Odd Thomas Odd Blog

Despite spending most of the weekend sleeping - gotta catch up on that lost hour somehow - I managed to get a fair bit of DIY done. Getting myself motivated to get started on any DIY project is harder than getting Jeremy Clarkson to like the Perodua Kelisa .  However, once the ball is rolling, I do find that its hard to stop and I end up working on a list of things that have been waiting since I pretty much moved in ten years ago ... yeah, I'm not exactly the most motivated individual going when it comes to doing the chores! So, driven by the need to fix the dripping tap in the bathroom, I spent the waking hours of the weekend yoyo-ing between B&Q and the flat and managed to get a reasonable amount of stuff done, including: Fitting some nice satin nickel door handles to the kitchen units to replace the manky metal ones that have been there for the last ten years. Attempting to replace the tap washers and ending up replacing the whole of the tap tops on both the bath and the si

Isn't it amazing how quickly time flies when you've got a lot on ... or when you have a new MacBook to play with!!!! The Wednesday before Easter, I was checking the account for the delivery dates and noticed that they had suddenly leapt from 29 March to 20 March!  Thankfully, working in IT makes it a little easier to work from home when necessary, so a quick email to one of my colleagues* and I was all set for the delivery. As usual, the wait was unbearable: every car or van that went past got me out of my seat and peering out of the flat to see if it was the delivery guy.  Finally, at 11am, it arrived ... woohoo!!! I have to confess that I always get nervous when I order something expensive, so I only unpacked the boxes to make sure that everything was there, using the excuse that I was still at work so I shouldn't be playing.  I can be far too anal good sometimes! So, with a mixture of excitement, sadness and nerves, I left everything packed up and trotted into work to f

From listening to the radio, there appears to be a long-running debate about whether or not people are affected by their surroundings. They are! My evidence? When the Mark's and Spencer store first opened in Tring, the staff were friendly, welcoming and helpful. And they still are. But after these past few months of serving the majority of Hertfordshire's octogenarians, they are now also loud! It seems that younger generations are few and far between as the basic greeting volume has gone up several decibels to cater for the majority. I'll have to wear ear buds next time, save my hearing.

Stats loggers are great! Whilst it's exciting to see the number of visitors rising over the years, albeit slower than an OAP gigolo, this is actually the least interesting part of the stats. If you want the really interesting stuff, then you have to look at the search keywords used to reach the site ... boy, are there some odd people out there. When I posted the cat cartoons under the title of Pussy Power last November, I can't deny suspecting that I might get a few people popping in expecting something totally different. Wrong. I should have had more faith in people's decency! No, the one thing that has been bringing people here in their hordes (if 76 people last month can be called a horde) is ... Gimli! Gimli?! Have I missed something?? Well, as so many of you are coming here seemingly because of this post , here are a few links to help you on your merry way* ... though do feel free to hang around if you want ;-) Arwen-Undomiel Tolkien Gateway Lord of the Rings Onlin

...you get excited about the vacuum having all its suction back! I don't know what came over me, but after properly cleaning the vacuum last week, a slight thrill quivered through me as I turned it on for the first time today and it sucked up the carpet in an apparent attempt to eat it. Perhaps I'm imagining things, but I'm sure some of the carpet pile has been revived. However, that thrill didn't compare to the one I got when I received a mail from Apple yesterday saying my MacBook is on its way! Yay!!!

I have to confess that I am a huuuuuuuge Pixar fan and you can guarantee that I'll be in the queue for one of their animations ... and I am really, really, really looking forward to seeing their next! For the Pixar fans out there, you know exactly what I'm talking about. For those who are blissfully unaware of what is coming, why not check out the trailers ! There is no denying that there are certain similarities to a certain Johnny-Five , if a bit squatter, but is that such a bad thing?

In something akin to a Biblical story line, I have finally succumbed to Steve Jobs' serpent* and bitten into the Apple ... I've ordered a MacBook! No longer shall I be exposed to the elements via open Windows (in theory, anyway) or require the finances and power grid of a small nation to run the latest OS ... I can also look forward to a better wardrobe**!! I've been dithering over them for a number of years now, but with the release of the new models and my cousin making the leap from PC to Mac, I finally took the plunge. It helps that I'm already getting into the Mac mindset with a burning desire to own an iPod Touch at some point in the future. Hopefully, very near in the future. So fingers crossed, within the next couple of weeks I will have a new machine in my grubby mitts to play with. I would probably be excited if I wasn't so nervous: things have a tendency to go wrong when I spend lots of money! If the past is anything to go by, one of two things will ha

Crikey, what a week! Barring the last couple of days, this past week seems to have been quite a busy one. Whether or not it actually has been is another thing altogether, but it certainly feels that way. The weekend was definitely a full one, with one of the worst journeys to see family I have had in a looooong time. As well as having to contend with the idiots that like to ride in my boot and the others eager for me to ride in theirs, there were also the idiots that refused to let me overtake, slowing down again when I pull in behind them. It was like every half-wit with a license was out en masse. By the time I got halfway through the journey my throat was sore from all the shouting and cursing! To add to this, I, like all the other drivers, was also fighting with a howling gale trying to huff-and-puff everyone off the road. Now, being a bit of a control freak, I don't like feeling like I'm at the mercy of something more powerful*, so I was hanging on the to steering whe