Thursday, April 29, 2004
It be resurrected! Hallelujah!
Oh, and set to run it's backup each day ;-)
Flickr
Not having done any posts for a while I was going to put something light-hearted up today, possibly another snack review, possibly stuff about Jane's birthday yesterday.
Instead, today's attitude has been tainted following an article I read in the Metro on the tram this morning (looked like rain so I didn't walk). Kinda wished I had walked in as I would have avoided this. Honestly, I'm not one that's easily made angry by articles in the paper, but this story (if true and accurate) is beyond a joke. What is it with the Yanks? I think I'm starting to see why some other societies in the world view them as all that is evil....
Here's the story:
"TV families compete to 'win a baby'. The reality TV craze has spawned shows offering desperate contestants the chance to win friends, husbands, plastic surgery and even divorces.
But a new programme is plumbing even more controversial depths, with couples competing to adopt a teenage mother's baby.
Be My Baby, hosted by respected journalist Barbara Walters, has sparked outrage across the US, where it is set to air tomorrow.
A 16-year-old mother, known only as Jessica, will listen to the 'pitches' of five couples desperate for a baby.
She will then decide which one gets to keep her child. 'I basically decide if they're going to have children or not,' she said. 'I kind of play God.'
Jessica was eight months' pregnant when filming began. She says she wanted to keep the child but her parents told her it would be too hard.
The show’s publicists describe her as ‘judge and jury’ over the finalists, adding: ‘Each couple has less then half an hour to convince Jessica they should be parents of her unborn son.’ One of the competitors, Tab Brown, likened the format to TV dating shows.
‘It’s like The Bachelor – you’re in or you’re out tonight,’ he said.
Another hopeful, Steve Strasser, said he found the show distasteful but his desperation to adopt made him take part. ‘I hate to think about it but you’re marketing yourself,’ he added.
TV network ABC was deluged with complaints after it ran a trailer for the show during a news programme.
Radio journalist Jane Braverman said: ‘It is an all-time low. How could a child be a prize in a show?’
ABC last night insisted that Be My Baby would be a serious report at the heartbreak of adoption.
Jennifer Marando, of A Child’s Waiting, the adoption agency which is featured on the programme, said it was not a one-night game show.
‘The producers shot a follow-up at the baptism,’ she explained.”
Seriously. That’s the article in full. The picture of the journalist, mum and baby with their whitey-white perfect smiles and immaculate hair is enough to churn stomachs.
WTF!
I mean it’s not even like the mother is not mentally or physically fit enough to look after a child, she just can’t be arsed. I’m genuinely appalled. I just can’t see even one single genuine reason for a show like this; “the heartbreak of adoption” - b*llocks. She doesn’t have to put herself/the kid/the prospective parents/the viewers through the “heartbreak”.
I don’t know who to feel the more sorry for; the kid, the prospective parents who are so desperate for children they put themselves through this ordeal or the American society in general.
I’m usually the first to say that until you’ve seen/read something you shouldn’t comment on it, but I’m gonna exclude myself in this instance. This has got to be the worst thing I’ve heard about in quite some time, it may only actually affect the life of a few individuals (unlike many of the other news stories around at the moment) but I just feel it gives a sickening indication of the state of American society today. Sorry if that offends. Actually, no I’m not.
Tuesday, April 27, 2004
I may not have arsed up my firewall after all.... Going to a few websites round and about it would appear to be just blocking everything https. Nice. Not even letting me into Messenger. Cool. When I get home Thursday (Jane's birthday tomorrow, lest we forget), that bugger's getting smoked. Proper no-messing formatted and restored to how it was before it let me mess with it. Unless I can v quickly learn Linux commands without getting v flamed on the support forum....
Following on from the chats Chris has with his cat, here's my first "Fil and Phirewall" chat, based on what I think might have happened this morning (it was pre-coffee, after all):
Fil: *One* of these options has gotta be it. Oh my, did I just change that one, shouldn't have done, let's put it back.
Phirewall: Are you sure?
Fil: Yep, pretty sure I changed that one, just put it back for me will you?
Phirewall: No, really - are you *sure*?
Fil: Yep
Phirewall: When I say "Are you sure?", what I meant was "I'm not Windows asking if you really meant to delete that file called delete_me.old that's been in your Recycle Bin for 18 months. Are you, as a legally responsible, allowed to drive a car and buy alcohol *adult*, feckin' sure about this?"
Fil: Yep
Phirewall: I'm not messing you about here. You are aware that I am a PC sitting in the cellar with no keyboard or monitor, aren't you? And you know that as such the only way you can access me to make any changes is by controlling me across the network? And you STILL want to turn off the the option that allows you to control me from across the network?
Fil: Hurry up, I have to go to work
Phirewall: Be careful what you wish for, mua-hahahah-haaaaaaaaa, I shall happily function exactly 'as is' from now until eternity and you shall never be able to change any of my options!
Fil: Oh, hang on a mo... what's the laugh for?
Phirewall: "The page cannot be displayed"
Fil: F*CK
Anyway, that's what I think might have happened. Could have been coincidence. I sense that as of this morning, I've taken one step forward, two steps back. But it shall not beat me......
Not been posting for a few days as have been a bit busy. Will be writing up adventures in full in a little while. In the meantime, am battling with a new firewall to try and persuade it to let me in when I'm in the outside world. It lets me out from here just fine, but is currently doing too good a job of protecting me from myself. This morning (following a reboot) it's also decided to attain a zombie-like status - it's working exactly like it was, only I can't get to the management interface to change anything any more!
Update - hooray! not sure why, but from work I can now see into my network. Not sure what prob was, but I did some DNS tidying and some reboots before leaving house this morning. Still can't connect via phone (IMAP) to pick up e-mails though and have no idea if firewall will allow me manage it. Will progress when I get home. I will get it to work, oh yes.
Further Update - brain wave! pretty sure I know why syncing my e-mails on my phone ain't working and should be able to sort tonight! Hooray!
Wednesday, April 21, 2004
Might not be any posts for a few days - am off on a business trip and then it's the long-awaited all-dayer...
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
Manufacturer: Kellogg’s
Product: Special K Lite Bites
Description: Toasted Savoury Corn Snack
Calories per bag: 116
Fat per 28g bag: 2g
Price: Forgot to check
As we all know Special K is for girls, so how did I come to purchase these? Easy, one of the three varieties of these is the male-friendly "Tikka" flavour. Game on.
One can only imagine a product development and marketing meeting deep in Kellogg’s HQ that perhaps went something like this…….
Pete: "OK, any further ideas, guys?"
John: "I did have one idea about renaming Coco Pops again...."
Tom: "For f*ck's sake John, we've been over this before - NO"
John: "How about this: we import a load of skunks and get them to spray their stuff on the floor of the cereal aisle - all the shoppers will go to the aisle to see what the stink is, find out it's appallingly bad and they can't stand it. Then, and this is the good bit, they will want to buy the first cereal they think of and leave. And what's the first cereal anyone thinks of? Kelloggs!"
- silence -
Pete: "You're not quite right, are you John? Anyone else"
Tom: "I'm spent"
John: "A competition. What about filling one box of Special K with rabbit food and offering ten grand to the customer that notices?”
Pete: “Better John, but no one won the last time we did that”
John: “I’ve got it. We’ll make some low-fat snacks, plaster “Special K” on the bags and blow Quaker’s Snack-a-Jacks out of the water!”
I’d like to think that’s how it all began….
Back in the real world, opening the pack gave me something of a surprise. In order to elaborate I’ll need to digress for a moment - Inside the pack was what looked like my Holy Grail of snacks. For many years now I have been hunting for a snack I remember eating when a child. The problem is that I can’t remember what they were called or who made them. The only thing I remember is their little lattice shapes, a possible connection with the word “Jester”, a tangy flavour and that we used to get them in Presto (supermarket in the Wellington Centre, Aldershot – long since gone). If anyone can shed any light on what these were, feel free to mail me. Returning to the point…..
As the initial shock at the similarity to my long lost snack wore off, I rationalised my thoughts and started to prepare myself for an almost inevitable taste disappointment. Popping one of the little lattices in to my freshly salivated gob was nerve-wracking. But my worries were unfounded. These are brill. They are very crispy throughout, the flavour is just spicy enough and no nasty aftertaste like other low-fat snacks e.g. Snack-a-Jacks. Indeed, I am thinking that it’s entirely possible Kellogg’s may well have resurrected the recipe of my long lost childhood snack. Joy and elation.
On the other hand, Jane’s comments when asked to try one were “Oh my god, they’re the worst things I’ve ever smelt in my entire life. Take them away, now.”
Overall then: 9/10 - not yet convinced that Special K is a manly enough brand of snack for my particular lunchbox, but a very low-fat tasty snack none the less.
Reviews on the other two varities (Cheese and Sundried Tomato & Basil) are likely to follow in due course, assuming Jane does not eat them all.
Monday, April 19, 2004
Have just been shopping and bought some Special K Lite Bites snacks. Review to follow tomorrow....... Although am somewhat dismayed to see the guys at Snackspot.org have already got there......
Necessity is the mother of invention?
Apparently not.... these guys seem to have invented something just because they can and are going to worry about what use it will be a bit later.
I, however, am one step ahead...... the explanation of my idea that follows is owned by me, and should Sony, Hitachi (or similar) decide to go with it, I will pursue a claim for royalties etc.
My idea: combine this new technology with AOL's already well-documented love of mailing discs to people - simply get AOL to print the mailing details of the harrassee, sorry addressee together with a few comments praising how great AOL's 30 day FREE trial is, directly on to their new paper discs and mail them. I can then put mine direct in the Blue Bin and it will be turned in to loo roll or something actually useful. Brilliant. Half the money saved should go to me. In fact, I'm off to contact the inventors right now......
Yesterday's little adventure into upgrading the network went pretty well. Things now looking a lot better, and for once I didn't delete all of Jane's e-mails!!!!!!
Still some work to be done e.g. would really like to get this blog hosted at home. Yesterday's "Test" post was a trial at that but my own firewall appears to be the problem. Not to worry, a new one has been built and is likely to be dropped into network later this week - watch this space.
If you're reading this today (Sunday 18/04/2004) you may notice that some of the pictures and links don't work. Don't panic.... network is being rebuilt and may be up and down like a yo-yo today!
Saturday, April 17, 2004
Want to look cool? Rather than buy a pair of those ridiculous blue LED's to put on your car, why not aim for something higher and infinitely cooler.
Oh yeh, had been meaning to draw everyone's attention to Sky channel 431 at 22:00 on weeknights. Check it out - just after the Virtual Horse Racing (yes, really - computer-generated horses running round a "virtual" track that you can bet on) is the new televisual gem that is Gerbil Roulette. No joke, it is actually real. I have not yet managed to watch it, but Jane has and I gather it goes something like this:
A gerbil sits under a box in the middle of a table, while the rest of the table spins. Then, the box is lifted, and you have to guess which of the numbered boxes around the perimeter of the table the gerbil will end up going into. One hour show - new game every minute. Complete with commentary and action-replays. Oh, and you can bet using your remote control and win real money.
Like they say, there's a fine line between madness and genius.....
Friday, April 16, 2004
Windows XP Professional install guide:
Step 1 - Do exactly what the PC tells you to
Got time on you hands? Want to go surf the web but don't know where to start? Try here
Alternatively, if you just want to employ time in a non-profitable manner, you can try this
Thursday, April 15, 2004
The latest from GoStats who do my traffic counting thing for free shows that I have had visitors from as far afield as Belgium and Saudi Arabia.
| Country | # | % |
| United Kingdom | 278 | 55.5 |
| Commercial | 181 | 36.1 |
| Network | 30 | 6.0 |
| USA Educational | 4 | 0.8 |
| Australia | 3 | 0.6 |
| Ireland | 1 | 0.2 |
| Turkey | 1 | 0.2 |
| Belgium | 1 | 0.2 |
| Saudi Arabia | 1 | 0.2 |
| United States | 1 | 0.2 |
Which, for me, is all very interesting - looks like I have had a visit from most continents (would love one from the Antarctic though).
What's slightly disturbing is that of the sixteen referrals to my page from search engines thus far, 3 of them were for people looking for things to do with Wotsits. I suppose fame in any sense is something to be grateful for......
When I seen this I thought 2 things:
1) My mum is not going know who Snoop is (tha dude's a rapper 'n not a hella gravy role-model I think)
2) I am going see how bomb diggity Chris' latest post (that has lots of text in that shiznit 'n is a bit heavy fo' me read "straight") looks through that shiznit." I'd suggest yo' ass give that shiznit a go yourself."
I think everyone’s had a hard drive fail on them at some point. Marvellous little bit of kit they may be, everlasting they are not. Tim seems to be feeling the effects of a failure at the moment. Our sympathies are with you Tim! I dare say he’s working quite hard to source a replacement. Though knowing Tim, nothing short of a terabyte array will quite replace the failed drive. I just hope he’s not lost data and can resurrect his site shortly… - mainly so that he’s got a couple of hours free on Sunday to help me out with my kit ;-)
With the controller card that I don’t get until tomorrow (see previous posts), I should have the ability to mirror a couple of drives. Tim’s problem brings back the memory of a failed drive I had a while back and so I will give very great consideration to buying a second drive to backup my new one. If my understanding of the mirroring that a basic RAID config will do, my options are:
1) Rely on a cheapo controller card for hardware mirroring (if the controller card goes titsup it could knacker the data on both drives)
2) Get another drive on a separate card (need the card for my ageing mobo to "see" the drive) and allow the OS to do the mirroring (performance overhead).
I think that’s my options. Either way, it will be next month before can buy anymore kit – am sure to have worked it out by then
Darn, CityLink have apparently tried to deliver my bits and found that I'm at work. Hooray. I duly contacted the local depot expecting the usual "Ah, yes sir. Now that the driver has finished kicking the box around in frustration at his wasted journey, you can come by and pick up the shattered remains of your consignment after work".
Nope, what I got was something akin to "Yep, you weren't in and just to p*ss you off proper I'm gonna tell you that the driver won't be back at the depot before we close tonight, so you'll have to come and get it tomorrow".
Downer. Couple of thoughts on this:
1). If the depot won't be open when the driver gets there, why is he going? Ah-Ha, I may call them back and engage them in a battle of wits and surely emerge triumphant, holding their flawed logic high for all to see. On second thoughts, an intellectual wrangle with the mint jelly bean that is still under my desk from before Christmas may prove more stimulating (and possibly more conversant). Neither of them is gonna get me my bits any quicker.
2). Perhaps I should just sod it, pick them up tomorrow and instead resign myself to going to the pub and getting hammered tonight. Dave and Debbie are around so it probably makes more sense to go and blow my last £20 until Tuesday on beer and curry.
This guy's got'em. I think Chris once posted a link to the children's art, but I hadn't realised exactly how much other stuff this guy had written. If you're gonna rant a lot, this looks like the way to do it.
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
I'm still undecided on the whole Iraq war thing. By chance, I came across this site which illustrates at least one viewpoint very clearly.
Like I say, I've not really made up my mind about the war. On the one hand I can see the world's wish to rid the world of an evil dictator. However, I think mine and everyone else's biggest question is along the line of "Would the ex-Texan oil-man Bush have been so enthusiastic in his pursuit of war if there was no oil in Iraq?". I'm not sure that the public were fully aware of the reasoning behind a lot of the decisions. But then again, we elected them to make the decisions - it's all complicated and either way, we went to war.
That's enough I think, otherwise I'll type away all evening countering each of my own arguments and actually drive myself a bit potty.
Had a good night's sleep last night and am feeling a bit more chilled today. Haven't had chance to do wedding pics yet, maybe tonight. I have however (after an almighty kerfuffle with a website) managed to order a new hard drive and controller card (hooray!). This'll mean that I have enough space for a little while and also certainly means that I'll be offline this weekend while I rearrange kit at home. Following that, this site may well be moved to be hosted at home and may or may not get a new look!
The kerfuffle was due to a supplier's overly tight security. Essentially, if a customer has previously been registered at the same address then, by definition anyone else at this address MUST be a fraudster. Those who say we live in a nanny-society where I need protecting from myself may just be right......
Anyway, for those that are interested in exactly which drive I've plumped for, it's a WD1600JB (Western Digital 160Gb, 7200rpm, 8Mb cache, 3yr warranty). I've got the 80Gb version of this with the 8Mb cache already and am very happy with it - very fast and very quiet, decided to stick with this brand for this purchase. The card is a cheapo Innovision EIO AP1680 PCI ATA133 RAID (RAID 0 1) Controller Card W/Cable. Retailer's decription says it'll only do drives up to 137Gb, manufacturer's site says it'll do over 137Gb and has downloads available. Either way, I've got an older card that deffo will do over 137Gb, so worse case is I'll have to shuffle hardware and work it out! Bargainous at £101 for the two including VAT and delivery tomorrow.
Next month will be cheap DVD burner, and then the fun starts.....
Tuesday, April 13, 2004
If this means further delays there really will be trouble.
If you own, or know who does own, a dark grey Peugeot 405 estate K18 TED please be VERY, VERY sure to not make yourself known to me today. Yes folks, you’ve guessed it – this idiot’s spectacular display of excessive speed in a bus lane through a red traffic light undertaking cars just a couple of feet from this particular pedestrian has left me slightly disgruntled.
To elaborate, I was halfway over the pedestrian crossing at the bottom of Ecclesall Road. I had started to cross when the traffic lights were green. At that time the road was clear. By the time this idiot came screaming round the corner, the Green Man had been lit for a good few seconds and I was halfway across. He/she seemed completely unaware of my presence (perhaps unsurprising given that they were the kind of person whose character traits compelled them to drive in a bus lane through a red light at great speed). And to gain what? Nothing, for 50 or so metres further on they joined the back of the queue to get on the roundabout. Moron.
Motorists speeding along Eccy Rd is not unusual, I think everyone (me included) has done so.
Driving in a bus lane could be put down to a “mistake”, but not convincingly (it’s painted green with “BUS LANE” written all over it and big signs on the lamp-posts saying that it’s a bus lane
Driving through a red light – again, I think putting your foot down when it’s on amber is something we’ve all done. The plonker in charge of K18 TED made no effort to either accelerate or retard their speed in order to make the lights or stop before them – he/she/it didn’t take any notice of the pedestrian crossing, or me being on it.
Undertaking – well if you’re speeding in a bus lane, why not go the whole hog and do a bit of dangerous undertaking?
My life was in genuine danger and my rage at the moment is making me feel that I should perhaps get up early tomorrow and crouch by the roadside with a Stinger/brick combo to take this fool’s tyres and windows out…..
I’ll have calmed down by tomorrow hopefully (or maybe I'll provide the real-life inspiration for "Falling Down 2 - Fall Further")
On a lighter note, today is gloriously sunny and I am back in Sheffield following a successful weekend away. Wedding was great and more details/piccies to follow when I get home and am not quite so knackered (provisionally Wedneday). In the meantime, Tim has put his pictures of the day here.
Friday, April 09, 2004
Actually, not sure it counts as "confectionery" but here goes:
Manufactuer: McVities
Product: Hob Nobs Caramel Slices
Manufactuer's Description: "Crumbled Hob Nobs and sliced almonds blended with caramel and syrup...melt-in-the mouth scrumminess"
Fat per slice: 7.7g (I think - packet is now torn)
Calories per slice: 142
A quick trip to Safeway ("part of the Morrison's family") at lunchtime on a quiet bank holiday brings us these little treats....
First thoughts: When reading the description initial reaction is: They've swept up the crumbs that fall off the edge of the Hob Nob production line, been slightly surprised at the numerous almonds found in it (let's not forget that most products these days warn that they may contain nuts due to being manufactured in nut-infested premises) then glued the concoction together with the really sticky stuff left round the rim at the top of the caramel storage silo. Next, they've made it into little triangles, wrapped them up and charged £1.36 for 5 little slices.
Opening the pack seems to vindicate this negative thinking.....
No piccies today as am at work - you'll have to trust me that they are right-angled triangles with sides of approx 6,6 and 7cm (those who can remember their Pythagorus will of course be able to calculate more accurately). They are about 1cm deep. The five slices are presented in a re-sealable plastic container that serves to at least double the on-shelf volume.
As it's Easter and you've all got better things to be doing this holiday weekend than read this review, I'll keep the taste experience description short by saying simply "refer to my First Thoughts above". Job done.
Score: 5/10 Overpriced, over sweet, lacking in taste and physical matter. Novelty/luxury. Will probably sell quite well, but not to me.
Have just realised that have spent far far too long in the Sheffield Forum Live chat room tonight. Must go to bed...... NOW......
Am off to the now infamous Neil & Lottie wedding over the weekend so there may be no blog updates...... Actually, there might not be any updates for a little while - will have to see what happens when Jane sees that I've drunk all the gin tonight!
Have a Happy Easter!
In the spirit of Easter, here is the most boring, waste of time, mind-numbingly dull, "OMG where DO they find these people?" Easter Egg I could find in 30 seconds of looking.
Bed now.........
This quote from Bash.org tickled me today:
"No matter what you build with lego, if I build the same with duplo its guranteed to be bigger, and therefore better than yours"
Wednesday, April 07, 2004
If you don’t know what Chip & PIN is, you soon will – after being trialled successfully somewhere last year we are all about to have to endure this arduous change.
Most people in the UK have now got the hang of Switch (and the other debit cards), you take your goods to the checkout, give them a card, sign a bit of paper and poof! the money’s out your account.
Of course, the French (and several other nations I believe) have been doing it different for about 20 years. There, you take your goods to the checkout, give them your card and type a four digit PIN into a keypad.
Why the UK did not adopt this quicker, more secure method has long puzzled me. Today I understood……
Here’s the problem: thanks to TV ads showing two delightful penguin characters, most people in the UK are probably now well aware that if their debit card shows a Switch and a Maestro symbol it can be used in most European countries just as it would be used at home. However, there has been no such campaign to inform the public about the transition to Chip & PIN. Granted, a few retailers such as Wilkinson’s have been putting up large posters explaining it all, but there has been no co-ordinated national effort (that I have seen).
Consequence: I popped into a supermarket at lunchtime to purchase a few items and was slightly puzzled as to the length of the queues and their speed, or rather, lack of it. Yep, they’d decided to start using Chip & PIN. The lovely little keypads installed some weeks ago by a crack team of overnight keypad installation elves were getting their first use. This system, designed to speed up my life and make it more secure was causing me much anger and frustration – and I was going to be paying by good old fashioned cash! In a nutshell, transaction times greatly increased…..grrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Analysis: Ever stood in a queue for a cashpoint in the rain behind five other people and watched in amazement and growing rage as, only when at the front of the queue, do people rummage around in their pockets/bags for their card? Chip & PIN is that feeling, only much, much worse.
The over-stressed checkout assistants had to calmly explain this brave new world to each and every punter; and each and every one of them reacted as if they’d been told that the store they’re standing in was handcrafted from banana flavour blancmange by a lost tribe of African pygmies in the year 934 to mark the place where the wheel was first invented.
It’s just a question of education. I for one can handle the idea of Chip & PIN and knew it was coming. I was ready. Most of the UK however, has been too busy wasting time standing in cashpoint queues without having their card ready to notice the impending change. Therefore the public has today hit me with a double-whammy of lost time.
I don’t blame the public. People are stupid. I blame those that signed up to/agreed to the Chip & PIN scheme and decided not to tell anyone about it. Are we not far more likely to want to know how to conduct transactions in our local grocery store than know that our Switch card can be used abroad?
Rant over…..
Tuesday, April 06, 2004
As promised - something a bit different:
Yep, something with an Australian twist (sister and mother will approve I hope!).
Manufacturer: Wolf Bergstrasse
Product: Original Jumpys 3D
Fat per bag: 4.3g
Manufacturer's Description: "Kangaroo Shaped Potato Snack"
If you're in a hurry, the description above covers it really, you can go now.
If you've got a bit more time, I'll launch into my full review mode: It's a sad day when you're doing your weekly grocery shop with the missus (I use "missus" in a non-legally binding sense) and find yourself choosing snacks on the basis of "Oh, that looks like it'd be fun to review". Yep, you guessed it, these are in this category.
Let's start with the packaging - the pack itself seems slightly larger than an ordinary pack of crisps, and certainly more voluminous (perhaps as a result of the 3D-ness of the treats inside?). The images/text on the bag clearly aim to give an Australian flavour, but on closer inspection, the brand appears to be a German company ("Wolf Bergstrasse") trading in the UK as Intersnack Ltd, Corby. I could be wrong on this interpretation and, as in all my reviews, welcome comments/corrections. The Australian influence is strengthened by the various "How to talk Strine" panels that give little translations e.g. 'Strine' = Aussie Slang, 'Aerial Ping Pong' = Aussie Rules Football
Having sussed the antipodean parlance I opened the packet........
Well, what can you say? HUNDREDS of little kangaroo shaped snacks, all of which do indeed seem to exist in all three known physical dimensions! I think the "3D"-ness is a marketing hint at the fact that the centre of each roo's body is a "bubble" - these snacks, are about a 0.75cm deep, i.e in the photo above they stand quite proud of the paper (should have thought of snapping one from that angle before I scoffed them all - hey-ho). I also wonder if the "3D" could be in any way trying to cash in on "Spy Kids 3-D", just a thought......
The eating: crunchy, consistent, slightly salty, bland. Imagine Hula Hoops but a bit thinner and hence crispier. I'm wondering if these guys make Pom-Bear as well? You can't help but be impressed by the physical form these snacks take, and the fact that they manage to get all of them exactly the same, but also wonder if this takes away from the taste. Those of you who read my earlier review of Wotsits may recall that I'm not convinced identical, mass-produced snacks are good. Really that's all I can say on these. Try them if you want for the novelty value, but don't expect to be blown away.
Score - 8/10 ("That's a bit high" you may think, but to be fair, they "do exactly what it says on the tin")
PS Jane says "Why would you ever want to make a crisp in the shape of a kangaroo?", "The mostly pointless thing I ever saw" and several others. Will she never understand?.......
Y'know, there's days when I hate t'Net ("hurry up!", "WHY won't you let me give you money?" etc). And then there's days where I find something that makes me smile. Like this for instance (link lifted from the truly superb Snackspot.org)
Not a good day, not a bad day, just sort of middling.
Looking forward to going to Neil & Lottie's wedding at the weekend but really need to get the whole present buying thing sorted. I think the deal is that Karen (Tim's girl) and Jane are doing a girly present, whilst Tim and I are doing a bloke present. Problem is, the wedding's on Saturday and I'm working Good Friday which doesn't leave a whole lot of shopping time. Hey-ho.
Oh, I found out about the yoghurt - came from the nearby Safeway. I'm not known for my love of yoghurts, but may give one of these little beauties a whirl. I was going to do a little search for a piccie of one, but somewhat worryingly stumbled across this. Clearly, there are people out there much more strange than I am accused of being......... p.s. yes, I have submitted some stuff ;-)
OMG! A colleague has returned from his lunch break eating a Muller “Corner” yoghurt but with McVitie’s milk chocolate Digestive pieces in the “Corner” rather than any fruit-type thing. I am off to find out if I can get one……
Monday, April 05, 2004
It's been done before I know, but I haven't got a lot of time for a post today, so here is "Today in Numbers"
How wet I got on way home: 10/10
Number of e-mails wanting me to buy viagra: 57 (not bad)
Number of e-mails wanting me to look at things I shouldn't look at: 3
Number of phone calls received from idiots that put me in a bad mood: 1
Snacks tasted/mentally reviewed but not had time to write up: 1
Guilt factor for forgetting to call mother and sister over weekend: 99 (new high)
Big Issue sellers encountered: 2
Have to go now as have to cook tea for Jane (apparently)
Edit: whilst publishing this post, another viagra offer came through - now at 58. Apparently, it can be delivered to my door in 24 hours if I give them my name, address and credit card number. Let me think about this.....
Further cause for celebration today:
Friday, April 02, 2004
Doing a Google search for “hotphil” now returns the address for this blog! Furthermore, most of the other results returned are to do with me as well. Sadly, the entries seem to be either my drunken rant about wheeled bins on the Sheffield Forum, or some not very impressive game stats from one particular Counter-Strike server. A “pages from the UK” Google search doesn’t yet return the address for this site, but I guess might do soon. Oh the excitement.
And the sun’s come out……
Nick and Rach are back in town tonight, so we're off for a couple of beers and a chat after work. Hooray!
13:55 update - Just in case you're wondering, it was raining today, so I again decided to drive to work to see how it goes when I'm on a "normal" working hours day. Clearly I'm missing something that everyone else knows as today I was 30 minutes early for work - it took me less than 15 minutes kitchen-to-desk. Bugger.
Here. Quite a big download if you're not broadband though
On a “late” today. As it was raining again I thought I’d try out the “car” method of getting to work. It takes me 60 mins to walk to work. Guess how long it took me to drive (bear in mind that this was after 09:00 so I figured the worst of the rush-hour would have past)? The answer is: a fabulous 40 minutes battling for every square inch of tarmac with hundred of other motorists. Then comes parking. The thing about Novas, and the Blue Bullet especially, is that they love being parked anywhere. I’m not going to say where I have managed to get parked today as it is free and hence should be guarded like a special secret. Let’s just say it’s not at all level, no one else has ever thought of parking there and there’s no signs saying I’ll get clamped – but I am going to go and check in a minute!
I stroll in to work and virtually have to kick several managers out the way to get to my desk. Apparently, all of them standing in our corner of the office, all talking to someone miles away on their mobiles is the way to fix things. And apparently, quite a lot of things needed fixing this morning. I managed to stay quiet and stay out of it all for a while, but eventually, like some giant black hole, I was sucked in to all the issues of the day. To say stuff went titsup is an understatement. Nice. Oh, and guess who gets to stay late on their own and do any mopping-up? Hey-ho