Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Bandwagoning gets a facelift

Bandwagoning has undergone some cosmetic surgery post migration to Blogger in beta. The skin is dead. Long live the skin.

Ref the new skin. Let me know what you think - how does it read? How easy is it to navigate? What don't you like? Not that I'll be able to change much - I'm way past my technical limit in the blogosphere (although I'm learning - fast)

Blogger in Beta will not beta me

I migrated to Blogger in beta yesterday. It was a torturous experience. If you subscribe to Bandwagoning's RSS feed and have been bombarded with updates, rest assured the end is nigh. I hope.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

A sub 4:00 hour marathon in 2007

The idea is simple. A virtual group of runners from fetcheveryone all commit to running a sub 4:00 hour marathon in 2007. It works because I've made a public statement of intent. I will get fit again and shed some winter layers as I train. Twice before I've come within 15 minutes of the 4:00 hour threshold. In 2007 I will cross it.

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Festive lights aficionados - get out your cameras!

It's getting to that time of year, when pure comedy can be found simply by walking the streets at night*. I am of course referring to the increasing abundance of houses that are lit up like fairground attractions as the festive period approaches. Each year, I continue to be amazed at the lengths some people will go to put a smile on my face. The more grotesque and ostentatious the display, the more I feel compelled to stop and soak up the pageantry.

If you see any spectacles you think I'd appreciate, please do blog them and link back in a comment.

*this can also get you beaten up or arrested for soliciting, so if you do go looking for illuminations, do it safely.

What a load of bollards!

Great find by Joel and then Euan. You might think twice before doing some bus lane tailgating if you take a look at this.

Friday, November 17, 2006

Can a house be cleaned in 2 hours per week?

B said to me a few days back that one of her friends was having to let her cleaner go. "Oh that's a shame", I murmured, only half listening.

"Which means we can have her!", continued B. Now this got my attention. Having resisted the services of a cleaner all my adult life, on the basis that cleaners constitute an unnecessary extravagance, I now found myself in another of those situations where a longstanding principle was being challenged.

"All the hoovering, cleaning, ironing, dusting and anything else we need her to do", said B excitedly, "for only £10 per hour, and what's more, she will only need to come for 2 hours every other week!"

One of us is in for a real shock here. Either B's been oversold the ability of this domestic hot shot, or I lived my entire bachelor years in relative squalor because of some ill-held belief about the net worth of home help. You didn't think I did it myself did you.........?

Saturday, November 11, 2006

Willem Dafoe baby

I walked into the kitchen this morning to find H sitting on the floor munching a piece of toast. As soon as he clapped eyes on me, he jumped to his knees, threw his arms up in the air and tossed his head backwards. He's been doing this a lot recently. I'm never quite sure whether it signals joy or misery! The energy he throws into this particular shape reminds me of this memorable shot of Willem Dafoe.

tagged:

Thursday, November 09, 2006

No poos logged today

...said H's nursery carer when she handed me his daycare report today. Said in all seriousness, I found this really funny! Good to know H's father is still a child himself.

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

The Life and Times of Granny Foper

UPDATE: You can now track not only Granny's exploits, but all the goings on in the bustling village of Pranker's Wycke by visiting Blunghole's Meme.

Haven't yet finished thinking about this post. My friends and I have spent many hours crying with laughter at spoonered names like that of the elderly social menace in the post title. If you can think of some more friends of the Reverend Spooner that you'd like to see featured in Granny's exploits, ask them to leave a comment. More to follow.

tagged: , , , , ,

Sunday, November 05, 2006

Cousin k rocking out with her bridesmaid

I just found this footage of my cousin k and sister j. No explanation required. I think we should youtube this as it's too funny not to share.

Saturday, November 04, 2006

Avenue Q

Hooray it's the weekend. Tonight, B and I are going to see Avenue Q - a sort of rude mash up of Muppets and Sesame St. With alternative Broadway belters like "the internet is for porn", we should be in for an hilarious couple of hours I hope. We haven't been to the theatre in London for so long now. In fact I don't think we've ever been to the theatre in London? This is then a milestone - perhaps one that is best left unheralded. We're also going to have dinner in town. I chose Cafe Koha because of rave reviews. I'll write up review over the next couple of days.

tagged:

Friday, November 03, 2006

Only a wife could say that

"You're beginning to look like a big fat minger wearing a wig", said my wife B. Can't remember what exactly had brought about this ripper of a put down, but it had us both rolling around laughing for a while.

The thing is, there was some truth in it. Since our son was born in late 2005, I'd successfully avoided any form of exercise, whilst tripling my intake of calories. This, coupled with weekend after weekend having slipped by without me getting to the barbers, had resulted in a look that made close friends and family really think I'd let myself go.

So - I got a haircut. "You now look like a big fat minger", came the commentary. Then, when I'd put myself back into a running regime for Windsor Half Marathon and lost a fair amount of weight in the process.... "You just look like a minger now", she said in admiration.

This was a while back - it comes to mind because I'm currently laid up with an achilles strain which I am hoping won't put me out of action for too long. Time will tell. I use fetcheveryone to manage all things running.

tagged: ,

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Blogging's twilight - there are precedents

I have a long standing reputation for representing the tipping point in almost any social phenomenon. House prices soaring - the day after i complete, the backside falls out of the market. Tech stocks booming - i invest, the bubble bursts. Internet forum discussions bustling - I post a comment and kill the thread. Mullets are back in - the day mine is officially grown, they're declared a style crime. (the last one was a lie - i have never sported a mullet)

So - here's my blog - best write your last posts then.......