UK Watercooler 32: Fall Into The Meaning Gap

My colleagues are now singing about Spam. I am very much resisting the urge to tell them about the family connection.

Anyone in a viking helmet?

No, apparently it's the aniversary of the invention of spam (the interweb kind). Though I believe nothing I hear today.

Don't bother, unless you can make the most of vegetarian irony.

MySpace still down. Bah! :-(

I'm going to go and google Nigels.

Um.

http://thenigelhaversimperium.4ya.nl/homepage/show/701049.jpg

The man seems to have it written into his contract that he appears at least once in every film/television programme in 1) a tuxedo and 2) some wonderfully luxurious dressing gown.

The kilt is a new one on me, though.

He seems to wear the same signet ring in every damn film, though.

Dammit, the head of IT came over to see me, and I thought he had some work for me to do, but he only wanted a few reports run. Why on earth did they decide to keep me another week if they had nothing for me to do?

...flying gear and goggles...

http://www.treocentral.com/images/admin_uploaded/1186152148.gif

Almost.

http://thenigelhaversimperium.4ya.nl/homepage/show/868157.jpg

Wait, where's that photo of Nigel Spivey in his flying gear? I have no idea what happened to that. :-(

I thought I had them saved in Yahoo, but no, they're gone. :-( It's like the land of lost crushes.

::gnashes teeth at casual sexism::

I've got to come up with some project to break up this afternoon, or I shall surely go mad. Maybe I'll "document" the tables I wrote for the report yesterday.

As if anyone half worth their salt wouldn't be able to figure it out just by looking at them. But this is the NHS and you can never underestimate the laziness and stupidity around here.

Yes, I hate the greed and selfishness of the private sector, but my god, at least they have some kind of... not even ambition, but desire to actually get ON with things.

Yay, it's time for lunch.

Even refurbishing the kitchen has run over!

But at least the watercooler has been hooked up again.

Kate, that isn't casual sexism. It's hardwired!

You seem to be assuming that the NHS isn't in the private sector

If I spend much more time here at the NHS, I'm going to end up as bitter and resentful as a certain troll, which is a thought that scares me more than any other.

Why is it, that every single woman, ever, isn't ever perceived as merely representing herself, but rather viewed as some kind of paragon or representation of Every Woman Ever, in a way that men are almost never ever held repsonsible for the problems of their entire sex*?

*Oh wait, except in chick lit and dating advice, which are the only spheres in which women ever seem to be in positions of power?

Oh wait, never mind, I answered mine own question.

Anyway, should I read D. H. Lawrence, or would it just annoy me?

I know, I know, I'm talking to myself here.

Oh, it's online. I'll get started. That's what I'll do with this afternoon.

Or maybe not. I'm already laughing out loud halfway through the first chapter.

You know I still don't have the newest Plan B yet that i ordered a few weeks ago. I ordered it the day before i went into Glasgow (and actually saw it in Borders and Monorailmusic.)
There will probably be a new one out any day.

You know, it took me two readings to realise there even had been a sex scene. Or is that the point? What a dull book, so far. Too much cod philosophy and absurd and meaningless ponderings on gender, especially on stereotypes he gets all completely wrong. Will it get worse when he starts ranting about the modern world?

Alright, I gave up halfway through chapter 4 when they all stood around smoking and philosophising about sex.

DH Lawrence's prose style is, I must confess, not very "compelling". Maybe it's just dated badly, I don't know.

The problem is, it's often totally unintentionally hilarious.

Where else can I get me some smutty Edwardians?

Norway just now isn't he?

I've suddenly realised that I don't actually want to go out tonight at all. Why have I agreed to? I want to stay home and finish my miniseries, and find out if Nigel Havers dies in WWI or not! (Presumably not, as apparently the miniseries was based on books 1 and 2 of a trilogy. It would be a pretty dull trilogy if the main character died halfway through the second book. Unless it's taken up by his son... though he's even wetter and more annoying than the father, who is at least redeemed through being hott.)

New iphone? http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/technology/newsid_7322000/7322327.stm
I wouldnt get a new mobile yet kate

If I wait until the next, new improved better version of the thing, I'll never end up getting one at all. Kind of like with the iPod.

I'm about to upgrade in a month and I've been way happy with Sony Ericsson phones.

I'm not getting a new *mobile* - I'm specifically getting an iPhone.

If, indeed, I get anything, and don't end up just getting a dongle for the mactop.

Yeah I stick with Sony Ericsson too.

I am being 'lent' broadband by a neighbour, but explain please dongle?

I probably shouldn't. I don't *want* to have interweb at home, because of its brainsucking, timewasting properties. I'm only on ILX all day because I have nothing else to do. There's no way in hell I'd let it in my house and suck my actual own personal time again. But it would be useful, especially while unemployed and/or freelancing, to be able to access the interweb at home for jobhunting purposes. Perhaps I should get a really low bandwidth package so I'm not tempted to timewaste.

But I suspect, being compulsive, if I have it, I will abuse it.

just get the internet but not use ilx..

Not likely.

Besides, the rest of the interweb is just as bad in terms of timewasting.

The Nigel Havers Imperium (or insert website for whatever the current obsession object is) would have eaten my entire bandwidth in an afternoon.

Dongle is an HSDPA modem that allows you broadband over 3G. They cost about £15 a month for 3GB of download.

I don't really download films or songs that much, would that make sense for me to use, Ed?

If you did d/l films, you'd run out swiftly w/ 3GB of download

Sorry, but um, aaaawwwwww!!!!

http://thenigelhaversimperium.4ya.nl/homepage/show/1206961.jpg

It would actually involve filling my hard drive 3 times over every month. But looking at lots of lovely luscious pouting photos (and obsessively refreshing) would surely do it. ILX would be out, except with images turned off.

All I need to know is would it be an OK option for someone who uses net for email, youtube and the like and what counts as 'download' under the circumstances. And yes, as regards computers, I'm more clueless than I should be.

It's not just stuff downloaded, it's anything you view. If you view it, it's in your cache and therefore sucking at your bandwidth. I don't know what kind of bandwidth YouTube takes up, but would imagine it to be quite heavy.

This is the deal I was looking at:

http://threestore.three.co.uk/broadband/?id=1201

The 18 month contract bothers me, considering the speed of technology change. Will my laptop even last me 18 months? (Well... the old one lasted 4 years?)

And, um, who is cuter, dog or boy? I cannot decide.

Why not get bog standard internet for less?

Because you have to get a phone line to do that. And I don't want a phone line, I bloody hate BT.

Sigh. I am running on pure id today. There is nothing else keeping me awake, let alone functioning. Mutter mutter, grumble.

::looks at picture::

http://thenigelhaversimperium.4ya.nl/homepage/show/1206990.jpg

FEELS MUCH, MUCH, MUCH BETTER.

bog standard broadband that is, not dial-up
http://allyours.virginmedia.com/websales/product.do?id=227

x-post
This is digital. You would need to get someone to come out and install all the stuff(line into flat and install modem etc) but no phone line unless you want one.

Where would we be without pr0nography?

Never leaving the house, I tell you.

x-post are you sure about that? I have some kind of line into the house already. (I think.) But I'm sure BT will find a way to charge for it, even if you don't use their services. :-(