Owen Signing for Newcastle

Can't believe we actually managed to sign Owen, I was sure he was going to go to Liverpool. Here's Owen with Souness signing his 4 year contract. There were loads of rumours about get out clauses but the club has stated there aren't any.

Along we the other signing over the summer, Parker, Emre, Luque, oh yeah Clarke and Moore as well. It looks like we are getting a team back together (I hope).

Hopefully I will see Nolberto Solano confirmed tonight as well. We have missed him since he went to Villa 18 months ago, that was Bobby Robsons worst decision selling him. He is on Tyneside somewhere tonight having a medical but part of the deal is supposedly giving Milner on loan and he will have to have a medical as well.

UPDATE:

Just as I posted this Solano was confirmed, I am as happy about him re-signing as about Owen maybe more so.

My Boss's Daughter

My Boss's Daughter: I watched this earlier today, it's supposed to be a comedy but I can't really remember laughing much but having said that it wasn't quite as bad as I was expecting. Maybe I was just transfixed by Tara Reid!!

Think I prefered this to The Missing at least something happened.

The Missing

The Missing: I wasn't all that impressed with this film it was too long and drawn out and not a lot really happened. It's about Indians kidnapping yound girls to sell and Tommy Lee Jones sets out to rescue his grand daughter from them. Maybe I wasn't in the right mood to watch it but it did seam very long :-(

Update

I haven't posted much again over the last week, not really sure why I've not been that busy. I just seam to of been very lazy all week. It's been tiring at work with 3 or 4 staff off every day on Holiday. By the time I get home I can't be arsed to do anything, I'm bad enough anyway but even worse over the last week.

My exercising has been none existant this week, was gonna go out last night running and didn't and again this morning I went back to bed as I felt shattered and haven't left the house all day.

I was supposed to be going to Blackpool today but I sent a text the other day to see what time we were going and I got a reply it was cancelled. Not sure when Wayne was planning on telling me if I hadn't asked him. To be honest I was hoping it would be cancelled, was gonna cost a fortune as always for one night and I didn't know who else was going. I am now going to Jonathan (my line managers) wedding reception tomorrow night. I wasn't sure whether to go after I already said once I was going then had to pull out coz of Blackpool. So felt bad about saying I could go again. I was very tempted to say nothing but it would of looked bad if someone had mentioned I didn't go to Blackpool, would of looked like I didn't want to go but I just felt bad for already saying I wasn't going. Anyway its sorted now and I don't have to drive there either so I can have a drink :-)

I have had a few people asking me to fix their computers this week but as I said above I have felt knackered all week so haven't done them yet.

Feels like I am in a bit of a vicious circle at the moment, tired from work and can't be bothered to go out and exercise but if I actually got of my arse and did some exercise I might feel a bit more alert. I just lack motivation.

The Man Who Sued God

The Man Who Sued God: This was second movie I watched tonight and again I was suprised, wasn't expecting much from this either but their were some funny moments. Wouldn't say it was hilarious but it was a good good movie. I prefer Billy Connolly doing stand-up comedy but he is quite a good actor as well. Giving this 6 out of 10.

The Girl Next Door

The Girl Next Door: I wasn't expecting much from this but it was suprisingly good and by the end I had a smile on my face. A real feel good movie, that and I quite like Elisha Cuthbert from when she was in 24. This is well worth a watch one of the better teen movies that has been out for a while!!

Busy @ Google

Google have been very busy recently, with Google Earth a few weeks ago, a new version of Google Desktop that features a sidebar that add the latest news, photos, weather and more to your desktop as well as searching and now they have just launched Google Talk.

Google Earth

Google Earth lets you view the globe from space and zoom into anywhere on the planet and can go to detailed satellite photos of many areas like the US and major UK cities. You can search for schools and restaurants and other places of interest and have them displayed on the map. It can even provide driving direction. The program is totally Free, it is impressive although to be honest I ahve had it installed for more than month and can't remember the last time I started it. The main reason for this is that the satellite images of the North East of England are rubbish, hopefully these will be added in the future then Google Earth will be excellent.

Desktop Seach & Sidebar
Google Desktop Search has been updated to version 2 Beta, I have had version 1 installed for ages and out of the search programs I had tried GDS was the best. The only major problem I had was it didn't search network drives and this was a big problem for me, most of my files are on network drives. I am happy to say that the lastest version add support for them :-)

The biggest addition that is immediately obvious is the sidebar, see the pic to the left (click for larger image). It can show you the latest weather, stocks, news, email and more. At 1st I thought what use is this going to be but I enabled it to try it. I have to say I am very impressed especially when it started showing me all my photos from "my pictures". Then as I browsed more it was showing more relevant news to me. Although the email part doesn't seam to work that well for me. It's supposed to show your Outlook email as well as Gmail but the Outlook part doesn't seam to refresh very often :-(

Definitely give it a go, in the next few days and weeks, I'm sure there will be loads of extra things added for the sidebar which will make it even more useful. Especially if all the hacks for Google Maps are anything to go by!!!

Google Talk
I installed Google Talk the day it cam out but other than that I've never used it. Partly because I don't know anyone else who has installed it to talk with.

It looks very basic and simplistic but I guess that's what Google excels at presenting people with simple to use applications that do what you need. Although I would imagine most people would find it hard to do away with many of the features of other IM clients that offer, Video, Dialing telephones, images and loads more. Maybe more features will be offered in the future I hope so. Otherwise I can't see many people switching over to it!

Basic

Basic: This film is a bit different from what I expected. I was hoping for a normal action film, where I didn't have to do much thinking (I was tired). Instead it was quite complicated but good. There was tons of twists and turns to the plot. Worth a watch but would advise you to watch when not very tired like I was.

:-(

Laid in bed still listening to music. I cant sleep my mind is working over time thinking about how i seam to be alone again.

i never have any luck when it comes to women, know how i feel about the person i keep not mentioning by name. I love her but looks like she doesnt feel the same, especially after some of the things ive been told over the last week.

Guess i am upset but i feel more angry at the moment but i think that is how i deal with being upset. I am not someone who cries, i used to just get angry but have managed to stop being like that. Makes me sound nuts but im not that bad ;-)

women dont know why i bother for once i wish someone would be completely honest and say exactly how they feel.

MP3 players and Phones

I sent off my Zen Micro MP3 player this morning so hopefully I should receive a new one in the next few days. It's a nightmare not having a working hard drive MP3 player, I am sat typing this while listening on my old Creative Muvo NX 128MB player. Its still an excellent player especially for running. Just 128MB is tiny by todays standards and you soon get sick of hearing the same songs.


I downloaded an update for my phone (Orange SPV C500) which will upgrade Windows Media Player to version 10. Which is much better than version 9 that is on it now. I already have a 512MB mini SD card in it. So could fill it with music and I can also use my Napster To Go subscription once I upgrade Windows Media Player on the phone. Just haven't got around to upgrading the phone yet as I will have to back up everything as it will be reset and will lose texts, contacts and everything else. My contract expires in the next 2 months for my phone so I could upgrade to a new phone but I dont think there is anything better around. There is an updated version of the C500 the C550 but it doesn't really add much other than a better camera. May hold off until something I really like comes out.

The LCD TV I ordered earlier today has been sent so hopefully it will arrive tomorrow, although I don't think anyone will be in to receive it. So may have to wait until Friday to get it :-(

New LCD TV

I read my email this morning and I had received the latest offers from Dabs, which I get every few days. Normally I have a look but there isn't much I'm interested in, but today they had a Relisys Widescreen LCD TV (RLT1730BS). I have been wanting a new TV for my bedroom for 2 years but I could never find a TV at a reasonable size that would fit properly normal (CRT) TVs are too deep (except for 14" portables). I had been thinking about buying a normal LCD Monitor and using a computer to view the TV but when I saw this TV on Dabs this morning decided it may be worth buying as it was cheap and had good specs. It was £233 after a quick search I could see it was £250+ every where else. There were some good reviews as well. There were 23 available this morning, I gradually watched the stock go down to the last few but when it got to the last 1 I decided I had to buy it.

MP3 player broke

Some how my MP3 player broke at the beginning of last week. It had been in my coat pocket a couple of days but hadn't been thrown about or anything. When I switched it on it froze on the Creative logo and wouldn't do anything, not even switch off without removing the battery.

I looked on Creatives website and found out how to get into Recovery mode and tried some of the options but none of them worked.

So I contacted their customer services, I was going to phone them but it was at international rates. So decided to email them, they came back to me within a day asking for more details which I sent and it sounds like they are going to replace it with a new unit and take my old one away when they deliver the new one. Just sent off an email with my contact details in.

Hope it gets sorted out this week as I am really missing it, even though I have a computer in just about every room and have access to my music. Its still not the same as having a portable Hard drive MP3 player. I could use my old 128MB Muvo but its too little and only any good for running.

I very nearly bought a 60GB Ipod Photo earlier in the week. I still want a larger HD player as well as my Creative Zen Micro, but I have a couple of major problems with the Ipod. iTunes still doesn't scan your music folder for any new MP3s that have been added, you have to tell it when you have added music (WMP & Winamp both do this automatically), you are also stuck using iTunes (generally) with Creatives MP3 players you can use Explorer if you wanted. My other issue is I prefer a Napster to Go style service rather than iTunes model.

Having said these gripes I still like many things of the Ipod, excellent design and very easy to navigate. One of only about 3 MP3 players that you can get in 60GB (of the major players). Creative and Cowon are the other 2 but Creatives looks very dated although cheap and Cowon iAudio X5 is only just about to come out in 60GB model and is likely to be even more expensive than the ipod although it does play videos.

Not sure what to do yet so holding off, I have been hearing rumours of some more updates to the ipod as well coming soon so they may fix my problems. Still the main one to me is iTunes not scanning my folders for new music which is important to me because of the way I store my music!!!

Finished another audiobook

Orson Scott Card - Ender's Game: I finished listening to this excellent audio book tonight, there are several others that follow it (5 I think). Before I listen to them I think I will listen to some others first. I would definitly recommend this to anyone even if you're not into Sci-Fi, give it a read/listen I think you will be hooked.

Targets

I think it is finally time to set some of those targets I said I was going to set a couple of months ago. I quite often set myself targets but rarely achieve them, my problem is I quickly lose interest unless something really inspires me or catches my imagination. Still not sure how I can sort this but will try.

The 1st thing is to set some simple achievable targets rather than stuff that I am just gonna fail at.

1. Be able to run a complete track I have in my head without walking any of it within 6 weeks. (I will post more details of this tomorrow)
2. Lose 1.5" off my waist in 6 weeks
   
3. Add 1" to arms
4. At least look into motorbike lessons

The above are all achievable, the last one is something I've been saying I'm gonna do for years but have never got around to it. All of them I want to of done in 6 weeks time. The next stage is planning out how I am going to achieve them and making sure I stick to the tasks!!

I have some other targets I would like to achieve but think I need to see how I get on with the above ones first.

Friday Night

I went out with Binyon, one of mates on Friday. I have been out a few times over the last couple weeks with him. He split up with his girlfriend who he has a son with. He has taken it very hard so I have been going out with him to get him out of the house.

When I met up with him on Friday night it looked like he had hardly slept, around his eye looked really dark, almost black eyes. He said he keeps waking up and just cant sleep. He has also been drinking loads, just hope he can sort thing out!

When I met up with Binyon, Jay my best mate was there he had been out all afternoon (so was drunk but happy). Jay is funny at the best of times but even more so when merry. So had a laugh with Jay and a bit chat about him and the lass he met when we went to Durham a few week ago. They are well suited, very similar personalities and Jay is very happy. Pleased he has found someone who makes him so happy, he went out with a lass for several years but when you compare them he is much more suited to the lass he is seeing now (oops, I've forgotten her name).

The rest of the night wasn't all that eventful until I got talking to some lass in the Surtees. She said her and her husband or partner were black belt in something or other (cant remember what now). I said something about how useful is it in the real world if someone was coming at you. Think she argued a bit then she got up and I thought she was going to the bar or something. She had other ideas, I was sat on a stool and she walked behind me and decided to put me in a headlock. I was suprised and a bit pissed off, so got to my feet which is a bit hard when someone has their arms wrapped around your neck. I caught the table next to me with my leg and ended up knocking some lasses drink over. The lass let go of me and then spent the next 10 minutes apologising.

I'm just pleased I was in a good mood and didn't react, knowing how wasy it is for me to just flip. I haver never hit a lass but would of been very easy to of head butted or elbowed her as I couldn't actually see who it was I just guessed. If she had held on much longer not quite sure what I would of done, luckily I didn't have to find out.

She was trying to prove a point but she didn't as I said was it any use when someone was coming at you, but she attacked me when I posed no threat and wasn't expecting anything. So she didn't prove anything!

The lass who's drink I knocked over went off it and was twisting, I bought her another drink and I argued with her that she only had a tiny bit left in the bottom anyway. I sat back down and got talking to the lass who was just shouting at me for knocking her drink over. She ended up apologising for shouting and being nasty. I sat and talked to her and the couple of mates she was with for a while.

After that I can't really remember I must of got back in at about 1. The only bad thing about the whole night was I texted Lisa who I used to go out with. I cant remember doing it and wouldn't of, if I wasnt drunk, I'm guessing it would of been when I walked past the pub where she works.

I wouldn't of known if she hadn't sent me a text in the morning saying guess I was drunk and that I should delete her number. That is the only good idea I can ever remember her having, wont delete it just stick some ones in front, then I cant text when drunk.

I spent most of Saturday hung over, I knew this would happen. I felt de-hydrated when I went out and thats always a bad start. Well I'm gonna go watch the Newcastle match.

mayonnaise and coffee

I read this over on Jonathan's Website (my line manager). I liked it so thought I'd copy it here.

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.

When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

So then the professor picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar and of course the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes".

The professor then produced two coffee cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand.

The students laughed. "Now", said the professor, as the laughter subsided. "I want you to recognise that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things - your family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favourite passions - things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car. The sand is everything else - the small stuff. If you put the sand in the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical check-ups. Take your spouse to dinner. Spend time with your parents for you won't always have them in your life. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and enquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. "I am glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there is always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

2nd part

I decided to do this as a 2nd post as it is just about work.

This morning was very boring, i have got to exactly the same point i was at when working for the red cross. I just couldnt give a shit about what i am doing and have no interest in any of it. I keep catching myself sitting there doing nothing but day dreaming and cant concentrate on work at all.

I had hoped that there would be some things coming up but i know its just wishful thinking. I have got to the point of no return i fear, no matter what i am given i just have no motivation. There are some good things at the moment i guess, i am out of the office a fair bit over the next week doing training. I am normally not all that keen on doing training but this is ok as i know all the people i am training and it is easy. The 1st one today went well and everyone understood it so its a good start.

I said i had reached the point of no return, i mean where i just cant see anything getting anymore interesting or learning anything new in my job that catches my interest. Since november last year i was told i could go on some training which i thought would be good it hasnt really materialised although i have been asked to look for some but the problem is i am limited really to i couple of courses because they have to be totally relevant to my job now. The only courses i can see like that wouldnt benefit me as i wouldnt learn anything much new. They would be a waste of my time and works money. Wish i could do a course that was more interesting and would develop me for the future rather than just for today.

I stayed in this situation for a year or so at the red cross maybe longer before i saw an opportunity to leave by taking redundancy. maybe i need to be looking for a door out again before i go nuts from boredom. Will keep my eyes open for another job although not sure what i want to do anymore. I have always wanted to work with computest because there is always something new to learn and i am good at it. I have become so disillusioned though recently that i am thinking of giving it up.

The last 2 posts sound so negative but i guess i only really write a lot when i am down and have stuff on my mind.

Think i could do with 3 months out like the ones simon is having from work. The lucky bugger is spending 3 months in canada, alright for some!

Today has again been a long day. I spoke to kelly j. a couple of times and found a few things out. if there is one thing i really hate its people being 2 faced, especially when its someone you care about.

I found out that i was supposedly hassling someone with texts and emails all the time and they just wanted me to stop. If that was the case why not just tell me that. I wasnt sending many and whenever i did stop they always contacted me. Last week i said i would give them some space. Yet then emailed me several times and texted me. I wasnt complaining as i want her to contact me.

Just dont like the fact that she is telling her friends i am hassling her yet she contacts me as well.

I shouldnt get too angry as this information is about 3rd hand so not sure how accurate it is. But i also heard that there had been a falling out over something similar last week. Telling people different stories.

i will take it all with a pinch of salt but some of it rings a little too true :-(

the hardest part is the person all this is about is on holiday this week and think is is with the person she told me she didnt love anymore.

I did say i wouldnt write anything else about her but have to write this down.

I will never understand the slightest thing about women. It is supposedly men who cant say how they feel and be honest. Not in my experience :-(

Listening to...

I've been listening to a couple of audio books over the last 2 weeks.

Dan Brown - Angels & Demons: I decided to listen to this book after having previously listened to the Da Vinci Code about a year ago. Enjoyed that book and found this one just as good. Well worth a read/listen.


Orson Scott Card - Ender's Game: I have listened to about two thirds of this so far. Wasn't sure if I would like it but must admit I am hooked. Hope I can keep on finding audio books like the ones I have heard so far.

Music
Besides for audio books I have listened to quite a bit of music recently although not that many full albums. Although here are some I have listened to all the way through.


Dr Dre - 2001: I keep playing this album reqularly. It still sounds excellent, many people said this was no where near as good as the Chronic. Think I should listen to that next then!!


Faithless - Forever Faithless: Some excellent songs on their greatest hits, still not sure about some of them though. My favourite is "One Step Too Far" with Dido.


Beatles - Ruber Soul: I wasn't sure if I would like this album when 1st looking at the songs but since then I must of listened to this well over a dozen times in the last month. Its excellent!!


Fleetwood Mac - Tango In The Night: I heard a song on TV from this album and had to listen to it. My parents used to always have this on in the car in the 80's. Another excellent album :-)


David Gray - White Ladder: Not much I can say about White Ladder other than it is excellent, a must listen...

Buckden Pike

Distance: 7.74 Miles
Time: 4 hours

Today I walked the above route (marked in blue). Click the picture for a larger version.
The beginning of the walk was very hard, not because it was difficult but I had been out drinking last night and had no energy and felt ill. I recovered once I got to the top!

I wrote above that it took 4 hours, it only took 3 hours actual moving time but we stopped for over an hour on the way around (for dinner and me to recover).

For some strange reason the route has a weird blip on it, the bottom left of the map, it looks like we walked South then doubled back on ourselves (we never went where it shows??)

Anyway it was a nice walk and there were loads of Waterfalls at the beginning, worth going for them. Below are a few pictures, click them for larger versions!!

the 1st waterfall (little)

Bigger waterfall

Another waterfall

Looking down towards Buckden

The rest of the pictures will be posted to my flickr site tomorrow.

Another Perfect Song

Carrying on with songs that fit my mood and situation. Here's another

Guns 'N' Roses - November Rain

When I look into your eyes
I can see a love restrained
But darlin' when I hold you
Don't you know I feel the same
'Cause nothin' lasts forever
And we both know hearts can change
And it's hard to hold a candle
In the cold November rain
We've been through this such a long long time
Just tryin' to kill the pain
But lovers always come and lovers always go
An no one's really sure who's lettin' go today
Walking away
If we could take the time to lay it on the line
I could rest my head
Just knowin' that you were mine
All mine
So if you want to love me
then darlin' don't refrain
Or I'll just end up walkin'
In the cold November rain

Do you need some time...on your own
Do you need some time...all alone
Everybody needs some time...on their own
Don't you know you need some time...all alone
I know it's hard to keep an open heart
When even friends seem out to harm you
But if you could heal a broken heart
Wouldn't time be out to charm you

Sometimes I need some time...on my
own Sometimes I need some time...all alone
Everybody needs some time...on their own
Don't you know you need some time...all alone

And when your fears subside
And shadows still remain, ohhh yeahhh
I know that you can love me
When there's no one left to blame
So never mind the darkness
We still can find a way
'Cause nothin' lasts forever
Even cold November rain


Don't ya think that you need somebody
Don't ya think that you need someone
Everybody needs somebody
You're not the only one
You're not the only one

No coverage

Why dont trains have some sort of mobile telephone mast built into them. I can hardly ever get a signal to send emails or go on the internet.

Maybe i should complain to mr branson, lol

Train

I have just got on the train, it was 20 minutes late. Where i am sitting smells like stale farts.

i had a dream last night that there was a bomber on the train. I never saw it blow up sure it was a normal dream and not some sort of warning. i rang someone when i knew something was happening to tell them i loved them. Suppose i could me guessed who i would ring.

I told her this morning some of what i dreamt.

I think its gonna be a long day!

Birmingham

I am off to Birmingham on a Lotus Notes course for work tomorrow. In some ways I am looking forward to it as at least it is a break from work and a trip out. The worst thing about it is I have to sit on a train for 3 hours to get there and 3 hours back again. The course only lasts about 3 hours as well, so a long way to go...

I am intending to just listen to music and have a bit think on the train, I may post a few blog entries from my phone as well.

Knowing my luck I end up with some annoying person sat next to me. Hopefully I will be able to get an earlier train home, otherwise I wont get back into Durham until 8:30 and I will miss the Newcastle match :-(

Ross Noble - Unrealtime

Ross Noble - Unrealtime: I watched this excellent DVD (2 DVDs) the other night. Ross Noble is very funny and I have never seen anyone go off on so many tangents. If you like stand up British comedy, rent this. Maybe it appealed so much to me because he is a geordie!

Leonardo

Leonardo: I watched this DVD over a few nights last week. Its all about Leonardo Da Vinci and his life. It was originally on the BBC but I never saw it. If you're interested in this sort of documentary it is highly recommended. 8 out of 10.

Undead

Undead: I watched this last night after it was recommended to me. I should of known better!
It was rubbish, some parts were OK, I like Zombie movies (good ones) but this just got worse as it went on. I gave it 5 out of 10 on IMDB.

Grr..

I wrote a few posts yesterday but saved them as drafts because Blogger wouldn't let me upload my images. When I have looked for them today they have disappeared :-(

Too serious

I was told tonight i was too serious. I had never thought of myself like that, far from it. I was quick to defend myself but since then i have thought about it.

I act completely different with different people. The person who said it, i dont think either of us has been ourselves for some time around each other. something i will have to change ;-)

some people who i know would say i dont take anything serious and probably think i am nuts.

Then my mates who have known me for years see me differently again i am quiet when with them until i have a drink then i dont shut up.

I guess i am a true gemini different sides to me.