Andy Cunningham

… as long as it’s beige.  It’s odd that shopping for curtains would make be think of Billy Connolly, but he’s ranted on many occasions about the evils of beige: “You know people, most people are kind of beige you know? And I’m on an anti-beige campaign you know? Don’t be a beigest, because there are like gangs of them waiting for you, you know that.”

We’ve been into several shops selling curtains recently.  After the confusion of staring at a department store directory looking for “curtains” before realizing you’re supposed to know they’re a “soft furnishing” you traipse around the 4th floor until you’re confronted with a sea of beige and realised that you’ve found the curtains.

We’ve just painted the bedroom in blue and cream!  We like it.  We want curtains to match.  It shouldn’t be that hard.  But there are 93 pairs of beige in every shade and colour imagineable with names that sound like something from the Cheesecake Factory.  Caramel Latte Fudge curtains anyone?   Round the back are one pair in a 1970s shade of burgundy – a colour best enjoyed when gazing at a glass of wine, and one in a a greeny-blue that’s supposed to match every room that isn’t beige.

The good news is that you can even buy your curtains online these days!

It’s not just for .. um… you know.
“Lewis Goodfellow was born at 24 weeks weighing just 1lb 8oz. One of his lungs had failed and not enough oxygen was able to get into his bloodstream.

Doctors at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary then tried Sildenafil, also known under the trade name of Viagra, and Lewis is now home with his parents.”

Shame about all the subtitles – very funny!

The bizarre economics of the hotel minibar. – By Tim Harford – Slate Magazine

“I write this from an inexpensive hotel room, but you would not guess that looking at the price list in front of me. Two dollars a minute for phone calls (price on the Planet Earth: 10 cents), $20 for a day’s wireless access (Earth price: $20 a month), $4 for a chocolate bar. It’s like being in some bizarre alternate universe.”

The moral of the story – stay in a cheap hotel and don’t pay for the extras.

You have to wonder if some of these are photoshopped, or even the same person.

Missing laptop found in ET hunt

“I always knew that a geek would make a great husband,” she said. “He always backed up all my data, but this topped it all. It became like `Mission: Impossible’ for him, looking for hard evidence for the cops to use. … He’s a genius – my hero.”

Why Geeks Make Good Lovers is one of the best things I’ve read for a while.  Yeah, so what if I’m a geek?

An excellent rant on the evils of Political Correctness.    And with a serious point, too.  We’re all so tied up with what we can and can’t call someone, we forget that at the end of the day they’re still just human beings regardless of sex, colour, or sexual preferences.

It’s been widely reported that this year, The All England Lawn Tennis Club (aka Wimbledon) will pay equal prize money to men and women.  The disparity has been the subject of controversy for some years, but there’s a reason for the disparity: men play longer matches.  When the women play five sets, they’re earning the same.   Until then, they deserve 60% of the men’s winnings for doing 60% of the work.

Pharyngula

has a  post on your Squid Quotient.  Mine’s 143.75.  I wonder what Bruce Schneier scored…?