Sunny Sunday

Poor neglected Bloggy. Ah well ;) Anyways, the sun is currently beaming in through the front of the house - great for us smelly bears that like the sun, not so great for us geeks that have a monitor near a window with afore-mentioned sun streaming in.

Meh, I'll survive!

Last few days have been a bit busy, with a family do yesterday for my nans 80th, plus entertaining squids, housework (which only appears when the mini-me's do) and generally out and about. Oh, and Ruth has fed me again too.

Tam and Jaysen are off to Jo's parents today, Tam to stay, Jaysen will be back this evening but wants to see Mummy. So they get a roast dinner. The original plan was a boys day before school, but now I get a day to chill out (and bloody wake up!) before school restarts tomorrow.

In other news, I've been poking around the Blogger in Draft stuff, which is basically where they test random stuff. Down the bottom right, you will see the blogroll reproduced, but in order of most-recent-posts. Be warned, some of those ARE adult blogs, but I will figure how to rename them later. Seems quite nifty for people wanting to blog hop but bored of reading the out of date stuff.

Update your blogs you stinkers!

And while I am prattling on - another nifty feature in the Blogger in Draft stuff - timed posts... That is, a post that you write, set a date for it to publish and Robert's your Mothers Brother. Which will mean I should miss less Musical Mondays. The links to Draft are dotted through this post - you know you're on there when the Blogger Logo is blue.

Anyway - if you've not seen me on your blog of late, don't fret. Where I've got SO DAMN MANY blogs to read (which, I may have mentioned previously, you need to update more!) I've taken to reading all of them through Google Reader. I have it sorted so I see all the new posts, which makes my life so much easier - no need to trawl through nearly 70 blogs looking for new content when it shows me what's new instead.

Huzzah!

So, with Grandfather en route to get the monkeys, the sun shining, I do believe I will spoil myself with milkshake, erm... er... And whatever else I can rustle up!

Vroom Vroom

I'm not a car-freak. Car crasher, maybe, but not a car freak. I can, however, fully appreciate a car that looks nice. Torque, HP, Braking Power, and all that milarky mean precisely bugger all of nothing to me, but I can look at a nice car and like how it looks or sounds.

While blog hopping earlier, I can across Claire's newest entry regarding a couple of cars that are for sale. Both are famous. One was in a magazine that she did the photography for, and the other was made into a cake.

OK, so maybe one is more famous than the other, but you get the idea!

For those local to Essex that are in the market for a new car - or even not local, knowing some petrol heads will drive miles for a new car - I figured I'd link to the cars for anyone that might be interested.

BMW M3 SMG II 3.2 (Semi-Automatic)

Toyota Yaris SR vvt-i 16v 1.3

Don't contact me for info about them though - to me they are just cars for sale - click the link/photo to see more photos of the cars and the seller information!

No Matter What You're Going Through

Someone will always be worse off that you.

I have always believed this mantra. It's part of who I am. So, cast your mind back to my post regarding my most embarrassing moment ever. Yes, ouch.

However, I found a site today called iBrokeMyPenis.com

It's not funny really (OK, I laughed, I laughed hard) but it is worth the read. Especially as I know someone that had it happen to a lad they were seeing! Most amusing...

In-Laws Competition

For those of you that have known me a while, you will probably know that Jo's dad runs a pretty popular mini-magazine for the gamers out there. It's all made at home on his computers, and he prints and posts it all out off his own back. He does it for the hobby, not the money (which is lucky really!) and has all sorts of companies sending him all sorts of stuff to review.

While most of his stuff is printed and posted in hard copy, he does have a little webpage he keeps running and updated every now and then. Every so often, publishers send him stuff for a reader competition, and he's asked me if I will send the unwashed masses - that's you, the reader - over to his site to enter.

I've been told to point out that none of the email addresses are stored, you won't get spam, yada yada yada. And, to be fair, he blows his hard drive often enough that if he DID store it, it wouldn't stay stored for very long ;)

Anyways, go over to Games Gazette and scroll down to the section that reads "Free To Enter Competition" It's one of these very obvious quizzes with a very obvious answer, even if it is relating to the MMORPG Lineage 2. Prizes include a copy of the Lineage II game, a key ring, a standee (whatever that is!), posters, tee-shirts...

So, go now, enter the quizzy thing. Good luck :)

Edit: Forgot to add - feel free to tell your friends to go enter as well... The more the merrier ;)

New Blogs On The Roll

I am a man of routine, but quite often, I take that routine and stick it somewhere dark and icky. Of course I mean the attic... Every day I read lots of blogs, mostly the ones on the sidebar there under (amazingly) "Blogroll"

Seriously, you can't miss them.

I've noticed more and more of late, that clicking the "Next Blog" button leads to one of a few types of blog:

• Something in a completely alien language
• Something older than some of you readers
• Something of angst and woe and "poetry"
• Something interesting

Sadly, for the most part, the blogs I find are all of the first three items. Finding an English-written blog is a mission in itself, and when I do find one, it's a year or more out of date, and then it's some mid-teen pouring their heart out about the evils of their life, how dark their soul is and so on...

Of late, I've started reading three new blogs, one from comments left here, one from an existing blogger, and a third from clicking "Next Blog" till the blisters on my fingers subsided. All three fall under the "Personal" category, with general chatter about whatever pops up.

• Can I Find Me is a blog by Debbie who, after focusing on her personal life, is working on how to change herself for the better by doing things for her and discussing her relationship in detail.
• Earth Girl I found randomly, and she blogs about whatever crosses her mind - a broken tooth of late, as well as previously being a victim of identity fraud.
• Krista's Thoughts by (cunningly) Krista is another personal blog covering her life, medical stuff, tags & memes (so tag her!) and general parental ramblings.

Go have a read, poke them and say hi! You don't have to say I sent you though ;)

Anyways, the blogroll is looking a bit tatty of late. I've been crossing out blogs that haven't been updated or have been locked to invited readers only. I'm contemplating deleting the dead blogs out there, but those that are still active can still be read... But for the time being, a strikethrough link is a blog that is either out of date or locked.

The RockStar Video

Since posting my Musical Monday post yesterday of Nickleback's "RockStar" I've had a sudden increase in the number of people searching for things like "Cast of RockStar Video" and similar search strings. While sitting watching it, I could see a few famous people - yes, the three Playboy girlies did stick out...

Anyway, Jo did a bit of poking around, and thanks to (shockingly) Wikipedia, here's the complete list of people, including the lyrics they sing at that point of the track:

1. Boy at a baseball field: "I'm through with standing in line to clubs I'll never get in"
2. Lindsay Shaw in front of the Cloud Gate: "It's like the bottom of the ninth"
3. Man in front of the Flatiron Building: "and I'm never gonna win"
4. Cindy Taylor on a pool float: "This life hasn't turned out"
5. Old woman on the Millennium Bridge (London) in front of St. Paul's Cathedral: "quite the way I want it to be"
6. Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top: "Tell me what you want" (voiceover)
7. Wayne Gretzky: "I want a brand new house"
8. Three women in Times Square: "on an episode of Cribs"
9. Kendra Wilkinson in front of the Playboy Mansion: "And a bathroom I can play baseball in"
10. New York City policeman: "And a king size tub"
11. Gene Simmons in front of his wall of gold and platinum records: "big enough for ten"
12. Paul Wall in front of a highway: "plus me"
13. Billy Gibbons again: "Yeah, so whatcha need" (voiceover)
14. Park ranger at Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park: "I'll need a, a credit card"
15. Dominique Swain in a bubblebath: "that's got no limit"
16. Three men (one US MP, one East German border guard, and one civilian) at Checkpoint Charlie facing the American Sector: "And a big black jet"
17. Twista, Mayz from the Speedknot Mobstaz, and unknown man riding in a limo: "with a bedroom in it"
18. Man in Grand Central Terminal: "Gonna join the mile high club"
19. Holly Madison in the Playboy Mansion grotto: "at thirty-seven thousand feet"
20. Woman in Los Angeles: "Been there, done that" (Billy Gibbons voiceover)
21. Street musician in Union Square: "I want a new tour bus"
22. Same street musician with performers in Union Square: "full of old guitars"
23. Three girls on the bank of the Chicago River in front of Marina City: "My own star on Hollywood Boulevard"
24. Gene Simmons again: "Somewhere between Cher"
25. Paul Teutul, Sr. of Orange County Choppers: "and James Dean is fine for me"
26. Billy Gibbons: "So how you gonna do it?" (voiceover)
27. John Rich on a pool table with a banjo: "I'm gonna trade this life"
28. Woman in Union Square: "for fortune and fame"
29. Chuck Liddell: "I'll even cut my hair"
30. Man in a Chinese restaurant: "and change my name"
31. Two Blazin' Saddles employees in front of a General Lee-inspired RV: "'Cause we all just wanna be"
32. Eight kids in front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge: "big rockstars"
33. Wayne Gretzky again: "and live in hilltop houses"
34. Parking valet at Jones Hollywood in West Hollywood: "driving fifteen cars"
35. Man on Lambeth Palace Road in front of the Houses of Parliament: "The girls come easy and the drugs come cheap"
36. Jenna Westerbeck sunbathing: "We'll all stay skinny"
37. Kid Rock: "cause we just won't eat/And we'll"
38. Twista, Mayz, and unknown man again: "hang out in the coolest bars"
39. Jessie Coleman in Grand Central Terminal: "In the VIP"
40. Eliza Dushku: "with the movie stars"
41. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in front of a Union 76 gas station: "Every good gold digger's"
42. Taryn Manning: "Gonna wind up there"
43. Paul Wall again: "Every Playboy bunny"
44. Two women in the middle of Davie Street: "With her bleach blond hair"
45. Jerry Cantrell under Chicago's El tracks and in front of Double Door: "And we'll/Hey hey"
46. Liam Lynch in Union Square: "I wanna be a"
47. Nelly Furtado on tour bus: "rockstar"
48. Man in front of the same highway as as Paul Wall above
49. Man in Union Square
50. Two women in Grand Central Terminal: "Hey"
51. Chuck Liddell with Elliot Segal from DC101 in a headlock:"hey"
52. Boy in grocery store: "I wanna be a rockstar"
53. Paul Teutul, Jr., Paul Teutul, Sr., and Mikey from Orange County Choppers flexing muscles
54. Man in front of Marina City: "I wanna be great like Elvis"
55. Elvis impersonator: "without the tassels"
56. Federico Castelluccio from The Sopranos: "Hire eight body guards"
57. Chuck Liddell again: "that love to beat up assholes"
58. Grant Hill signing basketball: "Sign a couple autographs/So I can"
59. Man in Union Square again: "eat my meals for free"
60. Billy Gibbons again: "I'll have the quesadilla" (voiceover)
61. Paul Wall again: "Ha ha" (Billy Gibbons voiceover)
62. Man and woman in the middle of Davie Street: "I'm gonna dress my ass"
63. Ted Nugent: "with the latest fashion"
64. Man and woman in front of the Cloud Gate: "Get a front door key"
65. Kendra Wilkinson, Holly Madison, and Bridget Marquardt from The Girls Next Door: "to the Playboy mansion"
66. Man in front of the Flatiron Building: "Gonna date a centerfold"
67. Two men in Washington Square Park: "that loves to blow my money for me"
68. Billy Gibbons again: "So how you gonna do it?" (voiceover)
69. Paul Teutul, Jr., Paul Teutul, Sr., and Mikey from Orange County Choppers again: "I'm gonna trade this life"
70. Man and woman in front of the Reichstag building: "For fortune and fame"
71. Jordan Carlos overlooking Los Angeles: "I'd even cut my hair"
72. Man in front of the New York Stock Exchange: "And change my name"
73. Man at a pink bus-stop bench on Davie Street: "'Cause we all just wanna be"
74. Lupe Fiasco on a table: "big rockstars"
75. Woman in front of the Brandenburg Gate: "And live in hilltop houses"
76. Woman in front of the Chicago Theater: "driving fifteen cars"
77. Two women at the beach: "The girls come easy"
78. Taryn Manning again: "and the drugs come cheap"
79. Eliza Dushku again: "We'll all stay skinny"
80. Woman in front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge: "'cause we just won't eat"
81. Three women dancing : "And we'll hang out in the coolest bars"
82. Gene Simmons again: "In the VIP"
83. Dominique Swain again: "with the movie stars"
84. Lupe Fiasco again: "Every good gold digger's"
85. Chuck Liddell again: "gonna wind up there"
86. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. again: "Every Playboy bunny"
87. Two girls in Times Square: "with her bleach blond hair"
88. Man in front of Beverly Hills High School: "And we'll hide out in the private rooms"'
89. Eliza Dushku again: "With the latest dictionary"
90. Federico Castelluccio again: "and today's who's who"
91. Riki Lindhome at the beach: "They'll get you anything with that evil smile"
92. Kid Rock again: "Everybody's got a drug dealer on speed dial/Well"
93. Steel worker: "Hey hey I wanna be a rockstar"
94. John Rich again, smashing a guitar
95. Three women in the middle of Davie Street: "I'm gonna sing those songs that offend the censors"
96. Te'DeVan Rocketman Wacha Kurzweil in Union Square: "Gonna pop my pills from a Pez dispenser"
97. Lupe Fiasco again: "Get washed-up singers"
98. Boy in front of a mixing console: "writing all my songs"
99. Woman overlooking Los Angeles: "Lip sync 'em every night"
100. Daniel Self at City Market in Raleigh: "so I don't get 'em wrong"
101. Man on street corner in New York City's Chinatown: "Well we all just wanna be"
102. Man in front of Big Acorn in Raleigh: "big rockstars"
103. Eight Blazin' Saddles employees at City Market in Raleigh: "And live in hilltop houses"
104. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. again:"driving fifteen cars"
105. The Naked Cowboy in Times Square: "The girls come easy and the drugs come cheap"
106. Woman at the beach: "We'll all stay skinny"
107. Boy in Times Square: "'cause we just won't eat"
108. Cindy Taylor again: "And we'll hang out in the coolest bars"
109. Woman in front of Buckingham Fountain: "In the VIP"
110. Grant Hill again: "with the movie stars"
111. Jayson Woolley in Union Square: "Every good gold digger's"
112. Ted Nugent again: "gonna wind up there"
113. Holly Madison again: "Every Playboy"
114. Bridget Marquardt in a pink bed: "bunny with her bleach"
115. Kendra Wilkinson again: "blond hair/And we'll"
116. Boy standing next to City Hall in front of Tower Bridge: "hide out in the private rooms"
117. Nelly Furtado again: "With the latest dictionary and today's"
118. Two women in front of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge: "Who's Who/They'll get you anything"
119. Kid Rock again: "with that evil smile/Everybody's"
120. Ted Nugent again: "got a drug dealer on speed dial/Well"
121. John Rich again: "hey"
122. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. again: "hey"
123. Worker in front of Marina City: "I wanna be a rockstar"
124. Wayne Gretzky again, splashing a pool with a hockey stick
125. Kendra Wilkinson again dancing
126. Nelly Furtado again: "Hey"
127. Gene Simmons again: "hey"
128. Nickelback fans at Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts concert singing: "I wanna be a rockstar"
129. Pan to Chad Kroeger, pan to Mike Kroeger and Ryan Peake

Holy crap on a crap stick, that is a LOT of linkage I just had to do. I could have copied direct from Wikipedia, but there were a lot of links not on there. So there you have it, a line-by-line guide of who is singing and where! All the links will open in the same window because I am just too damn lazy to add the code for seperate windows! There are one or two links missing as well - if you want to let me know what I missed, then lemmie know!

Up and Coming

I love my movies - the 200-300 DVDs we own are a clear testament to that. We've never been a "Buy it, watch it, get rid of it" sorts, and will watch films over and over. They vary in genre; action, thriller, horror, kids, comedy, sci-fy, fantasy - not to mention the TV Shows we have in box sets and suchlike.

While I don't tend to read movie guides or watch up and coming movies, every now and then I will come across a trailer or three and think "Ooooh Wow!" And of course, my train of thought usually goes from "Ooooh Wow!" to "Must share on blog!"

So here are some movies that have caught my eye. Of course the next one I HAVE to see is Cloverfield, but all in good time ;)

Iron Man: Movie adaption the comic/cartoon series.
Apple Trailer / IMDb / Official Site

Doomsday: Virus/Apocolypse based in England - looks like Mad Max.
Apple Trainer / IMDb / Official Site

Star Trek: The next Trek movie, but a prequal, I believe.
Apple Trailer / IMDb / Official Site

Forbidden Kingdom: Time travel, Quest, Jackie Chan, Jet Li... Woot!
Apple Trailer / IMDb / Offical Site

Narnia - Prince Caspian: The next installment of the Narnia series, set 1300 years later in Narnia.
Apple Trailer / IMDb / Official Site

In The Name of the King: Based on the game Dungeon Seige, BUT it's by Uwe Boll who is knows to butcher game-movies.
Apple Trailer / IMDb / Offical Site

The Dark Knight: Sequal to Batman Begins which will be hyped due to Heath Ledger dying.
Apple Trailer / IMDb / Official Site

New Blogs To Read!

As you know, when I am not nailing kids to walls asking my cherubs to be quiet, when I am not playing WoW, and when I am not doing a million other things, I read blogs. I comment on blogs. And when I am needing to read more (and some people haven't updated in a millenia) I either press the button marked "Next Blog" which invariably leads me to either A) A Spam Blog, or B) A non-English blog.

So, at that point, I resort to following links. Links to links to links. The Blog Conga, I suppose it could be described as.

Quite often, I am surprised at the number of blogs that get put on the back burner where people lose time, interest or their mojo, but I'm more surprised that people keep links to blogs that are out of date by a year or more. Ho Hum.

Anyways, I've found more blogs to read! Hurrah! Go have a read, take a peek, say hi - whatever you like :D I'll be adding these to my blog roll this evening before the alcohol fumes overpower me.

Personal Blogs:

• GinaRobbo: Flicking through the regional part of Blogger, I found Gina in the same county category as me. So I suppose that makes her an Essex Girl - I won't go there tho, because, frankly, I'm outnumbered. Her blog covers her day to day life with her man and her dog, and like me, blogs the stuff that happens to her on a daily basis.
• The Gospel According To Rhys: OK, yes, he's Welsh, but we won't hold that against him. Not yet, anyway. Anyways, he's got a very dry sense of humour and his blog covers pretty much what he wants it to; personal life, babes, games reviews - all with a comedic spin.

Work Blogs:

• Area Trace No Search: It seems that a lot of the work blogs I read are based in the Emergency Services, and this is my first police blog. Like most of the others, he writes anonymously about his job, the politics involved and his daily goings-on. Very interesting to read, especially as my father was a police man.
• Purple Plus: A blog of a Paramedic working in, I assume, London. A self-proclaimed Stretcher Monkey complete with images of monkeys on his blog. Obviously, with his line of work, he discusses all aspects of his job, including the non-pretty calls. It makes for thought-provoking reading.

Adult Blog:
(Obviously, disclaimer, that the following link contains material of an adult nature, yada yada yada)

• Sexegesis: Marcelle writes from New York, and covers everything from perversions, to past relationships and her previous wild life. She writes frankly and powerfully, and is well worth the read. Don't think it's all smut though - she discusses other aspects of her life and lifestyle opening.

So there you have it. *hic* Go forward and read, leave them some love if you enjoy, link them up, whatever. *hic* Keep up the good work guys.

The Sofa

It's nearly midnight here in Chez 0ddness, and yet, here I am, pissing around on my blog. The reason is simple - I am on the sofa tonight.

Thankfully, I hasten to add, it's not one of those "YOU can sleep on the sofa tonight" instances, but me, being the perfect gent that I am, have given up my bed for our friend Lane.

Yes, there are two women in my bed tonight... But I am still the gentleman here ;)

Lane is having what you might want to term "A Bloody Awful Time", and has spent the day here alternating between crying, laughing, chasing the kids, and chilling out. She even got to see Migraine Dan pass out on the sofa and bury himself under a stack of sleeping bags. She's been through a lot in the last few months, and it's all coming out on our shoulders.

She's also the person that "helped" me get our replacement washing machine in. She's even started to blog a bit, I've added her to the blogroll. Her blog is Phoenix Is... so poodle on over and say howdy.

In other news, well, we've got a replacement washing machine after our other one was repossessed. We got a letter today telling us it was going to be taken. Great, well done - would have been handy a week ago.

My arm is sore and bruised from the Needle of Doom.

I've had a bitch of a headache for the last couple of days.

Hellgate London is an excellent computer game. I've been waiting two or three years for this game, and it was worth the wait. Swords, guns, demons, undead - great stuff.

Firefly still kicks ass. Anyone that didn't enjoy what there was made of that show should be pushed out of their country and sent to somewhere strange. Like Australia.

Anyways, I am sooo glad tomorrow is Friday. No doubt it will be spent doing the worlds supply of washing up and clearing up generic chaos. I might even post the rest of my Whinefest ;)

So, with a Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers (who are no doubt doing family stuff and far too busy to read blogs, I'm going to try and fall asleep.

Edit: Oh, the template. So, it turns out that the problem is to do with new code being viewed on out of date software. You need to upgrade to IE7 or Firefox in order for the poor little sidebar to appear in the right place. I tested it on an old computer a couple of days back and see the problem, upgraded to Firefox and it was fine. Otherwise, just grin, bear it, and wait for the next template rehash ;)

New Blogs!

When I am bored, I click. The higher the level of boredom, the higher the rate of clicking. I've gone through the blogger profile page links for hours on end, hacking my way through the Spam Blogs (splogs) in order to find that one gem that appeals to me.

A couple of weeks ago, I came across a couple of blogs that just tweaked my humour bone. And, in true 0ddness style, it occurs to me the author of both blogs work for London Underground. Coincidence, that they are both amusing chaps? Probably not - dealing with the unwashed masses has clearly done something to these chaps.

So, if you find yourself at a loose end, go check out The Misadventures of Me, and The Trials and Tribulations of Sweeney. Like true British Men, they swear and speak their mind, but if you read my crap, you can cope ;)

Bored Much?

The dreary, dull, meh'tastic days are rolling in, and it's only just October. Thankfully, I have the most powerful tool at my disposal to assist me in such cold wet days...

The Mighty Mighty Intarweb!

And, in case you are as bored sh!tless as I am, I have once again found other random "stuff" to pass on to help you pass the time. Now, you may only kill a few minutes clicking the linkies, but it's a few less minutes that you're bored! All Hail Dan ;)

• Faces - Other people see faces in stuff too!
• Food - Ugly, strange or otherwise peculiar
• Meat - A blog of strange foods from Asia
• Invisibility - You can buy it, and more!
• Squirrel - Mission Impossible stylee
• Games - See those kick-ass computer graphics!
• Birds - Alfred Hitchcock but more disturbing
• Kitten - For you girlies sorts, a cute kitty eating a melon!

That should tide you over till I post again... er... sometime in the future! hehe

Catching My Eye

The internet - as we all know - is full of crap. Hell, you're right in the middle of it if you are sitting here reading this drivel! Of course, one mans crap is another mans entertainment, and considering my humour level is still stuck at "Laughing At Old People Slipping Over", it really doesn't take much to hold my attention.

While vegging out over the last couple of days, I've found a few things that either made me chuckle, made my What-The-F$ck-O-Meter sound an alarm, or otherwise just entertained me, and in true Dan-Fashion, it's only fair I share the madness.

• Underpants - Made for Two (Think of the fun!)
• Camera - Mounted Orally (Guess which film industry will pick up THAT!)
• Baby - A whole LOT of baby...
• Firearm - Kid suspended because of it
• Underwear - Made of gold
• Game - Throw the thingie as far as you can!

Hope that keeps you occupied for a few minutes!

BlogRating!

Whooo, just found this and figure it's rather amusing - if inaccurate. It lists the reason for the PG is due to the fact I use the tag "Hurt" over 30 times, and "sexy" between 10 and 20 times. It fails to notice the Fucks, Shits, Bollocks or anything else. But, there you have it, it's official:

The Week In A Post (Pt, er, 9?)

Yay For Dan! I managed to churn out two weekly-round-up posts on two consecutive weeks! Go Me! The week here at Chez 0ddness (With a Zero...) has been go go go as is fricking normal. The weather has alternated between gales and pissing rain, to "just damp" to brilliant spring with blue skies and bright sunlight. Spring is well on the way. As is Jo's birthday next month. Ugh.

The world of the blogsphere - ie, you lot - has been busy, with 0ddness racking up huge amounts of traffic from the proverbial magicians hat with the 30k mark getting closer. Added to that, I've been exploring other blogs out there in the wilds, finding more whacky and wonderful people to meet and greet, shake hands, take the piss, and generally chatter with. There's something addictive about blogging, I swear. All the links down the side there are blogs I personally read daily. Actually, that's a lie, as I read them multiple times a day, looking for updates, perusing through archives, basically spying on their past. All very interesting.

My comments have also started increasing an impressive amount, which is like another form of addictive narcotic. Before I liked to see the crap I've written on the web. Then I was impressed when the hit counter creaked over into extra digits. Then when I started getting comments. Then when people came from nowhere, or I was linked elsewhere, or people found me through word of mouth. And again, I've had people suggest a Donation button and Banner Ads. As I've said before, I do this because I enjoy it. Not because I have to, not as a job, but because I like to spew my crap out. I HATE banners, Popups and ads in general, hence the lack-thereof. And a Donation button would annoy me, as I feel guilty when I don't give to others with them, I wouldn't want others to feel guilty. Want to make a donation? Say Hi in the comments section!

Anyway, as is usally the case when I am wandering the web, following links and everything else, I've come across a few more blogs that are fun to read - either making you think, giving you entertainment, or people just posting frankly about what they are up to. Four new ones to report on this week. Deeper Shades of Red is written by Burg, lets readers chose her subjects, and has been stalked by yours truly! Miss Britt uses her blog as an outlet to talk about whatever, be it fashion advice to talking about her life. Queen of the Mayhem rants and raves about, well, whatever takes her fancy, and she thinks Terri is great, so clearly she has a screw loose! hehe Lastly, we have the Rantings of Deb, who is heavily preggers (and with details to boot!), and discusses pretty much what takes her fancy.

All good stuff! Go say Howdy!

And lastly, before the blog roundup - a special mention to JennyHaHa. She's had a week that started with Wolf Crotch, but Friday morning I got an email about her hubby in an icky car accident. He's concussed and bruised, but otherwise OK. So here's to a quick mend for him. Which he needs, living with her ;)

So - this week. Remember - no updates for a week, I skip over you!

• - Alan in Scotland has been playing at boot sales and ebay, and has taken a risk on some crap!
• - Nancy has posted some very deep, philosophical questions to push your mind to the limit. Kinda.
• - Gretchen has a Hump Day and covers several topics in one hit.
• - Mary manages to sum up her day with a music video (which rocks, BTW!)
• - Cassi (who's blog is open to all once more) posts 16 rules she tries to live by.
• - China Blue remembers her blog! This time she covers the choices of Childless, vs Child-Free.
• - Claire posts about her day of good and bad stuff all hitting within one 24 hour period.
• - Debbie has fun trying to work out what to buy people as gifts.
• - Burg set a quiz to find her in America, which I won, and chose her next topic of blogging!
• - Deni is having a hard time with the end of Februay - go give the girl a hug!
• - Karin fills a post with good causes, after receiving messages from various charities!
• - Emma has been busy writing school reports. So busy, in fact, that she's vanished!
• - Other Emma makes a weeny change to her life, and joins the becomes a witch, oops, devil worshipper, er, evil, um...
• - The Other Jenny discusses why The Name Game is bad, and reveals the true identity of Mighty Mouse...
• - Jeanne and her tribe get their first hit of snow. Four Inches. Unlike the UK, she doesn't grind to a halt.
• - India finds a series of books aimed at young kids preparing for hospital.
• - Joansy has a very cute daughter with an imaginary friend...
• - Nutty Mummy has to take one of her wee ones into hospital - and we've all been here!
• - Luna discusses her love, her lessons, and her life - as well as the evils of her local weather (Adult Blog Warning)
• - G-Man goes to the gym, and observes his fellow gym-goers, thankfully skipping the sweaty-crotch descriptions!
• - Miss Britt observes her fellow bloggers, and how strange it is so many of us meet, get on, and appreciate one another, all without meeting.
• - Laney proves I exist, and her son starts at a new school. As well as life-changing upheavals on the horizon!
• - Queen makes a new friend from the world of the blogsphere!
• - Reynolds posts about the level of "care" the elderly receive in a lot of nursing homes.
• - Christine gets an offer out of the blue that she - thankfully - turned down. Note: Work on my mexican accent ;)
• - Deb has an interesting "interaction" with her unborn baby. Babies are so fun!
• - Jenny starts plotting her new year bird-killing quota after last years adventures.
• - Tim cries into his Fosters as the UK becomes the source of most of his visits. Probably people making sure he's staying in Australia.
• - Terri tells us about her eldest son, Casey, and how smart he is - not to mention well dressed!
• - Brian slowly drowns in work, and forgets the most important less of all men. Always do yourself up before walking into class.
• - Michael gives us a montage of Mathews expressions, from angelic to monster!

As for the rest of the World Wide Web, well, there's a few bits that amused and interested me as normal! And remember - click the red parts at your own peril!

• - Drawing In Snow - Taking snow-drawning to a new level. I can do it, but I make it yellow... (Photos)
• - Warcraft Cake - If only I could make a cake like this! (Photos)
• - Everybody Panic - Guide your mouse thingie through the maze to the green dot. (Flash Game)
• - Ye Olde Keyboard - What happens when geeks meet antiques? (Photo Article)
• - Windows XP Install - To say this computer was under the reccommended specs would be an understatement! (Article)
• - Cooking With Pigs Trotters - Exactly how it sounds. Looks vile too (YouTube Video) (*Gross Content Warning*)
• - Making Ugly Less-So - A gallery of "normal" women that have had a make over. Some of them are very well done. (Photo Gallery)
• - Zesty Art - Clay, Granite, Marble, Canvas, oil paints... Oranges? (Photo Gallery)
• - Table Hockey - We've all played Air Hockey, but this is Table Hockey with Ice (Photos/Article/Video)
• - Bowling Skills - OK, I suck at bowling at the best of times, but this must take practice (Video)

So, I think that covers it for this week! Lots to read, places to visit, things to see. I am sure if you're bored, you can come on over! And as of writing, there are less than 130 visits remaining to the big 30k. To recap, the person that is visitor #30,000 AND proves it with a ScreenShot, they will get the following:

- A sticky post for 7 days at the top of the blog, linking to their site
- A sparkling review from Yours Truly of your blog with me saying only nice things
- A prize from Tim (who, as my "sponsor" will get advertising!)
- A permanent link to the image for the world to see

No, I know it's not a lot, but it's not like it's Xmas or anything. Not yet, anyway! And in regards to the prize from Tim, here's his comment:

"Alright Dan .. here we go. As a hobby we list a few collectables on eBay.

If you would like, Beachside Collectables will offer the 30000 visitor any item in the store to the value of $40 (unfortunately I will limit it at one item due to postage)"

So - fingers on the print-screen button! Visitor 30k here you come! If you DON'T get 30k, but get CLOSE on the other side - that is, 30001 and so on, send a screenshot anyway - if 30k is submitted, then we'll see who gets closest!

Post 800! New Links!

Interesting that I made it 800 posts. Go me :) Anyway, to celebrate this craptasic occasion, I've added some more blogs to the side. Yes, more. I read a lot. And it makes Dan a Sad Puppy when people don't post multiple times daily! It makes Dan even sadder when people go days between posts. Bad Bloggers. Bad. How dare you let real life get in the way of my entertainment!

Still, the more blogs I read, the longer my weekly round-up post is going to be. The more interesting your posts, the more interesting MY post will be! The MORE you post, the better selection I have to chose from to share with everyone. If you've not updated since my last post, you get skipped :D

To the topic at hand. More blogs on the list.

• - C'est La Vie - Another CHD Mum new to the world of blogging. Tally-Ho and set to spamming a nice shiny blog!
• - Claire Phipps - Found while browsing BritBlog, she posts amusing stories of her life here in Essex.
• - Deni From Canada - She "broke" her previous blog, and has managed to get back into the world - if you've got her bookmarked, this is her new page!
• - Flaw & Disorder - Jenny is a bit of a nut. She suffers from Wolf Crotch and other personal problems, which she likes to share!!
• - The Little Nut Tree - Mum blogging about her days as a parent and general family stuff, also with the slant of comedy.
• - Lunas Journey - Personal blog covering general life stuff, but contains Adult references - over 18's only! (Adult Blog)

So there you have it, new things to read! Go take a look and say Hi!

As a side-note: I've updated the Musical Monday post to link all those that have taken part. Hopefully next week more of you will jump on Ye Olde Band Wagone.

Linkage & Weekly Roundup!

It's been a while since I did one of these posts, and generally, they're well received - so I figured "What better thing to do just after 5am?" Trying to find an image for these posts is almost as hard as getting one for the tag posts, but I managed it :D So ner. Gold star for those that get the reference.

Anyway, it's been a shitty iffy week but after Wednesday, things are certainly on the up, which is nice. makes a nice change to not sit here mooding and dreading upcoming dates. The biggest surprise for my week came in the form of an email to Jo a couple of days back, when someone we've not seen for... erk... six years contacted her out of the blue. Added to this, he contacted me through WoW the same day after my long boring post that I posted for no reason. Very odd. So welcome back Pogo.

His name is Dave, but he's been Pogo since college. Bless.

In other news... Tam is using the loo, Jaysen has a genetic weakness to mud, I nearly killed myself on lemon not once but twice, and Jo keeps physically abusing me. So almost a normal week really. Oh, and I am (obviously) still waking up at silly times.

And I showered my keyboard yesterday. In the bath. Moving on...

The blogosphere has been busy busy busy over the last few weeks, and I've added a couple more to my list of readings. The first is Man Overboard which is a chap somewhere in deepest darkest American with the same sense of humour as me. The second is Steel Magnolia, which is Terri from Whomagoo with her own personal blog to break play with. All good stuff. And lastly, welcome home Mr Alan in Scotland, who is no longer a high-flyer and being repressed in the middle east!

So, on with the blogs! Most of these are the most recent posts on there as I fell behind, but most of them are linked with reason, probably that it made me chuckle or think. Yes, I do that occasionally.

• - Jo proves I am a nice chap!
• - Minge is entertained by his StatCounter results.
• - Alan from Scotland has fun with his ebay listings.
• - Gretchen talks Mud, Diet and Exercise (Congrats on the improvements!)
• - Stuart has fun in the snow, and Kieran seems to love it!
• - China Blue remembers she owns a blog and sums up her chaos.
• - Debbie also plays the catchup game!
• - Deni gets her hair dyed, and now clashes with her coat (women...)
• - Karin clearly has too much free time and updates her book list.
• - Emma (being a perv) talks condoms!
• - Other Emma is also amused with the white stuff from the sky.
• - Jenny admits to her Comment Addiction. So go spam her.
• - The Girl posts about Valentines Day (Adult Blog Warning!)
• - Grayma rants about certain Heart Charities being, well, twats.
• - Lara remembers she too owns a blog, and plays catchup!
• - Alan in Ireland shares the same hatred of small talk as me!
• - Nancy receives a very lovely Valentines card from her son...
• - Joansy has trouble with her Wee Ones homework.
• - Gman finds subtle undertones in kids games. Or, like me, has a mind like that.
• - Laney has a tired Tuesday - and realises she's probably going to meet me!
• - Nee Naw contemplates breaking, entering and dog theft.
• - Reynolds gets invited to see Casualty being filmed by the BBC.
• - Christine does her first Vlog, but says nothing!
• - Jenny buys the worlds supply of Pretzels (Blergh!) and rips off the store!
• - Tim sells a very rare signed shirt for charity! YaY!
• - Terri has a rant about health insurance (then so do her readers!)
• - Brian posts a short, sweet item about something I noticed a few days back.
• - Becky also realises she's not updated her blog for a century!
• - Sween captures the aftermath of an ice storm.

As usual, all is chaos in the world of Bloggers.

Other stuff to catch my eye on the blogs out there is Minge doing his "Window on the World" again this weekend. Let's get lots of pictures sent his way! The basics: at 5pm GMT, take a photo from your window, and email it to him, with details if you like. That's GMT, NOT your local time. Granted, this will mean some of you taking dark photos, or morning pictures, or some of you being asleep, but still.

And remember, go spam Jenny with lots of comments. She will love you for all eternity.

Obviously, with this week marking the second anniversary of us losing Bethy, various readers of 0ddness have published their own tributes. So special thanks to all of you that took the time to remember Little Moo; Debbie, Karin, Emma, Other Emma, Grayma, Nancy and finally, Tim. On top of that, thank you and welcome to those that came from the three forums that had a Bethy remembrance on them; Heartline.org.uk, ValveReplacement.com, and BadMothersClub.co.uk. If the respective members of these forums could send my thanks and appreciation on, that would be grand :)

Moving on, the rest of the web. As usual, there is plenty of 0ddness out there to keep the bored, tired and generally "looking for something to do" club busy. As usual, anything marked with a red warning, it's up to you to click it ;)

• - Blending Lightsticks - What happens when you put a dozen lightsticks in a blender? (YouTube Video)
• - Large Bug - Very interesting size of hornet in the Far East. Wikipedia Info here! (Photo)
• - Warcraft Nation - Not convinced how popular this game is? (Article)
• - Biiig Fish Tank - Think you've got a cool tank setup? Pfft. (Photos/Article)
• - Interesting IP Address - Click the link and see what you score. Me, a crappy 4. (Webpage)
• - Cat+Laser Pointer - I think this cat was probably on speed as well... (YouTube Video)
• - When Harry Met Sally - Re-edited movie trailer, very well done. (YouTube Video)
• - Everyday Items - A massive gallery of everyday "stuff" in different situations. (Photo Gallery)
• - Pranking Telemarketers - We all hate the Telemarketer, but this guy takes it to a new level (Audio)
• - Biffs Questions - The actor that played Biff in Back to the Future answers some common questions (YouTube Video)
• - Nailing Jelly to a Wall - You know the old adage about how easy something is. HOW easy is it? (Photos/Article)
• - Drilled Chilli Beef - Todays cooking for tomorrows Engineers. (Photos/Article)
• - Big Plughole - When you REALLY need to empty the bath/resevoir.
• - Zombie Killing - Fun little game with guns and zombies. And blood! (Flash Game with blood!)
• - Stack of Fun - A webpage with lots of simple, cutesy games which are kind of addictive (Games List)

And there we have it - an hour and a half wasted by typing out this post. The sun has come up, plus the postie and milkie have been. Don't say I don't love ya!

All Aboard!

I admit it, I am weak. I am shallow, and I am weak. However, as you regulars are no doubt aware, I am always tinkering around with something on here, messing with templates and formats and everything out there is to mess about with. I plunged into Blogger Beta with open arms, and with my winning personality, charm, and lightning wit (plus the bribery, blackmail and slander) I convinced several others to go Beta.

So Ya me. *cough*

You may notice, however, that I have changed my template. Again. And added a funky sig to each post. Go me. You may also notice, however, that new template is not so beta-ish. But I really liked it. Really really.

So yes, I am a weak fool, not only because a few people have been changing their templates - Alan in Ireland, Terri,(with her new blog "Steel Magnolia"I should add, which is now on my sidebar) and Jo, to name a few - but because I've yet to find the perfect template for me.

You can sue later.

On the other hand, it's not that different - the biggest issue being I can't list my Tags to the side (though I do have a hard-code-hack to do so), and don't get to mess with swanky Layout thingies, just back to hard coding. I'll survive...

Maybe ;)

Looong Week!

Has this week just draaaaged or is it me? I can't believe that Saturday has only JUST arrived. Of course, despite having a long, busy week, my stupid body clock is on the fritz again and I was up at 6.30am. I had a crappy night as well, being that someone has given me a sore throat, so I've been coughing and trying to clear my throat all fricking night. Added to this Miguel was wandering around on the bed all night which didn't help, and Jo couldn't get comfortable which didn't help. and I couldn't get comfortable...

Meh.

All in all, it's been a pretty hectic one, with kids running around alternating between Saints and Devils, Jo being ill then tattoo'd, housework, phone calls, texts, idiots on the web, getting tagged, getting glasses, shopping, socialising... WHY am I up so early again?

On top of all this, there are several new blogs I've started reading and spamming commenting on. I've added them all to the sidebar there, and aside from Jo at the top, they're all in some sort of alphabetical order. Kinda. You've got the return of Alan from Scotland with his third blog in the last 12 months. Karin has also returned with her Dried Papercuts & Chicken blog. There's Deni from Canada that doesn't blog often, but also misses the afore-mentioned Alan. There's The Girl In Her Underwear who, it turns out, is dealing with a child newly diagnosed with CHD. You've got Grayma's Place, who is new to blogging and still learning the ropes. You've also got The Reluctant Dad, a man that is new to the whole Fatherhood thing, and lastly, there's Sween in the Bean, who like most of us, posts whatever springs to mind.

This week, the news has been filled with, er... Well, I don't know actually. Mostly politics I suppose. Plus certain world leaders throwing more troops into various war zones. Idiots. And speaking of idiots, David and Ugly Beckham are finally pissing off to America. He wants to change football. Yeah, sure, the £128million had nothing to do with it. Ah well, they can have him. And on top of this, England is once again gripped by the weather - wind and rain this time. My closest call was getting wet on a school run. hehe

My blogging week has been filled with tags (as usual - and you should do them too), crazies on the street, realising I am living by a clock, recreating my family, a la South Park, posting from my mobile phone, harassing spammers, and as usual, pissing around with my template - which ended up back exactly the way it started. From the polls, it seems everyone is happy with how things look, so I will cease my fiddling. Everything is almost working fully, but it seems we have a random popup on here which is out of my control, thanks to the Cbox. I am hunting around for a better free one, but so far - no luck. We also have two votes on "Something Is Missing" so if people could elaborate on that, I'll see what I can do.

And Minge, I will post on my "Irrational Thoughts" later on for you old boy :)

Being that I've not done this since Mid-December, there might be a fair bit on here. I'm sure you can deal with it ;) There's always the "Don't click the links!" part to save time! And as usual, anything that might be bad/dodgy/rude or whatever will be marked in Red. Don't say I didn't warn you! At least, I assume that's red. Whatever.

• Jo once again goes to the hairdresser, and once again gets a restyle.
• Alan from Scotland is once again back in UAE, but with a different company and loving it.
• Minge celebrates his blogs First Birthday with a look back at his year as a Blogger.
• Gretchen has joined a "Future MILF's" weight loss group - and if you don't know what it means, then search google carefully!
• Stuart finally hits the Big 3-0, and celebrates with his town being flooded.
• Cass (who has a private blog) has left England and returned home to America.
• China Blue debates on the need for a New Years Resolution or not.
• Debbie gives us photos of the three men in her life. Oo-er ;)
• Deni From Canada deals with the feeling of incoming depression - but is pointed in the right direction to Alan :)
• Dried Papercuts is into reading, and lists out the books she wants to cover this year.
• Emma deals with a government school inspection by, er, Dancing...
• Other Emma proves she's old and wrinkly by becoming a grandparent. And blew up her pooter.
• The Girl In Her Underwear (Jenny) writes an expansive post on... Boogers.
• The Girl With A One Track Mind blog hits it's third birthday, which she rounds up with a look back to her being outed by the press. (Adult Blog!)
• Grayma learns how to use Blogger and edit her posts. But fails.
• India Knight details her daughters first day at Nursery, and the parental stress involved.
• Lara hasn't updated for a while, and after asking around, she's OK and busy with work!
• Alan From Ireland has a bit of a Rant about New Years Eve, complete with some humbugs.
• Nancy goes into detail about her daughter and sex education.
• Joansy cracks me up with a story on how her hubby dealt with a sick child on a school run.
• Mark in Wales rants about Rich Beggars and a busier-than-usual week.
• Moncrief photoblogs his trip to San Fransisco at the end of last year.
• Money For Old Rope resurfaces after a busy end-of-year.
• Laney celebrates with alcohol once again, and gets drunk once again. With interesting hair.
• Nee Naw tells the tale of a couple of very cheeky emergency callers.
• Reynolds works with a trainee on what could be a big job for a