Chris Saul's Blog

Last week we went to Sweihan with my new colleague, Gerard. Even bigger dunes, plus the fact that we were following rather than leading, meant a super day's driving. Brilliant fun, particularly in one huge bowl that saw me driving round and round in fifth gear and low range, in order to keep momentum up and revs down. Incredible stuff. No photos though - we were having so much fun Mrs Saul forgot to take any.

Full set of the Area 53 pics here.

Wii Boxing fitness miracles

I'm not quite at this chap's level, but recent regular Wii Boxing boughts are really helping me out on the waistline front.

General weight has gone down a bit, but the most amazing things is how trousers that I was previously worried were shrinking around the waist now appear to be expanding. Suit trousers in particular are now hanging off me - the trousers I got married in two and a half years ago are looser round the waist now than they were then, even if the scales show me as being a bit heavier. Unfortunately the jacket's got a bit tighter round the underarms. Still, beat that, all you married travelling types!

I've now bought some weights to put around my wrists while playing. My scores are going down as I'm less nimble, but it makes for an even more thorough workout, that's also great fun. Smashing people's faces in in your own living room, with no danger of getting hurt yourself and getting exercise at the same time is an unbeatable combination.

I can't wait for the new Wii Fitness board to hit Dubai...

On another Wii note, I keep reading about massive shortages in the UK - Dubai is filled with NTSC and PAL Wiis, so if you need one simply drop me a mail, promise to pay twice the list price and I'll bring you one over when I come back for Christmas.

Fellow blogger ThinGuy is miles ahead of me on the general fitness stakes, but is being much stricter. I have no intention ever of getting up to go to the gym at 0430 every morning, but salute his efforts and results.

Hooray for the Queen

The Queen becomes the oldest monarch in the history of The United Kingdom today.

The article in The Telegraph sums up her reign beautifully. Says Peter Hennessy, the Attlee Professor of contemporary British History at Queen Mary, University of London:

"In those years she has presided over the most dignified withdrawal from the superpower status, which is no bad legacy. The way she has adapted, without succumbing to faddish fashions, is a gift of genius."

I'm a big fan of the Queen. She just seems to fit within modern democratic Britain, providing far more advantages than disadvantages. Should people be in the positions of wealth and influence they are in just because they are born into it? Probably not, but I can't really think of a decent alternative in this particular case. I shudder at the idea of the UK having a president. Hopefully the Queen's successors will carry on in the same vein as she has.

Linguistic conundrums

My work involves lots of so-called 'Proofs of Concept'. Note that it's *Proofs* of Concept, not Proof of *Concepts*. Using the latter description always annoys me. Non-native English speakers are forgiven, native speakers aren't.

So how do we abbreviate the plural version? Should it be PoCs, or Ps-oC or PsoC?

I prefer PoCs, but I find myself in a terrible conundrum - is it correct? Will it turn out that my efforts to get it right are wrong, opening me to crticism?

Someone senior in the grammar world needs to weigh in on this one and put me out of my misery.

At least, when it comes to 'competitive bake-offs', there is no confusion.

I would have loved to go desert driving...

...with this man.

I wonder if he'd have enjoyed whizzing around Dubai's dunes in the Wrangler? 'Pah, we used to do this in old Fords with one cylinder and half a wheel!'. I think the Brigadier would have enjoyed himself.