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September 29, 2004

Leaving subtle clues

Was sent this today and it brought a smile to my face so thought I would share it :-)

Your wife decides to go out with her friends drinking and dancing.
You're okay with it, because you get to watch sport all night.
You hear her stumble into bed around 4 am.
You wake up next morning and go outside to the family Volvo, which she used last night.
You are happy to see it all in one piece.
But wait a minute .....? What the fuh?


Posted by Markiss at 5:39 PM | Comments (0)

Been a long time

Yes it has been a while since my last post. I do apologise! Work has been crazy this week so far. Client's changing their minds with what they do or don't want. Of course they tell me once I have already finished the drawing and design work! Good news is that I have now booked off a week to have some time out from work. Don't know if I will be going anywhere yet but I will see. Could be another stint in France for a bit maybe. I haven't even been down to the clubhouse for a while either. I was there on Monday night though. Met up with some friends from England, which was a laugh. It was Bill from the Water Rats Jazz Band. He is one of the banjo players. We had a meal and then some drinks and then some more :-) He even got his "Banjo out" and in public too! He then proceeded to twang it repeatedly whilst singing away at the top of his voice. But seriously, it was a good time had by all, I think :-) I will be going down there tonight as well to see him and Dee because I think he is leaving tomorrow. So maybe have a bit more to tell tomorrow. That's all for now..............

Posted by Markiss at 4:28 PM | Comments (0)

September 24, 2004

Beat the deadline

This has been such a hectic week. It has really tested my ability to work under pressure. I was given just over 1½ weeks to do working drawings for three large houses. That isn't a lot of time at all but I have just finished it as we speak. Even with other problems I am having at the moment too! I am glad this last week is over with now. All I want to do is concentrate on my weekend now. I feel like taking a long holiday at the moment but know I can't do that, shame really. So instead I will just have to try and enjoy it over here. Don't know what I am going to get up to yet but I am sure I will find something to do. Then comes next week. I am starting drawings for 11 houses and have been given 3 weeks to complete it. No rest for the wicked, huh? Have a good weekend all.

Posted by Markiss at 5:05 PM | Comments (0)

September 23, 2004

Question

Why do hot dogs come ten to a package and hot dog buns only eight? That really annoys me!

Posted by Markiss at 3:54 PM | Comments (0)

See Facts

Did you know that today marks the 30th anniversary of Ceefax? I can't believe it has been around for that long. Ceefax was developed by BBC broadcast engineers who were working on ways of providing subtitles for the deaf. Apparently it still has 20 million users, even though the Internet is now here. Just goes to show how lazy people are. Could you imagine a world without the remote control? Personally I have only used Ceefax once this year and that was to get flight arrival times in Jersey. To pick someone up from the airport. It was spot on too.......... Ceefax marks 30 years of service

Posted by Markiss at 3:50 PM | Comments (0)

Missile Pentagon

Was it a missile that hit the Pentagon on 9-11?

Posted by Markiss at 1:48 PM | Comments (0)

British Islands

At last I know where I live. That may sound a bit strange to most people but I have only just found out exactly that. Let me put you in the picture. I live in Jersey, Channel Islands. Now, to a lot of people, Jersey is thought to have been part of the United Kingdom. This is not the case. As the United Kingdom consists of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It also includes the small adjacent islands but it does not include the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. So then you would think that Jersey is part of Great Britain. This isn't the case either. Great Britain consists of England, Scotland and Wales. It also includes the small adjacent islands but it does not include the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. So where the hell is Jersey then? Well the expression "British Islands" has been defined in the Interpretation Act 1978 as meaning the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. The Republic of Ireland is not included in this definition. So in future I should end my postal address as: Jersey, Channels Islands, British Islands. It probably wont get here though because hardly anyone else in the world has ever heard of the British Islands! Oh and one more thing. There is also the "British Isles". The expression "British Isles" is geographical and not political. They are a group of islands off the northwest coast of Europe consisting of Great Britain, the whole of Ireland, the Orkney and Shetland Islands, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Isle of Wight, the Scilly Islands, Lundy Island, the Channel Islands and many other smaller islands. I hope you are all a bit more enlightened now.

Lecture over :-)

Source:
Great Britain, the British Isles, the United Kingdom, British Islands

Update:
It still doesn't bloody help me when filling in forms on the Internet with my address. Why do these sites have this drop down menu with all the places in the world except The Channel Islands? I always have to put in the UK. Which of course is a lie. Why don't they get rid of those drop down menus and just let us write our address?
Sorry for the rant but it's always got on my tits :-)


Posted by Markiss at 1:07 PM | Comments (0)

September 22, 2004

Playing with Balls

No wonder I was screwed up as a kid. Just have a look at this little beauty. It is a clip from the 1970's - 1980's kids show "Rainbow". I used to watch it all the time as a kid. Scary stuff! Playing with Balls and your mate's balls too!

Posted by Markiss at 12:46 PM | Comments (0)

September 20, 2004

Arnhem

On 17th September 1944 the Battle in Arnhem began with the aim of securing bridges across key rivers in Holland. If the operation had worked as planned, the war could have been over by Christmas; as it happened, the allied landings were betrayed and the plan instead resulted in a 9-day bloodbath - ending with the evacuation of the remainder of the 1st British Airborne Division from the Arnhem area. This documentary – Nine Days to Remember – tells the story of the Battle of Arnhem. Yesterday children, some wearing T-shirts that read "I am a child of freedom - thank you Mr Veteran", laid flowers on the graves of the soldiers killed and whispered their names. Just goes to show us that the heroes killed at Arnhem 60 years ago did not die in vain. The gratitude of the Dutch people to the men who liberated their country will live for ever.

Posted by Markiss at 1:56 PM | Comments (0)

Deadline Passes

As you all know, a deadline set by militants who have threatened to behead two Americans, Eugene Armstrong and Jack Hensley and Briton Kenneth Bigley seized in Iraq has now passed. It is a sad thought that the ultimatum the militants gave will not be agreed to, so the lives of these three men are now at risk. "The answer is sad and stark: Giving into fanatics never works. If we did they would just come back next time and ask for more." BBC NEWS | Middle East | British hostage deadline passes

Posted by Markiss at 1:21 PM | Comments (0)

Ascii Body Art

It just looked so nice :-)
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Posted by Markiss at 1:03 PM | Comments (0)

September 17, 2004

Drunken Sexual Hangman

It'ssssssssssssssssssssss Friday. So I bring you a game with an Adult theme. Drunken Sexual Hangman. Have a drink with the barman, everytime you get a letter incorrect you have another drink . If you drink all your drinks before you guess the sexual position or adult word, you are out. Well beats working on a Friday :-)

Posted by Markiss at 1:21 PM | Comments (0)

September 16, 2004

Windows XP Service Pack 2

So here we are again. Do I or don't I? Well Drc seems to have hit a problem installing it. Apparently she lost everything! Now that is a major problem. I can't be bothered with all that hastle and stress at the moment. But just to wind me up even more, the "updates are ready to install" icon flashes at me in my system tray every time I start my computer. Anyone know how to get rid of that? Now, since Microsoft have been good enough to realise that there is a problem with some programs not working, they have put up a list of possible software that you may have problems with. You can download the list from here. What I find amusing is the way they put the word "seem" in the title for the list of programs that don't work with Windows XP Service Pack 2. 842242 - Some programs seem to stop working after you install Windows XP Service Pack 2. Anyway, it "seems" as though the new firewall is to blame for most of the problems and shouldn't be too difficult in configuring your software to work. Tell that to Drc! At least she has it all up and running now though :-) (After 3 hours of sorting her computer out, that is)

Posted by Markiss at 2:37 PM | Comments (0)

September 15, 2004

Specsavers

She should have gone to Specsavers!. Oh my god she should have done? Have you ever seen a pair like that before? She has got to be wearing them for a bet!

Posted by Markiss at 3:04 PM | Comments (0)

Pike

Now that's what I call a Pike. Well, Muskie in Kelly's terms. This Pike is 140 feet long and towers 4½ stories tall. Now wouldn't that be one hell of a fight on 1½ lb line? World's largest Muskie

Posted by Markiss at 1:55 PM | Comments (0)

Boring Post

This will most probably be a really boring entry for you lot but I still had to enter it anyway.I have finally finished doing up my lounge! I moved into the house in August last year, so it has taken just over a year to complete. The last thing to be completed were putting up the new curtains last night. They had been on order for 3 weeks. So it's taken a year to do what? Well completely strip it down and start again basically. Had the carpet cleaned (professionally), Polyfil and paint the walls, put new curtain rails and curtains up, sand and paint the skirting boards with gloss, rewire all the plugs sockets and replace with new chrome ones, replace the existing lights (all eleven of 'em, oh and the center light was from my Mum as a house warming pressie), buy new coffee table (which was a house warming present from my Mum, she is good to me :-) and fix the leak in the shower upstairs, so it stopped making the lounge ceiling damp. I think that is about it. A whole year to do that. Seems a long time but it was really just down to money at the end of the day. These things seem to just eat at your wallet. So I did it one step at a time, when I could afford something. Next on the list is the Kitchen. Wonder if that will take another year? Probably, but it will be worth it in the end. Boring post over now :-)

Posted by Markiss at 1:30 PM | Comments (0)

September 14, 2004

More Soil

Just got 3 more soil Prizes from Jeremy. Bringing my total up to 8 prizes in all. Still have no idea what it's all about but there you go ;-) Will probably be a long wait until I get another one though. The next 2 pizes are 650 and 750 points each! So maybe sometime next year.

Posted by Markiss at 11:18 AM | Comments (0)

September 13, 2004

Architecture and Hurricanes

Now is it just me or is there a problem with the design of houses in the Caribbean and Florida? Watching the news over the past few weeks has really made me think about this problem.Preparing for a hurricane doesn't mean just boarding up windows and getting out of town. It means much tougher building regulations! Here in Jersey, we have such a strict code to build to. It doesn't take much, just costs a little more from the outset. But just how much damage has been caused in Florida and Jamaica? How much do you think the bill will be to put that lot right? We had a hurricane in Jersey in October 1987. The only real damage was to those buildings unlucky enough to have trees falling on them. As for roofs blowing off, there was only 1 incident of this happening! It was on a hotel in town. (I think I was involved in the design of it too :) But anyway, I digress! It just goes to show that bricks and steel are much more robust than timber and nails. My conclusion: Get rid of all those mobile homes and timber huts (Well the hurricane has already done that job for you!) and build yourselves a sturdy / safe dwelling. Don't cut costs, do it properly and your home should be a safe place to live in. O.k obviously there will be damage to dwellings in a bad position (ie: next to water sources like on a river bank or on the coast) but you can still design a safe dwelling even in that environment. Or an even better idea. Move to somewhere where they don't keep getting hurricanes, twisters and floods. After saying all that, my heart does go out to all those people who have suffered through this nightmare.

Posted by Markiss at 3:07 PM | Comments (0)

Potentially & Realistically

Had a joke emailed to me today which made me laugh (a bit) so thought I would share it:

A young boy went up to his father and asked "What's the difference between potentially & realistically?"
The father ponders for a moment, then answered "Go ask your mother if she would sleep with Robert Redford for a million pounds and also ask your sister if she would sleep with Brad Pitt for a million pounds, then come back and tell me what you learned."
So the boy went to his mother and asked, "Mum, would you sleep with Robert Redford for a million quid?" The Mother replied "Definitely, I wouldn't pass up on an opportunity like that."
The boy then went to his older sister and asked, "Would you sleep with Brad Pitt for a million quid?" The girl replied, "Oh yes! Absolutely! Without question."
The boy then thought about it for a few days. He goes back to his father who asks, "So son, do you now know difference between potentially & realistically?"
The boy replies "Yes. Potentially we're sitting on 2 million pounds, but realistically we're living with two slappers."


Posted by Markiss at 2:48 PM | Comments (0)

Oh Well

Had such a good weekend. Shame it has just finished really. Hope all you guys had a good one too :-) Rob: Get your arse into gear and finish that website. Kelly: Sure your boyfriend is lying about a 44" pike (muskie)! God I wish I could catch something like that! Good luck with the truck! Dot: Stop spilling your pints over the bar. Jeremy: Where's my soil prizes :-) (did you get my email?) Paula: Crane flies (Daddy long legs) aren't that scary. Sammie: Hah hah! Off to bed now. Night Peeps.

Posted by Markiss at 12:04 AM | Comments (0)

September 11, 2004

Smoking Computer

I never said I was a computer wizard............. I have just proved it too. Here's the scene: I have just come into possession of a 20 Gig hard drive. I thought I could put it in my home computer as a spare drive to put my music and photo's on etc, just to clear up space on my main drive. So after talking to someone "in the know" I felt all clued up on how to do it. Armed with a screw driver in one hand and a cigarette in the other I was ready. Took off the side of my computer, located my main hard drive and connected my new hard drive with all the correct wires. So I thought up to that point. Eager to start using the drive and start transferring all my stuff to it, I switched the power on. Ka Boom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Smoke starts belowing out of the spare hard drive. Power off quickly! Head in Hands. 2 cigarettes later decides to disconnect spare (knackered and useless) hard drive, put everything back to the way it was before I started messing about with it. Chucked the knackered drive in the bin and turned on my computer, with crossed fingers. Phew, it all worked as before. Now that was lucky. Now since I already had the side off, I decided to finally install my multi card reader which has been sitting there doing nothing for over a year. So I connected all the wires up as shown on the diagram and switched the computer back on! IT WORKED :-) So at least I got something useful out of this mornings escapades. Not that it is that useful to me because my monitor and printer both have multi card readers in them anyway. But at least I feel good in myself that I managed to do something right. Now I have to go and buy myself a spare hard drive and try it again. I saw one for £45 in the shop opposite my work and that was for an 80 Gig one. This time I think I will have a look round on the Internet before trying to install it myself. Hope you are all having a good weekend. Ta Ta for now.

Posted by Markiss at 1:40 PM | Comments (0)

September 10, 2004

Battle of Britain

What a day it was yesterday! Had a great time. Nice people and loads of booze and food. Oh and great weather too. Went to "The Bar" at 1pm to watch the air display which was xlnt. Those Red Arrows never cease to amaze me and as for the Battle of Britain memorial flight, well those planes are just awesome. Finally left "The Bar" at about 6pm ish "I think" and went to a restaurant for dinner. Then to the Buddha Bar for a pint then to the British Union until it closed. A long day on the lash really but great fun, just wished it was Saturday today and didn't have to come into work! Oh well that starts tomorrow.

Posted by Markiss at 4:06 PM | Comments (0)

September 9, 2004

Wha?

Vroom Vroom, Beep Beep, Ah Haaaaaaaa! Whey Hey! :-) Aaaaggghhhhh....... Gone mad.

Posted by Markiss at 12:09 PM | Comments (0)

September 8, 2004

Battle of Britain

Whey hey! Just to let you know I am going to have a half a day at work tomorrow because we have the Jersey International Air Display on. Meeting in town at an undisclosed place. All I can say is that it has a great view of the display and it also has a bar. Well come on, it is me talking :-) Should be about 6 of us there (in our group that is) Hopefully there should be a few others watching it too. The weather forcast is sunny and 29°C...... Cool pint in one hand and binoculars in the other. Enjoy your day at work tomorrow guys :-)

Posted by Markiss at 5:30 PM | Comments (0)

Windows XP Service Pack 2

I am just about to install Windows XP Service Pack 2 does anyone know of any issues or any reason why I shouldn't install it? Just wanted to know before hand for piece of mind. On a different note, Happy 6th Birthday Google. Oh yes and my recent comments are up and running again thanks to those nice people over at Feedsweep

Posted by Markiss at 3:37 PM | Comments (0)

Do House flies Bite?

Well I had my King Prawns in Garlic last night and they were to die for. Next thing on the list is to try Lemurs recipe. I have totally stunk out the office with garlic today. Lucky for me I have my own office so it wont travel too far :-) Now for the question: Do house flies bite? The reason for asking is, last night I went to bed and had this buzzing around me all night. Then the blighter landed on me and the next thing I knew was that I was ictching like crazy. Nodded off again and then it got me again. I just couldn't sleep so I went into the spare room in the end. This morning I got up and I have counted 9 bites! I went back into my bedroom and was looking for a mosquito but couldn't find one. The only thing I found was a massive fly. I swiftly waged war on this over sized critter. Must have looked a bit of a site really. Me in my boxers running around my bedroom swinging a towel round my head. Well I cornered the git in the end and splattered him. God that felt soo good. But now I am feeling a bit guilty, maybe it wasn't him and there was a mozy watching all this going on from behind the curtains or something! Having a laugh at me and waiting silently for his next onslaught tonight. Will let you know what happens. P.S. Aren't the bites on the sole of your feet just the worst? Try scratching those buggers.

Posted by Markiss at 1:15 PM | Comments (0)

September 7, 2004

Mouth Watering

Since my mouth has been watering all day, thinking about what I am cooking for dinner tonight, I thought I would share it with you lot. I have just gone out and bought a kilo of King prawns and am going to cook the lot tonight in garlic butter, chilies and parsley served with some crispy french bread and salad. Hope your mouth is watering now too ;-)

Posted by Markiss at 5:29 PM | Comments (0)

Stoned

We don't know how lucky we are these days you know. We have got it soo good compared to what us humans had to live like years ago. I mean, think about what it was like living in the stone age. It must have been really hard getting comfy back then. What with stone chairs, stone beds, stone tables, stone mattresses, stone carpets etc etc... I'm sorry, but there's no possible way to get comfortable reclining on a stone couch, is there?... No matter how many stone pillows you might have. I'm just glad we're living in the Foam Rubber Age! (By the way, i'll bet pillow fights ended pretty quickly back then.)

I did see this on another site a while back. But can't remember the link..... Sorry :-)

Update (24-08-05): I knew I saw this somewhere and have finally found out who it was from thanks to John leaving a comment. You can see his site here

Posted by Markiss at 4:02 PM | Comments (1)

September 6, 2004

Winfax Pro

Isn't it just great? I have just got myself a copy of Winfax Pro and now that I have installed it, set up everything it needs to know about me, I have realised that it doesn't work on ADSL! Typical. Nothing is as simple as it should be.

Posted by Markiss at 5:56 PM | Comments (0)

D.I.Y weekend

Well that was a better weekend! Did quite a lot considering it was only two days. Saturday was spent shopping for bit's and pieces for the house. An order for some window blinds came down so I spent most of the afternoon putting those up around the house. None of them have fallen down yet either! Which is quite nice really :-) In the evening I went down to the Devils hole for a quiet drink. Hardly anyone there at all, so I had the place to myself. Martin always looks after me there. "Sit down and I will bring the drinks over to you Markiss" I didn't have to lift a finger! Well apart from getting my money out to pay him, that is........... Sunday I was doing the thrift club in the morning and then I went to the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. I spent a good 4 hours there, took loads of photo's and even had a picnic! I must remember to become a member of it next year. Then it was back home for roast Lamb, lovely stuff. Now back to work and all things stressful. Roll on next weekend...................

Posted by Markiss at 2:20 PM | Comments (0)

September 3, 2004

Quote for Friday

Work like you dont need the money, Love like you've never been hurt, Dance like nobody is watching and F**k like your being filmed.................

Posted by Markiss at 2:40 PM | Comments (0)

September 2, 2004

For the Women

Got this sent in an email recently. How true is this :-)

Learn to work the toilet seat.
You're a big girl.
If it's up, put it down.
We need it up, you need it down.
You don't hear us complaining about you leaving it down.


Posted by Markiss at 12:14 PM | Comments (0)

September Already!

I can't believe it is September already. What happened to the summer? I keep waiting for it but it seems we have missed yet another year. Did anyone get a summer this year? We have had a distinct lack of B.B.Q's and haven't even been swimming in the sea once! Global warming or what? I seem to remember, when I was at school, that every summer holiday was spent down the beach getting sun burnt. Maybe it's just because of my age and the fact that I spend the whole summer in the office. On a different note, gf and I went for a meal on Wednesday and had a chat and are trying to sort things as we speak! Watch this space (well this blog!).

Posted by Markiss at 10:49 AM | Comments (0)