ChrisMerriman.com

Minimal Shopping

ChrisM — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 21:05:20 +0000

Another weekend gone, without much posting once more. The reason this time? We went over to Evesham to see Dad, and then on to Cheltenham and Cirencester to see a few friends over the weekend. We didn’t do a lot of shopping (Christmas draws nearer), so no traipsing around looking around Moroccan furniture and scarf stores just yet. I can’t complain really though, as for every Moroccan furniture shop we visit, Ira puts up with a gadget shop or two to balance things out.

Dr Natalya’s Birthday

ChrisM — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:00:35 +0000

Happy Birthday, hopefully Sasha and Sveta have been giving you a peaceful and relaxing day

Con’s Birthday

ChrisM — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 20:36:59 +0000

Today is the day, back in the 80s, that top DJ, top mate and all round good bloke Con was born. Hope you’re having a good party, surrounded by good friends, and that we’ll get to see you soon.

(OK so this was another pre-written post I created a while back. Hoping to have seen him in the last couple of days,by the time this post is set to publish.)

Thai Airport (Lack Of) Security

ChrisM — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 23:48:08 +0000

The People’s alliance for Democracy (now there is an inappropriate name, given that the group does not want democratic elections to occur!), are still occupying a couple of airports (Suvarnabhumi (an International Airport) and Don Muang (mostly domestic flights airport,) in Thailand. The political situation in the country is fuelled by a minority of well to do citizens who seem to be afraid of majority rule. Check out Reuter’s article for more info.

Entrecard And Firefox Issues?

ChrisM — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 23:05:00 +0000

To any fellow droppers who pop in, can I ask you to leave a comment if you are currently encountering problems with viewing the entrecard on the right? Recently, I’ve had time outs occur a lot more often (so a “The requested site did not respond to a connection” error message appears, outside the viewable area of the widget). I now find that (in FireFox, but not Internet Explorer) when the widget does load, the image jumps around its original position, very quickly. Anyone suffering the same issues here/elsewhere?

Monitoring Changes

ChrisM — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 13:28:06 +0000

Something that I hadn’t really considered until recently (for obvious reasons) was how pregnant woman can be a lot more sensitive to everyday events than the rest of us. It would appear that travel deals out a lot of bumps that you wouldn’t normally even register. Luckily Ira hasn’t suffered too badly through the trimesters of her pregnancy - no huge morning sickness problems at the beginning, nor extreme swings in taste. With Dad warning before speed bumps were encountered, all seemed well

Back In Britain

ChrisM — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 21:31:12 +0000

OK, so we have actually been back in Britain for five days now, but sorting out things and settling down is bound to take a while. In the mean time, the blog managed to publish a post for Alex on her birthday
All is OK here in Clydach, and I’ll try and post a little more regularly soon; if you have already read this post, why not click on one of the category or tag links on the right to be taken to posts you may be interested in. To friends in Cheltenham, I’ll be around next week so look forward to seeing some of you.

Alex Is 21 Again?

ChrisM — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:33:49 +0000

Given that we were in the same year at school, it isn’t too hard to guess her age, but anyway, here’s hoping she is having a superb day…

Happy Birthday Dad, Babushka & StarGazer

ChrisM — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 20:29:02 +0000

As you may have guessed from this post’s title, today is my Dad’s birthday. Everyone here in Kazakhstan hopes you have a great day…
The title should also give you a clue that Babushka (Ira’s grandma) and StarGazer also share their birthdays with my Dad. Happy Birthday all round then

Cracked Up

ChrisM — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 20:02:25 +0000

Whilst clearing out the rubbish we really didn’t need in the flat (three bin liners so far!), I came across an old contact lenses case, that had a dried out cosmetic lens in it.

It was one (no idea where the other went) of the radiation symbols I bought years ago here in Astana, but it was completely knackered. Something else to keep an eye out for when we return to Wales. That said, I only really wore them for clubbing or parties, and with little Lolik’s arrival pencilled in for just three months away, I’m guessing such partying will be less likely now. Well worth it though

Kazakh Government Catching On?

ChrisM — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:56:03 +0000

The last time I mentioned Borat (the fictional character or the film itself) was back on the August 15th 2007, which is reasonably surprising for a blog that is often based in Kazakhstan itself. Anyway, why has he popped up now, such a long time after the movie was released? DavidG e-mailed me a link to an article explaining that Kazakhstan’s deputy Minister for Tourism and Sports (Kenzhebay Satzhanov) appears to have shown that this country finally has the right idea when it comes to publicity and spin. He rightly stated that the character and film, whilst portraying a fictional version of Kazakhstan in a bad light has helped people to know about this area of the world, and consequently increased tourism. I remember when I first met Irina, back before Borat even existed on the Ali G show, most people did not have a clue where Kazakhstan was, or anything about the country. Compare this approach from the government to when they banned a Borat website that used the .KZ domain, and threatened Sacha Baron Cohen with legal action - it looks as though the powers that be have caught on to communication (with the rest of the world at least) in the 21st century

Moving Around

ChrisM — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:28:30 +0000

Irina has been working hard all day on packing together the items that we will be storing at the inlaws. I have written a guide to the flat for Dave, and helping to move the heavy stuff for Ira. I suspect our cupboards will soon be filled with healthy items, like Orovo drinks rather than the Coke and Fanta that used to adorn our shelves. Next on the list is properly packing the clothes and items we are taking to Britain, and porting all the info I’ll need on to the hard drives we’re taking. Trying to decide on what is essential data, and what I can do without is probably going to be difficult, but it may do the PC good to discover what is really critical, and what can be burnt off to disks and archived for now.

Sligo

ChrisM — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 22:12:09 +0000

I have mentioned this pub a couple of times here on the blog, but have yet to post photos or pass comment on the food.
Well, lets start at the beginning. It is located near the Intercontinental Hotel here in Astana, and is most definitely branded as an Irish pub (though it is probably a lot closer to an Irish-themed pub in Britain than the real thing. Not a real issue, just letting you know). The decor is pretty good considering there probably aren’t that many Irish experts in this locality. The staff were very courteous, and I’m told there is always at least on member on duty who speaks English. The first time I went there, they didn’t have much Irish music at all, and as we were returning in the evening, I burnt some Dubliners albums (the only Irish music, other than Enya, I could find on my hard drive) for them. The food was good - I think I had some sort of steak and boiled potatoes dish, whilst the others had various Irish dishes. The stew was a lot more than passable apparently. The dessert was just the right size, and again tasty.
Onto the photos…
First we have Ira and Assel (Walton’s other 0.5)

Ira And Assel Sligo Pub Astana

Here we have the aforementioned Walton and me (I’m the one on the right, posing beautifully for the camera.)

Walton And Me

Here we have Dr Ken (for any macho men out there, you’ll find beers are ALWAYS served with a straw over here - he didn’t actually specifically request one )

Dr Ken

And here we have DaveG, loving the camera lens as much as ever

DaveG

The next three are a shot of the back half of Sligo, the cheesecake I mentioned, and finally the band that were playing. Which makes me think all these photos must have been taken the last time we visited Slago. See KZBlog’s post (Live Music In Astana) for more info on the band.

Sligo Pub

Chocolate Cheesecake

Band Playing

Geeks Save The Day

ChrisM — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 18:04:49 +0000

Finding impartial advice on the internet can be difficult, especially when it comes to the topic of web hosting. Because bloggers are often looking to make some money online, they will include affiliate links in posts, and only mention the good points.
This is where a site like WebHosting Geeks really comes in handy. Even if the site itself happens to test a host on a really good or bad day for that particular company, the fact that other visitors to WHG can leave their reviews of hosting companies means you can easily get an overall picture of the sort of service you should expect.

If you take a look, you will see that Web Hosting Geeks do not appear to censor the reviews left by users, so you can really check out the problems and strengths for each host. If you do not really know which factors are important when choosing a host for your particular site, then simply click on the links below Web Hosting Awards that most closely suits your site. From there, WHG’s reviews list the important factors to take into consideration.
So, whether you are thinking of dipping your toes in for the first time, and needs a host for your site, or have decided that you will not be renewing your current contract and therefore want to swap hosts, head on over to WHG and see the helpful information on offer.

Awww. Cute. Or Not?

ChrisM — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:33:46 +0000

Saw this one recently over at FailBlog, and I wanted to post it here.
Although the comments go into some details on this method of postage being accepted as the norm in some parts of America a while ago, my initial reaction was that a young child has posted it, and it was just plain cute, rather than backwards/stupid…

see more pwn and owned pictures

OK, further reading of the comments bring up the claim that this was actually an experiment to see if this method of paying for postage would work or not. It still reminds me a little of children’s Christmas letters to Santa, or addressing a letter to “Bob Jones, that house opposite the shop by the Church, Munington”

ChrisMerriman.com

Minimal Shopping

Dr Natalya’s Birthday

Other Posts

Con’s Birthday

Other Posts

Thai Airport (Lack Of) Security

Entrecard And Firefox Issues?

Other Posts

Monitoring Changes

Back In Britain

Other Posts

Alex Is 21 Again?

Other Posts

Happy Birthday Dad, Babushka & StarGazer

Other Posts

Cracked Up

Kazakh Government Catching On?

Other Posts

Moving Around

Sligo

Other Posts

Geeks Save The Day

Awww. Cute. Or Not?

Other Posts