Had to work yesterday which was something of a pain. Our American developer was over in the UK so we met in a meeting room at the Britannia hotel in Offerton. I had been dreading it but it was actually a very productive and useful day. Our ex developer joined us to go over some work, being in the same room was very helpful.
Afterwards we went to the pub so Martin could catch the West Ham game, I stayed for the first half, but wanted to get back to watch the Rugby.
England were at times exciting to watch scoring the only try. Unfortunately as usual they were ill disciplined and gave away stupid penalties. Ending in a frustrating 12-10 loss to France crowning them as a Gran Slam winners.
Phil and Caroline came round for a drink and a chat. The had been out for an Italian meal in Poynton, sounded very nice.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
Pi Day
Yesterday was Pi Day (at least if you write the date in American format MM DD YYYY) 3142010. In celebration Martina invited me round for dinner, and some of her apple pie. It was very tasty.
We chatted a lot about searching for jobs, the dishonesty of recruitment consultants, and the general insanity of the job market.
We chatted a lot about searching for jobs, the dishonesty of recruitment consultants, and the general insanity of the job market.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
isn't that worth fighting for, isn't that worth dying for
I had a night of films this evening. Starting with a release from last year I watched Pandorum. It is a tense psychological thriller set on board a spaceship. I liked the idea, of the characters waking up with no memories. The cinematography was brilliant, but the pacing was a bit off the characters running to save the ship from nuclear disaster.
Next up was the 2003 release, Matrix Reloaded. Rather like the Phantom Menace, I couldn't wait to see it when I did though I walked out disappointed. I forgot how ridiculous the Freeway scene was. It is amazing was so over the top, I cant imagine even David Cameron would actually build several miles of Freeway at several million per mile just to create a scene.
I remember reading a review after the Matrix said the directors saw Charlies Angels. They believed that it copied the Matrix so much, it made them wan to make a film which couldn't be copied. Which they did really no one has tried to do bullet time on such a scale as say the scene where Neo does battle with the Frenchman's henchmen. I guess it was that overambition that lets the Matrix sequels down. There were so many ideas and they tried to explore so many of them that ultimately you end up with unintelligible scenes like Neo meeting the Architect.
The final film of the evening was from the end of the 90's ExistenZ. One thing I really notice now when I see a film from the 90 is that unlike today the actors look a bit more like people rather than looking like the spend their lives in the gym. ExistenZ explores the ideas of alternate realities, how our reality is defined by our mind. The Matrix tried the same thing but I think David Cronenberg takes it to the depths.
Next up was the 2003 release, Matrix Reloaded. Rather like the Phantom Menace, I couldn't wait to see it when I did though I walked out disappointed. I forgot how ridiculous the Freeway scene was. It is amazing was so over the top, I cant imagine even David Cameron would actually build several miles of Freeway at several million per mile just to create a scene.
I remember reading a review after the Matrix said the directors saw Charlies Angels. They believed that it copied the Matrix so much, it made them wan to make a film which couldn't be copied. Which they did really no one has tried to do bullet time on such a scale as say the scene where Neo does battle with the Frenchman's henchmen. I guess it was that overambition that lets the Matrix sequels down. There were so many ideas and they tried to explore so many of them that ultimately you end up with unintelligible scenes like Neo meeting the Architect.
The final film of the evening was from the end of the 90's ExistenZ. One thing I really notice now when I see a film from the 90 is that unlike today the actors look a bit more like people rather than looking like the spend their lives in the gym. ExistenZ explores the ideas of alternate realities, how our reality is defined by our mind. The Matrix tried the same thing but I think David Cronenberg takes it to the depths.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Zeppelin
Finally got the my blog ported to blogger website. It has been a bit of a journey, I still need to upgrade the template and change a few more settings. You might also notice that the URL has changes from http://www.johncooke.info/blog to http://blog.johncooke.info Thats he way blogger want it to be set up.
Had a few issued with the feeds over the few days, just in case anyone subscribes via RSS the feed name has changed so please update your settings.
For now I am staying with blogger I want to see what I can get out of it, and switching to wordpress presented a while different set of problems.
Had a few issued with the feeds over the few days, just in case anyone subscribes via RSS the feed name has changed so please update your settings.
For now I am staying with blogger I want to see what I can get out of it, and switching to wordpress presented a while different set of problems.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Beautiful day without you
As you might have notices blog has moved (for the time being) to blogger.com so I now have the wonderful (sic) blogsearch and next button displayed at the top, cheers google. I am debating whether to switch to a self hosted Wordpress installation or not, the URL shouldn't change again though.
Not much been happening recently, I am something of a cash flow crisis at the moment, have to watch every penny until I can get things turned around, of lots of nights spent at home, or at the gym.
Kath has arranged to make the journey here over Easter. I cant wait to see her again, we speak everyday on Skype or the phone but it is a pale imitation to being with her. I usually send her pictures of my dinner so she can ensure I am taking care of myself. Fortunately my culinary skills have improved greatly since I moved out. She has become one of the most important and precious things in my life, the pain of separation is well worth the moment we spend together.
Workwise I have been working hard, did a massive update on works website last night which actually appears to have worked quite well, hurrah. I despair at my company though, how so much effort can give so little return, and the same mistakes can be allowed to be repeated just boggles my mind.
I cant believe how petty some people out there are, in the last couple of months evertime I put out my paper recycling bag for collection, when I return home the bag is gone. Now I can believe once that it blew away, but this week there wasn't any wind on Wednesday. Which means either one of my neighbours thinks its funny to steal or, or worse they are so weak minded that they think its better to steal than contact the council. Newsflash, one phonecall to the rather nice sounding lady at the council office and they will give you a new one, they are already costed into the council tax bill FFS!
Not much been happening recently, I am something of a cash flow crisis at the moment, have to watch every penny until I can get things turned around, of lots of nights spent at home, or at the gym.
Kath has arranged to make the journey here over Easter. I cant wait to see her again, we speak everyday on Skype or the phone but it is a pale imitation to being with her. I usually send her pictures of my dinner so she can ensure I am taking care of myself. Fortunately my culinary skills have improved greatly since I moved out. She has become one of the most important and precious things in my life, the pain of separation is well worth the moment we spend together.
Workwise I have been working hard, did a massive update on works website last night which actually appears to have worked quite well, hurrah. I despair at my company though, how so much effort can give so little return, and the same mistakes can be allowed to be repeated just boggles my mind.
I cant believe how petty some people out there are, in the last couple of months evertime I put out my paper recycling bag for collection, when I return home the bag is gone. Now I can believe once that it blew away, but this week there wasn't any wind on Wednesday. Which means either one of my neighbours thinks its funny to steal or, or worse they are so weak minded that they think its better to steal than contact the council. Newsflash, one phonecall to the rather nice sounding lady at the council office and they will give you a new one, they are already costed into the council tax bill FFS!
Monday, March 08, 2010
Sunday, March 07, 2010
This blog has moved
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Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Most Dangerous foods....
According to Time Magazine Hot dogs are pretty dangerous to Children under 10, however my personal favorite is leef greens. Despite whate vegitarians preech that only meet contains harmful bacteria and viri leaf greens can give you Nirovirus, E Coli and salmonella, though this is only is improperly handeled or stored.
Monday, February 22, 2010
More from Big Brother
Who knew that DEFRA supported such projects of Wythenshawe FM? The Register has a story about how DEFRA spent £8m over two years to civic society groups if they spread the correct message about Global Warming.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Halcyon
Dropped Kath off at the airport this morning. It had decided to snow overnight, I opened the door at 5 this morning to see the road [and the car] covered in snow. At times like this I wish Kath could fly from Manchester rather than Liverpool. It was still snowing as we drove the M56 was terrible, especially past the M6 junction snow covered all the carriageways.
Her flight was at 7.05, fortunately we had done the web check in the night before and her flight was slightly delayed otherwise would have missed it. I tried the M62 on the way back. The road surface was slightly better but it was still murder.
We have had a great few days together, Kath arrived on Thursday. We went round to my parents to say hello and take Storm for a Walk. In the evening we had a meal at my house,
Friday we went out and did some shopping, and had a walk around Stockport. Martin and Charlotte had invited us and Mark and Joe round for a meal. Charlotte cooked white fish wrapped in bacon, which sounded a bit of an odd choice but was really tasty. There were multifarious conversation as we went from Religion to Marriage, Martin and Charlotte Married life, Joe and Mark's upcoming wedding. Mark Martin and I had a good laugh about Slayradio, and geeky stuff. Everyone was nice lovely to Kath, she told me that she really felt at home, especially when Martin said she was one of the family.
Yesterday we had a lazy day at home, though I did have a few tasks to do. The weather was good so I washed the car, and in doing so realised one of my drains was blocked. Fortunately I was able to clear it myself though the smell was something else. After cleaning we had a quick trip into Wilmslow for some shopping, we went to Waitrose and bought some nice things for lunch. After that we spent the afternoon enjoying each others company. I made Chilli for dinner with chorizo, it was really tasty, as was the wine Kath chose to go with it. After dinner we had a cuddle on the sofa, was great just to be together.
Kath just phoned me from the plain, they haven't left the UK yet, still sat at Liverpool airport waiting for a takeoff slot, it may be some time. I heard on the news that Manchester airport has one runway closed due to the snow.
Her flight was at 7.05, fortunately we had done the web check in the night before and her flight was slightly delayed otherwise would have missed it. I tried the M62 on the way back. The road surface was slightly better but it was still murder.
We have had a great few days together, Kath arrived on Thursday. We went round to my parents to say hello and take Storm for a Walk. In the evening we had a meal at my house,
Friday we went out and did some shopping, and had a walk around Stockport. Martin and Charlotte had invited us and Mark and Joe round for a meal. Charlotte cooked white fish wrapped in bacon, which sounded a bit of an odd choice but was really tasty. There were multifarious conversation as we went from Religion to Marriage, Martin and Charlotte Married life, Joe and Mark's upcoming wedding. Mark Martin and I had a good laugh about Slayradio, and geeky stuff. Everyone was nice lovely to Kath, she told me that she really felt at home, especially when Martin said she was one of the family.
Yesterday we had a lazy day at home, though I did have a few tasks to do. The weather was good so I washed the car, and in doing so realised one of my drains was blocked. Fortunately I was able to clear it myself though the smell was something else. After cleaning we had a quick trip into Wilmslow for some shopping, we went to Waitrose and bought some nice things for lunch. After that we spent the afternoon enjoying each others company. I made Chilli for dinner with chorizo, it was really tasty, as was the wine Kath chose to go with it. After dinner we had a cuddle on the sofa, was great just to be together.
Kath just phoned me from the plain, they haven't left the UK yet, still sat at Liverpool airport waiting for a takeoff slot, it may be some time. I heard on the news that Manchester airport has one runway closed due to the snow.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
:)
I sent Kath some flowers for Valentines day, the florist did a great job and she was really pleased.
In the Backseat
Managed to not get much done today. Had a nice chat with Kath via skype, paid some bills and ironed my shirts.
I went shopping to Waitroise, I love their essentials, a bit more expensive than Tesco or Sainsburys essentials stuff, and good quality, so great value for the money. I did also manage to go to Sainsburys, got my recycling done there. I also got t witness the power of Advertising; I bought some beer, took me a while to decide which offer was the best. They had a box of 12 330ml bottle for £13.68 which works out a £3.45/ltr, then there was an offer on two packs of 4 330ml bottles for £8, which comes in at £3.30/ltr (though the price per litre wasn't marked had to use the calculator on the Blackberry). Finally they had £ 2.09/bottle which was the cheapest option at £3.17/ltr. Cunningly they omitted the price per litre from the offer and on some of the items they marked the price per pint making it very difficult to compare.
My parents invited me for dinner at their house, they made beef bourguignon it was delicious. After dinner we sat and had a nice chat by the fire. I miss the fireplace, there is nothing quite like an open fire on a cold winters day.
This evening I went round to see Chief, he is preparing to move out of his apartment in Manchester to join his girlfriend in London. Its the end of an era really all the happy nights playing Wii with them, and partying at Abito. We had a chat drank some tea, he has got himself an IPhone and I showed him the awesome Remote app to control Itunes from his Iphone. I also managed to get his flip camera videos working on his Mac book.
Driving home I felt a sense of loss, someone else moving away unless things change for me I don't imagine very many London trips, not on the current budget anyway. Feel a bit depressed this week, work has been awful, and no end in sight, anyone know of any programming roles give me a shout.
I went shopping to Waitroise, I love their essentials, a bit more expensive than Tesco or Sainsburys essentials stuff, and good quality, so great value for the money. I did also manage to go to Sainsburys, got my recycling done there. I also got t witness the power of Advertising; I bought some beer, took me a while to decide which offer was the best. They had a box of 12 330ml bottle for £13.68 which works out a £3.45/ltr, then there was an offer on two packs of 4 330ml bottles for £8, which comes in at £3.30/ltr (though the price per litre wasn't marked had to use the calculator on the Blackberry). Finally they had £ 2.09/bottle which was the cheapest option at £3.17/ltr. Cunningly they omitted the price per litre from the offer and on some of the items they marked the price per pint making it very difficult to compare.
My parents invited me for dinner at their house, they made beef bourguignon it was delicious. After dinner we sat and had a nice chat by the fire. I miss the fireplace, there is nothing quite like an open fire on a cold winters day.
This evening I went round to see Chief, he is preparing to move out of his apartment in Manchester to join his girlfriend in London. Its the end of an era really all the happy nights playing Wii with them, and partying at Abito. We had a chat drank some tea, he has got himself an IPhone and I showed him the awesome Remote app to control Itunes from his Iphone. I also managed to get his flip camera videos working on his Mac book.
Driving home I felt a sense of loss, someone else moving away unless things change for me I don't imagine very many London trips, not on the current budget anyway. Feel a bit depressed this week, work has been awful, and no end in sight, anyone know of any programming roles give me a shout.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Mega Shark versus physics
I love the humours appliance of science, so I simply love this infographic. While not quite as fast as Thrust SSC's 1228 km/h Mega shark would have needed to reach just over 700 km/h to gain the height necessary to take out a plain.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Love cats
I used to think it was a pain that there are no direct flights from Manchester Airport to Warsaw, maybe its not so bad after all. Given that aircraft controllers have had to change procedures after not one but two collisions by aircraft while Taxiing.
Fortunately Kath will arrive to Liverpool Airport where hopefully the air traffic controllers can direct the traffic. Only a week now I cant wait to see her. Martin and Charlotte have invited us for dinner next Friday, which should be a nice evening out. I think Endo and Jo will be there too so it will be a nice opportunity for them to meet Kath.
It will be nice for me to get out too, I haven't been getting out very often. A lack of money, and time seems to leave me mostly home watching TV. I really need to start looking for a lodger to help cover some of the bills, or a raise.
Fortunately Kath will arrive to Liverpool Airport where hopefully the air traffic controllers can direct the traffic. Only a week now I cant wait to see her. Martin and Charlotte have invited us for dinner next Friday, which should be a nice evening out. I think Endo and Jo will be there too so it will be a nice opportunity for them to meet Kath.
It will be nice for me to get out too, I haven't been getting out very often. A lack of money, and time seems to leave me mostly home watching TV. I really need to start looking for a lodger to help cover some of the bills, or a raise.
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Kaboom
Coast Guard footage shows a massive plume of water rising out of the sea on Wednesday, near the Japanese island of Iwo Jima.
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Blackstar
After nearly 7 years of blogging it looks like I am going to have to find a new home for Cookies world. Google/Blogger have decided to shut down ftp publishing of blogs. That leaves me having to relocate to Google servers, or migrate to one of the many other blogging products like Wordpress or Joomla which I can host myself.
Monday, February 01, 2010
Sweet disposition
I was reading the Daily WTF earlier today and found this story. It is quite interesting for any who programs, a lot of the comments are based on the premise the the coder didn't seem to know about else if or switch. In Business Basic the terrible old language I am forced to use there is no else if or switch case, so tricks like this are unnervingly common!
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Last night I met up with Nick, Gilly, Ian and Bruce, we went to the John Millington for drink. We didn't stay there long though after 10 minutes stood being ignored at the bar we decided to decamp to the Governors house for a few drinks. Managed to get served quickly there, though the Neil Diamond impersonator wasn't doing much for the atmosphere, we did however manage to bad a table near the back.
Nick left round closing time giving us a lift into Bramhall to continue drinking at Beluga then Nappa. It was pretty dead but we had a goo old chat about life the universe and everything else inebriated people talk about.
I felt awful this morning, nights out with Ian and Gilly do that. I looked out of the window to find everywhere covered in Snow. I tried to pull myself together as my dad was coming round to help me finish the spare room. Just got the curtains to hang up.
I had to pick up something from my parents, they were out but Storm was crazy so I took him out for a walk. It was really clear and cold playing catch, we both enjoyed it. Afterwards I went and rejoined total fitness. They had a promotion 14 months for £345, which seemed like a great deal to me. I went swimming and sitting in the sauna finally cured my hangover.
I got home and made myself tuna steak with a baked potato, asparagus and salad. I even made a lemon chilli drizzle to go on it and I am proud to say I even impressed myself. I sent Kath a picture (she likes to make sure I am not just eating junk food) and she was really impressed. It is amazing really I never much cooked for myself when I was living with my parents, but I have found there are loads of healthy, tasty things that can be made really quickly.
Nick left round closing time giving us a lift into Bramhall to continue drinking at Beluga then Nappa. It was pretty dead but we had a goo old chat about life the universe and everything else inebriated people talk about.
I felt awful this morning, nights out with Ian and Gilly do that. I looked out of the window to find everywhere covered in Snow. I tried to pull myself together as my dad was coming round to help me finish the spare room. Just got the curtains to hang up.
I had to pick up something from my parents, they were out but Storm was crazy so I took him out for a walk. It was really clear and cold playing catch, we both enjoyed it. Afterwards I went and rejoined total fitness. They had a promotion 14 months for £345, which seemed like a great deal to me. I went swimming and sitting in the sauna finally cured my hangover.
I got home and made myself tuna steak with a baked potato, asparagus and salad. I even made a lemon chilli drizzle to go on it and I am proud to say I even impressed myself. I sent Kath a picture (she likes to make sure I am not just eating junk food) and she was really impressed. It is amazing really I never much cooked for myself when I was living with my parents, but I have found there are loads of healthy, tasty things that can be made really quickly.
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