:: Mid-week Fling ::

In a change of tactics, I've decided to avoid the dreary once-a-week Friday round-up megapost. This is partly due to the fact that I have a bit more time on my hands. My boss has returned from a two-week stint in Croatia and I no longer feel obliged to hit the desk at 7.30am. All things considered, it hasn't gone too badly in his absence: no doubt I'll receive compensation for my efforts in the form of a Chupa Chup or something equally derisory. Anyhow, the boss' return was marked by going for a departmental picnic in the local park. This was partly for the benefit of the new starter in the department, but served well as piece of ritual coy embarrassment. Amongst the topics of conversation was this gem from my head of department. Eager to capitalise on the hour-long lunch break allocation, he and another colleague headed to a pub to play pool. However, the hostelry in question had recently been refurbished, ni the course of which, their table disappeared to make space for extra customers. He remembered seeing a sign near the tube station with a vaguely trianglar symbol and so they headed there. Unfortunately, this venue happened to be the local branch of Chariots and not a pool hall at all. The following conversation with a grubby man behind a grille ensued:
"How much is it?"
"Ten quid."
"Is that for an hour or can we play all day?"
"You can stay as long as you like."
"How many tables have you got?"
"You do realise this is a gay sauna, don't you?"
"...!"

Issues to rant about today include: the proliferation of ever-more stupid email disclaimers. Apparently the legal validity of many of this is questionable - and some appear to be downright contradictory. It's not just me on my high horse, either. A teachers' union has denounced mickey mouse degrees from fourth-rate new universities. All sounds a bit Daily Mail to me but makes some sense. Nevertheless, I perfectly happy with my BA in Inebriation Studies from the University of Clerkenwell Green. And New Yorkers have been getting in a huff about the potential branding of subway stations...

In Other News... Dr Rufus appears to have enjoyed stunning success in his apicultural endeavours. I look forward to tasting the fruits of his buzzy friends' labours soon. And when Google got well and truly whacked recently, I started using blinkx. I'd certainly recommend it - not as a replacement for, rather as a complement to Google.

Back to work related matters. I noticed today that Boerhinger-Ingelheim has an amusing company logo. If you find that puerile and unfunny, you can fuck of to Felixstowe and watch Rik Waller performing with his band.