gdp's Comments

Fevered Mutterings : Bonfire Night: A Dog's Tale

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:52:06 +0000

Another reason Italy is saner than most, right there. Our obsession with fireworks has got really, really daft recently. Yes, he was a bit jumpy for a few days. That and the way he moved the furniture in front of the doors and windows with his nose (he's a strong begger) and hoarded all his food under the sofa. Then he started leaving messages spelled out with dog biscuits, stuff like "WW3 U FOOLS" and "DEATH FROM ABUV" and so on. Then he went strange, started doing lots of exercises, went really lean and got tattoos. Now he's in charge of house security. But generally, he's fine.

Fevered Mutterings : British National Rail: 5 Ways To Make It Work For You

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:12:20 +0000

Yes, I saw that one on Martin Lewis's page after I'd written the post. Sneaky trick, that - but a good one. Have you used it yourself? And you're damn right. There should be a fiendishly clever web app that renders it all sensible and rational. Probably running on one of those supercomputers the Met Office recently invested in.

Fevered Mutterings : British National Rail: 5 Ways To Make It Work For You

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:08:12 +0000

Isn't it? Yet deeply British. Miss this part of the world yet, old bean? As I said at the end of the article, I rather like how dotty is all is. It's like having different European currencies - less efficient (arguably), less safe (arguably), but *interesting*. A touch of the Mervyn Peake about it all.

Fevered Mutterings : Where Did It Go?

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 19:31:00 +0000

Oh blimey. I've just realised this comment plugin uses "Replies". Stupidity doth be the sword I wield (lopping my own extremities off). September, eh? Enough time for me to gallivant Londonwards for a farewell-for-now visit, then. Good show.

Fevered Mutterings : Workin' on the Chain: 16 Reasons We Need Bikes

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 21:45:43 +0000

Thank you! The pictures are indeed stunners. I'm very grateful for the creators posting them as Creative Commons photos on Flickr, thus allowing me to use them. Some talented folk out there. The first photo is apparently Beijing - nicely in keeping with one of my points in the post.

Fevered Mutterings : Workin' on the Chain: 16 Reasons We Need Bikes

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 19:50:57 +0000

I have a dream of doing a slow version of what Ewan MacGregor and Charley Boorman did, all pedal-powered. It's ludicrous, but it's still a dream I have. A couple of really demanding bike-rides will cure me of it, I'm sure. But I'd definitely like to see what China is like by bike - using a mountain bike with a *really good* suspension system, mind. And I know the Chanel bike. $6k? I thought it was nearer $15k. If you *can* get it for $6k, there's a hefty profit to be made if you can bear to sell it again!

Fevered Mutterings : Rayleigh's Palette

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 19:43:52 +0000

Spot on, Judith. :)

Fevered Mutterings : Rayleigh's Palette

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 09:37:26 +0000

Thanks, Luke. The skies were much nicer in real life, though. There's something funny about the penultimate photo, Jen. I've posted it before, in the last version of this blog, so some people will know what it is. But it's not quite as it seems. ;)

Fevered Mutterings : Workin' on the Chain: 16 Reasons We Need Bikes

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 09:35:21 +0000

Ah, but I saw on Twitter that you were coming round to the idea. ;) Regarding looking good on a bike - no pressure. You were in Beijing? Tell all! And how was the Beijing road system geared up to use bikes (no pun intended)?

Fevered Mutterings : Workin' on the Chain: 16 Reasons We Need Bikes

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 21:59:25 +0000

Turn 3 into 1. The Best Bike Ever. And then ride it, sir. Ride it until your legs combust.

Fevered Mutterings : Workin' on the Chain: 16 Reasons We Need Bikes

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 21:21:22 +0000

I reckon it is indeed. I reckon they're well on the way to being Little Amys (if they're very lucky and work hard at their letterin'). I didn't necessarily have the showers in Joss Whedon's Dollhouse in mind when I mentioned Arrival Rooms, but I guess that kinda works if everyone you work with is sculpted and sexy. Otherwise, this scenario could be a ticket to visual Hell.

Fevered Mutterings : ...and Attempting Something Novel.

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:20:21 +0000

What are you doing here complimenting me? You should be writing your novel, dammit! ;) Goes both ways, dude.

Fevered Mutterings : Breathe

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 20:11:14 +0000

Gosh. Thank you! No pressure for my next piece of travel writing, then. *gulp*

Fevered Mutterings : Putting My Best Mug Forward...

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 20:09:50 +0000

Thank you, Lan. :) I've always loved "quaff", but never mastered the actual act and end up with beer / fruit juice / other quaffable substances all over my face and chest. This is probably an accurate way of quaffing, according to European medieval table manners - but it's not an elegant thing to do in a public place.

Fevered Mutterings : Why I'd Make A Great English Teacher

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:29:23 +0000

belly - 10,000 lines, "I must strive to free myself of the compulsion to sell Mikeachim inexpensive yet not entirely necessary computer hardware and software, like a confused half-competent Robin Hood (taking money from the poor and failing to give it to anyone else). And yes, this is still the same sentence". Make it 20,000. (I spend the late afternoon playing this instead of being productive). Make it 30,000 because of your handles comment in another thread.

Fevered Mutterings : Why I'd Make A Great English Teacher

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:18:40 +0000

Pete - The tragedy of writing. The second you thought of it, it starts to fall to bits, and by the time you get it out onto the page it's probably just rubble. So it's easy to spend the rest of your life trying to shore it up. I tried reading some of Fevered Mutterings v1 recently. It was a painful experience. It's as if someone recently hacked into my computer and ran all my archived blog files through an Engrish converter.

Fevered Mutterings : ...and Attempting Something Novel.

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:11:15 +0000

Entirely forgiven. And tea always helps, even when everything is perfect. That's the magic of tea.

Fevered Mutterings : Putting My Best Mug Forward...

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:08:57 +0000

Helen - Two tins of juice. Damn fine juice it was, though, so no regrets on the handleless front. But I do want to go back and have a proper slap-up lunch there. The menu looked fun. And I'm *definitely* going back to the food shop round the corner.

Fevered Mutterings : Putting My Best Mug Forward...

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:06:23 +0000

Pete - I've yet to be faced with that situation. I guess I'll just have to stare them down. And watch they don't spit in my drink.

Fevered Mutterings : Putting My Best Mug Forward...

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:05:07 +0000

belly - Yes, it's true, my work was shoddy and lacked joie de vivre and commitment. But at the end of the day it's not about the work, it's about something else, something deeper. It's about the real reason we all work together in this factory-based adventures we call "work", the reason that I like to think of as the very heart, the almost spiritual essence of the modern world. The best and only reason to strive ever onwards. And so when I think back to those days, I get a warm glow when I think that at the end of the day, yes, my work was crap, but I bloody well made them pay me for it. Thus endeth.