Thursday 4th September 2008:
Practice makes ....... perfect? Nope. Practice does not makes perfect. Practice makes permanent. If you practice a technique / task / whatever incorrectly, you will learn it incorrectly, so the end result will not be perfect. Just a little nugget of wisdom there from one of my Tae Kwon Do instructors, which I found intriguing.

Thursday 28th August 2008:
I'm no longer in my 20's .

Wednesday 27th August 2008:
I'm in my 20's .

Friday 25th July 2008:
I have just discovered this fascinating web site - http://www.netdisaster.com.

Monday 23rd June 2008:
Further to my previous blog entry, last night on BBC's Top Gear, Jeremy Clarkson compared the fuel efficiency of the Toyota Prius to the BMW M3. The Toyota Prius is an environmentally friendly car which aims to be extremely fuel efficient. Fuel efficiency wasn't a priority when BMW designed the high performance, 4 litre V8 powered, 414 BHP, BMW M3. Jeremy in the BMW M3 followed the Toyota Prius around 10 laps of a circuit (going at the Toyota's fastest pace rather than what the BMW was ultimately capable of) and the BMW M3 achieved better fuel consumption - 19.4 MPG Vs 17.2 MPG! Toyota Prius = bollocks.

Tuesday 20th May 2008:
I recently read an article in the Sunday Times motoring & technology supplement "InGear" dated 16/03/2008 testing the fuel consumption of the Toyota Prius T Spirit and BMW 520d SE. The article with video clip is also available on the internet here. The Toyota Prius is a hybrid car (combining an electric motor with a petrol engine) whereas the BMW 520d SE uses a standard diesel engine. Surprisingly, the BMW was proven to be better. The BMW used less fuel (10.84 gallons vs 11.34 gallons), subsequently had a higher MPG figure (50.3 MPG vs 48.1 MPG) and the total cost of fuel used was less too (£54.19 vs £54.64). And to top it off, the BMW also has much better performance than the lethargic Toyota. Both cars were driven over a 545 miles journey through Britain, France & Switzerland on a variety of roads. To make the test more like the real-world, the BMW driver used the car's air conditioning and stereo whereas the Toyota driver even refrained from using those accessories to optimise fuel economy. The supposed selling point of the Toyota Prius is its fuel economy and kindness to the environment due to less harmful exhaust emissions. I don't really think anyone would want to buy a Toyota Prius for its looks, price, handling or performance so the owners of the Toyota Prius must be driving along full of self-righteousness, in blissful ignorance of the facts. They think that because their car is a hybrid, it is the most environmentally friendly and most economical car to own. I feel this article should have had more publicity, people should be made aware that the Toyota Prius (and possibly other hybrid vehicles) simply isn't what it's cracked up to be. The government need to wake up to this fact too as they allow owners of hybrid vehicles to have discounts off of the London congestion charge and also assign them to a lower road tax band than vehicles with conventional engines (even producing the same or less emissions). If the large BMW 5 Series can beat the Toyota Prius on fuel economy, I'm sure there are many smaller vehicles with smaller diesel engines available which are even more fuel efficient than both of them, including VW's range of BlueMotion vehicles. I know some may see me going on about fuel economy as a bit hypocritical coming from an owner of a Honda Prelude which is on a strict diet of Shell V-Power. I'm fully aware that my car isn't the most fuel efficient car out there and compared to my girlfriend's VW Golf 1.4, my car drinks petrol like Amy Winehouse drinks booze. But thanks to the wonders of VTEC, compared to other cars of similar performance, my car's fuel consumption isn't bad. So, to all you tree hugging eco friendly environmentalists - the truth is out there and both Toyota and the government are pulling the green wool over your eyes.

Thursday 8th May 2008:
Kellerman's Anthem from Dirty Dancing, what a wonderful song. A bit odd, but still wonderful.

Saturday 12th April 2008:
My new credit card.

Tuesday 1st April 2008:
Marie got a Tom Tom sat nav for Christmas from her parents which has a preinstalled range of voices which Marie can select to verbally guide her on her journeys. I've heard that Tom Tom owners are able to download extra voices from the internet at a cost. This got me & Marie thinking of what voices we would like. If I had a sat nav, my voice wish list would definitely include Tom Baker, Alan Rickman, Amanda Mealing & Hugo Weaving. The actors Tom Baker & Alan Rickman have very distinctive voices. Amanda Mealing would be ordering the driver in her domineering fashion as Connie Beauchamp from Holby City "You will take the next left turn and that's an order"! Hugo Weaving would be talking in the interestingly paced fashion he does as Agent Smith in the Matrix trilogy. He has such a cool way with his words. Other ideas included Darth Vader from Star Wars (with his heavy breathing) and Yoda speaking in his usual backward fashion "The third exit at the next roundabout, you will take". I would also like Robocop (from the first film as his voice was altered for the other two films) and the weather presenter Daniel Corbett (such an odd voice). I suppose Freddy Krueger and Jigsaw's voice behind the puppet in the Saw films would be interesting options. Some people may find Ruby Wax or Julian Clary amusing. Two to definitely avoid would be the monotone robot-like voices of the Formula One drivers Kimi Räikkönen & Nigel Mansell. They would tend to send the driver to sleep. In my opinion, Marie had the ultimate suggestion of KITT from Knight Rider.

Sunday 2nd March 2008:
Today I bought the Deluxe 25th Anniversary Edition of Michael Jackson's Thriller album. To me, Michael Jackson is the world's greatest ever pop artist. He is a legend and I've liked his music since I first noticed him in 1987. Although, I don't believe the child abuse accusations made against him are true (for which he has been proven not guilty), I do find this picture extremely funny! MJ, if you're reading this, I'm sorry, but it is funny.

Wednesday 31st January 2008:
"Oh my fucking lord" were the words I used when I saw a Ferrari F40 while driving home after work today . To me, the Ferrari F40 is the greatest car ever. It might be getting on a bit now (1987 - 1992) and there are cars out now which are faster (but not many), but the 201 MPH Ferrari F40 is a legend.

Monday 7th January 2008:
On Saturday, I tasted some unusual food which I had never tasted before. It was the birthday get-together of Norman, Marie's Grandfather, and nine of us went to The Hatchgate to celebrate his birthday. For my main course, I had crocodile steak with chunky cajun sauce. In taste and appearance I would describe crocodile steak as a cross between cod and chicken. It was very nice, highly recommended. I also tasted Nigel's ostrich steak (like pork), Lynne's camel steak (like beef) and Wayne's wild boar steak (like pork). Other dishes which I sampled which I had already had tasted before were Marie's swordfish and Norman's sea bass. Norman and Lynne both had a cheese board with biscuits for desert with some odd cheeses, including a smoked cheese, hot / chilli cheese, cheese with apricot & ginger (which apparently tasted like marzipan) and odd looking green & red cheeses. The meal was an interesting experience as everyone at the dinner table was eager to sample each other's meals. It was definitely worth going and I've decided the next time I go, I will either have the kangaroo steak or zebra steak, while Marie will be having the shark. We're all looking forward to next month when we're going there again .

Wednesday 28th November 2007:
Today, I saw a Lamborghini Murciélago. Very nice.

Monday 29th October 2007:
I've recently found out about such a cool gadget, the M500 Cellwatch (http://www.mymobilewatch.com). It's a mobile phone in the form of a wrist watch which has all the usual features you would expect to have on a mobile phone including SMS, WAP, MP3 & Bluetooth. How cool is that? You can communicate with people by talking to your wrist! Apparently similar concepts have been in Thunderbirds, Joe 90 & Dick Tracy, but I haven't watched any of those programs so wouldn't know personally. I reckon it sounds sooooo cool and would love one, if it wasn't so expensive at £420. It's quite futuristic and sort of reminds me of playing role playing games in a school playground when I was a kid. The sort where you would pretend to shoot your friends with laser guns (while making the sound effect yourself) and talk into your wrist communications device to call for back up. Those were the days.

Monday 22nd October 2007:
Yay for Lewis Hamilton not winning the 2007 Formula One World Championship yesterday . Yay for a Ferrari driver winning the championship instead . Yay for my mum's birthday today .

Wednesday 26th September 2007:
While at work this morning, wishing I was elsewhere, I stumbled upon a useful web site - http://countdown.onlineclock.net. I set the timer to 16:00 (home time), set the size to small and shrink the window to a small size in the top right corner of my screen. It serves as a constant reminder that the time left until home time is relentlessly decreasing and it subsequently makes me feel better inside.

Friday 21st September 2007:
Today I have become aware of more robotic activity (see 10/10/2006 & 17/02/2007 for the background). On the news today there was a story about a 10 year old boy who drowned in a pond while rescuing his 8 year old step-sister while two Police Community Support Officers watched. Apparently, they didn't attempt a rescue because they were not trained to do so. I believe they must be robots. These two robot examples probably came off the same production line as the Protocol Robot (see 10/10/2006), as they seem to be showing some of the same traits as the example which I personally know. The Police Community Support Officer robots are programmed to follow protocol and must not deviate at any cost, even at the cost of human life. Another thing I wonder is if water has an adverse effect on the robot's electronics and would cause a malfunction. Maybe that was a restricting factor? Maybe they are also susceptible to rust as well? Yes, I am almost convinced that they are robots as any human being would have instinctively attempted to save the boy's life but the two Police Community Support Officers seemed to have been restricted. Either that or they are both pathetic spineless examples of human beings.

Tuesday 28th August 2007:
Oh well, less than a year left of being in my twenties .

Tuesday 21st August 2007:
Today I had to break the news to my dad that one of his sisters has died .

Monday 20th August 2007:
Yesterday, shortly before dinner, while sitting in my bedroom I heard a crash noise outside. I ignored it and about 10 seconds later I heard another crash noise outside and thought it would be very unlikely there would be two car crashes in the car park outside my house within 10 seconds. After hearing shouting I looked out of the window and saw that there had been a collision. I went outside to investigate and saw that five cars had been damaged by one Toyota Previa. I took some photos of the aftermath. Apparently, the lady driver of the Toyota Previa reversed into the parked Vauxhall Astra, which damaged the Vauxhall Zafira parked next to it in the process. She must have been reversing quite quickly to knock the Vauxhall Astra, up a kerb, almost clean out of its parking space. She then panicked and thought she had hit someone. In her panic state she drove off into more parked vehicles. She collided with a Peugeot Partner (which apparently was owned by her husband) and a Ford Escort. The impact with the Peugeot Partner van pushed it up a grass verge it was parked in front of and the impact with the Ford Escort pushed it against a BMW 318 which also suffered body work damage. While in a panic state, the driver ran home and left her MPV in the middle of the car park. Women.

Sunday 19th August 2007:
Here is a photo of my new T-shirt .

Friday 27th July 2007:
As a result of the recent extremely wet weather and subsequent floods in the UK, there has been a disruption to water supply in some areas. So, there is a shortage of water due to an excess of water. How odd.

Friday 20th July 2007:
On Wednesday, for the first time since the national smoking ban in public places, I went to a night club. It was nice leaving the place afterwards not stinking like an ash tray. It's a shame a cockhead on the dance floor spilt his or her drink over me and my bitch .

Sunday 15th July 2007:
Calvados. Potent stuff.

Wednesday 16th May 2007:
Oh my god, I've actually made a relationship last for over six months. That's half a year. Not quite a record for me, but still quite landmark event. What's happening to me? Am I starting to mellow or settle down in my old age?

Friday 4th May 2007:
Hmmm, 'Dynamic'. Dynamic is a word which is only used by people who wear suits.

Monday 30th April 2007:
The new Honda CR-V, what a ghastly looking vehicle. When I first saw one, as it passed me travelling in the opposite direction, I thought the bonnet had been left open. I saw another one the following day and realised that it was actually just ugly and the bonnet wasn't up. It makes me wonder if BMW's infamous Chris Bangle now works for Honda.

Thursday 29th March 2007:
Last year, because my concerns were not acted on at managerial level, the NHS Trust where I work has just discovered that they have missed out on over £200,000 of revenue. The following movie quote seems quite fitting "Somehow 'I told you so' doesn't quite say it" (Will Smith, i Robot).

Wednesday 21st March 2007:
Recently I've been making use of a new type of therapy which I call bollocks therapy. My version is a slight modification of the original which I learnt from someone else a few weeks ago. When you're feeling pissed off, things are getting you down and you are in the realisation that a lot of the stuff going on around you is stupid (along with the people responsible), just say to yourself "It's all bollocks". Periodically, throughout the day, simply quietly say to yourself "It's all bollocks". Think of it as an occasional reminder to yourself that you are sane and the environment that you are in is what is at fault. I find it has a rather surprising uplifting effect on one's soul. It is also effective when you tell others that "It's all bollocks" too. Try it, trust me, it works.

Wednesday 7th March 2007:
Holby City without Connie is like foreplay without sex.

Saturday 17th February 2007:
This week I've noticed more robotic activity within the hospital where I work (see Tuesday 10th October 2006 for the background). There is one particular cleaner who moves extremely slowly. This is habitual and not an just isolated occurrence. Watching it in motion is almost depressing. As it dawdles along, it gives off the impression that it has lost the will to live. Either that or it just can't be bothered. Personally I would find it extremely difficult to continuously walk at such an incredibly slow pace like this example does. Its whole bodily motion is like watching a video sequence in slow motion. Everybody else around it is moving along at a normal pace, but this example continues at its own lethargic pace, seemingly oblivious to what's going on around it. The reason I suspect this example is a robot is simply because I reckon its battery is running low which is why it moves along at such an unhurried pace.

Another observation I have made this week is that robots who use the main hospital corridor seem to congregate in doorways. This can obstruct the flow of other staff, patients & visitors also using corridor. I suspect these examples (nearly always in the guise of medical personnel or people wearing suits) are robots as anyone with common sense who felt the need to stop for a conversation in a corridor, would stand by the wall, not in the doorway causing a stricture. Now, why do they choose congregate at such awkward an location? My suspicion is that the hospital doorways are some sort of recharging hotspots. Somewhere around the door frames are some sort concealed devices which emit invisible energy waves which are picked up the robot's batteries.

Why doesn't the slow moving cleaner robot recharge its battery? I'm not entirely sure. As medical personnel are generally on higher salaries than an average cleaner, this might be the reason why. Maybe robots do have to pay a fee to recharge their batteries in doorways and as the doorway congregating robots are nearly always medical personnel, maybe they can afford to do it more often than robotic cleaners?

Wednesday 24th January 2007:
Yesterday's snow fall was minor compared to last night's snow fall. I woke up to see a carpet of snow covering everything outside . I had to clear about 2 - 3 inches of snow off of my car before cautiously driving to work. Unfortunately, as always, the snow caused traffic problems which resulted in my usual 35 minute journey to work being extended by an extra hour and a half . While sitting in stationary traffic I saw kids playing in the snow near a school in Horley and I was tempted to get out my car and join 'em. When I was closer to work, but still stuck in traffic, from my car I took some photos of the snow covered fields in Redhill.

Tuesday 23rd January 2007:
It's snowing! Yay!

Monday 15th January 2007:
Chacarron by El Chombo. What a strange amusing song.

Thursday 28th December 2006:
Oh well, it seems like Christmas is all over now as I'm back at work . When returning to work or school after Christmas, there is one difference between work and school - at work, people don't talk about their presents. When at school, all your friends want to know about what presents you got for Christmas and vice-versa. When in the classroom, you have to recite a memorised precise list of your new toys. Nothing like this happens at work.

Monday 18th December 2006:
I have found out that being a textophile has detrimental financial implications, in so far as my last monthly bill was approximately five and a half times more than usual . I must try to implement partial abstinence.

Sunday 10th December 2006:
Today I went bowling and realised I am crap at it. I was even beaten by a woman.

Tuesday 7th November 2006:
While walking along the hospital, I came across an interestingly titled leaflet. I am more than aware, possibly overly aware and I definitely do not need any kind of leaflet urging me to be more aware! They are usually one of the first things I notice so no extra advice is needed for me thank you.

Monday 6th November 2006:
Exactly 115 text messages sent within 11 hours, 20 minutes, from 14:40 to 02:00. Most of which were sent between 21:00 at night to 02:00 in the morning. Is that the world record for the highest amount of text messages sent to one single person within less than half a day? Am I giving myself SMS RSI?

Wednesday 1st November 2006:
I am starting to wonder about the motives of some women. After a recent experience, I now wonder if some women routinely mess around men for their own satisfaction. I get the impression it can be a hobby, they possibly play their routine game on a habitual basis. Either that or the particular lady I've recently had the pleasure of knowing is one seriously confused lady who has difficulty understanding plain English and is in denial of what has been said to her. Or possibly she is indecisive regarding her actual needs. This didn't bother me, in fact I found it slightly amusing. Hmmm, I wonder.

Wednesday 25th October 2006:
"Dare" by The Gorillaz, up until a few days ago, I would have sworn that the first verse started "You've got some bread stick on you", when it is in fact "You've got to press it on you". Currently, I just can't get the song out of my head, I keep playing it over and over and over again. It's fantastic.

Monday 23rd October 2006:
The last few days have been quite nostalgic for me. This month, I've been on a mini spending spree, including buying CDs via eBay which have been on my wanted list for many years. On Friday I received Baby Baby by Amy Grant and today I received Seal Our Fate by Gloria Estafan. Both were originally released during 1991 and back then I owned both of them on 7" vinyl. Listening to those two songs brings back memories of my relatively care free childhood days living in March, Cambridgeshire. I probably haven't heard much of those two songs since I last played them on a record player all those years back. On Saturday while continuing my shopping spree, I bought a couple of DVDs, one of which was Doctor Who - The Five Doctors. This is the first Dr Who DVD I've bought and has also been on my wanted list for a while. This was originally broadcast in November 1983 (when I was 5 years old), and unsurprisingly stars all five Doctors who had played the part of Dr Who up until that date. William Hartnell wasn't in it, as he was dead by then, so had someone else convincingly taking his place. This was quite nostalgic as I'm a Dr Who fan who grew up during the Peter Davidson era followed by Colin Baker whom I wasn't too impressed with. In my opinion, Peter Davidson was the best Dr Who so it was good watching him in an original Dr Who show. Unfortunately, Tom Baker had only a very brief part in it. The nostalgia continued on Sunday. I have recently acquired a computer (with peripherals) from Frances at work which was destined for the dump. I'm gonna sell all the individual components on eBay. After checking it all out, I realised that it started life 11 years ago as either an Opus Technology or Tiny Computers computer. Once upon a time, Opus and Tiny were the same company and I worked for between 1998 - 2002 before being made redundant along with everyone else. It was nostalgic in two ways - I worked for the manufacturer of that computer and Crawley College used the same design Opus Technology computers when I was a student there between 1995 - 1997.

Tuesday 10th October 2006:
On Sunday night, while laying in bed looking forward to a whole new week at work, I realised that I've been interacting with robots disguised as human beings. I reckon I personally know of at least 4 individual robots, all with flaws. It is because of their flaws that I know they are not entirely human.

Robot Number 1: Protocol Robot. Its main give away is that it doesn't understand life and tries to do things by the book. It can't grasp the concept that there are times in life when a person needs to bend the rules slightly. It cannot compute that family affairs have priority over protocol. It tried to point out to me that what I was doing was wrong as it was against policy. I had to explain that in certain circumstances, people have to break the rules and prioritise what matters the most, which I was prepared to do. I don't think it understood or accepted that concept.

Robot Number 2: Programmable Servant. Other than being slow and boring, its main weak point is that it is very weak minded. This robot is easily led and doesn't have much willpower of its own. People do adverse things to it and it doesn't object or retaliate. It just takes it all in and accepts it just like a loyal servant. It's sort of like its memory or control unit hasn't been put into "read only" mode after production, as others seem to have full control of the machine. Its instructions can easily be modified by other users and it has no willpower to object to the changes. It's a robot which can easily be re-programmed to do what the user wishes.

Robot Number 3: Currency Collector. This example is money obsessed. I find this specific robot intriguing, its mind seems to be like a computer game where its objective is to collect as many points as possible. In this instance, points in the game means money in real life. The game isn't a simple running around collecting points game like Pac Man, it's more of a strategy game similar to Theme Hospital or maybe Settlers. The aim of this robot is to strategically make as much money as possible, no matter what it takes and it always has a plan for it too. Unfortunately, it is not very skilled in trying to achieve its goal. The give away that this individual is a robot is that making money has priority over day to day life. It seems to be oblivious that there are things in life other than money. Interestingly, one of its counterparts also has the same aim in life, but with more success. Because of this, it seems like they are in competition against each other in a 2 player game to see who can make the most money.

Robot Number 4: Model Employee. Its obvious give away is its prime directive - serve your employer. Work seems to be everything to this robot. Its life seems to be dedicated to its exaggerated career so much so that, to outsiders, it seems to be an obsession. If told to, it would work 24 hours a day for no extra pay. Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't getting paid for its role anyway. Its prime directive is noticeable while communicating with this robot as the topic of work predictably always gets mentioned, usually within the first few sentences. It is pleasant conversing with this particular robot and the inevitability of it mentioning work is quite amusing. The main aspect which disappoints me about this robot is that sometimes it makes comments at a completely inappropriate time, this demonstrates its lack of understanding of human emotions.

On Saturday, I encountered a robot via the telephone who I had not previously met. It had an Indian accent and was phoning from a call centre (presumably in India) offering to give me a mobile telephone for "free". I found communicating with this particular robot quite entertaining as its array of responses was extremely limited. It implemented a basic verbal input / output interface using a small database. It had specific set answers that it would use to respond to specific questions. Its responses were in a database and were individually selected depending on the question being asked. If I asked it a question which it did not recognise (was not in it question-to-answer mapping database), to me it became obvious that it didn't have a specifically allocated answer to my question. After a brief pause, it tried to improvise by using an answer which it judged to be the closest match. But, its closest match responses failed to answer my specific questions. It could even be caught out if I asked the same question but rephrased it slightly. Towards the end of the call, I think I overloaded its CPU with questions which it was unable to respond to and subsequently suffered an operating system crash (it gave up then hung up on me).

Robots 1 - 4 are examples which I personally know. They have the physical appearance of humans, speak like them and move like them but all have fundamental flaws which reveal their identities of not being a true human life form. I've never met the Call Centre Robot face-to-face and I wouldn't be at all surprised if it was not in a recognisable human form. As it isn't designed to interact with humans face-to-face, it doesn't have to look like a human, instead it was probably just a metal box wired in to the telephone system.

I've been comparing the behavioural patterns of Robots Number 1 & 2 and have noticed that they share the same trait of being easily led. I've wondered if it was the way that both were designed or maybe one of them was infected with a computer type virus which subsequently travelled to the other robot? Being weak minded could be a contagious virus which is transmittable from robot-to-robot? Anyway, I believe it is just coincidental and is more likely to be their design rather than being due to an external cause.

While walking through the hospital, in the past I've been convinced that a lot of the people who also walk along the corridor were zombies, including patients & staff. They seem to wander along in a little world of their own unaware of what's going on around them. Some examples are akin to the proverbial chicken of the headless variety. But, now that I am in the realisation that society has been infiltrated by robots masquerading to be human, I now believe that the hospital corridor zombies are actually robots too.

Are there any modifications which may aid the above examples to blend in more with society? Well, Robot 1 needs to be decommissioned. Robot 2 needs to be reset to factory defaults then its mind needs to be write protected so others can't take control of it. Some cosmetic modifications may also be beneficial. Hmmm, Robot 3, I'm not too sure about this one. Pressing a hidden reset button (so all points / money are wiped) may resolve matters, but only temporarily. I reckon installing a new less demanding game may be more of a long term solution. Robot 4? A firmware update will not resolve this, as its prime directive is at a lower level. Some of its microchips may need replacing. I think this one will not be straight forward to repair. I suspect that the Call Centre Robot is in beta phase and more questions & answers are constantly being added to its database. One improvement which is definitely essential is for its command of the English language to be improved as its Indian accent speech synthesis was difficult to understand. Speaking clear English should be a fundamental attribute for its existence in its designated role. The corridor robots need a mass recall. All of their guidance systems are impaired and need updating along with their collision avoidance systems too.

Has anyone else noticed this artificial life form phenomenon? Please let me know.

Saturday 7th October 2006:
I'm so clever. Sometimes, I surprise myself with my skills. Today I fixed an electronic component of my car which has not been working for about a year. It was the button for the heated / demisting mirrors. A completely non-essential item, just a handy luxury, hence why I hadn't plucked up the enthusiasm to have a go at it until today. I fixed it all by myself, no help from anyone and no instruction manual or diagrams. It was a bit fiddly, but it didn't take long to sort it. I'm so happy, I've got an extra button to play with and it lights up too while on. Woo hoo . I also saved myself about £70. I'm overjoyed with the knowledge that I've had such an exciting day.

Saturday 30th September 2006:
Women. They're an indecisive lot.

Sunday 24th September 2006:
I attended a Tae Kwon-Do sparring session today which is a warm up for the TAGB South East Championships. I won a match against a higher grade . Woo hoo! But almost received a deviated nasal septum in the process. Also, during a tag team match, I scored against a black belt (who is also an ad-hoc instructor) . Woo hoo! But the right side of my chest received quite a battering and my left index finger is swollen & blue. I can't think of a better way to spend a Sunday morning.

Monday 18th September 2006:
I had a prick inserted in me today. Yes, I had a blood test .

Sunday 17th September 2006:
Decisive assertiveness. Great tool, wherever you are.

Saturday 16th September 2006:
Whoops, another outburst. I'm getting good at this.

Friday 15th September 2006:
Oops, victim of aggression number two. Fun.

Sunday 10th September 2006:
Today has been very Italian. I took my dad to Italian Car Day at Brooklands where there were Ferraris, Masaratis, Lancias, Alfa Romeos and Fiats on show. When I got home, I watched the Italian F1 GP held at Monza, where Michael Schumacher won the race in his Ferrari. It is always fantastic having Ferrari win a race, especially in front of the Tifosi in Italy, it always makes me a little emotional. At the end of the race, there was the long anticipated and predicted announcement that Michael Schumacher will retire at the end of the season. I'm not too fond of him, my dislike of him roots back to the Hill vs Schumacher days during the nineties and he will never be forgiven for Adelaide 1994. But, I'm in a difficult situation as he drives for Ferrari, I don't like him, but at the same time, I want him to win in order for Ferrari to win. So I don't hate him as much as I have done in the past. The post race press conference was quite an emotional moment when the German officially announced his retirement. With Ferrari winning the race coupled with Michael Schumacher's big announcement, it made me feel a little emotional. I couldn't help thinking - for god's sake Adam, pull yourself together, don't be silly! I suppose, in F1, I can now concentrate all my hatred towards Jenson Button. The quote of the day has to go to Renault's Flavio Briatore. When an ITV reporter asked him how much he will miss Michael Schumacher, he replied "I won't miss him at all" then walked off. Oh, how I laughed.

Thursday 7th September 2006:
Oops, I've let slip some aggression towards a local resident. Who's my next victim?

Wednesday 6th September 2006:
"Thorn in my side. You know that's all you ever were. A bundle of lies. You know that's all that it was worth. I should have known better. But I trusted you at first. I should have known better. But I got what I deserved" (Eurythmics, 1986). Very apt.

Tuesday 5th September 2006:
"Calm down dear, she's just a female" (spoken in a Michael Winner type of voice). Right now, I'm jam packed full of anger & hatred and may go pop. "Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering" (spoken in a Yoda type of voice).

Monday 4th September 2006:
I love work. I'm back after two weeks and It's all change. Ward responsibilities within the department have had a shuffle, resulting in an increase of my work load, but the files are mainly quickies (can't beat a good quickie ). It will be "challenging" (I find management phrases amusing). I don't think my new responsibility is too bad, but I'm not exactly chuffed over it. Previously, it was my worst nightmare, but I don't feel as much dread as before. Unfortunately, due to the much publicised controversial Trust reconfiguration regarding Crawley Hospital, I will no longer be looking after that site . As expected, I'm already being fucked around. Am I bothered? I think not (see Friday 11th August 2006). Today I also learnt that I missed out on an altercation within the department last week. Altercation, I like that word. I love a good altercation, it's a shame that I wasn't there to fully appreciate it . I love work. Strangely, I've been feeling rather perky today. Hmm, odd.

Sunday 3rd September 2006:
I'm back . But I'm now 28 . Got a slight tan, but not a major one as I was careful in the sun due to a tendency to burn easily. Weather was nice and drinks were cheap. I'm glad to be sleeping in my own bed again and missed my Lude loads. Went out in it today and it seemed smoother and more comfortable than ever. I love it. I think I'll devote myself to my car and not bother with women from now on - looks great, very reliable, doesn't drink too much, can go at my own pace and makes a great noise when I want it to . I've got work to look forward to tomorrow .

Friday 25th August 2006:
I'm going on holiday today . I'll be subjecting myself to excess sun and alcohol, the sequelae of which will be BCC and ALD. If for whatever reason I don't come back (either unable or unwilling), I would just like to say one more thing - women, they're a fucking disease.

Monday 21st August 2006:
Me & my car are famous . There's a photo of my car on page 24 of this month's Banzai Magazine. And I'm on the left of the photo below it (with my car behind me). The photos were taken at Japanese Auto Extravaganza 2006 on the 22nd of July. I was in shock when I saw a scan of the page on the Prelude UK forum, as I wasn't aware that I was gonna be in the magazine up until then. I just had to go and buy a copy today. Fantastic .

Sunday 20th August 2006:
Today, I saw a Lamborghini Countach. Nice.

Saturday 19th August 2006:
I'm on annual leave for two weeks, yay . This time next week, me and my drinking partner will be relaxing in Corfu, yay . After the holiday, I'll probably have alcoholic liver disease, boo . Within a week and a half from now, I'll no longer be 27, boo .

Friday 11th August 2006:
I've made a decision. I've decided I should make less effort and maybe be less helpful too. A lot of the time, I make too much of an effort or work too hard and I don't get anything out of it. I make too much of a contribution. I try too hard to please others and make things work smoothly. This includes at work and throughout usual day-to-day life. I do stuff which is more than what is required, but I have realised that it just isn't worth it. So, from now on, If things go wrong, so what? Do I care? Is it my problem? I'm just gonna do what is required and nothing more.

Tuesday 8th August 2006:
Why is everything so fucking shit? Why are everyone fucking knob heads?

Sunday 6th August 2006:
After last night, and a nasty hangover, I wonder if I should take more care of my liver?

Saturday 29th July 2006:
I went out with Rima last night on Rima Rampage Mk 2, where she did get to interview a few potentials. I wasn't on the hunt 'cos women scare me. While in Liquid & Envy, I saw a girl who I vaguely recognised. After thinking about it for a while, I decided to hunt her down to speak to her (very brave of me). When I found her, it was who I thought it was - my cousin Georgina who I think is a few years younger than me. We lived in the same neighbourhood in the 80s and I haven't seen her for about 17 years, probably 1989. I was astonished how I could recognise her after all this time as she is probably twice as old as she was when I last saw her.

Friday 28th July 2006:
Oh well, it's all gone completely fucking pear shaped. Utter disaster. Sinéad, if you ever read this, I'm sorry.

Wednesday 26th July 2006:
While still in the realisation that I've been unintentionally shat on, today's main flavour of the day is disappointment. I still don't feel brilliant, but I don't feel as down as I have been recently, which is a good thing, so yippee and all that. Maybe time is healing my feelings or the recognition that I feel like I've been inadvertently messed around has changed things?

Tuesday 25th July 2006:
I'm still very unhappy. I've been back at work for two days now which hasn't cheered me up. I've been thinking about the situation for a while, and I have now realised that I've been shat on, although it wasn't done on purpose. I genuinely feel like I've been accidentally crapped on from a great height which wasn't fair. I came worse off, I was the loser. Yes, going by how I feel at the moment, that's a rather accurate assessment of recent events.

Sunday 23rd July 2006:
Still upset . It's been a week now and I'm still feeling very unhappy, which is now pissing me off. As it wasn't a long relationship, I shouldn't really be feeling this crap, I just don't understand why / how it has fucked me up so much, it just isn't right. I'm back to work next tomorrow (I've been on annual leave for the past week) which will hopefully make me feel a bit better. JAE 2006 happened yesterday, which was OK, the journey of 130 miles was worth it. During the afternoon, the heavens opened (including thunder & lightning), but that was a part of the fun of it. There was quite a good atmosphere, very friendly welcoming Prelude UK club members, but I wasn't in a particularly sociable mood. I was proud to have a picture of my car on two different designs of the Prelude UK club flyers / leaflets. However, I didn't enjoy it as much as last year 'cos of the cloud hovering over my head which has been following me around for the last week. Today, I went to Brighton to do some shoe shopping which turned out to be fruitless (I'm very picky). Great weather, warm and sunny, but I'm still overcast by a cloud of unhappiness which has even got worse than it was yesterday. My current mood is pissing me off, and I just don't seem to be getting better. I just don't know what to do . Women = major grief.

Friday 21st July 2006:
I'm still very unhappy. Today's flavour of the day is pissed off and irritable, so fuck off! I turned down an offer to go out to a night club tonight because 1) women will be there and I don't like women, and 2) I've got to get up early tomorrow morning to drive to Peterborough. Tomorrow is Japanese Auto Extravaganza 2006, where my car will be on show. It is supposed to be a happy sociable event. Unfortunately, I'm not in the mood for being happy and sociable. Hopefully, I'll be in a better mood tomorrow.

Thursday 20th July 2006:
This is getting silly now. I still haven't cheered up. My mood seems to be changing slightly each day. The main flavour of today is disbelief and a very tiny bit of despair too. The individual moods have reasons behind them too, so are not unfounded. Yes, this is a bit silly, but I can't help it. I keep telling myself to pull myself together - it was a relationship, it was good, it didn't work, move on! Get over it and sort it out! I've been here before, but never like this though. Happily, the small cloud of worry over hurting Sinéad seemed to be paranoia on my behalf, so that's sorted. This is my second failed relationship this year, but this time it is very much different. I wonder if I try hard enough, will I be able to make it a hatrick before the end of the year?

Wednesday 19th July 2006:
With the help of Sinéad, a spot of cloud busting happened last night. Cloudbusting, Kate Bush, great song. The hazy cloud of confusion & uncertainty has decisively been eliminated, and the dark cloud of misery has been thinned out a bit, but as expected, not completely eradicated. Strangely, the mood of the misery cloud has changed to a fed up mood, but in essence, it's still the same, but less intense. It should fade away in time. Unfortunately, another small cloud developed last night. I'm concerned that I may have upset or offended Sinéad which I did not want to happen. That small cloud is growing slowly and I'm hoping that I will be able to act upon it ASAP.

Tuesday 18th July 2006:
Well, I'm into day 2 of my annual leave, and I'm still feeling very sad. I feel like something has been ripped out of me. I've taken the recent development very badly, it has really fucked up my annual leave which I am supposed to be enjoying. There seems to be two clouds above me - a dark cloud of misery and a hazy cloud of confusion & uncertainty. Occasionally, a violent lightning strike of dejected resentfulness shoots out of cloud number 2, which just shouldn't be happening. I need to try to clear the air, I'm gonna try to dispel cloud number 2 which will hopefully (but probably not) help thin out cloud number 1. The clouds are linked and the only one which I can personally try to do anything about is the hazy cloud of confusion & uncertainty. If that cloud is dispersed, and subsequently the dark cloud of misery is thinned out, I will hopefully feel a little bit better and some of the misery will be alleviated. It probably won't work, but it just has to be done.

Sunday 16th July 2006:
It's over. As expected, the happiness I have been experiencing recently was merely transient. It was too good to be true. I feel really heartbroken. I am truly fed up with women, I give up on 'em, I've just had enough. I am genuinely sick of women / relationships .

Sunday 26th June 2006:
After a rather nostalgic two player game of Bubble Bobble on Sinéad's brother's PS2, we went to a barbeque where I had to reluctantly endure a game of football on the TV - England vs Equador. If I was to say that I was thoroughly bored, that just wouldn't do the experience justice. I did find that fiddling with my trainers was rather more fun. This clearly demonstrates the extreme lengths that men can go to to please women.

Tuesday 20th June 2006:
I feel happy, I'm experiencing a paroxysm of happiness. Hmm, how odd.

Sunday 18th June 2006:
Well, my comment from 21st April isn't always true. During a purposeful drinking session with Rima on Friday night, I met a nice girl in Brannigans named Sinéad. It was one of the best nights I've enjoyed for a long time. I took her out today to Tilgate Park. I'm now looking forward to tomorrow. My faith in women is slowly being restored.

Saturday 10th June 2006:
Today's weather was probably the best so far this year. Very hot and very sunny . While washing my car during the afternoon, I decided to do it topless, which was a first for me. I decided to show of my Jelly Baby type physique to passers by. As a result, I am now sun burnt .

Friday 9th June 2006:
Unfortunately, today heralded the first day of the 2006 Football World Cup. I hate football. Many supporters attach flags to their motor vehicles, some troubled individuals cover their homes with flags and there are many other ways how people have illustrated their support for the England team. It's like a religion for some. The hype is everywhere. It's in the newspapers, in the shops, on the radio and seems to be on the TV non-stop. Regular TV programs are rescheduled to make way for the game to be broadcasted (I've got to wait 5 weeks for the next BBC Top Gear show). You just can't get away from it. And the irritating thing is that the media seem to think that EVERYONE loves football. What misguided people they are. If the media is to be believed, the whole nation is gripped by football fever. A few weeks ago, on the national news, I saw football supporters crying because their team which they supported lost a game! How sad is that? Those people need help. It's only a game where the players kick a ball around. A part of me wants England to loose its first game tomorrow in the hope that the constant publicity will die down. The country really does seem to be under a mass hysteria. I'm looking forward to it being all over in a few weeks time. Rant over.

Saturday 3rd June 2006:
Quite an entertaining day. When leaving East Surrey Hospital at midday to finish off my working day at Crawley Hospital, I was greeted by the sight of an original Aston Martin V8 Vantage parked next to my car in the staff car park. I felt honoured. And after I finished work in the afternoon, I saw a yellow Lamborghini Gallardo in Crawley. Nice. But, every time I see a picture of one, I can't help thinking "German", not "Italian" and that it's an expensive Volkswagen. In the evening, James, Rima and I had a meal at the Toby Carvery restaurant where at one point Rima spilt a glass of wine over herself which made her look like she had wet herself . After the meal, we picked up Afraz and got extremely drunk in Brannigans, minus James. I spent about £50, so getting drunk now is becoming quite an expensive task . When Rima seemed to have had pulled someone, I took great pleasure in telling her admirer that she's got Chlamydia. This friendly gesture was later reciprocated while I was talking to a couple of girls that I already knew. When the effects of one too many alcoholic beverages took effect on Afraz, he was exited from the building via an unconventional exit with the help of a bouncer. James, being the star that he is, kindly picked us all up and dropped us off at home afterwards .

Sunday 21st May 2006:
Two things - 1) today is my dad's birthday, and 2) today, for the first time ever, I played golf. It was sort of golf, it was a golf driving range to be exact. I hated it, I'm crap at it. If I ever have to strike a golf ball with a golf club again, it will be too soon.

Wednesday 10th May 2006:
Oh well, I think I can be safe in saying that last week's plan didn't have the desired effect. Bum.

Thursday 4th May 2006:
Today is Star Wars day - May the 4th be with you! Anyway, for the first time ever, I was stranded in a broken down lift all by myself. It was shortly before 11:00 while at work. I was set free about 25 minutes later. The experience didn't stress me and I even found it slightly amusing . When I arrived at work in the morning, I was speaking to a colleague named Pat regarding her experience of being stuck in a lift. She now hates them. It was quite a coincidence that the same thing happened to me later in the day. I blame her. I would just like to add that I generally don't use lifts, I prefer to use the stairs 'cos I'm not lazy like many others. But, while at work, I have to use a lift when I've got a trolley full of patient's files. Oh, and I'm still waiting in anticipation for the result of yesterday's hasty action.

Wednesday 3rd May 2006:
Today, due to a women, I acted on impulse. I followed my heart, not particularly my brain and it felt good doing so. I was forced to act immediately, delaying wasn't an option. I had to choose from either taking action or forever regret not taking action. I took the first option which was a bold gesture on my behalf. Where women are concerned, men can do unusual things. Later, I found out that my action was not going to plan as I had hoped, but it would still have the same result at the end, so wasn't a major problem. It would just take a little bit longer and other people would sort of be aware that something was going on. During the day, I wondered if I had done the right thing or not. I was worried that I had done something which I shouldn't of. While pondering this, there was still a chance that I could retract my action before it took full effect, but I decided to just let things happen. Go with the flow, let matters unravel themselves. After the point of no return had passed, I was still unsure, but was happy in the knowledge that I acted decisively and that it was now out of my hands so worrying about it wouldn't achieve anything. I've now just got to wait to see the result of my action. Is it a success or failure? Time will tell.

Saturday 22nd April 2006:
Today, I saw a Ferrari F40 .

Friday 21st April 2006:
Women = grief.

Monday 10th April 2006:
This morning, I was delighted to wake up to a blanket of snow outside . There was an unexpected snow fall over night. I like snow. But Unfortunately, after the snow, it rained, so some of the snow had melted. Also, by the time I had got outside in the morning to go to work, it was quite sunny, so more of the snow had melted . Still, there was a few inches of snow that had settled on my car. According to news reports, some parts of the south east experienced disruption due to the unseasonable weather.

Wednesday 8th March 2006:
Recently, while going through photographs for this site and after stumbling across some old school reports, I've been getting very nostalgic. It's surprising how people change physically and mentally and how much I have forgotten about stuff which happened in the past. Today I had a brilliant idea, but very far fetched. What if, in the future, someone was to invent a machine that allows people to relive a date in their past. It would be like being plugged into the Matrix (see Matrix films). It could be described as a virtual reality. They wouldn't be able to interact and do stuff, 'cos that would mess up future events and things would get complicated (see Back To The Future films). Instead, the person would be a passenger inside themselves observing what happened to them on that particular day. They would be fully aware of what was happening, all senses would be functional (sight, hearing, smell and touch). They could fully experience a past date without interfering. To me, this sounds like an absolutely fantastic concept. I would love for that to happen, and I'm sure many people would pay money for this. What would people want to relive? Obviously, old school days would be a popular one, just a typical day as a young kid. Or, a past birthday? A party or celebration? Passing a test / exam? Meeting first partner? Marriage? Loosing virginity? If it was available, I would love to make use of it. Maybe I should patent the idea (if it's possible to do so).

Thursday 2nd March 2006:
The last few days for me have been sort of eventful. On Tuesday, unfortunately, the short lived relationship between me & Sarah Jeremiah came to an end , which was a shame. But we are still friends though . As Tuesday was pay day (which seemed to be taking forever to come), after work I was able to comply with my car's demands for petrol which was a relief. When I got home, I found out that my Nan Rita had been admitted to hospital . As she was in the same building as where I worked, visiting her was not a difficulty . On Wednesday, this long awaited web site finally became online and as expected, there were a few minor errors which needed correcting. Also, I had to turn down an offer from Crawley Borough Council of accommodation in Southgate, mainly because I simply could not afford it . Finally, in the evening, I enjoyed my weekly semi-torture session of Tae Kwon-Do.

Friday 17th February 2006:
So, everyone knows that when you've got something on your mind, sleep is not easy to achieve. On Thursday night / Friday morning I had an acute exacerbation of this condition. I woke up at about 03:15 with stuff on my mind. At about 04:30 I realised that my attempts to clear my mind and get back to sleep were futile, so I gave up. Laying in bed awake would have been a waste of time, so I thought I might as well go to work and take advantage of the empty roads. I had nothing else better to do. Getting into my car at 05:15 felt really odd, getting into a car at this time in the morning usually only happens when going to the airport to go on holiday. Parking up at work and walking across the staff car park at 05:40 felt very un-natural. I didn't start work until 06:00 'cos I was speaking to Afraz on the phone who was on night shift. I could of relaxed in the office and done nothing until others arrived, but that would have been mean, so I did my work as I normally would do. Early on, my body felt odd, sort of buzzing. I felt full of energy and enthusiasm. Later on, my body / mind started to slow down due to having about only 4 hours sleep. As I had done my usual amount of working hours, I left work at 13:00 without having a lunch (otherwise I would have left at 13:30). Well, it's probably a world record, the earliest time any Clinical Coder has started work!

Saturday 4th February 2006:
While in Brighton, I saw a Ferrari Enzo. That is all.

Tuesday 31st January 2006:
Today I heard the unfortunate news that the husband of Jean, the Chaldon Ward Clerk, had recently died . Chaldon is one of the wards which I code and I speak to Jean everyday. She is a fantastic lady. Extremely helpful, hardworking and very caring. I just feel so sorry for her and it makes me upset when I think about her loss. I spoke to Jackie, the Abinger Ward Clerk, and she was very upset and I expect many other people are too. I am sure Jean has many supporting friends to help her during this very sad time.

Sunday 11th December 2005:
I have watched BBC Top Gear's review of the long awaited, much anticipated, Bugatti Veyron 16.4 . I have been waiting for a televised road test of this car for a long time, the car has been a long time in the making. There have been many pictures and stories of pre-production models to whet our tastes, but now, the finished product is available to give car enthusiasts something to dream about. Jeremy Clarkson loved it, he was truly impressed by it, and I can't recall him saying anything bad about it. For that to happen, it must be special. Due to its monumental performance, already, this car is a legend. Long before the product was finalised, if it did live up to the manufacturer's claims, it was destined to be outstanding. Its reputation preceded its release. It has been said that a loss of about £5 million pounds will result from the sale of each car (which retails at well over £800,000). At the end of the program, Jeremy Clarkson made a valid point - we may never see anything like this ever again . Sadly, this is likely to be the case. In today's climate of boring people wearing suits, soulless budgeting financial managers and greedy share holders, the likelihood of something so exceptional, but financially unviable, being produced, is doubtful. Profit and cost effectiveness is of the utmost importance to those aforementioned dull droids. Money has priority over innovation. The Veyron was likened to Concorde, a monumental achievement of man kind, something to be proud of. Sadly, due to men in suits, Concorde is now a memory of aviation excellence. I am sure that fast cars will still be produced, but they will all be in the Bugatti's shadow of technical excellence. Come on Ferrari, show 'em what you're made of!

Friday 25th November 2005:
This week, three famous people died - George Best (footballer), Richard Burns (rally car driver) and Pat Morita (actor). Pat Morita played Mr Miyagi in the well known Karate Kid films of the eighties and Richard Burns won the World Rally Championship in 2001. George Best played football and was an alcoholic criminal - FACT. The media have been concentrating too much on him, which I find disturbing. They seem to think that the sun shone out of his arse even though after receiving a liver transplant, he continued drinking in excess. He had also been arrested for drink driving. That transplanted liver was wasted on him. Now, I think the bloke was not a good person (to put it politely) and was over hyped by the media. The other two people which I have mentioned were better than him and were more worthy of being role models to society.