Thank you very much Setting_Sun for reminding me of the horror that is… Puzzler.

I hate puzzle magazines. They serve as a grizzly reminder of all the worst moments of growing up; all those times I would get dragged out somewhere by my parents when I’d rather just stay at home and play - and always without fail, just when you think you’re about to actually die from boredom, some callous, unthinking adult would stick a half-completed puzzler in front of you. The worst thing about them is the false sense of potential that arises from the bright and gaudy covers, that lure you in with the hope that things will be just as pretty on the inside; a hope that is soon crushed when you open one and realise that the pages are made from recycled toilet paper - not even quality quilted toilet paper, more like the horrible sandpapery stuff you find in public toilets.

Worse were the times when the whole family would be going on summer holiday to somewhere that required a long drive, with nothing but one of those wretched tomes and an equally annoying sibling for company; a hell compounded by my Dad’s cruel insistence that we not open the rear windows, (lest we start throwing Galaxy Minstrels at the other cars presumably). Upon arrival, the enthusiasm with which I would leap out of the car would often be mistaken for being excited at the prospect of a week or two of fun in the sun; in reality, I was simply glad to be free from the clutches of that insidious compendium.

I can’t imagine the children of today putting up with an 8-hour car journey filled with wordsearches and crosswords; not in this age of ubiquitous in-car babysitters (or “DVD players” as they’re otherwise known).

This is pretty bloody cool - Jeep’s Hurricane concept vehicle.

For starters, it’s got TWO 5.7 litre HEMIs putting out a combined 740 lb-ft of torque, 20-inches of suspension travel, 37-inch tall tires, carbon-fibre chassis … and oh yeah, it’s a crab; all four wheels can turn in the same direction in order to move sideways without actually turning, or they can all face inward at 45° (as seen above) to create a turn radius of absolute zero.

Ok, so maybe the twin engine design is a little excessive, (personally I’d rather ditch one and replace it with some storage space) but come on, who wouldn’t want to sit in this thing and see how fast you could spin around without vomiting?

In recent months, I have developed an unfortunate habit of speaking in spoonerisms whenever I talk too much. For those of you who don’t know and are too lazy to click the Wikipedia link (much like myself), I shall include this brief explanation:

“A Spoonerism is a play on words in which corresponding consonants or vowels are switched (see metathesis), named after the Reverend William Archibald Spooner (1844 - 1930), Warden of New College, Oxford, who was notoriously prone to this tendency. Some of his famous (and possibly apocryphal) quotes from the chapel include “The lord is a shoving leopard,” “It is kisstomary to cuss the bride,” and “Mardon me padam, this pie is occupewed. Can I sew you to another sheet?.” (Pardon me, madam, this pew is occupied. Can I show you to another seat?) The spoonerism is a now legendary ’slip of the tongue’.”

OK, so as far as ‘things that impede or hinder everyday life’ go, it’s fairly harmless; still, it does mean that I may end up being even more indecipherable than previously expected.

We saw this car at a local classic car show on Sunday; apparently the owner built it for McLaren but they rejected it for some reason. Saw a whole bunch of great stuff there, watch out for more photos soon…

Was taking some photographs with Laura yesterday when I snapped this one of her in the garden; I don’t usually like to post photographs that have been very obviously processed, but I liked the saturated look of this one too much to keep it to myself.