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February 2004

finger misery

i have one of those annoying bits of flappy skin between my knuckle and finger nail on my middle finger on my right hand. all my other fingers are without blemish.
these little things are annoying as any contact with anything causes a little short stabby pain.
however, it has revealed to me how much daily activity involves very close contact with the back of my fingers. my life must be so finely tuned that even a small blemish less than a milimetre high can break the flow of normal activities.
shoe lace tieing, getting stuff out of my pockets, putting my coat on etc all involve close contact with fingers. usually this goes un-noticed, so i welcome the opportunity to think about them again, and in particular take note of the involvement of the top of the backs of my fingers
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sample sale

this sign is in a shop next to the local hospital. i’m not sure they should be selling the samples.
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threats of removal

you remove your bike or we remove our railings simple as that.
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one small point is that it mentions railing singular, but the sign is stuck on to two railings. which railing does it apply to ? if i had a bike i could have experimented. but i didn’t.

big eye and the big pie

i went out for pizza with Big Eye Tony last night. i opted for the chocolate cake for dessert. i was offered cream or icecream and cheekily asked for both, expecting to get a little of each.
the waitress looked at me like i was insane and worriedly hurried back to the kitchen. this was obviously one scenario she had not been covered by her training.
when it arrived, instead of two half-portions they piled extra portions of both on to the plate. hoorah !
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bin chair

a seat by the bins so you can sit and wait for the bin men to come
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magic bollards

one of these bollards has magical powers
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book review

i’ve just finished reading this book which is most excellent. i hadn’t a clue what it was going to be about before i read it. but i do now. and it was very good.
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clothes

i don’t usually go through people’s bins, but this bin bag and dustbin were already open. it was outside some posh person’s house. they’ve obviously never heard of charity shops.
however, things like this could help me if i ever decide to do my street clothes challenge.
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quality sign

here is a good sign. it uses the word prive instead of private to no doubt appear “down with the kids”.
but don’t even think about setting up a bike park or it’ll be removed straight away. i think skateboarding parks would probably be ok, but i’m not entirely sure.
other point to note is that it’s been nailed to the wall with cable clip things instead of nails which is a nice touch.
sometimes the sign itself says more than the sign itself.
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anniversary

jane and i have been married 8 years today. and 8 jolly years it’s been too.
this year i’ve been very uncreative, but last year i made this lovely photo (which i framed):
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and this little card:
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an historic lecture

i gave a talk this afternoon as part of a regulatory conference at the Royal Institute of Great Briitian. It’s an amazing place bursting full of historical science.
the lecture hall we were in was where faraday first demonstrated electricity (around the mid 1800s). it’s also where they do those christmas lectures you see on TV at … er … christmas.
Faraday’s table (the lecturing desk) has little gas pipes either side of the main desk for bunsen burners (which i didn’t use).
and i got to stand and wave my arms around and point at photos i’d taken of street cleaning vehicle to explain the progress of Broadband Internet access in the UK. how bizarre/fantastic is that !
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the green door

this door is closed. but why you ask. read the sign.
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it’s been temporarily shut since 1st september 1995
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designer dinner

this dinner was empty except for an electric drill and a motorcycle helmet
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conference freebies

in the world of work it’s possible to collect a large number of complimentary pens. occasionally you’ll go to a meeting and they’ll also provide some paper. even less occasionally you’ll be furnished with gratuitous confectionary.
i went to a meeting earlier today, and in addition to free wi-fi access the venue provided little mint sweets which looked just like those Pez sweets which were very popular when i was a little girl.
i only wished i had a funny plastic dispenser thing. perhaps next year they’ll provide the dispensers as well. hopefully in the shape of the people who were running the meeting.
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