Month: April 2006

Last night, this morning

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The unexpected blackout of yesterday had a few happy consequences:

1. Katy and I had a nice and extremely tasty candlelight meal at the pub.

It was crammed full of Hinxton folk who also didn't have electricity. When the lights came back on around 8:30, people asked for them to be dimmed back down in the dining room :D It seems that everybody preferred the atmosphere without the lights (well, except the chef in the kitchen who was apparently not a happy bunny having to cook everything with only 3 pans – still, he did a damn good job)

2. A nice meal was followed by a nice evening with no lights on (well, as few as possible)

3. Since the servers melted at work, combined with a long Easter weekend, the audience for my Thursday morning presentation was greatly reduced from it's normal (and intimidating) size. My talk was well received, which makes me happy.

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well that's just peachy

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I don't know if I mentioned this or nor already but they're building a new building at the EBI to alleviate the chronic shortage of office space. As such, parts of the grounds are now a construction site.

Today, a contractor cut through a power cable so everything at work ground to a complete halt as UPSes started chirping their doom-and-gloom birdcalls. When the switches for the phones and network ran out of juice, everybody decided to call it quits and go home. I thought I could go home and finish working on the presentation I'm supposed to be giving tomorrow morning.

Except that apparently, that power cable is more important than I thought cause we don't have any electricity at home at the moment. The only reason I can get online at present is because my laptop is battery powered and I have a USB modem. This, however, will not last for ever.

We are not amused.

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Book List (needs updating)

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Alexandre Duman        Trois Mousquetaires
Andre Norton                Beast Master's Circus
C.S. Friedman               In conquest born
C.S. Friedman               This alien shore
C.S. Lewis                  The Chronicles of Narnia
Caleb Carr                  The Alienist
Caleb Carr                  The Angel of Darkness
Caleb Carr                  The Italian Secretary
Carl Hiaasen                Eager Beaver
Carl Hiaasen                Lucky you
Carl Hiaasen                Skin Tight
Carl Hiaasen                Skinny Dip
Charlaine Harris            Dead to the world
Charlaine Harris            Dead until dark
Charlaine Harris            Living Dead in Dallas
Chris Moriarty              Spin State
Christopher Moore           Bloodsucking fiends
Christopher Moore           Coyote Blue
Christopher Moore           Fluke
Christopher Moore           Island of the sequined love nun
Christopher Moore           Lamb
Christopher Moore           Practical Demonkeeping
Christopher Moore           The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove
Christopher Moore           The Stupidest Angel
CJ Cherryh                  Chanur's Homecoming
CJ Cherryh                  Chanur's Legacy
CJ Cherryh                  Hestia
CJ Cherryh                  The Chanur Saga
Craig Nova                  Wetware
Dan Brown                   Angels and demons
Dan Brown                   Deception Point
Dan Brown                   Digital Fortress
Dan Brown                   The Da Vinci Code
David Webber                Ashes of Victory
David Webber                Echoes of Honor
David Webber                Field of Dishonor
David Webber                Flag in Exile
David Webber                Honor Among Enemies
David Webber                In Enemy Hands
David Webber                More than Honor
David Webber                On Basilisk Station
David Webber                The Honor of the Queen
David Webber                The Service of the Shield
David Webber                The Short Victorious War
David Webber                War of Honor
Dennis Danvers              Circuits of Heaven
Dennis Danvers              End of days
Dennis Danvers              Wilderness
Douglas Coupland            Microserfs
Edmond Rostand              Cyrano de Bergerac
Eric Flint                  Forward the Mage
Erica Jong                  Fanny
George R. R. Martin         A clash of Kings
George R. R. Martin         A game of thrones
Iain Pears                  An instance of the fingerpost
Ian Caldwell                The Rule of Four
J.K. Rowling                Harry Potter and the chamber of secrets
J.K. Rowling                Harry Potter and the goblet of fire
J.K. Rowling                Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
J.K. Rowling                Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
J.K. Rowling                Harry Potter and the philosopher's stone
J.K. Rowling                Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azkhaban
Jack L. Chalker             Exiles at the Well of Souls
Jack L. Chalker             Midnight at the Well of Souls
Jack L. Chalker             Priam's Lense
Jack L. Chalker             Quest for the Well of Souls
Jack L. Chalker             The return of Nathan Brazil
John Irving                 The World according to Garp
Jonathan Lethem             Gun, with occasional music
Jules Verne                 20,000 lieues sous les mers
Jules Verne                 Cinq semaines en ballon
Jules Verne                 Le tour du monde en 80 jours
Jules Verne                 Les enfants du Capitaine Grant
Jules Verne                 L'ile Mysterieuse
Kirsten Bakis               Lives of the Monster Dogs
Larry Niven                 The Houses of the Kzinti
Laurell K. Hamilton         A caress of twilight
Laurell K. Hamilton         A kiss of shadow
Laurell K. Hamilton         Blue Moon
Laurell K. Hamilton         Burnt Offerings
Laurell K. Hamilton         Cerulean Sins
Laurell K. Hamilton         Circus of the Damned
Laurell K. Hamilton         Guilty Pleasures
Laurell K. Hamilton         Incubus Dreams
Laurell K. Hamilton         Narcissus in chains
Laurell K. Hamilton         Obsidian Butterfly
Laurell K. Hamilton         Seduced by moonlight
Laurell K. Hamilton         The Laughing Corpse
Laurell K. Hamilton         The Lunatic Caf
Laurie R. King              A Letter of Mary
Laurie R. King              A Monstrous Regiment of Women
Laurie R. King              Locked Rooms
Laurie R. King              Justice Hall
Laurie R. King              O Jerusalem
Laurie R. King              The Beekeeper's Apprentice
Laurie R. King              The Game
Laurie R. King              The Moor
Lisanne Norman              Between darkness and light
Lisanne Norman              Dark Nadir
Lisanne Norman              Fire margins
Lisanne Norman              Fortune's wheel
Lisanne Norman              Razor's edge
Lisanne Norman              Stronghold Rising
Lisanne Norman              Turning point
Luke Rhinehart              Search for the Dice Man
Luke Rhinehart              The Dice Man
Mark Simmons                One foor in the grave
Martin Amis                 The Rachel Papers
Mercedes Lackey             A cast of corbies
Mercedes Lackey             Bardic Voices
Mercedes Lackey             Bedlam's bard
Mercedes Lackey             Beyond world's end
Mercedes Lackey             Born to run
Mercedes Lackey             Burning water
Mercedes Lackey             Four and twenty blackbirds
Mercedes Lackey             Lammas night
Mercedes Lackey             Spirits white as lightning
Mercedes Lackey             The chrome borne
Mercedes Lackey             The eagle and the nightingale
Mercedes Lackey             The fire rose
Mercedes Lackey             The robin and the kestrel
Neal Stephenson             Cryptonomicon
Neal Stephenson             Diamond age
Neal Stephenson             Snow Crash
Neil Gaiman                 American Gods
Neil Gaiman                 Neverwhere
Neil Gaiman                 Smoke and Mirrors
Orson Scott Card            Children of the mind
Orson Scott Card            Ender's game
Orson Scott Card            Ender's shadow
Orson Scott Card            Shadow of the Hegemon
Orson Scott Card            Shadow puppets
Orson Scott Card            Speaker of the dead
Orson Scott Card            Xenocide
Paul Cornell                Oh no it isn't!
Peter F. Hamilton           The Naked God
Peter F. Hamilton           The Neutronium Alchemist
Philip Jose Farmer          The other log of Phileas Fogg
Phillip Pullman             Amber Spyglass
Phillip Pullman             Golden Compass
Phillip Pullman             Ruby in the smoke
Phillip Pullman             Shadow in the north
Phillip Pullman             Subtle Knife
Phillip Pullman             Tiger in the well
Richard Morgan              Altered Carbon
Richard Morgan              Broken Angels
Richard Morgan              Market Forces
Richard Morgan              Woken Furies
Robert Harris               Enigma
Robert Heinlein             Stranger in a strange land
Robert Heinlein             The door into summer
Robert J. Sawyer            Frameshift
Robert J. Sawyer            The Terminal Experiment
Robert Ludlum               The Bourne Identity
Robert Ludlum               The Bourne Supremacy
Robert Ludlum               The Bourne Ultimatum
Roger Zelazny               A Farce to be Reckoned With
Roger Zelazny               Bring me the head of Prince Charming
Roger Zelazny               Changeling
Roger Zelazny               Chaos and Amber
Roger Zelazny               Isle of the dead / Eye of the Cat
Roger Zelazny               Lord of Light
Roger Zelazny               Madwand
Roger Zelazny               The dawn of Amber
Roger Zelazny               The Dream Master
Roger Zelazny               The Great Book of Amber (Complete Chronicles)
Roger Zelazny               To die in Italbar
Sarah Waters                Fingersmith
Spider Robinson             Callahan's key
Spider Robinson             Callahan's Lady
Spider Robinson             Callahan's Legacy
Spider Robinson             Lady slings the booze
Spider Robinson             The Callahan Chronicals
Susan Kay                   Phantom of the Opera
Terry Pratchett             Carpe Jugulum
Terry Pratchett             Equal Rites
Terry Pratchett             Eric
Terry Pratchett             Feet of Clay
Terry Pratchett             Going Postal
Terry Pratchett             Guards Guards
Terry Pratchett             Interesting Times
Terry Pratchett             Jingo
Terry Pratchett             Men at Arms
Terry Pratchett             Monstrous Regiment
Terry Pratchett             Mort
Terry Pratchett             Moving Pictures
Terry Pratchett             Reaper Man
Terry Pratchett             Sourcery
Terry Pratchett             The Colour of Magic
Terry Pratchett             The Fifth Elephant
Terry Pratchett             The Last Continent
Terry Pratchett             The Last Hero
Terry Pratchett             The Light Fantastic
Terry Pratchett             The Night Watch
Terry Pratchett             The Truth
Terry Pratchett             Thud!
Terry Pratchett             Good Omens
Tom Clancy                  Clear and present danger
Tom Clancy                  Executive order
Tom Clancy                  Hunt for Red October
Tom Clancy                  Patriot games
Tom Clancy                  Red rabbit
Tom Clancy                  Teeth of the tiger
Tom Clancy                  The Bear and the Dragon
Tom Clancy                  The Cardinal of the Kremlin
Tom Clancy                  The sum of all fears
Tom Clancy                  Without remorse
Tom Godwin                  The Cold Equations
Vernor Vinge                A deepness in the sky
Vernor Vinge                Fire upon the deep
Vernor Vinge                Marooned in Realtime
Vernor Vinge                The collected stories
Vernor Vinge                The Peace War
Victor Hugo                 Les Miserables
William Barton              Alpha Centauri
William Barton              When we were real
William Gibson              Neuromancer

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Wikipedia meme, yoinked from <lj user="eniran">

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Go to Wikipedia. In the Search box, type your birth month and day (but not year). List three events that happened on your birthday. List two important birthdays and one interesting death. Post this in your journal.

Events on August 7th

1794 – Whiskey Rebellion begins: Farmers in the Monongahela Valley of Pennsylvania rebel against the federal tax on liquor and distilled drinks.
1944 – IBM dedicates the first program-controlled calculator, the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (known best as the Harvard Mark I).
1945 – President Harry Truman announces the successful bombing of Hiroshima with an atomic bomb while returning from the Potsdam Conference aboard the heavy cruiser USS Augusta (CA-31) in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
1990 – At 12:34:56 (both AM and PM) the time and date by British reckoning was 12:34:56 7/8/90 i.e. 1234567890.

[Note: a depressingly large number of events were war-related on my birthday. poo, I say!]

Births on August 7th

1560 – Elizabeth B, Hungarian serial killer (d. 1614)
1876 – Mata Hari, Dutch spy (d. 1917)
1960 – David Duchovny, American actor
1975 – Charlize Theron, South African actress (yay!!!!!)

Deaths on August 7th

1106 – Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1050)
1834 – Joseph Marie Jacquard, French weaver and inventor (b. 1752)
1957 – Oliver Hardy, American comedian and actor (b. 1892)
2005 – Peter Jennings, Canadian-born news anchor (b. 1938)

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Pictures of the wedding venue

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Katy and I went for a scenic (!) country drive last weekend and we ended up at Chilford Hall, a local winery where we will be having the wedding ceremony and reception, barring any unforeseen incident.

When we went to visit, the hall we've booked was already set up to host a birthday party but you'll get a good idea of what the overall room looks like:

http://www.flubu.com/various_pics/chilford_hall_apr2006/

Dear lord, details are actually starting to be firmed up!

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A man and his porn…

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It seems that today is a good day for random headlines:

In grave with his porn collection!

Asian News International
London, March 13, 2006

A 65-year old unmarried Russian man is apparently so attached to his stack of porn magazines, that not only has he decided to be buried with them when he dies, but has also designed a coffin with special space for them.

Vladimir Villisov, who survived a heart attack, said that the experience had made him realise that the girls in the magazines had been his constant companions for years, and that he wanted them to be his companions in the afterlife too.

“The girls in those magazines have been my companions for years, and I want them to accompany me to the next life,” Fox News quoted him, as telling Utro newspaper.

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Damn, I want to go there!

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Speyside's finest distillers find 150 into one does go

A UNIQUE collaboration of some of Scotland's finest whisky distilleries has produced a one-off blend using more than 150 bottles of single malts from 26 Speyside distilleries. The blend is being bottled for this year's Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival.

The finished product is the work of Ed Dodson and Jim Cryle, who between them have 82 years' experience in the craft of whisky making. Mr Cryle, a retired master distiller at The Glenlivet, has the task of “nosing” the blend. Mr Dodson, who retired as a master distiller at the Glen Moray distillery after 42 years in the business, has responsibility for tasting the product.

The finished drink will be the first to bring together 26 of the normally competitive distilleries. The malts used to create the blend range from fully matured ten-year-olds to extra matured 21-year-olds, including some rare ones.

Only one 70cl bottle of the exclusive whisky will be produced and auctioned among enthusiasts of unusual blends. Another 2,000 souvenir miniatures will be available during the festival.

Mr Dodson said: “Throughout my career I've dreamed of the chance to bring together many of the fabulous distinctive pure malts of Speyside into one definitive blend.” Mr Cryle added: “It's likely that the bottle will be bought by a collector, and never be opened.”

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