A number of times this year, I've complained about something in my life not being just right, and some of you have come up with suggestions to make it so. That's jolly nice of you. It being almost the end of the year, I thought it would be nice of me to let you know what I did with what you told me.
( I whined... You said... I did... )
Obviously the point isn't to see whose suggestions I adopted, because that's heavily influenced by circumstance. I'm collecting all the links here partly because there's lots of worthwhile info. Mostly it's to acknowledge that you took time to help me. Thank you.
( I whined... You said... I did... )
Obviously the point isn't to see whose suggestions I adopted, because that's heavily influenced by circumstance. I'm collecting all the links here partly because there's lots of worthwhile info. Mostly it's to acknowledge that you took time to help me. Thank you.
The Beauty New Years Eve party is only a few days away!
If you haven't got your tickets yet and are worried that you have left it too late fear not! They are e-tickets so all you need to do is buy them, and then turn up on the night and give your name to the person on the door - best to bring some ID along just in case we don't know you by name. You can get the tickets from http://www.playbat.org
Alternatively, if you haven't made your mind up, you can get tickets on the door, on the night. We've got a fine selection of cocktails, lovely bar staff, a lighting rig hired in especially, and my favourite DJs playing for your dancing pleasure.
Dress up, drink up, and let go - into the future!
Simon B-Movie
If you haven't got your tickets yet and are worried that you have left it too late fear not! They are e-tickets so all you need to do is buy them, and then turn up on the night and give your name to the person on the door - best to bring some ID along just in case we don't know you by name. You can get the tickets from http://www.playbat.org
Alternatively, if you haven't made your mind up, you can get tickets on the door, on the night. We've got a fine selection of cocktails, lovely bar staff, a lighting rig hired in especially, and my favourite DJs playing for your dancing pleasure.
Dress up, drink up, and let go - into the future!
Simon B-Movie
more to come later when i confirm the slightly cryptic CEB christmas card but squeeeee!
It has been a wonderful trip and as usual, too short. I think I saw just about everyone I wanted to see at least once. I got to the beach. I partied with my mates several times. Played with my cat Boo. Got around to seeing many of the new families popping up around the place. Spent loads of time with my family and did lots of christmassy things. Did almost none of the work type stuff I was going to do.
All in all, not too bad. I will miss this place and the people in it terribly but this is balanced off against the utter joy and relief of being able to see![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
myriadofsins again soon.
I'm off to do battle with the airline staff, see you next time guys!
All in all, not too bad. I will miss this place and the people in it terribly but this is balanced off against the utter joy and relief of being able to see
myriadofsins again soon. I'm off to do battle with the airline staff, see you next time guys!
- Mood:
contemplative
 | Flowing lava and increasing gas levels, quakes, and ash explosions are among signs that a major eruption of Mayon Volcano could occur at any time, experts say. |
 | A massive "wall" of trees spanning 11 countries may rise in Africa in a bid to save drought-stricken farmlands from a relentless invader: sand. |
SHAME SHAME SHAME SHAME SHAME OH GOD THE SHAME
Having used the Mac all Christmas (visiting parents, not taking two laptops for the sake of it, need the Apple to work over the holiday), I just got home and within ten minutes of firing up my beloved PC laptop, I did knowingly, and flagrantly:
* Paw at the track pad with two fingers, attempting an Apple scroll in full public view
* Press two fingers on the pad and click upon the left mouse button to attempt a right-click, without a current license
* With malice of forethought, I did viciously Hit ALT-T in Firefox to open a new tab, clawing for the absent Apple-key
I sicken myself.
I am going to take myself outside and have a very stern drink and a cigarette and think about what I've done.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
HANGING'S TOO GOOD FOR ME!
(the wife is disgusted and thinks I'm going to start listening to Damien Rice, apparently)
Having used the Mac all Christmas (visiting parents, not taking two laptops for the sake of it, need the Apple to work over the holiday), I just got home and within ten minutes of firing up my beloved PC laptop, I did knowingly, and flagrantly:
* Paw at the track pad with two fingers, attempting an Apple scroll in full public view
* Press two fingers on the pad and click upon the left mouse button to attempt a right-click, without a current license
* With malice of forethought, I did viciously Hit ALT-T in Firefox to open a new tab, clawing for the absent Apple-key
I sicken myself.
I am going to take myself outside and have a very stern drink and a cigarette and think about what I've done.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
HANGING'S TOO GOOD FOR ME!
(the wife is disgusted and thinks I'm going to start listening to Damien Rice, apparently)
 | Shimmering high in the atmosphere, night-shining clouds have long graced polar sunsets. But now the clouds are appearing more often and with more intensity at lower latitudes—possibly due to climate change, scientists say. |
 | Earth's north magnetic pole is racing toward Russia at almost 40 miles (64 kilometers) a year due to magnetic changes in the planet's core, new research says. |
Did I lend Collapse to one of you? The Jared Diamond book.
(Can't find it, am pretty sure it was borrowed, but can't remember who.)
(Can't find it, am pretty sure it was borrowed, but can't remember who.)
Projesent is a word I just made up to mean something you create with someone, the making and having of which is your gift to each other.1 That's what we did for xmas this year.2
Our xmas started, really, on the 22nd. It was a very busy day at work but I slipped out at lunch time to meet Iza in Covent Garden and choose fabric paints.
Preparations continued on the 23rd when Iza went shopping for a blue cotton sheet and some other necessary items.
In Poland xmas celebrations begin on the 24th and that evening we had a modest Polish dinner together at home - uszka (dumplings), red barszcz (beetroot soup) and salads. Later we drank good champagne - a Booze Report will follow - and watched A Series of Unfortunate Events. We stayed up til a bit after midnight, seeing in the first minutes of the 25th.
We spent most of the 25th, and quite a lot of the 26th, asleep. We both get quite tired during the working week, and usually sleep Friday night and half of Saturday to catch up. But in the last 6 or so weeks, we've been out most Fridays, and awake at least one full night each weekend. The sleep deficit had built up.
Those two days were wonderfully relaxing. There was nothing we needed to do. We could just snuggle, eat occasionally, enjoy each other's company, potter around on the internet, tidy the house a bit, and generally chill. There was a complete absence of neurotic xmas rituals. We were happy.
On the evening of the 26th we had a rare fight. The sort that starts with a misunderstanding and leads to anger and tears; then reconsideration, reconciliation and new insights; and finally two slightly more grown up people closer than before. For some reason it was then - after midnight on the 27th - that we were ready to paint.
We moved the bed out, covered the bedroom carpet in plastic, put down the blue cotton sheet, and started playing. We had no plan other than making shapes or patterns we liked and seeing what happened. If we liked the result, we could hang it on the wall. If not, we'd still have had a fun night together.
This is what the bedroom looked like most of the way through:
( Pic or it didn't happen... )
It's not going to win any art awards, but we're pleased with it. Half from what it is, and half from knowing we made it together. This afternoon, after it had dried, we touched up one bit. Once that dries, it will become an ironing project (to fix the paint); then a sewing project (to size it and create pockets for hanging rods); then a minor construction project (to remove the light above the bed and hang the fabric there); then a lighting project. Some of the paints are UV reactive so we'll put one or two black lights in place to show an alternate view when we want it.
This xmas I did not receive or open a single gift. My "gifts" were the whiskies I bought myself and the painting we made together. From the evening of the 24th to the afternoon of the 27th, I saw no-one apart from Iza. It's been brilliant, but mainly because it was new. I'm a variety junkie. Doing this year after year would probably become as tedious as a standard family ritual. I hope next year we'll come up with something different.
____________________
1. Taken to extremes, I suppose that definition could include making babies. But babies require care pretty much for life, not just painting at xmas.
2. We developed the idea together but the original creative spark - let's make a painting together this xmas - was Iza's.
Our xmas started, really, on the 22nd. It was a very busy day at work but I slipped out at lunch time to meet Iza in Covent Garden and choose fabric paints.
Preparations continued on the 23rd when Iza went shopping for a blue cotton sheet and some other necessary items.
In Poland xmas celebrations begin on the 24th and that evening we had a modest Polish dinner together at home - uszka (dumplings), red barszcz (beetroot soup) and salads. Later we drank good champagne - a Booze Report will follow - and watched A Series of Unfortunate Events. We stayed up til a bit after midnight, seeing in the first minutes of the 25th.
We spent most of the 25th, and quite a lot of the 26th, asleep. We both get quite tired during the working week, and usually sleep Friday night and half of Saturday to catch up. But in the last 6 or so weeks, we've been out most Fridays, and awake at least one full night each weekend. The sleep deficit had built up.
Those two days were wonderfully relaxing. There was nothing we needed to do. We could just snuggle, eat occasionally, enjoy each other's company, potter around on the internet, tidy the house a bit, and generally chill. There was a complete absence of neurotic xmas rituals. We were happy.
On the evening of the 26th we had a rare fight. The sort that starts with a misunderstanding and leads to anger and tears; then reconsideration, reconciliation and new insights; and finally two slightly more grown up people closer than before. For some reason it was then - after midnight on the 27th - that we were ready to paint.
We moved the bed out, covered the bedroom carpet in plastic, put down the blue cotton sheet, and started playing. We had no plan other than making shapes or patterns we liked and seeing what happened. If we liked the result, we could hang it on the wall. If not, we'd still have had a fun night together.
This is what the bedroom looked like most of the way through:
It's not going to win any art awards, but we're pleased with it. Half from what it is, and half from knowing we made it together. This afternoon, after it had dried, we touched up one bit. Once that dries, it will become an ironing project (to fix the paint); then a sewing project (to size it and create pockets for hanging rods); then a minor construction project (to remove the light above the bed and hang the fabric there); then a lighting project. Some of the paints are UV reactive so we'll put one or two black lights in place to show an alternate view when we want it.
This xmas I did not receive or open a single gift. My "gifts" were the whiskies I bought myself and the painting we made together. From the evening of the 24th to the afternoon of the 27th, I saw no-one apart from Iza. It's been brilliant, but mainly because it was new. I'm a variety junkie. Doing this year after year would probably become as tedious as a standard family ritual. I hope next year we'll come up with something different.
____________________
1. Taken to extremes, I suppose that definition could include making babies. But babies require care pretty much for life, not just painting at xmas.
2. We developed the idea together but the original creative spark - let's make a painting together this xmas - was Iza's.
Sarah has gone to Portugal
Mum was safely put on a train back up north
Paul isn't due back until very late tomorrow
I'm supposed to be doing homework
the house is quiet, the cat is asleep, I have the whole livingroom table to myself, and all my books and notes have been found, and are here
so...
I've done nothing.
what's wrong with me?
Mum was safely put on a train back up north
Paul isn't due back until very late tomorrow
I'm supposed to be doing homework
the house is quiet, the cat is asleep, I have the whole livingroom table to myself, and all my books and notes have been found, and are here
so...
I've done nothing.
what's wrong with me?
- Mood:
stressed
The end of this terrible social season where everybody insists I go places and talk to people. Enough already.
As if it wasn't bad enough that Jack's overcompensating for the loss of her dad (and cat) and therefore wants to go and see everyone, my family have decided to rally round to the point that I'm now heartily sick of them. My more local friends have also been in strong attendance providing me with no means of escape.
I long for some cattle to milk, some fences to fix, some water-tanks to thaw out. Anything where I can just be outside, on my own, not talking or listening or anything.
Also, no more sprouts please.
A first-hand portrayal of the events on the plane to Detroit that's all over the news:
Over Detroit Skies
like the title doesn't stink of evocative ghost-written memoirs enough, you have to read it to really appreciate the level to which the media wants to sell us a narrative, rather than a news piece.
... which people are, of course, swallowing hook, line and sinker.
Can't wait for the movie!
Over Detroit Skies
like the title doesn't stink of evocative ghost-written memoirs enough, you have to read it to really appreciate the level to which the media wants to sell us a narrative, rather than a news piece.
... which people are, of course, swallowing hook, line and sinker.
Can't wait for the movie!
...anyone care to recommend a journal/blogging system?
Criteria are:
Criteria are:
- Good searching
- Tagging or category system
- GrapViz integration a la mediawiki would be a plus
Profile
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- egadfly : The advice you gave [+3]
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dictionary_wotd : cajole: Dictionary.com Word of the Day [+0] - sinfest_mod :: zionchild : Destroyer Of Worlds [+1]
- short_mort : Squeeeeee! [+2]
- monted : Goodbye Sydney [+1]
- natlgeographic : VOLCANO PICTURES: Philippines' Mayon About to Blow? [+0]
- natlgeographic : Africa-wide "Great Green Wall" to Halt Sahara's Spread? [+0]
- deathboy : SHAME [+14]
- natlgeographic : PICTURES: "Night Shining" Clouds Getting Brighter [+0]
- natlgeographic : North Magnetic Pole Moving East Due to Core Flux [+0]
- natlgeographic : Presented By: [+0]
- heyokish : (no subject) [+0]
- egadfly : Our xmas and our projesent [+4]
- voofy : (no subject) [+12]
- grumpyolddog : And now the end is near [+0]
- deathboy : here we go [+19]
- call_waiting : Dear Lazywebs [+6]
- dictionary_wotd : surreptitious: Dictionary.com Word of the Day [+0]
- dictionary_wotd : Presented By: [+0]