'Get Your War On' goes animated

Writing about web page http://www.236.com/video/2008/get_your_war_on_the_watch_list_1_8056.php

'Get Your War On' is one of several excellent comics by David Rees that lives at http://www.mnftiu.cc. Someone thought it would be a great idea to animate some, and I have to agree. Click on the link above to enjoy.

: 03 Aug 2008 23:33 |  Tags: Comics |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Is it wrong to love awesome kitchen gadgets as much as I do?

Writing about web page http://www.wrapables.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=C57237&intpromo=C57237_KIT_123107#MORE

God I want one.

: 20 Jun 2008 00:35 |  Tags: Gadgets |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Ikea is intimidating to the novice user

Needing to furnish my new flat, I got all excited that, for the first time in my life, I'm living next to an Ikea. Nice, modern, cheap, non-crap stuff - what could go wrong?

But damn that building is weird. The first time I went to check it out it took me half an hour to find an exit. Then yesterday when I decided to actually give them some of my money, I had to have the way the place works patiently explained to me by some long suffering staff person. Nothing makes me want to not shop somewhere like having to have the basic operation explained to me in detail.

The rules are simple:

Look around the show room until you find something you want. Ask a member of staff to reserve you one, unless it's one of the things you just go get yourself. Wander around aimlessly for a bit noting things you think you'd quite like to get, and then spend 20 minutes walking through the entire rest of the store to get to the bit where you can get out into the warehouse. Find a trolley, and wander up and down aisles looking for the things you have to get yourself. Wrestle large boxes off shelves onto the trolley (pro-tip: sometimes things come in multiple boxes). Pack everything precariously on you trolley and haul it to the check out. Pay. Haul down two floors to the delivery place. Pay. Go back up, pick up the sofa which is one of the things you couldn't get yourself. Take to delivery place. Exit the building, slightly bewildered but reasonalby sure everything will arrive when you asked for it.

I think I 'get' it now, but damn. Sweden is weird.

: 18 Jun 2008 10:28 |  Comments (2) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

My first week

I figure that if the University wants to give me a place to blog so easily, I might as well use it. We'll see how long it lasts before I revert to just emailing people :)

I've found a flat in Leamington Spa, but I can't move in yet because my letting agent is useless. They had to check references and credit and job things, and this 5 minute job took 5 days. I know it's a 5 minute job because once I got the phone number of the person doing the checking and chased it up, it got sorted immediately. Now that's out of the way, the letting agent can do all the other paperwork like inventory the flat and draw up a contract, which is again going to take 5 days. Not to mention the painting which they told me had been done already. Sigh. It's annoying but I'll live.

I've been furniture hunting for a bit, and have learned that Ikea is awesome. Cheap, nice, modern stuff - seriously, where has this been all my life? There must be a catch but I haven't seen it yet - maybe the assembly is actually impossible without an engineering degree.

I've spent some time looking around the area - man, I can't wait to get my bike, exploring is going to be awesome. Coventry is a hole, as far as I can see. Kenilworth is pretty but there's nothing there but people who commute to jobs elsewhere. The university campus is nice, and Leamington is really pretty - apparently I was done with granite more than I thought.

Wandering round LS today and I came across the Leamington Peace festivel (http://www.peacefestival.org.uk/) - apparently a 30 year old annual event, a good sign in a city I think (although I had to laugh at just how stereotypical everyone was, and I couldn't get Cartman's voice out of my head - 'Hippies....hippies everywhere' :). Tomorrow I'm going to go along to the Cafe Scientifique (http://www.cafescientifique.org/) event that I randomly read about in the Guardian a while back and then discovered that there was one here every month - I hope it's fun.

: 15 Jun 2008 23:51 |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem