Stupid statement, given that we had very little contact in the past 20 years, but we had plenty before that that I'm thankful for (you changed my world, man) and I know a true original and a special person. I'm glad so many others do, too and, although you might take the p*ss out of it if you were here, I know you'd be pleased secretly.
Let's hope we were both wrong about after-lives and all that but, whatever happens, you left your mark in a big way. I just wish it had been less painful for you (at times).
Too upset to do you justice yet.
Sob, sob!
Monday, June 28. 2010
Joffa Smifff - One of a kind. I'll miss you
Sunday, June 13. 2010
Marco Update
Regular readers will remember that my daughter and I sponsored a guide dog puppy called Marco.
In that post I highlighted my daughter's sinister plan :-
"... 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!"
Well maybe I shouldn't have tempted fate. We received a letter from Guide Dogs. (The letter is dated March 2010, which shows how far I've fallen behind with some things!). Here's a small section of the letter.
"Well, what a journey it's been! When Miss Burns first met him, Marco was just a small puppy, still unsure on his paws and learning to find his way in the world.
Guide dog trainees are constantly undergoing assessment, so that any issue can be addressed quickly and additional training can be arranged. There are a number of character traits which, although they may be normal behaviour for pet dogs, in a guide dog it would potentially pose a safety risk for its owner. Things such as chasing cats, pulling on the lead and food scavenging are just a few of these. Although Marco was progressing really well in all other aspects of his training, he is, like so many dogs, food obsessed. Which means that everything else takes second place if there is food nearby and this, of course, would be unsafe for his guide dog owner. Sadly, this meant that Marco had to be withdrawn from the guide dog training programme.
We are very disappointed that Marco was not able to make the grade but hope you will understand that nothing short of perfection is acceptable and our primary consideration is the safety of our guide dog owners and the welfare of our dogs. Marco has now been rehomed with a loving family and is settling in well with his new life as a pet dog. We will be sending Miss Burns their final pupdate which shows Marco with his new family shortly."
Something about this still makes me chuckle. I have a strong suspicion that Marco may have witnessed some of the hard working life of a Guide Dog and decided he would chase down food at every oppportunity! Nice try, Marco, and I hope you have a loving home in your near future.
Of course, his name-sake is an entirely different animal - dependable, hard-working and so forth so I would never suggest that his eating habits might get in the way one day!
Oh, and just because Marco didn't quite make the grade, the important business of training Guide Dogs never ends, so here, for example is another young pup looking for a sponsor. His name is Garth.
If you're interested, the Guide Dogs website explains how.
In that post I highlighted my daughter's sinister plan :-
"... 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!"
Well maybe I shouldn't have tempted fate. We received a letter from Guide Dogs. (The letter is dated March 2010, which shows how far I've fallen behind with some things!). Here's a small section of the letter.
"Well, what a journey it's been! When Miss Burns first met him, Marco was just a small puppy, still unsure on his paws and learning to find his way in the world.
Guide dog trainees are constantly undergoing assessment, so that any issue can be addressed quickly and additional training can be arranged. There are a number of character traits which, although they may be normal behaviour for pet dogs, in a guide dog it would potentially pose a safety risk for its owner. Things such as chasing cats, pulling on the lead and food scavenging are just a few of these. Although Marco was progressing really well in all other aspects of his training, he is, like so many dogs, food obsessed. Which means that everything else takes second place if there is food nearby and this, of course, would be unsafe for his guide dog owner. Sadly, this meant that Marco had to be withdrawn from the guide dog training programme.
We are very disappointed that Marco was not able to make the grade but hope you will understand that nothing short of perfection is acceptable and our primary consideration is the safety of our guide dog owners and the welfare of our dogs. Marco has now been rehomed with a loving family and is settling in well with his new life as a pet dog. We will be sending Miss Burns their final pupdate which shows Marco with his new family shortly."
Something about this still makes me chuckle. I have a strong suspicion that Marco may have witnessed some of the hard working life of a Guide Dog and decided he would chase down food at every oppportunity! Nice try, Marco, and I hope you have a loving home in your near future.
Of course, his name-sake is an entirely different animal - dependable, hard-working and so forth so I would never suggest that his eating habits might get in the way one day!
Oh, and just because Marco didn't quite make the grade, the important business of training Guide Dogs never ends, so here, for example is another young pup looking for a sponsor. His name is Garth.
A photo of the very cute, Garth, a golden retriever cross Lab puppy waiting to serve.
If you're interested, the Guide Dogs website explains how.
Sunday, March 7. 2010
ZX Spectrum Stuff
A couple of outstanding Ping Pong-related links on the ZX Spectrum Games blog that I've been meaning to post for a while.
The first is an interview that I did with those guys via email. It might not be too interesting and, reading it back, I could have gone on for a lot longer (which won't be surprising to those who know me) but if I had to pick out the most important bit, it would be this ....
"But I would definitely say my entire career grew out of those Spectrum
experiences and those skills have been remarkably resilient to different
systems, applications and new things I need to take on. I wish there
were a few more games programmers around because the business apps world
might be a lot better!"
I keep meaning to blog about that.
Hopefully the fact that I agreed to the interview and eventually got around to it (sorry, guys!) wasn't the reason for the good review of Ping Pong
The first is an interview that I did with those guys via email. It might not be too interesting and, reading it back, I could have gone on for a lot longer (which won't be surprising to those who know me
) but if I had to pick out the most important bit, it would be this ...."But I would definitely say my entire career grew out of those Spectrum
experiences and those skills have been remarkably resilient to different
systems, applications and new things I need to take on. I wish there
were a few more games programmers around because the business apps world
might be a lot better!"
I keep meaning to blog about that.
Hopefully the fact that I agreed to the interview and eventually got around to it (sorry, guys!) wasn't the reason for the good review of Ping Pong
Thursday, December 24. 2009
We wish you a Merry Christmas ...
We wish you a Merry Christmas
We wish you a Merry Christmas
And a Happy New Year!
(Please imagine the singing. It was difficult enough getting a picture that captured both us and our lights, never mind a video!)
Oh, and a very Merry Christmas from the two new Cuddly Toys. We didn't need names for them, because ... look ... it's Mads and Douglas!! (Courtesy of Seawood Designs, via Boneist ... Many thanks to both!)
P.S. A White Christmas! Yippee!! (Although Douglas seemed very grumpy about this morning when he was trying to de-freeze his car ....)
Saturday, December 5. 2009
Ready for the Party ....
Happy 40th Birthday Mads!
(Not very happy about being moved off our seats, but looking forward to good food and company later)
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