Random Thoughts

[mood swung]

Seconded.

In fact, I think we need a Baby VG thread updated 3X weekly. Babies change fast.

[Who Shot Sam?]

Dead squirrel in the front yard this morning. I had to explain to my son why it was not a good idea to bring it in for kindergarten show & tell. He was having none of it.

[StrictTime]

I feel old; I was about to say something about kids....

Spring is springing, finally! Yes!

Pi Day is this Friday, for those that don't know. Celebrate accordingly with a pie, folks!

[Otis Westinghouse]

Or reading The Life of Pi?

[StrictTime]

I've actually never read that. Any good?

[PlaythingOrPet]

How utilitarian...living up your old name! Hi PoP. Why just one fixture though? Two or three long dynabolts and concreting the post into the ground should do the job fine.

Thanks 'boo! I actually went out and bought a couple on your recomendation. The thing is is that the post needs to be secured to a stone step about 5" high, and there's no way of concreting as it'll be on pavement which is not part of the property. It's a fucking awful setup, to be sure. I'm thinking of just getting it up as best I can with the dynabolts, bracing it from behind and being done with it. It is going to be a lovely pillar box red though.

[Otis Westinghouse]

I've actually never read that. Any good?

Worth a read. Rather clever and lovely in many ways. Open to various interpretations to do with belief. It didn't make a lasting impression on me, but I'd recommend reading it.

[mood swung]

G2S liked it a lot and so did I. I finished it and then spent the next week re-reading different parts. A little slow at the start.

[Who Shot Sam?]

Get in there, moody!

http://www.amazon.com/University-of-Ten ... 923&sr=1-5

[mood swung]

That is a thing of beauty. Great beauty. I could put on my UT Crocs and garden near his beatific gaze...

[bambooneedle]

How utilitarian...living up your old name! Hi PoP. Why just one fixture though? Two or three long dynabolts and concreting the post into the ground should do the job fine.

Thanks 'boo! I actually went out and bought a couple on your recomendation. The thing is is that the post needs to be secured to a stone step about 5" high, and there's no way of concreting as it'll be on pavement which is not part of the property. It's a fucking awful setup, to be sure. I'm thinking of just getting it up as best I can with the dynabolts, bracing it from behind and being done with it. It is going to be a lovely pillar box red though.

Good luck! I'd also ask the hardware shop people for advice seeing as you're probably going to have to look at it often.

[Who Shot Sam?]

Corned beef brisket and roasted Yukon gold potatoes with garlic and rosemary for dinner. Happy St. Patrick's Day folks!

[Otis Westinghouse]

No cabbage? The corned beef is Irish, but maybe less so the style of potatoes! Sounds great though, are those good roasters?

We celebrated with Irish friends. Not exactly an Irish meal, lasagne (one meat, one roast veg, yum!), but it was followed by Porter Cake and malt whiskey. Triple yum. It's about the third time I've made one of these, and was careful not to overbake. I was worried it was a little too soft inside when removed from over, but have to say it was absolutely perfect. My Dublin mother-in-law has sent over so many silly items of decor and apparel over the years that we were able to festoon the house in all sorts of green, shamrock-based items. This year's addition were absurd tricolour plastic ties. I wore mine with honorary price over my Irish rugby shirt.

I witnessed one of the funniest conversations I have ever heard over dinner between Belfast Nóirín (40 something) and Cambridge Liam (14):

N: So do you like cooking, Liam?
L: No, I've never tried cocaine.
N: (not hearing) Have you not?
L: No, not cocaine.

Given that I'm losing my hearing gradually, I really wasn't sure I could believe my ears, until Liam's sister clarified that she did indeed mean cooking not cocaine. We were crying about it and making jokes for hours after ('He must have thought she was a drug dealer!' etc.). Simply hysterical.

[Who Shot Sam?]

No cabbage? The corned beef is Irish, but maybe less so the style of potatoes! Sounds great though, are those good roasters?

Yep, maybe not as good as the small red potatoes, but they didn't have any of those left at the supermarket, so the Yukon golds had to do. The wife doesn't like cabbage, unfortunately. Corned beef turned out great. 3 1/2 hours in the oven on a rack in a roasting pan - easy as pie!

[Otis Westinghouse]

Sounds great. I've never done it myself, but must try. I wonder how similar or different US spuds are to ours. I guess there must be scores of varieties. The multiplicity of nature is an astonishing thing.

[bambooneedle]

True. I've been eating some of them steamed pontiac potatos as a source of carbs lately (red skinned, no soil on them) with ranch bacon sauce and soft boiled eggs and lettuce and tomato and hot english mustard, and walking/running 1 1/2 hrs a day lately, while listening to some rare Pretenders mp3s collected over time -- eg. Not A Second Time (Beatles, which wardo could definitely use for his blog - dude, you definitely need some mp3 action to maintain listeners' interest in blogs), the Wait (demo vers. Chrissie's super hot), Waterloo Sunset, Up The Neck (rocks live, incl/ "everybody's doin' the Locomotion" coda), I Go To Sleep demo w/ guitar lead, Lie To Me (techno mix), The Adultress* (Live), Creep (Radiohead. Chrissie sounding hot singing "so fucking special" etc ), + a few others.

*"Look at the fool made up to go out, she's desperate and lonely, but she's puttin' it about. Look at the spinster comin', down off the shelf. She's in love, and she hates herself." ... <wailing guitars>

[BlueChair]

Our new receptionist at my office is named Aretha. That makes me happy, though I fear I may be compelled to break into song in her company.

[so lacklustre]

Before you put on your make-up?

[bambooneedle]

I like them french fried potaters.

[mood swung]

mmmm hmmm.

[Mr. Average]

Next to "A Simple Plan" (thanks for setting me straight, Blue) this was his best performance.

I like the way you talk.

[bambooneedle]

"I don't reckon I got no reason to kill nobody".

Haven't seen A Simple Plan but I recently saw Levity, a bit no frills in terms of action but good if you like a heavily narrator-driven redemption story.

[Who Shot Sam?]

Is anyone else as sick of hearing Leslie F**king Feist meowling on TV as I am?

[PlaythingOrPet]

It's amazing what you find in skips (the big metal kinds, not the crunchy prawn flavour ones).

[Who Shot Sam?]

T-ball practice this morning, with a group of 5-6 year-olds in the freezing cold. Every ground ball was like a rugby scrum. I was there with a bunch of other dads and we nearly bust a gut laughing about it. That may be something we need to work on before the actual games begin!