The days are numbered for how-random

With just 4hours left to vote it's looking like people are voting for a brave new world and pioneering Random Inflection. Somewhat alarmingly, more people thought I suck than those who prefered the old blog. Good start.

Misguided votes of confidence aside, I will continue to post random thoughts, photos and made up stories. Unless How Random has a come from behind win that would make even Lleyton Hewit proud, I will eventually move the blog to www.randominflection.blogspot.com

Tonight I fly to India for 2 weeks so I wont have time to transfer the blog across yet. But I plan on updating as much as possible, even if just through Twitter on the right of the blog. So keep checking www.how-random.blogspot.com til you hear otherwise!

The older I get, the better I was...

It has been a lonnnnngggggg time since I've climbed properly. From 1995 - 1998 I reckon I climbed, on average, 3 times a week. I think I've climbed 3 times in the last 11 years. I decided I wanted to get back into it and was so excited when Angus at work told me about a bouldering gym 15 mins walk from work.

Todd and I rocked up there tonight (having both spent way too long in climbing oblivion) and were looking forward to something fun but with the knowledge that the older we get, the better we were.



Either way we gave it a shot and before too long we started to get our technique back. It may take a little longer to get the strength back but I think this could be a regular occurence.

Anyone who wants to join us, please do. I think it's kinda therapeutic...

Stockholm. Still soft.

A whirlwind trip to Stockholm has been on the cards since July last year when Flip moved over. It took a while, but I finally made it. Although I did start to wonder when SAS (Scandinavian Air) were not only 3 hours late leaving but they also asked the passengers whether we would rather wait 30 minutes longer for the catering trolley (ie over-priced stale sandwiches) or leave now and without 'food'. It was a rather unanimous 'let's go now please'.

First port of call was to see Flip's kids. Twins born late last year, Isabelle and Alexandra were fairly well behaved. I would be too if my day was filled with eating and sleeping...



Next up was a trip to the skatepark. Sweden has some great indoor parks so I had to have a roll. The street course, requiring speed and agility was packed full of little rubber people who don't shave yet (guess the movie that quote came from). So we headed to the next room for the bowl and pipe which requires a slower shift of momentum, and less of a care. Funnily enough there were only about 7 other people in there- all over 30!



The music was much better too- a mixture of Guns 'n' Roses and Roy Orbison, among others, which felt strangely calming. Having not skated properly for over 2 years I was surprised at how quickly it came back.



I've still got it.



Uh, no I don't.

That evening we did not set off fireworks, drink too much or get kicked out of bars in the Old Town. Just as much as I didn't have a great time.



I hope the dude in front of me didn't have to pay more for the same seat on the same flight than I did...

Dilemmas...

So after searching with immense frustration for the administrator of my own blog- the one I set up, I author, and I manage, I found out during the week that I am the administrator but with an old email address! Had this information have come up a week ago I would have no dilemma. But last weekend, in my fury, I started building a new blog from scratch.

Now I'm not sure which one I like better! I only wanted to add my Twitter updates to the side, and now I have that on both blogs. The name of the other blog: Random Inflection, I quite like, too. So I'll put up a poll.

Out of:
www.how-random.blogspot.com
www.randominflection.blogspot.com
Which layout do you prefer? Please also keep in mind the site addresses when making your decision! VOTE ON THE POLL TO THE RIGHT OF THE SCREEN.

On another note, I'll be in Stockholm this weekend and hope to update Twitter with lots of useless little points so if you wanna see if I'm having more fun than you are, check back here over the next few days.

The new Random is coming...

Look out for something new from Random Media... Like everything in the UK, the heavy snowfall this week is being blamed for my rather boring blog.

I have tried to update it but somehow, despite the blog being set up and written by me and only me, I am apparently not the administrator of it so I am unable to change the format or add anything but posts. Google have been their usual worthless selves in assisting. Over the past few weeks I've played around with Wordpress but Blogger is simple, straight forward and does what I want (except tell me who the administrator could possibly be). I am not able to copy my old blog across (only an administrator can do that...) so I have just started from scratch.

Look out for a Branson style launch sometime this week.

Yours Truly,
The Real 'How Random'.

What can you do?

So what do you do when God dumps 20cm of pow-pow on your town in 24 hours?
a) Rug up, make a cup of tea, and watch Sleepless in Seattle?
b) Go to work because you're a temp and they wont let you work from home?
c) Go to your nearest hill and smash out some fresh tracks?
I can assure you it wont be a) for me.

I went to Villard de Lans in France for a ski on the weekend. It's a small resort with fairly crusty snow, but it was big enough and empty enough to enjoy it for a few days. I'm still blown away by the fact that I can ski in France just for the weekend... or so I thought.

We were supposed to be back in London at about 10.20pm on Sunday night. But as of 11pm, our plane from Grenoble still hadn't left London due to heavy snowfall in the UK. The tube is often closed in autumn due to "leaves on the track", and in winter due to "snow on the track" and at other times due to bodies on the track so adverse weather conditions can really shut this place down. My most frustrating time this year was when we had tix for a football match but it was postponed for a week because there was ice on the pitch. What a bunch of girls. It's a winter sport. Anyway, I expected a sprinkling of snow in London after Ezy Jet had cancelled a few flights.

So after sorting things out in the airport until 1am, Ezy Jet did it pretty well and put us up in a Novotel with shuttle buses back to the airport the next morning. (Poor Novotel, their free breakfast got absolutely raped. Our flight must have gone through over 450 croissants as people stocked up in expectation for a long wait.) The original call of 10.25am flight came and went, so did the 11.30am and 12.15pm and I think we ended up getting away at about 1.15pm, which wasn't too bad. In that sort of situation it's easy to become friendly with other people on your flight.

So upon arrival at Gatwick, I accepted the delay and noticed the 20cm or so of snow that had fallen, and was quite impressed at the speed in which crowds were controlled and ushered on to the train into the city.


This is what kept me in Grenoble?

I managed to get home at 6pm, 25 hours after leaving my hotel, and 30 mins before my doctors appointment (which I rode my bike to. I tell you, riding a bike in snow is like being stuck in tram tracks with ADHD...)


A taxi a little under the weather...

So I've ruled out a) Sleepless in Seattle. Tomorrow I will ride through the sludge to get to work, and maybe as a reward to myself on Wednesday when it snows again I'll be down at Richmond Park laying fresh tracks in the snow.