http://www.guardian.co.uk/christmas2005/story/0,16848,1672400,00.html

Back in 1976, I wasn’t even speck on my mum and dad’s horizon. But mystery surrounds this short film I’ve recently discovered from that very year that was shown before cinema audiences at around that time. It chronicles an unedited 8 minute drive through Paris in the early hours of a Sunday morning – in a Ferrari. At 140mph. Pedestrians and birds are scattered, red lights are ignored. It’s a breathtaking film, and this link at Wikipedia gives the lowdown on the background and continuing speculation surrounding it. The director was arrested soon after filming was completed, and no one has ever been able to identify who was driving. Was it the director? Was it a hired Formula One driver, and the director hinted? It’s recently been rereleased after years of being hidden away…
UPDATE: More discussion at Metafilter

http://www.roastrage.co.uk/

This, my webby friends, is why you should never have evidence that you sing into the mirror. Or, in this case, a webcam. I give you (drum roll please)….Always Sentimental Remind Me.
Dear God.

So, as I’ve hinted in previous posts, our Managing Director has left after two and half years of fun and frolics. And who can blame him – he’s only in his mid-thirties, career-focused and in demand. Bigger companies can offer bigger wages. On his leaving day, we all crowded round him while he was gently ribbed about his time here, and later on that evening we crowded round a small bar up the road and bade him farewell. He looked quite excited about the change, telling us about his car and his nice new office in Hemel Hempstead.
So, in an idle moment this Monday morning I found his new place of work on the internet. You’ll see an overhead shot of the area. The yellow line is the road the head office is on.
Oh, and the red line is where the burning, blown up Buncefield Oil Refinery was, subject of the “largest explosion in peacetime Britain.” last week.
Apparently, he is “working from home” at the moment.

Debbie, my desk buddy at work, has been away for a week sampling the delights of New York with her boyfriend. Cleverly, this time she had forwarded her phones and email to our manager Mark, in case things were missed while she was gone.
Arriving back at work this morning she waded through outstanding things, while regaling us with perfect tales of iceskating in Central Park and shopping in Macy’s and Bloomingdales. During the morning, our new Managing Director announced he was leaving for the airport – and it dawned on us that there was no-one in management left in the building. Emails flew around the office about going home early, what plans there were for tomorrow night – our monthly office “bonding session” in the pub – and how it was generally great that there were no managers in.
After half an hour, an email came into Debbie’s inbox from our manager Mark.
“Debbie,” it started. “You might want to think about turning me off your email autoforwarding now.”

As I sat in a 3 litre 5-series BMW at the Stoke crossroads in Guildford, tucked into some House of Commons Victorian Mints and mulled over on my recent lunch with Boris Johnson, a smile spread across my lips. This, I concluded, had been a very good month.
Let me explain, firstly, the vehicular privilege I’ve been dealt. Over the past couple of months, several people have been replacing their company cars at the office. Car dealerships have been eagerly offloading cars on a regular basis for the potential buyers to sample, the arrivals of which – for someone who isn’t due a new car for another year and a half – has been torture for me. Naturally and selfishly enough, I wanted a piece of the action – and every time a new car rolled up, I’ve been as helpful as possible to the Financial Manager, in the full knowledge that he is the Keeper Of The Car Keys. So far it’s been working unbelievably well. My current haul of week-long “test drives” includes two new BMW 3-series beasts, an Audi A4 and a Lexus GS300 which, despite the caramel colour of the exterior making it look like a large Werther’s Original, was far and away my favourite and typically way out of my league. The whole car thing has taught me a very vital lesson, though, and that is that just because a car has a BMW or an Audi badge doesn’t actually make it any better. My trusty Peugeot 407 does many things better than the BMW 3-series for far less money. I suppose its the wheeled equivalent of choosing designer clothes. No actual benefit, but less people point and laugh.
The BMW 5-series, though, is a corker. A definite first place tie with the Lexus. It is black, with a black leather interior. The car was my Managing Director’s before he left the company 10 days ago – and I spied it looking lonely and redundant in our office car park last Thursday afternoon. Cue a helpful computer-based favour for my Financial Manager and hey presto, the BMW keys were in my hands. I’ve been swanning around in it all weekend – showboating it at traffic lights, getting many “you can’t afford that” looks from passers-by and generally being a typically awful BMW driver. It’s been very useful to be on the receiving end of BMW-based abuse though. Firstly, it turns out that the car handles so well and makes you so confident that you can’t help but drive arrogantly. And secondly, it’s very easy to feel victimised. When people brush past the car, I half expect a vindictive key scrape down the side. Whenever I try to pull out of a junction, I have the disconcerting feel that everyone is ignoring me on purpose, and if they had their way I’d never be able to pull out at a junction. Still, it’s a small price to pay. Worryingly, I’m starting to like these cars…
And then there is Boris Johnson. Those who’ve been regulars will know that I am a big fan of Bozzer.
And as the amount of visitors to my Boriswatch site grow, it’s clear I’m not alone. In return for various geeky favours to Boris and his right-hand woman Melissa, I have the pleasure of popping up to London for lunch and a chat with them, usually dragging Simon B along for fun. I also visited the ITV studios for his chairing of the quiz show Have I Got News For You a few weeks ago (the report is here on Boriswatch). And now that David Cameron’s seen sense and promoted him, Boriswatch popularity is going through the roof, which puffs my geeky heart with pride.
So, all in all, a good month. I didn’t even mention the Stuff Magazine Show I visited in London (where Nick and I found several things we wanted that would drain our bank balances) or the old friend that presented Top Of The Pops. Maybe next time…