Winter Blues

We changed the clocks on Saturday and now it gets dark alarmingly early.

For the first time I’m aware of the ‘winter blues’. I feel less energised and more like hibernating. It’ll wear off, but the short days, dark evenings and cold, damp weather don’t half contribute to a general downward feeling.

My antedote is exercise. My plan to work out and get that energy back. Will it work ? Maybe.

Dog shelter’s attorney

The sheer daftness of America’s obsession with litigation struck me when I skimmed this article from the Houston Chronicle on my feeds.

“Over the weekend, Ellen DeGeneres and Iggygate became less a three-hanky shaggy-dog story and more an examination of America’s drunken stupor with celebrity, the power of Hollywood stardom — and one star’s possible abuse of power.

Unless you’re a myopic news junkie who’s concerned with Iraq and that silly presidential campaign, the hot story last week was DeGeneres’ on-air sobbing meltdown over Iggy, a terrier mutt that she adopted from a shelter, kept for 10 whole days, then gave away to her hairdresser, who has two young daughters. She did this despite agreeing to return the dog to the shelter if things didn’t work out with Iggy.

That’s the rule when you adopt from this shelter. If you decide you don’t want to keep the dog, no problem — just return it to the shelter and it’ll find another home for the dog. What is so hard to understand about this rule?

According to the shelter’s attorney…. ”

DeGeneres should learn to obey rules. Houston Chronicle. Oct. 22, 2007

The article is about the American entertainer Ellen DeGeneres breaking the dog shelter rules. I stopped dead at the line that starts, “According to the shelter’s attorney…”.

Dog shelters in the US have attorneys ?

In the last few weeks I’ve,

• been to the Future of Web Apps Conference and Expo. Awesome 2 days talking about web 2.0 stuff and next generation application development. Left feeling really positive about what we’re doing
• nearly been busted travelling without a ticket, by the police of all people. Jammy me managed to nip through and get away with it.
• changed job role at work, am now doing exactely what I want
• got my hands on a neat HTC TyTN II Mobile/PDA thing
• been to the physio to sort out my dodgy shoulder
• bought a cross-trainer to get fit again
• been formally trained on interviewing skills and realise all the interviewing mistakes I’ve made in the past

As they say, a week is a long time in politics. Gordon Brown looked unassailable when the Labour Party Conference closed a few weeks ago. With David Cameron behind in the polls and Labour united behind him, Brown talked up a snap election to destabilise the upcoming Tory party conference. It looked like a classic Tory wind up.

However, a couple of weeks later and the Conservatives are ahead in the polls, election fever is a distant memory and Brown has had the worst week of his political career.

Some are even suggesting the Brown bounce has been replaced by a Cameron bounce.