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You’ve probably heard me complain (it’s a whinging thing that has to be done I think).

Kate enjoyed playing on this frozen lake.

See the rocks etc on the ice?  She couldn’t break through the top.  It was interesting, when you threw stuff out onto the lake, it made a sound like a light saber.  Weird.  Frozen lakes are weird.

Another trip we made over the Christmas break was down to Devon (South West England).  Not sure where to go or what to do, we ended up in Exeter.  Exeter is a neat medieval town with some lovely old buildings.  Sadly not all survived the bombing during the second world war.  Something that did survive (and was used as air raid shelters) are the medieval tunnel system.  I went down into the tunnels which were originally used to run lead water pipes through to provide the city with running water from springs outside the city walls.  A lot of these tunnels still exist as they are quite far underground (about 7 meters).  So while Kate went shopping, I went underground!  The idea of the tunnels was that if a pipe needed fixing after a burst, the then council didn’t have to pay people to dig up their land to access it, they just sent some guys into the tunnels.  Amazing insight…  These tunnels (and the water pipe system) was used up until about 1900 when some bright engineer ruined the system by digging out a cutting for the railway which resulted in the spring being re-diverted into a river and the water system drying up… (do engineers ever make mistakes these days??)

Photos here!

Even though I wasn’t well over the Christmas period we still managed to get some tripping about done.  The last day of the year we headed to Stonehenge.  I love this place even when it’s crowded with heaps of tourists!  It was a freezing day (see the snow and ice on the grass) but it was quite pretty.  Some more photos are here.

Last night my friend Brian kindly took me out for dinner at St Catherine’s SCR (Senior Common Room).  This event incorporated the pomp and ceremony expected of Oxford.  The food was amazing, each of the four courses matched with wine, and the service incredible.

The Menu:

- Smoked eel mousse with beetroot

- Beef fillet with haggis

- Cheese

- Cranachan with raspberries

Because we were sitting at high table (one table at one end of the room raised above all of the tables that the students sit at) when we entered in a formal procession (in gowns of course) the students had to be quiet and stand.  The master of ceremonies then hits a peice of wood with his gavel, says something in Latin, then sits down.  Following this, everyone sits down.  There were about 20 of us at high table.  We were served by about 8 waiters.  There were about 300 student, they only had about 15 waiters!

St Catz is very modern, being one of the newer colleges here.  Everything appears to be “designed”.  In fact, I was told that even the cutlery that is used was designed for the college…

Brian had also booked us in for “second desert”.  This involved retiring to a room with other high table members and sitting around eating after dinner treats like fruit (fresh and dried), nuts, some sweets and the like.  He had warned me and I did get to see fruit eaten with a knife and fork.  One lady dissected a banana with amazing skill - I’m guessing she’d done it before! Following second desert, we retired to the SCR lounge for tea, coffee and chocolates.  3 hours and 10 minutes later, dinner was over… Now I think I’ve seen it all… (or have I?)

I’m a long-suffering fan of the Canucks.  They’re my team, through thick and thin, which is why the current losing streak is so painful to watch.  It brings back memories of their dive at the end of last season, where they couldn’t win a game to save their playoff lives.

I hate being reminded that we’re losing, and it’s worse that the current advertising campaign is plastered all over buses.  “We are all Canucks” it says.  Does that mean we’re all (temporarily, at least) losers??

In other news, it looks like Slanty2D has a job waiting for him in Austin Texas (commie!)

According to this highway sign, Nazi zombies are running amuck (head for colder climes!)  Follow the YouTube for more breaking details.

So here’s a couple excerpts from the new Canadian Budget for 2009 :

“Accelerated CCA for Computers
Computers are generally eligible for a 55% declining-balance CCA rate, subject to the half-year rule. Budget 2009 proposes, as a temporary measure, to increase the rate to 100% for eligible computer equipment acquired after January 27, 2009 and before February 2011. In addition, the half-year rule will not apply.”

From what I can tell that means that you can write off your new computer purchase. Sweet for those expecting StarCraft II this year.

“Extension of the Employment Insurance (EI) benefit entitlement period by five extra weeks”

Wolfie just hit the jackpot on that one. Can you say ‘why would you get a job till Sept?’

And if you’re thinking you’ve got a little too much money in your pocket, and if you are a homeowner, Vancouver city is planning this :

“Vancouver homeowners face a bigger hike – 8.29 per cent – than other property owners.”

This is derived from Vancouver property taxes are going up 6.29% across the board, but because the government is trying to shift some of the tax burden off of buisness owners and on to residential owners, 2% more is being added to residential owners and that same amount being subtracted off of buisness owners.

So this year I need to get a job, get laid off, buy a computer in time for StarCraft II, and keep renting. So much to do, so little time.

“Moneytalks, yeah, yeah
Money talks, B.S. walks
Money talks, come on, come on
Come on, come on, love me for the money
Come on, come on, listen to the moneytalk”

Today we joined up with the Oxford branch of the Ramblers (the UK walking group) and wandered around North East from where we live.  I was amazed to see Woodperry House in the middle of our walk (pictured below).  Built some time around 1728 it was quite a spectacle tucked away in the middle of our jaunt!  It’s this sort of place I’d like to live in…

Kate was missing her chickens and we found this.  If you have a spare 1 min 47 sec I highly recommend it!