AntzOnline Weblog

Saving the Planet

Antz — Tue, 02 May 2006 22:07:00 +0000

We're forever being told about the impending end of the world; pretty much due to our abuse of the planet over the last couple of hundred years.

I like to think that I try to make a difference. There's no way you could accuse me of being a sandal-wearing peacenik living on a diet of cous cous and beansprouts but I certainly try to make some kind of difference. I carefully sort and recycle all my paper, card, tins, glass and plastic bottles. I compost my kitchen and garden waste on either one of our compost heaps or using the Council-supplied garden waste bin. Unwanted clothing and household items go off to the charity shop.

If I have to buy a new appliance I'll always get the most energy-efficient one I can get and do my best to run things like the dishwasher and washing machine at night so that I tap into the world of surplus electricity. I use energy-efficient bulbs where possible and remember to turn off the lights when possible.

At work I started to take home waste paper so I could recycle it because my employers didn't have a recycling program in operation. I followed this up by getting one set up using local recycling facility who now look after our paper, plastic and tin recycling.

But still I feel guilty that I?m not really doing enough even though I know that many of those around me are doing far less. In theory if we all make one tiny change the world would be affected in a monumental way. Make that one tiny change.

108 Days Since I Quit

Antz — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 16:56:00 +0000

It's been 108 days since I last lit up a cigarette so it looks like I might have got this stopping smoking thing sorted although It's not been easy. Bizarrely it's seems to have been tougher recently too. I thought that after the first month it would have been plan sailing but over the last couple of weeks the urge to light up as been stronger than I've known for a while. I guess it could be something to do with my body getting used to now smoking so that when I get a pang it's much more obvious. Despite the pangs I haven't given in and I'm pretty sure that having managed to last this long I can keep off the fags full stop.

Getting Old

Antz — Wed, 19 Apr 2006 06:46:00 +0000

In a week it'll be my birthday once again and having already dealt with the horror that was moving from one administrative tick box to another a couple of years back I now have to face the fact that soon I'll find myself stuck in my late-30s rather than my mid-30s.

The thing is I'm not really sure I'm ready to be in my late-30s yet; somehow I just don't seem old enough to be, well, that old. 37 is 'proper' grown-up and I just don't feel properly grown-up yet. Yes I have a long-term partner, am nearly 10 years into a mortgage and a nice car but I still feel like a big kid at heart.

I'm now seven years older than my dad was when I was born (he was 29 then and I'm 36 now) and yet I don't see myself as grown-up in the same way I believed my dad was back when I was growing up. It's probably got something to do with how you perceive stuff when you're a kid, or maybe growing up is just one of the things you have to do when you get married and have a young family to deal with.

Nothing Better to do?

Antz — Mon, 17 Apr 2006 06:45:00 +0000

"Don't you have anything better to do with yer bank holidays?"

That's what the worker at my local recycling centre (aka the tip) says as I unload what will turn out to be the first of many trips to get rid of stuff resulting from my mammoth clear-out over the easter break.

He has a point. Suddenly I feel old. A few years ago I would have been in some random city in some sweaty after-hours club surrounded by my mates as we dance our way through the bank holidays. A weekend where we wouldn't see our beds for over 48 hours while having the time of our lives; sure that the feeling would go on forever.

Time moves on and weekends that were once spent heading from club to club around the country; rendezvousing with clubbing mates from other parts of the country at motorway services are now spent clearing out garages instead.

Like all other ex-clubbers we blame clubland for changing but we all know, secretly, that it's us that changed. Life gets more comfortable and band holidays get less about going out and become more about gardening and DIY.

It's sad... but true.

While you were out

Antz — Sat, 15 Apr 2006 18:17:00 +0000

If you've read the blog over the last couple of years you'll know that I tend to drop off of the face of the blogisphere every so often and then just reappear as if nothing has happened.

So that you don't feel left out here is a micro-blog of a couple of events you've missed: Firstly, my mates Chris and Rob tied the knot last week in a private ceremony with only them and their witnesses present; we sent champagne. Secondly, my brother and his wife have taken delivery of a new puppy which my bro has christened Steve; sadly its a girl.

Minger Alert

Antz — Mon, 20 Mar 2006 21:09:00 +0000

Silverstone

Antz — Mon, 20 Mar 2006 08:02:00 +0000

Sunday mornings are usually spent either having brunch in one of the understated cafes in Leicester's West End or having a lazy morning in bed; not so this Sunday morning though. This weekend I find myself (along with David and our mates Rob and Adz) in the freezing cold surroundings of Silverstone Racetrack. We're not here for a Grand Prix or something like that, we're here for something much slower-paced; Robsta's taking part in the Adidas Flora Half Marathon and the rest of us are here to give him a little moral support.

I'm a veteran spectator when it comes to Silverstone Half Marathon's as David did the run as a warm-up for the London marathon last year. I was well aware that Oxfordshire in mid-March can be cold as ice if you're standing around waiting for the running to come to an end. I made a point of wearing loads of layers and my warmest gloves and hat. Sadly David and Adz didn't believe me when I told them how cold it was going to be. At least one of us was warm!

Robsta got round the 13 and a bit miles in just over 1 hour 50 and we managed to catch him twice as he went round the circuit. The first time at 9 miles and the second time just before the finish line (it's him in the red top in the photo). David declared that he'd rather run the half marathon rather than have to spectate it. Next year I'll just stay in bed; I've done my fair share of spectating.

Poker Face

Antz — Sun, 19 Mar 2006 09:01:00 +0000

I've never been a real fan of card games. It's probably got something to do with my bro and I being sent off to bed early at family get togethers so that the 'grown-ups' could play exotically named card games way into the small hours.

David has made it his dedicated mission in life to get me into playing more cards and I have to admit over the last few years I've found a couple of games that I can handle to pass the time; namely Sh*thead and another one that I've completely forgotten the name of at the minute.

Over the weekend David dug out a poker set he got for a present last Christmas and set about getting a group of us to give poker a go. Over the last few weeks he's been glued to Challenge TV's poker coverage and has pretty much got the lingo down to a tee. Sadly the same couldn't be said about my poker playing which left a lot to be desired.

I can safely say that I've got my poker-face sorted. I can keep a straight face no matter how bad my hand is. I can bluff my way all the way to my last chip and if you couldn't see me pile of chips dwindling you'd think everything was rosey. Sadly the poker-face is the only thing I've worked out; it's gonna take a lot more work before I can hope to play the game and end up with any chips.

Bloody robots

Antz — Fri, 17 Mar 2006 09:00:00 +0000

Having gone on the other day about how the BBC's Jamie Kane game was proving to be a great experience I suddenly run into a problem on the penultimate. For some reason there appears to be a bug in the game that just won't allow me to continue. No matter how much I sweet-talk the game's chat-bots they still won't let me finish the day's task. Bloody robots.

72 Days Since I Quit

Antz — Thu, 16 Mar 2006 23:30:00 +0000

The little counter on the index page says it's been 72 days since I last had a fag. I'm on the final stage of the patches and in just under a fortnight I'll be free of the NRT and ready to fend for myself.

The process of stopping seems to be getting easier but also tougher at the same time. Unlike during the first weeks the thought of lighting up isn't all I think about 24/7 but that means that when cravings do hit me they really make themselves known.

Luckily my resolve is strong, and anyway having done 72 days I'd be stupid to ruin all my hard work and go back to stage one.

Birthdays

Antz — Wed, 15 Mar 2006 19:15:00 +0000

It's a fact of life that as you get older birthday's become less and less of an event. It's all possibly something to do with the excitement of youth slowly being replaced with the relief that you've managed to make it through another year without major order failure.

Thinking back to when I was a kid birthdays were the the most magical of times. It always seemed that the whole day was about you; from the moment you woke to the second your head hit the pillow again that night everything about the day appears to be there to celebrate your big day.

As you grow older the magic gradually gets replaced by the ordinary. You come to realise that even during your one special day the world doesn't revolve around you any more. You still have a job to do, bills to pay and everyone else has a life to lead.

It's a shame that the magic is sucked out of birthdays as you get older. If anything I think birthdays should get more important as you slowly make your way through life; after all each additional year is an achievement in itself.

You should take the day off, make sure you're pampered, and eat and drink to your heart's content. Plus you should never find yourself in a position where you have to buy other people cream cakes on your birthday.

Jamie Kane

Antz — Tue, 14 Mar 2006 00:06:00 +0000

A couple of weeks ago I noticed that BBC Radio One were plugging some online feature about the death of a pop star called Jamie Kane. The 20 second trailers didn't go into much detail; in fact just enough to get you interested enough to visit the BBC's Jamie Kane micro-site. It worked... I clicked.

It turns out that Jamie Kane is the lead character in the BBC's first large scale alternate reality game; a game where you get to discover the truth behind the boy-band pop star's death in a helicopter crash in the North Sea. A death that turns out to be much more than a simple accident.

Now, as you might guess from the boy-band-style content, the game is really designed for late-teen girls. What got me interested was the amount of detail the Beeb has gone to to make the whole thing believable. For a start 'Jamie Kane' recorded three album's worth of (fairly poor) tracks, did interviews for Top of the Pops and Radio One and has what appears to be years of photo-shoots on his sites.

On the subject of sites, the Beeb has gone to town creating special sites for the adventure. Not only does Jamie have his own official and unofficial websites, so does his former group and several members of his family. In addition to them there must be at least a further 20 sites set up to deal with various aspects of the game during it's 14 day life-span.

You get to meet a whole host of characters involved with Jamie through Instant Messenger chats, his forums and even one or two phone conversations with other fans. Of course the other fans are all bots of one kind or another but it's surprisingly interesting stuff.

If you've got 20 minutes a day for the next two weeks it's worth checking out www.bbc.co.uk/jamiekane/

Painting

Antz — Sat, 11 Mar 2006 22:19:00 +0000

This weekend I'm giving the bathroom a very needed lick of paint. It's not a big enough project to call it redecorating as all that's involved is treating the walls with stain-blocker to deal with some water stains and then repainting the room... and as the space is only about 2 x 1.5 metres the project is hardly on a par with painting the Severn Bridge.

Everything was going fine with the DIY until I was doing the second coat on the ceiling and suddenly, as if from nowhere (or possibly the roller I was using), a huge splat of paint hit me in my eyes.

I'm stood there, up a ladder, unable to see a thing and with my eyes stinging like a wasp has been attaching my face. I shout for David to come and help me, which he does. Not before he suggests that I look like an albino version of Alice Cooper though. Charming.

Million Faces

Antz — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 08:57:00 +0000

Amnesty, Iansa and Oxfam are jointly compiling a petition to show the world's concern about the spread of the arms trade. The 'Million Faces' is a visual petition; their aim is to collect one million photos and self-portraits of people from around the world. The photos will be presented to the United Nations in New York later in 2006. So far 901,576 people have added their faces to the campaign. Why not make yourself number 901,577.

Wallpaper

Antz — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 18:22:00 +0000

I thought that over the last seven years I'd have found every single bit of tasteless 70s wallpaper in my house and removed it but it seems I was wrong. While removing the radiator in the hall over the weekend so I could repair the wall I came across this very fine example of classic 1970s wallpaper.

Gonna Snow - The Outcome

Antz — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 08:25:00 +0000

The much touted blizzards and snow storms that everyone except the weather people said was going to hit the East Midlands failed to arrive. We made it through the weekend without having to eat our own limbs and also without getting stranded for the entire two days in the car. It looks like the meteorologists were right all along.

Gonna Snow

Antz — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 17:29:00 +0000

Several times today people have mentioned that the snow that's been falling over the last few days up north is going to hit the East Midlands. There seems to be much talk of "oh no, I'm not going out in the car this weekend, what if we get stuck in the snow" and "what? Go out for the day and risk getting stranded?".

Judging by these conversations we're all about to be buried alive in metre upon metre of freshly fallen snow and probably be forced to eat our own legs just to stay alive. Family members, stuck in basements, will have to draw lots to choose which of them will be the first to be eaten. You get the idea.

The only trouble is that no one who knows anything about all things weather-related is predicting any snow. The BBC? No, the Met Office? No, the Weather Channel? No. So where are these people getting this secret snow-related tip-offs from?

Is there some secret underground weather forecasting network (underground as in clandestine not as in beneath the surface of the earth; after all I imagine the weather below ground level is pretty stable) giving people the wink about top-secret weather reports? It's a mystery. How can so many people be sure it's gonna snow when people who are trained in that kinda thing are so sure it's not?

Knowing my luck I'll get stranded in my car during the weekend and end up having to eat my own legs to survive.

Microsoft iPod Parody

Antz — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 15:20:00 +0000

When it comes to the great Apple verses Microsoft debate there is always one clear winner when it comes down to matters of design; Apple always wins. A rule that is clearly proved by this video parody which showns what would happen if Microsoft got its hands on the iPod's packaging.

Pancake Day

Antz — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 23:58:00 +0000

For some reason I've always loved Pancake Day; it's probably because it's the only chance I get each year to sit down to some pancakes served with the traditional lemon and sugar. Who cares that I'm not about to begin a Lenten fast and so don't have any need to use up my eggs and butter; I just like this once a year opportunity to have pancakes.

Graphicjunkie Re-design

Antz — Sun, 26 Feb 2006 10:39:00 +0000

Over the last couple of days I've been spending a bit of time working on a re-design for my design and hosting side-project Graphicjunkie.

Trying to come up with a new design is always a problem as I'm my own worst client; I never know what I want and I'm never satisfied with the ideas I come up with. I often wonder whether it wouldn't be easier just to get someone else to do the project for me.

As a rule if I like an idea the next morning there's a good chance I'll go on liking it in the months ahead. It's kind of like doner kebabs; seems like a great after a night in the pub but a terrible one the next morning. Few of my designs make it past the next morning.

This one has passed the 'kebab' test and so with a bit of luck i'll start roling it out onto the site within the next couple of weeks. What do you think?

Fat

Antz — Sat, 25 Feb 2006 22:16:00 +0000

While David and I were in the queue at our local Boots David spotted one of those body fat calculator gadgets that will work out the percentage of fat that makes up your body. You put in some basic details and put your thumbs on the special metal pads and it tells you the gory details.

Being suckers for a gadget (and because we'd saved a fiver on skincare products) we forked out the �4.99 so that we could find out, in the privacy of our bathroom, how how much fat was hanging around where it shouldn't be.

Once safely locked up at home we do a bit of weighing, a bit of number crunching to convert the measurements into metric and then stick our digits onto the sensors. Four seconds later and our happiness and self-esteem sink through the floor as it tells us we're seconds away from an early death or words to that effect.

Considering that I've lost over 2 stone during the last six months I'd hate to think what the results would have been then; maybe it would have just put a call into the emergency services automatically.

Quiet Night In

Antz — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 23:51:00 +0000

Tonight had the pleasure of spending a quite night in on my own as David had managed to get one of our friends to go to bingo with him. Until recently I got used to having a fair few nights to myself because of David working a London but since he's now back in Leicester we spend our evenings together.

It is nice, once in a while, to have the house to yourself. You get to watch the TV you want to watch, eat what you want to eat and generally not worry about anyone else.

Being able to watch whatever I liked meant I could sit down and watch some of the hours of bonus features on the pile of 24 DVDs that landed on my doormat yesterday.

Don't worry I'm not going to bore you with details of how they built the sets or staged huge train crashes. I'll save that for another day. Unless you really want to know?

50 days and 1000 fags

Antz — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 15:16:00 +0000

Yesterday I passed two major non-smoking milestones. I made it to 50 days without lighting up and also as a result didn't smoke my 1,000th cigarette.

The cravings are getting less all the time now. Only a couple of times a day does the evil weed attempt to make me give in but my desire to not smoke is much much stronger than the tiny voice trying to make me; for a few seconds I feel like a character in an old Tom and Jerry cartoon with a devil and a angel sat on my shoulders.

This weekend it'll be time to drop down to the next stage in my nicotine patches and then the end of the NRT is almost in sight and I can really start to think of myself as a proper non-smoker. One that doesn't have to remember to stick the equivalent of a few fags onto my arm each morning.

24

Antz — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 17:14:00 +0000

A couple of of years back David and I settled down on the sofa to watch the first episode of a new realtime US counter-terrorism drama on the BBC called 24.

By the ninth episode I was planning my life around my weekly fix of Kiefer Sutherland and David was pretty much doing anything he could to avoid being anywhere near a TV while it was on. I managed to get him hooked back into it again for a couple of episodes but since then he's gone to all kinds of lengths to avoid being in the same room as Jack Bauer and the team at CTU during any of the last couple of series.

At the minute David's having to avoid the living room for a couple of hours on Sunday nights while season five unfolds in all its realtime glory but sadly for him the situation is about to get worse (in our living room not in the high speed world of CTU) as unbeknownst to him any day now play.com will be delivering series 2,3 and 4 on DVD.

He'll be soo pleased.

Missing Posts

Antz — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 11:47:00 +0000

Something very strange has happened the the last three posts I've made during the last week - for some reason they've been wiped off of the face of the net and i've only just noticed. Hopefully I still have a text file of the posts somewhere otherwise you'll have to cope with a missing week in my life. Normal service will resume shortly.

Update on 22 February 2006: I've managed to recreate a couple of the missing posts from last week that Blogger seemed to wipe off of the site when I was publishing them. These are the dentists one and the one about the UK government smoking ban.