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I’m very pleased to announce that on 04/05/2009 Lisa agreed to marry me! 

No idea on dates yet but will keep you posted…

Answers To  Quiz:

1. The one sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends … Boxing

2. North American landmark constantly moving backward s .  Niagara Falls  (The rim is  worn down about two and a half feet each year because of the millions of gallons of water that rush over it every minute.)

3.. Only two vegetables that can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons … Asparagus and rhubarb.

4. The fruit with its seeds on the outside … Strawberry.

5.  How did the pear get inside the brandy bottle? It grew inside the bottle. (The bottles are placed over pear buds when they are small, and are wired in place on the tree. The bottle
is left in place for the entire growing season. When the pears are ripe, they are snipped off at the stems.)

6. Three English words beginning with ‘dw’ Dwarf, dwell and dwindle .

7. Fourteen punctuation marks in English grammar …. Period, comma, colon, semicolon, dash, hyphen, apostrophe, question mark, exclamation point, quotation marks, brackets, parenthesis, braces, and ellipses.

8. The only vegetable or fruit never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form but fresh Lettuce.

9.  Six or more things you can wear on your feet beginning with ‘S’   Shoes, socks, sandals, sneakers, slippers, skis, skates, snowshoes, stockings, stilts.

1. Name the one sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends.

2. What famous North American landmark is constantly moving backward?

3. Of all vegetables, only two can live to produce on their own for several  growing seasons. All other vegetables must be replanted every year. What are the only two perennial vegetables?

4. What fruit has its seeds on the outside?

5. In many liquor stores you can buy pear brandy, with a real pear inside the bottle. The pear is
whole and ripe, and the bottle is genuine; it hasn’t been cut in any way. How did the pear get inside the bottle?

6. Only three words in standard English begin with the letters ‘dw’ and they are all common words. Name two of them.

7. There are 14 punctuation marks in English grammar. Can you name at least half of them?

8.  Name the only vegetable or fruit that is never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form except fresh.

9. Name 6 or more things that you can wear on your feet beginning with the letter ‘S.’

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I don’t know whether this was actually put in the Sunday Times but I think this is very funny nethertheless…

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn’t defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents Truth and Trust, by his wife Discretion his daughter, Responsibility, and his son Reason.

He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers;

I Know My Rights.
I Want It Now.
Someone Else Is To Blame.
I’m A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on.   If not, join the majority and do nothing.

Some photos do just make you go wow.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/01/more_of_london_from_above_at_n.html

OK, I admit that he has got an advantage having hired a mini-copter to move around to take the photos - but these are just amazing views of places that we quite happily walk around.

Thanks to my new long commutes (1.5 hours each way if I go to the client’s office) I have had more opportunity to read.  Of course, I do read work items on the train when required - but unfortunately, sometimes your brain just isn’t ready to cope with another 3 hours work!  So, after I’ve finished the free rags (that doesn’t take me long!) I’ve got back into reading fiction - I’ve read some fantastic Ben Elton books (currently Blind Faith - awesome take on a post-flood world), and of course I always have my awesome Terry Pratchett collection.  What else does anyone recommend for a good train read?

On a related note, Queen’s greatest hits are a great track to get into the office on!

But this day’s started well!  Red dwarf has some more episodes coming… how good is that?! I loved watching this show when I was younger.

I can’t believe its 21 years old.  I hope its better than some of the last series though…

New Red Dwarf News…

Welcome to the new apthorpe.com website - more details coming soon…