Slightly late, but....

.....here's the pic of me ready for the work crimbo do.  Scary.

Nearly time.

Tuesday is the work Christmas lunch.  Almost time to don the kilt and give my legs an airing.  Is Glasgow ready for the horror????

Bouldering competition

The climbing center held a bouldering competition on Friday, and I decided to give it a go.  First time I've entered something like this, and considering I've yet to nail a V3, I opted (sensibly) for the beginners category.
Needless to say, I didn't win, or come remotely close, but I had a hell of a lot of fun.

Me trying to defy gravity.

Weather in Glasgow, and Poundland fun

Well, the freeze has eased up, and there's a thaw well and truly underway.  This is good in that transport should get back to normal pretty quickly, and bad in that the underlying ice now has a layer of meltwater on top and it ridiculously slippy.

Another plus is that as long as the weather stays like this, I'll be able to wear my kilt to the Christmas night out on the 21st.  If it changes again.....well, what's the rules on kilts and long johns? :-)

On the way home the other night, I dropped into Poundland, and got a cracking couple of bargins.  Mario Bava's Bay of Blood, and the slasher flick Pieces, for £1 each.  Bargin :-)

Damn it's cold

Once again it snows and Scotland grinds to a halt.  We've had severe winters the last three years now, so why does it seem to come as a surprise to the councils, who excel at not being able to grit/clear the roads.
What the hell are we paying our council tax for?  Oh wait, in the case of Glasgow, it's to pay for junkets for the Grand High Heid Yins.

Back to karate

Well, that's me well and truly back at the karate after an absence of almost two months, due to club not being on due to lack of numbers, holidays, and laterly, illness.  So, while it's good to be back, it's a bit achey, but in a good way.

Having new instructors, gives a different slant on things, and I think they're more comfortable teaching than Michelle was, as they come over as being more confident, which in turn gives you a bit more confidence to try things.

It's all good.

Ingrid Pitt RIP

Ingrid Pitt, star of many a Hammer movie, and possibly responsible for my love of horror movies has died aged 73.
She made some brilliant movies with Hammer, and was also in The Wicker Man.  Come on terrestrial telly, lets have an Ingrid Pitt season.  Dust off those old movies and get them screened.

Ouchie ouchie ouch!

Yesterday I managed to make it to the re-started karate club.  This was the first time I've done any karate in about 5 or 6 weeks, and all I can say is "Damn, my legs are stiff today".
Turns out I know the guy who's now taking the club, as I'd met him a couple of times at day courses at Whiteinch, so that was good.
Still a bit run down from having flu last week, so for me it was a bit hard going, resulting in falling asleep in front of the tv when I got home last night.  The knock on effect of which, was that when I did go to bed I couldn't sleep, and ended up getting up and watching the first two parts of A History of Horror, which was excellent.  Part one covered the silent movies and Universal/RKO, and part two Hammer/Amicus.  I've still to see part three, which covers the new wave of horror, which gave us Night of the Living Dead and Texas Chainsaw Massacre.  Looking forward to it.

Bleurgh

Since getting back from holiday, I've missed the Motorhead gig, by forgetting to buy a ticket before I went away, and coming back and thinking I HAD bought a ticket.  Result?  No gig for me.

I've also been laid out the the last five days with the flu.  The downside was well, I had the flu.  There was a plus side though.  I had ten Star Trek movies on the PVR (every one bar the re-boot movie), and they are now all on dvd, so the time spent off work, wasn't a total waste.

Now though, it's a case of normal service has been resumed, with me back at work.  I still need that bloody lottery win :-)

Late holiday

Just back from a week in Marrakesh, and very nice it was too.  The place is amazing, from the narrow streets of the medina to the utter madness of the Jmaa el Fna with it's food stalls, musicians, storytellers and snakecharmers, and (get this) dentist with extracted teeth on display, it's all incredible.

There's plenty to see in the city, and you'd never tire for something to taste.  We were eating for about £2.5 - £3 for the two of us.  Fabulous place.

Redneck heaven

Went to the Opry in Glasgow last night to see Hayseed Dixie, and they were amazing.  Brilliant musicians, and an incredible sense of humour.  If you've never seen them, I seriously recommend you check them out.

Support was Glasgow's very own The Meat Men, and they were superb as well.

Two great bands both well worth checking out.

Big Brother is watching you

If anyone in the UK was in any doubt that their communications were being monitored by the state, then this is for you.
Orwell was only out by 16 years, not too bad all things considered.  We've got the surveillance society, we've got the war (the unseen enemy - terrorists attacks or the threat thereof) and we've come close to thoughtcrime arrests.

Big Brother is watching you.

Vidi this my little droogs

Last night we went to see A Clockwork Orange at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow.  It was an excellent production, with a great cast, especially the part of Alex.  the industrial soundtrack added to the atmosphere, and was pretty much spot on.

Highly recommended.  If you are in/near Glasgow and can get tickets, definately consider going along.

Great views on a blustery day

Yesterday, we took a  wee trip down to Largs, to climb the hill at the back of Douglas Park.  I had hoped there would be a trig pillar at the top - more on this later.

It was a nice sunny day, with a bit of a wind.  At the top, the wind got wilder, as we got more exposed.  But I'm gettin ahead of myself.  First, there's the neolithic burial chamber at the bottom of the hill.

The chamber dates from about 3000 bc, and is along a wee track, behind some houses at the side of the park.

After the burial chamber, it was time to get ourselves up the hill.  It's a reasonably well maintained path, and there's even some benches at various points on the way up, where you can get a decent view.

At the top there wasn't a trig pillar, but there was a bit of OS furniture.  I'd no idea what this was, but a friend who's trig obsessed, informs me it counts and you can bag it.  Here's Karen using it to avoid being blown off the hill.

There was also a wee cairn, which we sat at for ten minutes for a coffee before heading back down.

Finally, here's the view over Largs from the top of the hill.

Back at sea level, we walked back into town and had a curry before driving back  to Glasgow.

Holiday weekend

That was the Glasgow September weekend holiday that just happened.  It was pretty good, and saw me and Karen heading to Stirling Castle for a "Meet the archaeologist" talk, which was really interesting.  It was a guy who had been working at the castle, excavating, since the 70's.  Really good talk, and gave a better insight into what you were actually seeing, when we went round the castle after the talk.

On the holiday Monday, Karen didn't have the day off, so I went climbing with a couple of friends from work.  We were dodging the rain, and ended up in Dunkeld, north of Perth.  We got climbs each in, but I only completed one.  There was a point on the second that I just couldn't see how to get past, but it turned out I would have needed to use a hand jam to get past and onto the rest of the route.  Having never done this, it never even crossed my mind to try it.

All in all a fun weekend, and it makes this working week a four day one, which is always good.

That was a good weekend

On Friday there was only three of us at the karate class, but it was a good session.  Back home it was time to chill in front of the tv with a couple of beers (Trade Winds, and Arran Blonde).

On Saturday, we were pretty lazy, apart from a wee cycle round Pollok Park in the afternoon.  Got the last two pitches of The Great Climb onto dvd.  Awesome stuff.  Four discs of amazing awe inspiring climbing.

Sunday morning, I headed over to the climbing centre, and nailed my first 6a+.  I was totally stoked about it, and my arms were pumped, so after celebrating with a coffee, it was a warm down on a 5+ overhang, then home.
After lunch, Karen and me headed to the Phoenix retail park, where she trawled TK Maxx and Matalan, while I vegged with a pint in the Bobbin Mill.  A quick shop in ASDA, and then home to catch up on Unbeatable Banzuki and Ninja Warrior.

Please don't come whinging to me, you're bringing me down.

I'm starting to get really down/fed up/stressed, with the number of people in work, who are coming into my room and moaning.  To be fair, they're not moaning at me, they're just letting off steam, but the constant stream of negativity is getting to me.
I want to (a) lock the door and curl up in a corner (b) scream at them to "fuck off" (c) get out of hear for a week at least.
(a) isn't an option, (b) would probably get me a visit to HR or a counseller, so fortunately (c) is the option.  I'll have to wait till the end of October though, as that's when I'm off to Marrakesh, so until then I'll have to put up with the negative souls sucking energy vampires that work in this place.

Dumbarton Castle

Yesterday we took a wee run down the Clyde to Dumbarton Castle.  It's the first time either of us had been there, but with us being Historic Scotland members, it cost us nothing to get in.
It's a brilliant place, and there's 557 steps to the top of the rock, where there's a trig pillar, and direction rose.

Gong gig

Well the Gong gig was superb.  The support was Nik Turner's Space Ritual, so loads of really good Hawkwind-esque music from them.  Gong, were totally totally bonkers.  Mr Allen and co are superb musicians, and completely off their trolleys.  The average age of the crowd must have been about 50, so I actually felt young :-)

The meal before the gig was at Oshi, and again was excellent.  Highly recommend it.

Nostromo

Yeeeeha!  I've been watching the Last Exit to Nowhere site, waiting patiently for the Nostromo caps to come back into stock, and today they have.  So, that's the holiday headgear ordered :-)
Now, do I wear my kilt to travel to Morocco or jeans ?  Got about a month to decide.

Birthday Gong

Today is K's birthday, so tonight I'm taking her for dinner, then on to see Gong at the ABC.  She's never seen them, so she's in for a treat.  Support is Nick Turner's Space Ritual.  Should be a cracker of a night.

Climbing on rock

After about 3 years of climbing on and off at the indoor wall, I finally made it out onto rock.  One of my work colleagues regularly climbs outside, and so it was that four of us headed over to Neilston quarry after work.  For two of us it was the first time outdoors, so it was a bit scary initially, but loads of fun.

We all got to climb two routes, before it started getting a bit dark and we had to give up.  On the way back to Glasgow, we stopped off at the Waterside Inn for a wee half-pint and a natter.

It was a really good evening, and I'll definitely need to start picking up gear for outdoors now.

Ben Ledi

On Monday a group of us from work climbed Ben Ledi outside Callandar, for charity.  It was a great day despite the weather, and we raised just over £400.

That was my first proper hillwalk, and I think I might just have caught the bug.  Need to do more now.  Where to start?  The Cobbler?  Goatfell?  Wait, that involves a ferry to Arran.  Oh I'll think of something.

Karate course

Well, the day course at Whiteinch was yesterday, and it was really good fun.  The main practice was on drawing in the energy of your attacker.  We started off doing a practice with boken.  This was to get the feel of what we were eventually going to be aiming for.
Then, the without the boken, we paired up, with one person attacking.  The defender kept the hands as if holding the boken, and the movement was the same as in the boken practice.  You couold then draw in your attacker and get them off balance, and leave them open for your attack.  In practice, the effort required to get your attacker overbalancing, was a very light touch.  If a full punch had been used the effect would have been amazing.

All in all another very tiring but very good course.

Stuff

Not been up to a great deal this week, but the weekend should be pretty full.
Tomorrow, I've got a karate day course to attend.  I missed the last one, but the one before that I got graded and got my green belt.  I don't think there's going to be a grading (for me at least) this time round, but it would be pretty cool if there was.  If someone walks away from these day events with a new belt, it's a good feeling all round.

I'm multi-tasking on the book front, juggling The Soft Machine by William Burroughs with How to Practise: The Way to a Meaningful Life by the Dalai Lama.

On Monday along with some collegues from work, I'm off to climb Ben Ledi.  Really looking forward to that.

So, that's it.  Nothing else to report.

Reading of late

If you know me, you'll know love SF/F and horror.  I also like anything else that's a bit different.  A few years ago I went though a Burroughs phase, during which I read Cities of the Red Night, Place of Dead Roads, Western Lands, Junkie, Naked Lunch and Interzone.  I don't know what appealed about his books.  Probably the fact that the first I read was Cities, and when I had finished I had to go back and re-read as I'd no idea what had just happened.
Anyway, I'm back catching up with Bill, and I'm currently reading The Soft Machine, and I've The Ticket that Exploded waiting to be read.
In a weird combination, I've also just started reading How to Practice: The Way to a Meaningful Life by the Dalai Lama.

Edinburgh festivities

Yesterday we took a train through to Edinburgh to soak up the atmosphere of the Fringe.  The Royal Mile was awash with show promoters, punters, and stalls.  It's going to be mental at the weekend!!!

We didn't bother taking in any shows, but we did visit our favorite Thai restaurant, which was amazing as usual.

Aside from the atmosphere and the food, some ales were partaken of.  So a pretty laid back wander round the town, and a couple of pubs drunk in.  All good stuff.

To Infinity.....and beyond

Well, that's BT been out to upgrade my broadband to Infinity.  ta ta daaaa!  It seems slicker now.  No sign of lag at all.
I'd taken the afternoon off as they were coming out between 1.00 and 6.00pm, but while I was at work this morning (on site, not in the office), I got a call from the engineer.  He was at my house at 10.30!  He knew it was an afternoon appointment, but he had finished another job early, so came along on the off-chance.
When I did get home, he turned up dead on 1.00pm, so 10/10 for service.  The installation went smoothly, and it's all good.

On a totally separate issue, could someone, anyone in Glasgow City Council, please please please get their finger out and do something about the state of the roads. Major arteries through the city and riddled with potholes.  I was in Syria earlier this year, and their roads are in excellent condition.
It's that bad, that a pothole I reported a couple of weeks ago - about 10" in diameter and 6" deep - that was filled only last weekend, has started collapsing again.  The policy seems to be fill it in, not to repair the underlying problem, hence the fact it's now sinking again after less than a week.
Please get your act together, it's a false economy, and it's my tax money your wasting.

Tired tired tired

Birthday done and dusted a couple of days ago and I'm still tired dammit.  I don't feel like I've got ANY energy at the moment, which makes concentrating on anything a pain.

On a lighter note, earlier this week I went to see Inception, and damn, that an excellent movie.  Came out, and just wanted to head back in and see it again.  If you haven't seen it, think what The Sting would have been like if it had been written by Philip K Dick. Immense move.  Utterly brilliant.

Life begins at....

The saying goes "Life begins at forty".  I used to think that was a pile of crap, but I'm 44 this year, and on Friday I was out for a pint with a mate from uni, and this sort of came up during the course of the night.  We were talking about the fact we still liked the same things we did when we were in our 20's, but the key factor is this - you don't get hung up on all the BS you do when you're younger.  You just like what you like doing, and if anyone else has a problem with it tough.
There's no pressure to be cool, and ironically by not trying to be cool, people actually ARE cooler.  If you want to try something then you do, and you don't care if you look like an arse in the attempt.  In our younger days, it was all style over substance.  We knew then that was a crap attitude, but there was a pressure to fit in with whatever peer group you were part of.  Now it's not an issue.
I'm doing things now I'd never have thought of trying when I was younger.  Karate, rock climbing, scuba diving, and you know what, life is better than ever.

Weekend stuff

Well, the windfarm was pretty cool.  Got a lot of info at the visitor center.  It's the largest windfarm in Europe, and is going to be expanded again.

There's an iron age hill fort and a couple of trig pillars on the site, so I've got a good reason to go back and have a good mooch round.

Sunday morning was climbing time.  Six or possibly seven routes were bagged, including one that I'd fallen off last week.  I tried a different approach, and it worked a treat.  Afterwards I was knackered, but in a really good way.  It's a brilliant workout.

it's the weekend, yay!!!

That's it, work's over for another week.  Tomorrow we're off to pick up Tracy, and head out to Whitelees Windfarm for a wander round the visitor centre and the forest.  Hope it stays dry, but if today's anything to go by it should be fine.

Work is getting interesting.  There's a project I'm involved in, and it involves fieldwork to collect samples.  At the moment it's from to Glasgow sites, but soon, there'll be a couple of sites in Melrose that we'll be collecting from as well.  I say it's getting interesting, as there's been problems getting the samplers to work, and it's not the same problem each time.  Today at one site we got fantastic samples, but none at the other.  There appears to be a problem with the sampling unit, so we might have to get someone from the compay that installed them to come out and take a look.

In other non-work work related news, I'm organising a hillwalk up Ben Ledi, to raise money for SAMH, at the end of August.  Some of the girls in the office have gone *squeeeee* as they've found somewhere to buy pink walking boots.  Yes, that's right, PINK walking boots.  

On the music front, I'm currently loving the soundtrack to Into the Wild.  Awesome songs from an amazing movie.

Well that was the weekend that was

And it started out with a meal on Friday with K to celebrate out 12th wedding anniversary.  Really nice meal it was too.  We went to Oshi in Langs, sorry, the Park Inn.  (Park Inn took over Langs a couple of years ago.  People still call it Langs though).

On Saturday we went out to Decathalon at over at the Fort.  It was a good trip for me as I forgot to take my bank or credit cards out with me and couldn't buy anything, so that was good.

Sunday I headed over to the climbing wall, where 5 routes were claimed, and another 2 claimed me.  So that's 2 I've got to get tonight when I head over again.  Later, we went to the gig organised by Rock Radio and Apollo Memories, to commemorate the 25 years since the Apollo in Glasgow closed down.  Brilliant gig.  4 really good tribute acts - Backwater (Status Quo), Volts (AC/DC), Cash Back (Johnny Cash) and Limehouse Lizzy (Thin Lizzy).  I'm NOT a big Lizzy fan, but Limehouse Lizzy were superb, and I'd consider going to see them again.  The rest of the bands were spot on as well.

Finally holiday Monday.  A wee trip to Silverburn for some shopping, then vegging out and catching up with some tv shows we'd recorded.

Good weekend (apart from the rain).

What's wrong with people?

Raoul Moat was an ex nightclub bouncer, who went nuts, killed his ex-girlfriend's boyfriend, attacked her, and shot and blinded a policeman.
After "declaring war" on the police and then adding in the public for good measure, he went on the run for seven days, before shooting himself in the head during a stand-off with police.
In the aftermath, tourists are turning up at the site of the stand-off to leave flowers and get their photos taken, and Facebook has a fan page called "R.I.P> Raoul Moat - you legend" with 300k + members, who on the whole are saying HE'S the victim and it's his ex's fault he attacked her and killed her new b/f !  Britain is getting worse, the nutters are getting away with (literally) murder, and being made out to be heroes for "taking on the police".  What's worse, the pc/civil liberties crowd are worried about the perps rights, and not the victims.

I'm not a christian, but I'm begining to think I should read Revelations, and get a head's up, 'cos it looks like the counrty (if no the world) is on a one way ticket to self destruction.

Couple of days holiday

Just back from a couple of days off work.  One day and then off again for the weekend.  Result.
While I was off, I went bouldering at the climbing wall, then me and K went to the art galleries to see the Glasgow Boys exhibition.  It was good, but I've got issues with the way they've laid out the exhibits since they've renovated the galleries.  It's harder (to me anyway) to find what you want to see.  There's more interactive exhibits for kids, which is good, but of the ones I saw, there were a few that were out of action.

Yesterday, I went for a bit of a wander round the West End, where I picked up a book of Holbine's sketches of Heanry VIII's court, for K, in the Oxfam on Byres Road.  I also found a Charles Laughton movie about Henry VIII for £3 in FOPP, so I picked that up for her as well.
Then I met K outside the Ashoka in Ashton Lane, and grabbed lunch.

Walking back into town, I went to see When You're Strange, a documentary about The Doors, at the GFT (highly recommend it), before meeting Simon for a pint after work, then heading home.

Nice semi-slobbish couple of days off.  Now one day of grind before vegging at the weekend.

Why is this funny?

I've got a t-shirt on today with the symbol for Aum (Om), and one of the IT peeps (who's Indian) asked if I knew what it meant.  When I said I did and explained, she was quite impressed, and asked if I was Buddhist.
I was relating this to a girl I work beside, and she burst out laughing at the thought that I might be Buddhist.  I was a little miffed because (a) what's so funny about the fact I might be Buddhist, and (b) I do tend towards Buddhism in my personal beliefs.  Buddhism comes very close to matching my world view and spiritual beliefs.

Still don't know why it should be funny.  I should probably have asked her.

Forthcoming attractions

I picked up a brochure for the GFT the other day, and there's some good and some downright weird movies coming soon.  There's a documentary about The Doors, that I'd like to check out, and a complete weird-0-rama called Trash Humpers, that could be worth a watch.

They've also got a horror/cult movie discussion group on a Wednesday evening, that I might start going to.

I've got a couple of days holiday on Wednesday and Thursday.  K doesn't work on Wednesday, so if the weather is nice, I'd like the two of us to jump in the car and head off for the afternoon.  If it's dry on Thursday, I might head up the cycle path to Loch Lomond, and if not, I'll checkout a couple of movies.

Currently listening is

1. Muse (if the Glastonbury gig isn't released as a dvd, it's nothing short of criminal.  Totally awesome)
2. Radiohead - In Rainbows.  Just the right mix of chilled out-ness and fuzzed up-ness that I'm in the mood for right now.
3. Dan Reed - Coming Up For Air.  I've been living with this album since I got it on pre-order, and it's stunning. I can really connect with some of the songs.

Non musical goodness (may contain books) - this morning when I got off the train, I was handed a voucher for a half-price top 50 paperback in W H Smiths.  So I headed over the concourse for a nosey, not actually expecting to see anything.  Well, I was wrong.  Pick up To Kill a Mockingbird for £3.50.  Result.

When I was out at lunchtime, I went to pick up some catnip for Rosie (she goes apeshit for it, where Betty ignores it).  She shop also had catnip bubbles, so that could be interesting.  We'll see if she takes to it.

Now though, I'm just back from lunch, and clock watching till 4.45pm  I wanna go home.

New books

Picked up some new books recently.  In a charity shop in Troon I snagged a copy of Whit by Ian Banks (sans M), in Largs - again in a charity shop - I got a copy of Sahara by Michael Palin, and this morning, thanks to a promotion by SFX magazine and Waterstones, I got a free copy of House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds.

The last one is a result and a half, as I really like his books, and am currently reading Absolution Gap, the last book in his Revelation Space trilogy.

If you haven't read any of his books, the Revelation Space books are fantastic.  It's an epic space opera like no other I've read.  When you've got a physicist writing sf though, it should be pretty damn good.

Thinking of changing my user pic

To the pic below.  Dunno though.  Any thoughts? 

Packed weekend

Saturday we picked up Robster, and headed off to Largs.  On the way we stopped off at Newark Castle, before going bagging the trip pillar at Craigs Top, overlooking the Clyde and Greenock.

Moving on to Largs, we hit the charity shops, as I raked through the second hand books and cd's.  I came away with a copy of Michael Palin's Sahara, and a cd of hippy-folky stuff by Melenie.  A pint in a beer garden was followed up with a really nice curry, in an Indian's overlooking the promenade.
After eating, I bumped into one of my old physics lecturers on the seafront.

Leaving Largs, we headed to Portencross, to see the castle.  It was closed when we got there, but the place itself is really nice.  Sort of tiny little hamlet I'd love to live in (if only it had a pub!).

Sunday morning was reserved for climbing, and in the afternoon, we watched England get knocked out of the World Cup by Germany (snigger), then vegged out watching Zulu.

All in, a packed weekend.  Roll on the next one.

Labouring the point

Just off the phone to my mum.  It ended with me stressing again.  She asks you something and you answer.  She says "are you sure?" you give her the same answer and she asks AGAIN!!!!.  When I start to get ratty about it she comes back with the "you don't have to speak like that" line.

I tried explaining that I shouldn't have to keep repeating myself, and her need to ask the same thing half a dozen times is grating.  She's then got the nerve to come over as if you've insulted her.

FFS!!!  Parents!

Dammit

This feels like a Friday.  That means that (A) since I finish at 4.00pm on  Friday, the last hour today will drag in.  That's the law when you get the days confused, and (B) tomorrow, the REAL Friday, will seriously drag in.
At least I get to nip out to do some work on a water sampler tomorrow, so I won't be stuck in front of the pc all day.

Chuffed

Upped the ante at the local climbing wall last night on both the slabs, where I moved on to 6A's, and the bouldering wall where after completing the V0's and V1's at the weekend, I did a couple of V2's.

It might not be that impressive to hardcore climbers, but it's an improvement on where I was at, and Im pretty chuffed with myself.

On the downside, I'm knackered :o)

Latest celeb death....

Frank Sidebottom.  He of the paper mache head is dead.
Didn't see that one coming.

Into the Wild

Last night I watched the movie Into the Wild.  I'd come across it by accident, but once I'd read about it, I had to see it.  It's the true story of a guy who graduates, and his parents have his life mapped out  for him.  There's also family issues in the background and in his past, which make him unhappy, the only person understanding him is his sister.

Instead of going on to university, he clears his bank account, gives all his money to charity, and goes on the road as a hobo, with his ultimate aim of getting to Alaska.  He's searching for some kind if idealised existence, and thinks he's going to find it in the wilds of Alaska.

It's a very touching movie.  If you don't find his story moving, then you're probably already dead.  There's also a book, and the soundtrack contains songs by Eddie Vedder.  Well worth checking out.

Paddling and other weekend pursuits

Yesterday since it was scorchio again, we took advantage of the weather and headed to Troon again. I like Troon. It reminds me a wee bit of what Girvan was like when I was a kid, and we went there for holidays, although it seems a bit smaller, but that could just be my memory playing tricks.

Ice cream was eaten, pub lunch was eaten, and paddling, YES PADDLING on the beach done.

This morning was a bit more energetic, as I went bouldering at the climbing wall, for an hour, before heading out and picking up a couple of dvd's (The Bank Job and Into The Wild)

Coming up for Air

A few months ago, Dan Reed toured the UK for the first time since the Network tours in the 90's.  It was a sort-of-acousticy affair.  The new songs being more spiritual and the old Network songs taking on a new (for me) life, especially "I'm so Sorry".  Anyway, the new album is Coming up for Air, and I've never connected with the lyrics in an album the way I have with this one.  It's incredible.

Dan played again recently, and there was a fantastic sing-a-long of the song "Closer".  This is a deeply moving song, and the whole crowd singing along just added to it.  It was as if everyone connected in a very special, magical, moment.

Coming up for Air is a very special album.

Time

All we have is time.  We have a finite amount, and when it runs out, that's it.  Game over.  So, with that in mind I've been trying lately to waste less of it.  I've been going road trips at the weekend with K, and seeing places I've (a) never seen, or (b) not been to for way too long, and it's been good so far.  We're going to keep it up.

This has got me thinking about the time that was (possibly) wasted in my 20's, when I could and should have been out going places, seeing things and doing.  Instead I was sitting (admittedly with friends and girlfriends) in bars listening to rock/blues bands.  But the thing is, that's the sort of thing that made me who I am.  If I hadn't done that, would I be as appreciative now, when I'm out seeing my own country.  Would I enjoy travelling to other countries as much?  If I'd married my ex, I'd have been to Spain every year for beach holidays.  I'd never have met K and gone to Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Sri Lanka etc.  I'd have looked and photos in National Geographic, and yearned, but would I have got off my arse and actually GONE ?  Probably not.

Maybe the time wasn't wasted after all.  Anyway, it was fun at the time.

Tired legs and that's before excercising

Don't know what's going on today.  My legs feel tired, day after the marathon tired.  I haven't cycled to work for a couple of days (perhaps I should have) so no excuses.  Tonight, it's off to the climbing center for a bit of hanging/falling off walls.

Starting to feel like I need to take a couple of days off just for the hell of it, and maybe get out on the bike, or get on a bus and trudge up a hill for a bit.

Knowing my luck, I'll take the time off and it'll pour down!

More castles visited

The weekend was pretty good.  Weather wise, Saturday was excellent, so we headed to Troon, via Irvine.  At Irvine, we had a wander round the huge shopping center, before wandering down a wee street and unexpectedly coming across Seagate Castle.  There was a plaque on the wall telling how the castle was the site of the signing of a declaration in the 13th Century, and how it was visited by Mary Queen of Scots it the 16th Century.

  Further along the coast, we spend some time in Troon, where we had a game of crazy golf, and stopped off for lunch in the Postage Stamp pub.  Excellent food.

  On the way home, we stopped off at Dundonald Castle.  It's a pay to get in castle, and closes at 5.00pm, so we arrived too late to get in and visit the castle, but we did get to walk round the outside and get some decent photos.
Next time we'll make sure we get there early enough to actually get into the castle.

Not supporting England in the World cup is NOT racist

Over on Facebook, some people are getting hot under the collar about Scots not supporting England during the World Cup.  One poster has gone as far as calling it "thinly veiled racism".  WTF!!  I am not English, and I don't live in England.  I live in SCOTLAND.  It's a different culture, we're from different backgrounds.  We're of Celtic/Viking descent, while the English are Anglo-Saxon with a bit of whoever else invaded thrown in.  The Irish are also Celts, but for some reason, it's the Scots who are accused of being racist for not supporting England.

Why would be?

If I was a Rangers supporter, I wouldn't support Celtic in a tournament because they had got through and Rangers hadn't.

This sprang up because of a FB group boycotting Mars bars in England coloured wrappers, designed to show support for England.  Sorry, I don't support England, so I won't buy one.  It's not rocket science.
Would I buy one with a Saltire on it.  I wouldn't go out my way to, but I will not buy something to show support for a team I don't support.  And if some people think that's racist, then that's their problem.

Visit to the vet

Had to take one of the cats (Rosie) to the vet last night.  She was there a couple of months ago with impacted anal glands (messy).  This time I noticed there was a faint smell of wee from her and she's licking her backside a fair bit.

The vet didn't get a urine sample, but basically assumed that she had a urine infection and gave her an antibiotic shot, that will last two weeks.  If things haven't improved by then, we'll have to take her back.

She's a happy enough cat, she just isn't too keen on me at the moment for taking her to the vet.

Mini clear out

I've managed to accumulate a wee pile of cd's in work, so today I had a wee rake through them and took some to the 2nd hand record shop.  Didn't trade, as there's nothing I'm interested in getting at the moment, so took cash instead.  Payed me what I'd have asked for, so no need to haggle.

I want to de-clutter badly.

Be like water

Karate on Friday night was good.  For various reasons there was just three of us (including sensei), so we got some in depth practice.
We were concentrating on someone grabbing your wrists, and the fact that if you turned your hips, you could off-balance them.  If you used your arms, nothing happened, but if you relaxed your arms, and kept a strong stomach, when they grabbed, it only took a sllight movement to send them on their way.

Reminded me of Bruce Lee's quotes about being like water and flowing, and that trees that are rigid break when a force is applied, whereas saplings that bend in the breeze wont.

Quite a zen-like class.

Ripples

When I woke up this morning, or more realistically, when the alarm wrenched me from the deep sleep I was in, I was shattered.  How is it possible to feel like you'd had a skinfull the night before, when in reality you haven't had any alcohol for about 4 days?  Anyway, I digress.  It was so bad that even though it was Friday, it felt like a Monday.

When I got into town, I headed in to see if a coffee would make me feel better/wake me up.  I occasionally grab a coffee when I cycle to work, so a few of the staff know I like a mocha and a muffin. Today, I was served by the manageress, who shouted my coffee order and put a muffin on the tray for me.  As I handed her my money, she said "Coffee on the house for you today".  Instant smile on my part.

By the time I got into work my spirits had raised.  A random act of kindness when I was feeling run down, and I perked right up.  This will have an ongoing effect.  I truly believe that things like this ripple outwards, and one person giving me a free coffee, will result in someone neither of us have met, having a better day.

advert weirdness

I'm not sure why I went in for the monetise programme with this blog, lets face it, it's not like anyone actually reads it, anyway, today was the weirdest ad yet.  After posting about ending up unexpectedly in the pub, I get an ad for colonic irrigation.  Yes folks, by some bizarre train of thought which I can't fathom, ad-sense seems t link going to the pub with colonic irrigation.

Go figure.

Unexpected afternoon in pub

Yesterday I went out for a lunchtime wander round GOMA (Glasgow's Gallery of Modern Art).  It's usually quite good, but the main hall was taken up with a video installation which was, to be honest, a bit wanky.
After perusing the pretentiousness of it all (and don't get me wrong, I like a bit of pretention), I headed back up to work to find that there had been a wee bit of a fire.  So, once it was over, they let us collect personal belongings and told us to go home.

If work =closed due to fire
Then home=pub

:-D

Dan Reed

Last night Dan Reed was back at King Tuts for the second time this year.  Once again, it was a brilliant show.  The band are really tight, and Dan really looks like he's enjoying himself, no pretentious rock star posturing or ego on show here.

The new material is brilliant.  It's not the funked up sound he had in the early 90s, it's got a laid back acoustic-y feel to  it, and it's already proved to be the perfect soundtrack for lazing in the garden on a sunny day.

Here's a wee pic from last night's gig.

All change (sort of)

After posting about the sweltering temperatures that were threatening to turn the average weegie into some sort of weird human-lobster hybrid, the weather goes and changes on me today.  It was all fine and dandy when I left the house and cycled into work this morning, but by late morning, it was considerably cooler, and when I was out for a wander at lunchtime, it tried, and failed, to rain.  This probably means it will try, and succeed, when I'm cycling home.

The lunchtime karate class was cancelled today as the sensei is ill, she's hoping to be ok for Friday, but if it's off, it'll give me a lazy evening, which at the moment, I wouldn't be averse to :-D.

In other news, I picked up Lawrence of Arabia for a fiver.  I've not seen it since I was a kid, and at over 200 mins, I'll have to set aside an afternoon to watch it.  Hope it's as good as I remember.

Hot hot hot

Glasgow is currently trying it's best to resemble a tropical paradise.  Well, the sun is out, at least, and for the past few days it's been hot hot hot.  In typical weegie* style, the natives are moaning about the heat, and forgetting that last week they were moaning about the rain.

Taking advantage of the weather, I got up earlier than usual so I could cycle slowly to work.  When the weather is good and you're up early enough that the traffic is minimal, Glasgow is actually a nice city to cylce round.  Tomorrow I'm on the train as I'm going out straight from work, but on Wendesday, I need to remember to pick up my camera and do another leasiurely pedal into work, looking for photo oppertunities.

(*Weegie - a native of the City of Glasgow)

Linn Park mooch

Went for a wander round the Linn Park again yesterday.  This time we went up to the spot where Mary Queen of Scots was supposed to have stood and watched the Battle of Langside take place.  (Battlefield in Glasgow is built on the actual site of the Battle of Langside trivia fans).

There's a monument on top of the hill to mark the spot, unfortunately you can't see down to Battlefield as there's trees in the way.  Hey, at least it's not flats.

The above is the engraving on the monument to the Battle, that stands on the spot Mary stood while watching the battle rage below her.

 

Above is the monument, showing the engraving commemorating the battle, and below is another view of the monument.

                                               

Home again home again jiggedy jig

That's us back from our holiday to Beirut, with a two day trip to Damascus thrown in. 

An excellent time was had, although Simon and Wendy had to head home a week early, as Wendy had a shoulder injury that was causing a lot of pain.

Lebanon is a beautiful country, with Beirut a very cosmopolitan city.  Syria is also stunning, with possibly the friendliest people I have ever come across.  Highly recommended, and can't wait to go back, only this time, we'll spend more time in Damascus.

Weekend mooch

So, the weekend invloved walking in the hills, drinks with friends, and lazing about doing absolutely nothing except catching up with Dr Who.

On Saturday we went for a wander up Gleniffer Braes outside Paisley.  There was a trig pillar found...

....and there was standing stones.  Sort of.....

Later on, Robbie & Linda came over for a drink and a natter, but I was flagging by about midnight and had to bounce them.  Sorry guys :-)

Sunday mainly involved lazing about, catching up with Dr Who (loving it), and also a couple of episodes of Warehouse 13, which I like.  Sort of X-Files meets Reaper sort of thing.

Now it's back to work and planning for next weekend.

Eastercon. The halfway point

So, it's Sunday morning and we're half-way through the convention.  Panels have been attended, ale has been quaffed, and there's even been a spot of ceilidh dancing for which proper attire was worn (see pic).

Last night included a mass viewing of Dr Who, with what looked like the entire convention watching.  Brilliant 1st episode. 

So far it's been a good one.  Off for breakie now.

Eastercon ho!

The countdown to this years Eastercon is well under way.  Thursday morning, I'm heading down to Heathrow, dumping the bags at the hotel, then heading into London to play at being a tourist, before meeting up with Steve and his other half for a drink.

The convention starts on Friday and runs till Monday.  I'm running a programme item (Do you worship Cthulhu?) on the Saturday, and I'm flying back on the Tuesday.  Get back around lunchtime, head home, get showered, and head back out to see Airbourne at the Academy.  It's going to be a hectic weekend :-)

It's all about money dammit.

Tonight I have to take one of the cats to the vet.  She's a bit tender round the base of her tail and round her backside, and last night was complaining if she was touched there.  Fortunately we're insured, so it should be a £50 max if anything needs done.

Tomorrow I've had to take the day off so that the boiler can be serviced.  British Gas don't appear to do servicings at weekends, so I've taken the day off.  With my luck that probably means the guy will turn up at 8.00am !  The earlier the better anyway, as it means I can head into town to pay some bills, and catch a movie before going to the karate club.

Music likes and loathes

I'm totally into the re-invented spiritual singer/songwriter that is Dan Reed.  I was a huge fan of the Dan Reed Network, and saw them a couple of times way back when, but when I saw Dan at the Garage a few weeks ago, it was awesome.
You know that moment in movies when someone sings or says something and the main character connects, and has a moment of total lucidity?  Well, that happened.   It was a moment of pure clarity, and I'm loving the new music as much if not more than the old DRN stuff.  In fact, the re-workings of the DRN stuff is superb.  The songs have a new life.

On the other hand, I totally don't get and cant' stand The Lost Prophets.  So working on the principle that if you can't say anything nice, I'll shut up right about now.

Life re-boot

There's things I want to change in my life.  Hoarding material things (OMG the cd's!!!) is getting to be a burden from a phsycic point of view.  I hanker after a life less cluttered, but letting go is hard. I'm obsessive about music/cd's/movies/comics.

I need to let go bit by bit.  There's a lot of books I could get rid of, but they "look good" on the shelf.  I know I'll probably rarely (if ever) re-read them.  I need to get down to the ones I do re-read (JRRT, Moorcock, Eddings, Barker).

My ideal would be to be like Cane in Kung Fu.  I could have one small-ish bag with all my needs in it.  Probably never happen, but it's something to aim for.

Back on the bike

Last year I mostly cycled to work.  It's cheaper than the bus/train, it's excercise, and it's faster than the bus.  I can take a route through a local park, and along the side of the River Clyde, that avoids LOTS of traffic lights, and as a result is faster than the bus.
When I get into work I can grab a shower in the gym, then there's still time to get a coffee before I have to start work, so it's win - win.

At the weekend, we had some friends round on Saturday for dinner, which was pretty good.  Sunday was a long lazy morning followed by a trip to the movies in the afternoon to see Shutter Island, which I liked, but K was a bit dissapointed in.  She liked it, but had thought from the trailers that it was a horror movie.

So, that was the weekend.  Short and sweet, and now it's back to work and as long as there's no horrible weather backlash, that's the bike now until December again.

Time to gafiate

(Google it)

I'm starting to prioritise things in my mind, and the monthly SF meet-up and conventions are currently not scoring too highly.  I need to get out of fandom for a bit for 2 reasons.

1. My sanity.  I tend to start something and immerse myself to the point that one day I wake up, and it's taken over everything else, and I start to resent it.  Fandom is getting that way.  I need to walk away for a bit.

2. I've realised what I knew all along.  It's not SF that I love.  It's fantasy, horror and comics.  That's not to say that I don't like SF, just that it's not my preffered genre, and I think I've been kidding myself by trudging through massive space operas when I could have been reading some Moorcock, Eddings, Barker or even Burroughs or Vonnegut.

This probably sounds a bit crap and over-analytical.  After all it's only books, but, I do tend to obsess slightly, and end up spending a fortune on stuff that ultimately I'm a bit meh about.

So that's it.  SF groups, only if I'm in the mood, not every month as I currently do.  Conventions?  If it's in Glasgow, maybe.  Elsewhere, highly unlikely.

Now THAT was a weird dream

Totally bizzare dream last night.  I dreamt one of the lecturers cam into my office with a 2 hole paper punch in his hand and asked me if I had the driver disk for it.

Now, yes, it's a bit weird, BUT, what's weirder is that the academic in particular is very IT literate.  If it had been certain other academics, it would still have been weird, but not quite as weird.

9

Finally got round to seeing 9 last night.  I'd got a loan of it from a neighbour, but I think this is one that might get picked up, as it really is worthy of repeat viewing.
Superb animation, a great story, just really really good.  You could totally empathise with these little rag dolls struggling to survive in a a world destroyed by man.

Can't recommend this highly enough.

Fulci-fest

Last night's Lucio Fulci double bill at the GFT was outstanding.  Sold-out audience was there to see the spaghetti-gore classics The Beyond, and The City of the Living Dead.
There was a Q&A session after each movie, with the stars of the films, Catriona MacCall and Giovani Lombardo Radici.  David Hess, star of the original Last Houuse on the Left, was also in attendance (Last House had been screened on Friday), and he and Giovani had also stared together in The House by the Park.

There was some givaaways, including a dvd signed by Dario Argento, which was won by a girl who managed to list all of Argento's movies in order of  release, with only one error.  No one else even got all the movies! 

Zombie-fest

Lucio Fulci double bill at the GFT tonight.  Seen both movies before, but never on a big screen.  Should be fun.

Kilt query

I'm off to Eastercon in Heathrow over the Easter weekend.  As they're having a ceidlih, I'm thinking of taking my kilt.  When you're travelling with a rucksack, the easiest way to carry a kilt is to wear it for the flight.  Question is, will the kilt pin be a "terrorist" item, will it be classed an offensive weapon just like nail scissors, and have to go in the hold in the rucksack, or will it simply be part of an item of clothing and I'll be able to keep it on the kilt for the flight?

See what you've done Osama!!!  Wearing a kilt used to be simple.  You've partly criminalised my national dress.

Next on the reading list

I tend to multitask when it comes to reading books.  One by the bed, one for the commute (if I'm not cycling), and one in work to read at lunch.

The books being consumed at the moment are only two (I've just finished the bedside book and need to start a new one), and they are :-

Commuting book - The Tao Te Ching
Work book - The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K Dick.

There's also a selection of Byrons poems in a pocket of the courier bag, that can get dug out if the mood takes me.

Tonight I'm off to karate in about an hour, and then home to veg.  Tomorrow night there's a Lucio Fulci double bill at the GFT (Glasgow arthouse/independant cinema), so I'm off there with a couple of friends while K goes to a classical concert I got free tickets for.

Trout and about

Last night I took myself along to the Ressurgence of Trout, the Glasgow city centre SF fan meet-up.  This is on the 2nd Thursday of every month, and is currently at home in the Edward Wylie on Bothwell St.

It was a fun night.  Food was eaten, ale was quaffed, and talk was talked.  Some of it even related to SF !
 There was an announcement of the launch of  Satellite 3 (the successor to Satellites 1 & 2), in the Central hotel in 2012.  If you like conventions and want to come to Glasgow, watch this space for more details.

Aching muscles adn cheesey grins

Was down at the local climbing wall last night, and apart from one OMG! moment when a hold spun as I had all my weight on it (I managed to stay on the wall btw), it was a great night.  Lots of tiring fun.
Managed some more level 6 routes, but weirdly came a cropper on a couple of 5+'s.  I suppose it depends on who has set the route, and the difficulty is reletive I suppose.  Anyway, loads of fun.

Shhh it was a secret gig

On Wednesday night, myself adn three others boldly headed out to deepest darkest Kirkintilloch to see GUN playing a secret warm up gig prior to supporting Lynyrd Skynyrd at the SECC, and the start of their Popkiller 2010 tour.

The gig was in a pub slightly bigger than a postage stamp, and there was about 90 people there by my guess. It was packed solid.  The band put on a brilliant show, and played as if it WAS the SECC they were playing to.  After the gig, the guys came into the crowd and happily mingled, chatted and posed for photos.  It was the first time I'd met them, and they're all really frinedly and happy to chat.

Great gig by a fantastic band.  They're heading out on tour now, so try and catch them if you can.  You won't regret it.

Dan Reed 20 years on

On Monday I went to a small club in Glasgow to see Dan Reed.  This was the first time in about 20 years, as the last time I'd seen him was the last time he played in Glasgow with the Dan Reed Network. 
It was a great show.  Although there was a full - and extremely talented - band with him, there was still an acoutsticy feel to the proceedings.  This was a good thing.  The older DRN songs sound great stripped back like this, especially I'm So Sorry, which while a great song in the original form, is now an extremely poigniant song about a tragic suicide.

This was a really good, gig in an intimate setting.  If you get the chance to check him out, then I really recommend you do.  An extrememly talented guy with a superb backing band.

Ok, so I've included AdSense

But WTF?!  I mean seriously, an ad for Indian Sex!!!  I say again, WTF!?

Do something new every year Part 2

In an addendum to the previous post, it looks like I might have stumbled across this years' new thing quite by accident, at work.  I had to do a wee (extremely wee) bit of html for someone, and quite enjoyed it even though it was extremely basic.  There's an Intro to HTML course running in the work at the end of the month, so I've signed up for it.  As long as they get enough people to sign up - 6 - it's a go-er. 

Here we go again, time to feed the grey matter and stave off senility.

Do something new every year

I like the idea that you should try something new every year.  Karen got back from yoga yesterday and told me about kendo classes in the local sports centre.  Now, this looks great, BUT, they practise Tuesday, Thursday evenings and Sunday mornings.  Tuesday and Sunday are out, as that's climbing wall days.  At the moment, Thursday IS ok, but the karate club I'm in is a Wednesday lunchtime and Friday night, and run by a researcher, who only has 8 months left.  If she leaves, then she wouldn't be able to run the Wednesday, and if she has to move for work then the Friday night could be over, meaning......that I'd have to go to the Whiteinch club we're affiliated with, and it's on.....a Thursday.

So, I'll leave it this year, see how things pan out with the karate club, and possibly give it a go next year.

There's a part of me that is screaming out to me to de-clutter.  I find this incredibly hard to do so, as I am a hoarder.  I used to have a bag full of old tour shirts from the 80's when I started going to gigs.  Now, these t-shirts were pretty much all medium.  My build means I now wear XL.  I could wear L, but I find them a little tight under the arms.  Anyway I struggled with myself for months before getting rid of them, but the charity shops benifited at least.

The problem now is that I've a pile of football shirts from countries I've visited (Tunisia, Egypt, Senegal), and I don't even like football.  Every country seems to be a bit footie daft, and it's a cheap (usually) souvenir of a trip, but - and here's the rub - I don't think I've ever worn any of them, so they are jsut lying un a drawer takin gup space.

My head says "Charity shop" but I've having a real problem letting go.  There's more than the footie shirts, but that's the best example.

Pretty much accepting the new level of suck that is work.  On a cheerier note, I'm of to the theatre tonight to see Fiddler on the Roof.  Before that we're going for some Japanese, and before THAT, I've been instructed to sit in the pub until K arrives.  Doesn't get much better than that :-)

I'm toying with the idea of having a teetotal March.  I want to raise my fitness level and lose a little gut, so it can't hurt, although, it might not make any significant difference as I don't really drink much anyway.  I can but see.

Had an enoyable weekend doing nothing.  I jsut basically vegged out and caught up on the last of Season 1 of True Blood, which was pretty cool.

While it's good to get away from work and do something else, it's also good to occasionally do absolutely nothing but veg out.

Just heard a song on the radio that I've not heard in ages.  The lyrics just resonate so much with me. Marillions' Script for a Jester's Tear will always give me goosebumps and make me maudlin.

Today was the complete opposite of yesterday.  Just before lunch I get an email from my line managed sent to myself and a collegue asking for a plan for a new layout and new furniture for my room.  The furniture in here is about a year old, so I asked him why new furniture was being bought and he said for the new people coming into the room !  Now, I'm only the person occupying the room, a little warning that the occupancy was going to go past the three it's currently laid out for would be nice. 

Oh, and BTW, where exactly are you going to put them, as the last remaining wall is a glass partition.  How exactly are you going to put the trunking for the power and network cables along a glass partition?

I've said I want moved out.

I was on the recieving end of a random act of kindness today, when one of the lecturers in work, who was in front of me in the queue for coffee, waited till I'd ordered, told the girl to make it large, and paid for it.

Things like that restores my faith in humanity.

SIXTY-ONE NAILS

There's a quote on the cover of Sixty-One Nails by Mike Shevedon, calling it the "Neverwhere for the new generation."  This is true, but the book is oh so much more than a mere Neverwhere clone.

The story follows the exploits of Naill.  Divorced and living a crummy life of work, home, sleep, work, his life is thrown into turmoil when he "dies" on the platform while waiting for a tube, and is rescucitated by an old woman who turns out to be one of the Fayre.  She explains to Naill that he is in fact a half-breed, part fayre, part human, and that there are seven fayre courts.  Six of which bred with humans to continue the bloodline, and the seventh - the Untainted - which refused to, and withdrew, promising to return and restore the land to the way it was before humans.

When he "died" one of the Untainted tried to enter his body, and she managed to prevent it.  Unfortunately they were now aware of his existance and the fact he's a mongrel.

With the Untainted trying to kill him, and also cross back into this world, Naill and his saviour discover that the only thing keeping the barrier up that prevents the Untainted from carrying out their wish is an ancient ritual, that is carried out once a year.

The battle is on for Naill to stay alive and with the help of his saviour - Blackbird - to ensure the ritual takes place and the barrier held intact.

Sixty-On Nails is an absolute page turner.  It's one of those books you really don't want to end.

The comparison to Neverwhere is only accurate in that it IS and urban fantasy, and it IS taking place in a world hidden beneath/behind our own, that we might just glimpse, but never see.

Highly recommended.
 

Books books books.

In the space of one day my "To read" pile increased by 4 books, three of which I've to post reviews of.  I can't remember if I'm posting them here or on my LJ page, so I'll do both.

Watch out for a review of Sixty-One Nails by Mike Shevdon, coming soon.

Work is a bit sucky today.  Not that what I'm doing sucks, it's more the people.  There's too many people who seem to have an agenda, and they're all game playing.  Some without the knowledge to back up what they're saying/doing.

It's all shite, and not a little pointless.  Score points off each other is retarded.

I may turn to drink.

I *think* I need to de-clutter.  There's a lot of psychic baggage, and ironically I seem to be comfort shopping to cheer myself up, which jsut adds to the problem.

I made a start by giving my old trusty denim jacket to the homeless guy at EK shopping centre, who helped K carry the plasma telly to the car.  He was really chuffed.

There's more that could head to the charity shop if I just got round to it.  I need to get round to it.

It's finally 2010, and for some reason I've a feeling that a corner has been turned.  I wasn't aware of any corners NEEDING turned, but today for some reason, I can't help feeling that something is going to change, and for the better.

Maybe I'll drink less and excercise more, maybe I'll get the hang of the BBC self study Japanese course I bought.  Maybe work will imprrove, or maybe, just maybe, I'll win the lottery.

Whatever it is, it'll be interesting.