Malt's Musings

11:10PM - Bom Bom Bom Bom

11:17PM

I am now on Twitter. What do I do next?

8:33PM - What real pirates do on Talk Like a Pirate Day

5:19PM - Overheard at work today

"I can't believe I'm having a conversation about lesbian chickens"

5:57PM

Reply to this meme by yelling "Words!" and I will give you five words that remind me of you. Then post them in your LJ and explain what they mean to you.

These were from the_corbie  ...

Cricket

The most English of sports - you either like it or you find it mind-numbingly boring (hence why the short attention span of Americans invented baseball instead). I've enjoyed watching England for as long as I remember - I have early memories of watching Graham Gooch score his 333 against India. More recently, I watched all of the 2005 Ashes when I was unemployed after graduating - except for the Edgbaston Test, because I was in Glasgow at Worldcon. Oddly enough, I've never actually played anything beyond a knock-about in the back garden.

Beer

Proper English real ale is the best drink in the world (and the Scots stuff is not bad either - I got a six-pack from the Black Isle Brewery when I was up there earlier this month, and it's really good). Lager is an abomination unto the gods, and anyone who claims to like it will not be taken seriously.

Europe

I'm not sure where this came from - I'm not usually very vocal when this comes up on the board. However, I am very pro-Europe, and I think we should adopt the Euro as soon as possible. Also, Europe doesn't have nearly so many crazy right-wing nuts as America does.

Humour

My sense of humour is mainly based on either sarcasm or bad puns - I blame my dad for this.

Campanology

Campanology is a word used by people who are not bell ringers to describe the ancient and noble art of bell ringing. Like cricket, it is a peculiarly English pastime, which is not much practiced by either foreigners or Scots (there are a total of 20 ringable towers north of the border, whereas you can find 17 within a 5 mile radius of my flat). However, if you are a ringer, and you move anywhere in England, you are pretty much guaranteed to find some new friends there just by turning up on practice night. It has its peculiar traditions, and certain older ringers are very similar in appearance and attitude to certain older SMOFs, but mostly it's an enjoyable experience (and if any of you happen to be round this way on a Monday evening, I'd be happy to give you a demonstration, and an opportunity to have a go yourself).

This is also strongly correlated with Beer, above - any ringer who orders alcoholic beverages other than proper beer can expect merciless mocking in the pub.

5:35PM - I'm free!

No more work for two weeks! And on Sunday I'm heading up to Scotland for a holiday. Two weeks driving around to wherever I feel like going. Woohoo!

7:15PM - Music Monday

As usual, chosen on the basis of "this song has been going through my head all day"

5:16PM - Portal music

I just finished Portal the other day, and that combined with the last panel of today's xkcd means there's only one choice for Music Monday




Also, you can get the t-shirt. Look at me still talking when there's Science to do

5:25PM - Music Monday

I've just realised this is my first post for over a month.

11:06PM - Comic Relief

Just got back from 3 hours manning the phones for Comic Relief. It was good fun.

2:48PM - In which Malt buys a car, and prepares for the weekend

What with my bonus being paid (see previous entry for details), and turning 25 meaning insurance rates will now be cheaper, I thought it was about time to get myself a car. So, this morning I went around a few second hand places to decide which car to buy. I settled on a 1.3 litre black Ford Ka with a 51 registration (for non-Brits, this means it was made in 2001). The dealers are being very nice and getting a minor dent in the bodywork repaired before I can have the car (apparently, the previous owner drove into the gatepost when bringing the car in to sell it - numpty), but sometime next week (they say probably Thursday), I will be adding to the congestion on Manchester's roads. Yay! Here is a photo of a similar model that I found on Google - just imagine this in black and you'll have it. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2223/2144437232_15c55f53db.jpg

In the meantime, I'm going to Nottingham this weekend, for the university bellringers' annual meetup and dinner. Always good fun (we have a ceilidh after the dinner, which makes it even better) and a chance to catch up with old friends who I haven't seen since last year's dinner (and, of course, lots of beer - bellringers are as bad as you lot when it comes to alcohol consumption). If I survive the hangover, I'll be back on Sunday.

Current mood: bouncy

9:15AM - The ineptitude of delivery men

So I bought a new bed, and arranged for it to be delivered today. Naturally, they can't say when today it will get delivered, so I have to take the whole day off work. The bed then gets delivered at 8 in the morning.

WTF? If they'd told me this at the time, I would have just told work "Oh, I'll be half an hour late", and saved the holiday for something useful.

5:45PM - Best. Graph. Ever.

7:09PM - Public transport rant

I just got stuck on a non-moving tram in the middle of nowhere for an hour.

Current mood: annoyed

2:40PM - Happy New Year!

I was very boring last night - I stayed in with some beers and watched Jools Holland. However, there is a lot to look forward to next year, starting in just a couple of weeks in London meeting some of you lot - I've got my train tickets sorted, and a room in a B&B just a short walk from the pub Sean's booked. Looking forward to meeting those of you who will be there, and I hope all of you have a happy and prosperous 2009.

Current mood: happy

6:18PM - Bah Humbug!

I see all your Christmas jollity in your posts, and I'm annoyed. I had a crappy day at work today, and it looks like it'll be the same tomorrow, while you gits are all of on holiday. Humbug!

Current mood: scrooge

6:08PM

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?If_you_read_this_youve_lost_The_Game&in_article_id=430703&in_page_id=34

This article in the newspaper this morning made me lose The Game.

7:00PM - Amusing

Typing in "Phil the Greek" on Wikipedia redirects to the article on Prince Philip.

Current mood: amused

5:10PM - Annoyance

I went out to do some Christmas shopping today, and as well as presents, I bought season 2 of Rome for myself. However, when I got home and opened it, I found that the box only contains discs 1, 2 and 5. I shall have to return and complain to HMV tomorrow.

Current mood: annoyed

5:59PM - Music Monday

This song has been going through my head all day, so I thought I'd share it with you