A look back...

Well, 2005 has been a hell of a year in several unexpected ways.

The year started pretty low, with the hyperthyroidism being diagnosed among other things.

However, over the course of the year that was fixed (even if I did end up glowing in the dark for a couple of weeks)! Well, I say fixed…I’m still not in the clear yet, but I am feeling a whole lot better.

Work-wise things have been as busy as ever. The promotion and (more importantly!) a pay rise at my last review was a welcome step up in the right direction. Work remains hectic, and I was pleased to finally get a couple of pieces of work off my desk by the end of it. I will wince at the mention of honeycomb for some time to come! The travelling for work was a little less hectic this year, for which I was relieved. The novelty was beginning to wear off and I value my sleep more than ever.

Meeting the Hobblings in London, Devon and Paris was great fun as always. Being able to put faces to names is great. I hope we can do the same again soon.

Having these friends meant a great deal to me at that point when I was feeling pretty low. Thanks guys, I love you all.

I know some of you have had a tough time of it this year. I’m glad that things have, on the whole, worked out for them at the end, despite what has happened.

The house move happened finally (having been on the market since September 2004). I settled in at the new house very quickly, which boded very well. Living ten minutes from work has really helped to de-stress me! Having been here for four months I am now settled in. I didn’t have anything much to fix up here, so it has been very easy for me. The garden is still a bit of a mess, but that is top of the list for New Year.

So, to 2005 I say so long, and can greet 2006 with a smile.

Reading list 2005

A list of the books I read this year. As you can see, not many new ones, but a lot of old favourites!

* indicates books previously read

1 * Firefox, Craig Thomas

2 The Time Traveller’s Wife, Audrey Niffenegger

3 * Going Postal, Terry Pratchett

4 Grunts, Mary Gently

5 * The Amulet of Sarakand, Jonathan Stroud

6 Tommy, Richard Holmes

7 * The Riddle of the Titanic

8 Alien Earth, Megan Lindholm

9 * The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown

10 * Fool's Errand, Robin Hobb

11 * Golden Fool, Robin Hobb

12 * Fool's Fate, Robin Hobb

13 * Nightwatch, Terry Pratchett

14 * Jingo, Terry Pratchett

15 * Red Rabbit, Tom Clancy

16 The Golem's Eye, Jonathan Stroud

17 Artemis Fowl The Opal Deception, Eoin Colfer

18 The Rule of Four, Ian Caldwell and Duston Thomason

19 Aberystwyth Mon Amour, Malcom Pryce

20 * The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown

21 A Galaxy Not So Far Away

22 * The Bear and the Dragon, Tom Clancy

23 Shaman's Crossing, Robin Hobb

24 The Big Over Easy, Jasper Fforde

25 Forest of Stars, Kevin J Anderson

26 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J K Rowling

27 Fallen Dragon, Peter K Hamilton

28 * Skunk Works, Ben Rich

29 The Earth Sea Quartet, Ursula Le Guin

30 * Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett

31 * Pyramids, Terry Pratchett

32 Sharpe's Triumph, Bernard Cornwell

33 * Men At Arms, Terry Pratchett

34 The Complete Wine Course, Tom Forrest

35 * 10lb Penalty, Dick Francis

36 * Come to Grief, Dick Francis

37 * Field of 13, Dick Francis

38 Thud!, Terry Pratchett

39 Atlanta Nights, Travis Tes

40 Labyrinth, Kate Mosse

41 * Rat Race, Dick Francis

42 * Maskerade, Terry Pratchett

43 * The Eyre Affair, Jasper Fforde

44 The Princess Bride

45 Rosencrantz and Guildernstern are Dead, Tom Stoppard

46 * In the Frame, Dick Francis

47 * Shattered, Dick Francis

48 * Soul Music, Terry Pratchett

49 * Bolt, Dick Francis

Song of the Day

The Bricklayer's Song
The Bricklayer's Lament was told by Gerard Hoffnung at the Oxford Union, December 4th, 1958. More recently it was converted into a song, which The Corries sang. The song is attributed to "Cooksey/Hoffnung/Murphy-Cop Con".

Dear sir I write this note to you to tell you of my plight,
For at the time of writing it, I'm not a pretty sight,
My body is all black & blue, my face a deathly grey,
And I write this note to say why I am not at work today.


While working on the 14th floor some bricks I had to clear,
But tossing them down from such a height, was not a good idea,
The foreman wasn't very pleased, he is an awkward sod,
and he said I had to cart them down the ladders in me hod.


Well clearing all these bricks by hand, it was so very slow,
So I hoisted up a barrel and secured a rope below.
But in me haste to do the job, I was too blind to see,
That a barrel full of building bricks was heavier than me.


And so when I untied the rope, the barrel fell like lead,
And clinging tightly to the rope, I started up instead.
I shot up like a rocket, and to my dismay I found
That halfway up I met the bloody barrel coming down.


Well, the barrel broke me shoulder as to the ground it sped,
And when I reached the top, I banged the pulley with me head.
But I clung on tightly, numb with shock, from this almighty blow,
While the barrel spilled out half its bricks some fourteen floors below.


Now when these bricks had fallen from the barrel to the floor,
I then outweighed the barrel & so started down once more.
But I clung on tightly to the rope, me body wracked with pain,
And halfway down I met the bloody barrel once again.


The force of this collision halfway down the office block,
Caused multiple abrasions and a nasty case of shock,
But I clung on tightly to the rope as I fell towards the ground,
And I landed on the broken bricks the barrel had scattered round.


Well as I lay there on the floor I thought I'd passed the worst,
But the barrel hit the pulley wheel & then the bottom burst.
A shower of bricks rained down on me; I didn't have a hope.
As I lay there bleeding on the ground I let go the bloody rope.


The barrel now being heavier, it started down once more.
It landed right across me as I lay there on the floor.
It broke three ribs and my left arm, and I can only say,
"I hope you'll understand why I am not at work today."

It's Chhriiiiiiiiistmaaaaaaasssssss!!!!!

Phew. Another Christmas over. Well, not.

Christmas Day was spent playing Scrabble, trying to play Trivial Pursuit (wine seems to kill the brain cells…) and opening presents of course. Oh, and trying to dismantle anything in reach with my new electric screwdriver. (thanks Dad!)

The Christmas dinner was as good as usual (thanks Mum!) apart from the brussel sprouts (I told you they had to on the boil in April to be ready in time!) For once we had decent toys in the crackers. A little catapult game which was soon converted into brussel sprout (well, they aren’t good enough for anything else) launcher, or failing that a MLPS (Multiple Launch Pea System) before it was confiscated.

I hope all my friends out there had a good time too.

Best wishes,

Indy.

Aero-News Quote of the Day

<a href="www.aero-news.net">]Aero-News Quote of the Day</a>

"Santa can now focus on making his list and checking it twice, without the hassle of government paperwork. Thanks to this agreement, the only time he needs to worry about Red Tape is if he wants to use it to wrap presents."

Source:

US Department of Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, on the "official" decision to open up national airspace for a certain jolly visitor on December 25. The move signifies new hope for pilots struggling to gain improved access in the face of ever-tightening security restrictions -- because let's face it, if some clown in a red suit pulled along by flying reindeer can fly through the Washington DC ADIZ, anything's possible. (If you believe we're serious... get help, now.)

Unanswered questions

1) Where is Jess's blog?

2) Why can I not add a live book mark to Myo's blog?

3) How can I arrange additional coupon testing of honeycomb?

4) Do I need to get a life?

5) Where the hell is Newcastle (AUS) anyway?

Song of the Day

Stars (from Les Miserables)

There, out in the darkness
A fugitive running
Fallen from grace
Fallen from grace
God be my witness
I never shall yield
Till we come face to face
Till we come face to face

He knows his way in the dark
Mine is the way of the Lord
And those who follow the path of the righteous
Shall have their reward
And if they fall
As Lucifer fell
The flame
The sword!

Stars
In your multitudes
Scarce to be counted
Filling the darkness
With order and light
You are the sentinels
Silent and sure
Keeping watch in the night
Keeping watch in the night

You know your place in the sky
You hold your course and your aim
And each in your season
Returns and returns
And is always the same
And if you fall as Lucifer fell
You fall in flame!

And so it has been and so it is written
On the doorway to paradise
That those who falter and those who fall
Must pay the price!

Lord let me find him
That I may see him
Safe behind bars
I will never rest
Till then
This I swear
This I swear by the stars!

NORAD Santa 50th Anniversary

2005 marks the 50th year that the NORAD defence system will be used to track Santa on his journey on December 24th.

Promotional video

Anyone with kids might find it an amusing diversion...

Christmas Shopping

Hee, I love Christmas shopping.

 

*watches everyone recoil in horror*

 

I'll admit I did do a fair amount of it online this year (Amazon does have it's uses) but there isn't anything quite like shopping in the cold December air to get you in the mood.

 

Bath has the Christmas Market again this year; about a hundred stalls from local shops and craft places interspersed with sellers of hot chocolate, roasted nuts and other warm snacks.  The people running the stalls have the right mentality for it - cheerful and talkative - and since frequently are the craftsmen themselves.

 

Sure, it isn't on the same scale as those in Germany or elsewhere in Europe, but it's easier to get too, and I can keep going back.

 

The only thing missing this year was the snow!