The Car Park Story

One of the worst jokes ever uttered, but rendered in inimitable style by my colleague Sara.

Waiting for the Birdie

In the age of digital convergence, it is refreshing when savvy technoids don't realise that a digital camera is shooting video...

The Café Society - Part 8 - Le Cirque du Grand Céleste

We had Emma's birthday outing this evening, at le Cirque du Grand Céleste, a modern circus which is more about theatre and music than trained animals.

This was the sixth time I saw the Grand Céleste, who have evolved from their humble 50 seat top to something holding about 200.

Unfortunately, art-theft is not permitted during the show, so most of our pictures were taken in the second Big Top, where the artists mingle with the spectators over a post-show drink.

The Highway 1 US Special Telecaster

The Highway 1 Telecaster is Fender's entry-level American-made Telecaster. The first guitar I bought as an adult, in 2003, was a three-tone sunburst HWY1 Telecaster, so naturally it was the first guitar to be replaced after the break-in last summer. I wanted to make a clean break with the lost Telecaster (one gets sentimental about these pieces of wood) so I ordered this one in honey blonde from Thomann. It looks pretty much like a classic Telecaster (the classic electric guitar,) with the glaring exception of the rosewood fretboard: three-saddle bridge, "spaghetti" logo on the headstock, single-coil Alnico pick-ups. However, there are some subtle differences that make it much more playable than a vintage Tele: 22 frets rather than 21, faster neck, medium-jumbo frets...

When I ordered it Fender had just announced an "upgrade" to the HWY1 series, which meant they were actually downgrading the specs, in order to stop cannibalisation of sales of higher-end American Teles. I made sure that Thomann sent me an "original" HWY1 Tele. They did just that, and the only non-original features are the "Greasebucket" circuit (an improvement in tone control) and the pewter-coloured "Sixtieth Anniversary" inlay at the top of the back of the headstock.

By the time Fender produced this particular Telecaster, they must have mastered the process: by all accounts, it has one of the most playable necks ever encountered on a Fender. So much for upgrades.

Hotel Rooms - Part 10 - The English Promenade

The SAS Radisson in Nice, where we will be holding our company meeting sometime this winter. The hotel is located along the Promenade des Anglais, though I doubt we'll have much time for promenading, particularly as, in the evening, the concourse should more appropriately be dubbed the Promenade des Roumaines.

Happy 2007! (but I've got to clean up 2006)

So, 2007 is here and the last entry in this blog was nearly four months ago. (Note, with my resolution to update the past, the preceding statement may soon appear inaccurate.)

We ended 2006 in good taste, savouring multiple dishes by the fireplace, including:

• Piper Heidseck champagne
  
• Endive with Tartare cheese
• Turnip soup
• Shrimp Ceviche
  
• Foie gras with toasted gingerbread
• Lime Sherbet
• 1997 Château Pavie St Emilion
  
• Veal roasted in Muscadet with sweet potatoes and chestnuts
• Cheese
• Mousse au Chococat

We also began 2007 with a bang, Jean-Luc and I treating the neighbourhood to an impromptu hour-long jam around 3:30 AM.