Reporting Splogs

So, I'm quite pleased today. Back in the day, when I was more circumspect about blogging, I used to have a 'Treb1971' blog account. I moved to this one, and then found out the previous one had been taken over by a splogger promoting alopecia remedies.
I reported the splog on Thursday and find out today it's been taken down. Unfortunately it's not available for new blogs, but I shall be keeping an eye on it.
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Dr Horrible

You've not got long, but if you want to see a web-only superhero-based musical by Joss Whedon for free, check out Dr Horrible.
It may be too late, even now - if so, I apologise...
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Longest Lasagne Evah?!?

So, on Sunday I suggested to Monkey that we might make chocolate crispies. She was given a kids' cookery book by her great-grandmother, and the chocolate crispies recipe looked simple enough that I would be able to make it.

TW persuaded me that as she was going to be busy Sunday afternoon, it might be a good idea to make dinner for that evening, as well as chocolate crispies. I wasn't very open to this, but looked at a lasagne recipe and thought I'd be able to knock it together.

At about 11:30 a.m., Sunday morning, Monkey & I headed off to Tesco, the Great Satan, to line up our ingredients. Cue much dashing to-and-fro, as I did not shop methodically, as I had no idea where anything was. Once that was all done, I decided to get petrol as well - TW had previously obtained a 5p per litre discount, which I put to good use. However, the petrol forecourt was really busy, and we didn't get home until 13:00 - by which time I was starving, and Monkey had tried to get sweets and Cbeebies magazines off me for 1 & 1/2 hours. Luckily, TW had already cooked us pizzas, so we gorged like nation heads at a G8 summit.

I sat and watched a bit of the cricket, which was beginning to fizzle out even then, letting my pizza subside slowly, like a congealed mass of toxic carbs. Which is exactly what it was.

At 14:30, I roused myself and went to look at the recipe more closely, and start my prep. Like all good chefs, I assembled my ingredients, and read through the recipe. I chopped the onion, cut up the bacon (that took a while), crushed the garlic, and was eventually ready to start puttinmg it all together. I think the prep took about 25 minutes.

Then Monkey & I softened the onions, garlic & bacon, and browned the mince and added the tomatoes. Another 20 mins? And then we left it to simmer & reduce - 40 mins.

We didn't start making the bechamel sauce until the ragu was completed, which is where I think we went wrong. Anyway, suffice to say, I spent two hours last Sunday making lasagne.

TW said it was the best she'd ever had. So it wasn't a complete waste of time.
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TFC (Telegraph Fantasy Cricket) - Endgame

So, for the second year, I've enrolled in Telegraph Fantasy Cricket. And, for the second year, I'm languishing at about 16,000. Which is rubbish. So I've picked this week to try to improve my position. It's the start of the Pro-40, and I'm going to change my team daily, to ensure I get double points tomorrow, Weds, & Thursday. It feels a bit 'not quite in the spirit of the game', but sod it. I'm bored with mid-table anonymity. I was up to 301 on Celebdaq the other day, for goodness' sake!
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An Interesting Start - England vs. S.A.

Hmm. I predicted, on Friday, albeit unwillingly, that this would end in a draw. If we found it easy to bat, I reasoned, the Saffas would love a bit of it. I should have had G Smith in my fantasy team, but I think he was too expensive. Instead I plumped for Amla, because that is truly an impressive beard. He's got his 50 up now, but was out for 6 in the first innings - shame.

Still, at least we haven't lost - yet.

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Another Test Series Win

So, England won the second test series of the year against New Zealand. Anderson came good - which was a shame for my Fantasy Cricket side. Even more gutting was Vettori's non-appearance, especially as he was my trump player - d'oh! What are the odds on NZ coming back to win the ODI series?
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London Zoo

So, that was a busy weekend! It started on Friday night with a bottle of wine (I know...). Then, with no rest for the wicked, we were all up at 6.30 on Saturday morning to catch an eight o'clock train to London. Almost like a normal weekday - TW did a good job of marshalling the troops & preparing lunches simultaneously. At Victoria we headed for the zoo, in Regent's Park. We walked, which was pleasant but exhausting. Past Marble Arch, through Hyde Park, over Oxford Street and along Wigmore, turning left on Harley Street. We walked at pace, and got to London Zoo sweaty & blowing hard. Later (when we took a taxi back to Victoria...!), we found out that we'd walked about 3.5 miles. So of course we needed a sit down when we arrived.
I had a coffee that was so hot I had to spit it out, and my tongue still feels burnt, two days later. What is the point in superheating coffee like that? Still, TW's friend said she likes her tea 'piping', and she seemed to drink it okay.
London Zoo is really nicely laid out. A tad expensive on the entry fee (£15.50), but we paid using Tesco vouchers, so it was almost a freebie. And, looking at lions & giraffes, etc., you can forget you're in the middle of London - it was most restful.
We left at about 17:30, and got home almost 12 hrs after we left in the morning. Knackered, of course. But a brilliant day out.
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London

So, was in The Big Smoke yesterday. I do like travelling up there - it reminds me why I don't do it every day. The extra wages wouldn't cover the inconvenience. And, in addition, I'd never see Monkey & Tiger, or spend much time with TW. I'd be exhausted all the time too. Anyway, that's it.

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Come On, the Sussex!

Have booked tickets to see Sussex vs. Somerset at Arundel in the Pro-40 in July. Get in!
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D+1

So, had a whisky last night. Just the one (Mrs. Wembley). I have, after all, got that Jura to finish. I slept quite well, except Tiger woke and cried at 23:15, but apart from that, the night was fine. Feeling good today and looking forward to driving to Oxfordshire to see friends.
What a shame that England are playing cricket all weekend, and it's the He'ineken Cup Final today, as well as the Challenge Cup Final tomorrow. Still, there's no way I can sit in front of the telly all weekend. TW wouldn't allow it.
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General Richard Myers

I was reading this story in The Guardian yesterday, and one thing occurred to me. This general fella had to rely on politicos to tell him what was in the Army Handbook. He was a general, and 'chairman of the joint chiefs of staff'. Could he not have read the Army Handbook? Did he not have his own copy, what with being a general? A quick Wikipedia search shows he was in the USAF, but as the 'U.S. military's highest ranking officer', surely he would have access to such a handbook? Oh well.
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I've Joined the Tech Generation

...with an 80gb iPod Classic. The company I work for were kind enough to give me £300 as a ten year long service award. And since Sky don't accept my credit card, I couldn't buy Sky+ there and then. But I think next month we'll probably order that as well (Credit crunch? What credit crunch?). The only problem is that I can only import CDs at 2.3x for some reason... Which means it is going to take ages to load all my CDs. I'm trying to persuade TW that we need a new laptop in order to keep up. We're currently using my BiL's Armada M300, which is apparently seven years old, a PIII with a 12gb hard drive. So an upgrade to any sort of new PC would be a vast improvement... After three days of loading iTunes, I'm only up to 740mb - still a long way to go!
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Freddie Flintoff

On a happier note, I see Freddie might be returned to fitness. The big lad is hoping to play a part in the test series against NZ in the UK in May, which is promising. I think we have a good bowling line-up anyway, but what price Flintoff & Jones on the attack? Would there still be room for Ryan? If we've dropped Hoggy, I guess there would be...
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English Management

Well, once again I find myself out of touch with "the common man". It looks like Johnno is going to be the next England Rugby manager, despite the fact that Brian Ashton has done a good job to date. Is it because he's not called 'Ashto'? I did read that Mike Catt might be involved, which would be good - Catt is class. I also read that Wilkinson was considering a kicking coach position, but I think that might have been an April Fool. In my humble opinion, the RFU are woefully mistaken to replace Ashto (see? it could catch on...) at this stage. I also recall reading that club rugby is very structured, whereas Ashto would like to play a looser game, and players have a hard time getting that. I don't know. It's all second-hand gubbins to me, but I'd like to see Ashto carry on.
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PMQs

So, I've discovered that I can watch BBC Parliament on the internet at work - which is a bit of a distraction (strangely, the Sun's website is firewalled...?). I watched PMQs on Wednesday and was disappointed at such an unedifying experience.
Cameron asked irrelevant questions which Brown did not answer. As PMQs is one of the highlights of the parliamentary week, you think they'd make more of an effort. If Brown had answered the questions rather than use them as a platform to list Labour's achievements, there might have been an actual discussion.
Cameron asked which other economy was raising taxes going into a recession? Brown could have questioned:

• were we facing a recession?
  
• were taxes being raised (at a macro level)?
• why is it important what other economies are doing? How is that impacting the UK?

I'm not saying Labour or the Tories are right, I'd just like to see a real discussion...
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It's Been a Rollercoaster...

Jaysus. I thought we were goners, and then Sidebottom pulled it out of the bag. On what was supposed to be a batter's pitch, we slumped to 4-3 and then 253 all out. NZ were coasting at 103 for 1, but then slumped to 168 all out. I am now pos. 135 in the Cricinfo fantasy league, which is gratifying. Just thought I'd mention that. England should win from here - but it's another instance where the bowlers have helped out the batsmen. Bring on the return series in the UK.
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The Tension is Almost Unbearable...

So England could possibly win an overseas Test series. The tension is almost unbearable. It looks like Hoggard & Harmison will be left out, which is a shame for Hoggard. But our batsmen (apart from Ambrose) need to step up.
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Six Nations - End of

So, in the end England came second despite two (one and two halves) poor performances. The second half against Wales, the second half against Italy, and the whole match against Scotland. The team performed well against France & Ireland. It's disappointing that we couldn't achieve some consistency. For me, Nick Easter & Jamie Noon were the standout players of the tournament for England (it was funny that Cipriani thought he had been named "Man of the Match" yesterday...!). Ian Balshaw gets the "most room for improvent" award, although he gets that every time - perhaps it should be changed to the "out of my league"award - very fitting for union. Ho ho.
And I hope that now the calls for Ashton's head recede. In the last two competions, (WRC 07 & RBS6 08), England have been runners-up. That's not bad going. Winning would have been nice, but you can't please all the people all the time. It's a bit of an anti-climax really.
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Well, Alright...

Slightly disappointing that Tim Whassisname (Vincent? Naah, too tall...) got out for 102. To me, with my limited knowledge, it seems that English batsmen seem to lose concentration after achieving a milestone (e.g., a century) in a way that other batsmen don't. It's always disappointing when a good innings comes to an end.
It is disappointing that we didn't get 350, but this would have been a "nice to have" rather than a "must".
Especially in light of the fact that the Kiwis are 11-2. Ha-ha!
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Seismic Surprises in Team Selection...

So, I advised TW this morning on the way to work, in tones of disbelief, that Ashton (England rugby coach) was in danger of being fired. In the same incredulous tones, I advised her that they were considering dropping Wilkinson. It seems that Wilko has now been dropped (in favour of Cipriani) - which I find amazing. How long now before Ashton goes? I can only hope he does not go - it is still possible for England to come a respectable 2nd in this Six Nations, after all. It is my opinion, limited and ill-informed though it might be, that the mercurial (in the literal sense) performance of the England rugby team is due to conflicts in the coachinmg team, and I think if these are resolved, the England rugby team could - and SHOULD - perform better on the field.
In my opinion (please note previous caveats above), England rugby does not have the leaders necessary to shape a cohesive side. I recall seeing a mini-rugby tournament, where a nine-year old, playing outside centre, screamed "where's my f***ing line?!?". I think there is not enough of this urgency and reminder of the basics in the international English rugby side.
I believe it will take some time to shape these leaders, or "generals", and as a result I think English rugby could be in for a deep and prolonged funk.

Compare and contrast with the English cricket side. The two 'senior' bowlers, Harmison & Hoggard, did not perform during the first test vs. New Zealand. Hoggard is worth another punt, in my opinion. However, as much respect as I have for Harmison's past achievements, I believe that he is rudderless and lacking direction at the moment. It's almost as though he's there to complete the numbers, but he has no self-belief. The interview he gave to Sky (Nasser Hussain?) was honest and truthful, but showed Harmison to be unaware of his priorities - one minute the most important thing in his life was cricket, & the next it was his family. The guy does not know where to concentrate his efforts. Mike Selvey in the Guardian today recommended ending his test career, as harsh as that sounds, and I agree that Broad should be lined up as his replacement.

If Wilko and Harmo are both retired this week, it will be the end of an era. Two men who have achieved more than was ever expected of them, both of whom have smashed previous impressive records. However, it could be that History is claiming two heroes in one week. I hope their replacements are up to the task.
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