BIke Ride of Epicness - Day 4

Another quick update.

I crashed (as in, got too tired to carry on) at 70kms on Wednesday. Thursday dawned with a blustery gale - between 15 and 25km/h wind - which I pushed against as hard as I could. At around the 45km mark, I almost got blown under an eighteen-wheel truck. I decided at that point that it would be more sensible to pull off, so found a farm that didn't mind randoms camping. They let me pitch in the forest by their fowl lake (from the colour of the water, 'foul' would also work in that sentence as a descriptor for 'lake', but it didn't stink), which was nicely sheltered from the wind. I took photos; I'll upload them soon.

As an aside, if you're ever driving up the A1 to Edinburgh, stop at the Cook and Barker pub in Newton-on-the-Moor. It's a lovely, lovely place. Best service and nicest chips so far this side of the border.

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Day 2 - Bike Ride of Epicness

Mini-post, because of time constraints.

Wow, there are so few places in small towns that have wifi! I thought there would be one or two places per day to stop and rest that would have wifi...apparently I was mistaken. The first day was lovely until the last fifteen kilometres. I got hopelessly lost, so didn't get to see Duns - there was a Jim Clarke museum I wanted to explore. As a result, I ended up 15km north of where I needed to stop yesterday, so I started today lost and behind. I'm currently 30km south of Berwick-Upon-Tweed and am going to push another 15kms or so. Will update properly when I next get wifi. Have taken photos, so will share those in due course

The Disadvantage of Language-Geekery in Public Fora

I'm a geek; I have no problem in admitting that. As a geek, I read writers' guides to composition - a pursuit that includes the list of overused words. Because of the sheer volume of time that I spend trying to perfect my craft, the need to always structure sentences and paragraphs properly has spilled over into every aspect of my life. I'm quite sure this has happened to other people, mostly because I've met lecturers who looked baffled when someone didn't understand them.

This presents a conundrum.

On the one hand, one could try and speak like a normal person instead of mentally editing and analysing the grammar of the people one is speaking to (it was an effort to write it like that, and not say the stiff, grammatically correct "to whom one is speaking"). It feels strange, as though one trying to be someone else. On the other hand, one could speak like Sheldon. That means one come across as a verbose moron - something that generally gets worse when one has had a bit t drink.

So, to all of you who out there, please feel free to give me your opinions on whether using the extent of one's vocabulary is a good thing. Whether people with good vocabularies should make a conscious effort to sound more like the average, for example.

Peace

I don't really have time for a full blog post about this, but it does warrant a bloglet post. Obama has declared that "Operation Iraqi Freedom" (Bush's campaign to procure foreign oil) is over. The nation of Iraq is now responsible for its own security. This will free up troops to focus on Afghanistan (the war that's actually about terrorism, however misguided a decision it was) and squish Al Quaeda. All I can say is this: at long f**king last. *hi5* Obama.

Nicklet the 3rd

Wow, another baby post. This time, it's Nick Heidfeld and his fiancee, Patricia Papen (pictured left) who are the proud parents (no, I couldn't find a pic with their children and part of me is glad - celebrities' children get harassed by the media way too much). On Monday night, Patricia delivered their third child, Justus. “I am delighted to announce that my third child was born tonight. Our little son is called Justus. We are all well,” he announced on his website (link below).

I'm told that Juni (his daughter, born 2005) and Joda (his son, born 2007) are delighted with the new arrival. (As an aside, in that link, how blatantly are the mechanics checking out Patricia's bum?) Unfortunately for Patricia and the hatchlings, Nick has flown off to Italy to test for Pirelli this week.

Baby Barnacles

(Yes, I know that NPH is NPH and not Barney. However, for the sake of the title...)

Neil Patrick Harris (of How I Met Your Mother and Dr Horrible fame) and his partner David Burtka are expecting twins in October. The couple, who have been together for over six years, opted to have children via a surrogate mother. Harris made the announcement via twitter on Saturday, adding that he hoped the media would respect their privacy. They are reported to be thrilled and planning a baby shower.

Two things:
1) N'aww, babies! *hi5* liberal surrogacy laws! I hope that the press do leave Neil and David's kids alone, and don't harrass them, like they do to Brangelina's kids.
2) As cute as a baby Darth Vader and R2D2 cake is (pictured left, credit to cakewrecks), I hope their baby shower cake is less, well, Dark Lord-ish. We don't want Babies Harris-Burtka joining the Evil League of Evil ;)

Fabulous marriage

Yes, I've used the word "fabulous" and "marriage" together. There is, however, a reason. Imagine the fabulosity that's going to happen at weddings in California after the 18th! Yes, isn't it awesome, Judge Walker has ended the stay on the Prop 8 verdict! Now, I'm fairly sure that the only people who still get excited about getting married are gay, so this is a truly awesome thing. Not only does everyone in the state of California have equal rights, but marriage will be fashionable again! *hi5* Judge Walker for bringing the voice of reason back to California legislation!

Capless

Now I think I understand why he wears The Blue Embratel Cap all the time.

Edit to add: If that's what the helmet hair looks like, how wild is the bed-head?

Tweetophobia

...And it's started. Celebs are developing phobias about twitter. Well, maybe not many, but definitely Kenny Chesney. I completely understand worrying about people broadcasting the details of your date online; it truly is creepy behaviour. However, does he realise that girls have been doing this for years? We go to the bathroom and give progress reports to our friends. Everyone does it. We might not use twitter, but he doesn't honestly think that at least one date of his has gone to the bathroom and texted a friend? We sometimes need moral support and advice on how to respond to certain things, and this can only be provided by The Personal Council (those people who know enough about you that you don't want the CIA knowing that you're friends). Still, I think there needs to be a social rule about this: no tweeting date details - those updates can be saved for direct messaging, texting or post-date calls to friends.

The Sights of London

Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber had pitstop practice with the team outside the Houses of Parliament. Bear in mind that this is a country where closing a public road requires an act of parliament. Yet, apparently, having pitstop practice on a public road isn't regarded as a public safety hazard.

Take a quick look at the second picture. In the background, there are a bunch of tents. Those tents belong to a bunch of peace protesters. Said protesters are being evicted imminently. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm a die-hard F1 fan and I think it's really awesome that there's finally been some street action in the UK, but isn't there something wrong with the world where a government is fine with people driving racing cars capable of 300km/h around a city centre and yet objects to a peaceful protest?

For more info on Brian Haw's protest, click here.
Photos by Mark Thompson and Peter Macdiarmid, respectively, both of Getty Images, Europe

Update

I've dropped chem. It was bringing me down in a very intense way. I know it makes me a bit of a flake - dropping yet another subject just before the exams - but I'd still prefer a "subject dropped" on my record than a "failed dismally". In good news, this means that I get to spend the next three weeks writing, going through my notes thoroughly, and spending afternoons wandering around the hills collecting grass to burn for my project. I am a much happier botanist now! And so what if I'll never be able to successfully interpret a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum of a protein molecule?

Ode to Mozzarella

I know it makes no sense, it doesn't rhyme and it has no definite rhythm. However, I had fun writing it...

Ode to Mozzarella

Oh Mozzarella, Mozzarella,
How I've missed you!
The milky, stringy goodness of you!

Oh Mozzarella, Mozzarella,
For months you have eluded me,
Cloaking yourself in a South African guise;
Stodgy and bitter you came to me.
You fouled my mouth with mediocrity!

But Mozzarella, Mozzarella,
You have returned to me!
To be my calcium, my protein,
You have returned to my fridge.
Mozzarella, my Mozzarella, welcome home!

Happy picture

What could be more awesome that one Heikki Kovalainen? Two Heikki Kovalainens! Apparently there's some kind of cool concept shoot going on at the moment. This will delight many a crazy fangirl, to the point of squeeing! *hi5* to whoever came up with this concept!

District of Columbia FTW!

After yesterday's whinge about the pointlessness of my life, I have some good news to add. The District of Columbia (that's Washington DC to those of you who don't care about US geography) has passed a bill enabling same-sex couples to apply for marriage licenses. W

While nobody will be able to get married this week (it takes three days to process the application for a marriage license in DC, apparently), I still think this is an awesome step forward. That's now six states that allow the freedom that should be afforded to everyone. (Okay, I don't personally believe in marriage per se [I'm more of a civil union/domestic partnership person], but this still counts as a good thing.)

So *hi5* to DC's Chief Justice John Roberts for ignoring the conservative right and doing the just thing!

Welcome

"Come with us now on a journey through time and space..."

Okay, now that I've got the obligatory random quote out the way (The Mighty Boosh, for those of you who don't watch random British comedy), we can get down to business. I've been wanting to set up this blog for quite a while. I currently have a blog on a website that pays me per hit, however, I feel like I've out-grown it. This is partly because some people who would like to follow me get blocked because they're outside South Africa, and partly because it's a tech blog, site and I no longer have much to say about technology (not being a computer science student anymore).

So that brings us to this, right here, right now. I would like to welcome you to the new Blog of Brij. You are invited to comment, discuss, and argue. This is, after all, the point of a blog (or so it seems to me). Until tomorrow...