David Blair

I said what?

Mon, 05 Feb 2007 21:18:17 GMT

I think I said I'd eat my hat if the Saints won their division. I had no extra requirements if we made it to our first Championship game (lost badly but still).
I may have to Google for edible hats.
I'm in a new bike frame of mind. Just need the cashflow to match it. Current budget looks like 1500 ukp to upgrade frame, forks, one wheel (yes, just the front one), stem and bars.
The killer question is: Can I end an unbroken run of 16 years of Kona ownership?

Okay, so the Saints rock

Thu, 14 Dec 2006 14:43:43 GMT

9-4 and the no.2 team in the NFC (having just beat the cowboys to untie that Honor). We also have the top passer in the league and an exciting offense.
Don't you just love it when the team you've supported through thick and thin (the 2000 season was the last "thick" one) finally come good?
Can we win it all? Objectively, I'd say no. We just don't have the defense.
I other news I have an Xbox 360 and can easily be found on the obvious Xbox live username. PGR3 and Gears of war is all I have at the moment apart from live arcade stuff.
Gears of War is stunningly good. Still taking a while to get used to 2 analogue sticks instead of keyboard and mouse but it's getting better.
Where Quake players go everywhere sideways, Gears of War players go everywhere using cover.

Suspected mild case of Voodoo

Thu, 07 Sep 2006 09:07:36 GMT

Had the day off yesterday due to a cold.
Sounds like the sort of thing the Saint's half-baked Houngans would do.
I'm sorry I doubted the team but there are just too many questions over the offensive line, receivers and defense.
Given a choice between:
A) Being well and going to work or
B) Being ill and staying home.
I'll take A.
2 pleasant bike commuting days missed due to illness damn it.

NFL kick-off

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 15:55:40 GMT

Another September has come around and another year when the hopes of the New Orleans Saints fan are high.
This year we have new stuff in the all the important places i.e. head coach, quarterback and running-back (no.2 pick Reggie Bush). And more importantly the Saints are back in New Orleans.
I know that I've heard all this before but it has to be the Saints time one of these years.
I'll think for 2006 I'll put my hopes down a few pegs. Here's hoping for mediocrity, 8-8 would be nice. A wild-card would surprise me.
Winning the division over the Panthers? Not likely, put me down for headgear consumption if that happens.

Superbowl XL.

Tue, 07 Feb 2006 14:46:33 GMT

Kind of an anti-climax. They often are. No reason why the most important game of the year should also be the best. But you'd expect that there would be a real spirit to the game. Lose this and you'll simply be superbowl losers, which no-one cares about (you may be NFC or AFC champions but that's another way of saying "superbowl loser").
Both teams were inept. If we'd have seen the bottom 2 teams in the league instead of the top 2 then I'd understand but this was supposed to be the best and they didn't look it.
The monkey-sucker bowl (as I've just named it) would be the Houston Texans vs the New Orleans Saints BTW. I would have enjoyed that.

That thing.

Tue, 24 Jan 2006 17:28:20 GMT

At work. Nearly time to go.
Seriously thinking about shaving my beard.

Sleepless Pic.

Tue, 06 Sep 2005 16:05:15 GMT

Not the worst picture I've seen of me and I appear to be going somewhere at a speed that could be mistaken for race pace (a close look shows I'm hauling on the anchors).
At least it's a not a picture of me just pottering along up a gentle hill or something. This would have been Sunday morning after at least 5 laps and a few hours sleep in a lumpy tent. I can tell it's Sunday as I changed to my favorite grey jersey on Sunday to cheer myself up.

Came into work this morning at 6 am to ship some code to a customer before they started work and now, with 30 minutes to go, I'm completly shattered and running on caffeine alone.

Survived!

Mon, 29 Aug 2005 21:35:59 GMT

Yep that's the 24 hour bike race monkey off my back.
Sleepless in the saddle was pretty good. Bone-dry and very rutted course meant that my Dawg full-suspension bike was well appreciated despite it's extra weight.
We did 33 laps for "Riders not racers" and since we are "riders" and not "racers" we don't really care about the result but it's probably okayish. We'll see for certain in a few days time.

Back and gone again.

Wed, 01 Jun 2005 19:11:16 GMT

Wales was good. The weather was variable but we worked our way round it. Saw Revenge of the Sith. It was a film that's kinda like Star Wars. It didn't wow me. It didn't digust me either.
Riding was ace and I think that Sandy and Les enjoyed the riding too. Nothing on the Marin or Red Bull which really threw them. The Marin was better than I remember and more suitable for the other too than I'd imagined.
Off to Fort William on friday (after flying up to Edinburgh on thursday). The 10 under the ben bike race should be fun. The course looks good and should hopefully still be fun despite the mad racers flying around it.
Wish me and the rest of "riders not racers" luck.

Wales

Sat, 21 May 2005 07:29:35 GMT

After a flurry of entries I'm going to go quiet for a week.
I'll be in wales.
Mostly cycling of course. It'll be kinda odd riding the Dawg again. I've not really had time to ride it and when I've been up in Edinburgh I've been using the Kula.
Hopefully Wales will prove to provide some training for 10 under the ben when I get back.
I hope the rest of you who are going are well prepared. Got some training done and have your bikes in tip-top shape.
Speaking of which, anyone fancy going over to my parent's house to clean and lube the Kula?
:-)

Glasgow sucks, I'm told.

Mon, 16 May 2005 18:16:52 GMT

So, my other job offer pays more money. So what? I don't care than much 'cos it's still in Nottingham (not with my current employer).
However I've had the agency that got me the offer was on the phone telling me how terrible Glasgow is compared to Edinburgh. Not a top tactic when your alternative is the gun crime capital of the midlands.
Well my acceptance is off anyway so hopefully that will be the end of it.

Who want's to make an offer to stop hearing about my life?
;-)

All change.

Sun, 15 May 2005 19:13:24 GMT

I love those change machine things in Asda. Dump all your coins into it and it counts them all, giving you a voucher for Asda at the end. Since I don't use buses, I have alot of change. 45 quid in fact. Filled up the freezer quite nicely.
My Dr.Dew has snapped another 2 spokes. 5 down, 27 to go. When will Kona learn how to build a decent wheel.

Glasgow bound.

Fri, 13 May 2005 18:25:41 GMT

Yep.
1st November new job in Kirkintilloch.
Yay!

Mon, 20 Dec 2004 11:16:55 GMT

Ah, the great MP3 player on random meme.
I make no apologies for skipping "They're red hot" by the Red Hot Chilli peppers since I can make out about 3 words.

Here's what I have.

1. ~~"Dreams of war, dreams of liars, dreams of dragon's fire and of things that will bite."~~ (Enter Sandman. Metallica)
2. ~~"Say, say my name. I need a little love to ease the pain".~~ (Dissolved Girl, Massive Attack)
3. ~~"I was wanting you to love me. But your love it never came."~~ (Ego trippin' at the gates of Hell, The Flaming lips.)
4. ~~"Think I've got the message figured. Another pilot down."~~ (Not the Red Baron, Tori Amos)
5. "I've gotta get outa here. And find my way again. I've lost my way again."
6. "There you are and you stand in the rain and the rain fills your brain and makes you think that god was fucked up when he made this town".
7. ~~"Change my picture. Smack my bitch up."~~ (Smack my Bitch up, The Prodigy)
8. "Hey little girl would you like some candy? Your mother says it's okay."
9. ~~"I do not like thee Dr.Fell. You made me fall in love with you."~~ (Dr.Fell, Juliet Turner)
10. ~~"Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter".~~ (Here come's the sun, The Beattles)
11. ~~"The ocean is the river's goal a need to leave the water knows we're closer now than light years to go.".~~ (Find the river, REM)
12. ~~"I tried to sing it funny like Beck".~~ (Jed's other poem. Grandaddy)
13. ~~"You do it to yourself, you do. And that's what really hurts".~~ (Just, Radiohead)
14. ~~"Dance to, dance to the beat. Wanna be a hippy cos life is so sweet."~~ (Love is a good thing, Sheryl Crow)
15. "Now once upon a time upon this mike. MCs be really working on what they write".
16. "It ain't about who ya love. See, it's all about do you love".
17. "Sun. Suicide is a shame. Sun. Soon you'll find your own way".
18. ~~"Take your time. Hurry up. The choice is your's don't be late".~~ (Come as you are, Nirvana)
19. "11 O'clock. It is 11 O'clock. Very good now. Ready? I'm ready."
20. ~~"And is it true, that devils end up like you, something safe for the picture frame?"~~ (Tori Amos, She's your cocaine.)
21. ~~"Am I gonna see the sun come up or am I going down?"~~ (Eels, Agony)
22. ~~"You should feel what I feel. You should say what I say."~~ (Chemical Brothers, Star Guitar)
23. ~~"It's written in your eyes and how I despise myself. But you can't deny how I feel"~~ (Elysium, Portishead)
24. "Who's gonna love my baby when she's gone around the bend?"
25. ~~"When they shine is hard to say, but somethings never fade away."~~ (Don't need a reason, Beth Orton)

Guns and bombs

Wed, 12 Feb 2003 04:59:55 GMT

I went to a computer fair at the state fairground on saturday. Kinda of what you'd expect but I didn't buy much, I figure by the time I get it back to Britain it will be the same price there.
Anyway, more interesting looking was the Gun and Knife show. I didn't go in, but I did notice a sign outside the computer fair advising "No guns". I guess knives where okay. The gun show didn't have a sign that said "No computers". A missed opportunity.
Speaking of guns, I've noticed the security guards are the office are armed. There they are wandering back and forth with Guns! I suppose that the building does have alot of valuable equipment in it. But maybe I needn't have worried, turns out the rent-a-cops are really rental cops. They're all off-duty police officers. I think that makes me feel safer.

Wed, 05 Feb 2003 03:49:49 GMT

Wow! Tennessee laws make an episode of the Osbournes unintelligible. And what do they think it's going to accomplish blurring out a middle digit?
Really, it sucks.
Thank Fuck for HBO.

Tue, 04 Feb 2003 03:48:02 GMT

The usual sunday night gaming discussion about where to eat would either be alot better or alot worse here.
The number of fast-food joints and restraunts within 10 minutes of the apartment is amazing. At least 2 dozen most of them I've yet to try, like Arby's and Krystal (tiny burgers apparently).
Wendys comes highly recommended for it's burgers but I'm afraid that Hardees have them beat. The $6 burger is the best!
Strange though the the $6 combo with fries and drink is $5.30. But I'd pay $6 for it.
Any burger joint which gives you a number a brings the burger to your table has my vote. There's actually a sign outside my local Hardees that proclaims "Introducing longer waits at Hardees".
Later.

Winter will continue after this brief intermission

Mon, 03 Feb 2003 04:05:57 GMT

Well, quite a turn around. The weather today was 16 degrees and sunny. I know that's not particulary hot but I had to turn the air-conditioning on full to keep cool.
It would be great to have a small break like this from the winter in Scotland. It would certainly help my sister. She really has trouble with the long dark, wet winters in Scotland.
Went shopping in the wonderful weather and got some new pants (an accident with the bleach cost be a pair earlier in the week) and a couple of CDs.
My roommate has returned to Australia for the next 3 weeks and it's kinda wierd being in the apartment on my own. All I have to do is make sure I keep the place reasonably tidy :-)
Had to take the Hyundai back to budget on wednesday after the check-engine light came on. Got a brand-new Altima, this time in a sort of metallic speartmint. I'm beginning to like there Altimas.
I'll have to look into getting some small speakers to listen to music on. The laptop is a great machine and I'm very happy with it, but the speakers suck for music.

Bankers

Mon, 27 Jan 2003 04:54:49 GMT

Well, my first pay-cheque arrived on friday. Well it tried to arrive but I wasn't in. I was at the place of work at earning those pay-cheques. Anyway I went to the post office to get it and was told it has just been sent out again, driving back I just caught the postman and got the cheque. Yay!
So went to the bank and was told I couldn't have it cashed and that I needed to have an account. So I am now an account holder at the Bank of America. I didn't think this would happen but what the hell. Took 1.5 hours to get to the front of the queue to open the account (the account opening guy is also the branch's only spanish speaker so he was very busy).
Renewed my rental car today and got a Hyundai Sonata. Beaten with ugly stick is all I have to say about it.
The superbowl was surprisingly one-sided but still fun.

That's some wierd-ass snow!

Thu, 23 Jan 2003 04:26:44 GMT

Okay, snow should not look like that. It's like sand, it's blowing about the road in wierd ways and really freaking me out.
Getting some more hours in a work now, it's refreshing to get payed for the extra hours you put in.
It'll help pay off this laptop and with new wheels for the 'tavia. I'd also like to get disc-brakes for my bike and why not?

The fun of grocery shopping

Tue, 21 Jan 2003 04:19:34 GMT

It's lovely out there. 14 degrees C compared to -13 degrees C last Friday night.
It's like a Scottish summer.
It's been a long time since I have had to do much grocery shopping but I'm beginning to find some wierd pleasure in it. I get a warm glow inside when I read "You saved $15.61 with your Kroger plus card" on the bottom of my receipt.
And I forgot to buy Goldfish crackers, damn.

Through hail and snow etc

Fri, 17 Jan 2003 19:35:05 GMT

Made it into the office for 1:00 in the afternoon. Can't get the laptop to connect to the office server, stupid thing.
Must go to Kroger for supplies later, just in-case I get snowed in.
Looks like we might have trouble going to the Nashville auto and truck show at the weekend, sounded cool, they have Minis!

Snow

Fri, 17 Jan 2003 05:12:09 GMT

It snowed.
Alot.
Everything ground to a halt, cars were abandoned at the side of the road, schools were closed etc.
Don't know if I'll be able to go into work tomorrow.
So anticipating this, I took my laptop into work to have it set-up to allow me to work from the apartment.
Anyway it's snowy and cold. It's about -5c at the moment compared with 7c in Edinburgh, I came all this way to get worse weather.
Damn.

Cleaning

Sat, 11 Jan 2003 20:09:07 GMT

At the end of a week at work I've found that I've run out of clothes.
Bought detergent to use in the company apartment.
What sort of a name for a cleaning product is Chlorox?
It sounds like something you'd gas people with.
Anyway everything's clean now and I have clothes to wear.

Tennessee play today in the big playoff game against Pittsburgh. Go Titans!

So you're a Scotsman in Nashville...

Wed, 08 Jan 2003 02:24:06 GMT

...and you see a sign on Nolansville road. It proclaims "The scotsman", and below it is a picture of a traditional man in kilt.
Intrigued you look more closely.
Traditional food you think, perhaps haggis.
Kilts.
Bagpipes.
Nope, Pawnshop.
Yep, the Scotsman pawn shop. We came to Nashville and we're willing to give you a good price for your family jewels.