Anyway, hopefully I can get back into the swing of things soon enough and find myself again.

Last I remember, I had decided to adopt a rather taciturn, journal-like style of blogging, inspired somewhat by Orwell’s repeated ‘Two eggs’ entries into his journals.  I think I’ll stick with that for now.  Just can’t be bothered to link thoughts together into some meaningful prose.  Little bursts of thinking will have to do for now.

Oh, nearly forgot.  The blog server was hacked into sometime back, and two blog entries where lost on the restore.  Here they are (thanks to Facebook, which had saved the imported versions):

Lost Blog #1 – “Mi Do Re Do Re Do La Sol*” (Tuesday, November 25, 2008 at 6:36pm)

Lisp is sucking my soul. The problem is that I am no Lisp expert, yet I am trying to read the Lisp code written by a bunch of experts and then trying to make additions and modifications for my own purposes.

And if I am to believe Malcolm Gladwell – who has been all over the media this week promoting his new book Outliers: The Story Of Success – I need to invest some 10,000 hours (10 years at 3 hours a day) towards acquiring the necessary skills to join the ranks of these Lisp experts.

In other words, I’m screwed.

Perhaps tonight’s chorale practice will provide some form of escape. I think we are starting to rehearse Christmas carols (which reminds me that I need to purchase 100 Carols for Choirs).

*This is the “solmisation” of the opening tenor phrase to a song tht Ddy always used to sing when we were growing up. Don’t know the lyrics or even the title of the song as I have only ever heard him sing this “solfa” phrase. Maybe a tradition I should continue with my own kids.

Lost Blog #2 – “25p saving on a £12 pizza” (Monday, November 24, 2008 at 7:40pm)

I’m with Lib Dem Treasury Spokesman Vince Cable on this one. I don’t see how a saving of 25p on a £12 pizza (inc. VAT) will get me rushing over to Pizza Hut to stimulate the economy. That £350 iPhone, now £342.50, is still out of reach.

Anyway, Gordon Brown is infinitely smarter than I am, so he must be seeing a trick with his VAT reduction that I am missing.

Enjoyed seeing Ddy this weekend. The flurry of SMS messages before, during, and after DT’s cabinet reshuffle was intriguing to witness. Still coming to terms with HB as a politico. But loving the political gossip.

Took him to see Uncle J yesterday. Uncle J still looking good. Auntie A did us up a wicked rice&peas and macaroni pie with baked chicken and baked pork.

Incidentally, I never understand why the train from Euston to MK runs so slowly on Sunday evenings.

Another day spent playing the Lisp detective.

This week not as productive as last. Wading through esoteric Lisp code is really slowing me up.

TGIF!

A philosophical work colleague, assuming the Gauloise-smoking persona of Jean Paul Sartre, had this to say in an email:

“of course this is completely pointless and deprived of meaning in itself but I can confirm that as I was staring into the non-being outside and asking to myself ‘but what is a bench after all?’ I felt reassured that I was alive when I came to pass a brilliant salvo of gas, which goes to show…”

MB just emailed me her recipe for conkies (which incidentally she was able to reproduce completely from memory. Amazing!)

I can’t wait to get a copy of Robert M. Sapolsky’s Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers. The Google Book extracts are fantastic.

I have way too much stuff stored in ‘My Documents’ and in my ‘Inbox’. Time to go on a massive de-cluttering drive.

Big ‘Thank You’ to DamiDads for updating my WordPress.

For the first time I’m considering making a move from PC to Mac.

Just had a good meeting about latest thesis draft. Can’t wait to be rid of this greatest of personal embarrassments.

Weekend was too short as usual. The Nottingham trip was OK – two soca tunes not enough though. Saw Kat and Nick and rest of Bajan posse in Nottingham. Considering linking with them for Independence Day celebrations in two weeks’ time.

Will never again park in front of Kat’s neighbour’s house.

B grade for productivity this week. Actually got a piece of Lisp code to run first time.

Anyway, weekend is here. Off to Nottingham for the evening. Should be a pleasant enough drive – 1hr30min from MK. Going to shout Kat and Nick and see what the Uni. Nottingham Caribbean society (http://www.socaa.net/) have cooked up.

It has inspired me to put finger to keyboard once again but this time with an emphasis on short, genuine diary entries. So…

I’m off to M’s house for a nice meal with other friends. I hear pasta is on the menu. I’m a bit tired, but if you live in MK and someone offers you a free meal with company and conversation, you snatch it with both hands. I’ll take the other M who is visiting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBugw1VdpH0

I always found this brother funny no matter what he did – whether little cameos in the Ocean’s trilogy, Transformers, and as far back as Friday, or whether starring in his own sitcom the Bernie Mac show.

I was even moved one time to write a little funk tune based on a hook from an episode of his sitcom – “Mac the lead dog, doog, dooog”. Even remembering it now makes me smile.

R.I.P.