Friday 19 November 2004

Beating the system...

Getting round the fascist regime that calls itself Websense.

http://www.spiegel.de/auto/aktuell/0,1518,grossbild-408297-328170,00.html


Go to German sites.

Thursday 18 November 2004

SOS

Smiths of Smithfields

Wow! What a venue. Excellent!

http://www.smithsofsmithfield.co.uk/topfloor.htm

We have to go here next time you guys are down. Maybe not the top floor as that's far too expensive but we ate on the 2nd floor and it was about £30/h including wine and starters. Very good!

Ben: You can even get a rare steak if you order it!

Wednesday 17 November 2004

The Life and Times of Stuartini Clarketti III

Al-Fayed entrusted Clarketti with two tasks when he took over the managers role at Fulham. Secure a safe mid-table position in the league and reduce the club’s enormous wage bill.

Clarketti new that the later would take care of itself with the imminent retirements of Marlet (£40,000/w) and Cole (£30,000/w) but securing mid-table safety was a different matter. Key games against the elite teams were coming up and Fulham team had to stand up to be counted.

Newcastle Away 0-2 (W)
Chelsea Home 1-2 (L)
Liverpool Home 2-1 (W)

Things were looking good. Fulham were slowly but surely climbing their way up the league. A nice distraction was a healthy run in the FA cup resulting in a valiant loss to Liverpool in the semi-final.

10th place was secured with 1 game remaining and the Fulham players gave their fans an end of season bonus. A 4-1 victory over London rivals Spurs.

A pleasant surprise came the way of two of the Fulham players gaining awards. Most surprising was that of Stern John, Fulham’s talented young striker. He won both the Premiership Player’s Player award and Young Player of the year award. Not only that he won the prestigious European Golden Boot having scored the most goals out of any player in Europe (27) despite not having played in the European competitions giving him the extra games.

Steed Malbranque was also to receive an award, he managed 3rd place in the Premiership’s Player of the season, with an average rating of 7.69.

Despite achieving more than was asked Al-Fayed only gave Clarketti £600,000 transfer money for the up and coming season. Initially aggrieved, Clarketti decided to get on with what he does best. Manage a football team.

The new season beckons, what highs and lows will happen nobody knows…

Ben's birthday on the 20th

Everything's lining up to be a good do!

Ben
Jackie
Jackie's Sister
Jakie's Sister's boyfriend
Ian
Kris
Kirsty
Tim
Tim's Misses
Ross
Me

Anyone else...?

Shaheen's in England for the next week but he's not going back to Corby.

Tuesday 16 November 2004

A time for change...

Season two for Bristol Rovers was a very different affair. The glory days of last season were no more, apart from a win on the opening day Clarketti found his newly promoted side struggle to even get draws.

Things were not looking good. After 12 games Rovers were 21st in the 1st division with a mere eight points. Things had to change. Bristol were scoring enough goals but their poor defensive record was hampering any real consistency. To sure up the defensive line Clarketti decided that his trusted 4-4-2 formation had to be scrapped in order to salvage anything meaningful from the season.

5-3-2 was the formation of choice. By replacing the wingers with wingbacks and introducing and extra man to create a back three, the wins slowly began to materialise. The team gradually began to rise out of the relegation battle.

As things began to get better for Bristol, things took a turn for the worse at Fulham. Results failed to materialise and their well respected manager Chris Coleman was sacked by the outspoken Mohamed al-Fayed.

Clarketti’s name was thrown into the mixing pot of possible replacements for the hot seat at Fulham. Among the other names were Roy Evans and an aging Terry Venables

Al-Fayed placed his trust in little known Italian manager Stuartini Clarketti. He found Fulham eighteen places off the top with twenty five games remaining. Clarketti wasted no time in assessing his squad as an away clash with Derby was in three days.

The Fulham first team was strong enough to obtain a safe mid-table position but lacked the strength in depth needed to battle a full Premiership season. One or two key injuries could mean disaster for the small London club.

Clarketti had £3,500,000 to spend but had to wait until the transfer deadline was lifted in January before he could begin to rebuild his aging squad.

3-0 against Derby was the jumpstart his side needed and in five games had 8 points. Crucially this was 3 more than Fulham’s closest rivals.

The transfer embargo was lifted and Clarketti set about restructuring his side. The old guard or Marlet and Cole were retiring at the end of the season so replacements had to be found. Manchester United’s Djemba Djemba was first to come in, followed by Blackburn’s winger Steven Reid.


With 15 games remaining Fulham are 13th in the Premiership.

Things are looking bright for the young manager. Bigger clubs beckon.

Monday 15 November 2004

Stuartini Clarketti season one

The press were very sceptical of the appointment of unknown Italian manager Stuartini Clarketti to the position of manager at lowly 2nd division Bristol Rovers.

The bookies tipped Rovers to a mediocre mid-table finish, but Clarketti knew better. He knew that if he could instil the right belief in his players, then they could accomplish anything.

With nothing in the way of transfer funds Clarketti needed to bring in much needed talent. He aimed his sight towards Italy. That's the game he knew well and he began to search the lower divisions for a free transfer.

He knew too that loans were the way forward in this league. If Bristol could entice some rising young players with the promise of regular first team football, half of his job would be complete.

Next to the tactics. Looking at the players available, there was only one real option. That of the tried and tested 4-4-2. Not having the flair of teams such as AC Milan and Real Madrid, Clarketti deployed a different way of playing the beautiful game of football.

Fitness and toughness. Instead of concentrating most of the training schedule on skills and passing, the coaches were instructed to place more emphasis on strength and physical condition. This would lead to tiring out the opposition and enabling Rovers to dominate in the final third.

Three key things enabled Clarketti to get what he wanted from this Bristol side. The signings of Harpel Singh on Loan from Leeds, the free transfer of talented young Italian winger Tolle and the injury free season of top striker Agogo (43 goals in 46 games (44 starts).

For most of the season Bristol were in the top three and looking good for promotion. There was a slight dip in form over the hectic Christmas period, but with a bit of luck and lot of hard work the lads regained top spot and stayed there for the remainder of the season.

Finishing the league with the best goal difference 4 points clear of there nearest rivals. 114 goals, 53 conceded in 46 games.

In a board meeting with the chairman, it was decided that Rovers would once again have no transfer budget. A harsh decision had to be made by Clarketti, and with a sad heart he decided to apply for the vacant manager’s position at Italian Seria B side Treviso.

Still having a job to do with the newly promoted Bristol, Clarketti set about improving the squad for the up and coming season. Having enjoyed his season in Bristol, newly released Singh was snapped up by Clarketti. Stuartini knew a player of this quality only came along once every so often so offered the young lad £1,300 a week for his services. This made him one of Bristol’s most paid players, and the hopes of a small city rested on his shoulders.

The only way to get a much needed transfer kitty was to sell. Clarketti decided to accept reasonable bids of some of his old timers and looked to the future by bringing in some youth.

Bad news was waiting for Clarketti when he returned home that night. Unfortunately his application for the Treviso job was unsuccessful. The decision was made for him. He would have to battle it out once more with Bristol Rovers.

IQ Test

Bored at work so did an IQ test


The way you think about things makes you an Intuitive Investigator. This means you have multiple talents and can do anything you set your mind to. You're able to detect numerical patterns easily and are able to grasp the true complexity of the world, both in its details and in a more abstract form. You've got a sharp logical mind and are adept at using words to get even a difficult point across. The combination of all these things makes you truly brilliant.

How did we determine that your thinking style is that of an Intuitive Investigator? When we examined your test results further, we analyzed how you scored on 8 dimensions of intelligence: spatial, organizational, abstract reasoning, logical, mechanical, verbal, visual and numerical. The 3 dimensions you scored highest on combine to make you an Intuitive Investigator. Only 6 out of 1,000 people have this rare combination of abilities.


http://web.tickle.com/tests/superiq/

I won a DVD from Empire on Saturday

The Name of the Rose

Sean Connery

I've not watched it yet but Harriet says that it's meant to be pretty good.

Top of the league

http://www.rfu.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/res.LeagueTable/PoolID/59/Season/2004

S&L are top of the league after playing both of the other two challengers away from home.

Is this a good thing? Maybe not...

If we get promoted the games will be harder. Do I want that?

No!

I'd rather we got relagated and then had an easy 50-0 win every week.

And then during the final game start a mass brawl so that are team is refused promotion.

Friday 12 November 2004

The geek test

I found this on Moblog. Great!

There are 10 types of people in this world.
Those who understand binary and those who don't…

Thursday 11 November 2004

Just got back from lunch...

Just been out to the lovely Thai Square (Minories) for lunch with the FPMA team.

It was very reasonable. £10 each. Including a beer.

It was very tasty.

Although in my king prawn dish, the tight gits only gave me three prawns!!!

Pretty poor.

To make up for, I we went for a coffee in an Italian cafe on the way back and I had a delicious apple strudel.

Plan for the weekend...???

What shall I do this weekend?

I've decided that i'm not going to play rugby this weekend and have a well deserved rest.

My hamstrings still haven't recovered so i'm going to chill out.

I'm thinking a nice leisurely stroll towards Greenwich might be in order. I may even pop into Pistachios...

I may play a little FM05 too.

Wednesday 10 November 2004

What to watch on TV tonight...

9pm

ITV: About a Boy

Channel 5: Romeo Must Die

Hmmm... it's a tough one.

But only because About a Boy is split by the news.

Tuesday 9 November 2004

The worst film ever goes to...

Escape Velocity



You may have other ideas yourself but I managed to watch a whole 10minutes of this tripe before I turned it off.

What a load of wank. I think I might watch it fully the next time i'm drunk. If only for the novelty value.

Finished 3rd wirh Liverpool

Finished my first season of Football manager last night. The best part was finishing above Man Utd, Alex Ferguson was taking the piss out of me all season. The Scottish twat. I quite uncharacteristically refused to get into the debate.

It's a very good game. A few bugs which could prove annoying, but hopefully they'll get sorted out in the next up and coming official updates.

Current errors

-You can buy a player whilst he's loaned out to another club
-Players start to become unhappy if they're not picked for a few games whilst still recovering from an injury

I'm going for a mammoth game tonight with a few more leagues in it. Not sure what sort of game I want to play yet.

New Game

-Start off in the old 3rd division
-Foreign manager at Liverpool
-Seria A, Juventus, Milan, Inter, or Roma
-La Liga, Real Madrid or Barcelona.

I think i've just answered my own query.

It's got to be Madrid.

May as well start at the top.

Monday 8 November 2004

Mildly amusing comment from Smalley

http://www.friendsreunited.co.uk/friendsreunited.asp?WCI=membernotes&member_key=6173681

...although it seems to stop midway through a paragraph.

A game of four halves...

Lost 23-26 yesterday in the cup after extra time.

We were 23-7 up at half time. They came back at us in the second half and our forwards had nothing left to give them.

The game ended 23-23 and went into extra time. An extra 20 mins. We missed a penalty under the post and they managed to get one in the second half due to stupid forwards errors.

I'm sore, tired and pissed off!

Friday 5 November 2004

Amazon booklet

Amazon sent a booklet with in their packaging and there are some pretty special deals.

1GB Pen drive or SD card or Flash card for £68 / £65 / £65 respectivly.


Bloody hell!

Bugger, damn and fcuk!

I've just missed out on lunchtime free drinks!

Sh!tting sod farts!

I left lunch early to get a couple of bits and pieces from a shop and when I get back I find out that they've all gone to the pub!!!

Cheeky git faces!

POP3

Any ideas?

I've spent the first hour and a half this morning trying to set up my phone for fcuking e-mail.

I've set up an account with freepop3.net

I think I had it sussed but not sure what to put in the mailbox section in the set up screen on my phone.

Football Manager 2005 has landed

I got them to send it to my works address. It was hand delivered. The only acceptable means to get a game of such quality.

Is my assistant manager ready?

I need any update / face packs that you can find.

Moore Election opinions...

Dear Friends,

Ok, it sucks. Really sucks. But before you go and cash it all in, let's, in
the words of Monty Python, 'always look on the bright side of life!' There
IS some good news from Tuesday's election.

Here are 17 reasons not to slit your wrists:

1. It is against the law for George W. Bush to run for president again.

2. Bush's victory was the NARROWEST win for a sitting president since
Woodrow Wilson in 1916.

3. The only age group in which the majority voted for Kerry was young adults
(Kerry: 54%, Bush: 44%), proving once again that your parents are always
wrong and you should never listen to them.

4. In spite of Bush's win, the majority of Americans still think the
country is headed in the wrong direction (56%), think the war wasn't worth fighting (51%), and don't approve of the job George W. Bush is doing (52%). (Note to foreigners: Don't try to figure this one out. It's an American thing, like Pop Tarts.)

5. The Republicans will not have a filibuster-proof 60-seat majority in the
Senate. If the Democrats do their job, Bush won't be able to pack the
Supreme Court with right-wing ideologues. Did I say "if the Democrats do
their job?" Um, maybe better to scratch this one.

6. Michigan voted for Kerry! So did the entire Northeast, the birthplace of
our democracy. So did 6 of the 8 Great Lakes States. And the whole West
Coast! Plus Hawaii. Ok, that's a start. We've got most of the fresh water,
all of Broadway, and Mt. St. Helens. We can dehydrate them or bury them in
lava. And no more show tunes!

7. Once again we are reminded that the buckeye is a nut, and not just any
old nut -- a poisonous nut. A great nation was felled by a poisonous nut.
May Ohio State pay dearly this Saturday when it faces Michigan.

8. 88% of Bush's support came from white voters. In 50 years, America will
no longer have a white majority. Hey, 50 years isn't such a long time! If
you're ten years old and reading this, your golden years will be truly
golden and you will be well cared for in your old age.

9. Gays, thanks to the ballot measures passed on Tuesday, cannot get married
in 11 new states. Thank God. Just think of all those wedding gifts we won't
have to buy now.

10. Five more African Americans were elected as members of Congress,
including the return of Cynthia McKinney of Georgia. It's always good to
have more blacks in there fighting for us and doing the job our candidates
can't.

11. The CEO of Coors was defeated for Senate in Colorado. Drink up!

12. Admit it: We like the Bush twins and we don't want them to go away.

13. At the state legislative level, Democrats picked up a net of at least 3
chambers in Tuesday's elections. Of the 98 partisan-controlled state
legislative chambers (house/assembly and senate), Democrats went into the
2004 elections in control of 44 chambers, Republicans controlled 53
chambers, and 1 chamber was tied. After Tuesday, Democrats now control 47
chambers, Republicans control 49 chambers, 1 chamber is tied and 1 chamber
(Montana House) is still undecided.

14. Bush is now a lame duck president. He will have no greater moment than
the one he's having this week. It's all downhill for him from here on out --
and, more significantly, he's just not going to want to do all the hard work
that will be expected of him. It'll be like everyone's last month in 12th
grade -- you've already made it, so it's party time! Perhaps he'll treat the
next four years like a permanent Friday, spending even more time at the
ranch or in Kennebunkport. And why shouldn't he? He's already proved his
point, avenged his father and kicked our ass.

15. Should Bush decide to show up to work and take this country down a very
dark road, it is also just as likely that either of the following two
scenarios will happen: a) Now that he doesn't ever need to pander to the
Christian conservatives again to get elected, someone may whisper in his ear
that he should spend these last four years building "a legacy" so that
history will render a kinder verdict on him and thus he will not push for
too aggressive a right-wing agenda; or b) He will become so cocky and
arrogant -- and thus, reckless -- that he will commit a blunder of such
major proportions that even his own party will have to remove him from
office.

16. There are nearly 300 million Americans -- 200 million of them of voting
age. We only lost by three and a half million! That's not a landslide -- it
means we're almost there. Imagine losing by 20 million. If you had 58 yards
to go before you reached the goal line and then you barreled down 55 of
those yards, would you stop on the three yard line, pick up the ball and go
home crying -- especially when you get to start the next down on the three
yard line? Of course not! Buck up! Have hope! More sports analogies are
coming!!!

17. Finally and most importantly, over 55 million Americans voted for the
candidate dubbed "The #1 Liberal in the Senate." That's more than the total
number of voters who voted for either Reagan, Bush I, Clinton or Gore.
Again, more people voted for Kerry than Reagan. If the media are looking for
a trend it should be this -- that so many Americans were, for the first time
since Kennedy, willing to vote for an out-and-out liberal. The country has
always been filled with evangelicals -- that is not news. What IS news is
that so many people have shifted toward a Massachusetts liberal. In fact,
that's BIG news. Which means, don't expect the mainstream media, the ones
who brought you the Iraq War, to ever report the real truth about November
2, 2004. In fact, it's better that they don't. We'll need the element of
surprise in 2008.

Feeling better? I hope so. As my friend Mort wrote me yesterday, "My
Romanian grandfather used to say to me, 'Remember, Morton, this is such a
wonderful country -- it doesn't even need a president!'"

But it needs us. Rest up, I'll write you again tomorrow.

Yours,

Michael Moore

Thursday 4 November 2004

Just been speaking to the guy next to me at work over lunch...

...who also happens to be my one of my bosses, and he said that I should go for level 3 (currently level 4) in February when we get our annual pay review.

All very exciting!

This would mean an extra 4 days holiday, more extra pay than I would have got normally and I may even get to boss someone around.

Bad side is that i'd probably get more responsibility and would then be on 3 months notice.

Bush for another 4 years...

Bugger! I've lost some more money.

I had a bet with my mate Liam, that for every % that Bush gets over Kerry I have to pay him £1, and vice- versa.

He chose Bush, not because he thought he would win the election with his past record in power or his promises for a better America but because Kerry has a stupid long face.

Sadly, I think that's why half of America's population voted Bush in for a second term

Are you sure you won't save up to get a new PC?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3972957.stm

Any news on when it comes out?

Wednesday 3 November 2004

Homemade spag boll tonight

The girls are cooking for me again tonight. All I need to do is supply them with a nice bottle of red. I think I can do that.

I may get roped into doing the dishes though...

... Is it worth it?

Probably...

5 and a half hour metting yesterday...

I was so drained by te end of it.

Problem is, I think I switched off after the first 10 minutes.

Whoopsie!

We didn't even get a break for lunch as they provided sandwiches.

It seems pretty silly to a meeting / training that long, as nobody was paying any attention to it by the end.

Dynamic financial analysis modeling. Wow! That's what I call interesting!

Monday 1 November 2004

Daylight saving time

I set all the clocks in the house last night except my bloody alarm clock. Fcuk! I'm now knackered and it's not fair.

Bloody establishments!