Mr Mist’s Blog

Yesterday was our 2nd anniversary, so we got each other suitably cottony gifts, and went out for a fantastic curry at Akbar’s in Rotherham. (It’s not really obvious on the website but it does exist!). Superb meal.

Today we toddled off to Hull to visit The Deep Aquarium, of which we had reasonably high hopes, having visited other quality aquariums in the past. Unfortunately, I have to admit to some disappointment, as it didn’t really come up to expectations. It’s an impressive site, but it is very information heavy, when really what I want to see is fish, lots of them, in lots of different places. Basically The Deep has one central exhibit which you work your way around and view from different angles. And yes, it’s a reasonable size but just lacking in something. Their underwater tunnel barely warrants the name of tunnel, being something like two metres in length. I just have to compare that to other places where you spend a lot longer under the fish and can see more variety. Better luck next time I guess!

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I can’t really tell. Though some times this blog seems very slow to load. Other times it is quick. It could also be my imagination but it seemed slower with IE6 than IE7, also. Please comment if my blog is slow to load for you, and let me know which browser it is slow in. Not that I can do much.

We’ve been away, in the Scottish Highlands. Back now. It’s a long journey for just a day. We had a good meal for Laura’s Dad’s birthday at the Kyle Hotel. Nice Duck. The journey back was broken by waiting for a wide load to turn around a tight-looking corner on the way to Glasgow (wow he must have had fun on his journey) and waiting in the Little Chef at Scotch Corner to be served (our pretty basic meal took over an hour from entry to exit.) and was otherwise uneventful.

There doesn’t seem to have been a lot happening in the news whilst we were away. Perhaps the best news is that water is now coming back on for the houses that lost supplies in the recent flooding (although it will be a while before it’s considered ok to drink.) and that Umbrella song by Rihanna has finally been ditched off of the number 1 single’s chart. Thankfully, as some were saying that it was cursed and the cause of all our wet weather.

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Lots of cat related news today.

Firstly, our cats. They were meant to be off into the A1 Cats Country Hotel today, which seemed like a nice place, but they are not. That’s because we completely failed to get Charlie or Missy into their cat travelling boxes, and they are now firmly stationed under the sofa. Suzy, of course, being compliant as ever, walked into the box without a care in the world. Probably our first mistake. Always do Charlie first. Otherwise he gets scared. So my parents are having to step in and cat-sit instead. ooer

Second, fortune-telling cat. This cat has taken to curling up next to whichever patient is about to die next in a US nursing home. Quite a disturbing prospect I think, especially given as the residents must surely have noticed the connection. eek.

And finally, we have a cat that wedged itself under a car bonnet and was only found when it started purring in the engine compartment. The driver recovered the cat who is now doing fine.

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Today after work we took a small diversion from the normal route to visit IKEA. A trip to IKEA normally costs us many hundreds of pounds, as we stumble upon numerous essential items of furniture and nic-naks, but today we were ok, and came away with nothing more than we were after. Which is nice.

I found it to be less engaging than normal. Often I can walk about and see lots of items worthy of purchase, but few were apparent today. I guess the store must have been running low on buying power magic today.

In long-running-gaming news, newly released patches are available for Civilization IV. I like that game. Also a new website is out for The Settlers: Rise Of An Empire, due out in September and awaited by people such as me.

And that’s that really. I have a week off work now. yee-haw!

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Today we toddled along to the cinema and saw Ocean’s Thirteen. George Clooney, Brad Pitt and the rest of the gang together again to pull off another amusing caper. This time for revenge against a casino and hotelier Willie Bank (Al Pacino) after he pulls a fast one on Ruben.

Consistent laughs throughout, and an impressive pace help this movie along. I didn’t see 12, but I did see 11 and this kept the same sort of style but with a bit more of a tongue in cheek attitude that suited the film well, I think. Not too serious with itself, which I suppose in a third of a series is a trap you could easily fall into. Worth a look.

In real life, it seems that the flooding situation has become a bit chaotic in the south west, with lots of people left without power or even running water, due mainly to overwhelmed treatment centres. Meanwhile, sales of Harry Potter’s last adventure have swelled Rowling’s bank account nicely, with over 11 million sold in the first day. That’s a large number of books, considering the percentage of people in the world that don’t or can’t read.

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