Year: 2007
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Raising the (Chocolate) Bar
For some reason I’ve got this real craving for Toffos. Unfortunately, being some 10,000 miles from the nearest packet, it’s likely to remain unsatiated. Despite globalization and the flattening of the world, some things just don’t seem to travel intercontinentally – and sweets (candy, snoep, what you will) seems to be one of them. Although there’s not much I miss about England, sweets are something I certainly do. Not enough to move back there, you understand, but enough to give me pangs of nostalgia. Or of hunger. It’s difficult to tell, this late in the afternoon. I spent several years in… Read more
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Tomorrow’s World Finally Arrives
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I’m a complete whore for technology. I wouldn’t quite put myself in the nerd/geek camp (although some would) but I do love the good, practical use of technology. And with the convergence of a couple of new-ish technologies, I’ve finally turned my home into something that could have featured on Tomorrow’s World – albeit back in the seventies. It started with the recent purchase (as a 10th wedding anniversary present) of a new TV – a 50″ Plasma HD TV, which now hangs on the wall above the fireplace (where it doesn’t look… Read more
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Driver Safety
Last weekend I bought myself a new car (well, new to me – not brand new – it’s a 2003 model). It’s a small 2-door Chevrolet Cavalier LS Sport (see picture on the MobLog). I used to have a Vauxhall Cavalier last time I lived in England (14 years ago…) and this is nothing like that. This is actually a good-looking car, although the ‘Sport’ side of things only really extends as far as the spoilers, and it coming in a rather fetching “Sporting Yellow”. It’s a 2.2 liter engine, which sounds a lot in a small car by European standards (my… Read more
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When The Music’s Over…lyrics ain’t poems
I just finished reading Danny Sugarman’s biography of Jim Morrisson, No-One Here Gets Out Alive. It’s quite a few years old, but Jim’s been dead since before the book was written (even so, this is the second edition), so I reasoned that I probably wasn’t missing much. I enjoy reading biographies and autobiographies of the artists I like – I find it gives me a better insight into their work, and I enjoy the music more as a result. But with this book, although I still enjoyed reading it, I wish I hadn’t read it at all, because I came… Read more
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Disowning Dumbing-down
I swore I’d never do this, but I’ve been suckered into reading ‘management’ self-improvement books. Last week I saw a copy of the ubiquitous Who Moved My Cheese? on a colleague’s desk, and scoffed at the ‘wacky’ title. “Well, have you read it?” he asked. Um, no. “Well, it’s about managing change. As you’re in Change Management, maybe you should give it a go.” Never one to resist a ‘challenge’ I borrowed the book and dutifully read it. And it’s alright… It doesn’t offer any great insights or points of view (how could it in a mere 100 pages of… Read more