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Decemeber 2009 Blog Archive
18 December 2009 Picture Perfect
Well it comes to the end of another year (and decade) for my blog and I have found a little gem which I will be taking full advantage of when looking for content in 2010, a friend told me about 'Stumble Upon' at the weekend and now I'm addicted. You go on the website and tick things you are interested in, it stores the info and puts a little Stumble icon on your internet toolbar (well it does on Firefox...), then whenever you feel the urge (which was quite a lot for me this week) you click on the icon and 'Stumbles Upon' websites it thinks you will like! It really is addictive and you can give it the thumbs up or thumbs down so the more you use it the better idea it has of what you like.
Unfortunately I have become so fond of it I wanted to include everything I found in my blog so its more of a 'visual' one this week...
Firstly this website will appeal to the student within you, if you can't decide what to cook you tick all the things you have in your fridge and cupboards and it comes up with things you could make! www.cookingbynumbers.com.
These are just a couple of pictures I 'Stumbled upon' that I liked...
Animal Friends
A website dedicated to people sending in pictures of animal friends - who doesn't like pics of unlikely animal pairings!
Worst wedding pictures ever...
I do feel sorry for this photographer as I doubt he will ever work again, but then again I suppose he doesn't deserve to. I think even I could do better and we all saw my Thanksgiving party shots...
For more of this stunning gallery click here
New Species
And here are some strange new species which have just been discovered.
Pygmy tarsiers and a random sea creature
A fish with a transparent head
On a more serious note, those of you out for 'Black' Friday on the office doo need to be extra vigilant this year as a new type of opportunist thief stalks our streets; 'The Hugger Mugger" will lull you into a friendly, seemingly drunken Christmas Hug while stealing you wallet and phone, so please don't hug strangers this Christmas.
10 December 2009 Its all a Blur...
I like to think of my blog as a 'gateway to knowledge', a forum with which to enrich lives and encourage clarity of perception, so with this in mind and the Rapport Thanksgiving party still fresh (well sort of!) in the memory, this week I will be unraveling the complicated and much documented topic of hangover cures!
There are many old wives tales and myths surrounding what you should and shouldn't do, so I'm going to separate the facts from the fiction once and for all...
- I am going to get this one out of the way first, drinking water, we all know you are meant to drink a glass of water for every alcoholic drink, but who wants to battle all the way to the front at the bar just to order water and lets be honest the stick you'll get from your friends will probably last a lot longer than a hangover ever would.
- Low and behold hair of the dog is scientifically proven to work! As the liver breaks down all the chemicals in the copious amounts of alcohol you consumed its the methanol that makes you feel bad. It breaks down other chemicals first however, so if you can get more alcohol down you before it gets to the methanol you will delay the hangover... unfortunately it will still come.
- Berocca is an Australian vitamin supplement which is now available in the Uk, its meant to replace all the nutrients you lost the night before, I have tried and tested this one and wasn't too impressed with its healing qualities, I was however using the Berocca as a mixer for my vodka at one point which may not have helped.
- Pinching your hand, apparently there is an acupuncture point between the thumb and index finger of the left hand, which if pinched hard for 30 seconds every 5 mins will cure a headache, it will be replaced, however with a pain in the left hand...
Ok so with the science out of the way I thought I would take it to the people who count, the people who deal with this every Sunday morning - my friends and colleagues!
Personally I swear by a cup of tea, a grab bag of Ready Salted Walkers crisps, and if I'm feeling particularly ropey, a packet of Chicken Super noodles. The only cure for a vegetarian friend of mine (who I will not name as this is classified information) is to eat a McDonalds double cheeseburger. The usuals have come out in the office; can of coke, fry up, pizza (but not before 4pm), resolve and weirdly Abi chipped in with 'an apple' - the moral of the story is that the symptoms seem to be the same but the cure is personal, so my recommendation would be to do your research this Christmas and find out what works for you; a great excuse to head straight to the pub!
4 December 2009 Sprouting Lyrical
I cannot believe that today is the 4th of December. This time in just three weeks I will be swearing off turkey for another 364 days and will be stuffed full of sprouts (I am the only one in my family that actually likes them!). I reckon I’ll be joining this Facebook group for brussel sprout lovers - with a commendable 86 members, it easily pips the ‘I hate Brussels Sprouts’ Facebook group, which only has 47 members. Is this the strong reinforcement that I need that sprouts aren’t that bad? I’m not sure seeing as a quick tally round the Rapport office has resulted in a 60:40 split in favour of the ‘anti-sprout’ convention. I’ll have to keep on rallying I think…
Anyway, with the start of advent, the Rapport office has this week been (ahem…) busy getting into the festive spirit. Ellie stumbled across a gem of a website called ‘Elf Yourself’ and much hilarity promptly ensued. Check out the fruits of our labour here…
Finally, tonight is the annual Rapport Thanksgiving party – an opportunity for us to say a big ‘thank you’ to all our partners, friends and family who have supported us over the year. If last year’s party is anything to go by, it should be a night to remember... Or perhaps I should say forget, as my over-enthusiasm at Costco last year resulted in enough alcohol to sink a war ship! I have to finish by saying a MASSIVE thank you to Dominic and the team at Teacup in Manchester’s Northern Quarter for accommodating our party at such short notice when we got let down by the original venue at 2pm yesterday. It’s going to be a great night... Bring on the party!!
