Perhaps it is bias, but since the Portugal v England match, there haven't really been any exciting matches in Euro 2004. I mean, perhaps exciting for nationals of those countries watching their sides win/lose - but not actually any exciting football for a neutral to watch. I hope Greece v Portugal final makes up for it, but frankly, England v France would have been better.

Today is my last day of working in my current role. From Monday I start a new 2 month contract, working at the same place, same office, just 1 desk along from where I have been the past year.

I've been back in the reading frame of mind recently. Which is both good and bad. I really do enjoy reading, but the speed at which I do so, even if only reading to and from work, means I end up spending a lot of money on books, which I don't really have the space to store. My method of picking books has always been to select one from an author I already know and like, however the other day i decided to specifically aim for not just an author I had never read, but one I had never even heard of. This led me to buy a Trudi Canavan book (The Magician's Guild), I enjoyed it so much, and read it so quickly, that I bought book two (The Novice) in the trilogy a few days later.. and a few days after that I was feeling annoyed that book 3 (The High Lord) wasn't due out until September.

So back to the bookshop I went, looing once again for new/unknown authors (as far as I was concerned) and I bought reMix by Jon Courtenay Grimwood which I am enjoying.

I went out for an hour jog/walk yesterday, and repeated again today.. if I can keep it up three days in a row it will officially become a routine and I will be on my way to becoming fit again (ha! I can dream).

Gonna take part in Bob's info meme thingy:

If you had to select a name to suit you perfectly, what name would you choose? Descriptive, Native American-type names are fine.

   Me

What bad habit that others have irritates you the most?

   Not paying attention to their friends.

What do you think your own most irritating habit probably is?

   Attempting to find a punchline to absolutly every sentence I hear.

What animal would ideally suit you as a pet?

   Some sort of large wildcat.

Name one of your favourite authors - and tell us why he or she is a favourite.

   Terry Pratchett - he's just amazing.

If you could be a professional at any sport, what would it be and why? ("Ugh, I hate all sports" is acceptable)

   I think it would have to be cricket, it calls not just for moments of skill, but for intense concentration over long periods of time, and constant performance, it's a both at times an individual sport, and a team sport.

What is your favourite item of clothing and why?

   An extra-large baggy t-shirt celebrating the release of MUX 2. I wear it as a nightshirt.

What would you choose as the first sentence of your autobiography?

   You thought I couldn't be any more self-obsessed.. but here it is.. it's my own personal autobiography.

If you woke up one morning to discover you had been endowed with God's omnipotence, what's the first thing you'd do with it?

   I would irradicate religeous leaders, byebye to the Pope, bishops, rabbis, mullas, etc. I would eliminate the state of Israel and hand it over to the Palestinians. I would destroy every non-democratic leader in the middle-east, until proper non-religeous truly democratic leaders took charge. I would separate the USA into 4 or 5 new countries. I would free Tibet from China. I would find out what the heck happened to that Beagle 2 Mars lander. And so much more..

If you had to live through the plot of a film as one of the main characters, which film and character would you choose, and why?

   Perhaps Paul 'Muadib' Atreides from Dune - for I am the Kwisatz Haderach

Am watching the cricket on TV, and every now and then they give a lovely aerial picture, and it's quite impressive how green the surroundings are when it is essentially in the middle of London. I couldn't find a good picture online, and so snapped one off tv.



Doesn't show all that well in this picture, but take my word for it.
If you can't take my word for it, I took what I hope is a better shot, click on the thumbnail below:

I went to Lords today with a friend to watch the final day's play between England and the West Indies in the first test match of the series. I got to see 7 WI wickets fall, Lara and Chanderpaul bat, Flintoff bowl (and take a wicket), and Giles take 4 of his 2nd innings 5 wicket haul.

By the way, if you were interested to see where I sat yesterday:

Fancy a giggle? Or not?

Francis Crick died :(
Flintoff got his best ever test score (167).