Babies Galore...

There is, currently, a huge baby boom going on at Church... it's ridiculous! Something like 15 babies will be born this year, and plenty more are due for next year! One of my Groomsmen has recently had one (moreover, his wife has) and another Groomsman's' wife is pregnant and due late November!


This excites me a lot. Firstly, I love children (on a Sunday morning I rarely talk to adults because of herds of children that I find myself being stupid with). I have some quality banter with a 7 year old who supports a rival soccer team; a 4 year old girl who is moving to Turkey this time next year regularly tells me that 'Phil' means 'Elephant' in Turkish; a 5 year old boy will punch me non-stop for as long as I'll let him for want of being turned upside down and carried around for a while. They are fun, have great energy levels, and are probably the most genuine people in the world!


Secondly, as I embark on the magnificent journey that is marriage, and look into baby planning etc on the Marriage Preparation Course, it's great to have close friends who are kind of a life stage ahead of you. One day I will be sucking all the kid rearing wisdom I can out of these folk!


Third... it means I can pretend I'm massive (which I am... see previous post) and take fun photo's like this:





Don't get me wrong here, I am not broody in any way. Right now (well, in 15 days time) Liz will be my family, and that's all I'm after and what I want. In fact, I hate kids. Leaving my parents to start up my own family will no doubt be tough- they are the most amazing people I have the honour of knowing- but I am very much looking forward to cleaving to and figuring out how to be family with Elizabeth Kate.

Disproportion...

I always thought that my hands and feet were of disproportionate size to my body... now I have science on my side to prove it.

Reading through an article recently ("Body-Based Units of Measurement: Size matters in more ways than one") I was pleased/ shocked to discover my disproportions! A cubit is supposed to be the length in between your elbow joint tot he tip of your middle finger, which for the average male is about 18 inches. Mine is a good 2 inches longer than that- an addition of 11%!!! For any bible readers, a lot of measurements (ie Noah's bible) will be in cubits, especially older versions.

I have always enjoyed being an anatomy geek (for example, my favourite muscle in the body is the Tibialis Anterior) and have always love small things about the make up of the human body, for example, your hand span (distance from your thumb tip to pinky tip when your hand is fully stretched) is the same length as your inner forearm. Your feet should also be the same length as this.

So, to my horror/ joy, my feet are another inch bigger than my hands, meaning that they are about 16% bigger than the average size for my height!!! So technically, this means that I should be about 6"7 and probably a superstar of the NBA.

Still, if that happened I probably wouldn't have met my wife to be (in 44 days!).

I've also greatly enjoyed finding out new and exciting ways to use Microsoft Excel (apart from the obvious ass-kicking formula's!). If you hold down "Alt" and press "Enter" then it allows to to go down a line within that cell, thus making it much better for presentation purposes.

This is a crazy world in which we live.

Olympic Fever Has Hit...

It's fast. It's furious. And it's here! The Olympic Games, held in China in 2008, have commenced! Not without well documented issues and controversies, but nonetheless, it's well and truly here. Typically, England have already won 0 medals to USA's 98, but this time is completely different for me... I have a legitimate claim to chant and cheer on our American hero's. I've not got my Green Card yet, but thanks to bagging me a blond-haired stunner of an American, I can celebrate sporting excellence!

It means the Olympics will never quite be the same for me. True, as long as triple-jumping, rowing and Paula Radcliffe are around, we have guaranteed gold medals (I mean, even I can jump a length that would qualify me for the women's triple-jump competition!), I will never really have the build up of one unheard athlete who has freakishly made it to a final and could hit the giddy heights of bronze. From here on out, only gold is good enough for me.

There is nothing quite like it when Great Britain have a chance of a medal- I really can't explain it. Whoever the competitor, in whatever the event; I scream and urge them on with all I have within me. Never again, I am now an elitist!

Still... this following video is immense. The first qualifying heat of the 100m men's freestyle; then Eric the Eel was born. I can't help but laugh, this was fro the 2000 Sydney Games. Quality.

P.S. I apologise that this is an Australian studio broad casted programme. Watching this live was one of the greatest moments of my sport-watching history. Please bear with the whole 4 minutes!

I'm No Lyre...

Liz has found out- post engagement, I hasten to add- that I have a real love for animal programs and animals (not so much measly domestic ones, but crazy wild ones!!). I have book on the subject (soon to be books, I hope) and will read it while in the bathroom- I'll often announce said duty done with a fascinating animal fact that bewilders and amazes! 

I feel that below is a certain animal who is most extraordinary, yet has surprisingly little coverage given its unexpected, yet sensational talent.

If I could be a bird, I probably would be this one, but still, this is ruddy brilliant!

Lyre Bird, take a bow...

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Wonderful. 

Cell Phone Fun...

Cell phones have many uses... phoning people; people phoning you; getting and receiving texts. These days you can even take still images and moving images on most phones and listen to music. But this video represents a clear favourite use of cell phones:

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Immense. I especially like that chinese people are getting excited.

Elvis...

I've just realised how much the word Levis looks like Elvis- could (and should) be the perfect advertising agent.

Anagramamaniarams!!! (Pronounced anagram-a-mania-ram)

Mother-In-Law and Levis Saved My Life...

Two neighbors were having a chat when one said, "I took my dog to the vet today because it bit my mother-in-law." The other asked, "Did you put it to sleep?" "No, of course not," said the first, "I had its teeth sharpened."

Traditionally, mother-in-laws are supposed to be the source of constant and ever increasing annoyance. My one-to-be decided to save my life, albeit unknowingly and with a little help from Levis Jeans.

At 5.20am a week and a half ago, I woke up to find my curtains on fire, which rapidly spread to my bed clothes, headboard and all the items behind my bed, as well as a multiplug socket. In a moment of madness/ genius I remembered seeing a Levis advert from yonder year which showed people putting out a fire by beating their jeans against it.

Mrs. Watkins had brought me over a few pairs of high quality jeans when she came to visit with Big Bob in February 2008. I raced over to my wardrobe and found an appropriate pair (ie, pulled out the first pair I found in a mega panic) and proceeded to beat it out using these real American jeans- sustaining minimal, yet very deep burns.

That is only the beginning of an epic story, but it’s all you need to know. This advertising genius, and my mother-in-law (nearly!) saved my life.

Mother-In-Law- I salute you.