Meanwhile, in a Car Park in Hull...
/
I just liked the colour of the rails. OK?
I just liked the colour of the rails. OK?
I just liked the colour of the rails. OK?
Proper Cleaning
/Number One Wife doesn't like it when I do the cleaning. It is not that I don't do it properly. It is just that I try to do it too properly. Where a quick vacum round would do I insist on dismantling the sofa to get out into all the hard to reach bits that are not really dirty anyway. This means that I get around a fifth of the way round the room before I either run out of time or get bored with the job. So we have one part of our house which is really clean and the rest... Come round some time and see if you can spot where I've been.
Inferiority Complex
/Having a blog is a bit like having kids. Same relentless requirement for attention. Same not being sure that anyone is listening to what you are telling them. Same feelings of guilt when you neglect them for a week or so.
Ho hum, I'm up to date now though. One thing that upsets me a bit is that when I publish this new fangled blog a message comes up saying "If you have a large blog this may take several minutes to complete". This is replaced in about half a second by a message saying "100% complete". Awwww.
Ho hum, I'm up to date now though. One thing that upsets me a bit is that when I publish this new fangled blog a message comes up saying "If you have a large blog this may take several minutes to complete". This is replaced in about half a second by a message saying "100% complete". Awwww.
Legal Redress
/Bought a bottle of Baby Bio and settled the action out of court. I've thrown the dice in the bin (not that they told me to do this).
Litigous Foliage
/My plant is taking me to court. Apparently its dice say "Sue Your Owner".
Kiss the Office Nerd
/Some time ago I bought a couple of dice in a plastic box thing. They have instructions on them. One die has actions like "Kiss", "Fire", "Start a rumour about" and the other has people "The Office Nerd", "The Boss", "The Secretary".
The idea is that you throw them and then live your life that day by what they come up with. So...
Today I have to Start a rumour about my Potted Plant.
Which means that I have to buy a plant I suppose.
If you want me to roll the dice and determine your future, let me know.
The idea is that you throw them and then live your life that day by what they come up with. So...
Today I have to Start a rumour about my Potted Plant.
Which means that I have to buy a plant I suppose.
If you want me to roll the dice and determine your future, let me know.
Collecting My Thoughts
/Back at work, home from Collectormania. I'm not sure I should confess to attending such things. But I like them and it's my blog. So there. In an effort to change the style slightly the organisers made us queue outside for two and a half hours in the freezing cold. Even my natural bonhomie is severely tested under such circumstances.
Then we got inside and were allowed to queue some more. And all for a scrawl on a picture which costs so much that I'm too embarrased to reveal the amount. I keep wondering how the stars feel; having to meet up with nerds like me and sign pictures of themselves in their prime. I suppose the money helps though. I'm quite pleased that I never really had a prime like that.
The highlight was definitely Carrie Fisher, although she didn't say that much to me. I don't think me explaining how to spell "Rob" really helped a great deal.
Then we got inside and were allowed to queue some more. And all for a scrawl on a picture which costs so much that I'm too embarrased to reveal the amount. I keep wondering how the stars feel; having to meet up with nerds like me and sign pictures of themselves in their prime. I suppose the money helps though. I'm quite pleased that I never really had a prime like that.
The highlight was definitely Carrie Fisher, although she didn't say that much to me. I don't think me explaining how to spell "Rob" really helped a great deal.
A Legend Writes For Me
/
Carrie (I feel I can call her that now) filling in my autographed picture. You can just read my name on the photo. Kewl eh?
Almost as nice as Hull
/Took number one son to his new place of study today. He has been forbidden to attend Hull for obscure family tradition reasons.
If you are going to live somewhere that isn't Hull, it might as well be somewhere nice.
I've told him that we will always have a place for him back home. At least until the lodger moves in...
If you are going to live somewhere that isn't Hull, it might as well be somewhere nice.
I've told him that we will always have a place for him back home. At least until the lodger moves in...
Project Meetings - and something big coming up soon
/Had a bunch of student project meetings this morning. Good progress being made. Keep up the good work folks. Then off to Doncaster to give a presentation about how to do projects (I'll put the slides up tomorrow).
I'm presently planning a big upheaval. And not because I've been eating a lot of rich food lately. The whole Rob Miles brand is being overhauled and things moved around. Keep watching this space. Or find something more useful/productive to do and do that instead.
I'm presently planning a big upheaval. And not because I've been eating a lot of rich food lately. The whole Rob Miles brand is being overhauled and things moved around. Keep watching this space. Or find something more useful/productive to do and do that instead.
Thin Tyres are Silly
/I drove past a car today which had unfeasibly thin tyres. They looked like fat elastic bands wrapped around the shiny metal rollers which were the wheels. What made it all the more strange was that the car itself was an off roader supposedly intended to take on ploughed fields and the like. A bit hard to do with low profile racing slicks...
I'm waiting for the pendulum to swing back and huge, balloon like, tyres to become fashionable. Now they would look cool.
I'm waiting for the pendulum to swing back and huge, balloon like, tyres to become fashionable. Now they would look cool.
This is Quite Addictive
/Hmmm. I've thought of a couple more:
The jellyfish comedian had always wanted a funny bone.
The dish was concerned about the way that her father kept introducing her to spoons.
I promise that there will be no more tommorrow....
The jellyfish comedian had always wanted a funny bone.
The dish was concerned about the way that her father kept introducing her to spoons.
I promise that there will be no more tommorrow....
One Million Footnotes - plus my three
/I've found an amazing blog. You can take a look here. It is amazing how just a few words can capture a moment or feeling so efficiently.
I thought I'd have a go:
"The disguised horse was working under an assumed mane"
"'That's funny' he thought. And laughed"
"The piano was taking human lessons"
I thought I'd have a go:
"The disguised horse was working under an assumed mane"
"'That's funny' he thought. And laughed"
"The piano was taking human lessons"
On Sunday you Clean the Car
/I'm a bit worried (nothing new there then eh?). Last week I washed the car. This week I had it serviced. These two actions are usually the overture to something large and expensive falling off the said vehicle. Today I thought I'd go the whole hog and clean the car inside as well. That way at least we can find the seats and steering wheel etc. Although this probably means that the engine will explode in the next few days.
The Art of Discovery
/Number one wife came home from shopping today to find me using the vacum cleaner. This is what I call good timing. We have got guests coming round and this usually spurs a marathon effort of tidying and cleaning - the one thing a bloke should never say in this situation is "it looks OK to me". This apparently code for "I have no eyes and the standards of a concussed wart-hog. Please remind me of this...."
Anyhoo, had a really good evening. Number on son cooked his trademark dish, Chilli, and we sat around solving the world's problems and drinking (or is that by drinking?).
Anyhoo, had a really good evening. Number on son cooked his trademark dish, Chilli, and we sat around solving the world's problems and drinking (or is that by drinking?).
Is it Friday Already?
/Weeks go faster in term time. But they also wear you out more quickly. By Friday I'm down to my second knees. Had some good final year project meetings though. I hate it when students say "I can't really program" and then show you a really neat piece of work with graphics and things sliding around the screen. Perhap it is the British knack for self deprecation coming to the fore though.
Went home to a hero's welcome as usual (or at least I think they noticed when I walked in). And fish and chips. And I know which I'd prefer.
Went home to a hero's welcome as usual (or at least I think they noticed when I walked in). And fish and chips. And I know which I'd prefer.
The Case of the Missing Key
/Well, term is running flat out now and so I'm doing my lecturing thing. Those of you who have actually attended one of my lectures will know what I'm on about (or not). I've started writing programs in lectures to make them more interesting (or not).
Today I took my prized Playstation keyboard in to knock out the C# samples. Went really well until I needed a vertical bar character (it means OR). The Playstation keyboard is built for the US, my tablet is set for UK. And I could not type a vertical bar. Cue a lot of very amusing (at least for the audience) messing around to try and find the dratted thing. Ended up drawing it using the tablet pen. Oh well. At least the programs worked in the end.
Today I took my prized Playstation keyboard in to knock out the C# samples. Went really well until I needed a vertical bar character (it means OR). The Playstation keyboard is built for the US, my tablet is set for UK. And I could not type a vertical bar. Cue a lot of very amusing (at least for the audience) messing around to try and find the dratted thing. Ended up drawing it using the tablet pen. Oh well. At least the programs worked in the end.
May the Force Be With You
/We watched Star Wars on DVD tonight. Well, we had to. Like a social duty. We paid to see the film. We we paid to see the special edition. We bought the video version. And we bought the DVD version. George Lucas has sold us essentially the same thing around five times now. Go George.
So Princess Leia stands looking at Han. He holds in his arms the body of her brother, covered in swamp water and other yeccky stuff. She looks into Hans' eyes and says "Why are you giving me such a filthy Luke?".
The film was great fun though. Never realised before that both Luke and Han say "I've got a bad feeling about this" at different points in the film. What dialogue.
We (Oh, alright me then) have been playing a game. I reckon that just about anything can be made to sound authentic and Star Warsy(tm) just by putting the word "Luke" after it. As in "I'm just going to fetch the washing in..... Luke". Of course you have to have the right accent. And finish with "if you strike me down I will become more powerful than you can ever imagine...".
So Princess Leia stands looking at Han. He holds in his arms the body of her brother, covered in swamp water and other yeccky stuff. She looks into Hans' eyes and says "Why are you giving me such a filthy Luke?".
The film was great fun though. Never realised before that both Luke and Han say "I've got a bad feeling about this" at different points in the film. What dialogue.
We (Oh, alright me then) have been playing a game. I reckon that just about anything can be made to sound authentic and Star Warsy(tm) just by putting the word "Luke" after it. As in "I'm just going to fetch the washing in..... Luke". Of course you have to have the right accent. And finish with "if you strike me down I will become more powerful than you can ever imagine...".
