In four days it will be a full year of marriage for both Katie and I, it has zipped past so quickly we have barely had time to take it all in. We have had laughs, worked hard and made a home and a life for ourselves that we are truly happy with.

With the idea of doing something special, yesterday we woke up early and we ventured into London. There was no real plan or places in mind to visit, we were just going to hop on trains or tube carriages and go where the feeling took us. A quick tweet was sent out to court potential ideas, we knew we wanted to enjoy a meal later in the evening:

Arriving in the city just after midday, we came up with the idea of visiting some museums, we settled on visiting the Natural History Museum, a museum I had been too when I was quite young and Katie not at all.

Yesterday, the temperature was up around the thirties, we expected the Natural History Museum to be well ventilated or even air conditioned. How wrong we were. The place was sweltering, lots of tourists, children and couples packed into tiny exhibits with no air flow, the whole experience was a nightmare temperature wise. Katie made sure to play on some of the computerized exhibits before making a hasty retreat to get a bottle of water and some form of a breeze.

Walking out and along the road, we knew it wouldn’t be too long until we happened upon the Science Museum. Like the Natural History Museum, they are free to enter so this made the decision to go in even easier.

The Science Museum saw a vast increase in the number of schoolchildren but on the whole they seemed to be genuinely well behaved. Inside, we walked the Basement taking pictures and interacting with the exhibits, moving up to the upper levels which seemed to have a severe lack of interesting things to do and see. Stopping short of being there a full two hours, we decided to head back to the Tube and make our way to Covent Garden and the theatre district.

For years now, Katie has been dying to see Dirty Dancing but tickets have either been sold out or in very poor places inside the theatre. This time I didn’t want to fall foul of the latter so we headed to the Box Office inside the Aldwych Theatre looked at the seating plan and asked for tickets as close to the stage as we could get them. We ended up with tickets five rows from the front.

The only thing between the performance we had to do was eat. This was something I had planned for the longest time. For ages, myself and friends of mine have gotten together, organized what we call a “Steak Night” (basically we have a few beers and then order huge steaks). Katie had always wanted to know what these steaks were like, so with the aid of the awesome iPhone application AroundMe I was able to navigate us to the nearest Gaucho Argentine Steak House where we would sample the tastiest steaks this side of London.

 
To start, we were treated to the tastiest cheesy herb rolls, nicely brewed beer and then a choice of at least six different varieties of steak for our main. These were all displayed on a wooden chopping board, where the waitress talked through the different steaks and how their tastes differed as to how you had them cooked.

Katie decided to have what was known as a “Chorizo”, we both thought this was a sausage but in reality it was a lovely marinated sirloin cut that came out to the table looking like it could encompass half a cow. I chose to order the “Bife De Cuadril”, a rump cut that lended well to being cooked, as I like it, rare.

Now let me tell you, I have never left a restaurant feeling so sick from being so full. We both agreed they were probably the nicest steaks we had ever had and we couldn’t let any go to waste. From leaving the restaurant, we had an hour or so to kill so we had a drink in a nice little bar we always go to when we are in Covent Garden and waited the short duration until Dirty Dancing started.

I went into the show wanting to enjoy it so Katie wouldn’t feel like I was just there for her. I was expecting it to be awful and completely over the top but to my surprise it was funny, well acted and thoroughly entertaining. I think Katie loved it, I could tell because she smiled the whole way through and tapped to every beat of the music.

Finishing just after ten, we jumped in a cab and headed for the station. We arrived home just after midnight, completely exhausted but completely satisfied with the day we had just experienced.

It’s been a great year of marriage, here’s to the next fifty!

Oh and if things continue to pan out the way they are, expect another celebration soon!

This is a post from Matt's Journal. Copyright 2009.

Wedding Anniversary Day Out

The Great British Summer, it’s finally here. As I write this, I am sitting in the garden with an ice cold glass of lemonade, laptop on my lap and soaking all the rays that the sun can provide me with.

I am fortunate really, prior to this week I had only taken 1.5 days holiday and with co-workers taking next available dates for the next two months, if I hadn’t taken this week I wouldn’t have had a break until at least September.

With my time off I have been really productive. Not wanting to waste all of my time laying in bed or doing things indoors, I took the opportunity to completely rid the front flower bed of every living weed and awful looking plant. This required a shovel, a hand tool set purchase and a very hairy man sweating his little bum off for a good few hours. For some unknown reason, either the landlords or the people who built the house had decided to plant some god awful green and yellow leafy plants that had roots that borrowed from here to Saigon. Using a bit of brawn and creative nous, the shovel was used in such a way the plants stood no chance and the bed was ridden of all life quicker than I could have expected.

In my rush to get it done I never took a before picture but below is the finished article and my self imposed reward for doing so:

Between finishing the front and back gardens I have taken the time to enjoy the tennis, most notably Andy Murray, even if he is a bit of an arrogant Scottish twat.

Tomorrow Katie and I are going to head up to London and celebrate (albeit a little early) our first wedding anniversary. We aim to visit a few landmarks, enjoy some nice food and hopefully see a show (if Katie has her way probably Dirty Dancing) but I don’t mind, time spent in London with Katie is always a day well spent.

Last and by no means least, I am going to be getting my third tattoo inked onto me on Saturday before myself, Katie and a few friends jaunt into the night for a Masonary dinner and dance. The tattoo is Katie’s present to me and I have opted for a tribal type tattoo that encompasses my entire right upper arm and part of my chest. Should be painful!

This is a post from Matt's Journal. Copyright 2009.

Summer’s Finally Here

I’m quite a big film and TV person, I can often be found quoting random film quotes in any given sentence. Whilst I have stopped buying DVD’s (I already own over 400), I have been lucky enough to see many new films via the medium of the internet. With new releases come trailers for other films, a judging by some of the small clips on YouTube, we have some pretty decent films being released this summer.

Below are a few that will definitely get me into the cinema to view:

1. Funny People

IMDB Synopsis – George is a very successful stand up comedian who learns that he has an untreatable blood disorder and is given less than a year to live. Ira is a struggling up-and-coming stand up comedian who works at a deli and has yet to figure out his onstage persona. One night, these two perform at the same club and George takes notice of Ira. George hires Ira to be his semi-personal assistant as well as his friend.

2. The Brothers Bloom

IMDB Synopsis – The Brothers Bloom are the best con men in the world, swindling millionaires with complex scenarios of lust and intrigue. Now they’ve decided to take on one last job – showing a beautiful and eccentric heiress the time of her life with a romantic adventure that takes them around the world.

3. Public Enemies

IMDB Synopsis – The Feds try to take down notorious American gangsters John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd during a booming crime wave in the 1930s.

Yes there are only three listed here, it would make the page load slower than a granny running a marathon if I listed any more. I also forgot to mention I am going to see Transformers on Saturday! I loved the first and will be sure to enjoy the sequel.

What do you make of the films? What do you want to see?

This is a post from Matt's Journal. Copyright 2009.

A Summer Of Movies I Am Looking Forward To

If you are an iPhone owner or someone who keeps their ear to the tech news ground, you will be aware that today is the day you can upgrade your iPhone or iPod Touch to run the iPhone 3.0 firmware. This update brings with it copy and paste, landscape keypad entry and a whole lot more. You don’t need anything to enjoy the update, plugging in your iPhone and firing up iTunes will do the job.

Whilst Apple is flaunting this new software, they are showcasing a new design of the iPhone, the subtly named iPhone 3GS (the “S” apparently being for “speed”). This model is apparently twice as fast than my existing 3G model and offers faster browsing speeds. Coupled with a compass application and video support, many have swapped in their old models, paid a £200 premium and plumped for the new and shiny device.

On top of the fact I can’t really afford to stump up the £200 for an upgrade, the feature set isn’t all that revolutionary. A lot of the applications that can be downloaded will be able to provide the features that the 3GS banks on but of course this is somewhat reliant on jailbreaking the device.

My current plan is one year into it’s contract, I am guessing that by the time this is eligible for an upgrade, the 3GS will be free to upgrade to, it will have had a good few firmware updates by that time meaning I will get a fast, fully functional phone without having to shell out a penny.

Sometime, I guess, it pays to wait.

This is a post from Matt's Journal. Copyright 2009.

Why I Won’t Be Getting An iPhone 3GS…Yet

Last week I decided to invest in a new laptop, mainly because the screen on the one I already has was swinging by it’s hinges. The decision, as with any electronic device I buy, was never going to be an easy one. The first question I set myself was, can I justify purchasing a Macbook? Then after that, was whether I should go for the all out powerhouse or get something that is portable and can boast exceptional battery life.

The post title says it all really, I went the route of battery life and portability, taking the plunge into the netbook market and getting a Samsung NC-10. These models are really quite cheap but now tend to offer a very clever set of credentials. My netbook comes with an Intel Atom 1.6Ghz processor, 2GB RAM (standard is 1GB), 160GB Hard Drive, Integrated Webcam and Microphone with a Windows XP installation. With all this, I am able to exactly what I need to; surf the web, write emails and also update this blog.

Perhaps the best feature of the NC-10 is that is offers on average 6 hours battery life. My previous laptop at best could muster a paltry hour without charge, something that has seen me carry my laptop everywhere I go just because I can.

For those of you who have expressed an interest in this make and model of netbook, please see this as a wholehearted testimonial, for the money it’s hands down one of the top purchases I have made in a long time. Katie is so impressed, she has lined up the pink version for her next laptop replacement.

This is a post from Matt's Journal. Copyright 2009.

My Samsung NC-10 Netbook

The sun was out, we were well rested, all we needed to do was to think of something that we could do allow us to continue enjoying the beautiful weather. Showers were taken, clothes were quickly put on and the decision was made to make a 3 mile pilgrimage to the World of Wildlife; Tropical Wings. For those not in the know, Tropical Wings is one of the UK’s largest tropical butterfly houses, that also keeps wallabies, lemurs, meerkats and a large collection of birds and insects.

We walked around the various enclosures, taking photos when we could. We spent a good few minutes talking to a Myna Bird who was intent on saying “Oh Wow!!” every few seconds. As we moved on, we looked at Kookaburra’s, Bird’s of Prey and monkeys.

One of our particular favourites was the Otter enclosure, where a family of Otter’s were taking turns at dunking their family member under the water. This was next to the Meerkat pen where Alexander Orlov and his folk were digging holes and looking out for any potential danger.

We spent roughly over an hour at Tropical Wings, leaving to grab a spot of lunch at one of our favourite local restaurants; The Old Windmill, in South Hanningfield. After that, it was a short trip to the supermarket for the necessities and then home to enjoy the sun on our sun loungers in the garden.

Steps were taken to minimise burning and on the whole we did well except I may have the beginning of a burnt snozzle. If you wish to view some of the pictures from our day out, they are embedded below for your viewing pleasure.

This is a post from Matt's Journal. Copyright 2009.

Tropical Wings

The lack of updates can simply be put down to the fact I have been completely immersed in Dolby Pro Logic II goodness courtesy of my new Samsung Cinema System.

I had taken payment for various projects I had been associated with and most of it was sitting pretty in my PayPal account. With that in mind and the notion that I would be able to find exactly what I was after, it was a simple journey to eBay to find a system that would be able to interface with my Sky+ box, my Xbox 360 and whatever fantastic device I would want to throw at it in the coming months.

My search was simple, the cinema system had to have at least one Optical Input. This little connection allows all of my devices to send over 5.1 goodness from my games, films and TV shows.

Whilst it was easy to find the systems with the input I wanted, I wanted to have the “Tallboy” speakers so they would not need mounting and they would project sound from behind my sofas. After a few hours of searching, I found what I thought maybe the ideal product and waited for the closing time so I could make a well aimed and timely bid. Because eBay doesn’t have the best review system for the electronics, I always default to what TestFreaks to see what the Average Joe has to say about products I intend to buy. Because they have user reviews (the cinema system coming in at an average of 8.9 out of 10) and in most cases a “Freak Grade”, you are able to get a real idea of whether what you are buying is worth the money or not. In my case, a review of 8.9 was enough to seal the deal, if you look to the right, I won the auction and the system I invested in can be seen in all it’s glory.

Other than that, life moves on ever faster. At work my workload gets every greater yet the size of our team gets smaller, since one of my co-workers became pregnant, our office sits at a lowly figure of 6. When I first started, there were 11 people, most of them useless but it shows what the average business is dealing with currently.

My ankle has healed quite nicely but it is still achy, mainly from having it cast at such an obscure angle. I’ve found small runs are easing the tenderness but other remedies such as Bavarian Root, Ground Cat Hair and an obscene amount of Calpol have also helped.

The weather has been simply stunning, allowing the average British citizen to go topless and turn a beetroot red. Katie and I used the lovely weather to our advantage and enjoyed our first BBQ in our new house, carefully cooking the meat using a gas canister that was lacking it’s main constituent.

And as Summer continues to come upon us, it’s soon to be eleven months since Katie and I got married and my search for a paper wedding anniversary present starts. If anyone can usher me in the right direction, I would be in your debt.

This is a post from Matt's Journal. Copyright 2009.

Surround Sound

Just saw the trailer for a game called Prototype. Looks to be pretty damn good.

I’ve seen the gameplay videos and it looks like a similar game to Crackdown but with a lot more interesting things you can see and do. Roll on the 12th June!

This is a post from Matt's Journal. Copyright 2009.

Prototype

I don’t know if it’s just me but it seems like every woman I know has a completely different attitude towards the temperature of their surroundings. At home, I can be sitting in my living room wearing just shorts and T-shirt whereas Katie is huddled on the sofa trying to keep warm. The same goes for when I sleep, I always have to have some part of my body out of the covers otherwise I become hot, bothered and find it difficult to sleep.

The one place I have experienced this difference is at work. I walk into work in the mornings and most of it is uphill, when I get to work, as manager I am the one who opens the place and makes sure all the lights are on and post is collected etc. But as I walk through that door in the morning, the place is like Hell’s Kitchen, it’s like walking into the boiler room of the Titanic.

The reason for the extreme temperature (even during these sunny April days), is the ladies of the office and their need to keep a radiator on, most of the time overnight, so that the office is warm and toasty when they get in. Luckily, my office is always cool due to the fact I have nobody else to share it with, but it’s like stepping from a rare sunny day in England to the sands of the Sahara walking between the two offices.

I have garnered a little bit of a reputation for having a nice ambient temperature in my office and not wanting to be sexist or stereotypical, I looked up the reasons as to why people my be disposed to feeling the cold a little more than myself.

Weight: “The more body fat you have, the more insulation you have, so you tend not to be as cold generally.”

Fitness: The amount of dense muscle an individual has helps the body regulate temperature more efficiently. “There’s no question,” an expert says, “that if you want to enhance the overall regulation of your system — exercise. It’s scientifically proven that it’s the single most important thing anyone can do for themselves, ever.”

Diet: People who do not get enough vitamins, minerals, protein, vegetables and other essential nutrients for a healthy metabolism could find themselves feeling tired and cold because their metabolism is not getting the nutrients it needs to work efficiently.

Gender: Women are more prone to hypothyroidism than men are, according to experts. Hypothyroidism is a condition in which the thyroid works too little and causes the patient to feel cold. Women’s body temperatures are also prone to irregularity due to their menstrual cycles and menopause, and women generally have less dense muscle mass than men do, which lowers their average body temperature.

Age: As people age, their hormonal systems may begin to function differently. When they do not produce as many hormones as they once did, they may find themselves feeling colder. Likewise, hormonal surges associated with menopause can cause hot flashes.

Stress: Being too tense or uptight in the office could reduce your circulation, making you feel colder.

Source: CNN

Now, I could argue that the people I work with are unhealthy people who are extremely old, that don’t exercise and are on their monthly cycle constantly. Whilst some maybe true, the bulk of my office are young and relatively active.

I put it down to a few self realised core points:

1. The women don’t dress appropriately.
2. Most of them do not have a breakfast, meaning they have less fuel to burn to keep them warm.
3. Men may have more muscle mass meaning they may generate more heat.

A very unscientific analysis but it always intrigues me that when I am with the woman in my family, my office or even somewhere completely random, I am always the warm one and everyone else is cold.

If this post is offensive to you, I don’t care.

This is a post from Matt's Journal. Copyright 2009.

Feeling The Cold

It’s been pretty manic in the Brian household recently, nothing changing from the last time I blogged. As you may have noticed, I have decided to give the place a bit of a spring clean, choosing a nice minimal white layout with splashes of colour here and there. My hope is that it is a lot easier on the eye whereas the last theme was so dark, you have no clue what the links on the sidebar actually went.

I digress.

My workload is still pretty heavy, three websites are slowly coming together but are in need of some mind numbing data inputting and seeing as it’s just little old me on the whole of the media team at work, the work will be done by me and me only. Katie continues to innovate practices at her work, just three days, she broke the company record for policy sales, averaging over £800 worth of policies that only average £12 per person. It’s got to the point now that when she walks from her desk, her co-workers ask the management what her sales figures amount to on that day.

Focusing back home, the cats are continuing to be an endless source of amusement. We popped to the local pet shop and got them some catnip treats and a really nifty little play toy that can be fastened to any surface and allows the cats to play with. When we pile them full of catnip treats the little blighters stumble and go all groggy, it’s hilarious.

With the cats in mind, I would like to present to you, Pusskins and Niblet attacking me for a chewy treat.

This is a post from Matt's Journal. Copyright 2009.

Happily Stressed