Terradyme: Trials and Tribulations

Thursday, August 26, 2004
Judge and Jury

Not to bore you with all the details, but at CG's suggestion I wrote to my property manager to ask whether anything can be done about my mattress which was supplied as part of the furnished flat. I thought it was new & the manufacturer has a one year "quibble free" guarantee. After a week without hearing a reply, I rang to find out the status. It turns out they've lost the paperwork but in any event it wasn't new when I moved in--just in good condition. A member of staff will come out to look at it "one day next week" to determine whether they can (or should) do anything about it. I'd love for them to replace it outright & I'd even chip in to get a better quality one, for the sake of my back. If not, I may have to spend the money myself which will cut into other pots of cash.
9:33:00 PM

Not the airline, not Dukakis, not the mount

As I mentioned yesterday I've been watching dribs and drabs of the Olympics each night. I've been more interested in the gymnastics and swimming than the track & field events going on now. This year it sure hasn't been dull; Michael Phelps's last race in the 200 butterfly was just amazing, and the various doping and judging scandals have drawn almost as much attention as the medal winners. When it's come up in conversation, most English people seem to think that their athletes are almost destined not to do well, as there isn't nearly the same amount of money and attention and sponsorship here as there is for American athletes. As a result, they're pleasantly surprised when they do get a medal. In fact, depending on which chart you read, they're in the top 10 right now.
9:26:00 PM

Wednesday, August 25, 2004
The devil's in the deal

I hadn't even had a chance to blog that my TV had gone kaput when P had decided to solve the problem (and ensure continued Olympics viewing) by dropping off her spare this evening. Of course, the conditions under which I was forced to accept said TV -- and the number of good deeds I feel I must perform in return -- are such that I may have been better off missing out on the synchronized swimming and rhythmic gymnastics finals. Just kidding; it was awfully sweet of her to loan it to me. P had already placed herself in my goodstanding earlier in the day, when we jointly managed to figure out how to book my upcoming drivers' theory test (now scheduled for 16/9 at 11:00 a.m.). We also took the bus downtown during lunch to check out the Central Library's only copy of the Driving Hazard and Perception training DVD, to help prepare for the test. A quick foray in the Covered Market (a first time for P) made for a productive lunch hour.
9:45:00 PM

I just knew he'd try this

The U.S. Olympic Committee, concerned that President Bush's reelection campaign is using the Athens Games for political purposes, will review a copy of a televised campaign ad that credits Bush with liberating athletes from Afghanistan and Iraq so they can compete here. 'In 1972, there were 40 democracies in the world. Today, 120,' a narrator intones, over images of an Olympic stadium with flags flying and swimmers racing in a pool. 'Freedom is spreading like a sunrise. At this Olympics, there will be two more free nations. And two fewer terrorist regimes.' The word 'Olympic,' as well as the brand and concept of Olympianism, belongs exclusively to the International Olympic Committee worldwide and to the USOC in the United States. The bylaws of both organizations prohibit the use of the Olympics for political ends, as does an act of Congress, which states that the USOC 'shall be non-political and may not promote the candidacy of any individual seeking public office.'

9:27:00 PM

Tuesday, August 24, 2004
A Miracle

I awoke with a start Saturaday at 9 to the sound of my annoying door buzzer. The postman had a special delivery for me: my provisional drivers license had arrived, along with my Irish passport, after only one week. How's that for the government and for Royal Mail?! Now I can schedule my theory test (or, rather, I can schedule it as soon as I've completed my thorough study regimen). Unfortunately, in leaping out of bed in great haste to answer the door, I wrenched my back again. Strangely, as I immediately started inhaling pain killers, I was fine by yesterday evening. The weekend was not a very mobile one, though.
9:45:00 PM

Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Vote, vote, vote your row

I mailed off my application for an absentee ballot today. You may recall that GW "won" the 2000 election by 537 votes. There are about seven million American voters living and working overseas and I'm glad my vote will be counted this year. While I was investigating the absentee ballot process last week, I came across an interesting site which gives a week-by-week update on how the election would turn out, based upon current poll data. It concentrates exclusively on the Electoral college vote and not on the popular vote, which I think makes it significantly more interesting an indicator. I can't find the exact site but I found a similar one today: Electoral-vote.com

Watching the electoral vote is more important than watching the national polls. This website is dedicated to tracking the electoral vote by examining the state-by-state polls. As new state polls are released, the maps, spreadsheets, and tables will be updated.

� � �

8:59:00 PM

Tuesday, August 17, 2004
Toff

At lunch last week, I purchased a packet of crisps to eat with my sandwich. A particular brand caught my eye: new packaging and new flavours by the Jonathan Crisp company (whose slogan, I dimly recall, used to be "Crisp by name -- crisp by nature.") They were pretty good. It wasn't until the next day that I noticed the new slogan -- "Crisps for Snobs." The packaging is a step above the average crisp packet's, and the flavours are distinctive - Jalapeno Pepper, Mature Cheddar & Red Onion, and Sea Salt & Black Pepper. Each packet has it's own 'snob' character portrait on the front designed by the Spitting Image creator. On the back:

If you need further information do give us a tinkle on 01865 882514or if you have one of those new fangled computer things why not email us at hello@jonathancrisp.co.uk?

They're made just down the road. So are BMW's Mini. Didja know that?
9:15:00 PM

Monday, August 16, 2004
Cows, Sheep, Chub, Signets, Peahens and Toads

P from work convinced me I needed some refreshment while continuing my studies for the drivers' Theory test, so we met up yesterday afternoon for a break. I took the bus up to P's flat and we walked through the village of Wolvercote and Port Meadow. Port Meadow was lovely - the rain held off and we had a nice long walk along the river, admiring the greenery, the Oxford skyline to the south, and the cows, sheep and horses wandering about with apparent freedom. After, we stopped at the The Trout Inn for a drink. I'd heard colleagues talking about The Trout but I hadn't realized it had such a long history. (It was built in 1133.) Several peacocks and peahens, which were quite tame, wander throughout the pub, and as The Trout is right on the river, they fight with the ducks and swans for patrons' crumbs.

not my photo
7:56:00 PM

Thursday, August 12, 2004
The U.K. government has demanded I hand over my Irish passport

I was trying to find an earlier post which described the frustration my colleage CG had encountered when trying to exchange her NZ driving license for a British one. She was planning a local driving holiday with friends and wanted all her ducks in a row in case they were pulled over for any reason. CG found out that she could only drive here for the first 12 months she was resident; after that she would have to exchange her NZ license for a UK one if she wanted to continue to drive. She didn't want to give up the NZ license, so she decided not to pursue it. I found out that I could also drive here for the first 12 months I was resident, but that I did not have the option of exchanging my US license; instead, I must apply for a provisional license, take and pass the theory (written) test, take and pass the practical (driving) test, and apply for a full license. All for about �120 ($215). I do not need to give up my US license. I sent off my application for a provisional license to the "Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority" in Swansea today, and as part of the package I had to include the passport as proof of identity. They say I'll get everything back within five weeks.
8:33:00 PM

Wednesday, August 11, 2004
Chortle Guffaw Yuk Yuk Yuk

Almost right after last month's successful outing, P decided to organise another movie night in Oxford; unfortunately most of my colleagues couldn't agree on a mutually convenient date, so it was only P, M and I at the Odeon on George Street monday night for a late showing of Shrek 2 (only the second movie I've seen this year). I'd heard nothing but good reviews about it from friends and family, and I wasn't disappointed. I haven't decided whether I liked this one better than the first. The bits with the 3 Blind Mice made me laugh loudest. I hadn't realized until I looked at IMDB that here in England the voices of Larry King (the Ugly Stepsister) and Joan Rivers (the red carpet lady) were replaced by home-grown TV presenters Jonathan Ross and Kate Thornton. We'd had a drink at a bar beforehand, the weather was pretty miserable, so we each made our separate ways after.

8:49:00 PM

Monday, August 09, 2004
If I'd wanted to be a farmer, I'd have bought some green jeans

The weather's crap. Last night was one of the hottest on record. The property manager had notified me that my semi-weekly house inspection would be today, so I spent most of the weekend cleaning and throwing stuff out and then tackling the garden. It's amazing how much stuff grows even in just a week or two. It looks much nicer but if I had my own place I'd bulldoze it all and rent it out as a mini carpark. And it took forever. By six I was truly done with it and decided on the spur of the moment to call a work colleague to join me for a pint at The Goose at Gloucester Green. It was a bit cooler by then, so we sat outside and had a few and a nice long chat. We closed the place. The weed pulling and hedge trimming didn't do my back any wonders, and I had a bad night. Work was so-so; lots of people are out on holiday or ill and so workloads have been shifted, stress levels are high, and the heat (and lack of air conditioning) doesn't help.
11:01:00 PM

Saturday, August 07, 2004
It's been a month; I'm allowed

From today's Washington Post:

The economy generated 32,000 jobs in July, far short of economists' expectations. The Dow Jones industrial average slid 324 points this week to the lowest point of the year, closing Friday 772 points below its position when Bush took office. Payroll jobs remain 1.5 million short of where last winter the White House said they would be by now. To avoid being the first president since Herbert Hoover to preside over a net job loss, Bush must hope for 372,000 new jobs a month in August, September and October. ... [Earlier this week] the White House had issued another forecast, showing the year's budget deficit of $445 billion, a record in dollar terms. ... Oil prices neared a record high of $45 a barrel on Friday.

Oh well: at least I feel safer.
10:44:00 PM

Friday, August 06, 2004
You think you'd be careful to get that right

Finally, the man speaks the truth.
10:49:00 PM

Wednesday, August 04, 2004
That's my name, Wensleydale

For two days I've had a craving for cheese: Danish Havarti, in particular. I've had no luck finding any, in the local Sainsbury's, the slighly more upscale Marks & Spencers, or (today's excursion) the Deli in the Covered Market. Shame. It's been too hot to put much effort into anything, really. But I had to thank the secretaries this a.m. as they presented me a card and a gift certificate for �10 at WH Smiths for patiently helping them with their documents for last month's Review. It was very sweet and unnecessary, but it's always nice to be appreciated.
9:39:00 PM

Monday, August 02, 2004
I couldn't afford a corsage

I just rang my gran, as I usually do at least once a week or so, and told her about the office boat party. When I described the band, the buffet dinner and the flowing alcohol, she chastised me; she's upset I didn't ask her to be my date.
9:41:00 PM

I didn't see either of the Attenboroughs

Yesterday's cultural excursion was to Oxford University's Museum of Natural History and the Pitt Rivers Museum, which are housed in adjacent buildings north of town centre. The Natural History Museum is similar to the one in DC, but on a smaller scale. Some interesting unique exhibits include:

the first "dinosaur (Megalosaurus)" bones, which were found in Stonesfield, a village about 7 miles NW of Oxford, described and presented in a scientific journal by William Buckland, professor of Geology at Oxford in 1824
complete skeletons from two other Oxfordshire dinosaurs
hundreds of specimens of stuffed animals, the remains of one of which -- Oxford's Dodo -- was the inspiration for Lewis Carroll's Dodo in Alice in Wonderland (Carroll, whose real name was Charles Dodgson and who was an Oxford don, took the Dean's daughter Alice to the museum on rainy afternoons.)

The building's architecture itself was quite impressive; steel columns hold up a Victorian glass roof. Several of the exhibits were under refurbishment, so I may go again. The Pitt Rivers Museum won't be getting a return visit. It has over half a million objects of interest to archaeologists and anthropologists, from all regions of the world: musical instruments, weapons, masks, textiles, jewelry, and tools. "The Pitt Rivers still retains its Victorian atmosphere. The cluttered cases, the original small handwritten labels and the absence of intrusive text-panels all contribute to the special experience it offers." That's telling it. It was dark, cramped and hot. I heard from my colleague today that the collection was donated with the condition that the displays never be updated or modernised. Ugh.
7:18:00 PM

Sunday, August 01, 2004
Scary! Scary!

Just read that my old haunts, the Bank's HQ and the IMF in DC are two of five buildings that have been specifically named as potential al-Qaida targets.

[Secretary Ridge] said the government took the unprecedented step of naming specific buildings because of the level of specificity of the intelligence. "This is not the usual chatter. This is multiple sources that involve extraordinary detail," Ridge said. He said the government decided to notify the public because of the specificity of detail it had obtained. The official said the intelligence included security in and around these buildings; the flow of pedestrians; the best places for reconnaissance; how to make contact with employees who work in the buildings; the construction of the buildings; traffic patterns; locations of hospitals and police departments; and which days of the week present less security at these buildings.

I'm waiting to get some sort of response from friends of mine still working there.
7:26:00 PM

Row, row, row

not my photo This week was my one year anniversary working at the hospital. I suppose its a tradition; the company has a party in December and another mid-year, but I don't recall one from last year. This year we hired a boat for a dinner cruise on the river, with a jazz band and bar. Most of us met up Friday after work at the Head of the River across from the jetty for a pint before boarding. We left at about 7:30 and it was still quite warm then, but cooled down quickly as the sun fell. I didn't have anything to drink or to eat as I was feeling a bit ill from the diesel fumes, but everyone else seemed to enjoy the fare. The band was good, but a bit loud, located in the centre of the seating area, so it was sometimes difficult to hold a conversation with a person next to you. Still, it was a nice night out and I only had to stumble a few blocks home when we returned to Folly Bridge at 10:15.
6:35:00 PM