“Football is like fighting a gorilla – you don’t stop when you’re tired, you can only stop when the gorilla is tired.”

Coventry boss Chris Coleman after QPR’s defence makes a monkey of his strikers in their 0-0 draw.

I love reading the Quotes of the Week on BBC’s website. There are some real crackers there.

Here’s a gaffe by a commentator:

“The official has got his hand on Joe Jordan’s backside, but that seems to just be for familiarity.”

Alan Green on 5 Live commentary of the Manchester United v Portsmouth game.

My question about exit strategy to The Undercover Economist has been answered. You can read it here.

I have spoken about The Undercover Economist (Tim Harford) earlier, he’s runs a kind of Dear Auntie Jane Q and A session in the Financial Times for people with questions about economics or related human choices and behaviour. He has a very engaging way of talking about economic theories. Check out Tim Harford’s website.

The city of superlatives.

Dune-bashing with Ramadan in the lead Land-Cruiser.
Views of the marina from the 46th floor.

The sail of the Burj al Arab.
The dominance of the Burj Dubai.

Shawarma in the Emirates mall.
Coriander chicken in Indego.

Mint shisha in the Royal Mirage.
Long Islands on the Rooftop Terrace.

Belly dancing in the desert night.
Football in the Barista.

Ras Al Khaimah.
Camel humps.

And Amaretto. Lots of Amaretto.

Okay, I’ve been back a while now, still can’t get the powder out of my heed.

I spent a day on the beginner’s slopes with my board, learning to balance on my heels first and do a floating leaf down the slopes. No doubt I fell a lot, but I was encouraged by the fact that there were other beginners alongside and I didn’t do all that bad. Plus I had decided to approach it with an almost fatalistic resignedness; if I were to fall, so be it. Once again? Never mind. And the more I got used to falling, the less I did.

On the second day I started practising going downhill backwards, balancing on my toes. This was harder than it seems, and I took out an old lady in the process of learning. Then an experienced friend came along and dragged us beginners to the top of the slopes. Jumped on and then off this never ending ski lift to the top with board attached. At the top of the mountain there was nothing left to stand on except a small patch of snow with slopes on all sides. So we took off.

Breathtaking.

I managed three runs to the top and down in the end, despite having two major wipeouts, but the gluhwein finally got the better of me, and over-confidence crept in, accompanied by tiredness. Caught the last ski lift back to town.

Thanks to all involved.

Priceless.

Ok, in half an hour most of this company will be off to Italy for skiing. I shall be snowboarding, or mostly sliding downhill on my backside. The place is called Sauze d’Oulx and around 35 of us have crashed a hotel with capacity for 44 and aimed at “romantic weekend break” couples. Boy some customers are going to be unhappy!! Don’t know much about the place so I’ll leave it here and update you when we’re back.

Work is great at the moment, the ongoing company-setting-up project has a really interesting side-project that seems to have fascinating potential for unusual usage. And I don’t mean just the Adult industry, although that aspect will alwayd be explored, so to speak.

Meanwhile, Bush literacy

…will make America what we want it to be — a more literate country and a hopefuller country.
–George W. Bush

It certainly needs to be a more literate country, eh?

We were talking in the office about using the phonetic alphabet to spell your name down the phone. I remembered I had posted a funny alphabet on these very pages, so I went to look for it.

I found the entry, as well as Ioannis’ comment on the 17th of October 2005.

“Very useful in the office”- he wrote.

Staying with the animal theme, has anyone noticed all the ruckus about this Mosquito device.

I shall explain: The Mosquito is a small speaker that when activated emits a high-pitched noise that’s very irritating and disorientating to kids, but doesn’t affect adults cause they can’t hear it. Shopkeepers are using it to disperse gangs of young hoodlums congregating outside their premises.

As you may know if you frequent these pages, I of course will not be giving you an insight into the intricacies of this debate. I merely noticed that the campaign protesting against the use of the Mosquito is called Buzz Off.
How Deliciously Ironic!
I would’ve thought Buzz Off accurately described the use of the Mosquito!!

This is another example of the British love for the pun, the same love that causes newspapers to write headlines that, rather than explaining the gist of the news article, make puns on someone’s name. (You’ll notice my headline is both pun-chy and informative. Pun intended).

Of course I’ll give you some example headlines! Chinese President Hu Jintao is a good one.

Hu wants to be a millionaire

Hu’s your daddy

Knock, knock. Hu’s there

It takes Hu to make a thing go right

Look! Hu’s talking

Hu’s on first

If not us, Hu? If not now, Wen?

Who’s Hu in Chinese politics?

Guess Hu’s coming to dinner

What chance of success does an hour-long programme on amphibians have?

But yesterday there was some amazing wildlife telly from the BBC, with Attenborough leading from the front.

I learnt how the male African bullfrog can build canals with his back legs and how baby blind worms eat their mother’s skin to gain ten times their body weight.

And there was some brilliant footage of red-eyed tree frog tadpoles developing in a cluster on a leaf and wasps raiding them for food.

Next week on Life in Cold Blood: Lizards!

Yesterday I was talking some nonsense down the phone about an “egg in the black box” solution. Bush has another mixed metaphor

“The senator has got to understand if he’s going to have — he can’t have it both ways. He can’t take the high horse and then claim the low road”.

–George W. Bush
Florence, SC
02/17/2000
on Sen. John McCain, speaking to reporters

Apparently there might be referendum held on the EU Treaty in Bolton West, which is Secretary of State Ruth Kelly’s constituency.

A television crew went out on the streets of Bolton to survey the public’s concerns.

This is what a butcher said live on evening news telly – “I’ve heard about the EU, but not about the treaty”