It seems appropriate that while on vacation I'd find time to write, right? So I did get my review of Time and the Conways done today prior to my nap. I like the free time but I'm sure over time it would prove frustrating.

It was a fun day: we saw the Norman castle, the church where Anne Bronte is buried (one of the few graves not to have been moved - seemed rude to be using tombstones as paving stones), and the lighthouse. We skipped dinner (and karaoke!) in favor of eating at the apartment. It's probably going to turn out to be one of the cheapest weekends away ever.

Tomorrow: concert at the Victorian spa (11), boat ride, mock naval battle on a pond, trip to the Sea Life Center, and hopefully more karaoke.

( Seeing as it's become such a divisive issue on Facebook )

Contains spoilers, obviously.

My diamond necklace went missing.

It was on the mantelpiece, Lali jumped up there last night, and this afternoon, after I'd unknowingly vacuumed the living room shaggy-rug in prep for Mum's visit tomorrow, the damned necklace was nowhere. Clearly it had been kicked off the mantelpiece onto the shaggy-rug, sucked up in the hoover, and the uber-delicate chain must have been destroyed in the cleaner. There was zero chance of finding the stone on its own. Nonetheless, I went through the contents of the cleaner, fibre by fibre, wearing marigolds and plucking at the dust and fluff with a pair of chopsticks at arm's length on the basis that last week I sucked up two enormous black spiders and unexpected physical contact with a severed leg or chelicera would have disconcerted me.

You probably need to know this if you're planning to come 'round to my place for noodles any time soon.

Anyway, I was on the phone to webofevil this evening, talking about something else entirely^[1], and was digging around the fireplace as we nattered and to my delight I discovered the necklace resting in the bottom of my orchid vase.

webo kindly reprised the situation and pointed out that the worst point of my day was when my oriental cat kicked my diamond necklace into the orchid vase.

On reflection, I have to concede that my life is perfect.

^[1] I can't justify this other than to restate what you already know: that I am a button-headed little idiot - but a couple of days ago I discovered that for a number of years I have been misreading the letters "QNI" in your posts. I now know that they mean "Quiet Night In". But all this time, in my head, they have meant "Quite Nice Indeed", and have served as a gentle commentary on the quality of your day. I am aware that "quite nice indeed" isn't even a sentence. It doesn't even make sense. It's rubbish. But I've friended a number of you on the basis that you pepper your posts with QNI, and given my interpretation of those three letters I have rested in the comfortable belief that you are all a bunch of tea-drinking, cricket-watching Englishers, probably dressed in a natty trilby, doubtless with pipe, spaniel and walking stick; or, if you are of the lady persuasion, in something classically understated, some decent pearls, and a chignon. In fact it turns out you're probably a bunch of chardonnay-swilling pizza-orderers, slumped in front of The Bill with your feet on the coffee table, and if I find out that this is the case I shall be most disappointed in you.

Tags: yellow
Current Mood: mischievous

( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlilCxnmek0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Mm6ycEz2A8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjyQkt04Urc

(33 1/3rd of the links stolen wholesale from the usual suspects. Of course, if I was any good, I'd have found the Blackout Crew's Manchester Procession piece too.)

Tags: breaking wind in the kitchen, peelism, waap records of norwich
Current Location: Paradise garage
Current Mood: Wrong speed
Current Music: Filthy racket

I've always assumed that pantyhose was USian for tights, but this article about thier history includes the line

The industry witnessed a decline in pantyhose sales, and an increase in other products, such as tights and—with the rise of pants in the workplace—trouser socks.

So, could someone tell me the difference between pantyhose and tights? What *is* the English for pantyhose, if it's not tights?

Tags: clothes, question

• Top 10 comic book cities | The Critics | Architects Journal
  Some really interesting picks here. I think I'm going to have to make efforts to acquire a few of the works mentioned in here that I've never read.
  (tags: cities comics architecture)
• Metropolitan Police Service – About the Met – Photography advice
  Advice about dealing with Photographers given to officers by the Met. Sensible, clear, know your rights stuff. If an officer talking to you does *not* know your rights, then you might try giving them this, because after all, it's their boss telling them what they're allowed to do.
  (tags: photography police london advice)

This entry was originally published at my workblog.

Tags: linkdump

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhKjA6u27xQ

Amazing dance about addiction from So You Think You Can Dance.. I think? One of the dance shows anyway, but it's reeeeally good.


The first country to abolish the death sentence was Austria, in 1787.

And I know we've talked about the death penalty here and there throughout the years, but I was interested in your current feelings about it, if you want to share.

Current Mood: calm
Current Music: Baseball

This entry was originally published at Black Ink

Tags: marginalia

We're in the house in Scarborough. It's an awesome place - full of really interesting books (I'm guessing maybe 2000 or so), musical instruments, and interesting things to cook with. It's also decorated with fascinating antiques, shiny things, and bits and bobs from around the world (for example, the bathroom has a Tibetan mandala painting). It's like taking a vacation inside someone's mind, with all of their memories and experiences. I feel ridiculously at home here. In fact, I love it.

Out the front windows, over the red tiled rooves is the little protected fishing harbor, with the touristy beahfront promenade (gambling arcades, ice cream shops, chippies) curving away from it. Hovering behind us is a hill with a castle on top - maybe Norman but I'm not sure. We're about to walk out the door and find out, though. Later on I'll report on the Knickerbocker Deluxe and the other karaoke joint on the waterfront. (Note: regular updates on my Wewbcowgirl Twittr account, including photos. Much easier to manage from a phone than LJ posts.)

Oh yeah - also expecting a call from a recruiter today. Will report back on that.