Gary Lynch's Blog @ www.garyLynch.net

Photos: India, October/November 2011

2011-11-20T13:14:00.002Z

Photo's from our trip to India in October/November 2001. The first week was spent touring the 'golden triangle' of Delhi, Jaipur, Ranthambhore and Agra before going back to Delhi for the inaugural Indian F1 Grand Prix. Finally a week in Goa to chill out and relax.
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Photos: Vietnam, Cambodia & Bangkok, January 2011

2011-02-10T18:00:00.020Z

Some photos from a trip through Vietnam, Cambodia and Bangkok in Jan 2011.

Whilst away I used an iPhone app that tracked the tour using the inbuilt GPS and uploaded them linked to a Google map, you can see it here - trackmytour.com/3755 - also see the map at the bottom of this post. So rather than do a write-up for this trip, I'm just going to reproduce those TmT blog entries instead, albeit with the numerous corrections that are inevitable when you write on an iPhone.

Sunday 9 Jan 2011 14:03

Finally made it to Hanoi, after the plane broke and had to do an emergency landing back in Bangkok! But two tries and four breakfasts later I made it. The weather is pretty chilly and overcast, not what I was expecting. I only brought one piece of cold weather clothing with me. My hotel for the next two days is in the old part of town, not the most salubrious of locations but hell of a lot of atmosphere. Think the smallest dirtiest streets you can imagine and then add 10,000 scooters with no lane control or give way rules. It was complete chaos out there, I've had to retire back to the hotel to sample their beer. Even after four breakfasts (don't ask!) I'm starving and can't wait to eat, I resorted to buying cut pineapple off a lady in the street, look out for the shits now I dare say.

Monday 10 Jan 2011 10:49

An early start today doing a bit of a tour of Hanoi, wasn't easy getting up after a night on Larue beer. We were fortunate to find a bar showing the Man Utd v Liverpool match live and so a quick beer turned into a little bit of a session. This morning we got on a bus to do our 'walking' tour if Hanoi! Went to see the prison museum, Ho Chi Minh's tomb and house, the One Pillar Pagoda and the Temple of Literature (picture). The tour was over by 1130 so I don't know why we left so early. In the afternoon we had free time to kill before catching the overnight train to Hue so after lunch we went to see the Water Puppet show, a bizarre experience of puppeteers standing up to their waist in water with the puppet controls being sticks hidden under the water rather than strings from above. I struggled to stay awake in the theatre but parts of the show were actually entertaining, just couldn't understand a word of it. Am currently killing time before the train so surprise, surprise it's beer o'clock!

Tuesday 11 Jan 2011 9:10

Arrived in Hue after an overnighter on a sleeper train from Hanoi. The train was very basic but not as bad as others I've been on. There was a bit of hassle when we boarded as a couple of locals had commandeered our cabin and where refusing to budge. They eventually got turfed out by our guide but only after they'd stunk the place out smoking. One of them did sneak back in during the night to use an empty bunk, fortunately for him he didn't light up as there would have been warfare. He'd gone by the morning, I think my snoring probably has some advantages. The journey was made more manageable once we'd found the catering carriage, I think it was more of a canteen for the train staff than anything else but the lady was happy to serve us cheap beers before throwing us out at 1015. Just off now for a motorbike tour of Hue.

Tuesday 11 Jan 2011 12:21

Did a motor bike tour around Hue today. I started off wondering if I'd be OK in just a T-shirt but fortunately at the last second nipped back for an extra layer as by the end of the tour it got very cold and wet. The tour did the typical things you expect from these things, local crafts, a temple, war relics, village life etc. We weren't able to ride ourselves but had to sit on the back with a driver, probably for the best as the roads are nuts with bikes just weaving in and out anywhere in any direction, crossroads have to be seen to be believed. Right now it's overcast, grey and raining, not what I expected. Should brighten up somewhat as we head further south in a couple of days.

Thursday 13 Jan 2011 5:04

This morning was taken up with a boat trip down the river to see Tu Dam Pagoda, a Buddhist temple. Rather bizarrely one of the exhibits was a 1950's car owned by a monk who burnt himself to death in the courtyard in protest over the tyrannical administration. We went in a Dragon Boat, basically a loudly painted conservatory/gift shop/family home with a keel and engine. Had the weather been good it might have been a pleasant trip but I'm sure we'd have had more fun and it would have been quicker had we taken a motorcycle taxi. After lunch we caught a 'local' bus to Hoi An. I had visions of it being a rickety old thing with peasants carrying pigs and chickens but what actually turned up was a plush coach not with seats but with three rows of double-decker reclining bunks! Most unusual but comfy nevertheless, though they would have been more comfy had they not been built, like everything else around here, for a person somewhat smaller than your average westerner. It was a 4 hour journey through small towns and the countryside with mountains on one side and the sea the other. Almost all of country was rice paddy fields being farmed by the locals. Once again, had it not been grey and raining I'm sure it would have been very picturesque. After arriving at Hoi An we went for food and had an all-you-can-eat type of meal where you had to make your own fresh spring rolls. We then went out for some drinks which turned into a very late night and it took us ages to find the way back to our hotel.

Thursday 13 Jan 2011 13:23

Woke up with a hangover, never a good sign. Had a bit of a session last night around the bars of Hoi An, like everything else booze here is dirt cheap, just had a flash back of dancing on a pool table, must have been a good night. Got chucked out of the bar around 2 and the 5 minute walk home must have taken an hour, we were completely lost. We eventually found it as someone managed to pick up the hotels wifi signal so we knew we were close! Hoi An is a really nice place, the old part of town is very touristy but quiet nice, full of bars, restaurants, gift shops and tailors which it appears to be well known for. The temperature is picking up now we're further south, finally shorts and T-shirts weather. Am doing a Vietnamese cooking class tonight, should be fun. So far everything I've eaten has been gorgeous, looking forward to cooking it myself.

Thursday 13 Jan 2011 22:18

Was a quiet day after last nights blow out, but I did succumb to a beer or two. They have places that sell what they call 'fresh beer' that's basically a home brew made on the day and when the barrel is gone its gone. The beer is just as good as any other draft beer and at ten pence a glass it'd be criminal not to indulge in a few. Had a Vietnamese cooking lesson this evening, we did grilled fish in banana leaf, vegetable spring rolls, fried wonton and chicken salad. It was all very lush. We didn't actually get to do to much cooking as each dish was a bit of a group effort but I picked up a couple of handy hints that I'll defo by using at home. I can't help thinking though that it is just a scam by the restaurants to get you to do your own cooking and charge twice as much for it (£6 instead of £3 so you can't really complain.)

Saturday 15 Jan 2011 9:11

A room with a view, not! Am in Nha Trang, a trashy, sleazy beach resort catering to the whims of Western travellers, whatever they may be. Was a nine hour train journey to get here but at least we're heading in the right direction, it's getting warmer now, I'll be taking a dip in the sea later! The scenery en-route was quite nice to look at, basically just more paddy fields and mountains but at least the sun was shining this time. Before leaving Hoi An yesterday we did a bike tour around the local countryside, was quite interesting.

Saturday 15 Jan 2011 11:03

Went for a boat trip to the islands off Nha Trang to do a bit of snorkelling. The weather wasn't great again and I cramped my leg soon after jumping in and swimming against a strong current so all in all it wasn't a very successful trip. After mooring up somewhere quieter for lunch we decided to call it a day and head home early.

Sunday 16 Jan 2011 16:56

Still in Nha Trang but getting ready for the night train to Saigon. Went to a pub last night where it was 2 for 1 cocktails, it seams to always be happy hour! Needless to say a lot were drank and they just kept coming. I certainly felt the worse for it today. At some point I must have thrown up as I've had that sicky smell in my nose all day long. The night wasn't without it's mishaps, a few got all their money stolen and one stumbled off his motorbike taxi, banged his head on the floor and gashed his forehead nastily. It required a hospital visit for stitches and a CT scan! To help recover from our hangovers we went to a mud bath and hot springs, it definitely helped the recovery process however I feel really drowsy now, hopefully it should help me sleep on the train.

Monday 17 Jan 2011 12:03

After arriving in Saigon (officially Ho Chi Minh City but the locals still call it Saigon) on the overnight sleeper train, in which I slept surprisingly well, a positive after effect of a night on the raz, we couldn't hang around too long as we decided on a trip to see the Mekong Delta which was a good couple of hours drive away. So after stopping for some Pho (noodle soup) for breakfast off we set. The trip around the delta was surprisingly short and I didn't see everything I expected us to but it was still well worth it. The tour was by boat around Vinh Long, essentially an island in the river system. It started on a large barge type boat before we reached an island and we transferred into small 3-4 man canoes to navigate the small waterways through the island. It was then back on the barge for a cruise across the river to lunch. The food was very good but being mainly fishy stuff I didn't eat a great deal. They did however have a slow roasted pork dish that was divine, it was so sweet I think it had been roasted in a sauce heavy laden with the local sugar cane. Then back on the boat where we went to sample some local fruits and finally to a place were they made sweets from coconut and sweet rice cakes. The process for popping the rice was interesting, it's a bit like popcorn but done in a massive sand filled wok type cauldron, I might try it (on a smaller scale) when I get home.

Monday 17 Jan 2011 22:34

Went out for food this evening to one of the street cafes by the city market. These cafes are not there during the day but spring up after dark when the indoor market closes and more touristy stalls open up outside. They are generally complete chaos with no apparent order at all. The dishes come in no particular order as and when they're ready. My main course didn't arrive until everyone else had finished theirs which was a bit worrying but when it did eventually arrive it was will worth the wait, some of the nicest food I've tasted. I had a simple fried rice with beef, but the beef was some if the most tender and flavoursome I've had in a while. I think they rushed the dish to me after complaining and the beef was still a bit rare, just the way I like it. Some people on another table ordered fried goats nipple and they couldn't eat it so passed it over. It was very chewy, I had to spit it out! People weren't up to doing much after food, I think they're saving themselves for tomorrow when its the last night the whole group will together, and so we headed back to the hotel via a dodgy DVD store. I'd have happily stayed out for a few drinks but instead decided to check out the hotel restaurant which is a revolving one on the top floor. I was disappointed that only one other stopped for a drink with me but we do have an early start in the morning.

Tuesday 18 Jan 2011 9:39

This morning we visited the Cu Chi Tunnel complex a couple of hours outside of Saigon, it's an area of preserved tunnels that was used as a base for the Zone Party Committee and the High Command of Sai Gon during the Vietnam war. The tour started with a video introduction with (supposed) archive footage of battles in the area. I think it was as much propaganda as it was history. One part of the video extolled the greatness of certain individuals who were now recognised as war heroes for killing many Americans, at this point a couple of people got up and left - patriotic American tourists I presume! The tour continued around a number of exhibits showing life in the tunnels and one particular gruesome exhibit showing the home made traps used in the jungle, it was quite depressing and horrific. We then got to shoot rifles, they had an array of weapons from AK-47's right up to M60's. Unfortunately they were all secured down now after a Korean tourist turned one on himself and blew his brains out! The tour ended with a crawl through part of the tunnels, more a gimmick than anything else. These tunnels had been cemented and widened to fit the more ample Western frame but were still a little claustrophobic.

Tuesday 18 Jan 2011 23:57

Spent the afternoon looking around Saigon, saw all the usual sites and visited the war museum which was a very sobering experience. Outside is filled with US tanks and planes etc but inside is mainly just photo exhibits showing the effects of the war. There's a section on the effect Agent Orange had with some rather harrowing pictures of deformed children. There's another section showing the atrocities and torture carried out by US troops against the Vietnamese in very graphic detail, GIs holding up decapitated heads, people being tied to and dragged behind tanks until they died etc. I came out of there feeling very depressed. In the evening we went for our final meal as the whole group, only half of us are continuing to Cambodia tomorrow. We went to a very nice restaurant were the food was excellent but still not as tasty as some of the more traditional local food we'd ate. Afterwards we went to Fanny's for ice cream. Not a late night as people had early departures in the morning.

Wednesday 19 Jan 2011 16:18

Arrived at our hotel in Phnom Penh after a long and tiring journey from Saigon. My first impressions are a bit mixed, food and beer is 2-3 times the price it was in Vietnam, the country is clearly a lot poorer and so has less infrastructure etc but the people seem nice enough and that's what I usually rate a country on. One striking difference is just how fewer people there are around. In Vietnam you'd see people working in all the paddy fields, here very few. It is however a lot hotter and sunnier which could account for that. It is also a country with 5 times less population. A whole new set of beers to try now, my first impressions are that Cambodian beer (Angkor) is much nicer than the Vietnamese stuff. Food doesn't seem as good but I've only ate in a road side cafe so far when the bus stopped for lunch.

Thursday 20 Jan 2011 17:43

Went to the S-21 Genocide Museum and the Killing Fields today. S-21 is a school that the Pol Pot regime converted into a prison for the purposes of torture, after continued torture for up to a few months at a time prisoners were loaded onto trucks during the night and told they were being transported to labour camps. In fact they were transported to the killing fields where they were immediately, brutally killed and dumped into mass graves. It was an extremely sobering morning and I don't think anyone came away with dry eyes, especially after one of the three remaining prisoners still alive today told us about the abuses he was subjected to, it was all very moving. We returned to the city for lunch and to lift spirits we went to the FCC (Foreign Correspondents Club) for cocktails whilst we waited the Royal Palace to open. Afterwards we got a Cyclo (a peddled tricycle with a seat at the front for the passenger) tour of Phnom Penh back to the hotel.

Thursday 20 Jan 2011 23:04

Last night in Phnom Penh was a frustrating one, basically due to the complete lack of service you get in almost any bar or restaurant. We started off with drinks in the FCC which took about 45 minutes to receive, so deciding not to eat there we had dinner in a restaurant across the road which even for the standard I've come to expect was really taking the piss. In Vietnam and even more so in Cambodia there doesn't appear to be any understanding in the kitchen of when food should come out. Every dish arrives as and when it's ready, so some people have finished before other's food arrives. Even though menus have separate sections for starter and main, dishes will come out in any order and more often than not the starter will come afterwards. If you were to order your dessert at the same time as your main you're going to he running a bit of a risk I'd say. Paying for bills is a nightmare too. They just don't have any kind of system for passing on your order to the person who takes your money, you have to repeat your order all over again and after you've paid will they only then compare it to the original order! And on top of all that the restaurant tried to short change us; should have stayed at the FCC.

Friday 21 Jan 2011 9:22

Stopped for a snack at Spider Village on the way to Siem Reap, the local delicacy is fried tarantula spider, as well as fried crickets and lemon grass stuffed frogs. The spider wasn't too bad, tasted a bit like spiced fried chicken skin.

Friday 21 Jan 2011 15:16

Arrived at hotel in Siem Reap, am relaxing in the roof top bar before heading out to the temples for sunset. Happy days.

Friday 21 Jan 2011 17:32

We went to see the sunset from the top of a mountain temple, it was like termites on a mound! The number of people up there was ridiculous, made the whole event pointless. I estimated at least 100 coach loads, most of which were Japanese, Chinese and Korean - not always the politest of tourists. I decided to leave before sunset just to avoid the rush, wasn't much of one anyway. Afterwards we had cocktails in the hotel bar before going to a roadside BBQ restaurant for dinner. The food was excellent and very good value. A young boy came around and begged for our leftover food, we ended up buying an additional meal just to give to the street kids.

Saturday 22 Jan 2011 5:31

Got up at 5AM to see the sunrise at Angkor Wat. Am knackered and my bowls aren't good this morning, time to crack open the Imodiums!

Saturday 22 Jan 2011 11:05

Went to see the Angkor temples today, Angkor Thom, the Jungle Temple (i.e. the Tomb Raider temple) and Angkor Wat itself. The first two were good but to be honest I wasn't impressed with Ankgor Wat, it doesn't quite live up to the hype.

Sunday 23 Jan 2011 16:31

This morning went to the Angkor Museum, was very good, had a lot of well preserved artefacts from the temples. Did get a bit monotonous towards the end though, all a bit same same but different as they're fond of saying around here. Late afternoon we visited a floating village on the lake. There are entire villages that live in floating house boats that move around depending on the water level. They have everything on floating platforms from houses to hospitals to tennis courts. The money spinner for the beggar community in these villages seams to be little kids with big snakes wrapped around them going from tourist boat to tourist boat asking for, like everything else, "one dollar" for a photo. During the boat journey I was surprised when the deck hand, a boy of about 7 years old, came up behind me and started hitting me very hard indeed. I soon realised he was giving me a massage and he wouldn't stop until he had his one dollar. For someone so small there was certainly a lot of strength in his hands and arms, it was more like 'I'm going to beat you up until you pay up.' On the way to the floating village we stopped off at an orphanage. Now I'm not one for liking kids but even I have to admit they were adorable. It really struck me that even though these kids had nothing they were the smiliest, happiest kids you could ever meet. They put on a dance show for us which was quite amusing, especially the "monkey dance". The orphanage doesn't have any sponsors and relies completely on donations, so rather than bring back presents for people I've decided to make a donation instead.

Monday 24 Jan 2011 15:54

Arrived at the Bangkok hotel after a long and tiring drive from Siem Reap. The hotel is quite basic but handily situated for all the shops. Just had a look around before getting ready for dinner out. First impressions - hot and dirty.

Tuesday 25 Jan 2011 9:31

Went out for some local food last night, I had a gorgeous Thai red curry. We then went for a drink in a bar that could really have been anywhere in the world and at £5 a beer not the best value, thankfully cocktails were 2 for 1. Woke up a bit groggy this morning. Spent the morning looking around The Grand Palace and Wat Pho with it's 46m long reclining gold Buddha. I'll say one thing about the locals, they do like their Buddha's. Thought I'd do a bit of shopping this afternoon but it turned into a fruitless task. I went to the IT mall and got pissed off with constantly being asked if I wanted porn DVDs. So I went to the aquarium but I wasn't going to pay £20 to get in! So I thought I'd find somewhere nice for a drink but couldn't. Ended up back in my hotel room with a can of Singha beer. Something I found amusing in the IT shopping mall: Two monks, dressed in orange robes with shaved heads and eyebrows etc walked into one of the stores and one pulls his iPhone out from somewhere, plugs it into one of the media speakers on display and starts playing Lady Gaga. Both of them are there nodding their heads and singing along. Weird sight. Last night of the trip this evening so to quote a phrase of Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany's "Don't take me home until I'm drunk, very drunk indeed!"

Tuesday 25 Jan 2011 23:08

Well the last night in Bangkok was a bit of a damp squib. We went to the Khoasarn Road area for dinner but afterwards no one was that keen on staying on for a few drinks. To be fair there were a number of people with dicky stomachs and others with early departures in the morning but still, you'd think an effort would be made. Had a couple of beers in the hotel bar before the mosi's got too much for me so had an earlyish night.

Wednesday 26 Jan 2011 12:18

Back at Bangkok airport waiting for my flight home. End of the trip. Has been good, I'd do it all again.

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Photos: Weekend at Pauls, August 2010

2010-09-01T23:00:00.005+01:00

Another weekend of eating and drinking in the relaxed surrounds of Paul's house. This time it was to celebrate his 40th birthday.

Photos: British Grand Prix 2010

2010-08-01T20:11:00.005+01:00

Some photos from the F1 British Grand 2010 at Silverstone.

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I'm in for a filling. No you're not.

2010-03-31T20:50:00.001+01:00

I've written before about the other Gary Lynch's that are out there but today my path crossed with one of them in a most unexpected way.

I had a dental appointment for a filling as a consequence of a checkup I had a couple of weeks ago. The dentist, the same lady who saw me just a couple of weeks ago, called me into the surgery and sat me down in the chair. She proceeded to get out all the tools of her trade that she'd need to do me with and started asking a few questions. You have to pay close attention to what she says as she's an Eastern European lady who's English isn't perfect but it was very apparent that it wasn't a filling she was expecting to do to me! I said to her "I'm in for a filling." "No you're not." she replied. "Yes I am" I said, pulling out of my pocket the form she'd completed on my last visit showing the treatment I'd need.

She handed the form to her nurse/interpreter who looked at it a bit confused then looked at the computer then back to the form, then back to the computer. After a few moments of head scratching and key bashing it became apparent they had another Gary Lynch with a very similar date of birth as a patient and his records had been put against my name and vice versa. So anyway, she had to pack up all her tools, get a different set out and she did finally give me the filling I needed.

After my treatment was over I went to see the receptionist to book my next appointment, "Oh, how unusual" she said, "we have two Gary Lynch's on the system." "Yes. I know" I replied.

This isn't actually the first time this has happened to me. A number of years ago I had a phone call from the hospital booking an appointment to have a brain scan. At the time I had been suffering from a lot of headaches and I couldn't quite understand how the hospital knew about this but after a few minutes of confused conversation it became apparent it wasn't my head they wanted to scan.

Pixies - Isle of White Festival 2009

2010-03-23T22:38:00.001Z

Was watching some Pixies vid's on YouTube and stumbled upon this rendition of Monkey from the Isle of White Festival last year. It's the one where I can be seen drunk as hell singing at the top of my voice in the front of the crowd! If you spot me then you'll clearly see just how awesome I thought their set was.

Just spotted myself at the start of this one too!

This Blog is Dead, Long Live This Blog

2010-02-05T15:47:00.006Z

No sooner had I said that this blog was going to get updated more often then Google went and put a bloody spanner in the works. You see, I use Google's Blogger platform to maintain this blog but then publish it to my own web server rather than have Google host it for me. Doing it this way allows me to customise it in ways that I couldn't if Google hosted for me. But now Google have decided to stop supporting the publishing to other servers and from the end of March all Blogger blogs will have to be hosted on Google's servers. This blog will not work on Google's servers because there is just too much server-side scripting embedded in it.

So I am left with a few choices, either ditch Blogger in favour of some other blogging platform, recreate the site in such a way that it will work with Blogger or do it all manually. Whichever option I choose it is going to cause me a tremendous amount of work to get it fully working. Damn you Google.

Anyway I think I've decided to stick with Blogger, there are some advantages to doing so, it does mean though that over the coming weeks this blog may be offline or not quite working as it should but hopefully in the end it'll be all the better for it.

Update
This blog has now been almost completely moved over to a Blogger hosted solution. There are still a few issues I need to sort out but at least I'm back in business.

Probably the Worst Chinese Restaurant in Wales?

2010-01-24T20:38:00.010Z

Since publishing this review there have been a number of complaints that my comments were both rude and an unfair portrayal of certain parts of Caerphilly society. On reflection I agree with some of their points and so have decided to remove it in the interest of keeping the peace.

Time to Blow the Dust Off Things

2010-01-19T22:18:00.001Z

About a year ago I wrote that this blog didn't get updated enough and and in future I'd make an effort to write more often. Well that turned out to be bollocks didn't it? To be honest 2009 was a strange year for me and not very conducive to keeping this blog updated. After 16 years of being together, Emma and I split up and I wasn't in the best frame of mind to contribute to this frivolity. Anyways, that was then and this is now so I think it's time I started things back up again. Having said that I've actually got bugger all to say at the moment other than 'watch this space.'

Photos: Weekend at Pauls, August 2009

2009-08-31T12:00:00.028+01:00

Some photos from a weekend at Paul's place near Agay in the South of France. I neglected to take my camera so these were kindly donated by Llinos & Mike (albiet with a bit of editing on my part!)

It was a good weekend, lot's of eating and drinking and a nice boat trip to Pampelonne beach for lunch.

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Some people shouldn't be allowed computers – continued

2009-04-22T21:07:00.001+01:00

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.

Photos: Pembrey Easter 2009

2009-04-19T18:16:00.007+01:00

Some photos from the CLSC Easter Weekend at Pembrey.

Who is Singapore Gary?

2009-03-14T11:45:00.006Z

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

2009-03-01T16:45:00.006Z

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

2009-01-31T14:04:00.008Z

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.

I should travel by train more often

2009-01-31T12:21:00.001Z

There have been complaints...

2009-01-15T17:57:00.005Z

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.

Photos: St Lucia, November 2008

2008-11-23T19:23:00.007Z

I was having a piss...

2008-10-17T23:17:00.001+01:00

...when I saw this...

...cool. I was there

How to make the perfect Chili, The Final Cut

2008-10-04T09:02:00.006+01:00

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

2008-08-31T15:19:00.005+01:00

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.

Photos: Glastonbury, July 2008

2008-08-09T18:06:00.010+01:00

A few photos from our weekend in Glastonbury with Kerry & Julian and Karen & Peter.

Photos: Camping in Llangennith, July 2008

2008-07-14T18:33:00.003+01:00

A few photos from a camping weekend in Llangennith. These photos were just to test the quality of the camera in my new iPhone and to check it's geocoding features. I uploaded them to Picasa as it handles the geocoding automatically and so this post is a feed from Picasa.

Photos: Peter's 40th Birthday

2008-06-30T20:47:00.003+01:00

A few photos from Peter's 40th birthday party.

Virus Alert!

2008-06-19T19:25:00.004+01:00

I was reading this article The 25 Best High-Tech Pranks and it reminded me of a practical joke that was played on one of my colleagues (henceforth known as the poor victim) some years ago. Remember I work in IT as does the poor victim of this practical joke which makes it all the more hilarious that he fell for it, you'd expect anyone with the smallest amount of IT knowledge to realise exactly what was going on.

I had been on holiday and on the morning of my return I was sat at my desk doing the usual catching up with emails etc when one of my colleagues (the poor victim) approached my boss (the department manager) to ask if it was OK to get some quotes from our suppliers for anti-virus software. My ears pricked up at this wondering what he was on about as the company was well covered with AV software and so there shouldn’t have been any additional requirements. He continued to explain to my boss (who must have also been away the previous week) that we needed to get AV software to install on the companies laser printers as we had had a virus outbreak on them the previous week. I really couldn’t believe what I was hearing from him and I guess from the glazed-over dumb look he got from my boss neither could he. The poor victim continued to explain how when he was stood at the printer waiting for reports to come off he noticed the LCD panel was flashing messages such as “S.O.S.”, “...---...”, “Help, Virus Alert!” and the like. At this point I couldn’t keep a straight face and as much as I wanted to stay and listen to his story I just had to leave the room to burst into tears of laughter in the corridor. I was soon followed by a couple of other work mates who were also in hysterics and filled me in on what had happened.

We use HP LaserJet printers for all our reports and forms and as well as supporting the usual commands for printing text and graphics you can also send to the printer commands to alter various printer settings normally accessed through the on board control panel. Some of these commands allow you to display a message on the printer’s LCD panel. Every time the poor victim went up to the printer to collect a report another colleague would send an SOS message to the printer for the poor victim to see.

Well, the poor victim took it all a bit too seriously and really believed the printer was infected with a virus and made it his personal crusade to rid the company of the infection. He fished out the printer’s manual and read it cover to cover looking for anything that might enlighten him as to what was happening and after finding nothing there and with the printer still seemingly being infected even after a number of power cycles he did the only thing that was left for him to do and telephoned the manufacturers technical support line. This was some years ago before the Internet existed in its present form so he couldn’t just Google it for a solution.

Well from what I gather the tech support guy must have thought he had a lunatic on the other end of the line and did ask him “Do you have a practical joker in the office?” To which the poor victim replied “No, he’s on holiday!” I think the tech support started to play along as clearly there was no getting through to this man and so they continued to humour him by asking such things as “What’s the temperature in the office?” To which the poor victim responded by getting a thermometer and measuring the temperature. Eventually I think the tech support guy must have suggested to the poor victim that we should infest in some AV software for the printers just to get him off the phone.

Of course by then the poor victim was in his stride determined to get to the bottom of this and decided to check every printer throughout the company and as you can imagine he was greeted by similar virus alert messages on each one he checked. I can't remember if he ever did try to buy the software but I'm pretty sure he never discovered it was all just a prank.