns picked up on this path that caused both punctures). I got a very polite reply that said they'd look into it, and two days later the path was cleaned. Not a bad result for the council, and I have to say, they did a very good job.

So all hail Stafford council - a good job well done. Thanks :)

To be, or not to be

Now I'm no poet (really I'm not), but even I have to appreciate this.
I vaguely remember reading this at school, but never liked Shakespeare, and didn't really get what this extract was about. But re-reading it today it made a lot more sense, and I have a much greater respect for Shakespeare now than I did then.

-------------

To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, ’tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish’d. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause: there’s the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law’s delay,
The insolence of office and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover’d country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pith and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action. - Soft you now!
The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remember’d.

------------

GENIUS!!

Stargate Worlds

For any Stargate fans out there who happen to like MMPO (Massive MultiPlayer Online) games, then check out the new trailer for Stargate Worlds:



Admittedly, not much use if you're not a fan of either, but it has been getting pretty good reviews, and what better way to spend your time when not playing WoW!

Stargate SG1/Atlantis

For any fans of Stargate SG1/Atlantis out there, Joseph Mallozzi (a writer and executive producer) writes in his blog daily. This is not bad for someone as busy as he must be (although the filming etc. has ended for the current season). Not only that, but he regularly answers a lot of questions, even ones not directly related to the show(s).

'Tis definately worth checking out at: http://josephmallozzi.wordpress.com/

Road Gritters

Somewhere in the back of my mind (way way back), something about road gritters always bothered me. They do a fantastic job most of the time, and yet sometimes they can grit the roads Monday through Wednesday, miss Thursday, and grit again on Friday.

How can they 'know' that the roads will be safe enough on that one day, safe enough to not grit them? I mean they can't trust the weather service, they struggle to let you know whether or not it is going to rain, never mind get the temperature and conditions right for the whole country. So how?

Well, this is how, a series of sensors in the road monitor conditions such as road and air temps, rain, dew and salt levels. This BBC article just shows you what goes on behind the scenes that most people don't know about.

Ferrari

Now I may be a Ferrari fan, but you got to love this:
http://shop.lego.com/Product/?p=8674

XBox 360 live

The XBox Live service has been running into a few problems this last week, fortunately it has not affected anyone I know, but it did make me smile :)

http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/xbox-live-still-up-and-down-ten-days-later/

But before everyone jumps up and down and rants on about Microsoft, at least they are looking into the problem. A friend of mine with a PS3 has been having connection issues ever since a major patch came out, and Sony refuse to accept there is an issue. Apparently it is a connection issue - strange as the problem exists no matter whose house it is plugged in at...