Gary Lynch's Blog @ www.garyLynch.net

There are 80 posts in this blog, this page shows entries 80 to 71
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Some people shouldn't be allowed computers – continued

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Someone rang me in work today, the conversation went like this:

Idiot: The number 9 key isn't working on my keyboard.

Me: The one on the numeric keypad or the one above the letters.

Idiot: The one on the numeric keypad.

Me: OK, can you just use the key above the letters for now and someone will bring you a new keyboard.

Idiot: Oh, that 9 key isn't working either.

Idiot: Oh, none other the number keys are working either.

Idiot: Oh, actually none of the letter keys are working either.

Me: So the keyboard isn't working at all?

Idiot: No, none of the keys are working.

Idiot: Oh, hang on, I know what's wrong now.

Me: Oh, what?

Idiot: There's no space left in the field I'm typing in.

Pembrey Easter 2009

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Some photos from the CLSC Easter Weekend at Pembrey.

There are 24 photos in the album, this is just a random selection.
Click here to view them all.

Who is Singapore Gary?

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Who is Singapore Gary? It's not me! I wrote in a past blog post about the amount of traffic that ends up here as the result of people searching for the other GLs out there and the incredulity that some people even have to ask if I'm the GL they're looking for. I like to keep tabs on what search terms drive people to this site and often find their queries quite amusing and sometimes downright bizarre. Of course it doesn't help having things like Hotdoll - the sex toy for dogs! mentioned but in the past 24 hours there has been a rush of people from all over Malaysia and Singapore landing on this site after searching for 'Singapore Gary Blog' or 'Singapore Gary Sex Video'. So who is Singapore Gary and what has he done to become an overnight celebrity in Malaysia and Singapore? Maybe I shouldn't ask!

Update
I now know who Singapore Gary is click here.

Hidden Treasure

Sunday, March 01, 2009

Being such a lovely sunny day today we went for a walk up Caerphilly Mountain and not one to ever miss an opportunity to geek things up a bit I decided we should combine the walk with a bit of geocaching, which is something I hadn't done before. For those who don't know, geocaching is a worldwide game of hiding and seeking treasure. A geocacher can place a geocache anywhere in the world, pinpoint its location using GPS technology and then share the geocache's existence and location online. Anyone with a GPS unit can then try to locate the geocache. (www.geocaching.com) There are currently around 750,000 active geocaches around the world so no matter where you are you are probably not very far away from one. The geocaches themselves tend to be waterproofed tupperware containers that contain a log book to record your visit and a number of other little trinkets, the idea being you can take something from it and leave something else behind. Some of these trinkets have serial numbers and are known as travel bugs, you take a travel bug out of one geocache and then place it in another and record it's new location online so it's movements can be tracked. Some have been known to travel tens of thousands of miles a few times around the world.

So off we set with a pack lunch and my iPhone with which I'd already pin-pointed the location of the geocache in its Google Maps application and it navigated us there perfectly. The geocache itself was quite easy to find hidden behind some rocks in the hollow at the base of a large tree though if you hadn't known it was there you really wouldn't have been any the wiser. It was quite exciting finding and opening it to see what was inside, it contained a log book, other peoples calling cards and a number of other little knick-knacks. We didn't take or leave anything, being geocaching virgins we weren't really prepared and had nothing to leave, so we repacked it all and hid it again.

It all sounds a bit anorakish but I enjoyed it nevertheless.

Human Dignity

Saturday, January 31, 2009

I am on a train and the strangest thing just happened. A homeless man boarded the train in Hereford, it was quite a sight. He was dragging behind him two old-lady shopping trolleys stuffed to bursting with plastic carrier bags filled with all his worldly possessions. It took him a few trips back and forth to get these bags on the train as things kept falling out of them much to the amusement of everyone sat watching. He was wearing a woolly hat, scarf, long scruffy Carlsberg branded anorak and to complete the image a pair of Ugg boots about 5 sizes too small so the heals were half way down his feet. He left his bags in the open space in front of where I'm sat and then disappeared down the carriage. When the train pulled into Shrewsbury I looked up to see a smartly dressed man in black suit, shirt and tie grab the bags and proceed with them off the train. A bit concerned I looked around for the homeless man in the carriage behind me but couldn't see him. When I turned back the suited man was already off the train and walking down the platform, to accompany his suit he was wearing Ugg boots 5 sizes too small for him!

I think there's a lesson to learned here in human dignity. I don't know where the man must have been going to warrant this change of clothes into his charity shop suit but just imagine the pain and embarrassment he must have been feeling inside at having to spoil the whole transformation by not having any proper shoes.

That's my thought for the day.

There have been complaints...

Thursday, January 15, 2009

There have been complaints from core members of my fan base that this blog doesn't get updated often enough. It's true and I hold my hands up, that fact is I'm just a lazy slob who can't be arsed. In addition to that I just don't seam to get around to it these days. I used to have much more spare time on my hands to waste on such frivolities whilst Emma was working away a lot and to fill that void of boredom I'd often just open a bottle of wine for the evening. And like all other eccentric geniuses I find that such a stimulant is helpful in attaining a more lucid state of mind that allows the creative juices to flow.

Reading this crap you'd think I'd been drinking now but I haven't, in fact I drink much less these days which may account for the lack of quality blog posts. You may have seen elsewhere on this blog that my New Years resolution for last year was to have more days in the year where I didn't drink alcohol then when I did. I gave up part way through the year as it looked like it was going to be unachievable. I can't understand now why it was so difficult and in fact if I were to do the same this year then it wouldn't even be a challenge.

I've cut out a lot of alcohol since being on a diet. Over the last few years the pounds have slowly been creeping on and I kept meaning to do something about it but as I said, I'm a lazy slob. A few years ago I was aghast when I could no longer fit into my 32 inch waist trousers and had to go up to 34 inch just to be comfortable. For years I kept my old 32s in the wardrobe convinced that one day I'd be able to get back in them but that day never arrived and eventually I resigned to the fact that I'm now a 34 and gave them all to the charity shop. Back towards the end of last summer I went shopping for some new trousers for a wedding and I had to buy a 36 inch waist! The diet started the following day.

Well anyway, I'll try and make more of an effort on the blog front, even if it does mean writing about the size of my waste, or even the size of my waist. So to kick things off:

Something funny happened in work today. The head of IT who has many decades of experience in IT did something that he doesn't do a lot of these days and provided some technical support to a user who requested a new mouse for her computer. He fetched a new mouse from the store and then paused before taking it to the user and turning to a colleague said "Does this mouse work? It hasn't got a ball." As I said, many decades of experience - it must be a generation thing.

St Lucia, November 2008

Sunday, November 23, 2008

There are 110 photos in the album, this is just a random selection.
Click here to view them all.

Gary on Vigie Beach	Saman Tree	Beach at Rendezvous
Soufriere	Vigie Beach	Marigot Bay

How to make the perfect Chili, The Final Cut

Saturday, October 04, 2008

This is an update to my original post on How to make the perfect Chili and it's follow up How to make the perfect Chili, Redux. Not everyone preferred the Redux version with the smokey taste of the Jack Daniels being a little to up-front for them. This Final Cut version combines the best bits of both which pleases everyone and I must say tastes all the more perfect. Please try it an let me know what you think.

Here it is - to serve 3-4.

What you'll need:

1 packet of Old El Paso Chili seasoning (this isn't cheating, it's a damn good mix)
1 large red onion
400g lean minced beef (fresh not frozen, this is very important)
200g lean stewing steak chopped into 1-2cm cubes
1/2 a glass of red wine (something gutsy like Wolf Blass Yellow Label Cab Sav)
200ml of Jack Daniels
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 tin of black eyed beans or pinto beans, drained. (Don't ever use kidney beans)
1/3 jar of Peppadew peppers

What you do:

Marinate the diced steak in the Jack Daniels overnight or at least for a few hours. Stab the steak repeatedly with a sharp knife to make sure the JD penetrates
Finely chop the onion and gently fry for a few minutes in a couple of tablespoons of mild olive oil
Crumble the minced beef into the frying pan being careful to retain nice chunky meat morsels (which is why you cannot use frozen mince) and add the marinated cubed steak, gently fold it in and let it brown on one side before gently turning to brown on the other (do not stir, it breaks up the chunks!)
Once browned sprinkle the chili seasoning over the meat and gently fold in. After a few minutes poor in the red wine to deglaze the pan and simmer gently until the liquid is reduced
Poor over the chopped tomatoes, beans and Peppadew peppers, gently fold in and allow to simmer for another 15 minutes

Server in a bowl with garlic bread and the bottle of Wolf Blass.

Kiva - Loans that change lives

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Let me tell you a bit about Kiva.

Kiva.org is a non-profit that is revolutionizing the fight against global poverty by enabling people to connect with and make personal loans—of as little as $25—to low-income entrepreneurs in the developing world. Most of the poor in developing countries are self-employed entrepreneurs and a small loan to purchase business-related items such as sewing machines or livestock can empower them to earn their way out of poverty.

Kiva is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to an entrepreneur in the developing world. By combining microfinance with the internet, Kiva is creating a global community of people connected through lending.

Kiva's mission is to connect people, through lending, for the sake of alleviating poverty.

Kiva was born of the following beliefs:

People are by nature generous, and will help others if given the opportunity to do so in a transparent, accountable way.
The poor are highly motivated and can be very successful when given an opportunity.
By connecting people we can create relationships which exceed beyond financial transactions, and build a global community expressing support and encouragement of one another.

Kiva promotes:

Dignity: Person-to person lending encourages partnership relationships as opposed to benefactor relationships. Partnership relationships are characterized by mutual dignity and respect.
Accountability: Loans encourage more accountability than donations where repayment is not expected.
Transparency: The Kiva website is an open platform where communication can flow freely between the developing and developed worlds.

Kiva democratizes philanthropy, allowing the average individual to feel like a mini-Bill Gates by building a portfolio of investments in developing world businesses.

Kiva will have facilitated loans totaling $100 million by 2010.

You can see Gary's Kiva loans by clicking the Kiva tab at the top of the page.

Gary's Moblog

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Now I have my fancy new iPhone I've set up a moblog for mobile blogging on the go. I'm not sure how successful it'll be as I've found most of the places I visit tend to be a bit remote and don't have decent 3G coverage but I can give it a go can't I.

www.garylynch.net/moblog