Welcome to Peacockshock

A House, no it's not my house, it's imaginary

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Hi - Welcome to Peacockshock. My house on the internet. I'm Ian Peacock

I live in Hertford - a quaint but cool town just north of London England. I'm a media person. I run a consultancy, present radio programmes, do a bit of television and write too. I'm mad about animals and live with my eccentric but fabulous cat Bollinger. I go to the gym, swim a lot, and listen to music non-stop. My family mostly live up north, but also in Denmark and the USA. And I've lived in Newcastle, Durham, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Cambridge, Oxford and London.

So...don't dither on the doorstep. Come in and have a wander round. You can either just scroll down this page and see what takes your fancy. Or you can mouse around the house and click on the different rooms and areas. And keep coming back for new stuff.

Enjoy your stay.

Ian

The Truth About Cats and Dogs

hyper-intelligent dog owner Paris Hilton

According to Bristol University research, cat owners are cleverer than dog owners. This is of course true. Although, as someone wrote in today's Independent, cats don't have owners - they just 'lease their services to gullible people.'

The research also sheds light on recent experiments suggesting that dogs are more intelligent than cats. This was based on their respective willingness to follow a piece of string, or something equally stupid. The cats didn't do it.

But this was clearly because they just couldn't be bothered.

Posted by Ian at February 8, 2010 10:06 AM

Posted by Ian at February 8, 2010 10:05 AM

Posted by Ian at February 8, 2010 10:04 AM

Posted by Ian at February 8, 2010 10:03 AM

Perrito y Cochinillo

Natasha and Peggy Sue

As you may know, my friends James and Jesus in Gran Canaria have a cute dog called Natasha. Well, Natasha now has a new flatmate - Peggy Sue the piglet. As you can see, they're already best pals.

Posted by Ian at February 8, 2010 09:50 AM

Varifocals

Me, with my assistant Deirdre

My new Calvin Klein rimless varifocals with ultra-thin Zeiss lenses have finally arrived and I really like them. The optician issued various dire prognostications about dizzy spells on the stairs and so on, but I've found the transition pretty easy. All you have to do is slightly tilt your head back when you look at close-up things, so you're seeing the through the bottom bit of the lens.

As one varifocal support group puts it -

You should point your nose at that which you want to see .... and tuck your chin in when going down steps.

You can also emulate rapid zoom shots in films, by placing a mug or something in front of your nose and tilting your head suddenly. The mug's in focus one second, but then a distant tree in the garden's in focus and the mug's blurred. It really is a hoot.

Posted by Ian at February 5, 2010 08:11 PM

It's All Good

Thank you to H for alerting me to this maddening new trend (which seems particularly prevalent in Hertford for some odd reason).

Basically, young people now say 'it's all good' at every given opportunity.

No. It's not. Some things are good. Some things are not.

Urban Dictionary defines 'It's all good' as -

A platitude that covers so many emotions and situations that it says little. Its only real meaning is that the speaker is trying to rise above whatever problem exists, without expressing their underlying negative emotions. Often used in a passive-aggressive way. A favourite of inarticulate teens. Fills in the gaps between: like, dude, whatever, so, I dunno, hey etc.

A: 'I'm breaking up with you.'
B: 'Whatever. It's all good.'

Posted by Ian at February 5, 2010 07:40 AM