Month: June 2003

Louise is making rapid strides in her recovery, and was desperate to get out of the house today, so I did a bit of research (read: aimless surfing) and came across Viewpark Gardens. Ideal as it didn’t seem too big, and is only 15 mins in the car.

Now before I go further I should explain that Viewpark itself isn’t the greatest area in Lanarkshire. Think far too many council estates and run-down pubs and you’ll get the picture (there’s someplace like this near you!), so we headed off, after a quick lunch, with a degree of uncertainty.

But what a surprise awaited us. Lovely gardens in a variety of themes, well maintained and ideal inspiration for us as we are still finalising plans for our own front garden (heathers, conifers, big rocks.. a Scottish garden). We spent the best part of a couple of hours wandering round the gardens and greenhouses (some excellent specimen cacti too), and didn’t see another soul. Pictures were taken, and will be online soon (along with the re-design).

Funniest moment was me, screaming like a banshee when an un-seen, and quite large, frog jumped out of the undergrowth and hit me on the leg. It’s just as well Louise’s stitches have healed….

Tomorrow, if the weather forecast is correct, it will be gardening day. Cutting grass, weeding, and generally tidying up, and I’m actually looking forward to it.

Anyway, surfing time. Beer and maltesers at the ready.

My name is Gordon McLean, and I am a ‘net pirate’. OK, so I’m not the person that wrote the article. I’m lying. Sorry.

However, the main point of the article is true. Personally, despite having access to more tracks than I could ever hope to listen to in my life time, I STILL buy CDs. And there’s the rub.

If it’s a well known artist, and particularly if I own some of their previous work, I am more likely to part my some hard earned moolah than I would be on a CD of which I know little about and have only heard one or two tracks on MTV(2).

Now, give me the opportunity to buy those one or two tracks, at a reasonable price – 75p a track anyone? – and I’d probably happily spend the money. So the big artists aren’t getting hit, and the smaller artists stand a better chance of gaining higher exposure and earning more money.

Anyhoo, is this a good time to mention that Jann has prompted me into updating my Tune of Moment?

Why that track? It crops up on my random playlist quite a lot and always .. well… works. Ohh and it appears to be in the new Charlies Angels film as well…

My good deed for the day is done. I’d nipped into Glasgow this morning to pick up some last minute pressies for Louise. On my way back to the car I had to go and pay for my ticket, and of course two of the three machines were out of order and there was a small queue of people at the other one.

So I joined the queue, and gave Louise a quick call to see if I had to pick up her prescription before coming home. I did, the chemist shuts at 12 noon on a Saturday, I was 30 mins away in Glasgow and it was about 11:10 am.

The woman in front of me steps up to the machine. Then starts digging in her bag for her purse. She finally takes her money out, then realise she hasn’t yet put her parking ticket into the machine. Cue more digging about in her Mary Poppins style bag, and finally the ticket is found and thrust into the machine upside down. Twice.

Now considering we had been standing in a queue, you would think she could’ve looked out some money and her ticket before now but I thought I’d let that pass without comment.

The machine beeps at her, asking for 40p. She feeds a ten pound note into the paper money slot. The machines whirrs a bit, then beeps and sticks it back out at her. She takes it out, flattens it a bit, and feeds it back in. After the fifth time I eventually stepped round beside her and held my hand out.

“Here, take this” I said, and handed her two twenty pence pieces. I even managed a “don’t worry about it” generous smile.

Isn’t it amazing how my frustration and pent up shopping rage managed to make me a good samaritan.

I’ve been in work early the past couple of days, I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed being up early on a weekday. Trains are quiet, the city is quiet, and you get a wave of serenity wash over you which manages to last most of the day (until the rush hour trip home).

I’ve never translated it to weekends though, taking after my Mum and enjoying my bed too much, but on the odd occasion I’ve managed to arise before 7 a.m. on a Saturday it’s an entirely different feeling.

During the week, corner shops are open, cafe’s are frying up the morning’s breakfasts and their is a small amount of solidarity to be found amonst early risers. At the weekend you are much more alone and acutely aware of it. You get the sensation that the world has become your Marie Celeste.

I really should try getting up early more often, of course that would mean going to bed at a reasonable hour, and therein lies the problem. As much as I enjoy the occasional early morning, I much prefer a late night. I’m sure that speaks volumes about my character and no doubt there is some branch of psychology that has researched this trait to within an inch of its being, but I don’t care. I still feel ‘naughty’ when I stay up late, obviously a hangover from childhood, there is still a slight buzz of excitement, creeping into the bedroom at 2 a.m. on a ‘school night’. Whereas getting up early seems all too grown up and mature.

OK, I can’t afford what I wanted to get Louise for her birthday (well not a decent one anyway). But it turns out that I don’t need to worry about it too much. You see “Men believe that they score highly with women when they do something big. Everything, whether big or small, scores one point with women” so I don’t need to worry about getting a big present, loads of little ones will serve me better.

Good to know eh… well here are 13 other useful pointers for you. And yes, we do have the book at home, and no I’ve never read it. I’ll make do with Louise telling me to disappear to my cave (read room where my home PC is…), and that I’ve not to give her solutions to any of the problems she moans about.

Right, off to go and catch my lunch, maybe club a fair maiden over the head too…

Did you realise that, according to a journalist in the US of A, Europe still doesn’t get the Internet.

I won’t comment on the fact that… ohh bugger it, I will.. we do get the internet, in fact I have been accessing the internet since 1995. Did you mean, Mr. American Journalist, that Europe doesn’t ‘get’ the Internet.. as in we don’t understand it? I think you did, so how about you tidy up your ‘English’. Thanks.

Reading between the lines, it seems that we (Europe) should create a First Amendment (or borrow one from the USA). It also seems that we (Europe) are seen as one large ‘state’ by some people, whereas we (the UK) are still self-governing, and as it mentions in this article, we (the UK) don’t have a right to reply in place (neither does Ireland or Portugal). Do we need to offer one? Do we all need to add disclaimers to our websites? Is the availability of comments enough to consistute a right to reply arena anyway? (just to be prepared).

It was all a lot simpler back in 1995.