A great effort all round on Movember. Some were a bit more whispy than others but the Mo's on display were certainly distinguished in every way. The blocked plughole in the bathroom sink on 1st December was probably a welcome sight to some of the participant's partners though!

There are some pretty heavy questions floating around at the moment what with economic meltdown, continued religious conflict and the imminent election of the most powerful man in the world. But at codegent towers we have got a few questions of our own...

Who in the office can fit the most amount of Rich Tea biscuits in their mouth at once?

Answer: Mr Matthew Jukes (4)

Next week, an update on who can grow the best tache as we kick off the month of Movember

David has sold my beloved fruit machine on e-bay for £10.50 "to make more room in the office" for our new joiners, he might have a point. But! Matt and I nearly killed ourselves carrying that thing up the stairs! And in doing so we bonded with 'fruity' in a special way.

So with a heavy heart I turn to the words of others to express my feelings on this impromptu break-up :(

"And although we might say that we're alright,
it's clear that we've stepped out of time.
There's something quite telling just there at the edge of your smile.

And its not that a heart has been broken.
It's just sad when the flames start to freeze.
And the sparks that we had can no longer light up our debris.

It's just part of us all growing older.
Facing things that we don't want to see.
Like a heart is a thing ever changing.
And love, is a thing that will come and go with the breeze."

'Debris' available for purchase here

I'm writing this by only the light of my computer screen, this is my last hope. It's a dangerous thing I do putting this information into the public domain but I have no alternative, they are coming for me tonight.....

I know of two superheros which you must help to protect so they can continue to utlise their wonderous powers!  They go by the names of Antihistimine Man and Acronym Boy. 

Antihistimine Man fights against the evil chemical Histimine, his weapons are a variety of creams, sprays, tablets and injections, and his trusty sidekick Acronym Boy who can decipher any acronym known to man!  Without their talents, the world would not be as we know it.  

If you recognise them, protect them, for their fight is for good and for a better tomorrow.

There's someone coming, they're coming for me now, My God it's their evil arch enemy...... 

The codegent team have been bouncing off the walls the last 2 days thanks to a sugar infusion of very tasty cupcakes, courtesy of our new hosting friends at ultraspeed.

The way to a man's heart is through his stomach and not through cold-calling. Rackspace et al... take note! :)

In the midst of a deadly cold snap us men need to make sure we look after ourselves or we might get the sniffles. Nasty. Women have been known to get cold ears, I suggest ear muffs and a big dose of Zippit!

Anyway, Nick Frost (the man flirts with danger in his name alone! What a hero) ably demonstrates the dangers of man flu in this government health video. Optimistically the big trooper still ends on a positive note, an inspiration to us all.

Dear Secret Santa,
if you are having trouble working out what to get me this christmas, just follow this link

We all have one. Some are worse than others. If you’re lucky, yours is one of considered concentration, for the unlucky, it’s more of a cross between constipation and surprise.

The computer face is one of the small pleasures in life available to everyone. You’re at the desk, staring at your screen, trying to make sense of a complicated spreadsheet, you let out a big sigh as your eyes wander from your screen and fix upon....the guy opposite and his weird looking computer face. His eyes squinting together, mouth scrunched together and nose wrinkled. The corners of your mouth start turning up, you cover your face with your hand and look away. You can’t help it, you look back, his brow furrows as his eyes squint even more, then his eyebrows rise up, culminating in a look of sheer bewilderment! Your mouth breaks into a full smile, you have to lower your head and distract yourself by fiddling with your pen pot.

The question is – what’s your computer face? I would suggest that you ask a colleague to determine this for you. They must of course catch you unawares. They could either snap a picture of it or perhaps give you a description or even an impression – although be warned this might result in foul-play.

For the unlucky people among us who have a bad computer face, do not fear, I have some tips to remedy the situation. Firstly, cover part of your face with your hand, as much as possible without restricting your view. Next, as soon as you feel the face emerging, smile with your lips together. Finally, identify someone in your office with a worse computer face than yours and quickly point at them should you come under the spotlight.

Whatever your computer face is, it’s nothing to be embarrassed about. In a world determined to categorise us all by tick box forms it may be the last chance of individualism we have left. I say, embrace it, “embrace the computer face!”

Fallout

Facebook is addictive genius... official!

Meet Fallout, David's 80s New Romantic/Punk(?!) band that sadly never was to hit the big time.

They had the look (thanks to plenty of hairspray and superb trouser collection - lace up zebra skin is just the tip of the iceberg). They allegedly had the songs and they certainly had the crowds of Sharnbrook Upper Sixth begging for more.

Join the Fallout group on Facebook and revel in the evocative photography and nostalgic comments from the guys, 20 years on. Surely we should start a campaign for the reunion tour?

Happy Birthday Nick!

It's Nick's birthday and he's not looking too bad for a man who's just said goodbye to his twenties.