4/18/03
Everything's gone green
When I arrived in the States I was shocked by our then-CEO and his blunt
approach to motivation. Money. That was the beginning and end of the matter --
issues such as the people you worked with and the the interest of the job were
barely (if ever) mentioned. Now that the recession has brought my career down
to its knees (wage slave), I figured "why not concentrate on that aspect
of the job?" 'Introducing' the
frosties money clock -- watch your wages accumulate before your very
eyes (the salary is entered in password format so as to prevent straying eyes
from figuring it out). And, for the hell of it a second salary level can be
entered so as to exacerbate tension/soothe your worries away.
Painful photies from the "Shiv" round
of layoffs aforementioned.
4/18/03
The curse of the Vail house...
A little over a year ago I moved out of the Vail house. Let's take a peek at
people in on that jaunt who've subsequently lost employment; Michael Ellis, Jay
Fishel, Kevin Terp, Elizabeth Sargeant, Bitsy Schneider, Steph Reed. Working in
the cushty area of healthcare, I'd always thought that Renee was insulated from
the rigors of the IT slump. Apparently not, as she becomes the latest statistic
in the 100,000+ layoffs of the past month. As I see JB planning bicycling
adventures around the UK I ask, when's it all going to end? Casting my frazzled
memory back to the last recession, which began 1990 and didn't really finish
'til 93 I fear that even if we're on our way out, statistically, the employment
sitch is gonna be screwed for at least 12-18 months. Ho hum.
Some sepia shots from Steph's Aspen celebration.
4/11/03
Man down! (Shiv)...layoffs continue
SBL Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf tells remaining staff that
lay-offs did not happen. "No, there weren't another 30-something people let go,
and the office has not shrunk from 430 to 100 since acquisition. Exciting new
projects are starting daily, brought to us by our talented team of sales
people.
Responding to allegations made by remaining employees of the influx of
cardboard boxes recently ordered by HR he retorted "They (the remaining
employees) are going to surrender or be burned in their cubes. We made them
drink poison last night and the CEO's soldiers and his great managers gave them
(the employees) a lesson which will not be forgotten by history. Truly."
He brushed off an institutional investor's suggestion -- reflected in the
sinking share value -- that it was time for the management to surrender. "God
will roast their stomachs in hell at the hands of these dissenters. Faltering
forces of infidels cannot just enter a company of 70,000 people and lay besiege
to them! They are the ones who will find themselves under siege."
Reporters had seen outplacement agencies lining up for the juicy contracts
brought about by the degenerative state of the company. "Don't believe these
invaders and these liars. There are none of their forces in the office. Never!"
the minister told reporters at an impromptu outdoor press conference.
Finally, answering the charge that oil companies should not dabble in IT he
concluded "Please, please! The... (critics) are relying on what I called
yesterday a desperate and stupid method."
We found that views differed with so-called former employees. "We discovered
that all that the SBL information minister was saying was all lies," said Ali
"Shiv" Hassan, an SBL employee in Cairo, Egypt, gazing into his severance
package, estimating the number of Jack & Cokes he could purchase from the
final cheque. Kris Prohbsh A-shhmysta was heard to be giving advice of the
"don't chuck a Hartley" variety. We sincerely wish Mr Hassan all the best in
his traveling & tennis careers.
Last of the wintry photies.
4/3/03
Liberated!
A couple of years ago I tried the web browser Opera. Nasty UI, dog-slow
performance and embedded adverts caused me to run for the uninstall option
(which probably crashed). It sort of reminded me of then Jon Hartley --
bloated, bumbling and bally useless. But so sick of popup adverts for
classmates.com & 'security' cameras designed to scroll down cleavage, a
never ending stream of Alt+F4 clicking for sites like eonline, msn and any
newspaper led me to interrogate Tartley on the state of the non-Mickeysoft
browser market. I can't believe I waited so long.
Mozilla is not in the same league as IE -- it does have History and
Alt+D puts you in the address bar (listenup, Netscape), but Ctrl+Enter is
farked, the middle mouse button doesn't bring up the multidirectional cursor.
And a few sites it doesn't seem to work on. And the annoying non-background
print dialog. But the freedom of never seeing scores of cheapflights windows is
exhilarating beyond belief. I feel as though I've cheated the internet of her
great scam, as though somehow I'm flying through the web. Or something.
Try it.
Some fantabulous black & white Coral room photies,
as well as some previously lost skating snaps from Nikki's b'day.
3/25/03
Moore On at the Oscars
While there was some value to his statements, Michael Moore's oscar outrage was
just that. Condensing the themes of the Bush (s)election, war with Iraq and the
exaggeration of terrorism into 45 seconds didn't really deliver any message
beyond Moore-as-politician. Isn't that sort of thing meant to be debated in the
nation's political institutions? Maybe that was the point. Even though I was HP
to see Nicole Kidman take home the Best Actress thingy did she really have to
blubber like Gwyneth Paltrow? Bad things really do seem to come in threes --
queen of egos (Julia Roberts) was there yet again.
Some dog-eared photies from Breck & SF.
Guestbook, courtesy du Nixta, which is
semi-functional.
3/20/03
SchneeFest!
Biggest snowstorm in 20 years or some such. It began on St Patrick's Day after a
rousing Coral/Supergrass gig at the Bluebird. Strolling down Colfax at 1am in
search of the ever elusive Denver taxi was not the perfect introduction to the
storm. But lo, our gracious lords & masters have allowed us to
"work" at "home" for a 4 precious days. Work has included
shovelling, sitting around, snowballing and snowfort construction. But mostly
sitting around. Cabin fever has been combated by wandering out onto Washington
Park, watching surreal telly and caning various bevvies.
Results of day one and impromptu
party on day two have been captured by the KatieCam.
3/17/03
Kumbaya - debate in Denver
Just got back from a lame-as anti-war demonstration. OK, a candle-lit vigil was
never going to be a radical, stirring, politicized rally designed to make a
difference. But after listening to a few hundred people sing Michael Jackson's
"We are the world" I was ready to leave. As I cycled away some
articulate, courageous chap floored his SUV past the flock screaming "F***
you, Bomb Iraq!" Not a good advert for middle America.
Hmnn...I see George Bush invited
Gerry Adams for dinner at the Whitehouse the other day. Not sure where
that fits in on the 'war on terrorism'.
A few snowy photies from a family outing to
Armida's / Keystone.
A few
new players.
3/11/03
Au Revoir, JB
5 long years have JB &
I been housemates in Denver. Every emotion, from elation to exasperation,
has been experienced in the Knackers(Breakers), Gaylord & Pearl St. Fare
thee well, JB. With layoffs coming at the end of this very week and/or a
transfer in the offing it may be a short period before I'm back in the U of K.
A traditional Colfax-based pubcrawl was thrown
on the last snowy day in Feb. One suspects that there are many more photies to
come, and perhaps one could argue that my library is turning into nothing more
than a Rannery-redux. Care factor is, predictably, low.
2/25/03
Whammy the Grammy
Sorry, but if rehashing a well-worn 60s formula (see Dusty Springfield's
"Breakfast In Bed" for a better version of "Don't know
why") wins Norah Jones a Grammy over Eminem's "Without Me" then
the recording academy (or whatever it's called) needs a boot up the harse, as
well as a reminder that innovation and, frankly, a good tune should provide the
bedrock of such an award. Cue "Spiderman" to win Best Picture.
Crazy, crazy night for Nikki's b'day commenced with a BYOB at
Asian Cafe. as well as antics from a farewell to the Gurner.
2/18/03
Sucked out
So Joe Millionaire es finito, gone in a mélange of forced fantasy and financial
fecundity. The cultural glue which bound my existence together to everyone from
taco DJs through aspiring actors is no more. Wherefore Monday nights? Back to
another teevee thang or time to learn the conversational arts?
The Vietnam Inn, depicted in a joyful moment mere days before its demise, is
depicted within, as are scenes from layoff Tuesday and the ever
photogenic Lime.
2/11/03
Jerry Maguire meets Bridget Jones
Debate of the week, or my life right now: which
book to read next, Don Quixote or 'What colour is my parachute?'.
Scrappy old photies from Vail &
Breckenridge weekends.
1/31/03
Stock-in-trade market montage
Been meaning to put together this homage to
BBC stock market photography for a while. Luckily global stockmarkets
are obliging nicely.
More photes from tail end of last year and the
noo year. Still figuring those resolutions out.
1/24/03
Congrats to "Big" Andy D
Is this the first engagement announced on frosties? Credo di si'. Well, wherever
in Connecticut you may be have a goodie...
Pictures from the tail end of the last year,
including a Thanksgiving in SacTo and CatieB's b'day.
The DigiElph bought it last week after only one week in action. How to take
Amazon's increased profits and self-congratulatory stance on the 'customer
experience?'
1/17/03
Frostless New Year
Frosties has been taking a back seat to the nascent
spainisfun website (a parental venture which is teaching me CSS/ASPX)
and, for the first time in a long time, work.
Yet in spite of said pick-up, lo, more redundancies are in the (lay)offing. I'm
getting back to that real programming man's man's programming language, C++. It
is surely a matter of time before I morph into one of the
scary characters who adorn the sleeve of the book I've had to read
cover-to-cover.
Hawaii action from Jim & Liv's
wedding, as well as a particularly sticky Pearl
St fondue session just before xmas.
Best xmas gift? Digielph beats off Grombich's rather fantastic Story of Art.
Listening to Euphoria Gold. Yep, first CD bought in 2 years. The RIAA would be
proud.
12/17/02
Frosties.com 2002 awards
Frosties is proud to present the first and probably last
golden flake awards. Mille grazie to Kraka for the frosties logo.
Scenes from San Francisco and assorted
antics in CO.
Katie has some piccies
up.
12/11/02
Deja Vu
And so it came to pass, that after 40 days and 40 nights, the great
Snowfighter beast was slain, SQL Server examinations were smoked and
Thanksgiving celebrations were attended to.
The snow has been decreasing in quality but many ski trips have been had. Dodgy
night out in Lime, weekend up in
Vail to celebrate the birthdays of Ash/JB/Kelly. As Mr Ellis has
scathingly commented, these piccies could have come from any time in the last x
years (although these particular gems came from Percy's camera, through the eye
of the Flange).
Riposte.
12/04/02
Falling Down?
Finally got around to scanning in the houseboat
pictures, whose quality is an advert for buying a digital camera, or
any sort of camera. Even sketching would be better. While scanning the puppies
in Kraka was doodling -- his mind is
messed up. Suburbia beware.
25/11/02
Groped!
The INS, in their efforts to ensure that I am genetically pure enough
for assimilation, have sucked my blood. No HIV for me.
Kelly has been involved in some
modelling
shenanigans.
Dani MullOfFurnessCintyre has pointed me in the direction of
popbitch. Speaking of muzak, I see the Mercury Prize has gone to Ms
Dynamite, rather than the fantabulous Streets. The same prize-giving
institution that awarded "M" People's Elegant Slumming over Blur's
Parklife. Exactement.
15/11/02
Houseboat horror
The photies of the houseboat are so shockingly bad that I can't be dealing with
scanning 'em in right now. But here's
one anyway.
I had to get up at the crack of dawn to go and retrieve my cellphone from
YellowCab's HQ up in the northern suburbs. It may as well have been Fort
Collins, such was its distance from Denver. Perhaps they UPSed it there. Still,
got a tour of their office including the call center, where 20 women were
cooped up like chickens (albeit phone-answering chickens with desks and
chairs). People in really shoddy jobs share a camaraderie that the rest of this
shark-eat-shark world do not understand.
This is rude, but
not as rude as
this. Mr Furness would be proud.
This is
for Ballgame, in search of Glenn Hearse. He's the bloke with the moustache.
9/11/02
Webcam in ashes of Phoenix shocker!
It's back. Well, not exactly back full-time as we've lost the extension cord,
but whenever I can be arsed to connect it with the lappy the page should be
back. Check out its reincarnation.
230pm on a mid-week afternoon. NME/Dotmusic/BBC/NYTimes/WashingtonPost have all
been thoroughly examined. You wander onto MSN from a link on your (s)hotmail
browser. What are you rewarded with? Utter
trollocks.
Final pix from summer trip in Europe.
7/11/02
Old-School
After a slew of pseudo-healthy looking photies, what relief it was to get a
camera back with nothing but jello-for-liver written
all over them.
4/11/02
Back from Ha-Wye-on-sea
A mere couple of drops, of the Slovenia and
Croatia types, in the ocean of photies taken at the
Nixta's wedding. More to come.
Following each round of layoffs there arrive a flood of emotional
emails along the lines of "It's been great knowing/working with
you". This one was a bit
much.
16/10/02
Homage Linkage
Ms Winkler has created
a website with
frosties influence. Imitation, flattery, sincerity. "A man's character can
be judged by the frequency of his updates" -- keep it up.
Al & Jane have passed on yet more shots of Edinburgh/Cambridge.
11/10/02
Blogged out
The frequency of updates to this page implies that, like Tartley before me, I'm
turning into a blog-bore. Apologies.
A mighty scan operation is underway, not exactly the
TREX of its time but something of a project to get the WorldTrip
photies in.
Strange &
beautiful places.
8/10/02
Bloodbath!
33% of the company slashed, 50% of our own group cast astray. The
layoffs keep coming. Some layoff thoughts/terminology: dead man
walking, cannibalising, wearing a dead man's clothes, safe, alive, hit and
'got'. Thinking of coming to sunny/snowy Colorado? Think again, it has the
worst job prospects in the US.
More pics from summer trips to Cambridge and
Edinburgh.
5/10/02
Let the Golden Age begin...
The layoffs continue.
Our own fate appears as though it will be sealed around the middle of this
month, though rumours escape every 10 mins, run amok for several hours before
returning as "it's confirmed <xxx>day, xxx% of the company to get
it". Methinks I'll be needing
this soon.
First photies update in a couple of months, including snaps of
Shiv's b'day and July 4. Biking noncery
in Winter Park and some legendary kayaking in
Summit County.
New kid on the (non-chopping) block?
Happy 21st, Libbs.
26/09/02
Soapbox for MP3 sharing
Do they really believe getting some hyperpaid entertainers to be patronising is
going to get us to stop getting music for free, or to stop understanding that
$10 is an insane amount to pay for MP3s with no distribution costs?
Bark
on, Britney. Let me confidently predict (with a nod to
JB) that the winner will be music, made by people who love it, consumed
by people who love it and, bad luck chaps, freely available. Swimming against
the tide of history. I'm sure Marx would have had something to say about it.
The era of capitalist music production is drawing to a close.
As advertised by Shiv, if
Kazaa is the new Napster then
Soulseek is most assuredly the new Audiogalaxy. Someone needs to add a
plug-in to automatically mail the artist after each download, telling them of
the increased likeliness of your going to a gig. Yes, I didn't pay for the
Strokes album but, yes, I did pay $20 to see them on a couple of occasions. Am
I missing something?
24/09/02
Resume/CV is up & limping
Into which pastures will this glittering career
lead me next? Techy advice nugget of the week: Don't use Word for doing your
resume.
17/09/02
Swamped
Updates are suspended while I try to figure out the second mortgage that will be
developing the 10 or so disposable cameras. Digital Elf, where art thou? Still,
mountains have been climbed, weddings attended, plays viewed, clubs danced in,
foreign tongues abused, seas frolicked in and oceans crossed -- and all shall
be documented in the timeless frosties fashion.
As surely as the leaves turning brown, the
Pearl St posse is back and more daft adventures await.
8/08/02
Happiness makes you cry
Success at UT proved to be fleeting, a two day summit of fulfilled promise.
Details of a quick trip to Baja, Meheeeco, and more mundane matters
here. Last of the new players?
Aiiiieeeeeeeee!
Off on an LA-Scotland-London-Cambridge-Slovenia-Croatia 3 week hiatus. Back in
September, after much capering. Laters.
7/31/02
Numero Uno (no, not Pizzeria)
History has been made. This will probably not last...but for right now I'm the
reigning champion at
UT.
Which was the winner? Hard to say, the British version's daft stories of
wandering canines or the World edition's tales of
koala corpses?
Caught the over hyped Vines at the Bluebird yesterday. While not exactly the
Suede of their day, still a step-up (or back) in the live stakes over Doves.
Comedy pseudo Who-style destruction of equipment at the end made up for the
lack of killer melodies.
Yet more photies from pre-summer, including
the infamous flowerbed scene.
7/23/02
Still un(der)employed
So the Beeb is
splitting its website to UK and World editions. Which to use...? Think
I'll go with impersonating the former so that I can still catch quality stories
about feline phobia and (checking today's edition) "Help mum!
My lip's stuck in the scanner!"
Joelonsoftware reports
that a legal music service, listen.com, is out there for $100/year. 15,000
albums but no Madonna? I'll stick with Kazaa just for now, in spite of its
infinite inferiority when placed next to Audiogalaxy. If AG was the Roman
Empire of music systems then Kazaa is the Middle Ages. Roll on the
Renaissance...
Bit of an events backlog at the mo', here's Adam's nonsmoking birthday from a
while back.
7/3/02
Midsummer muddle
Independence day is upon us, so in the spirit of praising my host nation I
thought I'd put up a quick, not-too-serious analysis of a
why-stay-in-america list cribbed from the grauniad (with some sanity
checks from yours truly).
The sedate version of Shiv's birthday, a trip
to Yosemite and some time in a dodgy club in Oakland.
Another new player on the scene,
another member of the extended Penn clan
has also arrived.
6/14/02
In the middle
Everyone goes through lulls at work. Mine is coming up for its 6 month
anniversary, and reached the stage where I'm doing searches on friends. To that
end, searching on JB seems to be turn up some previously unknown -- and yet
incisive -- responses from some slashdot
geezer.
What's the response to this job-based ennui? Raging.
6/7/02
High
Schnell! Before the Euro2000-style fall from grace (scarily reminiscent of the
1-0 defeat of Germany before falling foul of Romania), it's time to exude the
euphoria. England have gone some way towards making amends for the slights of
'86/'98. So excited was I, that I had to go off & translate (courtesy of
google) an Argentinian article,
"The Bitter Breakfast". Muhahahaha. Oh to be in Blighty right
now.
Scenes from the train wreck that was the Pearl St
official housewarming.
Glenn Goodrich has set himself up with the most
homepage page's homepage in the Deep South.
5/31/02
Low
A new frosties low. Ahead of scores of people with half his IQ, JB's been laid
off (somehow yours truly escaped the noose). It's been a destabilising event of
obvious magnitude, and the aftershocks have yet to kick in. The house that
Barry built, not content with dispatching Kelley from its evil clutches (whilst
sucking Shiv in), may yet spit us all out onto the street, across the road to
be Kentucky Inn regulars.
Still, new piccies available of weekends past.
It has been noted that there is a lack of sunlight in the frosties photies of
late, and that it cannot be blamed on the winter any longer.
First new player to be borne solely
under the Pearl St banner.
5/17/02
Scalped
OK, no one really told me that dying your hair red/orange and then black was
going to cause my scalp to peel for two weeks, causing diminished follicular
supplies (much needed). And according to Ash I now look like a C++ developer.
Snadgers.
New website from the Northern
Nonce. A couple of non-Shiv snaps from Adam's party & assorted
goings out. Sorry, Shiv, but it's frosties 2 allshiv 1 at the mo'.
Musings on life from the part fantastic, part
flawed architecture/life book.
5/10/02
The world goes down the swanny...
Suicide bombings, continued Al-Qaeda activity, Archduke Ferdinand-style Euro
executions, Come back Clinton, all's forgiven. Oh, except for this
pretty perturbing statistic I just
read: in 1999, the most recent year for which statistics are available,
28,874 Americans were killed with guns. Reflect on that for a moment. That Star
Wars sequel had better be head & shoulders above its laconic predecessor.
Some photies including the debut of NG. Cheers
to Niall for sending on some reputable Garrett
wedding photies.
Having expanded my newspaper umbrella from the (London) Times to the New York
Times, Washington Post & Grauniad, I have a chance to pit the NYT against
its older sibling. A daft story of pesky pike in Northern California eluding
human attempts to be massacred provides an interesting comparison. Round one:
The Times 1,
NYT 0.
5/8/02
Another one bites the dust...
A disposable camera was lost in the thick fog of the Pearl St Housewarming. No
amount of laser light has led to its whereabouts. If anyone's seen it, I appeal
to you to let the public see the beauty of that particular night. Meanwhile, if
you're out there in deepest Philly, Shiv, take a gander at the
stats -- Skankmeister is on the ascendant.
Where is FlatEric?
5/2/02
Usurped!
Shiv has outfrostied frosties itself,
in a brilliant display of wry-comments-with-expandable-thumbnail-photies,
focusing on Adam&Simon's party. Worth a
visit (after 5/2). The DJ
set went without hiccup & was critically acclaimed but not exactly
popular. Perhaps it was missing a
fog machine/laser? This weekend should prove that particular
experiment.
Recent UK trip documented here,
including the worst wedding shot of my (not inconsiderable) photographic
experience. No photos from this morning's
comedy experience
This morning JB & I left the house to find a pigeon spinning around on its
legs kebab-style, unable to move other than in a circular fashion. JB spotted a
puddy cat with feathers in its mouth at the end of the garden and chased it
away. The sight of JB in high speed pursuit of this feather-loving feline
villain was one that will remain with me for at least the remainder of the day.
Another new player?
Wolf Camera has upped its prices to an extortionate $16 per set of photies+cd,
so if anyone has any ideas for photies lettuce no, or else it's
snapfishhereicome.
4/11/02
eJay
Badger me if I'm not finding myself writing a utility for converting a RMP file
to M3U. Did 2 mins of surfing & thought it would be easier to write one.
Anyway, the reason? The Honeybadgerz
project (OK, more an attempt to emulate the Avalanches than the animal
itself) has kicked off in earnest. Get
it yourself.
Corporate Whore? What for?
Some utterly non-descript noncery
based around Kelley & Steph's joint (but distinctly separate) birthday on
April 2. A definite lack of photographic editing. Must get the digital camera
fixed for such scenes ("Let's get another angle on my double chin!").
Player du mois? Click ici. Le Pen in
second round? Zut alors!
4/11/02
Under a lobster red sky
Life is swings & roundabouts at the mo'. Job is in the
toilet, but personally things are nae so bad. Just came back from a
glorious trip to Blighty blessed by constant sunshine, family/friends and good
chocolate. Last night I found myself under a typically never-ending Colorado
sky playing footy for Madras. Tonight Spiritualized/BRMC in town & tomorrow
off to San Fran for the w/e.
Well well well, if it isn't our old friend Mr Pearl St Party (more a soiree than
a party in truth) disposable camera,
previously considered lost.
New housemate as player? Whodathortit?
4/4/02
Spring forward
The Oscars were generally pants again this year. Yes, yes, great to see the
racial imbalance addressed etc, but did Halle Berry nearly have to outannoy
Julia Roberts in the overreaction department? Just when you thought things
couldn't get any worse, the scrawny dullard appears herself (in the guise of
giving an award to Denzel Washington) to blubber forth with "Oh God I love
my life". Here's to her career going the way of George Lazenby's...
Quite how we had such a large gathering and only made off with one photy is
something for its organiser to lament. Anyway, for the conclusion of all things
luvvy go ye here.
3/28/02
"Though my body gets tired...
My mind does it no favours at all/And there's
so little time/To do something, something, anything more" [J Pierce].
Words have scarcely been more apt for the last week (and beyond, perhaps).
"Have a real good life".
Another new player with a Scortish surname?
Shorely Shome Mishtake, Miss Funnyfanny?
3/22/02
Bill Peden RIP
Bill Peden has died. He will be sorely missed
by anyone who knew him.
3/13/02
Settling in
Last ever Gaylord photies from the hasty exit party
& a trip to check out the snow in Lake Tahoe.
JB & I found ourselves in the misery of a Kmart shopping trip for house
stuff the other day. Just as we were feeling sapped of the very will to live, a
(middle-aged female) angel came from the adjacent aisle declaring that
she was "so happy". After JB inquired if the lady in question was
"high on life, or other external influences" the woman defended her
felicity by exclaiming that "I'm so happy to have all these savings".
Joy is clearly a subjective emotion.
3/1/02
And so it came to pass
Along with noncemanchild Tartley, I failed to organise the DSL in Pearl St.
Apparently the phone company (Qwest) requires 2 weeks until they can find the
lever to pull the switch (the house already having had DSL a few months ago, it
must be a particularly tricky operation). How we managed to move house on the
day of a 10 inch snow blizzard is something the gods of misfortune can only be
smirking about.
Anyway, a thousand grazie, as usual, to
Nixta, who has come to frosties aid in a time of (Tartley-induced)
need.
The Vail house has seen a continuous party of
varying repute. An old-but-new player?
2/20/02
End of an era
All that romance stuff is done with, now it's
time to get down to business. To wit, the end of Gaylord Central is within a
hair's breath. A final batch of mulled wine will see the old place off. The
question remains as to whether the landlady considers vomit stains to be an
impediment to returning the deposit intact. As of late Feb 28, the site will be
down for a few days while Tartley
figures out the DSL in the new house.
2/8/02
Debt Ahoy!
Some January japes based around Ash' Bachelor
thingy & various related happenings. It's at this point that I have to
reveal that I've decided to join the great society of debtors, in spite of the
obvious folly of such an idea. The
Gaylord Massive is relocating, expanding as fast as the EU and renaming
itself to the Pearl Street Posse.
2/4/02
February Frugality
Large changes are looming on the frosties horizon. Yet more xmas (or
thereabouts) events. Is that
a new player I see before me?
1/23/02
Christmas Hangovers
Pre / Post-xmas
excitement, xmas itself and
New Year Noncery. I fear it's the end for the public NYE celebrations.
Other than the usual Champs Elysees crowd-crushing, one of our group got
attacked for an expensive camera. After successfully repelling the potential
larcenists the scene turned surreal. Water pistols were shot through the
freezing air in our direction as a general "fous la camp". The
problem was that they contained some sort of WWI liquid acid weapon, causing
temporary blindness, beesting pain & general nausea. C'est la vie, eh?
1/11/02
Clearing the backlog
No recession in the frosties photo vault. A monster night out for
J.Be's b'day (the big three oh) back in December. Not a spewfest as
promised but an EU-surplus amount of booze was necked as numbers swelled into
the forties for this 12 hour pub crawl along the seedy side of town (E
Colfax). I've tried on several occasions to get a photo of each pub/drink,
and this attempt was every bit as unsuccessful as previous efforts.
1/8/02
Bonne Annee / Alles Gut in Neue Jahr
In spite of lost film (featuring Great Ocean Road footage), everything from
Thanksgiving to Melbn / Sydney and
in between. Something of a frantic last month, Australia & Europe
trips, J.Be's b'day, Christmas in Blighty, moving into Vail house, skiing. Time
is being crunched, the Honeybadger project is being delayed.
12/17/01
Bah! humbug
Life's been a tad blurry of late, but not even I could forget a couple of
Autumnal trips to San Fran, including the birthdays of
Alexis &, but a mere 7 days later, Alex.
Things have been getting pretty ugly in the recently-emigrated friend
department, as an IMHO Rant can attest --
whatever happened to the xmas spirit?
New player?
12/05/01
Paradise Lost
Just come back from a 10 day sojourn of sun in Sydney & mayhem in Melbourne,
where an entire roll of film, a gem in the frosties.com crown, was lost at sea.
Expect an outpouring of emotion on a Princess Di-like scale. Just as well the
court photographer, Percy, managed to shoot off an extra
roll at the nixta departure
party, after I had done the first one.
11/16/01
Something in your eyes
Was so inviting...something in our voices was so inciting. In addition to
Halloween horseplay in SF, Karaoke
clumsiness at Armida's straight after an inaugural salsa lesson. It was
a seemingly perfect karaoke venue, just outside downtown and sketchy enough to
detract 'professional' singers (the looks of Celine Dion, the moves of a koala
and the sound of a strangled cat). We were practically escorted off from such a
serious K place the last time ($300 to the lamest, er, most talented singer).
But even a seedy location couldn't save us from a bewildered crowd, unsure
whether to laugh, cry or take to the hills at such stock manoeuvres as writhing
around on the floor uncontrollably, or the old
going-into-the-crowd-for-an-impromptu-lapdance move.
11/06/01
Nick Furness -- setting sail at last
Still recovering from the latest Gaylord
party, Nixta is finally orf this week. This means that nixta.com
is down the pan (specifically, it's speeding through the Autumn night in a van
bound for NYC driven by Vinny & Jimmy) and with it the hosting of my site
is finito. This has forced me back out onto the vagaries of the market.
Specifically, I've had to settle for second best -- that's right, Linux lurks
beneath the frosties sheen. Still, this threatening cloud might actually have
the silver lining of a fully functional GaylordCam once more. Stay tuned. 'Til
then, check out this Autumnal Action.
Ye gads, what's going on with the climate this year? Denver, city of sin &
snow, feels globally warmer than it should (every day is 70F in November,
confusing the aviary population into decamping to Canada for winter). We'll
just have to compensate for the lack of snow.
To: The usual crew Subject: Bi Celebration
Message: A man of wit, intelligence and discretion. Not exactly a description
to conjure up images of the Nick Furness we know today, but it was a long, long
time ago...before a debilitating condition, known as
Gds-ArcSystems-Convergent-Schlumberger syndrome, took a hold of him in late
1995. As a final measure to break free from the illness, he has decided to
decamp to the little-known northern spa-town of New York, where he is hoping to
cure himself with long walks in the clean air & frequent baths in the hot
springs. A quiet family gathering is being held in his honour, Friday Nov
2 commencing at 9pm 1114 S Gaylord St (303 777 8925) located in the salubrious
district of Washington Park. By the purest of coincidences the meeting will be
combined with an effort to welcome Lindsay Campbell into our humble abode and
into our hearts. If you can find it in your soul to put in an appearance,
perhaps a parting medical gift, this world will truly be a better place. Tea
and cucumber sandwiches will be provided, and if we're feeling frisky we might
crack out the sherry. My sincerest apologies if you receive this twice, I want
to be sure to spread the love.
10/31/01
Nightmare: Groundhog Day
Anyone going to the BBC/CNN/whatevershoddynewsserviceyouuse --
allow me to introduce the news for the forseeable future:-
"Allied Northern Alliance Anthrax Air Attacks Pounding
High Alert Stronghold Ground Troops". I know, I know, it's all important.
So in the spirit of this unchanging headline, frosties has yet more
photies from the London trip as its own ode to repetition.
10/24/01
October Zest
Just when I thought the photographic diarrhea was over, it
appears to be defying the season and blasting through
autumn. There is still another batch to do. As ever, thanks to Al &
Jane for sponsoring frosties.com for the London weekend. Will be looking for Al
& Flange to commit in Oz come Thanksgiving.
Ooh, looks like there are a couple of new
players on the scene, including a canine character larger than
his frame, as well as a bouncy bird with a long tongue. Shocking.
More IMHO Ranting &
Music action.
10/18/01
The fear
Fortunes have waxed and waned a tad over the last week. After
a blinder of a trip to Blighty (family/club/pub type activities -- photies to
follow in due course), I came back to feel the force of an
as-yet-to-be-determined illness which exhibits flu-like symptoms. Could it be
the big 'A'?? Anyway, 'til the Blighty ones stream through
feast yer eyes on Elizabeth's birthday.
The fate of Real Madras now hangs in the balance, mere weeks
after the crowning triumph of our league victory. After a series of what
I believe is termed 'disappointing results' (15 consecutive losses), team
captain and all round oirish legend Ray "tatties" O'Connell has
thrown in the towel. In his own words to the team, "you're all sh**, I'm
quitting" and the great man feels he cannot muster up the strength to
carry on.
Crowning of another kind occurred within the confines of my
mouth yesterday. Smoke was billowing out from the rubble of my teeth as the
dentist went "crazy with the cheezewiz" in the drilling department.
Note to self: go back in time and cut down on 1.5 litres of coke per day
consumption between ages 15-25. The jumper hiding my mouth now serves a
purpose.
10/10/01
Flying overseas, no time to feel the breeze
There simply can't be a safer time to fly than now. So in my
bid to get enough airmiles to go down to Australia for the wedding of Captain
James "SoftCock" Sanders, I'm off to Blighty for the weekend. Should
anything untoward occur, know ye this -- Labour Day weekend was celebrated in
Californian quasi-white trash style on a houseboat.
It's time to whinge about our cleaner. Not content with being
a thieving gypsy (where oh where did my goggles go?), she's moved into slyly
repositioning things like bread into the bathroom and condoms onto the, erm,
bookshelves. Perplexing. And Nick says she's jammed the plates in so tightly
that he cannae get them out.
08/10/01
Emerging from workathon
Been a bit holed up, deep in the salt mines of
SchlumbergerSema for a couple of weeks. Occupational hazard of being a
button-pusher. A few straggly photies from a trip to Carmel/SF
and the awe-inspiring victory of Real Madras at the tail-end of
summer.
Is the recession going to affect frosties.com? I fear
so...IMHO Rant to follow...
21/9/01
Dinner Party Malarky
A dinner party to celebrate
the arrival of autumn and empty the wine stocked in our fridge.
Nickles brought the sound recorder for posterity...there are some mp3s
that should offend anyone between the ages of zero and two hundred. And a piccy
or two of an amusing Winter Park biking misadventure. Spot the
new player.
14/9/01
More Birthday Buffoonery
One would have to reach back possibly even further than 1970
to find the DOB for Mr R Younger, aka the Iron Monger, but no further than the
Wash Park Grille to see birthday-type activities.
Cathy also threw a pink slip party (amongst other things) all over
Steph's house, which comically nearly ended in fisticuffs ("I'll take 7,
er, 4 of you on!", youknowwhoyouare).
Rant spot of In My Humble Opinion
(IMHO) is up & ready to court controversy.
3/9/01
Birthday Bash
1970, a vintage year for celebrating thirty,
erm, one years later, after some
noncing around in Georgetown/Idaho Springs. The music section of
In My Humble Opinion (IMHO) is kind of up, general rant page still
todo.
Television -- not sure
how much we use ours, but I have noticed that, upon switching it on a
few times in the last week, the channel always seems to come up in Espanol.
Neither Sean nor JB speak English fluently, let alone a foreign tongue (though
Seanie obviously tries).
What is the allure? I have a flatmate who is content to gawp at the 1880s
sexism that is Latin American / Italian TV (read: 50 year old suited, plump
bloke flanked by birds spilling out of luminous dresses) without understanding
a word. Next time, use the DSL (Direct Sleaze Link).
As Nbci, former webhome, have ditched their lovely little
counter service I was forced onto the vagaries of the open market. We live in
harsh times, where customers have to actually part with (ten) hard-earned
(somewhere) dollars to get a
newie. Anyway, it's all back on, so I know not only your browser type
& operating system (JB, Linux is up to 40 out of twenty seven thousand
hits), but also your shoe size and childhood memories.
26/8/01
Red Rocks Romp
Ron/Mel/Emily visit from
Blighty, as well as the tail end of the trip to SF. What to do with people from
England who choose not to visit in ski season? Dispatched Ron & Mel on an
Aspen-Ouray-GrandCanyon-Santa Fe circular road trip. Denver itself is not
exactly replete with touristy things to do beyond going to sports games, but
Red Rocks/Lookout Mtn does make an amusing afternoon out. Especially when
boosted by a "Chariots Of Fire"-style scampering up the amphitheatre
seats race with JB. Rounded off with a Wash Park picnic.
Photies from waybackwhen
(March/April).
Plug for
friendsreunited (only for Blighty folk), with the reservation that they
try to fleece you for a fiver to see other people's email addresses.
Workaround: stuff your address in the notes section & use <> before
"." or "@" (or some similarly cunning scheme).
17/8/01
Looking for America
A never-ending road trip from
Denver to San Francisco, passing through Wyoming, Salt-Lake City, a jolly big
desert, Tahoe & Sacramento. Driving 19 hours straight to Tahoe gave new
meaning to the term "Redbull Hangover" (the jitters accompanied by
the feeling that your mouth has been dissolved by hydrochloric acid). Washed
down by a luxury stay in Lake Tahoe & a boozy party in SF, where Libby was
on the last leg of her world holiday travels.
Some leftovers from the Nebraskan
noncery / Ouray adventures, sort of an Amnesiac (ie better than the
first crop).
10/8/01
Summer moves on
A far out trip to deepest Nebraska
results in sunburn, spiritual enlightenment and the marriage of John
"Foobar" Fowler to his rather attractive bird, Nickie. My first land
trip east of Denver and I'm not sure if there's enough incentive to make the
sequel. Didn't catch sight of any wigwams, but there is a stench to die for on
the Colorado/Nebraska border. Particularly if you happen to be a cow. Lexington
proved itself amply in the American small town department. We waited in the
square beneath the clock tower but no Libyan terrorists came rushing by in a VW
van.
What's all this, then? Some new players.
Yes, yes, it's in need of a scrubbing but hell, this is a personal website and
is not meant to have been updated since January 1996. And where's the black
border & midi file? More Ouray/weeding photies
are still at the cleaners -- never take your ex-flatmate's film out of the
fridge, only to discover that it's slide film requiring processing to be done
by a 96 year old blind woman in southern Sicily (cheers, Al).
JB
& I are
going the knuckle on hotornot.
2/8/01
A Midsummer Night's Scream
A party to celebrate the departure
of Katie was dragged into the mud by some powerful
fruit-on-the-outside/firewater-within concoctions made by her erstwhile
flatmate, Lindsay. Inevitably, the police wanted a piece of the action and
events were terminated in the wee hours. Still got Nebraskan wedding, fondue
& Californian road trip photies coming out of the wazoo.
Thanks to the efforts of my web presentation tutor
Justin Thomas (mailto:athomejt@hotmail.com), the site is undergoing
metamorphosis, shedding its 1980s HTML 1x skin and slipping into something more
slinky, albeit firmly rooted in the last century -- Cascading Style Sheets (CSS).
Although undoubtedly stylish (and certainly handy for making sweeping changes),
the name seems to conjure up images of sheets billowing down from
damsel-holding mediaeval towers. Computer language inventors are compulsive
liars. Hypertext doesn't really warp past your eyes, Java doesn't herald from
misty mountains in the Andes and XML is certainly not going to get chopped by
censors.
19/7/01
Back in the Gutter
Not many people could tell me what it was about, but
celebrations took place on & around July 4.
Either way, the fireworks do not hold a candle to
Nov 5 in Blighty
My coworkers, congenial intellects that they are, have been
flexing their, erm, wits and catching me in
unreal positions. And then humiliating
me.
not
19/7/01
See Archive for old stuff
Old scraps are in Archive
(not)
07/12/99
Phil "eas" Penn is back
After a six month hiatus he's back. What's the story? All will
be revealed in
Back and in need of food. Coming soon: Marmite Cooking