Thunderbozz

Well I'm back in Sheffield after a few days back home for Easter and Ben's 21st birthday party. Normally after a big night out like that, I'd be spending today editing and uploading all the photos I took. This time, however, I left my digital camera behind and decided to use up the " film " – I think that's what they used to call it – in a " disposable camera " with an " advance wheel ". Apparently, the only way to get the pictures out of the machine is to take it to a shop to be " developed ". It seems so strange to think everyone used to have to do this, as digital cameras are everywhere these days. ● It's ridiculous how much train fares have risen back in the south-east: my journeys into London and home (to Dartford) again set me back £18.60, compared to the £24.50 it costs to travel between Dartford and Sheffield (£1.50 of which was booking fees!). Bus connections add on about £3 to each journey, too. In total, that...

Series four of The Apprentice started on TV last night, and once again it looks like being an absolutely fantastic run. There are so many egos and characters this time around that it's difficult to tell if any of them are sensible enough to win, but then again, Sir Alan's track record of choosing suitable winners isn't fantastic! Some things that are fantastic are these videos found whilst perusing Facebook. The first one is a long-overdue full-length music video shot in My Favorite Building In The World, the much-loved Information Commons. Introducing IC Girls ... Take the test... And finally, the attitude of cats summed up in one film...

Travelling by train is far more enjoyable than travelling by coach, simply because is much more comfortable. Events conspired against me when I was travelling home last week (they ran out of sandwiches at the buffet counter, and I had to sit next to a fat woman), but whilst these would have been intolerable on the bus, they were just slight inconveniences on the train. I laughed when she boarded the carriage, because I knew some unlucky bugger would end up next to her. It turned out to be me, although I have no way of knowing if it should have been, for despite the fact her seat was only reserved for half the journey, she stayed on until the end. Probably so she could finish her bag full of Yorkie bars and crisps. Some more gems overheard on the train: Foreigner: Excuse me, does this train go to London? Woman: No, it goes to St Pancras. [Foreigner gets off the train] Single mum: Emily, it's a train. It's not a toy.

I'm writing this post in bed, because I'm feeling a bit poorly. Which is really rubbish, because it means I can't eat loads and loads of chocolate (as I'd planned to do) and because I couldn't go to see Dartford notch up another win (this time over Canvey Island). My teeth are also giving me jip, although that was expected because of my appointment on Wednesday. It was the reason I had to stay in Sheffield for a few days after the end of the first "half" of the semester, but it also nearly forced me to stay for a bit longer. Not really thinking, I had booked a ticket on the 13.27 train home. This meant being on the train between 20- and 25- past, and this meant arriving at the station for about quarter-past one. My dentist appointment was a 11.45 sit-and-wait. The orthodontic department at the hospital is clearly so popular that they have to over-book appointments every day in order to treat everyone. So I knew that it would be a close-run thing...

Happy Easter everyone. I must be getting old, as I only got one egg this year, but I do also have a big pack of KitKats as some form of consolation. Dartford maintained their winning ways yesterday with a nervy 2-1 victory over third-place Ware. It's fair to say that two of the goals – one per team – could be described as flukes, but the Darts were the better side and the result was probably fair. Sudbury's game was called off, so the gap has widened to 6 points again: hopefully, their fixture-congested last few weeks of the season will prevent them from making the most of their two games-in-hand.

With a couple of free days to kill up here in Sheffield (I'm stuck up here until tomorrow because I have a (real) dentist appointment to attend), I've spent some time having a good look round town. That's involved a little bit of shopping, wasting some time doing market research questionnaires, and having a look around the Millennium Galleries' new exhibition, Yes, No & Other Options . It's a really good exhibition, so get along to one of the many participating venues and have a look if you can. The theme of the project is the examination of the way we present ourselves within a 24-hour culture . In the past, it was very easy to separate your private life from the hustle and bustle of work and the outside. Today, we are all available "on-demand" – whether we like it or not – and we have to adapt accordingly. Tim Etchells's neon signs (pictured above) combine personal messages with very public displays, just like the way hundreds of people c...

I had a very strange dental appointment yesterday. Strictly, it wasn't actually an appointment... nor for that matter was it much to do with dentistry, thinking about it. I was the willing volunteer for a student's psychoanalytical study into the motives behind having orthodontic treatment. I must admit, I was quite alarmed at how much information I disclosed. I was expecting to be talking about teeth and recounting hilarious anecdotes about eating soup: instead I ended up talking about the relationship I have with my friends, my plans for life, and thinking about how I've changed as a person since I was 14. You see people on television – usually on programmes where a crime has to be solved – who get caught because they let seemingly insignificant details about their lives slip and some doctor/detective puts 2 and 2 together to make 94. Not that I've got anything to hide, of course. One of those is the brilliant House, MD, and it was while watching House on my o...

Well that's the first "half" of the term over. Thanks to an early Easter this year, the holidays start tomorrow and lectures don't start again until April. Most people are off home this weekend, but I'm sticking around in Sheffield until the middle of next week because I've got an appointment with the orthodontist. Better then than after a (hopefully) chocolate-filled Easter weekend, I'm thinking...

I've been sorting thorough a lot of my stuff recently, with the aim of getting rid of most of it. (If it was down to me, I'd throw out quite a lot, but Mum insists that I keep things from when I was little for sentimental reasons). I stumbled across a box full of things from primary school, among them some old photos that I took. I had thought about putting them on Facebook, but wondered if people would be quite annoyed that embarrassing pictures of them suddenly appeared on their profiles. Yesterday, however, the decision was made for me when someone uploaded some old class photos. Quite a few others have appeared: I think people are quite enjoying looking through them, but they probably don't want it to drag on for too long! It's quite strange seeing how people have grown up. Some look pretty much exactly the same and some look really different. If last night's trip to the pub was anything to go by, I must still look 11: I got ID'd at the bar...

I don't really watch a lot of television these days. Sky Sports News or the music channels are on most of the time in the living room, but in terms of programmes I make an effort to watch, there's not a lot on. In fact, there's only two things I regularly catch-up with now, and both of them are available on the BBC's iPlayer . The first one is Ashes To Ashes , based on the brilliant series Life On Mars and featuring the wonderful DCI Gene Hunt. Think of The Sweeney 's DI Regan, but with extended metaphors and more swearing. Personally, I think it's better for two reasons: The soundtrack (even though it's costing me a fortune in downloads) The car chases (they're infrequent, but brilliant) The other programme is The Secret Show. In my opinion, it's the best cartoon series ever. It's witty, it's intelligent, it's utterly zany and it's very colourful. Plus, it's British, so none of the heroes have American accents and yo...

I probably over-use the phrase "that was the worst decision I ever made", even though the actual number of really bad choices I've made is quite low. One of these, however, was getting rid of my Sega Master System for a ridiculously low price a few years ago. Me and my housemates were talking yesterday about things we would buy once we started earning money. I retold the story of how someone I know spent their entire first month's wages on buying a PlayStation and a load of games – the general consensus was that a games console would probably be one of the first things on the list. The PS2 remains the console to beat, in my opinion: it's quite a few years old now, but it's still a great console. Not only that, but there's a vast array of games available still (and they're still making new ones for it) and it's got a DVD player, too. That said, there's times when I'd love to be playing Crash Dummies or Sonic 2 on the faithful old Mast...

Ever had a bad start to a week and thought "you know what? This week's started badly, I'll just write it off and start again come Monday"? I've done it a few times, the most recent example being this week. In some ways it's a silly thing to do – why decide to postpone the start of your "good week" until the Monday dictated by the calendar? – but I think it's quite cathartic. I'm dismissing this week as a "blip" for a few reasons, all of which are quite valid, I'd argue. I suppose the most pressing issue playing on my mind has been the question of what I'm going to do when I finish my university degree in a few months. The options looked quite bleak at one stage, but I've been convinced that things aren't all that bad. Thank-you to those responsible. Yes, it's scary, but so was the whole prospect of moving to Sheffield three years ago. I've made good friends here, there's no reason to worry about what...

We can pick up our assessment essays from last term from today, but I've not bothered to see what I've been awarded yet. I thought that I'd be quite keen to get them, but thinking about it, there's no great rush. I know I haven't done terribly , nor particularly brilliantly , so I don't think they'll be much of a shock. Plus, I write all my essays the same way – i.e. at the last minute – so the added/reduced pressure that knowing last term's marks will bring is pretty irrelevant. ● God, isn't George Lamb insufferable? Rather than act like a man and shrug-off the 6 Music listeners' text and e-mail protest (sending lines from Panic by The Smiths to the show), he decided to act cowardly and actively invite people to contribute their "favourite lines" as a feature of the show. That just about sums up his attitude for me: credit where it's due, it was a fairly clever move, but I doubt it's one which a credible DJ who felt comf...

Dartford remain top of the league, but only just. What should have been a fairly simple victory over Waltham Forest yesterday turned into a battle of attrition: our 1-0 victory came thanks to a late, late last-minute penalty. Third-place Ware could only draw, but second-place Sudbury are still only five points behind us with a game in hand. Whilst browsing through another day's anti-George Lamb blogs and articles , I came across The Line Of Best Fit , which is an excellent music site. As well as news and reviews, there's also an excellent free music download – End Of Radio – each month. Incidentally, if you're unhappy with the new 6 Music mid-morning host, why not take part in a little organised-protesting? In the first event (of hopefully not too many), disgruntled listeners are asked to text or e-mail Lamb's show with the lyrics from a well-known song. This month, it's Panic by The Smiths (hang the DJ, anyone?)... send some lines to 64046 or e-mail georg...