One of my favourite bands of the past year or so has been Ok Go an Chicago based rock band. I really like a lot of their stuff - pretty good riding music too. Anyway, they released an awesome video to go along with their single "Here it Goes Again" that really made me chuckle. It reminded me a bit of the Fatboy Slim "Praise You" video from a few years back.
Of course, nothing beats Johnny Cash singing Nine Inch Nail's song "Hurt" just before he died. It's a classic tune, an amazingly shot video and the most amazing tribute to the Man in Black. If you've not seen it before - click on the link below. It's just amazing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmVAWKfJ4Go
Thursday 30 August 2007
My New Home
Wahey! Sorted out somewhere to live. Chris is going back to the UK for a few months so going to live in the office - it's an apartment anyway so no need to do any work to it!
Looking forward to being in the middle of town, the tourists are dying away and there's amazing views of the Aiguille du Midi to wake up to every morning.
Turned out nice again.
Looking forward to being in the middle of town, the tourists are dying away and there's amazing views of the Aiguille du Midi to wake up to every morning.
Turned out nice again.
Bank Holiday weekend
Hello!
Apologies for the absence - been on this trip back to the UK recently and have just managed to sort everything out here in Cham now to a level where things are resembling normality. So, in order the events of the weekend were - wedding, london, home.
The wedding was awesome. Out in the west country it was a beautiful location - sculpted victorian gardens with all the family out. The ceremony was awesome, the bride looked amazing and then everyone got pissed. I've missed out a lot in between but it's personal family stuff and not really for public consumption. My lil newphew Dusty was in attendance and as usual was a cheery, beautiful focal point for the family Narg. It's wicked watching him grow up.
After the wedding, I trained it back to London where I immediately got involved with getting an oyster card again. Just a pay-as-you-go one but it saved me a great deal than buying individual tickets, plus anyone with a single journey ticket is a blatant tourist and after the summer and the tourist hell of Chamonix I didn't fancy looking like a dick in shorts wandering around London.
So onwards to Baker Street on the Jubilee Line to meet up with my mate Kuntesh. We wandered down the very posh Marylebone High Street and had a few drinks and laughed and caught up and then slipped into a little middle-eastern cafe for snack. It was really good to see him and great to be able to sit down and get back to exactly how it always was without skipping a beat.
I found myself winging my way across to Shoreditch shortly after watching the schweaty schweaty tourists on the circle line tube dripping sun cream everywhere and then wondering why they kept sliding off the handrails on the train. I pissed myself laughing at this. Cruel but funny. I met up with Wardo and went back to his place where I was going to stay. Met his housemate Ed and his missus Tavy and got involved with a few glasses of wine and pizza and some welcome relief on the feet. Tubing and skating around London (got my longboard skateboard back from my folk's house!) is always a giggle but after skating for 4 miles around the city it's nice to site down!
So the famous Pizza Hut Super Supreme - the object of dribbling and drooling beauty that Wardo and I talked about endlessly during those long weeks and months of the interseason. Wanting, needing, aching for a slice of the cheezy goodness as the weather prevented us from foraging outside - the prize eluded from our grasp. We tucked in heartily and the pizza goodness rolled around like the wine in our stomachs - all was well in the world.
A deep sleep then out again for the full english. Wardo and I back having breakfast again! Things turning the full circle it seems. Was good tho - found a proper greasy spoon and tucked into bacon, eggs, tomatoes, beans and sausages! A heavenly way to start the day. We wandered back home after a careful jaunt to balance the digestive system and then I left Andy to a day of peace and tranquility with the TV while I went off to the Notting Hill Carnival with Ipek, Derek, Gill and Jem.
Fantastic, just fantastic. Colours, sounds, lights, dancing in the streets, endless rum punch and the smell of spicy jerk chicken and marijuana in the air. We wandered about with happy abandon chatting and laughing watching the kaleidoscope of brightly clothed (and often very minimally clothed) dancers and floats working their way through the streets. We found more punch, then some whistles, then some more rum punch, then more dancing, more punch, more dancing and yet more punch. It was truly awesome and it simply couldn't have been better.
We wound our way out of the festivities with hundreds of thousands of other revelers and made our way on the bus and on foot to Ping Pong - my favourite restaurant. With the hot weather in mind we managed to get a table next to the open front of the restaurant quiet street just north of Oxford Street and with the pleasant nighttime temperature it felt like the Mediterranean. We stomped into the amazing cocktails they had on offer with everyone sampling each other's drinks and gleefully tucking into the endless dim sum in small bamboo baskets that were being provided in an endless stream. It really was a great finish to a fantastic day and it felt like I'd had a long holiday rather than just a couple of days. I left the boys and girls with a touch of sadness of not seeing them for a few months and made my way back to Andy's.
The next morning I was due to fly back early afternoon so stopped into my old work at IG and saw a load of old work colleagues and friends I'd not seen for a while. It was truly humbling to see everyone again and it was really nice to see everyone looking well. We managed to squeeze in a quick drink at our old local before I had to make the slide down to Gatwick to fly home.
All in all it was one of the best weekend's I've ever had - a combination of family and friends - some adventure and some peaceful moments. It really kicked in that there's loads of these amazingly wicked people in my life and I should make more effort to see them in the future and keep in contact. It'll be my early New Year's resolution.
Apologies for the absence - been on this trip back to the UK recently and have just managed to sort everything out here in Cham now to a level where things are resembling normality. So, in order the events of the weekend were - wedding, london, home.
The wedding was awesome. Out in the west country it was a beautiful location - sculpted victorian gardens with all the family out. The ceremony was awesome, the bride looked amazing and then everyone got pissed. I've missed out a lot in between but it's personal family stuff and not really for public consumption. My lil newphew Dusty was in attendance and as usual was a cheery, beautiful focal point for the family Narg. It's wicked watching him grow up.
After the wedding, I trained it back to London where I immediately got involved with getting an oyster card again. Just a pay-as-you-go one but it saved me a great deal than buying individual tickets, plus anyone with a single journey ticket is a blatant tourist and after the summer and the tourist hell of Chamonix I didn't fancy looking like a dick in shorts wandering around London.
So onwards to Baker Street on the Jubilee Line to meet up with my mate Kuntesh. We wandered down the very posh Marylebone High Street and had a few drinks and laughed and caught up and then slipped into a little middle-eastern cafe for snack. It was really good to see him and great to be able to sit down and get back to exactly how it always was without skipping a beat.
I found myself winging my way across to Shoreditch shortly after watching the schweaty schweaty tourists on the circle line tube dripping sun cream everywhere and then wondering why they kept sliding off the handrails on the train. I pissed myself laughing at this. Cruel but funny. I met up with Wardo and went back to his place where I was going to stay. Met his housemate Ed and his missus Tavy and got involved with a few glasses of wine and pizza and some welcome relief on the feet. Tubing and skating around London (got my longboard skateboard back from my folk's house!) is always a giggle but after skating for 4 miles around the city it's nice to site down!
So the famous Pizza Hut Super Supreme - the object of dribbling and drooling beauty that Wardo and I talked about endlessly during those long weeks and months of the interseason. Wanting, needing, aching for a slice of the cheezy goodness as the weather prevented us from foraging outside - the prize eluded from our grasp. We tucked in heartily and the pizza goodness rolled around like the wine in our stomachs - all was well in the world.
A deep sleep then out again for the full english. Wardo and I back having breakfast again! Things turning the full circle it seems. Was good tho - found a proper greasy spoon and tucked into bacon, eggs, tomatoes, beans and sausages! A heavenly way to start the day. We wandered back home after a careful jaunt to balance the digestive system and then I left Andy to a day of peace and tranquility with the TV while I went off to the Notting Hill Carnival with Ipek, Derek, Gill and Jem.
Fantastic, just fantastic. Colours, sounds, lights, dancing in the streets, endless rum punch and the smell of spicy jerk chicken and marijuana in the air. We wandered about with happy abandon chatting and laughing watching the kaleidoscope of brightly clothed (and often very minimally clothed) dancers and floats working their way through the streets. We found more punch, then some whistles, then some more rum punch, then more dancing, more punch, more dancing and yet more punch. It was truly awesome and it simply couldn't have been better.
We wound our way out of the festivities with hundreds of thousands of other revelers and made our way on the bus and on foot to Ping Pong - my favourite restaurant. With the hot weather in mind we managed to get a table next to the open front of the restaurant quiet street just north of Oxford Street and with the pleasant nighttime temperature it felt like the Mediterranean. We stomped into the amazing cocktails they had on offer with everyone sampling each other's drinks and gleefully tucking into the endless dim sum in small bamboo baskets that were being provided in an endless stream. It really was a great finish to a fantastic day and it felt like I'd had a long holiday rather than just a couple of days. I left the boys and girls with a touch of sadness of not seeing them for a few months and made my way back to Andy's.
The next morning I was due to fly back early afternoon so stopped into my old work at IG and saw a load of old work colleagues and friends I'd not seen for a while. It was truly humbling to see everyone again and it was really nice to see everyone looking well. We managed to squeeze in a quick drink at our old local before I had to make the slide down to Gatwick to fly home.
All in all it was one of the best weekend's I've ever had - a combination of family and friends - some adventure and some peaceful moments. It really kicked in that there's loads of these amazingly wicked people in my life and I should make more effort to see them in the future and keep in contact. It'll be my early New Year's resolution.
Thursday 23 August 2007
Waiting in the airport
On one of the internet booth thingies in Terminal 1 at London Heathrow waiting for my connecting flight up to Manchester from Geneva. Everyone looks dead unhealthy and the whole place is grey skies and dirty. Feels rank.
At least I'll get to see sunny skies up north though, and am looking forward to seeing me Ma when she picks me up from the airport. Funky stuff!
Better go, my flight's just being called...
At least I'll get to see sunny skies up north though, and am looking forward to seeing me Ma when she picks me up from the airport. Funky stuff!
Better go, my flight's just being called...
Tuesday 21 August 2007
Knocking it on the head
The other day Crampons, Chris, Fred and myself all agreed that this morning - Tuesday - we were to all give up smoking together. €25 each went into the pot - the one with the most staying power gets €100. I've got to say it's a cool communal decision that was made - we all want to quit for different reasons and each one of us has somewhat differing tactics to achieve the goal.
The rules for giving up extend to no cigarettes, roll-ups, cigars, joints with tobacco (for those who indulge in that sort of thing), herbal cigarettes (like the clove cigarettes), no pipes. Basically no smoking at all at all.
The various strategies employed for quitting:
Crampons - Patches, gum, anything that looks like it'll give a nicotine hit without actually smoking.
Chris - An array of "quit smoking" books, cd's and hypnotherapy paraphenalia.
Fred - Laughing in the face of temptation, being as he runs a smoking restaurant.
Martin - Cold turkey (possibly assisted by normal chewing gum - not that nicarette shit, it tastes awful).
I gave up for about a year and a half a while ago and didn't find it too bad before slipping back into smoking the odd cigar, then many cigars then finally back onto cigarettes. It's only been a paltry few hours since I got up and I'm already feeling edgy and cackling away at obscure stuff and being generally mental.
Monday 20 August 2007
Family planning
Going back to the UK on Thursday! WoooOoooOOooo!
My baby cousin's getting hitched! Then having a couple of days seeing friends in London.
Getting quite excited about the whole thing. I'm pumped about seeing my little nephew Dusty. Really looking forward to seeing the family as well - mum and dad, my sister and brother-in-law, the rest of the cousins, aunts and uncles, my grandmother. Plus as my cousin and I went to school together there will be a whole load of school friends at the wedding as well.
Then there's a couple of days in London. Going to see a whole host of friends and head off to the Notting Hill Carnival and see everyone and grab a drink and catch up. I'm really stoked to be seeing everyone and catching up and sharing a laugh and a drink.
This whole thing's come at the perfect time and I'm really looking forward to a bit of recharge of the batteries out of the valley to see everyone. So tonight Crampons, Fred, George and Ian and I are all having a bite to eat together and I'll shave my beard and head ready for the trip back and start getting my stuff together - washing clothes and the like.
Passy Lake with Mont Blanc in the background
I'm feeling pretty good after swimming the mile-long lake at Passy yesterday with Chris. Was good of him to drag me out of the office for a couple of hours into the hot sun and go for a splash. Not sure why in God's name whilst we were supposed to be sitting on towels next to a mile-long lake carefully not looking at the topless French girls the only thing running through my mind was "I wonder if I can swim the whole lake without stopping". Muppet. Still - did it and feel healthy for it.
Right! Time to get the flat sorted out, the place could do with a clean.
My baby cousin's getting hitched! Then having a couple of days seeing friends in London.
Getting quite excited about the whole thing. I'm pumped about seeing my little nephew Dusty. Really looking forward to seeing the family as well - mum and dad, my sister and brother-in-law, the rest of the cousins, aunts and uncles, my grandmother. Plus as my cousin and I went to school together there will be a whole load of school friends at the wedding as well.
Then there's a couple of days in London. Going to see a whole host of friends and head off to the Notting Hill Carnival and see everyone and grab a drink and catch up. I'm really stoked to be seeing everyone and catching up and sharing a laugh and a drink.
This whole thing's come at the perfect time and I'm really looking forward to a bit of recharge of the batteries out of the valley to see everyone. So tonight Crampons, Fred, George and Ian and I are all having a bite to eat together and I'll shave my beard and head ready for the trip back and start getting my stuff together - washing clothes and the like.
Passy Lake with Mont Blanc in the background
I'm feeling pretty good after swimming the mile-long lake at Passy yesterday with Chris. Was good of him to drag me out of the office for a couple of hours into the hot sun and go for a splash. Not sure why in God's name whilst we were supposed to be sitting on towels next to a mile-long lake carefully not looking at the topless French girls the only thing running through my mind was "I wonder if I can swim the whole lake without stopping". Muppet. Still - did it and feel healthy for it.
Right! Time to get the flat sorted out, the place could do with a clean.
Saturday 18 August 2007
Climbing delayed!
No Frison Roche the other day - put off by a combination of cloud and work. Stayed in the office last night to get more of this project finished - deadline is Monday and we will be ready! I'm just going to be pleased when all the manic rush is over.
The good news is that we can see the finishing line and it's pretty damn close. I'm driving a few airport transfers on Monday to get a bit of extra cash and then on Tuesday will go out and hopefully do this nemesis climb. The rest of the week I've got a few viewings set up for apartments - Taconnaz, Gaillands and Chamonix Centre are all on the cards.
Bring it on baby.
The good news is that we can see the finishing line and it's pretty damn close. I'm driving a few airport transfers on Monday to get a bit of extra cash and then on Tuesday will go out and hopefully do this nemesis climb. The rest of the week I've got a few viewings set up for apartments - Taconnaz, Gaillands and Chamonix Centre are all on the cards.
Bring it on baby.
Thursday 16 August 2007
Driving in the Chamonix Valley
There appears to be a few unwritten rules for driving around Cham and the valley that I thought I'd jot down as a useful reference for anyone coming here and choosing to take to the road.
Headlights
These should be left on full beam all the time, day and night. You can't be too careful now can you. Some may argue that getting blinded by a set of halogen beams burning directly into your retina whilst negotiating narrow, winding mountain roads could be construed as dangerous. These people obviously do not take the appropriate measures of closing your eyes and driving by instinct until the oncoming dazzling array of light has passed. Yellow headlights are de rigour for any French car built pre 1988 and show that not only are you a local, but you are also hardcore in your choice of transport and not swayed by modern advertising encouraging the purchase of some nasty plastic car to motor around in.
Indicators
The use of these is purely optional. Sudden violent swerving of your car down a turn-off should serve as sufficient notice for all other road users of your intention of changing direction. Pedestrians, cyclists, scooters, motorbikers and invalid carriage drivers should retain a third eye for any sudden movement in their peripheral vision warning of this. Indicators can also be used to signify potential future intent of other activities - a shopping stop, flying into the bank quickly, handbrake turn, sliding on ice.
Roundabouts
These should be renamed "free-for-alls". Don't hesitate about stopping on them, and for god's sake don't indicate - that's a public sign of weakness. The general philosophy is to approach cautiously and then gun the motor aiming for a gap as wide as a midgets arse between two cars currently riding the concrete carousel. Screeching tires mean that you're really using the roundabout and not just mincing around it as part of some stupid traffic control system.
Tailgating
The ideal driving position you should be aiming for is sat somewhere on the rear seats of the car in front. Don't worry a jot about being so close that the other driver feels like you're a colonic parasite, go ahead and get your full beams on for the best effect. Bumpers are there to be used, not ignored.
Speed
Corners and narrow mountain roads should be attempted at warp factor 9. Straight pieces of road around 0.08 km/h. You should alternate between your highest and lowest speeds in the shortest amount of time. Whilst driving through town try to stop occasionally to peruse the latest sales in the shops and wave a casual hand at the trail of traffic behind to let them know you're only going to move when you're good and ready. Show them who's boss.
Parking
Should be attempted anywhere regardless of signage or road markings. The middle of the road is acceptable so long as you put your hazard warning lights on. With hazard lights on you are truly free to experiment with where you can leave your car. Pavements can be used at any time of the day or night for any length of time. No need for hazard lights as these are officially recognized slots. When approaching a potential car parking slot, make sure to look over and appraise the potential site extremely thoroughly. Parking is a an art form and should never be rushed.
I hope this helps with your road-goings in the valley.
Headlights
These should be left on full beam all the time, day and night. You can't be too careful now can you. Some may argue that getting blinded by a set of halogen beams burning directly into your retina whilst negotiating narrow, winding mountain roads could be construed as dangerous. These people obviously do not take the appropriate measures of closing your eyes and driving by instinct until the oncoming dazzling array of light has passed. Yellow headlights are de rigour for any French car built pre 1988 and show that not only are you a local, but you are also hardcore in your choice of transport and not swayed by modern advertising encouraging the purchase of some nasty plastic car to motor around in.
Indicators
The use of these is purely optional. Sudden violent swerving of your car down a turn-off should serve as sufficient notice for all other road users of your intention of changing direction. Pedestrians, cyclists, scooters, motorbikers and invalid carriage drivers should retain a third eye for any sudden movement in their peripheral vision warning of this. Indicators can also be used to signify potential future intent of other activities - a shopping stop, flying into the bank quickly, handbrake turn, sliding on ice.
Roundabouts
These should be renamed "free-for-alls". Don't hesitate about stopping on them, and for god's sake don't indicate - that's a public sign of weakness. The general philosophy is to approach cautiously and then gun the motor aiming for a gap as wide as a midgets arse between two cars currently riding the concrete carousel. Screeching tires mean that you're really using the roundabout and not just mincing around it as part of some stupid traffic control system.
Tailgating
The ideal driving position you should be aiming for is sat somewhere on the rear seats of the car in front. Don't worry a jot about being so close that the other driver feels like you're a colonic parasite, go ahead and get your full beams on for the best effect. Bumpers are there to be used, not ignored.
Speed
Corners and narrow mountain roads should be attempted at warp factor 9. Straight pieces of road around 0.08 km/h. You should alternate between your highest and lowest speeds in the shortest amount of time. Whilst driving through town try to stop occasionally to peruse the latest sales in the shops and wave a casual hand at the trail of traffic behind to let them know you're only going to move when you're good and ready. Show them who's boss.
Parking
Should be attempted anywhere regardless of signage or road markings. The middle of the road is acceptable so long as you put your hazard warning lights on. With hazard lights on you are truly free to experiment with where you can leave your car. Pavements can be used at any time of the day or night for any length of time. No need for hazard lights as these are officially recognized slots. When approaching a potential car parking slot, make sure to look over and appraise the potential site extremely thoroughly. Parking is a an art form and should never be rushed.
I hope this helps with your road-goings in the valley.
Work and getting ready for Frison Roche
Time taken up recently has been basically working as much as possible (the earliest I've finished this week was 8.13pm and had several 1am-ers). But this is pretty good as it means we've really cracked on through our side of the project. The client are looking and talking about taking Listingslab on as their development team for a long time in the future, a new area of business has opened up and best of all we've generated a load of cash.
It's been really hard work mentally a lot of the time and both Chris and I have really felt it, but it's also been great to be so deeply embedded into work talking to the clients and solving big problems. The deadline's Monday for delivery and in fact Chris and I are now quite well ahead of schedule on our side of things so the client's asking us to help out with other areas of the site.
As I've been working every day for a while now I'm taking the day off tomorrow to go climb Frison Roche - the 1000 foot rock face under the cable car at Brevent. Louise and I will team up to make the rope and as she's done it a load of times before we know who's going to lead which pitches. I'm really looking forward to getting some exercise and some sun and being out in the fresh air. Going to make some sandwiches and polish my helmet tonight (in a non Benny Hill way) and get my gear together all ready for the big push. Bring it on!
It's been really hard work mentally a lot of the time and both Chris and I have really felt it, but it's also been great to be so deeply embedded into work talking to the clients and solving big problems. The deadline's Monday for delivery and in fact Chris and I are now quite well ahead of schedule on our side of things so the client's asking us to help out with other areas of the site.
As I've been working every day for a while now I'm taking the day off tomorrow to go climb Frison Roche - the 1000 foot rock face under the cable car at Brevent. Louise and I will team up to make the rope and as she's done it a load of times before we know who's going to lead which pitches. I'm really looking forward to getting some exercise and some sun and being out in the fresh air. Going to make some sandwiches and polish my helmet tonight (in a non Benny Hill way) and get my gear together all ready for the big push. Bring it on!
Monday 13 August 2007
White water rafting on the Arve
Splashy splashy
Saw some people white water rafting on the Arve between Chamonix and Les Bossons today when coming into work. Looked like quite a giggle and was thinking about getting a few people together to give it a crack. The trouble is that it's glacial water - you'd end up with testicles the size and texture of raisins after 5 minutes in that river. It's bloody cold. Still, looks like an entertaining way to spend an afternoon.
One of the cool things is that you get to go through Chamonix town centre itself.
Boshing through Cham past Le Terrasse
Saw some people white water rafting on the Arve between Chamonix and Les Bossons today when coming into work. Looked like quite a giggle and was thinking about getting a few people together to give it a crack. The trouble is that it's glacial water - you'd end up with testicles the size and texture of raisins after 5 minutes in that river. It's bloody cold. Still, looks like an entertaining way to spend an afternoon.
One of the cool things is that you get to go through Chamonix town centre itself.
Boshing through Cham past Le Terrasse
Sunday 12 August 2007
The Beast lives!
We've got a computer in the office called "The Beast". It's been broken for like 8 months or something and I've just managed to fix it. It's 00:52 according to the system clock and I'm bouncing off the walls with happiness. It's just a thing of beauty now - clean, fast, powerful.
I feel like such a hero but in reality I know I'm a total dork.
Never mind tho eh.
I feel like such a hero but in reality I know I'm a total dork.
Never mind tho eh.
Friday 10 August 2007
New Lease of Life
Good solid day of work done today and finishing up now - about 10pm. Will come in tomorrow and bosh out a load more but really humming along with this project now. Churned out a load of good stuff earlier and going to try and complete loads of it this weekend ready to jump into next week with a big cheesy grin. Chris has chipped off back to the Fatherland to see family this weekend so going to try and cream through the work while he's away so he can come back to something cool.
Feeling loads better after a real low point mid-week. Going to try and get out for a run this weekend too - might even run from the farm to work tomorrow. I'm becoming more and more of a fan of being fit and healthy making a difference mentally. Hopefully in my case even watching sport has the same effect but who knows - I'm not a scientist.
After the 24 festival that occurred when it was pissing it down with rain a few weekends ago, it looks like Sunday evening might promote a bit of a Lethal Weapon festival. Frankly the weather looks like it's going to be shocking. Saturday should be pretty nice though - I'll just slip on my green flash, skin-tight 1970's tennis shorts, headband and my ipod (it's at times like this I wish I had a cassette walkman) and go running around being generally healthy.
Oh! ... and it snowed this week! It's August for god's sake! There was a serious drop in temperature (one that made the log pile deplete in size) and it dumped above 1800m. Go figure - the weather here is weirder than a bucket of soapy frogs sometimes.
Feeling loads better after a real low point mid-week. Going to try and get out for a run this weekend too - might even run from the farm to work tomorrow. I'm becoming more and more of a fan of being fit and healthy making a difference mentally. Hopefully in my case even watching sport has the same effect but who knows - I'm not a scientist.
After the 24 festival that occurred when it was pissing it down with rain a few weekends ago, it looks like Sunday evening might promote a bit of a Lethal Weapon festival. Frankly the weather looks like it's going to be shocking. Saturday should be pretty nice though - I'll just slip on my green flash, skin-tight 1970's tennis shorts, headband and my ipod (it's at times like this I wish I had a cassette walkman) and go running around being generally healthy.
Oh! ... and it snowed this week! It's August for god's sake! There was a serious drop in temperature (one that made the log pile deplete in size) and it dumped above 1800m. Go figure - the weather here is weirder than a bucket of soapy frogs sometimes.
Wednesday 8 August 2007
Elevated Terror Threats
More email spam from this morning:
The English are feeling the pinch in relation to recent terrorist
threats and have raised their security level from "Miffed" to
"Peeved". Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to
"Irritated" or even "A Bit Cross". Londoners have not been "A Bit
Cross" since the blitz began in 1940 and tea supplies all but ran
out. Terrorists have been re-categorized from "Tiresome" to "A Bloody
Nuisance". The last time the British issued "A Bloody Nuisance"
warning level was during the great fire of 1666.
Also, the French government announced yesterday that it has raised
its terror alert level from "Run" to "Hide". The only two higher
levels in France are "Collaborate" and "Surrender." The rise was
precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France's white flag
factory, effectively paralyzing the country's military capability.
It's not only the English and French who are on a heightened level of
alert. Italy has increased the alert level from "Shout loudly and
excitedly" to "Elaborate Military Posturing." Two more levels remain:
"Ineffective Combat Operations" and "Change Sides."
The Germans also increased their alert state from "Disdainful
Arrogance" to "Dress in Uniform and Sing Marching Songs." They also
have two higher levels: "Invade a Neighbor" and "Lose".
Belgians, on the other hand, are all on holiday as usual, and the
only threat they are worried about is NATO pulling out of Brussels.
The Spanish are all excited to see their new submarines ready to
deploy. These beautifully designed subs have glass bottoms so the new
Spanish navy can get a really good look at the old Spanish navy.
The English are feeling the pinch in relation to recent terrorist
threats and have raised their security level from "Miffed" to
"Peeved". Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to
"Irritated" or even "A Bit Cross". Londoners have not been "A Bit
Cross" since the blitz began in 1940 and tea supplies all but ran
out. Terrorists have been re-categorized from "Tiresome" to "A Bloody
Nuisance". The last time the British issued "A Bloody Nuisance"
warning level was during the great fire of 1666.
Also, the French government announced yesterday that it has raised
its terror alert level from "Run" to "Hide". The only two higher
levels in France are "Collaborate" and "Surrender." The rise was
precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France's white flag
factory, effectively paralyzing the country's military capability.
It's not only the English and French who are on a heightened level of
alert. Italy has increased the alert level from "Shout loudly and
excitedly" to "Elaborate Military Posturing." Two more levels remain:
"Ineffective Combat Operations" and "Change Sides."
The Germans also increased their alert state from "Disdainful
Arrogance" to "Dress in Uniform and Sing Marching Songs." They also
have two higher levels: "Invade a Neighbor" and "Lose".
Belgians, on the other hand, are all on holiday as usual, and the
only threat they are worried about is NATO pulling out of Brussels.
The Spanish are all excited to see their new submarines ready to
deploy. These beautifully designed subs have glass bottoms so the new
Spanish navy can get a really good look at the old Spanish navy.
Climbing the Aiguillette d'Argentiere [Photos]
As promised, here are some photos from climbing the Aiguillette d'Argentiere last weekend. Click on the photos for larger versions.
Reaching the top of the Aiguillette:
Chris belaying me on the first pitch with Les Grands Montets and Les Drus in the background:
Chris about to tackle the knife-edge ridge:
Success! Chris and I sorting out the ropes to abseil down. The Aiguille d'Argentiere is the peak in the background:
A friendly ibex wandering around the rocks as we climbed:
Reaching the top of the Aiguillette:
Chris belaying me on the first pitch with Les Grands Montets and Les Drus in the background:
Chris about to tackle the knife-edge ridge:
Success! Chris and I sorting out the ropes to abseil down. The Aiguille d'Argentiere is the peak in the background:
A friendly ibex wandering around the rocks as we climbed:
Tuesday 7 August 2007
Shooting the demons
Feeling chirpy now. Spoken to me ma which is always cool. Now eating banana sandwiches and watching Groundhog Day. Amazing what quality food and educating theater can do for the spirits.
We've dug into the work, come up trumps right at the end of the day and have cleared the decks ready for tomorrow. Got a few apartment ideas and hopefully going to get something sorted out soon so it'll be a good base for the foreseeable future. Time to rock n roll back into society after the cabin fever years at the farm!
We've dug into the work, come up trumps right at the end of the day and have cleared the decks ready for tomorrow. Got a few apartment ideas and hopefully going to get something sorted out soon so it'll be a good base for the foreseeable future. Time to rock n roll back into society after the cabin fever years at the farm!
Dealing with the demons
Feeling pretty low today. Got lots on my mind.
Crampons has decided to use my place at the farm as accommodation for staff over the winter season. We had agreed that I'd stay there with Chris over the winter but hey, things change and it's not a surprise - it's something we've talked about several times over the past few months. It's no bad thing really - I love it up there but some pretty big problems were looming up on the horizon with regards to the winter. Heating and transport and internet access being the three main ones.
Ironically the weather's turned over the past 24 hours, the recent days of blue skies and baking sun have been replaced with the Jurassic Park look. Thunderstorms broke up the peace of the night and this morning misty cloud was rising from the woods on each side of the valley. The cloud is hanging low and heavy over Chamonix and Les Houches has taken on a darker hue.
Work's going well however but some seriously long days are needed before the end of the week to meet the first deadline. We're cracking on with it now and dropping it into the main development environment with several degrees of success.
I know in my mind that things are going to be good - the card deck is shuffled. Time to deal a hand and see what happens.
Crampons has decided to use my place at the farm as accommodation for staff over the winter season. We had agreed that I'd stay there with Chris over the winter but hey, things change and it's not a surprise - it's something we've talked about several times over the past few months. It's no bad thing really - I love it up there but some pretty big problems were looming up on the horizon with regards to the winter. Heating and transport and internet access being the three main ones.
Ironically the weather's turned over the past 24 hours, the recent days of blue skies and baking sun have been replaced with the Jurassic Park look. Thunderstorms broke up the peace of the night and this morning misty cloud was rising from the woods on each side of the valley. The cloud is hanging low and heavy over Chamonix and Les Houches has taken on a darker hue.
Work's going well however but some seriously long days are needed before the end of the week to meet the first deadline. We're cracking on with it now and dropping it into the main development environment with several degrees of success.
I know in my mind that things are going to be good - the card deck is shuffled. Time to deal a hand and see what happens.
Saturday 4 August 2007
The Sequence
Current activity sequence looks something like this:
Work --> climb -->
alpine activity --> work -->
work --> climb -->
beer --> work -->
work --> climb.
Got picked up by Chris and Phil this morning to go up to the Aiguillette d'Argentiere for a spot of climbing (I've climbed it before - here's the previous blog post).
An hour and a half hike up the ridge then a couple of hours climbing, hike back down to the car and now I'm in the office working on our current contract (the deadline's a bit pressing at the moment).
The walk up to the aiguillette was its usual blend of a bit of effort and lots of stunning views. You feel like a condor with the thermals casting a hot wind rushing up the slope, it's just amazing. It makes also makes it all the more worthwhile to be putting graft into getting to the climb. Everyone's friendly that you pass on the rocky paths and there's only the sound of laughter you hear intermittently breaking up the continual scrunching beat of your feet on the loose stone. It reminds me of walking around the Austrian Alps as a kid with my mum, dad and sister. It brings up the same memory of walking down a mountain path above the Ossiacher Zee with a huge dock leaf hat on for some reason!
Chris and I were pretty shocked at how much better we were climbing than the last time we were there. Looking good boys - improvement! We even tried a double-pitch variant route along a sharp knife-edge corner leading up the north-eastern quadrant and then along an extremely exposed traverse across a little shelf before pushing on upwards over a slab with lots of lovely holds to the very top.
I loved it, Chris was beaming and smiley but unfortunately Phil picked up a stomach bug yesterday and spent the day snoozing on the rocks with the chamois mountain goats wandering around him. Chris and I tried a variety of pitches with overhangs, roofs, corners, ridges and some really nice crack climbing all featuring whilst he dozed in the beaming sun.
The views up there are amazing and I still never tire - winter or summer - of the way the valley looks. It's feels as though the whole place is a living entity with glaciers growing and receding in the same way as clipping a beard and mountains hanging heavy with snow in the winter and heavy with lush vegetation in the summer sporting different costumes for each season.
I look up and down the mountains and the valley and have this weird personal relationship with many of the features that can be seen. Looking at the big bouldery cliffs in the Lavencher bowl reminds me riding backcountry through there dodging avalanches. Further east on the Grands Montets at the top there's the Petit Vert - and remembering climbing it late season with Mark and dropping first down the hug open face cutting a single flowing line down the hanging glacier. Then there's the rounded double peak at the Swiss end of the valley - the Tete de Balme and hiking it with friends old and new. Shooting down the gulley that runs down the face of the Domaine du Balme is one of my favourite things to do - ever. Riding through the tiny village of Le Tour on my snowboard after fresh snow this winter - leaving a solitary trail in the snow through people's gardens and by the church graveyard wall. Then there's Flegere and Brevent - jumping the huge natural kicker called "The Tit" with Fred from Le Delice and also riding kilometer after kilometer of untracked powder with Kevin one major snow day. Then there are the times spent looking upwards - yearning to climb Frison Roche at Brevent; the huge daunting wall visible from Chamonix and something I'm finally going to achieve with the experienced Louise soon.
Then there's the Aiguille du Midi - start of the Vallee Blanche and of course Mont Blanc and all it means and stands for in the valley. We know and talk about its individual features and bumps and gullies as we see them every day. Crampons and I are going climb that big dome of snow and ice this winter ... and ride it down. Then of course there's looking across to Les Houches further west - the village I live in and the endless memories of there. The whole valley is filled with thousands of sparks of memory, triggered by each slow glance across the immense terrain and the subsequent empathetic rapport with what you see. This is my home, I feel it in my body.
In other news I've just paid my rent for the month, there's a load of money clearing and coming in, the business is growing, the farm is clean, I've got a tan, have met a funky girl. Things are cool now. Things are looking cool for the future.
And to top it off, Led Zeppelin are releasing a new album on iTunes. Unfortunately it's a compilation album of previous songs picked by the band, and as I've actually got every album they've ever previously released I've already got the tracks elsewhere. Still, always good to get a new toy.
Photos from the day to follow.
Work --> climb -->
alpine activity --> work -->
work --> climb -->
beer --> work -->
work --> climb.
Got picked up by Chris and Phil this morning to go up to the Aiguillette d'Argentiere for a spot of climbing (I've climbed it before - here's the previous blog post).
An hour and a half hike up the ridge then a couple of hours climbing, hike back down to the car and now I'm in the office working on our current contract (the deadline's a bit pressing at the moment).
The walk up to the aiguillette was its usual blend of a bit of effort and lots of stunning views. You feel like a condor with the thermals casting a hot wind rushing up the slope, it's just amazing. It makes also makes it all the more worthwhile to be putting graft into getting to the climb. Everyone's friendly that you pass on the rocky paths and there's only the sound of laughter you hear intermittently breaking up the continual scrunching beat of your feet on the loose stone. It reminds me of walking around the Austrian Alps as a kid with my mum, dad and sister. It brings up the same memory of walking down a mountain path above the Ossiacher Zee with a huge dock leaf hat on for some reason!
Chris and I were pretty shocked at how much better we were climbing than the last time we were there. Looking good boys - improvement! We even tried a double-pitch variant route along a sharp knife-edge corner leading up the north-eastern quadrant and then along an extremely exposed traverse across a little shelf before pushing on upwards over a slab with lots of lovely holds to the very top.
I loved it, Chris was beaming and smiley but unfortunately Phil picked up a stomach bug yesterday and spent the day snoozing on the rocks with the chamois mountain goats wandering around him. Chris and I tried a variety of pitches with overhangs, roofs, corners, ridges and some really nice crack climbing all featuring whilst he dozed in the beaming sun.
The views up there are amazing and I still never tire - winter or summer - of the way the valley looks. It's feels as though the whole place is a living entity with glaciers growing and receding in the same way as clipping a beard and mountains hanging heavy with snow in the winter and heavy with lush vegetation in the summer sporting different costumes for each season.
I look up and down the mountains and the valley and have this weird personal relationship with many of the features that can be seen. Looking at the big bouldery cliffs in the Lavencher bowl reminds me riding backcountry through there dodging avalanches. Further east on the Grands Montets at the top there's the Petit Vert - and remembering climbing it late season with Mark and dropping first down the hug open face cutting a single flowing line down the hanging glacier. Then there's the rounded double peak at the Swiss end of the valley - the Tete de Balme and hiking it with friends old and new. Shooting down the gulley that runs down the face of the Domaine du Balme is one of my favourite things to do - ever. Riding through the tiny village of Le Tour on my snowboard after fresh snow this winter - leaving a solitary trail in the snow through people's gardens and by the church graveyard wall. Then there's Flegere and Brevent - jumping the huge natural kicker called "The Tit" with Fred from Le Delice and also riding kilometer after kilometer of untracked powder with Kevin one major snow day. Then there are the times spent looking upwards - yearning to climb Frison Roche at Brevent; the huge daunting wall visible from Chamonix and something I'm finally going to achieve with the experienced Louise soon.
Then there's the Aiguille du Midi - start of the Vallee Blanche and of course Mont Blanc and all it means and stands for in the valley. We know and talk about its individual features and bumps and gullies as we see them every day. Crampons and I are going climb that big dome of snow and ice this winter ... and ride it down. Then of course there's looking across to Les Houches further west - the village I live in and the endless memories of there. The whole valley is filled with thousands of sparks of memory, triggered by each slow glance across the immense terrain and the subsequent empathetic rapport with what you see. This is my home, I feel it in my body.
In other news I've just paid my rent for the month, there's a load of money clearing and coming in, the business is growing, the farm is clean, I've got a tan, have met a funky girl. Things are cool now. Things are looking cool for the future.
And to top it off, Led Zeppelin are releasing a new album on iTunes. Unfortunately it's a compilation album of previous songs picked by the band, and as I've actually got every album they've ever previously released I've already got the tracks elsewhere. Still, always good to get a new toy.
Photos from the day to follow.
Thursday 2 August 2007
Bits, bobs and bastards
Bits
Work is all-encompassing at the moment. Days are long and am going to bed and getting up way earlier than normal. We're doing a contract with a pretty tight series of deadlines for a company based in the states so combined with getting into the office at unreasonable o'clock, we're also doing project meetings on skype that start at 6pm and then finishing up work afterwards.
It's all going very well and they're very happy with what we've currently done and already talking about more work and subsequent phases of the project. Chris and I are learning loads about a new sector of trendy business where there's loads of work out there and we're getting paid by the hour to do so. We've even got our next contracts lined up. Fantastic.
Bobs
Met a really, really nice scottish girl the other day but unfortunately she's gone back to the UK this weekend. But have been emailing each other and whatnot. We're talking about hopefully spinning it so she can come and stay over in a while for a few days and do a bit of skiing for a few days. Hope so anyway.
Bastards
Left my car in Cham the other day tucked away in a little car park close to the station. Some idiot smashed the driver's side window - they didn't steal anything, just smashed the window. As the gendarmes are pretty swift and fairly unyielding I decided to forgo getting his window fixed just yet as there's a few other things starting to go wrong with him. He's been really, really awesome and still has legs but I can hear the faint sound of an overweight female warming up her voice...
I've been thinking to replace Merv as the upcoming winter is really going to test him. He currently desperately needs some new front tyres but over the winter will need snow tyres and more than likely require snow chains putting on and removing every trip to and from the farm - a serious pain in the arse. Also he could really do with a service as he's developed some squeaky brakes and a few minor noises that sound like one of the wheel bearings is starting to stiffen. The driver's side door really needs to be fixed as it's permanently locked and in general he could do with life on the valley floor - not being bounced up and down a cracked, steep, narrow mountain road every day.
In the mean time I've borrowed Crampon's missus' fiesta as she's got a new work car. The fiesta's currently sitting around the farm not being used despite being in extremely good nick despite a couple of minor and very treatable things. The exhaust muffler's been knocked and needs replacing but she's away for a month and we've agreed a deal where I can get the exhaust fixed and use it while I'm getting Merv fixed - or more likely seeing if I can sell Merv and get a better car more suited to the snow (hopefully the fiesta - which already has snow tyres!).
Luckily there's a cheap mechanic who owes Fred a favour or two and can get the exhaust done for an extremely reasonable price. Sweet!
I guess sometimes you just need a prod in the right direction from fate or God or whomever to get something started. Getting new transport has always been on the cards and Merv has been unbelievably helpful. With the recurring work it's a good time to get the situation sorted before winter rolls in.
Work is all-encompassing at the moment. Days are long and am going to bed and getting up way earlier than normal. We're doing a contract with a pretty tight series of deadlines for a company based in the states so combined with getting into the office at unreasonable o'clock, we're also doing project meetings on skype that start at 6pm and then finishing up work afterwards.
It's all going very well and they're very happy with what we've currently done and already talking about more work and subsequent phases of the project. Chris and I are learning loads about a new sector of trendy business where there's loads of work out there and we're getting paid by the hour to do so. We've even got our next contracts lined up. Fantastic.
Bobs
Met a really, really nice scottish girl the other day but unfortunately she's gone back to the UK this weekend. But have been emailing each other and whatnot. We're talking about hopefully spinning it so she can come and stay over in a while for a few days and do a bit of skiing for a few days. Hope so anyway.
Bastards
Left my car in Cham the other day tucked away in a little car park close to the station. Some idiot smashed the driver's side window - they didn't steal anything, just smashed the window. As the gendarmes are pretty swift and fairly unyielding I decided to forgo getting his window fixed just yet as there's a few other things starting to go wrong with him. He's been really, really awesome and still has legs but I can hear the faint sound of an overweight female warming up her voice...
I've been thinking to replace Merv as the upcoming winter is really going to test him. He currently desperately needs some new front tyres but over the winter will need snow tyres and more than likely require snow chains putting on and removing every trip to and from the farm - a serious pain in the arse. Also he could really do with a service as he's developed some squeaky brakes and a few minor noises that sound like one of the wheel bearings is starting to stiffen. The driver's side door really needs to be fixed as it's permanently locked and in general he could do with life on the valley floor - not being bounced up and down a cracked, steep, narrow mountain road every day.
In the mean time I've borrowed Crampon's missus' fiesta as she's got a new work car. The fiesta's currently sitting around the farm not being used despite being in extremely good nick despite a couple of minor and very treatable things. The exhaust muffler's been knocked and needs replacing but she's away for a month and we've agreed a deal where I can get the exhaust fixed and use it while I'm getting Merv fixed - or more likely seeing if I can sell Merv and get a better car more suited to the snow (hopefully the fiesta - which already has snow tyres!).
Luckily there's a cheap mechanic who owes Fred a favour or two and can get the exhaust done for an extremely reasonable price. Sweet!
I guess sometimes you just need a prod in the right direction from fate or God or whomever to get something started. Getting new transport has always been on the cards and Merv has been unbelievably helpful. With the recurring work it's a good time to get the situation sorted before winter rolls in.
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