Monthly Archives: January 2004

The 213 things Sergeant “Skippy” Schwartz is no longer allowed to do: http://www.avalanchetankers.us/archives/000058.html I particularly liked: #33. Not allowed to chew gum at formation, unless I brought enough for everybody. #34. (Next day) Not allowed to chew gum at formation … Continue reading →

A friend who works in the BBC has sent two angry emails. In the first he says: The key point is that Andrew Gilligan made a mistake in the live 6:07 interview. He said the information about the 45 minute … Continue reading →

Back on Monday I gave an interview to a journalist from, well, let’s call it Syldavia; a slightly difficult interview because the journalist only speaks French and my French isn’t particularly fluent, but I did my best to get across … Continue reading →

This new virus is bombarding me pretty heavily; I guess my explorers at whyte dot com account is pretty badly exposed, but I think I’m immune due to using webmail at work and eudora at home. One of the incoming … Continue reading →

Went to see a chap from the Foreign Office this morning about my career plans. I’d already sent them my CV before Christmas. Basically the message is that the first tranche of new European Commissioners who start working in May … Continue reading →

Ursula took her first tentative steps last night; she was 13 months old last Thursday. So a little slower off the mark than Bridget (week before her first birthday) or Fergal (walking at ten and a bit months) but she … Continue reading →

7) From the Dust Returned by Ray Bradbury. Whimsical ghost story, a little light for my taste. Marketed as his new novel” but it turns out several bits date from the 1940s. infinity plus already has a review of it, … Continue reading →

Two big meetings yesterday. First of all it was back to my former employers at CEPS where I chaired a discussion on the future of Serbia and Montenegro. (I have to go back there this morning for the second half … Continue reading →

Michael Moore, of all people, is backing Wes Clark. See his typically exuberant endorsement letter.

Nice map (thanks to ): create your own visited country map or write about it on the open travel guide

So I’m sitting in this rather dull conference session beside the Starnbergersee outside Munich; and I remembered that I’ve downloaded TS Eliot’s “The Waste Land” onto my Palm Pilot, and take it out to idly flick through it. And the … Continue reading →

America as a One-Party State?

U is tantalisingly close to walking – moving from clutching her mother's hands to clutching mine and back again, but not yet able to take steps independently. I'm at a three-day conference on Moldova in Germany starting tomorrow. I hope … Continue reading →

The next two books on my list are for reviews: From the Dust Returned, by Ray Bradbury – a review copy sent me by Infinity Plus Memories of the Irish Israeli War, by Phil O’Brien – sent me by the … Continue reading →

6) The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien Enjoyed it just as much as I ever did; last read it just around the time B was born to take my mind off imminent paternity. Of course I was moved … Continue reading →

I am an Intellectual Which America Hating Minority Are You? Take More Robert & Tim QuizzesWatch Robert & Tim Cartoons

Molvania – A Land Untouched By Modern Dentistry – hilarious!

I’m rereading The Lord of the Rings at the moment and I realised that wrestling with Tolkien’s alphabets is what gave me the fascination with alphabets that I still have. I started writing a note on transliteration for work; wonder … Continue reading →

Finished one of the papers that has been on my desk for far too long! Now that just leaves pan-Albanianism. And, er, the 50-pager about Moldova that came in this morning…

thought-provoking stuff. My favourite bit: “I’m a transitional figure. I’m the very last generation that worked professionally on typewriters. William Gibson wrote his first book on a typewriter. I wrote two books on typewriters. I was taught to use slide … Continue reading →

For fans of Jack Chick’s tracts: http://www.howardhallis.com/bis/cthulhuchick/

Seen in various places: 1. Which 5 LJ friends have you known longest?

Make a list of little and big rewards (which you can provide) to motivate yourself to do a task or job that you tend to put off. Little Rewards (for completing little jobs) posting to LiveJournal! cup of coffee evening … Continue reading →

Coupled with buying the e-book about procrastination, I came to an uncomfortable realisation about my job (actually prompted by a comment from , here). On Monday this week I reviewed a colleague’s memoirs of working in Clinton’s foreign policy team … Continue reading →

5) The Procrastinator’s Handbook: Mastering the Art of Doing It Now by Rita Emmett I got this last night from FictionWise as a means of putting off the tasks I’ve been putting off for weeks, and wow, what an excellent … Continue reading →

4) Looking Backward: from 2000 to 1887, by Edward Bellamy (another one that I read on my PDA) It’s always fun to read people’s literary predictions of how the future will work out (apart from the obvious examples like 1984, … Continue reading →

Are you Addicted to the Internet? 52% Average@Internet-User.com (41% – 60%)You seem to have a healthy balance in your life when it comes to the internet and life away from the computer. You know enough to do what you want … Continue reading →

[image deleted as I felt it was in poor taste]You are the grammar Fuhrer. All bow to yourauthority. You will crush all the inferiorpeople under the soles of your jackboots, andany who question your motives will beeliminated. Your punishment is … Continue reading →

52.38095238095238% of me is a huge nerd! How about you?

Where were you born? Belfast Where are you now? Brussels When was the last time you crossed an international border on foot? accidentally really, wandering around Geneva airport in July between the French and Swiss entrances …in a car? going … Continue reading →