Hosting Migration - Possible Outage

Well having just built the beast now we going to see if we can break it. Over the next day or two we will be moving this to it's own domain. Depending on how that goes there may be outages or breaks in functionality over the next couple of days. What is it they always say - if it ain't broke don't fix it. Heck I often say that but here I go.

Roy Williams Proposal - The Audio [Soundbyte]

So Roy Williams is making the news again. Not a Cowboys fan? Roy is commonly thought of as an overpaid underperforming wide out with a penchant for putting his foot in his mouth. Me; I agree. This week he is making the news for something other than football; his sense of romanticism.

Roy has set the tongues a wagging and tickled many a funny bone with his wedding proposal. Now men - we are all romantics yes? We all came up with that wonderful, one off and unique marriage proposal yes? Any way like all good men Roy tried to come up with his own thing. What was it? Proposal by video - heck he could not even get up the nerve to do it face to face! Apparently he says that she had been saying the mail is always bad so he figured he would send some good mail - a video marriage proposal, a $76,000 dollar ring and - get this - $5000 so she could pay her bills. Marry me for my money anyone? Roy is quite the talk of the town following this story breaking and mostly the comments are none too positive.

Now it is not easy being grumpy. It's not I promise. You are sadly misunderstood by everyone and you just want to be a bouncing bundle of happiness and fun. Yeah right. Anyway I listen to 105.3 The Fan on the way into work and they do manage to lighten the mood of a Grumpy Old Limey sometimes. They did so today with a parody of what the Roy Williams audio might be and I thought I would share it. If you are not in the US, don't like the Cowboys or think American Football makes even less sense than cricket this may pass you by; if it does apologies. Click play and give the audio a minute to start up, takes a little to load up.

Speaking Of Cows - Again????

What can I say, no matter where I go in the vast expanse of YouTube and no matter what odd search parameters I use I always seem to end up with cows. I guess destiny and fate got together and came up with some weird obscure [and perhaps a little worrying] plan for me.

Anyway nevermind what the future might have in store for me right now for your viewing pleasure that always fascinating combination of bovines and music.

Can Anyone Say Elmo? [Video]

No need to say anything about this one. Enjoy!

How To Lose Weight - The 'Limey Way!

So I was cutting the grass this last weekend. We have a corner lot and a lot of grass. On a hot Texas summer day [it was about 100 as it is most days at the moment]. So I am covered in sweat by the time I am a quarter of the way through. I can lose anything up to about 4 lb's doing this at this time of the year. Made me think about weight loss and then the Grumpy Old Limey Diet Plan.

It is a highly exclusive, full time, four phase, residential program; there are only two places available at any one time [we only have two spare rooms]. The only costs are the cost of getting to Dallas and the cost of food. The program goes something like this and will help you lose weight and possibly help make The Grumpy Old Limey a little less grumpy along the way:

• Fly to Dallas and move into The Grumpy Old Limey residence.
• Do all the food shopping. This is useful for three reasons:
• You begin to learn what you should and should not buy
• It is hot out there and carrying all those grocery bags burns a few calories
• It saves The Grumpy Old Limey from having to do it
• Do all the cooking. This is useful for three reasons:
• You begin to learn what to cook and what not to cook
• You sweat a lot which helps lose weight because the A/C is up to save The Grumpy Old Limey some money
• It saves The Grumpy Old Limey from having to do it
• Do all the washing up. No fancy reasons for this one - I just plumb don't like doing it - oops did I say that? It's activity - any activity burns calories and so helps lose weight - that's it yes.
• Do all the yard work. This is the mainstay of the program. In the Texas summer work outdoors is great for controlling weight. Cutting the grass, weeding, watering, and rounding up all the leaf litter and so on [there is a blower but doing that but by hand will help the weight more than using the blower]. All of these things will use calories and have you sweating and,  what's more, they will save The Grumpy Old Limey doing it.

OK everyone don't rush at once. The phone lines are open now!!

OK so perhaps it is not the best diet plan ever and I doubt there will be many [any] takers. However on a more serious note those who know me will know that a couple of years ago I did lose a bunch of weight that I have subsequently managed to keep off. Losing weight can be extraordinarily difficult. I wrote an article about the things that helped me lose weight over on InfoBarrel. There may be a tip or two there that just might help you lose that weight you have been trying to get rid of for so long so if you want to find out what worked for me just head on over to the article on InfoBarrel.

Inside The Egg [Picture]

Not much time today; a busy day at work. Just time to post this little pic I came across the other day. Never thought about it - must be pretty boring in there eh?

Epic Fails - Dog's Mess Up Too [Video]

More on the thread of "Epic Fails". We all know people mess up; it seems to be part of our nature but hey - what is life without a good laugh anyway. It seems the animal kingdom has its share of klutz's too. A selection of somewhat embarrassing dog moments for your viewing pleasure [do dogs get embarrassed?]

We all know a dog that just loves to feel the wind in it's hair. Car window anyone? Just remember to keep it closed enough so they can't jump out.

This guy has absolutely no intention of swimming today. Fate seems to have other ideas.



Why is this damn chair so big? Or maybe it is just me? They do say you have to recognise your own problems before you can address them. Maybe I need to join SDA [Small Dogs Anonymous].



All this "doggy stuff". Let the cats have a say.

University Of Dundee Comic Studies Degree

It seems that it is not only the US education system that has gone completely bonkers. The University Of Dundee in Scotland is introducing a degree course in Comic Studies. Give me a break - that is not education but rather just an excuse for some individuals who don't want to grow up to not grow up at other people expense.

BBC News notes:

"Dundee University said the one-year Masters in Comic Studies would be launched by its English department in September 2011. The degree built on "strong local traditions" in the comic book industry, the university said. Dennis the Menace, Desperate Dan and the Broons, the inventions of Dundee-based publishers DC Thomson and Co, were all born in the city. Graduates on the course will study the impact of comics on the worlds of art, literature and popular culture. The degree programme will be led by Dr Chris Murray, one of the UK's leading authorities on comics, and editor of the Studies in Comics journal."

On a similar note in The Grumpy Old Limey recently announced that The Grumpy Old Limey Institute For Advanced Education was introducing a Masters degree in "sittin on my big fat rear and vegging in front of the telly studies." When asked for comment The Grumpy Old Limey said that he felt the course had entirely as much educational merit as the University Of Dundee course.

Joshua Bell Busks At A DC Metro Station [Video]

Thanks to the Limey's wifey for this one. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" is an all too often quoted cliche though frankly in our modern society at times it seems like standards have been set that we all have to live up to. If ever there was something that went some way towards proving that the old cliche really does have some merit it is this.

The story unfolds something like this:

• In Washington , DC , at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, this man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
• After about 3 minutes a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule. 
• About 4 minutes later the violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk. 
• At 6 minutes a young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again. 
• At 10 minutes a 3-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time. This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent - without exception - forced their children to move on quickly.
• At 45 minutes the musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.
• After 1 hour the musician finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed and no one applauded. 

Nothing very unusual or significant about any of that you are probably thinking. Not so my friend.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.

  

This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C. Metro Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.

 

The questions:

• In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?  
• If so, do we stop to appreciate it?
• Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

And what conclusions might we draw from this? One might be:

 

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made . . .

  

How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?

 

A very inciteful anonymous quote sums it up this way:

"It's not important the day we were born or the day we die...what is important is the dash between these two. It's the dash that tells how we lived!"

So son't be a "grumpy" like me - enjoy the dash, expect the unexpected and relish it, stroll through life with wonder in your heart at the marvels of nature and this world we all share. You just never know what is coming next but it just might be glorious if you take the time to stop and notice.