Wow, you don't post for a couple of weeks and the next thing you know it's Christmas, well, almost. 

The radiator in the living room ain't working, and in this weather, that's not a good thing.  Called Scottish Gas, and even though I'm not a customer, there's an engineer coming out tomorrow to fix it.  They've even said he'll definately be out between 8.00 am and 1.00pm.  OK it IS a 5 hour window, but it sure beats sitting in ALL day waiting.

Not cycling this week, as it's a hectic one.  Tuesday and Wednesday I'm in Edinburgh on a course - Introduction to GIS.  On Thursday it's the Glasgow SF fan meet-up, and Friday is karate.  Today is the only day I could have cycled, but I opted to get the train and buy a weekly ticket as it will save me around £5 on travel this week.

Went to see W.A.S.P. last night on their 25th anniversary tour, and it was really good.  They're playing wee clubs, so there's no over the top pyro like they had in the 80's and 90's, but they still have it, and it was a great gig.

Tonight I need to veg :-)

Spent last week in Tunisia, which was really nice, except I didn't get any diving done as I was slightly bunged up.  Apart from that it was a great week.
Now I'm back to a cold, wet, and windy Glasgow, and it's not fun.  It really is grim.  It's pitch dark when I leave for work, and it's the same coming home.  Miserable.

I've not been using hte bike this week, as I reckon with the winds we're getting, it's more dangerous than it's worth cycling on the roads.  I'll still be doing karate and going to the climbing wall, although the yoga class has stopped now, as the teacher is very pregnant.

I still have a couple of days to take off between now and Christmas, so I'll see about getting them sorted out, and booking myself in for a floatation session as a wee treat.

Since freezing my fingers off on Monday, I haven't used the bike to get to work.  This has nothing to do with the cold, and everything to do with a rather hectic social life necessitating not having a bike with me after work.

Last night I was at the Tramway for a couple of artist films, one about a woman in love with the Berlin wall, and the other, a documentary about an artist collaborating (and falling n love with) a death row inmate in the three months leading up to his execution.  Excellent stuff, if a bit off the (Berlin) wall.

Tonight is the Glasgow SF group meet, and tomorrow it's back to the Tramway for Taiko drummers, which should be damn good.

I'm off to Tunisia on Sunday for a week, and the holiday reading is Japanese for Dummies.  It seems/seemed like a good idea at the time.  Why Japanese ?  Why not.

Well, winter is definately here.  On the ride into work this morning, I had to stop a couple of times to defrost my fingers.  Couldn't feel them, and had to rely on the sound of the gears changing to confirm that I had indeed changed gear.
Once in work I took longer in the shower than usual, just enjoying the warmth.

Despite the cold, the ride in was actually nice, especially the bit through Bellahouston Park.  There was freezing fog, and the fog over the grass and trees was quite spooky, and would have made a really nice photo.  I really should make a point of taking a camera out with me when I'm on the bike.

So, I should either get new gloves (I'm wearing 2 pairs atm, fingerless over full fingered) or at least, liners to wear under the gloves I've got.

Tunisia for a week on Sunday, so at least I'l be warm there !

If you've read any of my drivel before, you'll be aware that I cycle to/from work.  Well last night I almost didn't, as some idiot had decided that chaining their bike to mince was a good idea.  Let me tell you it was not.

It wasn't a problem really, just an inconveniance, as I had to go to security, and get a man with boltcutters, to cut their lock off, so I could get my bike and get home.

I lose 15 minutes out of my day, and they have to pay for a new lock.  Seems like a fair swap to me.

So, in conclusion, take 30 seconds out your day to ensure that when you've chained your bike up, you haven't wrapped the cable round someone elses bike.  It'll save you some cash in the long run.

Life lately has been good if tiring.  On Saturday, there was a karate day course at Whitinch, so I took myself along, and after a fun but hard day, came away with my green belt, which was awesome, as I hadn't been expecting a grading.

On Sunday I headed to the climbing wall for some bouldering.  This provided the arm aching yang to the leg aching yin of the karate from the previous day.  Now my arms AND legs were achey, so my body was once again in balance :-D

This weekend will be a lot more relaxing as I head to the floatation tank on Saturday, then later that evening, we're having a couple of friends over for some Hallowe'en horror movies and a meal.

I need to chill a bit more and let my body recover :-)

There's a bit of a stushie going on about tonights appearance ot the BNP's Nick Griffin on the BBC's Question Time tonight.  Now, much as I'm NOT a supporter of the BNP, they ARE a legally elected party, and as such are entitled to airtime in the same way other parties are.

The anti-fascist lobby are trying to deny legally elected MP's their freedom of speech.  What irks me is that in doing so, they are in themselves being fascist.  Don't they see the irony, or is it a case of conveniently ignoring hte fact becuse it suits them. 

You can't cry "Freedom of speech" and they deny it to others.  I'm sorry that that smacks of fascism.  It 's the price you have to pay for living in a democracy, so ANL and AFA and all the others, you'll just have to suck it up.  What would you call the police if they tried to stop you protesting?  Exactly.  Grow up.

The weekend was pretty good.  A mixture of socialising and slobbing.

On Friday night after karate, I headed to a farewell party in a bar, for a couple of friends who are moving to Manchester.  It was good seeing them before they go, but I headed home after a couple of drinks, as it wasn't the sort of pub I usually go into.  Very much a "straight from the office" type crowd, and although the bar was nice, I can't be arsed with loud dance music that I have to shout over.  Not ideal for chatting to folk before they head down south.

When I got home I discovered that K had invested in a nice new shiny HD TV.  By the time I was home however, I was clutching a kebab, so the chances of attempting to set it up were nil. 

Saturday morning, and it was a case of up first thing to set up the new telly, and what a dawdle it was.  It's awesome.  Nearly gave myself a hernia getting the old crt telly up the stair though.  I'm for taking it to the recycling centre, as it's taking up far too much space.
That evening we met up with Steve and Dawn who were up from London, and headed to Nanakusa for dinner, followed by drinks in the Bon Accord.  All in all a nice day.

Sunday was slobbing day.  While K went skating, I vegged in front of the tv, and copied the first 3 episodes of FlashForward and the first 2 of True Blood, off the pvr onto dvd.  Later when K got back, we watched Coraline, which was pretty damn good.

The cycling is back on track next week.  Yesterday, I picked up a rather awesome 5 led Cat Eye front light, and a track pump.  The pump is pretty amazing, a couple of strokes and the tyre is solid, way better than banging away with a mini pump.  There's a built in pressure guage as well, so no messing about swapping between pump and guage.  Well worth the £20 it cost.

This week I have mostly NOT been cycling. This is because my fron light is playing up, and cuts out when I go over a bump. Bizzarely it doesn't cut back in when I hit another bump, so it's time to bite the bullet and get an led light for the front.

I've been back to the climbing wall twice this week. First time in about a year, and OMG it hurts. My arms were burning, I've blisters on my fingers, and my intercorstal muscles are screaming at me. But you know what ? I loved every pain filled minute, now, where do I buy callouses, or do I have to make my own?

Feeling really anti-social today. I'm supposed to be heading out tonight to the Glasgow SF meet-up, but I really don't think I'm wanting company at the moment. If I do go for a drink tonight, it'll be one on the way home, where I can sit with a paper and NOT feel oblidged to interact with anyone.

Hope this passes soon, could be a problem when it comes to having a social life !

This morning it was a bit on the nippy side when I left the house to cycle to work. For the first time, there was frost on the cars. It was nice though. Still managed to use shorts, but I don't think the day's far off when the running leggings will be worn under the shorts. I reckon this is the way to go, as if they get wet, they dry really quickly, so for a commute to/from work, they'll be ideal.

I was going to stick my cheapo camera in the rucksack today in case I saw any photo opertunities, but the batteries were dead and I'd no AAA's in the house. that's the only problem with this camera, it takes two AAA's, so the battery life is pretty poor. Fortunately we have a decent one, and I'll use the camera in my phone instead for any random commute pics. It's actually better than the cheapo camera anyway.

I cycle to work most days, and have a memebrship for the work gym. I haven't used it since I renewed it, but I do use the showers in the morning, after cycling in. What it costs a month is about half what it would cost me as a non-member, jsut to use the showers for a month, so it IS cost effective.

Today I went to the gym for the first time in over a year. All the excercise I do is lower body (running, cycling, karate), so I went in purely for an upper body workout, and boy are my arms feeling it, but in a good way. I have to admit, I enjoyed it, so I'll have to figure out how to get along more often. It might mean dropping off a bag of gym gear at the weekend, and then swapping it for clean gear the next. That's basically what I do with my karate stuff, so it shouldn't pose a problem.

So today, with the mudguard fitted, I was all prepared to have a dry arse, since the splatted from the wheel wouldn't ge to me. I did indeed have a dry arse, but if this was down to the mudguard remains to be seen, as it's a nice dry day today.

Went to the Glasgow SF meet up last night, although I wasn't really in the mood. I left after a couple od hours though, as I still wasn't really in the mood. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy it, just didn't feel like being there.

I'm in a catch 22 at the moment. I tend to like routine, so a regular monthly meet-up is ideal. The problem is that as soon as I start to feel like I'm in a rut, I resent the routine and want nothing to do with it. I should be going along because I WANT to go along, not because I feel I have to, sort of thing.

I know, I've got issues.

I noticed that my last update was about being run down and taking vitamins, so here's the update. I DO feel better, which is good, but the (I assume) iron in the tablets is making my turds look like they have an incredibly high cocoa content.

Anyway, they seem to be doing the trick, so if darker turds are the only downside, I'll live with that.

In other news I finally bought a mudguard for the bike. When it rains, I look and feel like I've had a childish accident, so a mudguard it is.

Hmmm.

Feeling really run down. Not so much physically, but mentaly. I'm struggling to get enthusiastic about anything. reading (which I love) is a struggle. I've picked up some multivitamins in case I'm lacking in something, which is probably a given considering my diet, so even if it doesn't give me a bit more ooomph, it won't do any harm.

There's a new beggar outside the bus station now. The previous one, who I always thought looked like a shifty hamster, hasn't been around for a few weeks, so i'm guessing dead or jail, probably the latter. Anyway new jaikey has teh tactic of telling you he hopes you have a "nice day" and doesn't actively ask for "spare change"(tm). I'm assuming he's hoping to guilt trip people into giving him money. Well, I for one won't fall for it. If a jaikey want's money from me, he can damn well ask for the money, which will then be given (or not) as I see fit. Is (s)he a junkie ? No sale. Is he just a tramp ? kerching. I REFUSE to give money to junkies.

Drug taking is a CHOICE. he CHOSE to smoke/pop/snort/inject. If he can't handle it and/or fund the habit, then that's his problem NOT MINE. I have no sympathy for junkies at all.

Got thoroughly soaked cycling into work today, and weirdly I kinda enjoyed it. One hot shower later and I was good to go. The rain stayed off for a lunchtime wander, but it's back on again, so a soaking on the way home is on the cards.

Picked up Iron Maidens Flight 666 at the weekend, and it's brilliant. The movie is excellent, and the concert is really really good.

If you like Maiden, then I really recommend you pick this up.

Got volume 4 of Garth Ennis's The Boys yesterday, sat down to read a bit, and well, I finished it in a one-er. It's as irreverant as the other volumes, and has some truly WTF! moments. I know Garth is aiming to "out-Preacher Preacher", and I think he's succeeding, BUT I still haven't made up my mind what series is better. I liked the storyline better in Preacher, but I'm really enjoying The Boys, despite not being a fan of Supes. maybe the treeatment they get dished out to them in The Boys is exactly why I DO like it.

Anyway, I'll reserve judgement until the series is finished. (approx 60 issues according to Garth)

Just went for a lunchtime wander down to Forbidden Planet, and bumped into a couple of friends from the local SF scene.
The last time I was in FP was (seriously) years ago, and it was a comic shop. Now the comics are relegated to one wall, another is for manga titles, and the rest toys. The few books there are, have been relegated to the wee nook at the back of the shop. It's a real shame, as it used to be a superb comic shop, although AKA was my primary source and the shop my account was in, FP had the superior back issue selection.

It's a shame that comics seem to be dying a death in Glasgow. There was a real book in the late 80's early 90's, and titles like Crisis, and DC's Vertigo range, were breaking new ground. Now it seems to be multiple titles with the same character - at least 5 Batman titles on display, and the same goes for a lot of the classic characters.

Where is the new Sandman or Cerebus ? There's nothing really unique at the moment that catches my eye. If there is something I should be reading, leave a comment and give me a heads up.

Tum tee tum.

I'm having a bit of a retro thing at the moment. When I were a lad, I loved Spike Milligan, Monty Python, stuff like that. Still do, but haven't indulged in any of Milligans bufoonery for a long time...
...until now.
I'm re-reading Milligan's War, and it's hilarious. A damn good read, that's just what I need at the moment after indulging in some rather heavy (but excellent) space opera type stuff of late.
I'm also having a musical flashback as I type this, listening to The best of Ultravox, and it's awesome. Current track is Hymn, but fav at the moment is Passing Strangers.

Brilliant stuff.

There was an email today from the karate instructor asking who was planning on going this week and on what days. So, Friday is cancelled due to lack of people planning to attend, and next week is cancelled anyway, but I don't know why. The week after that I'm off on holiday for a week, so that's 3 weeks no karate apart from tomorrow !

I can't help thinking that we need fresh blood in the club to boost the numbers, there's only 6 of us plus the instructor. In a way it's good, because you can't hide in the crowd, mistakes get noticed and they get corrected, but, because it's such a small club, it only takes a couple of people to be unable to attend, and the attendees can't cover the cost of the hall, so it's cancelled.

I also have a problem with the fact that one particular person thinks 6.00pm on a Friday is "too late, why can't it be earlier?". 6.00pm is pretty early for an evening class if you ask me.

It's irritating me more than it should, as I've had an njury which has stopped me running but I've still been able to go to karate, except, it's being cancelled because people would rather go to the pub after work than go to karate. FFS! They could do the class and be in the pub for 7.30pm Are they THAT desperate for a drink?!

Well everyone and their granny with access to a computer is blogging like fuck about this, so I may as well throw in my 2p worth.
I wasn't and never will be a fan. I didn't like his music, so my music buying will not suffer as a result of his death.
Then there's the accusations. There's only one person alive now who knows the truth behind them, and he's the accuser, so the chances of his turning round and saying he lied, well not really gonna happen is it. If MJ had had his day in court the truth (whichever way it was) would have had a chance at coming out. He could have put it all behind him, but the pay-off, that just added fuel to an already blazing fire. We'll never no the truth, and the rumours and speculation will always be there.
Regardless of all the above, he was a human being. Someone's son, someone's brother and a father (albeit of dubious parentling skills - I mean hanging a baby out a window, get real), and these people have every right to be upset that he's dead.
The fans have a right to be upset.
As for the media..... They loved the gorey details when the shit hit the fan, and now they're hailing him as a misunderstood genius. Bloody hypocrites. but then again papers say whatever it takes to sell copy.

Since getting back from Egypt (which was excellent), I picked up my new bike that I got through the cycle to work scheme (it's a Giant escape M1, and very nice it is too). That's just over a week I've had it, and so far only one day where I didn't use it to get to work. Well over the 50% they want you to use it.
Problem is, I seem to have more energy, and I'm waking up anywhere between 5.30 and 6.30am. So I leave the house before 7.00, get to work about 7.30, get changed and hit Pret for a coffee and a muffin (or croissant, I like to mix things up). this is good, because it actually means I get a breakfast which previously I never did.

Cough seems to have cleared up, or at least is hiding in the background somewhere. The temperature is back to normal, and I'm back at work. So all's good.

Tonight I've got karate, assuming enough people turn up for the class to run (it was cancelled on Wednesday), and then Michael is coming over.

Tomorrow we've a couple of friends coming over to veg out with movies, and we've to tidy the house for Liz coming over nextweek to cat-sit while we're in Egypt.

So today I'm off work ill. Last night I was running a temperature, seriously burning up. Today I've a hacking cough, and I've called in sick. This is a bummer, as I'll miss Trout tonight (that's the monthly Glasgow SF group meet), and I was hopping to sell some memberships for
Satellite 2. Instead I've just posted on the group LJ pointing people to the website,where they can download membershipforms andeither mail them in or pass them to another member ofthe committee.

At the moment I'm lying in bed, coughing up a lung, while watching Lost inTranslation.

There's ice cream in the freezer. I might have to get up and get some.

Hmmm. Not good at keeping this thing going am I.

As mentioned in the last post (last year) I was going to Redemption. Well, I went, and had a great time. It was my first time in Coventry, and I have to say I like it. The 8 hour bus journey I likes a little less, but the train involved 2 transfers, and there was VERY little time to get from one to the next, so I didn't want to risk it. As it was I just vegged with the mp3 player, a book and occasionally slept.

Back in the real world, and the finish line is in sight as far as Satellite 2 goes. The guest of honour is in place, the programme is coming along nicely, and the first batch of t-shirts have been ordered.

So, if you stumble across this blog, click on the link, and come to the convention.