Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Haikusday



Midnight, neon light
The driver waits, five minutes
No more and no less

An hour of Skyrim
I collect twice as many
Quests as I complete

Awake to white noise
Radio tuned to dead air
No news is good news

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Sunday Links



Friday, March 09, 2012

Spring Boo

Springboo (mp3)

Seven Devils


Meme time, courtesy of christa_nz! Leave a comment below if you would like to play, and I will ask you seven questions, more or less at random.

1. If you acquired another cat, what sort would he/she be and what would you call him/her?
2. Where in the world would you most like to visit, and why?
3. How do you want to be remembered?
4. Three books you've read that you think everyone else should also read?
5. What is your view on countries that oppose the use of atomic energy?
6. What, if any, is your favourite sit-com?
7. What newspapers/magazines (online or print) do you read?

My answers:

1. I don't have a preference for breed or colour or whatever. It would be a cat from the shelter that needed a home and would fit in with the other cats and the dog. The name would probably be the name that already had from the shelter, unless another name suggested itself. Frank and Daisy have their original names, but Doris was renamed from 'Smudge'. I think Doris suits her better ... :-)
2. Monument valley, in Colorado, just to see those iconic sandstone buttes and imagine that I'm in a John Ford western.
3. As that guy who turned out to be immortal.
4. 'God is Not Great' by the late Christopher Hitchens, for an unanswerable demolition of religion. 'Why does E=MC^2 (and why should we care?)' by Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw, for a succinct explanation of why a hot meat pie is more massive than a cold one. Finally, 'Moominland Midwinter' by Tove Jansonn, because it's a book that I return to in the darkest days of winter to keep me going until the return of the light.
5. Nuclear power is essential, and far less damaging for the environment than fossil fuels. We need something to keep us going until we can crack fusion power or more efficient solar cells. If you are going to oppose nuclear power then you need to put serious money into alternatives.
6. Currently, my favourite is The Big Bang Theory, for sharply observed geek humour. Of all time, is probably 'Joking Apart' or 'Coupling' - both exquisite farce written by Stephen Moffat.
7. I don't bother with printed magazines or newspapers any more. Online, I read The Guardian and Slate for politics and news, and Boing Boing for everything else.

Anybody else want to play?

Tuesday, March 06, 2012

Haikusday


Raspberry Pi launch
Harking back to glory days
Of bedroom coding


Wandering jewels
Two diamonds, one ruby
Light the firmament


An AI designs
A trillion credit squadron
Wins the tournament

Monday, March 05, 2012

I don't like Mondays

So, long time no blog.

Well, I've been writing, working on the last TMA for my project management OU course and trying to keep up to date with the work on my AI course as well, also. Work has also been similarly busy which left me completely bushed yesterday afternoon. Still, the assignment got completed and I've just submitted it into the proverbial ether, so it's just the end of module assessment to worry about now.

In telly news, we've now started on season 4 of the Wire and we're enjoying it immensely. It's an interesting new perspective on the lives of the people of the western district and how they are affected by the corrosive influence of the drugs trade. In other telly news, I am hugely excited by the imminent return of Game of Thrones, even if it means that I might turn out to like a song by Florence and the Machine. Nooooo!