Year: 2008
-
Stimulate, my arse!
Over here in God’s Chosen Countryâ„¢, the economy is going down the pan. You can see it on the news, sense it on the streets, and feel it in in your wallet. Everything is more expensive, from gas to a gallon of milk (or from petrol to a pint of milk, if you prefer) so everyone has less money. Thankfully, God’s Own Governmentâ„¢ is in control and taking measures to rectify the situation. In a bid to ‘kick-start’ the economy, earlier this year Dubya announced a series of economic measures that included a one-off payment to every tax-paying American (or legal… Read more
-
Refining my appearance
After four months on my new project, I finally got the chance to travel beyond my cubicle. All the way to our refinery at ‘beautiful’ Baton Rouge, Louisiana. We’re implementing (among other things) a new dock management system, and I had to go and train some of the users on how to use it. The site is on Scenic Highway, but I think this must be an attempt at suspension of disbelief, because you’d be pretty hard-pushed to find a place less ‘scenic’ than this – it’s just a huge collection of tanks, pipes, and chimneys which takes up all… Read more
-
Who’s rap-rapping at my door?
…It’s the Three not-so-Little Pigs! I’m on a bit of a fitness kick at the moment, owing to our renewed membership of the area swimming pool and a complete unwillingness to change my diet. I’ve been out jogging a couple of times, and I’m trying to get back into cycling. So when I needed to pick up a prescription from the pharmacy round the corner, I decided I’d cycle.  I took Finn with me, as I thought he’d benefit from some exercise, too. It’s only a mile away, so to make it worthwhile we took a detour on the way back… Read more
-
The Cure, Toyota Center Houston
I used to be a pretty big fan of The Cure back in the day, but I kind of gave up on them when they went all cheerful, and I haven’t bought an album of theirs since 1987’s Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me. So when I heard they were coming to Houston, I was in two minds about going. I’d more-or-less decided not to, when I bumped into a buddy, who I hadn’t seen in two years (last seen at Pukkelpop) and didn’t even know was in the country, who said he was thinking of going. So for the sake… Read more
-
“You’re my little puppy now”
What a week. For a minute back there, I thought I’d been human-trafficked. It all started on Tuesday when I found out (from someone not even on the project) that the next phase of the project I joined only two months ago, and the phase on which I was scheduled to spend much of the next year, had been “indefinitely postponed” – generally a euphemism for “canceled”. This happened on my last project as well, and was one of the reasons I moved onto this project. (Now I’m starting to feel like the kiss of death on a project…) No-one… Read more