Gravel grading

It's official, I've developed a steaming cold and a hacking cough overnight.....so I'm not a happy bunny. What makes it worse, I can't take any time off work....too much to do and my left-hand-man is on leave. So I only took a couple of pics today, both of them out of the office window. The other one went to 'the other place' and looks remarkably similar to the one above. I suspect he was fishing out fag ends from the gravel.....but I didn't shout down to ask.

Quick link to a musical webtoy that entertained me for a couple of minutes during my non-existent lunchtime

Link to Incredibox

Time for some serious lolling on the couch with a large pot of tea and crap on the box I think.....

Balancing act.......

....as in 'Life is a...', at least that how it feels at the moment. I've spent the day pecking away at the 6 or so current jobs on my desk trying to keep just that one step ahead of the next person to come through the door and ask for the finished article, it's life on the edge, I may have to throw a tantrum or three tomorrow! The screengrab above is from a VectorPark game I MUST have posted before....but, y'know, it's worth a revisit!

Tonight's job, if I can be arsed, is starting to sort out the mountain of cds/dvds stacked on spindles (2000 plus at a vague count) scattered around the house, a miscellany of radio plays/music/films/stuff that I've accumulated over the years....but maybe I'll just open a bottle of wine instead.....

Accidents and incidents

First an accidental shot taken while walking along a corridor....don't know why, but I like it! It sort of illustrates the day too, all just a bit of a blur. Bit of a disaster yesterday...the internet died on me, no idea why but it's back up-and-running again, sometimes it's just best not to ask....
Then this afternoon we had a bomb threat and were evacuated/herded to to the Uni Library Quad (it's SUCH a good idea to keep all the prospective targets together in a bunch I think!)

Conspiracy theories abound, was it the Students Union trying to boost lunchtime sales (if so it worked, it was heaving in there!) or was it an exercise testing the emergency services because of a certain minor royal who recently started at 'the other university' across the road (if they'd done it there it would have hit the headlines)....the court's still out!

Oh well, at least that's Monday out of the way!

PS.....should maybe have added this. Remember folks......be like Bert!!

Chuck-out Friday

The Council has been emailed about collecting the fridge, the dishwasher, the chest of drawers (without the drawers), the vintage microwave (probably with a vintage lasagne inside, didn't check), the 2 rusty bikes, the lawnmower that hasn't seen active service for years, the wheelbarrow with a gaping hole and 2 burnt out vaccuum cleaners. But I kept the overhead projector and portable microfiche reader.....you just never know when they might come in handy! I also found a compact camera that I forgot I even had, I may take it out for a spin tomorrow. No idea who the redoubtable lady above is, but she turned up in an old photograph album that used to belong to a vague relative of my great aunt....also appearing were a lot of gents either in full highland dress or in World War 1 uniforms, I bet there were some stories there, unfortunately there's no-one left to ask what they were.

Some of the sort-out was done to the accompaniament of the Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain, a sample for your delectation, 'I'm just a Teenage Dirtbag' like you've never heard it before.....



Now it's me for the couch and a bit of kitten communing!

It's the weekend!

....you read that right, I've got the day off tomorrow! But yes, it's coat-wearing weather, can't win 'em all I suppose.....

Found this today while looking for something completely different.....it raised a smile!



Seeing as I'm now officially in 'not-at-work' mode maybe a game later might be in order....

Found at Jayisgames
They say "It is difficult to describe the gameplay of The Glean of Glob. This is a surrealist dream, or perhaps a nightmare. There are no instructions, the player must figure out what to do while interacting with the characters on the screen. Everything can be accomplished by a click of the mouse, but after that, well, perhaps you'd better see for yourself. If you are looking for a linear experience, starting at A and progressing neatly to Z, this is not the place for you. But if you are up to the challenge, and would like to experience thought-provoking artwork, then dive into the world of The Glean of Glob"
Link straight to the game

Snappier snaps.....

....think I need to check out Beatrice's advice (courtesy Girl Annual No 8, pub 1960), feeling a bit lack-lustre about the 'snaps' I'm taking at the moment.....maybe I'll try a bit of B&W (something that really scares me, I might even have to read the bloody manual......but there's nothing like fear to spice up life a bit!) But Beatrice obviously knows her stuff, she says.....
"Beware of making freaks of your friends, drainpipes growing out of shoulders and heads level with 'Road blocked' signs should be avoided too. They are an embarrassment to the photographer and, of course, to the model"
.....oh bugger........maybe I should read "Looking for the ideal pet?....Why not keep a BUDGIE" or "Learning about fashion sense" (though it's probably all down to wearing a clean pair of white cotton gloves at all times) instead.

Silly video



Now to brave 'The Kitten Wall of Death", they do circuits....getting ever higher until they fall off walls, furniture, curtains...me.....

Back door....

....no, not mine, the one at work. By the way the curly stemmed plant is 100% plastic and the sofas would fit in well in a budget hotel chain reception area....really can't imagine what they were thinking of! A bit of a non-day today, head down doing boring things, but I made progress with stuff that's been hanging over my head for weeks, so not all bad.

But I DID find this.....

They say....
"Create free Google Maps from your Flickr Photosets for use in your website or blog, or for sending to friend's Facebook, Twitter or your favourite website. Its quick and easy, only takes three simple steps and best of all, its free!"
....now all I need to do is to start using Flickr more and creating sets!
Link to MapFlickr

There's loads of people feeling under the weather or even downright sick at the moment, it happens every year at about this time at the uni when a whole load of foreign germs hit town. I tried to embed a great (1945) video from Archive.org (be warned, dip in there and you'll be lost for days!), but it didn't work, so here's the link instead....Coughs and Sneezes Spread Diseases

And, just as predicted, I got sucked in.....just downloaded Weird Islands (1921) in pdf, the illustrations are amazing!

I'll leave you with a song....

Room with an identity crisis

Spotted on a corridor not a million miles from my office...hey, I can identify with that!

Found out last week that I'm Berlin bound for a week at the start of November on a field-trip, I'll be an ersatz Quantity Surveyor again this year (no complaints, this is year 4 so I know the ropes and the relative alcohol capacities/personal quirks of my fellow 'grown-ups'....it'll be fine as long as we don't lose any students or get arrested!) Found this rather nice/thoughtful photo essay (260 images) that I haven't got to the end of yet, but will later.

What am I looking forward to most?......the traditional first morning walk from East to West, Alexanderplatz to Potsdamerplatz via Museuminsel/Unter den Linden/Brandenburger Tor/Tiergarten.....magic!

Quick link to a great place to download (free) music if you're into the 'world' variety....
na Bula Bula

Round the doors

Lovely day today, sunny but with an autumnal nip in the air. Seeing as Daizy was staying over after last night's family get-together a trip to the beach was called for....she paddled, I didn't! That's Cullercoats lifeboat station up there with the boat out for a Sunday airing. We spotted some seaweed gatherers (it's great on the garden, but rather smelly!)

Then it was off to Tynemouth Station market to meet up with the fond parents for the handover, a nice Italian meal and a browse round the stalls

All in all it's been a pretty good day!

Family affair....

....as in just back from one, and decidedly squiffy. Subjects tonight are granddaughter Daizy on the left (about to inflict some sort of fiendish foot tickling torture on her victim) and her second coz Ben on the right (who doesn't seem to mind too much and is always willing to smile for the camera) Bed calls................

Communications hub

From the traditional 'envelope stuffing' to the electronic.....done something like this before 'in another place', probably from the same vantage point in fact.....a lack-lustre but stupidly busy day!

I like looking at pictures....it's not a secret....and especially vintage graphics......

Check out ephemera assemblyman for a blast from the past, you won't regret it!

Now I'm brain-dead
....need pain-killers
....bed
....lots of water
....switched-off alarm clock
...............

Watching the traffic

WARNING.....work-based rant follows!
Minor victory for the 'little man' (read student) to report tonight. Out of the blue at the start of the week a huge hike in student printing/plotting costs was announced (more than a 300% rise, all down to 'central services', nothing we could do about it apparently) So I did a bit of number crunching yesterday to work out how 'they' could justify it.....the short answer being they couldn't, no way! The crunched figures went to a meeting this morning and returned victorious.....I took huge pleasure in going round our labs to rip down the posters 'they' had plastered on the walls, strangely satisfying somehow, must get a life!
RANT OVER

Still feeling 'under the weather' but soldiering on (sigh), the boy-in-the-attic however has the full-blown version and is wandering round in a dispeputable dressing gown with wads of tissue stuffed up his nose....not a pretty sight!

Family History stuff.....
Apparently 'the family' has a bit of  'Living in the Workhouse' experience (drinking and gambling!), luckily there's a website to document our wild and wanton ways

But now I'm off down to Jollity Farm, stoked up with a couple of Lemsips......

Posy

Made it out of the office for a brief spell today, the 'best bit' being a trip to the uni gallery to check out the Posy Simmonds visiting exhibition (for 'locals' details here).....even better, the free catalogue was in the form of all of the exhibits in comic book format. Posy, more specifically her 'Mrs Webers Diary', was my comic book of choice in the 80's....it was great to see the original artwork (with all the corrections /blanked out bits plain to see) Going back tomorrow to snaffle another catalogue for the firstborn (who is apparently word-perfect on some of them) and another look/read/giggle.....the giggle will of course be one of those 'knowing' ones suitable for an an arty environment!

Short but nice....Birds on the Wires

Birds on the Wires from Jarbas Agnelli on Vimeo.

The start of the surveying season....

....and a reason for personal celebration, a new academic year's worth of FREE, partly-charged (but definitely still usable) high-powered batteries ends up on my desk looking for a good home. That 'total station' in action up there only works with a set of 6 brand-new AA batteries, they get ditched after a single outing.....'waste not want not' I say!

Currently feeling 'a bit crap', the weekend's niggly sore throat is building up into something possibly worse....plus I'm in on my own at work (my left-hand man is on leave) so I haven't had a lunchtime so far this week. Although tomorrow I'm apparently 'on a promise' for a bit of cover, time unspecified, but not holding my breath!

A couple of silly links....

One of those point-and-click games, currently up to Episode 3
"You play the role of Kara, a spy in an alternate reality where World War I begins in 1901 and technology is much more advanced. Physicist Karl von Toten is on the verge of a great discovery and it's your task to uncover his secrets."
Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
(NB...Episode 2 doesn't seem to have a 'play online' option.....but you can download the game to play offline)

Today's music choice
Shantel & Amsterdam Klezmer Band & Bucovina Club Orchester
 

What day?

Apparently I've roasted a chicken, made garlic croutons and a huge cauldron of soup (maybe I cackled a bit.....who knows), washed clothes (didn't wash dishes!) and OD'd on Lemsips and cheap port...everything else is just a blur. I'm off to watch the real thing.....

Oh bugger.....

....the rippin' kittens like Celebrity Come Dancing (all down to the boy in the attic thinking it was 'a good idea' to leave the TV on for background noise) Next stop names....I've suggested 'Cash and Carrie' and 'Fast and Luce'......neither of which went down well.......

Salt Rock

What a week...I'm absolutely cream-crackered. So tonight's cunning plan for posting a multitude of Friday-style/useless (though hopefully mildly entertaining) links is on the back burner until tomorrow. I only got as far as a trip to the campus library today.....this shot taken slightly to the right of the front door....good as it gets I'm afraid...........

No photographs.....CIA!

I pass this pair most mornings on the way into work.....Ernie, the one on the right, prefers to maintain an aura of secrecy, he's an undercover 'clerk of works' in the Estates Dept.....and it doesn't pay to have your face known to all and sundry after all!

The 'Rippin' Kittins' have landed.....

The boy in the attic took delivery of a pair of kittens tonight.....the initial meeting between them and the resident feline DIDN'T go well....said boy in the attic has retired hurt [hissy fit (cat)/slashed hand (him) ......current score, resident cat 1 - boyo 0].....guess who's still up?

Wonder why I thought this rather attractive 'do you think my bum looks big in this' gargoyle thingy (to be found above the front door of North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers) seemed appropriate? Pictures of the fluffy innocents MAY follow if circumstances allow.....don't hold your breath!

A night at the theatre

Just back from a great night out at our newly refurbished (read virtually rebuilt) neighbourhood theatre with the sister and bro-in-law. Roy Marsden and Susan Penhaligon in 'Murder on Air, three radio thrillers read in an authentic studio setting with live sound effects in the style of their original BBC broadcasts'.....loved it, especially the sound effects! I also loved the fact that it was only 10 minutes walk down the road. They've done a great job with the rebuild, plenty of legroom, neither too hot nor too cold, considerably more toilets than the original two with dodgy plumbing and a sensible sized bar replacing the one that used to operate from a cupboard. Another shot of the foyer/bar below.

 

A sunny September Sunday

.....so what do we decide to do?....why, go to the cinema of course (I've never been known for making timely life choices!) Have to say we all thoroughly enjoyed the film though.....it sticks pretty close to the original story and leaves not a lot to the imagination...worth watching! Oh, and below is the firstborn striding out for the cinema door, I can reliably report that the bag on her shoulder was stuffed with sandwiches and battenburg cake, quite surprised there wasn't a flask in there too! (and no, I didn't ask her whether I could take her picture, I reckoned that, as the mother I could be deemed as having given consent on her behalf...though if she decides her bum looks too big I could still be dead meat!)

Possibly some frivolous links later if I don't fall asleep on the couch.....

Saturday.....the dark side

For which read 'SHOPPING', not that I did any...took this one last week in broad daylight then processed it until it squeeked, as is only right for a despised activity, it deserves nothing more nor less (especially when it's nearly a week until payday and the overtime claim won't be paid until the end of October) EDIT...I didn't notice the scary guy in the shop window until I clicked the publish button.....says it all really!

Possibly on the cards tonight.....

Watching a few episodes of 'The Avengers' (the Tara King ones....watched one last night, talk about surreal) No link, I got it from a pirate friend on his beam ends, best not to ask questions....

Listening to a bit of Flanders and Swann (we all have a cross to bear)

Or maybe a dip into a bit of online point-and-clickery, Alchemia....not tried it yet but I love the graphics (found at jayisgames)

 

Then again....I might just give it all a miss and go to bed early with a nice mug of Horlicks and an Agatha Christie audiobook......

TFIF

Actually snapped yesterday over at 'City Campus East' while in search of a suitable image for a brochure front page.....I didn't find it!

But what I did find today was.....

it documents climate change on steroids. over at FORA.tv.....it's not for the faint-hearted!

Northern Print

 

You'll find this guy hanging around Northern Print on Stepney Bank, maybe to discourage loiterers! A couple of days ago I went to see the Northern Print Biennale currently showing at the Laing, there's some impressive stuff....well worth a visit if you've got half an hour to spare. Also on at the Laing at the moment, one of the galleries has walls full of Thomas Bewicks woodcuts, the majority only an inch or two in size.....luckily there's a big box of magnifying glasses for the visually challenged available!

Strangely entertaining

I was never a huge Michael Jackson fan......so why do I like this?

Click here if you dare....you'll end up watching rather more than you thought you would!

Side TV launches.....

 

....at midnight 18th september 2009 (although there's already viewable content online, go watch!) The launch is linked to the aforementioned 'Reinventing the City' event starting on the same date. Highly recommended....'Byker' and 'Quayside'!

Link to SideTV

Reinventing the city

Sooooo....it's been a long time....maybe I should have named this post Reinventing wor::site! Expect more pictures but a lot of the same old silly links....see how it goes eh?

By the way the REAL Reinventing the City looks good, it runs from 19th September to 11th October....

"Reinventing the City explores Tyneside’s re-imagination of itself through 200 years of industrial and post-industrial change.
Tyneside has been at the forefront of change and over the years artists have criticised, promoted and documented the process. The story is mirrored across the world, but the streets of NewcastleGateshead told it first and still tell it best.
Discover the art and architecture, the characters, the visions and the plans that made Tyneside what it is today. Through a series of events, tours, debates and exhibitions, Reinventing the City will question the reshaping of Tyneside, from the founding of the Lit & Phil in the late 1700’s to the NewcastleGateshead we see around us in 2009."
Brochure available for download here

Just mucking about

Playing with PhotoShop and fiddling with Picassa3.....one of those little 'compare and contrast' excercises that you save for a Friday afternoon (and no, they're not really comparable, certainly not the price tag!) Fun afternoon though!

The Astounding World of the Future

If you only watch one YouTube tonight, watch this one!

Free online OCR

 

“Free-OCR.com is a free online OCR (Optical Character Recognition) tool. You can use this to perform OCR on any image you supply.

This service is free, no registration necessary. We also do not need your email address.

Just upload your image files. Free-OCR takes either PDF, JPG, GIF, TIFF or BMP format.

The only restriction is that the images must not be larger than 2MB, no wider or higher than 5000 pixels and there is a limit of 10 image uploads per hour.”

Free online OCR

Bomomo : Create Abstract Art in Your Browser

 

Bomomo : Create Abstract Art in Your Browser

Only works with Firefox and Safari browsers. No sign-up and you can save your masterpieces to your computer too!

Psykopaint - Online photo painting tool

  Online fun for all the family!

By the way, I’m doing this using Windows Live Writer, and while I’m at work……don’t expect long posts, but it’s better than nothing (which is the alternative!)

Technorati Tags: onlineapp

Psykopaint Beta 1 - Online photo painting tool

Fotopedia

New start up….a wikipedia for images. Not yet live but worth watching out for

Edit.....now up-and-running.....looks good!

Fotopedia

Barcelona 1908

Just a lovely video of the streets of Barcelona in 1908 with a nice backing track.....worth a click!!

Keeping the kids amused....

Just in case the weather isn't totally springlike.....

"Cool cartoons that will have you experimenting with food, light, sound, clothes, and a whole lot more!! Hundreds of cartoon experiments from cartoonist, broadcaster and engineer Tim Hunkin."

Link to Hunkin's Experiments

Think I might try this.....

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day - More DIY How To Projects

Still here.....

wor::site has been disgracefully neglected recently....apologies....promise I'll try to do better! Coming up...Eat! NewcastleGateshead
"EAT! NewcastleGateshead 2nd May to 17th May 2009 - a festival which passionately advocates to all the pleasures of creating and sharing good food and drink in the North East." There's a downloadable programme of events here