Naomi Klein on the Wall Street debacle

I wrote about the Wall Street mess on 21 September, referencing an excellent article from US News & World Report.

Naomi Klein has now written an excellent commentary in Rolling Stone magazine. Worth a read.

and a very apt illustration


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Today was a rather long day at work.

Philippe Starck about 'why design?'

Philippe Starck is considered to be one of the world's best designers. He has designed bathroom fittings (sinks, bathtubs, toilets, taps for Grohe), a mouse for Microsoft, furniture, interiors such as hotels and for Eurostar, toothbrushes, lamps, shoes, vehicles, etc.

In March 2007 he gave a talk to the TED conference Technology, Entertainment, Design).

He was also funny.

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Happy Wednesday.

it's a monarchy, stupid!

According to the Daily Telegraph, only 17 per cent of Brits want Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall to be Queen.

Public support falls for Queen Camilla

By Andrew Pierce

Last Updated: 12:01am GMT 10/11/2008

A Daily Telegraph/YouGov poll commissioned to mark the 60th birthday of the Prince this Friday showed that only 17 per cent wanted the Duchess to become Queen.

When the same question was asked on her 60th birthday in July 2007, the number in favour was 28 per cent. The drop in popular support will be a blow to the Prince, who wants his wife to also become his Queen on his accession.

The Duchess, 61, who performs only half the number of engagements as the Queen who is 82, will now be under pressure from within the Royal household to take a higher public profile.

The Duchess accompanied the Prince on a 10-day trip to the Far East at the end of last month but before they left it was announced she would not complete the final leg, to Indonesia, because of the heat and humidity.

When the marriage of the Prince and Camilla Parker Bowles, his long time companion, was announced in February 2005 a statement was released by Clarence House which tried to resolve the accession issue.

The statement said it "was intended that" the Duchess would be known as Princess Consort when the Prince succeeds to the throne. The statement was immediately challenged by constitutionalists and historians who argued that the wife of the Prince was automatically the Princess of Wales and on accession the Queen.

However, the new poll has delivered better news for the Prince who celebrates his birthday with a private dinner and concert at Buckingham Palace for members of the Royal Family on Thursday.

There will also be a party on Saturday for 200 friends at Highgrove, his Gloucestershire home, hosted by the Duchess. Rod Stewart will provide the cabaret.

In the poll, when asked if the Prince should succeed the Queen, 42 per cent were in favour compared to 35 per cent who thought Prince William should be the next King.

When the same question was asked in 2005 the positions were reversed with only 31 per cent backing the Prince with 42 per cent preferring his eldest son.

The poll also revealed strong backing from the public for the Prince to continue to speak out on issues such as global warming, genetically modified food, and organic farming.

Asked if he was right to speak out publicly on controversial issues, 68 per cent were in favour with only 24 per cent against.

More than half those polled thought he was doing a very good or "pretty" good job with 48 per cent regarding him as a force for good in the UK.

What a stupid poll.

Hello? It's called a monarchy. The people have absolutely NO say on the matter. Why poll them? They do NOT get to choose.

These people cannot have their cake and eat it too. If they want to have a say and choose the affairs of their head of state, then go republic.

Bloody hell! When will people ever learn?

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Today was a very busy day at work, and then some.

over two billion words in the Oxford English Corpus and some of them are rubbish

The Oxford English Corpus is at the heart of dictionary-making in Oxford in the 21st century and ensures that we can track and record the very latest developments in language today. By analysing the corpus and using special software, we can see words in context and find out how new words and senses are emerging, as well as spotting other trends in usage, spelling, world English, and so on. Using the corpus enables lexicographers to examine one word in detail by looking at all the different contexts in which it occurs.

The OEC now contains over two billion words. Some of these are just rubbish. One misuse that particularly irritates me include

Could of and would of

The Oxford English Corpus contains about 1,000 instances of could of and would of, as in I would of stopped her. About 850 of these occur in representations of direct speech (mostly from the Fiction domain, but also from interviews and courtroom transcripts).This leaves 150 instances of could of and would of as a genuine written form compared with 4 million instances of the standard English syntax would have and could have. However willing we may be to convert have to of in spoken English, the corpus shows that the habit has not spread into written English.

Jeremy Butterfield has collected words that are annoying in the book Damp Squid: The English Language Laid Bare.

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I was up very early this morning.

over-rated words 1

Used a lot in literature. Impressive the first time, but exceedingly pretentious thereafter.

Cacophony

Note to authors - you weren't the first to use this word, and if you read widely and were so impressed with it that you'd use it. Don't.

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Today was a busy day. I used to veg on weekends, but now spend most of it on home projects.

the first dog dilemma

Oh dear. The world's media and cyber-space are now focussing on which breed of dog the new President will adopt. From Associated Press

Who should be the first dog? Here are candidates

By LINDA LOMBARDI – 8 November 2008

WASHINGTON (AP) — Among the offices Barack Obama has yet to fill, one has a special importance to his family: first dog.

At his first postelection news conference on Friday, the president-elect called choosing a dog a "major issue" in the Obama household and a hot topic on his Web site.

"We have two criteria that have to be reconciled. One is that Malia is allergic, so it has to be hypoallergenic," he said. "On the other hand, our preference would be to get a shelter dog, but a lot of shelter dogs are mutts like me."

Add to that the strain of the inevitable attention that comes to a cute pup in the White House. On Thursday, President Bush's normally docile Scottish terrier Barney bit a Reuters reporter on the right index finger.

So, how to choose?

No breeds are completely hypoallergenic. However, some breeds have a tendency to cause fewer problems — mostly those that don't shed and need to have their coats trimmed regularly, or those that tend to shed less, said Stephen Zawistowski, an executive vice president for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Relatively common no-shed breeds include poodles, bichon frise, Portuguese water dogs and Maltese, but these breeds need professional grooming, which can be expensive. Other breeds that have a tendency to shed less are Schnauzers, Westies (West Highland white terriers) and Scottish terriers, Zawistowski says.

Purposely bred crosses like goldendoodles also have the no-shed coat, but random-bred mixes of dogs like poodles will also tend to have that coat, Zawistowski says.

The Obamas could adopt from either a shelter or a breed-specific rescue group. Gary Weitzman, director of the Washington Animal Rescue League, says that right now about a quarter of the 250 dogs in their shelter are purebred, but the number can be higher.

"In September we had 78 dachshunds — we'd just done a rescue from a dachshund puppy mill," he says.

An ideal first dog should also be good with kids and visitors. One advantage to adopting an adult dog is that personality traits are fully developed and good temperament testing can help choose a dog that's suitably sociable.

If the kids insist on a puppy, it's harder to predict. Almost any breed of dog can do well with children if raised with them.

Stanley Coren, a psychologist who has written a series of best-selling books on dogs, recommends breeds including beagles, cocker spaniels, golden retrievers, Labrador retrievers and poodles for families. But whatever breed is chosen, a puppy will need intensive socialization.

"Start introducing it to what it's going to be dealing with around the household," says Zawistowski. That includes children, but dogs can also be afraid of anything — men with mustaches, people with hats — if they're not used to them, he notes. "Those Secret Service guys look intimidating even on television."

A new dog can be a daunting choice, especially when made in the spotlight. But it's worth it — and for more than just the kids.

"I'd like to know that President Obama has a dog," Zawistowski says. "When he has a bad day, what's better than having a dog walk over and say, 'Hey, things aren't so bad?'"

There is one breed that will be out of the question. A pitbull terrier, particularly with lipstick.

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Today was a busy day, mainly focussed on outside activities. I did manage to have an afternoon nap on the couch though.

Africa is a continent made up of lots of countries

Just in case anybody else isn't aware...



Why would anybody make this up?



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So glad the work week is over.

the doctor will leave the house... err Tardis

The BBC has reported that David Tennant will be quitting the role of Doctor Who in 2010.

Oh.

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Happy Thursday.

hope and change

Congratulations to President-elect Barack Obama.

The rest of the world watched this election very closely and sighed with relief.

President Obama has charisma that even surpasses JFK.

Results map from CNN

Strangely, my favourite places are in blue. Always blue. I'll be sure never to visit Alaska.

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Today was a hectic day at work. My crisis management skills were put to heavy use.

when two Chinas need each other

Aside from the US presidential elections, an historic diplomatic event occurred. Reported by Reuters

FACTBOX - Taiwan, China sign trade, transit deals
Tue Nov 4, 2008 8:01am GMT

(Reuters) - Top officials from Taiwan and China signed deals on daily direct flights, new cargo routes and food safety Tuesday during Beijing's highest-level visit to its political rival in 60 years.

China negotiator Chen Yunlin and his Taiwan counterpart, P.K. Chiang, signed the following agreements to increase trade and tourism between the two longtime political rivals:

-- Daily direct China-Taiwan charter flights, up from Friday through Monday now and totalling 108 per week, to smooth passage for Taiwan investors in China and bring in more Taiwan-bound Chinese tourists

-- New, shorter direct Taiwan-China flight paths to save time (existing direct flights must detour through Hong Kong airspace for security reasons)

-- Sixteen new Chinese airports, in addition to the current five, that can accept direct flights to or from Taiwan

-- Sixty direct cargo flights per month between Taiwan and China, cutting out third countries or regions per the current practice mandated due to sovereignty concerns

-- A launch of direct sea cargo routes between 11 Taiwan ports and 63 China destinations, sparing costly detours, required due to sovereignty concerns, for Taiwan investors with China factories

-- An introduction of direct postal links between five Taiwan stations and eight China stations, reducing delivery time from the current seven to 10 days by sidestepping third countries

-- A framework to handle food safety issues by quickly notifying, removing and investigating tainted products, in light of China's contaminated milk powder scandal that has prompted product recalls around the world, including in Taiwan.

(Compiled by the Taipei Bureau)

An agreement is usually between two equal sides with national flags on the negotiating table. I wonder if Taiwan signed as Chinese Taipei and had to acknowledge that it was not a national government but a province.

Interestingly, some people in Taiwan were also sensitive to the issue. See Taiwan News article.

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Today was a public holiday. I meant to do much more at home, but it was mostly relaxing and not on the couch. Just more spring cleaning.

PPP indices

I always found the Economist Big Mac Index rather interesting as a measure of purchasing power parity and variations on the true market value of a country's currency.

The CommSec iPod index is also an interesting measure of the implications for trade as a result of currency exchange rates.

Aplia suggested an iTunes index.

The thing is, the 'market' does not set the prices of those items so that they could also fluctuate along with currency exchange rates. Rather, prices are set by the producer/manufacturer.

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Happy Monday!

Europe's biggest - Westfield London

The largest indoor shopping centre in Europe opened in London on Thursday.

Sarah Bell of BBC News wrote about shopping centre design. Kathryn Flett from The Observer/Guardian wrote about trying to avoid spending money.

Westfield is an Australian company. The mall next to my work building is a Westfield. It needs to be razed to the ground and re-designed. It is an ugly monstrosity.

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Today was another busy day. Thankfully, I had time for an afternoon nap.

headline of the month

I enjoy reading word play (puns) used in newspaper headlines. After all, writers also need a bit of fun.

This one from the Northern Territory News was very clever.

Gypsies, amps and thieves

REBEKAH CAVANAGH

October 29th, 2008

ROAMING Irish gypsies have targeted power-stricken Territorians by selling them dodgy generators that could be fatal.

I might assume that younger print journalists are unfamiliar with old Cher songs, so it was probably a quick-witted editor.

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Today was a very busy day. I was up at 6am and the front door had one coat of paint by 7.30am.

Nell, Declan, Olivia and Kim came over for dinner. Technically Olivia did and didn't as Nell brought over her own baby food. I made roast rolled shoulder of pork (marinated in the soy, preserved lemon and marmalade mix that I usually use), roast sweet potato and beetroot, with blanched asparagus.

Day for Daniel

I do like special days when it is about me.

Today was Day for Daniel, but it was not about me.

Day for Daniel is a day to honour Daniel Morcombe who was nearly 14 when he was abducted by two men while waiting for a bus. He is still on the missing persons list.

Name:	MORCOMBE, Daniel James
D.O.B:	1989
Height:	150 cm
Complexion:	Fair
Eye Colour:	Blue
Hair Colour:	Dark Brown
Build:	Proportionate
Tattoo(s)/Marks:	Nil
Last Heard:	The missing person was last seen at his residence at Palmwoods on 7 December 2003. He intended on walking to an undesignated bus stop on the Nambour connection Road near the Kiel Mountain overpass.

Day for Daniel is an event organised by the Daniel Morcombe Foundation (set up by his parents) to raise awareness of child safety.



Daniel's family continue to suffer the anguish of still not knowing what happened to their son. He will turn 19 in December and his parents have missed the best years of his life, growing from a boy into a man.

Through their tragedy, his parents have helped many others.

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It has been a busy week at work.

holiday super walks

The UK Daily Telegraph has a dedicated travel writer who writes about walks. Impressive. Christopher Somerville has a monthly column called Walk of the Month.

He recently wrote about his top 50 walks - Hiking holidays: The world in 50 walks. A great list, but he left out the Camino de Santiago de Compostela and the Cinque Terre.

He listed three in Australia, but omitted Tasmania, in particular the well known Freycinet Peninsula Circuit.

I enjoyed the Cinque Terre walks. It took about five hours to walk through all five villages and some of it was very difficult, but the views were spectacular. I would return in a jiffy.

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Happy Thursday. This morning when I arrived at work, there was a Thursday cake on my desk. Actually, it was bread. Banana Bread.

African Danish

No, not a form of pastry.

When I visited Lisbon a few years ago, I noticed on the metro that most of the 'white' Portuguese people seemed to avoid those who looked African. It made me wonder if perhaps Portugal had a refugee program.

Then it dawned on me that African Portuguese have been there for a long long time. The Portuguese empire stretched to Africa. In 1441, African slaves were first brought to Lisbon, with slave trading becoming a lucrative in Portuguese commerce.

Knowing a bit of history helps to counter wrongful assumptions.

Anyway, Denmark has received African migrants for some time and some 45 000 Africans are now home in Copenhagen, many arriving later as refugees. I found a fascinating article by the BBC - Africans adapt to to Nordic chill (24 October 2008), which is worth reading.

Africans adapt to Nordic chill

The BBC's African Perspective programme is investigating what life is like for some of an estimated 20 million Africans who live in the diaspora.

Ellen Otzen visits Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, to see how the 45,000 Africans there have adapted to their chilly Nordic home.

In a small, white house standing in the shadow of Copenhagen's oldest churches people from Cameroon, Botswana, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Uganda meet each Wednesday night to sing in a gospel music choir.

Ugandan Joel Moses came to Denmark for love, 13 years ago.

Denmark is a very small country... I don't think the Danes were prepared for all of us Ugandan Peace Kabushenga

"I was once married to a Danish woman. She couldn't stand living in Africa and so I moved to her home," he explains.

"I love to sing and so I come every Wednesday even if I am tired, physically - it builds me up and gears me up for a new day.

"To be honest, I really come to do something as an African in a white community because there's a lot of things I do that are gone, not recognised. But I think I am recognised by reaching out to my fellow Africans."

Love broke down for Joel as it did for another Ugandan, Peace Kabushenga.

Dramatic

She is a project manager dealing with HIV/Aids among the ethnic minorities in Denmark.

She arrived in Copenhagen almost 30 years ago in 1979, as a diplomat's wife. Her life then was comfortable.

But it ended abruptly when their relationship broke down and her husband returned to Uganda.

"It was a dramatic change," says Peace, who found herself as a single mother far from home.

"I had to declare myself a refugee to live in Denmark. I had to live in a refugee camp while my papers were being processed.

"Strangely, I knew no other Africans," she recalls.

"It was my Danish friends who helped me. Of course I would've survived - I am strong; but they made it so much easier for me and most importantly, for my son."

Historic links

Denmark never had colonies in Africa but ties between the sea-faring Danes and Africa's Gold Coast, now Ghana, stretch way back in history.

The Ghanaian seat of government, in the capital, Accra, is housed in the original Christiansborg Castle - a slave fort built by the Danes in the 17th century.

After the 11th of September, Islam became a political issue and it is a big one here in Denmark, unfortunately Khadija Fara Somali social worker

Stored inside the Presbyterian Church in Accra's Osu district are records from the 1850s, chronicling families with Danish fathers and Ghanaian mothers.

Eighty Danish surnames, like Svanekær, Richter and Holm are still in use today in Ghana.

More recently the links are developmental ones. In the 1960s Danish doctors, vets and engineers were sent to Africa and in return African students came to study.

Then as oppressive regimes took over it was scared, political refugees, like rapper Al Agami, who started to head to Africa-friendly Denmark.

'Fear factor'

Al Agami was born in Uganda's capital, Kampala, but grew up in Denmark. He also spent three years living in Afghanistan. His father was a soldier.

"I am a political refugee. I wound up in Denmark because of my father's stress with the Idi Amin [a former Ugandan dictator] era."

Al Agami is now one of the biggest names in Danish rap music.

He recalls how Denmark in the 1970s was "very quiet" which he feels is a contradiction to his "can't sit still" personality.

He says it was weird because there were "no brown faced children" but there was "no fear factor", unlike now.

Somali Khadija Fara works as a social adviser. When she arrived in the 1980s, she says things were different; but it was during the 1990s that everything began changing.

"Many, many Somali refugees came to Denmark and they were the biggest minority group," Khadija says.

That is when the fear factor, as Al Agami calls it, set in.

Shift in attitude

Hostility, resentment and friction rose and two years ago, tension spilled over when Muslims took to the streets outraged by cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed in a Danish newspaper.

"After the 11th of September [2001], Islam became a political issue and it is a big one here in Denmark, unfortunately," explains Khadija.

"I wish people would instead use their energy on other things like integration and making the second generation immigrants from feeling marginalised."

Peace Kabushenga believes the problems have stemmed from the large number of immigrants arriving.

"You have to bear in mind that Denmark is a very small country and so many foreigners have come in. I don't think the Danes were prepared for all of us."

The resultant shift in attitude has caused Peace to worry for herself and her son.

"When he's out there I don't want him to feel like a foreigner. I would feel very sad if he told me, he was mistreated on the streets," she says.

"Yes, he has a black skin but he has his roots here and he is very, very Danish."

Tune into the BBC World Service to listen to African Perspective's Africans Abroad: Part I on Saturday 25 October at 1906 GMT in Africa. The programme will be available for a week on the website.

Part II of Africans Abroad - about chasing the American dream - will be broadcast on Saturday 1 November. Part III on Saturday 8 November will feature Africans who have voluntarily made the former slave island of Jamaica their home.

One should never assume that all Danes are white-skinned.

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Today was a very busy day at work. So much so that I was tired and fell asleep on the couch after work.

Gibraltar tunnel

Aside from scheduled and chartered flights, the only other way to travel between Spain and Morocco is by ferry. The ferry crossing from Algeciras to Tangier takes about 90 minutes.

In late 2003, Spain and Morocco agreed to build a 40 km tunnel between Spain and Morocco beneath the Straits of Gibraltar. Work on the tunnel may actually commence next year.

Linking the continents of Europe and Africa will be a major milestone.

Arriving in Tangier, whether by ferry or road/rail would still be a cultural awakening or shock for most people. I did not feel safe in Tangier when visiting during August 2000.

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I still haven't finished de-cluttering and tidying.

Leo the lion heart

I liked this story about a little dog with a big heart. From the Herald Sun (Melbourne)

Lion-hearted Leo has courage licked

Kelly Ryan
October 27, 2008 12:00am

A TENACIOUS terrier dubbed Leo the Lion-hearted is being lauded for staying loyally by the side of four helpless kittens trapped in a burning house.

The gutsy bitzer had to be resuscitated by firefighters after refusing to abandon the kittens even as thick smoke and flames filled a Seddon weatherboard home on Saturday night.

Firemen had to dodge fallen power lines to enter the blazing building in Pilgrim St after three children rescued from the blaze screamed for their pets to be saved.

"One officer returned into the blazing house and re-emerged carrying the near-lifeless Leo," said MFB western zone commander Ken Brown.

"Another couple of firefighters grabbed the resuscitation equipment and . . . were able to revive him.

"The dog had remained stoically guarding the box of kittens, even though their mother had disappeared."

A family of seven escaped with their lives but have lost everything they owned in the suspicious blaze. Their home was not insured.

Mum Janine Kelly was with children Paul, 18, Tayla, 11, and Jayme, 5, when a stranger ran to the back of her home, yelling at them to get out because the front of the house was engulfed in flames.

Neighbour Rob Easterbrook, 43, tried to douse the flames but rubbish stacked on the veranda of the double-fronted home ignited.

"I panicked initially, because I was worried the kids could have been trapped inside," he said.

"But then they assured me they were all out."

The Sunshine hospital chef said three of the five children were screaming for their menagerie of pets to be saved.

Tayla said she carried Jayme out and then rescued another pet dog, Barney, who was fleeing the fire.

"But Leo was still inside standing over the kittens, and we were scared he would get burned," she said. "We couldn't find Sabrina (mother of the kittens) and we thought they would all die."

The children sobbed with relief when firefighters rescued and revived 11-month-old Leo.

"Then we were told there was a box of kittens still in there, and firefighters returned to grab them too," Cdr Brown said.

He said Leo licked the kittens with joy when he saw them. "It was a wonderful sight," he said.

The kittens were unharmed because a cover on their box stopped them suffering smoke inhalation.

Tayla was taken to the Royal Children's Hospital with smoke inhalation and released yesterday.

The shocked family then returned to their gutted home to try to salvage what little was not smoke or fire-damaged.

They found Leo sitting on a burnt mattress out front, faithfully waiting for his family to return.

Last night they were looking for a place to stay and supplies.

Cdr Brown said firefighters would nominate Leo for an RSPCA bravery medal.

Vision from Reuters


I wonder if Leo thought the kittens were part of his pack. Nevertheless, canine loyalty and protection has no equal amongst others in the animal kingdom.

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Happy Monday?

Banksy the vandal

Banksy painted a seven metre (23 feet) high mural on a building wall at Newman Street (near Oxford Circus) in London.



The local jurisdiction, the Westminster City Council doesn't like it, calling it graffiti and want it removed.

See
- Graffiti artist Banksy pulls off most audacious stunt to date - despite being watched by CCTV (Daily Mail, 14 April 2008)
- Writing is on the wall for Banksy's west end mural as council demands it be painted over (Daily Mail, 24 October 2008)
- Council orders Banksy art removal (BBC News, 24 October 2008)
- Westminster bid to remove Banksy art stalled (Local Government Chronicle, 24 October 2008)

Painting (stencil) on a wall without permission is vandalism. However, if the painting is a valued piece of art, then removing it is even worse.

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Today was another busy day of de-cluttering and spring cleaning.

if you chuck a sickie, don't brag about it on facebook

Poor Kyle Doyle. He did what is commonly done by Australian workers and that is to be too ill to work on the day following a heavy night of drinking. From The Age

Sickie faker busted by Facebook [*sic]

Asher Moses
October 23, 2008

A Sydney telco employee has learned the hard way the perils of sharing too much information on Facebook [*sic] after he was caught by his boss faking a sickie after a big night out.

In an email exchange doing the rounds of office blocks, Kyle Doyle was asked by his employer, AAPT, to provide a medical certificate verifying a day of sick leave in August.

Doyle, a call centre worker, protested, saying his contract stipulated he did not require a medical certificate for taking only one day off.

His boss replied that this was usually the case but in this instance the company had determined that the leave was not due to medical reasons.

"My leave was due to medical reasons, so you cannot deny leave based on a line manager's discretion, with no proof, please process leave as requested," Doyle responded.

The manager then sent Doyle a screen grab of Doyle's Facebook [*sic] profile, highlighting a status update written on the leave day in question.

"Kyle Doyle is not going to work, f--- it i'm still trashed. SICKIE WOO!," it read.

Sprung and with no room left to move, Doyle replied to the boss: "HAHAHA LMAO [laughing my ass off] epic fail. No worries man."

Doyle did not respond to a request for comment sent over Facebook [*sic] but a friend of his confirmed the incident was not a hoax.

The employer would not comment.

Update 24/10 - AAPT today released a statement saying it had completed an investigation of its email records and the exchange between Doyle and his boss "never occurred".

However, a spokeswoman confirmed that both are current employees with the company. AAPT would not give any further details and would not say whether the emails were part of a prank by Doyle or one of his colleagues.

"This issue will continue to be dealt with internally, as a matter of standard company process," AAPT's statement read.

I think that it is quite legitimate to have a sick day from work if a person is too ill to go to work, regardless of the cause. This includes being 'trashed'.

Silly boy, he should have written "Kyle Doyle is home and too unwell to go to work". It wasn't even a 'sickie' which is euphemism for taking a day off from work (to play golf, go fishing etc) and claiming sick leave for it.

*note to The Age, facebook is not capitalised. It makes it look funny.

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I was too tired to blog on Thursday and Friday nights.

Emily came over on Thursday night for dinner and I made a beef madras curry. She is a curry addict. On Friday late afternoon, Anthony came over after we had an after work beer. It's nice to have visitors.