bookmark_borderBad laminate


rubbish laminate
Originally uploaded by PhylB

I floored most of the flat using Ikea’s fine Balk real wood floor, which looks great and was easy to lay (although it has a slight problem with widening gaps between the planks in busy areas).

In the kitchen, I used some kitchen laminate from B&Q that looks like tiles and again was easy to lay and looks great.

In the house we needed to put in a new floor in Marcel’s room (due to a mixture of brown and pink carpets), and he liked Ikea’s brown Tundra which is very cheap but which Phyllis claims to have had good results with in the past.

It was a complete disaster, however. The planks just didn’t want to click together as they should. I know the floor wasn’t as even as it should have been, but this was horrendous! And while trying to make them click, they would get all chipped, so the whole floor looks like a dog’s dinner now. Fortunately Marcel doesn’t seem to mind, though.

I just wish I knew whether a more expensive laminate would have been less sensitive to the unevenness of the floor.

bookmark_borderEHS, SHS, WHS (GIC) and NIHS


NHS Family Planning Advice
Originally uploaded by Firefalcon

There is no single health service in the UK. People speak about the NHS, but it’s actually four different organisations in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

I think using the same name is unhealthy. It means the English find it illogical that they aren’t getting the same treatment in England as is provided by NHS Scotland.

So the four services should be renamed. They already have different logos, so surely that wouldn’t be too hard.

bookmark_borderMC1R


someone’s red hair
Originally uploaded by jessiqua

I’ve just seen on BBC that researchers have found out that some Neanderthals had red hair.

I find this immensely fascinating. It comes so soon after finding the FoxP2 language gene in Neanderthals. It’s like they’ve suddenly opened a long-lost book.

I find it interesting too that the MC1R gene differs slightly between humans and Neanderthals. It’s another piece of evidence that there was no mixing of the two species.

I still wonder whether mad scientists can forever refrain themselves from resurrecting the Neanderthals. Surely it can’t be much more difficult than doing the mammoths, and that’s already being considered.

bookmark_borderGeneral election in the dark


Christiansborg Castle
Originally uploaded by bartron08

The Danish prime minister has today called a general election that will take place on Tuesday 13th November, replacing the parliament that was elected on my 33rd birthday.

For some reason Danish people don’t seem to share the British fear of voting in the cold and the dark. 🙂

It’ll be interesting to see what the new constituencies will mean, and whether the emergence of the new party Ny Alliance will have any drastic consequences.

I cannot vote, of course. Denmark disenfranchises anybody who leaves the country for more than a couple of years unless they work for a Danish company or organisation.

bookmark_borderHvad er det?


Painting the ceiling
Originally uploaded by PhylB

I min barndom var der et fremragende TV-program, der hed Hvad er det? Det gik ud på, at der var to konkurrerende hold arkæologer, der gav hinanden ting, som de så skulle prøve på at tids- og funktionsbestemme.

Det forbløffede mig ofte, hvor vilde gæt de gladeligt kom med, og de tog da også ofte fejl.

Nogle gange ser jeg en moderne ting og spekulerer på, hvad fremtidens arkæologer vil tro, dens formål var.

Tag nu den kombinerede malerrulle og snorkel, som Charlotte holder på billedet. Hvis det redskab mirakuløst bliver fundet i en udgravning om 2000 år, hvad vil de så tro? At vi holdt vores malerudstyr i munden?

bookmark_borderUpside-down smiley?


No cherries allowed!
Originally uploaded by MercerBalls

According to the description page for this photo, it’s a common street sign in Montreal. That makes me a bit scared of ever visiting that place, since I don’t have the slightest clue what it’s supposed to mean.

Is it an upside-down smiley? Two cherries? Lollipops hanging from a letterbox? Is it warning you that you’ll be hypnotised now?

Weird, weird!