- 11:23 Going to see AIOTM tonight with @Herring1967 and @EmmaK67 - BEYOND EXCITED! #
- 17:04 RT @Herring1967: All the cool kids (& maybe some nerds)'re coming to AIOTM tonight - Tickets at tinyurl.com/yeadqqm or on door #
- 17:06 Not too late if any London tweeps fancy meeting up with me and @cerebralpig for a drink and AIOTM tonight - anybody? Bueller? #
Monday, May 31, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
- 19:46 How on earth did I get 'Kunt and the Gang' in my Last FM stream? #
- 19:48 Now removed ... :-) #
- 20:49 Is she standing on a soap box or is she is unnaturally tall? #eurovision #
- 20:51 Blimey - this looks like a persil advert! #eurovision #
- 20:53 Was that a ringtone? #eurovision #
- 20:54 "That sounds good to me" No. No it doesn't. #eurovision #
- 21:04 Neil Gaiman on vocals #eurovision #
- 21:07 This one would win if they hadn't given half of Europe an epileptic fit just now ... #eurovision #
- 21:13 Dead heat in a zeppelin race ... #eurovision #
- 21:24 It's the Romanian Cheryl Cole! #eurovision #
- 21:25 The producers of Tron called and they want their piano back #eurovision #
- 21:28 Ah, now for a Head and Shoulders advert #eurovision #
- 21:33 "I began to cry a lot and she gave me apricot" BEST. LYRIC. EVAR! #eurovision #
- 21:41 Is that a teleport bracelet from off of Blake's Seven? #eurovision #
- 21:44 Powerful = MAWKISH! #eurovision #
- 21:55 Vote early - vote often! #eurovision #
- 12:24 #ebz the Starveling Cat! louder than a dog! taller than a rat! fallenlondon.com/c/97129 #
- 12:45 Any London folks going to see AIOTM tomorrow and fancy meeting up for a drink before/after? bit.ly/9XyWyN #
Sunday Links
- Little Trotters Keeping Warm Anerable piglets on ZooBorns
- Pictures of Lily Mah favourite blog post of the last week from Helly (Moar)
- This Building Has A Story Nathan Kensinger Photography
- The Mongoliad An intriguing web project from Neal Stephenson et al - worth keeping an eye on, I think
- Top 10 New Species of 2010
- Darwin the movie That's Dar-win *not* Dar-lose!
- U.S.S. Pinafore is the very model of a modern Star Trek Gilbert & Sullivan ... in ... SPACE!
- Facebook of the dead A thought provoking essay on the surreal unreality of past friendships in the age of Facebook
- The Swinger Turn any piece of music into a swing classic
- Online games, offline selves Aleks Krotoski's MSc thesis now online
Saturday, May 29, 2010
- 09:52 #ebz Some say the Rose is a vicious, fanged flower that will bite anyone who gets too close. Some say ... fallenlondon.com/c/95878 #
- 14:02 Light and shade on #caturday twitpic.com/1s4p5s #
- 19:46 How on earth did I get 'Kunt and the Gang' in my Last FM stream? #
- 19:48 Now removed ... :-) #
Dark Side of Night
A rainy bank holiday weekend, so what else is there to do except for walking the dog and playing some games, eh?
Red Dead Redemption first, and I spent a happy couple of hours riding around, hunting deer for their pelts, deciphering treasure maps, accidentally shooting a couple of marshals and getting a bounty on my head, nearly getting robbed by a gang of banditos and their female accomplice and then getting my dastardly revenge by hog-tying her and leaving her on a train track. However, I did feel guilty about it afterward, which is a sure sign that a game really has got under your emotional skin.
It was gloomy outside this afternoon, which made for suitable conditions to play a bit more of Alan Wake. I was stuck in the old Mill section of episode 2, so I restarted and found a whole area that I had missed by falling off a log. This game really does use foreshadowing to superb effect, making the jumps even scarier when they arrive. I'm a survival horror veteran and so I know full well that going into any restroom (to use the American vernacular) is usually a seriously bad idea. I had to retrieve some keys from such a location on a camp ground and even that I knew full well what was coming I jumped out of my skin when a shadow armed with an axe lurched out of a cubicle. Scary beans.
In other news, the Last FM client on Xbox Live has been updated so I've just been listening to Monkey Swallows the Universe, Ladytron, The Stranglers and New Order. Aces.
Red Dead Redemption first, and I spent a happy couple of hours riding around, hunting deer for their pelts, deciphering treasure maps, accidentally shooting a couple of marshals and getting a bounty on my head, nearly getting robbed by a gang of banditos and their female accomplice and then getting my dastardly revenge by hog-tying her and leaving her on a train track. However, I did feel guilty about it afterward, which is a sure sign that a game really has got under your emotional skin.
It was gloomy outside this afternoon, which made for suitable conditions to play a bit more of Alan Wake. I was stuck in the old Mill section of episode 2, so I restarted and found a whole area that I had missed by falling off a log. This game really does use foreshadowing to superb effect, making the jumps even scarier when they arrive. I'm a survival horror veteran and so I know full well that going into any restroom (to use the American vernacular) is usually a seriously bad idea. I had to retrieve some keys from such a location on a camp ground and even that I knew full well what was coming I jumped out of my skin when a shadow armed with an axe lurched out of a cubicle. Scary beans.
In other news, the Last FM client on Xbox Live has been updated so I've just been listening to Monkey Swallows the Universe, Ladytron, The Stranglers and New Order. Aces.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Roadhouse Blues
It rained in the night, hard enough to wake me up and keep me on the edge of consciousness for an hour or so, before I nodded off again. I woke up again five minutes or so before my alarm went off just before six, and thankfully the skies were clear.
The journey to and from Newcastle wasn't too bad in the end, even if work was frustrating with a niggly unresolved problem meaning that I didn't get away until half past four. Fortunately the only patch of slow traffic was on the approach to the A1 and after that it was clear for 125 miles until I got home.
Apologies for the general lack of excitement today, but thems the breaks. Anyhoo, I now have a week off and I declare this Friday night well and truly open!
The journey to and from Newcastle wasn't too bad in the end, even if work was frustrating with a niggly unresolved problem meaning that I didn't get away until half past four. Fortunately the only patch of slow traffic was on the approach to the A1 and after that it was clear for 125 miles until I got home.
Apologies for the general lack of excitement today, but thems the breaks. Anyhoo, I now have a week off and I declare this Friday night well and truly open!
- 06:34 #ebz This far underground, there are no natural lights. There are distant phosphorescent things in the... fallenlondon.com/c/94579 #
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Dust and Echoes
Tired again, and some very disturbing dreams about being executed on a neon lit guillotine as part of a Big Brother style reality show. Not sure where that one came from! I think I must be mentally winding down to a bit of time off of work, but I've still got a trip to Newcastle to get through tomorrow when I'll be driving back on a Friday afternoon. On a bank holiday weekend. On one of the busiest roads in the UK. Oh joy.
On the way back from work I took a different route to get some petrol and noticed two unusual things. The first was as I went past a smallish roundabout and noticed that the sign for Dominoes Pizza in the middle was not just propped up but was actually being held in place by somebody sat on the grass. As unlikely jobs go, that's got to be one for the books. The second oddity was after I had paid for my petrol the attendant handed me what looked like a pair of foil wrapped condoms. On closer inspection they turned out to be collectable world cup medals, but disappointingly they were just cardboard and not a properly minted coin as I recall from petrol station giveaways of times gone by.
Red Dead Redemption continues to surprise and impress me.
I'd grown used to the dusty air of the land around the MacFarlane ranch, so the steady rain that started to fall was a blessed relief. We rode up into the hills around Hanging Rock to run a herd of wild horses up into a box canyon where we could rope them at leisure. The work took a while and as I rode back to Armadillo the sky started to brighten, with the gold of the sun breaking through the clouds showing the desert to be an unexpected green. Beautiful. Simply beautiful.
On the way back from work I took a different route to get some petrol and noticed two unusual things. The first was as I went past a smallish roundabout and noticed that the sign for Dominoes Pizza in the middle was not just propped up but was actually being held in place by somebody sat on the grass. As unlikely jobs go, that's got to be one for the books. The second oddity was after I had paid for my petrol the attendant handed me what looked like a pair of foil wrapped condoms. On closer inspection they turned out to be collectable world cup medals, but disappointingly they were just cardboard and not a properly minted coin as I recall from petrol station giveaways of times gone by.
Red Dead Redemption continues to surprise and impress me.
I'd grown used to the dusty air of the land around the MacFarlane ranch, so the steady rain that started to fall was a blessed relief. We rode up into the hills around Hanging Rock to run a herd of wild horses up into a box canyon where we could rope them at leisure. The work took a while and as I rode back to Armadillo the sky started to brighten, with the gold of the sun breaking through the clouds showing the desert to be an unexpected green. Beautiful. Simply beautiful.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Blue Shadows on the Trail
Another muggy and overcast day, with a few spots of rain when I went out for my lunchtime walk up by the river and the Armouries. I was parched when I got back to the office, so I got myself a diet Coke from the machine - something I don't often do.
I was really struggling to stay awake last night and ended up going to bed at a quarter past ten. I think I might still need to use my lumie light if the day has been gloomy. I'll give it a whirl tonight.
It still feels strange not having any OU work to do at lunchtimes or in the evenings when I get in. I should start reading a book a week again - something that I've let slide whilst I've been studying. Even the rate I get through audiobooks has dropped off recently with the deluge of podcasts on my phone at the moment (most of them featuring Richard Herring).
In games news, I finally saved up the 80,000 whispered secrets to get me a room in the Echo Bazaar itself. Apparently this nets me a substantial defence bonus which should give me an edge in the game of Knife and Candle which has become my main interest since finishing the main story quest.
I played a bit more Alan Wake the other night and I have to say that stepping in a bear trap and trying to free myself while being attacked by shadow creatures is one of the most unnerving gaming experiences that I've had in a long while.
I was really struggling to stay awake last night and ended up going to bed at a quarter past ten. I think I might still need to use my lumie light if the day has been gloomy. I'll give it a whirl tonight.
It still feels strange not having any OU work to do at lunchtimes or in the evenings when I get in. I should start reading a book a week again - something that I've let slide whilst I've been studying. Even the rate I get through audiobooks has dropped off recently with the deluge of podcasts on my phone at the moment (most of them featuring Richard Herring).
In games news, I finally saved up the 80,000 whispered secrets to get me a room in the Echo Bazaar itself. Apparently this nets me a substantial defence bonus which should give me an edge in the game of Knife and Candle which has become my main interest since finishing the main story quest.
I played a bit more Alan Wake the other night and I have to say that stepping in a bear trap and trying to free myself while being attacked by shadow creatures is one of the most unnerving gaming experiences that I've had in a long while.
- 18:44 It's Haikusday! bit.ly/bfdmPz #haiku #
- 07:09 #ebz In simpler times, Hell would take a soul on the death of the body. Death is more complicated in F... fallenlondon.com/c/92002 #
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Haikusday
Blue skies fade to grey
The mercury falls by half
A welcome respite
Work finally submished
Eight months study completed
Now strangely bereft
The woods of Bright Falls
Shadows and mist on all sides
Step into the light
Running through the trees
The torch beam dancing wildly
Caught in a bear trap
Whispered secrets shared
Down payment for lodgings
In Echo Bazaar
Let us raise a glass
To a hoopy frood who knew
Where his towel was
The mercury falls by half
A welcome respite
Work finally submished
Eight months study completed
Now strangely bereft
The woods of Bright Falls
Shadows and mist on all sides
Step into the light
Running through the trees
The torch beam dancing wildly
Caught in a bear trap
Whispered secrets shared
Down payment for lodgings
In Echo Bazaar
Let us raise a glass
To a hoopy frood who knew
Where his towel was
Forty Signs of Rain by Kim Stanley RobinsonMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
While scientists and
Political wonks debate
Washington floods
Fifty Degrees Below by Kim Stanley RobinsonMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Frank takes to the woods
Palaeolithic lifestyle
Now comes the big freeze
Sixty Days and Counting by Kim Stanley RobinsonMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
A new president
Vows to reverse climate change
Whatever the cost
View all my reviews >>
- 21:00 Just posted over the South Yorkshire Skeptical Society blog ... bit.ly/96XnQX #
- 06:56 #ebz The Starveling Cat! The Starveling Cat! Swims like a bloodfish! Tastes like a sprat! fallenlondon.com/c/90593 #
- 09:36 Let us raise a glass / To a hoopy frood who knew / Where his towel was #towelday #
Monday, May 24, 2010
Predict the Day
A disturbed night's sleep last night, both from the heat and the rumbling remnants of this damned stomach bug. Yuck. The hot weather of the weekend is waning but it was still warm enough to make me very glad of the air conditioning in the office and the car.
I really need to wash the bugs and the volcanic dust off of my car at some point. I flicked the windscreen wipers on this morning to try and clear it, but I ended up with a horrible smeary mess. Hopefully we'll get a bit of rain soon to save me a job.
In other news, I've bitten the bullet and officially submished my last CMA and T175 TMA, so that's my homework over until October!
I really need to wash the bugs and the volcanic dust off of my car at some point. I flicked the windscreen wipers on this morning to try and clear it, but I ended up with a horrible smeary mess. Hopefully we'll get a bit of rain soon to save me a job.
In other news, I've bitten the bullet and officially submished my last CMA and T175 TMA, so that's my homework over until October!
Sunday, May 23, 2010
- 18:49 5 of 5 stars to How Not to Grow Up by Richard Herring bit.ly/chhaCM #
- 12:41 #ebz The second of Feducci's illegal fighting rings is the Ring of Roses. The loser is the first to ma... fallenlondon.com/c/88146 #
Dusty Skies
Another hot day, even more so than yesterday, but with a touch more breeze which was very pleasant. I also hauled the big fan out of its winter hibernation in the garage and its currently doing a sterling job of cooling us down in the lounge.
I proof read and submished my M150 assignment, so there's just one more CMA to do and that's it for both of my courses, work wise. I've still not settled on what courses to do next but I might go for a combination of Object Oriented Java (M255) and Communication and information technologies (T215) which would net me 90 points. Based on the things that I've enjoyed from M150 and T175 this year, I think I'm also going to switch to BSc (Honours) Information Technology and Computing track rather than Computing and Business. We shall see.
In games news, I've played a bit more Red Dead Redemption this afternoon and was delighted to discover a poker game running in the back room of the saloon in Armadillo. Aces. High.
I proof read and submished my M150 assignment, so there's just one more CMA to do and that's it for both of my courses, work wise. I've still not settled on what courses to do next but I might go for a combination of Object Oriented Java (M255) and Communication and information technologies (T215) which would net me 90 points. Based on the things that I've enjoyed from M150 and T175 this year, I think I'm also going to switch to BSc (Honours) Information Technology and Computing track rather than Computing and Business. We shall see.
In games news, I've played a bit more Red Dead Redemption this afternoon and was delighted to discover a poker game running in the back room of the saloon in Armadillo. Aces. High.
Sunday Links
- Little Sun Bear in Singapore ZooBorns
- The Search For Hidden Dimensions
- 12 Events That Will Change Everything An interactive presentation of 12 events that could change the world
- Unusual Words Increase your word power!
- Play with my magnetic words. Multi user magnetic fridge poetry
- Stop what you’re doing and watch this
- Trafalgar Origins Excellent seafaring game linked to a Channel 4 series about the British Navy
- Mount St. Helens, 30 years ago Now *that's* a volcano
- Hitler's autobahn dream Fahren, fahren, fahren ...
- stereomood Internet radio playlists to fit your mood
- These Golden Books Are Not For Children Classic movie scenes as a child's easy reading book
- The Evolution of PC Audio The Secret of Monkey Island is one of my all time favourite game sound tracks, second only to Interstate 76. It's fascinating to hear it in so many different renditions as technology improves, but my favourite is probably the Soundblaster, for nostalgic reasons.
- Facebook Privacy Scanner A useful link to check your Facebook privacy settings for holes
- TAM London 2010 Do want to go!
Saturday, May 22, 2010
How Not To Grow Up - Richard Herring
How Not to Grow Up: A Coming of Age Memoir. Sort of. by Richard HerringMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
As the comedian Richard Herring approached his fortieth birthday he found himself behaving in ways that were increasingly childish. His life was a non-stop round of gigging, drinking, getting up late and then spending most of the day sitting around in his pants eating sweets and playing video games. His search for a relationship was becoming increasingly desperate, alternating between hopeless romanticism and a series of ill-advised temporary flings. He didn't even know if he really wanted a long term relationship when he couldn't even commit to a bag for life from the supermarket. The only people that seemed to understand him on his level were small children, perhaps recognising that he was a child like them rather than an adult.
Richard Herring has chronicled a pivotal year in his life in startling and sometimes confessional detail. He slowly starts to understand his urge to self destruct and gains an insight into how to strike a balance between adult responsibilities and the need to maintain a childlike view of the absurdities of life. Without giving too much away, he does turn out to be a bit of an old softy in the end (and not just around the middle from a diet of fried chicken and flumps).
If you have listened to the hundred and something podcasts that he has produced over the last two years, or read any of his daily blogs, then this book is an essential 'directors commentary' to accompany everything else. If you are not a die hard fan, then this might just turn you into one.
Highly recommended!
View all my reviews >>
- 11:31 #ebz This far underground, there are no natural lights. There are distant phosphorescent things in the... fallenlondon.com/c/86894 #
- 13:59 M150 and T175 assessments completed. Now to print them off and proof read before submishing them ... #ou #
- 14:01 Dis #caturday is just too darn hot ... twitpic.com/1q03gk #
99.9 F°
Hot today. As hot as a very hot thing in a hot place. Or maybe hotter. Lovely.
With the air of sodding typicality, I had my assignments to finish off, but I raced through the last question on the M150 and I was done by half past two, so I could come downstairs and enjoy the weather, sat on the sofa with the patio doors open wide, a hint of a cool breeze and a glass of something cold to drink.
As a reward to myself, I cracked open the seal on my copy of Red Dead Redemption and fired it up. It's always a slightly overwhelming experience starting a new open world GTA style game, but this immediately felt familiar. My first impressions are that this is the most graphically adept game that Rockstar have ever produced. I loved Liberty City, as you probably know, but I really had a hankering for the wide open vistas of San Andreas. Red Dead has landscapes that make you want to rein in your horse and stop and stare. I went on a ride and then looked at the map to see that I had covered a bare fraction of the territory. Wowzers.
It's too early to comment on the story yet, but I am intrigued so far. The end of the wild west in the early 1900s is an era that doesn't really get much coverage in films, and the only book that that really springs to mind is Larry McMurty's 'Telegraph Days' that deals with the way the west was mythologized by writers and film makers.
With the air of sodding typicality, I had my assignments to finish off, but I raced through the last question on the M150 and I was done by half past two, so I could come downstairs and enjoy the weather, sat on the sofa with the patio doors open wide, a hint of a cool breeze and a glass of something cold to drink.
As a reward to myself, I cracked open the seal on my copy of Red Dead Redemption and fired it up. It's always a slightly overwhelming experience starting a new open world GTA style game, but this immediately felt familiar. My first impressions are that this is the most graphically adept game that Rockstar have ever produced. I loved Liberty City, as you probably know, but I really had a hankering for the wide open vistas of San Andreas. Red Dead has landscapes that make you want to rein in your horse and stop and stare. I went on a ride and then looked at the map to see that I had covered a bare fraction of the territory. Wowzers.
It's too early to comment on the story yet, but I am intrigued so far. The end of the wild west in the early 1900s is an era that doesn't really get much coverage in films, and the only book that that really springs to mind is Larry McMurty's 'Telegraph Days' that deals with the way the west was mythologized by writers and film makers.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Hotdogs and Hamburgers
A splendidly warm day today, and I was working at home so I could run around in my pants in front of the fan as much as I liked to keep cool.
Work was frustrating. You'd think with a payroll system that there would some agreement about what actually needs to get sent to the HMRC as a P45 submission, but two of our clients came up with completely different requirements (and also differently weird data scenarios) that we had to negotiate between. Grumph. I did manage to get it sorted and hotfixed out though, and even had a thank you email back from the client. Which was nice.
I managed to do a bit more of my M150 TMA at lunchtime and after work, before going out to give the lawn a once over and activate the cheeseburger machine (AKA the barbecue) from its winter hibernation. Yes folks, we have a fridge full of cookable comestibles and we're not afraid to throw them on a fiery griddle! We also have beer and I'm going to have one as soon as I click publish on this.
Happy Friday!
Work was frustrating. You'd think with a payroll system that there would some agreement about what actually needs to get sent to the HMRC as a P45 submission, but two of our clients came up with completely different requirements (and also differently weird data scenarios) that we had to negotiate between. Grumph. I did manage to get it sorted and hotfixed out though, and even had a thank you email back from the client. Which was nice.
I managed to do a bit more of my M150 TMA at lunchtime and after work, before going out to give the lawn a once over and activate the cheeseburger machine (AKA the barbecue) from its winter hibernation. Yes folks, we have a fridge full of cookable comestibles and we're not afraid to throw them on a fiery griddle! We also have beer and I'm going to have one as soon as I click publish on this.
Happy Friday!
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers
Muggy and overcast today, and strange fever dreams last night as well - the after effects of the stomach bug, I think, combined with a session on Alan Wake before bedtime. I'm only one and a half episodes in, but the story is really intriguing me - weird flash backs and strange twists and turns, and the nightmarish sections in the woods are really very unsettling. At one point last night I reached a safe point in a pool of light and I really did not want to leave! Red Dead Redemption has turned up as well - I'd pre-ordered it a while ago and had forgotten about it, and I might try and save it until after Alan Wake. I may succumb though.
Need to get all of my OU work submished first though. The M150 final assignment is pips - just lots of fiddly java script fragments to include in the document. I was moderately surprised that part of it was looking at a bubble sort algorithm - I was always under the impression that this was such a bad example of a sorting algorithm that it wasn't even mentioned on Comp Sci courses any more. Mind you, part of the question is analysing why it is so inefficient, but there are better algorithms to look at as a starting point.
In other news, we've just been down the pub for a very acceptable pint of 'Bitter and Twisted' - smashing!
Need to get all of my OU work submished first though. The M150 final assignment is pips - just lots of fiddly java script fragments to include in the document. I was moderately surprised that part of it was looking at a bubble sort algorithm - I was always under the impression that this was such a bad example of a sorting algorithm that it wasn't even mentioned on Comp Sci courses any more. Mind you, part of the question is analysing why it is so inefficient, but there are better algorithms to look at as a starting point.
In other news, we've just been down the pub for a very acceptable pint of 'Bitter and Twisted' - smashing!
- 13:07 #ebz This upstanding citizen governs commerce in food, wood and immortality. They say it's an ally of ... fallenlondon.com/c/85012 #
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
The Curse of Ka'Zar
An abbreviated blog today. As alluded to yesterday, we've both had a stomach bug for the last two days, nuff said. Yuk.
I did manage to get some work done though, although I think I've still got a fair amount of catching up to do in the office tomorrow.
In OU news, I got 98% on my M150 TMA but then realised that my final assignment is actually due on the 25th of May rather than the 8th of June as I had thought (which is actually for the CMA). Yikes. Panic. Fortunately it's all straightforward Java stuff and I got a third of it done tonight before tea. My T175 ECA is completed, bar a final read through, so I should be able to get both of them proof read and submitted on Saturday I think.
In Twitter news, if you don't follow Phil Jupitus on Twitter then you may have missed the great pasty hunt last night. In a nutshell, Phil and his comedy chums Marcus Brigstocke and Carrie Quinlan were on a train out of Cornwall when they realised that they hadn't had a genuine Cornish pasty whilst they were there. They put out a request on Twitter and, well, watch the videos ...
The Great Pasty Hunt Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
I did manage to get some work done though, although I think I've still got a fair amount of catching up to do in the office tomorrow.
In OU news, I got 98% on my M150 TMA but then realised that my final assignment is actually due on the 25th of May rather than the 8th of June as I had thought (which is actually for the CMA). Yikes. Panic. Fortunately it's all straightforward Java stuff and I got a third of it done tonight before tea. My T175 ECA is completed, bar a final read through, so I should be able to get both of them proof read and submitted on Saturday I think.
In Twitter news, if you don't follow Phil Jupitus on Twitter then you may have missed the great pasty hunt last night. In a nutshell, Phil and his comedy chums Marcus Brigstocke and Carrie Quinlan were on a train out of Cornwall when they realised that they hadn't had a genuine Cornish pasty whilst they were there. They put out a request on Twitter and, well, watch the videos ...
The Great Pasty Hunt Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
- 12:09 #ebz Moloch Street Underground Station is the first stop on the journey to Hell. Clathermont's Tattoo ... fallenlondon.com/c/83880 #
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
- 08:00 #ebz They say it's a series of confidential negotiations between the Masters and a devil of some note.... fallenlondon.com/c/82621 #
Haikusday
Laid low by a bug
Working at home in easy reach
Of the nearest loo
When looking for truth
In a health scare, it pays to
Follow the money
Life in Nelson's fleet
Trafalgar Origins gives
A taste of the times
Killer ants attack!
The humans fight back with a
Kettle of water
The hardest working
Man in comedy returns
A-eye-otti-ma!
Working at home in easy reach
Of the nearest loo
When looking for truth
In a health scare, it pays to
Follow the money
Life in Nelson's fleet
Trafalgar Origins gives
A taste of the times
Killer ants attack!
The humans fight back with a
Kettle of water
The hardest working
Man in comedy returns
A-eye-otti-ma!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Sensoria
It's been one of those days at work, where I switched on my computer in the morning and then looked at the clock and realised that it was nearly home time. I seem to have done a lot without achieving a great deal. Hmmm.
An enjoyable slice of 80s nostalgia on the telly last night with 'Worried About The Boy' - a biopic of the life of Boy George up to the point that he first appeared on Top of the Pops. They captured the look of the times perfectly, but I still don't know how George managed to do his hair and makeup so perfectly whilst living in a squalid squat with holes in the walls. The obligatory disclaimer at the start of the programme warned of scenes of a sexual nature, but it was all rather chaste and sweet as far as I could see, with nothing more than a bit of hand holding and the occasional fumble. Certainly nothing to frighten the horses by any stretch of the imagination.
The really scary thing is that it is now thirty years since the start of the 80s and that they are as distant as the 1950s were to me at the time.
Tempus fugit indeed.
An enjoyable slice of 80s nostalgia on the telly last night with 'Worried About The Boy' - a biopic of the life of Boy George up to the point that he first appeared on Top of the Pops. They captured the look of the times perfectly, but I still don't know how George managed to do his hair and makeup so perfectly whilst living in a squalid squat with holes in the walls. The obligatory disclaimer at the start of the programme warned of scenes of a sexual nature, but it was all rather chaste and sweet as far as I could see, with nothing more than a bit of hand holding and the occasional fumble. Certainly nothing to frighten the horses by any stretch of the imagination.
The really scary thing is that it is now thirty years since the start of the 80s and that they are as distant as the 1950s were to me at the time.
Tempus fugit indeed.
- 06:56 #ebz The second of Feducci's illegal fighting rings is the Ring of Roses. The loser is the first to ma... fallenlondon.com/c/81481 #
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Chinatown
Jamie had one of his friends over to stay last night, so we went mad and ordered in a Chinese from our local takeaway which has had the good fortune to nab the URL www.hongkongtakeaway.com which they could probably flog for a fortune to a noodle bar in Kowloon if they were so minded. Anyhoo, I went for my usual Salt and Pepper squid with plain noodles and most nomilicious it was too. I washed it down with a bottle of Chinese Lucky beer that I picked up from Asda on Friday, mainly because I liked the bottle with a faintly sinister Buddha design:
In telly news, I rather enjoyed Doctor Who last night with the sinister dreamworlds, evil OAPs, the frozen Tardis and in what must be a first for primetime family viewing since Romeo and Juliet, the main character deliberately committing suicide out of grief. The writing continues to be excellent too, with more laughs than I can recall from the last season or so of angsty David Tennant.
In telly news, I rather enjoyed Doctor Who last night with the sinister dreamworlds, evil OAPs, the frozen Tardis and in what must be a first for primetime family viewing since Romeo and Juliet, the main character deliberately committing suicide out of grief. The writing continues to be excellent too, with more laughs than I can recall from the last season or so of angsty David Tennant.
Sunday Links
- Day-Old Gentoo Penguin Chicks at Edinburgh Zoo ZooBorns
- Experiences of the Anomalous Tetsuya Satoh and Macoto Murayama design weird sculptures and then put them in unusual places
- For the Win! Cory Doctorow's new novel, available as a free ebook
- Why does the Moon look so huge on the horizon?
- Living in denial When a sceptic isn't a sceptic
- The Return of the Gnomes of Zurich Another surprisingly prescient vintage documentary
- One Div Zero A Brief, Incomplete, and Mostly Wrong History of Programming Languages
- Star Wars the baroque version
- The Evolution of Privacy on Facebook
- How to Permanently Delete a Facebook Account It's not easy ...
- Meowmania An amusing flash meow generator that elicits this reaction from Doris
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Soap and Water
I seem to be suffering from a strange sort of Stockholm syndrome with the gasman.
After failing to fix the boiler yesterday we had been promised a 10:00 till 12:00 appointment, but there was no sign of said gasman and I called up the helpline twice before he finally arrived over half an hour past the stated deadline. Still, he worked his magic and replaced another part and we finally have hot water again after three days of washing with soap and flannel. Bliss. I was so pathetically grateful for this simple modern luxury that I quite forgot to be cross.
In other news, I have done about half of my T175 end of course assessment today, and I reckon that another day of work will break the back of it tomorrow. Ironically enough, I was looking at a question regarding smart homes and networked controllers for things like central heating systems. It's all very well having an app on the iPhone to set the temperature if you haven't even got a working boiler ...
After finishing work, I had a nap, read a couple of chapters of Richard Herrings' book 'How Not to Grow Up' which is satisfactorily chucklesome, took the dog for a walk in the sun dappled woods and mowed the lawn before setting to some of the weeds in the patio with the strimmer. I reckon that I will have earned my mojito with Doctor Who tonight.
As for Alan Wake, my first impressions are that the human faces suffer badly from a bad case of uncanny valley with the rendering looking quite disturbing. However, when the sun goes down and the night time sections start it's a very different story. Nightmarish and spooky with some very effective scares. I was particularly impressed with the use of light and shade in the foggy gloom, and the way that the torch beam swings around wildly as you try to run to the next safe haven. Good stuff.
After failing to fix the boiler yesterday we had been promised a 10:00 till 12:00 appointment, but there was no sign of said gasman and I called up the helpline twice before he finally arrived over half an hour past the stated deadline. Still, he worked his magic and replaced another part and we finally have hot water again after three days of washing with soap and flannel. Bliss. I was so pathetically grateful for this simple modern luxury that I quite forgot to be cross.
In other news, I have done about half of my T175 end of course assessment today, and I reckon that another day of work will break the back of it tomorrow. Ironically enough, I was looking at a question regarding smart homes and networked controllers for things like central heating systems. It's all very well having an app on the iPhone to set the temperature if you haven't even got a working boiler ...
After finishing work, I had a nap, read a couple of chapters of Richard Herrings' book 'How Not to Grow Up' which is satisfactorily chucklesome, took the dog for a walk in the sun dappled woods and mowed the lawn before setting to some of the weeds in the patio with the strimmer. I reckon that I will have earned my mojito with Doctor Who tonight.
As for Alan Wake, my first impressions are that the human faces suffer badly from a bad case of uncanny valley with the rendering looking quite disturbing. However, when the sun goes down and the night time sections start it's a very different story. Nightmarish and spooky with some very effective scares. I was particularly impressed with the use of light and shade in the foggy gloom, and the way that the torch beam swings around wildly as you try to run to the next safe haven. Good stuff.
- 12:10 #ebz The Bazaar stole London three decades ago. Of course only anarchists and revolutionaries say fallenlondon.com/c/79416 #
Friday, May 14, 2010
Let X=X
Well, the gasman comethed and then he wentethed and the boiler still isn't working properly so he's got to cometh back again tomorrow. Buggrit.
In other news, I'm tired, we've just been out to Asda where my trolley seemed to be stuck behind a fellow who was a dead ringer for Johnny Vegas and sporting an impressive builder's cleavage. Somebody really should tell him that if you are going for the 'low slung' look then you need a pair of fashionable undercrackers to go with it. Not a good start to Friday night.
Still, it's time for a glass of white and a go of Alan Wake - huzzah!
In other news, I'm tired, we've just been out to Asda where my trolley seemed to be stuck behind a fellow who was a dead ringer for Johnny Vegas and sporting an impressive builder's cleavage. Somebody really should tell him that if you are going for the 'low slung' look then you need a pair of fashionable undercrackers to go with it. Not a good start to Friday night.
Still, it's time for a glass of white and a go of Alan Wake - huzzah!
- 08:04 Check this video out -- Portal is Free youtu.be/BDj1fYlwR00 #
Thursday, May 13, 2010
- 21:47 Steam is out on Mac and Portal is free - I'm intrigued to see how it will run on my MBP ... #
- 12:25 #ebz the Starveling Cat! the Starveling Cat! warm as a lizard! fragrant as a bat! fallenlondon.com/c/77125 #
- 18:27 Check this video out -- Sex Pistols and The Muppets-Friggin In The Riggin youtu.be/xPGLNYAgL-8 #
Rock n Roll Machine
A brighter day than yesterday, both figuratively and literally, with a good night's sleep and a sunny morning with a touch of frost disappearing in a wisp of vapour as the sunlight hit the car. Last night I had one of my gallimaufry dreams, where we had bought a house that was like something off of 'Grand Designs'. I climbed a ladder to a sort of mezzanine sleeping loft level to find shelves of rare books and unusual board games including a fantasy variant of 'Carcassonne' called 'Orcassonne'. I clearly remember saying "Wow! This is just like my dream". Strange but pleasing.
I got my last T175 TMA back with a score of 97% and some very complimentary comments from my tutor too. Which was nice.
In less good news, the boiler (see eleventy-one similar blog posts passim) started making explodey noises whenever the burner lit, which is a bit worrying, so I turned it off and logged a service call for tomorrow. So no shower this morning, but at least it's not too cold outside at the moment. Personally, I blame Nick Clegg.
In games news, I currently have an elegancy of sufficiency, including Steam on the Mac at long last with a free copy of Portal. Get in! I've played it before, but I am looking forward to giving it another whirl. If you haven't played it, then you really should treat yourself. I'm very tempted by Torchlight too, which is also on special offer at the moment. I like Steam's policy of 'buy once, play on any platform' as well. My main linux machine is not quite up to task of running Portal, but it will happily play some of the older games if I want it to.
I had a tweet message from Echo Bizarre today with news of new dream tracks and post level 80 extensions to the ambition quests. I am now on the tail of Poor Edward and the star-gazing roustabout. Excellent. Even better, Alan Wake arrived on the doormat a day early this morning as well, so that will get at least a brief airing tonight. Hurrah!
I got my last T175 TMA back with a score of 97% and some very complimentary comments from my tutor too. Which was nice.
In less good news, the boiler (see eleventy-one similar blog posts passim) started making explodey noises whenever the burner lit, which is a bit worrying, so I turned it off and logged a service call for tomorrow. So no shower this morning, but at least it's not too cold outside at the moment. Personally, I blame Nick Clegg.
In games news, I currently have an elegancy of sufficiency, including Steam on the Mac at long last with a free copy of Portal. Get in! I've played it before, but I am looking forward to giving it another whirl. If you haven't played it, then you really should treat yourself. I'm very tempted by Torchlight too, which is also on special offer at the moment. I like Steam's policy of 'buy once, play on any platform' as well. My main linux machine is not quite up to task of running Portal, but it will happily play some of the older games if I want it to.
I had a tweet message from Echo Bizarre today with news of new dream tracks and post level 80 extensions to the ambition quests. I am now on the tail of Poor Edward and the star-gazing roustabout. Excellent. Even better, Alan Wake arrived on the doormat a day early this morning as well, so that will get at least a brief airing tonight. Hurrah!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Let's get lost
The day didn't start particularly well.
I woke up from up disturbing dreams of some bio-chemical apocalypse merged with playing retro-games in a service station arcade and stumbled downstairs to feed the cats. Doris and Frank were both present and correct, but there was no sign of Daisy. I shouted for her and shook the food tub a few times, but with no joy. She hadn't turned up by the time I left for work and I fretted on the way until I got the welcome news that she had just sauntered in and was nomming her noms. Phew.
Work was a bitch today too, trying to get something working on a remote site for a demo using a remote desktop session that was running a greater resolution than my laptop screen necessitating a lot of irritating scrolling and resizing. My cow-orker and I ended up working through lunch before I got collared for another urgent problem that I think I managed to resolve before five.
The traffic was slow on the way home, but at least I had a cuddle with my favourite ginger kitteh to look forward to, as well as the smell of a delicious crock pot stew which will be much appreciated on a cold and miserable day like this.
I'm not quite sure what to make of our new Con-Dem overlords yet. Very welcome news on ID cards being scrapped, but I'll reserve judgement until we see what's in the emergency budget. At least we have a government in place which is better than nothing.
In games news, my appetite has been well and truly whetted by the latest two video prequel webisodes for Alan Wake which should be arriving on Friday. Fret, fret. I was also tempted by the special offer on Dragon's Lair which I've just downloaded. I remember seeing this in an arcade somewhere back in the day and marvelling at the laser disc technology which seemed to have come straight from the future, offering a fantastically animated film that you could interact with. The gameplay is as brutally unforgiving as it ever was, but it's still a steal for only 9p more than you used to have to feed into the slot for three lives.
I woke up from up disturbing dreams of some bio-chemical apocalypse merged with playing retro-games in a service station arcade and stumbled downstairs to feed the cats. Doris and Frank were both present and correct, but there was no sign of Daisy. I shouted for her and shook the food tub a few times, but with no joy. She hadn't turned up by the time I left for work and I fretted on the way until I got the welcome news that she had just sauntered in and was nomming her noms. Phew.
Work was a bitch today too, trying to get something working on a remote site for a demo using a remote desktop session that was running a greater resolution than my laptop screen necessitating a lot of irritating scrolling and resizing. My cow-orker and I ended up working through lunch before I got collared for another urgent problem that I think I managed to resolve before five.
The traffic was slow on the way home, but at least I had a cuddle with my favourite ginger kitteh to look forward to, as well as the smell of a delicious crock pot stew which will be much appreciated on a cold and miserable day like this.
I'm not quite sure what to make of our new Con-Dem overlords yet. Very welcome news on ID cards being scrapped, but I'll reserve judgement until we see what's in the emergency budget. At least we have a government in place which is better than nothing.
In games news, my appetite has been well and truly whetted by the latest two video prequel webisodes for Alan Wake which should be arriving on Friday. Fret, fret. I was also tempted by the special offer on Dragon's Lair which I've just downloaded. I remember seeing this in an arcade somewhere back in the day and marvelling at the laser disc technology which seemed to have come straight from the future, offering a fantastically animated film that you could interact with. The gameplay is as brutally unforgiving as it ever was, but it's still a steal for only 9p more than you used to have to feed into the slot for three lives.
- 19:29 It's Haikusday again! bit.ly/9UEoeN #haiku #
- 20:44 Well, at least we now have a PM we can hate without feeling guilty about it ... #
- 20:46 Jings. At least he's not quoting St Francis. Yet. #
- 20:48 Where's Malcolm Tucker when you need him, eh? #
- 07:10 Daisy the cat hasn't come in for her breakfast ... worried now ... #
- 08:49 Daisy's back - phew! Stand down the search party! #
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Haikusday
Monday morning drive
Miles counted off in podcasts
Humour and music
Deals in smoke filled rooms
Are now a thing of the past
Body politic
Gambling everything
On one last roll of the dice
Snake eyes watching you
A frosty morning
The dog sighs contentedly
Cats yowl for their noms
A psychic tested
Shows himself nothing more than
A cheap charlatan
Venetian vampires
Seem suspiciously squamous
Chthonic cabal
Miles counted off in podcasts
Humour and music
Deals in smoke filled rooms
Are now a thing of the past
Body politic
Gambling everything
On one last roll of the dice
Snake eyes watching you
A frosty morning
The dog sighs contentedly
Cats yowl for their noms
A psychic tested
Shows himself nothing more than
A cheap charlatan
Venetian vampires
Seem suspiciously squamous
Chthonic cabal
Monday, May 10, 2010
Hazy shade of random
Newcastle and back in a day. Again. I'm a tired bunny and cross that I've missed Skeptics in the Pub tonight, but I really couldn't face going out again once I'd sat down. Grumph.
It was a complicated and bitty install today, with some niggly issues to sort out, and I didn't get away until after four. At least I had a good selection of podcasts to listen to and I've actually managed to clear the backlog that built up whilst I was working my way through thirty five hours of 'Under The Dome' recently. Seven Day Sunday was back on form with the return of Sarah Millican to the team, Collins and Herring are really pushing the envelope on their Six Music show and Adam Buxton spent half of his Big Mixtape show flirting outrageously (and quite amusingly) with his guest Emmy the Great. All good fun.
I listened to Gordon Brown's resignation speech on the way back, and it felt almost anti-climactic. It's yet another twist to the game of brinkmanship that the Lib Dems are playing at the moment, and I really do hope that they get a cast iron, rock solid guarantee of electoral reform out of it. I still don't see how they could make a coalition with Labour work though - I suppose that they might be able to pass an emergency budget by appealing to the national interest but there would certainly be another election before the year is out. Perhaps that is the master plan, if they can get PR in place by then?
It was a complicated and bitty install today, with some niggly issues to sort out, and I didn't get away until after four. At least I had a good selection of podcasts to listen to and I've actually managed to clear the backlog that built up whilst I was working my way through thirty five hours of 'Under The Dome' recently. Seven Day Sunday was back on form with the return of Sarah Millican to the team, Collins and Herring are really pushing the envelope on their Six Music show and Adam Buxton spent half of his Big Mixtape show flirting outrageously (and quite amusingly) with his guest Emmy the Great. All good fun.
I listened to Gordon Brown's resignation speech on the way back, and it felt almost anti-climactic. It's yet another twist to the game of brinkmanship that the Lib Dems are playing at the moment, and I really do hope that they get a cast iron, rock solid guarantee of electoral reform out of it. I still don't see how they could make a coalition with Labour work though - I suppose that they might be able to pass an emergency budget by appealing to the national interest but there would certainly be another election before the year is out. Perhaps that is the master plan, if they can get PR in place by then?
Sunday, May 09, 2010
Ironbound Fancy Poultry
I seem to have been quite busy today, doing various things, but it doesn't feel like I've achieved much. A bit of OU work, a bit of prep for a trip to Newcastle for work tomorrow, a bit of washing, a bit of ironing and a walk in the late afternoon sunshine with the dog. Oh, and we fitted a new extractor fan in the bathroom which, given my general DIY ineptitude, was a little bit stressful.
Last night's movie was 'Son of Rambow'. I was expecting a bit of a lighthearted comedy with a touch of 80s nostalgia, but this film proved to have hidden depths. It concerns two boys - Will, a loner who escapes from a strict religious upbringing into fantasy worlds drawn in his notebook and Lee, perpetual trouble maker from a family that is not so much dysfunctional as completely absent. After Will (who is forbidden from watching TV) accidentally sees a pirated copy of 'Rambo : First Blood', the boys set to making their own version of the story that Lee wants to enter in a competition. With hilarious consequences? Not really, although there are laughs along the way. The film is more about understanding what it means to be an outsider and knowing who your true friends are. Worth a watch, I would say.
In games news, I found that there was a new version of Desktop Tower Defense. Hurrah! Unfortunately it is a Facebook app that irritatingly tries to get you to spam your friends and earn 'coins' (or buy them with cash money) before you can unlock all of the various towers. It's good, but I suspect that the general shonkyness of the implementation will get on my nerves in short order. I'd much rather a version of the original on iPhone, please and thank you.
Last night's movie was 'Son of Rambow'. I was expecting a bit of a lighthearted comedy with a touch of 80s nostalgia, but this film proved to have hidden depths. It concerns two boys - Will, a loner who escapes from a strict religious upbringing into fantasy worlds drawn in his notebook and Lee, perpetual trouble maker from a family that is not so much dysfunctional as completely absent. After Will (who is forbidden from watching TV) accidentally sees a pirated copy of 'Rambo : First Blood', the boys set to making their own version of the story that Lee wants to enter in a competition. With hilarious consequences? Not really, although there are laughs along the way. The film is more about understanding what it means to be an outsider and knowing who your true friends are. Worth a watch, I would say.
In games news, I found that there was a new version of Desktop Tower Defense. Hurrah! Unfortunately it is a Facebook app that irritatingly tries to get you to spam your friends and earn 'coins' (or buy them with cash money) before you can unlock all of the various towers. It's good, but I suspect that the general shonkyness of the implementation will get on my nerves in short order. I'd much rather a version of the original on iPhone, please and thank you.
- 20:35 I'm sure that I've climbed that tower in Assassin's Creed II #doctorwho #
Sunday Links
- Insert Sleepy Otter Pun Here ZooBorns
- My Hand Made Hobbit Hole A wonderfully detailed model of Bag End
- Tove Jansson's Hobbit illustrations (H/T Rachel!)
- Amazing photos of the Gulf Coast oil rig exploding, sinking
- The Dead Fly Artwork Of Magnus Muhr
- 13 Things That Saved Apollo 13
- Democracy on Trial A fascinating and insightful film that covers the 1968 US election
- Smoke gets in your eyes Oddly beautiful photographs of smoke
- Amazing student created trailer for Rendezvous with Rama This is a film that really should be made.
- Famous Movie Quotes As diagrams
- Brave New World Huxley narrates his iconic story on a vintage LP
- Zen Coding If you ever write anything in HTML, then you should take a look at this elegant accelerator plugin. However, being Slashdot guess how long it takes for the comment thread to devolve into a text editor advocacy flame war ... :-)
Saturday, May 08, 2010
Woo-hah! (Absorb Fish)
A bit of a cold and gray day outside, with a reasonable bit of work done, I think. I did keep an eye on Twitter and watched Nick Clegg's speech to the fair votes protesters as it happened. For one brief, shining moment I thought that he was going to call on them to march on Westminster, but in the end he just said enough to keep them happy. These certainly are turning out to be interesting times ...
Is it just me, or is Ashes to Ashes getting more impenetrable with every episode. I spent half of last night's just saying 'Eh? What?' and wondering exactly where it is all going. I hope the writers have a better ending lined up than the American version did, although at least they aren't having to make something up to get around an unexpected cancellation.
In games news, I am rather enjoying 'Underworlds' which is turning out to be an excellent little dungeon crawling Diablo clone. After battling my way through various demonic princes of hell I thought that I had finished the game this morning, but it just turned out to be the end of chapter one, so I imagine I've still got a ways to go.
Is it just me, or is Ashes to Ashes getting more impenetrable with every episode. I spent half of last night's just saying 'Eh? What?' and wondering exactly where it is all going. I hope the writers have a better ending lined up than the American version did, although at least they aren't having to make something up to get around an unexpected cancellation.
In games news, I am rather enjoying 'Underworlds' which is turning out to be an excellent little dungeon crawling Diablo clone. After battling my way through various demonic princes of hell I thought that I had finished the game this morning, but it just turned out to be the end of chapter one, so I imagine I've still got a ways to go.
- 20:34 Richard Herrings new book has arrived - hurrah! twitpic.com/1lu61x #
- 10:28 I hav come to tell u dat da fud bowl iz empty - just sayin #caturday twitpic.com/1m0see #
- 12:39 Cut public spending but feel really guilty about it #torylibdempolicies #
- 12:40 Scrap ID cards but make library cards compulsory #torylibdempolicies #
- 12:42 Faith schools to be matched with an equal number of Dawkins Academies #torylibdempolicies #
- 12:45 The n ext series of Britain's got Talent to be decided by proportional representation #torylibdempolicies #
- 13:09 #ebz Fallen London: once capital of the British Empire, now home of the Bazaar. Deep. Dark. Expensive.... fallenlondon.com/c/71792 #
- 14:14 Put up taxes for high earners but promise not to gloat about it #torylibdempolicies #
- 14:19 Any Tory MP found expressing homophobic views to be duffed up by @iaindale #torylibdempolicies #
- 14:21 Nick Clegg to be made an honorary member of the Bullingdon Club #torylibdempolicies #
- 14:25 No limits on immigration as long as they go and live in Rochdale #torylibdempolicies #
Friday, May 07, 2010
We don't need this fascist groove thang
It used to be said that a week is a long time in politics.
Never mind that, the last 24 hours or so has felt like one of those days that Jack Bauer would have found a bit on the eventful side, politically speaking. Some real disappointments along the way - the Lib Dem lack of seats, with Dr Evan Harris a notable casualty, the appalling organisation at some polling stations, turnout at 65% meaning that a third of the population simply couldn't be arsed to vote in one of the closest elections in a generation. I was gutted to see that over 2000 people voted BNP in my constituency but then again they didn't win anything nationally, so perhaps this is a high water mark for their extremist thuggery?
On the plus side, the prospect of electoral reform, scrapping of ID cards and the potential hack and slash of a Tory majority tempered by the need to seek consensus. Let's have a government of national unity, put tribalism to one side while we sort out the economy and then crack on with the real business of politics that engages with the task of making life better and fairer for everyone.
I was a comparative light weight in the telly watching stakes, following the comedy on channel 4 before crawling up to bed just before two. I did wake up again just after six to catch up with events on Twitter and then kept a weather eye on the speeches and the comings and goings during the day. I imagine that we'll have a better idea of where things stand by Monday morning.
Never mind that, the last 24 hours or so has felt like one of those days that Jack Bauer would have found a bit on the eventful side, politically speaking. Some real disappointments along the way - the Lib Dem lack of seats, with Dr Evan Harris a notable casualty, the appalling organisation at some polling stations, turnout at 65% meaning that a third of the population simply couldn't be arsed to vote in one of the closest elections in a generation. I was gutted to see that over 2000 people voted BNP in my constituency but then again they didn't win anything nationally, so perhaps this is a high water mark for their extremist thuggery?
On the plus side, the prospect of electoral reform, scrapping of ID cards and the potential hack and slash of a Tory majority tempered by the need to seek consensus. Let's have a government of national unity, put tribalism to one side while we sort out the economy and then crack on with the real business of politics that engages with the task of making life better and fairer for everyone.
I was a comparative light weight in the telly watching stakes, following the comedy on channel 4 before crawling up to bed just before two. I did wake up again just after six to catch up with events on Twitter and then kept a weather eye on the speeches and the comings and goings during the day. I imagine that we'll have a better idea of where things stand by Monday morning.
- 00:18 Yay for @profbriancox on astrology! #
- 01:26 The cats are circling - time to feed them and head off to bed ... Night all! #
- 07:33 Apparently there are 2207 cunts in my constituency. Gutted. #
- 12:33 #ebz Like all great cities, Fallen London has its ladies of negotiable virtue. The ones who work for M... fallenlondon.com/c/70669 #
Thursday, May 06, 2010
Life During Wartime
Miserable and wet today first thing, and it didn't really get much brighter through the rest of the day.
I felt oddly deflated, and my mood wasn't helped by seeing that the desktop wallpaper on someone's PC at work was set to a huge, gurning picture of Cameron's face. I also saw the front page of the Sun where they had misappropriated the iconic Obama 'Change' image - wonder how that one will go down at Fox News HQ? Very odd. I sincerely hope that the tories aren't looking at a majority tomorrow morning. I could just about stomach a minority government with electoral reform and the promise of another election in six months time as the price for Lib Dem support, but that's about as much of that smug, Etonian oaf that I can take. Enough. Roll on the count.
Still, there's some comedy to look forward to on the box tonight, as well as the last 'Vote Now Show' to listen to while I'm having my tea. I've also started enjoying Adam Buxton's 'Big Mixtape' which has really picked up after a slightly shaky start. Adam still sounds lost without Joe though.
I may also play a bit of Animal Crossing too. (Oh, who am I kidding - I *will* play a bit of Animal Crossing - I've played nearly every day since we got it). I'm unsure whether to spend my profits from a particularly lucrative turnip deal (10,000 neeps bought at 96, sold at 524 - get in!) on a set of Gracie, Gracie furniture from the city. It would do wonders for my Happy Room Academy score.
I felt oddly deflated, and my mood wasn't helped by seeing that the desktop wallpaper on someone's PC at work was set to a huge, gurning picture of Cameron's face. I also saw the front page of the Sun where they had misappropriated the iconic Obama 'Change' image - wonder how that one will go down at Fox News HQ? Very odd. I sincerely hope that the tories aren't looking at a majority tomorrow morning. I could just about stomach a minority government with electoral reform and the promise of another election in six months time as the price for Lib Dem support, but that's about as much of that smug, Etonian oaf that I can take. Enough. Roll on the count.
Still, there's some comedy to look forward to on the box tonight, as well as the last 'Vote Now Show' to listen to while I'm having my tea. I've also started enjoying Adam Buxton's 'Big Mixtape' which has really picked up after a slightly shaky start. Adam still sounds lost without Joe though.
I may also play a bit of Animal Crossing too. (Oh, who am I kidding - I *will* play a bit of Animal Crossing - I've played nearly every day since we got it). I'm unsure whether to spend my profits from a particularly lucrative turnip deal (10,000 neeps bought at 96, sold at 524 - get in!) on a set of Gracie, Gracie furniture from the city. It would do wonders for my Happy Room Academy score.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)