Doug's Personal Blog

Not just the results, but the photos. There simply wasn't time to post them yesterday as the sweepstake took quite a long time to organise and I barely had time to get bets on for Mads and I at the local bookies. First we had the draw ....



There was a small mix-up when Frank the Duck somehow picked two selections, but we rectified that when we noticed that Brian the Footballer didn't have one. So, selections made, everyone settled down for the race.





Oh, and the Barack Obama book? One of the Boys Christmas presents. They're *big* fans.

It was an eventful race and State of Play came in fourth, which meant Mads and I at least got our money back, but the first and second places went to ...



Alex/Pierre and Geoffrey. As you can see, prizes were small but Alex and Pierre were generous and shared them around in the evening. By the way, Geoffrey isn't upset because he was only second. He just always looks like that and wasn't pleased about being forced to join in in the first place!

Sad news. The Rabbit picked Hear The Echo (Hear The Echo), who collapsed on the run-in. He kept asking what that meant and we tried to shield him from the sad truth, but the rest of them made a point of explaining the implications to him. He's shattered and it's going to take a while for him to get over it. The Rabbit, that is, but I think Hear The Echo came off worse ....

Forget, if you can for a moment, the sad number of horses who have died in pursuit of an essentially trivial sporting event. Once a year, the Grand National takes over British life for a few hours, leading to people who would never dream of visiting a betting shop stumbling over tiny pens and specialised slips for dummies. Every office has a sweepstake or two on the go.

The Burns household is no different and with the increasing cost of laying bets, we thought we'd try an innovation this year - our own Sweepstake using the BBC's handy print-out Sweepstake kit. The prizes are small, and only for first and second place, but here are the picks, pre-race.

Gordon - Cloudy Lane
Ugly Cat - Chelsea Harbour
Crazy Cats - Snowy Morning
Goldfish - Nowhere
Geoffrey - Comply or Die
Bill - Ollie Magern
Sergeant Blackberry - Stan
Bobby Dan - Black Appalachi
Rabbit - Hear the Echo
Jorge - Persists Leap
Douglas - My Will
Mike - Eurotrek
Mr Tickle - State of Play
Derek Jr. - Big Fella Thanks
Alex/Pierre - Mon Mome
Balikavalata - Silver Birch
Little H - Butlers Cabin
Brian - Offshore Account
The Mod Duck - Parsons Legacy
Gerald - Reveillez
Snowman - Fundamentalist
Horror Ora - Golden Flight
The Dog - L'Ami
Tigree - Battle Cry
Mads - Cornish Sett
Pingu - Fleet Street
Mario - Musica Bella
Moo - Can't Buy Time
Ugly Bear - Darkness
Flatcat - Irish Invader
Frank - Rambling Minster
Bear with no name - Southern Vic
Bradley Bear - Kilbigganblade
Rodney - Brooklyn Brownie
Tigger - Himalayan Trail
Laughing Red Nose - Arteea
Armadillo - Ceriam
Polly Piggy - Idle Talk
Sens Moose - Kalami
The Monkeys - Zabenz

(Typing that was a nightmare and apologies for any incorrect names!!)

Results and photos to follow ...

You can call it Modern Art if you like. I say it's disgusting. It looks perfectly innocent at first until you place your cursor over any of the cute cuddly toys.

(No) thanks to Kurt for sending me the link.

... and shudder.

This involves two friends I've made over the past couple of years and a little guy starting out on a new career.

I met Richard when I started working at my current site just under two years ago. Richard's been totally blind since childhood and it's be an education and a privilege to get to know him. He's changed my perspective on the world. I remember all those Blue Peter Guide Dogs for the Blind appeals as a kid and it isn't like I didn't know there were blind people but, like most things, I hadn't really thought it through until it was, well, in front of my eyes.

Marco is a Dutch Oracle geek who I met at the Hotsos Symposium in 2007 and we've stayed in touch since, meeting up at conferences occasionally. Marco was kind enough to bring me a gift of a lion at UKOUG last December. When he got back to my place, we did discuss calling him Marco, but somewhow, Mario seemed to fit best.

As we approached Christmas, I decided that Sponsoring a Guide Dog as a puppy might make a good gift for my daughter. She has a soft spot for most animals anyway and, despite my own internal conflict about charity, breeding and training guide dogs is an expensive business. So I sent off for the pack and when she opened it on Christmas Day she was clearly very pleased although I was a bit disconcerted that she seemed most interested in the section that explained that not all puppies make the grade but then they are re-homed. I had visions of her following the puppy around during his training and dangling dog biscuits in front of him so he would screw up his training and need to be re-homed. Her home being the obvious destination! Let's hope the wee guy can make the grade though. I think it can be a tough working life sometimes, but he'll be very important to someone.

As she started reading the letter, I had to chuckle to myself ....

"Marco's amazing adventure starts here ...."



Oh, and the ironic punchline? Anyone who is blind can't see that photo of Marco. Suffice to say that he looks a little more sad, serious and even grumpy than just a cute little puppy might, but he has an important life in front of him. In fact, he looked cuter and happier in the other photo but I like this one personally.

Good luck, Marco.