So, it's finally here

Yup it's Hogmanay.
Since the last post, one of the people I was talking about cutting out of our lives, has shown themselves up to be a really nasty piece of work, which means the guilt that I was talking about in the earlier post isn't even an issue now.  She's gone.  History.  We'll never be in touch with her again.

The only downside is that her husband is a really genuinely nice guy, so I have no issues with seeing him again, it's just that it's probably not going to happen now.  Then again, she does drive him to drink, and damn if he doesn't like his real ales, so he's obviously well aware of just what she's like.  The fact that he has lots of friends, but she doesn't, can't be lost on him.

Anyway, whatever happens, happens.

So here's some resolutions for the New Year.

1.  I've cut out the deadwood.  Don't let it grow back, and be wary of introducing more.
2. Try to cut the coffee intake down just a little.  I was drinking a shitload at work, and was usually on my fourth by about 10.00am.  Not good.
3. Keep the company of people who make me happy and who (hopefully) I in  turn make happy.
4. Get outdoors more, and actually get the tent I bought two years ago christened.  Even if it's just the wee campsite at Sallochy, just get it used.
5. Eat less crap.  Don't need to lose weight particularly, just need to not snack. Can't lose weight or my kilt won't fit!
6. Excercise.  Bit more running, and try and go climbing/bouldering at least once a month.  Even if it's just the wee traverse wall at the work.
7. (The easiest one) Cycle to work as much as possible.  Only bin it if there's snow/ice or the wind makes it dangerous.  Rain isn't an issue when I've waterproofs.

And that's that.  If anyone reads this, Happy New Year to you when it comes.

Thank <.. insert diety of choice .> that's over for another year

Don't get me wrong, I like Christmas.  What I hate is how commercial it's all become.  It's all about separating you from your hard earned money.  It's not like we're not bombarded with adverts trying to do that the rest of the year, but at this time it's full on relentless.

Now that Christmas is over, the pre-Christmas "buy this or your don't love your family/friends" type ad is gone.  Now it's "you're house is obviously a pig sty, so buy a sofa, but you've only got till New Year" type of ad.

The pre-Christmas scrum in the shops in town are over, and it's three days after the big day, so most of the gift voucher spending should be over too.  That makes it reasonable safe to venture out again as you should be able to get about without the use of a chainsaw to cut a path through hordes of zombie like shoppers.

Roll on Hogmanay, when all I have to do is raise a glass to the (pretty shite) year that's leaving us, and welcome in the new beginnings and opportunities that the New Year will hopefully bring.

Favourite part of the holiday season

Today, Christmas Eve, is my favourite part of the holiday season.  It's the day I go to see It's a Wonderful Life at the cinema.  For me it's the best part of Christmas.  It's a million miles away from the commercial scrum that this time of year has become, and that's refreshing.

Before that though, I still have to ice my cake.  The marzipan was put on yesterday, so once it's iced, it's good to go.  The coeliac friendly cake for Karen was made yesterday, and it's all ready for her.  Dinner is pretty much sorted as well, just need to make a sauce, which will take me about half an hour, so that can wait till tomorrow.

I'm just waiting for the switch to flick on the tv ads, where they go from "last minute Christmas gifts" to "Sale starts Boxing Day".  When I was a kid, I remember the sales started in January, and if you had got any gift vouchers for Christmas, it was a case of being torn between buying that book that you really wanted, or waiting till the sales and maybe getting it cheaper.  Now everything is last minute discounts BEFORE Christmas, and big sales the day after.  It's all about parting you from your money now, and there's very little of the magic of Christmas left.

We have ways of making you enjoy yourself

So, with just over two weeks to go to THE BIG DAY(tm), the shops are in full SPEND SPEND SPEND mode, and the pubs are emphasising FUN and PARTY, and I'm thoroughly sick of it already.
Seriously, I'm looking forward to Boxing Day and some semblance of normality (sales excepted).

I've got two do's to go to, the main departmental one (which as per usual, I'll go to for the meal, then sneak off and meet a few colleagues who will also escape (or just not attend) in a pub of choice for a drink, where we don't have to be witness to people we work with pretending they actually like each other, and "dancing" like loons as they slowly (or rapidly in some cases) get wasted.

The other do is the one I prefer.  There's a few of us in a lottery syndicate, and we always go for a Christmas lunch and drink, just the five of us.  This year, it's been hi-jacked, as someone who can't make the main do has been invited - which is fine - and has then asked others along - which is NOT fine.  I've even been asked "Are you going to Bobby's do?"  WTF!!  It's not his, it's ours, and it's been hi-jacked.  I'm seriously considering not going, as it's going to be a pain having to smile, joke and laugh with people I don't want to be in the company of.

Like I said, roll on Boxing day.

Planning the resolutions

I don't normally do New Year resolutions, as lets face it, most people (myself included) find it hard if not impossible to stick to, and so with that in mind, my resolutions for the 2014 are going to be practical and do-able,

I'm in the planning stages at the moment, but watch this space.

Bit windy

The weather in Glasgow is a bit.....blustery today.  Winds of up to 95 miles per hour expected, no trains running at all, and part of the glass roof of Central Station has come crashing down, resulting in the station being evacuated.  Not that it makes much difference since there's no trains anyway.

It was torrential - and horizontal - rain when I left the house this morning.  Standing at the bus stop, a car was crawling along the flooded road, when a flatbed truck undertook it and soaked everyone standing at the stop.  On the upside, I now know that the waterproof trousers I bought for hillwalking, do what they're supposed to.

It's just over a week to go till the work Christmas night out.  Hope the weather isn't as bad as this.

In lue of a proper post....

.....here's a pic of one of my cats with a wee woolly bunnet on.

Wonderful weekend

Just back from having a fantastic three days in Inverness.
Visited Culloden, Fort George, Spynie Palace, Elgin Cathedral and Urquhart Castle on the banks of the absolutely stunning Loch Ness.
Inverness town was really nice. The hotel gave us a suite instead of a standard room, which was great.
There's so much to see round the area, we'll have to go back sometime.

Simpler times

Posted on Twitter the other day that in some ways I miss the simpler pre-internet days.  What surprised me was that someone favourited and shared it, which was nice.
Unfortunately with only 140 characters, you can't expand on your thoughts too much, so here's a longer take on that post.

I miss the simplicity of pre-internet life.  Don't get me wrong, I love being online, and I love all the advantages that it has - information at the push of a button.  Going for a walk and need a map?  Walkhighlands and print the route map/description and off you go.  Email and messaging, so much better than waiting days of not weeks for a letter that may or may not get lost in the post.

But, here's what I miss.

The anticipation of having ordered something and waiting for the mail.  That movie/album you FINALLY managed to track down and order is winging it's way to you.  When you get it, there's the excitement of unwrapping it, removing it from the sleeve and playing it.  Now, that same movie/album is just a download away, and that's if you don't stream it.  Why bother with the physical tangible item when you can just download or stream?  Because it's JUST NOT THE SAME.  It's reduced movies and music to an almost disposable medium.  People just won't have record collections any more.  I don't have the physical space for my vinyl and hi-fi in the house at the moment.  It's all boxed away.  OK, so I've got rips of most of the albums, BUT, I miss playing my albums.  I miss the ritual of taking a record out it's sleeve, placing it on the turntable, put the needle on the record, and that initial silence with maybe a pop or click, before the music starts.

It's all symbolic of peoples need to have things NOW.  And while life is a whole lot more convenient now, is it better?  People are living life through a computer screen, instead of going out and actually living it.

So step away from the keyboard, close the laptop, and instead of looking at a photo of a mountain online, go outside and see one for yourself.  Yes it might rain, yes you might get cold and wet, but that's life, and you'll get to experience the simple pleasure of coming home, cold and wet, and huddling in a blanket to thaw out, maybe with a wee dram in your hand.

Now that's living.

One step forward three steps back

Real life has a habit of getting in the way.  By now, I had fully expected to have dragged my sorry carcass round (at least a small section of) Pollok estate, in my (triumphant?) return to running, but so far it's not happened.  Real life and the weather - ok, mainly the weather - have put paid to it, but not in a bad way, as it's all been stuff I've been out doing, like visiting the RSPB nature reserve at Lochwinnonch.
Anyway, that's the backward steps, and while it's not really a step back as I didn't start anyway, I was psyched up for getting out again, so I'm claiming it as a fail.

The good stuff is that the guitar lessons are still progressing and - just as, if not more, improtantly - are still fun.  There's also a new karate night started up on a Tuesday, so that's a plus.

The other things going on are a crown that's fallen out, but I've a check-up on Thursday, and have called to make sure it gets popped back in again, and oh yeah on the subject of Thursday, I'm taking part in a one-day strike.  I think though that by the time I'm out the dentist and at the picket line, it'll have dispersed.  Anyway, the weather is probably going to be mince, so maybe that's a good thing.

Karate and getting to a calm place

The last couple of months I've been struggling to get to karate practice.  Thursdays are out as I've had no option but to change my guitar lesson to a Thursday night, as the teacher had a change in circumstances, Saturday mornings are out, as there's an issue that I would rather avoid, as there's a junior who is..... disruptive, won't listen and thinks they know it all, despite having only been going a few months.
There's a Tuesday club starting up next week, so that's all to the good.  In the meantime, there's the Wednesday club, that due to work I've been only attending sporadically.  The overall result is that I've been near to throwing in the towel, but I thought that I'd give it another go today in preparation for the new Tuesday club, and do you know, it's been a real tonic.

Before lunch I was a bit strung out.  I'd been really busy, and one of the systems we use to place orders was playing up, so stress levels were high by lunchtime.  Cue the karate class.  Great session today.  I'm now in a very calm serene place mentally, and nothing is going to be allowed to change that for the rest of the day.

First munro bagged

So, on Friday, we headed up Ben Lomond.  We were good to go, the weather wasn't.  Once out of the treeline, there was low lying cloud creeping up the hill, and we couldn't see the summit.

Regardless, we trudged onwards, only to reach the top and be rewarded with what would have been a stunning view if it wasn't for the cloud.  What we got instead was this.....

The weather may have been crap, but the upside of this was that the hill wasn't mobbed with people.  There were a fair few on the hill and at the top, but nowhere near as busy as it would have been had the weather been better.

Things of late

Not been up to anything post-worthy of late.  I've actually managed to get back to the Wednesday lunchtime karate a couple of times, which is great.  I've really missed it, and although I've been de-motivated, and on a couple of occasions, I didn't go, because I felt like I couldn't face it, I seem to have got some kind of martial arts mojo back, which is great.

While this was all (not) going on, the only thing that I was really enjoying (hobby-wise) was the guitar lessons, which I'm still totally into.  As well as going over what I need to for the lessons, I'm also looking out for things that I think I might be able to have a go at.  The latest being Fear of the Dark by Iron Maiden.  I was chuffed to bits this morning, when I managed to pick out the little section just after the initial intro, but just before (and during) the first verse.  It's do-able at the level I'm at, just.  I need to knuckle down and practice it.  A lot.

Productive weekend despite the weather.

With weather predictions for Sunday being stormy, when I got up on Saturday morning, and saw it was nice, there was only one thing for it.  Paint the garden seat with the weatherproofing stain that I'd bought but not been able to use because of the weather, and then put the new felt on the shed roof.
A word of warning for those attempting to put felt on a shed roof.  Felt paste, isn't like any other paste I've encountered.  Think treacle, and you're getting close.  I did manage to get some on a pair of shorts, and my legs (sitting on the shed roof on drips that I never noticed).  After two days, the stuff I got on my hands has finally washed off - it stains like you wouldn't believe - but I've still got a patch behind my knee that seems to be putting up a valiant effort not to come off.

After all that hard work, it was off to Pollok park to see the Highland Cattle Show, before walking to Shawlands for a beer, and then returning back past the Highland cattle, and home again.

Sunday, was as predicted, stormy.  We headed out in the car to the David Livingstone Memorial in Blantyre, where we discovered that the statue of him fending off an attacking lion was designed and paid for by Ray Harryhousen the man famous for his stop motion animation of monsters in numerous movies.  Turns out his wife was Harryhousen's great-granddaughter.

The Memorial is a really nice place.  The grounds are beautiful, and the museum is really interesting.  Well worth a visit if you're in the area.

Friday the 13th

Ok, I don't usually go for Friday 13th being unlucky, but so far today, I've cycled into work - I did manage to avoid the rain - and forgot my work keys, so I had to wait for someone else to show up and unlock the room, and after getting showered and changed, I noticed that my jeans have managed to get dust on them from the pastel chalks I was trying out last night, so I have a lime/yellow left thigh today.

Hope no-one thinks it's a fashion statement!

That's 2 -1 in favour of F13.

Then I find out that the friend I was supposed to be meeting for lunch can't make it as he has a meeting to go to, 3 - 1 to fate.

EXCEPT - it's chucking it down, so missing lunch with him means not getting soaked, so I'm claiming that as a win.

3 - 2 to fate then.

Largs Viking Festival

On Saturday, the annual Largs Viking Festival kicked off.  As we'd never been before, we decided to go along and check out the opening parade.

Vikings in the main street of Largs

Giant Viking at the Viking Village on the seafront

Some beer I picked up from the food tent 

(It would have been rude not to)

Me, ready to defend Largs from the Viking hordes

All that defending Largs is tiring.  Time for a wee sit down

The fair maiden, rescued from the Vikings.

There were lots of things happening on the sidelines.  There was a rubber duck race in the local burn, a drumming group playing, pipe bands, lots of bikers on Harley's, trikes and Goldwings.  Then there was the Viking village and the Scots village, the food, drink and crafts stalls, the birds of prey, the list goes on.

It culminates after a week with the burning of a longship.  I'd love to be there for that, but we have a ceilidh to go to.  Ah well, there's always next year.

Back outdoors

Last week I took Friday as a day off work, and we headed off to climb Dumgoyne.  It's a wee hill not far from Milngavie (just outside Glasgow), and while it's not very high, it's a steep wee bugger.
We'd started this hill before, but when we got the plateau that leads from Dumgoyne to Earls Seat, it was blowing a gale.  You could literally lean into the wind and not fall over, so on that occasion we decided that heading back down was the safest thing.
This time round, the weather was fine, and there was practically no wind.  We headed up, and when we came to a split in the path, opted to go right, along the path that wound gently and slowly up round the hill to the top, rather than taking the steeper direct route.

Karen had been suffering lately from a bad back, so we took it fairly slowly, and had a stop about half way up, so that she didn't come a cropper again.  On the plus side, this gave us plenty of time to enjoy the views.

Once we got to the top, we had a wee stop for a coffee and a sandwich before heading back, this time taking the steeper direct route, which turned out to be substantially shorter than the route we had taken.  Ah well, you live and learn.

Once back down at the bottom, I did the tour of the Glengoyne Distillery, and accidently bought a bottle of the 10yr old.  Nice wee reward to myself.

Ready for the off.

Top of the world

At the summit

Prize for getting to the top

Clip of that old fashioned organ from the Pollok Family Fun Day.

Is the Fringe dying out?

Took an afternoon off work on Tuesday, and headed through to Edinburgh, where the festival and Fringe had kicked off.

First thing that struck me was that despite all the bodies on the Royal Mile, it seemed unusually quiet for that time of year.  The wee square next to the church, that usually has lots of stalls, seemed to have less stalls than usual.

Someone joked that there was more people handing out flyers for shows, than there was people to give the flyers to.  It wasn't that bad, but it definitely looked like there was less bodies than in previous years.

Back at work I was talking to someone else who had been through on the Monday, and they said they had been thinking the same thing when they were through.

Anyway, numbers of bodies aside, it was a fun afternoon/evening.  Pics to follow.

So much for that idea

In a couple of weeks, my wife has a sign language course to do.  It's over a Saturday/Sunday, so, to amuse myself, I was planning on walking the first part of the West Highland Way, to Drymen, camp overnight, and get the bus back on the Sunday.

Found a campsite in Dymen that's only £5 per person per night.  Gets dodgy reviews on Trip adviser, but it's only for one night, so I thought what the hell.  Then it would just be a case of walking there, pitching the tent, and strolling into Drymen for food and beer.

The plans all went belly up, as I discovered that there's only one bus to Glasgow on a Sunday, and it leaves Drymen at 1915.  Seriously, I'd have to hang about Drymen for about 12 hours after packing up the tent, just to wait for a bus.  Not happening.

Looking for a Plan B now.  It may involve cycling somewhere.

Damn that was good

Bought some dvd's recently from a woman in work who was emigrating, and last night got round to watching Snatch, the Guy Ritchie movie.  That was tons of fun :-D

Time for new tires I think.

So, on the way to work this morning I got another flat.  Same wheel as the last two.  No sign of anything sticking out the tyre, but there's a wee cut from the last time, which to be honest is pretty visible.  Not sure if the tyre just flexed, and pinched the tube, causing the flat, but whatever the reason, it's time to change the tyres.

I've been recommended these beasties by Schwalbe, so I think that's the way to go.  The guy I know who's using them has done over 4000 miles on his and not one puncture, so that sounds like the way to go.

Just for the sake of posting something

This was taken just before heading out to the Bungo in the Backlanes.  There was no reason for wearing a kilt to the event other than "what the hell I've got a kilt and I'm going to wear it.".

Yeah real funny, funny man

I'm being taken to task on Twitter by a comedian who's taken umbridge that I said his friend (also a comedian) was endorsing animal cruelty by running with the bulls in Pamplona.  The guy who ran, wrote an article for the Scotsman, (here) which as far as I'm concerned is also endorsing animal cruelty by publishing it.

The tweet that I received says that "The idea that doing the run supports animal cruelty is like saying every Christian is homophobic" !  Erm.....just how exactly is that a comparison.  You are taking part in an event that the majority of people consider to the cruel.  You are endorsing it.  If there are homophobic Christians, then it doesn't mean that all Christians are homophobic.  That's like "Shep is a dog. Therefore all dogs are called Shep".  Utter nonsense.

So, comedian I'll never go to see - Kai Humphries.

Paper I'll never read - The Scotsman.

This might seem like an over-reaction, BUT I do consider the running of the bulls to be animal cruelty.  To say otherwise is (at the very least) naive, and is (in my opinion) heartless.  The fact is that these animals are only running because they ARE scared.  

What I did on my holiday (aka The long weekend)

So I had a day off on Friday, and there was a bank holiday on Monday, so a four day weekend, yay!
So what did I do then?  Well, on Friday, the gas man came to service the boiler.  AND there was a second gas man doing a Green Deal assessment on the house - the only improvement would be to add solar panels apparently.

Once Scottish/British* gas' finest had left, I headed into town to catch up with Pete and the Wetherspoons cider festival.
Cider was drunk.  So was I.  But not so drunk that there were typos when I was texting, so that's not bad.

On Saturday we were out for a meal for our wedding anniversary - 15 years!!!  Really nice curry in the Alishan in Battlefield.

Sunday we met up with Pete and Kerr and more 'spoons cider was drunk.  Though not quite as much as on Friday!

Yesterday was lazy for me as Karen didn't have the day off, so I vegged out with the cats, then in the evening we headed to Troon in the car, just to grab an ice cream and walk along the front. 

So much for an early start

So, this morning, due to the general mugginess and heat, I was awake at 5.00am and up about 20 minutes later.  No point lying in bed if you can't sleep, is there?

The plan was then hatched, to grab some juice and some coffee, and get them down me, before deciding on a long leasurely cycle into town by some obscure scenic route that would make no sense whatsoever, from a commuting point of view.  So, about 6.30 I was all ready to go, and that's when I discovered the flat tyre.
Off with the wheel, and a quick scan of the tyre, and a small sliver of glass was revealed as the culprit.
To save time, I opted not to fix the puncture, but instead to change the inner tube.  This proved not to be the time saving measure I planned it to be, as about 10 minutes after leaving the house, in the middle of Mosspark, there was an almighty bang, and I was instantly reduced to a flat rear tyre again.

Back at the house, it transpired that I had been in such a hurry to change the tube, that the inner tube had been slightly folded over on itself, and under the combination of the air pressure and my lardy arse, couldn't handle it.  The hole was about the size of an old 1/2p.  It was really quite impressive.

Tube out, burst tube patched and carefully popped in, and I was finally on my way.  By this point I was actually 15 minutes later leaving the house than I usually am, so the scenic route was out of the question, and it was a case of hammering it along my usual commute route.

After grabbing a quick shower in the work and nipping out to buy something for my lunch, I was only about 10 minutes late getting in, which wasn't bad considering.

On the plus side, at least I know that I can (a) still fix a puncture, and (b) change a tyre in a reasonably quick time*


(*thank you whoever designed quick release wheels)

The never ending clearout

So, I've a rather large pile of books ready to take to a car boot sometime soon (hopefully), and I've made a drastci decision.  I've also got a pile of rpg rule books that haven't been used in Cthulhu knows how many years, so...........

This morning, someone in work bought the D&D Players Handbook and DM Guide from me.  I've still got Elric - which I really don't need, as it's basically a re-hash of Stormbringer (which I'm keeping), and there's also Rolemaster - which I used to play, but haven't since I bought the books.  Ironic or what?
I'm also keeping CoC, since I love all things Lovecraftian, although, I've got 4th ed and the latest edition, so in theory I could sell the 4th edition rules, hmmmmm.
I've got 2nd edition Runequest, and Cults of Prax, plus a load of RQ articles from when White Dwarf was a gaming mag and not just an in-house mag for Games Workshop.  For the moment I'm keeping those.
The weirdest one, is a set of rules for LARP-ing Call of Cthulhu.  Now there's no way this will be getting used, as I haven't the time or inclination to run it, but as a read, it's fun.  If you could be arsed putting in the preperation for this, it could be awesome.

Anyway, hopefully someone will be interested and make me an offer to take them off my hands.

Update schmupdate

Oops, been a bit lax on the update front.  My bad.

There's some stuff to post, so I'll get on it asap.

Promise.

Glasgow bike week

It's Bike Week in Glasgow.  This is a council run initiative to get people on their bikes.  Every year during bike week, they set up a gazebo on the Broomielaw on one morning, and hand out free breakfasts to people on bikes.  Today was that day.
Unfortunately for me, I passed at 0710 and they were still setting up.  The free food didn't start till 0730.
Ah well, never mind.  I did get a quick chat with a friend Collin, who's involved with the council on the cycling side of things, and we've arranged to do lunch on Friday, so it's all good.

Power cuts and days off.

On Wednesday, we all got sent home from work early, as there had been a fire in a sub station, and all the power in the work went out.
The next day the place was still closed, so there was an unplanned day off. So, I jumped on the bike and cycled through Pollok Estate towards Shawlands, with the idea of grabbing some breakfast there before heading home.  That's when I got a text from a mate from work saying that there was a couple of folk who didn't know the place was closed and had turned up, and they were in a bar in the town, so I changed plans, and headed into town, and had breakfast in the bar with them before heading back home.

Breakfast in Alfredo's

When Karen got home from work at lunchtime, we decided to head to Hill House in Helensburgh.  It's a house designed by Charles Rennie Macintosh, and it's one of the National Trust for Scotland properties.  I'm not a fan of Macintosh, but it's a really nice house.  Well worth a visit if you're in the area.

Hill House in Helensburgh

On Friday, we headed to Callander to do a wee walk from Callander to the Falls of Leny.

When we set off from the car park, it was a bit overcast, but all the way to the Falls, it was pretty nice.  The route follows a cycle path, and ahead of you, Ben Ledi looms in the distance.

Eventually, you come to a concrete seat, and to the right is a little path leading down to the falls.

Falls of Leny

On the way back we followed a wee path through the woods, along the side of the river.  Eventually this lead back to the cycle path, and back to the carpark, where, it started raining just as we got to the car.  Fortunately it didn't last long, and we had a wee wander round the town before heading back to the car with a bag of chips.  Once again, just as we got there, the heavens opened, and we sat eating chips and waiting to see if it would clear up.

When it became obvious that it wouldn't, we just headed back to Glasgow.

All in all a good day, despite the rain.

Good weekend

That was a pretty good weekend.

On Saturday, we headed to Drymen to do a 7 mile walk along forest trails.  When we arrived, we discovered the Drymen Gala was taking place, so we hung about till the parade had passed and got some pics before carrying on with the walk.

Pipe band playing in the Drymen Gala day parade

Initially the walk was through some really nice countryside, and there was some decent views of Loch Lomond.

Loch Lomond

Unfortunately there had been some pretty major logging taking place, so the path we were supposed to be following was blocked by fallen trees.  This meant we had to take another path, which took us further up the hill that we should have gone, meaning we met the West Highland Way earlier than we should have.  The logging at this point meant that there was pretty much no forest at all, just acres of tree stumps, which doesn't make for much in the way of scenery.

A forest once stood here.

Further along the Way, we got back into some nice wooded areas, and as we approached Drymen again, it got really nice.

Giving the scenery the thumbs up

Back in Drymen, and it was time to relax in the beer garden of the Drymen Inn, with a well earned pint.

At that point in time, this was the best tasting pint ever.

For those of a geeky persuasion, there's a link to the walk here.

Non-genre reading

I'm struggling to read any genre books at the moment (Song of Fire and Ice aside).  I'm just not in the zone at the moment, and can't face SF/F/Horror.  So, the current reading material is I'll Never Get Out of this World Alive by Steve Earle.
I've previously read his book of short stories - Doghouse Roses - which I can highly recommend.  Especially the tale of the witness to an execution.  That is one hell of a story.

Anyway, hopefully I'll get out of the rut and back to normal, but for the moment, it's non-genre all the way.

New bike gear

Got myself a pair of Endura Hummvee 3/4 bike shorts yesterday.  OK they were £49.00, BUT, that's equivalent to a month's rail travel, so after getting back on the bike for a month, they'll have paid for themselves.
Also, they're reinforced, so won't wear out the same way the cut-down combats I usually cycle in, do. The constant rubbing against the saddle eventually takes it's toll.  These should last a good bit longer.

Weekend stuff

Saturday karate was pretty good, although the warm-up included bunny hops, and damn if my legs aren't stiff now.  It's definately worked muscles that don't normally get such a hard workout, so that's all to the good.

On Saturday night, the friends who had looked after one of the cats while we were in Jordan were over.  I've not drunk that much in a long time, and I've certainly not seen 3.00am with a beer in my hand for a good few years.  I *may* have been a little tipsy.

On Sunday, we headed over to Cafe Byblos for lunch.  We'd forgotten that the West End Festival was on, so finding a parking space was fun, but soon we were in and having some really nice Lebanese food.
While we were having lunch we got a text from a friend asking if we fancied meeting up for a drink! So, an hour later, I was topping up from the night before.

I posted on FB about not being 20 any more, and got a real slagging from friends saying it did no harm now and again, and that I was sounding like a pensioner, and to get a grip :-)

So yeah, that was a fun weekend.

Normal service has been resumed.

So, just almost two weeks since we got back from Jordan, and it's starting to feel like we were never away.
I'm starting to re-evaluate things.  I like travelling, but I've accumulated a shitload of stuff.  Some of it needs to go.
I need to cut back on the spending as well, as I really want to spend more time abroad.  It's a big world out there, and you only have a limited time to see as much of it as you can, and that means cutting out buying crap, and squirrelling away money for the next trip.

It's not going to be easy, especially as I've still got to pay for the one we're just been on, but it's doable if I put my mind to it.

Media fuelled backlash

So, after yesterday's atrocity in Woolwich, there's been the  usual media frenzy about "Muslim" exteremists, and then the inevitable self rightous bigots have crawed out of the gutter to mouth off about how they're "not going to take it any more".

Going by the footage in these reports, the EDL members are so proud of their "partiotism" that they have to hide behind balaclavas.

Unfortunately the media helps to fuel these bigots.  These people don't get it.  A nutter out to kill someone is a nutter out to kill someone. The race/religion is irrelevant.  If I suddenly went on killing spree, would it be reported as "Christain extremist goes on killing spree" ?  In all probability, no.  And that's where the media has to shoulder some of the blame for the EDL and it's ilk getting worked up about Muslims (although, let's be honest, they'd get worked up about Muslims regardless, but the media fuelling the flames doesn't help).

The guy that was involved that spoke and got someone to film him with their smartphone, may have been going on about "....in our land..."  but hang on, that's one hell of a London accent he's got.  So, he's from London, so where is "our land" that he's talking about, because, sorry pal but you sound English to me.  He's obviously deranged.  But that doesn't mean Islam is to blame, it simply means HE is to blame.

To hate someone for the religion they follow or the colour of their skin is nonsensical.  Blame the individual for his actions, don't blame an entire ethnic group that he may belong to.  That makes no sense whatsover, and just helps the circle of violence to continue.

Funny encounter in Jordan

Juice seller in Amman (while squeezing me an orange juice) - "Where are you from?"
Me - "Scotland"
Him (looking me up and down) - "Where is your skirt?"

Normal service has been resumed

Got back from Jordan to a ton of emails and a veritble shitload of work.  Ah well, roll on the bank holiday on Monday.

*sigh*

Solid ball of rock

Went to see Saxon last night at the ABC.  Support was from the Quireboys, another band I love, and Redline, who I'd never heard before, but were pretty good, and I'd probably go and see again.

The Quireboys were up to their usual highly entertaining standard, and played a blinder of a set.

Spike and the Quireboys rocking the ABC

Then it was time for the main event.  From the off, it was a blinding set.  Biff announced that he hoped no-one was tired, as he fancied playing for two hours.  And that's exactly what they did.  At the end, he pointed at his watch as if to say "See, told you!".  

It was an absolute stormer of a set.  There was a fair few songs from the new album, which I've not heard yet, but they sounded great, and stood up really well next to the old favourites.

meh

In a bit of a downer at the moment.  Not depressed, just basically can't be arsed.
I think work is to blame.  There's samplers that I need to make for a project, and they need to be ready for May/June.  Now I've ordered in the parts I need, but there's stuff that we can't buy from approved suppliers, and that has to be bought using the project credit card, which I don't hold.
This has been dragging on since Christmas.  I need one part to build a prototype, and I've just been told, if it doesn't work, then we'll have to think about some other way of sampling.

Fine.

Except.  I'm on holiday for two weeks in May.  This was booked before I was asked to make the samplers. They know I'm going away.  So, basically, if they don't get their fingers out, they aren't going to get their samplers.

End of.

Why is this making me meh?  Well, I really enjoy working on this, and it's just frustrating that it's other people holding things up.

I'd scream, but I can't muster the energy.

1984, are we currently living it?

Just a quick thought on the current situation regarding the policing of the upcoming (it's NOT a state) funeral for Thatcher.

In the run up to the funeral, there will apparently be dawn raids on the homes of known protesters, to make sure they don't disrupt the funeral.  Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty?  Actions like this are verging on thoughtcrime.  Is it getting to the stage where having a point of view that differs from the ruling elite's is bordering on a criminal offence?

Thatcher - Dividing the country even in death

Yesterday former UK Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher died in her bed in a room at the Ritz hotel in London, where she had been living for some time.  She was 87.

During her 11 years in power, she managed to divide the country, with her supporters proclaiming her as the countries savour, while the rest compared her to Satan himself.

You can see the different reactions across the country from the regional headlines, here.

Personally I think her policies were evil.  The underclass that exists today is a direct result of her policies.  The fact that you have to bow down to corporations for your services is a result of her privatisation of everything.  Her mantra was greed is good, society doesn't exist, and you have to look after number 1.

Personally I won't be shedding any tears now that she's gone.  Various city's had impromptu street parties celebrating her demise.  I can understand why they did.

But now the point of this post.  On Facebook and Twitter, when the news broke, there was the same sort of posts that spring up when a celebrity dies.  However tasteless you think that sort of humour is, initially the posts were pretty tame.  Then people started defending her, saying she was a poor lonely 87 year old woman and deserved some respect.

The fall out was horrific.  People who were friends in real life as well as online, were getting torn into each other.
Today I had a look back over my FB feed.  It's like a war zone.  Twitter wasn't much better.
I've seen three people comment that their friends list is shorter today than it was yesterday, as they de-friend people who's posts they found objectionable.

Even in death she's causing division.

The Great Glasgow Transport rip-off

At the moment because of the weather, I'm not cycling to work, and get a train in the mornings.  For the privilege of going 2 stops, twice a day, 5 days a week, I pay £51.50 a month.  Now I can use it at weekends, except, well, there's no trains on my line on a Sunday.

The bus alternative is £52.  Admittedly that covers the whole Glasgow network, which appears to be split into only 2 zones, Glasgow City and Whole Network.  So, for £0.50 more, I get to travel on the whole network, and am not restricted to the days I travel.
The only problem is, despite the city centre having been open for business on a Sunday for about 20 years, we still have the antiquated "Sunday Service".  Now, this was fine when there was no shops open on a Sunday, but apparently shops do more business on a Sunday now than a Saturday, so having a reduced service on a Sunday makes no sense whatsoever.

The last option is the Zonecard.  Now this is provided by SPT and allows travel on buses, trains, underground, and ferry.  Excellent and as you would expect, having more options makes it more expensive.  A lot more.  3 zones (which is what I would need to get to work) is £85.10 for 4 weeks.

There's also the strange situation where the Zonecard has Glasgow split into a hell of a lot of zones, and not just the two that First bus has for the city.  This is sort of fair enough, when you consider that it covers a far wider area than the bus only card, but they use a completely different model.  From my house to the city centre with the Zonecard, is 3 zones.  With the bus card it's 2.

Now, another weird one is this.  Both the trains and the buses are run by First.  I have a 4 week train ticket. The other day my train was cancelled (and so was the next one).  Since there's only 2 an hour, I wasn't prepared to wait an hour to see if the one after that again was running.  First didn't lay on a replacement bus service (something they do when there is heavy snow and the trains can't run), so I jumped on a bus.  Now, even though I've already paid First to get from the town to the house by train, which they can't provide, I have to PAY AGAIN to use the bus to get home.  The bus driver doesn't recognise that my train isn't running and I should be able to travel by bus.  EVEN THOUGH when they recently electrified the line and there were no trains running, we COULD use the train tickets on the buses. It's not rocket science, it's the same company running the trains and the buses.  A ticket to travel should be just that, and the means of travel (bus or train) irrelevant.

I can't be the only one to think this.  Can I?

New guitar class

The guy I've been getting guitar lessons from, told me last week to go to an earlier class, as the people who're in the one I've been going to, have been missing weeks, and I'm the only one who's been to all of them.  The result is that I'm a bit ahead of them, and he thinks I'm being held back.
SO, on Saturday, I did just that.  The group I'm now going to are ahead of me in experience, so I was basically bottom of the class, and came away with what seemed like a huge info-dump to deal with for next week.

The guy taking the class says that IS the right group for me to be learning with, as although I've got some catching up to do, it's taking me out of my comfort zone and pushing me.

Karen thinks it's hilarious, as apparently I'm now practicing with a look of intense concentration on my face, and definitely look like I'm having a hard time of it.  Apparently what I'm struggling with sounds ok to her, but I need to practice practice practice.  Fortunately I enjoy it (or I wouldn't be doing it) so it's not a struggle to pick up the guitar and have a practice, it's more of a struggle to put it down.  Long may that continue.

Comics reading of late.

I hadn't bought any monthly comics for quite a few years, picking up graphic novels instead, but when DC rebooted their titles, I started getting Action Comics: Superman, Detective Comics: Batman, and Swamp Thing.  18 months later it's time for a re-evaluation I think.

Initially, Batman was awesome.  Simply Awesome.  18 months later?  It's still holding my attention, and the stories are still great.  No need to change, it's doing exactly what it should.
Superman however, while having some genuinely interesting twists, is starting to remind me why in my comics buying heyday in the 90's, I steered clear of the costumed crews.  It's getting all a bit silly and childish, and, well, all a bit meh.  While not naff enough to instantly cancel, it's on the subs bench and it's days could be numbered.
Now it's onto Swamp Thing.  Now I discovered old Swampy, back when Alan Moore was doing his thing, and what a wonderful thing it was.  I discovered the character John Constantine, who later got his own title Hellblazer, which I loved.  This time round, despite starting off well, went all cheesey superhero-esque lately,  which is not what I'm looking for.  Swamp Thing is definately getting the heave-ho.  Fortunately the last issue I picked up finished off a story arc, so it's probably a good time to stop.  It's replacement is likely to be Constantine, a new title featuring - you guessed it - John Constantine.  Now as long as the costume crew stay out this title, that's all to the good.  The first issue was pretty good if a bit lightweight.  Not as meaty as the Hellblazer era Constantine, but good enough to engage the interest and make dumping Swamp Thing a viable option.

Winter is coming.

Yeah, so a Game of Thrones quote to herald the fact that on what is the supposed to be the start of spring (the equinox was on Wednesday), we have snow in Glasgow.  Make that horizontal snow, as it's also a bit windy.

Don't get me wrong, I love the snow.  Might just have to think carefully about what we're going to do at the weekend though.

Hendrix was WHAT?!

A guy in work has said that "Hendrix was shit".

He followed it up with "All he did was play guitar."

Wow.  Now, personally, when someone says "Oh you should listen to "So and so", he's an incredible musician", I can differentiate between me not liking the music they play, and the fact that they are superb musicians.  Not liking their music, doesn't make them shit.

A couple of examples.

Frank Zappa.  I just don't get him.  Never have, probably never will.  It's the jazz thing.  I don't do jazz.  Does that diminish the man's talent, just because I don't like what he does?  Hell no.  I happen to think he was probably a bit of a genius.  I just don't enjoy his music.

Steve Vai. Probably one of  THE greatest guitarists alive.  Do I like his music?  No.  (OK there's the odd tune - The Class is Listening, for one, but overall, I wouldn't give him the time of day).
Can I appreciate the playing on a technical level?  Hell yes.

Now this love/hate thing fluctuates over time.  There was a day when I couldn't stand Tom Waits.  Now I really like him.  Admittedly I have to be in the mood to listen to him, but when I am, he's brilliant.

So, to sum it up.  Just because you don't like Hendrix, DOES NOT MEAN HE WAS SHIT.  OK?

Dan Reed - Glasgow, March 2013

Wilko Johnson Farewell Tour pics

Hectic weekend

People who know can tell you I love music, especially seeing bands live.  Problem is, the older I get, although I still love going to gigs, I just get knackered, so I'm totally shattered after this past weekend.
It went something like this.

Saturday - karate class, rush home, shower, change, grab a bite to eat, grab guitar and head into town for guitar lesson.  THEN, rush down to the Merchant City to a friends house, to leave the guitar with him, as both of us head back into town to go and see Wilko Johnson on his farewell tour - Wilko is dying of pancreatic cancer, has months to live, and is refusing treatment which will only extend his life by 2 to 3 months, so that he can do what really is, a farewell tour.
And what a gig.  It was fantastic, but also very emotional.  Here's a guy who dying, but you'd never know it to look at him charging round the stage.

Sunday - bit of a lie in, then down to Silverburn for some shopping (hey, we need to eat), before heading back into town to see Dan Reed.  Again, another sterling performance.

Then home to collapse and try and get some sleep.

I've got some photos from both gigs, that I'll put up in seperate posts.

Guitar lessons update

So that's me had four lessons so far, and I've got further in those four weeks, than I have in the last (almost) year, of footering about on my own.

In the four weeks I've learned the pentatonic scale, some finger exercises, some strum pattern exercises, and at the last lesson, we went over one song to strum (Candy by Paulo Nutini), and three to pick, Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes, Everbody Hurts by R.E.M. and Sunshine of your Love by Cream.
I've mainly been practising the Paulo Nutini song - because it's a weird strum pattern (well to me it is) - and Sunshine, not because it's a favourite song - I'm not a great Cream fan - but because it's the one giving me the most trouble, and that's annoying me.

So anyway, progress is being made despite my frustrations with Cream, so I'm pretty much a happy camper.

Ermmm Ok....

I appear to have joined the Wallace Society.
First thing I did was buy the book For Freedom: The Last Days of William Wallace. Sat down to read a chapter, and when I put it down I was halfway through it.  Great read.

The thing that makes this whole episode remarkable is that I was never one for history when I was at school.  This is possibly down to the fact that despite being Scottish and living in Scotland, all the history lessons were based on English history - battle of Hastings, The Great Plague, Fire of London etc.

So, here's to reading some non-fiction for a change.

Joe Satriani must be shitting himself by now.

Because I've had three (count em, three) guitar lessons.

Seriously though, nice (ok awesome) as it would be to be a fraction as good as Joe (guitar God in my eyes), I'll be happy just to be able to play some pub rock type stuff.  Anything more than that is an absolute bonus.

I'm liking the group lessons, which is weird, as I thought I'd hate them.  Let's face it, who want's to show how crap they are at something in front of a group of total strangers?  But it's not like that at all.  Everyone is in the same boat, and it's a pretty laid back atmosphere.  No-one is stressing yet.

The last of this group of lessons is this Saturday, so it's time to man up and book another block.  Not exactly a chore though, as I'm really enjoying it.

Still messing up my head

So we're onto week four of the philosophy course, and it's still enjoyable.  If week one was a bit brain melting, then weeks two and three picked up the sludge from week one and whisked it in a blender.
Saying that, I got 100% for the week two assessment, and 60 for week two.  You get to take them a maximum of three times, and your score is the highest from the three attempts.  Pass mark is 50%.  Well, 60% was fine for me, as the week three stuff was seriously out there.  Makes me wonder what the hell week four has is store!

I've also had my second guitar lesson, and that is loads of fun.  It's a group lesson, and the first week there were only four of us, but this week there was seven, including a teenager who can play a bit, and was being a typical "look at me" teenager.  When the teacher was talking, he was doing what he obviously thought was cool wee flashy riffs, but he got pulled up by one of the others who said he couldn't hear the teacher, and then the teacher commented on the fact that his technique wasn't as good as he obviously thought it was, and that he should stop trying to be flash by playing fast, and concentrate on playing properly.
He doesn't seem to be a bad kid, just a typical teenager trying to show off a bit.

Other than that, not a lot happening that's worthy of comment here.

What is philosophy?

If I ever find out, I'll let you know.

I've just started an online introduction to philosophy, from Edinburgh University.  Real life had got in the way, and as a result, I ended up watching the whole of the first week's video lectures in one sitting.  Not ideal by any stretch of the imagination, and by the time I finished, I felt like I was tripping!

So, two videos have been posted for week two - I don't know if that's all there's going to be - so I'll make a start tonight, and try to keep up.  I've also been having a nosey on the forums, but as yet, there's nothing that I feel compelled to comment on, so I'll have to wait and see.

Other than that, I recovered from week one's video-thon by playing my first game of Zombie Dice.  Loads of fun, and got me grounded again.

Life, the Universe and Rock n Roll

Things are looking up.  Work-wise it's getting more varied, and more interesting.
The other day I was doing some electronics for the first time in about 20 years.  OK it was a very basic digital circuit, but do you know, I really enjoyed it.

Yesterday I started working through a tutorial for a bit of software that simulates instruments, that you can then connect to circuits/devices, and either get inputs from the devices or output to the devices, as it acts as an instrument simulation.  Today I've spent most of the day installing it on my desktop, so I don't have to be in the lab to work through the tutorials. (Yes, it took a couple of hours to instal!!)

Apparently there's also going to be the chance to do some C++ programming, so I'll get to learn that.  This is pretty cool.  I did some programming during my degree (TurboPascal, BASIC and C) and really enjoyed it, so this should be pretty good.  Challenging, but good.

In non-work news, I've booked a block of 4 beginners guitar lessons.  This will apparently lead on to a block of 10, once they get organised better.  It starts a week on Saturday (9th).  The only problem with that is that there's an all day karate course on that day, so it means I'll only be able to attend in the morning.  I was kind of hoping there was a chance to get graded, but I guess that won't happen if I'm only there for half the day.  Swings and roundabouts.

The job I couldn't do.

There was a discussion on Facebook earlier today about the 56 year old British woman who was sentenced to death in Bali for drug smuggling. (If you're unaware of the story, it's here)

The original poster was against the death penalty, and took issue with the Balinese authorities saying that her activities were harmful to Bali as a tourist destination.  He thought their use of the death penalty would stop people going.
My response was that I've been to countries that have the death penalty, and would go to others.  As a tourist it doesn't affect me.  I'm not a drug smuggler.
Then the pr0-capital punishment lobby put their side, saying that it cut crime (erm...there's never been ANY data to prove that it is a deterent), and that she deserved it.  Well, that's their opinion and their entitled to it.
Personally I'm against it, as one innocent who gets executed is one too many.  All the apologies and posthumous acquittals in the world won't bring back the innocent people wrongly executed. But I digress.
The question I asked - which as I write this still hasn't been answered by the pro lobby - was this.  Would YOU be prepared to be the executioner.  If there was a vote on capital punishment in the UK tomorrow, and it passed, would you be prepared to carry out the sentences?  If not, then you would effectively be asking someone to do something that you yourself were not prepared to do.  And that, in my opinion, is wrong.

I would not be prepared to do it.  I could not vote in favour for that reason, and the previously stated reason that one innocent wrongly convicted is one too many, and the fact that the taking of a life even if legally sanctioned, is just plain wrong.  It's still murder. (in my opinion.  Yours may differ, and you're entitled to your opinion, and I don't judge)

Bit of a downer of a post, but it's the topic of the day on FB, so here it is.

HMV saved?

So, it looks like HMV will survive in some form.  Hilco have taken it over, paying less that the £175m debt that the company owed.

At least this means there will still be (some) record shops on (some) high streets.  Now if only they would concentrate on music and stop trying to be a combination of a record shop and electrical shop.  If I want cd's and dvds I'll go to HMV, if I want headphones and mp3 players, I'll go to a hi-fi shop, and if I want tablets, I'll go to a computer shop.  Seriously, stick to what you're good at, music.  Leave the computing (tablets) and audio equipment to the shops that specialise in those.  You're supposed to be a record store, not a department store.  Act like it.

Death of the record store

Years ago when I first got into music, in the early 80's, there was a fantstic choice of record shops in Glasgow.  Small independent shops like Echo, 23rd Precinct, Listen, Bruce's, Missing.  There was a great choice about where you could shop, and they all had their own unique identity.

Then the big chains came along, Virgin, HMV and (briefly) Tower.  They piled high and sold cheap (or not so cheap in the case of HMV), and the small independent specialist shops slowly went to the wall.

Now these small shops were staffed by people who loved music and knew their regular customers.  I could walk into a shop, as the staff to recommend something, and walk out with a record by a band I'd never heard of, and 99% of the time, would love it.  That's how I discovered Guns n Roses.  Live Like a Suicide had just come out on import.  £8 for 4 songs?!  That was a hell of a lot in those days, but I took the advice, and didn't look back.

You could also hang out in these shops, and talk to the staff about music.  The big stores weren't like that.

So, we had a city centre with five huge record shops, one Tower, three HMV and two Virgin, and a few second hand record shop that numbered single figures.  (I'm not counting FOPP here as it was taken over by HMV).

First Tower closed.  Now, out of the big three, the staff there were closest to the small indy shop staff.  They knew about and loved music.  They catered for a huge variety of tastes AND knew what they were talking about.  (That's the only shop I've EVER seen a copy of the Jack Officers album.  A spin-off/side project of the Butthole Surfers).

Then it was Virgin, when Richard Branson sold up.  There was a management buyout which resulted in Zavvi, but as a shop, it didn't last long, and went the way of tower.

Now HMV is in dire straits, and although I wasn't a fan of the shop, and only bought from it when there was a sale on, I hope is survives in some form on the high street, because after the big three pretty much killing off the competition, if it goes, there's only about 4 small independent shops left, and three of them are predominantly second hand stores.

I want to be able to walk into town and browse record shops.  I do buy downloads, but I also buy cd's.  I want to have a choice about where to buy.  Yes, I use Amazon, but I want to shop there because I WANT to not because I HAVE to, which, is the way it looks like things are going.