Now that's what I call an ultimatum!!

There's a great piece in my newspaper today, about how famous songs have been badly misheard. With my hearing the way it is, I couldn't resist Blogging - though it's all from a book out called: "Misheard Lyrics, malapropisms, Eggcorns and other linguistic gaffes". I doubt I'll buy it, but I've just read a few classics and I just have to share them.

"Stab in the Liver, Your mummy or your wife". Now this is a serious ultimatum!! It's a 1981 hit for Adam Ant - stepping into Gareth territory here - with that famous highwayman one. As you'll probably know, he actually sang: "Stand and deliver, your money or your life".

"The only boy who could ever reach me was the son of a pizza man". Dusty Springfield, Son of a Preacher Man. Extra cheese anyone? ;-)

"Then I saw her face, now I'm gonna leave her". It's the Monkees, with I'm a believer. And possibly, second doubts!

"Sweet dreams of Maitre'Ds". Or even "Sweet dreams are made of cheese". Eurythmics. (Sidenote: What was the cow doing in that video??)

More fame and glory??

I've just been rung by the publicity office. At short notice, Look North want me in the studio at 6.30pm tonight. *LIVE* As ever, faced with something I wasn't expecting, I decided to bottle it. Looking back, I'm starting to regret it already. Not for the experience - which I'm sure would be absolutely terrifying - but because some other psychologist might get my fame and fortune now!!

How selfish am I? :)

Slow Day

It's a Monday, and it's out of term time - University starts on a late looking 24th September this year - and it's quite warm. My office fan is on full blast, but it's hard to shake a real sense of lethargy. It's not helped by the construction site outside - they don't seem to have moved much since June. ;-)

Oh, and proof...

...that the rest of the island doesn't look like a volcanic hell-hole, here's what the habitable part tends to look like. Dark black roads, brilliant white pavements and houses, and landscaped volcanic ash and bushy palm trees everywhere. Lanzarote in a nutshell. This is the main road into Costa Teguise (when we stayed).

He's back!!

Well, it's taken a few days but I'm back to blogging! We got back from Lanzarote on Sunday but I spent Monday in Huddersfield and Tuesday catching up with my inbox. I'm sort of on top of things now. It's a good job it's only August - White Rabbits, btw - things get crazy here in September. We have a host of Canary Island photos to inflict on you all when I get the chance, but it's enough to let you know what the place was like. First off though is an image (above) from the Timanfaya National Park to the west of the island. There are over 100 volcanoes in the area, most setting off between 1730 and 1736. The last was in 1824 but since it rains so rarely, everything still looks as desolate as it did then! For a while, it was very creepy indeed (About half the island looks like this!)

James on the box - Part Two

Well, it's done. It was more than I thought too. Turns out that Look North are doing a special on the flood disaster - showing next Wednesday (25th) on BBC1 at 7.30. East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire definitely - SKY channel 997 - and I'll be on there, talking to Paul Hudson, the regional weather guy. It was very weird when he came up and said hello as I felt I knew him! We also had to do some walking towards the camera - that took *a few* goes thanks to lawn mower men, people walking in front of the camera, and the construction that's going on round campus while the students are away. Turns out that you have to be very, very patient to be in TV.

So not tomorrow, but next week. (Obviously, I'll still need a copy, as I'll be in Lanzorote!) Now, on to today's graduation ceremony!! Yes, a James-in-his-suit occasion. Not many of those about...!

James on the box

I hope no-one minds but I can't resist mentioning this. I'm going to be on the telly next week! Look North - the BBC local news programme - are coming to interview me about the short and long term effects of the flooding we've had recently. They've asked someone from the department and it ended up being me. I'm all excited!! :)

Psychology 101

These last couple of weeks, there's been a fair few coach loads of kids about. AS-level students, GSCE students etc and the university often runs Masterclasses for the various subjects, trying to get give the kids an informed choice and to make them come to the University of Hull when they finish school. Dave and I have been roped into this twice now, once for 20 17-yr olds and just this morning for 100 15 year olds. Both times, it went well. I spoke a bit about Gestalt psychology (which came out of Germany in the 30s at the same time as Nazism so unfairly, wasn't all that fashionable for a few years after the war). Anyhow, it gave me an excuse to dig out a few of the psychology "classics": these two pictures included. The first is the good old Rabbit/Duck picture. The second however, caused a few problems with some of the lads in this mornings session. There is a gender difference in this second one as men have evolutionary reason to spot younger women, but not older ones. There was two lads this morning who could *NOT* see the older woman at all. Not without myself - and several of their friends trying to point the older face out for the best part of two minutes. When the penny finally dropped, it was brilliant. "OOOOOOH!" :)

E-bay with a "Venger"-ance ;-)

The signs are bad. I think I may have suddenly got hooked on e-bay. I dabbled for a while, but then forgot all about it for the best part of 18 months. But now I'm back. Still, grabbed a bargain the other day. (Some of you will agree with me, though I bet some of you will not). My inner child escaped again and I bought the complete series of the 27-episode Dungeons and Dragons cartoon series I loved so much as a kid. £15 with postage. That'll do me. Anyone else remember it??

Morning Morning Feeling...

Ah, crap. I had something to Blog about this morning, but I've forgotten what it was. :)

Learning vs. "Staff"

Heh, I've been "attacked" - as Gareth says. Granted, it's verbal, not really an attack, and it's by a mate that I know well, so no worries. :) See here (second one down). It's in Jason's June archive. This is in response to a couple of postings by Jason about his plans for a new supercomputer to replace his current steam-powered device. Lots of techie talk and a comment by me underneath stating: " Heh, I don't understand any of the techie stuff. I wear my ignorance with pride!! :)"

Thing is, Jase, ignorance isn't something to be changed. That's lack of knowledge. Ignorance is a state of mind, or more exactly, a conscious - or mostly conscious - choice to not do anything about it(!) Thanks for the link though - I had already tweaked Oblivion but it did remind me that I should check for NWN2 updates. As it turns out, there were three! I've gone back to it recently having not quite finished it in the past - I'd tell you where but I fear giving a spoiler away. Turning off the anti-aliasing I can handle, but the innards I leave to Mik and Eddie to choose for me. As such, I don't need to know anything about the insides of my PC. I have staff! ;-) For example, my PC had a bit of a fit the other month, and the processor reset itself to something much slower. Called Eddie, he came round, showed me how to reset it in BIOS, sorted. God only knows how much extra reading I'd have to do - and my job involves a lot of reading - to prepare for any eventuality by myself.

PS. When I move to Huddersfield (for good!) in late August, no more easy access to Eddie and Mik for advice. But, fingers crossed, Geoff is on standby too. He also knows what he's talking about! :)

Just around the corner...

And this is Chanterlands Avenue - which has been sealed off. If you follow the road down and to the left, it dips to go underneath a railway bridge. (There's no way through at the moment). If you did get through, you'd turn left onto *my* street - strangely unaffected at my end. A little bit further down my street and you get down to the fountain (see picture a week or two ago) and then to the other barricaded half of the street - being pumped out by the Fire Brigade. It's a strange, surreal thing to cycle home through so much water. (And yes, my feet still get wet!)

This is the A63 out of Hull.

And this is today. Not yesterday. :)

More flooding

Doctor Who was good last week. Who doesn't like "The Master", eh? Still, with Daleks, Cybermen and The Master all used up in end of series finales, who's next??? I can't think of anyone!

But enough Dr Who - Jase has done it too - it's raining in Hull again. Seriously raining. Due to some crossed wires today, Dave set off for work by car - I didn't see his note pushed under my door (no point knocking as I don't have my hearing aids in until I'm about to set off) so I ended up having to walk in. (Cycling seemed suicidal). Couldn't do it! It was chucking it down and with so many road closures and every way I have to get in - four of them - making me pass through at least one two foot deep bottleneck, I gave up, came back home and e-mail in to say I was working from home. Proper working, I may add - not "working". I've just got an e-mail now, the dept has closed until Health and Safety grounds. Those who did get in...(!)

And this is June! What's going on??

A is for Atkins

As those of you who peruse Sally's Blog will know, she's started off on the Atkins diet. What you might not know is that in moral support, *I* have too. Whether it's my age, or more likely, my attempts to keep to the eating/drinking lifestyle of someone ten years younger, my weight has slowly crept up over the last two/three years to a stately fourteen stone. I want to get that down so this seems like the ideal opportunity.

However, it means only 20g of carbohydrate a day for two weeks. Then 25g the next week. Then 30g etc. until you find your comfortable "losing a little bit of weight zone" zone. But the problems are thus. [1] I like carbohydrates - no bread, rice, pasta, almost anything for James. [2] No caffeine for two weeks. *sob* I mean, can you imagine me in the first stages of caffeine withdrawal?? After two days, even my teeth hurt. My teeth! All of them. :( Things are getting better now as it's been nearly four days. (The reason for lack of caffeine BTW, is that it stimulates the production of insulin with affects your metabolism. After the first two weeks, you're allowed to creep back onto it again. As a side note, I'm shocked by my dependency). [3] No alcohol either!! God, it's gets worse, doesn't it? (The reason for this is that the body burns alcohol in preference to fats and should be avoided). It means that I'm giving up the beer and the wine - though wine isn't too bad, but might calm myself with the occasional vodka - no sugar - and diet lemonade if I've been good.

Will I lose the pounds?? Only time and this Blog! - will tell.

Note: I don't actually know how much I weigh as I couldn't be arsed to weigh myself before I started. ;-)

Glug, glug glug...

Wow, (again with the wow), we're underwater. Well, not quite, but Hull is on the coast, Hull is flat, on sea-level, and it's been raining constantly for a few days now. With severe weather warnings across the country, Hull has been hard hit. In fact, while my end of the street seems OK, the fountain in the picture below and the other end of the street are under one/two foot of water. The water is up to car radiator grills, huge pools of water are everywhere and there were staff waiting outside shops at 10.20am because bosses haven't managed to get to work yet to let them in. The traffic is appalling, and my ability to get to Huddersfield this weekend is in doubt. See the memo that has been sent round the University this morning:

"Dear colleagues. Today's exceptional weather conditions have resulted in the closure of the Bynmor Jones Library until further notice. Flooding caused by the weather has also placed many electrical systems at risk of sudden failure. It is therefore recommended that colleagues save their work on a regular basis due to the possibility of an unannounced power outage. We will issue updates to colleagues as further information becomes available."

Hmmm... this has definitely not happened before!!

Sage advice

When you go to the beach...

NEVER!

NEVER!

NEVER *EVER*!

NEVER *EVER* *EVER*!

...rub sun tan lotion on someone you don't know.

Erm... what now?

Wow, I don't have anything to do!!

It's 9.53am on a Thursday morning and I don't have anything to do.

Now, before you wage slaves (I am one too, btw) start leaving oodles of comments about what a slacker academic I am - and I am - I'd best qualify that. ;-) For the first time in possibly months, I don't have anything that I *have* to do. I walk in thinking "do this" then "do that next" and for the first time I can remember, I actually get to pick what I do today. Again with the wow.

Will I actually get to write some of my paper?

On a side note, I got a letter from the Royal Society of Medicine the other day. Leaving aside my thoughts about how they know where I live, it cheerfully informs be that "as someone holding a senior position in the field of psychology, you almost certainly qualify for membership of the Royal Society of Medicine". Almost certainly? The cheeky so-and-so's. Still, the HQ in London looks quite nice - I hope you get the chance to put your feet up at Wimpole Street once in a while Serena. Still, it's a wee bit more pricey - at £341 - than the British Psychological Society (who only fleece me for £90 a year) so I'll give it a miss.

But it's nice to be almost asked...

Mobile Phone problems (cock-ups)

BTW,

After a cracking party in Huddersfield over the weekend, it appears that I may have conspired to put my mobile phone into someone else's jacket. It's currently 300miles away and on the verge of being posted back. If you've texted me in the last few days, normal service will be resumed by Wednesday night, I expect. :)

Hull vs. Huddersfield - on the back foot.

You've probably seen the continuing "battle" between Sal and myself to see whose town is crappiest; Hull or Huddersfield. I thought I was onto a winner last week when a man was arrested in the square outside Huddersfield station - with the Queen was approaching - with an axe in his carrier bag...(!)

However, there was a bit of excitement here in Hull - on campus! - yesterday. I even got to see the Police helicopter roaring overhead. Check out the BBC local news (Humber) here to see what I mean. (You're looking for the "Armed Robbery at University" link. *ahem* It's on the right hand side at the top - it's an actual news bulletin - lots of shots of the Union Building. Note: I get my daily cash from this cashpoint on a regular basis. In fact, I wanted some yesterday, but it had all been stolen... :( Second student girl interviewed is actually one of my 1st year supervisees!!)

Park Avenue Victorian Monstrosity...

And since I'm posting photos again - funnily enough, I've can announce that I've just found the USB cable that links my camera to my PC - here is a picture of the large fountain that is sat in the middle of my street for no reason at all.

If you follow the road to the right, I'm about 200 yards away on the right hand side...

And here it is!!

Well, that's not strictly true. Here is my share of the marking from my "Learning and Working" module - the one I actually manage and can dictate. On the left are the 2,500 word essays on the effects of anxiety on exam performance that I have marked; on the right, the ones I still have to mark. The end is in sight!!

I had three modules to mark, so this represents 1/3rd of my marking over the last week and a half. And people wonder why I wasn't blogging... ;-)

Hee hee!

I haven't updated in ages.

No worries though, as tomorrow, I will be uploading a photo of the GIGANTIC marking pile I've been working through this last fortnight. Go go gadget hand cramp!

Argh!!

Cherie Booth is speaking here at Uni tomorrow. *sob*

The Grass is not always greener

It's not.

After this morning, I can honestly vouch for the fact that exam invigilation is extremely boring. I even thought about having a go at the exam itself (2 hours) but since it was entitled: "The novel from Austen to Hardy", I didn't bother! :)

From Blair to Brown

Hmmm.... every other post on here seems to be in the "oops, haven't updated in ages" category!! Sorry about that. It's been hectic, and I tend to update from work, rather than from home. When I switch my PC on, it's to get straight into "Command & Conquer 3", or "Oblivion", and I'm far too busy playing games - yes, not "World of Warcraft" - to bother logging on. I seem to be avoiding logging on recently. I blame AVG (Anti-Virus Guard) for having a life of it's own whenever I connect to the Web. Blasted thing - I really, really hate constant pop-ups in the bottom right of my screen... :)

But, to the news. Tony Blair is finally *FINALLY* stepping down. You'll all know that I'm a Tory at heart - even though I have found it hard to vote Conservative in the past. But now that Blair is finally going, there's a spring in my step. I don't hate the man, but I was just so fed up of him being on TV all the time - ironically, his resignation is all over the news at the moment - and I'm looking forward to having a good laugh when Gordon Brown gets in - he'll be a disaster, I bet you.

Ah, summer

It's a lovely day outside. Blue sky, fluffy white clouds, great piles of blossom, and with the gentle sound of a car alarm drifting across the cricket pitch into my office (window open due to "lovely day"). Must be the sunshine bringing the car thieves out from underneath their stones. :)

Pirates vs. Ninjas - the Continuing Saga

I always meant to come back to this one. I just didn't for continued slack-related reasons. But while we were in the pub the other week, we though up two more tests.

(1) Name a famous pirate/ninja (Thanks Mik for this one).

Bluebeard; and um... er. *scratches head*

3-1 pirates.

(2) A team of pirates/ninjas dispatched into outer space to deflect an asteroid on collision course with the Earth (using nuclear weapons, of course). This was an interesting one, and first of all, we were leaning towards the ninja, and we're guessing they're just more competent! But then Eddie had a thought. After all, in all these films, something goes wrong about 2/3rds of the way through. At this point - according to Eddie - the ninja team would commit suicide. Whereas the pirate team - drunk in the hold having had too much rum, would probably stagger out and have another go. So ninjas more likely to succeed on first try - which NEVER happens in a film - but Pirates get a second chance. It's a toughie. Thoughts anyone??

Dilbert

Ack!!

Oh, and the fact that I announced my engagement to the world on Friday 13th should not be mentioned ever again!! ;-)

The *OTHER* Ultimate Question!

Much as I'd like to continue the Pirates vs. Ninjas debate, I have news about other "Ultimate Questions". ;-) I held off mentioning it for a day or so so I could tell most "Hull" people face to face (note: if you're not a Hull person and you haven't been told, don't worry - you're one of many that I'll be catching up with as workload permits), but I'd like to announce that Sally and I got engaged over the Easter Weekend. I asked, she said yes. I'd like to post a picture or three but I'm sat in York, struggling away with my parent's spyware-ridden, crappy laptop and it's quite the miracle I'm posting at all(!)

Still, I am now engaged to the lovely Sally Hugo (27). Probable wedding date Spring 2009. I hope it will be the opportunity I need to get back into/keep in touch with all the cracking friends I made in Edinburgh and Sheffield over the years. Once I'm back in Hull (and work) Monday morning, I'll be taking the time - I hope, students pleading for help on their projects get in the way - to e-mail a lot of you (separately - round robin e-mails suck big time!) Gentlemen, start your drinking engines. Ladies, to the hat shop. ;-)

The Ultimate Question

Sorry guys, haven't Blogged much lately. I've been in Huddersfield a lot, taking advantage of a week's holiday *and* the extended Easter weekend. But in all that time, I have been pondering one of life's eternal questions: Ninjas or Pirates. Which are cooler?

Now, this is a tricky one so I've thought up some cunning tests to see once and for all.

(1) Zombification. I think Pirates win this one. After all, Zombie Pirates are perfectly acceptable. Ghostly pirate ships coming up from the sea bed, that sort of thing. But zombie ninjas?? I think we'll all know that they'll be rubbish!! 1-0 pirates.

(2) From the future. Space pirates are all the rage. Reavers in Firefly; lots of other precedents... But they'll be two-a-penny. Futuristic ninjas on the other hand would be extremely rare, high-end spec with light-bending stealth subroutines and thus very, very cool indeed - not to mention dangerous. So 1-1.

(3) Five-a-side football. This is hard. I can see the ninjas having superior ball control skills, but that the pirates would have the bigger build and the more effective tackling. I can see the pirates keeping a clean sheet and while they might have trouble scoring, they'll always be a threat. So, surprisingly enough, Pirates are better. 2-1.

Discuss. ;-)

Time for an update

This is "The Deep", the world's only Submarium says the blurb - though I'm pretty sure that they made that word up. It's the big Aquarium in Hull, shaped like a giant ship and pointing out into the estuary. According to Sally, it's the *only* tourist attraction in the whole of Hull. And we were there this last weekend - as you'll see from Sally's Blog - for her friend's (Catherine's) birthday.

I like fish - very calming - but there really are some seriously weird fish out there. For example: cowfish. I mean, imagine being starving on a desert island. After days of effort, you finally catch a fish and it's a cowfish. Would you eat it? I doubt I would... :)

Elsewhere, there were further tramp sightings. Popping outside for some fresh air during lunch in a superheated pub, I discovered a sleeping tramp/drunk on the other side of a low wall. I tried to hide him from Sally (always one to try and make Hull look better) but had to give in and admit there was a nearby tramp (again!). *But* even with disclaimers on Sally's own Blog, I have it on best authority that a tramp lives in one of the Superloos in Huddersfield, those ones in the street where you pay 20p and it opens up? Imagine being caught completely short, paying your money, only to have the door slide open and a tramp come out - arms waving, muttering incomprehensibly.

So the moral to this tale?

Everywhere else> Hull > Huddersfield. ;-)

So true... (Grrr!)

Dad's back

Well, that's a relief. After a busy week kicked off at this end, Dad ended up in hospital last week. He went to the GP on Tuesday afternoon and was in hospital an hour later - something to do with excess fluid on his chest. I went back to York soon after and of course, Internet is a bit ropey back at the parents - and I had other things on my mind. But the good news is (a) that York District Hospital is now pretty good - much better than the blood-encrusted ward he ended up on when he had his stroke a few years ago - and he came out of hospital after only the one night, feeling much better than before. :)

Since then, I have now caught up on everything at this end. It's a busy time as the 2nd year are choosing their 3rd year project supervisors - after listening to presentations from each lecturer - and I'm 3rd year tutor and thus running all of the presentations.

Spamalot

I've just been wondering whether you can tell more about someone by just how much spam we get, and by whom we're getting it from. I seem to be daily bombarded by tesco.com - having a go at me to make sure I send Mother's Day flowers via them (which I won't, even though I am very, very pro-Tesco, as it just doesn't feel right), dabs.com and play.com. Food, drink, computers, DVDs. Sounds about right... :)

Exam results!!

Not mine though.

I haven't had to sit an exam in a number of years... :)

But my students do. I'm currently in the process of hauling them all in to "discuss" their results so far. Just the kind of thing I really hated when my shoe was on somebody else's foot. Now, I have my own shoe and a mixed-up metaphor. That'll show'em.

Internet Catz

They seem to be everywhere now - Internet Catz. I see them linked from all kinds of sites. Here are some of my personal favourites...

Bootiful Boycott

Wow, it's been a long day today. The trains are playing up at the moment so while I headed over to Huddersfield for the usual weekend at Sally's, Transpennine Express weren't willing to help be come back as easily. The trains were barely running last night (engineering at Selby), so I waited until this morning to come back. After being woken by Sally at a less-that-usual 6.30am (sob), it was off to the station for the semi-usual 8.12am. It gets to Hull for 9.36am, one quick taxi and I'm not usually late for work. But not today... No, the engineering is perversely from 7.30am-9.30am and 4.30pm onwards, just to make sure commuters are stuffed. :) So it was a train as far as Selby, then a bus to Hull. I got home roughly 10.30am, and to work just before 11am. Luckily, my Monday teaching only starts at 1pm, but I'm still a bit peeved.

I'm also peeved at Bernard Matthews and his turkeys. I'm not a big believer in food scares, and I'm not worried by this bird 'flu business. In fact, short of taking a lovely stroll across the countryside, stumbling across a dead bird and them rubbing it into your face, I don't think we're likely to catch it. But shifty companies do get up my nose. So along with Terrys and O2, Bernard Matthews are now on my 'black list'. :)

House of Cards RIP

Recently, I bought and started re-watching the BBC series "House of Cards". I always enjoyed it - some great acting. So I'm very disappointed to hear that Ian Richardson - the politican who "couldn't possibly comment" has passed away :-( The story is here.

He was also the voice of "Death" in the recent Hogfather.

Road Pricing Proposals?

This seems legit so I thought I'd mention it (Thanks for the e-mail Paul). See this link for a BBC article about it a couple of weeks ago. Seems the numbers have changed since then.

Sarah Kennedy was on about this proposed car tax scheme on the radio, apparently there is only one month left to register your objection to the 'Pay as you go' road tax. The petition is on the 10 Downing St website but they didn't tell anybody about it. Therefore at the time of Sarah's comments only 250,000 people had signed it so far and 750,000 signatures are required to stop them introducing it.

This is from the 10 Downing Street's website. [Might be worth finding the link through their website]. Once you've given your details (you don't have to give your full address, just house number and postcode will do), they will send you an email with a link in it. Once you click on that link, you'll have signed the petition. (JAMES EDIT: You *do* give a lot of address info).

Democracy in action?

The government's proposal to introduce road pricing will mean you having to purchase a tracking device for your car and paying a monthly bill to use it. The tracking device will cost about £200 and in a recent study by the BBC, the lowest monthly bill was £28 for a rural florist and £194 for a delivery driver. A non-working mother who used the car to take the kids to school paid £86 in one month.

On top of this massive increase in tax, you will be tracked. Somebody will know where you are at all times. They will also know how fast you have been going, so even if you accidentally creep over a speed limit in time you can probably expect a Notice of Intended Prosecution with your monthly bill. If you care about our freedom and stopping the constant bashing of the car driver, please sign the petition on No 10's new website (link below) and pass this on to as many people as possible.

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/traveltax/

Nothing, really...

But if you look at it from a different angle, you realise just how clever this is. This is Julian Beever's work. I was sent a few examples the other day and while I've heard of him before, I couldn't resist posting something here.

What's wrong with the picture?

Muammar Gaddafi

It's not very PC, and of course there's Lockerbie, but even so, I've always had a bit of a soft spot for Colonel Gaddaffi (Libya). He's madder than a box of frogs... Yesterday, he arrived in Ethiopia for the African Union summit with two suitcases full of gold bars - "gifts for the leaders of African nations" explained his aides to airport officials. How thoughful of him. Exactly what I would have wanted too. :)

Forks!!

Snow this morning. Caught me by surprise a little. My flatmate left the house before me (about 8.45am) and sicne we both cycle in, he got smothered by a sudden snowstorm. It lasted about 30mins, so since I decided to wait and see if it subsided, I missed it completely - and was still in before 9.30am, btw. And now, it's turned into a lovely day. Clear blue sky and all that. Nice one.

Anyhow, on with today's fascinating fact/urban myth: Eating with a fork was once considered scandalous.

Forks were first used in the Middle Ages, but eating with one was considered scandalous. In the 11th Century, when a Greek princess died shortly after introducing forks at her wedding with a Venetian Doge (chief magistrate) Domenico Selvo, it was perceived as divine punishment. While forks were a regular feature on the tables of nobles in Italy since the 11th Century, and used in France in the 14th Century, it was introduced in England only in 1611 by Thomas Coryat through his book "Coryat's Curdities Hastily gobbled up in Five Months Travels in France." Even then, he was mocked about promoting the use of forks and called "Furcifer," meaning fork-bearer. The upper classes of Spain were using forks in the 16th Century, as could be told from a large assortment of forks that were recovered from the wreck of La Girona, which sank off the coast of Ireland in 1588. In 1630, Governor Winthrop of Massachusetts had the first and only fork in colonial America. So what did people eat with before using forks? They used wooden spoons, knifes and, of course, their hands. Forks, mostly being two-tined, were known as "split spoons". Although there are examples of four- and five-tined forks from the before the 1600s, the four-tined fork became popular only in the late 1800s.

In Thailand, It is still considered scandalous to bring the food to your mouth with a fork; you only use the fork to bring the food in your spoon to eat it.

Masking Tape

Yes, everything can be fixed by masking tape!!

I have two windows in my office. One doesn't quite shut properly. The weather is being weird today too. So while it switches between blue sky and sunshine (though cold) and the odd hailshower, I have to contend with: (a) draughts and (b) hailstones coming through the gap between window and sill. All hail masking tape!

A Game of Thrones

Talking about books, I love this series of novels (A Song of Fire & Ice). They're big, complicated, and some of the characters are downright horrible. Plus, I admire an author willing to kill off main characters (often) for the sake of the story. Credit goes to Jason here for first mentioning the books to me, however many years ago it was before I picked them up. My one regret is that I found a picture of the author, but even that failed to dampen my enthusiasm(!) The man even likes Battlestar Galactica - but that could be explained away by the photo... ;-)

Anyhow - with thanks to Mik - news for the fan boys.

The Burning Crusade/Flashman

Some of you will know - and many will hang their heads and "tut" - but I am relatively keen on this World of Warcraft game... The new expansion pack is out and into The Outlands I went. Or rather, into The Outlands we *all* went. Almost everyone on the server poured into the new zones at the same time, causing the tiniest bit of lag. So I'll get back to that in a couple of days! Until then, I've actually been doing a bit of work.

Lately, I've been diverted by a borrowed copy of "Flashman" (thanks Mik). Pretty cynical story-telling... But if you don't take offence easily, great fun to read. Mik got his copy for something like 20p when a local school sold off some of its books. I have to agree with him, it's a little "adult" for the kiddies in places. Even so, I'll have to track down the rest in the series. Though as Sally would say: "Not your role model".

New Year Round-up 2

After all that too-ing and fro-ing, I think we were both really starting to run out of steam. Me for certain, as I *still* had that huge pile of marking to do. 45 projects and 65 essays later (at an average of slightly under 15mins each), and I'd turned the corner. I still wasn't blogging though!!

Right now, I'm onto my own homework. When you start as a lecturer these days, you have to complete a higher education teaching certificate, of which I'm into the Second Module (each takes a year). So - the indignity... ;-) - I have homework to hand in for Wednesday. A summative refelective account of the course so far. *Urgh*

But I'm fresh from Huddersfield, it didn't rain on me this morning, and if this is the worst of my problems, then I'm doing ok!

New Year Round-up

Right then. *rolls up sleeves* It's time to start things anew. My host of marking is done - well, until the exams next week - so it's time to get bang up to date. Firstly, no New Year resolutions. Not one. Can't think of anything I really, really need to do to improve(!) Not even my hefty sense of self-delusion. I'm drinking less anyway - at least, during the week (discounting Wednesdays...), I don't smoke, and I don't have the drive and inclination to do more exercise. So, steady as she goes, Captain. ;-)

New Year was fun though, if hectic. I certainly needed time to recover. Christmas with the parents (York), New Year was spent down in London (with Sally, Alex, and Julian; and some time at Jason and Serena's, managing to meet Lauren and bump into Pradeep too). And the inbetween/slightly afterwards was with Sally in festive Huddersfield. Phew! Sally and I flew down to Heathrow from Manchester - as you can see from her Blog. It was something like 30mins to Heathrow (a bit bumpy but the wind was with us) and 35mins back. Decadent, yes. Especially with Julian meeting us at the airport and driving us back. :-) What I liked best was that we took off, reached 18,000ft, got served a cup of tea and biscuit, then we descended/landed. Sorted. Actually, we struggled a bit... Sally didn't like her biscuit so I had to eat two, and since the cup of tea was too hot, it was a struggle to drink/eat them before landing. Sheesh(!) More later.

Heh

Looks like I wasn't updating over Christmas. lol. But rest assured, the marking is almost done - and in the nick of time. :)