anime blogging cartoons diet family fiction finance gadgets Games general health hmmm... house Isle of Man jokes links MBA moblog money movies online games personal shopping software travel trivia TV work

Good morning

0

Aristea in the park

0

Who found the chocolate?

0

Queen of the Castle

0

Who is Owen Cutajar?

Have you ever typed your name into Google? Isn’t it interesting what comes up? Some of my websites come up in my case, but I guess I’m quite lucky because I have a pretty unusual name. I would hate to be a John Smith and try to look for myself on Google. It’s amazing really what you can find on the Internet nowadays, all sorts of things ranging from Nurse Costumes to solar powered toys. From NFL jerseys to a map of Jersey.

So, what comes up when you type your name?

  • Dated: January 29, 2009

Meet Luck and Chance

Camille and I were away from home a few days last week, visiting a hospital in Leeds for a Frozen Embryo Transfer. You see, when Arthur was born, we had a number of other embryos that were frozen for a later cycle and we’ve decided to try again. We defrosted 4 embryos and the best 2 were selected to be given a chance to grow. Before the procedure they are closely observed by the embryologist and we were given a chance to take a photo of them under the microscope. Here they are:

luckchance

We’ve named them Luck and Chance and are currently keeping our fingers crossed for them. (Apologies for the quality of the photo but I don’t know what camera was used, just that it was no Canon Powershot and they have been magnified as they are microscopic at that stage). Anyway we found out that the changes of a successful FET were currently around 30%, which although better than what we expected, are still quite low; so we’re trying not too hope too much .. but then, how can you not hope? We have our pregnancy test booked for next week .. so we’ll find out if it was successful then.

P.S. this was the photo of Hope and Chance (Hope = Arthur)

  • Dated: January 28, 2009

Xmas is over .. back to the diet

Diet Coke giver of life

So, the Christmas period is over .. ok, it’s been over for a couple of weeks now, and I’m well on my way to getting back on track with my diet. We had some relatives over, then Arthur‘s birthday, so it’s been a bit touch and go, but I’ve managed to lose one of the kilos I put on over Christmas .. another couple and I’m back to my weight at the beginning of December. I’m doing it the proper way, no Fentraphen or other diet pills, but just calorie counting and watching what I eat. It’s quite challenging, but I’m learning a lot, both about food and about myself.

So, fingers crossed, onwards and upwards. I’ll keep you all posted

  • Dated: January 23, 2009

One for the lawyers

We haven’t had a joke here for some time, so here’s a lawyer joke dedicated to Leo:

A grade school teacher was asking students what their parents did for a living. “Tim, you be first,” she said. “What does your mother do all day?”
Tim stood up and proudly said, “She’s a doctor.”
“That’s wonderful. How about you, Amie?”
Amie shyly stood up, scuffed her feet and said, “My father is a mailman.”
“Thank you, Amie,” said the teacher. “What about your father, Billy?”
Billy proudly stood up and announced, “My daddy plays piano in a whorehouse.”
The teacher was aghast and promptly changed the subject to geography. Later that day she went to Billy’s house and rang the bell. Billy’s father answered the door. The teacher explained what his son had said and demanded an explanation.
Billy’s father said, “I’m actually an attorney, Seattle injury lawyer to be exact. Tell me, how can I explain a thing like that to a seven-year-old?”

  • Dated: January 21, 2009

Family Guy

Family Guy
Image via Wikipedia

I’ve got a really soft spot for Family Guy, which happens to be on TV just as I decide to go to bed .. which means I end up spending an extra hour up watching 2 episodes of Family Guy. I just love the humour and the whole thing just sends me in hysterics. Seth Macfarlane is a genius!

One day, I may get myself a yatch and sail off into the sunset, but before that I’ll make sure I get myself satellite internet services so that I can download episodes of Family Guy and get my daily fix.

  • Dated: January 15, 2009

Fixing the washing machine

Washing machine

Well, I got my hands dirty this weekend and fixed our washing machine. I’ve never opened one up, but it seems like most problems are quite easy to fix, as there aren’t that many bits that make it up. The problem was that the “filter clogged” light kept coming on intermittently, like a couple of times every wash and Camille was going to take one of my Adams gold irons to it. We had actually decided to replace it, but couldn’t find one we really liked.

It turned out that there was a sock stuck in it. Not in the pump filter, which would have been easy to replace. No, this one had wedged itself around a ball valve that sits between the drum and the pump. Once I got the cover off and turned it upside down so I could see what I was doing, I managed to fix the problem quite easily .. and learn what a ball valve was in the process!

Turns out washing machines aren’t that hard to hack ;)

  • Dated: January 12, 2009

Of marbles and magnets

So Santa brought Arthur a brilliant game this year. It consists of a set that needs to be assembled that contains a motor, cogs, marbles and a whole bunch of different things you can use to build a slalom course for the marbles (Arthur calls it his roller-coaster game). It takes around two hours to set up, but it’s great fun and a great way to get some “Daddy/Arthur” time. It’s excellent to see his spatial coordination improve day by day and it’s fun watching him make up stories about the marbles .. going off to work, going to the toilet, missing their friends etc

When he was younger he had another game that was similar, but it was all around magnets that hooked up to each other. We got it at a discount store, but I never managed to find another set to increase on the bits. Today I came across something that would combine both those ideas, the MagNext iCoaster (shown alongside) that looks like sooo much fun. It’s from MEGABrands who seem to be one of the largest suppliers of magnet in USA. I’ll have to look out for them here in the UK to see if they have anything similar, but if you’re US-based, check them out; they have a great selection of toys for kids of all ages.

  • Dated: January 5, 2009

Holidays almost over

80/365

Well, the 2 weeks of holidays are almost at and end and it’s back to our routine on Monday. Arthur will be going back to school, I’ll be going back to work, gym and Camille and I will be going back on our diet. It’s been a fantastic 2 weeks; excellent to spend some time with family and chill out.

Going back on the diet will be hard after the excess we’ve grown accustomed to, but it needs to be done. The nice thing is that it’s easier to calorie count the way everything is packaged today. I’ve got a calorie chart fo KFC and ever since we’ve had a Subway franchise here in the Isle of Man, I can get a nice sandwich and know exactly how many calories I’m consuming.

Let’s see how long it takes to shed the Christmas weight …

  • Dated: January 3, 2009

Everyone loves a contest

I’ve just finished running a contest, well, a sweepstake to be more exact on Ugh!!’s Greymatter Honeypot which resulted in Elizabeth from Table4Five winning a Twitter mug, which should be with her soon. I must say, it was great fun and I had some great response from people who took part. I’ll definitely be running another one in the future, but I might see if I can get a couple of promotional products in there so that there is more than one prize for people to compete for.

It was a pretty simple contest really, with people’s entry consisting of them spreading the world about it. I might have something that’s a bit more challenging next time; but best follow me on Twitter to find out when I’m running another one!

  • Dated: January 2, 2009

Need to get some new specs

I’ve just noticed that my specs have started to develop a greenish tint which seems to be where sweat collects. It comes off easily, but it looks like the coating on the frame has worn away at that location, so it’s time to get some new glasses. It’s been more than a year since I got my eyes checked, so it’s about time that I got them done.

I was looking around on the Web for ideas for specs and seeing it’s the Christmas holidays, these holiday frames caught my eye. The frame is pretty cool, it has a translucent to dark green frame front, with white temples, tipped in dark green. Here’s the best bit. It has snowmen and evergreens parading along the arms, which I think it an excellent way to celebrate Christmas. The specs are from Zenni Optical which means they’re the cheaper you’ll find around. The specs that caught my eye are around $17, which means you could get a spare pair just to wear during the holidays, just to celebrate that little bit more.

I’m sure sure if I’ll be able to order that pair though, as they only seem to deliver to the U.S. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like them here in the UK. But I definitely will keep my eyes open ;)

  • Dated: December 30, 2008
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »