I finally got to see Super Size Me last night - the poor lady endured yet another documentary film with me (though this time I think she enjoyed the film in question).

In typical fashion, I ate a Burger King whilst overlooking the Vue Cinema in Leicester Square. I then sat through a mind reeling and eye opening documentary about a relatively healthy and fit guy turn fat and mushy in one month of eating McDonalds.

The following were the most startling points:

• The Sheer Size of the portions on offer, not to mention the huuuge Super Size portions.
• The fact that school kids get fed junk in the pretence that its good stuff (Lucozade is good for ya - apparently)
• That you can add so much weight in one month, but take 5 months to get it off you.
• That there are more calories in the McD Salad than a McBurger. Astounding!

I was in shock - the super size portion of coke was almost 2x my daily fluid intake in total - my recent food diary highlighted that I dont drink enough water/fluids - to see americans gulp down 2x my daily fluid intake in coke alone!!! was shocking.

I highly recommend you see the film. I realllllly want my sister to see it, so it changes the way she feeds her kids.

Oh, and work is crap as usual.
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dp

I continue to wonder if there is any scope in getting a life friendlier job. It amazes me just how people here take immense pleasure and pride in having to stay late and work weekends. Despite the lack of overtime, which used to make for late stays just to get more money!
I never understood that, nor do i get why its cool to stay late. Ideally i'd like to leave at 530 the latest and have am evening to myself away from work with friends or family.
Anyway, i guess its all about prestige and money for egos.
I saw the second half of roomys debut last night. He scored a weak free kick but credit to him for a hat trick. Doubt if it means man u will win anything but its nice to see.
I want to see super size me today. Here's hoping.
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dp
[mobile]

I have been suffering a flu since Friday afternoon. It creept up on me, making me believe it was food related, but sprung on me big time on Friday night/Saturday morning. Its the usual feeling, aches, sickness, I slept from 12 to 8pm and then 10pm to 11am. The one good thing about being ill, is that you really get a decent rest. I've slept soo much and am feeling like I'm recharging.

I've been reading the Boondock comics of late. This one is rather tame:



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dp

I am considering getting a Xmas present for the house - a Digital Camera. I am not at all knowledgeable about these things, but have noticed the following (largely due to a huge advert on the underground, and my penchant for all things Panasonic);

- DP Review of Panasonic DMC-FZ3
- Panasonic DMC-FZ3B Site




Anyone know if thats a good un or not? I currently have this: Konica KD-20M wot I bought from Argos a while back when I was feeling adventurous.

I'm after one thats simple enough for me and the lady to use and get good quality prints out of...
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dp

Whilst going through some Management Theory and Project Management sites, I found something on Grid Management Theory that I hadn't come across before.

I took the test ... and based on the following Grid Theory... my results were:



Your Dominant Style: The 9,9 Style - Sound (Contribute and Commit)
Your Backup Style: The 1,9 Style - Accommodating (Yield and Comply)

Again, I am an INFP / ENFP.

Consistency eh.
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dp

This has usurped all other online mapping bookmarks in my Firefox browser: Map24.
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dp

Today brings the autumnal equinox. This signals the end of summer and start of, you guessed it, autumn. It does this with a day of equal part daylight and night.
I wonder what one could observe at stonehenge today. Its supposed to be a large calendar for druid folk. Why they couldn't use sasco planners like any other religion defeats me.
Alternatively its a decrepid alien landing site much like the old war2 bases that are falling down.
Come to think of it, bletchley park could be seen as a fallen down version in many years time.
I am still in shock that we beat the oz yesterday. What india couldn't do we did. Finally i can chill.
Tomorrow i'm off to barnwood again. Yawn.
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delash
[mobile]

C'mon England 4pm

Australia 259/9 (50 ov)
England 113/1 (20.3 ov)
England require another 147 runs with 9 wickets and 29.3 overs remaining
Australia RR: 5.18
England RR: 5.51
Batsmen: R B 4s 6s S/R
MP Vaughan (RHB) 37 49 6 0 75.51
ME Trescothick (LHB) 58 59 8 1 98.31


UPDATE 4.20
Australia 259/9 (50 ov)
England 135/1 (26.5 ov)
England require another 125 runs with 9 wickets and 23.1 overs remaining
Batsmen: R B 4s 6s S/R
MP Vaughan (RHB) 48 73 6 0 65.75
ME Trescothick (LHB) 68 73 8 1 93.15

UPDATE 4.30
Australia 259/9 (50 ov)
England 161/1 (31.2 ov)
England require another 99 runs with 9 wickets and 18.4 overs remaining
ME Trescothick (LHB) 81 87 9 1 93.10
MP Vaughan (RHB) 61 86 7 0 70.93

UPDATE 4.40
Australia 259/9 (50 ov)
England 165/2 (32.2 ov)
England require another 95 runs with 8 wickets and 17.4 overs remaining
MP Vaughan (RHB) 61 88 7 0 69.32
AJ Strauss (LHB) 4 3 1 0 133.33

UPDATE 4.50
Australia 259/9 (50 ov)
England 184/2 (35.0 ov)
England require another 76 runs with 8 wickets and 15.0 overs remaining
MP Vaughan (RHB) 67 97 7 0 69.07
AJ Strauss (LHB) 17 10 3 0 170.00

UPDATE 5.00
Australia 259/9 (50 ov)
England 198/2 (37.4 ov)
England require another 62 runs with 8 wickets and 12.2 overs remaining
MP Vaughan (RHB) 76 108 8 0 70.37
AJ Strauss (LHB) 22 15 3 0 146.67



UPDATE 5.10
Australia 259/9 (50 ov)
England 208/2 (39.4 ov)
England require another 52 runs with 8 wickets and 10.2 overs remaining
MP Vaughan (RHB) 78 114 8 0 68.42
AJ Strauss (LHB) 30 21 4 0 142.86

UPDATE 5.25
Australia 259/9 (50 ov)
England 227/3 (42.4 ov)
England require another 33 runs with 7 wickets and 44 balls remaining
AJ Strauss (LHB) 36 29 4 0 124.14
MP Vaughan c Hayden b Lee 91 (124b 10x4 0x6)


DAMN - 5.27 - have to go home. DAMN.
COME ON ENGLAND!


Will update soon...

WOOOHOOO - We WON!!!!
I left it with 33 runs needed from 44 balls. Here's what happened:

1 . | L1 1 1 2 1 1 | 6 2 1 1 4 W | . . 4 . 1 . | 1 N2 . 4
f s | f s f s s f | f f f s f - | s s s s s c | s c c c

Flintoff 16 from 9 (1x4, 1x6) - 16 runs
Strauss 52 from 42 (6x4) - 11 runs
Collingwood 6 from 4 (1x4) - 6 runs

Done. Awesome.


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dp

I was wondering about the origin of the English days (moon day, thors day etc.) and found this site - Dictionary of the Norse Gods.

I love some of the names and items. For instance, I am sure this ritual is still being bestowed by the Great Odin himself onto unsuspecting drunkards in many an inner city:
- Beserker Rage: At certain times, Odin was said to give to his warriors the gift of beserker rage, which enabled the warrior, although weaponless and naked, to perform great feats of strength and valor.

Being somewhat cheeky in nature, I am sharing this with you all - Some Hindoo Gods. I particularly adore (and am sniggering) at the very apt and opportune advertisement suggesting "Indian Gods and Goddesses - coming soon, Subscribe for updates". Does this mean we are going to have more? Coolio. Bugsy I get to form the sect for "Van Basten the Lord of Football", I shall decree that worship is only carried out in the black and red of the Milan strip, and that l'orange saffron robes be used once every 4 years to symbolise the never-seen-genius-at-world-cup-level.

Oh well, fun and games aside, its time to crack on with work. Tis 2sDay after all!
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dp

My weekend was one of purpose. Saw a couple of houses that were nice and will be attempting to see one again one evening this week.
Alas my attempts to see the anti fast food film super size me have failed. Will have to wait for a tv showing of that now i guess.
Yesterday i began clearing up for the umpteenth time. My desk looks more sensible now and I've thrown away my mobile phone bills from 2000. Why i kept them is a mystery.
I'm also on the lookout for a good digi cam to take video footage. If anyone has good recommendations please let me know.
The train is very busy today but luckily i have a seat. Top.
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delash
[mobile]

Yes pop pickers, its that time again for The Num Num's shopping pick of the pops.

I picked up the new Ian Brown album Solarized yesterday. After an initial listen, I am not impressed. At least his previous efforts have had more than 3 songs I personally liked. This one, struggles to give me 2 to my liking!

I would imagine that there is something of a mid-life crisis going on there.

And thats it. Yes, I am becomiming frugal again, apart from shelling out on one of these (coz the Dentist recommended one to me Dad).

Other than that, not much else going on - glad to see the Semi's of the Cricket ICC CT as follows - "Aussies vs Us" and "Windies vs Paks". I still think its an Aussies-Paks final on the cards, as much as I'd like Flintoff to crack the ball about and win it!

Next week seems manic. Will be sure to update with the chaos. Be good!
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dp

You must check this out - NoiseMapping.org - its rather cool.

I live in a 50db area right now.

Its Friday. I'm tried. England play Sri Lanka today - will watch that I think.

;)
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dp

..is under serious threat. Those spanky New Zealanders have put up a huge fight and set up an almost unassailable total of 198 for 9. This surely is the start of the Australian undoing. Its going to be a very difficult task for them to get this total, their mediocre and untested batsmen will have to stand firm against a full on Maori attack. Can the Aboriginees fight back and show the world just what they are made of? The afternoon's trial of resolve begins in under an hour, be sure to check back for the update.

Update: Those jammy Aboriginees hit 199 off 37.2 overs, with Symonds hitting a whopping 71 off 47 balls, and Martyn with 60 off 71. Jammy.
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dp

A very quick post - you Gotta check out a9 which is amazon's search engine. It started out a little dull, but has just gotten some Ben Johnson Steroids.

For example have a look at what it can do for one word!
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dp

I've always been a fan of the Mozilla crew. They build, in my opinion, the best freeware surfing tools around. I've been using Mozilla since its first awkward days, resorting to the then matured Netscape version - but of late have become a major fan of Firefox going so far as to even putting it on my iBook to replace the rather nice Safari.

Well today I've downloaded the new Firefox, and urge you all to do the same. You'll love the browser.

Also, each and every one of you should consider doing this - pop out to a newsagents at lunchtime and buy yourself some Bubblicious. Not HubbaBubba, but the King of Bubble Gums - Bubblicious. You will be astounded at just how cool a big square of Bubble Gum really is. I bought a Twisted Tornado flavoured one, and enjoyed blowing bubbles. Now try doing that with that artsy fartsy Wrigleys extra pills!

Shame I didn't have a packet of Golden Wonder Cheese and Onion crisps, otherwise I'd have shoved a few in my mouth with the gum and enjoyed the taste of crisps interspersed with the Gum.

Memory Lane is such a lovely place.
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dp

This Article on the possiblity of using Plants as speakers has a lot of potential. Instead of Wembley stadium being filled with huge speakers, concerts can now be held in the Jungle. So McDonalds won't have to cut down Brazillian rain forests as they'll make more money promoting Madonna concerts than killing cows.

I wonder if this innovation will finally solve the dilemma of whether a tree makes a sound when it falls in an empty forest? booyakasha.

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dp

Amazingly this is the FIRST ever map of Springfield - its top.



Springfield Map
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dp

Its tuesday morning and i'm wondering whether the weather was this fragmented when i were a lad.
The seasons seemed more defined back then. When school started the leaves began falling, then the cold and snow came, and then it warmed up for spring.
I don't notice those boundaries any more. A final note, this time last year a most wonderful event took place. The train is now getting busy so I'll have to go.
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delash
[mobile]

Today I awoke with a startle, and suddenly heard the sound of heavy rain against the Window. I knew this would happen, Autumn and Winter have transformed from cool and leafy with snow to rainy, blurring the seasons I recall from childhood. What I also miss, quite ironically considering my desire for peace and quiet these days, is the sound of airplanes flying over my house when the weather is either rainy and windy (the approach to Heathrow changes in these circumstances) or very very hot (don't ask why it changes in those circumstances). I used to sit in the front room and listen to the sound the engines made, and accurately predict what type of aircraft it was - 747, 737, 757, trident, tristar, dc9, dc10 etc. - running upstairs to the back room to watch it fly over the gas tower and smile at my prowess. Right now, at work, I can hear a plane, but I'll be damned if I know what type it is. How things change eh?

I spent a lovely weekend with the lady, and we had a most relaxing time. That is until I had to drive home. A word of advice for any city dwellers - buy an automatic gearbox car. The average gear in the city is 3rd, with a majority of life spent in 1st/2nd transitions. It helps when traffic is horrendous, to know that all you need do is point and move.

On the subject of traffic, I would urge the government (who I know to read my blog excessively for policy advice) to OVERTAX Off road 4x4 vehicles in London. They are huge monstrocities that have no place in a concrete city. What really irks me, is the way 4x4 drivers NEVER go off road - when faced with tight corners or a chance to mount a pavement or soft verge, they avoid doing so and block up a lane and a half. I mean, in philosophical and vedic terms, an object has a purpose, and to deny it its purpose is to commit a defiance to reason. I see these SUV drivers (worse kind are huge Land Rovers and Mitsubishi Amazons) drive around and throw their trucks about with impunity, but never taking advantage of their off-road capability. Please Please tax them sooooooo much that nobody wants to buy them unless they need them and have a farm - in which case don't tax them.

And finally, a word to the Cricket fans. Word is that the Aussies will have a tough time against the USA in the ICC Champions Trophy. They might have to bowl 20 overs to get the yanks out, rather than the anticipated 10.

Today was a fun day. Went house hunting with the lady, and we saw a couple of nice houses. The game is afoot, as I offer lower than asking, and try to arrange the biggest loan of my life - aka mortgage. I'm growing up a bit too fast these past few weeks, its beginning to
frighten me.

I notice that both England and India won their opening ICC Champions Trophy Cricket matches. This is good news, especially as Dravid put up 30 runs in 16 balls, and Kaif put up 49 from 29 - both against Kenya. Solanki put up a good 62 from 81 for England, but Collingwood stormed to 80 from 93 - both against Zimbabwe.

These are good Run Rates, from some top notch batters. Despite the lackluster form of India, secretly I still harbor the opinion that India's batting line up is the finest in the world. They are just a little crap of late..heh.

Tis late...yawn.

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dp

Rightio, went to the 2004 Asian Achievers Awards last night. I had a good time. I knew none of the nominations, I knew none of the winners, but some moments stuck in my mind. There was a community award given to an 88 year old woman who was still mobile and rather well elocuted in english. I felt like finding out what she ate to keep her going for so long. Then there was an award given to a WPC from Webley, who was petite and unthreatening - but apparently very prominent in her community. And of course Aamir Khan got the sports award, and his uncle picked it up for him, with a very pertinent speach. The funniest moment goes to the 'delash meets famous person meets delash' incident. There I was, walking towards a table with my sister, when she says - "ooh, can we take a picture with you" to some chap walking by. I am a bit nonplussed, as he says "sure" and I am swiftly maneovered to stand with this chap. I take a look at him and he at me, and I'm thinking "who the heck is he?" and he's thinking "who the heck is he?" - so we stand there, and a picture is taken. I look at him and say "sorry chap, ive no idea what that was about" and he just walks off.

Anyway, later I find out his name is Raghav, and he's a bit famous and he sings rather well indeed. He'd blow most of the Talentscout programmes like Xfactor out the water. Still I had no idea who he was, and I prolly wont buy his CD either.

Other notable moments were when Keith Vaz decided to mention my engagement to the entire audience, which totally utterly embarrassed me. And I prayed that Peter Hain (leader of house of commons) didn't follow suit, luckily he didnt. Said Keith invited me to dinner at the House of Commons, I nodded acceptance but do wonder if he really wants to have dinner with me, or was just being polite. If he asks again, he prolly really thinks I'm a very interesting person and would love to be my friend. If he doesn't, its most likely that he's a polite gent who felt he had to ask.

In case you are wondering, I didn't win anything. I'm not achieving enough. My school reports always said I was an underachiever. Guess its true.
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dp

Oh yes, I have finally replaced my broken Car Stereo. Can you imagine
it, I've been driving without any muzak for over 3 months. How did I
survive? I have no idea.

Anyway, they installer came this morning and installed it in a flash. I
now have the ability to listen to my mp3 cds. Coolio.

Tonight I'm off to the Asian Achievers Awards. I am hoping to see some
serious Gold Medal Winners there. Hold on, is Kelly Holmes asian? damn.
Well the Indian Cricket team are in town, so maybe they'll turn up. I
hear Rahul Dravid is the ICC Overall Player of the Year and the ICC Test
Player of the Year. Very good man, is that "Mr Wall". Shame he only got
an average of 12 or so in the last 5 ODIs he's played. The pressure of
success I guess.

England finally one a footy game, so hoorah for that. We might actually
get to the World Cup this time - as long as Sven keeps his tackle to
himself.

Met my old school pals last night, twas a nice evening.

And a final mention to the weather. BRING IT ON! Sunshine in London in
September - wicked!

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dp

Today brings an educational post, of news stories and items of interest.

First, an interesting discovery in Paris, of an underground secret community.

Second, modernisation of one of the oldest brewery to free up punters.

Third, Tesco updates the Shopping Experience.

Finally, I'm meeting my pals from school tonight. Should be interesting. Oh, and if you've a Mac, get your software updated.

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dp

Yesterday I finally got 'officially' engaged to my fiance. Despite
previously getting down on the proverbial knee in a lovely part of
Cornwall, and issuing a diamond ring, ye olde folkes required us to go
through a protracted ceremony after-which the families can now proudly
proclaim the bond.

I for one, am chuffed. My legs still ache from the long cross legged
ceremony, but I have today off from work to celebrate said fiance's
Birthday - which coincides with Krishna's Birthday today. So its a
fasting day today, but the weather is supposed to be rather nice
indeed.

Sunshine, at last!

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dp

Aloha flop pickers, its that time again, its Crunchie time. Oh yes, another eventful week draws to a close with fabulous new entries (Sunshine, Autonomy, Engagement) and some chart topping madness (expensive Cottage Holiday).

Back at work, but luckily only for one day. Will be seeing the lovely lady tonight, which is always a good thing. And more importantly, if I'm nice, I'll get a Pizza Hut treat ;-) heh.

Rightio, what else is new - well the HeadLube is rather good. And for those who want online web albums, check out JAlbum its free and very good. Be sure to create your own skins, as I have, to get that special effect.

I highly recommend Lucozade Hydro Active - the Low Calorie Citrus Fruits Flavour Hypnotic drink.

On second reading, its hypotonic, but I like the idea of a Hypnotic drink better.
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dp

Today's post brought me my latest attempt to combat my dry skin (the changes in the weather affect the moisture levels rather than stable hot or cold weather itself).

For those who know me, you'll be as amused and gigglish as I am in the knowledge that I am trying THIS. The name itself, Headlube, is so funny. Will provide a dooyoo and ciao review later.
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dp

I went to an Indian Conference hosted by the Mayor Of London today.

I probably wouldn't go again unless I knew someone was actually going to do something about the real thorny issues Indians face in London. Still, got to see inside the wobby building. Its nice.

Oh, before I forget, the Deputy High Commissioner of India in London spoke. He has got to be the most lucid and powerful Indian Speaker I've seen - and he's a shorty like me. So there's hope for us midgets yet!
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dp