Murray Update
Monday, September 26, 2005
It's got to be close now - I check each day for signs of my first chilli. He's been brought inside now as the nights are getting colder and Jo says he needs to be inside (and she knows such things). I would have measured him, but I can't find a tape measure (for some reason I seem to have a toolbox in each room at the moment, each of which has a complete and total selection of all the tools that definitely won't be needed in that room, none of them with a tape measure). Anyway, he's about stomach height. The picture isn't the best, but is all I can do this evening.
Author: HotPhil » Comments:
Confectionery Review 10
Geez is this only my tenth Confectionery Review? Seeems like more somehow....
I bought these a couple of weeks agom but have only just got round to writing this up. Apologies. Here we go then.
Manufacturer: Bloody Nestle
Product: Fruity Wobble Drops(tm)
Bag size: 42g (ish)
Fat: 6.7g
Calories: 185
Manufacturer's Description: "Assorted fruit flavoued jelly sweets thickly coated in Milk chocolate or Caramel candy"
I guess it was inevitable that Nestle would take advantage to profit from the remake of Charlie And The Chocolate Factory. And they did. Unashamedly so.
I'm not a big fan of the fruit/chocolate combination, it just seems wrong to me. Still, had to give these an unbiased go as best I could.
The first "drop" was treated carefully, I tasted it slowly, wary that in all probability I would not really like it. I was right. Chocolate covered round a fruit jelly centre. It's just not for me. Then I chewed some more and a little bell seemed to go off in my brain. A few more chews and distant memories were awoken deep inside. My brain had difficulty finding the right memory, going through several flashbacks of previously forgotten actions from drunken nights out and then remembering where I'd put the paper copy of my driving licence that I thought I'd lost again. Eventually the neurons, or whatever they are, fetched back the right data - "Jelly Tots".
I could not believe it, they've taken one of my most cherished childhood sweets and smothered it in milk chocolate. Crappy, cheap-tasting milk chocolate at that. I shan't forget this. They've betrayed me again.
Oh, and I don't like the caramel ones either.
Jane says: "You're right, they're a bit strange" Hooray! Agreement at last.
Points: 3/10. Jelly Tots don't deserve this kind of treatment. Avoid.
Author: HotPhil » Comments:
Islay Pictures
I've not yet got round to sorting out the pictures from Islay. It's terrible I know. Still, I've got some time coming up this week so maybe by the weekend they will be presentable.
In the meantime, here's two shots from my mobile:
Is it a Land Rover, or is it a Blue Bullet?
We took a dip in the sea. It was the Atlantic so this is as far as we got (my feet are the hairy ones).
Author: HotPhil » Comments:
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Exploration
The hard drive is the new bling
Author: HotPhil » Comments:
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Get out more you deft git
No, I wasn't, I would have remembered, and been better at the skilful manipulation of small objects (like the card guy I guess)
Stupid, just stupid
Author: HotPhil » Comments:
UK Podcasting
Friday, September 09, 2005
A nice site for UK Podcasts. Also check out UK Podcasts. It's good to find some UK-specific sites appearing.
Author: HotPhil » Comments:
Building: Part 5
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Tiling.
Anyone who says they can do it is, quite frankly, a liar with an increased likelihood of getting punched when I meet them.
It is a physical impossibility to stand in a bath on a stepladder with 4 plastic spacer things between your teeth, holding a heavy tile above your head trying not to let the drips of ammonia-sodden adhesive land in your eye and position a tile accurately on 3 axes and make sure it matches with all its neighbours. And if you do manage to satisfactorily position the a tile it is a statistical certainty that, although you thought you were clever in having 4 plastic spacers in your teeth when you only need 2, at least 3 of them will plunge into the bath. You then have to leave your tile, climb down the ladder, retrieve spacers (all the time praying that the next sensation you feel is not that off a falling tile ripping through human flesh) and then return to your tile and start all over again.
I am not amused.
Author: HotPhil » Comments:
Old Hat
Hooray! My iPod mini is just over a year old, and now out of date. It's not even in the range anymore.
Still, the nano looks pretty sleek. Wonder if my mini will "fall down the stairs"?
Author: HotPhil » Comments:
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Literally not enough room to swing a cat
How geeky are you?
Author: HotPhil » Comments:
Building: Part 4
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
So we had a bit of a break for a holiday, now I'm back to decorating. The builders have long since left and I've got several little projects to do. The most urgent is to finish the bathroom (it had a chimney breast removed, new ceiling and new flooring so is in a bit of a state). Several tiles had fallen during this process so the wall has been covered in polythene sheeting for a while now (like the best historic buildings!).
Sunday was spent hacking the old tiles off the wall and carrying them downstairs. I nearly ended up in casualty several times as the ones nearest the ceiling unexpectedly obeyed Newton.
Once clear of old tiles (some kept behind to practice my newbie tile-cutting skills on) I was confronted by the wall. Not good. All the old tile adhesive, 100 year old crumbling plaster (some of which had got damp) meant it looked a right state. Nothing to do except chisel away at the lumps and try to get something vaguely smooth. Hours it took me, hitting my thumb every so often and creating a lot of mess. I covered about a square metre before clocking off.
Today I'm not at work and woke up to face the task of completing the wall prep. Before doing so I had to pay a visit to the cellar to do some stuff to the server down there. Whilst leaving the cellar, something caught my eye - a green and yellow cardboard box containg a Bosch PSE 180E. My eureka moment. This is the electric chisel Jane's mum had given us. I'd forgotten about him.
I'd been curious to find out what it does/how it works and now it seemed like it might get some very good use. A quick flick through the instructions suggested it was the perfect implement for the job. Excellent.
I donned my safety goggles and plugged in, unsure what to expect. Pure joy, it acts just like a mini-pneumatic drill. Essentially it's a chisel mounted on the end of what must be a similar mechanism to that which does the hammer-action in a drill (but without the rotation obviously).
As a bonus the PSE 180E also functions as a device for sending small, pointy chunks of wall at your face at one of three, selectable, high velocities - glad I put my goggles on, with this tool they are a necessity not just a recommendation.
My wall has now been prepped with no hammering and in double-quick time. I may even be positioning my first tile this afternoon!
World, I have a new favourite power tool. It is a power chisel.
Author: HotPhil » Comments:
